Guest Post: A Twin in the Kitchen

With the rush of the holidays over, you may find yourself in a rut over what to cook. Never fear, our twin/multiples community is here to inspire you! Guest contributor Clarice Connors is an identical twin who loves writing (she just finished her masters in Journalism) and food (she just started culinary school in January). Clarice shares some memories and a winter appetizer below.

My earliest memories of being a twin involve my sister and I (identical-- 2 months premature and 40 seconds apart) sitting on the floor in my parents' kitchen playing house by stirring imaginary food in my mom's pots, stacking just bought cans of soup, and trying to munch on dry pieces of pasta when my mom wasn't looking. She would give us the grocery bill receipts after a trip to the store so we could go over all the food items we just bought and create imaginary meals. We would store all the receipts in our PlaySkool kitchen packed with plastic food and dinnerware. I think it was our most beloved toy.

As we got a bit older we were allowed to help stir, wash veggies and we were always involved in our Christmas cookie baking. Beside learning to beat eggs, using a cookie cutter and painting the cookies-- the best part was eating the dough. I learned this from my mom early on. I mean, how else are you to ensure the cookies will actually taste good? And now, baking on my own for years...what is the best part of baking (with or without my mom and twin)? Sneaking some of the dough. It is a guilty pleasure I will always share with the two of them.

These days, my sister and I don't get to cook together often since I live in Boston and she lives in Brooklyn, NY, but just this year we threw a Christmas party at her apartment. Basically, we were the cooking duo and guests loved the fact that we would switch off-- one was in the kitchen and the other pouring drinks and socializing. We are a great tag team. Having a twin in the kitchen is excellent because we share the prep process, equally sneak bits of food, and cook with the same amount of energy and fun.

Our holiday menu was extra delicious this year because I prefer more of a savory menu and she is a bartender. Drinks included a peppermint martini (think white chocolate liqueur, peppermint schnapps and vodka), a Canadian inspired drink we called the Canuck (maple syrup and whiskey shaken on ice), mulled/spiced wine, and classic spiked egg nog. Our food menu included bacon wrapped dates, our special secret pork and chive dumplings, homemade mushroom pizza slices, goat cheese stuffed tomatoes, and pecan shortbread "snowballs." So, in short, we love food and love cooking, and when we join forces no one leaves hungry.

Bacon wrapped dates:

1 container (pitted) Medjool dates

1 package bacon

(you can stuff your dates if you like-- I have previously done feta, or walnuts, or pecans, or

Parmesan cheese-- just pick one and stuff!)

toothpicks, soaking for ten minutes in cold water. (this helps the picks to not get dried out and splintery when baking)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. If stuffing, take the item (nut or cheese) and stuff inside the date, there should be a little hole where the pit used to be (neatly so that none is squishing out). Set aside an a baking a piece of parchment paper.

Next, cut the bacon into half slices and wrap around the date, secure by spearing the date with a toothpick. Place on parchment paper lined baking tray, about half an inch apart. Repeat with all the dates. Bake in oven from 13-18 minutes. You want to keep checking to make sure the bacon is cooked. How long you cook it is dependent upon how you like your bacon (crispy-- stay in longer,

chewy...shorter).

I love to eat my dates right out of the oven warm accompanied with some mustard sauce. I combine dijion mustard with the french grained mustard (I use the brand Maille) and a small dollop of honey. Et voila!

Clarice Connors is a writer and culinary student in Boston. Catch up with Clarice on her blog, la cuisine bourgeoise and on Twitter.

TWINdustry Guest Post: Jewelry

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Rebecca Novotny, twin mom and the entrepreneur behind Rebecca Novotny Designs.

If you would have told me five years ago, that this is where I would be today; I would never have believed you. Five years ago I was graduating college, searching for a teaching job, and planning to marry my best friend. I did marry my best friend, and I did land my first job teaching elementary school art…but three years ago we made a decision that changed our lives forever: my husband resigned from his teaching job to join the US Air Force, and I agreed to leave my job to travel with him.

We moved three thousand miles from home, and I started working for a local tutoring center. About a year later, my husband and I received huge, exciting news…we were pregnant! With TWINS! I stayed at work until August, moved across the country again, and then got put on ‘modified bed rest’. I have always been an active person, and bed rest was terrible for me, but important for my babies. My creativity started to run wild. Scrap booking, photography, and LOTS of jewelry! Due to tight finances, I started giving out handmade jewelry as gifts. I started receiving requests to make jewelry for bridal parties, family jewelry, and earrings to match dresses for special occasions. Everyone seemed to love it, and I loved making it!

My goal for Rebecca Novotny Designs on Etsy is to create enough income that I can continue to stay home with my boys. My priority first and foremost, is my family. My husband I both believe in the importance of spending time quality time with our children. It is extra important for one of us to always be here, when the other one is sometimes forced to spend a lot of time away. The great thing about having your own business is the flexibility of being able to work around the hectic schedule of a family with multiples. I create new jewelry and work on orders during nap times and after bedtime. When we get moved to new duty stations, my business can move with me. It allows me to spend every moment that I can with my babies, and still have something to do for myself. The additional income makes me feel like I am doing something proactive to help my family as well. Rebecca Novotny Designs is a proud entwined community member business and offers 10% off orders for entwined community members - be sure to find me on Facebook too!

Rebecca Novotny has identical twin boys and designs jewelry for Rebecca Novotny Designs. Contact her at rebeccanovotny@hotmail.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Fitness

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Anastasiya Goers, twin mom and blogger at Balance in Me.

Giving birth to a child is a wonderful and amazing blessing for any woman. I was always amazed at how much women’s bodies go through during the pregnancy. I think women’s bodies deserve to have a special memorial in each and every city. This memorial must be double, triple or even octuple size for the moms of multiples.

After pregnancy, fitness does not always seem like the first priority after getting home with your little ones. Soon after I got home with my twins I felt like I had been run over by a train: sleepless nights, constant feeding and endless dirty diapers. I was lucky enough to deliver my girls naturally but a lot of women have to go through a C-section when delivering multiples or they spend time on bedrest prior to delivering. Multiple pregnancies have a lot of complications and pitfalls, and it does not get any easier after the babies are born. However, I am not trying to create a gloomy picture in front of you.

I must say that there were two factors that helped me tremendously to survive the pregnancy and the first year: my supportive husband and fitness. I was a fitness instructor for 6 years before I got pregnant and of course I was teaching through the entire pregnancy (my last class was 2 weeks before the girls were born but I would have exercised even longer if my doctor allowed me too.) About a month after the babies were born I felt that I needed some “me” time (something that any mom needs at a certain point.) I resumed teaching at a local gym and this brought me all the energy that I needed to take care of the little ones.

It is not always easy to be a fitness instructor when you are a mom, especially a mom of twins. There are times when you have no energy to go to class. There are times when it breaks your heart when you have to leave your sick child at home with their father. There are times when you are worried sick about your kids when you are teaching a class.

After my girls were born I started writing a blog about life balance – Balance In Me. Balanced living has always been something I was striving for but after the birth of my girls I felt a desperate desire for more balance in my life. The blog gave me an opportunity to vent a little bit and to share my experience and my frustrations. I can’t say that it was a success right away but slowly I climbed my way to the first 100 subscribers. After that I put a little more effort and got to 500. Then I redesigned my blog, wrote a few guest posts, found my voice and – voila – now I have a blog with over 2500 loyal followers (and still growing.)

Just lately I realized that it was time to combine two of my passions in life: blogging and fitness. Right now I am working on creating an online course on how anyone can turn their lifestyle from sedentary into active. Why do I believe in this course? As a mom of twins I know how difficult it is for moms to find time for themselves. Going to the gym seems like a luxury that a mom cannot afford. Working out with a DVD usually seems boring and most people do not have enough motivation to go on.

Now imagine that you have an online gym where you can talk to other women (in a live web chat or in the forum), you can visit a live online class or watch a recording. You learn how to make your lifestyle more active without doing any conventional exercises. You learn how to stick to your healthy lifestyle while having fun with your family. You learn how to find the time and motivation to go on. And on the days when you do not have enough motivation to work out, you get an email that reminds you why you want to do this and how great you will feel afterwards. This program is much more beneficial in my opinion than going to the gym. Why? Because once you learn to live actively no matter where you are and how much time you have, then you will always have a gym right with you.

I am getting ready to launch my online fitness program in the nearest future. As soon as it is up and running, all moms in the entwined community will get a 10% discount on this course - I look forward to working with you! In the meantime, grab a newsletter subscription to my blog (and download your free copy of Book of Wisdom: 50 ideas for the all-around balanced life) to make sure that you do not miss the launch day - the program will be limited to 50 members to create a warm and supportive community of friends.

I still teach Pilates classes at a local studio and I am planning to teach a few fitness-for-moms classes at my church. No matter how much I enjoy these classes and live communication I also understand how many more people I can help by focusing on this online project. But what is even more important, by working online I get to spend more time with my precious girls who deserve my attention and give something to others who need something new in their lives.

Anastasiya Goers has identical twin girls and runs a blog BalanceInMe. Contact her at anastasiya@balanceinme.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Graphic Design

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Julia Satovsky, twin mom and owner of J4 Design in the San Francisco area.

Many pregnant women face a question of whether to continue working after giving birth or to become a stay-at-home mom. Some also consider working from home, working part-time, or starting their own business. For me working from home or part-time was not an option, and I really didn’t like the idea of going back to work and leaving preemie twins at home with a nanny. Living in San Francisco on one salary is not easy! So my husband suggested that I start my own business. Working for myself was something that I’ve never done before, and never even considered. However, I was open to the idea, and after much thought and contemplation, I quit my job, and went to the City Hall to get a business license.

Coming up with a business name was almost as hard as coming up with names for the twins. It was especially hard because I was not 100% exactly what I was going to be doing. I knew that I was good at arts, crafts, computers, design, and marketing, so I wanted the name to be vague enough to cover any direction in which my business might take off. “J4 Design” was the final choice and it reflects both my skills and my family. There are four people in my family and all of our names start with a letter “J” - the word “design” covers any kind of creative services that might be required - so J4 Design was the winner!

Since the inception of J4 Design, 80% of my work was obtained through “word of mouth” or some kind of personal connection. I designed a business card and put together a website for myself, and started passing out cards to all my friends and other parents that met at playgrounds, playgroups, kids classes, etc. My husband also talks to all of his clients about my business. I have also advertised in local parents groups newsletters and the local parents of multiples club – San Francisco Parents of Multiples.

I started helping people with custom holiday cards, websites, photo correction and photo manipulation, business cards, slideshows, magazine ads, stickers and brochures. I have edited videos, designed wine labels, and even painted clothing, furniture and murals in kids rooms. I try not turn down any project. I’ve been asked many times “Can you do ....?” and 99.9% of the time the answer is “Yes!” Being resourceful and flexible has been a big part of me trying to get more work. My favorite project so far was a present for a friend’s husband’s 50th birthday. She sent me a bunch of photos of him and paired him up with famous people, making it look like he was really there. She printed out those images, framed them, and put them all around her house. He was very surprised and it was unique and really fun for everybody!

I love the flexibility of working for myself, not having to rush off to the office in the morning, not having to fill out vacation request forms, and being able to be with my kids, take them to classes and playgroups, and pick them up after school. There is a downside to almost anything. I am responsible with tracking my own time, invoicing and billing people, and of course doing all of the accounts receivables and accounts payables. Taxes are also a lot more complicated when you run your own business, as you often need to track your phone calls and car mileage for example, to receive appropriate deductions. However, overall there are a lot more positive sides to having your own business and I strongly encourage everybody to consider starting their own business whenever possible. entwined community creates a great way for parents of multiples to have an instant client base with people who are interested in their services. J4 Design is a proud entwined community member business and offers 10% off services for entwined community members!

Julia Satovsky has identical twin girls and owns J4 Design in San Francisco, CA. Contact her at
julia@j4design.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Photography

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Denise Slater, triplet mom and owner of Denise Slater Photography and For You By Dee in the Medina/North Jackson, Tennessee area.

It's that time again, back to school! How many of us are already in the frenzy of packing lunches, making sure homework is done, clothes washed and ready, backpacks packed, supplies all purchased. Then it's time for the first day. Did you cry? Laugh? Feel a sense of relief? Wait by the door until they got home?

I'm Denise, a mom to triplet boys. They are 4 1/2 and I started my boys in a pre-school program this year. WOW there is a lot of things to purchase, set out and remember! They only go twice a week for 4 hours and it's seems to be a lot to keep up with. I can't imagine what it will be like when they are in full time school.

Their first day of school made me ponder on the question "Where has the time gone?". NICU until their 1st birthday seems like such a blur. Bottles, burping, naps, spit up, sleepless nights, solid feedings, crawling, walking. Then their toddler years of learning their boundaries, new words, and new milestones. As a mom, I tried my hardest to capture those memories. I have been successful for some of those times! I know the regret I feel when I realized I missed capturing other moments. I am passionate about capturing memories, and want to share that with others.

I started using my point and shoot camera - I'd keep it in the diaper bag and bring it out at every chance I could. Digital pictures make is SO MUCH easier now! You can take 100 pictures and only keep the ones you want. I then started playing with the photos a bit more. One might not be centered correctly, or another had a huge garbage can in the back. I used to just discard those. However, some photos would just stand out to me. I'd love the twinkle in an eye, or that special smile that is not posed. The next step was to start editing. Turning a picture into black and white, or cropping into a face super close can just change the entire look of a photo. Now, most computers come loaded with a photo editing program for basic editing or you can use an online resource such as Picnik. For free you can edit five pictures at a time and play with their basic settings. Cropping, color adjusting, collages. If you find yourself using it more, then you can subscribe to their premium services.

When my boys turned 1, we had moved away from any family and friends for my husband to work on his PhD. As a student's family, you learn to be creative with your money for gifts! I started working with my photos and putting them on products. I'd wait for a sale or a deal on these products, then I would personalize gifts for family and friends. I would make a collage of photos with a saying on it and have it made into a purse for my mother. For my bed ridden grandmother, I made a photo collage of her great-grandchildren on a pillow case. My friend that loves to bake received an apron with a photo creation I made on the front. With each project I expanded my photographing and editing skills, along with my passion for creating gifts!

From that came my first national business, For You By Dee which creates ANY types of personalized products for your multiples! I started creating my own invitations, greeting cards, purses, posters, and gifts when I could not find that "perfect" product. If you think it's hard to find something for twins, it's even harder for triplets or more! For You By Dee helps you create the perfect personalized gifts - just tell me what you want, send me your photos and I can make it for you to fit any sized product you want!

The next natural order of progression has been in my heart for years. It's my local Jackson, TN business Denise Slater Photography. It has been a fun process to help other families capture their moments and memories - in the midst of chaos. I love helping parents enjoy a relaxed process of photographs. I make it pain free, and it even makes the dad's relax! Once my boys are off to school full time, I plan on contacting the local NICUs to discuss working with them to offer free photo services for families. Having spent 25 days in there with my boys, my heart goes out to those families that never leave with their angels. My dream is to one day have a non profit organization that will allow me to capture moments in the NICU of these families and gift them with the photos, a book, and prints.

Thanks to entwined community for supporting all our businesses ran by families of multiples! Join entwined community today to receive a free print (8x10 or smaller) from Denise Slater Photography and 20% personalized products from For You By Dee.

Denise Slater is a triplet mom and entrepreneur in Medina, Tennessee. Contact her at
denise_m_slater@yahoo.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Crafts/Etsy

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Kelly Heslip, twin mom and owner of Kelly's Paper Creations in the Bryan/College Station, Texas area.

I am a mother of twins and a singleton. We were blessed with boy/girl twins just over three and a half years ago. Of course, this was out of the blue for us even though twins run on my mother's side of the family. There is no pattern, such as skipping a generation, so totally random! What makes our twins unique is that they are the first set of boy/girl multiples in the family. Then we were blessed 2 years and 6 days after the twins were born with another beautiful daughter.

My husband and I decided that I would stay at home when the twins were born. I did, however, work part-time for a year and a half for my previous company, but since then, I have truly been a stay-at-home-mom. I sold Stampin' Up! products on the side, and one day, a friend had asked me to help her make invitations. It was a lot of fun, so I began to think about starting my own scrapbooking/invitation making business.

The first thing I did was create a website for Kelly's Paper Creations and registered it with the top search engines. Then I made business cards and started handing out to friends. For the first year, I think I completed two projects: one ready-made scrapbook to insert pictures into and some Valentine cards for a college student (we live near Texas A&M University). Then I hit a period of nothingness.

The local scrapbook store closed down due to the family leaving, so that opened a whole new opportunity for me. Although, most calls I get are asking when my hours are and if I carry certain supplies, I have had more orders for scrapbooking services and invitations. This year, I started making bag tags due to the need for identification for my own children's backpacks and lunch kits for mother's day out. I set up an e-store for custom orders for bag tags and a new line of birthday invitations, thank yous and party favor bag tags.

New services that will be revealed in the next few weeks will be customized scrapbook calendars and scrapbooking parties. The parties will be for ages 6+ with themes to choose from such as princess, diva, rock-n-roll, butterfly, and more. Each guest/participant will be given supplies to make up to a 12x12 sized scrapbook page (they will need to bring 4-5 pictures). Then the pages will be mounted on heavy duty material (such as chipboard), eyelets/gromets punched and ribbon added to make it a hanging creation for their room or to give as a gift. Kelly's Paper Creations can be found on Facebook for the latest updates.

I am very honored to be featured at entwined community, to link up with other mothers of multiples and multiples themselves! For members, Kelly's Paper Creations is offering 10% off scrapbook and invitation services and $1 off bag tags.

Kelly Heslip is the owner of Kelly's Paper Creations in the Bryan/College Station, Texas area. Contact her at kellyspaper@gmail.com .

TWINdustry Guest Post Friday: Real Estate

Each Friday, we highlight an entwined community member who works in the TWINdustry of the Week. This week's post is by Penny Pelletier, identical twin and real estate agent in Vestal, NY.

My twin Connie and I have been very close since birth. Twins run on both sides of our family - my father had twin uncles and my mother had two sets of twin brothers. Not only do I have a twin sister, but we have a brother and sister who are twins who are 4 years older than us. We are as close as two siblings could be. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have a twin, as I always had my best friend with me.

Connie and I always seemed to work in the same field. After graduating from high school, I worked as a court clerk and trained my sister to take over after I left to get married. My marriage was our first separation and was quite traumatic for both of us! We both lost weight and our hair fell out - it was awful! We finally adjusted but we certainly had some very high phone bills.

After working in the mortgage and real estate industry, a few years ago I moved back home and convinced my sister to get her real estate license and come work with me. In addition to working great together, we are the only Twin Team in the area and we even have a program on the John Burns Real Estate Show called “Touring with the Twins”. It is such a privilege to work with my sister - it is rare to work with someone you can fully trust to do a good job and be supportive.

Here are a few tips if you are considering working with your twin. First, find something that you both enjoy and excel at. Do you have similar interests or hobbies? Think of how you can pool your strengths to work together as a team. Second, determine who will be responsible for what aspects of the business. If one of you is more outgoing, have that person focus on marketing and community relations. If one of you is more reserved, you may be more comfortable behind the scenes keeping the books straight and dealing with vendors. Finally, market yourself as a twin business! We all know what a unique gift it is to be a twin, reach out to connect with twins in your community who understand this special bond. Using a service like entwined community will help you connect with clients who are looking for business professionals who understand the special twin/multiples bond. We are proud entwined community members, and offer $250 off home inspections for the buyer or $250 credit off commission for sellers.

Penny Pelletier is a Realtor with Realty USA in Vestal, NY. Contact her at
PPelletier@RealtyUSA.com .