Here is your chance to WIN a membership to a super cool NEW twins and multiples website! entwined community, founded by triplet mom Alicia Crowther, is the only place on the web where multiple birth families come together to support twin/multiples owned businesses.

There are hundreds of thousands of twins and higher order multiples born each year.  What if each of us pledged to support our fellow multiple birth families by supporting their businesses?  You’ve heard of “buy green” and “buy local” – now it’s time to “buy multiples”!  

entwined community is your one-stop location to find local and online businesses that are owned by either twins/multiples themselves, or owned by the parents of multiples.  Individuals get great members-only discounts on a wide variety of products, services, and gifts.  For businesses, entwined community offers a great way to connect with new clients and customers that have pledged to support businesses with families just like theirs.

In addition to money saving opportunities, entwined community includes a monthly newsletter and BigTent membership group, where multiple birth families can come together to discuss how to start their own business, how to face the challenges of working out of the home, and more topics related to work and professional life.  Although there are many sites and blogs related to twins and multiples, entwined community is the FIRST dedicated to supporting twin/multiples owned businesses.     

entwined community is celebrating their launch this week, and to help kick off, they are sponsoring a giveaway of 10 individual memberships (regularly valued at $15/year) and 10 business memberships (regularly valued at $35/year).  If you are a twin or multiple yourself, or the parent of multiples, enter to win a membership today!  

 *It’s very easy to enter!*

 You’ll earn 1 giveaway entry for each of the following  for a total of 5 possible entries:  

Facebook – Like entwined community and post a status update “I’ve entered to win a free membership with the new twins/multiples website http://www.entwinedcommunity.com.  Check them out!”  

Twitter – Follow @entwinedcomm and post this message “I’ve entered to win a free membership with the new twins/multiples site @entwinedcomm. Check them out!”

Newsletter – sign up for the entwined community newsletter, a monthly publication with articles and advice from entwined community members and member businesses on starting a business, working from home with multiples and more.

Flickr– Add entwined community as a contact on Flickr, where members can share photos of their experiences with entwined community businesses.  

YouTube– subscribe to entwined community’s YouTube channel,  where members can share videos of their experiences with entwined community businesses. 

On Sunday, August 29^th, 2010, we’ll randomly select 20 winners (10 business and 10 individuals) from qualified entries to win a year membership to the brand new community.  

This giveaway is open to twins/multiples or the parents of multiples who are at least 18 years of age and reside in the United States.  entwined community business membership is limited to multiple birth families that own, operate or can make management decisions in their business.  Full terms and conditions of entwined community can be read on their website. 

Double Up Books is a proud member of entwined community!  Save 10% off your order of $25+ when you use your membership card.

 As a twins mom, most of the blogs that I follow are written by moms and dads of twins.  Here is a list of some of the blogs that I follow.

I’m Living Proof that God Has a Sense of Humor  
This mom isn’t just a twins mom, she’s a twins mom times 2!  That’s right, she has two sets of twins (boy/boy and girl/boy) and she tells it like it is.  You will laugh a lot from reading this blog.   Her family adventures, creativity, and humor will definitely entertain you.

Got Crazy Twins 
This is the very funny blog of popular twins author, Elizabeth Lyons, author of Ready or Not…Here We Come and Ready or Not…There We Go.  Elizabeth is the mom of 5 kids including twin boys and she always has a fun story to share about her life.  She posts regularly and you don’t want to miss them.

Twinfatuation
Popular twins author Cheryl Lage’s, author of Twinspiration, blog is a really fun site.  She has a little bit of everything here – reviews, life posts, twins and multiples news, and follower participation.  She keeps her site extremely updated - there have been times when she’s “broke” a twins related news story.

TwinHappy
Jennifer Miller is the mom of twin girls and the author to this very fun site.  In addition to the blog, Jennifer is the creator of #TwinTuesday on Twitter – a place for moms and dads and twins can chat together.  There is always something fun going on at TwinHappy so be sure to check her blog often.  Come on, get TwinHappy!

Multiples and More Blog Network  
This blog is geared towards moms and dads with twins, triplets, quads, higher order multiples and every combination in between!  If you write your own blog, you’ll definitely want to check out this blog network.

Ramblings of a Tired Mama 
Brandi is a 30 year old mom of twin girls and a breast cancer survivor.  She posts about her life with her daughters, surviving cancer, and photography.

And Twins make 5! – a Mommy Blog
This is a really fun blog from Stephanie Manner Wagner, a mom of 5 including twins.  In addition to sharing stories about the kids, she also does product reviews and giveaways.

4 Little Men and Girly Twins 
This is a new blog for me, but as soon as I discovered it I was pulled in by the absolutely beautiful photos of the family (4 boys and twin daughters). 

Multiple Blessings  
Tanya is the mom of identical twin boys and 3 daughters and writes about her life with the family on her blog.  She also sponsors giveaways and offers product reviews.

My Life with Twins  
This is a blog written from the perspective of a new twins dad!  This is a really fun blog written by Sean Parsons who writes with wit and humor about his life with his boy/girl twins.  The photos on his site are beautiful and funny too.

Life with 2 Sets of Twin Boys  
This mom shares stories of living with 2 sets of twin boys (one set fraternal and one set identical).  She always includes gorgeous photos of the kids.  She posts regularly and has already written 98 posts for the year.

Triplets Plus 1-The Harrigans  
The author of this blog is a single triplets mom of 3 girls.  She doesn’t post frequently, but when she does her posts are always very powerful.  She is a very strong mom and has endured many challenges, but always makes sure that her daughters live life to the fullest.

Little Bits of Heaven  
Rachael Schirano is a mom of triplets and author of the blog.  She writes interesting posts about life with triplets and includes photos.

TwinParenthood 
Kathryn Whiteley is the author of this blog and has 2 sets of twins (fraternal boys and identical girls).  Kathryn writes about really informative things about twins, for example right now she is discussing twins and multiples in school.  She also posts about helpful twins tips.  She also has several surveys on her site.

Random Ramblings of a Stay at Home Dad
This isn’t just any stay at home dad – this is a stay at home dad with toddler TRIPLETS!  I’ve enjoyed following @tripsdad on Twitter and recently found his blog.  Share the good times (pools and vacations) and the sad times too (crying times 3) – videos and photos included.

The Double Trouble Twins  
Dianna mom to 2 twin boys uses her post to share her life with her post readers.  She is a very active blogger so you want to learn more about what life is like with two young twins, this blog is for you.

Having Twins NOW!!
I was so excited to recently find this blog – blog author, Joel, and his wife Julie are expecting twins and are just at the beginning of their twin journey.  If you are currently pregnant with twins, this is definitely one blog to follow.  It will be so much fun to follow along as they get used to the idea of having twins and prepare for their arrival.

Do you have a twins or multiples-themed blog that wasn’t listed?  That’s probably because we didn’t know about it.  Send us an email at info[AT]DoubleUpBooks[DOT]com and we’ll be sure to include it when we post Part II of this list.

Double Up Books is not affiliated with any of the above websites/blogs and cannot be held responsible for any information the website/blog contains.  This list is not an endorsement for the above websites/blogs.  If you click on any link you will be redirected to the individual websites through a new browser window.

Double Up Books will be giving away 2 baby bodysuits of your choose from our Gaga for Mama babywear shoppe to one lucky winner who participates in the festival and enters to win them.  For complete details on how to join in on the fun, visit http://www.twinstock.org.

In addition to the festivities, there will also be a Twitterthon fundraiser for the Fetal Hope Foundation, an organization raising awareness and support of TTTS (Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and other fetal syndromes.  If you’re on Twitter, you’ll want to follow @TwinHappyJen for more details.  We’ll also be posting information about the festival on our Twitter page at @doubleupbooks.com.

A good time is sure to be had by all!  Go on, get groovy.   

www.Twin-Pregnancy-and-Beyond.com
This is the place to go for the best information about being pregnant with twins!  Site owner, Kellie Asaro, is a mom of twins and 2 singletons and has worked hard to make this a comprehensive site for the latest information about being pregnant with twins.  You’ll find pretty much everything here – including a gallery of ultrasound photos, twin pregnancy articles, contests, and much more.  There is even a social community so that you can connect with other people expecting or raising twins.

www.TwinsDoctor.com
The founder of this site, Dr. Khanh-Van Le-Bucklin, is a pediatrician, mom of twins, and author of the twins book Twins 101.  Her site specializes in health information for twins and multiples and is categorized by age group:  pregnancy, infant, childhood and adolescence.  She also offers tips and product picks for twins.  Dr. Le-Bucklin’s down-to-earth approach is apparent in both her book and her website.

All About Twins
This is actually a short, educational article that discusses the different kinds of twins and how they are similar and different.  It also includes some fun polls about twins as well as twin facts and information on twin celebrities.

www.DoubleUpBooks.com
Double Up Books is not just a twins and mutliples bookstore!  It’s also one of the best places to find information about being pregnant with and raising twins through our articles, twin facts and stats, author interviews, blog posts, and our Bedrest Boredroom (TM) for moms on bedrest.  We also post FREE printables like a twins baby schedule; a triplets baby schedule; twins buying and shopping guide; and more in our “All About Twins” area.

www.Raising-Twins.com
Although technically this is a blog, it’s seems to be written more like a website.  This is a very complete site filled with a ton of advice, support, help and information for parents who are expecting twins, or who already have them. This site is a fun one to poke around in and you’ll find many cool things like photos of women’s twin pregnancy belly pictures, FAQs about raising twins, information on your twin pregnancy and even a list of resources for twin freebies & deals for multiples.

www.TwinsTalk.com
This site was created by very popular twins book author, Susan Heim.  She authored It’s Twins  and is the editor to Twice the Love and Chicken Soup for the Soul Twins and More.  TwinsTalk is a very popular, award-winning gathering place for parents of twins and multiples.  On TwinsTalk, you’ll find the help you need in raising your children, but also have the opportunity to particate in the fun.   

www.NOMOTC.org
The National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families of multiple birth children through education, research, and networking.  Through their website, you can find a local support groups, find information about twin conventions in your area, find information about multiple births, and find out how you can become a member.

www.Twinstuff.com
You won’t be pregnant with twins long before learning about twinstuff.com.  This site has just about everything including one of the largest social networks for people expecting twins or already raising them.  I became a member of this site when I found out I was pregnant with twins and I met the most amazing people.  I have a special fondness for Twinstuff because it was the first website I found about twins.

www.talk-about-twins.com
This site is created by another one of my favorite twins book authors, Christina Baglivi Tinglof.  She is the author of Parenting School Age Twins and Multiples (one of the only books devoted to older twins) and Double Duty, now in its 2nd edition. Christina is the expert in both school age twins, including the debate about whether to separate them or keep them together, and traveling with twins.  She has many, many twin specific articles on her site.

www.twinslaw.com
Did you know that many school systems force multiples into two separate classrooms irregardless of parent’s wishes?  A grassroots movement has started among twins parents to take the decision making back for classroom placement for their children.  Many states now have “Twins Laws” in effect that were spearheaded by the individuals who created and are affiliated with Twinslaw.com.  Keep up the great work!

www.multiples.about.com
Pamela Prindle Fierro, is not only a twins book author, she is also writes the About.com Guide to Twins & Multiples.  This site contains a lot of information as well as resources for parents of twins.  This site was created in 2001 so pretty much every topic is covered here and it is extremely active site with new content regularly.

10 Best Things About Raising Twins
This is a lighthearted, fun list about the 10 best things about raising twins written by a mom of twins (me).  It’s always good to remember how wonderful and special raising twins really is.