QOTW - Leashes: For Kids or Dogs?

How do you feel about child harnesses?


■Do you use them? Why or why not?No, I have NEVER used a child harness with any of my children. I kinda feel it treats them like a dog or other animal. And that is not my intentions as a mother at all. When it was just my one child, if she wasn't in a stroller, she held my hand. When baby #2 came along, I let my oldest "help" me push the stroller. Then each one held one of my hands. When Twins #1, came through, I let my second help push the stroller while my oldest (then 7/8 year old walk beside me). Now, you would think that when Twins #2 came, I would need leashes. Nope... At first we had another double stroller. My oldest always helped me (she was 9/10 when they were born and an infant). Then we moved them to single umbrella strollers. Set up was still easy. I pushed one and sometimes let my second push it. And my oldest pushed the other. The older twins usually held my hands (or the stroller handles if I was pushing). I have just never felt the NEED to use a leash. Besides, in my opinion, I think it looks rather silly.
■How do your kids react to them? Well, I don't use them so they don' react much to them.They giggle when they see them on another child.
■Do you think they are an example of laziness, or simply concern over your child's safety?I can see where technically it could be both. It really depends on the parent/child. Some parents are just too "busy" to keep up with their child so they use a leash. Some parents just find it simpler for their lifestyle. To each their own....
■If you are against them, do you think it's more acceptable for a parent of multiples to use them? I am not for them or against them. I personally would never use them. I personally think it is embarrassing (for the child) and silly looking. But, another parent may find them needed in their life, so if its what they need then by all means -- whether you have 1 kid or multiples.
■Do you think negatively of other parents that use them?No.We all parent differently. What may work for you doesn't necessarily mean it will work for me. As I said earlier - To each their own.

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Don't forget to stop by Multiples and More and see what how other great moms of multiples feel about child leashes/harnesses!

QOTW: How I Chose the Twins' Names.....

Twins, Part 1!

These are 4 year-old twin girls named Caitlyn Renee and Charlotte Alayna.

Did you stick with family names?

For these 2, not really. Charlotte was named for my granddaddy, Charles, who had passed away the year before. I was an absolute Granddaddy's girl, so I felt like I needed to honor him in my life. Charlotte's middle name was for "Alan". Alan was my husband's youth bowling coach and a huge influence in our lives. Alan also had a son named John Alan who was a few years younger than my hubby. They had been friends pretty much their entire youth. He was killed in an auto accident in 2000, so we used Alayna as a way to honor the 2 Alans. Caitlyn was a "C" name we could agree on. At the time I was pregnant, we said that these 2 were going to be our last 2. Picking out a 4th C name wouldn't have been such a big deal to me if it wasn't for the fact our oldest 2 also had C names. We got to thinking, "Either this baby will thing its an odd ball and that's why we didn't give it a C name or the other kids will think this is the special kid and got a special name." So, we settled on Caitlyn and after much debate, I told hubby to just pick a darn middle name. So, we got Renee.

How do you feel about "matchy" names?

That is completely up to the parents. Who am I to judge? I had considered naming these 2 Arabella and Isabella. LOL But, I wanted to honor my granddaddy more so I went in a different direction.

Did you worry about their names "coordinating?"

Not really. As long as they sounded good as a whole, it didn't matter to me.

Did you name your babies before you met them, or wait until you saw them to assign names?

Baby B was the first one that we found out the gender on. She became Charlotte. Weeks later we found out girl for Baby A and she became Caitlyn. We got Charlotte's name dead on! It means "womanly" and she is pure prissy!

What were your second choices?

For boys, Charles Alan and Christopher John (or Christopher Michael, Jr). If it had been boy/girl twins we would have had Christopher (Michael Jr or John) and Charlotte Alayna.

Did you consider the popularity of a name as a deciding factor?

Nope. I have no idea where these names are on popularity for 2005. Ok, I went and looked it up just because I have a curious mind. And, well since you asked, I wanted to know! In 2005, Charlotte was ranked #97 according to Baby Center. Caitlyn (or Caitlin) was not on the top 100 at all. According to Nickelodeon's Parent Connect, Caitlyn was 182 and Charlotte was 134 for 2005.

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Twins, Part 2!
These are 2 year-old twin girls named Cheyenne Elyzabeth and Courtney Michelle.

Did you stick with family names?

Nope. Not really at all. Chris actually named these 2. I had chosen an A and B name for them if they were girls. He decided that no, we had begun the C tradition (our names are Chris and Crystal and our 4 oldest children are also C's) that we were going to continue the tradition. He had originally chosen Cheyenne and Courtney, but we had no middle names chosen yet. One day he came home and said Cheyenne Michelle and Courtney Elizabeth? I said to change them to Cheyenne Elyzabeth and Courtney Michelle and he said ok. My older sister's name is actually Elizabeth, although it never crossed my mind when I was thinking of names. I changed the spelling, because honestly, I like odd spellings. Michelle is a variation of Michael, which is hubby's middle name.

How do you feel about "matchy" names?

See above for Twins 1.

Did you worry about their names "coordinating?"

Again see answer for Twins 1.

Did you name your babies before you met them, or wait until you saw them to assign names?

They were given their names prior to birth.I can't find a meaning of Courtney that I understand. LOL For Cheyenne, all I found was "brave warrior".

What were your second choices?

For boys, Christopher John and Charles Alan. For boy/girl twins Charles Alan and Cheyenne Elyzabeth.

Did you consider the popularity of a name as a deciding factor?

Nope. Again I looked it up and according to Baby Center, neither name was on the Top 100 for 2007. According to Nickelodeon's Parent Connect, Cheyenne was 148 and Courtney was 233 for 2007.

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Don't forget to stop by Multiples and More and see what how other great moms of multiples chose their multiples names!

QOTW -- Holiday Movies

Well, it's that time again.... QOTW from Multiples and More! This week's question is:

What are you favorite holiday movies?

1. White Christmas (1954) - This is a movie that my mother made me watch every year, and heck not even at Christmas necessarily. I seem to be a sucker for older movies. I really like this one, not sure why. Maybe because its not one of those sappy ones like "It's a Wonderful Life" and all.
2. Home Alone (1990) - I love this movie year round, but since it does center around Christmas, I do consider it a Christmas movie. This one is always a good pick-me-up movie. You know for those times that I need a really good laugh and to remind me that my kids aren't the only ones who can come up with devious plans.
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966) - And yes, I only like the animated version. I'm just kooky like that!
4. The Santa Clause (1994) - It's just too freaking cute! The sequels to it are good too, but this one is my favorite of them. And please remind me not to push Santa off the roof and if he does fall, NOT TO PUT THE JACKET ON! I definitely don't need all those extra pounds packed on!
5. A Christmas Carol (1984) - I have not seen the newest version, so I'm going with the version I do know. Kind of ironic, since I am pretty much Scrooge.
6. To Grandmother's House We Go (1992) - Features the Olsen twins. It's been a few years since I've last seen it. It usually comes on ABC Family.

And these are two Christmas movies I want to see, but have yet to:

1. Four Christmases (2008) - Not a big Vince Vaughn fan, but I adore Reese Witherspoon. Besides I know how it is trying to cram so many family functions in one day.
2. Christmas with the Kranks (2004) - Based on a John Grisham book. Need I say more? I'm sure I'll never enjoy it as much as I did the book, but it does feature Tim Allen, so it should be very comedic at best!

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Don't forget to stop by Multiples and More and see what holiday movies other great mommies chose!

QOTW -- Holiday Traditions

What are you favorite holiday traditions?

Growing up, my family was never big on traditions. My parents were pretty much two people who should have never been allowed to reproduce - ever. But, they did and here I sit with my own kids trying to figure out how to do traditions, or even what to do, with them. When I was younger, we always decorated the day after Thanksgiving, went looking at Christmas lights/decorations and spent time with family. That was it. I was never one to be fond of the whole gift giving thing. On one hand I'm being told that the holidays are all about family and love and Jesus' birth. Then I'm being told we need to spend money on gifts for every one in our family. And, now that I'm a mother, I keep thinking - "Have you met my kids? They are spoiled rotten!" And I mean spoiled all year long. Any ways, now on to the question at hand.

In accordance to the tradition of decorating the day after Thanksgiving, we went out and bought a small tree and a few decorations (almost everything I own is still in Virginia). And we have looked at some lights/decorations around the city. It's so cute when Cheyenne sees them and immediately screams - "Aweeeeesome!"

As far as beginning my own traditions, these are a couple I have always had the intention of doing and just have never done. And, if I don't get a move on it - my 11 year old will miss out on them.

• Buying a new pair of pajamas for them and allowing them to open that on Christmas Eve.
• Buying each child a new Christmas ornament each year. Then, when they move out on their own, they get each of theirs to start their own ornament collection.

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This year money is real tight, and I mean real tight. Chris got laid off in July and work has been so scarce since. We have discussed Christmas over and over and really have no option but to really downplay it this year. We have moved 1000 miles away from family, so we won't even be seeing them at the holidays at all. We just cannot afford to make the trip. So, we have decided to buy each child a small, in-expensive gift to open on Christmas. Then when tax time comes around, we will get them more. We already have a Wii so they can call that part of their gift. Crystina wants a Nintendo DSi and Carly just wants a regular Nintendo DS. So, we may get those at tax time for them. The other 4 are relatively easy.

Five Special Moments with my Children

Time seems to fly when you have small children, doesn't it? In the midst of changing diapers, doing laundry, cooking, working, planning, etc, it's easy to overlook the special moments that we have with our kids on a daily basis. Today, we want to stop and take a minute to remember and appreciate some of these moments. So, this week's question is:
Describe in detail 5 of the most special moments you have shared with your children.

• Well, the first of my five is relevant to all of my children. It consists of my pregnancy. Pregnancy is so special to a mother. It's our first chance to bond with our children. Nobody can come between those 40 weeks (normally 40). Talking to the baby(ies), feeling them kick, rubbing the belly and getting a response. Plus, ultrasounds - seeing your baby and then being able to see the likeness after they're born.
• Of course, their birth days. With Crystina, my first (and biggest!), I was proud of myself for actually just giving birth. Her birth was my first experience and although it could've been worse, I question why I went on to have 5 (almost 6) more kids! Carolyn's I did alone. The twins part 1 were a natural, vaginal birth. I was really proud of myself for that one. The twins part 2 were my first experience as a c-section birth. But, just hearing them cry for the first time was absolutely music to my ears.
• When Crystina was an only child. We had all the time in the world to spend, just the two of us. She didn't have to share me with any sisters and we would just cuddle up together and watch TV or read. Of course, at 11 years old now, she feels too old to do that with me even if she were an only child.
• Late nights and early mornings now. Cheyenne is a complete cuddling, mama's baby. She has to sleep with me in order to fall asleep. Normally she crawls in bed with me at night and just before she falls asleep she crawls down and lays on her pallet on the floor beside my bed. In the mornings, especially if she wakes up while Chris is getting ready, she crawls back in bed with me. Love the cuddle time.
• Anytime one of the kids does something "just because". For instance, Courtney heard me say I was thirsty earlier and she went straight to the fridge and got me a single serve bottle of OJ. She was so proud of herself and I just didn't have the heart to tell her that I meant a soda and not a juice.

It's hard to pick just 5 moments when you have 6 kids! Another type of moment I love when it comes to my kids is when I get compliments on their behavior. Now, don't get me wrong, they are total h*llions 60+% of the time at home, but they are perfect little angels when we are out. I am always getting compliments on how well they behave. I had one woman stop me in a restaurant and ask me to come home with her and teach her grandchildren how to behave! Another asked me to please write a book explaining how my children can be so well behaved. Book’s on hold because I have no idea how they act so wonderful in public and so "evil" at home.

5 Small Successes (or maybe large ones?)

Here is the Question of the Week from Multiples and More.

Name 5 small successes in your life from the past week. (and yes, laundry counts!)

1) Finished 3 chapters of homework, 1 quiz and a test in Principles of Accounting. The success has nothing to do with the grades because they were not successes at all. Just the point that I got them done and before the deadline, was a success. It only took me 9 hours!

2) Finished my final chapter of Accounting for the Small Business. This included a quiz, short answer questions and hands-on work using the Quickbooks Program. Easy. I will brag about my grade on this one. As my professor wrote "Everything was perfect."

3) Finished a chapter of homework for Computerized Accounting. This one involved using the Peachtree program. Again another 100. I can use any accounting program you give me, but quiz me on the principles and I blank out. Hmmmmmm........

4) Bought Connor's coming home outfit. It involves a New Orleans Saints onsie and booties and a pair of jeans. I can't wait to shop more for my little man. After shopping for 6 girls, I am so excited to shop for a boy. Sure, I've bought things for my nephew and my bestest's son, but buying for my own is so much more exciting.

5) Bought a Swiffer mop, sponges, rubbing alcohol and a small vacuum. Well, I guess the Swiffer mop is self-explanatory. The small vacuum is for when my children decide that instead of eating they would much rather crumble their food up on the floor. Too much work to use a big vacuum for a little mess. And the alcohol and sponges are to rid the walls of the creative artwork my 4 youngest have created. Nothing else works, but alcohol. Who knew? If you did, you surely forgot to tell me! Oh, and I also bought bathroom cleaner, febreeze, and carpet powder.