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The Adventures of Motherhood with Twin Boys
The Adventures of Motherhood with Twin Boys
Love, Hugs, and a few Tears
Member Since: February 01, 2008 Last Signed In: August 23, 2009 Blog Views: 6050 Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend
Taken Advantage of x 2
A Hottie, a Duck and an X-ray Time Flies Squish, Pick, Stomp, Trip, Chomp Two Words Stuck By A Rhino Horn Adventures In New York Never A Dull Moment 103.8 Degrees Talking Explosion February 08 March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 December 08 January 09 February 09 March 09 April 09 May 09 June 09 July 09 August 09 September 09 October 09 November 09 
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Toddler Rules
If I like it - it's mine. If it's in my hand - it's mine. If it looks like mine - it's mine. If I think it's mine - it's mine. Everything is else is mine too! (A few words of wisdom my Mom shared with me.
Insight into the reasoning of a toddler.)
Lucas insisted on wearing his Santa hat today. If it started to slide off, he would stop whatever he was doing, make a fuss, until I helped him put his had back on his head. He wore it during snack time, while playing, reading books, and then fell asleep with it on during nap time. He has been sleeping for the past 2 1/2 hours, and he's still wearing his Santa hat.
Thursday my Mom watched Brodie and Lucas while I attended an all day seminar. When I arrived home later that afternoon, my Mom said with enthusiasm, "that they all had a great day! The only bad thing that happened was Lucas rubbed sunblock in his eyes." Then she asked, "Have they ever done this before?" She shared the following story: She was in the bathroom with the door closed. She could head them playing in the hall. Suddenly it got quiet, and all she could hear was Lucas saying, "Up, up, up!" When she came out, Lucas had climbed 1/2 way up the safety gate blocking the office door. He was saying 'up' because he wanted some help climbing the rest of the way over. She did a quick glance around, and Brodie was no where to be found. When she finally found him, he was already in the office. He was the first one to climb over the gate and was in the office having a grand time exploring. I laughed and said, Yes, when they explore never before charted territory, they are very quiet. They don't want to be found." Then my Mom continued with another story: Lucas and Brodie both went down for a nap together. Lucas fell right to sleep, and slept for about 90 minutes. But Brodie never stopped talking, chanting, chattering, with occasional crying interspersed in his "I am NOT going to sleep" commentary. When Lucas woke up, and she heard both of them laughing and playing, she went in their room to get them up. Brodie had pulled his crib up to Lucas's and climbed in. Lucas and Brodie were both in the same crib playing. She asked again, "Have they ever done this before?" My eyes got big, and I said, "No!" I laughed it off. Thanked her immensely for helping watch the kids all day, gave her a hug good bye, and she was out the door heading home. But my mind was racing. This is the sign that I've been waiting for, but been dreading. It's time to transition them to beds. It's too close to bedtime to take apart the cribs, and set up their mattresses on the floor. Plus the room isn't ready. When my husband arrived home, I shared the stories from the kid's day with Grammy. We had a quick 'family meeting', and the decision was made. Saftey locks will go on the kid's dresser drawers this weekend. The cribs will be taken apart, and they'll both be sleeping on their crib mattresses on the floor before the weekend is over. Here we go, jumping head first into our next big adventure! Thank goodness they can't open their bedroom door by themselves yet!
I often think back to when I was a child. Pink was my favorite color. I wanted a pink house, pink car, pink everything, just like Miss Piggy. I played house, dressed up, climbed trees, built forts, and had a vivid imagination. I remember wanting to be a ballerina, a naturalist, a clothes designer, and last an attorney. The dream of becoming an attorney got me through college. But just like so many things in life, goals, interests, and aspirations change with time and experience. This is a good thing, or I'd still be wearing pink everything and looking up to Miss Piggy. With that said, I now wonder what Lucas and Brodie will be when they grow up. As parents, we have certain expectations, but at the same time, we want them to grow up with the ability to make decisions on their own. So far, being a parent is one of the most difficult responsibilities in my life, yet also the most rewarding. Right now, Lucas and Brodie are into things that go: bikes, cars, trucks, airplanes, just to name a few. Things that go also include anything that bounces or rolls. Balls are on the top of that list.
I had two helpers yesterday, while hanging clothes outside to dry. Every time I finished pinning an item on the line, I'd turn around to both Lucas and Brodie handing me the next piece of clothing. If I wasn't fast enough, they would toss it aside, and dig through the basket in search of the next piece they liked. Some of the clothes tossed aside ended up on the lawn, some back in the laundry basket. Eventually Lucas lost interest and wandered off to explore the back yard, in search of the biggest rock he could find. Brodie stopped handing me clothes, and chose to dress himself up instead. He wrapped my cycling bolero jacket around his neck and shoulder like it was a scarf, and wore my husband's cycling bandanna around his neck like a necklace. Brodie refused to give me the bolero and bandanna, and proceed to drag my bolero around on the ground as he played in the yard with Lucas. I finally convinced him to give me the last two pieces of clothes so I could hang them out to dry with all the rest.
Walking through aisles of food hungry isn't the best thing to do, especially when it's your kids that are hungry and in need of a nap. Lucas and Brodie were both sitting in heir double stroller signing 'eat' and 'more', and saying "eat food, eat, eat." I left their snacks in the car, hoping they would be able to make it until we finished grocery shopping to eat. I don't blame them for wanting to eat, NOW! All that food staring at them in the face, would make anyone hungry. I don't want to set precedence that every time we go grocery shopping they get to eat. But it seems like lately, they always want to eat. Growth spurt maybe? The longer I made them wait the louder and more demanding they became. I gave them an Odwalla bar to share. Once it was gone, I showed them the empty wrapper and told them it was all gone. They finally stopped signing and saying "'eat." But then the kicking and poking began. It doesn't matter whether they are sitting in their side-by-side or their tandem stroller, they both get into each others personal space. Its how they show their brotherly love. Brodie started kicking Lucas with his left leg. Lucas grabbed Brodie's left foot and pulled tight, not letting go. They were both screaming at each other. I let them work it out. There was not use for me to intervene. I couldn't separate them. They had to stay buckled in the stroller or I would never get out of the store.
I hurried along, searching for the items I needed. We were shopping at our neighborhood grocery store to save time, but we rarely do all our shopping there. Rather than pull a grocery cart behind me as I push the stroller, I brought a reusable grocery bag which I was filling quick, and stuffed every empty space the stroller offered full of groceries. I chuckled when we arrived at the check out counter. Lucas and Brodie were sitting quietly in the stroller, minding their own business, when the cashier commented on how well behaved my kids were being. Well, yes, they were being good, considering they were hungry and sleepy. But if they has only heard and seen them a few minutes ago. After the groceries were loaded into the back of the car, Lucas, Brodie, and myself climbed in the back of the car and had an impromptu picnic in the parking lot of the grocery store. The kids were more interested in unloading the grocery bags and eating what they found than eating the food I had originally brought them. Oh well, at least they were eating. By the time we arrived home, their eyes were drooping. They both fell asleep in their beds without a fuss.
They are fast, quick, and into everything. They climb up the handles on the drawers to reach the counter in the kitchen. They know the child safety lock on the dishwasher is no longer secure, and click it open in seconds, both grabbing dirty dishes by the handfuls before I can stop them. Its a race. They ride their dump truck, fire truck, or push empty toy containers into the kitchen, climb on top, and peruse the counter tops and sink for exciting and new objects to play with. I can't take my eyes off of them for more than a minute. This morning I reached my breaking point, when they repeatedly opened the dishwasher, both grabbing dirty silverware over and over again. They would open it, I would close it. Open, close, open, close, a fun game for them, but not for me. Redirecting was not an option. I needed a quick solution and fast. It suddenly occurred to me.....move the gate. Problem solved for now.
Today Lucas and Brodie decorated Easter eggs with their friend S. They loved it! And why not, when they had over 2 1/2 dozen hard boiled eggs at their finger tips. They tossed them, dropped them, cracked them, ate them, including the shells, dipped them, painted, stamped, and covered them with stickers. In the end, the Easter eggs were bright and colorful, along with the kids whose hands were dyed pink, purple, red, blue, green, and yellow.
Spirited, Strong willed, stubborn....I'm not sure which word best describes my sweet child, Mr. B, whom I love dearly. Yesterday he refused to take a nap. Today he is happy to take a nap, except on his terms...with a blanket pulled over his head, completely covering his face.
If I remove it, he screams and pulls it back over his head. I even waited to remove it until I thought he was sleeping, and he still screamed and pulled it back over his head. Now he's asleep with a blanket over his head. I'm concerned he's going to suffocate. I decide to let him be. If he can pull the blanket over his head, then he can pull it off if he gets too hot or needs more air. I have to choose my battles. When it comes to sleep, I don't want to do anything to mess that up. But being his Mom, I want to keep him safe. I'll just check on him periodically during his nap to ensure he's still breathing, and hopefully he'll turn over and lose the blanket. Ha! Wishful thinking. This kids got an agenda, and he sticks to it. And what is his brother doing? He's fast asleep, clueless to the world. Snoring at full throttle. Some how Brodie sleeps through Lucas snoring, and Lucas sleeps through Brodie's bedtime tantrums.
Lucas won the prize for being the kid with the least amount of eggs, 2 to be exact. Instead of collecting the eggs, he would give them away. He was having more fun shaking the eggs, and then putting the eggs he found in the other kids' baskets, rather than keeping them for himself. Brodie wandered around in search of eggs. He held tight to his first two eggs. Once he found the third, he barely managed to pick it up. Then he refused to let go of his 3 colorful treasured eggs. Eventually hunger took over, and he traded in his eggs for a snack. Considering this was their first ever egg hunt, they did great! Now they are good and ready for their upcoming egg hunt on Easter Sunday.
Sometimes I wish I knew what to do. I thought I had the whole nap time thing figured out. Stagger their nap times. Put one down, then the other. The only problem, is Brodie doesn't always fall asleep. He just won't stop talking LOUD! Even though his eyes are drooping, and he's a grump from being sleepy, he will not nap. How long do I leave him in there? If Lucas weren't sleeping next to him, I'd leave him in his bed until he fell asleep. But I don't want to have two grumpy, sleepy kids. So after 20 minutes of attempting to get Brodie to fall asleep, I leave him in his bed where he proceeds to make LOUD noises for the next 15 minutes. Now 45 minutes has gone by on the whole "get Brodie to take a nap" process. Enough is enough, I finally rush in to get him before he wakes Lucas up. Another day of 50/50. One kid with a nap, the other with no nap.
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