Computer Down

Our computer broke.

Something about a graphics card.

The whole country seems to be out of said graphics card.

We're currently using the laptop.

Which doesn't have iPhoto.

Someday we'll install it.

But not today.

So you're just going to have to go "Double the Fun"less for a little while.

I think you're going to be okay.

Things I don't want to forget about right now

• They “take their coloring seriously” as their nursery leader puts it. Each week, they have to pull out a special table and chairs for them because the rest of the class has moved on to the next activity, but they just “aren’t finished.” I have no idea if it’s too early to tell, but I REALLY hope they get their father’s artistic hand. I have the world’s worst handwriting and can’t draw a stick figure for the life of me. They can already draw a pretty straight line and Ethan draws a better circle than I do.
• For better or worse, they are getting along really well. Sure, they fight and I’m sure they always will, but they just love playing with each other. Of course, this leads to mischief, but my magic eraser hasn’t failed me yet.
• Before we go into a public restroom, Kate has to make sure we go in the one with the “gull” on it.

• 

• At least once and day, Kate comes up to me with her purse and keys and says to me, “give me a kiss. I’m going to ______. Have fun! See ya!” Usually it’s work, but sometimes she goes to Target or Costco.
• Nine times out of ten Ethan chooses galloping as his form of travel.
• The other one time is on this baby:

• They can be heard singing, “I know you. I danced with you once upon a dream. I know it’s true. I danced with you once upon a dream.” I would correct the words if I knew them.
• They love to help me make dinner. I learned the lesson tonight to not let them season anyone’s food but theirs. Too much garlic salt can be a bad thing.
• We read at least 15 books a day. And often times it’s the same book over and over. The library is the only thing keeping my sanity in check right now.
• They have been in a Duplo phase for quite a while. We play with them for about an hour every day.
• Kate has started putting Dolly in time out. When she gets out, she has to tell Ethan she’s sorry for hitting him and give him loves. Oh dear.
• They often ask me a question (one that they don’t know the answer to) and when I answer, they’ll say, “you’re right!”
• They’re really interested in the sounds things make. They’ll say, “what does a rainbow say?” or “what does Cinderella say?”
• They went to their first movie this week. How to Train Your Dragon. Ethan LOVED it. I so wish I had a picture of it. Remembered the camera. Forgot the memory card.
• We’ve gotten in the habit of letting them take a book with them to bed. It works, though. They lay there looking at their books till they fall asleep. And when we come to get them in the morning, they’re usually looking at it again. Wish I would have figured this trick out a long time ago.
• I can get Kate to wear anything or really do anything (even share sometimes) if I tell her Fancy Nancy or a princess would wear/do it. She has a book about princesses and manners and if I ask her to share, she’ll say, “yes, like Ariel.”
• Greg doesn’t usually make it home for dinner, so we eat and then he eats when he comes home. Whether they loved or hated what I fed them, when Greg is eating the same thing an hour or so later, it suddenly is much tastier. They usually eat half his dinner. I could probably feed them candy and give Greg a plate of dirt and they would still eat more off of Greg’s plate than their own.
• Almost all Texas homes have a gameroon upstairs where most people keep their toys. Every time we walk into a house, they’ll say, “should we go upstairs and play with toys?” Sometimes, they’re not even shy enough to ask. They’ll just head upstairs.

Who taught her this?

Stopped at a red light. Light turns green.

Kate: Mommy, the light turned green. That means we can go.

Me: That’s right! And what do we do when the light is red?

Kate: Tinkle.

Play Doh

Big kid beds?

Whenever I ask people when it’s time to move to the big kid bed, they say one of two things. One, when they start climbing out or two, when you need the crib for a new baby. Sometimes, there’s a third option and that is an upcoming vacation and bringing a pac n play along just wasn’t an option. My question is this- if neither of those things are the case, THEN when is it time to make the switch? When we were in Minnesota, they slept in twin beds and did... okay. They slept well. Kate fell out once or twice. There were a couple of naps that were really hard, but for the most part, it went okay.

Here’s my major trepidation: there’s two of them. When I put them down in the afternoon and say, “good night, kids. Have a good nap.” In twinese, that translates to, “have a fun party. Please jump and squeal and get as hyper as possible for at least an hour. Then, if you feel like lying down for a little snoozer, go for it.” I know that once I make the switch to beds, naptimes will be a thing of the past. I mean, maybe if we work really hard and promise lots of bribes, we might get back to regular naptimes, but there’s no guarantees when it comes to toddlers. (And, I feel very strongly that they should still share a room at this point. I feel like being a twin is a huge part of their identity and I don’t want to be the one to mess with that. I know there will be a time where sharing a room will no longer be necessary (appropriate), but I’m really hoping they’ll be sleeping in regular beds by then.)

I guess my question is this- when is it necessary? I mean, when they’re filling out their college applications and they have to put that they slept in a crib until they were 3, will that automatically get their apps tossed to the “do not even consider” pile?

I don’t know why I’m so bothered by this subject. I guess it’s just that most of their “friends” (aka kids they steal toys from) sleep in big beds. But, they ALL fit into one of those categories. Should I wait until they start to climb out? Should I wait until they stop napping? Should I wait till they’re 12? Their cribs do convert into toddler beds. I’ve thought maybe I could try it and go back if it sends me into insanity?

Should I stop worrying about this and go clean my kitchen?