One and the Same

I just finished reading Abigail Pogrebin's new book, One and the Same: My Life as an Identical Twin and What I've Learned About Everyone's Struggle to Be Singular. I never knew that there was so much that I didn't know about twins. And now I know.

I certainly don't consider myself an expert when it comes to twins, but I usually feel as though I know what I'm doing when it comes to raising them. Having two sets of twins has given me the requisite experience necessary to field the many questions I receive as a mother of multiples. Navigating the challenges of rearing twins has become my life in recent years but there is just so much that I had never considered. Until now.

Specifically, I had given little thought to the unique struggle that identical twins face as they journey through life with a carbon copy of themselves. Written by an identical twin, One and the Same was a fascinating read for me, because Abigail Pogrebin understands what it's like to grow up with a double. As she explains in her book, identical twins compare themselves with each other, depend on each other, and share a remarkable bond that is unlike any other.

Because both of my sets of twins are identical, I felt I needed to pay close attention to everything that I read. I want to avoid the mistakes of comparing my twins or failing to recognize their individuality. I want to honor their special bond and encourage them while still seeing them as separate. I read with great interest as the author described her childhood and what it felt like to have friends mistake her for her sister. My twins are often mistaken for each other but I had never really stopped to think about how that must feel.

This book is a must-read whether you are a twin, you are a parent of twins, you know twins, or you are just interested in learning more about twins. Although the author discusses identical twins in great detail, much of what she writes applies to fraternal twins as well. She also covers topics such as fertility treatments, birthing twins, death of one twin, and other things that you've probably never thought of before.

I was impressed with the incredible amount of information and research in One and the Same. What also impressed me was the author's perspective and candor when writing about her own experiences. Her book is an intriguing glimpse into life as part of a set. You can find even more information at her website and she even answers questions on her blog. I highly encourage my fellow twin moms to read this book cover to cover and then share it with another mother of multiples. (Hopefully our twins will thank us one day!)

This is not a compensated review. I received a copy of this book in exchange for offering my honest opinion.

Get Clean

Maybe you have heard of Shaklee or perhaps you've tried their products before. Maybe you don't know a thing about Shaklee.

Four years ago I had just found out I was expecting twin girls. I found out on December 30th, 2005-my birthday! It was a shock and I was already 22 weeks along. Immediately, I was concerned about my added nutritional requirements since I was having two babies instead of one. I came across Shaklee's website and was impressed with the quality of their nutritional supplements. I used them throughout my pregnancy.

Recently, Shaklee introduced a line of cleaning products that stay true to the company's motto of "providing a healthier life for everyone and a better life for anyone." This is important to me, as I'm always conscious of what I am exposing my children to each day in the foods we eat, the things I use to clean our home, and even the toys in the playroom.

Recently I had the opportunity to try some of Shaklee's cleaning products in my home and I'm so excited to share what I found. If your New Year's plans include a bit of spring cleaning, you'll want to see this...



Perhaps the most exciting product for me is a little item called Germ Off Disinfecting Wipes. Disinfecting Wipes? In a house with 6 kids ranging in age from 7 to 1, this is a necessity. It's not often that a mother of twins is able to find time to sanitize her house on a regular basis. And then, what are you sanitizing with? Harmful chemicals? The old standby of vinegar and water? I'm a germophobe who recently mounted a hospital-grade sanitizer in her home. I take this stuff very seriously!

Shaklee's Germ Off wipes are convenient and they are safe. The wipes are easy to use and they pop up out of the dispenser for a fast wipe down of whatever germy surface needs attention. But they're bleach and alcohol free. They kill 99.9% of common household bacteria without exposing you to dangerous chemicals. Hello, funky toilet-you have met your match! A quick swipe with the Germ Off wipe and then dispose of the nastiness without ever needing rubber gloves or a face mask.

For those times when you don't need to kill germs and just want to wipe down a surface quickly and easily, there's Shaklee's Basic H2 Organic Cleaning Wipes. These wipes work on windows, counter tops, furniture, and even walls. And yes, I tried them in all of those places! These are the ultimate convenience item and are very handy to have in the car for quick cleanups. Because they're recyclable, biodegradable, and free of phosphates, I feel good using them too.


Shaklee has all of your household cleaning needs covered with their Basic H2 Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate. This concentrate can be diluted in various strengths depending on what mess you're trying to eliminate. You can purchase Shaklee's set of spray bottles for easy mixing. I prepared the different concentrations and then had them all ready to go for quick clean ups. This concentrate can clean your counters, degrease your microwave, wash your windows and mirrors, or even mop your floor. It's the ultimate all-purpose cleaner and it's perfectly safe to use, even for babies still crawling across the floors.

I refuse to post before and after pictures of my toilet, but I will share a before and after of my stove. I have no shame! I recently moved into a foreclosed home that was in need of some TLC. In short, the place was pretty icky. The kitchen was particularly offensive, and I'll admit that I haven't had time to give the stove top the proper attention it deserves. (Hey, my kids come first!) It wasn't dirty in that sense of the word, but there were burnt-on black rings on the ceramic cook top.
I took this photo when I'd already started cleaning the other burners, but you get the idea. It was pretty bad. I hate it when my house isn't spotless but 6 kids have caused me to reevaluate my priorities sometimes.

Receiving Shaklee's Scour Off cleaning paste was just the motivation I needed to finally tackle that stove top. And I didn't have to worry about toxic fumes when I did it.

Scour Off is a thick paste (with a mild, pleasant scent) that's made from mineral abrasives and biodegradable cleaning agents. It's safe for ceramic, cooper, grout, cement, and other surfaces so it's perfect for ovens, stoves, sinks, and tubs. It even removes rust! The best part is that it contains no bleach, chlorine, or dyes.

I applied the Scour Off paste to my stove top and with some gentle scrubbing I was able to remove every trace of burnt-on crud! Seriously, my stove is sparkling now! The difference is just incredible.
Next on my list was to do something about the pile of laundry that was threatening to overtake my tiny laundry room and overflow into my foyer and out my front door. Don't get me wrong, I do laundry every, single day of my life. However, with 6 kids and 5 wearing cloth diapers/training pants, I do a ton of laundry.

I was pleasantly surprised at how clean our diapers were when I used Shaklee's Fresh Laundry detergent. (Now, if I could just do something about our new washer that I absolutely hate!)Fresh Laundry is natural, biodegradable and contains no phosphates or chlorine. It's also concentrated and it's safe to use in HE washers (like mine.) This means that a little bit goes a long way. Our clothes are clean, smell fresh, and don't have chemicals in them that make your skin crawl. That's a good thing.
In addition to the regular laundry detergent, Shaklee also sells a stain-removing laundry booster, intended to replace bleach for clothes that need some extra cleaning power. (Boys' socks? Check.) Because it doesn't contain any bleach, Nature Bright is safe to use on colors and can even be used to remove stains from carpets and furniture. We tested it out on a spill on our beige carpet and I was quite pleased with the results!
Finishing out the laundry, I was able to try Shaklee's Soft Fabric dryer sheets. I don't usually use dryer sheets at all because of their icky ingredients. I use wool dryer balls for all of our laundry. The downside is that we do get some static when I wash a lot of fleece in the same load. Because the Soft Fabric dryer sheets are vegetable-based, I feel confident that they are definitely safe to use in our home. So I used them. And I loved them! They reduced that stubborn static when I was washing pajamas and for that I am eternally grateful. (I hate getting shocked-literally- when I'm folding laundry!)

Logically, after laundry it's time to do the dishes. Shaklee's got that covered too.

Unlike some other natural brands (who shall remain nameless) Shaklee's Dish Wash actually creates suds when you use it. And it smells great too! I have become increasingly frustrated with my other natural dish soap and using Dish Wash was a reminder of what I dislike. I want my soap to cut grease just like the big name soaps but without the phosphates and other scary ingredients. Why should I compromise quality for safety? Well now I won't!
Dish Wash is effective at cutting grease (I tested it on the grease trays from my husband's George Foreman grill!) and it's safe to wash the plates we eat off of too. It's also super concentrated because I only used a tiny drop to clean a whole pile of pots and pans. I could not find one bad thing to say about this soap!
I wash about 2-3 loads of dishes per day in my dishwasher. It gets a lot of use. I've been pretty pleased with our other natural detergent... until now. I had not really thought twice about the leftover bits of detergent that I usually need to rinse off of our glasses. With Shaklee's Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate, I didn't need to rinse the dishes after they came out of the dishwasher. They were clean! Now, if Shaklee would just make a liquid version I'd be smitten. I always seem to spill powder under my sink or on my wet hands but that could just be me and all of the distractions I have when I'm doing dishes.

At the end of the day, I have a new nightly ritual to unwind from all of the cleaning, laundry, dishes, and exhausting work caring for 6 young children. I rub my feet with Shaklee's Herbal Blend Cream. It's mentholated and it's not greasy so it's perfect for dry hands (we have hard water) and cracked feet (my last pedicure was in April 2009.) And no, I'm not going to post pictures of me rubbing my feet. You can thank me later.

If you are new to Shaklee, let me introduce you to Kim. She is a Shaklee distributor and you can read more about her, and why she uses Shaklee's products, at her website. You can meet her family (and her adorable daughter) at her blog. Right now (through January 16th) free membership is available on orders of 50 PV or more. You can order an entire Get Clean Starter Kit that includes everything you need to make your home sparkle and with it, you'll get a free Shaklee membership!

In more than 50 years of business, Shaklee has never had a product recalled. And they have a 30-day guarantee. And apparently, Oprah loves the Get Clean products too! So make your home cleaner and safer in 2010 with the Get Clean products from Shaklee!

If you'd like to win a free product from Shaklee, here is your chance! Just leave a comment telling me which one of the cleaning products is your favorite and why. For an extra entry, blog or tweet about the giveaway and leave a link in a separate comment. Giveaway ends on January 30, 2010.

Giveaway now closed! Congratulations to Jill (comment #16) for winning a Shaklee Get Clean product!



This is not a compensated review. I have used Shaklee's products before and loved them! I did receive free product samples for the purpose of completing this review.

Holly and Hal Moose

If you've watched TV lately, you may have seen the new Christmas movie about Holly and Hal Moose. My kids were so excited to watch something new, in addition to our regular Christmas classics. They fell instantly in love with the animated characters of Holly and Hal, the adorable moose children in this story.

Imagine our excitement when Holly and Hal arrived on our doorstep recently! My children delighted in Hal's antler decorations-Christmas lights that actually light up and glow! They've taken pleasure in dressing, undressing, and redressing Holly and Hal and acting out scenes from the movie. In addition to the "real" Holly and Hal, we also received the book that chronicles their "uplifting" Christmas adventure.

Interestingly enough, we recently took our first family trip to the Build-A-Bear workshop. It was there that we created a Christmas gift for Daddy. It's a camo military bear in full Army gear. It's a sweet bear that was made with love. In fact, he has 6 hearts, each kissed by one of our children. The bear also has a recording of our children telling Daddy that they love and miss him. He's deploying to Iraq right after Christmas so this is a very special bear.

While we were at the Build-A-Bear workshop we saw Holly and Hal. My kids were begging to buy them after seeing the movie. I resisted their desperate pleas, only to find Holly and Hal arrive on our doorstep the next day. What a surprise!

The lovable characters of Holly and Hal are receiving a lot of attention from my lovable kids. Even the youngest of my half dozen have been cuddling with their moose friends. I have never seen such a sweet moose. Have you?
If you're still trying to wrap up your Christmas shopping this year, check out Holly and Hal's Uplifting Christmas Adventure. You can find the characters at the Build-A-Bear workshop and there's an interactive website as well. I'd recommend getting the package that includes the characters as well as the book or DVD so that your children can enjoy the fun Christmas story as well.

This was not a compensated review but I did receive Holly and Hal and their book for free from MomSelect in exchange for providing my honest opinion.

BOZ, The Green Bear Next Door

Until recently, I had never heard of BOZ. BOZ is "The Green Bear Next Door" and he's actually pretty cute, or at least my kids think so! He's the star of his own DVD series for preschoolers.

BOZ teaches early educational concepts to young children while also upholding the morals and family values that parents want their children to learn. BOZ is a faith-based program and is perfect for Christian parents who want to provide their children with wholesome entertainment.

My kids love Veggie Tales and BOZ is very similar, with fun characters, sing-a-long songs, and exciting stories. BOZ and his family (including 4-year old twins- how perfect is that for our house?) are sure to capture the hearts and minds of preschoolers everywhere.

Right now, my children are especially delighted with the BOZ Christmas special, "A Wowie BOZowee Christmas." This DVD reminds children that God's gift to us was Jesus, at Christmastime and all year long. There are special bonuses on this DVD, such as a "Build Your Own Snowman" game that my kids absolutely love!
If you visit the BOZ website you can find many great resources for parents. There are fun games and activities for children and links to support for parents (such as MOPS.) There are even resources for community and church groups as well. The website is easy to navigate and the online shop carries all of the BOZ DVDs, CDs, books, toys, and more.

My only complaint is that the voice of BOZ is eerily similar to Barney, the obnoxiously nice purple dinosaur. (Could it be because the producers of Barney are also the producers of BOZ?) I can easily look past this when I see my children enjoying the BOZ DVDs and singing along with the catchy tunes. I love knowing that my kids are watching shows that uphold our Christian beliefs.

Take a look around the BOZ website and introduce your kids to the green bear next door!


This is not a compensated review but our family did receive 2 BOZ DVDs from MomSelect.

Cheerios Giveaway

Cheerios is giving away 100,000 books to community-based programs serving children in need. This holiday season you can help provide books to children who might not otherwise have access to them. Did you know that the ratio of books per child in middle-income neighborhoods is 13 to 1, while in low-income neighborhoods, the ratio is only 1 age-appropriate book for every 300 children? More than 80% of childcare centers serving low-income children do not have age-appropriate books.

Cheerios, First Book, and Jon Scieszka are delivering 100,000 books to these needy children. Jon Scieszka is the author of the popular "Trucktown" series and other books for children. You can help provide books to children in your state by answering trivia questions at www.FirstBook.org/Scieszka. For each correct trivia question that you answer, you can vote for your state to receive books. The top five states will each receive 20,000 books. Go play the quiz and vote for your state today!
I am pleased to also be able to give away a Cheerios prize pack to a lucky reader. This prize pack includes a box of Cheerios cereal, a sampling of children's books, and a $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble.

To enter, leave a comment below telling me why your state should win 20,000 books. For one additional entry, post about this giveaway on your blog or tweet about it. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. Giveaway ends on December 12, 2009.

Giveaway now closed. Congratulations to Carolsue (comment #8)!


This is not a compensated post but Cheerios provided 2 prize packs to me through My Blog Spark.

Two Snowflakes Giveaway

It's no secret that twins are special! Jennifer Miller's new book, "Two Snowflakes" explores the good and bad things about being a twin from a child's perspective. This was a must-read for our family and is a fun book even if you don't have twins in your house.
"Two Snowflakes" is a children's story about two identical snowflakes and two identical twin girls. We all remember the old saying about no two snowflakes being exactly alike, but have you ever thought about no two identical twins being exactly alike? It's a common misconception that identical twins will always share the same interests, or even look exactly the same. This adorable story addresses the feelings that twins may have when they look the same and how others see them as individuals.

I've been blessed to have two sets of identical twins but I have no idea what it feels like to be a twin. My twin girls are 3 and a half and are just starting to understand that they share a special bond. They really enjoyed reading this book and I'm sure that, even at their young age, they could relate to the story. My older singleton boys now have a little better understanding of what their siblings may feel when people confuse them or think they are the same. This book was a real teaching tool in our house.
Winter is upon us and there's no better time to surprise your child with this adorable snowflake story. If you have twins, or know of a family with twins, this book is the perfect holiday gift! You can find "Two Snowflakes" on Amazon.com or on Jennifer Miller's website.
Right now you also have a special chance to win a copy of "Two Snowflakes." To enter, leave a comment below. For additional entries you may blog or tweet about this giveaway. Leave a link to your blog post or tweet below. One entry per comment. This giveaway ends on December 10, 2009.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED! Congrats to Anna (comment #9) who won a copy of "Two Snowflakes!"

This is not a compensated review. I did receive 2 free copies of the book to review and give away.

$50 ebeanstalk Gift Certificate Giveaway

Ebeanstalk is giving away $50 gift certificates! With the holidays just days away (doesn't it sound more ominous when you say it like that?) everyone is toy shopping. Even veteran moms can use a little help! Ebeanstalk is a website dedicated to selecting great, safe toys for a 3 year old and toddler toys. They also have toys for children of all ages! They rely on the opinions and feedback of bloggers and moms around the country and have a team of child experts who help to pick out kids toys.

Would you like a chance to win a $50 ebeanstalk gift certificate? It's easy! Take a picture of your little one playing with a toy, and email the picture to emily@ebeanstalk.com. You could be 1 of 10 lucky winners to win a $50 gift certificate at ebeanstalk this holiday season. Entries will be chosen on their cuteness factor. For privacy, please only send the first name of your child and your email address. Your email address will be kept private. Please do not send your child's last name or address.

As a special bonus, all blog readers will receive a 10% discount on any ebeanstalk purchase. Enter the code ebeanstalk100 at checkout!