Family Photos

My husband has a degree in photojournalism. I have a degree in film. Needless to say, we like cameras. We take tons and tons of pictures. Alas, this picture (taken Halloween weekend) is the first picture of all four of us since the girls were in the hospital. How sad is that?

I don't even know how it happened. We hang out with friends and family a lot. How is it that no one has snapped a picture of the four of us? I have pictures of me with the girls and Tim with the girls. It's quite odd...and, I must say, a little disappointing. I know that all new parents (and veterans alike) want to make sure to have lots of pictures of their children so they can look back and remember when, but aren't we parents just as important. Our kids will probably be just as interested in seeing what we looked like when they were such and such age.

So I'm putting it out there, I must take more family photos. I do hope to have some formal pictures done after the girls' first birthday, but I have to make sure to take candids as well.

What about you? Do you have a healthy amount of family photos?

Shopping with Twins

Hey, all you stores out there. I have a short list of demands. I know that we, parents of multiples, are in the minority, but there are plenty of parents out there who have two or more young children, and I'm sure they would benefit from this too. Even though I do take the girls to the grocery store or Wal-Mart or Target on a regular basis, it doesn't mean it's particularly a walk in the park to get any shopping done. A few tweaks would make my life a little easier.

1. Have hand-held shopping baskets available. Yeah, I'm talking to you Wal-Mart. The last time I was there alone with the girls, I had to use one of your reusable shopping bags to do my shopping because, in your gargantuan store, you didn't have one hand basket available. That's just plain bad service.

2. While we're at it, all hand baskets should have one handle. SuperTarget is the only store that has nice large hand baskets with one handle that goes across the long side of the basket. This one handle fits quite nicely over the handle on the girls' Snap n' Go stroller. At other stores, I had to carry the stupid basket on my arm (ow!). I finally purchased some handy dandy stroller hooks, but it would still be easier to have the one handle.

3. Have more double carts available. There are plenty of parents with multiple children. Why do most big box stores have carts with room for only one child? Costco and (again) SuperTarget are the only places I've seen an abundance of double-seat carts. Oh, and I promise that if I need a double cart, and I see you--parent of singleton--with it, I will politely ask you to hand it over.

4. Offer to help me. Publix is excellent about this. Not once have I had to request help to the car or help getting items into my cart or onto the counter at checkout. Wal-Mart and Target? Not so much. Oh, and at small stores that don't have automatic doors, if you see a woman pushing a double stroller struggling to get through your front door, how about you come and give her a hand? Thanks, woman working at Once Upon a Child.

5. Ring up my purchases while you're staring at my children. Other parents would know that getting in and getting out of a store as quickly as possible is ideal. Do not hold me up at the end of my shopping experience because you just "have to get a look at those little ones." I'm so happy that you think my girls are adorable and sweet and all that, but can you do it while you work? Don't come around the register when we're done either because you're not only holding me up, you're holding up the people in line behind me. 

Know Thy Neighbor

I've started taking the girls on walks around the neighborhood in the morning, and it got me thinking... Why don't I know my neighbors? I've seen them all out doing work on their yards, getting the mail, coming or going, but I don't know their names. Why is that?

Growing up I knew my neighbors. Heck, I still know my parents' neighbors. One of my best friends lives a few houses away. My grandparents consider most of their neighbors lifelong friends. What happened? Do people not stay in one place long enough these days? Do we not trust one another? Before, I'm not sure I would have cared so much. But now that I have children, I actually care.

On our walks, we encounter very nice, courteous people. There are plenty of smiles followed "good morning" or "adorable babies" or "how are you today?" I live in a family neighborhood with children of all ages, so shouldn't I know these people? When those boys were in our backyard trying to get themselves hurt on our basketball court, shouldn't I know to what house they belong in case I need to call a parent? I would want my neighbors to know that those are the McQuinn twins out and about so they could let me know if something was awry.

But we don't know our neighbors, and I don't even know how to go about getting to know them. It's not like back in the day when you could just go over and knock on the door. No one has block parties (at least no one I know), and people don't just sit out on their porches and converse. I think knowing who lives nearby can make for a safer neighborhood, a happier playing environment for my kids, and just an all around better living experience. (Well, I guess that's if I have good neighbors!)

So...do you know your neighbors? How did you meet them? Do you hang out? If you don't know them, do you wish you did?