Sunday, October 7, 2012

ToddlerS...Need I Say More?

I have two and a half year old twin boys.

I think I could end my post here and you'd totally get what I mean. Two two-year-old boys. Enough said.

The twins were born after our daughters, who are now eight and six, and I'm amazed at how different my boys are from my girls. I think this difference is accentuated by the fact that there are two of them - and one of them happens to be my "spirited" child.

Things are interesting around our house, to say the least.

I never thought I'd hear my high school sweetheart utter these "old" man, dad type sayings:

"Can't we have anything nice around here?"

"We're not buying anything new until these kids move out."

"Who broke this table - is nothing safe?"

One of the biggest differences I've noticed in the girl vs. boy comparison is that my boys are much more independent than my girls ever were - and that causes a lot more trouble. The girls used to whine until we'd fill up their sippy cups with milk - the boys just take it upon themselves to fill up (and spill out) the milk on their own. The girls used to cry until we'd help them change their clothes - the boys do it themselves, thus a dresser full of clothes on the floor every morning. The girls would ask for something to eat - the boys are constantly in the upper cabinets getting their own food (and this includes getting out the popcorn maker, filling THE WHOLE THING UP with kernels and turning it on).

I don't know if it's a boy thing - or a twin thing - but the boys are always doing things for themselves. It's a great character quality - independence - but it's very inconvenient for Mommy.

I thought I'd share some pictures (evidence) of what I'm talking about. Note that none of these things EVER happened with the girls (not that girls can't be "independent" - you may have one or two yourself).

I rarely take naps - so when I told my husband I needed
one this afternoon, he was happy to let me sleep. But - I
woke up to him saying: "Who clogged the toilet with
toilet paper?!?! The bathroom is flooded!!!"
Thus, the wet towels and rug...


My older twin has been walking around with blue,
sparkling nail polish in his hair all week because
 his "little" brother thought he'd look pretty...
 
There are three locations on our daughters' bedroom
floor that are now permanently pinkish-red (and crusty)
 from nail polish (and this happened five days after
I had them professionally cleaned) - yet another example of
my "spirited" child's activities... His "older" brother
was pink for a week after that episode, too.

Pink permanent marker on my living room couch (also
my "spirited" child's creation). We keep these destructive
things hidden from him (lest you think I have them
readily available!) - but he seems to find them...clearly.

As I was walking around the house taking pictures this
afternoon I caught the culprit red crayon-ded!
 
And here is my sitting room in it's unnatural state...clean.
(You can't see the hundreds of endearing fingerprints
on the windows...)




I value a clean, neat house...

My twins do not.
But for all the mess and destruction, I wouldn't change having twins for anything in the world. I know one day the mess will be long forgotten, and my children will grow up faster than I can imagine, but the experience and joy of having two little boys to fill our heart and home will last forever.

What about you? Have you noticed the girl vs. boy differences? Do you have a "spirited" child? What things have your children destroyed over the years - or, if you don't have children, what did you destroy growing up?

21 comments:

  1. Gabrielle, this is a hilarious post! Love the pics--kind of a "before and after" thing there with your lovely kitchen. Yes, boys...sooo different. I totally remember those years with toddlers and I admire you so much for being able to write/blog in this stage! I had to wait till mine were at least 2nd grade!

    And while those messes are headaches now, I was just thinking the other day how empty the house will feel when things STAY cleaned up. When there ARE NOT piles of laundry and dishes to do. That's when we'll be saying, "Bring on the grandkids!" Grin.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! What a busy life you must lead. I love your attitude. They do grow up oh, so quickly. This coming from an Empty Nester. Glad you're savoring every minute.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bahaha. This made me laugh. And it made me slightly nervous for having kids myself, LOL. I'm sure God will use it to stretch me, that's for sure.

    I actually don't think I destroyed much as a kid. I was seriously such a goody-goody rule follower. Shocking, right? ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Heather - I know, it's one of those bitter-sweet realities about children: when they're little and making messes, we can't wait until they're older and less messy, but when they're older, we're wishing they could be little again. I think about it all the time - especially when things are unusually crazy and I'm at the end of my rope. This too shall pass, but it will be a sad day when it has. :(

    Keli - yes, life in the Meyer household is very busy and active. Just today a lady at church asked me how I can manage to write - don't I feel exhausted? The truth is, writing energizes me and helps me be a better mom. It's one of those things that is vital in my schedule. It will be sad when I'm an empty-nester...I can't even imagine that right now, but it will be here before I know it.

    Lindsay - I think having a puppy is almost more work than having a baby! :) I hope this didn't make you too nervous. Truly, children are one of life's greatest blessings and they break you in a little at a time. Had someone plopped two year old twins down in my house without any preparation, it would not be good! But I've adjusted a little at a time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh good heavens, I know EXACTLY what you mean - my boys are 5 now but still, I can notice the difference. The worst is the stuff that are actually dangerous, like attempting to climb out of the second story window etc.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is hilarious, Gabrielle!

    My two boys are always wreaking havoc in our house. My mother, who had two girls, is amazed at the amount of energy they have. I never wrestled with my sister. Or went down my slide in roller skates. Or knew the difference between an excavator and a backhoe.

    A whole different world here, and I'm loving it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh my goodness, that was awesome!! :) I love your boys. They totally destroyed the nursery on Sunday...like two little hurricanes. But they were very good, listened well, and of course, adorable. I enjoyed watching them have fun!
    I'm sure there are hundreds of moms who can relate to this post. I, too, have had to let go a bit of the neat, tidy house idea. Priorities, I guess. God gave me my four little gifts and I want to love them up with the time I have..messes and all!

    Lindsay L.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hahahahaaaaa!!!! I LOVE These pics. As a momma to 3 boys, I can tell you it's both a boy thing and a spirited child thing. Some boys do want you to do everything for them and some don't. I'm guessing that one of your twins may be the leader and the other is following his independent streak. Even then though, one of them might be more independent and the other might be more curious and that can lead to big mischief. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, your kiddos are cute! But I can definitely see how they'd be a handful. I have three girls, so these stories about boys scare me :) Sometimes my nephew will come over (he's the same age as my oldest) and I really enjoy playing with him. It's definitely different from a girl! But I don't have to clean up his messes, and for that I'm grateful :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Haha, I don't have kids but I love hearing stories from people who do. :) My nephew is two and just getting into the stage of wanting to throw things and wrestle. I love it. I also love being the aunt who gets to giggle when he's a little naughty. :)

    Also, I have to echo Linds. I was a total goody-two-shoes as a kid. I only destroyed things on accident. Which probably happened more than I'd like to admit... :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. p.s. I accidentally left that comment the first time as Miracles ranch...a coworker was signed in on my computer. Oops! :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the clarification! I was a little confused. :)

      Delete
  11. LOL! Fun post, Gabrielle! Gosh, I remember those days.

    Hairspray for permanent marker. Spray and dab...repeat a thousand times! It will come out.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, Gabe, I'm surprised you have time for anything else, much less your wonderful writing! Personally, I think the blue sparkly nail polish hair is kinda trendy. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Bless you, Gabrielle. :) But they are so stinkin' cute. Who could get mad at those faces? I have a four-year-old boy, but he's naturally a pretty laid back kid.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh, Gabrielle how sweet!
    Thanks for the chuckles *grinning*. Aww.. hopefully they're not driving y'all too crazy.

    Love what you said in the end. Ain't that the truth!

    Soo glad to have seen this. Thanks for sharing!

    :-)

    ReplyDelete
  15. God bless you. I have one two-year-old. I can't imagine having two. God bless you! I'm sure Micah's destroyed something, but I can't think of anything at the moment. So I tell you what I did when I was six.

    I hurled rocks and filled gravel in a young man's brand new jeep and ruined it.

    Praying. Desperately praying that Micah is a better-behaved kid than I was. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  16. LOL...oh my goodness! I cannot imagine having twin boys! I had 3 boys and 1 girl and I KNOW what a challenge active little boys can be!!! Whew! Makes me tired just remembering.

    Let me just say that while they are a handful now, later they will be easy and your girls will be the handful! Girls are CRAZY as teens! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh honey! Hahahaha!!!
    I feel your pain!!
    Keep the power tools locked up!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Gabrielle - your father and I laughed when we saw the polish in the "older twins hair", but we really laughed when we saw the two on the counter. Who could ever have imagined what it would be like to have two children, the same age, in one house, full time. They keep us moving when we have them. You do an amazing job being a wife, mother, daughter, sister (in-law), aunt, cousin, volunteer, cook
    housekeeper, nurse,counselor, vet, writer/author, friend and so much more. You are an amazing women, but most of all, you are a women of God! You constantly amaze me - I am so proud of you!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are my favorite part of blogging!