Sunday, June 28, 2015

Our TODAY Show Experience

The first week in June, while riding the train home from work, I received an email from a producer at NBC.  She stated she was working on a segment that discussed multiples and identity and was interested in speaking with me.  I assumed she came across my blog while researching multiples and wanted to ask me some questions that would aid her in pulling together the segment.  The thought of being featured on the show didn't cross my mind.

That night, I spent a few minutes checking online to see that she really was a producer at NBC.  (She is! Unfortunately, I'm a bit skeptical nowadays when it comes to the internet.)  I responded that I would be interested in talking with her but with work, nights and weekends would be easier for me.  At the time, I had a lot of meetings on my work calendar.  The next day, I chaperoned a field trip for Allie's class.  As the bus pulled onto the school's street, I received an email from Lindsay, the producer, saying that she was at her desk and had time to talk.  The timing was perfect.  I had about an hour before the girls would be released from school, so I sat in my car in the school parking lot and called her.

The conversation went really well.   Lindsay asked a ton of questions, as I suspected she would, but she was such an easy person to converse with, very personable and full of energy.  I immediately liked her. At the end of the call, she told me that she would like to film us for the segment.  My first thought was there's no way we can go to NY but then she said that they would come to our home.  I needed to talk it over with Rich and most importantly, the girls.

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I explained it all to the girls and they immediately responded with YES in chorus.  Then Anna added, "only if the people are nice."  So then came the difficult part of scheduling the filming, which they needed to do the next week.  I had work commitments, meetings that I 100% could not miss.  There was also the girls' last ballet class, field day, their gymnastics show and then the dance recital with dress rehearsal.  Plus, I didn't want them to miss a full day of school.  We finally agreed upon late Thursday afternoon and I started cleaning the house again.  Although at one point, I was so tired of cleaning I told Rich I was just going to leave it the way it was.  It's real life.  That got Rich cleaning.

So Thursday rolls around and it's 90 degrees, hazy and humid.  I spent the entire morning cleaning.  By the time Lindsay and the camera and lighting guys arrived, I was so tired.  Can you tell that I hate cleaning?  I feel like it's all I do and if I don't do it, it takes forever to get back to clean. I had given up on the playroom.  I wasn't even going to bother but Grammy came over later in the day to help and picked it up for me, which worked out well as they decided to film the girls' interview in there.

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We had a fun time with the interviews and filming.  Everyone was just so nice and relaxed.  The girls having their own identity is something that comes up quite often here (I was actually working on a blog post about recent events when this came about) and I think it's awesome that the girls were able to be a part of a TV segment on that very subject.  

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We had a tentative air date and time but we decided that we wouldn't announce it (FB or blog) until it actually happened, for a few different reason, one being in case it didn't air.  You never know what will happen with the world, on the news, etc.  Thursday night, the week before, I received some emails from readers here and FB messages from family and friends asking if they had just seen the girls in a promo spot for the Today Show.  I was floored.  I don't know what I was thinking, but I never expected that many people to see it.

You can view the segment HERE.

It was definitely a cool experience.  The girls loved it and wished that the segment had been longer.  As long as it featured more of them and not me!  They are the real stars.

(And in case you're wondering, the girls chose their own outfits.  I thought it was so cute that Anna insisted on wearing her Easter dress.)

23 comments:

MandyE (Twin Trials and Triumphs) said...

Wow...how cool!!! I knew the series was upcoming, but I would have made an effort to watch if I'd known someone I "know" would be on it! :) You all represented the multiples community so well!

Caroline said...

OMG OMG that's so exciting y'all got to do that! I wonder if you'll get calls about them acting or modeling now or anything? They look adorable and beautiful as usual and you look great, too. It's so cool to hear your voices!

Unknown said...

Sarah this is incredible! I'm a loyal reader from New Zealand and I absolutely love reading about the girls. I loved seeing you all on camera, you must be getting so many phone calls from all the people who saw it! I recently filmed an ad promoting paediatric nursing in NZ and I keep getting odd comments from all sorts of people who have seen it!

Megan said...

Very cool! I don't get to watch The Today Show (silly work), but my mom does and I have told her about your blog before (mostly about the dresses you sew for your girls - she sewed clothes for my siblings and me when we were growing up). She mentioned seeing this and wondered if it was you all. I didn't think to look for the video on the website. Thanks for sharing!

The Yarbrough's said...

That's ahhhh-some!!!! They did so good.

Christi said...

what a fantastic opportunity for your family!
It's especially awesome that they used your photography. All those shots of them as sisters on the front steps, illustrate the point of them being your three individual daughters, not a group set of "the triplets"

My dad was a fraternal twin and had an older sister.
My Grammie did refer to them as the twins a lot when telling stories about their childhood. He was 6'2 with brown hair and brown eyes and his twin sister is 5'2" with blonde hair and green eyes!

Whitney said...

So cool! :) I bet the girls loved their time in front of the camera. And it looked like you did a great job cleaning up the house...everything looked fantastic.

Jennifer said...

Very excited for you!!! Someone I "know" is famous. My absolute FAVORITE part was the fact they use YOUR pictures!! Your photographs have been "published" big time!!

Everyone did an amazing job!!!

Megan said...

How cool! I actually nanny for three kids, including a set of twins, but we almost never refer to them as "the twins". Maybe it's because they are boy/girl and so very different in every single way. It often slips my mind that they are twins. great segment!

Pam said...

SO awesome! I talked to Lindsay about it too, but either because we were traveling or because we live in New Orleans, we didn't get chosen. So I'm really glad it was someone I know and like. :D

Unknown said...

sarah, this is exciting! i'm not sure how long i've been reading your blog now and looking at pictures of your beautiful girls growing up, but seeing you all on tv made me feel like i was seeing my friends!! this was great, thanks for telling us!

Bree at Clarity Defined said...

So fun to hear all of you!! Thanks for sharing the link (and as always snippets of your lives) with us. :)

Baby Detective Agency said...

So neat! I imagine the producers were thrilled to find you - with all your brilliant photos, you made the segment easy for them!

Valerie Cox said...

How exciting!!!! This will be such a fun memory for the girls, and it'll be neat to have this to look back on when they are older! Loved all of the beautiful photos of them! :)

Lisa said...

I've been reading your blog for a long time now and loved seeing your family in the segment! Thank you for sharing--your lives via the blog and the video itself. It was neat to see you and Rich, too, since you don't normally make blog appearances. I wonder if you're going to get a lot more blog traffic now that the segment has aired...? Regardless, your family seems so sweet. Please keep posting because it's fun watching your girls grow up. (I started reading pre-pregnancy and now I have a 21 month old so I know it has been a while!)

Unknown said...

I saw the girls on a commercial promoting it last night. I made my husband rewind it a few times because I was sure it was them, but then I said no way. I was right! Love your blog!

H. Schwarting said...

I spotted the girls on the promo, too. I just thought, I know those girls! I've been reading your blog for several years, and I'm really happy your family had this opportunity!

Chantel said...

So cute, and I love that your photographs were prominently featured!

Ashlee said...

Such a cool thing the girls got to be a part of, I am with them that I wish they would have been on more! Thanks for sharing!

Jennifer said...

I was cooking breakfast on the first morning that they started doing the segments and immediately recognized your girls from the previews and then caught the segment later in the week! Such a great experience!!

Leslie said...

You all are the cutest family! It was neat to "see" the little girls I've read about.

Molly said...

Wow, that is so cool! I love that they kept showing your beautiful photos!

CJ said...

I can't get the link to work. It starts on the twin older guys and then just stops. Oh well. Maybe they took it off the air now! I'm just now reading your post.