USC Girl Transformers and Chuckie Dolls

For Christmas, KC asked Santa for a "USC Girl Transformer."  This describes her so well. She loves sports and "boy" toys, yet girlie things as well. (For the record, Santa was unable to fulfill this request. Although I think I should invent a girl transformer, maybe a cute modern VW bug?).  I finally gave in to the girlieness this year and KC received numerous princesses for Christmas.  One of the princesses was an Ariel singing in the bathtub doll. The other night, at about 3am, I heard "Hi, do you want to play?" and a little later "Goodbye." I had no clue what it was. I woke up RJ and made him check the house.... Yeah, I've watched CSI too many times and in my mind there was a serial killer in the house who wakes people up using toy dolls. We figured out the next morning that it was the Ariel doll (she said the same thing to RJ when he got up and was taking a shower). So now I call her the Chuckie doll.

CJ received Transformers for Christmas. How crazy is it that the toys I played with 25+ years ago are popular again?

The baby, JG, could care less about her presents. She wanted to play with all the twins princesses and transformers (spent the day stealing them from the twins). In the photo she is wondering who took the stuff from her stocking.

Now time to brag- the twins woke up Christmas morning and went quietly to the living room and turned on cartoons. They didn't come wake us up so they could open presents, but let us sleep in. I finally went out there (I wasn't sleeping anyways), and the FIRST thing they said was "Santa forgot to fill your stocking!" Now, it isn't Santa's fault. We bought stocking stuffers for the kids and I didn't tell RJ that I bought stuff for his stocking (we normally don't exchange gifts). Rather than asking to open presents, the twins wanted to go shopping and buy me presents because they were so sad for me (KC said she was going to buy me a USC dress and USC shoes).  RJ came out awhile later and we let the twins open their stockings but said we couldn't open the rest of the presents until JG woke up. They were completely fine with that. Seriously? Whose kids are these? I wanted them to open their presents so after another hour I went in and woke up the baby.

The twins spent the day out by the pool playing with their new toys- one of the advantages of living in Southern California. What a wonderful Christmas!

Lessons in Anatomy

Having boy/girl twins, I knew from the start they were going to learn about anatomy before most kids. You remember the opening scene in "Kindergarten Cop"? Where the 5 year old boy states "Boys have a penis and girls have a vagina;" well, that was my kids...at 2 years old! Since they share a room and bathe together, we made a decision from the beginning that we were going to call body parts by their "real"  names and not use the "cutesy" names people come up with. Perhaps we thought this would prevent future giggles?

I nursed the twins for 12 months. Needless to say, CJ likes boobs. Sure, it was cute when he was little and he would rest his head on my friends' chests with his hands convienently cupping their boobs. We didn't think twice about it. Then he sees Tinkerbell for the first time and what does he say? "Tinkerbell has boobs!"  A couple of years pass and I have the twins with me at Fit Body Bootcamp. They brought their cameras with them to play games on while I worked out. Afterwards I asked what games they were playing. CJ answers "I was taking pictures of the women's boobs as they bounced."  And so it begins...or rather continues on!

Today KC comes up to me and tells me that CJ "kicked her in the balls."  I take a deep breath and tell her that girls don't have balls, only boys do. To which she replies "Why do boys have balls?" Ummm, why is my husband always at work when these type of questions get asked??  Before I could answer, she states "They have balls to keep their penises straight." Yeah, that is definitely a conversation RJ can have with them when he gets home from work!

I'm reminded of a day when the twins were about 12 months old. I couldn't find them and they were being quiet (every mom knows this means trouble!). Finally I spot them in the corner of my bedroom. CJ is holding his diaper down while KC is playing with his "boy part." They are both giggling as they watched it bounce up and down. And so the anatomy lessons began...

A Broken Boy

I knew it was coming, and to be honest, I'm surprised it didn't come sooner. So after 4.5 years of keeping the twins in one piece (which is quite a feat when I think back to the park playdates when they were 2 years old), we have our first broken bone. And to my surprise, it was NOT my daring, adventurous, stubborn girl, nope, it was passive, sensitive CJ.

Everything yesterday morning hinted at me that I should cancel our trip to CALM (a local zoo). The house was a mess,  I had friends in Fresno I needed to go visit, it was hot, and it was still raining ash from the fires that started during our freak lightning storm. But I had told the kids we were going and one thing I always TRY to do, is keep my word.

We survived the majority of the zoo and I was enjoying catching up with the small group of friends that went. KC, JG and I were watching the Bald Eagles and CJ went ahead to the playground with some of the other kids and moms. Now CJ loves play equipment, but he is also usually cautious. He never goes on the monkey bars unless RJ or I are close by. Oops, did I say "never"? Well, scratch that. He decided he could go on the monkey bars all by himself (keep in mind, I wasn't even within sight of him) and Murphy's Law won- he fell. When I finally arrive, he is in tears and keeps asking me "Where were you? Why didn't you catch me? You are suppose to catch me." (Insert broken heart here).

We are not ones to rush our kids to the doctor, so rather than take my crazy trio to Urgent Care, I wait until RJ gets home and CJ and I head over. The nurse does the preliminary check and CJ won't answer any of his questions. Before the doctor comes in, I tell CJ he needs to answer the doctor's questions. With a tear-stained face, and in a serious voice, he answers "I can't. My foot won't let me." This kid, does he break an ankle or an arm (you know, "typical" fall-off-the-monkey-bars-breaks), nope. He breaks the bone on the top of his foot. Needless to say, he is getting spoiled now. He is just in a splint and cannot put weight on it, so I am getting my workout carrying him around (thank you Fit Body Bootcamp and those heavy kettlebells!). He is looking forward to getting an Angel's Red cast (yup, everything in our house revolves around baseball).

KC is doing her best to keep her twin happy and comfortable. When he finally goes down for a nap, KC says to me, "It is hard having a broken boy." I think about my brother who broke his neck when he was 16 and I am thankful that all we have to deal with is a broken foot (and perhaps some broken trust in mom right now).

As I write this, KC insists that I remember this wasn't our first trip to Urgent Care. In June of 2010, the twins were wrestling (after getting out of the bath, needless to say, they weren't clothed). While naked wrestling, KC falls off the bed and dislocates her shoulder and sprains her wrist. Have you ever tried to put clothes on a kid with a dislocated shoulder? It doesn't happen. So RJ takes KC to Urgent Care half dressed, while she tells everyone she was naked wrestling with her twin. *sigh*

I'm sure we will be visiting Urgent Care more times in the future. But let's hope it is not for a long, long time.

You are so Predictable

Thanks to Megamind, that has become CJ's favorite quote. He seems to never use it in the right context (except when he says my chick flicks are "so predictable", but I think he heard that one from RJ).

"It's a Boy" -the first words I heard when my second child was born. The smaller of the twins, he was 4 lbs 4 oz, and 17" long. While in NICU he dropped to 3 lbs 10 oz and battled ROP along with the typical preemie As and Bs. Boys are meant to give their moms heart attacks, right? Well, the first time I held him he stopped breathing and the nurses had to resuscitate him. It took awhile for me to be able to hold him again, but once I did, I couldn't let go. He is definitely a mama's boy and my little cuddler.

His blonde hair and big blue eyes have made him a charmer from the beginning. A nurse once commented that he reminded her of a puppet, he was all eyes. He is sensitive and always looking out for his family. From the beginning he has made it a priority to keep big sis happy. He will pretty much do anything she says and he always gives in to her. While I was on bedrest with JG, he would bring me the trash can and wipes when I was sick, brush my hair and rub my shoulders. When I cry, he cuddles up next to me. He would constantly talk to the baby in my belly and was overjoyed when JG was born. Any time she cries, he is the first one to run to her and sing or bring her a toy. He always wants to hold her and feed her.

CJ is also the future class clown. He LOVES to make people laugh (especially his sisters) and will do just about anything to make them smile. He loves baseball and is a south paw in tee-ball. He enjoys football, but also likes to hold the football for KC to kick it. He is good at darts, fooseball and video games.

I have to admire CJ's honesty. When I was pregnant and would not be "fully" dressed during the HOT summers, CJ kindly told me "Nobody wants to see that!" When I try to lay down in his bed at night, he tells me "Get out of my bed, you are going to break it!"

Some other favorite quotes-
* One day he lets out a big sigh. When I asked him what was wrong, he replied "All the girls want to marry me."
* Another time he sighs "Oh Pam" (one of my friends). He continues "She made this a walking toy and now JG is ALL OVER the place" (referring to a ride-on toy that converts to a walker).
* After having to help keep JG off the treadmill while I'm running on it- "Having a baby is hard work"

I absolutely love my little man and am so thankful that he has a servant's heart (poor boy needs it with 2 sisters!).

Happy Pickle July!

Ever since July 4th, that has been the quote I hear most often out of KC's mouth. She doesn't like pickles, but for some reason, that seems more fun for her to say than "Happy 4th of July."  A little background into this crazy girl.

"It's a girl! She's not breathing!" were the first words I heard when my firstborn child was pulled from my uterus via emergency c-section. Yes, her stubbornness dates back to the day she was born. 8 weeks before her due date she decided it was time for her and her twin to leave their very close knit quarters to see what mischief they could cause in the world (being dubbed my "destructive duo"). A whopping 4 lbs 11 oz, 17 3/4" long, she spent 31 days harassing the NICU nurses before coming home. Being Baby A, she knew she was older and knew it was her job to taunt and boss around her twin brother. Her favorite pastime in the NICU was pulling out CJ's feeding tube so he would have to go through the horrible process of getting it shoved back in.

She is very smart and even at a young age, would trap CJ into getting in trouble. She would boss him around in their twin language and he would climb up bookshelves, dressers, etc to get stuff for her, then be the one to get in trouble while she sat nearby with innocent puppy dog eyes. She is not only smart and stubborn, but adventurous and aggressive. This can all be wrapped up into one word: ME. You know those threats your mom made when you were little (I hope you have a daughter just like you!), well, mine came true. I love her strong spirit, and understand my mom more now.

KC loves to sing and dance, but also loves T-ball and getting dirty. She went on Matterhorn at Disneyland when she was 3 years old and was the first to swim on her own. At a Halloween party last year, all the little girls were dressed up as princesses and KC was running around in her ninja costume happy as can be. She is full of life and I love that one minute we are painting our toenails together and the next we are playing baseball in the mud.

Ok, this is suppose to be about quotes, so here are a couple of hers that I can remember right now. One day I called her over and told her I needed to "fix her hair." Yes, being young (or perhaps taking on the Young corny sense of humor), she takes everything literal and in all seriousness asks me "Why? Is it broken?"  Or the time she blurts out "I love balls!" to turn and see her bouncing on an exercise ball (this may seem like a normal quote to many, but when you have boy/girl twins, it could have easily meant something else, which she has referred to on other occasions).

I love my oldest daughter, even though she doesn't understand that she is the oldest. Now that CJ has passed her up in size (people hardly believe me anymore when I say they are twins), she is convinced he is the oldest. Or, her favorite way to describe themselves is "CJ is the biggest, JG is the smallest, and I am the mediumest." Looking at growth charts, she might be the smallest in the next year or so. Even more reason for her strong personality to remain intact!

Add on: tonight while playing her favorite game (Wii Just Dance), KC was dancing to "Who let the dogs out." Every time they would sing "Who let the dogs out?" KC would answer "the neighbors" (in reference to our neighbors dog getting through our fence and into our backyard). Where does she come up with this stuff?

It's About Time

Just the other day my mom was telling me that I needed to start a blog to keep track of the crazy things my 18 month old twins said and did. Little things like CJ making dolphin noises and KC's contagious laugh. Good idea, I thought. I wouldn't want to forget "me-me trees" (Christmas trees, which later became "miss-miss trees"), "ba-la-ba-la" (banana), "hamgurber" (hanburger) or "avabacado" (avocado). But in the blink of an eye I find myself sitting here almost 3 years later. CJ (boy) and KC (girl) are now 4 years old and JG has joined the scene, a happy  9 month old girl. Time to start keeping track of all the random things that get said in my house before the baby starts adding to it (which at this point will probably be soon since she tends to "talk" nonstop like her mom and sister).

Now the question is where to start? I guess this blog will be as random and crazy as my life. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband, RJ, who keeps us all sane and has a great sense of humor. I will never forget the time he said to CJ "You don't bang your twin" then looked at me with eyes that said "Did I just say that?" (For the record, CJ was running around with a toy hammer "banging" on his sister). Every night we lie in bed and think of all the random quotes of the day- things we never thought we would say (stop peeing on your sister!) and things the twins came up with that day (CJ refusing to give us a kiss goodnight because according to him "only naked people do that"). Our life would be so boring without them and we are truly blessed!