Kimber's Navy Family

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of teaching through hands-on experience. I believe that the best way for kids to learn how to behave in public is by taking them out in public. Kids learn best by getting down and dirty-- using a fork (very messy), going down stairs (very slow), getting dressed (so hard not to just pull their arm through the ever-elusive arm hole), or "helping" you (C now needs a towel to help me wipe down the high chairs after meals). And I've had many people comment on the amount of bookcases in every room of my house that my kids-- seemingly-- leave alone: baby-proofing through repetition ("do not touch the books... do not touch the books... do not touch the books..."). As every well-meaning, opinionated stranger will tell you, your kids have to learn. I remember this lady at Target eavesdropping on a conversation I was having with D, telling him that we can't buy some hundred-million-small-parts-toy because his brothers could ch...

Me, I'm waiting so patiently, lying on the floor I'm just trying to do my jigsaw puzzle before it rains anymore -The Rolling Stones Well, the past week has been an adventure. An adventure? Maybe a trial, a test, or a lesson in patience would be a better way to describe it. It sounds like one of my friends has had a similar week (see her blog: " A typical ordinary day "). This week was strange. I don't know why my babies have been resisting naps, which they otherwise enjoy. Our day yesterday: O woke up at 0700, which is much, much too early for a momma who (now) rarely goes to bed before midnight and expects to wake up somewhere around 0830/0900. Begrudgingly, I realized around 0715 that his sporadic fussing was not going to cease and dragged myself to the coffee maker. After feeding O and D breakfast-- D was so excited to see Momma out of bed that early-- I did my devotional. D informed me that God likes "flat Bibles," as he opened his ...

A friend of mine, Lindsay Castiglione, posted this as a Facebook note August 4th, 2011, after a harrowing pregnancy. Her identical twin boys were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) at 16-weeks and were brought into the world at 30-weeks via an emergency C-section June 16th, 2011. They spent 46 days in a NICU 45-minutes away from Charlie and Lindsay's home. Recently, Hayden and Connor celebrated their first birthday! I would also like to add that Lindsay exclusively breastfed and pumped for her boys their entire first year. Amazing! Since posting this "note," Lindsay has been asked repeatedly to blog about her experience with TTTS. I am so excited to finally share her story with you, with Lindsay's permission, of course. Thank you for sharing your story, Lindsay! -Kimber (For more information on the differences between identical and fraternal twins, check out my blog post " Identical or fraternal .")  I will nev...

 I just finished the book Ready or Not... There We Go! The Real Experts' Guide to the Toddler Years with Twins by Elizabeth Lyons. I liked the book in a lot of ways (great tips for dealing with two toddlers) and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders in other ways (I will be dealing with two toddlers). One of the things she talks about is "Gotta Get Outta This Place!" on page 37: "Next to childproofing, the most important focus over the next few years is undeniably taking care of yourself. The phrase 'get outta this place' is meant both literally and figuratively. There is no doubt that you'll need to get out of your home every now and then to get some space, some time to regenerate and reflect, and the opportunity to finish a gossip magazine so you're crystal clear on whether or not Brad and Angelina really are engaged. You'll also need to get out of the place in your head that is preventing you from putting a positive spin on less-t...

When I first met Real Simple, I was still exclusive with Vogue. I didn't understand Real Simple. Why were the articles so short? Why was there so much about organizing and cooking? Their fashion sections were brief and so... simple. I bought a few because friends of mine were subscribers, anticipating the arrival of each month's edition. Then the babies were born. Vogue started stacking up on my nightstand. Some editions still sit in my magazine rack wrapped in plastic, never even cracked open. I started looking for Real Simple at the check stands near the end of each month. It started slow. I bought them each month and absent-mindedly flipped through the pages, nodding in agreement with a nifty organizing tip or jotting down the name of a cute item of clothing. Around the time the babies were 6-months old, I started really paying attention to Real Simple's recipes. The variety is fantastic. Who knew a fritatta could be such a fabulous one-dish meal? Or that making your...

TwinBug Photography at twinbugphotography@yahoo.com There once was a girl with a curl Right in the middle of her forehead When she was good, she was very, very good But when she was bad she was horrid Twin toddlerhood. There are so many things that are better with two toddlers versus the twin newborn days. There is so much involved in the care of newborns, especially premature newborns, especially when there are two newborns, especially when those newborns have a very active older brother, especially living so far away from family... I could go on and on about the challenges we had the first year. I have said it before, but I think the biggest challenge is logistics that first year. How do you breastfeed two? How do you bottle-feed two? How do you pump for two? How do you get two to nap at the same time? How do you entertain a two and half year old while burping two babies? How do you safely get two infant carriers and their older brother to the car? How do you feed...

What did moms do before texting and Facebook? I don't know how other people make plans or get places on time, but here is how making plans with girlfriends usually goes for me. Facebook messages the night before: Me: "Want to meet up tomorrow? I really need to get out of the house and was thinking about mall walking and getting lunch." My friend Lily: "Sounds good to me. Which mall do you want to meet at? Does 11:00 work for you?" Me: "Yes. How about the mall with the good play area?" Lily: "See you there!" Text messages the morning of: Lily: "One of my girls is still sleeping. We may be a few minutes late." Me: "The boys are being wild. Do you want to meet at the closer mall instead?" Lily: "Sure. They have cheap fountain drinks there." Me: "And a Starbucks." Text messages sent at 11:00 am, when we were originally supposed to meet up: Me: "Okay, just loaded up the boys. ...

My three-year old-- almost four-year old-- is going through a "phase." With little provocation, there can be much crying. His favorite statement right now is, "I don't want to." He feels the need to instruct not only how something will be done, but who will do it, "I want Momma to put the ketchup right here and for Daddy to get me my blue spoon ." He knows which words I don't want him to use and tries to slip them in conversation, a devious look on his face, "Oh, poop."  He always has a quick reply when I give instructions, "Well, I didn't put my listening ears on." And he cares deeply. He gets down from the table, no matter how many times we tell him not to, when one of his brothers starts crying to see what's wrong. He gets so upset when I let one of his brothers cry for a couple minutes in their cribs, "But they are saying they want their momma! You need to go to them!" He loves his friends and talks ...

Last night we watched the movie " Courageous ." If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it. We rented it from Redbox. Because parenting was such a strong theme throughout the movie, it brought to mind my blog a few days ago about my wrong attitude, " We can work it out ." Not to spoil the movie, but there is a quote from the movie that has stood out in my mind, "And the hard choice for you is whether or not your going to be angry for the time you didn't have, or grateful for the time that you did have," referring to the grieving process of losing his daughter. I have mentioned before friends of mine that refer to their children as blessings -- do I live each day as if my children are blessings? Last night my son followed me into the garage to ask if he could have another spear of watermelon before dinner. Granny, who was standing in the kitchen, joked, "I'm surprised he came to ask you! That was bold! I would have said yes, but it is a...