What's New?

I feel like I need to crack my knuckled and wiggle my fingers a bit to get my hands working on this blog post! It's been much too long since I've updated my blog.

Here's a brief list of all the things that have kept me busy this past month.

1. Homeschooling. We're only a few weeks away from completing our first year of homeschooling our oldest daughter! This makes me very excited. I'm excited that we're almost done, but I'm also excited that the year went so well. We're already planning for next year!

Our oldest doing her school work. We use Switched On
Schoolhouse, a fun computer-based curriculum.

2. Writing My Novel. I finished my third novel on April 13th, just shy of three months after I started it. I try to write during the winter when my husband is home (he has a landscaping business). During the summer we have a lot of activities planned and it wouldn't work for me to write with such intensity. My story already went through the hands of my writing critique partners, and is now with my beta readers. I hope to get it to my agent in the coming weeks.

I spent hours pouring over a local newspaper doing research
for my current novel set in 1927 when Lindbergh came home!
I don't know what I enjoy more: researching or writing! This
photo was taken at the Morrison County Historical Society.

3. Children's Activities. Piano, violin, dance lessons, basketball, AWANA, MOPS, and ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education), filled my winter calendar. All of these are wrapping up for the summer, and a few we have officially "graduated" from. It's bitter-sweet to close a chapter in life. I will miss MOPS and ECFE, but I'm excited for all the new adventures to come. This summer we have lots of fun activities planned. Now that the boys are four, I feel like we can have a bit more freedom to explore Minnesota and start going places I wouldn't have dared to go when they were younger. :)

My husband was one of the coaches for our
daughters' basketball team.

4. The Boys Turned Four! Speaking of the boys, we celebrated their fourth birthday on March 29th! That's a pretty huge milestone in our family. It was also the one year anniversary of signing with my agent. Lots of things to celebrate that day.

My boys turned 4!!!!

5. Judging for the Carol Awards. This year I was asked to be one of the judges for the prestigious Carol Award given during the ACFW Conference in September. The Carol Award is for published Christian fiction. It's been so much fun discovering new authors! I had never read any of their stories before (though I know who they are). I feel like I'm also a winner because I now have three new authors I want to follow.

6. Reading for Pleasure. I also have read a few books for pleasure! Pleasure, I tell you. :) Now that I write, I don't read nearly as much as I'd like--and probably not nearly as much as I should. One of the books I'm currently reading is the second novel by my friend Melissa Tagg. Her book is called Here to Stay and it's a wonderful story. Melissa captures the heart of a small town with perfection. Her hero is Blake Hunziker, who made his appearance in Melissa's first novel, Made to Last.

Isn't this cover adorable? I love it. :)

7. Spring Clean-Up. Now that the snow has finally melted, we've been busy in the yard and house! Cleaning up feels so good after a long winter. We've also had two fires down by the river already, and we're looking forward to many more.

Our first family fire--which meant our first s'mores of the season.

These are the activities that have kept the Meyer family busy this spring! I'm looking forward to spending more time on my blog this summer, and I'll be sure to update as my book moves through all the various stages of its journey.

Your Turn! I'd love to hear what has kept you busy this spring. Any fun plans for the summer?

20 Fun Facts About Twins

After discovering we were expecting twins, I started to notice twins everywhere! It turns out twin pregnancies are on the rise. Studies show the increase is due to infertility treatments and the average age of the mother is increasing.

For us, neither one of those reasons applied. I was twenty-nine years old and our twins were conceived without any help. More than likely our twins were born because of a hereditary gene, passed down through the women in my family. Whatever the case may be, we're thrilled to be the parents of twins and we feel blessed to have our three year old boys.

Below are twenty fun facts about multiples.

1. In 1980, one in every 53 babies born in the United States was a twin. By 2009, that number had risen to one in thirty, according to new research released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Over those three decades, the twin birth rate (number of twins per 1,000 births) rose 76%.

2. Chances of having a twin pregnancy is increased by maternal age (30+).

3. Fraternal twining is genetically predisposed and the result of a woman releasing more than one egg at the same time.

4. Identical twins are the result of a random split of a single egg and cannot be genetically predisposed.

5. Male twins will not have twins unless their wives have the ability to produce two eggs.

6. Identical twins share the same DNA but do not have the same fingerprints.

7. 1 in 250 pregnancies can result in identical twins.

8. Fraternal twin girls have twice the chance of giving birth to twins than singletons.

9. Once you have fraternal twins, your chances of having another set are 1 in 12 pregnancies.

10. A study shows vegans are five times less likely to have twins than women who consume dairy.

11. Examining 3D ultrasound images, a study in Padova, Italy found fetuses start deliberately interacting at 14 weeks.

12. 40% of twins invent their own language.

13. Over 50% of twins are born before 37 weeks.

14. The average birth weight for a twin is 5lbs, 5 oz.

15. 4.5 million twin individuals live in the United States today or about 2 percent of the general population.

16.   An additional 90,000 sets (180,000 individuals) are born each year.

17. After digging up the birth records of more than 59,000 women between 1800 and 1970, University of Utah researchers found that moms of twins tend to live longer than moms without twins, have healthier kids, and "appear to be healthier" themselves. That's probably because sturdier women have twins, not because having twins is good for you, the study notes.

18. There are more than just fraternal and identical twosomes; other rare twin types include “half identical twins” (when the egg splits and then each half is fertilized) and mirror image twins (identical twins who develop asymmetrically).

19. Identical twins don’t have identical fingerprints.

20. Some estimates suggest 1 in 8 people started life as a twin while 1 in 70 actually are a twin.

Did any of these facts surprise you? Do you have any little-known facts to add to the list?

Twins Week!

In honor of my twins' birthday last Friday, I'm going to have a week dedicated to all things "twins" on my blog!

Okay...I'm really just celebrating that we hit a huge milestone on our twins journey! Three years ago I was breastfeeding sixteen times a day, changing at least sixteen dirty diapers, sometimes waking up twelve times a night, rocking, singing, bouncing, shushing and cooing my babies so they would sleep.


When I look at this picture, all I can remember is how tired I was!

It's been a whirlwind experience. One I wouldn't change for anything in the world. But, I have to admit, I'm so happy we're past the infancy stage. It's a blast to finally see my boys' personalities developing. It's fun to talk to them, sometimes reason with them (sometimes), find out what they like - and definitely what they don't like.

I get a lot of questions from people about raising twins, so I thought I'd give you a little peek into something we're dealing with right now.

Potty training.

My older twin decided he was done with diapers three months ago.

The other twin, my little Monkey, has decided he's not done with diapers. But he keeps us laughing with his antics, so I'm not losing patience...yet.

I thought it would be fun to share some of his reasonings for not going on the potty chair. So, without further ado, here are the inside workings of a three year old's mind.

~ ~ ~ ~

Upon waking up I ask him: "Would you like to be a big boy today, and wear underwear? Or, would you like to be a baby," insert scrunched up nose, shaking my head, "and wear a diaper?"

He looks very contemplative and says: "I want to be a CAT today!"

~ ~ ~ ~

We thought we'd be smart and "throw away" his diapers, so he didn't have any other options. Really, I just hid them. We said: "No more diapers! It looks like you'll have to go on the potty chair today."

For the rest of the day he peed in every available corner of the house...everywhere BUT the toilet.

~ ~ ~ ~

When I told him: "You have to go potty - you'll be three!"

He looks at me very seriously and says: "No, I'll be zero."

~ ~ ~ ~

For every logical reason I have, he comes back with one of his own.

I've had many well-meaning people give me advice about potty training him, but when I tell you we've tried it all, we've tried it all!

• We've let him walk around the house in the same diaper all day long, hoping he'd get annoyed with a heavy diaper...nope. He didn't even bat an eye.
• We've offered stickers, stamps, candy, you name it...he doesn't seem to want any of them.
• We've reasoned, begged, threatened (to take away a privilege), to no avail.
• We've even had our other twin "show" him how to go potty. After the older twin went potty, my little Monkey clapped his hands and said: "Ya! Good job!"

My little Monkey is simply not interested in going on the potty chair - yet. I've come to a very serious conclusion about this...he's not going to go, until he determines he's going to go. And that's all there is to it.

My Early Childhood/Family Education teacher has told me there are a handful of things children have control over. What they eat, what they say and when they go to the bathroom. Those are the three areas a child will fight you for control. It's my job to guide him and instruct him, but he has to make up his own mind to do it.

Aren't we similar when it comes to doing what God asks? His Spirit guides, the Word instructs, but it's up to us to do what we should do. Often, God is prodding us to mature and take the next step. For a variety of reasons we balk Him. It might be laziness, it might be fear - but, most often, it's because we want to be in control. Look how much better life would be for my son (and me!) if he gave up control and started using the potty chair.

How much better could our lives be if we gave up our need to be in control - and took the next step God is asking us to take?

What about you? What milestones have you celebrated recently? Have you ever had a determined (a.k.a. stubborn) child? Were you stubborn? Is there an area of your life you're struggling to give up control?

A Birthday Times Two!

Today we're celebrating a major milestone in our family!

Our twin boys turn three years old! One of my favorite questions is: "Where did the time go?!?!"

Well, let me show you...


March 29, 2010





We're planning a special birthday party for the boys on Saturday! And next week I have some fun blogs planned in honor of twins.

What about you? Do you have any twins in your family? If you had one question for a mom of twins, what would it be?

A Test of True Love

My daughter and I - two weeks before the twins were born

Three years ago I was living through one of the most unusual experiences of my life. I was pregnant with twins.

To say the pregnancy with my twins was different than with my "singleton" pregnancies would be an understatement. Few things were similar.

For starters, I didn't have morning sickness with my single pregnancies, but I did with my twins. I grew much larger, much faster and I had the most unusual cravings.

It was during one of these cravings that I put my husband through a test of true love. Okay, going through a twins pregnancy is a test of true love in itself, but dealing with a pregnant lady's cravings was pretty intense!

I was about seven months pregnant when I began to crave jalapeño nacho cheese dip. Knowing the dip isn't a favorite of my family's, I fully intended to eat the can I bought all by myself.

As always, I'm the last person to go to bed, and it's usually late. That night it was after 1 a.m. and I was hungry for my cheese dip. When I went to the cupboard, however, it was gone!

Without thinking twice, I knew exactly who ate it. The only other adult in the house - my husband. So I marched upstairs and I woke that poor man up.

"Did you eat my nacho cheese dip?"

He came out of a groggy sleep to a large belly standing over him. "Yes."

I huffed a bit and then got into bed.

"Sorry," he said with a sleepy voice.

I laid there for at least twenty minutes, trying to sleep, but I couldn't. Once a craving entered my brain, there was nothing else to think about.

Finally I tugged on his pajamas. "I can't sleep until I have some cheese dip."

He turned to me. "Seriously?"

I groaned. "I'm serious."

"Do you want me to go to the store and get some more?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." I'd never been more serious in my life.

"I didn't think you'd say yes."

"Please. I need my sleep and I won't be able to get it unless I have some nacho dip."

He sighed. "Okay." Then he stood up and began pulling on his jeans. "Do you see what I'm doing? I'm putting my pants on at 2 in the morning to go to the store."

"I see."

"Now I'm putting on my shirt...at 2 in the morning."

"I know."

He grinned at me. "Anything else you want me to get while I'm out?"

Suddenly, the thought of pomegranate juice sounded heavenly, so I asked for some.

"You're serious? Jalapeño cheese dip and pomegranate juice?"

"Yes."

He just shook his head, pulled on his winter parka and left the house.

When he came back at 2:30 in the morning, I was still awake, ready to devour the dip and juice.

"You're probably going to get sick from that stuff," he said as he handed me the bag.

I just smiled. I knew I wouldn't. And I didn't.

When I opened the bag, I found FIVE cans of Jalapeño cheese dip! The next morning I teased him and said: "Once the craving is met, I can't stand the stuff! You've got a lot of cheese dip to eat now."

He didn't care, he just wanted to make sure he didn't have to go back to the store at 2 in the morning.

What about you? Did you have a strange craving while pregnant? If you've never been pregnant, what's the strangest combination of food you've ever eaten?

ToddlerS...Need I Say More?

I have two and a half year old twin boys.

I think I could end my post here and you'd totally get what I mean. Two two-year-old boys. Enough said.

The twins were born after our daughters, who are now eight and six, and I'm amazed at how different my boys are from my girls. I think this difference is accentuated by the fact that there are two of them - and one of them happens to be my "spirited" child.

Things are interesting around our house, to say the least.

I never thought I'd hear my high school sweetheart utter these "old" man, dad type sayings:

"Can't we have anything nice around here?"

"We're not buying anything new until these kids move out."

"Who broke this table - is nothing safe?"

One of the biggest differences I've noticed in the girl vs. boy comparison is that my boys are much more independent than my girls ever were - and that causes a lot more trouble. The girls used to whine until we'd fill up their sippy cups with milk - the boys just take it upon themselves to fill up (and spill out) the milk on their own. The girls used to cry until we'd help them change their clothes - the boys do it themselves, thus a dresser full of clothes on the floor every morning. The girls would ask for something to eat - the boys are constantly in the upper cabinets getting their own food (and this includes getting out the popcorn maker, filling THE WHOLE THING UP with kernels and turning it on).

I don't know if it's a boy thing - or a twin thing - but the boys are always doing things for themselves. It's a great character quality - independence - but it's very inconvenient for Mommy.

I thought I'd share some pictures (evidence) of what I'm talking about. Note that none of these things EVER happened with the girls (not that girls can't be "independent" - you may have one or two yourself).


I rarely take naps - so when I told my husband I needed
one this afternoon, he was happy to let me sleep. But - I
woke up to him saying: "Who clogged the toilet with
toilet paper?!?! The bathroom is flooded!!!"
Thus, the wet towels and rug...



My older twin has been walking around with blue,
sparkling nail polish in his hair all week because
 his "little" brother thought he'd look pretty...

 

There are three locations on our daughters' bedroom
floor that are now permanently pinkish-red (and crusty)
 from nail polish (and this happened five days after
I had them professionally cleaned) - yet another example of
my "spirited" child's activities... His "older" brother
was pink for a week after that episode, too.



Pink permanent marker on my living room couch (also
my "spirited" child's creation). We keep these destructive
things hidden from him (lest you think I have them
readily available!) - but he seems to find them...clearly.



As I was walking around the house taking pictures this
afternoon I caught the culprit red crayon-ded!

 

And here is my sitting room in it's unnatural state...clean.
(You can't see the hundreds of endearing fingerprints
on the windows...)



I value a clean, neat house...



My twins do not.

But for all the mess and destruction, I wouldn't change having twins for anything in the world. I know one day the mess will be long forgotten, and my children will grow up faster than I can imagine, but the experience and joy of having two little boys to fill our heart and home will last forever.

What about you? Have you noticed the girl vs. boy differences? Do you have a "spirited" child? What things have your children destroyed over the years - or, if you don't have children, what did you destroy growing up?