The Twin Terrors

In all, we've got 7 nieces and nephews and a sort of godson in Louisiana (we were a wreck for several days trying to locate people when Hurricane Katrina hit)

My sister, Sheila was in her second pregnancy. As she and Bob dropped off their oldest at our in-law's, my father-in-law, Frank was standing in the driveway holding up 2 fingers as they left. Sure enough the ultrasound showed 2 tiny little babies.

They were born 2 months early, weighing in at about 2 pounds each.

Two Pounds. That's like a puppy! The above photo is my mom holding one of the girls (don't ask me which one!) and to give you an idea: Mom is 5'4" and has small hands. It was the twins first day home after spending 2 months in the the preemie ward of the hospital.

Going to the hospital was scary. We had to wash up and put gowns over our clothes. If you had the slightest cough of sniffle a nurse would slap a paper mask on your face. The babies were hooked up to heart monitors that beeped and whined constantly. You never get used to that. It sounds like the machine has gone haywire, or the heart that it's monitoring. Very scary.

They didn't even cry like a normal baby would. They let out a sort of hoarse whine but it was so quiet. (trust me, that changed as they got older)

I refused to hold either child. In my mind, I was afraid I would drop one or damage her somehow. I was too afraid. I'd never held a baby so small. (though I did hold them when they came home) Kristin (the smaller one) had half her head shaved of any hair. I don't quite remember why, but there was a couple wires running into her head there. She had a HUGE red lump on her shoulder. It was explained that it was harmless and nothing more than a collection of blood vessels. She later had it removed and now had nothing more than a tiny scar.

The twins developed a little more slowly than most babies but if you counted it with the time of conception, they were right on track.

The most I remember was when they began to walk and talk. My sister told me several horror stories. The oldest, Dylan was about 9 and the twins were 2.

Two 2 year olds and Dylan was off at school. Sheila was home alone with these miniature terrorists. You heard me. Terrorists. They use sleep deprivation to break you.

They tore into the pantry and found a jumbo bag of Cheese Puffs. They dumped it out and walked all over it. They did the same with dog food. One would even play Look-Out while the other master-minded the attack. At two years old!!

The raids soon became defensive as Kristin found the trash. The top of a can lid brutally retaliated and split her finger wide open. Sheila wigged out over all the blood. Kristin got like, 9 stitches in that one finger and the girls decided to make a peace treaty with the household items.

Of course, they would soon be three and become much smarter at planning out their attacks on the rest of the family.


The girls are turning 9 next month. Kimberly is all about the boys and Kristin is very artsy. Apparently, it would seem that their terrorist actions have not ceased. It would seem, quite plainly, that they are planning their next line of attack on the entire world. Boys. Artwork and stories. Fashion statements. Some hearts are going to get broken...