Issue 20 — 95+ members & GROWING! November/December 2009

NOVEMBER 1st Set your clocks and babies back 1 hour

2nd 10am, Toddler Play Date in Chittenango check club calendar for details

4th 6:30pm, MMM Dinner Meeting Ruby Tuesday (New Location!) Bring photos to scrap your name tag

6th 6pm, Fall Clothing Sale Setup & Member’s Preview Sale (No Guests Please)

7th 8:30am, MMM Fall Clothing & Equipment Sale, Empire Room NYS Fair

11th Veteran’s Day

13th 12pm, Toddler Play Date in Tully check club calendar for details

15th 1pm, MMM Play Date at the MOST

16th 10am, Toddler Play Date in Cazenovia check club calendar for details

26th Happy Thanksgiving

DECEMBER 2nd 12:30pm, Toddler Play Date in Cazenovia check club calendar for details

2nd 6:30pm, MMM Dinner Meeting Ruby Tuesday (New Location!) $10 White Elephant Gift Exchange

6th 4pm-6pm Children’s Holiday Party Kidz Club, Phoenix

13th 1pm-9pm Pizzeria Uno Fundraiser Carousel Mall, event coupon available at www.multiplemomsmingle.com

25th Merry Christmas

Stats from paid members only, as of October 2009.

We asked our members ... Will you vaccinate for the flu?

of those responding:

45% will vaccinate for the flu 2% will not vaccinate for the flu

4% undecided on the flu 21% will vaccinate for H1N1

4% will not vaccinate for H1N1 21% undecided on H1N1

FALL SALE SCHEDULE: Friday, November 6th

6-7pm: Sellers setup, Empire Room NYS Fair Grounds 7-8pm: Sale open to sellers only

8-9pm: sale open to paid MMM members only (no guests please)

Saturday, November 7th 8:00am: All sellers arrive, Empire Room NYS Fair Grounds

8:30am-12pm: Sale open to the public 12-1pm: Clean up & removal of all items brought to the sale

BBG TRIPLETS: Ayman, 5lbs 4oz; Mustafa, 5lbs 4oz and Noor, 4lbs 13oz, born on Sept 23, 2009 to Ola and Ziad El-Zammer and big brother Tarek.

2 MULTITUDES, November/December 2009

Executive Board PRESIDENT Kelly Carter kcssunshines@aol.com (315) 308-0277

VICE PRESIDENT Mary Wood

TREASURER Tracy Blumer

RECORDING SECRETARY Leslie Petty

CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Cyndi Rizzo

Committees LIBRARIAN Amanda Fosberg

CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN Susan Hayes

MEMBERSHIP Mary Wood

BIG SISTERS Meghan Leonardis

NEWSLETTER Tracy Blumer Jen Harte Penny Meskos Leslie Petty

PUBLICITY Cyndi Rizzo Sharon Bush

MEETING PROGRAMS Maureen Bennett Lisa Vona

PLAYGROUPS Krista Selig

PREEMIE CLOSET Melissa Sainsbury

HISTORIAN Leslie Petty

STATE REPRESENTATIVE Kelly Carter

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Mercedes Genei

For The Love of The Sale

Kelly Carter Mom to 4 year old twin girls & MMM founder and president

I do love “The Sale”! It is absolutely exhilarating to open the doors and see the eager buyers rush to the tables to find their treasures. The fever as moms and grandmas rush to get the stroller, ride on toy, wagon, or swing that everyone’s been eyeing from outside. I love to see the items that we loved and chose so carefully for our own children, on their way to a new home with excited buyers who appreciate them. During the first hour of the sale, I often can’t make change and bag purchases fast enough.

It makes me feel good to see repeat customers who visit my table sale after sale because they love the girlie clothes, and fun toys I have to sell. Chatting with these moms and seeing their babies grow into toddlers and pre-schoolers is really amazing.

Of course, I love a good buy myself. How could I not love a two dollar pair of jeans, a Care Bears puzzle my girls will cherish, or a light up Tinkerbell shirt that will make the girls go wild?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a ton of work to prepare. Washing, tagging, and setting up all of our stuff for buyers to rummage through is not my favorite way to spend an evening, but I do it for the love of the sale! A few extra dollars in our pockets, happy customers, and a new home for our treasures… gotta love it!

Just remember...Just remember...Just remember...Just remember... If Fit for Fall If Fit for Fall If Fit for Fall If Fit for Fall wasn’t your thing...wasn’t your thing...wasn’t your thing...wasn’t your thing...

In January we will In January we will In January we will In January we will begin Slim Down begin Slim Down begin Slim Down begin Slim Down for Spring!!! for Spring!!! for Spring!!! for Spring!!!

MULTITUDES, November/December 2009 3

BIG SISTERS Contact: Megan Leonardis We offer a "Big Sister" to paid MMM members that are pregnant and/or are new moms of multiples during the first 3 months after giving birth. We pair you up with a member that has multiples like you have (or will have). The idea is for the big sister to check in with her little sister often— to offer support, advice, help, etc. as needed. Then she reports to the group at each meeting on how her "little sister" is doing. The little sister can also contact her big sister as needed. Please contact Megan to get hooked up with a "big sister" today! If your multiples are over a year old and are interested in becoming a “big sister” contact Megan today!

CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN Contact: Susan Hayes We are now collecting books for our children’s lending library. We are looking for books that are gently used or new, and pertain to useful or enriching topics like potty training, multiples, multiculturalism, special needs or growing families, to name a few!

CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT SALE, FALL ‘09 Contact: Kelly Carter, Mary Wood, Jen Harte & Cyndi Rizzo This year’s fall sale will be Friday, November 6th (setup and members’ only sale) and open to the public on Saturday, November 7th from 8:30am-12pm at the Empire Room (NYS Fair Grounds).

COOKBOOK FUNDRAISER Contact: Mary Wood, Heather Hayes, Leslie Petty, Christine Coomes, Lori McIntyre & Donna Refici As a club fundraiser we have published a cookbook with our own 150 recipes. We ask that each member sell or buy 2; they make great gifts. For more ordering information please go to www.multiplemomsmingle.com/cookbook.html

HISTORIAN Contact: Leslie Petty Leslie is gathering photos for the clubs scrapbook. If you have a photo to share, please give it to Leslie. Any "old" club photos or group photos would be great.

LIBRARIAN Contact: Amanda Fosberg Please contact Amanda if you are interested in donating or checking out any books, videos or magazines from our library. We have many things to choose from that may be helpful to you.

MEMBERSHIP/DIRECTORY Contact: Mary Wood If you are a new member, please download and complete a registration form under the files section of the member’s only Yahoo groups site or under membership on our website multiplemomsmingle.com. You can send Mary a photo of your kids or family if you'd like one included in the MMM directory that gets updated every other month.

PLAYGROUPS Contact: Krista Selig Playgroups are being formed throughout the year. Please contact Krista if you'd like to schedule a play date at your home or even a park.

(Continued on page 4)

Attention Black Friday ShoppersAttention Black Friday ShoppersAttention Black Friday ShoppersAttention Black Friday Shoppers

http://www.theblackfriday.com

Review ads for your favorite stores in advance as they become available to find the best deals.

4 MULTITUDES, November/December 2009

PUBLICITY Contact: Cyndi Rizzo & Sharon Bush We have ads for our meetings in the Pennysaver and Family Times. Special events are advertised too.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE Contact: Kelly Carter April 2010 convention will be held in Owego , NY. April 2011 may be in Syracuse, hosted by Parents of Multiples.

Help Wanted: ● Big Sisters ● Adult Holiday Party 2010 ● Summer Family Picnic 2010 Consider your own talents and interests, as well as how much time you will be able to invest. If your children are over 1 year of age, we ask you to join a committee and help support our organization. Please email Christine Coomes to volunteer.

(Continued from page 3)

Multiple Moms To Be…... Andrea McCarthy, Expecting Twins, Nov '09

Noelle Burdick, Expecting Twins, Dec '09 Laura McGuigan, Expecting Twins, Dec '09

Emily Smith, Expecting Twins, Dec '09 Nikki Arias, Expecting Twins, Jan '10

Rebecca Chase, Expecting Twins, Jan '10 Kimberly Reed, Expecting Twins, Feb '10

Karen Sebastian, Expecting Twins, Apr '10

• Gina Glover • Laura McGuigan • Karen Sebastian

• Nikki Arias • Meghan Morgan • YOUR NAME HERE!

Welcome NEW moms to Multiple Moms Mingle!

98 Members

& Growing!

A Multiple Mom’s Perspective on… A Multiple Mom’s Perspective on… A Multiple Mom’s Perspective on… A Multiple Mom’s Perspective on… Surviving the Mob Mentality of Multiples!!!!Surviving the Mob Mentality of Multiples!!!!Surviving the Mob Mentality of Multiples!!!!Surviving the Mob Mentality of Multiples!!!!

You learn to live through it. They learn to push over chairs and climb up anywhere, so you put chairs on top of the table when you don’t use them...but.then they learn to knock the chairs off the table (a danger of course). You then bungee the chairs to-gether when not in use...but...then they sti ll learn to knock the chairs over and the bungees become a strangulation danger. They learn how to unlock doors, climb over baby gates, meticulously learn to know how to get through the toddler safety pool gate, that is after getting through two locked sliding doors and a locked porch door. They learn to fall down any stairs there are, despite having learned how to go down them safely. They learn to jump from any type of toy, headfirst. They learn to open childproof caps on a bottle that was out of reach. They learn to shut each other's fingers in a baby proof cupboard (those safety latches leave just enough room for one to their fingers in, while another decides to keep attempting to slam it shut.) They learn to be potty trained (while also learning that its fun to flush not only your pee, but everything else down the toilet. (which of course, the toilet is also a drowning hazard.) They learn to splash in their pee when they don’t get on the potty soon enough. The funny thing is.I can only imagine how calm my house would be with just two little ones!!

So...you will lose your sanity no matter how much you baby proof, but you keep your memory, and that is why we will all hopefully laugh at all of this in a few years. I can’t figure our why I can’t make it to meetings anymore.oh yeah...I’m still baby proofing my baby proofing!!!!!

Margaret, mom to 13 yr old girl, 2 1/2 year old GBB triplets and a 1 1/2 year old boy

A Multiple Mom recommends reading:A Multiple Mom recommends reading:A Multiple Mom recommends reading:A Multiple Mom recommends reading:

Parenting School-Age Twins and Multiples by Christina Tinglof

Real-world advice for when your twins’ and multiples’ concerns go beyond “Should they dress alike??”

Should your twins be placed in the same homeroom at school? Does one of your kids have a harder time making friends than the other? How healthy is competition among your triplets? Christina Baglivi Tinglof, author of Double Duty and a mother of twins, expertly guides you through your kids’ school years, from the first day of Kindergarten to the always drama-filled years of high school. Drawing from the latest cutting-edge research and hundreds of parent tested , Tinglof offers proven advice to: Encourage individuality, Foster positive sibling relationships, discipline effectively, deal with one child developing faster than the other, and manage common speech and reading difficulties. (This book can be found in your local library)

**Book review courtesy of Amazon.com**

MULTITUDES, November/December 2009 5

Multiple Tricks and Treats!!!!!!!Multiple Tricks and Treats!!!!!!!Multiple Tricks and Treats!!!!!!!Multiple Tricks and Treats!!!!!!!

6 MULTITUDES, November/December 2009

Multitudes, Multiple Moms Mingle newsletter, happily accepts suggestions, tips, articles and information for publication from members... although we do hold editorial rights. ;) We did our best to get all of the information correct and up-to-date. If you notice something that is incorrect or was left out, please let us know.

A special thank you to Dr. Robert Kiltz, CNYFC, for his kindness and generosity with the printing of the Multitudes newsletter.

Please submit information and materials to Leslie Petty or Penny Meskos by the 10th of the month prior to publication.

KIDS— NOVEMBER 1st Tarek El-Zammar's 6th Birthday 4th Caleb & Carsyn Greco's 1st Birthday 13th Mollie Soucia's 1st Birthday 21st Ryan, Chase & Emily Refici's 4th Birthday 23rd Shawn & Thomas McCarty's 1st Birthday Eva Leigh Roy's 6th Birthday 28th Samantha Bennett's 19th Birthday 29th Torrence & Tiernan McCullough's 2nd Birthday DECEMBER 4th Maggie & Claire Christenson's 2nd Birthday 5th Nicholas & Michael Sacco's 3rd Birthday 10th Harper Stoppacher's 7th Birthday 11th Natalie & Silene Visconte's 2nd Birthday 12th Ryan & Christopher Williams' 3rd Birthday 13th Alexandra & Collin Abbott's 6th Birthday Emma & Gretchen Stoppacher's 4th Birthday 15th Katie Coomes' 7th Birthday 22nd Katelyn Sainsbury's 4th Birthday 29th Aubrie Gurley's 3rd Birthday

MOMS— NOVEMBER 14th Regina Williams' Birthday 16th Kathleen Abbott's Birthday 17th Lisa Yarah's Birthday 29th Cynthia Rizzo's Birthday DECEMBER 1st Raegan Roy's Birthday 4th Ola El-Zammar's Birthday 21st Noelle Burdick's Birthday 23rd Sarah Yaw's Birthday 24th Gina Glover's Birthday 25th Laura McGuigan's Birthday 27th Ashley Vanderlan's Birthday 30th Leslie Petty's Birthday Jaclyn Christenson's Birthday