{"id":2847,"date":"2013-01-30T14:55:06","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T19:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/montessorionthedouble.com\/?p=2847"},"modified":"2013-10-14T00:02:46","modified_gmt":"2013-10-14T04:02:46","slug":"what-its-really-like-to-have-toddler-twins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montessorionthedouble.com\/tw\/2013\/01\/30\/what-its-really-like-to-have-toddler-twins\/","title":{"rendered":"(English) What It’s Really Like to Have Toddler Twins"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My husband is away on a business trip for 8 days. Our nanny recently went on a 6-week vacation. After three days of being alone with them, last night I had one of those I-hope-no-one-who-reads-my-blog-ever-sees-me-now kind of a moment. I\u2019m in the middle of cleaning up after an elaborate, health-conscious, culturally-educational meal of braised sea bass, tofu with mushrooms and minced meat and a special rice dish with baby bok-choy, edamame and carrots. I\u2019ve got dishes piled up to the ceiling in the sink, a table full of half-eaten food and wondering why I had gone through the trouble of cooking any of it. I\u2019m trying to load the dishwasher as fast as possible, with B tugging at my pants saying, \u201cMama, don\u2019t wash dishes,\u201d It should have been a sign. Well, the girls decided to go into the rice cupboard, dump out 2 giant cups of uncooked rice on the floor then throw it at each other. \u201cWhat are you doing? Stop! STOP! I knew I shouldn\u2019t have kept this here where you can get to it!\u201d I go upstairs to get the vacuum. When I come back, they had gotten into the flour and was smearing it all over the cupboard door. I grab their hands and pull them into the living room. \u201cStand here. And don\u2019t move!\u201d I\u2019m absolutely fuming. <\/p>\n

Hours later, I realized two things:
\n1. You cannot keep up a household the same way you did when you have a husband AND nanny.
\n2. Of the three most important people in B and M\u2019s life, two of them are gone. And they are desperately trying to get my attention. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m still recovering from my burst of anger and ensuing exhaustion from cleaning, but I decided to have a conversation with them anyway. Communicating helps them understand what happened and helps me calm down. At bedtime, I held them and said, \u201cMama yelled very loudly today, didn\u2019t I?\u201d Nods all around. \u201cMama is very tired today, so when you threw rice everywhere, I got very angry. I\u2019m sorry I yelled.\u201d They don\u2019t say anything. \u201cWhen Daddy and Ayi are not here, I need you to help me keep the house clean. Can you help Mama keep the house clean these next few days?\u201d It\u2019s a lot to ask of a 2-year-old, but they nod. <\/p>\n

This morning on our way to school, B says, \u201cBrooke didn\u2019t clean up.\u201d I ask, \u201cWhat didn\u2019t you clean up?\u201d She says, \u201cBrooke didn\u2019t clean up Play-doh.\u201d \u201cDo you want me to help you clean it up?\u201d I ask. She says, \u201cNo. Brooke clean up Play-doh by herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took three days of exhaustion, misery and way too much yelling for me to learn this: No more elaborate meals. No more extensive cleaning. It is time to break out the disposable bowls and plates and do more take-out. They need time with me doing Play-doh, storytime and cuddles more than ever. The acting out is merely their way of getting my attention. I\u2019m putting aside the idea of keeping the perfect home – I\u2019m ready to get on with having the perfect time with them. <\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019ve found a great solution. I\u2019ve replaced all bowls, plates and cups with the disposable kind. My goal is avoid washing dishes altogether before my husband comes home. And a couple days of take-out is going to be great for us. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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My husband is away on a business trip for 8 days. Our n […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[117,124,121,128],"tags":[156,62],"class_list":["post-2847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1-2-years-old","category-2-3-years-old","category-1-2-years-old-live-and-love","category-2-3-years-old-live-and-love","tag-order","tag-self-discipline"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t