Sleepy Time Lullaby

Things have been a little busy around here (as you can tell from my lack of recent posts). I just studied for and recently took a humongous exam. I also had a group of really good friends and their kids stay with us over Thanksgiving week. The twins loved having kids their own age around — someone to play with from the time they wake up to the time they fall asleep. The only thing was, after our friends left, the twins’ normal schedule (as well as those of their friends, I’m sure) kind of got off-track. One of the difficulties was trying to get them to sleep on time.

When it’s time to go to sleep, I usually turn everything off and dim the lights. I turn on the lullaby music and tell my boys that it’s “sleepy time”. Sometimes they try to play with me. I try to be very boring and unexciting. Eventually they realize that they are tired and maybe sleeping is a better idea than trying to play with don’t-wanna-play-right-now Mommy. People seem to be incredulous when I tell that generally, the boys take their naps at the same time. But I’ve been mostly successful at putting them to sleep one after the other.

Since they were very young, the boys have been used to watching lullabies on Youtube to help them sleep. And later on, they became used to listening to lullabies as they fall asleep (and all night long with the lullabies softly playing in the background). It works really well with them. At nap time, I turn on the lullabies and pretty soon they start getting sleepy. It even works when they’re in the car and we play lullabies to help them sleep. But I guess it works because they associate sleep with the lullabies.  What do you do to help your kids fall asleep?

One of the lullabies that my twins like is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” so a few friends and I thought it fitting to create another animated video featuring this song. The twins love it. I hope your kids like it as much as mine do. I thought our friend (who sang the title song as well as created the animation), Rico, did a phenomenal job. Enjoy!

Using Youtube

I’m a great proponent of technology and you can even see that in the way I interact with my sons. We regularly use our devices (iPhone, iPad and the laptop) to play with our kids. We especially like using Youtube.

At first, I was skeptical of using Youtube for my sons. I  mean, do two-month-olds really understand any of that? But we initially used Youtube to play them lullabies because we didn’t have any of our own lullaby music yet. And also, we used Youtube to play them Filipino nursery rhymes and children’s songs. We wanted to expose them to some of the songs we knew as children and this would not have been possible without Youtube.

Over time, as the boys appreciated the videos more and more, we were able to do action songs with them. In fact, one of the first action songs they learned was Itsy Bitsy Spider and The Wheels on the Bus. Using Youtube not only was a great way to interact with the boys but also was a great teaching tool. It was with the help of Youtube (and Mommy and Daddy singing and acting out the songs over and over again) that they learned to do the action songs. Plus, they really enjoy it! More than once, I catch one of my twins doing the actions of the song when he hears it play.

So if the boys enjoy it and its available to them, why not use it? (Of course, this also means using it in moderation. Read: not all day, everyday.) It has saved my sanity more than once. (Scenario: Boys screaming and I have to cook dinner? Want to watch some Youtube videos, boys?)

It is with this line of thinking that a few friends and I decided to create our own Wheel on the Bus animated video. It’s our first effort but I think we did a really good job. Let me know what you think!

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Taking Out Tots

One of the challenges of having a toddler is making sure he or she has enough energy-burning activities during the day. In other words, you want to make sure your toddler had enough exercise during the day so he or she will fall asleep easily at night. Okay, easy enough. But what if you have twins and you have to take them out by yourself?

This is still a challenge for me and my husband.We thought this was difficult when the boys were little babies, but it’s even more difficult to control toddlers! One night, we went to a Super Target for a quick trip and the boys were walking all over the place. Lorenzo, in particular, did not want his hand to be held and wanted to walk wherever he pleased (and not necessarily where we needed to go). My husband and I would just quickly look at each other and wordlessly (something that can only be achieved by eleven years of marriage) agree who would run after who. It was so difficult. I can’t imagine going there by myself! Maybe I can manage it if the boys either sit on the shopping carts or on the stroller. But I don’t think we can go in there with both of them walking. My husband feels the same way. Although I’ll probably feel differently when the boys get a little older and are able to understand (and follow) general instructions such as “Don’t run in the parking lot!”

I’m not complaining. At least now I am able to load the walking toddlers into the car at the same time — without much fuss. We just simply walk up to the car and I put them both into the car at the same time. (One baby stands inside the car as I buckle the first one in.)

I used to have to employ their old Jumperoo toy (see photo above) when putting both non-walking but older babies in the car. It was a whole process:

Step 1: Open garage door. Open door leading to the garage. Load baby bag and other necessities in the car. Leave the car door open. Position Jumperoo in front of door leading to the garage.

Step 2: Put Baby#1 (aka as Ignacio just because his car seat is positioned behind the passenger seat) in Jumperoo.

Step 3: Put Baby#2 (aka as Lorenzo) in his car seat, which is positioned behind the driver’s seat. This is strategic so Ignacio can not only still see me (and vice versa) but also is actually just about three feet away from me.

Step 4: Take Baby#1 in Jumperoo and put him in his car seat. Meanwhile, Baby#2 can see me from his seat the whole time.

Step 5: Lock the house. Close car door. Get in the car and drive away. Oops, don’t forget to close the garage door.

It seems like such a funny and drawn-out process but it was so effective (and efficient) for me! I guess when you have twins (or kids for that matter), you just do what you gotta do!

If you have two little ones (not necessarily twins) how do you prepare to go out? Leave a comment, I would love to hear from you!

Life is good

Lately, my mind seems to be running a mile a minute. It’s like I wake up thinking, ” Okay, I need to do this and this…” Then at the end of the day, I fall asleep thinking, “Okay, tomorrow I need to work on this and this…” Not that I’m complaining. I like being productive. But it does seem kind of exhausting.

Then, as if to wake me up, I glance over to my sons and the world stops. I notice Lorenzo’s long, dark eyelashes and his steady breathing as he sleeps. Or Ignacio stops playing just long enough to squeal with delight and come running to embrace me. Or sometimes, when I find myself so worn out that I am laying down on the carpet as the boys play, Lorenzo comes over, burrows his way into the crook of my arm, embraces me and just contentedly watches TV with me this way. Then I take a deep, long sigh and I think, “Life couldn’t be better.”

“Twogether”

No, its not a typo. I intentionally wrote “twogether”, as in two-together.

Yesterday, my family and I went to the park to get some exercise. My husband happened to bring along my old camera and handed it to me to take some shots. I took a few good ones. But there’s this particular one that he liked so much, he spent a good deal of time working on it. He emailed it to me.

It’s true though. These boys have been together since day one. Since they were mere cells, they have been together. Spent 35 weeks or so together in my tummy. Just one incubator apart in the NICU, but still side by side. And now playing, fighting and loving together. In other words, two-together — twogether.

Even though they fight a lot, I can see their fondness for each other. When I go to the doctor bringing just Lorenzo, he looks over at Ignacio’s car seat and then at me as if to say, “Where’s my brother?” Yesterday, after having a huge fight over one of their toys, Lorenzo fell asleep. I thought Ignacio would be happy playing with said toy but instead he looked up at me as if to say, “It’s not the same playing without my brother.”

I wonder what they think of each other. I wonder if they realize that they are brothers and that they share the same parents. More than once, when I’m holding one baby and the other baby comes along seeking attention, the baby in my arms will try to swat away the newcomer. I have to say, “I’m his Mommy too.” I wonder if they understand.

I hope they become great friends when they grow up. I hope they stand up for each other and cheer each other on. I hope they realize and appreciate the special bond they share. I hope they know how much we love them.

Dividing Time

As I write this, I am sitting at the dining table and drinking my coffee. The boys are still down for their morning nap, although I’m pretty sure they’ll be up (and very hungry) soon.

It’s now five minutes later and the boys are awake and are currently enjoying their favorite breakfast – Cheerios.  Thankfully, they already feed themselves (at least with their fingers) so while I am typing away; they are happily watching Team Umizoomi as they eat.

One of the challenges of being a Mom is dividing time between Mom duties (changing diapers, kissing booboos, playing Peek-a-boo and refereeing conflicts, among others) and other duties (in my case, housework, blogging and research on an upcoming project). If this wasn’t hard enough, imagine doing this for TWO babies who are the same age and have more or less the same needs. (It would be a different challenge I imagine, if I had two kids of different ages.) I can’t imagine how OctoMom does it or even Kate (as in Kate Plus Eight).

True, it’s a lot easier now that they have some measure of independence.  It’s not as tedious as it was when they came home from the hospital. (I still haven’t recovered from all the sleep loss after the boys were born.)

Nacho and Enzo at one-week old, just home from the hospital.

But here are some things that I do to keep myself from going crazy:

1. It is okay not to be able to do everything.

Repeat this to yourself over and over. Breathe. If there are dishes to be washed and laundry to be folded but the babies are screaming their heads off, breathe. Accept that you can’t do everything.  Instead of worrying about having a spotless house, enjoy spending time with your child.

2. Prioritize.

You need to prioritize. What’s more important? Feeding the babies or washing the dishes? I always take care of whatever the babies need first. For example, I periodically wash their bottles throughout the day but wait until after dinner to wash the rest of the dirty dishes.

I’m a list person. Before I had kids, I had post-its for everything. I like to know what I’m doing each day and what I’ve already accomplished. Obviously, this all went down the toilet the minute my boys arrived. I didn’t even have time to write anything down! So just to keep my sanity, I mentally list just one to three main tasks I need to complete each day – for example: continue my research, fold the laundry and go to the supermarket. This way, a) I remember my daily tasks and b) I actually feel like I finished something at the end of the day. I only write one to three tasks because more than this and chances are it won’t be completed. And I’ll just feel guilty.

3. Don’t forget me time.

I feel like a lot of Moms get burned out because they don’t spend any time on themselves. It’s important to have at least weekly me time. It could be as simple as taking a few hours to go to your favorite store for some retail therapy or reading a book or even taking a 15-minute soak in the tub. It’s important to detach yourself sometimes in order to recharge your batteries.

4. Use your kid’s downtime to your advantage.

When the boys were little, my Mom used to tell me to sleep when they sleep. Of course, you had to when they were waking up every three hours and it took one hour to feed one and then the other. Nowadays, unless I’ve had a bad night (like if one of the boys woke up screaming at 2am and wouldn’t sleep until 4am), I don’t use the babies’ nap time to catch up on some sleep. I use it to do other chores I can’t normally do when the boys are awake – like take a shower or do some writing.

5. Enjoy your kids.

A very good friend of mine once told me that you usually get more enjoyment out of other people’s kids. At the time, my babies were just a few months old, and I couldn’t quite understand. But what she meant was, sometimes we worry too much about our kids – are they getting enough nutrition? Are they on point developmentally? – that we forget to just enjoy being with them. And it’s so true! With other people’s kids, you’re free to just enjoy playing with them or holding them. Someone else is worrying about their well-being.

I don’t claim to be an expert about mommy time management. But one thing I learned so far, your children are babies only for a little while. They grow up so fast. My babies are boys now.

So as a Mom, you need to remind yourself that your children are not going to remember if you did the laundry or washed the dishes, they’re going to remember that you spent time with them.

Have a good weekend!

Where is Enzo?

My sons love to play peekaboo. One of their favorite games is to play it while running around me. (I am literally sitting, kneeling or standing in one place and the twins run around me.) They play it with Daddy, with me and even with each other. Sometimes, I would just find one of the boys hiding behind something (usually the sofa or the basketball post) waiting for me to say, “Where is Enzo?” (or Nacho as the case may be). And then he would squeal with laughter. Priceless.

Here is Lorenzo hiding under the bed and playing with his Daddy while working on the iPad. Talk about multitasking!

The Red Sticks

I know that “the Red Sticks” seem like a strange name for a Mommy blog. It seems more appropriate for a rock band (sporting red hair!) or a Chinese restaurant (as in the Red Chopsticks). But believe it or not, the title of my blog refers to my twin boys, Lorenzo and Ignacio.

For some reason, both boys seem to be particularly attracted to the color red. It probably has nothing to do with their red stroller, their red car seats or their array of red clothes. Nor the fact that their Mom’s favorite color is, in fact, the color red. (I’m being sarcastic here, in case you didn’t know.) So it comes as no surprise that they like toys that are red.

The boys have this toy hammering block from IKEA which has a series of sticks in various colors. There are only two red sticks and my boys love, love, love the red sticks.

These are their favorite toys!  They go everywhere – to the bathtub when they take their bath, to bed when they go to sleep and even in the car when we are driving somewhere. Unfortunately, because these sticks go everywhere, we also tend to lose them. If there’s only one red stick left, then be prepared for a lot of tantrums and fighting. We’ve actually already bought three sets of this hammering block just so there’s always a red stick for each boy.

But I’ve noticed that they actually like any red stick-like toy. Like today, Ignacio spent the whole day clutching a red Duplo Lego block. He had it in his hands from church to lunch to the supermarket and on the way back home.  When we go to the Children’s Museum in Houston, they like to clasp these red crystal sticks found in the TotSpot section.

So when it came time to name my blog, I thought of using a title that was both personal and reminded me of the two most important little boys in my life. Consider this a welcome of sorts to my blog. In the coming posts, I hope to share with you the highs and lows of being Momma to these Red Sticks. Have a great week ahead!

Photo courtesy of Ikea.

Becoming “Mom”

It took my husband, Glenn, and I forever to have kids. Nine years to be exact. Someday I’ll tell you all the details but today let it suffice to say that it took us down a long and arduous road.

And after nine long years of marriage, I was pregnant with — surprise! — twin boys. When these boys were born, they became the loves of our lives. Not only was I a mommy at last — but I was also the mommy of two, very different, and very strong-willed beautiful boys. I’m still learning the ropes but one thing I do know after 17 months of mommyhood — it is not easy. Nope. Anyone who tells you otherwise probably has never been a Mom herself.

During the nine years we were trying to have kids, people used to tell me that “you won’t understand until you’re a Mom yourself.” And it always used to bother me, like it excluded me somehow. But now I do understand. And I know they’re right.