Don't put the kids in the washer

I spent the entire washer cycle this morning with the twins in the laundry room, as we watched the clothes go round and round. They have a clear door, front loading washer, so every now and then Patrick would go "froggy bib!" when a piece of white fabric would go by, and Lilly would identify "kitty shirt!" when she saw black. Both of them spun around - excuse me, round and round - off and on for probably fifteen or twenty minutes, and only in the last few of the cycle did they start hiding by the couch and playing "I see you!"

This laundry campaign of mine is part of a new initiative (do I sound political enough yet?) to not treat them differently from other kids because there are two of them. When I'm with one toddler, he or she is always on my hip, helps with laundry, sits on the counter while I prepare food, etc. Physics denies me some of that with the twins, but just because it takes five minutes for both of them to make it down the stairs to the laundry room doesn't mean I should always leave them in the nursery while I go do laundry. Or so I'm realizing.

So, off we went, down two flights of stairs, and they took turns throwing clothes into the washer. Then came round and round. Then we threw the clothes in the dryer, and they started to go round and round like the dryer - but at that point I told them we were going back upstairs. Half an hour in the laundry room is plenty.

In more dramatic news, I got them each to sit on the potty without diapers on! Nothing happened, of course, but they're definitely getting more comfortable with the whole potty thing.