These are the Moments

Having twins is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I am not saying that it is easy, but I know for a fact that I get to experience so many different things than my friends that only have one baby at a time. Even those that have two kids, it is still a completely different experience. There is just something about watching these two little girls, that have been together for all but 3 minutes of their ENTIRE lives (Ruthie is 3 minutes older than Maddie). They are just a part of one another in such a neat way.

When they were younger, blogging was so much easier! I could take pictures of the cute things they were doing, the smiling, the milestones etc. Now, the things that I would LOVE to share on here are impossible to document. Primarily because I do not think I am a capable enough writer to get the full picture across of the hilarious things that they say or do. Their interactions with each other and their conversations are funnier than anything you could see on Comedy Central. Just the tone in their voice or the timing of a question or the body motions that go with what they are saying, make it impossible to have the same affect retold in words alone. Unfortunately, as soon as I pull out the video camera they either yell "CHEESE" or stop what they are doing since they see me. So, it is these rare moments that I can actually catch from sneaking around the corner of another room, that I savor. I hate to think that I wont remember some of these times like I dont remember so much of them as babies.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dreams of Parents

I think any one that is a parent has dreams for what they would like their kids to accomplish. It is only natural. When we found out we were having twins, Mark was convinced we would have a soprano and an alto that could harmonize making sweet, sweet music. Most of you already know that Mark has a marvelous voice and a deep love of music. It seems as if our children have inherited the deep love of music, but not so much the voice. All though you can only see Maddie in the video, you can hear her sister "harmonizing" in the background.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'm thinking Mark will have to find another dream for them.

Riding Bikes

We had given the girls tricycles for Christmas, even though we knew they wouldnt be able to use them for a little while. I probably should have taken them out more on their bikes this summer, but it was hotter than Hades here, so I avoided outside activities like the plague. Not to mention the aforementioned mountain that we happen to live on. It is instant death if I let them try to go by themselves on their bikes down it. So, now that some fall weather is upon us, I decided to break out the bikes on the flat street that is at the bottom of our cul de sac, for safety purposes.

Lo and behold, they were pretty good on them! Ok, correction. Ruthie was pretty good on the bike. I feel that the only accurate way to express this experience is through a video. There are not enough words to express the drama that occurs in this house over the silliest things. This, is a perfect example.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Off to School We Go!

It is hard to believe the girls are old enough to go to pre-school! Granted, they are the youngest in their class because of their birthday, but they are "technically" old enough. The cut off age here in Nashville is you have to be 3 by September 30th, and with a September 25th birthday, they make the cut! So, we packed our lunches and our backpacks, and headed out the door!

The girls are in the "Zebra" class at school. That means nothing to them, but is cute to me.

There are 14 other kids in their class, mostly girls. We had gone to an open house last week, so the girls had already been in their classroom for a little bit. So, when we walked in, then knew exactly what to do. No tears, no whining, just straight to playing.

When I picked them up, their teachers said they did really well......EXCEPT......for rest time. I knew this was going to be an issue on several levels. First issue is that their rest time is about an hour before the girls are used to laying down. Second thing is that I have never seen my children lay down quietly for 90 minutes. They are used to their beds, in their dark rooms, with their sound machine on when they sleep. There is no comparison to laying on a mat, in a classroom, with 14 other kids. Apparently they separated them and when one would cry the other would yell out that their sister was crying and needed help. Maddie even pulled out her famous line, "I'm having a hard time" to her teacher. Hopefully over time it will get better.

I know they are picking up things at school already because when we got home yesterday, Maddie was doing something and she says, "That is cool!" I had never heard her say that, and I am not one to use retro 80's lingo, so I said, "What did you say?" and she says, "That is cool! That is what my friends at school say." It made me laugh. Let's hope that is the only 4-letter word she comes back from school learning.

As for Momma, I could not have been happier to send them off to school! From posts on my facebook wall I assume that I am supposed to be sad about it or upset that they are old enough for school. Apparently I am missing that part of the Mommy gene, because I was probably more excited for my time from 9-3 than they were! I cant remember the last time I went to bed at night and felt like I accomplished so much in a day! No tears here! Bring on the next day to send them!

Six Flags!

There is a Six Flags that is only an hour from my parents house. Growing up it was the Great Escape, and going there was a special treat. I went there more when I was a teenager than when I was a kid, because it wasnt really kid friendly. Well, things have changed there! I looked at their website and they showed 30 kids rides! And then there was the topper.....WIGGLES WORLD! Not to mention kids 2 and under are free, and since the girls dont turn 3 until September, this was the last time we could get them in without paying for them. So, off to Lake George we went.

It seriously could not be a more beautiful day to be outside at Lake George! A high of 78 degrees with clear skies. I love upstate NY in August! I was afraid of the girls not napping or just having an off day, so as soon as we got in the gate we bolted to Wiggle World.

As soon as we got in there a show was in progress, so we took them straight over there. The show was a little ghetto, but the girls didnt know the difference. Let's just say, Six Flags didnt splurge on getting a convincing Captain Feathersword. They didnt even attempt to find 4 guys to imitate the actual Wiggles, so this girl was singing all of them for some reason. Dorthy, Wags and Henry were really good though.

Since there were hardly any one at the first show, the characters came down and posed for pictures, which the girls loved!

Then came the rides! They had a great time on the Big Red Cars and Dorthy's Rosy Tea cups. Great themed rides that the girls have talked about every day since!

I never understood the appeal of these little houses that are all around Great Escape as I was growing up. As a parent of toddlers, they are the most amazing thing, ever! I think they may have liked the little houses more than they even liked Wiggle World. They played in the little houses for about 30 minutes before we made them leave.





Mark and I were able to go on a few of the roller coasters since my mom came along with us. She watched the kids so we could go on a few big kid rides. I did fine on all of the roller coasters, but this ride was my downfall.

It looks so innocent, but I had to sit down for a good chunk of time to get my stomach and head back. I am getting old.

Hence, the carousal. More my style.

Great family day! The girls rode rides by themselves for the first time and had a great time. They are getting so big. School starts next week, so I will try to post those pictures too!

Imagination

Growing almost as fast as my children is their imagination. The stories they are coming up with are absolutely hilarious. Granted, most of them are based on TV episodes, so I wont give them too much credit. For all of you toddler TV aficionados, this will be a great test of your TV knowledge. I will name the scenario and see if you can pick up where they got it from. You can have 3 chances.

The girls have decided that our half bath downstairs is now a "Tall Tower". You can still go potty in there, but you are going potty in the tall tower. Once one goes in, the other one shuts the door and will not open it until they hear the magic word, "Abre"

Answer: Ok, too easy, I mean there is Spanish in it. Obviously Dora the Explorer. The episode that the witch locks the prince in a tall tower and he needs to rescued by Boots and Dora.

We recently had a fight between the girls since Maddie had one of my dish towels, which she claimed was a "magic carpet". Ruthie went to sit on Maddie's magic carpet and Maddie flipped out that (and I quote)"The magic carpet wont go super high in the sky with Ruthie on it!". Crisis averted by getting Ruthie a dish towel, I mean, magic carpet.

Answer: This one is courtesy of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, episode Donald of the Desert where they have a magic carpet.

We recently got a sandbox for the girls in the backyard. They continually ask me to come outside and play with them in the sandbox. When out there, they usually give me a shovel and tell me to dig for the treasure chest. It usually only takes 1 or 2 digs before it is announced that it has been found! When I ask them what is inside they let me know that it is costumes! They then pull out a pirate eye patch, boots and a hat.

Answer: Dora the Explorer Pirates, of course! Thanks to those wonderful Pirate Piggies who steal the treasure chest of costumes and they cant do the play without their pirate costumes.

Scoring

1/3 You probably just guessed Dora the Explorer on that first one, not too impressive

2/3 You watch a significant amount of Nick Jr. and Disney channel, but it hasnt all infiltrated your brain quite yet

3/3 This post makes complete sense to you because you have a child that is doing the exact same thing

Probably the biggest thing they have picked up from Dora is their backpacks. Here is a picture of Maddie showing you her backpack. Obviously there is a back pack there. It is in plain site people. And what does an almost three year old keep in her imaginary backpack? There is ALWAYS a rope in there. This comes in handy when they drop things (not really) that the rope will help them pick up. Usually there is a bandaid in there, for the occasional boo-boo.* A spare change of clothes and a hat is usually in there also. Only when it rains is an umbrella in there.

*Complete side note. I put the girls in babysitting at the YMCA to play volleyball and when I came back they informed me that BOTH of them had found red crayon and colored all over one of the baby doll's heads. When the worker asked them why they informed her that the baby had a boo-boo. Maddie offered a bandaid, conveniently located in her backpack, of course!

Ruthie has become a stuffed animal/baby doll child. She brings a bear or Baby Lulu with her where ever we go. Baby LuLu actually walked down the aisle at my brother in laws wedding. We werent given much choice. Ruthie refused to move without LuLu. Bear and LuLu come in the car also. If there is a place they can not come into, they must be buckled in to Ruthie's carseat for safe keeping. In the course of a day they will usually get sick and need to go to the doctor, get several baths in the sink in the bathroom and get put down for several naps because they are tired.

I have to admit that this has been such a fun stage with them. We have run into a couple problems with their imaginary situations, like the magic carpet, or the fact that one wants to have a beach party and the other wants to have a tea party, but very manageable. With their imaginations have come some awesome play time between the two. They really are into playing with each other and involving the other in their stories they have created. (I had a really cute video to insert here, but the server seems to be acting up, so i will try to do that later.).

Life

Is any one even reading this any more? I was looking back over some of my first posts where I would blog like 3 to 4 times a week. I have no idea how I did that. Then I remembered that those were the days of 2 naps a day. Those were also the days of where they sat still and didnt need my constant attention as to not burn down my house. Still not a good excuse, huh? Well, how about the fact that Nashville was flooded?

Ok, in all seriousness, do you want to know what is life consuming? Potty training. I can not remember the last thing that was this life consuming since I was pumping breast milk for the girls. Even that was only once every 3 hours. That is nothing compared to potty training twins. The fact that I have a potty in the back of my van explains it all. I walk into a store and immediately B-line it to the bathrooms for the girls. My brain operates in 30 minute intervals now.

WARNING! SEVERAL USES OF THE WORDS "POOP" AND "PEE", OVER AND OVER AGAIN. MY MOTHER SAYS I AM NOT ABLE TO HOLD A CONVERSATION WITHOUT USING IT AT LEAST 5 TIMES IN ANY CONVERSATION I HAVE NOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I dare to say that I would consider the girls potty trained now. I know that since I have typed these words into cyberspace they are going to go through 10 pairs of panties tomorrow. I will take the risk. I want to share something that was a potty game changing moment in our house. My hope is that it can help some one else through this HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE part of parenthood called potty training.

I tried to get the girls to go poop in the potty. I followed them around and every time I thought they were going I threw them on the potty. Most of the time I would catch them half way done. I offered ice cream, candy, a car when they were 16....ANYTHING if they would just go poop on the potty. It didnt work. I felt so helpless and like I was destined to be cleaning poop out of panties until they were in college. Then, a friend mentioned something that worked for someone she knew. Ladies and gentlemen (I dont think any guys read this, but just in case), let me introduce you to "Poopy Presents".

I went to the dollar store and bought them out of everything in their toy aisle. I wrapped it in wrapping paper with pretty bows and I stacked them high on the kitchen table. When the girls woke up, I showed them the pretty wrapped packages and informed them that every time they went poop in the potty, they would get to open a present. I am not lying nor exaggerating, we have had 2 girls pooping in the potty since that blessed day weeks ago. Not one poop accident. Zip. Zilch. Nadda. They would come running out of the potty screaming "Poopy Present!" and rip off the paper like wild women!

We did run into one problem, and that problem was Maddie and the fact that she is starting to use the manipulative traits that she has inherited from me. That child would push out 1 little poop, insist on opening a present, and then 20 minutes later poop out another little poop to get a another. After the day she went through 5 presents I started limiting it to 1 present a day. Then it was you had to stay dry all day and poop in the potty to open one. We went 12 days without ANY accidents (poop or pee) when there was a Poopy Present involved. Since we have taken them away we have had no poop accidents and a handful of pee accidents. The things were like miracle workers.

Then, I informed the girls that we were all done with Poopy Presents. They would be able to open one more present, the best present of all Poopy Presents, but then they were done. Ruthie got a cape so that she can run around the house yelling that she is "Super Ruthie" and Maddie got a fairy costume so that she can make every one refer to her as "Tinker-Maddie".

If they start going in their pants tomorrow since there are no more Poopy Presents, I am going to be so mad. But I will probably just head back to the Dollar Store, if I am being completely honest. It is cheaper than pull ups and diapers! But, I think we have rounded the corner and there is light at the end of the tunnel!