It's good to take a break every so often. But I have a specific reason why I'm putting this podcast on hiatus. It mainly has to do with starting a new full-time job outside the home. I realize this break comes with additional benefits. A podcast hiatus is an opportunity to catch my breath, reassess what is working, and tweak things so that in the future, Double the Fun is even stronger. In this Episode #32, I share the details about why I am putting this podcast on hold and what that means for you. The best thing you can do is Subscribe to DTF so that when I return, you are the first to know.

Every mother is superwoman in my book. She gets up each morning with her invisible cape of courageous and compassionate nurturing qualities, valiant meal preparation, brave meltdown management, bold sibling rivalry resolution making, gallant and bold event and activity scheduling. Yet, every wonder woman also has Kryptonite, those things that are hard and weaken our heroine. Meltdowns, kids throwing food, a dirty house can cause this phenom to buckle at her feet and ask the Gods to step-in and provide a shield of defense and a lightning bolt of inspiration and power. In this Episode, I talk about my superpowers and Kryptonite in terms of my own parenting as a mother to our twins. I talk about those things that come more easily and skillfully vs those tasks or behaviors my kids do that can be more challenging for me to handle.

The first year of your baby's life seems like both the longest and shortest year of your life. You spend 9 months preparing for your baby's arrival, and then when they come, the next moment, you're watching them make their first smile, roll over, crawl, walk, eat solid foods, say their first words, and more. Then, before you know it you are singing "Happy Birthday" to your bright-eyed 1-year-old. So how do you keep track of their milestones? How do you know what is normal for their age? How and what do you use to hold onto precious memories, videos, pictures, material items and objects that are cherished and treasures? In this episode, I talk everything about what did/am doing to track my twins' milestones and preserve the memories that they have and will create as they grow.

Happiness as a parent can sometimes be elusive and challenging to live inside, but it can also be found in the delight of selflessly loving and caring for a child. In this episode, I talk about what things contribute to my happiness in parenting, what detracts from it and I touch on how I try to foster happiness in various aspects of life: home, work, parenting and relationships.

Vacuuming, cleaning, dusting, wiping, sweeping and more...what is the fascination with learning how others take care of their home or space? I have found it intriguing hearing about the how-tos of keeping things spic and span. In this episode, I talk about what I do to keep our home clean enough. No, it's not sparkling or gleaming, yet it is tidy and good enough to feel comfortable and happy in. You may wonder what this has to do with being a parent or having multiples, but I believe it does. Maintaining a decently put-together space is conductive and helpful for supporting the emotional happiness, productivity and function of everyday living for everyone in a family. Tune in to this show to get some ideas on how to maintain a fairly decent residence. And I'm also interested in what you can relate to and whether you have tips or tricks up your (cleaning) sleeves for me!

From fancy, Pinterest-inspired birthday bashes to simple homey celebrations with donuts and family, birthday parties can look wildly different. But for moms today, planning a birthday party can feel a little like a competition against our friends and even ourselves. But one thing all parties do is reveal a mom's heart to celebrate how much they love their children, value enabling space for their kids to have fun, socialize and share in the memories of their birth. On today's episode, I share how I've done birthday parties, although only two of them. By no means am I an expert or professional party planner. Yet, I've thrown two and they've gone off fairly successfully. I share everything from choosing a theme, buying decorations, options for invitations, where to host it, choices of how to serve food, what type of cake or dessert to have, activities to offer during the party, gift bags or not, and more.

Keeping things creative and interesting in the kitchen for yourself, your partner and kids can be both challenging and tiring at times. But it can also be exciting, exercise your creative skills and can keep eating and mealtimes spicy and interesting. In this episode, I describe in detail what inspired me to create/tweak the Meal Plan that I currently use today. I share the binder I use, how I've created Word Docs that include a Grand 9-Week Meal Plan calendar, grocery lists and recipes and how I use each to enable to make cooking for my family pretty easy!

Sleep! This is a MUCH discussed topic among twin/multiple and also singleton moms. One of the most common questions I am asked when strangers find out that I have twins is, "How did you do sleep training?" The insanity and exhaustion caused from bad or lack of sleep is unlike anything I have experienced before or since. Parents seem to be scarred by those early weeks and months when they walked through life in a half-awake daze. So much so that people with grown kids still immediately think of the sleep question when they think about babies. In this episode, I discuss all things sleep training, from how to prepare your baby's nursery, what types of accessories helped our twins, how sleep training twins is different and what you can do. I also described and explained my personal approach to sleep training. I talk about how it put them on a 9-1-5 schedule, how feedings and activity went. I also share what my 21-month old twin toddlers sleep schedule is like now.

I think one of the greatest challenges of parenting is raising siblings who like each other. Parents not only have to find ways to let each child know they are special and loved, but they also need to help them learn how to share and cooperate. Ultimately, we as parents hope to lay a foundation for our kids to develop a strong sense of love, support, comfort and pleasure for each other as they journey into adulthood. But it can be a hard thing to foster. Especially with multiples. I feel as though sibling rivalry can be up there in terms of the type of distress and concern parents undergo, close to average behavior problems. But, I truly believe that we can create an atmosphere where sibling love is part of the dynamics in our home, In this episode, I talk about interventions/conflict, comparison, jealousy/attention, "forcing vs. allowing" siblings to share and form friendships and more.

Let's discuss a very "fluffy" topic: laundry. This episode is inspired by a few other podcasters. Let's face it, as moms, we are typically the humans who do the majority of this task and we are always looking for tips and ideas about how to make it more efficient and effective. I am no expert, but in this show, I share when and how I do our laundry, what products I use, folding and putting away and more. I hope you will find some new ideas or just be able to relate to how things are done in our household.