'You've got your hands full'

Twins whose TTTS was corrected in-utero born in May

LIANA Sophia and Amaya Noel were born May 4, 2009. Their parents are Esther and Bjorn Dixon of Minnesota. Esther went to Texas for in-utero surgery to correct Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome that was discovered on an ultrasound. The Dixons have a blog, Bjorn & Esther Dixon. Congratulations!

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Triplet has triplets of her own in Michigan

AMIR, Armann and Amari Whitaker were born May 26, 2006, at Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit. Parents are Amber Ali, a triplet, and Andre Whitaker. The babies are in the NICU until they gain weight and can go home. For anyone who'd like to help by donating baby supplies, call Northwest Women's Care at the hospital at 313-966-5101.

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Quadruplets arrive in Utah

GEORGE, Dimitri, Sophia and Isabella Agrapides were born June 7, 2009, at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

'Raising Sextuplets' reality show to air on WeTV

THE Masche Sextuplets of Arizona will star in a new reality-television show on WeTV, slated to start June 11, 2009.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Texas couple expecting sextuplets

Read their updates on their blog, Stansel Journey.

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

On holiday in Ceredigion, West Wales

THE following is a dual post from our new travel blog, which I've been working hard on.

WE're often found at a caravan at Quay West Holiday Park in New Quay, West Wales. Here are some images from our stays there as well as some beautiful images of the surroundings from Bigstockphoto.com.

Making connections with other multiples

I've sought out other parents of multiples since I learned I was pregnant with twins. I understand how important connection can be, especially from parent to parent. We made another interesting connection yesterday.

We'd been to see a parade in the morning and were out eating lunch before running some errands and heading home. A man stopped by our table and told us what a beautiful family we were. (Nice intro, by the way.) Then he asked if the girls were twins. As I mentioned in a comment in Linda's recent post, most people don't even realize my daughters are twins, so I was surprised and said, "Why, yes, they are!"

Then he told us that he was an identical twin. He and his wife had seen our daughters, and they'd wondered if they could be twins.

That's the first time a twin has reached out to my twins. It was kind of nice.

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Giveaways at our new sister site, www.havealovelytime.com

WE'VE started a new blog at Have a Lovely Time all about family holidays, short breaks and activities.

Thank you to Potty Mummy, Mom Most Traveled, Englishmum and Littlemummy for being the first guest contributors and joining our team.

Big thanks also to Cartside, Exmoorjane, Laura from Are we nearly there yet Mummy and Dulwich Divorcee for the posts they have lined up. And a massive thanks to Camilla and Keris for all their hard work.

Amid all these kind offers of contributions,* we've also been contacted by various companies pledging their services/products as giveaways to our readers. Not all of these offers are accepted, I hasten to add.

In the next couple of weeks, I will update our 'giveaways' page to include more details and set a deadline of the end of June for this batch of goodies.

Do you mind when people refer to your children as "the twins" or "the triplets"?

I SORT of know I shouldn't care about this, yet I do. I know it's not the end of the world and there are lots more pressing matters we can all turn our minds to, but when people call my daughters "the twins", it irritates me.

"They have names, you know," I want to point out. (But of course don't because then well, the other person would see that I sort of cared about something so outwardly trivial.)

Depression: My story, plus why you journalists should speak up if they are feeling down

THE following piece appears in this month's Press Gazette, but isn't online.

I'm posting it here, as well as on my blog for freelance writers, in the hope of further raising awareness that mental illness doesn't have to be 'dirty little secret' - even if when you are in the midst of it, the last thing in the world you'd ever want to do is tell people!

As someone who is fully recovered, I hope my experience and the advice offered here by freelance journalist colleagues, the NUJ and charities, may help others suffering the effects of a mental illness.

I'd welcome any comments at the end of the post, especially from others with similar experiences. Again, I hope this could help show those going through a tough time that they are not alone.

AS I sat on my bed at 3am, sobbing and contemplating throwing myself through the window, I knew I had to seek medical help. Despite thinking everyone would be better off without me, part of me was still rational enough to know I didn’t want to feel like this.