2005 Calendar of events:

January 22: 9:00 am WOMOTC Board Meeting (Baymont Inn, Fond du Lac)

February 1: Newsletter articles and information deadline

April 29: evening, WOMOTC Board Meeting

April 30: WOMOTC SPRING MEETING, Beloit

June 11: 9:00 am WOMOTC Board Meeting (Baymont Inn, Fond du Lac)

October 7: afternoon, WOMOTC Board Meeting

October 7-8: WOMOTC FALL CONVENTION, Wisconsin Dells)

Hello Members-

            I am pleased to be your President this year, and I hope that my enthusiasm and excitement for this organization is contagious!  As those who went to Convention know, WOMOTC is really at a critical point right now.  We have had membership declining in many ways, and participation at State events has been getting worse every year.  But there are also a lot of positive things to focus on right now too! 

            I am so excited with the new clubs who have joined this year or are in the process of forming!  The excitement that these new clubs bring will help to revitalize us all.  Here are a few of the ideas already in motion!  First, we are forming “Sister Clubs” around the State to help increase WOMOTC participation, and increase communication between clubs. And we continue to put a lot of effort into forming new clubs around the state.  Secondly, we are hoping to revamp this newsletter to increase twin education and interest to the general membership, and more of the club business will be mailed directly to the State Reps alone.  Even though we had to decrease the size of the newsletter, we are going for quality rather than quantity this year!  Third, we are working to improve our website once again, and make it the most effective tool for information and communication.  And fourth, we are trying something new and expecting a great turnout at Convention in the Dells this year.  The biggest change I hope you notice- will be better communication all around!

            Just a quick thanks to all who served on the Board last year, and to those who hosted State events- you did a great job!  Also a special thanks to all those who made our State Raffle successful, especially for its first year!

                                                                                    Twincerely,     Barb Jones

Hello to all Wisconsin mothers of twins! I am thrilled to be your newly elected first vice president. I am also the vice president and historian for the Waukesha Mothers of Twins Club. I have very energetic two-year-old fraternal twin boys, Mack and Milo. As recently becoming a single mom, my club has been very supportive. I work at the Medical/Surgical Unit at Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital and I look forward to going back to school in the fall of 2005.

Likewise, I am looking forward to serving you as first vice president and encouraging clubs and mothers of multiples to become of the WOMOTC. I want to remind all clubs of their "We-Share" Reports and also of applying for awards. We are implementing a big sister/little sister program for new clubs and experienced clubs, and I think it will very beneficial. If your club is having any problems, please take advantage of your state affiliation and contact me and we will find a solution. I wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season and I look forward to seeing each one of you in Beloit in April.

Gretchen Eder

1^st VP

Hi! My name is Patti Sobchak and I am proud to serve all of WOMOTC as the 2^nd VP. I have been blessed with three daughters, Sara who is 16-going on 17 as the song goes (just got her drivers permit) and our twins Aryn and Lauren who turned 13 in May (who attended there first big concert with their father on the same day). Three teenage girls; need I say more to those who been through this stage. We are both very involved with our children in their sports, music lessons and church functions. I work full time as a nurse at Marquette University in the Student Health Service and my husband Bob, works for We-Energies as a shift supervisor. I also serve as the VP of my local club since Aug.

I have served the WOMOTC in the past as Treasurer, Summer Picnic chairperson, Credentials chairperson, and Historian Chaplain. I wanted to take this role due to the important responsibility that it carries to educate mothers of multiples and document statistics. As 2^nd VP I was asked to review past surveys and to make them apart of the information provided on the website and the newsletter. Please see below the last couple of years results.

My next task is to get all of you busy at filling out the survey that I develop for this coming convention presentation. I know that it is 11 months away but the bigger the return on the survey the better

information we have to give to our members and to those who may join our local and state club. I am currently developing a survey that deals with coping mechanisms and support persons/networks. If you have any questions that you would like to see answered please feel free to email or call me so that I can include them on the survey. The last time this topic was covered was in the 80’s. As times have changed, I’m sure the services and roles have changed with too. I look forward to meeting you at state events and getting to know you through the surveys you send in.

Patti Sobchak

patricia.sobchak@marquette.edu

262-691-5007

Greetings to my fellow M.O.M.s! I hope all of you had a wonderfully blessed holiday season!

My name is Jeanne Klapperich, and I am your new Historian/Chaplain. My husband, Jeff, and I live in Wausau, WI, where we both work for Eastbay. We have five children--our twins, Anne and Laura, are 21; Michael is 19; Adam is 17; and Sharon is 14. Currently, I am also President of our local club, and I have served in several other offices in the past. I

have also served as 2nd VP and Parliamentarian for the state organization.

I'm anticipating an interesting year as your Historian/Chaplain, and I hope to serve you well. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones at our state events, and I hope all of you will support the new board in our goals for the organization.

See you in the Spring!

Jeanne Klapperich

Historian/Chaplain

I thought that I would introduce myself. I will be the new Treasurer for this next year. I have done this job in the past and enjoyed doing it very much. I am a bookkeeper by trade and I love numbers and reconciling bank accounts. I’m sure many of you think that that is really weird but others of you can understand. Rest assured, the treasury is in good hands. If I am unable to attend any of the board meetings, Suzanne Gorecki, WOMOTC’s Treasurer for the last two years, will be bringing the reports and standing in for me. If you have any questions or expenses that you need to be reimbursed for, please get in touch with me.

Kathy Krause, Treasurer

kkrause@execpc.com

Hi Everyone. My name is Lynn Buschmann and I have been a member of the Milwaukee Mothers of Twins Club for over 30 years (Geez, that makes me feel a lot older than I did before I started writing this!). I am the State Rep from our club, and I’m also the co-chairperson of the Ways & Means committee of MMOTC. I’ve been married to Dick (many of you already know him) for 31 years. I have twin sons, Joel and Danny, who are 29 years old. Both of them are engaged (finally) and I’ll be going to Hawaii in March for Joel’s wedding. Danny and his fiance’ haven’t decided on a date yet.

As the new Parliamentarian of WOMOTC my job is to help the President maintain parliamentary procedure at all meetings of this organization. Basically this means that I am the appointed "Sergeant at Arms" who keeps order and helps to make things run as smoothly as possible according to our By-Laws and Robert’s Rules. I’m also responsible for any By-Law changes that need to be proposed. As your representative, I’m here to listen to your suggestions and ideas regarding helpful ways to improve our organization’s rules. If you believe any of our by-laws need to be updated, please feel free to contact me at any time. My e-mail address is lybuschmann@msn.com and my phone number is (414) 483-9422. All are welcome to come to any of the WOMOTC meetings. So join us in January to see this Parliamentarian in action!! Hey, I’m not kidding...this is an order!!! (Do you think I’m taking this job too seriously?)

The Waukesha Mothers of Twins Club receive the state twin education award for their work on their club website. This club has been working on their website for the past two years, although some of the information was contributed throughout the club’s history, dating as far back as 1967. The club compiled data for areas they found relevant to twin moms. They have endeavored to create a database of information to better educate and inform their members and any guests that visit the web page looking for information on being a parent of a Twin/Multiple. One of these topics is Twin Pregnancy which featured things to ask your doctor, tips during pregnancy with multiples and signs of pre-term labor. Also, there is a web page on Infant Twins, including a shopping list for twins, information on preemies, feeding, diapering, and more. Another subject covered was for mothers of toddler multiples, which incorporated discipline, development, potty training and many other items of interest.

Currently, the club will be working on a pre-school age twin page and eventually they hope to create a section for raising twins from birth to adult. They have received a lot of positive feedback from their own club members and from Parents of Multiples from around the country and the across the world! Their newest page on twin pregnancy had over 1,000 hits in just its first three months!

"We Share" Ideas

WOMOTC has started a new Big Sister/ Little Sister" program this year to increase communication between our clubs and help new and less active clubs learn more about the State organization. Most clubs seem to go through waves of growth and struggles, as well as changes in club leadership. As this happens, it will be beneficial to all to match up clubs who may be struggling or new with a club who is going strong at the time to serve as a mentor and support system. New clubs and new club leaders are very important for our state organization to grow and bring in new ideas and new enthusiasm. We hope this relationship will help your club to get the most out of your State membership!

Beloit- Kenosha

Milwaukee- Fond du Lac

Proud Parents- Sheboygan

Waukesha- Racine

Shawano- Multiple Blessings NW

Treasured Twins- Twin Cities

Welcome to new clubs

We would like to welcome our two newest clubs who have joined us this year! The Kenosha County Parents of Multiples and the Multiple Blessings of North West Wisconsin (Barron/ Rice Lake area) have joined us. We welcome you to our organization, and we look forward to meeting you!

Also, we would really hope YOU will help to improve our message board!!! This could be such a great tool for all our club members to communicate and stay in touch and expand our network of support. Anyone can post a message on there. We hope clubs will use this to announce their club rummage sales and activities. Announce your fundraisers and share ideas to make other clubs more successful too. Also members can use it to post items for sale, and to ask parenting questions, or even just to share a funny story. The more this message board gets used, the more people will come back to look at it frequently. Please- we need the help of each and every member to post a message to get this thing going!

Amy Beckendorf, Multiple Blessings of NW Wisconsin- The nicest thing someone did for my husband and I when our twin sons were born was done by my parents. They took the boys for one weekend a month, each month of the year. This gave us time to regroup, run errands and reconnect. The great thing about it is the boys are now 2 1/2 and my parents are still taking them once a month.

Lisa Gebhard, Milwaukee- One of my co-workers made lasagna for my husband and myself.  She made 3 dishes of it, in throw away tins.  They were just the right portion for us to eat.  It was a lifesaver when we were just getting used to being new parents and didn't plan enough time to make dinner.

Kristi Biloff, Milwaukee- When my twins were 4 months old I had to have my gallblader removed! My mother-in-law took my twins to her house for the whole week before my surgery and when I recovered! See, mothers-in-law can be nice!

Vicki Rydell- My aunt took care of the babies and let me slept through the night. It was wonderful - after weeks of not sleeping at night - the girls had days and nights mixed up. She also cooked dinner and did all my laundry. She did this more than once - a lifesaver!!

Terri Dimock, Waukesha- A friend and her husband came over to babysit so Rich and I could go out to diner for my birthday!!  This was the first time we could go on a date since the babies were born. Nathan and Bradley were 8 months old.

Does is feel like getting your children to go to bed and stay in bed is one of the greatest challenges you face in parenting? When children reach the toddler stage, they begin to resist bedtime. It seems the minute they get in bed, suddenly they are thirsty, or they forgot to tell you something, or there is a monster in their closet. Children come up with all sorts of reasons to get out of bed repeatedly. Some of their requests may be legitimate, but for the most part, they are just stall tactics. So, how do you eliminate the nightly struggle and make your children understand that bedtime is non-negotiable?

The biggest bedtime issue for toddlers is separation. They don't want to leave their daytime world or be excluded from any activities that may go on while they are asleep. They are curious explorers and can't bear the thought of missing out on anything. For toddlers, going to sleep is a tremendous leap of faith. It doesn't even cross their minds to be comforted by the fact they went to sleep last night and everything was OK when they woke up this morning.

A common occurrence of bedtime resistance is the "curtain call syndrome," in which the child leaves the bed or calls you repeatedly with a variety of requests. He or she is only trying to delay bedtime and the separation that goes with it. At times, parents may feel guilty about denying these requests because sometimes they are on the up and up. Common sense and good judgment should be used to determine the legitimacy of the requests.

A good bedtime ritual can help eliminate some of the toddler's resistance. It provides time for the toddler to adjust to the idea of nightly separation. The ritual should be something enjoyable, so he or she is a willing participant. It also can be a way of teaching independence. Allow the child to pick out which books will be read, and allow him or her to choose between a couple sets of pajamas. It's comforting for the child to be able to anticipate each step of the process. The ritual should always end with, "See you in the morning." It's a reminder that you always are there.

At preschool age, children still will be resistant to bedtime, so it's important to stick to firm limits. Children may have various anxieties, like bedwetting, school-related stress and concerns about hospitalization and death that lead to sleep disturbances. The good news is, they are at an age when they can talk about what's bothering them.

The preschool age also is a peak time for nightmares. Having nightmares is normal and simply means the child is actively working through his or her life experiences. Usually nightmares involve animals or scary imaginary creatures. Common plots involve the child being chased and unable to find his or her way home. Children who frequently witness arguments or domestic violence are more prone to nightmares. Exposure to scary books, TV and movies also can cause nightmares.

The first priority when a child has a nightmare is to comfort him or her. The main message to convey is that he or she is safe and cannot be harmed. Explain the difference between the dream and reality, but don't dismiss the dream. Nightmares are scary for children. Their feelings must be dealt with to prevent problems falling back to sleep.

Some children may be comforted by a parent staying in the room until they fall back to sleep. Others will feel safer with a light left on in the room. If a child is afraid to go back to sleep for fear the same nightmare will return, one strategy would be to suggest the child has a "dream control center" in his or her brain. This means the child has the ability to flip off the bad dream switch and change to a new dream channel before going back to sleep.

In a child's world, not only can scary creatures be in nightmares, but they can be under the bed or in the closet, too. No matter how well-adjusted a child might be, he or she may still have profound fears at nighttime. Most important in helping children with fears is to understand what is feeding them. Uncomfortable feelings for children often come in the form of monsters. That's why tactics, like banishing monsters from the room, may not be all that effective because it is not getting at the root of the fear or feeling associated with it. Talk with your children about their fears. Talk about constructive solutions to them. Do not dismiss them as babyish because that will only make a child feel worse.

A little extra time should be spent with a fearful child at bedtime to make sure he or she feels safe and protected. Try to provide reassurance without buying into the child's fantasy. A search of the room for the monster actually can make the child more scared. If mom and dad can't find the monster, the child may think they didn't try hard enough to protect him or her.

Other strategies that might work would be to give the child an imaginary can of monster spray just in case he or she spots anything. A flashlight can be used in the same way. Some kids will select a tough looking stuffed animal to keep watch over them while they sleep. It may help if they share a room with a sibling. A nightlight also may help. Check to make sure that the outside lights are not casting scary shadows into your child's dark room. If all else fails, try having the child draw the monster and then cut it into lots of tiny pieces and throw it in the garbage. This may help a child gain some control over the situation. Bedtime doesn't have to be a struggle. Try to make it a positive part of the day where a child enjoys the quiet time and bonding with his or her parents and is able to relax his or her fears away.

© Reprinted with permission, Children’s Hospital "Parenting Works"

An Interview with Troy and Todd Dusosky from the Milwaukee Wave

By Jennifer Turinske, WOMOTC webpage coordinator

A few years ago, my son’s soccer coach invited his players to attend a Milwaukee Wave game. I had never been to any professional sporting event but I went along – a good excuse to get a well-deserved break from my 2 year old twins. Much to my surprise, two of the team players were twins and I loved the game! Recently, my twins and I got a chance to talk with Todd and Troy Dusosky. I wasn’t sure what to expect but they are genuinely awesome guys and every person we met at the Wave office was incredibly nice.

How old were you when you started playing soccer?

Troy: Around 4 or 5 years old, we were pretty little.

Did your parents make you play or did you want to? How did they motivate you?

Todd: Our parents made us but we really liked it so it didn’t take much motivation.

Did either one of you ever want to quit playing but you didn’t because of your brother?

Todd: No, we were both really into soccer and hockey.

Who’s older?

Todd: I’m older – 1 minute

Did your mom dress you guys alike?

Troy: Same outfits, but I was always in red

Todd: I was always in blue.

Were you separated or kept together for kindergarten?

Troy & Todd: Separated

Do you have any siblings?

Todd: 2 younger sisters.

Did you ever get a label like "The Twins"?

Troy: Dumb and Dumber (Jokingly!!)

Todd: No, not really.

Troy and Todd Dusosky

Were you raised in a strict organized environment or a more casual relaxed atmosphere?

Todd: Our parents were lenient but we were strict on them – we made sure they always got us to all our practices on time.

Troy: I ran the house.

Have you ever been involved in any special projects or anything because you’re twins?

Todd: When we were in high school, we were in a family twin study at the University of Minnesota.

They ran all kinds of tests on us, asked a lot of questions and had us hooked up to all these little electrodes.

When did you realize that you were really good?

Troy: When the trophies started piling up.

Todd: High School – that’s when you start to see where you really are in comparison to other players.

Todd, what’s the best thing about being a dad? (Todd is married and has a 2 year old son and you should have seen the glow in his eyes when I asked him this question!)

Everything – waking up and finding him in bed, seeing his face after a hard day of practice, he loves watching me play soccer, he’s just always ready to go.

Was there a special coach or someone who inspired you?

Troy: Just Mom and Dad who always wore the referee shirts

How’s your relationship with each other?

Todd: We’re really close – we shared a room for 21 years.

Do you motivate each other?

What’s your best advice for parents of twins?

Troy: Don’t try to figure them out and don’t take sides.

The Shawano Mothers of Multiples Club, chaired by Jane Runge, Kathy Lewandowski, and Sally Jones, did an excellent job as our gracious hosts.

Everyone enjoyed the County Fair theme Friday evening with great fair-style carnival games, entertainment and prizes presented by our hosts and some very special kids! Everyone got a big thrill from our own special psychic, Ellie Peterson!

Lorn Marquardt, Mayor of Shawano, greeted the members to open the Business Meeting. The meeting was presided by Ann Phillips, of Milwaukee MOTC.

Secretary Jean Linden, presented WOMOTC with the Governor’s Proclamation.

New 2004- 2005 Board Election Results:

President, Barb Jones

1^st Vice President, Gretchen Eder

2^nd Vice President, Patti Sobchak

Secretary, Nancy Ford

Treasurers, Suzanne Gorecki, Kathy Krause

Newsletter Editor, Jamie Fontaine

Publisher, Laurie Cook

Historian/ Chaplain, Jeanne Klapperich

It was announced that the format of future Newsletters will be changing, as they are too expensive. We will look into reducing the size, simplifying printing, and possibly drop bulk mail.

West Bend MOTC will host the 2006 Spring Meeting!

Waukesha MOTC will host the 2006 Fall Convention!

The State Twin Education Award was won by the Waukesha Mothers of Twins Club!

The State Family Involvement Award was won by the Waukesha Mothers of Twins Club!

The State Membership Award was won by Sheboygan Area MOTC who went from 13 to 23 members last year!

Twin Cities MOTC was recognized for their 25^th Anniversary as members of the Wisconsin Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs.

Treasured Twins MOTC & West Bend MOTC were recognized for their 20^th Anniversary as members of State.

Waukesha MOTC was recognized for their 5^th Anniversary as current members of WOMOTC.

2 New Clubs have joined WOMOTC in 2004:

3 Clubs have not renewed their WOMOTC membership:

Green Bay Area MOTC

Janesville MOTC

Organization of Twin Blessed Mothers

After Lunch, we were serenaded by a wonderful String Quartet from a Shawano area high school, and then we had our choice of educational speakers. Steve Lande, MSSW, led a very informative discussion on sibling rivalry. And (insert name) gave a great demonstration on cake decorating.

2005 Convention Chairs Jean Linden & Suzanne Gorecki, of Proud Parents of Twins, gave a "Wet & Wild" Call to Convention inviting all to next year’s event at the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells.

Past Presidents Debbie Vandenburg and Judy Wordell were the officers of the Installation Ceremony of the Officers after lunch.

The Convention concluded with a family style dinner, dancing and entertainment, with a very unique DJ and his "guests".

See you all in the Spring in Beloit!