I can't imagine not having twins. I will never know what it is like to have only one child, ever. And I can honestly say I have never wished we only had one kid at a time. It sends a shiver up my spine when I think about not having both of them in our lives at the same time.
That is not to say that at times I have looked at my friends with singletons and sighed. There are so many things that I was never able to do with the girls by myself - and I will always feel bad about that - for them. Especially things like storytimes and Mommy & Me type classes. Once you get over the cost increase with twins (!), I was always told I needed one adult for each child. Finding someone during the day was impossible - and then if I needed to pay them on top of that it would just be ridiculous. Saturday's were hard because of the times we visit Andy's parents in Long Island for the weekend, and when Andy's job started requiring him to work Saturdays during tax time. Nights - well, they went to bed at 6:30pm forever. So - we pretty much didn't do anything.
This summer I was looking forward to being able to handle them on my own and signed them up for storytime at our local library. I was sooooo excited! Our first storytime came - and the girls were a wreck. Because they weren't part of the "circle time" crowd from infants (like singleton babies) they were scared. Really scared. They clung to me and Katie made soothing sounds to herself on my lap while Maddie just hid her head in my leg. Long story short - we were asked to leave because I couldn't keep them quiet. Mind you - there was no screaming or carrying on of ANY kind - she just wanted the kids completely still and quiet.
I left the place in tears and called the head librarian who backed up the storytime reader's decision. I was livid. The class was for kids 18 months to 2 1/2 years old - and if that woman expected all those kids to be calm at the same time she was nuts. Plus, she blamed the other parents in the class for why I was asked to leave. I was told the other parents were bothered by my kids disruption. I actually saw some of these other parents in our church's music time class (who welcomed me with open arms and let all the kids be KIDS) and they told me that it was absolutely not true.
OK ... I got away from the original point of my story here ... but at least you see how difficult things are with regards to twins and activities. The real story is we finally joined The Little Gym! The girls are able to stay awake a little later (they still go to bed at 7pm all other nights) and they love the movement of this class. It is located on the way home from work for Andy, and the grandparents are always willing to sub if Andy can't make it. It is a gymnastics school - but for this age range it is about just moving around and getting comfortable with what their little bodies are able to do. They practice jumping and hopping and forward rolls and all the introductory steps for the bigger skills. They have bars set up - and they just encourage the kids to hang and swing from them. They have small and big balance beams and they get used to being off the ground. They have circle times and the kids can sit still or run around - no pressure.
That is not to say that at times I have looked at my friends with singletons and sighed. There are so many things that I was never able to do with the girls by myself - and I will always feel bad about that - for them. Especially things like storytimes and Mommy & Me type classes. Once you get over the cost increase with twins (!), I was always told I needed one adult for each child. Finding someone during the day was impossible - and then if I needed to pay them on top of that it would just be ridiculous. Saturday's were hard because of the times we visit Andy's parents in Long Island for the weekend, and when Andy's job started requiring him to work Saturdays during tax time. Nights - well, they went to bed at 6:30pm forever. So - we pretty much didn't do anything.
This summer I was looking forward to being able to handle them on my own and signed them up for storytime at our local library. I was sooooo excited! Our first storytime came - and the girls were a wreck. Because they weren't part of the "circle time" crowd from infants (like singleton babies) they were scared. Really scared. They clung to me and Katie made soothing sounds to herself on my lap while Maddie just hid her head in my leg. Long story short - we were asked to leave because I couldn't keep them quiet. Mind you - there was no screaming or carrying on of ANY kind - she just wanted the kids completely still and quiet.
I left the place in tears and called the head librarian who backed up the storytime reader's decision. I was livid. The class was for kids 18 months to 2 1/2 years old - and if that woman expected all those kids to be calm at the same time she was nuts. Plus, she blamed the other parents in the class for why I was asked to leave. I was told the other parents were bothered by my kids disruption. I actually saw some of these other parents in our church's music time class (who welcomed me with open arms and let all the kids be KIDS) and they told me that it was absolutely not true.
OK ... I got away from the original point of my story here ... but at least you see how difficult things are with regards to twins and activities. The real story is we finally joined The Little Gym! The girls are able to stay awake a little later (they still go to bed at 7pm all other nights) and they love the movement of this class. It is located on the way home from work for Andy, and the grandparents are always willing to sub if Andy can't make it. It is a gymnastics school - but for this age range it is about just moving around and getting comfortable with what their little bodies are able to do. They practice jumping and hopping and forward rolls and all the introductory steps for the bigger skills. They have bars set up - and they just encourage the kids to hang and swing from them. They have small and big balance beams and they get used to being off the ground. They have circle times and the kids can sit still or run around - no pressure.
We love it and the girls LOVE their teacher, Mr. Paul. They ask for him all week long - Katie will say "We go see Mr. Paw?" We are so happy that we found this place and the friends we have made there! Here are some pictures ...
The class starts off with bells and singing 
One of the few things Maddie will actually sit for
Then there is running to music with different motions throughout - Katie runs the outer edge and Maddie runs in this little circle in the middle and usually gets really dizzy and has a little fall when she is done
Mr. Paul brought out the big air mattress ...
... and the girls got to tumble ... Maddie going forward ... 
... and Katie going backward
Maddie hanging from the uneven bars - she can bring her toes up to the bar, too!
Katie on the parallel bars
They both love the balance beam - it has a piece to put on top to make the beam a bit wider for the little ones
And each night ends with more bells and bubbles!
We look forward to our Wednesday nights - and it's a nice break in the week. Our church music time is starting in a few weeks, too - and I hope they enjoy it a little more this time around.
5 comments:
The girls look like they just LOVE the little gym! This is a wonderful place for them to learn how to use their bodies!
Fun fun fun!! I was in gymnastics for 12 years, then I taught tumbling and trampoline.. Great memories...........
I know for certain that you have great water pics of those angels. Come on by my blog and check out the Watery Wednesday I stumbled across.
OMG....K & K did Gymboree at that age...it looks just like it !!!! They look like they're having a great time...I'm jealous because I miss those days...
Rosemarie, I am so happy that you found a place at the church for the girls to go & be normal kids! Those other places can go, well, you know... xoxo, K
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