Twin love. #twins #myloves #myheart (at Our House!)
Filtering by Tag: twins
The Disney Cruise!!!
Our 5-year old twins went on a cruise. I’ve never been on a cruise so my kids actually did something before me. Yikes, what’s next?
Tere and I spent our last night of true, kid-freedom very seriously. First, I went on a quick 30-mile bike ride and then rushed home to shower and change before our friends Vickie and Diana arrived to take us on an “adventure”. We had no idea where we were going, what we would be doing, or more importantly, what we would be eating. After 30 minutes in the car and lots of guessing, we arrived at a non-descript warehouse district in Gardena.
I saw it immediately and sort of blurted out – “we’re going Go Kart racing”! And we in fact, did race Go Karts! It was an indoor course with electric Go Karts and loads of fun. We had to strap on helmets and wear these ski-mask looking things over our heads. I was the fastest out of the four of us but we were the slowest out of our entire group. Some 12-year old came in first as if we were standing still. We checked out an amazing Italian restaurant and then settled in for the trip home. Later that night we went to a late night 21+ showing of an R-rated movie with a very happy crowd of hipsters laughing at things that weren’t exactly funny…because they were all drunk! It was fun to be out and about a little bit. READ MORE
Quiet House
Our almost 5-year old twins have left the building…like Elvis. They charged out and didn’t even look back, knowing the devastation they left in their wake. I guess this is how it goes as our kids get older and find more and more independence.
Right now they’re on a Disney cruise in Mexico. They’re eating anything they want, swimming in all three pools every day, sleeping in bunk beds, petting dolphins, snorkeling and generally giving their grandparents a run for their money. I wonder if my parents will come back exhausted and never volunteer to do that again! I’ve been debating about sending the kids twice this coming summer to spend some extended time with my Mom and Dad. This trip will tell us if that’s a good idea or not. I’m sure it’s fine. They’re fine. My parents are probably having so much fun with three kids to dote on and spoil.
I’m not worried about them. I’m worried about US! READ MORE
It’s All My Fault Anyway aka Parenting is Hard!
It’s that time of year when everyone starts asking what school your kids are going to in the fall. Here on the west side of Los Angeles, it’s all about the private schools. Crossroads, New Roads, John Thomas Dye, Wildwood, Curtis…the list goes on and on. Picking the right one seems impossible.
Which brings me to the impossible-ness (I know that’s not a real word) of being a parent. This parenting thing is hard. Super hard actually. Every decision we make has an effect, makes a mark and leaves an impression. I was going to say that even before they’re born, we make decisions for our children, which is true. Some parents, like us, make decisions even further back while picking out a sperm donor. Now of course, every mother picks a sperm donor, just most of them marry him instead of selecting him from a catalog, paying for his stuff and taking it to the doctor’s office in a cryo can. READ MORE
Happy Birthday To Me!
My birthday was yesterday. I’ve turned another year older and now I have to really think about how old I am when someone asks me. I hate that transition every year when I can’t really remember how old I am; or am I just conveniently confused? I don’t know which it is but it keeps happening.
Tere’s birthday is next month and then the twins the month after that. We always have a busy opening of every year. Lots of milestones to remind us of our growth. The kids keep getting taller. I’m getting a little grayer. And somehow, Tere keeps getting thinner. READ MORE
Snow Bunnies
Our holidays were a bit more “eclectic” – that’s code for crazed and disjointed – than usual this year. We spent Thanksgiving here in Los Angeles with our exquisite friends Vickie and Diana with a pre-dinner on Thanksgiving Eve of Joe’s Stone Crab flown in from Miami, a fresh corn salad, and key lime pie. We’ve done this before and so we thought we would excel at cracking those hard claws open. We were not. We had stone crab parts all over the kitchen and that was before we brought in the hammer! Our friends came back for what we can easily say was the most beautiful turkey we’ve ever seen. It was also the most expensive…EVER. I swear someone must have massaged it every day with some sort of special oil because nothing you eat, no matter how free-range it is should cost that much. READ MORE
Christmas Through a Kid’s Eyes
I’m not sure if it really matters if you celebrate Christmas or not. It’s the whole holiday season. It’s awesome and I think we all get into it a bit. I’m a little nicer, more charitable and maybe for a few weeks I put away any bad attitude that’s creeped in. In our family, we consume copious amounts of food and I actually think drinking those Starbucks holiday drinks is a good idea. (Oh the calories!) When I lived back East, it was cold and it often snowed for Christmas. There were travel delays, slushy streets, cold feet, and warm fires. But the food – oh, the food! I love the food my mom, aunt, and grandmothers would cook. Although it is great, it doesn’t have to be. Their food – the smells, the high fat content – all tell me I’m home. READ MORE
I love anything Jonathan Adler does!!!
How to Make Poop Groovy
You don’t need us to tell you there’s nothing fabulous about diaper duty. Everyone knows that shit stinks.
But thanks to a collaboration between design guru Jonathan Adler and the baby geniuses at Skip Hop, your diaper bag doesn’t have to.
The just-launched diaper bag collection incorporates JA’s iconic mod patterns with Skip Hop’s fail-proof organizational prowess, so each carryall is as fetching as it is functional.
Skip Hop’s full-size Duo and Dash bags have been Adler-ized and include coordinating zip cases and laminated changing pads. The smaller Pronto changing station also gets an Adler-esque upgrade, packing a wallop of whimsy into each pint-size package.
If nothing else, you’ll look good when doodie calls.
Available online at skiphop.com, $34-$80.
Parent Teacher Conferences
When did school become so hard? And pre-school none the less! Isn’t pre-school just about finger paint and jungle gyms? Isn’t Kindergarten just about learning how to get through the morning without a nap? I barely remember pre-school and I went longer than most – two whole years. I have a January birthday so my parents decided to wait until I was 5.5+ to start Kindergarten. Most kids had their first taste of school when they hit Kindergarten and it was a rude awakening that some grown-up in the front of the room actually wanted you to line up and stand still!
Now we live on the west side of Los Angeles and EVERYONE is obsessed with starting their kids in school as soon as possible. There are videos to teach your baby to read and flash cards for numbers. When did we become this way? When did someone decide that teaching their kid to read and do math before Kindergarten was a GOOD idea? When did our aggressive pursuit of advancement extend to squeezing our children’s free-wheeling little brains and spirits into pre-determined silos of thinking and behavior? READ MORE
And the holiday gift guides have begun. Here’s a guy-centric one from Cool Material!
2011 Holiday Gift Guide - Cool Material
There’s a point every year when people start freaking out about finishing their holiday shopping. It frequently results in last minute raiding of the 7-11 for gift cards and whatever beer happens to still be available. Don’t be this guy or gal. We’ve compiled our annual holiday gift guide, and this year might just be the best yet. This isn’t just a collection of gear we’re recommending for other guys; it’s our collective gift list for ourselves. Gramma, we love you, but if you’re reading this there’s no reason to buy us anything that isn’t on this list.
1. On-Ice Beer Dispenser – $45
2. Steel Ice Cubes – $25
3. Stuffed Hamburger Press $12
4. Lighter Cufflinks – $90
5. Bullet Space Pen – $25
6. Alarm Dock – $40
7. Lytro Camera – $399
8. Metal Inkless Pen + Key Ring – $35
9. Skull Candles – $9
10. Crossbow Snow Launcher – $40
11. Recycled Inner Tube Toiletry Bag – $32
12. 44 Caliber Pistol Ring – $140
13. iHome iP4 Portable FM Stereo Boombox for iPhone/iPod- $200
Check out all of our 2011 holiday gift picks. $9+
My IzzyB
Everyone writes about being thankful, grateful around this time of year and I won’t be any exception. It’s just too easy and feels like the right thing to do.
It’s been a rough twelve months. Not the kind of rough when you’re diagnosed with cancer or your world gets turned upside down because someone close to you dies. It wasn’t the earth shattering kind. It was just the normal, life comes at you from lots of angles kind of rough.
In early December last year we started to get a sprinkling that would soon become a full blown hurricane. READ MORE
PENN STATE
In the past week or so we’ve all read about the arrest and shocking accusations made against a coach of the Penn State football team. Coaches and school officials have either voluntarily stepped down or been forced from their positions for the choices they made in this situation. Students have rioted on campus and tearfully supported their football coach. Suddenly today, a 39-year-old man has come forward accusing a Syracuse University basketball coach of similar molestation.
Full disclosure, I am a Syracuse University alum – happily spent four years in that rainy, snowy city…well, town and played in the marching band including the 1988 Sugar Bowl. I am an Orangeman. READ MORE
This girl likes her Biggie….have you ever seen a baby only stop crying for the Notorious B.I.G.?
Kid-less People & Birthday Parties
I feel really badly. I did a terrible thing. I ruined some nice couple’s perfectly good Saturday afternoon. Well, I don’t know if I totally ruined it but I sure did put a damper on it. Tere on the other hand, totally ruined it. We were bad.
It all started this past Saturday. We went to the 4th birthday party for these twin boys we know. We hadn’t heard of the place – a Mexican cantina – and as we rounded the corner, we knew we were in for some fun. There was a Go-Kart track set up, a live Spiderman and Tarzan, and someone making balloon animals. But the best part was inside. READ MORE
An Interview With Heather Somaini…that’s me!
The Next Family thought it would be fun to begin conducting interviews with our writers to get to know them a bit better. If you have any questions of your own, feel free to ask Heather in the comments section.
TNF: How has it been blogging for TNF for over a year now?
Well, it’s been scary and exciting and somewhat torturous. I never realized how much time and energy it takes to write 500+ words. And I’m rarely happy with what I write.
TNF: What aspect has been scary for you?
Putting everything out there for everyone to see. I have to focus on not thinking about what other people will think about my writing or me or my weird thoughts. Otherwise, I turn into a pool of mush on the floor worrying that everyone will seriously laugh at me.
Is Gay Controversial Anymore?
I was contacted recently about doing a Q&A style interview for an online network. It’s one of those struggling networks that really only exists online and a the telecom carriers AT&T’s Uverse and Verizon’s FiOs – both very cool by the way. Their tag line is about entertaining and motivating individuals looking to be the change they want to see in the world which is actually a well-known quote from Gandhi.
I’m sure you’re asking yourself where I’m going with all this – like why do you care about some completely obscure little network that has a carriage of maybe ten people? This is the crazy thing – they thought I was too controversial. Me? Little ol’ me!?!? Yes, apparently I am much too controversial. I’ll get back to this in a minute. READ MORE
Balance…possible?
Balance. I sort of hate that word. I often hear parents talking about finding the right amount of “balance” in their lives between their work, spouse, kids, and themselves. I’ve always said that it’s less about balance and more about prioritizing what’s most important and spending time doing those things. Balance would then just…appear.
I feel terribly unbalanced these days and maybe even unnecessary. I think I’m missing a need to be needed. That sounds weird and looks even weirder written down. Why should any of us need to be needed? I don’t know but I do. I realized after I had my cycling accident that everyone seemed to do just fine while I was laid up in bed. Tere went to work just fine, the kids went to school…the world kept spinning without me. So why do I feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to get ahead at work, give my kids the love and attention they need, think ahead to the holidays and maybe, just maybe show my spouse that she is not the last thing I’m thinking about every day?
Babies Walking….
It’s sort of amazing to look back at our twins when they were younger. They’re four and a half now and it’s easy to think of them as oh-so-grown-up. They talk and roll their eyes and say the craziest things now. But three and a half years ago, they barely had a couple of teeth and drooled everywhere. We were living in a rental house and they were just starting to walk. READ MORE
Smart service here in Los Angeles!!
The Crib Doctor Your nesting instinct has kicked into overdrive, but something is stopping you from whipping out the tools to turn the flat-packed box of parts into a three-dimensional crib. Perhaps it’s the beach ball resting where your abs used to be. Step away from the screwdriver and schedule an appointment with The Crib Doctor. Handyman and father of two Roger Hicks understands the concerns parents have when it comes to building a safe and secure nest for their baby. That’s why he’s been making house calls throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley for more than twenty years. From assembling cribs to moving entire nurseries from one home to the next, there’s no nagging required to get the job done. (And done right.) Sigh. If only he took out the trash.
Mommy Fell Down and Went BOOM!
Bad days always start out gorgeous, don’t they? Everything feels right with the world, nothing is really out of place. I did everything I should, just like I always do. But today would not be a regular day. My normal Sunday routine was about to be turned upside down and I fear will not return for a good long while.
Cycling is something I came to later in life because of a girlfriend who decided to do the San Francisco to Los Angeles AIDS Ride about ten years ago. For whatever reason I decided it seemed like a cool sport and I wanted to try it out for size. I couldn’t do it half-assed so I went out and bought an $1800 bike, some Lycra shorts, a helmet, and clip-in shoes and off I went. I joined a multi-leveled group that was very willing to teach me the rules of the road and soon I was riding 50-60 miles on Saturday mornings.
After a couple of years though, I started spending my weekends remodeling a condo and then a house and soon taking care of babies. A friend started bugging me to take it up again when we moved to the west side of Los Angeles, and so one Sunday, I did. That was about three years ago. Over time, we’ve amped our rides for speed with a reasonable distance and generally do 30 miles each Saturday and Sunday. Recently, I had wanted to gain strength and of course speed – losing a couple pounds wouldn’t hurt either. And gain strength I did. Soon I was doing a good job of keeping up and felt that my rides could continue to ramp up…until about three weeks ago. READ MORE