Twin Birthday Party Panic

And I quote, "I don't want to go to HIS party." My little girl just shared this with me in the car this afternoon. She doesn't seem to get that they have had one party together for the last four years and this one will be the same way. Of course, I'm having each twin invite their own friends. And I am finally planning on baking them their own cakes. That's a great tip I got from some of the moms who answered our survey for our book. In the past, I have personalized one big sheet cake with their favorite character (last year, we had Buzz Lightyear on one side and Ariel on the other). But now that they are almost four, they are really clawing their way into wanting their own gigs. Maybe next year. The thought of planning two parties is enough to send me over the edge. Based on the last sad sack blog I posted, looks like I am already a stress mess. (Feeling better today, by the way!)

Thank goodness twins are so darned cute

It's been an interesting week. I am struggling to finish up an edit test for a part time magazine job, trying to work on contact lists and marketing plans to promote our book, and tending to all my mommy duties. My head is also spinning from a lengthy debate I had last night about Eliot Spitzer's wife Silda, and why she's still standing by his side. The moms I was out to dinner with were relentless about how she should take a hike and ditch him, but I couldn't help but think that she's doing it for their three girls. 

It's just a week where I don't have enough time, am not getting enough sleep, and feel increasingly frustrated as the days tick by. But as my big girl was doing her homework in the dining room, I was getting dinner together in the kitchen, and the twins were actually quietly watching tv in the great room (although they did remove every single pillow off our giant sectional and pile them on the floor), I was stopped in my tracks. Not by the pillow mess, even though that usually makes me mad and takes me about five minutes to clean up. But by how freakin cute my twins are. They couldn't be sitting closer to each other while watching Little Bill on Noggin. I've actually spotted them several times lately sitting rightnextoeachother. It makes me feel good, that they aren't losing their twiny-ness, which sometimes seemed more prevalent when they were babies perpetually sitting side-by-side in their double Maclaren. They are on the verge of turning four, and they still have these sweet twin moments that really make me melt. I really needed that heartwarming feeling today, and they delivered. I'm sure it will disappear as I wrangle them into the bathtub and bed in a few short minutes. So I wanted to go on record that I enjoyed it while it lasted. Excuse me ladies, it's tub time. I'm going to change into my wetsuit and scuba gear. You know what bathing twins is like!

Flying the twin-friendly skies?

My twins are my third and fourth, and their older brothers are not too much older (20 months and four years). So we had decided pretty early on that we wouldn't be adding flying to the mix until the twins reached three years of age. We knew from our older guys that the kids would be more mature, willing to sit, able to entertain themselves, potty trained, etc. Instead, last month, when they were 20 months, we flew to Utah from CT. Very dear friends invited us (and let's face it, how many people invite a family six on vacation?) to spend some time with them and another family of fabulous friends for a ski vacation, so we thought we would give it a try.

Just getting to the airport was exhausting. It took nearly a week to pack all the ski clothes and equipment and toys and coloring books and such. We opted not to bring car seats for the plane ride; we parked our own car in long-term parking then rented seats with the rental car in Utah. That might have been a mistake, because they were ALL OVER THE PLACE. We had a full row on the way out there and they pretty much moved through each seat over and over for five hours. Except for the first hour, when one said his tummy hurt (it was the turbulence) and proceeded to throw up on me and him. He did stay still for that. It was gross. As he was getting sick, a flight attendant walked briskly by me down the aisle and just tossed a plastic bag and some paper towels my way. There was no, "Is everything ok? Can I help?" Just the toss and run.

It didn't matter anyway, I am no amateur and of course had 700 wipes with me. I cleaned it very quickly and efficiently, but it did smell for the whole trip. Apologies to the people in the rows above and behind us.

We had literally scooped them from slumber to make our morning flight, so they were very tired. But they were never able to get comfortable in their seats. Each boy slept maybe 30 minutes and only in the arms of my husband and me (which was tough when we had the two other boys to care for). We brought snacks, but there were no meals (the food for sale was not kid-friendly or healthy). They did drink a ton of water, so we changed diapers in the restroom once or twice.

So by the time we landed in Utah, the whole family was a mess. Tired, hungry, smelly, out-of-sorts from the time change -- it took a lot out of us. And then we had the audacity to take them to a restaurant! Needless to say, it was our worst showing ever. I think five out of six of us cried.

But, then we started the vacation. It was magical. The scenery was gorgeous, the older boys really made amazing progress skiing, we all spent quality time together and realized that we might possibly have the best friends ever. We talk about it every day. Truly, we'll never forget it.

So, even though it was painful, the plane ride was worth it. In fact, the ride home was SO much better than the ride out there (although we weren't in one row at first because one man refused to move to a seat of equal value despite all four boys crying because they didn't want to be separated from their parents; that man has some bad karma coming his way!). I had been so intimidated by the idea of a bad plane ride and of all the schlepping that I restricted our family trips to within driving distance. Now I can teach my kids with conviction that anywhere worth going is going to involve some schlepping.

J Lo's twins are named

Hi Moms. What do you think of her boy/girl twin names: Max and Emme? Personally, they are muy cute. The only negative is they are a tiny bit reminiscent of Max and Ruby for me (those adorable bunny characters created by Rosemary Wells in books and now on Noggin TV).  Since these are Jennifer Lopez's first kids, I doubt she's spent much time watching Noggin yet. Unless she's been babysitting in between making hit movies and songs and clothes. Oh, yeah, and walking the red carpet. I know it's tough coming up with boy/girl twin names, and I think she and Marc did pretty darned good. And you?

Are glass bottles too high maintenance for twins

Hey moms. There seems to be a new trend in the baby bottle world. Some experts say that glass bottles are a safe option for giving babies formula and pumped breast milk. Have any of you tried these? Are they expensive or hard to clean? Are you worried that they will break? Enlighten us, please.