I think this title says it all…….
Happy Kids Make For A Great Day!
Posted in Daily Life, Deep Thoughts, Funny and Cute, kids
Tagged boy girl twins, cute kids, dad of twins, daily life, happy kids, parenting, parents of twins, proud parent, tug of war, twin dad, twins
Blizzard of ’13
So we just celebrated (and planned one more for Saturday) the kids 1st birthday and something is happening that I think is very cool. We’re postponing the celebration with grandparents , cousins, aunts etc due to the blizzard of 2013 set to hit tomorrow and dump up to two feet of snow on us. It was exactly 35 years ago this week that the blizzard of ’78 hit and yours truly was almost the exact same age as my kids….1 (my birthday is the 16th). This is supposedly as big as that storm and could be top five in recorded history. Only difference here is I was stranded with my grandparents and away from my parents for I think they said 10 days. I’ll be with my kids and we’re ready for it! In fact I can’t wait! This is probably a lame post for most but as I said before, If this storm is what they say it is, there is some kind of strange connection to 35 years ago I can’t help but think about…..or I’ve had too much wine.
Posted in Deep Thoughts
Tagged blizzard, blizzard of 2013, boy girl twins, dad of twins, daily life, parents of twins
The First Birthday Discussion
One of my New Years resolutions was to post more to this blog. So here is my first attempt.
Last night on our commute home from work (Melis and I work for the same company) we started talking about the monkees first birthday which is coming up in less than a month. The conversation started off somewhat normal around what we plan on doing, who are we inviting and making sure we don’t turn this into a big ordeal since they won’t remember it anyway. THEN it turned into this whole thing about future $500 individual parties for them on different days because their twins but they should still have their individuality yada yada yada. I scream out DIFFERENT DAYS??? $500!!! what are you planning on getting them???
Over-reaction? YUP.
As a parent every event, every day, every experience is a new one even if you are familiar with it and have been through it before in some way, shape or form. Birthdays, holidays, traveling, dinner, whatever. What I didn’t think about was all the stuff involved with your kids birthday. Especially when they have a mind of their own, friends and interests. It’s already on your mind and your kids haven’t even turned one yet.
So what do you do for the first birthday and the years to come? The more I think about it here is my answer…….
DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.
The first one will be very special as will all the rest to come but you’re going to have to roll with it once your kids are old enough to understand. You can’t worry about what they are going to want, who should be invited, and all the details that will ultimately need to be handled. Just do it, embrace it and make it fun. It only comes around once a year and if you really think about what this day is, it is BY FAR the GREATEST day of the year for any parent. It’s the day your life changed forever and that is all you need to think about…………
Posted in Daily Life, Deep Thoughts, kids
Tagged birthdays, boy girl twins, first birthdays, raising twins, twin dad, twins
The Best Curry Chicken Pot Pie
We had recently had the kids and some friends came down from Vermont for a quick visit. They were kind enough to bring us a curry chicken pot pie which my wife could not stop talking about. They recently sent us the recipe and we have made it several times and it truly is one of the best (and pretty easy) dishes we have ever had. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Pillsbury Pie Crust
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 3/4 cup chopped sweet potato, peeled
- 3/4 cup chopped carrots
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 3/4 cup chopped red pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 cup (40z) low-fat cream cheese
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Prepare filling:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add curry powder, stir and cook 2 minutes. Add Sweet potato, carrots, onion, red pepper, garlic and chicken, stir fry approximately 3 minutes. Add broth, frozen peas, golden raisins, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked.
Combine cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cream cheese, cook 1 minute or until cheese is melted.
3. Spoon filling into a 2 quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Place crust over mixture and cut six small slits in the top. Place in oven on a cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes.
Serves 6
Posted in Recipes
Determination!
I’m sure there are going to be a lot of very proud moments as I watch my kids grow older and accomplish new things. All of this comes with the territory of being a new dad. Well one of those moments came the other day as I was candidly filming my kids playing in their Bumbo seats. Watch my son Graham as he fights through distractions from his big sis as he works on getting what he wants. Way to go bud….Such a proud dad!
Posted in Daily Life, kids
Tagged boy girl twins, dad of twins, daily life, determination, parenting, parents of twins, proud parent, raising twins
Little Miss Magic
When we were first in the hospital and Maren was still in the NICU and Graham was out Melis and I were going back and forth, up and down trading off time between kids. When I was alone with Maren I would sing to her a song that I had always envisioned singing to my daughter if I had one. Knowing now what that feeling is like and looking back on those moments when it was just the two of us, she’s more than my little miss magic*……….
* This is more than a post about Maren. I must add that while Maren stayed longer in the NICU Graham was “delayed” a day from being discharged from the hospital because of “something weight related.” Melis and I both know he did it on purpose so we could all stay together for at least one more day. Little brother looking out for his big sis (by a minute) and his mom & dad….what a guy!
Posted in Daily Life, Deep Thoughts, kids
Tagged dad of twins, daily life, parenting, parents of twins, raising twins, twin dad
Moms, are you offended when you hear “You are SO big!”?
Posted by mackicayloma on Babble.com – Every pregnancy I’ve heard those words in some variation. With my first, while heading to my car after walking several blocks, I heard “Wow, she’s huge, is she going to have the baby right now?” Um, no I’ve got another 6 weeks and I just hoofed it with 30 extra lbs. Let’s see you do the same, non-breeder.
With number 2, baby daddy and I were away for the weekend and went out for breakfast. The waiter said “You must have twins in there.” I replied “No, just one boy.” This guy just couldn’t stop there, so he added, “you must be due any day.” Hmm, so I said, “Nope! 7 weeks to go.” He still wasn’t finished with me! And added one more blow, “That must be quite a linebacker then.” Seriously?!
Do people just spew diarrhea from their mouths when they get around pregnant women?
This is a very interesting topic that will most definitely stir up a debate of etiquette around pregnant women. First off I have to say the last line above is hysterical. I know there are certainly times when women fall into this the same way men do, but I have to say I love the way this post finished up (read here). Good attitude and certainly a great point of view. I think this is a good rule to live by for all moms. Dads, it doesn’t hurt for you to joke around with your wife as well. If only you are as lucky as I am to have a wife that can laugh with you at just about everything!
Posted in Deep Thoughts
Tagged dad of twins, parenting, pregnancy etiquette
Battle of the Strollers
I wasn’t mush involved in picking out the items for the baby registry or researching any products prior to the kids being born, but now that they’re here and I’m actually using most of the products we have let me tell you, I look for better this, research for better that and wish I had done so beforehand to save a little $$, headaches as well as space in the house.
This post is all about our stroller selection and how the two we currently own stack up against one another. The first stroller we used was a generous gift from some of our co-workers and it was one that we had (or Melis I should say) picked out. It’s the Baby Jogger City Select and it’s what we used for the first 5 months. Here are some of the pros and cons to the City Select:
Pros:
- Narrow so it works well for just about all sidewalks
- Easy to put the car seats on
- Decent storage underneath
- Folds up fairly compact if you remove the second seat adapter
Cons:
- Very top heavy when using the car seat adapters. Sometimes we’d worry the thing was going to topple over on us.
- Difficult to steer (mostly because of how top heavy it was)
- Doesn’t handle going over bumps or curbs very well
- Pushing it on anything like grass or gravel…forget about it
- Grandparents had a very hard time lifting the seats high enough to get them on the stroller then pushing it was a whole other challenge.
- Toddler seats provide NO leg room for the baby in back. We didn’t even use it because of this. We went right out and got the BOB.
Now for the competition. Once the kids graduated to the toddler seats we couldn’t handle pushing the top heavy city select anymore AND the baby in the back was squished up against the baby in the front. It just didn’t look comfortable so we looked for a change. In comes the BOB Revolution SE Duallie Stroller. Two words…BIG DIFFERENCE!
Pros:
- Lightweight
- SO much easier to push
- SO much easier to steer
- Can go over any surface with ease
- The kids are side by side instead of on top of each other so they look much more comfortable
- The grandparents LOVE it!
- The toddler canopies really protect the kids from the sun/rain
- Front wheel locks or swivels so you can jog steady or maneuver around easily
Cons:
- It’s wider than the City Select but it’s no problem in the suburbs. City sidewalks it may be an issue
- It folds up compact but in order to pack more things in the car (like for vacation) we need to take off all three wheels in order for the tailgate to close
- limited storage underneath
So to sum it all up, we’re a a BOB family now and probably should have been from the beginning. The City Select may be for you if you live in the city but for those of you in the burbs save yourself the hassle and struggles and go with the BOB!
Posted in product reviews
Tagged bob, BOB Revolution SE Duallie Stroller, parenting, parents of twins, raising twins, stroller
Wait a minute…what is this? PAT, PAT Maren…………!!
It’s official! ONE of my kids has a tooth (this actually happened about a week ago but I’m busy so I’m just getting to blog this now). And in our lives as we now know them this is the most exciting thing Melis has seen since they first entered the world. Even more so than when they first started to roll over or make more noises than a cry. So the drooling and teething screams really do produce results….huh. Rest assured dads it is all worth it just to hear the excitement in your better half’s voice.
I was in a meeting at work and Melis was working from home that day. I thought she knew what time my meeting was so I was not expecting any calls when the phone rang and it was her. I thought something might be up so I answered the call with a little bit of a pit in my stomach. Me – “Hey is everything ok? I’m in a meeting” Melis – “Oh right, yes but I have some exciting news!!” Me – “Ok, can I call you back?” Melis – “Sure”…..I knew exactly what it was so I wanted to make her wait it out a bit, she hates waiting to tell people any news good or bad.
So I end up calling her back and of course it’s what I thought, “Maren got her first tooth!!!” Maybe this is a bigger deal for moms than it is for dads and while it is exciting to see certain milestones in your kids lives, this isn’t one that made me super giddy. I mean you can’t see it, she still eats the same thing, it doesn’t help her crawl, it doesn’t help her walk, it doesn’t help her sit, it doesn’t help her talk….Hey that rimes! Now THAT is pretty cool. Anyway, basically the only way that you know it happened is by sticking your finger in her mouth and pulling her lip down or rubbing her gums. Not something I’m doing on a regular basis.
But nonetheless it is a milestone and it does mean our kids are growing up, time is flying and will only move faster. Once they’re both mobile and turning us in circles maybe I’ll look back at the first tooth as quieter times that were so much easier to manage and I’ll miss these moments!
Posted in Daily Life, kids
Is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom the greatest book ever?
I Think so! Get it today if you don’t already have it…..That is all.
Posted in Books, product reviews
Tagged boy girl twins, chicka chicka boom boom, dad of twins, parents of twins, raising twins, twin dad, twins
