A peek inside playtime with twins

It's no surprise that as twins, the Twofer seem to have their own unique way of playing with each other. They already know the object of the game, the characters involved, and the adventure they are going on as they wander down the stairs with their walkie-talkies, binoculars, and sunglasses.

It's a daily dose of improv in my house:

M/Chicosay: "Calling Toofree, calling Toofree. Where's the mazradeur we need? Have you located it yet?"

L/Toofree: "It's in the clubhouse. I'm heading there now. Can you meet me Chicosay? Bring the flashlights!"

They also have designated roles that they play which doesn't really seem fair to me, but what do I know? I'm just the 3rd wheel they call Mom.

M's List of Roles:
Mommy
Princess
Queen
Fairy
Baby

While L is always the:
Daddy
Pony
Dog
Cat
and Worker

Mommy's Role:
Costumes, Props and Craft Service
(mend dress-up clothes, get flashlights working, serve Go-Gurts)

Sometimes they are both fairies, adventurers, etc. Still, for the most part they have reached an agreement on this without ever discussing it. An older sibling will engage the younger one in a particular role. With twins (my twins, anyway) they seem to automatically know.

And they seem happy like that...usually for at least an hour.
Nothing lasts forever.

Janine (head of the drama department)

The Holidays are for Losing it!

While I am truly grateful to be able to spend Christmas and quality time with my family, so much time together can often mean losing it one way, or another.

Here's the short list:

Em losing it outside in the cold and refusing to go inside the last rest stop of our 8-hour trip up. "I....don't...have....to...pee!"

Me losing it Christmas Eve when the kids woke me up at 4:30am for the third time that night... "I'm just as excited as you that Santa came but...but...if you don't get to sleep you'll have a houseful of really cranky parents!!!"

Grammy losing it when she got an iPod for Christmas, "Oh no! Another thing I'm going to have to learn how to use!?!?"

The Twofer losing it in very silly way on the train to NYC after a few days with very little sleep.

And the entire family losing it after spending all day inside, and in our pajamas....

I was laughing so hard while filming this that tears were streaming down my face and my stomach hurt. I wonder if anyone else finds this funny or if it's just our family?

Have you lost it yet? If so, let me know in the comments (by 10:00am Eastern Time on 12/31/08). The best 'losing it' comment will be re-enacted using my family and my Flip. I'll email you the final product soon thereafter!

Happy Surviving the Holidays!
Janine

Well it was bound to happen!

At just 5 years old, my kids often have more cash on them than me.
I needed to prepay the neighbor kid to take care of our cats and mail while we're gone this weekend...I didn't even have $10 on me.
I saw the little Hello Kitty wallet sitting there just brimming with ones...

ScaryMom "Um, L? Can I borrow some money?"

L, "For what?"

ScaryMom, "I have to pay the neighbor to take care of Fatcat and Franklin while we're gone."

L, after a long pause watching me sweat it out... "Yes. But don't forget to pay me back!"

(Just another reason I'm glad we decided to give them a small allowance.)

Anyone else had to break into their kid's piggy bank yet? Be honest...
ScaryMom

WARNING...this post will self-destruct in 5 minutes.

Seriously, this post will have to be deleted at some point.

I do my best to be as open and honest in this blog as I can without completely compromising the welfare (and reputation) of my family. That said, because the Towfer offer so much content, they are often highlighted in my posts and I realize that someday that might piss them off...like when they are 16. Although the fact that they already read has me worried that day may come a lot sooner.

So here's the scoop:

It has come to our attention that M can make herself cry.
I don't mean whiny, pouty-face, cry.
I mean full-on, Haley-Joel-Osment-in-The-Sixth-Sense, Halle-Berry-Oscar- acceptance-speech, me-after-the-watching-the-hospital-scene-from-Terms-of- Endearment, body collapsing, shaking, dry-heaving tears.

It is a sight to behold. And the other day she did it over something as silly as no dessert. I literally stood up and gave her a round of applause and saw dollar signs in my eyes.

ScaryMom, "M - that was amazing! You know you can make a LOT of money doing that in front of a camera?!"

M, "Really?" sniff "Why?"

ScaryMom, "Seriously. What do you think about to make yourself cry like that?"

M, "I don't know." sniff "I just think about something sad like you and daddy leaving me or something and I cry."

ScaryMom (ignoring the fact that she thinks about us leaving her) "And you can do that whenever you want?"

M, sniff, sniff nods her head.

ScaryMom, "Can you do it again and show daddy?"

M, sniff "OK.....", and the tears start rolling.

So now it has become a game, but I don't know who's winning.
We've had her do it for some close friends and family members because at first I saw it like any other talent. "Look what M can do!"
But now I'm beginning to wonder because she's cranked up the crying episodes lately and what I thought was 5 yr old drama might just be me being duped!

M starting her magic

If she's this good at playing me at 5, what will she be like at 10? At 13? At 16?
So why not explore (note: not exploit) this talent a little more and see if I can't get her to channel it into a nice Disney movie roll?

Any talent scouts out there looking for cute red-heads with a knack for tears?

Now that I've exposed my daughter, enjoy commenting on my parenting skills (or lack of) because this post won't be up here forever. But I will always be scary.

Cry baby cry,
ScaryMom

Free answers to all those $%&* questions

There area good days, and there are bad days.

Yesterday was one of those bad days. I was woken up at 6:00 AM with a little voice asking me...a question. I mean at 6 in the morning I don't care what the freakin question is - it's annoying and way to early to be in my room!

But what makes a really bad day is when the questions continue...all...day...long.

While I'm fumbling around the kitchen getting their lunches together, "Mommy, why are some people small and some people big?" On the walk to school, "Mommy, what makes a flower smell?" On the way to riding lessons, "Mom, how do the builders make roads?"

After a day like that I feel frustrated AND dumb. But now when I'm out of answers and feel the real Scary in me coming out, I have a resource at the tip of my fingers

I no longer have to reply with 'I don't know', or 'Ask your father' or 'That's a great question for your teacher!'

I can simply go to Chacha.com or text 242242 with the question and get an answer within minutes, if not seconds! And, it's free - text charges apply of course.

Here are two questions and the answers I received in under one minute:

Q. What is the E in 'Chuck E Cheese' for?
A. "The 'E' in Chuck E. Cheese stands for entertainment. The company that owns it is CEC Entertainment."

Q. Why is the sky blue?
A. "A cloudless sky is blue because molecules in the air scatter blue light from the sun more than they scatter red light."

How do they do it? Chacha.com hires guides ...blah, blah, blah. I don't really care!
The fact that they give me a logical sounding answer and I don't have to use the brain power to even be creative and come up with one of my own is what is important here.

Try it next time you want to impress your friends, quiet your kids, or resolve that argument you've had going for years with your husband about the most economical temperature setting for your HVAC...you get the idea.

Twofer Thumbs Up to Chacha.com!
ScaryMom