Mad About Multiples!

Photos and Families - Tips from a Pro

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of photographing 10 families from Gemini Crickets for the Fall photography fundraiser. As a GC member and a photographer, I had such a blast! I was exhausted, yes, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself - and I think the families did, too. It was a gorgeous, sunny day at McClellan Ranch in Cupertino and the myriad spots for photos kept us all moving around the grounds throughout all the mini photo sessions.

As I hung out with each family, several questions about photography and camera gear came up as some wondered how they could, in turn, catch those everyday special moments since high-quality, affordable digital SLRs are so widely available these days. I thought I’d share those questions and my answers and hopefully, it will inspire more of you to grab your cameras (or buy a new one) more often at home. After all, a professional photographer can’t be there for all the special times of your lives…and you don’t want to miss catching them.

Q: I’m thinking of getting a digital SLR, what kind should I get? Lenses?

A: I admit it. The only cameras we own are by Canon. This is

How to Find and Interview a Nanny for Twins: Guest Post by Elaine Farber, Baby Nurse

Please welcome our Guest Contributor, Elaine Farber, Newborn/Specialist/Consultant and author of Baby Lists: What to Do and What to Get to Prepare for Baby, who joins us today to lend a hand in finding and interviewing a nanny. (Elaine also gave us advice on finding and interviewing a pediatrician back in August.)

     We all want responsible, dependable professionals to care for our children, but finding a good nanny is not always an easy task. The process takes patience and a lot of research to find just the right person. You want to hire someone who truly enjoys taking care of children and is in the field for all the right reasons. 

Finding a Nanny

    The first step in the process of finding a nanny is to ask yourself a few key questions:    

Congratulations to our Winner for the Mad About Multiples Giveaway of the Book "Sleep is for the Weak"!

Congratulations to Raina, the winner of our latest Mad About Multiples giveaway!  Raina told us that "I have twin girls and only one sleeps through the night. Even so, we find the other will sleep more solidly if we give them a snack before bedtime around 7:30." Ah yes - fill 'em up before bed. One of our favorite scheduling tips. We're sure that Raina learned even more about scheduling for twins at our New & Expectant Parent Meeting on Scheduling that we held last week. We'll compile some of those scheduling tips and experiences to share with Gemini Crickets members very soon.

Raina has won a really funny book by "the best of the mommybloggers including Amalah, Finslippy, Fussy, Woulda Coulda Shouda, Mom-101, CityMama and more" called "Sleep is for the Weak." It is edited by Rita Arens from Surrender, Dorothy. If you didn't win, make sure you buy a copy of the book and support these great mommybloggers.

From the back of the book: "Each month, more than half a million readers turn to the 25 mommyblogs featured in this collection for advice and a sense of camaraderie, and this anthology brings together their best and brightest essays. Written to be read during the mind-bogglingly short breaks parents get during their busy days, these pieces will help the hip but harried mother remember that 'you are still you.'"

Original Mad About Multiples blog post.

Getting Creative at the October General Meeting

On Wednesday, October 8, Gemini Crickets members came together to help get the creative juices flowing at our general meeting which was all about crafts!  When picking topics for the year, Katja W. and myself (Co-Vice Presidents) thought it would be fun to have a general meeting focusing on different arts and crafts parents could do with their children, ages toddler on up.  Having been a first grade teacher before having my twins, I immediately thought of Lakeshore Learning as a great place to purchase craft supplies and get tons of easy craft ideas.  They were more than willing to come bring samples of crafts, educational materials, catalogues and coupons (who doesn't love a coupon?).  Parents got the opportunity to try out different products from Lakeshore, including ocean animal stamps with giant (washable!) ink pads, play dough, wikki stixs (waxed yarn pieces that bend, twist and stick to each other), dot markers, beads, paints, colorful Halloween pasta, chalk, and much more!  Lakeshore also offers free crafts for kids every Saturday from 11 am to 3 pm.  A great way to introduce your kids to some new materials you might not have at home and to get more craft ideas to do together.

Former preschool teacher and current nanny to two Gemini Crickets families, Erin B., brought

We Made Alltop!

We at Mad About Multiples are pretty excited that Alltop, founded by Silicon Valley local Guy Kawasaki, has started a new Twins.Alltop.Com...AND...Mad About Multiples tops the list!

What is Alltop, you might ask? Alltop is an aggreator and is a fantastic way to find blogs that pertain to all your interest areas - for instance, Parenting, Moms, Dads, Yoga, Politics ... you get the idea. 

Thanks Guy!

Make Mine a Double

Mom of premie twins and author of "Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay", Stefanie Wilder-Taylor, has joined Mommy Track'd with a new weekly column called "Make Mine a Double."  Today's column is about Angelina Jolie and her life as a new mom of twins (plus eighteen?). My own twins' birth coincided with the arrival of Julia Roberts' twins and I always felt she would made a good addition to my Gemini Crickets playgroup :)  There always seem to be celebrity twin-moms-to-be in the news these days, don't there? Anyway, take a read - Stefanie is really hilarious! 

Being Called "The Twins"

How many times do you hear people call your twins "The Twins" or "The Boys" or "The Girls"? How many times do you call them that...yourself?

Having a twin sister myself and being the mother of boy-girl twins, I have a certain perspective on this. Basically, I am not a fan of these terms and consciously try to avoid them. (Although, I do use the term "The Girls" to refer to my girl twin and her younger sister, so perhaps it is slightly inevitable...it is so easy and cute, let's face it!) You see, growing up, my sister and I tried very hard to assert our individual identities. And people constantly calling us "The Twins" or "The Girls" and not being able to tell us apart (even our aunts and uncles often mixed us up) - well, it really pissed us off.

So last week, while

Mad About Multiples GIVEAWAY: "Sleep is for the Weak" book by the best of the mommybloggers

Today, inspired by our upcoming New and Expectant Parents meeting on Schedules next Wednesday, October 8th, we are giving away a really funny book by "the best of the mommybloggers including Amalah, Finslippy, Fussy, Woulda Coulda Shouda, Mom-101, CityMama and more" called "Sleep is for the Weak." It is edited by Rita Arens from Surrender, Dorothy - a few of us from Mad About Multiples heard Rita speak this summer about what it took to pull this book together and, let's just say that after reading the book, we're so glad she went to the lengths she did, because it is one of the best mommy books we have ever read. This is honest, funny and real-life writing at its best. It is truly a labor of love - if you don't win, make sure you buy a copy of the book and support these great mommybloggers.

From the back of the book: "Each month, more than half a million readers turn to the 25 mommyblogs featured in this collection for advice and a sense of camaraderie, and this anthology brings together their best and brightest essays. Written to be read during the mind-bogglingly short breaks parents get during their busy days, these pieces will help the hip but harried mother remember that 'you are still you.'"

To enter to win, please leave a comment by Wednesday Oct 8th at noon to this post below telling us:  What is your best scheduling tip for multiples (or singletons!) ...OR if you haven't given birth yet (or are in need of a tip!), what do you want to know most about scheduling for babies.

AND....If you come to the New & Expectant Parent Meeting and/or the General Meeting (a craft workshop - craft ideas to do with your kids) next Wednesday, October 8th, you will be entered to win a second time! See you there!

Note: Unfortunately, we just missed a book signing party that happened last night in Menlo Park, but there is aanother book signing party for Sleep is for the Week tomorrow (Saturday October 4th) at Swig in San Francisco from 5-7 p.m. (561 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102). The party is sponsored by Graco.

Original Mad About Multiples blog post.

How to juggle twins (or more!) as they eat, sleep and play? - Join Gemini Crickets' New & Expectant Parents Meeting on Schedules next Wednesday Oct 8th

Many parents of twins think scheduling is the key to sanity in those newborn days and weeks and months. With more than two babies, keeping track of things can be even more important. 

Michelle O., one of Gemini Crickets' fantastic New and Expectant Parent Liaisons, joins us today to talk about our upcoming New & Expectant Parents Meeting on Schedules next Wednesday, September 8th.

Six years ago when I was pregnant with my first child a friend of mine gave me two parenting books, warning me that each was a little ideological and expressed quite different points of view about parenting. The first was “The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding,” published by La Leche League International. The second was “On Becoming Babywise,” by Gary Ezzo. I read them both, of course, as I was gobbling up as much information as I could. Man, my friend was not kidding! These two books couldn’t be more different. My husband and I decided to go with the Babywise approach. It offered structure, sanity, sleeping through the night at 8 weeks, all wrapped up in a nice little package. I highlighted portions of the book, dog eared pages, I was set. Then my son was born. Turns out I wasn’t a Babywise kinda gal after all and before I knew what hit me, I was wearing him, nursing him on demand, and sleeping with him!

Then came news that I was pregnant with twins. Where the heck did I put that Babywise book?  Because now...