Taylor’s class apparently read a book about a redheaded girl with freckles. She was so excited to tell me all about it, and I thought it was great that she had found another character to relate to based on her red hair.

My excitement quickly vanished when I was informed that she told her class: “I know what freckles are! My mama has them on her butt!” Mortified.

If you need me, I’ll be under a rock.

It is impossible for the kids and I to go anywhere without getting comments and questions. I get “Wow, your hands are full” quite often. The other thing we hear a lot of is “Are they twins?!” I usually answer politely, as I know most people are just generally curious.  We have had our share of rude comments, but that’s a story for another day. The kids have started responding to the “Are they twins?” questions lately, on their own. Taylor will often say “Not another one” (while slapping her palm to her forehead) or answer “Yes they are but they are my brothers!” Jackson’s go-to answers are “yes” or “Go away.” Joseph simply stares people down.

Today, as we were trying on hats at Costco, as I’m sure all people do on a Wednesday afternoon, Jackson formulated a new response. Instead of using his words, he flipped the bird! I’d like to think that he is innocent and doesn’t know the meaning behind it, but he is, after all, related to my mom. He could very well be perfecting the fix your glasses technique…

Happy Leap Day!

Today, Taylor and her class celebrated their 100th day of school! They had a special homework assignment, made crowns, and made necklaces out of 100 Fruit Loops. She shared some of the necklace with her brothers, and we only ended up with about 40 pieces of cereal smashed into the carpet. Success. She had such a fun day. She was extremely excited because one of my twin mom friends, Rhonda, made her an adorable shirt to wear for the occasion. She very proudly showed it off to her teacher and friends, and I have to say, she looked pretty darn cute.

I picked her up from school, sans boys today, and we had a special Mommy / Daughter date.  She had no idea where we were going, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that our destination was “the ice cream store.” We had a wonderful time. It’s not often that we have one-on-one time together, so this was extra special. She made sure to thank me profusely and told me how much she loves me and how she’s happy I’m her mommy. She melted my heart. She proceeded to tell me that she wants three brothers instead of two, but I won’t hold that against her!

I am so lucky that this beautiful little girl is mine!

If you need any cool shirts made, please feel free to contact me for my friend’s info.

When I got the kids up this morning, I reminded Taylor that she had swimming lessons today, and therefore, all three kids would have a bath when we got home. Apparently, the boys took that as a challenge.  They colored with markers for a little while. I was proud of how calm they were, and they were proud of their beautiful drawings.

Thirty seconds. I stepped away for half of a minute to gather up the laundry that they unfolded moments earlier. I figured, they were content; I might as well get a few things done.  They were steps away from me. What could go wrong? The answer:

markers + momentarily unsupervised twin toddlers = mayhem 

They were very excited about their facial creations and were admiring the “boo boos” on each other’s face. At least they were washable markers!

Taylor has the day off from school due to an impending snow storm, so we were looking for new ways to break the day up and keep everyone happy. My brother had just given the kids a Mr. Potato Head super hero set, and it has been a huge hit!  They played with it for a full hour before asking for the tv to be turned on, which is a major accomplishment around here.

The prime lesson of the morning entailed explaining to the boys that even though they fit nicely, the Potato Head accessories do not go in the dog’s nose. Ever.

Ranger is the most tolerant dog of all time. He may give the kids the side-eye or the WTF look sometimes (or multiple times a day), but that is the extent of it. He’s a lover. We are so lucky to have him in our little family!

Taylor has been taking Spanish lessons, once a week at school. Today, we had this conversation:

T: Hey Mom. Do you know how to say ghost in Spanish?

M: No, sweetheart. I don’t know that one.

T: I know, Mom. It’s ‘Hola, ghost!’

She was very proud. I suppose it will take a while for her to be fluent. 🙂

Today was the first absolutely beautiful day we have had in a long time. Sure, it might have been late February, but we weren’t complaining. We went to our local nature center, where we had a great time walking around and looking at all of the animals. We spent the last half hour or so letting the kids just run around in a field.  They had a blast and their excitement sure showed on their three little faces. At one point, the boys simultaneously ran up to me and bombarded me with hugs and kisses!  Todd was nearby and managed to snap a few pictures before they ran away to find sticks.

Parents of twins often hear the saying “double trouble,” which more than occasionally describes my boys, but look at the love I get!  I get double the love with twins and I am one incredibly lucky Mama. Today was a simple day of family fun, but easily turned into one of my most favorite and cherished memories.

When I decided to go ahead and begin this blogging adventure, I was mildly concerned that it would be boring and I would not have enough material to post.  Now, I am sitting here wondering how and why my kids are giving me enough “material” to generate two posts in one day.

We were all hanging out downstairs tonight, relaxing after dinner.  Todd, Taylor, and I were in the family room and we noticed that not only were the boys missing, they were quiet too.  Just as we realized that things were eerily quiet (always a bad sign), we heard the belly laughs start and just knew they were up to no good. Sure enough, they had somehow commandeered their milk cups and brought them in the playroom with them.  They weren’t drinking, however. Instead, they had filled the play kitchen sink with milk and were dunking their heads in it. Why? I will never know, but they were damn proud of themselves.

Some mornings, we wake up and hit the ground running.  On these mornings, most kids cooperate, allow me to change diapers without military intervention, eat breakfast, etc.  Other mornings, I can barely find the words to explain what happens around here.  Today, we had a different kind of morning.

Joseph woke up screaming. This was not entirely surprising for me to hear, as the boys start fighting with each other, often times, as soon as they wake up. When the screaming didn’t stop, I stomped off to their room, prior to having my coffee. I found little hands sticking out from underneath the door.  Also, not new, and not surprising.  

What was surprising was the reason for the screaming.  Jackson was still in bed, minding his own business, so he was not at fault for whatever the disaster was.  Joseph, however, was trying to exit the room by sliding himself out between the bottom of the door and the floor.  Clearly, he thought it was just his size, but it didn’t quite work in his favor.  After watching him attempt to morph into baby-goo and make his great escape (because at this point I was in the room and had the door open…) he would not desist.  He was determined to get out of the door this way. Needless to say, he did not complete his mission, and I had to witness the face of failure and talk him down from an epic temper tantrum.

Happy Friday!