Showing posts with label Multiples and More. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Multiples and More. Show all posts

Friday, April 2, 2010

Twins mean never taking a break

I'm taking a break from Friday's Featured Cause - to talk a little bit about one of the biggest causes in my house.  (don't worry, you'll have a new feature next week).

The biggest cause in our house is not usually the chd, it is usually a four letter word.

TWIN.

Or sometimes a five letter word

TWINS.

It is amazing how two little people can cause so much chaos in one house.


The twins are 7 now, and I have attempted to get used to the fact that we have twins.  I refer to them as the twins, only to seperate them from little man.  Little man cannot do many of the things they can, so they have a different set of rules.  But in our house I call them by their names (except for when I say the wrong name, heaven forbid).  They are two different people who happen to look a whole lot alike and share the same birthday.

To be honest, all the boys in my house look alike.  They are all blonde haired and blue eyed just like their Daddy.  I'm the one who gets to deny them with my dark hair and green eyes.

The twins only stand out because they also happen to be the same height, carry the same facial expressions, and happen to be able to read each other's minds on occasion.  And on occasion it still drives Mommy NUTS!

Listening to them tell me about their day at school now requires raising of hands.  Otherwise the competition to talk, the completing of each other's sentences and the volume level all leave me not knowing who actually did what.  Just because they know what happened to each other doesn't mean I do.

Nuts is also what happens when Mommy accidentally switches someones lunch.  I have color coded most everyday items in our house to simplify life.  T1's favorite color is red, so his bookbag, lunchbox, jacket and bat bag are all also red.  T2's favorite color is blue - so there you are.  It works great, except when Mommy is in a rush and doesn't pay attention to which bag she grabs and puts it in the wrong bookbag.  "MOMMY HOW COULD YOU?" is the response I get when they return home.  As if they don't have the exact same lunch (somethings are actually the same).

When they try to yell at their tone deaf Mommy from across the yard, I think they go nuts.  Mommy only gets their screaming from an acre away voices right 50% of the time.  For some reason that gets on their nerves.

Bedtime is still rough, although it isn't as nutty as it used to be.  We've never quite mastered the don't pester your brother when it is time to go to sleep.  It is a whole lot easier than it was, just not great.

There are a lot of things I've learned about twins in the past seven years, and I know I still have a lot left to learn.  They are two very different people, they just have a lot in common.  As their Mommy I work hard to take care of them both at the same time, while adjusting to their individual needs.  But still, when they were very little and I had no sleep, I would sit rocking them both and think "thank God, I didn't have triplets." 

When you are looking for a break, I've got the spot for you.
Today's post was inspired by the blogiversary at Multiples and More.  It's a great group that I have been a part of since right after I started blogging.  If you are looking to find out more on twins, triplets, quads, quints, then hop on over there.  Plus they have a ton of giveaways to celebrate this week!!!


Multiples and More: Blogaversary Celebration

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Who is smarter?

For all of you stopping by from Multiples and More - HELLO!  For those that don't know, Multiples and More is a great blog dedicated to parents of twins, triplets, quads, etc - hence the name Multiples and More.  They are fabulous! Each week they present articles for parents on everything from what type of stroller to buy to books for parents.  And of course they feature readers/parents of multiples - which today is on ME!  YIPEE!




On to the matter at hand - who is smarter?

That ignorant question got asked by an older gentlemen to my twins while standing in line at Golden Corral Friday night.  I about fell over.  He apparently knew they were twins, and wanted to ask something witty, but really - who is smarter? 

Twins find themselves loving each other, but also in constant competition with each other.  As parents, many of us work hard not to compare them.  They are two different people, who happen to have been born at the same time.  Just like we all have our strengths and weaknesses so do they.

T2 was good, he answered "Well I'm smarter in math, but he is smarter in reading."  T1 got upset at the beginning of the statement, hearing that he wasn't as good at math, but then realized what T2 was saying was true.  They are different, while their aptitudes are very similar, T1 just gets reading faster.  And T2 gets math faster. 

The man didn't know how to respond.  What did he expect, one of them to say "I am!"  Not in my house.  No one is "smarter" than anyone else, or "better" than anyone else.  We are all different and all good at different things.  It may be easy to compare twins, but really, let's not make it worse on them than it already is.

What questions to people ask your kids that you hate?