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  • Wed, September 01, 2021 11:20 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    FWMOM 2021 Welcome!
    Uncertain World Requires Unparalleled Wisdom  

    As we launch our new year as an organization, I wanted to introduce the direction that our club and conversations within are headed.  

    Welcome to the year of FWMOM Wisdom!

    That’s right. We have our own special language of wisdom that only moms with multiples truly understand. We learn how to take the timeless advice of our mothers and grandmothers and apply it to our life amid multiples. 

    We also begin to realize that not all that hand-me-down advice fits our family, situation, or season in life. We often sit perplexed between “never wake a sleeping baby” and “the schedule is the only way I survive”. Alas we wake the sleeping baby for the sake of our sanity. Learning how to work that out takes a special kind of mother- it takes you! 

    I want to look at wisdom from all points of view this year, sources of wisdom, and applying that to our life as MOM’s.

    There is practical wisdom like- wash your hands before you eat, buy the adult meal, and split it with the twins, everyone eats and naps at the same time. 

    There is also spiritual wisdom, less touchable with our hands, but so very powerful. Those are the nuggets of wisdom that shift perspectives on the inside, help us navigate difficult decisions, and are refreshing to our soul. One of my favorites is: “you are the best mother for your children, nobody will replace that place in their life.” Anyone ever heard that one? If not, read it again and know how true it is! 

    This year, I want to combine the practical with the powerful in our conversations.  

    We are facing a world right now that is on shifting sand. The normal we knew in 2019 will never be back. Honestly, that makes me uncomfortable…

    Like baking a cake, once the ingredients are mixed and in the oven… there is no going back to flour, milk, and eggs. The cake is baked for 2021 ladies, and we didn’t have much of a say in the process! Moving forward is going to take diving a bit deeper, shifting our perspectives on schooling, work, discipline, and social media. We are going to look at how we as a group of mothers can support, encourage, and stand with each other especially when we MAY be making different decisions on the same matter.  

    My heart is to be a voice of wisdom to the MOM’s of our club. To you!

    One thing I most love about all of you, is the diversity of our membership. There is only one ticket into our club, and we all have the honor of being mothers of multiples. Best gift ever, am I right?! Beyond that we have a wide range of professions, demographics, ages, and cultures represented. It is a beautiful thing. 

    For those who are meeting me for the first time, I come with my own unique perspectives. I am an ICU nurse. I am a minister. I am a boy mom. I am married to the hottest man alive (TMI-but true). I am not from the south. I do love fried pickles and hate okra. I am a Jesus follower. I love a good movie but don’t watch much TV. I am an enneagram 2 with balanced wings. You may relate to some of these, none of these, or all of these, and THAT IS FANTASTIC. We can all benefit from the life experiences of one another.


    Know that when I speak, when I blog, or when I post, that this is my perspective, and I will present wisdom as I see it today. I most certainly do not have it all figured out, which is why a conversation is two ways. Please share, bring your insight, disagree (yes I said it!), and be willing to sit in the place to receive. Again, with the refreshing beauty of our group, there is no judgy mom culture here. Let’s keep it that way! Always keep your comments kind, humble, and respectful friends.  

    There is power in wisdom. Wisdom is a safe place, and so should our conversations. There is safety in wisdom that is unattainable in any other way. One word or one conversation can bring such peace to our hearts. That is what this year for FWMOM will be about.  

    One of my favorite reminders of this is in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. Proverbs are like little bits of golden wisdom, which I will pull from routinely. Proverbs 3:21-22 says:  

    “My child, never drift off course from these two goals in your life: to walk in wisdom and to discover discernment. Don’t ever forget how they empower you. For they are strength to you inside and out and inspire you to do what’s right; you will be energized and refreshed by the healing they bring.”  

    FWMOM Wisdom will empower us.

    FWMOM Wisdom will strengthen us from the inside out. 

    FWMOM Wisdom helps us know what is right.  

    FWMOM Wisdom energizes and refreshes us.

    FWMOM Wisdom brings healing. 

    This year, let’s major on these things. Not our differences. But on building up a pile of wisdom that brings us all safety and clarity for the days ahead.  

    Much love,  
    Tonya 


    Tonya Flowers is a mother to Lucas, and twins Wyatt and Timothy. She is a wife, nurse, minister and currently serves FWMOM as our Chaplain.



  • Wed, August 18, 2021 8:38 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Well, I tumble outta bed and stumble to the kitchen
    Pour myself a cup of ambition
    Yawn and stretch and try to come to life
    Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping
    Out on the street, the traffic starts jumping

    PUMP THE BRAKES…

    …we actually have no clue about traffic…

    We’re a homeschool family…in Texas.

    2020 was the year that changed it for us. With everything shut down from the Pandemic and my husband, an essential public utility city worker - who was working around the clock – a lackluster summer came and went. I did my absolute best to keep the ball rolling and keep some kind of learning and activities going on after Spring Break and into the summer. I decided to try and “catch my kids up”. Lots of “read to me” books were assigned in Epic. I bought every workbook Dollar Tree and Target carried. I subscribed to every learning app on the roku. I was doing trials on every online learning curricula I could find (most are not very good). We did a ton of live classes with Outschool. I setup my tiny little classroom using an old plant stand as a book shelf. I had two 15 year old laptops I upgraded with memory and installed Zorin operating system. My old school inner geek was kicked in full force.

    But, what was my “real” plan come August 2020 when public school started?

    Our girls were absolutely terrified to go back to public school. Their last year of in person school (2019-2020) was first grade. There was a lot of bullying and very little transparency in the classroom. We had no clue how badly they struggled. We weren’t able to observe them in class to see where they thrived and where they needed support. There were no volunteer opportunities. A lot of trust was lost.

    But we, as a family, are tough and decided to give it another shot. We started the 2020-2021 with public school remote learning like everyone else.  We absolutely loved their core and elective teachers - but several weeks passed and we knew something was very wrong. The girls weren’t getting equally fair support and the workload just wasn’t realistic. We had to cancel their counterproductive dyslexia class to allow time for core subjects and teachers they loved. I spoke up and was given a harsh reaction from their school administration…I found out later this happened to several other parents and their children.

    When the schools IT department decided to change everything at 7 weeks – completely wiping out all the hard work between myself and teachers to get structured education in place for our children - we decided it was best for us to leave public education.

    All of our haphazard “rookie homeschool” work had been placed on hold during these past 7 weeks. We took a break for a few days and then picked up where we left off. It wasn’t easy. While our girls are identical –their brains are not. It took several months for me to find a complete curriculum that worked for us – something that I could customize for each child – something that was structured, sleek and had reporting – something better than the obsolete homeschool programs out there and something better than the apps public schools used as a crutch. We found it, along with some supplemental apps and a workbook we absolutely love. My kids do a combination of independent learning with several teachers through their master curriculum and I work with them during workbook time. It’s a great method that’s really working for us. Everyone and everything is accountable. Texas has been behind the times with regard to private homeschool – but there’s a new breed of us that are wanting bigger and better - and we’re making that happen rather quickly.

    Even through the Texas winter blast in February 2021 – we toughed it out for a week with no electricity and no running water. We burned a lot of wood to keep it above 50 in our home. We had to scoop water out the pool to flush our toilets. My husband was working insane hours and that left me and our girls to figure it out. We did a lot of learning, gaming, and “preparing for the zombie apocalypse”.  A friend and her family in Southlake opened their home to us so we could recoup. We spent another week in a hotel – thankfully with a kitchenette and pull out sofa bed. Another friend - all the way in Turkey - sent help. We are so very thankful for these amazing strong women in our lives.

    Despite everything - our kids are insanely happy and thriving – so are me and Daddy. We haven’t missed a beat in quality family time and our girls have had the busiest summer ever with kids of all ages through multiple VBS, summer camps, homeschool programs, volunteering, community service, and play dates.

    We’ve kept in touch with their most loved previous teachers and I know they really enjoy seeing all the fun and exciting things we do! Even our awesome family physician gets all the updates. We’ve got an amazing cheering squad in our corner that love our “go get em” attitude towards life. On top of that - over the summer – during the insane lumber inflation - my husband built me beautiful wood sofa style cabinets that hold all of our classroom supplies. I couldn’t be happier with our little school setup!

    We homeschool year round and will wrap up second grade the end of August. I’m going to take a week to set the curriculum for the next year – which will be grade 2.5 beginning first of September. We’ve decided to ditch traditional education standards taught in the US and learn from other areas of the world. Standardized testing, Common Core, and Stem focus are things of the past at Hoffman Academy. We do maintain our legal obligation in Texas to teach Math, Reading, Spelling, Grammar, and Good Citizenship. Adding to that, we are teaching Music, Art, Foreign Languages, Life Skills, Science, and History. And we do record attendance. Recently, our master curriculum received accreditation from ACS WASC (The Accrediting Commission for Schools, Western Association of Schools and Colleges.)

    For me, the choice to homeschool was empowering. It made me realize I didn’t have to do things the way everyone else did. Homeschooling was a choice, not a sacrifice and it’s an amazing feeling for your beautifully interdependent family to hug you…and thank you.

    Melanie Hoffman is a full time homemaker and private homeschool teacher residing in Grapevine, Texas with her husband Dustin and their identical twin daughters.


  • Wed, July 28, 2021 11:18 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Have you ever seen an adult throwing a temper tantrum and behaving childishly? I get second-hand embarrassment when I witness that. Those incidents spur me to raise my children with the end goal in mind: competent, kind and respectful adults.

    I was a high school exchange student in Germany when I was 16. One of the things that stuck with me was that, due to a comprehensive public transportation system, teens and even children were allowed much more freedom to travel without an adult. In general, teens were trusted with “adult” things, and far from being delinquents, they handled themselves responsibly. It was definitely a paradigm shift that stuck with me. Children handle responsibility remarkably well, especially when they are given opportunities to practice it.

    Our natural tendency is to overprotect—protect our kids from the world and protect the world from our kids. But kids have to take risks in order to learn how to manage risk. This is especially hard with multiples and the health concerns that often come with them; risk is the exact opposite of our goal after what we went through. When my kids started to climb, I would spot them the first few times, pointing out where their foot should go if they got stuck. Once they showed proficiency, I could take my seat. They probably have my mantra, “Don’t climb higher than you can get down yourself” embedded in their brain. As a result, I rarely have to rescue them, and they are all physically adept. The same concept can be applied to all areas of parenting: teach them up close, help them if they get stuck but do not rescue, and they will learn that they can do it themselves.

    Kids thrive when they have a sense of purpose and when they feel needed and a part of something. I was challenged –I mean, blessed!—with an oldest son with an insatiable curiosity and lightning fingers. He stretched my patience to the limit, and then I saw an episode of the Duggar show, where a toddler was kept happily busy bringing Daddy all the trash cans in the house. Jim Bob stayed calm and thanked her for every one, even though he clearly did not want them at that moment. Something clicked; kids want to help. They will do a terrible job at first, but instead of stopping them, we should thank them for their efforts and provide an example for them to follow. As they grow, they will get better. Once I adopted the “give them a job” style of parenting, my son never slowed down, but more of his energy was spent on activities of which I approved. Soon he was a two-year-old carrying the diaper bag, folding washcloths, and cracking eggs for breakfast.

    Parenting for the long term means enforcing discipline consistently from a young age, so that kids can trust our rules and not test them constantly. It takes a canny parent to always say what you mean and mean what you say, so the simpler, the better. I have just a few rules that I repeat like a broken record, so we can all remember them. How many of us have, in a moment of frustration, said, “If you don’t behave, I’m going to leave you here!”, and then we have to make the walk of shame with a kid under each arm, because of course we cannot really leave our kids there? Children will take full advantage of idle threats, so we have to carefully make enforceable statements. Instead, I would say, “Would you like to leave on your feet or in my arms?” Either way, I get the desired outcome—my child in the car. Now that my kids know that I am willing to inconvenience myself to enforce compliance and I will keep the rules every time, the battle of wills happens much less. Just remember, children cannot yet consistently apply the same rule to new situations, so they need to be reminded.

    In order to make enforceable statements, parents also have to let go of that which they cannot control. I cannot make my child sleep, but I can make them lay in bed quietly and make them wake up at the same time, whether they have slept or not. I cannot make them eat all their food, but I can make them sit at the table during meal time. I have too many kids (don’t we all!) to force each one to finish their chores in an hour, but I can make their beloved screen time dwindle, the longer they take. By controlling only what I can control, kids learn to trust my discipline and learn to control themselves.

    Children love to feel big, and childhood is a gradual handover of power from parent to child. I take every opportunity I can to have the kids do a task that stretches them. With my four year old, that is making oatmeal in the microwave. With my ten year old, that is ordering pizza online or making a short shopping trip on his own. My goal is that they have most of the life skills they need by the time they are adults and that, if they do not know it, they know how to find out. And the best part of handing out tasks like this is that children love them! They love to feel like a grown-up and challenge themselves.

    What a wonderful sacred task we have been given, to raise these tiny humans into adults. We get to guide them as they discover, learn, and grow. I cannot wait until my children are adults, not because I dislike their childhood, but because I look forward to seeing the people they will become.

    Aubrey True is a mother of five kids under 11, including 4 year old twins. She has lived in Azle and Weatherford for most of her life. Her interests include coffee, reading, minimalism, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

  • Wed, July 07, 2021 12:52 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    It was the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend, and I woke up with every intention of spending the day outside. The weather was absolutely perfect, and for once, the chores were all finished the night before. I woke up, packed the snack bag, the medicine bag, and the sunscreen, dressed myself and my kids in matching tye-dyed shirts I made for the entire family last summer, and headed out the door for Dream Park in Fort Worth.

    If you’ve ever been to Dream Park you know that it is a massive play space with multiple playgrounds and very quickly you can lose track of multiples who tend to run in opposite directions. So instead of sitting still and watching a single child, I walked the park and kept track of which child was at each playground. I didn’t stop to swing a child, or play with a child like I normally would at smaller parks, but I (almost) always knew where each of my 3 children were located.

    About 1 hour into our visit, I rallied the troops and sat everyone down for snacks. We talked about how much fun they were having on the playground, while re-hydrating and filling their little tummies. After just a few minutes, they were refueled and ready to play. 

    This time though, they all took off running in the same direction. All 3, unlike before, ran not only to the same play space, but to the same exact location. It was at this moment that I was able to stop and play with the kids.

    As I helped my youngest (singleton) cross the obstacle that seemed so effortless to his older brothers, one of the twins yelled, “Momma, watch this!” I was feet away and looked up just in time to watch him miss the step and land face first on the stairs in front of him. As he stood up, I knew something was majorly wrong. I grabbed him, cradled his little body, looked at the man next to me and calmly said, “Call 9-11.”

    The events that followed were incredible and are certainly worth writing about, but as we go through the summer, I want to leave you with a bit of wisdom and encouragement.

    When with your children, put your phone down and be present. So often, we get caught up in what’s going on outside of our immediate reality, and we miss things that could be life changing, or even life threatening. I am also guilty of not being fully present 100% of the time and am thankful that at the moment of the most traumatic event in my son’s life, I was right by his side. I was there to watch whatever silly stunt he was about to pull. I was there to watch him conquer the obstacle and to see his confidence rise just a little when he made it to the other side. But most importantly I was with him on what has been the most traumatizing day of his life, and although I fully give God full credit for the prompting, it is only because on that day, I left my phone in the car.

    Put away the technology this summer, and live in the present. Make memories, even if they land you in the ER.

    Sara is a mom to four year old twins, a two year old, and a bonus mom to a twelve and thirteen year old. She is a Christian social media influencer, and serves on the praise and worship team at Birdville Baptist Church.

  • Wed, June 23, 2021 6:30 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Chances are you and the kiddos spent a lot more time together during lockdowns. Despite all the angst and havoc inflicted by the pandemic, there was one silver lining—families had time to grow closer. There was time for unhurried conversations and family meals, playing games and watching movies together. You probably even found yourself suddenly thrust into your child’s daily school work like never before—keeping a close eye on Zoom classes and online assignments.

    Sure, all that forced togetherness wasn’t always ideal. There may have even been times when you thought your kids were driving you a little bit crazy. Still, it was a rare opportunity to really see and appreciate the amazing, individual people your kids really are. 


    As our lives begin to return to normal, you may be struck by just how complete your family is—just the way it is right now. Whether you have a matching set or can field an entire swim team, you may realize you have everything you want in the way of a tight-knit family. So how do you hold onto this perfection? 

    Birth control: the imperfect control of perfection.  

    It’s no secret that women have traditionally carried the greatest responsibility for birth control. Today, modern medicine gives women lots of options. Spermicide foams and jellies, non-hormonal gels, diaphragms, the cervical cap, sponges, pills, patches, vaginal rings, shots, implants, IUDs—even surgery (tubal ligation). They all reduce the risk for pregnancy and can help couples plan their families. Still, they can be complicated, expensive, inconvenient or come with health risks and side effects. Although many of them do a good job of preventing pregnancy, none of them are 100 percent effective. 

    There’s another option, though.

    Let your man man up.  

    When it comes to male birth control, there are two options: condoms and the “v” word—vasectomy. Many men don’t like using condoms. And just as many will wince when they think about a surgical knife coming anywhere near their manhood. They are very protective of the family jewels. 

    While the thought of a little snip-snip in that area makes some guys cringe, nearly 500,000 men in the United States have a vasectomy every year because it’s a simple procedure. With just one or two small incisions, the vas deferens (the two tubes that move sperm) are cut or sealed off so sperm can’t reach the semen ejaculated from the penis. Because sperm is cut off, vasectomies are 99 percent effective against pregnancy.

    Here’s the bonus good news!

    Along with being so effective in preventing pregnancy, vasectomy doesn't affect a man's libido, sexual function or semen production. Men still experience normal orgasms! A vasectomy simply prevents sperm from mixing with other seminal fluids. After a vasectomy, a man still ejaculates normally, but sperm will no longer be present in his ejaculatory fluid.

    Let our “V” team help.

    With more than 20 experienced and compassionate urologists—including skilled micro surgeons who specialize in vasectomy—Urology Partners of North Texas (UPNT) is honored to help couples with their family planning.    

    "Not only is vasectomy a quick and inexpensive procedure, but other than abstinence it is the most effective form of birth control,” says Dr. Adam Hollander.

    Routinely performed since the end of World War II, studies show that only one or two women out of 1,000 get pregnant every year after their partners have a vasectomy. The minor procedure usually takes about 20 minutes and is often performed right in our urology clinic under local anesthesia. Given its efficacy and relative simplicity, men have good reasons to feel very comfortable with their decision to have a vasectomy. 

    Many men consider vasectomy a loving gift.

    After years of watching the mother of their children cope with months of pregnancy and the pain of childbirth, they view it as a chance to do their part. “I’ve had many men tell me, ‘It’s only fair that I do this for my wife. She’s been through a lot.’” says Dr. Jason Poteet

    Following the procedure, some men have a small risk for bleeding, bruising and infection. Strenuous activity is restricted for five to seven days during recovery. Many men schedule their vasectomy for a Thursday or Friday so they can rest on Saturday and Sunday (a terrific excuse to binge watch sports all weekend).

    It is also extremely important for men to check with their UPNT physician before having unprotected sex following their vasectomy. A semen analysis a few months post-vasectomy can confirm that sperm is no longer present in semen.  

    What if you change your mind?

    “Most vasectomies can be reversed—even if several years have passed since the procedure,” Dr. Weber Chuang explains. “Although a reversal doesn’t guarantee success in conceiving a child, studies show that men have a 40 to 90 percent success rate of sperm returning to the semen. “We want to make sure men know about all their options so they can make informed decisions about vasectomy and vasectomy reversal.”

    So, is your family ready to take the plunge?


    Urology Partners of North Texas is a Diamond Level Sponsor for FWMoM. They have a compassionate group of doctors offering many services including assistance with infertility, male and female incontinence, and  the ultimate long-term birth control—precision vasectomy. They are conveniently located throughout the metroplex with locations in Fort Worth, Grapevine, Arlington, Mansfield, Grapevine, Irving and Weatherford. 

    Follow them on Facebook!

    To learn more about their doctors, services or to schedule a consultation,  please visit their website at www.upnt.com or  call 866-367-8768. 

  • Wed, June 02, 2021 4:10 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    On February 13, 2013, I announced on Facebook that my husband David and I were debt free, and we had paid off $51,000 in 3.5 years. We have been debt free, except for a mortgage, for 8 years now. There was no inheritance, no lottery winnings, not even an income above $40,000 per year. There was only steady progress and deliberate decisions.

    Forbes places the average net worth of an under-35-year-old at just $14,000. In 2020 in a Federal Reserve Survey, 38% of respondents said they would not be able to afford $400 for an emergency with the money currently in their bank account. The average American is saddled with consumer debt that seriously hinders their risk tolerance, prevents them from leaving bad jobs (or bad bosses!), and promotes a poverty mindset. Living beyond your means is a prison.

    Here is our $51,000 breakdown:

    • Mechanic school: $27,000
    • Credit card debt: $5,000
    • Paid cash for two home births: $10,000
    • Paid cash for two cars: $9,000

    So how do you do it? Get on the same plan! We used Dave Ramsey. He advocates “gazelle intensity”, or taking drastic measures to save money so we could dump it all into debt repayment. We moved in with my parents, drove 10 year old cars, and cooked from scratch. We sold anything that wasn’t essential and took on extra jobs. Subscriptions and memberships got the axe. The budget was king, and the thrift store was my kingdom.

    We communicated about everything to make it work. That’s the second step. If you combine finances like we did, each has to know what the other is spending on. We did have small allowances each month, which we could spend freely. Any time one category went over, we worked together to figure out another category to get the money from.

    People thought that we were a little crazy. Okay, I was a little crazy. I took this as a challenge to see how low I could go, and yes, there is a line—washing cloth diapers by hand is my line! But it’s hard to adequately describe the benefits of paying off debt. Our money goes much further because the only thing we pay interest on is a mortgage. We were able to avoid government assistance except for children’s health insurance, and we avoided the dependence mindset. Part of the Dave Ramsey plan includes building an emergency fund, and having that security means we have the freedom to leave a horrible job if needed. We have the confidence, after paying off so much, that we can handle almost any financial challenge thrown our way.

    Since then, we no longer follow Dave Ramsey to the letter. Buying a home with no credit was difficult, so I highly recommend that, if you have even an ounce of discipline, you keep one credit card, use it only for regular expenses, and pay it off in full each month. That will not incur debt, but it will keep your credit high, making any big purchase like a home or car much easier. I started with a secured credit card, and I have moved up to cards with rewards. I haven’t paid them a cent in interest. We also don’t keep a budget anymore, but the frugal habits that we developed have persisted. It’s like weighing your food when you start a diet—after a while, you can just see what the right portion is, and you no longer need to weigh.

    Some things have stayed the same. I have never financed a car, and I have no intention of ever doing so. We recently bought David a new car, and the salesman was salivating at our high credit scores, so it was almost sad to dash his dreams by paying cash. Not paying interest more than made up for it. I scrounged and rode the bus and train two hours each way in my early 20s to save $3000 for my first car. By paying myself a car payment and driving each car as long as possible, I have been able to pay cash for each car we have.

    Dave’s plan is all about being very intentional and intense about money, watching it like a hawk. I like to take a lazy approach now; it reduces decision fatigue. I have automated as many bills as I can, as well as automatically sending money to savings and investments. My investing style is “set it and forget it”; as long as I choose a market-matching index fund and keep adding to it year after year, I will be recession-proof.

    Being debt free is just part of living within our means. We qualified for a much larger mortgage than we chose to take on, and because our mortgage was low, we did not lose our house when David lost his job and then had to take a job with much lower pay. I knew from challenging myself earlier how to cook from scratch and make do. We still live comfortably because we have already practiced this lifestyle. What would you do if your car was totaled? Can you pay your insurance deductible if you have a hospital stay? Not having an emergency fund big enough to cover these expenses is an emergency! Even very low income families can start saving. I’m not talking about the “skip a latte a day” garbage—I don’t even buy Starbucks at all. Everyone can do something, and by starting even at just $5 a paycheck, it creates a placeholder that you can increase as your frugal kung fu becomes stronger. Becoming debt free takes intention and consistency, but the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices.

    Resources:

    Financial Peace University, Dave Ramsey

    America’s Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money, Steve and Annette Economides

    I Will Teach You To Be Rich, Ramit Sethi

    Aubrey True is a mother of five kids under 11, including 4 year old twins. She has lived in Azle and Weatherford for most of her life. Her interests include coffee, reading, minimalism, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

  • Wed, May 19, 2021 5:41 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    David and I have never made big money while we were a couple, but we are fantastic frugal ninjas, and we have been able to live a good life. What’s our secret? We are content with what we have.

    Our biggest financial challenge yet came when David was long haul trucking and got into an accident. Don’t worry, no one was injured, but the company let him go. I was pregnant, but I wasn’t worried yet, since I thought he could easily find another trucking job. Then his job search stretched and stretched and stretched on. Instead of living larger, I had saved aggressively when his income was way more than we needed, so we had enough to get by on now. We found out it was twins, and then we had the twins, and he still hadn’t found a job. (Well, he had, but it was pizza delivery—been there, done that, and I knew he could do better.) When the twins were 2 months old, 9 months after losing his job, David was hired again.

    I’m not made of stone. It really hurt to see our diligently gathered savings dwindle. But out of that hardship came one of the best things when having twins—David was able to help me care for them full time for two months! Just seeing the strong bond between the boys and their dad made it all worth it.

    David is still working at a warehouse, and yes, for a family of seven, it is a small income. We give up a lot of things we don’t care much about to make sure our necessities and our most wanted luxuries are covered. I can’t change our income much, but what I can control is my attitude. And if I get the itch to buy something expensive, I make a comparison. These shoes cost four times as much as the other ones, but are they four times better? Almost every time, the answer is no, and I can happily buy the shoes in my budget. I also get a kick out of using things up completely, a handy knack for a frugal ninja. We are about to buy our next car, and I will enjoy passing our 18-year-old minivan to its next owner because we got full use out of it.

    Kids are masters of being content with enough. My son Brendan raids the recycling to create robot suits, and he created his own deck of Faux-kemon cards instead of buying some. My daughter Ivy regularly buys her own candy, and then shares half the bag with her siblings. She also used her own money to bribe the twins to do a chore, even though I said she could use the money for allowances (generous, but also big brain). She doesn’t care about giving of her own as long as she has enough for herself. 

    This stage of life has its perks. My kids are funnier than any Comedy Central special. I get all the snuggles I need. (Everyone needs snuggles!) I’m making an impact on the world that will last long beyond me by raising competent, caring adults. It’s easy to be happy with a bounty like that.

    Aubrey True is the mother of five kids under 11, including 4 year old twins. She has lived in Azle and Weatherford for most of her life. Her interests include coffee, reading, minimalism, and cognitive behavioral therapy.

  • Fri, May 07, 2021 1:22 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Wow, what a night we had on Sunday, May 2nd at The Gardens at Los Vaqueros!  63 of our fabulous moms of twins and triplets gathered together to celebrate the one, beautiful thing that ties us all together; motherhood.  For those who don’t know the history of the event, in the past it was called Baby Shower and was held once a year specifically to honor moms who were pregnant or had given birth in the last year.  In recent years however, we’ve shifted to an event that celebrates ALL of our moms! 

       

    Donations were procured from over 50 local vendors so most moms were able to go home with a prize just for walking through the door! 


    However, moms whose numbers weren’t drawn were still able to choose from a table of small prizes set aside specifically for this purpose.  We didn’t forget about our new moms though; they were each given a gift bag containing a bottle of scented lotion and a sample of bath salts.  Every mom in attendance went home with a swag bag filled with small donations and discount vouchers from local businesses plus a small succulent planted in a glass jar customized for the event with a geometric butterfly reminiscent of the gorgeous mural member Katlin Smith painted and loaned to FWMoM for the event.  MoMs used the mural as a backdrop for pictures, both solo and with friends. 

     

    One of our platinum sponsors, Fort Worth Fertility, held exclusive naming rights to this event and was featured on both the programs and the event poster.  Below, you’ll find a list of all the donors who contributed to Celebrating MoMs 2021.  If you were unable to make it to this fantastic event, we’re sorry we missed you and we hope you join us for it next year.  It’s always an amazing night to connect with friends and make new friends, too!


    Event Sponsors:

    Aledo Party Cakes, Koula Budler

    Altitude Trampoline Park

    AuPairCare Area Director Lizy Pinon

    BeWREATH It or Not

    Bijou by Crystal Colon

    Billy Bob’s Texas

    Chef Tim Love

    Clark Gardens

    Cloth + Stitch

    Cookie Dough Bliss

    Cowtown Clay

    Coyote Drive-In

    Crayola Experience

    Dallas Arboretum

    Dallas Mavericks, Rema Kornblith

    Down South Co.

    Dynamic Frames

    Flow Fusion LLC, Wendy Lee

    FWMoM

    FW Museum of Science and History

    Health and Healing PT, Amanda Sneed

    Holland Harris Photography

    House of Air Crowley, owner Emily Furney

    Jade, Rose, and Sage

    Jet’s Pizza, Kristy Flaim

    Kaila Horrillo; Scentsy

    Kate Weiser Chocolate

    Kendra Scott

    Kick House, Katherine Smith

    Kid Mania

    Little Bow Peep DFW, Kristin Pace

    Nothing Bundt Cakes

    NRH2O

    Mad Paperie

    Mash’d

    Pep Talk owner and SLP, Sam Beck

    Pirate’s Cove

    Play.Grace.Love.

    Play Street Museum

    Pomifera Partner Kelly Rosser

    Raising Canes

    Rise no3

    Rogue Brick

    Rosa’s

     Sacred Oasis Massage

    Sew Many Thoughts

    Shop the Pair, Cami Karamatic

    Sleep Wise consultant Melina Moses

    Target

    Tricky Fish

    Wings n Whimsy artist Katlin Smith

    Emily Dennis is a stay at home mom to 6 year old Caroline and 3.5 year old triplets, Jameson, Shepherd, and Audrey. She currently serves the FWMoM board as the Special Events Coordinator. 

  • Thu, April 29, 2021 2:16 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)


    Samantha Beck MS, CCC-SLP

    My kids HATE being cooped up indoors for too long with each other. I have three year old triplets who are REALLY starting to show their independence and test my nerves and patience! Having built-in besties is great for my kids...until one steals the other’s Barbie doll or smashes the other’s play doh tower...then it turns into an all out screaming session. Uggh. We have to get out of the house for my sanity and to help the kids burn off some energy.

    Since this pandemic started, one of the few places my kids and I could go was to local neighborhood parks and playgrounds. I found myself taking my kids to various parks in the area on a DAILY basis. Many moms and dads looked just as relieved as I was to have their kids out of the house running, climbing, and soaking up some sunshine.

    I was spending so much time at playgrounds that as a speech therapist, I started to think about all the opportunities there were for language development at the park. We often think about all the physical benefits of outdoor play, but by using a few simple language strategies, or “language boosters” as I like to call them, the playground can be a language powerhouse!

    I decided to choose a few playground favorites to focus on today: the swings, slides and sandbox.

    SIDE NOTE: I let the kids bring a few toys (doll, cars, etc.) to play with at the park. I think it allows for more language opportunities and creative play. Plus, when you are at the playground as much as we are, you gotta do something to keep things fresh and fun! So, my girls will often let their baby dolls “swing” while they push and my son races his cars down the slide. Again, just something fun to try!

    1. SWINGS~

    Language Boosters:

    • Offer your child CHOICES. This is a great strategy for helping your child feel more independent in their play and for teaching new vocabulary and concepts.

    I may say, “Do you want to go fast or slow?”

    “Do you want to go on the tire swing or the blue swing?”

    “Do you want the first swing or middle swing?”

    “Do you want to face forwards or backwards?”

    “Do you want to swing on your belly or bottom?”

    Your child then needs to verbalize their choice (or you can model the desired response for your child if they are not yet using words; ie- ‘Oh you want to go on the blue swing!’ when they point to their choice).

    • Using WAIT TIME/ WITHHOLDING strategies.

    Don’t just put your child in the swing right away. You want to pause and wait for your child to request to be lifted up onto the swing. Your child would then request “up”, “mama up”, “swing”, etc. before you would lift them into the swing. Is your child not using words independently just yet? No problem! This is a great opportunity for you to MODEL what you would like to hear, ie- you would say “swing”, “up”, etc. for your child to hear, learn, and possibly repeat!

    Once on the swing, I encourage parents to again WAIT until the child requests a push using the same strategies as described above.

    • EXPANSIONS/ MODELING words/phrases/sentences using a “ONE LEVEL UP” strategy

    If your child is not yet using words independently, I want you to model single, meaningful words for your child (ie, ‘push’, ‘up’, more’, ‘swing’) as you are playing.

    If your child is using single words (ie, ‘push’, ‘help’), you would model a two word phrase (ie, ‘more push’, ‘big push’, ‘mama help’ etc.).

    If your child is using two to three word phrases, you would model short sentences (ie, ‘Oh you want a big push!)

    2. SLIDES~

    Language Boosters:

    • OFFER CHOICES

    “Do you want to go down the bumpy slide or the twisty slide?”

    “Do you want to send the car or the baby doll down the slide?”

    • USING MODELING/ EXPANSIONS

    “Car down”

    “More slide”

    “Fast slide”

    • USING WAIT TIME

    If you are physically placing your child on the slide, this is another opportunity for your child to have to request it (ie, “mama slide”, “more slide”, “more up”), or again model the request if your child is not yet using words independently. The slide lends itself perfectly to starting a phrase and then pausing/ waiting for your child to finish. So, “Ready, Set…(pause)... GO!” Wait for your child to finish ‘go’ or you can model the whole phrase for them. Kids of all ages LOVE ‘ready, set, go’ play! My kids love to send cars and dolls down the slide too and we can use this wait time technique with toys going down the slide as well.

    3. SANDBOX~

    My kids FAVORITE, plus some great sensory play

    We have a bag of sand toys we keep in the wagon (yes, when you have triplets, you need a wagon to transport them and all their snacks, toys, jackets, toddler potty, etc). I just ordered some cheap sand toys off Amazon and they are worth their weight in gold for hours of play.

    Language Boosters:

    • MODELING to teach concepts

    While filling up a bucket with sand, model “sand IN, sand OUT”. Talk about how the bucket is “EMPTY” or “FULL” or how the sandcastle is “BIG” or “LITTLE”. You can also model more words and phrases using the “one level up” strategy described above:

    “More sand”

    “Sand in”

    “Bucket full”

    • PRETEND PLAY with sand tools

    I would have never thought of this until my triplets started playing a “cooking” game with the sand and their toys. They fill up buckets with sand, “bake” them in the sand toys bag and then pull them out and “eat” the sand pies with shovels. Aren’t kids imaginative?? Again, lots of great language, sequencing, and social play.

    • MODELING car sounds

    Driving cars in the sand is also always a big hit and is great for modeling environmental car sounds (‘vroom, beep beep’).


    I hope you enjoyed reading about these strategies!

    I made visuals and videos demonstrating how to use these strategies with my own kids at the playground! To check them out, please follow us on social media:

    Facebook.com/PepTalkSpeech

    @peptalkspeech


    Sam Beck has three year old triplets and has been a member of FWMoM since 2017. Sam and her family recently moved from Fort Worth, TX to the San Francisco Bay Area. She is a Speech-Language Pathologist and the owner of PepTalk Speech Therapy which provides speech, language, and feeding/swallowing services through teletherapy to clients residing in Texas and California. For more information on therapy or to schedule an appointment, please check her website at www.peptalkspeechtherapy.com

  • Wed, April 14, 2021 10:52 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Oh, pregnancy is such a wonderful time. The excitement of what’s to come…then nausea sets in…and all the wonders of the first trimester.  Then you find out you’re having multiples. Our bodies are amazing, that it not only can grow one little person, but multiples. Unfortunately for you, musculoskeletal changes come along with this oh so exciting moment. The influx of hormones to help make all your joints very mobile now causing posterior pelvic girdle pain commonly mistaken for sciatica, or the strain on your abdominals by growing amazing little humans, and don’t forget the extra weight put on your pelvic floor which can cause leakage and/or heaviness.

     Not to worry, there are people who specialize in this, us, a Women’s Health Physical Therapist. Woerner Physical Therapy is fully staffed with multiple physical therapists that specialize in all the wonderful changes that come along with pregnancy as well as the postpartum phase. We help you get through your pregnancy as painlessly as possible so you can return to life, whatever that may look like. We are skilled and trained at assessing all the muscles in the “true core” which include your pelvic floor, transverse abdominus, your diaphragm (yes I said diaphragm), and the back extensors. We also know how these muscles are supposed to work together, so we can help you retrain these different muscle groups and make them work efficiently again.

    Many women, even without multiples, have many issues during pregnancy and postpartum, but they believe the stigma of “oh that’s normal, you had a baby” or “you’re pregnant, it will get better once you deliver.” You ladies are going to be smarter than that now. Don’t believe the lies our society tries to tell you. No, it’s not normal.  It is  common, yes, but it’s not normal to need a Depends diaper or to have to run to the restroom every time. We help you make sure your pelvic floor is up to the job of life, to make sure your organs are being properly supported. Not only is this so important to help you function now, it can help make sure all your organs stay where they are supposed to be later.

     If you sail through your pregnancy we applaud you, we are happy for you.  But after all the dust has settled, make sure you are helping your body fully recover; come see a Women’s Health Physical Therapist.

    Woerner Physical Therapy is a dedicated FWMoM Sponsor. They are a group of amazing qualified therapists and experts in treating anything related to the pelvis including pelvic floor dysfunction, functional dry needling, and so much more... both in both men and women. If you are interested in scheduling an evaluation please visit www.woernerphysicaltherapy.com/contact/ or call (682) 235-3816

Fort Worth Mothers of Multiples

P.O. Box 123874

Fort Worth, Texas 76121

Fort Worth Mothers of Multiples is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.


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