Rock Riddles

The opinions below are solely those of the family members quoted. They are not intended to represent the Lage family in its entirety, nor to alienate the viewing audience. Reader indulence is advised.

Double Daddy: "Sarah, what's worse than Crosby, Stills and Nash?"

Sarah (who makes no secret of her distaste for CS&N): "Emerson, Lake and Palmer!"

Double Daddy (with feigned game show host sympathy a la Alex Trebek): "Good answer, but no. The correct answer was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young."

Like Father, like daughter. Wouldn't want it any other way.

Way Back When-esday: Spoonin'

Dateline: April 2006
Twins' Age: 4

Capes and cookie dough --- tasty tag team!

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At long last, Twinfatuation updates will be fed directly via Facebook's NetworkedBlogs to a designated Twinfatuation page! Hopefully, this will ease access and eliminate "double ups!" (Twins are enough!) Thanks for reading, and please do let me know if you experience any issues due to my remedial tech skills....

Beastie Boy

Shaking his rump, He-Twin's dance moves are near impossible to capture without a beastly, Beastie blur.

Here's hoping nothing will ever sabotage his love of the dance!

Makes My Monday: Chips and Cheers

Normally, we're not a sports-minded family.

However, living in Richmond, Virginia, how could we not support VCU in their pursuit of a berth in the Final Four?

Our family Sunday afternoon romance with the Rams---and the fact our twins had the great honor of meeting Shaka Smart and Joey Rodriguez last year---Makes My Monday!

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Sincerely Spiritual Sunday Snippet

Besos Y Lagrimas

Discovered in She-Twin's lunch box, clearly a plan is brewing...

Way Back When-esday: To Dye For

Dateline: March 2005
Twins' Age: 3

Maternal inexperience + first egg coloring (on Easter Eve 2005) = Two sets of bluish hands to accessorize the twins' Sunday best.

Sarah's confusion---bordering on disgust---with her PAAS-transformed fingers combined with Darren's unbreakable focus on his egg dipping process warm my heart this mid-week.

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Bossy Beatle

While enjoying Sarah's favorite channel, Music Choice-Classic Rock...

Sarah: "Which one is singing 'Hey Jude'?"

Mommy: "Paul."

Sarah (disgusted): "Why does he sing so much? He should let John sing more often."

Makes My Monday: Imploring the Imps

At nine, I'd never have been brazen enough to attempt correspondence with the unseen, mystical fairy world.  Not so with She-Twin; she's an elf-lover.

[FYI: She-Twin's tooth fairy is named "Tulip." Don't ask...]

And this one from last week...

Sarah's affinity for non-carbonated sprites Makes My Monday.

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For the curious: She-Twin received neither the power to fly nor the license/liberty to "make garbage of people's home's" a la leprechaun. Our lame leprechauns simply tossed some couch pillows around the living room, upended the dining room chairs, and apparently relieved themselves in our downstairs toilet.

Just Desserts

While perusing the Shoney's Kids' Menu...

Sarah (waxing hypothetically): "If you could eat ice cream and I would die, or you could not eat ice cream and I would live, which would you pick?"

Darren (matter-of-factly): "What flavor ice cream?"
Spoken like a true brother...

The Cold Shoulder: A Haiku

A few months ago,
Extreme discomfort began.
Assumed it would pass.

Much like John McCain
Unable to raise my arm
Went from bad to worse

Left arm? Overhead.
Right arm? Bad nazi salute.
Something must be done.

Off to the doctor
The diagnosis was made
PT has begun

The Richmond Ballet
Therapy with young dancers
Makes me feel quite old

Illusions of youth?
Mine have been dashed to the ground.
Look at this brochure...

Reaching for a cat?
Suppose I need a housecoat--
Let myself go gray.

Silly ol' brochure
Has provided lots of laughs
Motivation, too!


Finished for Friday? My first week of physical therapy. Join in with ThreeUnder at Lit & Laundry!

Tech-Free Texting

Sometimes, it's just easier to put things in writing...negative or positive.

Clearly, some of the "text messages" we've been privy to (or mandated as you can see above), don't need to be dwelt upon extensively following the pen-to-paper time. The purge has been made. For a calculated conclusion to some of those "pen-ultimate" (sorry, couldn't resist!) moments of emotional awareness, encourage your crew to "Bag It Up!"

(By obvious necessity, my current favorite in the Fishful Thinking compendium of parent-child activities)

Way Back When-esday: Optical Delusions

Dateline: April 2005
Twins' Age: 3

What a portent of poorer vision to come---mine, not theirs. Seemingly, they felt the need to don some of my first pairs of reading glasses as they sat down to do their "work," much like I did at that same table.

Memories of my bespectacled babies warm my heart this Way Back When-esday.

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Lenten Laziness / Sacrificial Sneakiness

Over dinner last week...

Double Daddy (preparing dinner): "Do you want a glass of wine with dinner?"

Mommy (with listening, learning-about-Lent twins at the table): "No thanks. Think I'll have some iced green tea instead. For my Lenten promise, I'm going to be remembering Jesus' sacrifice when I typically would have wine*."
(*Note to readers who don't know me in real life: I'll be thinking about Jesus a LOT in the coming weeks.)

She-Twin (with apparent disgust at my lack of forethought): "Mom, you should have given up medium Diet Cokes. That way, you could have LARGE Diet Cokes instead."

Sure, she looks innocent enough, occasionally still enjoying a My Little Pony coloring book; but that mind, that mind is always thinking....

Makes My Monday: Nightstands and Nostalgia

In the earliest days of bleary, sleepless twin parenthood, one night I awoke---not to the expected sound of one or two babies crying---but to a frenzied, rest-deprived Double Daddy. In his semi-awake, clearly alarmed delirium, he was repeating over and over while flinging the sheets and blankets aside, "The babies! They're on my nightstand!" (They weren't. He was very, very tired.)

Nine years later, my nightstand bears the presence of our "babies." He-Twin's passion for reading (he's currently devouring the Narnia series) has resulted in his completed copy of C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew topping my "to-read" stack. Sarah, on a weekend craft-bender, designed the newest addition, the beautiful "Mommy" heart-shaped photo frame.

Babies on the nightstand---then and now---Make My Monday.

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Ashes Awry - Ashes Aright

She-Twin's been talking about it since Sunday.

"On Wednesday, I want to go up and get the ashes on my forehead!"

When asked if she understood the symbolic meaning---that it wasn't merely a forehead-focused variety of face-painting---she responded in the affirmative, and with conviction.

Our church isn't huge in number, but they are huge in heart. Getting the congregation out consecutive nights for an annual traditional Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and an Ash Wednesday imposition of ashes service is impractical, and unlikely. As such, Lent kicks off with Wednesday pancakes downstairs, followed immediately by a litany-rich service upstairs.

In our experience, fits of giggles rarely come at appropriate times. So it was last night. During the calls and responses. During the prayers. During the scriptures. Despite their best efforts, our sausage-stuffed siblings' shoulders shook, their heads were bowed (not in prayer), and their snickers were poorly stifled.

Then the inconceivable happened: as He-Twin leaned over in an attempt to suppress his laughter at a particularly poignant moment, a toot. Clearly audible from our nearly-front row of seats, surely it was heard by pastors and parishioners alike. Then, Mommy's shoulders shook. Her head was bowed. Her snickers were poorly stifled. No doubt all of us were mentally reciting Double Daddy's oft-repeated chestnut: "He who toots in church, sits in a pew."

At service's end, collectively embarrassed, we knew apologies to our much-loved ministers were in order as we departed the sanctuary. Yes, they'd heard...both the giggles and the gas...and yes, they forgave.

Sarah, so upset, was crying. "I never want to come to Ash Wednesday again. We were just awful."

Amazingly, isn't that what Ash Wednesday is all about? Acknowledging our shortcomings. Voicing our commitment to do better. Being forgiven.

We Lages do tend to learn things in the most unusual ways. Our genuine apologies to our church family for our collective lack of self control. We will try to do better.

Amen.

Way Back When-esday: WonderTwin Powers

Dateline: March 2007
Twins' Age: 5

The opportunity (and gratis samples!) four years ago to review Little Capers from both a He-Twin and She-Twin perspective resulted in a series of some of my favorite images of our two in action---and I mean ACTION.

[FYI: In case you couldn't tell, our kids adored Little Capers. I'm crestfallen they don't make them in bigger sizes!]

Memories of my sweet superheroes warm my heart this Way Back When-esday.

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