Oblivious to the Obvious

I may be somewhat biased, but I feel like my kids are pretty smart. They have great pretend play skills, they’ve mostly mastered third person pronouns, they (mostly) use plurals and correct past tense. Most of the time their questions, albeit repetitive (mommy can I have milk? Mommy can I have milk?) make total sense.

At least until recently.

Most of the time I aim to fit my workout in between the time Bryan drops the kids off at daycare on the way to the high school and when I have to be at work. But sometimes they are at home with me, as was the case twice this week.

After a bit of encouragement, the two joined me on the third floor for my 5 mile tempo run. A tempo run (or what is supposed to be “comfortably uncomfortable”) is challenging enough in itself, so I was hoping they could entertain themselves with the IPAD for 40 minutes and leave me alone.

Right. Dream on.

After a blissfully uninterrupted half mile warm up, I cranked up the speed, and almost immediately noticed I had company. Miles walked up to the treadmill. He looked at it. He looked at me. He asked:

“Mommy, what are you doing?”

Uh….*pant pant*, I’m running *pant pant*. What does it look like I’m doing? *gasp gasp*

Satisfied, he walks away.

About 15 minutes later, and much more out of breath than before, Abby walks up to the treadmill.

“Mommy, what are you doing?”

…..I’M RUNNING.

“OH.”

Today I’m trying to squeeze 30 minutes on the bike trainer. The twins have seen me on this thing already at least 25 times. I get on the bike, I start pedaling, and low and behold Miles walks up and asks

“Mommy, what are you doing?”

*facepalm*

But wait, it gets better.

Unfortunately, although the twins are daytime potty trained, Miles STILL refuses to poop in the toilet 98% of the time. Finally recently he’s started feeling motivated by prizes. Over Christmas Bryan bought some trucks on clearance and showed them to him, telling him he could have them once he pooped. He’s earned one so far. Trying to follow in Abby’s footsteps, Miles decides he’s going to try, but then decides he can’t. I tell him that if he does go, there is a truck upstairs with his name on it.

“There are no names on the truck, mommy”

Well buddy, you got me there.

Something Yucky This Way Comes

Dogs do gross things.

As it turns out, so do toddlers.

I fully expected to scold the dogs for doing disgusting things. In fact, just a few days ago when Miles had a random vomiting spell, Bryan told me that Chance ate all of it while the two of them showered (ew, EW EW). What I didn’t expect was that I’d be scolding the toddlers for similarly odd things (no toddler ate vomit, I assure you).

Comment with  your guesses, and I’ll post the answers in a later post. Some are applicable to both.

Ready?

 

1. ” _____, don’t lick the oven.”

2. “Bryan, ____ got into the dirty diapers again.”

3. “Um, thanks for the dead bug.”

4. “_____, don’t eat Sadness.”

5.  “Bryan, ______ peed on the floor again.”

6. “UGH _______, why did you eat that?”

7.  “EW! _______ GET OUT OF THE GARBAGE!”

8. “I’m pretty sure ____ gave me something that was out of ____’s mouth.”

9. “I really wish_____ would stop licking the floor”

10. “_____, that’s not food”

 

No

A two year old’s favorite word is no. At the very least, it comes in right behind another word we hear often: MINE.

I have kids at work that say no to everything, which after awhile can become quite frustrating. So, instead ending up on a never ending train of “do you want this?” “no”, I just ask questions that end up with funny answers.

For example (and pardon the fact that I look like crap):

I’ve even tried “do you want a cooke?”, except every once in awhile this catches their attention and they respond with a “COOKIE!” and then I am in trouble.

Abby, who tends to say things a week or so behind Miles, started the same trend recently. Yesterday, after we returned home from a birthday party, Abby decided to go for a swim. As she sits there, I say “Abby, did you decide to swim? With all your clothes on?”

“No”

Say What? – Part 2 (and Jord Giveaway Winner)

2 year olds are interesting beings. The things they learn, and how quickly they learn them can be really astonishing.

Last week, both twins and I were sitting in the family room. I put together a car track for Miles and their favorite nursery rhymes (courtesy of You Tube and Little Baby Bum) were playing in the background. My parents bought the car track a few months ago and this was the first time he was really excited to play with it. I started to take a video of him playing with them when I realized Abby was reciting the ABC’s.

Miles names 4 numbers. Abby knows 7. Like, they can look at them and tell me what they are. I was amazed.

But, the funny ones are still my favorite.

This past weekend all of us were spending some time outside. Miles came over, exclaiming “bug!” (another one I didn’t know he knew) “its a bug!” Excitedly, he opens his small hand and releases a dead bug into mine.

Ew.

“It’s all done,” he says.

Yup, buddy. It sure is.

*For those of you who entered the watch giveaway – we have a winner! Kristy Hanselman – an email is coming your way! Congratulations!

Toddlers are …..Can be…..A-Holes

A friend of mine often tells me that when she leaves her kid with other people, they rave about how good he is, how well he listens, and how much fun he is to watch. But somehow, when he gets home, a switch goes off and he’s a completely different (sometimes mouthy) kid.

I get it now.

Miles’ daycare teachers love him. Every day they talk about what a great kid he is. I am always relieved to hear this of course (because who wants to be the one with the kid that causes all the trouble?) and we all drive home, happy.

The door opens, and more often than not: boom. He’s throwing cups, spoons, food at the dogs. He’s throwing a tantrum because I want him to ask me “please” to open the gate. He wants and cookie – I say no and the world as he knows it comes to an end. I’ve read before that kids tend to act the worst around their parents because they are the ones they know they can trust. They know, even if not consciously, that they can push and push and push your buttons and you will still love and cuddle them. I appreciate this sentiment. But sometimes man, when I’ve had a long day, I’d just love the kid to calm the heck down.

Today, Bryan tells me that Miles hits him. Not once, not twice, but three times. And the third time (after he was warned and stopped twice) he was put in time out, where he naturally threw a fit.

They are two. i get it. I love them, but for the love of Pete sometimes dude.  IT ISN’T THE END OF HUMANITY!

I do bedtime routine and take a shower. In my search for my missing hairbrush, I walk past their room, just in time to hear Miles say (in just about the sweetest voice ever) “Night night Abby”.

Sigh.

(Don’t forget to enter my Jord Watch giveaway!)

Life With Twins – 2 years

This post is insanely overdue (for me anyway), but after feeling more “forced” to than wanting to blog for the last month or so, I decided to take a couple weeks off and see if my motivation came back with it. Plus, it would be ridiculous to have completed every week from Week 1-52 and every month from ages 1-2 and then leave out the last one.

I’m not honestly sure what my plan is for “updates” from here forward. I do like having these to look back on, but not sure it feels necessary to keep going month by month. So the jury is still out on that one. The bonus of this age is toddlers tend to say and do quite few funny things, so I’m hoping to keep up updates using more of that “theme”.

I think the biggest change from last month to this month is just how different they are. Not from each other, necessarily (though they are) but more week to week or even day to day. They know things I had no idea they knew. They say things I’d never heard from them before. I’m not even sure how many words they have anymore. Yes, they still throw tantrums for crazy unpredictable reasons (Abby cried when I took them to the pool yesterday)  but for the most part, I’m surprised to find myself say I have really enjoyed this age.

I have been warned that things get more difficult around 2.5, so we will see.

Abby still LOVES her mirror.

Hi me!

Both loves music lately, which of course I love. Favorites: Row row row your boat, 10 in the bed, ABC. They also do hand gestures to the blessing they do every day at daycare, which is super cute. Miles is still the more talkative of the two, but Abby holds her own. She asks to “go to goose” (school). They do use words for most things but many are still pretty general (more, this etc) but they are learning new words every day and as long as they are using something in lieu of whining and screaming, I just repeat the word I’d like them to use and let it go. They still nap once a day. 12-2 at daycare and 1-3 at home. Bedtime gets pushed closer to 8:00 now that they are getting a solid 2 hour nap.

The best thing about this age, I think, is that they are just funny. For instance, Miles came to me with his pool floaties and insisted I put them on. Last week he climbed into the wagon and started to buckle himself in. Abby dances in front of the mirror whenever she can, and tells herself she is “so pretty”. She asks for “tickle tickle”. Miles opens and closes the door over and over while telling us “hi” and “byebye”. Abby sounds hilarious when she does her donkey sound (eee aw). It was hysterical when she got her name mixed up. Yeah, they do their share of kicking and screaming, but we do a lot of laughing too.

• Miles greets others from the comfort of his own front door

Hi!

• But he still knows what it means to be cool

The cheesiest

• The whole family doesn’t quite fit into the new house

MIIIINE!!

• We run a race

Ready to run

• We have a birthday

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• Abby accidentally has a twin

Hi, we dressed alike

• We take another trip to bee city

• We hang out at the pool

• Miles does some light morning reading

The high is 85 today

• Abby puts herself to work

I build things. Not really. but I look cute in this hat.

Videos!

I’m holding a mirror in front of her here..

For those that were interested, another post will be coming soon with another Plexus update (first post here, first update here, and second update here if you missed them), and the great people at Jord Watch agreed to another giveaway for Fathers Day!

What’s Your Name?

You gotta know your name, so we have been practicing with the twins.

Miles caught on first, and responded with the cute playful nick name Bryan uses: Mi Mi’s (pronounced my my’s). We thought it was so cute that we asked him constantly so we could hear him say his name. Eventually, Abby caught on too. Except since Miles’ name was the only one heard, she too thought the answer to “what is your name?” was “Mi mi’s”.

Well there’s one “complication” with twins that you don’t necessarily think about.

Our solution to the problem was to re-direct. So when we asked Abby what her name is and she responded with Miles’ name, we’d consistently say one of two things:

1) “No (nicely, of course), ABBY!”

2) “What? Abby!”

Then she’d repeat “AAAABBYYY” and we figured we were on our way.

Turns out, she took us literally.

(Translation: Mi Mi’s. No. What? Abby!)

Well, crap.

Life With Twins – 23 months

For once, I have very little to write.

(Nearly) two year olds are hilarious, frustrating, sweet jerks. Especially when they are both popping out 2 year molars. But they are my sweet jerks and I can’t imagine life without them.

I don’t have much specific to report, but they learn new things every day. We got out of the house to visit places and people more this month – parks/playgrounds, Easter egg hunt, visits with family, Bee City, runs in the stroller. Whatever gets them (and me, to be honest) outside. More time outside = less time to blog, but more fun.

• We support mom at a local race (she won!)

• We “help” mom in the garden

Mulch does IN the bucket

No, IN the bucket!!

• Miles “helps” me vaccuum

I clean!

• We take our first trip to Bee City

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• Yay warm weather!

pool time!

• We prove we CAN play with the same thing together, happily!

we CAN share, really

• We don’t get the Easter bunny thing, but we do like candy!

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• WEEEEEEE!

Abby Video Bomb

Miles waters…..something

Miles hi!

Abby counts

Sticks and Stones

It can be tough to be a kid. I’ve worked with a share of what many would consider the “underserved” population – kids who live miles from the nearest WalMart, without a car, and with much much less than my own kids have. Kids with family issues that leave you shaking your head. Kids with under involved parents. I’ve had more than one make a comment that he made seem like no big deal, maybe about someone who teases him at school. But even the kids with new clothes every season, loving families and all the advantages aren’t always left alone. Bullies go after the unsuspecting for reasons that aren’t even logical, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less.

I often find myself searching for something comforting to say. I’ve heard it so many times myself that I think I just repeat  without thinking- something to the effect of don’t worry about what other people think, or it doesn’t matter what they think. Let it roll off your back, like water off of a duck. The problem is, not only is that nearly impossible to do, it seems extremely invalidating. Nothing makes you feel like your feelings don’t matter than a “don’t worry about it”, even if the person muttering those words meant no harm.

Recently a member of a Facebook group I’m in posed a question (I’m paraphrasing as I don’t want to give anyone away) – are here any cures to care less about what people think?

The truth is, it doesn’t get much easier as an adult. Our brains are better developed to understand the logic  behind why someone might throw hurtful words at you, but often times it doesn’t take the sting of them away. The older the twins get, the sooner they will become susceptible to this kind of pettiness and, quite frankly, bullshit. It’s a virtual guarantee they won’t go through life without someone speaking badly of them, weather its to their faces or behind their backs.

One day, surely sooner than I’d like, one of them is going to come up to me crying because some kid said or did something mean to them. I want to be able to validate their sadness, but unfortunately there is no cure. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me? LIES.

I don’t know what to say. This is part of the reason why I run – because it helps me let go of anger and unfairness. I can sweat it off, both literally and figuratively. I can usually think it through.

People just suck sometimes. Words hurt. Kids are mean. Adults are assholes. That is the way the world is. It is ok to feel sad and it is ok to be hurt, but don’t let it take control. Find an outlet. Make a goal. Accomplish something, even if its just to show yourself, and no one else, that you can. Don’t stoop to their level. Strive to be better than that. You’ll do it. You’ll be mean, you’ll be petty, but recognize it and work to change it. Find friends who care. Sticks and stones may break your bones, words CAN hurt you.

Let it hurt, then use them to become stronger.