1- I am addicted to many things in life, the list includes Starbucks, Bags, Notebooks, Chocolate and ice-cream (I tried to get rid of this addiction but haven't beaten any yet)

2- I am a very SOCIAL selective person which means that i am very social with the people i like (LOL) i can be very caring and funny but not with everyone (Some people including my hubby get annoyed with this saying I have to be as good with everyone but i just cant act)

3- If i don't like you, i will never ever tell you anything good as a compliment or something. I share only what is in my heart. So If i tell you good things, then i really mean it and it is how i feel about you.

4- I am an organization freak, i love my room and desk to be super neat.

5- I love Zara home to the extent that i would be happy to be a store manager or sleep one night there having all those colors around me. I even like the store smell (LOL)

6- I love the sea and would love to have a nice cruise but i have a phobia that the day i decide to do that, the ship will sink like titanic (LOL)

7- I appreciate nature and sitting in a place with the view of greenery and a notebook in my hand would be the best i can ever ask for

8- I love music, it just lifts my spirit. Sometimes i listen to things that do not go with how i look but i am crazy. If the words and the beat are nice, i can listen to it for hours

9- I am very emotional person and this is something that brings me headache most of the time

10- I talk a lot so i send long emails and long messages. I try not to but i cant

11- I was the first on my class in school since primary one till high school. But i was never the nerd who would sit on the first row. On the contrary i was active and i talk a lot in class but i love studying so i was the first during all my school years

12- I have visited London a lot with my parents and lived there for sometime. It is one of the places that holds a special place in my heart and would love to go there anytime. I like their culture, the houses, the royal family, the Big Ben, the red buses, the telephone booth, you name it...

13- My mother is my best friend, i love her madly and i care about her as if she is my daughter. If she is upset i cant even smile and when she is happy i can fly. My only prayer for God is to keep her safe for me till my last breath

14- Although i love brands, and into designer bags and so on but i love to buy good bargains and when my favorite store is on sale, i wouldn't mind sleep over there but they wont allow me

15- I get inspired by people i write about and each one has indirectly taught me something new or opened my eyes on something i never considered before

16- I love writing since i was a teenager but never thought i would take it professionally until I got pregnant. I used to write in Teenstuff magazine when i was still in school, then was a reporter in the University newspaper till i started working in magazines later beside my marketing research job

17- Although i worked in marketing research for 7 years, one part of me loves this job and the other part hates it and i have a list of reasons for both

18- I used to be spoiled by my parents but I can act like a man when needed. all the close people tell me I am reliable and dependable person

19- I am so addicted to my work and wish one day i can own my own magazine or write a book (Am working on it)

20- I want to be healthy person and i like healthy food but my love for deserts always bring me to square zero (LOL)

Today was the first day for my kids in the nursery and I couldn't but share it on my Twin Mummy's Diary page:

I was so excited that finally I got the guts to admit my kids in a nursery, now that they are 2 years 8 months, it was about time it happens but starting yesterday night, the excitement I had began to fade and be replaced with so many mixed feelings.

I was getting so emotional and felt guilt, fear, happiness, sadness but the most evident feeling was the guilt part. I felt like i am throwing them to the outer world (i will not filter my thoughts nor try to beautify it, i will just say it as it is on my mind). I have been taking care of them alone since day one (with the help of my blessed mother) so instead of being happy today that finally i will have some time for myself, i felt bad.

I know it sounds negative but that is what i went through, i wanted to not take them in the morning but i kept reminding myself that they will enjoy having new friends, they have to mingle with people, they need to learn more discipline, they have to know I am not there all the time to cuddle and spoil, they should get prepared to school and so on. But still i was somehow down till i took them back home.

I am a very emotional person (Unfortunately) but I have never felt so much emotions in one day. I have always thought that they are so attached to me and they cant let go, maybe I am also as attached if not more. Today i felt lonely in the morning, wanted to be with them, wanted to tell them I am still here, I will take you home in a while but this was not allowed for their own sake.

But I guess I am being selfish, because i want them in front of my eyes all the time and this is not realistic. Sooner or later they have to merge with the world and they need to mingle with other kids and people. Am I happy? i cant say I am but i am sure that few days down the line, I will get used to it and feel better. Because part of being a mother is to accept and embrace anything that would make your kids happy so as long as they are happy, so will I be...

I just wonder If i went through all this on the first day of nursery, what will i feel when they graduate from university or get married (If I am still there to experience that) LoL

Merits of having twins

It is always the case that moms to be feel horrified when they know they will be having twins. But today I decided to take the chance and spot the merits of having twins for a change J

1- Despite being double the hassle (or slightly more than the double), they are also double the fun. You have two little funny creatures at home who more often than not are nothing alike.

2- They do get jealous from each other so when one is not eating and finds the other one eating, he gets to imitate him / her

3- Having twins make you as a mother more efficient with everything and a real multitasked person

4- They always feel company even if alone with you at home because everyone always has the other person

5- It is being said that they sleep better because they don’t feel alone in their rooms

6- Everyone would want to give a helping hand because twins sounds scary so you find people feeling for you all the time

7- The dad has to get involved in many tasks when he is a father of twins

8- If they are the same gender, they can just share everything together especially toys (For me because they are a boy and a girl, they are worlds apart

9- In school it is nice when they get to study the same things, they can even study together or compete who is better

10- You will won’t have to worry about how many years gap between the babies, you got both in one shot

11- You go through all the early months hassles once, I can’t even imagine that if I had one baby I will be considering now a second one

12- You have double the love, double the kisses and hugs. I love it when they feel jealous of who hugs me and kisses me more

That is for today but I will keep updating this list <3

Tips for parents expecting twins

- Be smart when it comes to baby shopping. Now that you are expecting twins, you need to prepare your list and abuse sales in the stores. I remember I used to wait for my favorite stores to go on sale so I can get my babies all what they need with good bargains.

- Not every new toy has to be an individual toy; try to get toys that match both tastes and interests. In my case having a boy and a girl there is no option of sharing when it comes to dolls or cars but there are other games that can be enjoyed by both.

- Don’t get tempted to buy everything in the world for the babies. The baby brands’ marketing is doing a very good job to make us wrongly believe that we can’t live without their products. Truth is I fell in that trap ad after I gave birth I discovered that I didn’t need to get all those things.

- Be careful when choose the baby stroller. Me and my husband (mostly him) did an extensive research about the twin strollers. In twin stroller don’t go for the fancy but rather go for the simple, light and small. The heavier the babies get the more challenging it is to maneuver the stroller.

- Accept the fact that you are having both Childs at once instead of being after one another. Actually having twins is helpful and has its own merits and you will encounter everything once like pregnancy pain.

- Seek help because there are times you will not be able to do it all alone especially the first few months. I have the most helpful mother ever where I stayed with her first 5 months and she was the greatest support. She helped me with the babies and took care of all my needs during my stay.

- The husband’s role is much more amplified when he is a father of twins. I guess if I was blessed with one baby only I wouldn’t have needed his help that much but now that they are two he supports me in many things especially when we go out because without a nanny it is almost impossible.

- Look for things to make your life better and easier. Again my husband supports me on that big time, for example we bought all the needed safety items for the house to ensure that when I am home alone with them, I don’t need to have anything more pressuring.

- For the mother I would advise if she can let go of her job for the first few years, this might really be of great help because taking care of kids and a career even if someone is helping you just drain yourself and you will enjoy neither of them.

- Mummies need to find a hobby for yourself or revive an old hobby because at times of real stress and pressure you will really appreciate these little moments you spend doing something you love.

- Think twice before you consider a nanny, nannies are not magical creatures. They have their own problems and issues and sometimes they even add more pressures. I tried them once and I was not happy at all with the experience. No matter how they show they care, no one cares about your kids as much as you do so weigh the pros and cons of having one and then decide whether you go for it or not.

Merits of Vinegar

Recently I have come to discover the merits of having vinegar around in the house and it is not only useful to make salad as you wrongly think, vinegar is a magical solution lying inside our kitchen cabinets. It is very beneficial for a multitude of tasks around the house, below are some of the things that I tried myself but there are tens of other uses.

1- Wash Veggies and fruits: Vinegar is effective in removing bacteria and pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables. So you only need to add some vinegar to the water you are using to wash your grocery. Other people say get a bottle and put ¼ vinegar and ¾ water and spray on all the fruits and veggies then rinse with water only.

2- Get rid of that sticky glue: if you accidently glue things together or have a sticky label on a product that you want to get rid of then you can use vinegar as a solvent to dissolve the adhesive power of the glue.

3- Overcome carpet stains: You can use a mix of water and vinegar to get rid of some carpet stains. You can also wipe the carpets using a clean broom dipped in vinegar and water to look shinier and as good as new.

4- Say goodbye to sticky scissors blades: if your scissors blades get sticky don’t wash it with water as this will rust the blades but rather wipe it off using a cloth dipped in strong white vinager.

5- Clean and deodorize your toilet bowl: Pour white vinegar into it. Let it stand for five minutes, then flush. Spray stubborn stains with white vinegar, and then scrub vigorously.

6- Add shine to your hair: Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to one cup of water while rinsing your hair to get that nice shine.

7- Get rid of bad odor inside your freezer: If you have bad odors in the fridge, simply use a solution that is equally water and vinegar, wipe it with that solution then leave it to dry.

8- Clean shower heads from Mineral residues: remove the shower head, put it in a sealed pleastic bag and ½ cup of warm vinegar and leave it for one hour. Then rinse, wipe and put it back, it will look as good as new.

9- Wipe off wax or polish build up: you can use a mixture of equal vinegar and equal water and use it on a cloth to wipe off whatever you want.

10- Dissolve rust: If you have old tools having rust on it, you only have to soak it vinegar for few days and you will see rust disappear.

11- Brighten up coffee cups and teacups: some people wrongly clean those using water and clore but it has been proved that this is very dangerous. The safer option is to use a mix of half salt and half vinegar and use it to scrub the stains.

12- Whiten your teeth (This one I have not tried myself): Brush your teeth once a week with white distilled vinegar. Dip your toothbrush into the vinegar and brush thoroughly. It will help prevent bad breath, too.

13- Freshen fabrics: Fill a spray bottle with white vinegar and spritz your home to neutralize odors in fabrics, carpets, shoes or any sprayable surface.

14- Eliminate dandruff (This one I have not tried myself): If your scalp is feeling dry or flaky, vinegar can be a simple at-home remedy. Once a week, pour one cup of apple cider vinegar over your scalp, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with cool water.

Planning is the key

Many times I hear mothers complain from the lack of time, the multitude of tasks and how constantly they are over whelmed with their daily duties. When I suggest planning I hear things like “but how can I plan”, “Everyday there are new surprises”, “all the days are just messy”, “I don’t know how to stick to a plan” and so on. For me these are just an example of giving lame excuses (sorry for being honest). Why do you think there are mothers more successful than others? Planning is the answer and until you realize the importance of planning, you have one of two choices; either stop complaining and accept your messy situation or try to embrace a new way of thinking.

For me planning is more than essential, it has been my favorite life companion ever since I can remember. Having my to-do-list is an inevitable part of my life and the funny thing I have it for my personal as well as professional lives. Now that I am staying at home for my babies for some time, I can’t go on without my house duties’ to-do-list. I write every week what I need to do over the week and what I need to accomplish around the weekdays so I am left out almost free over the weekend. Of course a mother is never free but I choose to cook all week but not on the weekend. I choose to get done with the laundry across the week but not on the weekend. I intentionally buy all the things I need from the supermarket across the week so as not to waste my weekend in grocery shopping (when I would prefer to do some real shopping).

Instead of being overwhelmed and complain and end up finishing nothing Learn to PRIORITIZE. Select the most important tasks to be done and divide those urgent tasks among the week. If every day you do one major task, it will feel way better and you won’t feel (in a certain way) the multitude of the job. Target to have a free weekend (No major house chores); for me it feels good as I am kind of free from the major routine tasks, still there will be things here and there but no cooking, no laundry, no cleaning, etc. Keep a to-do-list in your kitchen for important stuff; I keep a small magnetic white board on my fridge for important dates, apportionments or reminders that can’t be missed.

From experience, I can tell you that there is no way out of the motherly tasks nor can you decrease the duties but for sure you can make your life better if you decide to make it easier. A good mother is not a free one, but rather someone who can plan her house and be smart in doing her tasks and still find time for herself.

Joys of being a mother

Many times I feel that we mothers give a bad impression about maternity to moms-to-be or to girls who fear getting pregnant because of what we continuously convey. I am not negating the fact that being a mother is overwhelming. I am not trying to prove it is not; on the contrary for me having to take care of twins without a nanny (which is a choice I am proud to have made) is even more overwhelming than being a mother for one baby. But the point is while we always tend to complain, we forget to highlight the blessings and joys of being mothers. Today I decided I will shed some light on the joys rather than the burdens for a change. While I will still keep talking about the burdens in the future and how to make it better, I hope you enjoy reading this for now… when you are a mother;

1- You start to look at your life with a different angle: your life no longer revolves around you. Now that you have kids, their own well-being and pleasure is much more important than yours. You can’t eat if they are hungry, you can’t rest if they are awake, you can’t have your me-time if they need you. Your own needs are not a priority anymore but rather a luxury and you do that so willingly from your heart.

2- The motherhood feeling of taking care of your kids is a real enjoyment: No matter how tiring it is, I still enjoy the feeling that I am responsible for them. I love taking care of their needs and enjoy doing them all the things they love.

3- Watching the world through their eyes is one of the purest things about having kids. It is so nice to look at life the way they do where their trouble revolves around a toy that they want to play with or a cartoon that they want to watch. When I go to the entertainment center with them, for few hours, I tend to forget the harsh life we are living it and try to get mad with them enjoying some rides.

4- Seeing your kids grow is another pleasure of life. Although my kids are not 3 years yet but seeing them develop from being babies to trying to be more dependent and playing alone is amazing. Seeing each kid develop a character is beyond enjoyable, I feel I am growing up my new best friends whom I want to be friends with till my last breath.

5- I was never a believer of a true best friend, I tend to be suspicious and my one and only trust worthy friend has always been my mother. Now I feel that I have genuine people in my life who truly loves me, I just hope they love as much as I love my mother.

6- Sharing their fun things with them is also a priceless experience. For me I love to sit, play and color with them. It distracts me from the world’s pressures and is just so much fun. Take the time to do that; if you enjoy it a bit, it will be the time of their lives. They really do appreciate being close to us and interacting with us more than we could think.

7- Enjoying their random hugs and kisses is my favorite part of being a mother. When they hug me or kiss me for no reason, I feel I don’t want that moment to end; it makes me feel life is worth living and that I am going through a lot of hassle’s but it is worth it. More often than not, I feel I need this hug to assure me that the world is still pure, kind and sweet

8- Being a mother teaches you how to deal with fears you never knew existed.

9- They are a source of daily inspiration for us. They are mini purer version of us. One day my sister told me a description that I cherished and wished to keep in my heart forever, she said your kids are angels that have not been stained by the filthy world we live in. It is true, sometimes when I look at them; I feel pity for they don’t know how harsh life is.

10- One of the dearest moments I love is seeing their eyes light up when they see something they love or when they get a toy that wanted. Sometimes I try to get them any simple thing just to see this excitement and happiness. It takes few seconds but makes me feel accomplished and fills me with joy for the whole day.