Sunday Sayings 8/7/11

It's here! The 1st, ever  #SundaySayings. 


To join in on the fun this week, post to your website or blog, a saying/quote that INSPIRES you (facebook only friends, you can post in comments here below or on facebook).  Then tell us why these words inspire you.  Make sure to then share your post's link with others on your Twitter account by using the hashtag #SundaySayings
Then follow this hashtag so that you can check out what other people have shared.
Ya' never know, maybe you will find a new saying that you just love and inspires you.


You can type your saying, vlog yourself reading it or even include a a video that shows the person who first said it sharing their inspiring words. (please give complete disclosure here).  Even include pictures or music in your post if you'd like to enhance the saying's message.


Be creative, and have fun  "INSPIRING" others!


#SundaySayings 8/7/11

If I Had My Life To Live Over

by Erma Bombeck

The following was written by the late Erma Bombeck 

after she found out she had a fatal disease.

          If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

© Erma Bombeck

This is my daily 'touchstone".  I have it posted on my refidgerator and I read it almost daily.  It INSPIRES me to live well and to live NOW.  And it reminds me of what IS IMPORTANCE in life and what to l"let go".  I went through my third pregnancy really marveling in  the joy of it all and that was due partially to Mrs. Bombeck's words.  And I have become very good at having friends over, even when my home is not perfect.

Unique Twin Experiences - Story 1

Love this picture because it totally captures the joy we
feel when you see an old-friend.  by Luster Studio

Well, I Can't believe I cut my head off AGAIN and even worse this time then last but I decided to share the post as-is since I like the authenticity of the first telling of a story rather than a re-do version.  So enjoy the "headless" story and I will work to correct that for the future.  Thanks for baring with me during this learning process.

Beautiful Paris - from http://www.travelglobep.com

A mom blogger's 1st video..."Test, Test, Test! This is only a Test" The truth behind my "how do I look" process

(This is what happens for a daily blog post when your twin sister is too busy packing for vacation to Post on HER day :):):)


Did you do this crazy "testing" the 1st time you planned to do some video blogging (called Vlogging I guess)..Come on, be honest with me.  Don't make me feel like I am the only weird, paranoid, and vain blogger out there. LOL :):):)

Disclosure Picture: added for the sake of my Ego...
"I do clean-up okay once I get past the early morning "slapped by
the uggly stick" look (LOL)! And look at that noodle-nut behind me :):)

The history of Wordless Wednesday, as I understand it.

I just googled Wordless Wednesday.  Why?  Well, I am new to blogging and I was a little aware of this trend through my husband's website Wackydads but I didn't really totally understand it.  I knew it had something to do with pictures but was not sure how it worked.  Were you suppose to write about the picture in your blog?  Were you suppose to just leave it un-captioned like the title suggested and let others interpret it? Was it suppose to be just a simple caption???

I trolled around a little on line at one point and saw that many people did it many different ways. So the researcher in me decided to go on line to try to find the history of Wordless Wednesday.  

I found lots of history on the trend but the comment that best defined it for me was on Pureblogging.com http://www.pureblogging.com/2009/08/05/twitter-blogging-wordless-Wednesday/

What is the point of Wordless Wednesday? Twitter users that are also bloggers take a content-rich picture and then post it on their blog, not specifying any description or caption, but leaving the picture to tell the story in substitute of the description. This new concept from bloggers gives the phrase of “a picture is worth a thousand words” a lot of emphasis.

This historical explanation seemed to make the most sense to me since it seemed to best explain the trend's title, "wordless".  I also have to admit that I liked this definition the most because it meant I just had to post a thought provoking, content rich picture on my blog each Wednesday and then just enjoy perusing other bloggers pictures throughout the day.  (Looks like Wednesday is gonna become my new favorite blogging day-LOL)

So, in following along with the true, original intent of Wordless Wednesday, here is my first picture, un-captioned and ready for you to interpret on your own...ENJOY and please feel free to leave a comment telling me what you thought.

Wordless Wednesday 8/3/11:

Advice on how to prep your little guy for a few days at home without mommy!

Cathy Solo post:

I follow a mom blog written by Dagmar Bleasdale.. http://DagmarBleasdale.com 

Dagmar is off to Blogher11 and had asked for advice from her readers on how to prep. her little guy for her time away.

She usually puts her son to bed each night and is still breastfeeding so the nighttime routine is gonna be her husband and child's biggest obstacle.  I came up with a few suggestions that I thought might be helpful (guess I was in "prepare to travel" creative mode this a.m.) and so I figured I would share my thoughts here as well in case they could perhaps help another traveling parent make the transition away smoother.

Advice on how to prep your little guy for a few days at home without mommy!  Could be used with singletons or multiples...

• Video yourself reading some books on your web cam for nighttime "settle-down" mode.  Little guy and daddy can watch them while you are away.

• Have Dad try to put him down to bed for the few days before leading up to you leaving...even if it just means dad taking him from your arms just before little guy is totally conked out so he sees dad is involved.
• Talk to your little one about where you are going and show him a map of where you'll be.  Dad can then show the map to him while you are away. That way they can point to it and say good night to mama on the map while you are gone.
• Give him a picture of you to slip into his pillowcase so that he can "hug you" all night while you're gone.

• Kiss a piece of paper with lipstick and tape it to his bedroom wall right next to his bed so that he can "kiss you good night" each night (Mom can do the picture pillowcase thing too and put little guys lipsticked lips on paper as well so that he knows you are doing the same thing each night where u are.)  
• Do a linked paper chain with a link for each day you are gone and he can rip off each days link so he can get a tangible sense of when you will be home.

• Make up a night time story about a mom who goes away on a big plane to a fancy hotel and how she had fun while she was away but missed her little guy all the time and in the end the mommy ALWAYS came back.

• (For breastfeeding moms or cuddling nighttime moms)...To help dad, I was thinking if you are still breastfeeding or cuddle tight with your little at night so you and the little guy get warm and cozy together, dad may want to have something warm to put between himself and your son while they snuggle up to be "like the warm mommy"...perhaps a heating pad or one of those microwave-heat pads or a face towel heated in the drier for a little while...This could be a fun thing they place between them and they can joke that it is their "little, warm mama pad".   

Hope these ideas help others make the time away easier on your little guy and remember, we all need time away as individuals and your little guy/s will survive.  This may just make it all a little easier for everyone!  Please comment with any more great ideas that you have used to make traveling away from you kids easier on them.

Safe travels to all -

Cathy

DO NOT FREAKIN' MESS WITH MY TWIN SISTER

Twin Tub Time - We think it is Becca on the right and Cathy on the left but we may have to check with the "tell-the-difference-between-the-twins" expert - aka MOM.

Becca Solo Post:  

Hi All!

So this is my first solo entry.  Cathy is definitely the one who adds the creative spins and laugh-out-loud touches to these posts but I am hoping this is at least pleasant to read :):)

Anyone who knows a set of twins knows that even though we can look so similar, we are often very different creatures  from one another on the inside.  In our case, my sister is a creative, funny person and a proliferate writer while me on the other hand, I am a bit more introverted and quiet and definitely would not call myself creative.  Although I must admit that I can be pulled out of my shell instantly when my twin sister is around.  It's the comfort I guess.   I must admit though that there are guaranteed times in my life when my introverted-ness and more reserved side gets "checked at the door".  And these times occur Always when the comfort, safety or happiness of my twin is threatened in some way.  As we have written previously, the bond and love between twins is like no other bond.  I have been living in Europe now for a year and although I miss my sister more than anything, I know she is always there for me, no matter the distance, and that the relationship we have is unchangeable.

So tonight, one of those moments occurred were my reserved side went out the window.  A typical scenario unfolded in my house.  Cathy called and I was putting my two year old to bed.  Ken, my husband, answered Cathy's call.  He was putting our older daughter to bed and was somewhat distracted by the bedtime process.  Now Ken is a gem, but occasionally he has the phone etiquette of a troll.  So I hear him talking to Cathy with the half-ass energy I often hear him giving off while on the phone.  So of course, I go into "defend my twin mode" instantly (my reserved side thrown out the 4th story window) and I come bolting into the living room.  I whisper...with the intensity of a scream, "be nice to my sister or I will knock you out.".  

Now folks, don't be alarmed, I have no plans to clobber my husband with a broom handle, but I will tell you...if your mean to my sister , or in this case, simply don't make an effort with her, you're going down.  It is just an instinctive response and a feeling that has always existed between us.  Husband, boyfriend, friends, children...They have all learned early on in our relationships with them not to mess with our Twin or they will "feel the wrath!" 

Its funny too, the way we defend each other.  Cathy will always say to my kids, "Hey, don't talk to my sister that way or else", or " That's your mother, don't talk to her that way".   Then there was middle school.  Whatever girl wanted to meet us "out back after school" for a little rumble (and there plenty of moments like this), always found out soon enough that we'd always be there for one anothers backup and that they were rumbling with two, not one.  The irony with this though was that at home, we'd kick the living you-know-what out of each other ourselves for something as ridiculous as who got to use the sapphire blue eye liner first (it was the 80's you know) or the non-clumped mascara.  I remember once getting into such a crazy fight that blood was drawn and hairdryers and hairspray cans were launched at each other.  It was intense.  Cathy even hit a wall when I ducked from her incoming punch (she still has a scar on her hand as proof of this brawl).  But when it came down to it, no one messed with our twin sister (well except for the other twin sister of course LOL).  

And there is that "thing" with twins.  No matter how angry we get with one another, it really means nothing to us, 'casue in the end we'll always be there for one other.  Parents of twins have it hard in many ways but this trait of twin-ness should be a relief to them. Across the board, most twins truly do forgive and forget quickly when it comes to each other so parents of twins shouldn't feel to worried if their twins fight a lot early on 'cause in the end, it usually means nothing to the twin themselves.  And these parents shouldn't feel so strong a need to step-in during those "twin fights".  The pair will surely work it out (even if a little blood is drawn before it is all said and done- LOL).  They will surely still love each other as the bloody mess is cleaned up.

My greatest nightmare in life is that something terrible could happen to my children (I really do have night terrors about this), but my next biggest fear would have to be the thought of something terrible happening to my twin.  She is always in my mind, in my thoughts, part of my plans, and dreams.  I am her and she is me.  It is no doubt cheesy to hear, but is simply true.  It wouldn't be a life without her.

So there!.. a bit light, a bit heavy...whatever you want to call it.  All I can say is, having my sister for her advice with kids or just to simply blather with all the time is so important, there aren't words...so I will leave it at that.




Becca

The Naming of Twins

We have lived life with pretty common names,  Catherine and Rebecca.  There had never been a plan behind naming us in some creative way like some twin parents do since our parents did not know they were having twins.  They found out there were two of us when our mom was in the operating room having a C-section.  One doctor said "you get the first one, I'll get the second".  My mom responded "Don't even joke guys, we know I already have two at home".  Well, those "joking" doctors then held up over the separation sheet 2 little bundles-of- joy.  Oh what joy my mom felt...NOT...She passed out.  At least that's what she said happened when she saw us.  We think the medical staff in that O.R. just decided to pumped her full of some serious "Sleepy" meds. to knock her butt out so she wouldn't have a nervous break down on them.  
(We will go into how she did not know she was having twins in another post.)  But you can imagine that this experience was quite a shock to these young parents of ours.  They already had a 3 year old boy and a 4 year old girl at home so adding TWO more babies to the bunch was gonna be quite a crazy experience.
Our dad was told about this surprise finding in the waiting area of the hospital (Remember, this was the olden days, when men still paced in the waiting area while their wives gave birth in sterile O.R.'s with medical peeps all around). Our dad, needless to say, was overcome with joy...Oh wait, No....Got that reaction wrong too...We meant terror.  But soon he swallowed down his terror and headed out to the local baby store to buy some additional baby items for unexpected baby #2.  Good Daddy.   
Of course there was another, more pressing issue to address, what to name this second little bugger.  Well, the story that we were told about our naming goes something like this...
Dad worked at a local college and had some close colleague friends.  When they heard he had had his bundle of joy, now known as his "BundLES" of joy, they wanted to post this joyful news at the office building on campus that our dad worked in.  They posted a big sign announcing our entrance into the world, that state thatmy dad was the proud father of twin girls.  They then proceed to announce our names on the sign as Rebecca Colby and Catherine Colby.  And there it was.  They had taken the original name that our parents had chosen for us when they thought "us" was just a singleton baby, which was Catherine Rebecca Colby, and split it into 2 names.  Our parents thought, "hey, this just might be a nice solution to the naming problem we are facing right now as new parents who are sure to be sleep deprived over the next few months and in no shape to be effectively naming two newborns."    And so it was.  Our parents went with it, and officially named us Rebecca and Catherine.
Because of the way our naming occurred, we did not grow up with middle names. This was always a little weird to explain to our friends when we were younger since most of them couldn't understand how we did not have that center name, but it worked out well in the long run.  We are both married now and so we happily slide our maiden names into middle name position and we then were able to share our birth family's names with our new family's names.  So, we say well done to those coworkers of my dads.  They picked some nice names for us and saved that young couple some tough hours discussing, arguing and negotiating through the process of naming that second, unexpected little bugger.


Out of curiosity, we wanted to research what some parents of twins are naming their little one these days.  So we looked up celebrity families to see what they named their twins. Some have been...

• Tabitha and Loretta - Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick
• Emme and Max - Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony
• Vivienne and Knox - Angelina and Brad
• Charlie and Dolly - Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O'Connell
• Hazel and Phinneas - Julia Roberts and Danny Moder
• Valentino and Matteo - Ricky Martin
• Eden and Savannah - Marcia Cross and Tom Mahoney
• Ava and Grace - Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra
• Darby and Sullivan - Patrick Dempsey and wife Jillian
• Dexter and Frank - Diana Krall and Elvis Costello
• Rodney and Ryan - Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete

(http://www.parentsconnect.com/parenting-tips/best-celebrity-twin-baby-names also tells you about some of the reason why these names were chosen)


While researching recent twin names, we happened up one website that gave examples of paired twin name.  Some of these pairings cracked us up. Would you or did you dare to name your twins shared names like these...?

• Abbott and Costello      Abercrombie and Fitch      
• Adam and Eve              Amethyst and Topaz      
• Bonny and Clyde          Baskin and Robbins     
• Chip and Dale               Ebony and Ivory  
• Fife and Drum               Hearts and Spade
• Jekyll and Hyde            Block and Tackle
• Jessie and James           Jack and Jill     
• Jedi and Yoda               Julius and Caesar     
• Mai and Tai                  Ozzie and Harriet     
• Possum and Blossum    Reno and Tahoe      
• Sailor and Soldier          Smith and Wesson  
• Spock and Kirk             Star and Sky     
• Michael and Jackson    Thelma and Louise     
• Zoey and Joey              Yogi and Bear     
• Yankee and Doodle     Garth and Brooks     
• Wilma and Betty          Tom and Jerry     
• Hewy and Dewey        Anna And King

(You can check out the whole list of combos at http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/twinnames.htm)


So tell us...


*What was naming experience like for your twins/mulitples...(How did you come up with you twins names?)
*Would you... 

      ...rhyme your twins names since they are twins?
      ...choose unique combinations that may be seen as a little "different" for your twin babes.
*Did you know you were having twins ahead of time and if not, how did you decide on 2 names instead of 1?

Some Quotes

Some Quotes that sum up some of what we feel about being twins -

1. "People don't get it.  Our husbands don't get it.  Our children don't get it.  But they love it.  To them, being a twin is something uncanny."
2. "We've never had a point in our lives where we wish we hadn't been twins.  It has always been the two of us"
3. "The connection is something that nothing in the world could ever replace or even match"
4. "A twin is much closer than a best friend or a beloved spouse.  This other person is part of my heart."
5. "It is not the amount of physical time twins spend together that creates this twin bond...The bond begins at birth and continues during the course of a lifetime."
6. I believe the best part of being a twin is that you never really feel alone-even when you are apart."


CATHY says:  Quotes #5 and #6 really resound with me lately since Becca lives in Europe now with her husband and two little girls.  I miss them so much and recently visited her and had a wonderful 9 day catch up.  I felt totally at ease and at peace there (even when we were fighting, and we did fight -lol.) but although I do miss her and sometimes we aren't able to chat for a few days due to timezone issues and child/work commitment issues, that bond is still there.  Quotes #5 and #6 sum up this whole long-distance experience that we are going through.  The bond NEVER changes.  The physical connections may not be as often but the emotional ties are permanent and unchanging.  A part of twinness I love so much.

The Quotes are from sections of the book Twin Stories:  Their Mysterious and Unique Bond  http://www.amazon.com/dp/1885171587/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Twins, moms and life as we know it!

Yup!  This is us back in the day.  Hard to deny that twins next to
eachother  in a picture sure are cute!

And so it begins.  Our first post.
HI!  We are twin sisters, Cathy and Becca.  That's me, Cathy, there on the right looking a little bewildered.  And that is me, Becca, on the left, licking all that yummy toothpaste off of my toothbrush.  We are about 3 here.  Cute huh? (Oh and man would we kill for those natural highlights now in our older years).


A long  time ago, we came to realize that being twins was pretty cool and that we really find all things having to do with twin-ness pretty interesting.


In this blog, we plan to share some of our stories about being twins and our life experiences as mulitples.
We are also planning to share our parenting life with you. We are both moms of little ones.  They are certainly a huge part of our daily lives.  Since we are moms and twins, we thought that our parenting experience would be kind of unique compared to non-twin moms and thought it would be a novel blog topic to share with others (for example, when our kids where small babies, and were crying their heads off, we were each able to calm eachothers child down when no one else could - cool party trick LOL)

We also plan to write about, and sometimes review, some of the fabulous Twin products out their on the market today.  Especially the ones mom's of multiples say that they simpy can not live without.


We look forward to sharing who we are with you, why we think being a twin is such an amazing life experience (As we always say, the best thing that ever happened to us) and how we think it has made us who we are today, both as sisters, wives, mothers, friends, employees, daughters, aunts...


Lastly, feel free to post questions/comments in the "comment section" on this site about all things "twin" related (ie. advice on raising twins, questions to us about what it is like to be a twin, your thoughts on twin moms and raising kids, your thoughts on dressing twins alike or not, whether twins should be placed in the same clasroom vs differents ones, twins sharing a bedroom or not, twins and friendship, Twins going through puberty, twins and boyfriends/girlfriends, supporting twins strenghths and weaknesses, finding twin's own individuality and voice...)
We look forward to hearing from you and getting to know you!


Cathy and Becca


*Some ideas we will be working on for future posts...

• Fraternal and Identical Twins 101
• You say you are fraternal twins, but you look so alike.  Are you sure you're fraternal?  
• Have you ever gotten a DNA test to prove that you are not identical twins? Why? Why not?
• Mom's of Twins - Favorite car seats  you can't live without.
• Mom's of twins- Favorite Twin pregnancy resources on line.
• ....