Kids Really Do Come Different

 

Having two kids the exact same age has taught me that kids really do just come different.  I think any parent with more than one child probably knows this, but when the kids are at the exact same stage developmentally, it really is exaggerated. 

For example (and I could list a million), Lilly is a night owl and Maya is a morning person.  It's funny, more than once at night, coming from the twins bedroom I'll hear Lilly say (in a very perky, playful voice) "Maya, are you awake?"  To which a groggy, sleep-filled voice responds, "Lilly, I'm tired! Go to sleep!"  Don't get me wrong, Maya has taken part in her share of after-bedtime exploits....this in particular comes to mind...but for the most part, Maya is asleep well before Lilly.

As you can imagine, Maya also wakes up before Lilly.  Poor Addison is very aware of this.  Lately Maya has been going into Addison's room probably 15-20 minutes before I wake them up in the morning to ask her sister if it's time to get up, if they can play, or if Addison can help her with some problem she's having (such as no more toilet paper on the roll).  Addison, being the saint-of-a-child that she is always helps her sister when needed, or gently sends her back to bed.  But 15-20 minutes before a wake up call is that awful time when you just can't really get back into a deep sleep, especially if you've gotten out of bed.  On a regular basis lately, when I come to get the older girls up, I'm met with a groan from Addison with an exclamation of, "Why Maya, Why???"  Poor kid.  I am going to have a talk with Maya about not walking her sisters up before it's light outside.

Usually Naps are no exception to the late-to-fall-asleep and early-to-get-up pattern that the twins fall into, but this day was an exception.



Hannah woke up well before I expected the twins to wake up, and asked if she could play with her play-doh that she got for Christmas.  Now, my husband is a ceramic artist.  I try to encourage 3D play whenever possible.  But I have to say, I am SICK of this play-doh.   Part of the problem is that the table where they play with it (and really the only place to play with it in the house) is in this awkward place that is mostly on hardwood floor, but partially on carpet.  Which means play-doh ALWAYS gets on the carpet, and is seriously a huge pain in the rear-end to clean up.  Especially when I'm feeling like this. 

But, like I said, I didn't expect the twins to be up for a while, and Hannah isn't too bad about keeping it clean, so I said yes.  Unfortunately, as soon as she had actually pulled everything out and started playing, I saw a hesitant Lilly peeking through the railing on the stairs.  I couldn't tell Hannah she had to clean it up now.  She had just barely gotten it out.  So I accepted the fact that I would have to do some serious clean up and told Lilly she could play too...wondering why on earth she woke up before Maya.

I also figured I had better take some pictures because I really wasn't sure that the play-doh would ever come out again.








In the end it wasn't so bad.  And I realized just how genius the idea of getting the twins brooms for their birthday was.  By the time Maya came up, the play-doh was put away, but when I told them to grab the brooms and sweep up the mess, even she was excited to join in.  The play-doh may see another day after all. 

And as I later pondered the discrepancy in the sleep-wake pattern on this particular day, I realized that, most likely, the reason Lilly was so hesitant to come up stairs was that she hadn't fallen asleep at all, but rather saw her sister quietly exit her bedroom, and moments later, followed suit. 

A Style All Her Own

So I pretty much let Addison and Hannah pick out their own clothes.  Most of the time anyway.  I do give occasional advice, "Usually people don't wear tights as pants." And sometimes I force them to change clothes, "No, you may not wear flip flops.  There's four inches of snow out there!"  (Sometimes I think being a Californian may be hereditary).    And every so often...mostly when I actually have some sort of formal picture plans for the day...I will choose an outfit for them.  But really, about 95% of the time, I just let them wear whatever the heck they choose to put on.

I have several reasons for this.  First of all, when I was a kid, I always hated when people made me wear something.  Whether I liked the outfit or not, I hated being told what to wear.  So I try to interfere as little as possible.

Also, I'm lazy.  Usually I just tell the girls to go down stairs and get dressed, and pray that they don't find the flip flops I hid when it began snowing.  I am busy enough getting the twins ready in the morning, the more the older girls can do for themselves the better.

And finally, I really enjoy seeing what outfits my kids come up with.  Some times I find it humorous, sometimes impressive, and sometimes mind boggling.

Lately I have especially enjoyed seeing the outfits Hannah has come up with.  Bart calls her Punky Brewster.  He loves the crazy quirky ensembles she comes up with. Her latest trend is wearing swimsuits over top of her clothes.  It happened several times before spring break, and then again this morning.  But today, at bedtime, when she came up with last year's swim suit over top of her warm winter pajamas, I decided it was time to take a picture.

As Bart pointed out (between hysterical fits of laughter), "At least nobody's going to think we're the ones who dress her."

Pleasantly Surprised

I don't normally post pictures from my phone (and these pictures are especially bad because the light in my kitchen is so terrible) but I just had to share this story with you, and I knew it would be all over before I could get my real camera, so I just grabbed the phone in my pocket and started snapping.

Bart was gone this weekend for a conference, so I (foolishly) tried to get the house really clean and organized all on my own to surprise him when he got home.  It was a nice idea in theory, but the end result was a semi-clean house (I still have to sweep and mop my dang floors!) and a tired me who had worked nine hours straight attempting to clean in what felt like a tornado of toddlers.

Well, I finally decided I was just done for the day, so I fed the kids, turned on the TV, and went to the back room to lay down and attempt to figure out why such a crazy notion entered my head and how I could prevent it from ever happening again.

While I was back there, I heard an odd sound, but I was so tired it didn't really register.  The sound went on for another few minutes, and finally it clicked: trash bags!  I knew I had been hearing the sound for a few minutes, and that Addison (the only person who might legitimately be using a trash bag) was enthralled in the show I had put on.

I decided there were two courses of action.  Either I run out there to what was, undoubtedly, a room full of trash bags, chide the individual responsible for the disaster and attempt to cajole her into picking her mess up, or I lock my bedroom door and just wait for Bart to get home and deal with it (a VERY tempting prospect since I knew he would be home fairly soon).

It took all the motivation I could muster to pull me up off that bed, but I finally was able to do it, and when I got into the kitchen I saw this:

  Do you see what is going on?!?!?!

My TWO YEAR OLD was taking out the trash!!!

Albeit it wasn't perfect.

But it's a HECK of a lot better than trash bags all over the room.

Next I think I'll try teaching her how to do her own laundry.

The Law of Unintended Consequences

So a few months ago I was attempting to bathe my children.  As I was trying to undress the twins, one of them (I can't even remember which) was giving me a very hard time.  She did NOT want to get undressed.  Drawing on my extensive mothering knowledge (insert laugh here), I thought, "I know!  I'll make it a game." 

So, I started to move her legs and arms like she was dancing and sang, "Naked, naked, naked." It worked like a charm.  Soon each of the kids were dancing around, in their birthday suits singing, "Naked, naked, naked!"  From there it was easy to corral them into the shower and get everyone clean.  I had turned a potential power struggle into a cheerful, fun situation.  I felt as though I was a wonderful, competent mother. 

Unfortunately, that day I taught my children something I never intended.  I now regularly find them stripped down to their diapers/undies (or less), dancing around the house singing "Naked naked naked!" 

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the law of unintended consequences in action.