Things to not say to a twin mom (or dad)

Having twins causes us to be put on display much more than I thought it ever would. You would think, with twins being more common these days, that people would be used to seeing them. And I have to say, I think mine are pretty darn cute but it amazes me still how much attention you get. It seems more noticeable when I take just one out and can wander the aisles in Target without stares. I have heard all kinds of crazy comments. Luckily, now that they are older I haven't heard the "are they identical" question very much. I guess people don't know what to say but if you see a twin mom don't say things like "Double Trouble there!" or "You sure do have your hands full!" I mean what do you think I am going to say back to that...yes my hands are full so please hold one while I shop?! I love being a twin mommy! It is worth all the extra energy it takes to raise two same age kids just to hear them laugh together. I love everything about it so no it is not trouble and yes my hands are full but so is my heart. I am so lucky to have two beautiful children to love. And when they say you have your hands full I want to say I have TWINS not 10 kids! Speaking of which I am glad the novelty of the Octo-Mom has worn off because everywhere I went, it seemed people wanted to ask me what I thought of her. Well, probably the same thing you thought of her!! Again, I have TWINS and she has 14 kids!!! A little different!

Finally, I think some people are well meaning but for the most part I think this is just a way to sound like you are not nosy but of course you really are...in different variations I have gotten "So did you know you were having twins?". Well, no in fact I went to the hospital and poof out popped two! Or if they know we adopted they ask "did you know you were getting two babies when you went to Texas?" No our agency waited till we got there and yelled SURPISE!! When people ask if we knew if we were having twins, I think it is their way of asking did you do fertility treatments. Which is a personal question and one that a complete stranger has no business asking (however, I don't mind talking to people who are going through it too because that is what helped me so much). Yes, twins run in my family (my mom is a twin) and yes, I did fertility treatments. So yes, I did imagine that I would have twins someday. Just not in the wonderful, amazing way our children came into our lives.

Finalization Finally!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the process, when you adopt there is a supervision period before you go to court to finalize an adoption. Our agency requires more than the standard 6 month period of supervision when you adopt a sibling group. So we were required to wait a year before we were eligible. We received word last week that we were cleared to proceed with finalizing their adoption and couldn't be more excited!! While we knew in our hearts Skylar and Elaina were to be forever our children, it still doesn't quite feel like you are there parents when you are in this part of the process. We had to do monthly reports, have visits by a social worker, and other things that just don't make you feel like you are truly a parent. We can't wait to go to court and hear the judge tell us they are forever part of our family!

While in Texas we will spend two days in San Antonio where three other families (two from our orientation group) will also be finalizing. We are then traveling to Houston where we will spend two nights with my best friend from college Maggie and her family. She has boy/girl twins that are almost 4 so it will be fun to see what is to come. Jon will also get to visit with his friend Andrew who is there receiving his first round of chemo (see blog posting below). We are excited about the trip but feeling a little nervous about traveling with two very active babies!!

Less teeth than Skylar started with yesterday!

So yesterday Skylar had 6 teeth and now it is more like 5 1/3. Somehow he must have cracked his tooth. Yep, that's right! This morning both Jon and I noticed separately that one on the bottom looked slightly jagged. Tonight we had a very challenging dinner with him starting to cry very hard. I thought his teeth were bothering him (he has been really teething bad the past week or so). So I took him out and held him while I finished feeding Elaina. He was a mess so I thought it must be really bad and finally got him calmed down with some Orajel and a bath. Well, Jon was playing with him and noticed half his tooth was gone! We are calling the pediatrician tomorrow but we think he must have cracked it on something and then the teething bisquit at dinner might have just caused it to separate. The first time mom in me was freaking out. How could I not know it was cracked?!? I think there is a fine line between keeping them safe when they play (especially when they are learning to crawl, stand, walk) and being overprotective and being a nervous nelly. I want my kids to be independent and confident to try new things so I try to give them some space and recognize that falls and bumps and bruises goes with learning to do some of these things. But seriously....already cracking a tooth?!? I saw the rest of his childhood flash before my eyes and it included trips to the ER for broken bones, etc!!!