"Mapi"

Twins are challenging in terms of who covers whom. People often tell me sports analogies: "With one, you can trade off and perform full coverage; with two you have to go man to man coverage." Then the joke goes that with three you have to play zone defense. Right now we're with man to man coverage, or parent to toddler coverage with both running backs heading for opposite end-zones.

And when you're working your butt off to have a balanced marriage (which we do every day - sometimes more successfully than others) and balanced parenting it can be down-right nutty. Whose rules go where, what happens when he bites, or kicks, or runs out into the middle of the street? Instant time-out? One warning and time out? Yelling or total detachment? "Do you think that is really productive?" So you celebrate the little accomplishments when they come.

Last night Owen had a "paci-event", which translated means his pacifier fell out of his mouth in the night while he was sleeping and he wanted it, but was too half-asleep to figure out that it's in the same place it always is - attached to his pj's about 3 inches from his mouth.

I woke up hearing him crying out in a very forelorne voice: 'Mapi', 'Mapi'. I realized then, at 2 AM, that he was combining Mama + Papi to come up with Mapi.

It's the little accomplishments that matter.