Last night, we had an insanely loud thunder storm, which of course, was at its worst for the hours closest to bedtime. Taylor requested extra cuddles, and only felt better after I sang “You are my Sunshine,” followed by just about every Disney song we could think of. When she was happy and had calmed down, I went to check on the boys, who are not too fond of the thunder either. Instead of finding them screaming and crying, they were cuddled up in one bed, together with heaps of blankets over their entire bodies. They were holding on to each other for dear life; their little arms each entwined in his twin’s arms. It really made me nostalgic for all of the ultrasound images I saw of them positioned similarly. They are twins. They are each other’s biggest source of comfort, and it is truly amazing to watch their bond. Last night, I was so proud of them for literally leaning on each other when they needed comfort.

Today, was different. Much different. Today, they acted like gang rivals who were having an epic turf war about nothing in particular. Every single thing bothered the other, all fricken morning long. They tried to take off each other’s shirts because they thought it was their own (they chose identical shirts this morning). They needed the exact same Lincoln Log and Lego piece at the same time, despite the fact that there were hundreds of others that were just as spectacular in the nearby bin. They fought about who sat where, which milk cup belonged to which gang (although their cup colors had been determined long ago), and who got to use the bathroom first, even though they both have no interest in toilet training. I separated them into different areas of the house, encouraging one to play with Taylor while the other played with me, but they kept longing for their twin and meeting back up with each other with an embrace that would make you think they hadn’t seen each other in years. But the fighting would soon begin again. The boys apparently study wrestling in their spare time because the amount of hair pulling, body slamming, neck standing, and leg pulling I saw today was unreal. I actually learned a few new moves from them, so there’s that. They locked each other in closets, gave each other rug burn, threw toys at each other’s head and slammed doors. Since the eighty five thousand time outs, warnings, talking-tos, etc. didn’t work, I decided it was time for crafts. I quickly wrote on this shirt and explained to them what I was writing and what kinds of things they have been doing that make both Mommy and each other sad. I had seen a similar shirt in meme form on a twin page a while ago and it just flashed back in my mind today, and I figured, why not.

I warned them about the shirt and told them they were brothers and needed to be nice to each other, or at least not kill each other before Dad gets home. They said their apologies, and went to play. As soon as the next round of wrestling started, I put that shirt right on both of them. They didn’t know what to think. They were silent (which never happens) and trying to figure out why they were in the same shirt. They are used to having to share, but this was shocking. They had to stand still wearing it while I told them about all the things they did that were not such good choices, and discussed what they could do to be better friends. By the end, they were cracking up, kissing each other, and waddling around the house (picture a three legged race) saying “I love you, brudder.” I highly doubt this will work for every fight they have, but for today, it’s an extra weapon in my arsenal that I’m so pleased to have.