Rotten Fish and Stink Bait

Alyssa Grace has always been my oral fixated child...in other words, she's a thumb sucker.  If I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have taken her pacifier away.  I'm not sure if it would have made a difference ...I probably would blame the pacifier for the thumb sucking if I had.

Kayla has been on her case for about a year and can't understand why we don't beat her for sticking "that nasty, dirty, slimey thumb" in her mouth.  She's not our drama queen for nothing.  Finally, we talked to her dentist since her teeth are protruding some but he was sure she would quit on her own when she started school.  He said that peer pressure would solve the problem in no time.  Well....no time has come and gone and she has progressed to not being able to function without the thumb firmly planted in that mouth.  She opens doors with her four fingers, she tries to hold her pencil and talk without removing it.
 Finally, after a year, the dentist decided there might be a slight problem and decided we needed to try something. He suggested starting with the stuff to paint on the thumb nail that tasted bad.  I had told Lyss we were going to put something on her thumb that would help her remember to keep it out of her mouth.  Today, the little bottle came and she was excited to try it out.  She was a little disappointed that it was clear instead of red like nail polish but she was full of cooperation.  We slapped that stuff on and waited.....no thumb sucking...or at least, not in my presence.  After several hours it was going too smoothly.  I asked her if it tasted bad and she was blasé.  Hmmm....maybe it wasn't strong enough.
When I came in from church and getting the twins through the wild GO TO BED routine, I decided I would lick her thumb to see if it had washed off and needed a new coat.  OH my word!!!!  I've never came close to eating a dead rotten fish, stink bait, and rotten wood but I think this stuff is close.   I lost my breath and when I finally inhaled I strangled on the taste.  I couldn't spit it out or dilute the taste.  After the first spasm of coughing was over then I had some in my stomach and the heaving began.  Finally, I got myself under control to get them in bed and Lyss said she thought she had stopped the thumb sucking so she didn't need any more.  That stuff would stop me from getting my hands close to my mouth forever but I think we might try a few more days to see if she's really cured.

School Day Anticipation

The day is fast approaching for the girls to strike out in the world without me. I'm not sure how I feel about this but they are ready so it will happen. While driving home from the school screening, I was thinking where we were three years ago. Kayla had been diagnosed as developmentally delayed with major fine motor skill problems. We had discussed the possibility with her therapist that she would be behind Lyss in school and we needed to prepare for that. How?? I just decided we were going to work as hard as we could not to let it happen.....but if it did, we would still handle it. Lyss was looking at eye surgery and Kayla was being tested for possible seizures. It was a very "acute" time in their lives and I wasn't getting a lot of good news. Now fast forward to the present.

Kayla is my cerebral child. She will be our reader and heavy thinker. She is very structured in her thinking but that doesn't mean that she doesn't want to be the baby of the family. She is the one that has deep conversations with the animals and is often found quietly telling one of the dogs a story while she is stroking their head. She loves to make up very complicated stories but is quick to tell us...."It's okay...it's just a story." I notice this because it shows me, even though she has this complex imagination, that she can tell the difference between real and make believe. Some teens can't. She has her routine and I have explained that she can't have everything by her rules but still we have a teary time when Chuck doesn't hug and kiss her like he "always" does before he leaves.....even for five minutes. The fine motor skills are up to her age and she has no problem with seizures. She is a small framed child but she is completely healthy.

Then we have Alyssa Grace. Lyss is our fairy child. She's much too busy twirling and dancing to worry about mundane things like what she has been told three times to do. She may have very selective hearing but thankfully, her eye muscles have improved to the point that we don't have to worry about surgery. She is a little bigger than Kayla and, so far, has been our athlete. She doesn't walk if she can run, or jump, or skip. Discipline in school may be a little more of a problem with her because sitting still is a foreign language to her. She is a happy, imaginative child and loves to play make believe with her sister. She is a social butterfly and I'm interested how she will do with a group of kids in school.

Both are counting the days and ask every morning when will they put their school clothes on. This is the new frontier.

One more big leap for the Duo

The twins are doing great. They are very verbal, with a good vocabulary. Kayla still has a slight lazy tongue so she slurs some of her words, which will be solved when she is in school. That is my subject....the dreaded school.....It is dreaded by me because that will be the end of the toddler realm and on to the "big school girls" part of their life. They are so excited about starting school in a few weeks and I'm so glad that they want to go. It's going to be a bigger adjustment for me probably than them. If someone had asked me what I would be doing right before my 63rd birthday, it definitely wouldn't have been getting two preschoolers ready for their big leap into education. Kayla is still my studious one and is really the leader of the pack. She is also the town crier so Lyssa can't get away with much. I told her she was a tattle tale and she agreed she was but she had to. They still play remarkably well together and work out most of their fusses without our involvement. I had wondered if I was doing the right thing by not putting them in a daycare so they had more interaction with other kids but I've decided they needed to have this time to grow closer as sisters. Lyssa is my free spirit and has a huge imagination still. She is usually a princess and needs a dance partner. Poor Chuck has to dance many times with her when he is not playing soft ball with her. She is also the athlete right now. She spent the early Spring playing TBall and found...when the season was nearly done....that she loved it. I see myself on the road with this kid a lot to sporting events. Kayla had no interest in playing but does like basketball so we will see on that. They both love books and like to "read" to us...as well as being read to. Kayla likes to play the piano and we may look into lessons later. Right now PreK is the biggest thing on the horizon. I'm anxious to see how their personalities will expand. We went on our first vacation this year to Branson and it was so easy. I'm still a little in shock because I was actually dreading the thought of hanging on to both of them. I don't think they could have been any better. We may live dangerously and do it again next year.

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A New Year!

So many things have happened since I've written anything. The girls are old hats at the potty training. Their vocabulary has tripled and there's not much left of the baby era. I miss having the tiny babies but I must say....most of the time....four year olds are easier. Going to stores was definitely easier in carriers though....now I just tie them in harnesses. They can vocalize their needs and that's huge. They are learning to play without an adult within arm's reach. Their imagination is huge and so much fun. We never know what animals lurk around the corner or who is coming for a tea party. Kayla will tell me something and it will be this huge tale that she has made up...then Lyss will take over and finish it. We have a dragon living with us frequently and it is nothing to have lions and elephants being fed in the bathtub. Lyssa is playing TBall but Kayla had no interest in it. She decided she would rather have a piano....hmmmm. Since Lyss had never actually even seen a bat or ball glove, it's been an interesting experience so far. She twirls, throws her glove, lies on her back looking at the clouds and becomes a limp noodle when it's time to bat. We can only get better. Kayla is the cheerleader deluxe. Through the four years, the girls have taken turns being the dominant twin....now it is Kayla as the leader of the pack. She is our reader and a book is in bed with her every night. She is the first in a door to meet new people and adventures and never sees a stranger. Lyss is a little more shy and has takes a little more time to warm up to new places and people but not long....she's usually ready for an adventure too. Kayla is our rancher and her favorite thing is to go feed with Papa. She tells me how many calves were born....usually four...that seems to be her favorite number, and where they came from. She's missing a few facts there and thinks the cows poop them out but has the general idea. I'm hoping we have more than four calves at some point. Lyss likes to go too but not if it interferes with sleeping a little later or cartoons. The girls will be going to preschool this fall along with their triplet friends. It should be a wild class but they are ready and tell us that is their school every time we pass by. As long as they are together they will be fine. Lyss is not ready to be separated though. Kayla is taking speech to help with a slight problem but I think this is pretty normal for this age and nothing a little maturity won't fix. She loves her teacher and since it is at the grade school, she thinks she's going to school. Lyss tags along most of the time and the teacher just puts her to work too. The girls are on the small, slim side but have been super healthy. We have been blessed with only minor colds. I really wish their preemie doctors could see them now. Each age the girls have been is my favorite until the next one. School is going to be a big adjustment for all of us though. They've never consistently been away from me and they have been my focus for over four years. I'm thinking I'm going to have a lot harder time than they are.

The nighttime phantom

Our younger son, Chad, was an interesting child. What he didn't try hasn't been thought of yet. I spent many hours guarding him in his time-out chair, getting him repaired at the ER, and listening to stressed out teachers. Mother told me I needed to write all of his escapades down because I would forget. I told her I would NEVER forget! Thankfully I have. Which brings me to the Duo. Lyss has a problem going to sleep. She gets up and wanders...she plays...she pilfers. It's a constant battle to keep her down. We find strange concoctions in her bed such as laundry soap, cookies, clothes baskets and band aids. She went to sleep in a laundry basket with a crown, heels and a wedding dress on. That worked until she tried to straighten up and had to yell for help. When getting up at night, we've learned to shuffle in case she has crashed in the middle of our bedroom floor. Finally, we gave up and put her on her little couch in the corner of the den where we can watch her until she nods off. She still doesn't sleep easily but she has an audience.

Potty training 101

Potty training, after many starts and stops is once again in full swing. Over the years my philosophy on training has changed dramatically. I no longer go into it like a soldier to battle.....now it is more like a drunk in a bar. I realized early on that twins were going to be a little more challenging to train. When one was agreeable to be led to the potty the other couldn't be drug into that room. When the first "no, no," was heard the first twin immediately decided that she couldn't possibly go in there either. That's how the bar idea came into being. We still live in a sippy cup world but Chuck gives the girls bathroom cups in the morning while he is brushing his teeth. They think it is the greatest thing to get to drink...and spill...water in a real cup. I got to thinking this might be incorporated into a useful potty tool. The only time they get juice now is when they are sitting on the potty AND they get it in their prized cups. Works every time!

Our family circus.....

Trying to play catch up after not posting for so long has intimidated me....so instead, I decided to jump right in and worry about it later. 

Yesterday was one of those days that everything just wiggles in different directions.  I wanted to make some bows....Lyssa wanted to climb Mount Everest....and Kayla wanted to be a public announcer.  In other words, Lyssa was into everything high...such as kitchen counters where she can get into the knives and Kayla tattled at the top of her lungs.  The naughty spot has a nose print rubbed bare so after the fourth kitchen counter episode Chuck made Lyssa go to her room and lie down.
We could have peeled skin with less painful screaming.....with Kayla as the helpful chorus.  When it calmed down I began to worry. I have found as long as there is noise I know where they are....the silence is anything but golden around here.  Chuck is still a little slow on the uptake....he STILL thinks quiet is something good.  sigh

When I checked...Lyssa WAS still in bed but but giggling....and Kayla was jumping on her saying "You stay in bed or get swatted!"  She's a Nazi in training.