Michaelisms

This is one of many chapters on my son. He has definitely has had some language mix-ups. He is a very intuitive little boy, however his brain works faster than his mouth sometimes. Other times I wonder where he comes up with such elaborate schemes.

As a newly talking toddler, he would often say "duck-a-doh." It was weeks before we figured out what he was saying. Even Heather was getting in on it. "Duck-a-doh." What does it mean? It was Scott's mom who figured it out. If it hadn't been for her I think we would still be wondering what it meant. She had been babysitting the twins one day and they happened to be watching Blue's Clues. For those of you who do not have young children, Blue's Clues is a children's educational program where Blue (a blue dog) leaves pawprint clues for Steve (her owner) to find and figure out what game she wants to play or what snack she would like. Other household members are animated as well. There's Slippery Soap, Mailbox, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper and their young child Paprika. In some of the episodes, Blue spins around and magically enters a book or drawing. Steve sings along as she does this, "Blue skidoo, we can too!" And as this is happening, Michael points to the TV and announces, "Duck-a-doh."

In another story about a year later, we were watching the news about the Gulf War. The anchorperson was discussing how the army had blown up the dams on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Michael went all tattletale on the man. "Ooooh, he said a bad word!" It took us a few minutes to explain that, in this case, a dam was a wall that holds back water. His response? "Oh. But we still can't say G** Dammit, right Daddy?

Michael was forever mixing up his words, too. Here are a few examples: Skameeto (mosquito), Skabetti (spaghetti), and most recently, pasberry. And now I give you a final Michaelism for today....the pasberry story. This past summer we traveled to South Carolina; we stopped in Colonial Williamsburg to visit. While there, Michael was working in an activity book with a mad lib in it. The theme of the story was an accident. We added the quirky words (40 boogers were driving in a car....) and Michael read back the story.... "And then a pasberry told the police..."

"Pasberry? What's a pasberry, Mike?"

"I don't know, Mom."

"Spell it."

"p-a-s-s-e-r-b-y"

"Ohhhhh a passerby!"

These are just some of many stories that I will share about my kids. I love to talk about my kids. I am proud of everything they do. They are my heart and soul.

How Do You Do It?

Many people have asked us, "Twins! How do you do it? Twice the diapers and twice the feedings!" My first response was, "Twice the jelly kisses and twice the Mommy hugs (the ones that leave you reeling with aroma of Johnson's No More Tears shampoo and animal crackers)!" But they really wanted to know...how did we do it? Well, let me tell you. We did it the only way we knew how...we just managed. Scott was working second shift at the time. While it was hard on our relationship because we never saw each other, it was a lifesaver with the twins. I would feed the twins at 10:00 and go to bed. Scott would come home and since he was wired from his dispatching job, he would stay up until 1 or 2 am and feed the kiddos. Then he would come to bed, tap me on the shoulder and say, "Tag, you're it....zzzzz." I would get up at 6:00 and feed the kids and put them back down for a nap. I would then head off to work. Scott would get up around 9 and feed them again and then all three of them would take a nap. Since he worked Wednesday through Sunday with Monday and Tuesday off, we only needed a babysitter for 2 hours in the afternoon 3 days a week.

As for the diapers....there were a few "Windex" treatments, but the Diaper Genies were the true lifesavers. You cannot even begin to count how many toxic bombs were diffused in that thing. Once the kids were old enough to stand, I got pretty good at changing diapers as they stood on the changing table admiring themselves in the bathroom mirror.

It was remarkable to see two little chunky babies grow and develop. For two kids who started out so close, sharing a womb technically designed for one, these two could not be any more different. Heather was the planner; the boss, if you will. She was the first one to talk in complete sentences. One day, Scott was on the computer when the dog barked to come in from outside. Heather waddled up to her father and asked, "Daddy, aren't you gonna let the doggy in?" There is rarely a moment even now when she is not talking and planning some fantastical drama that she wants to act out with her brother. Michael was in charge of design and implementation. Even as a small child, teetering around the living room on his stubby little legs, he was designing innovative ways to use his toys. A blue Lego became a car...the red one criss-crossed with a yellow one was an airplane. Today his creations have become more elaborate. Again with the Legos....more and more advanced airplanes-- C-130s, Harriers, an X-Wing fighter...even his own inventions. An old cell phone became Iron Man soaring through the living room and kitchen; a pencil was a rocket ship blasting off to Planet Idontwannadomyhomework.

This all leads to the them scheming and planning elaborate skits or using subterfuge to plan a surprise attack on the poor dog. Picture this scenario: The adults are sitting in the living room watching TV. All of a sudden, it's too quiet; we wonder where the toddlers have gotten to. We hear incoherent whispering....two little voices. We quietly peek around the corner where the front door is. There, lying on the floor across the bottom of the LOCKED front door was Michael. Heather? She was standing on Michael's bottom on her tippy toes trying to UNLOCK the deadbolt. The planner and designer collaborated this elaborate scheme shortly after learning to walk.