Family Spotlight: Featured MoM's family - Sara W.

Today we are spotlighting CMOTC MoM Sara W. and her family. Sara, who describes herself as having a dry sense of humor and not your "typical mom", says being a working (outside the home) mom helps make her a better mom. Their family tradition is a big family vacation every year, and her sanity saving tip is taking that mommy moment when needed and repeating to herself "there is only one of me." Her biggest joys are watching her twins interact... and moving past another milestone. She also has some questions for you MoMs who have boy/girl twins! Enjoy getting to know Sara and her family.

Tell us a little about yourself


I’ll start by saying I have a pretty dry sense of humor and I’m very sarcastic . . . so take this all with a grain of salt {please}.

I am the girl who never wanted children. If you had told me 5 years ago I would be writing this blog post I would have died of laughter. And maybe cried a little bit, too. I’ve never been one of those people who goes gaga over a baby or who had this deep maternal urge to have a child. Don’t get me wrong, I love my children very much (and have grown to love children of friends too!) and I realize how amazingly fortunate I am to be blessed with two healthy, smart, beautiful children. Just know this wasn’t want I thought I wanted. I am not someone who will gush about how wonderful it is to be a mom and how magical everything is – I’m all about keeping it real and honestly, this “mom” gig is the freaken hardest thing I’ve ever done.

With that said, I’m not your “typical mom”. My just-turned-three year old twins have seen an episode (or five) of “Family Guy”. And they may or may not know all the words to a few Dave Matthews Band songs. I left them overnight when they were 5 weeks old and I’ve been away from them so many nights since then that I’ve totally lost count.

To get to what most people seem to want to know, twins run in my family. My mom is a fraternal twin and there are at least 4 other sets of fraternal twins on her side of the family. So while my pregnancy was a total shock, the fact that I had twins isn’t necessarily as much of one (though if you ask my college roommates, I used to joke that because I never wanted children I’d be the one in my family to end up with twins. That Karma has one sense of humor, eh?).
I grew up in Northeast Ohio and went to high school in Tennessee. I moved back to OH to attend the University of Dayton and then started a whirlwind of relocations thanks to mine & my husband’s career (I’ve lived in Nashville, Dallas, Columbus, Huntington Beach, CA , Chicago and back to Columbus, in that order in the span of 10 years). We made the decision to move back to Ohio almost 5 years ago and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise – although we weren’t planning to expand our family, having the grandparents so close to us has been a life saver more times than I care to admit.

I’ve worked in Human Resources my whole career. At the moment I’m an HR Business Partner for a technology company. Staying home with my children was never an option I considered for a nano-second – I like to say I’m a better mom because I work. Full-time. We’ve been lucky to have two wonderful nannies work for us in the 3 years we’ve had B&K and keeping them in our home has been one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. Personally, I’m already starting to dread the day B&K start going full-time somewhere outside of our home . . . our current nanny Ashley is the glue that keeps me sane these days!

In my “free time” I like to craft (you can check out some of my crafty antics on a blog I co-author with fellow CMOTC member Jenn Murray here). My husband and I like to travel and last year we took B&K on their first trip out of the country (though technically they were still in the US – we went to St. Croix). This is where, again, I’m not your typical mom – my husband and I are very fortunate to have a great support system of family & friends who will watch B&K for us so that we can get away (and trust me – we do. Whenever and wherever we can!). I also like to entertain. Back in the “pre-B&K” days we used to throw frequent parties and honestly bought our house because it would be a good “party house” (and thankfully in hindsight it has turned into a good family home as well).


What are your children’s names and ages, as well as your spouse’s name?


My boy/girl twins are Bennett Michael & Kendyll Samantha. They turned 3 on 2/13. My husband is Tim and we’ve been married 6 ½ years.


Can you tell us a little about each of your children

My twins were born at 32w6d after nine very long, very stressful weeks of bedrest (you can read our story here) . . . oh and this was on top of a very hellish pregnancy (so to answer the other question people always like to ask me – YES WE ARE DONE! No more babies for me).

Bennett is smart, funny and quite an actor. He loves to climb, something I’m actually very proud of considering he didn’t walk until he was 22 mo old (I like to say he lived up to the “lazy white boy” persona from the NICU. After spending a year in denial that he would “catch up”, he started intense physical therapy at 16 months and eventually caught up). He is VERY attached to a blue crochet blanket a dear friend made him and he has inherited my love of all things Peanuts (like in “Charlie Brownie” Peanuts, as he would say). He is very caring and quick to laugh at himself. Plus I think he could be a Ralph Lauren model (I would seriously give my right pinkie for his perfectly straight and gorgeous smile).
Kendyll is quite a ham, though often times she can be shy (and she’ll even tell you this. “I’m shy”. Too cute). She has inherited my love of all things crafty and she deeply caring. She is the first to run and give a hug & a kiss when someone else is hurt (even throwing out an “I’m sorry”, though she may not have been the culprit). She is very strong and quick tempered {read: she can be QUITE the diva sometimes}. She also loves all things girlie, which I’m not sure where she picked up as I’m not a big girlie, girl. She has the most adorable giggle and is very opinionated when need be (“I no like dip-dip” or “I no like waterfalls in the bathtub” are two of her favorite sayings these days).

My other child is our golden retriever, Tabasco. Poor Baco (as B&K call him). He was set to be my only child and was royally spoiled. Even gracing our holiday cards each year. Thankfully, he has been wonderful with B&K. Although often times he is like having two more children in one {read: he is an attention whore}, but we love him nonetheless.

What has been the biggest challenge in having multiples

Where do I begin? When people ask me “is it getting any easier?” my reply is always “NO!!! Not easier, just different”. Whenever we seem to tackle one challenge – sleeping through the night, dropping bottles, separate rooms, “big kid” beds, potty training – it seems like it is replaced with something new to deal with . Right now it feels like a never ending cycle.

To go from thinking we didn’t really want children to getting the “2 for 1” special was also challenge. Not only did life and career plans take a major shift, but we were faced with a “challenge” that none of our friends had experienced. So from a personal level, it has meant letting go or losing touch with people who used to be “close friends” because, honestly, we just can’t relate to each other anymore. But on the flip side, the multiple mom friends I’ve made through CMOTC and other MoM groups have saved me – literally – so I’m thankful for that.

But probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced has been a more personal/unique one. Shortly before my twins were born my husband took a new job that required a lot of travel. Initially it was travel throughout the US and he would maybe be gone 3 – 5 days a week (home on the weekends). But for the past year he has been working more international assignments where he is away 2 – 3 weeks straight and only home for 1 – 2 weeks at a time. Not only has this been a challenge for me (as I work full-time and am barely surviving the toddler/preschool years), but it has also been very hard for B&K to understand why he is away so much. They love to say “Daddy is on an airplane up in the sky” when he is away – so much so, that at one point an acquaintance asked me if Tim was a pilot (which he is not – ha!). Explaining to a 3 yr old that daddy is in Turkey is a fun thing (they don’t get how he can be in something we eat for Thanksgiving. Ha!). But I like to think whatever doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, right?

What has been your biggest joy in having multiples

I try to look at things from a positive perspective – unlike my friends who are now popping out their second child (and thus, having to start all over again from a beginning), once we are done with something we are D-O-N-E with it (because trust me – I am NEVER doing this again!! We are thankful for our blessings of two healthy, beautiful children and I have no desire to start over again!). Once we were done with bottles, they were all donated. Once we were done with diapers, there was no looking back. Cribs were dismantled and sold on Craigslist. My friends who are just now getting around to having baby number one are out of luck because all of my “baby” stuff is long gone.

Watching Bennett & Kendyll interact – whether it be tickling each other or bossing each other around – brings joy. And having them give each other a huge hug & kiss before bed is just plain adorable. And when one gets something – like a treat cupcake for example – they always make sure to get another for the other. Those are just a few things that brings a smile to my face.

Do you have any family traditions?

Tim & I like to go out to celebrate another year of survival on B&K’s birthday (adults only). As a family, we often pile onto the couch to watch a little TV after dinner / before bedtime. We’ve taken a big family vacation every year since B&K have been born – first to the Outer Banks, then Myrtle Beach and last year we flew to St. Croix – so we’re already in the planning stages for our trip this year.

Do you have any “sanity saving tips” that work for you in managing those particularly hectic days or moments of parenting and day-to-day life with kids?

Sometimes I just need to walk away. And that is okay. There were times when they were babies and I was home alone with them and they would both be screaming at the top of their lungs because it was bottle time. There wasn’t anything I could do – there is only one of me and I just kept repeating to myself they won’t be scarred for life if they scream for 3 minutes while I make two bottles. And they don’t seem scarred yet. Same for now – when the “toddler negotiations” fail and I have two screaming children tugging at me, I sometimes just have to walk away while muttering under my breath “there is only one of me”.

Do you have a family or personal blog or website that you would like to share with the group?

Yes: http://mommyoftwinsinwaiting.blogspot.com (it is in the CMOTC blog roll). I started it when I was on bedrest and never expected it to still be alive over 3 years later. But it has become a “baby book” of sorts for B&K (esp. since I have yet to write a single word in their actual baby books!).

If you could ask a question to our other CMOTC MoMs about raising multiples (at any age or stage), what would it be?

I feel like in a lot of ways we’ve recently tackled some of the major “milestones” I had been dreading since day one (potty-training & big kid beds are two that come to mind). And so now my focus is more on discipline and what to do when they go to school full time (same room or different classes?). And while I’ve been so blessed with a few very close friends who also have multiples the same age as B&K, my situation is a bit different in that they have same sex multiples where as I have boy/girl. When do I start having separate birthday parties? And should I freak out that my son likes to wear my daughter’s Snow White dress and my daughter likes to fix things with her brother’s tools?
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If you have advice for Carrie's question, or any comments in general, please leave them below.
If you are interested in having your family featured, please email us!

Family Spotlight: Featured MoM's Family - Carrie H.

Today we are spotlighting CMOTC MoM Carrie H. and her family of five. Carrie, who finds planning to be her key sanity saver, says that her biggest joy of parenting is "all of it!" Their family enjoys a tradition of pizza/movie night every Friday and her favorite mom moment is a story from when her twins started first grade. Enjoy getting to know more about Carrie's family!

Please tell us about yourself:

I am married to my high school sweetheart. In my former life, I was a Middle School Language Arts teacher, and I taught for 6 years in that realm. I've also taught fourth grade, and I am currently in the position of an Instructional Aide in a junior high school. My favorite hobby is scrapbooking...but I don't get a lot of time to do that. I also LOVE to read, especially historical biographies about Princess Diana and Jackie O and JFK. My mommy time mostly consists of trips to the grocery store or to get a haircut.

What are your children’s names and ages, as well as your spouse’s name?

My children are Matthew and Lucas, who just turned 8, and Natalie who is 15 months. My husband's name is Derrick. We are a family in ministry. He is a pastor, and I try to be an encourager for him and keep things running smoothly at home.

Can you tell us a little about each of your children?

Matthew is our oldest twin. He is intense and particular about almost everything. He loves to be organized and to sort things :). I secretly love that about him. He is a momma's boy, too. He always has been. He is very good at karate, and is very smart in Math. He loves his LEGOS, and is always on the go-playing, creating things, using his imagination.

Lucas is our middle child. He is more laid back. He likes to relax and watch movies-a very stark contrast to his brother who won't sit down for a minute. He LOVES anything cinnamon/sugar. So cute. He is very snuggly-even at 8 years old does he like his snuggle time. He also has an awesome sense of humor and can be very funny.

Natalie...well, she's definitely her own person. She loves attention of any sort, and she thinks her brothers are the funniest people ever. Her new words are "baby, bye, mommy, daddy, nana (banana)". She is quite the toddle bot-moving very quickly from one place to the next. She's a daddy's girl, that's for sure.

Matthew, Lucus and Natalie

Tell us a little about your family:

As a family, we always have a pizza night on Fridays and watch a movie. We also like to play outside together and go swimming in the summer. Bike rides become part of our summer routine, too. If we miss one night of dinner together, that's very rare. We make it a priority to have dinner at home as a family almost every night.


What has been the biggest challenge with having multiples?

The biggest challenge with having multiples was all the attention we got at first-everywhere we went. As they've grown, it's been a challenge for us as parents to treat them as individuals, as well as maintain a sense of fairness. In the past year or so, their individual personalities have really come out, so it's gotten easier in some respects as far as discipline, punishments, rewards. Also, seeing them struggle and their coping mechanisms has been a challenge to observe, too.


What has been your biggest joy in having multiples?

The biggest joy-all of it. I love being a MoM! I love seeing them grow and change. I also love seeing their differences come out. There was a time when I wondered if our parenting was forcing them into sameness. Then when they started school and hit other milestones, I realized that nothing we do can change who God is making them into.

Matthew and Lucus

Do you have any family traditions?

I think our traditions are small, but hopefully significant for our kids. Every birthday they get a mylar balloon that goes along with the theme of their birthday. We are starting dinner out on their birthday-they'll be 8, and this is the first time we've done birthday dinner at a restaurant. Disney World is becoming our traditional vacation spot. Also, we do pizza and a movie at home every Friday.


What is your favorite funny family story or mom moment?

I think the mom moment that sticks out in my mind the most is from first grade and what happened that first week. I was beyond nervous sending the twins to school. But, when Matthew came home he told me about something his teacher had done. Their teacher read them a book called The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn. In it the raccoon, Chester, is nervous/sad about leaving his mom on the first day of school. So, she kisses the palm of his hand and he puts it to his cheek throughout the day to comfort him. Everyday for about a week, Matthew asked me to kiss his palm either before bed or before I left in the morning. One day I asked him if he wanted me to kiss his hand, and he said, "No, I still haven't used the one you gave me yesterday."

Do you have a favorite book(s) on children/parenting that you feel other CMOTC MoMs would find beneficial, interesting and/or humorous?

I love the books Parenting Isn't for Cowards, Bringing Up Boys, and Bringing Up Girls. They are all by Dr. James Dobson. Parenting Isn't for Cowards is a good one because he encourages us as parents to be the authority, and that sometimes you just have to get your kids through a stage. He helps identify strong willed children and their personalities, and how to parent them in ways that are productive. Bringing Up Girls and Bringing Up Boys, both address the genders and their development. He talks about the roles of the opposite sex parent in regards to their importance in the lives of the boys and girls we are raising. Also, why boys do what they do and why girls do what they do at different stages is a large part of his books.


Do you have any “sanity saving tips” that work for you in managing those particularly hectic days or moments of parenting and day-to-day life with kids?

Sometimes parenting is the 3 Bs-benadryl, bribery, and brainwashing...just kidding. I think to survive, I have become a planner. I think that being a teacher has given me the midset to always be one step ahead of my students, and I do that with my kids. I know that around 5 pm, the boys turn into maniacs...so I try to suggest an activity to them that they will be engaged in around 4:45 or so..I also plan our meals, set clothes out the night before, and stick with a routine.

Do you have a family or personal blog or website that you would like to share with the group?

I have two blogs and they are both on the CMOTC blog roll - The Hurst Family, and My Favorite Finds.

If you could ask a question to our other CMOTC MoMs about raising multiples (at any age or stage), what would it be?

I would like to know how other families handle discipline and sibling rivalry. I feel like competition between the boys is huge in our house.

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If you have advice for Carrie's question, or any comments in general, please leave them below.

If you are interested in having your family featured, please email us!

Announcing: CMOTC Family Spotlights!

We have some exciting news to share: we are launching a new regular blog post which will put the spotlight on our CMOTC families. In these family spotlights, we will learn more about our member MoMs and their families. Given the size of our club, this will be a great way to reach out and get to know each other better.*

The spotlights will include include fun tidbits about the families, such as a little about each person in the family, things they like to do and traditions they might have, as well as greatest joys and challenges of being a MoM. It could also include info that might be useful to all of us, such as their sanity saving tips and favorite parenting/children books.

We will launch our first spotlight very shortly, so stay tuned!

If you are interested in being a featured family in the CMOTC blog Family Spotlight please email us for more information. We are hoping to feature all our families throughout the coming year and beyond.

*Note: we will only use first name and last initials.