28 September 2008

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.

******************************
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]

19 comments:

10 lbs of awesome in a 5 lb bag said...

I'll trade you the "I no wanna" for an endless series of "Can I/Will you/I wants..." We're starting to come up with creative rules for dealing with that - my new one, yet to be tried is that once we've sat down at the table, no more requests and/or demands. I'm not holding my breath for a high probability of success.

Anonymous said...

Yes, you have been busy as of late. There's it's +'s and -'s.
It's sometimes nice to just be by yourselves, right?
Well, back to Monday, ughghghgh!

Anonymous said...

Some days I feel like Riley. Wish I were your friend and maybe he and I could have a whine-out.

Anonymous said...

I'm with you--sometimes we get so overscheduled that it's nice to have a day at home to relax. The girls did crafts and drawing all day. Hubby & I each got a little nap.

OTRgirl said...

"I wanna Whine!" That's hilarious. It seems like a very sophisticated statement, actually.

I love the humor that the three of you share.

After two or three super-busy weekends, we actually took this one as a non-plan one. It was nice to just relax with no agenda. Glad you had fun!

Anonymous said...

It's great that you're recording these cute, funny sayings. Someday your kids will grow up and thank you for these fun memories. :)

Mama Mama Quite Contrary said...

Your kids are so cute! I love their conversations. How wonderful that they have each other!

SupersammyG said...

glad you had a nice day as a family. We also stayed close to home all weekend and it was nice. The hound was very sad this morning to see his family leave home.

Anonymous said...

"I wanna WHINE."

That is PRICELESS.

I love reading M/R stories!!

K said...

I love the Riley and Maddie stories too. Riley sounds very self-aware for a 2 year old.

watercolordaisy said...

Too cute! Glad y'all had a good day overall.

Mama Nabi said...

Ah... wait until "Because I AM upset"... to "Why are you upset?"

LN and I had a similar fun day at the science museum... I stopped taking myself and her tantrums so seriously and we had a grand time.

I love that you get that DOUBLE the fun factor. You totally deserve that after the DOUBLE the work.

Anonymous said...

Snick - your kids just keep me laughing. I guess because I have teenagers - had them young :) it is fun to hear stories of a two year old. Riley is such a sweetie and smart....to even know he is whining is incredible. Maddie is simply as cute with the whole boy/girl comments. Not knowing you personally, can hear the "happy" in your voice since meeting this Mr. Coffee. So neat!!

SEC

Anonymous said...

Sometimes my only request is to whine. I'm glad Riley got to get that off his chest.

Gloria said...

Riley's not alone. Sometimes I just want to pout and whine, as my hubby will tell ya.

Anonymous said...

Hi you are not the only one who gets a bit panicked about a whole day with a 2 year old..in your case two!I also spent the whole of Sat on my own. My days also split into pre and post nap sections. Breakfast,dish washing(kitchen floor), puzzles, playdough, lunch, a trip to the station to watch the trains.. and there is a fantastic childrens indoor play center near me where we go when it rains. He plays and I sip a cuppuchino, while the minders make sure he doesnt do to much damage to himself..

Rebecca said...

You give me hope that two babies get easier, if a rainy day by yourself with no plans doesn't scare the crap out of you! Thanks for the uplifting message and SUPER cute quotes. Love that Riley.

Anonymous said...

"I wanna whine" Love it!

I once had a nearly identical conversation with my neice which ended with, "I wanna cookie."

Your children are wonderful. Thank you for sharing them!

Kathleen

amber said...

"i wanna whine"
you know, i wonder if that would work with my husband? ;)