This is the third, and last, entry related to preventing the spread of germs, I promise. At least for now. It's simply on my mind lately as I anxiously wait for the end of flu season.

I found these witch hazel wipes -- Dickinson's Towlettes -- at my local pharmacy. (I'll write another time about the beauty of supporting one's local pharmacy.)

Every parent knows that it's simply common sense to carry all-purpose wipes along when… Read More

Cover your mouth! is a phrase we've all heard from our parents forever.

I distinctly remember meeting a friend at a playground a few years ago and seeing her tell her coughing daughter the same thing. To my amazement, her daughter obeyed by covering her mouth with the inside of her elbow. Huh?

I thought about it for a second and then it hit me: when we cough on our hands, we might prevent the spray of nasty germs, but… Read More

It's been a hard flu season for everybody, our pediatrician tells us. Harder than last year. For my twin daughters, every little cold is scary because of asthma-related issues that loom. I am always in a panic, waiting for their breathing to become labored. We've been to the emergency room more than once for breathing issues, and it's not fun for anybody.

So, for us, it's really important to avoid getting sick in the first place.… Read More

My three-and-a-half year old daughters love to incorporate the different rooms in our apartment into their imaginary play. Or, they simply run from room to room laughing and opening and closing the doors. They think that's fun too.

The problem is that this kind of play sometimes gets a little wild.

We have used a great safety gadget from Parents Magazine on our interior doors since the girls were crawling, and I credit it with preventing a multitude of potentially… Read More

My last opportunity to read tips about raising twins was when I was pregnant. Now, of course, there's no time to read anything but Real Simple magazine articles, which are about the perfect length to consume when one twin is in time out and the other twin is without a partner in crime. The house becomes quiet, for about three minutes.

And my pregnant self, of course, had no idea what to expect, especially since my daughters are my… Read More

Finding out that I was pregnant with twins was thrilling, but it was scary to suddenly hear the obstetrician refer to me as having a high risk pregnancy.

I don't really think of myself as a high-risk kind of girl, especially not when it comes to my babies.

Everywhere I looked for information, there were only warnings about pre-term labor and about a variety of other serious problems for twin (and higher order multiples) pregnancies.

It was hard to find a healthy way… Read More