To be honest, I have never really been the biggest fan of the circus. I’ve not taken my kids and I remember going a few times as a kid, but never thinking it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever done. Sure, there are some super talented people and crazy awesome acts, but it just never appealed to me.
But now, I am the circus. Here are some reasons why I think so…
1. Pregnant lady or circus freak?
It all started when I was pregnant. If you had seen my belly when the kids were inside moving around you no doubt would’ve agreed. They would both move at the same time, naturally, so eight limbs – EIGHT LIMBS – could be seen rolling across my belly. It was the craziest thing ever, but that was the part that I loved. The part that made me feel like a circus freak was when I went to Cracker Barrel at around 35 weeks pregnant. I got up to go to the bathroom and I could hear two women in the kitchen saying, “There’s no way she’s not pregnant with twins.” Luckily I was! My husband decided then and there that he didn’t like taking me out because I was such a spectacle. Little did he know that once the twins were born we would be even more so…
2. Super human strength
You guys, my twins will be five next month and I still carry them both around. No, I probably shouldn’t (hello lower back pain) and yes, it’s only on occasional circumstances now, but never did I think I would be strong enough. In fact, I remember going to the Bob Dylan Birthday Bash at Market Square when I was pregnant with the twins and watching my friend Melissa with her daughter. Her daughter climbed up and down my friend’s entire body, and I sat there thinking about how that just wouldn’t be possible with two. Turns out it is!
3. Babies who are born together poop together
I remember the days of diapers like it was yesterday. I’d change one and then change the other, only to find the first one had just pooped. There were days in which I changed four diapers before 6am. Whew! But the weird thing is they both still poop at the same time, every time! They’re still learning to wipe so I will literally be in the middle of doing something when I will hear, “Mommy, I pooped!” coming from two different bathrooms. So at what age do I get to stop wiping them? Asking for a friend.
4. We keep it in the family
Conversation between my husband and my son in the car one day:
Oliver: “Daddy, how old are you?”
Dad: “35.”
Oliver: “How old is mommy?”
Dad: “She’s also 35.”
Oliver: “So…(pauses)…are you and mommy twins?”
Oh man, this was absolutely my favorite conversation that my husband has told me about. We explained that just because we’re in the same family and are the same age, it doesn’t make us twins; we also told them that the cool part of being a twin was that you got to be in mommy’s belly with someone else. I love how my little man thinks though.
5. Show stoppers
My kids love the spotlight, and it’s a really good thing because they’re always in it. The second someone starts talking to them, they proudly announce that they are twins, which inevitably brings about a whole series of questions. Every time I go to the grocery store and we are checking out, these two little bobbing heads peer over the counter, watching the person scanning our groceries. And it’s almost like they can’t help it…they jump and jump until one of them bursts out with “We’re twins!”
6. Step right up folks and see the lady with the stretchy skin
The other morning I was helping Oliver get dressed for school and I couldn’t help but kiss his sweet little belly. Of course he made it into a game, trying to get his shirt down before I could kiss it again. Then he told me that he needed to kiss my belly. I repeatedly said “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” But he’s always been a kid who doesn’t give up, so I finally said he could one time. Meanwhile, Olivia walks in while he’s kissing my belly and screams “Ewwww, gross.” I ask why it’s gross and she says, “Because mom, your belly looks so funny because of us.” Haha, she’s right. My belly will never, ever look the same with that super stretchy, hanging skin — the true mark of a woman who gave birth to twins. Worth it though!
7. You talking to me?
I may not be able to read minds or tell you your future, but I am certainly well-trained in listening to two conversations at once. The thing I’ve noticed about kids this age is that they LOVE to talk. And while other parents can tell one child to wait because they’re older, I have a harder time deciding which one should get to talk first. So they talk at the same time and I can usually pick up what I need to from both conversations. It used to drive me nuts before we had kids when my husband would have both the tv and music on. Now, it’s basically my life all the time. Sure, it doesn’t always end well and they’ve gotten so much better about taking turns, but when push comes to shove, let them talk!
