Twin Tuesday: Daddy's DNA

Louis and Matthew check their phones while Sarah gets ready to pick programs for Tivo.

Sarah, The Diminutive Bully

This is Sarah. She is 2' 7.75" and weighs 20 lbs 2oz.

This is Matthew. He is 2' 8.75" and weighs 21lb 14oz.

Sugar and sweetness, right? Cuteness and bubbles, happiness and cuddles? Wrong.

You see, Sarah has an edge, a meanness streak and is the more aggressive of the two, while Matthew is more easy-going, mellow and forgiving. This combination means that Sarah literally pushes the poor guy around, and that he is at her peril, barring his toughening up and deciding to fight back.

Matthew and Sarah may be twins, but being "similar" does not mean being "identical". That they share the same spaces and schedules means there is no shortage of opportunities for their paths to cross. Should Matthew have a toy that Sarah wants, she will do what she can to get it. Should he be in her way, or even drinking his own milk from his own cup, when she has her own, she may decide she wants to be where he is or have his things, and she will physically intervene.

If Sarah spots Matthew has a popular toy, be it a book, a block, a stuffed animal, or even the TiVo remote, she will follow him and flat-out tackle the guy. She may grab the back of his outfit and pull him to the ground. She may smack him on the head with her open palm until she gets her reward. She may push him off a chair so she can sit there. And trust me, there's no remorse, even if he ends up in tears.

Yet it's clear Matthew would like nothing more than to please his sister. Every evening, as the two are put to bed in their cribs, we run the chance of hearing Matthew cry because, of all things, he has handed his blankets and stuffed animals over to her from crib to crib, and finding her asleep, he is alone and cold - requiring our intervention to retrieve said donated blankets and put them in their rightful place.

The twins just passed the 15 month stage, which means they are old enough to walk about with ease, but haven't yet mastered the art of communication, let alone sharing. Their early age makes clear discipline difficult as well. Aside from grabbing Sarah's arm on the way to hitting Matthew's cranium, or putting her in a strapped high chair to eat separately from him, there's not a whole lot of things we can do to protect his noggin from taking a flogging. And with his fair skin, if he gets pushed around, there is sure to be a red mark.

Last week, as Sarah read a book, having it open in her lap, Matthew walked by. Spotting him, she raised the book above her head and brought the spine down on him with an audible smack. That clearly took him by surprise.

The role Sarah takes in this relationship is much like the one I took with my younger siblings. Being the oldest of five, I made sure I could push my weight around and put the kids in their place. At one point, my parents even gave the younger siblings carte blanche to hit back, but most of the time, they didn't. Now, I can see it playing out in front of me, where Sarah, the younger (by minutes), smaller (by a pound and an inch), is being the bully. So don't let her cute smile fool you. She's plotting.

Twin Tuesday: Because I Can

One of the books I've been reading on raising twins says in order for them to be emotionally stable you should NEVER refer to them as "twins" and NEVER dress them in matching outfits. 

So I went out and bought them these:

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Please meet "my son and daughter who happened to be born on the same day," Matthew and Sarah.

Tis the Season

Candy and decorations are in the stores. The Halloween season is upon us. Time to start deciding on what costume to come up with. I had one of those moms that made all our costumes. I didn't even know that people actually BOUGHT costumes until I was much older and mom was no longer around with her sewing machine.

What I have noticed is that the costumes have, to be blunt, become more and more skanky over the years. And that's becoming the norm. Teaching secondary school for years, I've seen the progression of what teenagers think is perfectly acceptable to strut around in and think is "cute."

Let's say you want to be your basic witch.

A costume like this is what you might have once come up with

THIS:

OR THIS:

But now when you go to the store, this is the common theme for that basic costume:
Skanky, skanky, skanky... (hits to this site just went up with this picture)
But let us not dwell on adult tackiness. In perusing costumes for the little ones, I've come across some that "take the cake" for ridiculous. Let us begin...

The winner for MOST POLITICALLY INCORRECT KIDS COSTUME goes to...

"MEXICAN BOY" (applause please) Because all children south of the border dress this way.

Next, we have the winner for "YES, MY CHILD CAN BE A LAWN ORNAMENT"

"THE GARDEN KNOME" (shouts of congratulations can be heard)

Our next award for "FUTURE LOUNGE SINGER" goes to...

"CARMEN MIRANDA LOOK-A-LIKE"

Lastly, we have a tie for "COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE TWEEN COSTUME OR TRYING TO LOOK LIKE A TRAMP-IN-TRAINING" goes to

"HOTTIE LITTLE DEVIL" (yes, the actual name)

AND

"SEXY CHESHIRE CAT"

Any other nominations?

UK Trip

They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace-

Christopher Robin went down with Alice.

We saw a guard in a sentry box.

"One of the sergeants looks after their socks,"

Says Alice.

(this is part of the poem I read to the twins tonight before bed)

Blog Man is in London until Friday presenting for ecademy. According to them, he is the best Social Media Practitioner (SMP) in the world. Even though it's an honor to be living with the best SMP in the world I reminded him in order to not get a swelled head that even the best SMP's still change dirty diapers.

Miss you!

Twin Tuesday: Babababaababababababa

Matthew and Sarah have decided this past week that sleep is entirely over rated. It will be peaceful and quiet for about an hour after we put them down and then they let us know, very loudly, that it's much more fun to play with mom and dad . It could be that they both have molars coming in, but I think it's a conspiracy against us. So, the other night we sat them down for a lecture on the benefits of sleep. This is what they had to say:

Labor Day weekend

On Labor Day weekend Louis and I got away for our first trip overnight from the twinners. We dropped them off in Folsom with their Nana and Grandpa and then flew to LA to celebrate our friend Ash's wedding. Louis and Ash have been friends since Jr. High School in Chico. Louis was a groomsman and so we were there for a wedding weekend of activities. 

The wedding brunch for family, the wedding party, and friends.

Ash and Rob, the happy couple.

Getting fitted for tuxes.

The karaoke, coed bachelor party.

The wedding was at the historic Oviatt Penthouse in downtown LA. Think 1920's Hollywood art-deco. I loved walking around looking at the design. The rooftop where the wedding and reception were held were built with a pool and tennis court for the owner in 1927. He had sand imported from the Riviera to create a beach for his pool. The rooftop is now surrounded by LA skyscrapers but still a cool place for a wedding.(Maria, you would of LOVED the interior of the penthouse!)

Very classy

They had a traditional Jewish ceremony so Louis decided to hedge his bets and try Judaism for the night.

The ceremony was beautiful and the vows were some of the most loving I've ever heard. 

Ash's mom and grandmother with Louis behind them.

"Yeah, we did it!"

Ash and his twin brother Don, the best man. These two are most identical looking fraternal twins you will meet.

Lily, the baby of a high school friend of Ash and Louis. Look at that pudge! It makes me almost want some more. (I said ALMOST.)

Romance on the rooftop at sunset.

Don and Louis

Of course it wouldn't be a Jewish wedding without the Hava Nigila.

Meanwhile..... 

Our kids were with their grandparents:

Swimming with the dog,

floating in the sun, 

exploring,

and having story time. Life is rough!

Thank you so much Nana and Grandpa!

Bear Flag Republic

California became the 31st state on September 9, 1850. 

The first capital was in San Jose, then Vallejo, Benicia, and finally moved to Sacramento.

Happy Admission Day!

I still remember learning about California history in the 4th grade. I don't know anyone that grew up in the California public schools that didn't have to build a model of a mission,  or read a Steinbeck or Jack London book.

Oh, and the girl who won for best mission project totally had her engineer dad make actual abode bricks, wired it for light and had the fountain squirting water in the courtyard. 

(Not that I'm still bitter or anything.)

(random picture stolen off Flickr)

Twin Tuesday: Blast From the Past

We've been out of town so here is an old pic from when the twins were 7 months old. I can't believe how big they got so fast! In this picture they are just starting to crawl and now I'm chasing them as they run off in two different directions.

I Need to Go Read a Book Now

First class last night

Know all viewpoints about causes of the Cold War.

Twins found my discussion fascinating during lunch.

First book review due Tues. 

All about the US's role in European integration.

My head hurts.

Twin Tuesday: In Sync With Each Other