Life with twins is, as I'm sure anyone can imagine, busy. Add a couple rambunctious, independent (yet needy), opinionated toddlers on top of that and it gets really BUSY. This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done but it's all so worth it. I have a friend with twins who keeps telling me she would love another set and for awhile I thought she was nuts (sorry JZ) but I'm starting to understand what she means. If we were ever blessed with more kids I would gladly welcome twins again. Alas, there will be no more little re-Peats in this house so that's all just wishful thinking.
The most common question I get from people is "Are they twins?" This question always cracks me up. Of course they're twins - I don't wander around in public with a double stroller & 2 toddlers because I think it's fun.
The next question is "Boys or girls?" Again funny. I have two PINK carseats and two PINK blankets. Odds are they're both dressed in matching girly outfits. YES, they're girls - I wouldn't do that to a little boy of mine.
After that people move on to "Are they identical or fraternal?" As soon as I say identical people are scanning them intently for any sign of difference. It's been amazing to me the number of people that have glanced at them for 10 seconds & then declared them fraternal. Laughable. There have been more instances than I care to remember where I'm not even sure which one is which and I'm their MOTHER who spends all day every day with them. Trust me when I say they're IDENTICAL.
Then we move onto "Do twins run in your family?" No, actually they don't. I usually just leave it at that instead of launching into a biology lesson. The girls are identical (reference question above) which means it doesn't matter if there are no sets of twins in our family or if there are 50. Identical twins are not a genetic thing. Fraternal twins are. However, the fact the father may or may not have twins in his family has no bearing on whether or not his wife will have twins unless there's some inbreeding going on and then you have a whole other set of issues that I won't go into here.
Next we get "Were you just shocked when you found out?!?" Honestly, not really. I mean, yes, it was a bit of a jolt to see two little hearts and babies wiggling around on the ultrasound screen but I knew something was different with this pregnancy. I'd been through it twice before & this time was just.....different. For awhile I thought that hunch meant something was wrong with the baby then I started having dreams and all those dreams had two babies. So, when I saw it on the screen I was a little shocked it was actually true but not drop on the floor in shock shocked.
After that line of questioning people usually move on to my other kids and ask their ages and then I get the "Wow, you're hands are full." PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! If you are reading this STOP using that line. It's to the point of nails on a chalkboard. Trust me when I saw I know well enough my hands are full without a stranger playing Captain Obvious and letting me know. I try to make my speedy exit while people are digesting the shock and awe of 4 kids in 3 years :)
This year I have four little pirates plundering my house ;) At least they're four of the cutest pirates you'll ever see. I picked up Elliot & Hadley's costumes last year on super clearance after Halloween and fortunately they LOVE them. They've even worn them around the house to play on a few different occasions. I found the girls skirts on one of my favorite websites: haloheaven.com
