"OUCH!"

The Roomie babysat the girls again Friday night. The older sister was out with her friends, so for a couple of hours it was just us and the twins.

First of all, these girls are very conversational now. The quiet one now makes me dizzy trying to follow all of her words. I can’t believe how quickly they change.

After dinner, the girls were treated to tubbies (bathtime) in the sink. This is something that they do just with the Roomie. Granted, they are 3 1/2 and can’t be bathed at the same time. So, Roomie took the one who had stripped herself naked after the announcement to go retrieve some jammies and I took the other one into the playroom.

I fell down onto their beanbags on purpose and pretended I couldn’t get up. Twin 1 tugged and tugged on my feet and I was laughing too hard and I told her I couldn’t get up. She said, with emphasis, that I could stay there forever… and then proceeded to cover me with every pillow, blanket and cushion she could find. Then she sat on me (I had turned my head to the side because I couldn’t breathe) and told me again that I was to stay there forever. I finally asked her to come down from Cushion Mountain, and she stepped on my face on her way down. I was still laughing.

Twin 1 went and grabbed four foam alphabet squares and hooked them together. I asked her what she was doing and she said, “I’m building a bridge of words.” I thought this sounded rather fun, so I asked her what her bridge was going to say. After she poured out a lengthy string of words spoken too fast for me to understand, I asked her what my bridge was going to say.

“Nothing.”

And that was that.

Twin 2 traded places with Twin 1 and we started our usual game of running all over the house until I am certain that a heart attack is pending. She’s like the energizer bunny, full of endless energy. While sister was in the sink, we ran all around the house. Finally, we stopped in the play room and she dropped to the floor and said, “I think I need to rest.” I’ve never known this child to be tired, but Roomie reminded me that she had about a 25 minute nap that day.

While she “rested,” I tickled her, and all the while she’s expelling some gases. Each time I remind her she’s supposed to say something and she says, “excuse me,” and we continue playing. The last time, however, the loudest, longest, most sustained burst of gas that could ever come out of a body that small, exploded out of her. It was so powerful, both of us were surprised.

Straight-faced, I asked her, “aren’t you supposed to say something?” I ready myself to praise her politeness and she looks at me and says, “Ouch!”

Mind you, I am trying not to laugh and am wondering if I should get the Roomie to check and see if the little thing injured herself, but she finally giggled. I asked her if she needed to go potty and she said, “no.”

So, Roomie finishes bathing Twin 1 and we go watch a video. Arthur, to be exact. If anyone can tell me exactly what species Arthur is, I’d be grateful. It’s sort of like Caillou’s lack of hair. Nobody will be able to explain it.

I look over and Twin 2, who is very skinny and her clothes gap on her, has both arms coming out of the legs of her underwear, waving her hands back and forth. It took me a moment to realize what she was doing. I gently reminded her that ladies did not wave from the bottom of their underwear and she complied quickly. Again, I’m torn between laughing and really wanting to know what species Arthur is and what his sister’s initials (D. W.) stand for. My mind is a scary place.

The girls go to get ready for bed. The other sister is about to come home and Roomie is trying to get the girls into bed before that happens. She goes out to the kitchen to get a milder toothpaste for Twin 1, leaving me in charge in the bathroom. You’d think 15 seconds wouldn’t be long enough for me to lose control, but Twin 2 has unrolled some toilet paper onto the floor by the time Roomie gets back. She picks up the toilet paper and when the twins trade places (one potties while the other brushes her teeth) tells Twin 1 that she can use the toilet paper she’s just rolled back up.

Roomie leaves the bathroom again. Twin 1 jumps up and does not use toilet paper. I ask her if she did and she looks at me, horror-stricken, “I forgot to wipe!” I tell her it’s never too late to fix those sorts of things and to take care of it now. She does and calms down.

The girls are about to go into their room and the neighbor who has had charge of the 5 year old knocks on the door. “Is (5 year old) here?” I nearly panicked. I wondered if he had delivered her home during one of those times that Roomie left the room and I just missed it. Neighbor sees the panic on my face and shifts his eyes to the side of the door frame and I realize the child is hiding for kicks. Relieved, I usher her into the house.

So, after the girls are in bed and Roomie convinces Twin 2 to stop trying to talk to and get the attention of Twin 1, I leave to come home.

I’m always glad to have the opportunity to play with the girls. I get to laugh and run and be silly and it’s all fun.