Oh, to be 4....

Here is a glimpse of the world through the eyes of my four year olds. World Wars 1 and 2 are both levels in Super Mario Brothers. Mommy and Daddy got married at the "Awful Tower" in Vegas. If something blows up, it "desplodes". One piece of broccoli makes you stronger than Daddy. Plus signs, crosses, and Urgent Care signs are all referred to as the "Hawaii sign" because they look like the cross on the Maui Lifeguard t-shirts mommy brought back from vacation. Spiders are scary, but snakes are cool (how does that work?). If other kids are fun to play with, then they are considered cousins, regardless of whether or not they are related. Your list of bad words contains the words "shut up", "no", and " butt". Every time you pretend to fight with Papa, it's in Dragon Style, in which you yell "Dragon Style" at the top of your lungs before you attack.Whenever you run, you must "run like the wind". You have not yet discovered that the eighties song "Somebody's Watching Me" is a creepy song. To you it is simply a fun song that you feel you must sing...every time we get in the car. A hangnail is a legitimate excuse to get up at bedtime.You truly believe that Mom can't tell you apart from your twin brother, and feel it is your duty to occasionally test her by asking, "Which one am I, Mom?" And you realize that money comes in three forms: coins, paper money, and "swiping money".

Let's Get Physical

With the nice weather, I have been trying to get into better shape. I usually do the Insanity exerci\se workouts in the evenings, after the kids are all in bed. We had a crazy day ahead of us this morning, and with Cameron being away, I was worried that I just wouldn't get around to it this evening. I decided I'd better get it out of the way in the morning instead. With the baby preoccupied in her exersaucer, and a twin on each side of me, I was ready to begin the workout with my new little exercise buddies. When the show started, my boys considered the fitness buffs on the screen for a moment. Ross took one look at the girls in their sports bras and tight little shorts and said simply, "Uh oh! Someone's just wearing their underpants today!"

Never Misses A Beat

We had just finished bathing all the children, and were relaxing in the living room, when I realized it was a good evening to trim the kids' nails. After fetching the clippers and a garbage sack for the clippings, I noticed how long their nails had actually gotten. In a fake posh voice I said, "Why Aiden, who does your nails?" He held his hand out, and after examining his nails, he said nonchalantly, " Nature."

Be Careful What You Ask For...

Life has been a bit hectic lately, with summer finally arriving after a long winter. We've had plenty of  friends and family visit us in recent weeks, and it has been great to see everyone. We recently went to dinner with some family whom we don't get a chance to see very often. My husband's cousin was passing through town with her new husband and her mother. While the ladies sat and visited with us, the new husband decided to entertain our two little boys with some magic tricks. The twins were fascinated as he twirled coins around his knuckles and pulled quarters from their ears. They were even more thrilled when he started having them participate. At one point in his performance, our new magician friend held out his fist and asked Aiden to "blow". I saw the scene unravel in slow motion, as Aiden sucked in a deep breath. Not yet having children of his own, our young magician friend did not realize that at 4 years old, the term "blow" usually refers to boogies and a Kleenex. I waived my arms to try to stop the inevitable from happening, but it was too late. Our new friend was soon sprayed with a shower of snot and boogies. Luckily, his good nature instantly took over and he had a good laugh about the situation!

The Things They Say...

Anyone who has children can probably agree that it is not always an easy feat to make it out the door in the morning on a busy school day. We were have one of these crazy mornings recently, in which there just didn't seem to be enough time to complete everything that needed to be accomplished before leaving the house. Normally I do not leave the house until I've showered and pulled myself together. On this particular morning however, it was not going to happen. Since my appearance was low on the list of priorities amid the numerous other events that were taking place, I simply threw on a hat and ran out the door. This is something that is very uncharacteristic of me. As we arrived at the school, and the boys were getting out of the car, Ross looked at me thoughtfully and said, "Mom, I don't love your hat...but you still look cute." I couldn't help but smile to myself.

Up To No Good

One morning I was in the kitchen making breakfast. I was just marveling at how good the boys were being in the other room when I overheard a bit of their conversation. One was explaining to the other that he had to "throw it harder if he wanted to break it." This statement definitely peaked my curiosity. I crept closer and listened intently. As I poked my head around the corner, I could see that they had brought a pile of small toys into the living room. One by one they were taking turns throwing them at the plasma television that was mounted on the wall. Apparently they had watched a television show where the main characters jumped into the TV, and became a part of the show. They thought that if they broke the screen on our television, then they could jump inside it and become a part of the show! It's a good thing I got to them while they were practicing with the stuffed animals!

A Good Laugh

Sometimes a situation will arise, in which the only thing you can do is take a step back and laugh. I found myself in such a situation a few months ago. It was October, and I was seven months pregnant. Anyone who was around me during this time may remember that because of the way I carried the baby, my belly was HUGE!  The weather was turning cold and the twins were restless, so I decided to take them to the library. Usually we have a great time at the library because there are computer games, a toy area, and of course tons of books. This day however, I could tell by the whiny pitch in Ross' voice, that we were rapidly approaching nap time. With one arm full of books, I tried to fend for myself as Ross tugged on my remaining hand while crying about something that he wanted. Aiden, who was minding very well, started for the door as soon as I announced that we were done and had to go. With his arms full of books, he did not realizing that we hadn't yet checked them out. I tried to call to him, but he was in his own little world, and continued toward the exit. Ross began to get increasingly angry at being ignored and started tugging at my clothes. At the very moment that Aiden walked through the sensors, setting off the alarms, Ross gave a good tug on my pants. I had trouble keeping them up over my bulbous belly to begin with, and with this tug, they easily slipped down my legs and around my ankles. I froze in horror as everyone looked our way to see who had set off the alarms. It took me four months to build up the courage to set foot inside our library again!