Just the Three of Us

A rare and wonderful thing happened today: Maddie, Riley, and I spent all day together without any plans with friends.

Don't get me wrong: I love to spend time with our various and sundry friends. We have friends with no kids, friends with kids the twins' age, and friends with kids who are older. We do playdates, brunches, lunches, and dinners. We have people over. We go to others' houses. We meet at the park or take walks. We're pretty much equal-opportunity on the get-togethers, and overall we're very social. In fact, most weekends, we have four social events planned: Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning, and Sunday afternoon. It gets hectic, but it's a small price to pay for having a lot of great friends.

A bunch of things transpired to make us planless today. We had originally been slated to do a sleepover with another twin family last night, but then the rescheduled date meant that we were home last night instead of away. That freed up Sunday morning. This afternoon, apple picking was on the agenda, but it rained all the live-long weekend, so those plans were canceled, and the Plan B: Playdate with Apple Picking Friends was scratched because the friends were all sick anyway.

So the whole day stretched out before us. I used to find that scary and overwhelming, especially on a rainy day with no possibility of a park trip or other outdoor activity. But I've gotten better at filling days as the twins have gotten older, and today ended up being a rousing success. We had a late breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts, then went to Michael's for some crafting supplies. I got Maddie and Riley each a little lap desk for doing art projects, and we gave them a whirl when we got home with some Play-Doh fun. Big hit.

After lunch and a nap, we did more crafting: stickers! more Play-Doh! ripping and cutting paper! Then we cooked some broccoli and garlic pasta together before heading out for a "Yay! The Rain Finally Stopped!" walk. We stopped for ice cream, splashed in puddles, and touched every fire hydrant on our route. Back at home, there was time for dinner and a bath, and now Maddie and Riley are chatting contentedly in bed on their way to sleep.

It was a nice, quiet day. Not perfect, mind you: Maddie bit me (! a first), and Riley pitched a gigantic fit about . . . I don't even remember what. But what day is ever perfect? It was just nice for us to have so much time together. Both kids demanded a group snuggle before I tucked them into bed; I can't think of a better way to end a day.

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Recent Twin Conversations

Riley: [endless series of demands issued in obnoxious tone] I no wanna eat dinner! I no wanna play toys! I no wanna go home! I no wanna wash hands! [and on and on]
Me: Riley, please, I'm begging you just tell me ONE THING that you WANT to do! Anything! One thing! That's all I ask!
[pause]
[pause]
R: I wanna WHINE!

Well, that pretty much stopped me in my tracks.

[Maddie and Riley in the back seat of the car]
M: I wanna be a big boy!
R: No! NO! You no big boy! You a big GIRL.
M: [whining] But I wanna be a big boy!
R: Nope. Nope. You a big GIRL.

[tonight at dinner, in our kitchen]
R: I no wanna see Dr. L.
Me: It's OK, babe, we don't have any doctor appointments soon.
R: Put Dr. L in the oven!
M: Put A [medial assistant at pediatrician's office] in the toaster!
R: Put Mama in the frigerator!
M: Put YaYa in the dishwasher!
Me: Put Riley in the microwave!
[and so on and so on, punctuated by hysterical laughter]