Presents and parents

I saw the twins today for the first time in a week. I have to admit that I dropped my stuff practically right inside the door and ran up to the nursery; I've missed them. They have all sorts of cool new toys, too (only I would say that): Elefun, an easel, the Melissa & Doug pizza, Click Clack Splish Splash, and more. We had a very playful morning, and I drew about twelve spiders on pieces of paper for them. Thank goodness those are easy to draw, as I lack any noticeable artistic talent.

I was talking to their mom after I put them down for nap, and she was mentioning how artistic Patrick is. "The lilt of his hand when he has markers at the easel...it's hilarious, and adorable. He definitely doesn't get it from my side of the family." Apparently he also uses the pretend hair dryer to fix her hair, even floufing it when he's done. She told me, "He's going to grow up and be very artistic, or gay. And I'm okay with either one." She said that again later in the conversation. I love how relaxed she is about the entire thing; she lets him wear bows just like his sister (he actually wears them more), and it's not a big deal, or a premonition of doom to come. It's just what he wants to do at the ripe age of two.

Well, wear bows, and see how many times he can take his shoes off and on. At least he can put them on by himself now. I love velcro.

Birthday delay

As yesterday was the anniversary of my emergence, as someone phrased it on Facebook, I'm still considering myself on holiday. And, to my great delight, I'm off all week with the minor exceptions of watching the twins Thursday morning and Friday evening. Busy week nonetheless. My parents are coming in for a quick visit, then a friend is crashing here, then V and I are headed south for a wedding. This will be a quiet week on the blog.

That doesn't mean that I still thumbed through every page of the cute Fisher Price baby stuff catalog that I somehow ended up with. I did throw it away afterward, though.

Merry Christmas

Happy holidays to all. It's snowy here with V's family, and there's been some ups and downs. But it's still Christmas, and we've still snuck in a few secret kisses.

Merry celebrations - my birthday is in forty-eight hours!

Slightly unsafe nanny

Today, after the twins, I thought I had time to meet V at the bank and pull out money so she could handle paying January's rent. I was wrong. Apparently, it's December 23rd.

So, I was running late to my second job, and I was supposed to pick up Timothy from a friend's and then collect Tessa from the neighbor's. Their mom had sent me the name, address, and number of the mom who had Timothy. Thankfully I had my laptop, because at a red light, I pulled up that email and saved the number to my phone.

You know you're a nanny when you not only have your kids' mom's phone number saved, but you also have your kids' friends' moms' numbers. Oh yeah.

Anyway, I called and let her know I was late, and she didn't mind, and I was only a quarter of an hour behind, anyway. It's been a laid-back day since; Timothy and I played chess, which has been our latest time-passer, and Tessa stayed playing with the neighbor girls. Now they're watching the Garfield movie on tv, and I'm counting down till I get to see my V again.

Tomorrow we're headed to her house for a few days, so you probably won't hear much from me. I don't work again till Tuesday!

Here comes Santa Claus

I haven't been feeling well (again) lately, so I threw on random clothes and made it over to the twins' this morning, planning for a quiet day. The first thing I hear when I open the door is their mom calling "Hello!" from upstairs, and when I went up to investigate, I see her rummaging through the closet and both kids playing in the hallway. "I thought we'd go see Santa today!"

Now, despite my slight nausea, this prospect greatly excited me. I love being out with kids, and I love doing things that make me feel like part of the family. We got Patrick and Lilly dressed, fed them breakfast, and then I rode in the van with them and their dad, while their mom followed in the other car (their dad was staying at the mall longer than we were). The mall we were headed to was half an hour away, so that didn't help my not-feeling-well. Chatted with their dad on the way up. Parked, popped up two strollers, and I pushed Lilly while their mom pushed Patrick.

Most heartwarming moment of the morning (though it doesn't sound like it at first): both parents squatting on either side of Santa, each with one kid, and me by the camera guy, when a crying, scared Lilly stretches her arms out toward me and yells my name. Poor kid...but I felt so loved. (And, not going to lie, proud that their mom saw that moment.) In the end, a decent picture was taken, and we shuffled them back out to the car. When their mom and I arrived home with them, I was pretty motion sick, and she let me go home early, which I was grateful for. But I'm so glad I got to go!

Their mom also told me that she talked to the occupational therapy team who visited awhile back, and apparently the team raved about me and how good I was with the kids. So, physical health is -5, mental health is +10.

No children, just a lesbian rant

Every now and then, I seem to nix the nannying part of this blog. It happened when I posted the other day about finding car insurance, and before that when I talked about health insurance. I know I've referenced my engagement/wedding as well. But pardon me for a moment while I go big picture.

I was listening to NPR tonight, and they were talking about the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal. Obviously I'm thrilled at the repeal; it's about time. I'm sick and tired of segregation just based on attraction preferences. Are soldiers going to be suddenly terrified that they'll be flirted with by their fellow men? Most of the world is heterosexual, yes, and yet I don't think most people live their lives in terror of possibly being found attractive. It's like the crazy argument when someone comes out and people are terrified that person will "like" them. I'm not madly stalking all my male friends; why would I do the same to you?

What bothers me even more, though, is the promotion of a culture of secrecy. I'm not talking the big privacy issues that keep cropping up (Facebook, WikiLeaks). It's the idea that it's okay to make someone hide something that isn't harmful. Whether it's the military or a school that will remain unnamed, institutions that force suppression only hurt people. I know. V and I graduated from a school where the wrong word to the wrong person would have gotten us kicked out. I spent a year hiding the most important thing that ever happened to me. It's not just keeping the fact that I had a girlfriend secret; it was not being able to write a spiritual memoir for a class that really dealt with my current spiritual status, because the teacher could have sent it to the Dean of Students. It was coming up with an excuse for why V and I were seeing a counselor, when really it was just to have a dose of sanity and reassurance. It was staying two feet apart every time we were on campus, in case somebody thought the wrong thing. Were we over-vigilant? Of course. We were both graduating with fairly impressive academic records (if I say so myself), and didn't want to jeopardize that.

Have you heard any of the news out of Belmont University? They fired their winning soccer coach because she announced she was going to have a baby with her partner. Part of my brain is blown that a "Christian" school would even have accepted knowing that she was a lesbian, but that shows you what I'm used to. I'm just tired of it. This post is a long way to say it, but I'm tired of people having to fit in little boxes in order to feel like a legitimate human being in the world. And sometimes I just want to yell it, because I couldn't for more than a year:

I have a girlfriend. We're getting married. I'm going to spend my entire life with her. And just because she happens to have matching chromosomes to me doesn't mean we're plotting the downfall of your society, so please, remember that we're normal, and stop trying to pretend we're either the devil or nonexistent.

When spiders are good

There are few things in life that compare to the shy grin Patrick gives when Itsy Bitsy Spider comes on and I look at him. It makes him so happy. Of course, the times he doesn't do his adorable shy grin, he spazzes around the room flailing his arms and squealing. Happy toddlers.

Speaking of, they've actually been pretty good today. A bit of brattiness, and a warning from their mom that they were cranky all weekend with colds, but for the most part, really cute. Of course, I just finished reading eleven books to Lilly. She, by the way, has learned the phrase "Come back!" which is oh so lovely when I escape into the kitchen while they're eating to try to do the dishes.

Lilly has down "head" and "toes," but she still needs a little work on "shoulders" and "knees."

Afternoon tiredness

I was scheduled to watch Katie and Sean today at 11:45 so their parents could go to a football game, and last night when I was there, I mentioned my roommate (code for V, of course) would just drop me off after church. Their mom immediately said she was welcome to stay, too - she knows that V is also in childcare. So, off we went after church today, and we were there until 4:45.

Sean napped and Katie had quiet time in her room, so we did get a bit of a reprieve, but Katie is one of the most hyperactive children I know. When she was downstairs with us, it was: swing me around your back, push me fast on this car, squeeze me between your legs and see if I can get out. I was exhausted. Sean, though, is as quiet and adorable and snuggly as can be, and makes me want a little boy (I still want a girl first, though).

When we left, V and I went to dinner and then came back and exchanged stockings, which is all the Christmas we're doing for each other. Then we went through our books to try to pare down our lives. Oddly, I enjoyed both those activities almost to the same degree. But I will always take stockings given a choice. It's felt good making money this weekend. December's been a tight month, but with V's sitting picking up, we're pulling things back together. I'm just ready to not be sitting both nights every weekend.

Deck the houses

One of the things I love about babysitting at various people's houses is that I can see their decorating style. My families are all so different, and it's reflected. I love it even more at Christmas, I'm realizing; people do so many different things with their holiday decor.

I've seen about four trees, and a gamut of reindeer-decked tea towels, snowmen figurines, red and green table runners, and door wreaths. It's fun. I wouldn't decorate like any single one of my families, but it's an interesting study in how personality is reflected in holidays.

This rambling entry is brought to you by my tired, brain-dead, just-home self.

Same-Sex Win!

Over Thanksgiving, my dad turned the title to my car (that is, the car he purchased for me to drive at school) over to me. Last week, I got it registered. I needed to switch from his insurance policy onto my own, and ideally, I wanted one where V could be on the same policy, as my spouse after March.

She's on Progressive, which would allow us to do that. I, through my dad, was with USAA, and I wasn't sure of their views. Everything I read online was dated at least a year ago, but said that apparently same sex couples had gotten burned by them. I called in (I love their customer service), and was told that I could easily put her as my spouse come March, and if I chose to start a policy with them now, I could add her as a cohabitant until then.

I danced around the room excitedly. Long story short, after minimal hassle, we are both covered through USAA, and in two and a half months we'll be married and covered. I don't do a lot of whining about the difficulties of having a girlfriend on here (except for that one health insurance post). But to counteract them, I want to point out the times when it's no more hassle than if V stood for... Valdemar? Which happens to be Scandinavian for "famous ruler." Or Vladimir. Or Vaughn. You get the picture.

This entry is dedicated to an organization that recognizes that we are people too.

Sometime not now

I have a new satisfaction in life. It's watching my beloved girlfriend turn from someone who was on the fence about kids to someone who texts me "I want to be a mommy!" after comforting a sick two-year-old.

I'm currently against kids - you can't quote me on that - because last night and this morning, Patrick and Lilly were hellions. The kind of hellions two year old twins can be. It was terrible.

But, my own kids, or rather, V's and my kids, are an entirely different story. And I love that she wants them now, actively. And tells me so. And is getting practice. Here's to the future!

Kid-free time

I need some time without kids. I'm with the twins tonight, while their parents at at dinner, and I'm going crazy and wanting to snap at them much more than I like. Due to snow, I didn't go see Timothy and Tessa today. Somehow that wasn't enough of a break (though it let V and I run some wedding-related errands).

My schedule lately:
Let's see, last Thursday I was sick; Friday I was still a little sick, but I watched the twins that evening; Saturday I watched the twins at night; Monday was twins, then Timothy and Tessa; Tuesday was errands in the morning, then Timothy and Tessa, then co-sitting with V for two boys; Wednesday was twins, then Seth and Isabella.

Today is twins, tomorrow is twins and then T&T, Saturday I'm watching Katie and Sean but they should already be in bed, Sunday is Katie and Sean again, then the week begins! At least it will be short because of the holiday.

But, in other words, I want some kid-free time.

Saturated

I spent from ten to four with the twins (though they went down for naps at 2:30), and then from four to eight with Seth and Isabella (though they were napping till 5). I can officially say I'm saturated when it comes to youngsters. I love all four of those kids dearly, but my brain is enjoying the rest of the night off. We're supposed to get some pretty rough weather tonight and tomorrow, so who knows what I'll be up to tomorrow - though I'm supposed to watch the twins tomorrow night as well.

Lilly threw up in her crib as soon as I put her down for her nap and went back downstairs. She was lying on her back, so it was all over her shirt, her hair, her face, and her blanket. Thankfully there's a waterproof liner-sheet in the crib, so I just had to unsnap that and the crib was usable again, but since it was so all over her, I ended up stripping her and standing her up in the tub while I rinsed her off and tried to get it out of her hair. Poor sleepy thing was just saying "nap, nap" the whole time. Only her bigger blankie had gotten contaminated, so she still had her little blankie, her lambie, and her kitty to sleep with. She asked about her other blankie, and when I told her that I had to wash it, she looked at me sadly and said, "Sick me."

I do officially believe today was a test of my nannying capabilities. I think I passed. The twins' mom texted me and thanked me for everything I did with Lilly today. I just hope it doesn't happen again.

Not that old

Yesterday, Timothy was asking me about the legos I had when I was younger. I told him that I mostly just had pieces, not sets.

Timothy: Oh, I guess that makes sense. I know they didn't start making sets for awhile.
Me: No, they had them, I just didn't own-
Timothy: No no, I know. You just had different pieces. My dad said they didn't come out with sets till like the 1970s.

In other news, the twins have a new cd, but it's burned, and just says "Preschool Songs." I really like it, so I put it on my computer, but iTunes couldn't find it.

Patrick has picked up my signature phrase, "Oh goodness." As in, he can't get a piece in the shape sorter, "Oh goo-ness." He opens Pirate Potato Head and it's totally full, "Oh goo-ness." Though I guess it's better than Lilly, who, according to her parents, has picked up her father's frustrated habit of "Come on! ...damnit." I have yet to hear this, but oh I want to. And then I will say, as their mother said to do, "We say darnit."

Toddler's world

One of the little snippets I read somewhere has really changed the way I handle toddlers. I actually don't even like the word "handle," like they were show dogs (nevermind that Patrick has taken to wearing bows everyday). The way I interact with toddlers, let's say.

I couldn't tell you what I actually read; suffice it to say that it mentioned toddlers always being rushed through an adult's fast-paced world. I'd never thought about it before, but it's true. As we grow up, we get used to hurrying from one task to the other, and if something takes longer than it has to, it's a problem.

For example, Patrick likes to squirm around in his crib for awhile in the morning. I pull Lilly out of hers, get her dressed, and go get him, but he's rarely ready. Usually I grab him within the first few seconds, because after I get him dressed, we go downstairs for breakfast. It's occurred to me lately, though - what is the big rush to get to breakfast? Does it matter if I starts ten minutes later than it sometimes does?

This has bled over into everything we do. I don't always maintain my same sense of calm, relaxed timing, but I'm learning to stop and question why I always have to accomplish things on my timetable. So what if I call them to their chairs to eat, and they grin at me from the other side of the room, wiggling their little diapered bottoms? They'll come running at me in a minute, arms outstretched, grins even wider.

I can hear the counterclaim that they're learning to disrespect. If I ask them to come, and they don't, isn't that disobedience? But my brain is telling me that there are more important things, like them enjoying life at their own pace. As I said, they will come. And it will be much happier than if I'd gone over and grabbed them. Their timing is becoming more important than mine, and I like it.

And now, the chicken dance just came on one of the twins' cds, and I started doing it. Lilly is staring at me like I'm a complete idiot. So, I stopped.

Conversations

Lilly just walked into the kitchen, where I'm doing the dishes, and said, "Hey! What you doing?"

A few minutes later, after she was just staring at me, I asked her if she was bored. She paused for a second and said, "I'll go get book."

The makings of a great one, right there.

Bedtime

The twins' bedtime, not mine, though I'd gladly let it be mine.

I think I could put them to bed every night. Seriously, I want to tell their parents, if you ever just want me to drop by at ten for half an hour, I'll do it. They have a lullaby cd, and their bottle, and their fuzzy sleeper jammies. I get them dressed, turn down the light, give them their bottles, and start the music. I stretch for awhile, which is pleasant in and of itself. When they're halfway done, I turn the light all the way off, leaving just the small turtle lamp they have as a nightlight. I burp Lilly. Eventually I take Patrick (who always finishes his milk first) to brush his teeth, then come back and get Lilly. I pick them up, one at a time, and give and receive a squeeze of two little arms around my neck. I lie them down, telling them I love them and to sleep well.

It's always hard to come back downstairs to the harsh kitchen light and the leftover dishes. I want to stay in that somnolent, peaceful room for hours; I want to fall asleep like that. I want to be able to do this every night.

Cute moments from toddler-land

I'm still feeling poorly tonight, and it hasn't been a good day for my respiratory system, so babysitting is not exactly my occupation of choice. Times like these lead to me being a less than exceptional nanny; last night I was making angel crafts, and tonight I'm on skype. I introduced one of my friends to the twins, and when I closed the window (Patrick was intent on pushing buttons) Lilly asked where she had gone.

I sneezed (of course), and Lilly brought me the tea towel they play with (they love to "clean") to wipe my nose on. When I got an actual tissue, Patrick came running with the trash can so I could throw it away.

I keep trying to get good photobooth pictures of them, but oddly, they're a little uncertain about it. I really wasn't expecting that, and it's sad, because I don't have too many pictures. I'll have to ask their mom for some.

Lilly was playing with her Princess Potato Head, and all I heard was "thank you welcome, thank you welcome."

Their parents ordered a pizza for dinner, and I set both of them up on the counter while I cut it. They thought it was so cute, and kept stealing bites off their plates. Their mom popped into the kitchen and commented that they were getting spoiled tonight. I said, "Yeah, how is it that I'm the one not feeling well, and you guys are getting spoiled?"

Lilly is learning to sing along with some of her toys, so now I have to keep pushing a bunny that sings "Jesus Loves Me." She hits about every other word: "love me I know for tell so yes love me yes love me." Which, when typed out, sounds rather like the toddlers' creed.

I love these two. I really do.

Strep throat and playdoh fingers

Now that I've been on antibiotics for over twenty-four hours, I'm not contagious, and therefore...I'm watching the twins. I didn't want to deny their parents the Christmas party they're attending, and I need to make up some money since I've missed one day with them and two days with Timothy and Tessa. I'm feeling up to it, though I figured the evening would be low-key.

That was before I arrived and heard "markers!" followed quickly by "playdoh!" I stole an idea from V, who did a craft with the three-year-old she watches, and traced their hands to make angel wings and let them color a piece of paper for the angel gown. They're pretty cute.



Now we're mostly calmly playing in the nursery, which is good, because I'm tired. I only had one real nap today, and apparently I still need more than that. Thankfully tomorrow is Saturday, and I can rest all day before coming back here in the evening. The twins' parents get quite a few Christmas party invitations!

On a website I was on, Lilly noticed a triangle, so now they're watching my computer like two little hawks for any other shapes they can pick out. I think it might be time to put this away.

It catches up to me

I don't know whom I picked it up from, but it's official: I have strep throat. As if the four am to seven am feverish vomiting session didn't already tell me that. But, I'm on antibiotics now, and V is taking the most excellent care of me. I won't get to see the twins in the morning, naturally; I'm scheduled to watch them tomorrow night, when I'll be non-contagious, but their mom might still think it's too close for comfort. Guess I'll find out soon.

I feel really bad for messing up my parents' schedules! Obviously it's nothing I can control (as the twins' dad told me), but still. I've apologized lots. And slept lots.

Interactive play

One of the things that's great about twins (and despite how much I swear I'll never have them, there are some up sides) is that they learn to play together so young. Of course, they learn things like sharing. But, as I noticed this morning, they also learn how to interact with each other and play games that will later turn into "house" and "vet."

For example, as I was doing the dishes, I watched Lilly wave and say "bye-bye" to Patrick as he walked down the hall, and then "hi" as he walked back. This happened a few times, completely of their own volition. For two years and two months old, I'm pretty impressed. Then, when Patrick brought her a toy, he said "Thank you welcome." Nice prompting action.

It's really neat, watching two kids the same age, who have been together all their lives. I still don't want twins of my own, certainly. But I like borrowing them.

And now Patrick wants a bow in his hair because Lilly has one. He wore one all day Monday for the same reason.

Christmas preparations

A moment of nanny bragging (well, not really):
I bought each of my regular kids (Patrick, Lilly, Timothy, Tessa, Seth, Isabella, and two others) a small ornament for Christmas, and I just wrote out Christmas cards to their parents. V and I actually just did a bunch of cards. We both feel grown-up at the moment, but in a good, not stressful, way. And I feel on top of my little nanny world. I have regular families; I'm writing them notes; I know their kids birthdays and allergies and homework schedules.

V and I have been talking about getting business cards. I've been thinking of doing it for awhile, just because I'm tired of writing down my name, number, and email for moms I meet. Since I give out her info on a night I'm busy, and vice versa, we figured we'd just do cards with both sets of contact information. Of course, then we need a "business name" to put on the card, and that's where we're stuck.

I feel like this little business is actually going somewhere. Sure, it's just nannying, but a few word-of-mouth referrals and some high praise has gone to my head. Next thing you know, I'll be pressing business cards into everyone's hands.

2 girls + X = baby

I probably shouldn't be tired of the "Do you know how you'll try to conceive?" question yet, given that we haven't even started and already I've been asked more than a few times. Of course, by the time we've started trying, the answer will be much more set (and rather ongoing). For now, nothing is settled; there's just an ideal world in which I get pregnant quickly.

Yes, definitely I. I've been wanting to be pregnant and have a baby for years, and V isn't entirely sure how she feels about the small-person-growing-inside-your-body deal. I'm more than happy to carry and labor; I'd probably ask if we could try to get pregnant tomorrow except that I've promised we'll be married first.

Honestly, we'd like to use a known donor. It's simpler (in some ways), cheaper, and would keep the baby's biological father in the picture. Obviously the hitch there is knowing a donor, and that's something we haven't addressed beyond tossing ideas at each other. Best case scenario? We have a wonderful friend who is more than willing, and I get pregnant on the first try.

How do I feel about all this? Uncertain. Very certain about having a baby, no doubt. Very certain about raising that baby with V. But still a little weirded out by the fact that half of the baby's genes will be from someone totally unrelated to us. I grew up with the "couple falls in love, couple marries, couple makes baby" mindset, and this just seems strange.

I try not to think about the argument my brain occasionally poses, that if V's and my relationship were "natural," we would be able to conceive (or at least legitimately try) together. I love her, I want a baby with her, and this is the way to do it. So be it. Maybe I'll get more comfortable as it gets closer. Maybe not. But I'll do anything for a baby, and a good friend's "contribution" is as good a scenario as any, barring miraculous V-and-I conception.

(See? This isn't something I could have dictated.)

Attempts

This is weird.

I'm not sure I can do this.

I'm going to be done before not too long.

---

This is V, over at Synthesis Searching, otherwise known as the girlfriend. Lina is finishing up a puzzle, but wanting to finish her puzzle and make a blog post, I offered to let her dictate a post to me. The above is what began as the dictation. It didn't get very far. And it's full of subtext.

So, enjoy her scattered thoughts while she realizes that she thinks while she types, not talks.

Party girls

You know how in the Nutcracker, Clara is upstairs while her parents have the party downstairs? Okay, maybe it's not the Nutcracker (I haven't seen that in years), but it's definitely a theme in various old stories. I thought it was an old sort of theme.

Apparently not. Last night, my job was to keep the kids happy upstairs, while the adults "played" (the twins' mom's wording) downstairs. It was probably the only moment in that nursery I would have described as "classy," simply because I was the nanny with the children, and there was a Christmas party going on. It felt like I was in some hundred-year-old tale.

Of course, various parental coworkers and relatives came and camped out in the nursery. That was the more frustrating part. For awhile, I had two additional two-year-olds, plus Patrick and Lilly - and they all played together beautifully! I got to take my twins downstairs briefly, and everyone oohed and aahed over their cuteness.

Plus, V was downstairs bartending (I love my girl). Once the kids went to bed, which doesn't happen until about 10:15, I was free to join the party, and V was set free from behind the bar. We promptly drank a little more wine than we should've - though it wasn't our fault, since the twins' dad poured large glasses. We chatted with some people, snacked on dip and brownies and crackers, and I gave thanks that Lilly hadn't thrown up on my dress. (I did have the foresight to bring a backup outfit though, just in case!)

The lesson of the night: the way to be the popular girl at a party is to carry around an adorable two-year-old. (Though everyone seemed to be raving about me, too - wow!)

Grandma go home

This entry might be a little bit of a rant. Timothy and Tessa's grandmother has been in town for two weeks, and I'm ready for her to go home. She leaves in the morning (hallelujah). Honestly, I'm just more used to the kids. Yes, she has known them longer, but I see their day-in-day-out more. And I know how Fridays go.

It's the end of the week, and they're tired. I stay late so their parents can go out; we three go out to eat too usually. Tessa has at least one minor breakdown. The two can never agree on a restaurant quickly, and she gets frustrated and starts crying.

When this happened today, the grandmother (who was in the car with us, after Timothy's basketball practice) practically lost it and snapped at the kids that it was either O'Charley's (Timothy's choice) or home. Naturally, that aggravated Tessa even more.

I ended up suggesting we drive about twenty minutes away where most of the restaurants are, and the grandmother said to drop her at home because she didn't want to go that far. As soon as we did, the kids were fine, and we three had a blast at Friday's.

I wanted to snap at the woman for snapping at her grandkids. Yes, Tessa was upset, but seriously - is it the end of the world? How do I, at 22, manage to keep a calm voice and smooth things over easily, when she can't even handle one little meltdown? I'm so glad she won't be there next week. No more her looking over my shoulder or me feeling like I have to watch my every move, and no more messing with my kids!

Guess I have a protective streak. Hm.

How many kids do I watch?

I spent the morning with the twins, obviously, and as two-year-olds, one of the obvious gestures is holding arms up to be picked up. It's pretty standard practice with any toddler: "Do you want me to hold you?" followed by arms reaching up.

So explain to me, then, why (after a morning of doing that) I come home and walk over to my cat, sitting on a chair. She looks up at me, and I say, "Do you want me to hold you?"

And she stretches her paws up onto my chest.

And yes, I held her, for no less than nine minutes.

Where are mommy and daddy?

Lilly's been running around with a little purse on her arm for the past few minutes. I asked her where she was going in such a hurry.

"Work."

Cuteness and snow

Lately I feel like all my posts (the few that there have been) have just been snippets of kids, not any sort of reflections on anything. I should change that soon: it isn't that things aren't going on in my head, they just don't quite make it to computer. This will be no exception.

It's been flurrying all day today! It's so pretty, and the twins thought it was amazing. Lilly kept saying "no, no, no!" until I realized she was saying "snow." I bundled them up and took them out in the stroller, and they giggled and giggled at the snowflakes hitting their faces.

It was really good to have a happy day with them. It's my third in a row, and I may end up working tomorrow too. Definitely Friday, then Saturday night during their parents' Christmas party - though I can come downstairs after the party, and V will be there, bartending!

In other news, this is the first afternoon I've had off in awhile, and in an hour I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, put together a desk, replied to a few emails, and ate lunch. Free time is amazing! Now for my puzzle.