Issue 34 — 120+ members & GROWING! March/April 2012

MARCH

7th 6:30, MMM Dinner Meeting Ruby Tuesday, Dewitt Final Slim-Down weigh-in & awards MMM 6th Anniversary

11th Daylight Savings Set your clocks & babies ahead 1 hour

17th Happy St. Patrick’s Day

23rd 5-8, Multiple Families Fun Night, Fayetteville YMCA

30th Fundraiser at the Lube (Quaker Steak & Lube) Dine out & 15% of your check will go to MMM

30th 6pm-9pm, Spring Sale Setup & Preview Sale

31st 8:30am, Spring Clothing & Equipment Sale NYS Fairgrounds, Martha Eddy & Somerset

APRIL

4th 6:30, MMM Dinner Meeting Ruby Tuesday, Dewitt

8th Happy Easter!!!

14th Deadline to submit Mother’s Day Contest Photos

Save the Date

Multiple Moms Mingle Summer Family Picnic

Sunday August 19, 2012 10 am-1 pm

Santaro Park—Town of Onondaga

SPRING SALE SCHEDULE:

Friday, March 30, 2012

6-7pm Sellers setup

7-8pm Sale open to sellers only

8-9pm Open to paid MMM members only (no guests please)

Saturday, March 31, 2012

8am All sellers arrive

8:30am-12pm Sale open to the public

12-1pm Clean up & removal of all items brought to the sale

Come dine at Quaker Steak & Lube

on 3.30.2012!

Print and hand this card (http://bit.ly/MMMqsl) to your

server upon ordering to have 15% of your check

donated to Multiple Moms Mingle!

2 MULTITUDES, March/April 2012

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 Jodi Hayes

CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN Jecenia Bresett

MEMBERSHIP Mary Wood

Cyndi Rizzo

BIG SISTERS Amanda Fosberg

NEWSLETTER Leslie Petty

Mary Wood

PUBLICITY Danielle Murray

MEETING PROGRAMS Cyndi Rizzo

PLAYGROUPS Kelly Somerlot

Susan Hayes

Krista Selig

PREEMIE CLOSET Melissa Sainsbury

HISTORIAN Leslie Petty

STATE REPRESENTATIVE Kelly Carter

NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE Nicole Hiltbrand

Multiple Moms Mingle Slim Down For Spring 2012

Another exciting competition has come to and end and it was another successful year of our annual Slim Down for Spring!!!

Our winners of this years contest were:

1st— MaryAnne Abernethy-$120.00

2nd— Karen Atherton-$60.00

3rd— Ann Canastra-$30.00

4th— Kelly Carter

5th— Rebecca Kelsey

Our winning team was MaryAnne Abernethy & Rebecca Kelsey

Congratulations Ladies!!!

Stats from paid members as of

March 2012

Will you be buying or selling

at our upcoming sale?

46% I will be buying and hoping to

find some great deals!!

42% I will be buying and selling

7 % I am selling and have some great stuff

3% no, can’t make it this time

MULTITUDES, March/April 2012 3

BIG SISTERS

Contact: Amanda Fosberg

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 Amanda 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 Amanda today.

CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN

Contact: Jecenia Bresett

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!

COOKBOOK FUNDRAISER

Contact: Mary Wood

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/MMM/cookbook.html

CROUSE NICU DONATIONS

Contact: Kelly Somerlot

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: Jodi Hayes

Worried about "what to expect?" Interested in learning more about

twins and triplets? Scared to start potty training? Please contact Jodi if

you are interested in donating or checking out any books, videos or

magazines from our library.

MEMBERSHIP/DIRECTORY

Contact: Mary Wood & Cyndi Rizzo

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 site

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.

NEWSLETTER

Contact: Leslie Petty & Mary Wood

Have an idea for a great article? Please submit them to either Leslie

or Mary by the 10th of the month.

PLAYGROUPS & ZOO TRIPS

Contact: Krista Selig, Susan Hayes, & Kelly Somerlot

Playgroups are being formed throughout the year. Please contact

Krista and/or Kelly if you'd like to schedule a play date at your home

or even a park. Please check the MMM Calendar for other upcoming

play dates. (Continued on page 4)

What’s Happening on Facebook??

Facebook is a great place to start a conversation and get

some good information. A popular topic in recent

weeks on our group Facebook page was vehicles. A few

of our members posed the question of what is your

vehicle of choice for twins and more. We all know that

whatever we drive has to be able to accommodate at

least two car-seats (usually more), at least a double

stroller and all of the other “stuff” necessary for families

with two or more kids. Here is what some of our other

members had to say:

Obviously with all these kids and all of their stuff, a

minivan tends to be the most popular option. Favorites

in this category were the Chrysler Town and Country,

Dodge Grand Caravan, Toyota Sienna and the Honda

Odyssey.

For those who are not ready to do the “minivan thing” ,

favorites included the Chevy Traverse, the Honda Pilot

and the Toyota Highlander.

I guess that Mazda Miata convertible is out of the

question for at least a few more years!!!!

Have a question? Need some information? Want to sell

something or looking for something specific??? Just post

whatever you are looking for on our Facebook page. You

are bound to get the answer you are looking for. And

maybe some you aren’t!! But, its definitely a great place

to start a conversation.

Make sure you check it out!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/multiplemomsmingle/

Check this out!

Family Times Summer Fun & Camp Fair 2012 Saturday March 31st Horticulture Building 10am-5pm

See what Summer 2012 has in store for you and your family at Family Times' 8th Annual Summer Fun & Camp Fair!

Get information about and meet representatives from day/overnight camps; educational summer programs; day-trip

destinations; fairs & festivals; amusement parks; campgrounds; museums; parks & beaches; sporting

equipment & rentals; vacation rentals; concert & performing arts; adventure, sports, arts & music camps. The fun starts

here with plenty of activities for everyone including: face painting, bounce house, performances, indoor sports

activities and more!!!

4 MULTITUDES, March/April 2012

PREEMIE CLOSET

Contact: Melissa Sainsbury

Our preemie closet is full and available. Contact Melissa if you

need to borrow it.

PUBLICITY

Contact: Danielle Murray

We have ads for our meetings in the Penny Saver and Family

Times. Special events are advertised too.

STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Contact: Kelly Carter

The NYS Convention, Time to Renew on 2012 will be held at the

Holiday Inn in Westbury Long Island, April 26th—29th. Go to

nysomotc.org to fin the “third call” packet with all of the convention

information.

(Continued from page 3)

TWINS: Brynn, 5 lbs and Braelynn, 5 lbs born on February 7, 2012 to

Jennifer and Cory Burns and big sister Ava Lynn.

TWINS: Addison, 6 lbs 8 oz and Libby, 6 lbs 1 oz born on February 23, 2012

to Carolyn and Jeb Benzing.

TWINS: Amelia, 4 lbs 6 oz and Allie, 4 lbs 6 oz born on March 1, 2012 to

Shellie and Greg Tucker and big brother Owen.

TWINS: Calvin and Elana, both just under 5 lbs were born on March 12,

2012 to Rachel and Doug Dinero.

TWINS: Charlotte, 5 lbs 14 oz and Maxwell, 5 lbs 11 oz born on March 13, 2012 to Allicyn and Brandon Froberg and proud siblings Audrey, William,

and Eloise.

TWIN BOYS: Hudson David and Levi Raymond born on March 16, 2012 to

Julie and Dave Baran.

TWINS: Mariella, 6 lbs and Mario, 7 lbs 3 oz born on March 16, 2012 to Hilda Martinez-Reyes and Gil Reyes and proud big sisters Isabella and

Gabriella.

Multiple Moms to be …

Heather Conroe, Expecting Twins Apr '12

Melissa Byler, Expecting Twins Apr '12

Erika Schlotzhauer, Expecting Twins May '12

Amy Gordon, Expecting Twins June '12

Colleen Satalin, Expecting Twins July '12

Emily Derevenko Kimball, Expecting Twins July '12

Amanda Gillis, Expecting Twins July '12

Allison Olmstead, Expecting Twins July '12

Samantha Infanger, Expecting Twins Aug '12

Logan Blask, Expecting Twins Aug '12

Elizabeth Kinsley, Expecting Twins Sept ‘12

& Multiple Mommy Expecting One More …

Stephanie Johnson, Expecting a singleton July ‘12

Jenna O’Neil, Expecting a singleton Aug ‘12

New moms to Multiple Moms Mingle!

Julie Alteri, Logan Blask, Melissa Byler, Rachel Dinero, Melissa Eichholz, Erika Gannon, Amanda Gillis, Kim Goode, Amy Gordon, Nicole Hiltbrand, Samantha Infanger, Tina Irving, Emily Kimball,

Elizabeth Kinsley, Dana Lonis, Lori Murphy, Allison Olmstead, & YOUR NAME HERE!

124 members & GROWING!

GO

SU!!!!

MULTITUDES, March/April 2012 5

— CHILDREN —

1st Ashley Kozlowski's 5th Birthday

4th Laurel Jones’ 8th Birthday

8th Jacob & Samuel Stock's 3rd Birthday Ashley & Brooke Carter's 7th Birthday

9th Jonathan & Brian Saloski's 2nd Birthday Emily Payne's 4th Birthday

13th Gwendolyn & Austin Fosberg's 4th Birthday

15th Jared Sebastian's 4th Birthday

17th Ella & Josh Hill's 2nd Birthday

22nd Quinn & Ty Harte's 5th Birthday

23rd Porter Sheen's 4th Birthday

24th Johnathan Sebastian's 14th Birthday

25th Kasey & Kaylee Sebastian's 2nd Birthday

29th Ashton & Nicholas May's 1st Birthday

30th Gretchen, Theodore & Olena Conrad's 5th Birthday

31st Nathan Keating's 3rd Birthday

— MOMS —

2nd Jennifer Renahan

10th Amy Hall

15th Karen Sebastian

17th Megan Walters

18th Colleen Satalin

25th Aimee Blok

26th Laura Aloi

29th Denise LaCombe

— CHILDREN —

1st Garrett & Gabriel Jones’ 4th Birthday Megan Petty's 16th Birthday Alexander & Colin Blok's 2nd Birthday

3rd Alexander & Stephen Buchan's 1st Birthday Genevieve Berger's 3rd Birthday

4th Samuel & Sophia DiGennaro's 6th Birthday Erin & Ryan Keating's 6th Birthday

6th Jackson & Henry Frazee's 2nd Birthday Lauren & Nicole Huber's 1st Birthday

7th Adelaide & Alexander Atherton's 2nd Birthday Jenna & Kimberly Toczek's 1st Birthday

9th Owen Leonardis’ 4th Birthday

12th Cassidy Stearns’ 4th Birthday

13th Brandon Toczek's 3rd Birthday

14th Brianna, Samantha & Elijah Stearns’ 2nd Birthday Sharon & Aidan Lautz's 3rd Birthday

24th Jack & Selina Hayes’ 4th Birthday

27th Logan & Cody Hall's 2nd Birthday

29th Karter Bennett's 7th Birthday

30th Liam Dunn's 14th Birthday

— MOMS —

1st Vicki Sacco Celeste Ptak

2nd Aimee Dryer

5th Kristine Stoffregen

10th Krista Selig

11th Jecenia Bresett

15th Amy Friers

19th Shellie Tucker

24th Karen Dixie Tracy Blumer Ann Canastra

28th MaryAnne Abernethy

29th Nicole Miller Sheri Hill

30th Christine Coomes

In the spring of 2005, I was the mother of twinfants, desperate for friendship and support from other moms of multiples. I was struggling and had little support. I saw an advertisement for a mother’s of twins and triplets club in the Pennysaver. I finally got the nerve to call the phone number. The woman on the phone informed me that the club did not hold meetings during the summer. The next meeting would be in September. I waited until then, hoping to meet other moms like me. In September, I attended my first meeting. Most of the moms at the meeting were also grandmothers. They were interested in knitting, crocheting, cross stitching and following “Roberts Rules of Order” when it came to running their meetings.

I continued to go to meetings and usually one, two, or even three moms of young multiples would come to the meetings too. I loved to share stories with them, and look at photos of their children in between the business portion of the meetings. However, I noticed that most of the moms of young children never came back to the meetings. The club just didn’t seem to be meeting the needs of new moms of multiples.

In March of 2006, I made invitations for Multiple Moms Mingle- a fun, new, club for mothers and expectant mothers of multiples in the Central New York area. I sent them to anyone that I knew (and people that I didn’t really know) that had multiples, including the moms that had tried the “other” multiples club.

On March 14, 2006, the Multiple Moms Mingle Yahoo group was formed as a place for mothers of multiples to chat before our meeting. The Yahoo group was a safe, convenient way for moms to ask questions, get advice, and get acquainted with one another from the comfort of our own homes. Our first meeting was held on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 at the Retreat in Liverpool. Twelve moms were in attendance. We all had young multiples. We discussed play dates, future meetings, and parenting tips. I was so excited to have found other moms that understood the rewards and challenges of raising multiples. No one understands what it is like to care for multiples, except another mother of multiples.

Our group has grown and so many friendships have blossomed over the past 6 years. I love being a part of this amazing group. The moms here have provided me with advice from diapers to schooling. MMM moms make me feel normal and keep me sane. They are my closest friends. I am grateful for all the support and friendships and look forward to growing with all of you as our children grow, and to supporting new moms and expectant moms as they embark on this awesome journey.

Kelly Carter, President and founder of Multiple Moms Mingle

6 MULTITUDES, March/April 2012

Let It Snow … a Little ...

MULTITUDES, March/April 2012 7

8 MULTITUDES, March/April 2012

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 Mary Wood by the 10th of the month prior to publication.

Multiples Family Fun Night

at the Fayetteville YMCA