Well, That Stunk

We had an interesting chain of events in the last week at our house.  First, I took Tuesday off of work to clean our house for relatives to visit.  Let's face it, that's about the only way I have time to make our home presentable to what I feel is an appropriate standard for visitors.  Then, Grandpa Dan was delayed a day because of car trouble.  Our daycare provider took a sick day on Wednesday and since I already stayed home from work the day before, Daddy fielded that one and took that day off of work. 

Then Thursday I shuttled Sam and Anna to daycare (Which is not our usual routine and means that I have about 5 minutes of their awake time before we get in the car.  It's rough to get twin toddlers out the door before 7 am!) because Daddy and Grandpa went turkey hunting in the morning.  Sam may have seemed extra cranky in the morning, but they usually are when I have to get them up early and drop off at daycare a half hour earlier than usual.  He also coughed a nasty little cough which made me hesitate for one second and consider staying home, but since they were knee-deep in colds at the time, I kept getting Sam and Anna dressed as fast as I could anyway.  I hadn't even pulled into the school parking lot at work 30 minutes after drop off before I got a call from daycare that she was certain that Sam had croup.  I walked to the office before even getting to my classroom and had them call a substitute in before I turned around and left to get him and bring him to the doctor.  Sam, of course, would not cough once for the pedi, but we thankfully left armed with a Rx anyway.

Friday Sam seemed much better, so we did bring them to daycare that day.  However, when I picked  Sam and Anna up after school (pretty soon after they woke up from their nap), we discovered that Anna had a fever that started climbing once she woke up.

Our plan for months was to leave Sam and Anna with their Grandpa Dan (who was visiting to turkey hunt anyway) and Aunt Mary Saturday to Sunday so that Daddy and I could go to a wedding of old college friends a 4+ hour drive away.  We were planning of course, to stay overnight.  I had been looking forward to this ever since we got the Save the Date because these are the last of our college friends to marry and quite possibly the last wedding to attend with the old group.  We rarely get to see these friends and so both of us were and are extremely sad about it.

Sam's croup and Anna's fever, of course, prevented that.  Ibuprofen broke Anna's fever but not before I saw her at the most lethargic I've ever seen.  Sam's cough got better, but still interrupted all his sleep day and night for days so he was a cranky,  mama-clingy mess all weekend.

Now Monday Anna's fever is all gone.. but now she's coughing (not croup-like yet) and Sam's still not himself, but less crabby and clingy.  We missed the wedding and our friends a lot, and sick kids makes my heart just hurt for them.  Needless to say, we're looking forward to a better week ahead, hopefully filled with better, happier and healthier days!

Anna's Doppelganger

 Sam and Anna's daycare provider pointed out yesterday that the little girl from the movie We Bought a Zoo looks an awful lot like Anna... and after looking at a photo of Maggie Elizabeth Jones, I agree.  She's got the same face shape, forehead, eyes, eyebrows, jaw line, and curl to her hair.  The nose and lips are close.  Just the reddish tint to her hair is missing. 

This is the best recent photo I have with Anna looking right at the camera.  Can you see the similarities?

Mama Confessions Part 2

I have a confession to make:  My twin toddlers are over 2 years old, and I still don't have this juggling act down.  It's hard to balance the working-full time kindergarten teacher me (which is more than a 40 hour a week job), with the mama me, with the wife me, and the ME me.  I still don't feel like I've got it figured out.  It feels like no matter what I do, I'm shortchanging somebody.  And nobody is getting 100% of what I want to give them.  If I stay late at school to dig myself out of the huge to-do list there, I feel guilty about leaving Sam and Anna at daycare longer.  If I stay up later to get something done at home, I'm short-changing myself and getting too little sleep to function well.  And often I'm too tired to give adequately of myself all the way around.  My only reprieve is the summertime, when I can hang up my teacher hat for a few months and rebalance a little bit better.

I want to be a great mom, a great teacher, a great wife and a put together me all at the same time.  Some days it feels like that just isn't possible. 

My co-teacher reminded me that women today are doing things in a way that wasn't happening before.  Besides working outside the home (this isn't meant to be a SAHM vs. WAHM debate- I am not going there), there just isn't the family support that used to exist.  I know that due to distance, we personally face a harder path because Grandmas and Grandpas or other relatives aren't there to help most of the time.  99% of the time, my husband and I are fielding things on our own (when not at work). 

The ever onslaught of technology in today's world is a huge time-suck too.  I feel badly if I'm way behind in uploading pictures on face.book, or on our shutter.fly share site for the out-of-state grandparents, or even if I've been absent in posting on my blog.  Stuff that wasn't even conceivable to have on the to-do list a few short years ago.  I wander onto pinterest in the evenings when I'm too tired to do anything else but sit on the couch, and I am reminded of what all the other stellar parents are doing with their kids, or what all the phenomenal kindergarten teachers are using to educate their students. 

I  read this article the other day, and it spoke to me.  If you haven't read it yet, I highly suggest you do.  I don't have magnetic, alphabetized spice containers, the only parties I host are the birthday sort for 2 year olds so garden parties thematically accessorized with butterfly lanterns aren't even in my dreams, and I overcook mac and cheese so bunny buns make me sarcastically laugh out loud.  I may occasionally make blogs posts with things I do with Sam and Anna that are from pinterest... but realistically speaking here, I have a teaching license that thousands of dollars later says I should be able come up with that kind of stuff to do with anyone's kids; not just my own.  When Anna's hair was in those cute french braided pigtails, it was made possible by Sesame Street youtube videos.  I may shower every day, but I rock the same sweatshirt every weekend and the no-work days sans make-up are becoming more and more common.

My mom didn't dream up bunny pancakes or have me stick pipe cleaners into colanders though... and I think I turned out okay.  What my mom did do that I remember?  Not the fantastically packed rainy day box in our camper, but coloring with my mom on rainy days.  Riding on her bike.  Normal activities that we did together, not something that I did on my own with cool stuff like water beads.

So the next night I'm too tired to whip out the paints and simply let Sam and Anna pretend to tuck me to sleep with Elmo on the couch... I'm not going to feel guilty.   When I forget that the water beads have been hiding for a few days and we just run around outside before dinner, I'm going to be okay with that.  I need to remember that those times are important too.

TIDWTFT

Sam

I've been trying to improve my language around Sam and Anna, which has proven to be harder than I thought.  Maybe because at my job I have to censor myself all the time and home used to be the place I could swear like a sailor!

The other day our dog was frantically trying to get a piece of food I dropped like there was no tomorrow and pushed my foot away in the process.  I said "Jesus, dog!"  I know, bad- but I've accidentally said worse in front of them.  Then Sam said, "Jesus loves me!" with an emphatic nod. (We sing the song Jesus Loves Me a lot.)  Trying to deflect my statement, I agreed, and then said, " And Jesus loves Anna too." Right after that, with his feet on the table while sitting in his booster Sam said, 'Jesus want feet down,"  nodding again.  Of course I agreed again- "Yes, Jesus would want your feet down."  Then put them down he did!  I'm still trying to get a good video of the two of them signing Jesus Loves Me, but have been unsuccessful yet.  They keep stopping as soon as I start taping to look at the screen.

****

Anna

Our daycare provider is currently fostering a little girl that is just over 18 months old.  When she started foster care there about a month ago, she knew zero words. Our daycare provider decided to start teaching her sign language, although her knowledge of signs is limited to what Sam and Anna regularly use while there.  Since then, Anna has been basically teaching both the little girl AND our DCP signs. 

The little girl was evaluated by Birth-3 (Early Intervention) and qualified for services initially.... but now a month later, she is no longer delayed enough to qualify, in part due to the amount of signs she communicates currently that Anna has taught her.  The Birth-3 evaluators asked Anna to show them signs during the visit and they were apparently impressed with what she could do and vocalized while signing. (For example, while signing giraffe, Anna always says, " Giraffe- long neck!")  I'm proud of my little girl for teaching a child only 6 months younger than her signs she can use to communicate!

Dreaming of Summer Days

I am SO looking forward to summer, in more ways than one.  The most obvious: a return to SAHM status for almost 3 months.  The added bonus: playing outside with two terrific toddlers 7 days a week and not just as the sun sets.  Last summer was fun to play outside, but since half of the summer was filled with almost-walkers and the other half was filled with unsteady new walkers it wasn't as fun as playing outside is now.  Last summer I was constantly on and trying to be two places at once to avoid spills.  Now that the weather is nicer, we can head out to our backyard and Sam and Anna have the ability to independently play or play together without me constantly micromanaging their every move.  That way I can still join in the fun, but also sit back and enjoy watching them just be, too.

34 working days left to go...

Two Terrific Two-Year-Old Toys

Since Christmas, these have been the top two favorite toys in our home:

Both Sam and Anna love the My First Dollhouse by Fisher Price.  The house was a Christmas gift from their Grandma Roxie (at my asked-for suggestion) They got additional furniture sets for their birthday, and two more in their Easter baskets.  This toy is played with daily- even on the days when only 30 minutes of playtime occurs indoors at our house.  It's so cute to watch them act out the family sleeping, the daddy cooking, or the dog on the couch watching tv (not that our dog does that around here, of course.)  My favorite is when the daddy figurine kisses the mommy figurine- it just shows that our actions are being witnessed all the time.  I'm glad that our toddlers see their parents in loving roles to each other, not just to them.  Although I wonder what it means when the figurines walk around on the roof all the time...

The next top favorite toy has got to be our Mega Blok collection.  Sam has always been a block builder, but with these blocks, he can stay focused on one thing for longer than I've ever seen him do- and he does it all the time.  If I need him to calm down because he's getting wild and all over the place, I'll pull out the Mega Bloks.  If this mama needs 20 minutes to get ready in the morning, the Mega Bloks are a sure hit to keep both kids engaged for the entire time- and since there's a large amount of pieces and plenty to go around, scuffles between toddlers are pretty minimal.  Anna loves them too!

Signing With Toddlers

I always knew I wanted to sign with my children.  I think I've shared before that while growing up, my mom took care of a deaf child for a little bit and so signing was a part of my childhood.  I have memories of my mom signing "yes" or "no" to me when she was on the phone and I was bugging her with something.  I took a course on sign language in college.  I incorporate signs into my classroom.  So when I started signing with Sam and Anna, it wasn't because I was having difficulty understanding them, or because they were not communicating well for their age.  It was just another tool I used to help my children in their language development.

I think Sam and Anna's communication has always been advanced for their age, and I can't tell you how relieved I have been that that has been the case.  Typically, twins are at a higher risk for language delays because the attention gets shared from the very beginning, and because there's someone to babble along with that might decrease the desire to learn harder how to communicate using words.  Even though speech concerns haven't been the case for us, I continued signing with Sam and Anna and I still teach them new signs as they come up.  Signs aren't replacements for words for them; they accompany the words for us.  Sam and Anna rarely make signs without saying or attempting to say the words while doing them, even from the very first signs they learned.

As their vocabulary grows daily, some signs they've learned along the way have been dropped.  I never see the "milk," "all done," or "bath" sign anymore... but it's probably more because of me than them, because somewhere along the way I stopped using the sign when saying those words.  However, some signs like "Thank you" have stuck around.  Anna and Sam never say the words without signing it as well... as far as I know, they might think they both have to be done for it to make sense!

Even though Sam and Anna are now over 2 years old and saying sentences with 5+ words regularly, I don't have any plans on dropping signing from our daily life.  Right now, Anna is very interested in signing color words along with saying them.  If that helps her make the connections to retain identifying all 11 basic colors, I'm all for it.  We've also been practicing letter signs lately.  While Sam definitely seems less interested in learning signs these days, Anna is as into it as ever.  She'll hold out her hands after I model a sign with my hands, requesting that "Mama do it"- meaning, "please show me how with my fingers too."

Here's my reasoning for carrying on with signing, even though my children are proficient speakers for 2 year olds:

1.) If we are out and about and one is misbehaving, I can communicate a stern "no" without yelling, even if they are across the playground.. or if I am on the phone or talking to another person.   In a loud place, I'll be able to communicate with my children, even if they can't hear what I am saying. I can communicate in places we need to be quiet... like church or the library.

2.) I look at sign language as learning another language, like Spanish or German.  Two languages reinforce each other.  I vaguely remember hearing studies show that bilingual children have higher academic abilities, or something like that.  Since kids can talk AND sign at the same time, they both work together to help children that sign get better at both.

3.) There are words that Sam and Anna don't say perfectly yet.  Orange being one of them.  Some sounds are later developing, and some aren't even typically expected to be mastered until age 7 or 8!  If my children can sign words that are more difficult to pronounce, I have a greater chance of accurately interpreting what they are tying to say.

4.)  I think sign language will help them learn to read.  Many signs are finger-spelled (like park), and many signs use the beginning letter to make the sign (like yellow).  Plus, I think signing the alphabet decreases the chance that Sam and Anna will think LMNOP is one letter!

5.) Signing will continue to help Sam and Anna increase their vocabulary.  Often signs look like what they represent.  This helps them grasp the meanings and remember new words based upon that.  For example, the sign for hippo looks like the hippo's big mouth is opening while the sign for rhinoceros mimics the rhino's horn on his nose.  I am confident that Sam and Anna make this connection when they seen pictures of those animals- that a hippo has a large mouth and and rhino has a horn on the end of its nose.  Without learning those signs, I am not sure they would be making that connection.

6.)  Toddlers like to move!  Signing can definitely get a child moving... and it also can help a child focus if they have to play attention to what they are seeing, not just hearing.

7.)  This is a stretch, but, I also think there is a chance that knowing how to sign as an older child will help Sam and Anna accept differences in others.  They won't be uncomfortable if a deaf child is playing on the playground and stare... and who knows?  Maybe they will even communicate and play with them.

My mom signed "I love you" to me even in the teen years to give me courage when I was doing something that shook my nerves, when the space between us was too far to say it out loud.  I can bet she signed it to me when the bus I was riding on to camp for the first time pulled out of the parking lot in elementary school.  I hope I can do the same when Sam and Anna are on a sports field, standing on a stage, or wearing a graduation cap and gown. 


(My thanks to Kerri, who inspired this post and got my brain thinking about why I still sign with Sam and Anna!)

* edited to add: that we still watch Signing Time DVDs at least once a week.  I've found that typically they are the least expensive on Amazon. 

For the Love of Language

As Sam and Anna grow older, I am discovering more and more how fascinated I am with their language development. 

In the last few weeks, Sam has really mastered the use of the words there, this, that, etc.  we hear a lot of "I want this" or "What is that?" although this, that and there are used in multiple contexts.  It also feels like they are at a stage where they are learning a hundred words a day.  It seems like a word only has to be said to them a few times and they've got it.  For example, we pass a water fountain on the highway on the way home from daycare.  After asking "What's that water?" once and  being reminded one other time, Sam now loves to point out "Water fountain over there!" every time we drive past.  It is the same way with the two water towers near our exit off the highway.  I asked him once if he knew what was inside the water tower, and he replied "water" (although I think he was just repeating the word water at the time)... so I of course praised him for good thinking after telling him he was right and he hasn't forgotten.  Now it's an exclamation of "Two water towers!  Water in there!" every time we drive by.  This week I took it one step further and told Sam and Anna that the word on the white water tower says _____, because it is the name of our town.  So I told them that _____ is where we live and now, when I ask either Sam or Anna, "Where do you live?"  both can reply _____ more often than not.

Anna's defining language characteristic right now is her order giving.  She's certainly come to the realization that if she communicates what she wants you to do well enough, she can often get what she wants.  Unfortunately, her frequent "Walk away!" complete with finger pointing much of the time makes her seem quite bossy and rude, so we're working on getting her to include "please" with her favorite phrase 100% of the time.  But really, when she's saying "Walk away!" it could mean a whole host of things- 1.) please stop so I can try to do it myself 2.) I want you to leave me alone 3.) I don't want to play with what you are playing 3.) I am worried you are gong to take what I have 5.) if you are with me, I am directing you where I want to go with you 6.) I think you should be somewhere else doing something else- like if it is dinner time and she wants us to be making dinner or if she wants to play with us and she wants us to do something specific in her pretend play, like go grocery shopping with the play carts, or take a pretend nap (a top favorite pretend play activity).

Another cute language story: I've been practicing getting both Sam and Anna to say their first and last name when asked "What is your name?" and they have been doing pretty well.  (We usually practice stuff like this while driving somewhere stuck in carseats.)  One day this week, Anna decided to say "Mama (last name)! Daddy (last name)!" after saying her full name.  And again, I told her that she was right then praised her for good thinking, and that we do have the same last name as her and Sam.  Then Sam piped in Bella (last name)!  Bella is our dog... so they are definitely making connections between being part of our family and what that means!  They found it amazing (like eyes and mouths wide open amazing) when I told them their Grandpa Dan, Grandma Joanne and Aunts Lindsay and Mary also had the same last name.

I also think it is interesting how the same word can come out so differently between the two of my same-age children.  While generally Anna has better pronunciation and definitely a better signing vocabulary (she has a much better body awareness and can pick up new signs very quickly after watching and practicing only a few times), Sam is much more vocal in playing with language and repeating things.  Sam's vocal "orange" has a definite /j/ sound at the end... or sometimes a /sh/.  Anna's has a Hebrew /ch/ sound at the end making it come out /oranch/- such a funny harsh guttural sound coming out of a little peanut!

Easter in Photos

Saturday we took Sam and Anna to our city's (free) egg hunt to check it out for the first time.  Our littles were in the 0-3 age group, which allowed one adult per kid inside the roped off area.  I was happy that no one was vicious in the "search" for eggs, but it only lasted for a few minutes.  Although the rules were no bags or baskets allowed, I saw some being used.  We brought our hats and they made the perfect egg collection holder!  Sam and Anna did a great job!  While Sam reached for the eggs closest to him, Anna was pretty selective about the eggs she wanted to pick up and keep- often bypassing some to get to one farther away.  Since it was over so fast, we ended up hanging out at the park and re-tossing the eggs in the grass for them to continue picking up.  Sam and Anna thought that was as fun as the actual egg hunt.

We made Kool-eggs Saturday night using Kool-aid powder.  I am so glad I saw the idea for that (and using wire whisks as dipping holders) on pinterest.  The fruity smell was great!

Anna and Sam enjoyed their overflowing Easter baskets from the Easter bunny. 

The aftermath

Quick bunny pancakes before church

All dressed up for church 

We ended up having to sit in the front pew (and the twins from our church that are 6 months older than Sam and Anna ended up sitting in the front pew on the other side), which made me break out into a cold sweat... but Sam and Anna did marvelously. Anna helped direct the choir by copying the director waving her arms in the air- so cute, and since we were so close, they sat up front by themselves for the children's sermon for the first time. Sam came back to sit by us after a short bit, but Anna (Miss Independent) stayed the whole time... and even ordered a rowdy boy to "sit down!"


We stuck close to home this year, instead of road tripping to the grandparents for a big feast.  When it comes to holidays, I really prefer to attend a service at our home church and have Sam and Anna wake up to filled stockings and baskets at their own home.  I think we'll continue to try to do that as long as they are young children... and still believe fully in the magic of the season.

Mama Loves Water Beads

Water beads = so much fun!  To be honest, I typed a huge post extolling how awesome water beads are, explaining them in detail, and how much Sam and Anna love them... like how we have to hide them when not in use but they still ask to play with them all the time and how they still cheer, jump up and down and clap when I say they can, after playing with them for several weeks now BUT blogger ate my darn post and I don't have the patience to redo it. 

So here's the short version:  Sensory Play is great for young children.  Water beads are a great sensory experience.  You can get them in the floral department at craft stores (or Walmart) for cheap.  Add water to the tiny beads, and voila- they grow into firm jelly-like marble-sized balls after a few hours.  Sam and Anna love 'em.  They love 'em so much I bought more and upgraded to a larger container than what is pictured here.  Water beads are fun to run your hands through.  Or feet.  Fun to scoop and pour.  Fun to squeeze.

Go get some.  Maybe your kids will jump up and down cheering and clapping too.

Two New Changes

We made the switch to booster seats during meal times within the last few weeks.  I actually resold our Space Saver high chairs (which are able to be used as boosters generally, but our table was not high enough for it to work) within days of making the switch, so there's no going back now!  I may have had a little remorse of getting rid of them so quickly, because we have so many memories of Sam and Anna eating in them, but oh well.  I got a good offer that I couldn't pass up! 

Anna and Sam have been sitting on regular chairs during meals at daycare for months and we started having issues getting Anna to sit in the high chair at home.   (Picture temper tantrums at the start of every meal.)  The boosters seemed to work better and still have buckles for the containment factor so we went with it.  I can say it is very nice not to have to wash two trays after they finish eating, but they seem to get a little more messy now overall.

We also switched their car seats around in our vehicles this week.  Sam and Anna rear-faced until past the age of 2.  I realize that generally the suggestion is to rear face as long as possible, but we made the choice we feel is best for our family.  We rear-faced for a lot longer than most people I know.  It is amazing how much more happy and agreeable Sam and Anna are now getting into their seats, getting buckled in, and riding while forward facing!  I'm actually looking forward to seeing the difference it makes during our next long road trip.  And who knows, maybe this will be the trick to getting Anna to be able to sleep in the car again.

Our First Night Away

Considering that the eve before our first overnight away (both parents at the same time) from Sam and Anna will be forever known as the Daycare Lice Drama of 2012, it was great timing that this past Friday was the first time since our little ones were born that we took a trip away from them overnight.  We were both very much in need of some rest and relaxation sans children!  I am surprised that Sam and Anna were over 2 years old before we took this step.  We've both been gone overnight before, just not at the same time.

In short, our daycare discovered lice on Thursday.  After obsessively checking Sam and Anna for days and still checking daily, Sam and Anna do not and have not had lice.  Thank God.  Lice is my one of my top fears and I'm beyond grateful that we dodged the bullet on this one.

So, confident that we were a lice-free household, we left Sam and Anna in the loving care of their Grandma (my mother-in-law) at our home on Friday evening  and headed for a hotel.  In a few weeks we will be gone overnight again for a wedding about 5 hours away, so we saw this as a stepping stone to that and longer trips.  We are hoping to take a longer trip next year for our 10 year anniversary.  We were about an hour away and enjoyed spending time together as just the two of us.  Sometimes it's nice to remember that we are Katie and Jake too; not just Mama and Daddy to two adorable munchkins.  I will admit that a good chunk of the time was spent talking about Sam and Anna though!

It went well and Sam and Anna were more than ecstatic to spend the time with their Grandma.  I am positive that we missed them more than they missed us!  I hope our next overnight at the end of the month goes as well!