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April 9, 2011

A (Rare) Two-for-One Special

I’m not sure how the cost of having twins versus two singletons would compare across a twenty-two year span (factoring in the present value of money and a compound savings rate, of course)…

…but buying two pack-n-plays, two cribs, double the diapers, double the milk, double the shoes – not spread out over any span of time – sure makes it seem like multiples cost more.

Of course there are those precious economies of scale that never cease to delight me, most often found in the produce aisle. My girls split a banana every morning, and they often share oranges, and apples, and pears.

I’ve often pondered about feeding one child…either Mommy would up her fruit intake considerably, or I guess we’d stick to a lot of collectives (like grapes and berries) or things that save well (like melon and pineapple). [Do such ponderings mean I need a hobby???]

Twins also provide for the optimal utilization of bucket swings at the park, at least up to a certain age. One smaller baby would get so easily lost in one of those swings, I imagine…but back-to-back with her twin sister, our girls are snug as a bug (also resulting in one of my very favorite twin pics!).



This week I was overjoyed to realize another (rare) two-for-one special.

We made our semi-annual trip to buy shoes for the girls. They’ve consistently been a half-size off from each other, but they’ve been growing at least a size every six months.

This go-round, though, they both only grew a half size…SO…we only had to buy one new pair!

Having “fairness” issues like I do, though, I immediately started to feel a little guilty…but even my guilty side loves a bargain.

I bought the same style of new shoes for Baby A as the girls have been wearing, so she and her sister will still match. I’m thinking a pair of new shoelaces for Baby B, and no one will be the wiser.

Cha-ching!!!

8 comments:

Andrea said...

OMG, Mandy! This picture is awesome! I love it! Way to sweet! I love this baby legs hanging!

I wish I had the same restraint on buying kids shoes....it is my major weekness! It use to be a weekness on myself, but now that I have them I turned it towards them. At least theirs are cheaper, right?!?!

Have a great weekend Mandy!

Marcia (123 blog) said...

I also love your self-discipline with shoes. I personally can shop frugally but the grandmother buys them lots of shoes for Christmas, etc. I made K wear her two new pairs over the last month just so she'd still fit (and ALWAYS when MIL was coming around :)) before we go into winter.

Anyway, your pic is adorable - I love their hats.

I also still love that having twins means you finish a piece of fruit every time. Unless the one doesn't want that fruit which has started to happen around here!

Julia said...

Those sunhats are adorable!

I love that you make an event out of shoe buying with your girls. My parents used to do that. It was special.

My girls have different sized feet also. Poor Hadley is going to get all Brynne's hand-me-downs. :)

Cheryl Lage said...

Such a precious picture...and how I wish I could find a similar one of our two...it is SUCH a fun way to swing 'em in those early days!

One of my faves is the make one whole sandwich, feed two kids with no quarters ineveitably left over! ;)

Have a great weekend!

northsidefour said...

I just stumbled upon a very similar picture, taken about five years ago. They loved sitting in the swing together, and loved seeing the "old" picture. As for shoes, keep growing in this fashion! My girls are now almost two sizes apart and we hand down everything, a twin benefit that most don't enjoy!

MultipleMum said...

I can't say I ever thought to put my twins in together in a swing! Maybe because they were always such Boombahs? So happy you are getting some hand-me-down action with the girls. Dew Drop gets some from his brothers and the Minx from our neighbour but there isn't much sharing between them anymore even though DD is bigger than the Minx. Must be the B/G thing x

Unknown said...

I have a pic just like that with my two! :-) Love it!

I've been so lucky recently to have found almost new shoes at Mom 2 Mom sales in the right sizes. I found all 3 kids' boots last fall and all 3 sandals and 2 tennis shoes this spring at the sale. yeah! HUGE savings!

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reanbean said...

What a sweet photo! My guys loved swinging like that. TIny asked the other day to have Buba ride with her, and although it's technically still possible, neither one appeared to be all that comfortable. I'm afraid we're on to the days of needing one swing per child now. Fortunately, my guys are also comfortable riding on the "big kid swings", which gives us more options and means we don't have to take up both baby swings if other kids are waiting for one.