I survived CO-OP! I had my first co-oping experience yesterday (11/14) at the Preschool. It went much better than expected. Helen wanted to be carried all the time, but agreed to walk if we marched everywhere. Carolyn wanted to be carried too, and then some other kids wanted me to carry them...so I had to make do with getting the children to hold hands and then run as fast as they could to the assorted activities of the morning. Only one diaper change and it was poop-free, thankfully.
It was remarkable to watch a group of 2-2.5yr olds interact since most of them had not known each other previous to September of this year. Aside from one minor hitting incident, the kids cooperated and had a good time in the class. We sang songs, played in the mini-kitchen, played at the hardward table (note: The Catan twins were the ONLY participants at the hardware, workzone table during the morning. I suspect they'll be leading the way for scores of Jewish girls and boys to bring out their own "inner handy-man" and not believe the stereotypes...although I can attest by merit of my own family that the sterotype rang quite true while I was growing up. Mark is impressed I can operate a computer.)

The girls did an amazing job watching out for each-other. Debbie, the teacher, said it's been fascinating for her to watch them interact with each-other because even at this tender age of 2.5, they are so closely bonded. Carolyn started reciting the Motzi over food the other night (I WAS SO PROUD!) and was reciting it before snacktime, loudly, at school yesterday. Helen and Carolyn mostly liked playing doctor with the plastic stethoscopes, bandaids (of course) and syringes. They do tend to be very shy and unsure around other children and Debbie mentioned it is one thing she'd like me to work on--ie creating more playdates with the other classmates. We have a playdate with Nolan today which I'm looking forward to, so I hope they have a good time. I will say that one thing I got as a lovely takeaway from the morning was what wonderful children Carolyn and Helen are. It was one of the few days we didn't have at least two or three loud meltdowns and the girls seemed really interested in most of the activities..tho I think Snacktime ranks as number 1. I will say, or dare I say here that I am surprised by the number of nannies or babysitters who drop-off/pick-up some of the children. As a parent, I can fully attest to the fact you simply miss alot by not being there. I just cannot think of anything more meaningful than having the opportunity to see/hear a tiny glimpse of the start of a child's educational journey.

We have officially started some potty-training, too. Carolyn has done at least three pee-pees in the potty and Helen did her first on Monday night. They do have to be coaxed to use the potty, so I think we are still a ways off from being diaper-free during the day, but it has been encouraging nonetheless.

Carolyn actually let me sing one stanza to a song today but then told me to "turn it off" as I tried to harmonize during the chorus part. Looks like Bon Jovi won't be needing my backup singing either.
Sigh.

I always said that the girls, even as newborns, despised my singing voice which is why I rarely hummed anything. I would feed them listening to classical music because even if I wanted to, it would be close to impossible to hum along well and besides, the girls enjoyed listening to all the various instruments (and no singing) in the lovely sonatas we heard. Now that they can talk, Carolyn cringes when I sing anything and says "Turn it off! Turn off the noise!" Noise. My voice is considered "noise". So much for my dreams of singing backup with Springsteen or Mick Jagger. (you do know they were banging on my front door begging me to tour with them, right?)

Preschool is going very well. We only had one class this week, and I daresay, the girls missed school. They were asking for their teacher all week and it was pretty hard to get them to take a nap most of this week. Today, they fell asleep within minutes of being put in their cribs. Today's activity was painting mini-pumpkins. Their teacher, Debbie, is just a whiz at knowing what will enthrall children of this age to the point of total distraction so that when a parent says "bye bye" they barely acknowledge the departure. I have my first co-oping day next Tuesday (11/14) and then we have "parent-teacher" conferences (can you believe they start at 2.5?) next Thursday. Everybody is enjoying a break and the chance to do something new two times a week. The girls get to socialize with munchkins their age, and do fabulous, albeit messy artwork and I get to actually get some laundry done, do some straightening and...are you sitting down? Take a SHOWER! I won't share my hygenic habits over the course of the last year, but suffice to say, I look and smell alot fresher.

The girls are actively enjoying running...and then purposefully falling backwards in the big piles of crunchy brown fall leaves that have collected in neighbors' back and front yards as well as the park. We have some leaves in our yard but bless my husband, he really likes our lawn to be well groomed..so we escape elsewhere. It's really funny, and we have captured some of this on film. Currently, their favorite game is to watch their sister run into a big pile and then fall backwards while yelling "WOAAAAAA!!" Then, there is a round of giggling, and the next sister takes her turn. One thing that I think is a standout amongst multiples is their ability to take the ordinary and turn it into a game by themselves. I've been sitting down more (PRAISE the LORD) and letting them create their own fun. Frankly, it's less frustrating for everyone. The books say to let them sort out their own issues with each-other at this age, but that is slow going...or perhaps my mediation skills simply need more sharpening. By the time I figure out how to do all this well, they'll be in college anyway.

Carolyn's favorite game right now is anything that involves chasing. Helen prefers to jump on the couch and pretend she is splashing in a bathtub. Both girls can count to 12, but seem to omit the numbers 5 and 6 while counting.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving at Aunt Claire and Uncle George's in a few weeks. I've been explaining that turkeys say "gooble-gooble" and that we eat turkeys on Thanksgiving. This year, the girls will sit at the big people table (in their booster seats). It will be the 2nd time in a year that they agree to eat string beans. They've only agreed to eat the fresh variety (not from a can) at Aunt Claire's (last year at Thanksgiving time) and have since refused every which way I've prepared them. I'm delighted their little digestive systems will get a treat of string beans after 365 days.