Go Bag

Once upon a time quite a long time ago we took our young twins to see my younger siblings Christmas play, I brought my diaper bag full of the essentials: diapers, wipes, garbage bag, water, etc. But it was my mother who had what we needed that night. The girls, being quite young, were not that interested in watching and quickly got restless and out of my Mom's purse came a little ziplock bag with a couple little books, then crayons and paper, then a little toy to play with. You would think that first, since her children were far beyond needing to be entertained like this she would no longer carry this little bag but that is not how she is and second that I would be more prepared. I resolved I would also have a bag of goodies in my purse and FINALLY got around to putting something together, it took all of 5 minutes and I have already used it a couple times. The great thing is it hardly takes up any space so I can carry it all the time in my purse without adding unnecessary bulk, which I hate. So here it is!

Here is what is in it:

-Pad of post-it notes
-a few stickers
-a few crayons
-2 tiny books
-2 hotwheels cars
-a handfull of these bracelets, they were cool a few years ago and now I found them on clearance at Staples for next to nothing and my girls love them!

 That is it! Do you have tricks or treats you carry along with you everywhere for when you are ina  situation where kids need to be entertained?

Getting There

People say, 'getting there is half the fun!' well if your fun involves a little bit of gong show and a few diaper changes then that is defiantly true for me getting anywhere.

Planning for larger/early morning trips starts the night before
-pack lots of snacks the girls can easily eat: bread, cheese, applesauce, cheerios, dried mango, carrots for me and waters for all
-lay out warm clothes for the girls (not necessary, but helpful and it makes me feel prepared)
-make sure diaper bag is stocked with diapers for all three, two outfits for C (she is at the poop explosion stage) and one for k&j, just incase, and lots of wipes -try to decide what stroller to take
-decide that I will decide when to wake up when C wakes up in the night (usually around 4-6)

C ends up sleeping until 7 (later than usual) usually I change her and then feed her but I though I may be able to feed her quick and lie down for a little longer and change her right before we go but the girls wake up before she is done (sooner than usual) so we all get up and get going.

Now I...
-change toddler diapers, get them dressed and give them cheerios (they eat cheerios most mornings while I feed C/make their breakfast)
-start oatmeal
-change C, she pooped on her sleeper so I change her into a new outfit
-finish packing snacks, double check I have everything I need in the backpack
-still trying to decide which stroller to take, the double is more comfortable and may be able to hold C when the twins are not in it, it also has. As storage compartment but it is so big! The umbrella strollers are small and and handy but don't store things and could not hold C because they don't recline.
-ask Mike about what stroller I should take as he leaves for work. (life trials of the stay at home mom: can't decide what stroller to take to the zoo - life is tough)
-eat oatmeal with K&J
-start telling them about the zoo, I think they got really excited because they did not finish their oatmeal and they usually gobble it up
-by the time we are finished with the oatmeal it is almost 9:00, it takes almost a half hour to get there and it takes me at least 10 minutes to get out the door so it is pretty much time to go, I am glad the girls woke up early, it gave us enough time to not be too rushed in the morning, just efficient
-take camera and food bag out to the van (the girls do not appreciate it when i run things out to the vehicle)
-get shoes and coats on, put C in her carseat and head out!
-arrive at the zoo, get out stroller (I decided on the double) get the twins buckled in, camera and food fit below the stroller, backpack I just put ontop (I will pass it off to a helper later) C goes in the ergo and off we go!




This all went very smoothly and was fairly straight forward, often getting out of the house at a certain time can be stressful for me but this time everything just worked out

I must have looked a little crazy with my stroller with two toddlers in it, big backpack balanced ontop by the handlebar and a baby in an ergo going to the zoo all by myself! Little did the lady who said 'wow' as I walked by realize that I was meeting my family (five sets of extra hands) there!

The penguins were so worth the line up! The girls have been talking about the zoo (aka making all the animal noises) all week, can't wait to go back! 

Camping

During Mike's vacation in July we went camping with his family in Kananaskis. The girls were able to sleep in the trailer which was lovely as it was pretty cold and windy for a few of the nights and I don't think they would have slept as well outside with us. They loved camping, they love being outside and going for walks in the stroller or thier backpacks. Here are some things I learnt from camping.

• Foamy Blocks are Nicer Than Gravel - I brought along our foamy block puzzle piece things to set up outside for the girls to play on, they mostly stayed on them and they were much nicer to crawl around on than the gravel. 
• Pack for Cold Weather - I have not been camping in awhile and have never taken babeis camping so I did not plan well for the cold weather, thankfully my Dad was driving out near to us the second day were out and brought us thier jackets and touques and just in time too because the next day was freezing. Thankfully it warmed up after that and we had lovely hot weather. 
• Kiddie Backpacks are Awesome - The girls love them because they can look around and they hold the baby a bit off your back so the air can move around and you both don't get so hot. 
• If Your Babies Don't Like Water Don't Haul and Heat Water for a Kiddie Pool - They screamed then got out. 
• With Twins Bring a Stroller - We were debating whether to bring the stroller and backpacks and I am so glad we brought both, that way we could go hiking with the backpacks but when one person needed to watch both babies they could take them for a walk in the stroller alone. 

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Flying with twins is an adventure! Recently we took the girls with us on a little weekend trip to Abbotsford for wedding. It was alot of fun and a nice short flight, I don't claim to be an expert but here are a few things I learnt about flying with babies (or baby)

• Bring a stroller - we thought we would save space since we were only going for a weekend and not bring a stroller but little did we know you can wheel the stroller right up to the doors of the plane and then it will be there again when you get off. Handy.
• Bring Cheerios - We did this, snacks for little ones who love to move but must sit on your lap are helpful
• Only one baby can sit in each row because there is only one extra oxygen mask, we sat across the aisle from each other and it worked great
• 'Forbidden Toys' are handy when starting to descend - In general out girls are not allowed to play with our cell phones, however when they started getting really fussy on the way down the cell phones entertained and quieted them
• Bring Grandparents - They are great and don't mind when the baby grabs thier magazine or braclet ect.