HomeLiving Through the Twinsanity
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Twin Mommies Escape!!!
Halloween Instant Karma The Bel Air Troll Target Bathroom - Watch Out For Squirrels August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 
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I just returned from a weekend up in Tahoe with 2 other twin moms - NO children or husbands. It was stupendous.
Northern California Association of Mothers of Twins Clubs (NCAMOTC) has 2 conventions each year - spring & fall - where we can get together Friday through Sunday with other mothers of twins (or god bless them, higher order multiples). The conventions usually have a fun activity on Friday night and then workshops, keynote speaker during a luncheon & entertainment during a more formal dinner on Saturday. The are a ton of fun and provide an excuse for much needed respite from the household and family held within. This fall there wasn't a club in NCA that came forth to host the convention. There was a "Retreat" to Konocti Resort, but financially, I knew that wouldn't fly in this house. I also knew that several of my other friends felt the same way and we began concocting our own grandeose plans for a 3 person "convention" up at a friend's cabin in South Shore Tahoe. What began as ideas of heading to a hotel spa for massages, seeing the sights and dressing up fancy for a Saturday dinner became much less - and much more at the same time: Our massages at the spa became self-done manicures and homemade avocado/oatmeal/honey/milk facials. Our "seeing the sights" became myself & one other friend heading to the little shops in the "Vale" they've created at the bottom of Heavenly for a few hours while our other friend took a nap. Our "fancy dress-up dinner" on Saturday night became heading to The Brewery for a pizza. You might be thinking to yourself: wow, what a wasted weekend. It was nothing of the sort. While we performed the manicures/facials, we were able to lounge around and watch 3 - count them 3! - chick flicks (how did we see through the cucumbers you might ask? by cutting holes out of the center to see through :). I can't remember the last 3 movies I've seen let alone multiple in one weekend that didn't include animation and a musical soundtrack. During the shopping trip, I was able to finish Christmas shopping for 3 friends and get to know one better (luv ya Tracy) in the crisp, clean mountain air. And our trip to The Brewery (which only barely beat out calling for a pizza to be delivered) allowed us to enjoy a restaurant without sippy cups, crayons and multiple rounds of napkins. We were each able to dazzle each other with a meal, sleep with the windows cracked to smell the sweet earth as it rained in the forest around the cabin, have a giant slumber party and stay up chatting (yes there are 3 bedrooms, but where would the fun have been in each of us being alone!), read 5 chapters in a row in a book, go through my newest Rachel Ray magazine from cover to cover ALL AT ONE TIME, not have to worry about arranging my day around naps and meals for my girls, stay in my pj's a grand total of about 42 out of 48 hours of the weekend (Meg's total was 44), but most of all I was able to sleep through the night without any potty interruptions and wake up when my body said it was time! Why am I saying this? Not because I'm griping about what it's like at home, not because the girls are a handful and not because I feel guilty about leaving my family at home. I think it's really important - nay, necessary - for parents to get away from their house and children AND EACH OTHER occationally and just have "Me Time". The relaxation & sleep I obtained has made me a lot more patient to my 3 year old twins (I hear 3 is the new 2). My husband was reminded that even though sometimes it doesn't always LOOK like I get much done around the house, I actually do. And, well, the welcome I received from my beautiful girls when I got home was worth more than words can say. Who's next to escape? It's his turn :) My husband and a few friends are headed down to Milpitas for a weekend in a few weeks to hit Dave & Buster's (think adult Chuck E. Cheese but way WAAAAY cooler). He'll get some much needed rest, the sheer amount that he does around the house will come screaming to the forefront and the girls and I will be there waiting to welcome him home when he gets back. Last Halloween a friend & I decided to meet up for a little play day to get the kids together and get the heck out of our respective dens. We thought, "Hey, the play area over at the Roseville Galleria looks fun. Let's go there." A while back we were driving home from a doctor's appointment & I remembered that we had NOTHING in the fridge at home. I also remembered that we took the double stroller out of the trunk for errands the day before. I thought to myself, "We just need a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread. It'll be ok without a stroller." Let's look at this little predicament shall we?
First and foremost is the my current biggest pet peeve in the universe - apparently I'm the only person in the world with 2 children under the age of 3 years old, let alone twins, because other than Costco/Sam's Club the stores with double shopping carts are few and far between. When you happen to be shopping at a store that does have some sort of double riding conveyance, it is either disgustingly grimy & filthy, a person with only one child has taken it because it's "more roomy/more fun" (as in the case of the carts with "cars" in front or back), or - and this is the one that ticks me off the most - someone with NO KIDS takes it!!! With that said, I decided to brave going into Bel Air while holding the girls' hands - it was only 2 items, right? I was so desperate to just get this done and get home that I didn't take into consideration several things: 1) the girls have just spent the entire morning in the waiting room at the doctor's office (yea Kaiser), 2) we are already about a half an hour over when they normally have lunch, and 3) it is about 20 minutes until what is usually their naptime. Hindsight's 20/20 isn't it. Do we see where this is going? I headed into the store and made a beeline to the bread. I was almost there. I rounded the aisle. Almost there... It was at this point that the girls decided it was far more fun to jump as a mode of transportation than it was to walk like normal WELL-BEHAVED children. I thought to myself, "Whatever, they aren't causing a scene & aren't touching anyone or anything." Got the bread. Headed for the dairy case. Luckily, there was nothing at eye level that they recognize - no Dora fruit snacks, no Blue's Clues yogurt, no easily recognizable cracker boxes. Almost there. The girls were laughing maniacally & my stomach was tied in a knot. We reached the dairy case and I began quickly scanning the expiration dates. It was at this very moment that Alessa decided to sit on the floor, followed quickly by Caleigh. "We don't sit on the floor in the grocery store," I said as calmly as possible. Caleigh got up but not my mother's "Little Retribution". I leaned closer to Alessa and repeated myself in a low growl & she reluctantly stood up. "Dear Lord, let me get my groceries and get out of here without a scene," became my silent mantra. I whisked down the aisle with a little pair of sandals tapping quickly on each side of me. I finally reached the checkout stand, but there was no set of sandals tapping on my right. "Why?" you might ask. Well, Alessa decided she was going to try to sit on the floor again. However, I had instituted "Mommy Death Grip" and had her hand and wrist firmly in my grasp. I virtually hissed at her to stand back up. She did momentarily and then the mortifying happened. Have you ever seen chimpanzees at the zoo? They will hold a rope with one hand then just hang and twist merrily. That is what Alessa did. I shot a look to Caleigh that warned of the reprocussions if she decided to join in the escapades and hissed at Alessa again. No luck. Then I tried to ignore it -and get the heck out of the store - besides, I was next to check out. Looking back, it really wasn't a big deal - she wasn't touching anything and, other than giggling, they weren't making any noise. However, it was at this point that the old biddy behind me addressed me with a disdainful gaze and said, "Are they YOUR children?" What was that supposed to mean? I replied, "Yes. It's almost naptime and their first time in the store without a stroller." Here's the real kicker. This woman had the audacity to respond, "Well, I think you need to keep them in a stroller a while longer." WHAT!?!?! Thanks for the input, Hag, I'll take that into consideration the next time I'm out! The next time you see a mother struggling with her children in a store and they aren't actually bothering anyone/anything/making a racket - shoot her a smile instead of a dirty look. Chances are that she's terribly mortified as it is and would rather be anywhere than where she is.
Today we were at Target doing some shopping for the girls' impending 3rd birthday party. Caleigh, being somewhere OTHER than our house, immediately decided she needed to check out the new bathroom - still within the first year of being fully "potty-trained", I'm not comfortable calling her bluff quite yet.
With a "Do you really want me to take her into the men's restroom?" look from their father, Mommy left Alessa with Daddy & headed into the bathroom with Caleigh & our potty ring in hand. I entered a stall and stoped dead in my tracks as there was urine ALL over the seat (come on people - be considerate). I said to Cailegh, "Wait a minute, Love - there's pee-pee all over the seat. Let's go in another stall." As I opened up the potty ring & sat her on the toilet in the new, non-urine covered stall, she looked at me very seriously and we had the following conversation: "Mommy, do you know who went pee-pee all over the seat?" "No Honey, I don't." "It was the squirrels." Blink. Now I was intrigued. "The squirrels?" I asked "Uh huh. See that hole up there?" she explained, pointing to the vent in the ceiling, "The squirrels needed to go potty so they came through there but they missed the seat & went pee-pee on the toilet." Yes, that's right Ladies. Next time you're in a public restroom and there's urine all over one of the toilet seats, be sure to warn the management that they have a squirrel problem. 
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