Twice the Love

Stories of Inspiration for Families…with Twins, Multiples and Singletons

Twice the Love: Stories of Inspiration for Families…with Twins, Multiples and Singletons, published in conjunction with TWINS magazine, is a compilation of inspiring stories written by parents and other family members about the joys and challenges of raising multiples. These true tales reflect a variety of topics, such as thespecial bondbetween multiples, typical crazy days in the life of a family with twins, challenges encountered in pregnancy or childhood, humorous situationscreated by multiples, adopting twins, and much more. If you’re the parent of Buy the Booktwins or triplets, you’ll love these heart-warming andencouraging stories. This book also makes a great gift for those who are expecting or raising multiples!

CHAPTER TITLES

  1. A Day in the Life . . .
  2. Reflections on Parenting
  3. Family Ties
  4. Treasured Moments
  5. Trials and Triumphs
  6. Becoming a Family
  7. A Special Bond
  8. Mischievous Multiples

The cartoon artistry of the talented John M. Byrne from London, England, is also featured (www.dearjohnbyrne.com).

PRAISE FOR TWICE THE LOVE

“Having just had identical twin boys, I can promise you, you need all the help you can get. This book helped me realize we were not alone . . . Enjoy it!”
    -- Kenny Rogers
        award-winning recording artist

“‘Twice the work, half the sleep’ says one mother of twins in this wonderful and entertaining book. As a mother of eighteen-month-old twin boys, I couldn't agree more! Susan Heim has compiled the most entertaining stories of the good, the bad and the chaotic from parents of twins. The stories are laugh-out-loud funny, inspiring and right on the money.”
    -- Soledad O’Brien
        CNN Anchor

“This is a delight. I couldn't stop smiling.”
    -- Adrienne Barbeau
        actress/author and mother of twins

SAMPLE STORY FROM TWICE THE LOVE

“God, What Did I Ever Do to Deserve This?”

My day started out much like any other day in the life of a mother with toddler twins. Chaotic, yes, but somewhat controlled. I’d managed to get the boys up from bed and fed them their breakfast. Faces were washed; the highchair was clean; the floor was swept. I took off the twins’ pajamas and put their diaper-clad bodies in their fenced-in play area while I went into my home office to check my e-mail. All was quiet from the other room. They must be playing nicely, I said to myself. But another little voice inside told me it was too quiet for the playful antics of two little boys. Usually, I could hear giggles, toys clanking, cries as one twin hit the other in the head with a toy block. Yup, something is definitely not right, I decided. I tiptoed out to the living area to peek at the boys.

Oh no, I begged God, as my eyes took in a sickening sight. I recoiled in horror. Please don’t let that be what I think it is, God. But it was…one of the boys had taken off his diaper and smeared sticky green poop everywhere! It was all over his body, on the floor, on the toy box, on several toys…and on his twin brother! Gross! The poop was literally on almost every surface within reach of the boys.

I sank to the ground, stunned. How could you do this to me, God? I cried. What did I ever do to deserve this? For a moment, I was overwhelmed, wondering how to possibly begin dealing with such a disgusting mess.

Finally, I gathered up enough energy to tackle what lay ahead. After all, the longer I took, the messier it could become! In tears, I pulled everything possible out of the playpen. Then I grabbed the messiest twin and hauled him off to the bathroom, hoping the remaining twin wouldn’t continue to smear excrement from his body to the rest of the play area. It wasn’t an easy job to hang on to a poopy little boy while drawing a bath. I didn’t dare set him down, however, for fear he would soil something else! At last, I managed to get him into the tub and scrubbed down. At one point, I looked down at my own clothes to find green slime smeared all over them, too! I couldn’t leave my son alone, so I stripped down to my underwear, praying that the phone or the doorbell wouldn’t pick that moment to ring. At last, my “little terror” was clean, and we returned to the other room to do the same for his brother.

With both twins clean and the play area stripped, I began preparations to get the boys dressed. I reached for the clean diapers, then turned to rejoin the twins…only to find one of them peeing all over the floor! (This was not, of course, the same boy who had soiled his diapers since he had already done all that he could do!) No! How much worse could this get? I scrubbed the floor, once again wiped my tears, got the twins dressed and managed to find a fresh outfit for myself. The last items to tackle were the dirty toys and clothes I’d thrown out of the playpen. I reached for the dirty diaper on the floor…only to find it swarming with ants! When I’d thrown it out of the playpen, it had landed near the window, obviously enticing a colony of ants who hadn’t had their breakfast yet! Yikes! In order to avoid a mass invasion, I rushed the diaper out to the garage and cleaned up the ants. I’d had enough! I collapsed on the couch and had a few more choice words with God.

Okay, God, I said. You’ve really tested me today. Please pick on somebody else for the rest of the day! And, thankfully, God was good to me. The rest of the day went as smoothly as possible when you’re dealing with toddler twins. I got the dirty laundry finished. I got a little sympathy from my husband when I called him at work to tell him what had happened. I managed to totally gross out my older sons with my story when they returned from school. (That made me quite a cool mom!)

At last, it was bedtime. My husband and I placed the twins in their beds, ready to finally enjoy a little time to ourselves. Before joining my husband on the couch, I tiptoed up to the cribs to check on our little boys. They looked so small and innocent in their little sleepers, soft blond hair curled around their heads, gripping their stuffed animals. Sweet little angels asleep. How precious they are. Dear God, I whispered once again, what did I ever do to deserve this? It must have been something very good. Thank you, God.

Twice the Love can be ordered from TWINS magazine at www.twinsmagazine.com or by calling 1-888-558-9467.