The Twin Phoenomenon

I accomplished something major today . . . I went to the grocery store with 5 and 6 all by myself and I wasn't pushing them in a stroller! I was making dinner for a friend who just had surgery and I needed a few items to make the meal complete. Meghan is always getting stuck watching the two dears and so I decided to just leave all of the others 1-4 + 6 friends home while I quickly went.

When I pulled into the parking lot I was a bit nervous I mean how was I going to get two small babies out of the car and into the store by myself? Yikes. Somehow I managed to get both of them out of their carseats and into my arms, put my purse on my shoulder, and shut the door to the van. I began the walk from the parking lot into the store. It was so funny to see people point and me and smile.

You can always count on the grandmas and the grandpas for some sweet looks, and I swear, I can't tell you how many times I hear, "You certainly have your hands full." (It kind of gets old hearing that . . .you know just like the Cleverly jokes get old.) I digress, anyway, I managed to get both kids into a shopping cart that had two baskets for babies. One in back of the other. I put Ethan in first because he is so darn heavy and then I placed Marta in. I encountered my first obstacle: Ethan's seat had a buckle, but Marta's did not. There was no other cart that would work. The seatbelt helped keep Ethan in a sitting up position. Marta is pretty good at sitting up; but, it would have been much better if her seat had one too. So, I placed my purse next to her to balance her a little and I kept putting my other hand near her to steady her.

I kept getting those looks and those comments (the ones I read all about in my book about twins). My book said that for some reason people come out of nowhere to see twins. Its like you're not a human or something. Everyone has to comment. Some have to touch. A few point. And then, of course the . . . "you certainly have your hands full . . . . " annoying comment. I want to say something sarcastic back to them like, "Yes, full of love." but I can't bring myself to do something like that. I just smile and say something really sweet and sappy . ..

Nonetheless, the point still remains that I survived! They didn't both start crying during the quick shopping experience and I lived to tell the tale. Everyone at the pharmacy thought they were darling, and one of the baggers, Brian, commented that it was fun to see the babies behind all of the baby food I usually buy:)

Kids are the best!

Today marked the first day of M, C, J, and MiniG's first tennis class. It was so great! It is lots of fun to get to watch the kids and laugh inside at how uncoordinated they are while at the same time be thrilled when the ball actually finds their rackets. After class, we had to go and get stocked up on tennis balls (which we had exactly none of) as well as birdies (which we had just three of). I can see that hitting the balls into the neighbor's house to the east of us is going to be a bit of a problem at times. We also sometimes hit it to the neighbors just South of us; but, they are a lot nicer about it. They just let the kids go through their gate and retrieve the ball. Mr. Meanie to the east of us (you know the one who smokes and Meghan thinks is probably going straight to hel . . . .). Yesterday when Louise very kindly went over to ask if we could retrieve some balls, he rather grumpily asked if this was going to be a continuous problem. Louise, who couldn't be mean if she tried, noted that children are rather rambunctious and don't necessarily have the greatest aim. Mimi pointed out, much to his delight I am sure, that they were all started tennis lessons today. Louise jokingly said that hopefully their aim would improve soon. Why do some people have to be such grouches?

Backyard Bliss

To all of you who were at the family dinner tonight . . . we hope you had fun! It was exciting to actually have a fun picnic table to eat on and fun backyard stuff for all to enjoy and play on. Thanks to all who played with the litter and made them feel special and helped them to have fun! We look forward to more events and even more backyard bliss!