Terrible Twos - Times Two

The Reynolds household is not always a happy place these days. There's a lot of fighting among the soon-to-be-2 members of the family. They fight over toys, clothes, sippy cups, food, who gets to sit by mommy on the couch, who gets to feed the kitty first, who gets to turn off the TV. It's a constant battle. Someone is always crying. Nate and I have adopted a new sense of humor in order to cope.

We thought we'd remedy the situation, at least temporarily, by doing things that separate the twins from each other. For instance, I'll take Evan with me to Wal-Mart while Nate takes Owen to the Chevron to get gas. But, oddly, this doesn't seem to work like it did when they were babies. They used to truly enjoy an hour or two of alone time with mommy or daddy. But now, when we need it to work MOST, it backfires. They spend their entire, precious alone time asking, "Where's brother?" So, in essense, Mommy and Daddy don't get a break.

We giggle because they both call the other twin "Owen," and we're not sure why. Maybe for Owen, "Owen" just comes out easier than "Evan."

They actually pee pee in the potty quite a bit, so we might be on the road to successful potty training. We're not pressuring them at all, mostly because we're too exhausted to mess with running to the bathroom every 30 minutes. We figure we can wait til 30 months (the magic number, according to many parents) before we start hitting it hard. Although the money savings would be delightful right now if we could end the diaper-buying routine.

My Flag Flies for Grandpa

Memorial Day, 2008, and I think of one great soldier who risked much to ensure all of our safety. Even in his last years, his anger toward the Japanese and the Axis powers was very real, as he saw first-hand the evil they were capable of. I only wish I could remember the story word for word, but driving in the car with my grandpa one day, he confided in me the worst day of his life, during the war when his ship docked and he stepped off for an officer's meeting while his crew waited for him onboard. He choked back tears when he told me that soon thereafter, his ship was hit by enemy fire and hundreds of his men perished in an instant. It was evident that he would have much rather given his own life than watch his dutiful men lose theirs.

He carried memories like that with him his entire life. We civilians will never understand the burden our soldiers bear - all for us. I cannot imagine sending my twins off to war, yet I also cannot imagine anything more noble, selfless and American for them to do. I'll let them choose, of course, yet I can only pray they never see the evil of battle like my Grandpa did. And it's days like today that, I hope, most of us garner up at least the tiniest bit of respect and gratefulness for our men and women in uniform.

Grandpa, I proudly fly my flag in the front yard today. It's for you. I'll always remember.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

There is nothing cuter to me than watching Evan and Owen emulate their daddy. From making funny faces in the bathtub to dunking basketballs, their Dad is No. 1!

Unless they want Mommy, that is.

Which is fairly frequently. But the cool thing is that, usually, Owen prefers Daddy and Evan would rather be with Mommy. Nate and I don't argue - it makes life a little easier. But we're REALLY having to watch what we say and do. These little monkeys pick it ALL up, even when we don't think they could be possibly listening. We're pretty sure they've taken to saying the "S" word, and Nate and I are in arguments over who taught it to them. Then again, "shirt" and "sit" sound the exact same as the offending word. So maybe they're still innocent little angels.

Who am I kidding?

Back to the Grind

The Reynolds family is learning to make the very most of our time together since I returned to work in January. As a result of this newfound thinking, I obviously moved this blog to the backburner. But the kids are napping, and it's Mothers Day, so I'm doing this right now for myself.

The main reason? Time goes by so fast and we so easily forget all the cute and funny things that happen as the twins grow up. Just yesterday (it seems), they were stumbling around on four chubby feet and bumbling inaudibly. But today? They're singing almost the entire alphabet pretty darn clearly, pointing out every character in their Sesame Street books and shaking a pointed finger at us as they exclaim "no!"

Nate and I are so thankful for Evan and Owen's daycare, Butterflies and Bullfrogs. Miss Julie and the rest of the crew there are wonderful and have taught the twins so many things. They truly look forward to school every morning and, occasionally, don't want to be picked up! They're turning into such big boys. They can almost put their shirts and shoes on all by themselves, and they can actually eat without covering themselves from head to toe in applesauce and macaroni and cheese. I think they watch the "big kids" and emulate their actions. It's so fun to pick them up and figure out what they learned each day!

My job's good. It's a brand new position, which comes packed with two shoulderloads of pressure and responsibility. But it's nice being back at AQHA. As for Nate, God graciously answered our prayers May 7 as Pantex called (finally!) to offer Nate a job. We are so grateful. Nate starts June 2, and already he's a changed person. Such a weight lifted off of his hard-working soul. We pitty the poor fool who takes his place at Eco-logical. But we must move forward with heads high. This move opens so many doors for him and comes with a few extra thousand bucks to play with.

So, on this - my second Mothers Day as a proud mom - I exclaim that life is good. Being a mother is great. And being a mother of TWINS is truly twice as nice.

How to Breastfeed Twins

Breastfeeding twins is possible - and you can do it!

Twin breastfeeding pillow.

If you're pregnant with twins, you've got a lot to think about, including how in the world you're going to breastfeed two. Not to mention how in the world you're going to breastfeed twins by yourself, when no one's around to help you.

I'm here to say, been there, done that, earned the medal. Wait, just kidding. It's a thankless job, and there are no rewards other than healthy happy babies.

You can breastfeed twins by yourself, and here's how.

I Regretfully Resign

From being a full-time mom. 

Nate and I prayed and prayed for a particular outcome in our lives, where Nate got a fantastic job that allowed me to put the kids in Mother's Day Out two days a week and work part-time... But God has different plans for us, and it's time for us to start making better money to support our family. I'm truly blessed for the amazing opportunity that practically fell in my lap. My first call when I began job hunting was to AQHA, my former employer of 7 years. They happened to have a great position open that's PERFECT for my qualifications. After many prayers for guidance, I've become more and more comfortable with our new reality - I'm going back to work. I'd rather be at AQHA than anywhere else - they're family oriented and take care of loyal employees. I'll start as soon as Nate and I get day care arrangements figured out (that's definitely the hard part). Day care will be good for the twins. They'll learn far more than I had the energy or know-how to teach them. Nate and I just pray they won't get sick all the time.

Sometimes I feel like I've failed the twins... but I have to remember that most families have to pull in two incomes to make ends meet nowadays. Nate and I will be committed to making the very most of the precious time we have with the twins after work and on the weekends. Everyone else does it, so we can, too.

A Time to Give Thanks

Especially for not having to take another road trip for a long, long time. We braved the roads for Thanksgiving and trekked all the way up to Kansas City. We'd known better. As expected, it was an awful trip. The kids hated being couped up for 10 hours, and Nate and I got frustrated hearing them fuss. The only "good" traveler in the bunch was our poor dog, who's way too big to be squished into the back of the Durango that long. He never complained.

Once we got to KC, it was a different story. This was the twins' first trip to my dad's in bipedal mode. Seeing his HUGE house on their four little feet was like exploring a new world. They even figured out (quite well!) stairs! They played with the horses, rode on tractors and four-wheelers and drove their toys all over my dad's house. Our Thanksgiving get-together was perfect. Almost everyone was there. The twins are CRAZY about their GREAT-Aunt Sharon, and they love their second-cousin, 3-year-old Schaeffer. Trevin and Kim even came all the way from North Carolina. Don and Jackie, Johnny and Aunt Margie completed the package. And, BOY, did we eat some good food! I appreciate that Johnson holidays are steeped in tradition. Most of the dishes Sharon and Margie make are passed down from their mom, a gorgeous woman who left this Earth far too early for me to have had the pleasure of meeting her. I find myself practically interrogating Sharon and Margie for information about their wonderful mom, who spent her whole life taking care of others. Sharon and Margie love talking about her, and I love hearing the stories. Turns out my Grandma was crazy about shoes! That must be where I get it... Aunt Sharon and I sifted through a big box of Grandma Johnson's linens, many of which she made. They were gorgeous, and Aunt Sharon let me pick out a few to keep. I certainly will cherish them. We decorated the Thanksgiving table with one of Grandma's nice tablecloths. It felt really special to use something she'd used so long ago...

The trip home to Amarillo after almost a week's stay was equally grueling. But we made it, sanity mostly intact, and are resuming life as normal. Despite my whining, I'm truly thankful for family times like those. It's what life's all about.

At Least it was a Happy Halloween

This Halloween won't go down in the books as my favorite birthday ever. I spent it in pain with a belly button full of stitches. See, a few days earlier, I developed an umbilical hernia. Lucky me. The docs say it came about because carrying twins weakens your abdominal wall, and picking up kids all day long was too much stress on those weak abs. The docs wanted it fixed right away, so there I was, the day before my birthday, in surgery.

I've been trying to throw a pity party about it, but I sure am mad I had to deal with this. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to rely on other people for the next week or two. I'm not supposed to lift heavy things for a while and, it's no surprise, the twins count as "heavy things."

But they sure had a great Halloween as Superman and Superman Part 2. It was cold, but they trick or treated to a few houses in our neighborhood, then Nate took them to his Uncle and Aunt's house (Rick and ZoBeth), where all the rest of the family was hanging out in costume. I have a feeling their shiny red capes have become a wardrobe staple for them. They LOVE them.

Who's In Charge Here?

Who sets up a petting zoo and doesn't let the kids PET the animals? Hmmm. At least call it a "looking zoo" so we desperate parents of multiples won't get too hopeful that our little rugrats will be entertained for hours on end chasing goats and pulling donkey ears and running around with sawdust-filled shoes.

Don't get me wrong, the Texas State Fair in Dallas was spectacular. We had an overall good time there during Friday night of our trip to my mom and GB's house. But the big reason we went was to entertain the kids. And the fenced-in animals didn't really do the trick. My twins need serious hands-on fun. I give the Amarillo Tri-State Fair major kudos for their petting zoo, which we went to in September. It was everything a petting zoo should be, and the twins had the time of their lives. Oh, well. Now we know that we don't have to drive to Dallas when the urge to pet goats strikes.

Deepest Appologies to Everyone on Flight 85 to Amarillo

For causing uninterrupted mahem in the fourth-to-back row. 

Perhaps Nate and I were too cocky going into the flight. The twins had been perfect little angels on the flight to Dallas (to visit my Mom and family). On the way home, however, we were all tired and perhaps should have given the twins a coctail or two before we boarded... I think we managed to piss off at least 35 people during the 45-minute flight. If Evan and Owen weren't screaming, they were biting or yelling or fighting. Halfway through the flight, Evan made a very stinky poop (thank you very much, dried apricots), so Nate had to change him in his lap in the cramped bathroom while Evan screamed bloody murder the entire time. Nate was ready to sell them to the highest bidder. I was ready to jump out the window.

Will we ever fly with the twins again? Not without one or more of the following:

1. A miraculous boost of twin maturity
2. Additional adult reinforcement
3. A new "no seatbelts allowed" policy
4. Serious drugs or alcohol.