Mad About Multiples!

Who Are We?

A few months ago, I attended a boutique sale a mom-of-twins friend of mine put on. Carla of BabyJI Design is a mom of twins, a budding professional photographer and designer of fabulous, funky, fun skirts for little girls (see photo). My girls can’t stop twirling around in her skirts and complain rather loudly when it’s time to take their skirts off and get dressed for bed. Carla’s twins are now 3 years old and like the rest of us who have survived twins parenthood beyond the first couple years, finally has time to think about what she’d like to do in her life outside of raising her kids.

Since my girls were infants, I’ve made a whole new set of friends – other moms of twins in Gemini Crickets. We all share a special bond in raising our multiples though our lives were quite different before this phase. Each time I get to know another mom, I’m constantly amazed. Pre-children careers in this group include a rocket scientist (literally), lawyers, teachers, principals, vice presidents, directors, social workers, CPA’s and more, much more. It’s a highly educated lot.

Some of us moms in this group have returned to our pre-twins careers working full- or part-time. Some of us are fortunate to be able to stay home to care for the kids (a more exhausting and personally rewarding career than any other I have known). And some are embarking upon new paths - like Carla’s photography business and skirt designs.

All You Need is a Lollipop...or Sometimes Not!

The wee driver of the shiny teal convertible turns to me and smiles as if to say, "This is the life, isn't it?" With one hand casually gripping the wheel and the other hand tasked with holding a grape lollipop at the ready, my three-year-old J is the picture of a carefree existence. I smile back, but he has already shifted his attention elsewhere. On a TV just in front of him, a friendly blue dog and his friendly pal Joe have just encountered a moon fairy. "It's Blue's Clue's, Mom! " chirps J, through sticky lips stained purple, making him look as if he really could be one of Blue's friends. Somewhere just outside his consciousness, a stranger is circling his head like a gnat, snipping away at his hair with scissors, but J hardly notices. J is having a blast.

It's haircut day for my shaggy haired twin boys. We'd been trying out different salons with mixed success. Today, we're at a salon which specializes in children's cuts. While I've yet to find the perfect hair salon for my boys (a stylist here cuts hair with her cell phone glued to her ear which is so annoying), it meets a couple of big needs: convenience and seat belts at every station. This salon's gimmick is lollipops (the mini kind), which they award to their pint-sized customers at the end of the session or, in our case, whenever it's deemed necessary. They also have mini-vehicles for the kids to sit in. There's a TV and a loft full of toys.