Way Back When-esday: Juicy July

Dateline: The First Week of July 2004
Twins' Age: 2 and a 1/2

Celebrating the birthday of one of their best buddies, and thrilled with juice boxes (which at the time were a rare treat), Darren and Sarah were fully focused on the fun. The Nemo-themed hats, their understandable abandonment of the brought-from-home water sippies, and the toddler-tubby cheeks and hands warm my heart this mid-week.

Play along with Way Back When-esday!

What memorable image(s) makes your mid-week wonderful? Dive into those digital photos or scan a scrapbook find and play along with Way Back When-esday. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and leave a comment when you do!

While you're looking "Way Back," if you're feeling "Wordful," join in with Angie at Seven Clown Circus!

To All the Cars We've Loved Before...

The 1994 Mercury Sable that brought the twins home from the hospital. (Yes, the same one in which I accidentally locked them at Food Lion while loading the Thanksgiving groceries...)

The 1993 Volvo 240 Wagon. (Yep, the one that toted the twins and their double stroller daily to the hospital to be with---and cheer---Papa while Mamaw tried so hard to rebound. When we told her we got a "new" car, even though she couldn't speak, she facially acknowledged the new Lagemobile.) When you gave up at 198,000+ miles, we were crestfallen...so convinced you'd achieve the 300,000 legendary miles typical to your make and model. Only later when we passed you on to our friends at CarMax did we learn (via CarFax) that some years prior to our acquisition, your odometer had been turned back 109,000 miles. You lived the legend.

The 2002 Honda Odyssey. The first minivan. Pedro says you're the perfect vehicle in which to take 3-year old twins to South of the Border. You went out in a blaze of glory at merely 128,000+ miles ---taken out by a Hurricane Ida rain-soaked branch. Totalled you---and the DVD player that came with you---in one fell swoop.

The 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe. Shiny and sparkly, dubbed "The Golden Dragon." Accessorized with a bungie cord even today, I took out your driver side front quarter panel backing out of a tight parking garage spot following The Nutcracker. (Trying to dodge a cement pylon behind the car, naturally...) 91,000+ miles and going strong.

The 2003 Honda Odyssey. The Silver Star, the perfect park-mate to The Golden Dragon. 90,000+ miles now, counting on doubling that before we say goodbye.

When it comes to our cars, as a family, we value reliability and longevity over fashionability. Drive 'em 'til they can go no more...love 'em, live in 'em, laugh in 'em, make memories in 'em.

Apparently, our family is not alone. JiffyLube recently kicked off a Facebook page dedicated to owners like ourselves...those in it for the marathon of mileage.

If you, as a fellow family fond of ascending odometers wish, go check out JiffyLube's Facebook page, "Keeping My Ride Alive." Post your car's mileage there and/or leave a comment here. Tell your tale of your favorite trusty vehicle and why (there and/or here). You'll be entered to win one of 2 gift cards redeemable for a JiffyLube $35 signature oil change.

(As a JiffyLube customer, I love that if you need a fluid top-off or tire inflation within your 3,000 miles between changes, JiffyLube will do either--or both--gratis. Very convenient when you're taxi-ing twins from place to place...)


Twinfatuation received NO payment or compensation of any kind for this giveaway post. The gift cards were offered via a JiffyLube sponsored PR solicitation, and we as long-time, happy JiffyLube patrons (they have free coffee and air PBS Kids in their lobby waiting room at our local franchise!), were happy to pass the goodness along.
Good luck!

Makes My Monday: Fellow Fraternal Friends

...observed their 8th birthday yesterday with a bit of MadScience mayhem--- as evidenced by the takeaway slime in hand.

Celebrating their double buddies from near birth---as well as Scott's and my nearly two decades of friendship with the gorgeous girls' parents---Makes My Monday.

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Saturday Snapshot: Librarian Love

As the quotable (and catchy) philosophers, Phineas and Ferb, oft sing, "There's a hundred and four days of summer vacation, then school comes along just to end it." Thankfully, at only four days into our summer vacation, Darren and Sarah have found at least one good way to "spend it."

Each year, under the enthusiastic guidance of our much-loved children's librarian, Miss Tori, the summer reading program kicks off with a bang....and this year, with a picnic. Despite the 90+ degree heat (and the fact she just got married last week!), the now Mrs. Tori hosted fun festivities for all willing participants and their parents. An outdoor storytime was held under a shade tree; Mrs. Tori even led "A Tooty Taa" with one young He-Twin assistant.

Summer reading goals were vocally professed by all the neighborhood elementarians---She-Twin: 10, He-Twin: 80---and a good time was had by all.

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Petite Problem-Solver

...or perhaps pageant contestant...

Sarah (to Daddy, with exasperation): "I want people to become legal citizens. I want BP to stop the oil leak in the Gulf. I want people to behave in school. I want people to take care of the earth and be green. I just want people to be nice to each other."

Worthy wishes, all. What would you add?

Old Yeller

[This is a repost from August '08----motivated by the amazing Jill of Scary Mommy, who recently was distressed by a parenting moment in which she disappointed herself, and she fears/feared, her son. Enjoy.]

Scream-free parenting: Not an adherant, and if entirely truthful, not even an advocate.

Call me insensitive, call me reactionary, call health and human services, but I genuinely believe occasions occur wherein a little strategically applied vocal verve effectively sells it to the back of the house.

For those genuinely fearful for my sweeties' psyches, perhaps a bit of clarification is merited. If a napkin doesn't make it to a lap, my larynx isn't overworked. If the playroom is in utter disarray, I don't dole out the decibels. Hurting each other? I'm hollerin'.

In the 21st century, my fear is that as a parenting population, we tend to tippy-toe too tentatively, viewing our children's omnihappiness (yes, the "yelling" inhibits glee temporarily; but to my view, justly. Isn't that how correction/behavior-modification occurs? Don't those mice in the maze get an ever-so-slight buzz in order to learn the "right" path?) as more important than their ability to cope adequately in the inevitably non-coddling adult environment. Risking their long-term social acumen and fluency for the fleeting parental "self-satisfaction" of maintaining my cool (and their "friendship") by following the highly touted tot-raising trends du jour just seems far more insensitive than my currently employed, twin audience attention-getting, maternal method. I don't want my kids to enter adulthood emotionally ill-equipped -- having never confronted "enthusiastic" redirection.

For me: Loud = Love.

[Side benefit: Sarah and Darren are familiar with large, open mouths.]

Way Back When-esday: Not So Long Ago

Dateline: June 22, 2010
Twins' Age: 8 years

Yesterday, the twins were second graders. Today, they're rising third graders. Their dual progression warms my Wednesday.

Play along with Way Back When-esday!

What memorable image(s) makes your mid-week wonderful? Dive into those digital photos or scan a scrapbook find and play along with Way Back When-esday. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and leave a comment when you do!

While you're looking "Way Back," if you're feeling "Wordful," join in with Angie at Seven Clown Circus!

The Moon, Marilyn and Mount Olympus

Father's Day night, driving home from dinner at Quaker Steak and Lube, in attempts to squelch backseat protestations focused on the familiar topic of 'unfairness'...

Daddy (with timely, paternal wisdom): "You know, President John F. Kennedy was well-known for saying, 'Life is not fair.' He also said, 'We will go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard.'"

[Silence--but continued attention---from the backseat of the Sante Fe.]

Daddy (maximizing his audience): "You remember his famous quote, 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' And of course, 'Marilyn, hurry up. My wife is coming home.'"

Sarah (upon her first time hearing that last one): "What did he say?"

Mommy (seizing another learning opportunity) "JFK had a lot of great ideas and many wise things to say, but he was not a very good husband. When you get married, a big part of your wedding vows is that you will not kiss on other women (or men), but that you will be true and faithful to your wife. President Kennedy kissed a lot of other women including---Marilyn Monroe---when he was married..."

Darren (non-chalantly): "So he was like Zeus."

Exactly.

Makes My Monday: Double Daddy and his Duo

Homemade and Hallmark---with potty/tooty humor to spare---the assortment of fun Father's Day cards---and the father that received them---Make My Monday.

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The Many Facets of Father

While pondering words for this Father's Day post...seeking poignance...sentiment...affection...I spied this poster. Still hanging on the inside of our front door since Scott's post-surgery welcome home in November, Darren's pictorial eloquence clearly trumps any attempt I might make.

Big Daddy says, "Blarp!"
Hip Hop Daddy says, "Yo!"
Karate Daddy says, "Yeee-ahh!"
Michael Jackson Daddy says, "Leave me alone!"
Super Daddy says, "Up, up and away!"
Cowboy Daddy says, "Yeeee Haaw!" 

The artist of the poster rightly captions the crew, "Daddy rules!"

To which our centrally placed, goatee-d Daddy says, "Boy that's right!"

Right indeed!
Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart.
We love you.

Saturday Snapshot: A Bowl and a Ball

Raisins and rubber...the substances of our Saturday so far.

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Enter to win a copy of Twinspiration! Leave a comment with a guess here.

Backseat Banter; Part II

...or alternatively titled, Size Does Matter.

Driving to Darren's tae kwon do lesson, in the days following a visit to cousins' birthday party...

Darren (with authority): "You know, everyone knows I am older* than Sarah because I am so much taller."
[*by a whopping seven minutes.---CRL]

Mommy (with authority): "You cannot always determine the facts about a person---or people---by the way they look, Darren."

Sarah (with authority): "Strangers that don't know us Darren do not know you're older*."
[*by a whopping seven minutes.---CRL]

Mommy (with authority): "Seriously Darren, Uncle Craig is MUCH taller than me, but I am older."

Darren (with authority): "Mom, people can obviously tell you're older because of your face."

Admittedly, he's got an assessment based in reality.

Make a comment with your guess as to the age difference [hint: it's more than seven minutes!]between my brother (a.k.a. Uncle Craig) and me and be entered to win a copy of Twinspiration.
[Believe me, no offense will be taken! I'm abundantly happy at---and with---my age.]

Happy Almost Weekend, Friends!

Way Back When-esday: Cousins and Cut-Ups

Dateline: Christmas 2009
Sarah's (and not-pictured Darren's) Age: 8

Christmas afternoon with much-loved---and undeniably gorgeous---Cousin Rachel. Who knows what crazy prompt photographer Uncle Craig provided, but clearly, the results are memorable!
Play along with Way Back When-esday!

What memorable image(s) makes your mid-week wonderful? Dive into those digital photos or scan a scrapbook find and play along with Way Back When-esday. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and leave a comment when you do!

While you're looking "Way Back," if you're feeling "Wordful," join in with Angie at Seven Clown Circus!

Makes My Monday: Glimpses of God

Following a somewhat lengthy car-bound, captive audience, semi-scolding and subsequent silence...

Darren (excitedly, from the backseat): "Ooooooh Mommy, look----it's Heaven!"

Knowing my sweethearts can always manage to see the light---figuratively and literally---Makes My Monday.

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Baby Picture Sunday: Hat Trick

Taken when the kids were just shy of 4, during a wonderful trip to Hilton Head Island...courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Lage.

With darling Debi's Baby Picture Sunday theme of "The Many Hats of Summer" at Who Says 8 is Enough?, how could we not play along?




Be sure and be thinking about what will Make Your Monday this mid-week of June and play along here later tonight/tomorrow!

From the Mouths of My Men: Part 1

While watching a Walt Disney World commercial, concluding with a Mickey Mouse embrace...

Double Daddy (to He-Twin): "Will you hug Mickey when you see him, Darren?"

Darren: "Yes."

Mommy: "That's funny! I asked him the very same thing when we saw that commercial the other day. Darren, do you think I will hug Mickey when I see him?"

Darren: "Yes."

Mommy: "Do you think Daddy will hug Mickey when he sees him?"

Darren: "Yes."

Daddy: "Nope, I think I'll kick him right in the tenders."

Uproarious laughter from the boys.


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Saturday Snapshots: Reflection---now with Ringlets!

The distribution of yearbooks.....it's much like opening an Advent calendar door marking the progress toward the last day of school. Our after-dinner/pre-bed time last night was spent poring over the images of the year nearly gone by. Each looked on their own...

and then of course, shared some stories.

Whether inspired by classmates' pictures or simply the desire to shake things up as second grade is drawing to a close, a sleep-in sponge curler request was made. So starts our Saturday.


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Love When You Least Expect It

No, not a lost track from the Starland Vocal Band, Meatloaf or Waylon Jennings. Not a TiVOed episode of Oprah, The View, Montel or even Springer. It’s the real-life revelations that attentive mamas discover in their husbands while raising young children.

Sure, biology dictated that I’d likely be drenched in a maternal love tsunami upon the birth of our twins. Of course it was equally safe to assume the affection for my husband that predicated the babies’ birth would intensify to a degree indescribable. Yet nowhere in the parenting tomes---or even in our wedding vows---was there any foreshadowing of the unlikeliest pile-drivers of husband-love I’ve experienced since our twins’ birth.

Photos document our traditionally predictable Mama-melting moments. You know the ones. Proud twinfant Daddy cradling a freshly-birthed baby in each arm. Daddy and Daughter walking down the seashore hand in hand. Baby Boy napping sprawled spread eagle on an equally dozing Daddy’s chest. Not that I’d trade those sentimental snapshots for the moon (although if Kodak wants commercial rights, I might negotiate…), but my mind’s eye has my man ensconced in twin-centric experiences undoubtedly perceived by the periphery to be far less alluring…yet to me, highly arousing. Somehow, partnering in plural parenthood has alchemically transformed the seemingly revolting into the seriously romantic.

For instance, in those bleary sleep-deprived days when our domestic priorities consisted solely of cycling efforts to keep the babies fed and in fluid-free clothing, catching a glimpse of my unwashed beloved rinsing the breast pump funnels (warning: irresistible pun coming) was genuinely titillating. Naturally, sleep urge trumps sex urge at that stage, but still, the thought crossed my mind…

You’d think that while potty training two toddlers, the inundation of pee and poo would thoroughly remove the idea romance from the homefront. Not so. Perhaps my senses (olfactory primarily) were so dulled from over-exposure to human refuse poorly-placed that I lost all sense of social propriety. I, with my leaky kids’ blessing/encouragement, actually asked some fellow tots to our home to play during the toilet teaching process. Upon entering our 1929 (and character-rich) home, the elder child attending our impromptu playgroup announced to his mommy, “This house smells kind of funny.” While I assumed he was referring to the older wood construction, the ultra-thick plaster, the old radiator metal; clearly the aroma was more biological in nature. His mother, unnecessarily embarrassed by his admirable honesty replied, “Well you know Honey, when people have pets, you can sometimes smell their presence.” She was right. We do have a pet. Siamese fighting fish. In fishbowls. Not so “present” scent-wise. When I relayed the tale of toddler truth to my husband that evening, rather than voicing horrified mortification at the fecal faux pas our home had become, he laughed to the point of almost having an accident himself. Kinsey might disagree, but it felt an awful lot like foreplay to me.

Yes, Father’s Day is looming large on the horizon. The idea of a candlelight evening at the most romantic restaurant in town pales on the passion scale when compared to the memory of my bed-headed sweetheart savoring the cereal breakfast his daughter lovingly prepared and served in an upended Frisbee. I can only hope he found the image of me eating my Kashi from the preceding night’s wineglass half as attractive.

MadLib-erated

A noun is a person, place or thing. Verb, that's what's happening. Unpack your adjectives. Lolly, Lolly, Lolly, get your adverbs here. Watch enough Schoolhouse Rock, and not only are pre-fab MadLibs templates easily completed, but a motivated 8-year-old boy can manufacture his own. Too time consuming to determine the parts of speech needed? Always a work around...

Darren: "What's your name?"

Mommy: "Mom."

Darren: "If something isn't new, it's______"

Mommy: "Old?"

Darren (with mild disgust at my facile response): "What's the opposite of 'isn't used'...."

Mommy: "Used?"

Darren: "That's right. Now, a one-letter word other than I."

Mommy: "A?"

Darren (with faith restored in my intellect): "What do you use to dry yourself off with?"

Mommy: "Towel."

[Uproarious laughter from both twins]

Darren: "Another word for also."

Mommy (with confidence): "Too."

Darren (with renewed disgust at my facile responses): "Noooo. Like combining two things."

Mommy (with a divine vision of Conjunction Junction): "And?"

Darren: "YES! What's the opposite of pee-d?"

Mommy (fully aware of the expected answer): "Held it? Didn't pee?"

Darren: "M-o-o-o-m...."

Mommy: "Okay, poo-ed."

[Uproarious laughter from both twins]

Darren: "What's the opposite of off?"

Mommy: "On."

Darren (beside himself): "What does 'i-t' spell?"

Mommy: "It."

[Uproarious laughter from both twins...and Mom.]

*Morning text corrections made with Darren's able-memoried assistance.
-CRL

Way Back When-esday: They're with the Band

Dateline: October 2004
Twins' Age: Barely 3

Double Daddy is the bass player for Sad Biscuit Jones (music available on iTunes!), and the kids have loved listening to the band's CDs as well as attending outdoor, family shows for as long as they can remember. When the band's first CD came out, we took the cover image and made sweatshirts to wear to show our support. These cute little groupies warm my heart this Way Back When-esday.

Play along with Way Back When-esday!

What memorable image(s) makes your mid-week wonderful? Dive into those digital photos or scan a scrapbook find and play along with Way Back When-esday. Be sure and link back to participate in the web-wide reverie...and leave a comment when you do!

While you're looking "Way Back," if you're feeling "Wordful," join in with Angie at Seven Clown Circus!

Have your kids something recently that made you think, "Say What?!?" Play along with Missy at Two Little Monkeys!
Our contribution?
From Sarah after horseback riding:
“When I was braiding the horse’s tail, I saw her booty crack. Then she tooted.”