You Hate Me Now, Don't You?

Those dreaded words that children say when something goes awry, at least mine say it.

Here's my most recent exposure to this:

I have to wake my children each day to get ready for school in time. Funny...on the weekends they can get up at the same time or earlier with no problems, but I digress. I generally wake them about 30 minutes before we have to leave. They have showered the night before so all they really have to do is get up, get dressed, wash face, brush teeth and comb their hair. So, 30 minutes seems like it should be plenty. Well, each day they would find more and more things to entertain them so we started leaving the house later and later. I finally told them that if they did not get up and get ready within the time parameters I allotted them I would have not choice but to wake them up earlier. I told them that the next time we were late I would start waking them when I get up because it appeared that they needed the extra time to get ready. I'm sure you can see it coming, they diddled around not too long after that conversation.

As we got in the car late again, I told them that since we would be late, again, I would wake them up early the next day. My son's reply, you guessed it, "You hate me now, don't you?" As I sat there in silence behind the wheel my mind started whirling about all the answers I could make to that question, but with my mind moving as fast as it was my filter must have been eaten in the process and I said, "You're right!"

Dead silence prevailed in the back seat. Then a meek, "I knew it."

I could not hold my tongue any longer so I got out my largest soapbox and my step ladder and climbed up. "First, you know I don't like that word because it is so strong. And, have you never heard of sarcasm?" I say. Both of my children are still silent in the back seat so I continue, "If mommy hated you would I have you in my car right now driving you to school? No, I would have left you home, alone, and let you figure out how to get yourselves there. Would mommy pay all the money she pays to have you in the best care after school? Nope, I'd let you walk home to an empty house." I am briefly interrupted, "You would not let us do that."

"Would mommy pay for all the activities that you want to do if I didn't love you?" I continue. Then, still met with complete silence (I'm not really sure what I expected them to say) I go for the jugular. "Do you think that when you say things like that you RIP Mama's heart out?"

"I'm sorry...I think I'm having kind of a bad day." I hear faintly from the back seat.

This all happens in a period of less than five minutes. When we arrive at our destination both my daughter and my son jump out of the car and the thought that crossed my mind was, "If they run, I wouldn't blame them one bit." But, instead, they both run over and give me a hug. Max says, "I love you, mommy!" Then they run off.

Me on the other hand, I'm feeling like a slug. I am the worst mom ever. Why did I do that?

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What's in a Name...or Two?

All prospective parents of multiples spend many hours of research and thought looking for the best baby names for twins. There are many schools of thought on this subject and then I have my own thoughts that I will only think about divulging as I write this post.

I found this quite interesting, the US Department of Social Security apparently tracks the names that parents give their twins. My guess is that they do this because when you complete the paperwork in the hospital for the social security number there is a box on the birth certificate that must be submitted that shows whether the baby was a single birth (or singleton as we PoMs like to call them), twin, triplet, etc. Then the birth certificate also asks for the baby number, which in the multiple arena are Baby A for the first born, Baby B for the second born, Baby C for the third and so on, then that birth certificate is submitted to the Social Security Administration before you can receive a Social Security number. I found this Popular Names of Twins for 2007 chart on their website. Who knew?

You will note that there are some major themes that occur with parents of multiples. In case you did not spot them, I'll lay them out in order of observed popularity:

1. Names begin with the same letter, check out the first ten most popular name combinations


2. Names that end alike, see Isabella & Gabriella, Andrew & Matthew, etc.


3. Biblical names


4. Names that begin with consecutive letters, see Alexander & Benjamin


and my personal favorite


5. Two names that the parents apparently liked that have no other relationship to each other.





Can you tell the route we went?





If you are looking for some names that have clever relationships with each other, wonder over to Behind the Name and you may see some names for twins you like there. And this site has some clever ideas and some dos and don'ts as well as other considerations to make when naming your twins.





The most important thing when choosing names for your baby twins is that you like the names because you will be using them and hearing them for your entire life. Have fun and get creative. Let me know what you come up with.

Twins Are Smart!

I am relieved and surprised by today's report in USA Today.

Apparently, previous studies of twins and singletons showed that twins lagged behind singletons by 5 to 6 IQ points at the age of six. Of course, I never knew this but now that I do I wouldn't have believed it if I had. Our pediatrician told us that twins typically lag behind singletons because twins are usually born at an earlier gestational age making them weeks or even months younger than their singleton counterparts but that all evens out by about third grade.

Well, apparently our pediatrician is right because a recent study performed in the Netherlands, the results of which are published in the current issue of the Intelligence journal, concludes that any IQ differences that were previously thought to exist disappear by the time children reach the age of 12 years old.

Wow, now I hope you can relax.

Wordless Wednesday

Webkinz Cheats, Um...I Mean Craze!

I'm not sure if your children have met the Webkinz world or not, yet, but if they haven't, just wait! And if they have you know what I mean. So, Webkinz are these really cute little stuffed animals that have a buzz surrounding them almost like Beanie Babies way back when. A big difference is that this is the computer era unlike the time of the Beanie Baby, so once you buy the animal you not only have the cute little cuddly object to snuggle with, you can use the secret code that is on the label to log on to the Webkinz site and enjoy your animal in a virtual world. In this Webkinz World you can collect points that are used to buy your Webkinz clothes and other virtual accessories.

My twins have been into Webkinz for over a year now and they are hooked. They love the animals, especially Sissy, and they think it is fun to enter into the virtual Webkinz World, especially Max. I know, girl/boy, yin/yang, and all that stuff.

The other day as I am reading an article I find out about Webkinz Cheats. What are Webkinz Cheats you might ask? Well, apparently there are ways you can "cheat" to get points without actually jumping through all the required hoops so you can amass points, and therefore objects, more quickly. And, Webkinz knows about these various cheat methods but can only "fix" them so quickly. So between the time they are discovered and a fix is implemented they are readily accessible to take advantage of.

Of course, my first thought is, "That is kind of cool that that stuff is out there," then as I dwell on what I just thought I start to ponder what that teaches my children. Children are exposed to so many things these days that I'm not sure Webkinz Cheats is something that I want to introduce to them. It's one thing to "earn" all the points but to intentionally seek out the cheats, I'm not sure if I am okay with that for my children. As I put more thought into this (yes, I know, too much thought into a silly subject) I wonder if these "cheats" are actually found by children or are there adults lurking on the site, too? I know, too much thinking.

Anyway, my decision is to keep my findings to myself and let my children experience the innocent play that they are entitled to as children. As for the Internet, they are never allowed to surf without an adult, be it sitting on an adults lap or an adult peering over the shoulder, and we will continue with that protocol for quite a while. You can never be too careful!

Please Look After This Bear

I'm sure you all can remember that those are the words Paddington wrote on his tag when he arrived at Paddington Station in London from Lima, Peru. Well, Paddington turns 50 today, October 13, 2008. That is so hard for me to believe.

Although I was not alive 50 years ago Paddington was a huge hit in our home when I was growing up. My sister had a Classic Paddington Bear, or maybe it was more than one, that she took everywhere with her and I read all the books, like Paddington Treasury (Paddington Bear). The books were my favorite books and there were a slough of them!

My twins never really got into Paddington but now that I remember how much I enjoyed reading the books I think I just came up with a gift for my daughter. I bet she will love to read about Paddington.

Shower Power

Last night when everyone came home the children followed their usual routine, they shower, eat, read, and complete any other homework they need to, and then, if they have any time left, they can watch television.

I was home last night, which I have said before is a rarity in our home, so the children came in, spoke with me for a minute about the goings on of their respective days and raced to the shower. My son usually showers first then Sissy. I was busily making dinner and catching up with my husband on the day's accomplishments. As we were chatting Max comes running out of the bathroom with barely the worst of the water dried from his still dripping wet body. I encourage him to dry a little more and get some clothes on while Sissy jumps into the shower.

As my husband and I were chatting we heard this blood curdling scream we look at each other and Max is all ready booking down the hall into the bathroom yelling, "That was Sissy! Sissy are you all right?" My husband takes off down the hall too with me bringing up the rear. We are all standing in the bathroom and we see Sissy standing in the shower crying her eyes out. As she tells it she was "calling and calling" us to get her a towel and no one came (because no one heard her). Luckily for all of us, the scream was one of frustration and not one representing something terrible as we all thought. We solved the towel issue and she completed her shower with no further adieu.

When we sat down for dinner I found that after that adrenaline mandating experience my appetite had been replaced with the after effects of the experience. I'm just so happy that it was just a missing towel caper!

In-N-Out Anniversary Special

Max and Sissy so lovingly call In-N-Out, Inside Out, but they really mean In-N-Out and they love, LOVE to go there. Unlike most other children neither one of them, when given the choice, would choose McDonald's over In-N-Out, unless of course the Happy Meal toy is something they could not fathom living without. But unless that unfortunate circumstance arises, we are on our way to In-N-Out Burgers for some never frozen beef patties and fresh made, like you can see them actually cutting the potatoes in the window, french fries. Yum!

Now, I just read that for their 60th Anniversary on October 22nd rumor has it that they may, and I said MAY, be selling hamburgers for $0.25 each, cheeseburgers for $0.30 each, fries for $0.15, and drinks for $0.10. Apparently the Corporate office denies this promotion which I am glad about. The lines are long enough without the added benefit of a discount.

Now why did I not think of that?

Trading Truce

After a considerable amount of loud unpleasantness Sissy appears from the hall way.

"Max always wants to trade me something and I NEVER want to trade him."
"Well, then don't trade." Daddy replies.
"But if I don't trade, he comes into my room and says, 'PLEEEEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSE, you NEVER trade me.' He's not supposed to be in my room. I am going to charge him a dollar. Actually he has been in my room 50 times so I will charge him FIFTY dollars."
"There is no trading allowed in this family, you both know that."
"I KNOW! But he keeps coming in MY room and saying PLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSE! So you better tell HIM."

Then Sissy stomps out of the family room. There is considerably more discussion then a truce. Aw, how sweet the sound of silence.

We try to let the children work out their differences and not become involved too much because that is clearly a no-win situation. The thing about Max and Sissy is that they are so close that they cannot remain angry or upset with each other. Their disagreements can be trying at times but they seem to make amends before long and I think they actually become closer for it. If that is possible...