Entries in the Category "Stories"
The Rock
This story is for Cheryl because she liked the milk story so much.
Last night when I was picking the boys up from daycare, Dale kept sticking his finger up his nose. "Get your finger out of your nose," I yelled at him. On the way home, I see his got his finger in his nose again. So I told him to stop doing that we'd get a Kleenex when we got him.
Well get got home and in the typical rush to get dinner on the table, I forgot about the fingers in the nose. That is until after dinner when he did it again. So I said "Come here I want to see your nose." Sure enough there is something in there. Since I'm a full fledged MOM who has seen far worse than a slimy boogie come out of her 2nd born son, I started to stick my pinky finger up there to get it out.
Whoa!
What's that?? It's hard! ....Wait a Minute.... that's not a boogie!
It's a rock!!
"Dale is that a rock in your nose?"
A little too quickly, "No Mommy."
"Dale, tell the truth, Is that a rock in your nose?"
"Yes Mommy" (In a rush of breath), "But-the-ant-put-it-there. He held-me-down-and-he-used-his-hands-to-put-the-rock-in-my-nose-and-that's-how-it-got-there." (big dramatic breath)!
"hmm. The Ant put it there?"
"Yes Mommy"
"Well when did he put it there?"
"While I was on the playground. ...At school."
"Well we have to get it out. It can't stay there"
Off I went in search of the perfect tools for a rock appendectomy. But alas I cannot locate my trusty tweezers. I call the doctor's office since thay are open late, hoping I can see the nurse to use her big handled tweezers. Nope. No luck. I need an appointment and they are closing in 40 minutes. Take him to the Urgent Care place they recommend.
I'm silently cursing my luck that I had to be the lucky one to get two boys. Knowing full well in less then a week, I'd be doing to same thing because Chip would do it next, when I realized we hadn't tried blowing the nose like nurse suggested.
I covered his good nostril and said "Blow." Which of course he does....right out his mouth like he's blowing candles out.
"No. No. No. Blow with your nose like you're blowing a boogie."
He toots a little but it didn't move much. He did it again. Not much movement.
"One more time" I say. "But suck in all your breath like this." [imagine big over the top cartoon breath sucking] "and blow your nose."
That worked! The stone moved to the end of the nostril and I was able to get it out.
I'm looking at the stone congratulating myself for saving a 3 hour trip to the urgent care place when he said "Mom, put it back in. We have to go to the doctor."
Oh no we're not buddy!!
I said, " Do you want to go see the doctor or do you want mommy to save $100 that she can use to by your birthday toys?"
"I want the toys."
And off he went to go play.
The End.
About a Penny More
Here's a story my Mom would have enjoyed. I can hear her now.
Today my eldest twin did one more thing to cement his "firstness" as the older child in their diad. He now costs 1 cent more then his brother.
That's right folks- he ate a penny!!
I was cleaning the bedroom and he says "Look mommy- penny." He had the penny in his hand. A second later I realised this would not have a happy ending, so I asked where the penny was and he opened his mouth and said "mouff." I looked- no penny. So I said to Chip, "Did you put the penny in your mouth?"
"Yes."
"Where is the penny now?"
"In mouff."
So in a few days- we may find the penny again- but I really don't want it back.
Funny Church Stories
Recently we noticed that when singing in the car with Chip- he will clap and shout "Yea!" at the end of what ever was being sung. Wheels on the bus..Yea! Row Row Row your boat....YEA!
At my niece's baptism yesterday, we noticed it's not just funny songs in the car. At the end of every church hymn we heard this small voice shout out "YEA!" followed by a giggle and some clapping.
It was cute to see someone so young- enjoying church. It was like his own personalize prayer to God. Alleluia! Yea! I agree! We are blessed!
Carrots
We were outside having dinner. The kids were running around. A soft breeze was blowing. A beautiful lazy summer evening. Until I noticed that Dale's hand was all black like he'd stuck it in a charcoal bag. We went and washed his hands and back to playing he went. A few minutes later he came over to the table and wanted to have a carrot stick. He trotted off munching said carrot stick. A few minutes later he was back for another carrot stick but this time his hands were all black again.
We go wash again and this time I'm determined to make sure he stays away from the gas grill. But I'm asking myself "How did his hands get charcoaly from a gas grill? They should be black and greasy." Here he comes for a carrot stick.
Guess where the carrot stick went? Up the tail pipe of the SUV! That's right...My child was pulling an Eddy Murphy Banana-up-the-tail-pipe!!!!
Guess we know how he feels about carrots!
Be careful what you wish for
Well I've told enough of you about getting the boys evaluated for speech and how I do wish they were able to express themselves somewhat in hopes that it would help allievate some of the problems we have at home. All I can say now is ...BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!!!
Chip recently picked up a new word. He uses it ALL the time. About 30 times a day. And he says it correctly! So what new word has he learned you want to know?
"ah shit."
Chip drops a toy. "ah shit."
Dale steals a toy from Chip- "ah shit."
Chip can't reach something -"ah shit."
Apparently 2 little girls at day care are saying it now. I've had to turn down play dates because I don't want to explain why I'm a bad mom and my child is swearing correctly at 20 months old.
Update 6/27/2006
Chip has Finally stopped saying this word. Yea!
Imitation
We are starting to see the emergence of imaginative play with the boys. I swear it is so fascinating to watch these things develop day by day. We are also seeing the beginning of imitation.
I read that at around 19 months toddlers want to help with chores around the house so they imitate the things they see you do- wipe a table, put silverware in the dishwasher, fold laundry, etc.
Yesterday I saw Dale imitate an action he must have seen thousands of times. The boys where playing in the basement, when I saw Dale walk over to Chip and try to check and see if his diaper was dirty. He grabbed the back of his shirt, lifted it up, and then grabbed the back of his pants and pulled them out. Then he looked. I was cracking up. It was so funny. He didn't even have the diaper so he was basically looking down Chip's pants. Chip was standing perfectly still letting him look. And he's my favorite part, Dale was the one who had the dirty pants!!! It was as if he was looking for the source of the smell and it was coming from him!! What a riot!
Duck, Duck, Goo
Recently, we gathered with friends for the evening and had a pleasant time. My friend Fesko walked into the host’s kitchen to get food or an adult beverage, as he passed each child on the way in he patted them on the head and said “Duck. Duck. Duck. Goose.” Dale was sitting on my lap and turned to watch Fesko interact with each child. The next day it started.
Dale walked up to a pile of stuffed animals and said “Duck. Duck. Duck. Duck.” As he patted each one on the head. Then it morphed into walking past the couch touching the cushions saying, “Duck. Duck. Duck.” Every once in a while he would say “Duck. Duck. Duck. Goo.” Which was pretty funny.
It’s been two weeks since our dinner with friends and Dale now sits on the floor with toys calling them a Duck. He points to the box of Kleenex and says “Duck.” You give him a bottle of milk and he says “Duck.” They only time he doesn’t say Duck is when he sees Pumpkin and calls her a “Cat.” Which is correct because Pumpkin is a cat. Of course he also called the neighbor’s dog a “Cat” last night.
More stories from the Stupid File
Yesterday, I took the boys to the grocery store because we were out of the oh so needed MILK. I used to love the grocery store. I loved going and figuring out what great culinary delights I was going to make that week. Now I hate the grocery store. It is not designed to go shopping with small children. When the boys were still in their car carriers I couldn't put them both in a cart. Sure one carrier fit on the front seat but where does the other one go? It doesn't fit across the cart, it barely fits in the cart. And what's the point of putting the child in the cart if that's where you are supposed to put your groceries??
So when I had to go to the store I'd take them in with their stroller. Worked Ok for a while and only if you were buying a few things that you could put in the basket under the stoller. One a few occasions I have tried to buy more by pulling a cart around after me but that's more difficult that it sounds because the stroller really requires two hands to maneuver otherwise you're running into the displays at the end of aisles.
Now the kids are walking (ok running) and don't want to be in the stroller. So what do you do? Well they have those kid carts. Tried that once. They were really too little for it because they couldn't follow one step directions yet. Plus now they are at grocery level and can reach out and pull things off the shelves. Yeah! Fun. More bending over for me to pick things up.
One day at Giant Eagle I see a twin cart! Yea! A Twin cart! It puts both kids up in front near you with their legs dangling towards the groceries. So you can talk to them and keep them entertained while shopping. But the store only has one cart. And they don't have it at all of their stores. It's hit or miss if I am going to get one when I go in.
Ok, I've gotten away from the story I wanted to tell. Yesterday we went shopping. I could not find a twin cart, or even a little car cart, so we were stuck with a regular cart. I put a basket down below for the food. Two minutes into our trip, this older woman stops us and wants to know if their twins. Nope just felt like complicating my grocery store experience by bring my neighbors kids with me.
"They don't look a like" she says.
I said, "No they don't because they are fraternal but you can tell they are brothers."
"Well who do they look like", she wants to know?
I told her they look like their dad and his brother.
"Well that's stupid" she said. "Everyone knows that twins should look like each other."
Thanks I'll make sure to tell God when I meet him upon my death.
"And if they don't look like each other then one should look like mom and one should look like dad."
"Sure", I say, "that would be great but I'm happy with my children's looks and I think it's great that we can readily see the family resemblance."
Then she says to me, "Did you hear about this one woman who broke up with her boyfriend and had sex with him?"
Um, no I didn't but I hear that happens a lot when people break up. Thanks for sharing.
Seriously though, I thought she was telling me a joke. It just had that set up. Then she tells me that the woman went and had sex with her new boyfriend the next day and she got pregnant with twins and each child was fathered by a different man. She heard that each man was fighting for custody of his offspring.
Then she asks me, "Do you know what happend in that case? Because I never heard the outcome?" Well let's see, I'd have to consult the manual they gave me at the hospital, or was that the one I got when I joined the twins club? Well in any case I'd have to check one of the manuals They gave me that makes me an expert on all things twins and get back to you.
(sigh) I swear. As Hubby says, "Stupid People Rule!"
Giggles
A lot of people talk about how twins have their own language when they are young. I've seen it first hand. It's called giggling.
I've noticed that every time I'm in the car with the boys, I hear a lot of giggling in the back seat. It usually goes on for a few minutes and then dies out. Sometimes it looks like they are trying to play Peak-A-Boo with each other by hiding in their car seats. Tonight we were driving across town on our way to a friends house, so we were in the car a little longer then usual. After a while the Hubby pokes me and nods towards the back seat to see if I'm paying attention.
Chip was blowing raspberries to make Dale laugh. Dale would start giggling and then Chip would let out this big belly laugh which would make Dale laugh harder before Chip would squeal and then blow more raspberries. After a while Dale starts trying to make Chip laugh but by this point he's been laughing so much that he's sore from laughing. He's trying to blow raspberries and all he's doing is basically spitting in his face and laughing. At this point Hubby and I are laughing at them laughing at each other.
One of these days I've got to record one of our drives across town. Before the kids get talking! Somehow I don't think it will be as much fun when they can tattle on each other. But I can hardly wait to see what Potty Humor will be like with my two little comedians!
Bring me Your feet
Chip did the funniest thing on Saturday. We were asking Dale to bring us things and he was. It was really cute plus we really got to see what words he knew as he brought us the cow, or the shoe, or Elmo.
So Hubby asks Chip to bring him his shoe. Now Chip is in this wild mood. Crazy giggling, running every where, super hyped. He picks up the shoe but keeps dancing out of reach of Hubby as he's trying to give it to him. He'd get close then would run away screaming in laughter. He did the "crazy approach and run away" a few more times. Finally he flings the shoes to Daddy and runs away laughing his head off.
Now Daddy wants to put them on him so he's trying to coax Chip into coming over to him. Chip keeps dancing just out of reach. So I say to him "Chip, bring me your feet." He reaches down grabs his toes and starts trying to lift his feet off the ground from a standing position. Then he moved his one leg forward a little bit and reaches for the other foot. He had this totally perplexed look on his face, like "Why can't I pick them up?" It was priceless. Hubby and I were literally rolling on the floor gasping for breathe. It was soooooo dang funny! I just love him so much. Silly little man.
Best Day Ever
The day dawned Sunny and Bright.
On Monday Chip & Dale and I went to the Zoo with another twin mom and her b/g twins (Pebbles and Bam-Bam) who are 3 days younger then mine. We had a great time. Dale loved the pygmy monkeys. He'd point and smile and look at me to see if I was looking at them. Then he's clap his hands and smile at the monkeys. Pebbles kept calling Chip "baby." I thought it was so cute. Chip really likes her. Dale likes to hang out with Bam-Bam. It's cute to see your children interact with other kids once in a while. There was hardly anyone at the zoo so we let the kids run around a little and then we had a big lunch and went home. They must have ate well because the boys were fast asleep by the time we exited the parking lot.
When they woke up, they were in such a good mood. I was watching them as I prepped dinner. They were sharing toys and not fighting. I saw them hug each other once. They were babbling away in a way that sounded so much like a real conversation with pauses and different inflections for excitement and interest. I was imagining they were "talking" about the monkeys and how neat they were.
They started to get a little fussy so I let them watch Sesame Street on Tivo. Dale got so excited when he heard the music start that he ran to the tv with this HUGE smile on his face. Then he turned around and ran to me, gave me a huge bear hug and the biggest smile ever before he ran back to the tv and sat down to watch Elmo. I felt like the biggest hero. Apparently he thought it was a pretty good day too!
We finished off the night with a big family giggle tickle fest that had us all rolling on the floor giggling and gasping for breathe before they went to bed and fell fast asleep.
ahh I love days like this. These are the days I wish I could bottle and revisit later.
Mommy and Daddy's Big Night Out!
In the 13 months since our children were born my husband and I have been out by ourselves- (are you ready for this?) twice!! Not counting the week we took off in the summer to work on the house, while the kids were in day care. We did sneak in a movie or 2 that week during the day.
This past weekend, we finally went out. On a Date. Sans Children. So where does one go after such an abscence from the social scene? Why bowling of course!
A friend of mine babysat for me with her friend along as re-inforcement. (because 2 on 2 is easier then 1 on 2- let me tell you!) All week long I looked forward to our night out. It wasn't until I was telling Romana1 and Perseph all about the kids and their routine, that it hit me! I'm leaving my babies for a night out. Logically you know you are leaving your child with people you trust (or why else would you have asked them?) but you find yourself thinking "I know how hard this is. I do it everyday. Will they be ok with people they don't know who will do things differently then we do? Is the routine important or the meeting of the needs?"
Well turns out, it's the meeting of the needs. And they must have been met well since the house was still standing and the boys woke up very happy the next day.
In fact, I think Dale was trying to tell me all about the night before. He never stopped chattering all through breakfast! And every once in a while, Chip would jump in as if to clarify a point of the story. (too cute!)
When Romana1 walked in the door that night, Dale went right to her and put his head on her shoulder. It was adorable! He either felt very comfortable with her or she reminded him of Grandma since they are about the same height and both have glasses.
Pumpkin Muffins
This morning I'm changing Dale. He's still sleepy and he's making cute lovey faces at me, so we were spending some quality time together. I knew that Chip was behind me on the floor. I assumed he was playing with a toy or finishing off his bottle. I was wrong.
He was sitting on the floor, oh so quietly smashing up my pumpkin muffin. It was every where. Sigh. Thank goodness for Dustbusters.
After that he was in an exteremly good mood. He babbled and giggled all the way to day care in the car and smiled at everyone as we walked in to the building. It makes it hard to leave. I want to be around him when he's happy like that. It's contageous.