They Are Not Double Trouble!

I'm sorry I sort of complained about normal, well-intentioned people who make remarks to me about twins at the grocery store and other public places. You know what? If a nice person smiles and asks if the boys are twins, or tells me a brief twin anecdote, I'm going to happily go along with the pleasant interaction.

However, even if you look like a kindly grandma, I draw the line at following us around the Dollar Tree practically shrieking about how this is the best day of your life because you got to see my kids, then when you notice I'm buying a Father's Day balloon telling me a story about some twins you knew where one twin died from eating a balloon that popped... Yes, that literally happened...

And one more thing, strangers: stop calling my boys "Double Trouble." It's annoying! This phrase is almost always uttered with a chuckle by men over the age of 50. But when they say it, the twins aren't causing any trouble. They are sitting calmly in their stroller, watching the world go by. Why can't you just say something banal like, "Oh, twins!"

I didn't know I had this defensive mama bear streak in me. I thought I'd be one of those moms who is like, "Ha ha, my kids are so entertaining and I don't care if you say sarcastic things about them." But then these strangers jokingly call them trouble, and I'm all like, "Oh no you didn't! They are precious gifts from God and don't you imply otherwise!!"

Baby Milestones

Baby A & B are almost a year old. Wow! It's kind of amazing how much they have changed in a year. Since I'm observing them every day, sometimes I don't notice right away when things are different. I better record some of their noteworthy moments before I totally forget all of them :)

Overall, I'm happy to report that their developmental milestones have brought increased joy to the household. But not every moment has been sunshine and butterflies. Just keeping it real here - I'll note the highs and the lows.

Physical Development - Highs

• Able to hold up own head. This one was huge! When they were newborns, it was a lot of work just to handle them because they were soooo floppy. I couldn't really pick up both babies at the same time. I could hold them, if someone else handed me one of them. But I didn't have enough arms/hands to pick them both up very safely.
• Rolling over. I felt less nervous about SIDS once they could roll over both ways independently. Of course, when they first started rolling over in bed, I would flip them to their backs again, which they did not appreciate. Once I had confidence they really knew how to roll, I let them sleep on their tummies if they wanted. And when they were awake, they used rolling to move around on the floor, much to their delight.
• Sitting up independently. This is a recent milestone. It really makes life easier for activities like bathing. Baby B has been able to do it for a month or so, but A really only mastered it in the last two weeks. And "mastered" is a bit of an exaggeration because if they are tired, they both still have a tendency to tip over. They're getting pretty good at catching themselves, though :)

Physical Development - Lows

• Rolling over, early stages. Oh, the head bonking! When they first started rolling, they didn't have very good head/neck control so they were always whacking their heads on the floor. Ouch!
• Crawling. This one is really a high + low. I'm glad they figured out how to move and it is beyond adorable when they follow each other around the house. But oh my word, they get into EVERYTHING now. I can't leave them alone for a minute and 100% babyproofing has proved impossible.
• Pulling up. Another recent development, pulling themselves up has resulted in A LOT of bumps and bruises. Just the other day, I had put their carseats up on a bench, supposedly out of reach, but B pulled one down on his head. Ack! 

Language Development - Highs

• Babbling. It was so adorable when they started making little noises, like "gaaa" and "ooo." Hard to transcribe, but cute nonetheless! It was like they were becoming actual people at that point who were able to communicate with the world. 
• Sound effects. A learned how to click his tongue, and that entertained him for a solid week. B just figured out if he tips his head back and goes "ahhh," he can make this guttural, Godfather-like sound. He thinks it is hilarious.
• Laughing. Is this language? Not sure. I love listening to them giggle!
• Saying "mamamamama." I don't think they've quite figured out that I am "Mama," but whenever they say "mamamama," I look at them and say, "Yes? Did you need something?" so they learn that it's my name. They'll get it soon :)

Language Development - Lows

• Screeching. Seriously, like screech owls. Both of them, simultaneously, for no reason other than they like the sound of screeching. They don't do this very often anymore, thank heavens.
• Morning songs. Ok, yes this one actually is cute and I'm sure once they are all grown up, I'll be like, "Aww, remember how they used to make noises in their cribs?" But the 4AM singing of "gooo-gaaaa-laaaa" wasn't very adorable when the parents were trying to sleep. Now they usually wait till 6 or 6:30 to sing. That's not as bad.

Eating Skills Development - all Highs!

I have no complaints in the eating department. It has just gotten better as they've grown!

• Self feeding. This one took awhile to master, but now that they can do it, wow, it makes meal time so much better. They really prefer shoveling food in their own mouths rather than having to eat off a spoon. Hey, works for me! I just load up their high chair trays and then I actually get a few minutes to feed myself. Win-win!
• Bottle time. Ok, yes I wish they'd cooperate with my attempts to teach them to hold their own bottles. That hasn't worked yet. But it only takes them about 5 minutes to drink a bottle now instead of the 30+ minutes of newborn-hood. And they burp themselves! I don't usually even have to pat their backs anymore.

By this time next year, I predict they will be totally different people, running and jumping around everywhere, talking, and chewing a variety of foods with actual teeth (they only have 2 teeth each still). That's going to be exciting!

People That You Meet

Almost every time I take the kids out in public, someone has to comment on the fact that they are twins, or tell me a story about twins they know, etc. I'm getting used to it. But I've had a couple noteworthy interactions in the last week or so. I will now share them with the world!

(Kroger is our local grocery store, for any non-Memphians reading this blog)

Me: walking past the meat department in Kroger with the babies
Random lady who appears to be 60ish: "Oh, triplets!"
Me: holding up 2 fingers "Nope, just twins" and trying not to roll my eyes at her

Me: meandering slowly down the dairy aisle at Kroger looking for on sale yogurt and narrating the experience to the babies
Random lady who appears to be 80ish: "Oh, twins. How sweet! You know, I'm a twin too. My twin brother just died."
Me: "Oh my, I'm so sorry to hear that"
Lady: "I feel like I lost half of myself."
Me: feeling awkward that this stranger is sharing her grief with me, but trying to look at her kindly
Lady: (to the babies) "You've got a good mama here. I can tell she's taking good care of you."
Me: wondering if telling your kids about yogurt is a sign of stellar mothering, but I'll take the compliment :)

Me: just finished checking out at Target using the self-check machine, heading out of the store
Random lady with 3 boys: "Oh look boys, they are twins just like you!"
Me: noticing that two of the kids look quite similar, "Yes, you used to be small just like these guys and everyone probably asked your mom if you were twins"
Lady: "Don't worry, it does get easier!"
Me: Smiling, "So I hear," meanwhile thinking to myself--I heard your kids making a ruckus and fighting over who got to scan things at the self-check while my two little guys sat contentedly in their stroller chewing on toys...I think that going to Target is only going to get harder, actually!

Jury Duty, Part II

As promised, here is the conclusion to my tale of jury duty. I selected this week to serve at the advice of a friend who said to pick a week with a federal holiday on Monday, since there are usually fewer trials. Good advice!

Here's what happened.

Last week, I had yet to receive a reminder notice in the mail (as had been promised). I emailed the jury commission and then miraculously, my notice appeared on Friday. It included reminders about the dress code, prohibited items, and where jurors can park at a discount. 

I arrived punctually on Tuesday morning to find the jury assembly room once again teeming with my fellow citizens. The jury commissioner went over a lot of the same information from back in December. Then she called roll. Most people were present. Then we sat around and waited.

A judge showed up to give us a rah-rah pep talk about the importance of serving jury duty. He rambled on and on. I figured I should be respectful and pay attention b/c if he saw me reading a book, he'd probably find some way to get me assigned to a sequestered jury case. But then he started in about Memorial Day and how anyone who tries to get out of jury duty is disrespecting those who lost their lives in service to our country. Oh my, that was a bit over the top, and I couldn't help rolling my eyes. Look, Mr. Judge, our armed forces defend our freedom. When you compel/manipulate/force people to do things, that isn't really freedom now, is it? Of course, I hope most people will fulfill their civic duty to serve on a jury, and we have laws in place about that sort of thing, but if taking a week off work to be on a jury presents a legitimate financial hardship, I don't think we should be guilt-tripping people about it.

The judge finally let us get back to doing nothing. Well actually, first we had to listen to the commissioner answer the same questions over and over because, seriously, some people can't pay attention. She also told us that the thermostat in the room was set at a temperature where most people should be comfortable, but if someone was unbearably hot/cold to let her know, and it would go up for a vote with a maximum of one thermostat-adjustment vote per day. Ha! I am betting that policy came up because of some unruly past jurors...

For some reason, they play music in the waiting room. Maybe it was supposed to pacify us. Some of my neighboring jurors felt compelled to sing along. Others were playing games or watching videos on their phones with the sound on. Grrr - audio pollution! I tried to zone them out while reading my book.

Once in awhile, the commissioner would come in and call a group of people to go serve on a jury pool. On about the fifth round, my name was called. I was excited! I had been chosen! I've always wanted to be on a jury since watching "12 Angry Men" in school. Someone has to be the voice of rationality in the room!

The person reading our names off told us to wait in the hallway, but (inefficiently) he did not tell us to stay in the same order that we'd been called. A deputy came out and asked if anyone needed to use the bathroom or move their car. After lots more waiting, she lined us up in our original order and assigned us a juror number. I was #7. There were about 35 in our group. We then walked in our line over to a neighboring courthouse. She also kept offering us bathroom breaks. I felt like I was on a preschool field trip.

At the courthouse, we had to go through a security screening where the guard was befuddled by a juror with a pacemaker who did not want to go through the metal detector or be swiped with a wand. I thought I was going to have to intervene to prevent catastrophe, but they worked it out amongst themselves. Then we slowly made our way up to our assigned courtroom.

In the interim, one of the jurors disappeared. She allegedly had to go move her car because she was parked at a meter, despite multiple announcements not to do that and several earlier opportunities to move her car. We waited and waited in the hallway. IDK if we were only waiting for her, or also for some court proceedings. It was super boring, and it was already 11:30am so I was getting hungry because I usually eat lunch pretty early.

Fiiiiinally, we went into the courtroom - all 35 of us (minus the missing juror). Since I was #7, I got to sit in the jury box. I felt so legit! The judge told us about how important the jury system is, good for you for being here, blah blah blah. Then we had to take roll again. The judge told us a little about the case. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to talk about it or not, so I'll just say it was a civil case/lawsuit. By then it was almost 12:30pm and we got a lunch break. She told us that after lunch, they'd start in on jury selection.

I found a nearby Cuban restaurant that was super delicious. I could hardly pick what to order because everything sounded so good! I decided that if the trial went on for a few days, maybe I'd come back again to try some of the other items. It felt weird to be out and about in the city, by myself, like a normal working person. And I was wearing work clothes instead of spit-up stained yoga pants. Strange!

After lunch, we all got in our numerical line again (including the missing juror, who had reappeared) and filed into the courtroom. I noticed that the plaintiff was no longer present. The lawyers asked to approach the bench. They had a hushed conversation with the judge. Then the judge said some more things to us about how wonderful jury trials are and if we ever have to go to trial, we better hope it's in the USA. She then swore us in as jurors only to tell us that the matter had been resolved and the case was being dismissed. Our jury service was complete; we were free to go. Well, that was anticlimactic! 

In Shelby Co., you only have to serve once every 10 years. I doubt I'll still be living here in another decade, so I guess this was my one day of jury duty. It turned out to be more interesting than I expected but not as dramatic as a legal thriller TV show or movie.

I know last time I posted about jury duty, I was ranting about how little is provided for jurors. I mean, you have to pay for your own transportation/parking, lunch, and child care. You get paid $11 per day. But then I was thinking about it some more and realized that I don't necessarily want to pay higher taxes so that all jurors can have free parking and free child care. It cost me less than $20 for parking two days (December and May) + one lunch. DF had the day off and stayed home with the boys, so no cost for child care. That is really not so bad. If the county offered reimbursements, I'm sure people would take advantage of that system. 

Good luck to anyone else serving jury duty soon. Your country appreciates it, I hear :)