by Erin Sweeten
It's our last installment featuring PVMOM members who joined in 2012 or earlier. This week, meet Gina Salazar-Hook and Judy Krendick, both of whom have twin teens! Virtual high fives to both of you for your great support and example through the years. I've also gotten notes from some of you asking when my interview will show up, so I did one too!

Gina Salazar- Hook
Member Since: 2003, when I was about 3 month pregnant with my fraternal twin boys.  I couldn’t wait to join, ask millions of questions from car seats to strollers. I always thought PVMOM would be “for my twins” but it ended up being life changing for me!
Children:  I have fraternal twin boys, Michael and Kendall age 14, and a daughter, Makena, age 13.
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: PVMOM changed my life in so many ways.  First and foremost, it helped me become the best mom I could be thanks to all of the speakers and the support of other families going through similar things.  Second, I am blessed with the best “playgroup” ever. We have 10 families who have remained close all these years and who I know will be my best friends for the rest of my life.  We still celebrate holidays, birthdays and vacation together.  Lastly, my years on the PVMOM and MOA boards revealed skills I didn’t know I had and inspired me to continue doing non-profit work that I love.  
Funny Parenting Story: One that always stands out is the time we had two toilets overflowing at once… one with solid waste!  The toilets were clogged so bad we had to call a plumber. It turns out my precious toddlers flushed 10 plastic Disney characters down the toilets.  
Best Parenting Advice: The days are long but the years are short.  Our children grow and change so quickly.  Cherish each moment because time moves too quickly.

Judy Krendick
Member Since: 2003. I am almost positive I became a member in 2003 but could have been 2004.  My mind is mush after close to 14 years of my fabulous twins!
Children: My twins will turn 14 in November.
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: I love the resources it has provided over the years! For instance, if you were looking for a doctor or dentist it was right there at your finger tips!
Special Parenting Memory: Hosting the NICU Reunion fundraiser over 10 years ago was a very special time for our family.  The Scottsdale Shea (Honor Health) NICU was incredible for the short time our son was in their care.  
Best Parenting Advice: When you know better, you do better!

Erin Sweeten
Member Since: 2012
Children: Abigail, age 9. Ronan and Callum, age 6
Favorite Thing About PVMOM: All the tiny tots. Now that my kids are past the tiny, squishy stage I know I can get my baby fix at any family event!
Funny Parenting Story:  When the boys were about eight or nine months old, I was in the midst of a messy diaper change with Ronan when my three-year-old started narrating Callum’s sudden blow-out. “Mom, he has poop on his back! Now he’s rubbing his hands in it! Now he’s crawling behind the chair! Now he’s wiping it on the wall! Now he’s COMING THIS WAY! I’m getting OUT of here!” Callum was just out of my line of sight, and I just had to giggle at Abigail’s tenth-level drama as I worked at lightning speed to wipe, butt paste, and seal up Ronan in a new diaper. Every twin mom should have a preschooler narrate her life.
Best Parenting Advice: Jot down the things that make you laugh or warm your heart.The early years become such a blur later on—I love having those little snippets now. 

by Erin Sweeten

Each week in October, PVMOM is featuring some of our most loyal members on the blog. This week, take some time on your lunch break or during afternoon nap to get to know a little more about Shenen Dietrich, a past President of PVMOM and our national rep, who clearly looks quite youthful despite what her kids say; Monika Miller, owner of the Once Upon a Child consignment store, a longtime business partner of our club and a twin mom who deserves hardship pay for her experiences with breastfeeding; and Sue Hutchinson, a past board member and frequent giver of sage advice whose children are all now taller than she is, perhaps because of all the peanut butter they used to eat. What a great group of women we have in PVMOM.

Shenen Dietrich
Member Since: 2010
Children:  My boys are 8 years old
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: The friendships and the sense of having survived and prospered, both as an individual and as a club. 
Funny Parenting Story: Two Halloweens ago, our family dressed up as the Scooby Doo bunch. I was Daphne in a purple dress and pink gogo boots with a red wig.  Blake, one of my twin six-year-old boys at the time, said that I didn’t look much like Daphne.  I asked him why since I was all dressed up. He said that Daphne doesn’t have wrinkles and I had wrinkles. Out of the mouth of babes!!
Best Parenting Advice: Keep to a schedule, ask for help when you need it, and keep them napping for as long as possible.

Monika Miller
Member Since: 2010
Children: Brooklyn & Brianna are 7, Bianca is 5
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: Friendships and the ongoing support from other members. 
Funny Parenting Story: Imagine trying to breastfeed a newborn with 2-year-old twins non-stop jumping on the bed. 
Best Parenting Advice: Life is a journey, not a destination. 

Sue Hutchinson
Member Since: 2004-- That would be 14 years ago!  I am still friends with the moms who referred me!  We met at the Paradise Valley Community Center while our 4 year olds were taking an itty bitty sports class.  Those four year olds are graduating high school in May!
Children: I have three boys, 13, 13 and 17.  They are all over 6 feet tall now, so I am the shortest one in the house!  
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: I really loved having the opportunity to learn from other moms of multiples before my twins were born. Their wisdom and recommendations for gear and books, made for much smoother sailing when my twins were born.  As my children grow up, PVMOM members have provided a great support system and a resource network.  In turn, I enjoy giving back and have served on the board and try to respond on Facebook as much as possible.
Funny Parenting Story: There is the time that I found both of my toddlers sitting on the kitchen floor armed with butter knives, elbow deep in a large jar of peanut butter.  They were such a mess, I couldn't even be mad, I just ran for the camera!  But even funnier is the time that one of my sons said, "Girls don't have a penis; mommy has a big butt!"
Best Parenting Advice: I have found as a parent of three boys, it is best to choose your battles wisely. So I don't argue with them if they don't want a haircut, even when it falls to below their shoulders and hides their eyes. There are just more important things in life than controlling everything and being "right" all the time.  And.... expect to go to the principal's office at least annually!  

by Erin Sweeten
Welcome back to the blog for our latest group of interviewees in this month's Member Appreciation series! These wise, real, funny moms have BTDT (been there, done that). I'll let them tell you all about it themselves.

Alison Coviello

Member Since: 2008. I joined shortly after we moved here when the girls were 10 months old.
Children: My fraternal twin girls, Mia and Rachel, are now 10 years old.
Favorite thing about PVMOM: it is a group of women from all different backgrounds, many who have experienced a complicated path to get here, and we all have come together to share the journey of raising our multiples.
Parenting memory:  When the girls were two months old they were finally both home from the NICU.  One day, Rachel just wouldn't settle down.  She was crying nonstop for over an hour and nothing would soothe her.  I was sitting on the couch holding her and I myself crying, feeling so frazzled and not knowing what to do.  My husband came down from his office to try to help and he looked at the coffee table in front of me and asked, "Whose bottle is that?"  This bottle sat inches away from me and in my exhaustion I hadn't noticed it or realized until that moment that I hadn't fed Rachel her last feeding.  The poor baby was starving!  Needless to say, we set up a feeding chart that afternoon.  So, this isn't exactly a funny story but looking back at it, I recall how overwhelmed and exhausted I was and how hard those early days were taking care of two babies.  That incident made both my husband and I realize that I needed more help and more time to take care of myself and that is the advice I always give new moms. 
Best Parenting Advice:  When my girls were babies, I asked a good friend, who has twin boys two years older than my girls, if it ever gets easier.  Her response was, "it doesn't get easier, it just changes." I have found that to be true.  I didn't know how we would survive the transition to solids, potty training, moving into big girl beds, grade school, etc.  Each time we do survive it and we look back and laugh that we thought it was such a big challenge.  Now we face the preteen stage and I'm not sure how we will survive that.  Wish us luck!

Tessa Watson

Member Since: 2006. I started out in BAMOM(Birmingham Area) when my twins were 8 wks & when we moved to Phx in 2006 (then 18 mo) I promptly looked for a new MOM club.
Children: Six children, ages 16, 13, 13, 10, 7, and 4
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: I love the unique connection and instant camaraderie twin moms have. There is absolutely nothing like gestating, raising and loving two (or more) of the same aged kids. I love that we all “get it.”  I love being a twin mom and connecting with other ones. I just wish I could do it more.

Funny Parenting Story: I just ran across an old email detailing a day in the life of my energetic two year olds- smashed bananas in the carpet, hair pulling during library story time, flooding the kitchen with the water dispenser and their crowning achievement: working together to get the garage door off its tracks and falling onto the car! There sure were some crazy times, but boy have they always had fun together, and I consider that one of the biggest gifts I’ve given them as a twin mom. They’ve had little undivided attention but they have always had a built in best friend for life. I still love to watch their special bond grow and deepen with time. They’re such a blessing to each other and to me. 
Best Parenting Advice: Listen to all advice politely and then promptly do whatever works best for you.
I’ve included “then and now” pics. I always loved that the newspaper hat was unknowingly a BOGO ad in this baby pic;)

Julia Baeva

Member Since: 2012. I have been a member of PVMOM for 6 years! That's about 40 in singleton years.

Children: My b/g twins Sofia and Nathaniel are 7.5 years old.
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Favorite Thing about PVMOM: I met my best friends through PVMOM and it has been my savior through the challenging and often isolating experience of raising twin tornadoes.

Funny Parenting Story: Oh, man, where do I begin? Usually my brain blocks everything out - it's a self-defense mechanism. But I have a fresh example today. See the pic. #SoBlessed

Best Parenting Advice: The best books on raising toddler twins are made in the Napa valley and come in a bottle.

​Shandra Locken
Member Since: 2011 - Jillian Constantino and I attended our very first meeting on the same night!Children: Twin girls, age 7
Favorite Thing about PVMOM: Friendship with other moms who “get” it and being able to offer my experience to help other moms.
Funniest Parenting Story:  My kids didn’t truly understand that boys and girls and were different until we had a sleepover early last year with another twin mama’s boys.  One of the girls was brushing her teeth and one of the boys came running into the bathroom to go potty.  So he’s standing there, relieving himself, and you can see the moment of realization as she stops brushing and openly gawks at him, “What is going on???”  I had to explain that boys and girls are different and why boys pee standing up. 
Favorite Parenting Quote: “The days are long but the years are short.”  It’s so very true.
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