Partners in Crime

Francesca and Evangeline, more commonly known as Frankie D. and Eva B. can melt my heart then raise my blood pressure all in the span of 2 minutes.  I have the joy of spending my days at home with these two beauties.  They are my shopping buddies, little helpers, and play mates.  And together, they can create a mess more quickly than anything I have ever witnessed in my life.  (Although, if truth be told, most times, I do not witness them making the mess, simply the aftermath.)  Fortunately, they have never been hurt (badly) in their mess-making frenzies or broken anything (too valuable).  And, while I am usually annoyed or frustrated by their messes and the subsequent expenditure of time to clean up said mess that is then afforded to me, my laughter usually overrides the frustration.

Last week, I got the "baby girls" (as we often refer to them as), all set with a snack, juice, and a show- a titilating compilation of Little Einsteins episdoes to buy myself 10-15 minutes to shower.  Surprisingly, I had no visitors inquiring as to what I was doing or offering to help while I showered.  Neither one wandered into my bathroom to go through the cabinets and drawers or sit on the potty and ask one question after the other.  Fearing that silence was not a good sign, I quickly dressed and came downstairs.  A little part of me naively thought I would find them still seated on the sofa, watching their show enjoying their snack.  But, I knew better.  I descended the stairs and heard giggles coming from behind the closed door of the 1/2 bathroom. I opened the door to find the girls sitting amongst an entire roll of unrolled toilet paper playing with decorative stones that had been emptied from a container on the corner cabinet.  So, "we" picked everything up, and moved on with our day.

Later that same day, I was upstairs putting folded laundry away.  I came downstairs and thought, "That's weird; it smells like strawberries in here."  I walked into the kitchen to find Eva on her hands and knees, lapping spilled juice up off the floor.  Her pajamas were soaked along with the kitchen rug.  Her pigtails were literally dripping with strawberry/banana V8 Fusion, a bottle I had just opened that morning.  The juice had apparently been taken from the refrigerator by Frankie, because Eva is too weak to open the refrigerator door, and dropped, causing the cap the break into three pieces.  The entire contents of the bottle spilled onto the floor.  Not having a sippy cup, Eva helped herself in the only way she knew how. I bathed Eva, washed the rug, wiped the mess and mopped the floor.  Frankie enjoyed some time in the frequently-visited time-out chair.

Today, I was helping Asher practice his piano lessons and asked Sophia to stay in the nursery with the baby girls so they would not be a distraction to him.  Approximately 3 minutes into practicing, Sophia said, "Mom, I have good news and bad news.  The good news is Frankie is doing a poopy on the potty.  The bad news is that she had the pacifier to the Cabbage Patch doll in her mouth, and it dropped in the toilet.  Now I don't know what to do.  I don't want to reach in and get it and I don't want to flush because I am afraid it may break the toilet."  Hmmm.  What a predicament.  While I was looking in the garage for something to use to retrieve said play pacifier out of the toilet, Asher apparently had to go potty.  He used the same toilet.  I re-entered the bathroom to find him just finishing.  I said, "Asher!  Don't flush!  Frankie dropped a play pacifier in the toilet!"  He replied, "I know Mom, I got it out."  So, that problem was solved and we used A LOT of soap before returning to the piano. (I opted not to include a photo of this incident for obvious reasons.)

When the practice session was over, I informed the girls that they could come downstairs to play.  Frankie, who had been dressed in a skirt and shirt, descended the stairs wearing only a swimsuit bikini bottom holding a sling shot.  I didn't even ask why or where she found those items.  Any "weird" situation that does not create some sort of mess, usually goes unquestioned by me. Typically, it isn't long before a new one that does, happens.

These instances are just a small sampling of the variety of chaos these little girls create on a regular basis.  For those of you that are parents,  especially moms, you can likely relate to the amount of time you spend cleaning up messes that are peculiar in nature and typically undesirable to deal with.  They almost always happen at inconvenient times, and somehow, you find the patience to just roll with it.  They happen so regularly, that they actually become the norm, and it seems odd if you have two consecutive days void of any crazy "situations." Despite the wasted hours cleaning up after these two little ladies and the number of gross situations they have thrust me into without my permission, no amount of any inconvenience would convince me to want it any other way.  They bring me indescribable joy and unexpected laughs every. single. day.  I can only imagine the trouble these two partners in crime will get themselves into in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.