milestone?

A new, and not completely cool, milestone was reached tonight.

The RGs were tucked in around 8:30pm. At 9, 9:30 and 9:45pm I was back in their room urging them to quit gabbing and go to sleep.

Apparently, they had a lot to talk about tonight.

At any rate, the final visit was prompted by raucous screeching and tormented crying.

All Roo.

Which always means Em is provoking her or messing with her stuff.

(Not that it doesn't happen the other way around. Just not tonight.)

When I opened the door, Em had barely made it back into her bed and was in the process of pulling up her covers. Roo had her blanket over her head.

Em smiled angelically at me.

I asked Roo, "What happened? Why were you screaming and crying?"

She pretended she couldn't hear me.

When I repeated the question, she mumbled some gibberish under her breath and then smirked. Em continued to look angelic.

So, no answer forthcoming, I admonished them, told them goodnight and closed the door.

Immediately, I heard Em apologize to Roo for messing with her dolls.

Roo told her it was okay.

They covered for each other!

It's a whole new world now.

overheard

Em, on the way home from a fun get-together with 2 other sets of twins.

[random sobbing from the back seat]

To herself: "That's okay, Em. Don't be sad. You had fun! You put on a great show."

-------------------

Roo, playing in our bed while J tried to sleep just a bit longer.

[looking over at J as he snores; big shrug]

"And the bear snores on."

culture club

Thanks to an amazing review site for our area, we learned of a summer storytime being held at a local art museum.

So, we polished up our manners and reviewed the no-touching rule and struck off for some culture.

It was fabulous!

The docent read Katie and the Mona Lisa to the children while we sat among the paintings. Afterwards, she led a short discussion of the surrounding art while referencing the story. Just as everyone was getting the wiggles it was time to transition. We moved on to an instillation piece that the children were allowed to touch. Bonus!

The girls found it rather magical and were reluctant to leave.

However, the trip through the modern art wing really captured their imaginations. By the time we stopped for a reading of When the Cows Got Loose, both Em and Roo were paying more attention to the art on the walls than the story. In my opinion, that's not a bad thing.

At the conclusion of storytime we were afforded the opportunity to meander the museum on our own. How lovely to have access to this for the remaining weeks of the summer.

We'll definitely return.

The Culture Club

Thanks to (mostly) good behavior, Em and Roo had their outing extended. We picked up J from work and grabbed lunch at one of the awesome food stands around here.

Because nothing says culture like food out of a travel trailer.

Today it was fancy tacos and amazing cake balls.

Em and Roo were smitten with the idea of cake on a stick. Who can blame them?

Everything's better on a stick.

inmates...asylums...

You know that saying about the inmates running the asylum?

It's starting to feel like that could happen here at any moment.

J and I had a pow wow tonight about our new strategeries where the RGs and discipline are concerned.

Why?

A few things have happened lately.

-A couple of runaways just for the power trip of it all. One of which was a mad dash into a parking lot.

-Explosive reactions where the anger is taken out on a twin instead of the parent or situation they're mad at

And the one that almost made me bust out laughing while simultaneously making my blood boil...

Me: You're being very disrespectful.

Her: {gunslinger stare} Yes.

Her: And misopedient

Me: Yes you are being disobedient.

Her: And rude!

Her: And ugly!

Her: {more staring}

bunk beds

After they helped each other finish a single prayer (filling in forgotten names, adding important blessings), Roo leaned over to kiss Em goodnight.

"See you in the morg-ing." she said.

Then, she climbed into Em's bed and pulled the covers up over them both.

Roo explained, "We in a bunk bed."

A brief reminder of what a bunk bed looked like did nothing to deter her insistence. They were in a bunk bed. End of story.

To give them enough room, I pushed their beds together.

Thinking over it, after closing the door, I remembered the book Roo's been pouring over of late.

The Best Storybook Ever.

In it is a tale of a baby bunny and what his family imagines he will be when he is grown. The final illustration shows the baby, all grown up, as a father rabbit.

He is lifting a bunny high into a four-tiered bunk bed. Below, sleep the baby's siblings.

Two to a bed.

Of course. Bunk beds.

tutus are for suckers

The RGs attended the birthday party of some sweet playgroup friends.

The trio celebrated turning 5 with a princess, superhero and pirate party.

It was awesome.

Lots of yummies, dressing up, toys, play equipment and bouncing with good friends.

Em and Roo each received a tutu, fairy wand and princess tiara for favors. But, they (not so secretly) longed for the boys' favor bag with the pirate/superhero loot inside. As we exited, I was able to exchange their bags and handed them over once we got to the car.

You would have thought it was Christmas!

So, for 2 days now, we've had a couple of buccaneers running about, with super hero capes on for added measure. They've answered nearly every question with "Argh!!!" and are in character for at least 50% of the day.

In fact, Roo has a complete alter ego now named Pirate Finnegan.

I was told this evening that "I not pirate Em now, just Em."

It's hard to tell when they switch back to regular people sometimes.

a little paint on the barn

Em asked me for a "shadow brush" this morning.

I was getting ready for the day and putting on my makeup. She wanted to do that, too.

I keep a set of make-up brushes just for the girls to play with.

(Ever since finding Roo dusting with one of my blushers.)

Playing makeup isn't a new thing.

But today, she wasn't satisfied with the brush. Em said she wanted "some paint".

Here's the result.

Check out those eyes!

from the heart

Tonight was the first time both girls said truly original bedtime prayers of their own accord.

Roo began by requesting that I pray for them. Em then volunteered.

So, we bowed our heads and listened to her completely compelling and adorable prayers for her friends, family, home and favorite things. Em ended it by saying "...and fank you for my fambily. My mudda, my fahder, and my twin sister. Oh, and bless Mama and Daddy. And Em and Roo. And Maggie and Mo. 'n Jesus name, amen."

Then, Roo volunteered to pray. She began by repeating some of the phrasing and key words from Em's prayer. That's typical for her, borrowing words when she's not sure what to say. But, then, she found her heart, and with it, the words.

Roo prayed for herself first, saying some of the things that J and I pray over her. She prayed to have good dreams, to sleep well and to grow in grace and might. As she began to use her own words, she started to whisper, a bit self conscience. I heard her pray for blessings for her family, naming Mama, Daddy and Em. She thanked God for safety at the swimming pool today and named a few friends and then signed off with her amens.

I was near tears by the time they finished. It was such a precious moment and milestone to witness.

Yes, they've each said prayers copious times, but the family prayer time, going around the room and each of us taking a turn... it was different tonight, beautifully different.

cinderella, dressed in yella...

Roo: Mama, I'm a princess.

Me: Well, hi there Princess Roo!

Roo: I'm not Roo. I'm Princess Yellow.

Me: Because your shirt is yellow? Does that make you Princess Belle? She wears a yellow dress.

Roo: No I'm CinderYella!

her sense of smell works

Yesterday Em woke from a nap, entered the freshly mopped kitchen and wrinkled her nose.

(I mop with vinegar and water these days.)

"Wuz dat smell? It's stanky!"

"Do you mean stinky?" I asked.

"No. I smell stank. It's stanky."

Then today, she toted a Vanity Fair, loaded with perfume samples out to the car. It sat in the humid heat for several hours before we returned for a ride home.

Em declared the car to be stanky, too.

She's right. It was.

storytime as told by Roo

Once upon a time there were two little, no, wait...

There was one little... yes. One little boy.

And one little goyle. Named Daddy and Mama.

And they went to Africa. Then they went to Abilene. And that is the end.

-by Roo

World of Wonderland

The Rowdy Girls have been counting down to this weekend. For two weeks now, Em has asked 'what number is today?' And finally, we got to number 1. The day we departed for Sea World!

Em and Roo brought their A game and had a fabulous day playing in the water park, seeing their favorite exhibits and catching the new season of shows.

Bonuses included the new baby killer whale and the baby beluga whales!

We overnighted and had a pretty restful evening at our hotel. I must say that travel with the RGs has definitely become easier as they've gotten older. This time around, we all stayed in the same room, no suite. The girls slept cosily in their PeaPods next to our bed and the 4 of us got a solid 10 hours of sleep. Not too shabby. And it made for happy campers the next day.

Which brings us to Morgan's Wonderland. This is a new park developed specifically for special needs kiddos. Some of the most appealing places for us were the sensory village, water works and awesome playgrounds with 360 degree swings. Even though the high hit 100 degrees, the park just didn't feel that warm. Shade everywhere, misters and fans for all the outdoor activities and nicely air conditioned indoor features, too. One of our favorite things was the limited number of people allowed inside. So, nothing gets too crowded. Once we got on a ride, if the girls wanted to go again, we just stayed on and rode some more. No exiting and waiting in line for a second turn. Really, we could have stayed all day. And we'll definitely be back to this amazing place. It's sort of the best children's museum/playground/amusement park ever.

they make it hard to keep a straight face

Funny stuff I've heard and don't want to forget...

After handing the girls their swim goggles, Em asked for help putting on her 'sim gobbles' (cute!) and Roo wanted to have the orange 'google-les'. She pronounced it the way it read to her (love that!).

Roo climbing a rock formation at the park and getting to a tough point. "I am so stuck. Stuck. Stuck. Stuck."

Em spotting Venus in the sky. [gasp] "Is the evening star! I makin' a wish"

Roo after being admonished for hitting with the flyswatter. "I'm not hitting. I'm shooing"

Em looking for a missing Disney princess item. "Where is Princess Booty and Princarella?"