Another lesson learned...

I have to admit, I have been guilty of being a little proud of myself. I have literally enjoyed almost every minute of parenthood, and have found myself on more than one occasion a little puffed up and secretly pleased that I haven't yet gone off the deep end. Like clockwork, every single day, I get a comment about how difficult twins must be, and I think to myself, "Man, I must be pretty good at this because I haven't had the urge yet to get in the car and drive in the opposite direction from these two tiny people!" Well, God has shown me yet again that you can't be too proud of yourself! I think (know) that this is where the hard part starts. Taking care of someone's daily needs can be tiring, yes...but not the bone weary feeling of pressure I feel about the shaping of their little souls...I know I am taking things a little too seriously. Cale shakes his head "no" at me, and I see us fourteen years down the road, arguing with a kid with a bone through his nose. Hayden bites Cale, and I picture her with black lipstick, standing outside alternative school resenting me for giving her a ride home. UGHHH! Ninety nine point nine percent of the time, they are laughing, happy babies, but their new little displays of attitude are taking me by surprise. It's funny sometimes, but scary too, because it means they are growing up and further away from being tiny babies. We stopped in Pottery Barn Kids today, and let the babies out of the stroller for a little bit. They have little kid sized chairs in the store, as well as a little kitchen, a play table, and a dollhouse. Mine were the littlest ones toddling around, but you would have thought they were the biggest deal in town! They loved every minute of that store (like their momma, sadly) and didn't agree with my decision that it was time to leave. My dad got the stroller, I grabbed Hayden and headed out of the store, and my mom was right behind me with Cale. His heart broke into a million pieces, and he nearly had everyone in the mall looking at him. By the time they got to the entrance of the store, he was bright red, with tears POURING down his face, squealing like he was being skinned. It took him forever to get over it! It was horrible. I love those minutes when your kids cause everyone to look at you, wondering what kind of child abuse you are inflicting on them. I end up just looking around, half smiling, hoping that people can read by my expression and demeanor that I am a totally loving parent, whose kid hardly ever does this, and is in full control of the situation!!
Meanwhile, the biting is still an issue. I will take any and all advice on dealing with this topic. I have varied feelings about how to deal/discipline. I am so interested to hear if any of you have dealt with the same thing, and how you turned your little Kujo back into a sweet, smiling, well behaved child. It cracks me up (in the midst of my horror) that when deterred, a tiny biter will look for anything and everything to sink their little teeth into. The floor, their own arm...anything at all.
For anyone that is interested, Shawn is on the mend. Two weeks out of surgery and he is already in the gym, back on the exercise bike! He is still on crutches, but doing better every day. With the exception of one nasty situation in the mall parking lot (where a woman stated loudly to us "You guys REALLY look handicapped!" as we were using Shawn's temporary handicapped permit to park up close) his recovery has been easy so far. I am ready to have a non-handicapped husband at my disposal, seeing as the renovation starts next week! FINALLY.