Trying Time Out

Maria and I had a discussion about how much the twins understand now and that it seems like a good time to try "time out" when there's a tantrum. Most of the tantrums seem to come from Connor and we don't want to teach him that he can get whatever he wants if he cries enough.

So it only took two times and now when the tantrum starts I can say "do you want to go to time out?" and Connor will answer, "no" and he calms down. It's great.

It worked for Chloe just by watching Connor. She'd never been in time out but when I asked her if she wanted to go she was able to calm herself down.

We'll see how long this works, but I'm optimistic.

Yoga Drama

OK I recognize the title of this posting is an oxymoron, but sometimes yoga can be stressful even when you don't mean it to be.

A month ago the North Dallas Mothers of Twins group fund raiser was an online auction and one of the items was a month's unlimited classes for the yoga studio I go to. It's normally $130 for a month but I bid and won it for $25.

Normally I just buy a package of individual classes. So after the first week of the month it dawned on me, I have more free time, I can take more than one class a day and it won't cost more since it's an all-inclusive month. This week I started taking a morning and afternoon class. It's really not a big deal because I'm not very good, but it's nice to stretch my muscles twice a day. However, this also means I run out of yoga clothes faster.

One afternoon I'm running low on clean yoga clothes so I pull out an old pair of pants. These aren't really too old, from just over a year ago. But over a year ago I was really regular about yoga classes, had lost some weight and was sometimes able to wear tight yoga pants without being humiliated.

Regardless of what I thought, that was no longer the case. I am German and have quite a few curves, especially in my hips (aka saddle bags) Whenever I go to yoga class I feel like there are all sorts of women of different ages and skill sets. We have many of the young, beautiful, yoga goddesses at my studio but there are also other women of a variety of shapes and sizes so I felt like I could whip out the tight yoga pants and blend in.

Class went well. I felt great for making it through two classes in a day. But then someone say, "Oh, Hi!" The voice isn't one of another supportive yoga women but a guy. It takes me a minute to place him, but he's a Dad of twins from my "Mother's of Multiples" group (MoMs). Which would be fine, except he doesn't just want to say "hi" he keeps chatting in a friendly way. He's all friendly and my mind is screaming, "Why Did I Wear These Pants?!?" They're really not for public consumption. Yikes!

So all I can do is work harder or eat less, and frankly I'm not sure either one of those things are going to happen. Maybe instead I can buy more loose fitting yoga pants.

I really hate to have postings without pictures so even though this is not directly related I do have a family picture. The other night I was trying to show Carl how I was able to "flip my dog" from a three-legged down dog. The babies copied what I was doing. This may not make sense unless you've taken a yoga class.

Morning at the Zoo

Last Friday we headed to the Zoo right when it opened. It was great. We parked right up front and headed to the Wilds of Africa area. There were no crowds and it wasn't yet blazing hot. We stayed about an hour and a half before it got too warm to enjoy.

I'm so glad we have a zoo membership. We'll try to go right when it opens a few more times this summer since this was so nice.

I think Maria had as much fun as the twins.

I couldn't get them to look at the camera, but if you look behind Connor and Chloe you can see a leopard resting on each side.

Playtime in the Summer Heat

It's already so hot here. Triple digits today. It's not even officially summer yet. Where is my Spring?

Since it is hot we try to get out to the playground early in the morning so we can get in some outdoor playtime without melting. Part of playing outside is collecting treasures, like any rock or stick.

Chloe let me know when she was ready to go by laying down by Leo. I'm soooo hot Mom!

Music Class: Same Song Second Verse

I guess the best part of today's music class is I knew what to expect.

Overall the kids really enjoy it. Chloe so much so when we're sitting in the circle singing, she prefers to run around the outside of the circle. She still touches her knees or nose or whatever we're singing about she just prefers more movement overall.

Today, when it was time to put up the sticks Chloe did fine. Connor put his sticks away, but started bawling and this time started hitting his head on the floor. It was carpeted. Now he has a little carpet burn on his forehead.

I think my kids scared some of the other kids in class. Some of the mothers too.

Music Classes

Last week we started a four week music class. I thought I'd try the summer session and if the kids liked it we could sign up for more.

In the class we sing songs, dance, and the twins get to try different instruments. Last week it was sticks. I looked it up and put a picture below, they call them "Rhythm Sticks." They loved the sticks. However, after we sing the song and play the sticks we have to put them away...




Connor and Chloe both went nuts. Crying, running away from the teacher with the box to put the sticks in, utter chaos in music class. It wouldn't have been so bad, but all the other kids in class seem to handle putting the sticks away just fine.

As part of the class we got to take home a CD and a set of sticks for both. The teacher asked us to "practice putting them away." We've practiced and Chloe has gotten pretty good and understands we'll move on to another fun activity. Connor, however, starts to cry. He'll put the sticks away, but he sobs and then he runs over to the wall and bangs his head.

Our next class is in a few hours and I'm afraid we may have more chaos.

Summer Hat

I have a collection of sun hats we pull out when we plan to swim.  Chloe decided she loved the biggest one.

Swim Season

It's time to swim. As a matter of fact, it's already so hot here it's not fun to be outside too long without jumping in the pool. This means new swimwear for the kids.

This year Connor went with the stylish swordfish motif. Since he is so fair we opted for the long sleeve rash guard. I think he looks adorable and he seems happy in it.

Last year Chloe had a one piece with ruffles on the bottom. What I learned from that was two pieces are easier to put on and to change a diaper in. I really couldn't stand the idea of my baby in a bikini so she has swim bottoms with a rash guard top. Sea horse motif for Chloe.

Another thing I learned from last year was to get the kids' swimwear early or all the cute stuff is gone. I bought these in mid March and we didn't swim until the end of May. 

However, the wait was worth it. I think they look so cute and they love swimming.