Mr. Innocent

When my son Jake was about eight or nine years old he had a pretty good philosophy and that was: “whatever it was, it wasn’t me.”
I even joked and called him the “wasn’t me man” for a few years.
Good thing this did not last long but those days were pretty funny since he was a master at crafting his words skillfully to talk his way out of things he and his twin sister had done.

http://www.zazzle.com/mr_innocent_speckcase-176221932679871155?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

I love how kids are always picking up new things and using them to their advantage, too bad it usually comes back on us parents like it does though. 
Have your kids pulled the wool over your eyes lately?

Womb Wars

Years ago during my twin pregnancy, I ended up having five ultrasounds before the babies were finally born and a very funny thing was going on in each of those ultrasounds.
I like to call it the “womb wars” because during all of those doctor visits, staring at the little screen I always layed there watching my two little precious babies literally beating on each other.  They were not messing around in there either, it was like something you would see on a WWF episode.
I remember being paranoid that they would be born all bruised up or with black and blue eyes, I even asked the doctor if it was possible for them to hurt each other, which she quickly told me to stop worrying and that they would be fine. 
Jake’s twin sister must have won all those womb wars because even though he was born a full 31 minutes earlier then her, she was the boss long before her arrival.

http://www.zazzle.com/custom_a_princess_like_me_cartoon_speckcase-176330345716649067?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

Jake is about four inches taller then his twin these days but every once in awhile when she gets that little twinkle in her eye, he is still smart enough to take cover!

Vivacious Valor

Vi·va·cious

active, lively, animated, spirited and full of life

Val·or

bold, determined, heroic, courage and brave

Two words which describe my twins accurately.

Both have shown courage while others folded.

Both are spirited, full of life and can make you smile when you feel like all hope is gone.

Both have stood up for strangers whenever they felt a person simply needed a friend.

http://www.zazzle.com/girl_boy_twins_love_ornament-175283707967440926?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

My twins are my heroes and I am very proud of them.

 They are more loved then they will ever know or sadly that I can ever explain in my writings.

My oldest daughter and youngest daughter also have many unique qualities I am very proud of, they are mom's heroes too but this post is dedicated to my twins.

Who are the heroes in your life?

Stitches, Staples & Shiners!

Jake's Lifetime Injury List Excluding Scrapes & Bruises (everything mom can remember at least)
1. The very first shiner ~ black & blue eye compliments of twin sister smacking him with a building block before the age of one. He can always look back at the pictures of it and see where his troubles all began.
2. Stitches under chin ~ pushed by twin sister and fell into the coffee table, age 1.
3. Staples to the head ~ pushed on the stair steps by twin sister, age 5.
4. Dura bond (medical glue) to the forehead ~ rode bike into corner of the house while looking down watching his feet instead of the driveway, also age 5.
5. Dura bond again ~ ear lobe injury from messing with kitchen cabinets, age 6.
6. Staples on side of head ~ fell outside on back stairs of house, age 6.
7. Staples to back of head ~ rough housing with friend and hit edge of table, age 8.
8. Staples to side of head ~ playing with friends outside, age 9.
9. Sprained wrist ~ Football injury, age 10.
10. Stitches on two fingers ~ Shot by twin sister with BB Gun after letting her use it for the very first time, after a full year of him using it safely by himself, age 11.
11. Bruised ribs ~ Football injury, age 11.
12. Sprained thumb ~ Football injury, age 12.
13. Sprained ankle ~ Football injury, age 12.
14. Surgery to abdomen ~ to fix hernia Jake was probably born with, age 13
15. Bruised tailbone ~ Football injury, age 13
16. Stitches on two fingers ~ Just last week, after pulling a hunting knife out of a bag, after it had wiggled out of it’s case, age 14.

I am pleased to say however that Jake has a incredibly high pain tolerance and has always taken the medical procedures in stride and is usually more upset about the low number of stitches or staples he receives, I guess this lessons the bragging rights at school or something.  Once he even got a doctor to add one staple, after much begging!

http://www.zazzle.com/funny_doctor_cartoon_button-145269752468705774?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

As you can see by the size of this list, Jake is a very injury prone boy, which drives me (mom) crazy!!  I am constantly praying that my little boy has had enough injuries to last him a entire lifetime! Thanks to all the wonderful doctor’s who have used great skill to leave Jake with only a few noticeable scars that are all thankfully under his hair! 
Now, how many staples, stitches or shiners have you had in your lifetime?

Priceless Peacemaker

Having three sisters means growing up around a lot of wars.
There are the standard wars over toys, the bitter feuds over the last popsicle in the house and of course the knock down drag out clothing wars.
Jake has seen his fair share of wars but it never gets any easier.
If the war draws sides in the sand though, forget it, he will always be on the side of his twin sister even if he knows she is wrong.
We like to call Jake the “peacemaker” because he hates to see his sisters mad at each other, he will often do or say something funny just to make them smile.
Jake is the type of kid who will go from bedroom to bedroom trying to make negotiations or stretch the truth in one sisters favor just to get the other to forgive her.

Jake is also a boy who keeps his mouth closed if it is a no win situation like the one in this cartoon, he knows when to say nothing when you have nothing good to say, just like his momma taught him.

http://www.zazzle.com/no_way_can_i_win_this_speckcase-176296725712094280?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313

The funny thing is, this “peacemaker” attitude only applies to his sisters since he is a fan of war type video games and of course "peace" is never a option when it comes to playing Monopoly against his own mother, so apparently his peacemaking attitude does have it’s boundaries.

Obsessed Over Outlets

When Jake was around the age of two or three he had a fascination with outlets, thankfully I had outlet safety covers on all of them throughout the entire house. So I thought…
One day though, he watched his dad take a outlet cover off with a screwdriver to paint a bedroom, and this changed the game entirely.
Later that night after I put Jake to bed, he got out a small screwdriver he had hidden in his room earlier in the day (good eye, dad) and proceeded to take all the outlet covers off in his room, place them in a pile and then go to bed.
The next morning I stood in disbelief and almost in tears, thinking about what could have happened with Jake sticking a screwdriver into even one of those outlets. That was the last time he got his hands on a screwdriver!

http://www.zazzle.com/child_safety_humor_tshirt-235589998994987361?gl=SnakesMom&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238413649595441313

It just goes to show, no matter how safe you think you are… there is always going to be something you never thought of that comes up. Kids are crazy!

Identifying Independence

Attending parent teacher conferences when your child or children in this case (twins) are in 2nd grade is usually pretty standard stuff, you go over the basics (math, reading, etc.) and the teacher tells you how your child is progressing. This particular conference though took a very strange turn when the teacher said something quite unusual to me…
She said “Jake does not appear to know what to do, unless a girl is telling him what to do.”
Without a ounce of hesitation or thought I said the unthinkable “well, there is nothing wrong with that.”
She moved on quickly with the academics, with a small grin on her face.
On the drive home though thinking about the conversation is when it really hit me, was I raising the perfect male? Or a house full of take-charge women that will go out into the world and dominate? What can I do to change this situation?

　

http://www.zazzle.com/living_with_women_tshirt-235237834928513964?gl=SnakesMom&group=kids&lifestyle=classic&rf=238413649595441313

Later that night I called a family meeting at the kitchen table and asked Jake if he does in fact know what to do if a girl is not telling him what to do, he laughed loudly and said “Yes, but life is so much easier if I do just do what they say."  (lol, the perfect male!)

"You Must Call Me Princess Or Else"

One day Jake was playing with his older sister and she made quite a few demands about how their time would be spent.  After almost an hour of meeting all her demands and even calling her "Princess", finally Jake said "I don't want to play anymore."
Jake's sister stood up, calmly shut the door shut and with a stearn voice said "You must call me princess or we are not playing together anymore!" 
Needless to say, I had to go open the door and rescue Jake!  After that day, he was always sure to ask "I don't have to call you princess... right?" before each and every time they played. :)

 http://www.zazzle.com/call_me_princess_or_else_speckcase-176817775225779388?gl=SnakesMom&rf=238413649595441313