We have had fun getting ready for Easter! This year we weren’t able to get to everything, but we had so much fun with what we did!

A super simple but cute craft we did this year was made glitter glue eggs! We started with a printout from First Pallette.  It’s best to keep things simple for these ages!

Glitter Glue Eggs:

1. First, I printed out Egg Template coloring pages on cardstock (necessary with the glitter pens) from First Pallette. 
2. Next, the kids colored them with washable markers.
3. Then, I gave the kids glitter glue pens. (These are my favorite!)
4. Since they love to load it on, it needed a couple of days to dry.
5. We cut them out!
6. Lastly, we hung them up to enjoy as our holiday art! This is important to show the kiddos    you value your their work.

I have been meaning to post about my wonderful mother-in-law’s, “Grandma School”!! Once a week she takes the oldest twins to do projects, practice reading and letter games and share her expertise-- she was a kindergarten teacher, too! They look forward to this special time and are always eager to go! I appreciate the time with the littles, especially now that I’m in my third trimester with the boys. 

Here is the activity they did for Easter this year. Adorable!!
1. Read Let’s Make Rabbits by Leo Lionni. (The story has bunnies made with wallpaper.)
2. Use colored paper for the background, grass and carrot.
3. Use pastel, floral wallpaper to cut bunny parts and glue them on. 
4. Don’t forget the googly eyes!

I’ve always loved Leo Liooni’s books and what a special treat to do this activity with their grandma! 

Click the picture to purchase online!

We have some big news to share.
We’re growing our family, again.
We know it may sound crazy to most
But little do we care.

We’re growing our family for the last time.
We thought this time
we’d just have one.
To no surprise to many,
another pair is on the way. 

Yes, that’s right- twins again!
Our third set in a row.
Half a dozen twins in a short time,
we’ll have six kids in five years!

All unique and full of love
innocent and sweet.
We’re having lots of feels right now
excitement, warmth and shock.

A big family is a dream come true
It happened really fast!
Spontaneous fraternal twins, again.
I’m officially a polar bear.
​
We’re lucky to have so many
and are excited to share,
we’re expecting... our third set of twins!

We’ll update you along the way here, at
www.halfadozentwins.com

You may think twins are so cute and innocent but the truth is they are a team from day one. Here is one of my biggest mom fails when the bigs who were almost two, teamed up on me. 

When I was a few months pregnant with the second set of twins—this happened, at 7:51 AM!
​

One morning while the kids and I were playing outside in our backyard, they headed back to the house and closed the door. So I strolled back to the door behind them, in my cozy warm robe, to find... I was locked out! They had never done this before.

I was locked out!
​

I began waving at them frantically through the glass, motioning for them to unlock the door! Before I knew it, they gave up on trying to understand, or pretending they didn’t understand, what I was saying. 

As if they had been waiting for the moment I couldn’t get to them, they pushed a chair over to the counter, together, near our coffee maker. I couldn’t believe how fast this was all happening! I began to get really nervous and didn’t know what to do.
​

I watched them push the chair over to the counter
​

They started climbing on top of the kitchen counter and all I could think of was they’re going to fall and I’m not in there! How will I get back in?!
​​

ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP PLAN TO GET BACK
INTO YOUR HOUSE WHEN YOU HAVE TODDLERS!
​

They’re going to get hurt and I’m not in there!
​

As fast as I could, I ran to three neighbor’s doors... I needed a phone, fast! It wasn’t even 8am and I was able to catch a mom at the bus stop, screaming, “Can I use your phone? My babies are locked in my house and they’re on top of the kitchen counter!“ She said she totally understood and that her toddler locked her out when she was pregnant, too!
​

I needed a phone, fast
​

I didn’t know my mother-in-law’s phone number by heart so I called my mom (who was 2,000 miles away), quickly blurted out what was happening and asked her to call my mother-in-law to come help.  My mom was able to get her right away and she rushed over with her spare key and let us in. She arrived in minutes and really saved the day!

​Thankfully, nobody had fallen or gotten hurt but I sure had an adrenaline rush! My two cuties had teamed up on me, locked me out, climbed up on the counter and played in our coffee grounds. The whole ordeal was only a few minutes but it felt like an eternity! 

My two cuties had teamed up on me, locked me out, climbed up on the counter and played in our coffee grounds. 
​

The second twins haven’t teamed up on me too bad... yet! They are at the stage (age 2 1/2) where they love to take everything out! Empty the dresser drawers on the floor, empty the silverware on the floor, empty the junk drawer on the floor. Seriously, you can’t take your eyes off of them for one second at this age! Our house is messier than ever with all four now able to get everything, that isn’t child safety locked, out on their own. They love this independence!
​

Our house is messier than ever
​

A few days ago, I got this photo of their latest unload! It happened in seriously thirty seconds or less! They did help clean them up when I did my best acting of how sad it made me, although maybe it wasn’t all that much acting.
​​

Here is one of their latest... emptying every book from the bookshelf onto the floor!

They “cleaned“ them up. It didn’t look quite the same, of course... but I was still proud they took a little ownership.

After the toddlers “cleaned up” their book dump.

This is one of the sweetest books about twins who do everything together.

This darling story about two girls who outgrow their baby blankets and sleeping together. Luckily their mother has the perfect solution. 

This board book is perfect for young twins just figuring out the twin bond. We read it over and over, again!

This bath-time book has the cutest rhymes and shows why baths are so fun with twins!

This is a really sweet book for the youngest children and is perfect for bedtime.

This adorable book with beautiful illustrations, focuses on twins also being individuals who are very different. 

This is such a cute baby twins book! 

This is a book and stuffed animal set that would be a perfect for a gift.

This book is about fraternal twins who like to get into mischief and are very different from each other. The author is a twin herself.

This twins book is about fraternal twins who may not look exactly alike. This is another twin author.

​IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, CHECK OUT:

I'd love to hear from you, what is your craziest toddler moment? Click the Comments to share!

Here are the Halloween costumes the kids wore for the last four years!
​Obviously, we’re partial to animal costumes for babies!​

Last year in 2019, we took a spirit animal quiz to decide what to dress up as! The kids were a raccoon, a deer, a skunk and a bear. Adam and I dressed up too, he was an owl and I was a butterfly but we forgot to take pictures with us in them! Oops. We love to join in the fun but keep it simple. I talk a lot about our costume traditions in the post: Halloween with Two Sets of Twins. Here is my favorite Spirit Animal Quiz if you want to take it for your kids or yourself. We had a lot of fun with it!

Our older boy loves fire trucks and wanted to dress up as a firefighter, older girl loves animals and wanted to be a dog so for Halloween 2018, we combined them for this twin duo. The babies were pumpkins because who can resist babies dressed up as pumpkins!?

​

The bigs were almost two for Halloween 2017 and it was the last one I really chose the costumes. I did base them off of their interests at the time, but they were still too little to give input. I can still remember how much they lit up when they saw themselves in the mirror for the first time.

​ 

Photo By: Sarah May

This is the bigs’ first Halloween in 2016, oh, their cheeks! We had so much fun being first time Halloween parents. I think Halloween is way more fun with kids!

​

For Halloween 2015, I was way too exhausted from the twin pregnancy to do anything but stay in! It was the year rain poured all night, causing floods so I guess it worked out to watch movies and relax, inside. I was just starting my third trimester and we watched Beetle Juice, which I hadn't seen since I was a kid. The exhaustion of a twin pregnancy isn't even describable. 

We have always loved Halloween for the excuse to dress up! Check out this throwback costume when we dressed up as Meg and Jack White of the White Stripes. This was pre-babies in 2014. We were newlyweds!

THESE ARE FIVE OF THE BEST ANIMAL YOGA POSES FOR KIDS!
​DON'T FORGET TO MAKE THE ANIMAL SOUNDS AND TAKE DEEP BREATHS.

Click the pic to order online!

This yoga book is perfect for your little ones! Through the alphabet, you will learn 26 nature and animal yoga poses!
​

I hope you enjoyed seeing our photos from the past six Halloweens! On Halloween Day, we’ll share this year’s costumes. They all picked their own out this year and I can’t wait. Don’t forget to subscribe to the email list and follow me on Instagram @twinsyogamom to see what they picked!

Next week, I’ll be sharing one of the funniest stories that ever happened with the first set of twins in Twins, They Will Team Up On You, so be sure to check it out for a good laugh. 

Halloween Traditions

Halloween Activities

Halloween Spooktacular Booklist

How Do You Do It?

Amazon has endless choices for kids and adults and can be delivered last minute! 

Click the pictures below to shop Amazon Kids Costumes!

This page contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no cost to you. ​

Pumpkin activities keep us busy all month long! Here are some of our favorites:
​

Make Pumpkin Spice Play Doh
Homemade play doh never gets old. Here is my favorite Home Made Play Doh Recipe that brings out the spicy smells of fall!​​

​​
​Orange Rice Sensory Tub
​We bury plastic spider rings and vampire teeth in a large tub of orange rice. Measuring spoons and small cups are great for pouring and “measuring”. All you have to do is add some rice, red and yellow food coloring, and vinegar to a large ziplock bag, shake and let dry. Try to use a large tub so that it's less likely to spill on the floor. If it does, be careful because spilled rice is very slippery! Perfect time to get the robotic vacuum out! This one is my favorite. The kids LOVE this activity and to me it's worth the spills.​ To make the mixture, fill a freezer strength ziplock bag with desired amount of rice. For each cup of rice, add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and yellow and red food coloring. Shake the bag until all of the rice looks like the color you're going for. The kids enjoy watching this process in addition to digging their little hands in, once it's dry and ready!
​

​Pumpkin Painting
​We love to paint some of the pumpkins we picked out at the pumpkin patch!  I like to get all of the supplies out and ready before the kids even know we're painting. Don't forget the paint, paper plates, paintbrushes, paper towels and wipes! I have them paint the small pumpkins on a paper plate so I can move them to dry, easily. For young kids, I have them strapped in their high chair to help prevent a major mess. Make sure the paint is washable! Here is my favorite kid's washable paint for painting pumpkins.

click the pic above to buy my favorite kid paint

​Pumpkin Carving
We like to take all the seeds out, carve faces, count the seeds and talk about all of the senses we’re using. Read more about our Halloween Traditions and more, here!​ Don't forget to bake the seeds for a delicious, healthy snack! Here’s how to make buttery, salty pumpkin seeds. Delicious!

​Pumpkin Lanterns
I like to give the kids a kid hammer and large number of golf tee’s to hammer into the pumpkin. It keeps them busy as they have fun, developing their hand eye coordination! When it’s done, you can carve a hat and put a battery candle inside for a glowing lantern-look. So cool! Here are links to purchase golf tee's and crab mallets which work great as kid hammers!

click the pic above to buy online

click the pic above to buy online

I’ve also added five more Halloween books to the
Spooktacular Booklist:

Click the pic above to see the Top 10 Spooktacular Books for Halloween!

We just love to get messy and artsy in the fall when the weather cools! What are some of your favorite pumpkin activities to do this time of year? I’d love to hear in the comments below!
​

Top 5 Sensory Pumpkin Activities:

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2019 Halloween Costume Photo

Spirit Animal Costumes: Skunk, Raccoon, Deer and Bear

Next week I’ll post more past Halloween Costumes!

This page contains affiliate links and I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through one of these links, at no cost to you. 

Halloween has always been one of my favorite kid holidays! From the pumpkin patch to the costumes, see how we halloween with two sets of twins! We’re still dressing up and parading but halloween will, just like everything, look a little different this year. 

The bigs pumpkin carving on their second Halloween.

• Decorate the house near October 1st- decorating is a morning activity and the kids love to join in and help! The kids decorate their own rooms and I do the mantel. It’s fun to let them be involved in how we decorate. See velvet pumpkin decoration at the end of this post.
• Buy (or Make) Costumes Early- We’ve had sooo much fun with dressing up for Halloween! Dressing young kids up as animals, especially their own spirit animal, is the cutest! I like to buy the costumes a little big, so they will definitely fit on Halloween and they can get use out of them through the year! I just add them to our costume bin, after the big day. I also like to try them on as soon as they arrive so we can make sure they fit ok and wash them beforehand. About a week before the big day, we dress up and have a photo session! This makes Halloween night so much more fun because I can just post the photo that I have already taken -- one less thing to think about! On Halloween, we get action shots and enjoy the kiddos and the fun of the day! Next week, I’m going to post photos of all four kids from past Halloween celebrations, so please check back! I like to do twin costumes but this year, they’re choosing their own so they will all be individual. 
• Pumpkin Patch- We love to go pick out our own pumpkins at the patch. Sometimes we do the hayride (this year, we're going to skip the hayride because of Covid) but we always see the animals. It is the one time of year we have donuts and cider for breakfast! 
• Pumpkin Carving- I love this! It grosses Adam out... I usually carve the pumpkins while he’s at work. We like to take all the seeds out, carve faces, count the seeds and talk about all of the senses we’re using. Some of my kiddos enjoy this more than others. It’s funny to see who takes after who with the gooey mess!
• Pumpkin Seeds- We love to bake the seeds in the oven with just a little salt and butter. Just mix them in a bowl with a couple teaspoons of butter and pinch of salt, pop them on a cookie sheet for 45 mins at 300 for a delicious and healthy snack.
• Candy- This is not my favorite part of the holiday but it is the kids’ so I try to remember to keep it light and fun! I’m usually pretty strict about refined sugar and junk food. In the past, we've let them have one piece at the end of the trick or treating event, and then one piece after dinner for a couple of weeks. The kids collect their treats in a bucket and we stash them in the pantry in individual zip lock bags. We’ll see what happens this year! 

This year, I plan to try to make our night as similar to what we do traditionally while keeping our bubble (our family, plus the four grandparents), safe. We will dress up, walk through the neighborhood, like a parade. If people leave bowls of candy at the end of the driveway, we will take one piece each but if not, we’ll just walk. I’m planning to leave a bowl at the end of our driveway and bring some candy in our stroller, just in case. We will not be going to any doors or getting within 10 feet of others. We’ll try to wave from a distance to our neighborhood friends. What will you do differently for trick or treating this year? I’d love to hear in the comments!

The grandmas and I like to get the kids cute clothes from Carter’s or Old Navy and Halloween is a perfect excuse for more cuteness! The pumpkin shirts and pants in the photos are from Carter’s and Old Navy. I love that they have nice clothes for kids but aren’t overpriced!

​Click the pic for more info or to purchase!

Velvet Pumpkin and Aunt Deb’s (Adam’s Aunt) Halloween artwork.

Halloween and fall have the CUTEST decorations. I can’t get enough of the colors and warm, spicy feelings that come with the new season. These little velvet pumpkins are adorable and definitely a halloween trend this year.

These adorable velvet pumpkins are my favorite new decoration!
Click the picture for more info or to purchase!

One of my favorite ways to get into the holiday spirit is by bringing out our Halloween and Fall books. I store the books away in the winter through the summer which makes it extra special when we take them back out. We like to try new books, too! Do you have any favorite Halloween book recommendations for us? Please let me know in the comments, below.

Here are some of my favorite Halloween books (click the pics below to order online!):

One of my favorite Halloween books is The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin. It is a story about a very special pumpkin who saves the day by being unique and not judging a book by its cover.

This book, Little Blue Truck's Halloween is from the Little Blue Truck series. I love the illustrations and the lift the flaps are sturdy enough for toddlers!

Pumpkin Soup has a lot of heart! When one of the friends from the old white cabin feels sad and leaves, the others realize they should have been nicer. They are best buds who learn to take turns and work together in this adorable book with beautiful illustrations.

I love Ten Timid Ghosts because it is a countdown book that brings numbers and number identification to storytime! The kids love the spooky story and pictures!

We love Pete the Cat, Trick or Pete from the series, Pete the Cat. There is also a Pete the Cat show on Amazon Prime that has fun, blues music. Our frogs croak when they hear the theme song. If you aren't already a Prime Member, I highly recommend Amazon Prime for many reasons including free Amazon shipping, Subscribe and Save, and Amazon Prime Shows and Movies which have great options for kids. 

Click the pic above to try Amazon Prime.

Photo By: Sarah May

I can't get enough of dressing young kids up, they're SO cute! This is a throwback from the bigs‘ first Halloween! Next week, I’ll post photos of all four of our past Halloween costumes as well as my favorite Halloween activities. Get ready for some cuteness overload!  Sign up below and never miss a post.

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​IF YOU LIKED THIS POST, CHECK OUT:
“HOW DO YOU DO IT?”
BUYING PRODUCTS THAT ARE HELPFUL
SOCK THE MADNESS
IT TAKES A VILLAGE

One question I get so often is "How do you do it?". I'm always speechless when I hear it because I don't do it alone. It really does take a village, no matter who is in your village. Our main helpers have been the grandparents, on both sides. They are lifesavers! When I first became pregnant and took a twin newborns class with my husband, I remember the teacher telling us about getting our team in place NOW! I was 6 months pregnant at the time but thought I would be fine! Since I had nannying experience and teaching experience, I figured I could multitask and I was going to raise these two babies as independently as possible! HA! Was I in for a surprise... I still like to keep control and be "CMO: Chief Mom Officer", but I've learned it makes everyone's life so much more pleasant to let the control go every once and a while.

Letting go of control is a big way I stay calm and centered among the chaos of two sets of twins.

The Village:

Daddy- I think the hubby has to be your number one teammate. A supportive spouse is nice to have but when you're pregnant or nursing newborn twins, there is a unique urgency. My husband, Adam and I, grew closer through the challenge. He worked tirelessly along with me to make sure I always had what I needed whether it be a glass of water, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the middle of the night (pregnancy cravings!) or a foot rub. While I was pregnant and nursing, he took care of me so I could take care of the growing babies. He's also very calm which has really come in handy in our circumstances.

The Grandparents- We are so lucky to have four wonderful grandparents that have helped us through many of the difficulties of having two sets of twins, in two years. One of the hardest times we've had parenting so far were the two months before and six months after the second set were born. Imagine having two babies when you already have two babies! The 'bigs', as I like to call them, had barely turned two when the littles were born. Both were still in diapers, I was going to have four in diapers at the same time! Both were sleeping in cribs, so toward the end of the pregnancy, I couldn't even lift them out of their cribs! I felt like a whale and could barely walk for the last month. It was a pretty extreme situation. My husband was only able to take a couple of weeks off of work for the second sets' birth, so I was pretty desperate for helpers. Luck and love was on our side.

We are so fortunate to have my Adam’s Parents help us and be on back up, anytime. When my parents weren’t living in town, they helped cover the hour I teach yoga, regularly and have been a huge part of all four kids’ lives. They also helped so much with the important date night relief and let us take time to ourselves, if we asked.

When my parents were still living far away, a good friend of Adam’s mom, who lives five houses down the street from us, offered to let my parents move in while she temporarily moved out of state. They stayed for the time that I really needed them- the last two months of the pregnancy and were on call for the littles' first six months of life. For my parents to do this and for our neighbor to let them rent her house was a life saver for us! I would have lost my mind completely if it weren't for my parents and Adam's parents being so close. Adam's parents were very helpful when it came to the delivery time, too! They took care of the bigs when we were at the hospital having the littles. I am so thankful for all four of the grandparents helping us.

Both of our parents cooked weekly meals for us while the littles were newborns which helped so much with getting enough calories. None of the grandparents took a night shift for us and even though the extra sleep would have been amazing, I think it actually helped us get through sleep training, more quickly. I liked being the only one who bonded with them during the night. For me it was important to be the one there for them. But the first set was HARD!! We were like zombies! They woke us up so much and so often and never at the same time! On top of that one only took 20 minute cat naps during the day. We learned so much about how to get sleep and how important a good night's sleep is that by the time we had the second set of twins, it was actually pretty easy. We couldn't believe the difference the experience of sleep training the first set, made.

Auntie Love- My music educator sister likes to send cute clothes, musical instruments and educational toys for the kids. We are a music loving family and she helps us with ideas, songs and understanding the many benefits of music in the home. She also spoiled me with a care package during pregnancy and a Robotic Mop that I LOVE! Robotic cleaners have helped so much (check out my favorite robotic cleaners and home products here)!
​

My Favorite Robot Mop

​Delivery Services- I've never been the biggest fan of grocery shopping, even when I just shopped for myself! Now that there are six in the family, we need help. I'm sure some amazing women (you know who you are!) can keep track of their list and go to the store with their whole crew and rock it! This is not one of my strengths nor do I enjoy lugging my kids through the grocery store, so I use Instacart, Prime Delivery, Prime Subscribe and Save (link below),  and DoorDash regularly. If you aren't using these delivery services yet, and you feel overwhelmed by all of the household needs or just don't want to spend precious time at the grocery store, please give them a try!
​

Try my favorite Grocery Delivery Service, Instacarat:

Instacart has SAVED us so many times from running out of diapers to stocking our big family up on food when we have no time left to stop at the store! I love that Instacart delivers from a variety of stores. They even deliver from petstores! We're not even Costco members but we love to order Costco from Instacart and enjoy all of the bulk items and delicious frozen foods like their frozen chicken fried rice. 
​

Doordash is our favorite restaurant delivery service. We’ve tried them all and I love doordash because they are the most reliable, have the best restaurants, including local and they’ve never canceled on us. Try it out!

​One of our delivery must haves, Amazon Subscribe and Save has made keeping up with household items simple for me. As long as you subscribe to five items in the month, you get 15% off of diapers (Pampers are my favorite). You can interchange which five items but I have the biggest box of diapers and wipes, every month. You can add most household goods: laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, napkins, you name it and they have lots of brands to choose from. It is so nice to not have think about what you're almost out of ever again! Amazing and simple, your favorite brand household items just show up on your doorstep before you even need them. I never thought I would need this kind of service before kids but now I wouldn't live without it. It's nice to have one less (BIG) thing to keep track of in the chaos of parenting two sets of twins! Click the link below to learn more and sign up for Amazon Prime and Amazon Subscribe and Save.

(Try Amazon Subscribe and Save by clicking the link above)

Amazon Prime Family Membership: Program offers special benefits including:
*Save 20% on diapers subscriptions
*Exclusive Coupons and Deals from Amazon Family *Exclusive Baby Registry benefits
*FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
*Unlimited instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows
​*Unlimited, ad-free streaming of over a million songs and more Prime benefits

Robotic Cleaners- A cleaning crew or person isn't really my thing but if I didn't have help, I would have to sweep twice a day (4 toddlers throw a lot of food on the floor!), clean the toilet every other day and vacuum the whole house, daily. I have so many other things I like to do that aren't cleaning so we invested in some cleaning robots. I love to push the button and leave! We'll leave them on and go hang out in the backyard after the kids are down or turn one on right before I leave the house. It's so satisfying to know that little machine is cleaning our house while I am enjoying a little freedom! I'd love to hear if you have some favorite automatic cleaners or other devices you use to clean the home. Please let me know in the comments. ​

Robot Mop

Wet Mopping Pads (10-Pack)

Robot Vacuum

STAYING AS ORGANIZED AS POSSIBLE
Let's be real, my house is not as organized and perfectly clean as I wish it was. I am continuously working to keep our home organized and ahead of the next stage. All of the items that come along with having four young ones pile up fast! I love the organization guru, Marie Kondo and have tried to incorporate some of her techniques but not all of them work for large, young families. Here are some of my favorite organization products that help me stay sane: Organization Must Haves.

Laundry- When we had one set of twins, we did our best to keep the drawers stocked with clean and folded laundry. After the second set came along, we had to rethink that strategy! Now we use this awesome laundry cart that lives in our laundry room. The coolest thing though is that you can roll the whole thing or just bring a bag into a bedroom to deliver clothes to the dresser! I’ll admit, for the most part we throw them in, not folded. At least everything is clean and organized! I have to do at least one load per day to keep up with all six of us. I like to start it first thing in the morning, move it around lunch and sort into the bags. It works out for us. Do you have any laundry tips for big families? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

When you’re a new mom, there is often a biological urge to forget about yourself completely and devote every ounce of your energy to your new love or loves! As time goes on you either start making time for yourself again or you stay in that same frame of one hundred percent devoted energy to your children. I don’t think it’s healthy to completely lose yourself to the point of neglecting your own basic needs. When I am finally able to take some time for myself, it doesn’t matter what I do, as long as I have the time to myself. How important, to just have a few thoughts to myself. Sometimes I’ll meditate in the yard or just look something up that I’m interested in. A yoga class or an outing, even just to run an errand, is a treat and I try to enjoy the solo time when I get the chance. When I drive without the kids, I play my favorite Jazz station and take my time, just letting my mind finally have a chance to wander.

Here are a few of the ways I’ve learned how to make time for myself with four young kiddos:

​Independent Playtime- I started making independent playtime part of our regular routine, when the first two were about nine months old. I make sure this is a positive, fun and safe experience that help the kids gain independence and confidence in themselves. When they were very young, I surrounded them with their favorite toys, played fun music and cheerfully told them, “I’ll be right back”. I started with only a few minutes at a time and as they grew more confident with me out of their sight, I would add a minute or two, building their independent playtime stamina. While away, I would order groceries, change the laundry, sit and have a breather, whatever I needed. I always listen carefully and make sure their room is completely baby proofed. Sometimes during independent playtime, especially when they are very young, I listen or watch through the monitor if necessary. Now that they are four and two, all four are completely happy having independent playtime on their own or together, while I get a little done around the house. When I come back, most of the time everyone is fresh and in good spirits from the little down time and break.

Grandparent Play Dates- It has been so wonderful to have Adam’s parents or mine take the kids on a weekly basis for a few hours so I can have time to take care of things and honestly, catch my breath. If grandparents aren’t an option, a sitter or nanny will do!

Relaxing Evenings- We make sure all of the chores are done before the kids go to sleep so we can relax and recover after they go down! One of our routines that really helps with this, is the way we do bedtime. I sing and rock one baby to sleep at a time while the kids play with Adam. When I sing and rock the second baby to sleep, Adam reads the first book to the bigs. When I come out, I read the second book to the bigs and Adam does the dishes. The dishes are done, books are read, four kids are down, all in about twenty minutes. Then, right when the kids are tucked in, we start our parent only, relaxation time.

Hatch Baby Mornings- This has been one of the best products I’ve discovered that I didn’t know about before I was a parent. This awesome device is a night light, sound machine and the best part of all, it changes colors however you set it, so your child knows if it’s time to rise! It can even be controlled from your phone through the Hatch Baby App! For us, at bedtime a soft yellow light goes on and stays on all night and at 7am the light turns blue and the kids know morning is here and it’s time to wake up. We have a water sound set for the sound machine to help block out noises. If they wake up and the yellow light is still on, they can either go back to sleep or play or read quietly until the light turns blue. This has been an amazing, life changing product for our family. I know it’s a little pricey, but for me it is worth every penny!

Napping/Rest Time- Nap time is so necessary, not just for the kids to have some down time to recharge but for me, too. We have a routine that I don’t stray from. Songs and rocking for the littles and two books for the bigs and down they all go. Now that the bigs don’t actually sleep, I give them quiet activities during their rest time. Sometimes an audio book, a puzzle, beads, train tracks, etc. We use the Hatch Baby for nap time in addition to the mornings, which helps the kids know when rest time is over. Check out my favorite Quiet Time Activities, here:
QUIET TIME ACTIVITIES

Featured Activites: Train Track Set and Fuse Beads

My favorite Train Set, endless fun!

Fuse Beads- this set comes with a mermaid and a unicorn!
Adult Supervision (ages 3&up)

This is a throwback! First date night after the bigs were born. They were one month old. We went to our favorite pub and the grandparents took care of them. I remember I texted at least twice to make sure everything was going ok with my newborn babies.

Flowers and Romance- Call me old fashioned, but I LOVE flowers. We have the sweetest neighbor who is a wonderful gardner and likes to share little vases of flowers, like these beautiful dahlias. She sets up a table and about 15 mini vases and says “Free, Enjoy your Day!” It is the sweetest gesture!! We have been able to have flowers almost all summer long because of her generosity and thoughtfulness. I love how flowers add romance to any dinner. They just make you feel good to look at and the fact that they come from a place in someone’s heart (who doesn’t even charge for them!) makes them even sweeter. 

​A perfect example how I try not to sweat the small stuff is how I don’t fold laundry anymore. If it’s clean, I’m happy. Sorted, even happier. In the drier and clean and dry, that’s okay, too. 

The differences in how I’ve started out with the two sets of twins are another example. With the first set, I tried to soothe using anything but bottles and pacifiers. Though later, they needed bottles anyway. With the second set, I started them from day one with pacifiers (loved that decision!) and they never had a bottle in their life! It’s so funny how you can have an idea of how things will go before you have kids and then in reality, you learn how to let go and not sweat the small stuff!

A Ladybug!

Nature Walks

An example of our “Toddler Schedule”. Pictures help them follow along!

I know it makes me sound and feel old and boring, but we would not have a harmonious family if it weren’t for structure, consistency and rules. The kids know what is expected and we try our best to be consistent in our expectations and consequences. When they don’t follow the expectations, there are consequences and that is just a matter of fact. I try my best to keep the emotion out of the discipline and the choice on them while showing I love them. I learned a lot about the Love and Logic Method as an early childhood teacher and I believe this is the best and most kind way to bring structure and discipline to a classroom and to families while still bonding and nurturing the relationship.

We do a lot of assembly line style parenting! 4 bowls at snack time, 4 milks- ready to go and we even bathe them and have them brush teeth together. Sometimes it feels like we have quads!

House Rules:

1 Kindness First- No Hurting Each Other
2 No playing with the doors (a constant problem and tiny fingers)
3 Help with family jobs
4 Listen the first time

These cover almost everything and if they aren’t followed, they get an age appropriate time out (minute/year of age) or we will take away something fun (outside time, a show, books before bed, etc.) We try to save these consequences and use them sparingly. I’m lucky that time out is still so effective for my children but I don’t overuse it. 

My Favorite Discipline Strategies:

Love And Logic

Dr. Phelan’s 1,2,3, Magic

I also love to give warnings before most transitions, “We’re going to clean up to go bye-bye in 2 minutes.” Or “Pretty soon, we’re going for a walk, does everyone have their shoes on?” This can really set kids up for success when they know what to expect with transitions.

What are your favorite ways to use positive discipline at home? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

Consistency:
I learned very early on, during my first year of teaching kindergarten, and I’ve never forgotten, how important follow through and consistency are with young kids. They are constantly testing you and that’s their job! They’re wired to see what they can do and what is unacceptable.  Consistency is key- if one day you give a 4 minute time out or take away a privelage for certain behavior, then next day they should expect the same reaction. This should be across the board, every time! I know it’s hard to do this, I have trouble for sure! Sometimes I’m more tired or less patient and sometimes I’m feeling like I really don’t care but I know I have to at least try to be consistent.

Follow Through:
This is so similar! If you give a warning with a possible consequence, “If you do this again, you’ll have to go inside and miss out.” They will sometimes do the thing again, sometimes to test you, sometimes just because it’s that fun... either way, you HAVE to follow through. I still have to remind myself of this constantly! 

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​Even though we do have consequences, I know and I’ve seen that what works best is Positive Discipline. When the kids are learning a new skill like potty training or working on a behavior like treating the siblings kindly, I love to use positive discipline charts. I just draw a really basic grid and say, if you earn five stars, you get to do something special. I have learned that a non material reward works best, like having a “painting party” or a special lunch date with the grandparents or making our own play doh. Working toward something makes them feel proud and builds confidence. It also makes you feel better than saying stop doing that, repeatedly and you can usually get them to choose an activity that you’d like them to do anyway! Please feel free to comment how you stay calm in the chaos of parenting, below!
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The weather is beginning to get a little cooler and socks are a must every day, now. Going from barefoot, summer, care free days to brisk, cool sunshine can be more stressful with many young children. Not only are there jackets, hats, gloves, boots, scarves and all kinds of warm clothes to put on, now there are the dreaded... the loathed... socks! Creating chaos, with me turning the house upside down trying to find four pairs of matching socks!

Have you ever noticed that the cutest baby socks they sell always come in packs which every single pair is different!? It's maddening! This has driven me crazy since the bigs were less than 6 months old... Well I'm done! I can't take it anymore! The sock chaos has driven me to the point that no matter how cute those little animal faces are, I'm never buying them again! 

Here is the answer... lots and lots and lots of the same color socks! It's so simple and the switch over has already been a lifesaver. I bought all black, with grips for the bigs and all gray, with grips in a smaller size for the littles and now there is sock harmony in our home... 

Sorry kids... the simplicity of all matching socks makes such a difference when you're getting ready to go somewhere and can only find 10 non-matching socks! When you have four children, three and under sometimes simplicity wins and in our home, sock simplicity is one win that keeps mom happy day in day out! It also, of course simplifies the laundry/put away steps, too. ​I keep two bins, one with the gray socks for the littles, one with the black socks for the bigs and these bins are kept out of reach. It's also really important to have PLENTY of pairs so you aren't short when they inevitably start getting lost- behind furniture, in the car, diaper bag and everywhere else. I bought two sets of nine for each set of twins... yes, that's 36 tiny gray socks and 36 small black socks. Sock simplicity...

Why didn't I do this sooner!? It's the little things that make life just a little simpler and help me spend more time enjoying the kiddos!

Click the sock photos to purchase my favorite socks for big families!

Zaples Non Grip Socks
(one color for each age!)

Another “teacher trick” I learned before I had kids of my own is whenever you don’t know what to do or how to keep children happy, just open a book or sing to them. It works, every time! I’ve had experiences where I wait in the car with all four while Adam ran into the store and two start crying and the other two are fighting and what saves the day? Singing! And Books! EVERY TIME! It’s the best cure, cheers everyone up, distracts and before you know it, Daddy’s back and we’re on the road again. I keep a stash of books and toys in the van for these times.

When I became pregnant with the second set of twins, I discovered our city’s local Jazz Music Radio Station which plays a nice combination of classic jazz and modern jazz. It was so soothing to me while I was pregnant that I didn’t change the station for two years! Now, when driving, I only listen to Jazz which is calming but also makes me feel two generations older than I am. I still have memories of my grandparents driving me as a child and they listened to exclusively Jazz in the car. Now, my kids even know how to request it on our Amazon device, “Alexa, play Jazz Music”. I love the way many jazz songs highlight different instruments and the kids and I can talk about the different instruments we hear, in the car or at home.

We use the Amazon unlimited music for 7.99/month. It’s awesome! We listen every day, they have everything you can think of and you can just tell your device what to play! “Alexa, play kid music by Lisa Loeb” or at nap time, “Alexa, play soft jazz.” I love that it is so easy to incorporate music into your daily life. Sometimes I think of a song I loved from a long time ago like “Lightning Crashes” or “There is So Much More” and since it popped in my head and I’m holding a baby, I can still play it, using voice command. I also love that it is completely Ad free and you can listen offline with unlimited skips. It even includes podcasts which is nice, too if you want to catch up on your favorite show. This is a nice way to catch up on the news or a favorite talk show without the unnecessary screen time. Click the link below to get Amazon Unlimited Music with a 30 day free trial. This is another thing that improves our life and in our mind is worth every penny!

Try Out Amazon Music Unlimited: