I'm Just Saying

We've been spending a lot of time at playgrounds lately, enjoying the long-overdue beautiful weather. This is where the girls found themselves this afternoon and for a brief moment all I could think was we could really use one of these at home.

The Joys of Toddlerhood

Rachel has apparently decided to make a splash with her second year. Really explore all of those stereotypes of two-year-olds. She now has her tantrum routine down pat. It's kind of funny because it's the same every single time. First she expresses her general displeasure with an emphatic "hoh no!" This comes simultaneously with her pouty face and a downward glance. Then she collapses to the floor on her knees and bends forward so that her face is covered by her hair. Next she mashes her face into whatever flooring happens to be there before she flips over to her back and starts wailing. Like clockwork.

Luckily these episodes don't last very long but I have noticed that they have been getting louder. She also becomes hysterical much more easily than she used to. She woke up from a nap the other day with the back of her earring in her hand and the screaming that came from her crib had me concerned that one of the cats had gotten into her room and was making an attempt on her life. Food dropped onto clothing - or, god forbid, her actual skin - will also cause immediate shrieking to commence.

This is a little bit new for us because Anna was not much of a tantrum thrower. While she definitely had her moments with the yelling and thrashing, she preferred to whine us to death. I know for a fact that this is payback from my own childhood because when I was a toddler my mother's best friend called me Tammy Whinette. And not because I could sing. No, Anna likes to communicate her negative emotions by screaming at a pitch that could literally peel paint off of walls.

What is really funny is when Rachel is crying about something and Anna tells me "I want Rachel to be quiet." I am not entirely sure if this is because she wants her little sister to be happy or if she's just tired of the noise. But what I want to say in reply is, WELCOME TO MY WORLD.

In all seriousness Anna does do things to try to cheer Rachel up when she is upset and that is the sweetest thing ever. Whether it's giving her a toy she wanted or sharing her snack it never fails to move me when Anna comes over with hugs and a treat and tells Rachel that everything is ok. Makes me think I must be doing something right in between pulling out handfuls of my hair and stuffing cotton into my ears.

Spring

Hark what is this I see? Warm weather and sunshine?

To celebrate this very late arrival of spring we took the girls for a walk on a nature trail at a local park. Needless to say they were more than happy to be in the wild.

A passing mother with her own gaggle of children gasped when she spotted us coming and asked me how on earth we tell them apart. I am never exactly sure what to say to the many strangers who think our girls are twins. Should I effectively lie (and answer the million questions Anna will have as soon as we get into the car: Mommy, what is twins? Are Rachel and Anna twins? et cetera, ad nauseum) or should I give people an answer that so often implies a little too much information about our sex life and birth control failures? Seriously, I've had people make comments. But that is a whole different post.

In the end, when I get the "how do you tell them apart" question I often just answer that Anna is taller and Rachel has more hair.

Cooperative Parenting

The following exchange occurred earlier tonight. I think it is an accurate and touching portrayal of both my husband's twisted and sometimes abusive sense of humor, and the sophisticated method we use to divide parenting duties.

Me: Honey the girls need a B-A-T-H tonight.
Dan: So?
Me: So H-E-L-P me.
Dan: F-C-K Y-O-U
Me: (icy stare)
Dan: ...H-A-H-A-H-A...

I don't recommend using our method in your home.

Communication

Princess Fishstick and Lady Applesauce receiving a message from the mothership.

Haircuts And Vomit And Fevers Oh My

Yes I just seriously just put the word "vomit" in a post title and I don't even care. Motherhood, as they say, is not for whimps and it sometimes involves vomit.

It's been an eventful week. I was really looking forward to Tuesday, when I took the girls to get their very first haircuts ever. Anna was starting to just look messy all the time with her thin wispy red waves falling into an uneven mullet. Rachel's auburn curls were getting bushy and needed some evening out. And Mommy, well Mommy was just a hot mess. A hot graying mess. So we all needed some attention.

Here is a nice "before" shot, taken a few minutes before we left the house that day.

The girls did really well at the salon. I thought Anna would be the one to freak when the scissors came out but she did not. Here she is after the cut.

Rachel on the other hand was not at all pleased.

And here she is after her unbearable three and a half minutes of torture.

Yes I know it's not that different. The picture doesn't really do it justice either because the curls look much better after the trim. And I know I should have had it cut into some sort of cute little bob but I guess I'm not ready to give up that gorgeous mop of spiral curls just yet. Sue me.

Anyway I haven't even gotten to the good part yet. On the way home Anna, who had eaten nothing more than a bag of fruit snacks and a few pieces of haircut-bribery candy since early morning, suddenly just puked. All over herself and her car seat and her grandma, who was lucky enough to be sitting next to her. And then she woke up Wednesday morning with a fever. And then Thursday morning she woke up burning so hot that her cheeks were just bright red circles beneath glazed blue eyes and the bottoms of her feet radiated heat. She spent the morning clinging to me with all four limbs and sweating all over me while watching Rachel play by herself. Which, now that I think of it, did not bother Rachel in the least.

Luckily the fever reducers are helping and Anna's been in pretty good spirits considering how yucky she has felt. Now I guess we can start taking bets on whether Rachel is going to get the bug next.

Family Entertainment

It is unusual for my husband to get three whole days in a row off from work but it has happened this weekend. The girls are of course ecstatic and so I am but increased time at home always highlights our different parenting styles. Dan is generally more laid back than I am which I think is a good thing most of the time. I like to think that he is better at picking which battles to fight while I am better at picking up the mess after the fight. Meanwhile I tend to be more attentive - sometimes overly so - to the details. Like meal preparation, the children's personal hygiene, and television programming.

This morning Dan found the movie Donnie Darko on cable. I actually really like this movie, just maybe not on Saturday morning with toddlers in the room. It was a pretty innocuous scene which provided Dan the opportunity to point out that the girls weren't even paying attention. Still, I couldn't keep myself from suggesting that perhaps something on Nick Jr. might be more appropriate.

Of course once we are tuned into the Nick Jr. channel the girls are delighted to see that Yo Gabba Gabba is on. This is a show that I avoided when it first came on because the commercials themselves sort of weirded out me in a way that I can't explain. The black and green creature in particular turned me off. But the girls of course liked it and once I watched a few minutes it seemed kind of cheery and fun and the girls danced while they watched it. So I let them watch it now and then. Dan watched about two minutes of it and then declared that Donnie Darko would have been less disturbing.