When it's 103 every day by noon...

You get up early and head outside before seven a.m. so that you can run, play, water plants, slide, swing, ride bikes, build sand castles, finger paint and on some days even swim. Then it's back inside by 10am (or sooner) and a long day of trying to find interesting things to do indoors begins.

When we lived in Minnesota I often heard moms of little people complaining about how everyone developed cabin fever in the winter and could hardly wait for the first day above freezing to get their kids outside to burn off all that crazy kid energy.  It seems that in the southwest we have the opposite problem and develop cabin fever from May through at least October. In addition to reverse cabin fever we also have contra S.A.D. this time of year except for me it's more like mean, cranky, sweaty, pregnant Mama who feels exhausted at the thought of buckling and unbuckling her three children into sweltering hot car seats just for a quick twenty minute story time at the library.

[I know it's just the most interesting thing in the world to go on and on about the weather, especially when it's summer and I'm complaining about how "Oh so very hot it is"!  My, what great observational skills you have. It has been known to be hot in the summer]

Most days the kids are still in pajamas when we head outside which is just the right dress code for finger painting. Here's some of the fun we had earlier this week.

 They started off very nice, clean and neat.

Then Max got involved and all bets were off.

Pretty soon the red,blue,yellow and green looked like this.

On the next go round I separated the boys from Sophia so she could work at painting yellow suns, green trees, and blue skies instead of just a brown mushy glob.

Meanwhile Max did this.

And some more of this.

Ta Dah! Masterpiece complete.

Theatre Night

Yesterday the last bit of reserve energy dripped out my body at exactly 6:04 pm. (It's funny how my extensive fat reserves never seem to play into the energy equation.) We finished up our BBQ chicken, sweet potato fries, corn on the cob and Lemonade Pie that actually tastes a lot like Key Lime and by then the most intensive action I could perform was to heave my aching body off my chair at the kitchen table and make my legs move in the same direction towards the forgiving couch twenty steps away. And even that required a bit of mental determination. (And for those of you who haven't been pregnant or were lucky enough to skip this stage of early pregnancy, Yippy for you but please don't judge.)

My original plan involved making a solid indentation of my rear end on the couch while keeping my eyes closed tight until eventually it would be time to read a couple of Dr. Suess books and drop the little ones off in their beds. As appealing as that plan was my family of performers conspired to make my time on the couch much more enjoyable.

While Patrick worked on the set,

Sophia, The Director and Producer, worked on the script.

Next they enlisted the help of a couple of experienced slap stick comedians.

And the show was underway.

First a rousing welcome from Clifford and Friends.

Next up, a duet performed by Hello Kitty! and Lil Miss Cinderella 

After a quick peek behind the scenes

came a guest appearance by none other than Thomas the Train! 

After a brief word from the night's sponsor, BMW,

they closed out the show with a ventriloquist act featuring the Amazing Patricio and his little puppet, Sunshine Girl

Notice how his puppet keeps performing even while he's drinking water. Ah maaa zing!

The performance made for a very happy and entertained audience and three little kids that were tired and ready for bed shortly after the curtain was drawn. 

Bravo!

A "First" that I Can Fall in Love With

Shhhhhhh...Do you hear that? Come a little closer.  Closer..... Closer..... There.                           

Still nothing?

Let me turn up the mic a little...

Okay now? 

Can you hear it?

What you're listening to is the whispy, beautiful, enchanting sound of silence. 

(Oh, how I've missed you old friend!)

This newfound treasure (albeit fleeting) is the heavenly result of another first in the Trouble on The Double Household. 

Three small children playing together. Nicely. Quietly even. In their own room.

Yup. Alone. Sans Mommy. Without Parental supervision. Solo.

Before you speed dial CPS let me describe how very adequately baby proofed this particular room is. 

All toys small enough to shove into one's little mouth, nose or ear removed.--- Check

Outlet covers tight and secure--- Check

Toy boxes without lids so as to avoid a potential suffocation hazard-- Check

All heavy furniture secured to the wall-- Check

All strings,  belts, window cords and shoelaces removed so as to avoid strangulation---Check

All knives, razors, prescription drugs, household chemicals, pools, trampolines, matches, scissors, rabid dogs and poison ivy removed from the premises--- Check!

 The place is so safe it may as well be a rubber room. 

So back to the "First". 

This morning while in my bathroom making myself look like I haven't age twenty years in the last 18 months beautiful I realize that the wee ones have stopped trying to climb up my pant leg and have exited the room.  A little alarmed by their sudden streak of independence, I follow the trail of Legos down the hall and as I get closer to the boys room I hear what sounds like the voice of a very seasoned summer camp counselor. 

"Okay Kids! First we've going to set up a tent. Then we'll get into our sleep bags, then tell spoooooky stories and roast marshmallows by the fire. Anyone have any questions?!?"

In response I hear "DADOUN DADOUN" and then a scurry of activity.

(DADOUN DADOUN is about as advanced as the boy's vocabulary is from day to day. That and the occasional "Hot!" or "NO!")

Despite the language barrier all three campers were working together to make the best of their "woodland campsite". They were enjoying time together, peacefully. Without needing a parental figure to step in and moderate. 

So I left. 

And finished getting ready. By myself.... Took my sweet time even!

I have to admit that I did check on them every few minutes (just to play it safe!) but they were so engrossed in their game they never became distracted by my presence.

I'm sure the type of quiet, cooperative play I witnessed today will be rare, especially as the boy's start developing their own ideas for how a camping trip should go down. But as for today I'll treasure the sound of silence and the sight of Sophia, Alex and Max experiencing the joy of having each other.

 

A Little Bit Like Old Times

Wasn't I at one time that overachieving Mom who had daily "learning activities" planned for my daughter? Things like indoor finger painting (with subsequent framing and hanging of art), tea parties and picnics in the living room (complete with finger food we cooked as a team!) or even construction of mini collages from old magazines to illustrate that day's lesson or even better the "letter" of the week.

Wasn't it true that at one time Sophia watched less then thirty minutes of tv (per DAY!) and spent the rest of her time out in the world filling that ever expanding little brain of hers with new experiences via trips to the library, children's museum, zoo, park and Mommy and Me classes?

Didn't I once create a list of "must do" activities from a book entitled "100 Games Smart Babies Play" with the goal of playing all 100 games by the time she was three?


Seventeen months after the boy's arrival and I vaguely remember being "that" Mom. The kind of I'm-never-without-my-lipstick Mom who has time to sit in her very tidy home and quietly plan her weekly goals and lessons not unlike a model preschool teacher.

Sophia on the other hand has not forgotten. She relished life as an only and all the fun, entertaining, purposeful activities she and I used to enjoy. She loved going on outings every day, not watching quite as much tv ( okay so she's probably fine with all the tv watching) and getting loads more individual time.

Sigh. If only I had been a lousy mom all along, she'd never know the difference. I could kick myself for not being more forward thinking!

But now that I am starting to have little more breathing room, and because I have given up caring what the kitchen looks like, I'm reincorporating PROJECT TIME!! back into our afternoons. So far this month we've painted and decorated terra cotta planters, used finger paints, splatter painted with water colors, written "letters" to our family and cooked together for snack time. Admittedly not as well thought out as in our pre-twin life but fun mom and Sophia time all the same.

Since she was nostalgic for Disneyland last week I tried to incorporate that into our projects. Here's a picture of the themed snack we made.

A yummy nod to a certain license protected character.


Even during PROJECT TIME! she has to be fabulous.


Since she was eating a face off her plate she insisted on not using her hands.

Behind Closed Doors

Sophia may not have the baby sister she's been asking for but two unsuspecting little brothers will do.

Isn't the admission price for playing in Sophia's room a tad bit steep?

One day he'll appreciate this picture... and so will his prom date!

I Just Need A Little Help From My Friend

[caption id="attachment_752" align="aligncenter" width="238" caption="Why having a twin is great"][/caption]

Congratulations! You've Just Played Your 1000th Game Of Hide N' Go Seek

We can't be positive but Patrick and I may have played our 1000th game of Hide N' Go Seek with Sophia today. The girl LIVES for the game.  She spends a good part of her day running from room to room shouting "Oh Mommy (or Daddy), Where's your Sophia Lou?" At which point she throws a blanket over her head and laughs hysterically at both her cleverness and the building anticipation of the "seekers" arrival.

That's right. She doesn't even really hide.

Just throws a blanket over herself and waits. EVERY TIME.

At first it was sorta cute and funny. You know, little kids, missing the point of hiding and all. But we made the mistake early on of pretending not to see her standing in the middle of the room covered by a little blanket. We would just go on and on calling "Oh Sophia. Are you in here? Are you in the kitchen? Are you in the bedroom? etc etc".

By doing such a good job at "overlooking" the uncontrollable laughter coming from under the increasingly smaller blankets, we inadvertently gave her the impression that either

A) She is a skilled and masterful hider or B) We are ignorant and grossly incompetent finders.

Along the way we've tried numerous ways to appropriately educate her on how the game is really played. For example one parent will hide with her (in a real hiding spot even!) while the other parents seeks.  One problem we've encountered with that method is that as soon the seeker calls out "Ready or not, here I come!" Sophia either starts shouting the exact whereabouts of her location or runs out of the hiding spot at full speed in an effort to "catch" the seeker. Evidently we need to clarify the differences between "Hide N Seek" and "Tag, You're It".

Despite the "joy" we get from finding her under blankets several dozen times a day there really is something great in seeing how much excitement she gets from the game. It truly never gets old for her and the reaction over being found is never dull. She is genuinely THRILLED each and every time.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all find so much joy in little things again? 

 

(Future Covert CIA Operative?)