We recently filled out an application for a pre-school, and it asked how many hours of television my daughters watch in a week. I felt instantly defensive because it seemed like the question was a value judgment, no matter how we answered. Unless, of course, we answered zero.

But, my kids do watch television. Yup. It's true. They watch television shows, tapes/DVDs of television shows and movies. We even check shows out from our local library.

And guess… Read More

We have a bunch of little plastic bins we use to store toys. They have cute pink lids decorated with butterflies.

One is a miscellaneous container and holds some favorite toys that don't quite fit anywhere else. Another is for my daughters' collection of cars from the animated movie "Cars" (these are hard-won "poop toys" -- more about that in another post). Yet another contains sticks, stones and money.

When we go out on walks, the girls… Read More

I recently read an article about a mother who is teaching her triplets to garden. The article describes each child's garden, and it's well worth a read for those charming details. (I chuckled at the gender differences between the gardens.)

At the end of the article, the mother also offers terrific tips about successfully gardening with kids. She even has the triplets keep a simple journal about their plantings.

Overall, her tips, in fact, appear… Read More

For their first birthday, my daughters received a gift subscription to Babybug magazine from a close friend.

At first, I was skeptical that one-year-olds would enjoy the subscription, but my friend assured me they would. She explained that the magazines are fun for kids to expect in the mail. Additionally, she said they are the perfect size and weight to take along on a car trip or to toss in a diaper bag.

As my friend… Read More

Writing this entry, I am sitting in a local coffeehouse next to a young couple with a little baby, about two months old. The baby has elegant long fingers and the tiniest little feet.

The mother is still tentative about coordinating everything to nurse in public, but she is confident and quietly determined. After she got everything going, the dad fed her a little bite of cookie as she nursed. In spite of the newness of it all,… Read More

Getting regular ultrasounds during my twin pregnancy was simply a part of being considered "high risk." (I wrote about having a high risk pregnancy in an earlier post.)

At first I was concerned about it because ultrasounds are medical procedures, and therefore not something to be taken lightly. But my obstetrician reassured me and said that it's important to keep an eye on the development of twin pregnancies for a variety of reasons. When you have a… Read More