Double the fun

After having identical twin boys, Jessie and Sarah Rehovsky of Savage knew they wanted to have one more child. But their first pregnancy, which included surgery to save the babies' lives and the subsequent stress of caring for premature babies left the couple feeling reluctant.

Sarah, seeking counsel from her obstetrician, asked: What are the odds of having twins again?

The odds of having a second set of identical twins were so minuscule (less than 1 in 70,000, according to various sources) that the doctor said they didn't even need to discuss the possibility of it happening again.

Then, "Lo and behold, it did," Sarah Rehovsky said.

"At my first prenatal appointment my doctor walked in and was as shocked as I was. She said, 'Do you hate me?' "

In hindsight, the Rehovskys are happy to have tempted fate. Their second set of identical twins -- girls this time -- arrived on Sept. 27. Tatum and Molly join brothers Evan and Ayden, who turned 5 on Monday.

"Once the initial shock wore off, I felt in my heart we could do this," Rehovsky said. "We beat the odds with the boys, and if we needed to, we would do it again."

"Life is so busy. But some nights we sit back and look at how lucky we are as a family."

Seasoned in caring for newborn twins, the Rehovskys aren't feeling as overwhelmed as they did with their sons, partly because they know "it won't last forever." But keeping up with their sons as well as the babies can make for a hectic life.

Rehovsky remains unfazed by the challenge of getting out of the house with four children under age 5. "Life goes on," she said. "You can't just hang up your shoes."

Anyone who understands the challenge of grocery shopping with just one child might wonder how she does it. Rehovsky pushes the double stroller with one hand, pulls the shopping cart with the other and shops at a store that offers miniature shopping carts to keep her sons occupied. "We look like a parade," Rehovsky said. "It's an all-day process, but it works."

The shopping is frequently interrupted by well-meaning strangers who stop them to admire, dig in with questions, or make ill-informed comments such as: "You have double trouble."

Rehovsky said she doesn't ever want her children to feel bad about being twins and is quick to deflect any such seemingly harmless but negative remarks.

"I've started telling strangers, 'We're double fun.' "

Make that double fun squared.