We hope you’ll make yourself at home on our Web site. Check out our calendar of events, and read up about some of our latest news. Most importantly, learn how you can join us for the next AAMOM meeting!

Have a question? Leave a comment or e-mail an AAMOM board member. We know that being a mom of multiples can be a big challenge, so we’re here to offer our support!

Hope to see you soon at a meeting.

During the Amarillo Area Mothers of Multiples monthly meeting February 3, 2010, members and guests learned about how the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is working to reduce underage drinking in the state.

Agent II Geoffery E. Weise of the TABC presented some eye-opening facts that any parent will appreciate knowing.

• Most kids get alcohol from parties and friends.
• Alcohol is the most abused of all substances, including tobacco and illegal drugs.
• Alcohol is equally used by girls and boys.
• Every 15 minutes in the United States, someone dies from an alcohol-related automobile crash.
• Penalties for underage drinking include up to $500 fine; 20-40 hours community service; 60-day driver’s license suspension and more for the first offense. Third offenses can result in months of jail time.

Combat Underage Drinking

• Know your kids’ friends!
• Discuss peer pressure issues and the consequences involved with drinking alcohol.

What if They Don’t Wake Up?

According to the TABC, if someone you know has passed out due to alcohol consumption, take these immediate steps:

• Call 911 for help.
• Keep him on his side.
• Perform CPR until medical help arrives if pulse is less than 40 beats per minute or breathing is less than eight breaths per minute.
• Don’t panic.
• Don’t leave him alone to sleep it off.
• Don’t give him food or coffee.
• Don’t try to make him vomit.
• Don’t put him in a cold shower.

TABC Resources

• (888) THE-TABC
• www.tabc.state.tx.us

Amarillo Area Mothers of Multiples Club always offers a program at each monthly meeting aimed at helping us lead better, healthier, safer, happier lives. The November 2009 meeting was no exception.  Corporal Jerry Neufeld of the Amarillo Police Department presented a personal safety program.

Jerry explained our Amarillo police force. There are about 317 police officers, 20-40 of which are on the streets on any given night. The APD responded to 127,000 calls for service last year.

Tips for Staying Safe in Public and Your Car

• Carry your purse away from the flow of traffic when you’re in a parking lot.
• Find your keys before you head to your car. Have them in your hand.
• Don’t hide your purse or other valuable items in your car.
• Be alert with your head up, and trust your instincts.
• Keep your car doors up and your windows locked.
• If you think you’re being followed, acknowledge that you see the person behind you.
• Carry your cell phone close - it’s a valuable self defense tool.
• Don’t overload yourself with packages. Keep one hand free.
• Strength in numbers - don’t go alone!
• If you have car trouble, stay with your car and wait for help.

Defense Tools
Yelling, blowing a whistle, fighting, spraying pepper spray, tasering or using a weapon.

Home Security

• Burglaries happen in the daytime. Make it as hard as possible for a robber to enter your home.
• Strike plates should have four-inch steel screws.
• Use solid wood or metal doors
• Your deadbolt should stick out one inch or more.
• Turn on porch lights, and set timers on lamps.
• Dogs are good deterrents for burglars.
• Use a security system.
• Install a locking garage door.

Additional Info

• Amarillopolice.org
• Sign up for the e-mail alert system
• Records.txdps.state.tx.us — registered sex offenders in Amarillo
• Call crime prevention for a home safety inspected and save on your insurance 378-4257

Amarillo Area Mothers of Multiples Club is hosting another garage sale Saturday, October 24, at 4210 S.W. 3rd Ave. in Amarillo, Texas.

Our garage sale will feature:

• Baby Gear
• Baby Clothes
• Furniture
• Electronics
• Clothing
• Home Decor

All proceeds go to AAMOM, a non-profit organization, to help in our efforts to reach out to our community!

Hope to see you there.

AAMOM is considering devoting a small portion of some upcoming meetings to the discussion of a new book written by a former “60 Minutes” producer and identical twin called “One and the Same.”

It hits newsstands later this month, and it’ll be available on Amazon for $17.79 (a great discount).

AAMOM President Terri Huseman is volunteering to bulk order the books from Amazon for everyone interested, and we can reimburse her when the books come in. Please let her know if you’d like a copy.

We’ve got a good handful of club members interested already.’

Here’s a summary of  “One and the Same.”SUMMARY:

“One and the Same” takes an unvarnished look at what it’s really like to grow up as a twin. As twins club members know better than most, there are so many myths and gimmicks surrounding twinship but the reality of the relationship is much more intense and demanding than has been portrayed or than people realize. There has always been an insatiable curiosity about what it’s like to grow up as a double, especially since the explosion of twin births, which have left so many wondering about the best way to raise twins. “One and the Same” looks at every area of twinship, from competition to separation, from the shock of having twins to the searing loss of one. Pogrebin, whose twin, Robin Pogrebin writes for the New York Times, talks to twins who still live together, twins who have had their own kind of “divorce,” twins who measure every success by the other, twins who admit they prioritize each other above their spouses. There’s a revealing interview with star football twins, Tiki and Ronde Barber, and also with twin survivors of the infamous Nazi doctor, Dr. Josef Mengele. “One and the Same” offers a deeply intimate window into twinship from every angle - what it’s like to have them, raise them, lose one, and most of all, be one. But it also goes beyond twinship to look at the universal challenge of forging one’s own identity in the world. Pogrebin talks to virtually every living twins expert — scientists, psychologists, geneticists, artists — to get deep inside one of the most powerful intimacies that exists.

Join us September 3 for a special presentation on raising multiples. Click for a larger image!

Join us for a special Amarillo Area Mothers of Multiples Club meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, September 3, at St. Stephen United Methodist.

We are excited about speaker Karen Moise, R.N. from Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. Her topic will be “The Five Questions All Expecting Moms of Multiples Should Know.”

For 30 years, Karen has dedicated herself both personally and professionally to helping countless women manage pregnancies with multiples and deliver the healthiest babies possible. Karen has also penned educational articles for national outlets including Expectant Mother’s Guide, Twin Parents and The Bump. Regionally, her advocacy has resulted in TTTS features in the Austin-American Statesman, Midland Reporter-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Houston Chronicle.

Learn about staying healthy while carrying twins, triplets or more and be able to share the information with your friends and family! Please join us at 7 p.m. sharp on Thursday, September 3.

This program is open to the public, so please invite friends and family.

The Texas Department of Public Safety has released a statement regarding notable traffic and criminal laws that go into effect on Sept. 1, 2009, for the state of Texas.

Seatbelts: HB 537 requires all occupants of a vehicle, no matter their age, to be secured by a safety belt, no matter where they are seated in the vehicle; changes the definition of a passenger vehicle to include a passenger van designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers including the driver; removes the current exemption for third-party Medicaid transportation provisions regarding the use of child passenger safety seats; and prohibits a motorcycle operator from carrying a passenger under the age of 5 unless the child is seated in a sidecar attached to the motorcycle.

SB 61 amends the existing statute regarding child passenger safety seats. The bill requires that any child younger than 8 years of age be restrained in an approved child passenger safety seat unless the child is at least 4 feet, 9 inches in height. The fine is no more than $25 for a first offense and $250 for a second offense. The law also creates a new court cost for conviction of an offense under this section to be collected and used by TxDOT to buy safety seats for low income families.

The law becomes effective on Sept. 1, 2009, but tickets for this offense cannot be issued until June 1, 2010. Police officers are allowed to issue a warning before that date.

Get more updates by following TxDPS on Twitter.

Amarillo mom of twins Amy Garrett lost her house to an electrical fire the morning of August 7, 2009. Amy, her husband Gian, and their 3-year-old twins Gemma and Gage escaped unharmed. But they lost all their possessions, and both cars were severely damaged.

The Garretts will stay with family members while they rebuild their lives.

If you or anyone you know has items to donate to the Garrett family, please e-mail Leslie Munsell. The B/G twins wear 4T clothes.

We all like free stuff, especially when it involves ways to keep our kids entertained. Check out KidsBowlFree.com.

Here in Amarillo, Western Bowl and Eastridge Lanes participate. So, register your kids and hit the lanes for some free bowling!

Don’t forget to join AAMOM for Lunch Bunch at noon,  July 23 at Western Bowl. And bring your coupons for free games!

Don't miss the next Lunch Bunch outing!

We had a blast at our first Lunch Bunch event Saturday, June 6 at the Fire Station on Western and 34th. Our gracious hosts showed us their station and their super-cool trucks. The best part was touring the kitchen: one unasuming fire fighter looked at us, and looked at us, and looked at us with a puzzled expression. Finally, he got up the courage to ask, “What are you guys, a group of twins?”

Here are some of the upcoming Lunch Bunch activities. We hope you’ll join us, and bring the whole family!

• June 11 - 6-8 p.m., Hastings on Georgia, dessert at Malcolm’s after. This’ll be a recurring event! Hastings offers a program for kids of all ages every Thursday evening.

• June 18 - 10 a.m., Mr. Gatti’s. We will have a tour and then lunch. Cost is $4 elementary kids, $4.75 middle school, $5 for everyone else.

• June 25 - 12:30 p.m., Zoo. Bring a picnic lunch or plan to purchase food at the concession stand.

• June 30 - afternoon at Sunrise Farms Dairy Farm in Nazareth. More details to follow.

The July schedule will be determined soon. Mark your calendar for July 18, another Saturday outing for the entire family. We will be fishing (catch and release) at Ceta Canyon. The cost is $3 each.

Thank you,  Julian, Caroline, Kallison and Kellan for planning lunch bunch.