Insanity at it's Finest.

I was changing Amelia's diaper and she was squirming and wiggling and just being difficult.  When I got to the point where I felt like I was wrestling an alligator, I said, "Amelia, if you don't quit moving your legs, I'm going to cut them off."  She just looked at me like, "What are you talking about?"  She must have understood that her leg wiggling was a serious source of frustration for me at that point though because she behaved for the remainder of the diaper changing.

What's is the craziest thing you have said in a moment of frustration?

Learning Styles

Having twins can be such a cool thing for many reasons.  One of them is that I tend to pay more attention to the little things about them that I wouldn't notice if I had a singleton.  Since they are identicals, I think it's fun to try to find the differences in them.  It ensures that I treat them as individuals rather than as a unit.  I was recently telling someone about some of their differences when I realized that I already know their individual learning styles and I have really known them since they were very young.  I just didn't put it all together until this recent conversation.

When the girls were learning to roll over, Amelia tried and tried and tried.  Julia never did.  One day Julia rolled over.  The next day Amelia did.

Amelia took her first unassisted step at her first birthday party, but really didn't perfect walking until about 13 months.  Julia was happy to use her walker to keep up until she just started walking (quite well) one day when she was 13 months.

Since we introduced the potty (around a year old), Amelia has wanted to practice sitting on the potty and can now use it when she wants to.  Julia didn't show much interest in it until recently and she has begun using it at will.

It's probably not as obvious by reading this as it is having been there watching it happen, but Amelia most definitely learns by doing while Julia learns by watching.  I feel like I can parent so much smarter just by having realized this because now when I teach them I can do so by showing Julia as I do it with Amelia.  Okay, in all honestly, I've been doing that pretty instinctively anyway just because Julia doesn't want to do things right away.  So this really just means I can be more intentional now.

Domestic Diva = Mundane Momma

Julia has been running a fever for the last few days, so no pilates for Momma and Kid's Club for the girls and we had to cancel our playdate.  The girls have been mostly good while I've been trying to do a bunch of things that I've been needing/wanting to get done for awhile.  This morning we did a couple loads of laundry, then I shipped the girls out to the sunny backyard so I could make some crockpot banana bread.  I got the recipe from here.  I'll have to let you know how it turns out.  After mixing my dough, I made some mac-n-cheese for the girls.  While they were eating lunch, I vacuumed the living room and kitchen.  Once I laid the girls down for their nap, I mopped the kitchen floor and now, despite pre-naptime yawns from both girls and nearly an hour in their beds, they are still not asleep.

Plans for the remainder of the day include getting my bedroom picked up and making a trip to Wal-Mart for an Easter project.  Assuming all goes as planned (did I seriously just write that in a blog entitled Not According to Plan?) I will share my project on here when I finish.

While I've had a productive day, I think the girls are feeling a little neglected.  Maybe we can all play outside together if they ever decide to take a nap.

Like Father, Like Daughter

My dad has a lot of great qualities.  He is a big picture thinker with the ability to be completely objective.  He is really great with all four of his grandgirls and he's always been there for me when I needed something.

When I was in elementary school though, I commented to my dad that it was chilly outside.
He quickly responded with, "Are you sure it's not spaghetti?"

I was pretty sure it was the lamest thing I had ever heard.

Last night when Jonathan said that he didn't hear a peep from the girls room I quickly responded with, "Well I should certainly hope not.  They aren't chicks."

We always knew I was my father's daughter, but apparently I am becoming even more so with age.  Wow.

Love this picture.

The Perfect Easter Shoes - or not.

I ordered the perfect Easter shoes for the girls at Target.  Not only were they cute, but they were only $9.99 and buy one get one half off.  The shoes came yesterday.  Aren't they cute?

Too bad they don't fit.  That little elastic strap is super tight.

Now I'm on a quest for these from Payless.

Wish us luck.

Edit:  We found the shoes!  Payless is awesome because if they don't have your size (or enough pairs in your size) they give you a $3.00 coupon and a list of nearby stores that do have them in stock.  I am much happier with the quality of these shoes and the girls love them so much that they wore them to Target last night and at 7:43am already have them on again today.

Unexpected Issues

When thinking through the perks of having twins I usually always thank my lucky stars that nobody has the "oldest child" syndrome.  If you are an oldest you know what I'm talking about.  That horrible jealousy that you have because you were suddenly pushed out of the center of Mommy and Daddy's world.  I also thought it was great because when the next kid comes around (not any time too soon), the girls will completely grasp the concept of sharing with each other (not that they will).  What I didn't expect to happen was the following scenario:

My mom was watching my niece, who is almost two years older than my girls, and she wanted to come over to play with her cousins.  All was going relatively well until Amelia pulled out her Magna-Doodle.  Julia was playing with another toy.  Halla wanted to play with a Magna-Doodle too, so I got Julia's out for her.  Amelia came unglued.

"NO!  Sissy's!  Sissy's!"

Then at the library today, the girls climbed the stairs in the children's section to the platform with the silly mirror.  When other kids would try to climb the stairs they both yelled, "NO!  GO AWAY!"

Apparently it's okay if Sister is up there, but other kids are not welcome.

Don't we have an awesome children's section?

I guess since I think of my girls more as individuals than twins, I failed to realize that they are the only members of an exclusive club.  Starting daycare in June might just be a good thing for them.

All Mixed Up

We've been having some trouble getting the girls to go to sleep for naptimes and bedtimes.  You wouldn't believe the amount of screaming and giggling that comes from their room after lights out.  When I say lights out, I mean pitch black.  If there is any light they don't sleep, they play.  So after several weeks of us having to get very angry before they finally lay down and go to sleep, we decided Friday night to just leave them be until they finally put themselves to sleep.  Before Jonathan went to sleep he went back to check on them.  He came back and told me that Julia was asleep, but Amelia was standing at the door and seemed very confused, but he put her to bed and we didn't hear another peep out of them - until 1:00am.  That's when I heard a kiddo whining at her door.  I opened the door and saw Julia standing there - but her bed was already occupied.  Yup.  It was Amelia that Jonathan saw sleeping in Julia's bed, but because his eyes weren't adjusted yet, he just assumed it was Julia.  When I tried to lay Julia down in Amelia's bed, she pointed down at the mattress and said, "Bed?" in her cute little confused voice.  "I know this is Sissy's bed," I told her, "but she's sleeping in your bed, so you'll have to sleep in hers."  I guess she just needed to hear that it was okay because she finished off the night there.