Oops

So, I haven't been doing very well with keeping up with posts.  I have a lot I want to post and hopefully once we get up to camp I will get a chance... I have started and put off a few posts that I need to complete and get up here.  It has been crazy here the past few weeks with me being home with the boys and Josh being at school or at camp most nights gearing up for the end of school and the beginning of camp.  I have always been spending most of my evenings when I get home getting stuff organized and packed up to head to camp.  But hopefully once we get to camp things will settle down and I can post them all!  Stay tuned for a DC recap, a 2 year party recap and the misadventures of 2 year olds living at a Boy Scout camp!

Twins, speech development, and CDS

When I found  out I was pregnant with twins, I of course, turned to the internet to find out what I should expect from pregnancy, infancy, toddlerhood and beyond.  I found that people will ooh and ahh over your babies more so than singletons (which I will cover in more detail in another post... most likely after a particularly annoying trip to the mall, Target, or grocery store), they will most likely be born early, you need to eat a lot more when pregnant with twins, and they may have some developmental details.  We have lucked out in that the boys were a healthy weight, required no NICU time (which is good, considering the small, southern Maine hospital I delivered in didn't have a NICU or a baby nursery for that matter), and were able to leave with me after a 4 day stay to control a fever and some dehydration on my part.  Keaghan did have to travel by car bed for about two weeks and we had frequent weight checks, but they were super healthy twins and have stayed that way.  They are super active and have amazing fine motor skills and developed and conquered many of the physical milestones ahead of the curve.  They do however have a speech delay.  They excel in receptive language (understanding what is said to them) but have very limited expressive language.  They use two signs from American Sign Language with no prompting (please and thank you) and a handful of others with some prompting, but do not use words for most requests, answers to questions or conversations.  When they vocalize their most prominent sound combination is "mama" with various inflections for different meanings. 
At their 15 month check up I expressed concerns about their speech, and was told to wait it out, because kids will often have a word "explosion" where they are saying no or few words and will suddenly start saying many more words between 15 and 18 months.  When they hit 18 months and still no change in their speech patterns, I pushed further and the pediatrician sent a referral to Child Development Services to set up an evaluation. 
Whew, that was a crazy day.  The evaluation was done here at home and 4 people from CDS came to evaluate the boys in a general spectrum of their skills to determine that speech was the only thing delayed.  They sat on the living room floor with the boys playing games and talking to them for 2 hours.  At the end of the evaluation it was determined that while the boys were average or above average in their development for most things, their expressive language was well below their receptive language and they qualified for services.
We wrote an IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan) for both boys and were told we would be contacted to set up service times.
We have been seeing one of the evaluators as our service provider for about 2 months now, two times a week for an hour at a time and it is a great experience for the boys.  I am hoping for our word explosion to come soon, but until then I will wait patiently and do everything in my power to help them learn!
This is getting long (and it is the short version) but if anyone reading this has questions about twins, speech development, or Child Development Services, feel free to contact me!

Whew, Its been awhile

Things have been crazy in this neck of the woods in the past few weeks.  Remember what I said about my love hate relationship with being a camp director's wife?  Well its starting up now, hubster has meetings at least a couple of nights a week so I am busy being parent numero uno to the boys and it is exhausting!   We have fun and it is great that we are able to go play outside a little bit more now but by the time they go to bed at night and I get everything cleaned up for the day and ready for the next day, I am just ready to fall asleep. 
We are also planning a vacation for next week, so expect a post after this week with pictures and a run down of what it is like taking two two year olds to Washington D.C.  It was a little nerve wracking during the government shut down talks to be planning a trip and not knowing what we would be able to do while there, but the government got it together enough so trip is on!
Because, oh yeah, the boys will be two on Sunday!  I am so  excited, we aren't doing a major celebration because we are leaving that night for our trip, plus we are also going to a birthday party for the boys' girlfriend, Elliot, who will be three that day.  It is so fun having friends with kids who share a birthday with the boys, fun to see what a difference a year or two makes in development!
Speaking of development, I will be writing a post in the near future talking about our experience with Child Development Services and the speech development of the boys. 


Ok this post is all over the place and I just wanted to update to let everyone reading (however many of you there are) that I haven't forgotten, and will try to get back into it, just as soon as I get back from a nice relaxing road trip!

My love/hate relationship with being a camp director's wife.

My husband, Josh, is the director of a summer camp on a pond in central Maine.  It causes him stress, but I think he really likes it.  And I like it too... I mean who doesn't love a view like this:

However, life as a camp director's wife is not all hanging by the lake and eating bon bons all summer... a camp director and his wife have responsibilities that reach far past the sunny weather and cool breezes of life on the lake.  Just this evening, as I sit quietly at the computer, enjoying my Girl Scout cookies (thank you young girls everywhere for your yummy deliciousness!) my husband is out volunteering his time to the promotion of camp.  But if you had arrived at our house just an hour ago, I would not be so serene in my description.  At that time I was trying to single-handedly coax two toddlers to eat their dinner, keep their bottoms in their seats, and not to fling mashed potatoes at the wall (or the cat).  At end of dinner, it was off to get cleaned up and get ready for bed... still by myself and coerce them into bed with a bribe of their favorite story.  This same evening will repeat itself over and over at least once a week until we move to camp at the end of June.

Ahhh the move to camp, probably my least favorite part of being a camp director's wife... while my husband is away planning and promoting, I am at home... figuring out which toys, books, clothes, movies, electronic devices and batteries will need to be packed and transported the 2 hours north for 9 weeks of fun and adventure.... all while still trying to maintain some semblance of order in our little house...

Don't get me wrong.  Being a camp director's wife is fantastic as well as hard... where else am I going to get so many wonderful teenage/adult role models for my children?  We have the best camp family in the world, who love our boys and take care of my husband at moments when he feels like he might go insane with the stress and work of seamlessly running a summer camp. 
And I do enjoy the time I get to spend with my boys in our little cabin and the freedom to not work in the summer.  Although there are times when I wish I was working and could have an escape, even for just an hour... just a solo trip to the grocery store or a couple of hours of grown up conversation!  I love that the boys have the room to run and play and are safe no matter where they turn, because someone from the "family" has a set of eyes on them.  They have the biggest playground of any toddlers and this is just one example of their play spaces:

 

So through all the stress of being home with the boys from morning until bed time, I keep reminding myself that this is a life we chose as a family, and of all the advantages it has provided the boys, and every time we have a meal that we had the week before and every week before that for 6 weeks I think, I didn't have to cook it or clean up after it and it makes me smile.  I love being a camp director's wife for these reasons, not because I am going to finish up this post, get into my jammies and curl up with a movie alone.  I try not to dwell on the loneliness and remember the sun shine shining down through the trees, finger painting in diapers, splashing in the pond and watching the sun set through my windows while listening to two snoring babies... much like they are snoring right now, and I am lucky.

Hi!

I have been thinking about blogging for a long time. I think it is a great way to share all the fun and exciting things that we do as a family. I guess I will start with an introduction the key players. (so people who know me, know they found me, and for those who don't to get a chance!)

I am Kristin and I am the mom of the family. I work in high school special education. I like to read, spend time with family and friends, shop and the color green!

My husband is Josh, he is the dad. He is a high school history teacher and the director of a summer camp. He likes ska music, the New England Patriots and the Boston Red Sox.

I have twin sons. Jack is almost 2 and loves to play with trucks, try on Mommy and Daddy's shoes and bite his brother.
Keaghan is also almost 2, and loves blocks, puzzles and coloring, as well as trucks and helping Mommy cook. Jack and Keaghan get to spend 3 days with their Nana and 2 days with their Grammy and Grampy while Mommy and Daddy work.

We also have two cats, Hermione and Chloe the Wonder Kitty (yes, that is her real name...just ask her vet :) ) who love to chase each other and sleep on the couch.

I created this blog to share funny stories, adventures and misadventures, cloth diapering, going green, living thrifty and healthy, photos of Jack and Keaghan (probably lots of those!)and as a way to let friends and family who are not living close right now, still have a light into the life of 2 Js and 2 Ks!

Bear with me as I try to get myself organized and figure out this blogging thing... it could get really cool!