A football player and a beauty queen

I have twin girls. On the outside they look exactly alike. On the inside they are blossoming into two very different little beings...

Madison is going to be a football player. She is going to be the little girl that gets muddy with her "bros" and thinks that boobs are dumb because they just get in the way. I know this because the other day she was reading her sister's favorite book about a brush and a comb that are friends. She was looking at it quite intently, happily flipping the pages. When she got to the end I thought she would close it and start again. No such luck. Instead she closed the book, reopened the back cover, looked at it contemplatively and then ripped the back cover clean off. She was very proud of herself, Ella was heart broken and I was shocked. This was a cardboard book people--we aren't talkin' paperback here. I think she is working her way up to a phone book.

Ella is going to be a flirt. About a month ago she made a new friend. The "friend" was my Grandmother's 3 year old neighbor that had come over for an anniversary party. Ella was fascinated with him. From the moment he sat down she was drawn to him. Her bottle was tossed aside and toys were shoved out of the way as she made a beeline for him. Once she reached him she just looked at him and stared. Then she tipped her head to the side and smiled. Clever. In case her intentions were not clear she then placed her hand on his thigh...and squeezed. This made the poor boy jump about four feet in the air and, from the look on his face, I think he was wishing he still wore diapers. Since then she has continued to seek out young men to smile and wave at. Today was no exception. She found someone at the bounce house--I know, the makings of a true love story. When he went to go home she walked towards him and, before we could stop her--she took the edge of his jacket in both her hands, looked up and gave him that winning, six tooth smile. She's a coy one that one.

This is my prediction for the future: Ryan and I will have been reported to CPS for all of Madison's injuries. If she takes after her Dad she will have attempted dirt biking on a bike with no brakes, free climbing, knife throwing and amazing feats on skis prior to puberty. When we are not running from the law Ryan and I will spend our free time carbing up for all the running we will be doing. Not 10Ks or something fun like that but the kind of running you do after a daughter who is 13 going on 30 and doesn't understand why it is inappropriate for a high school sophomore to date a 23 year old college senior. I'm savoring the lazy days of diaper rash, poop and barf while I can.

Love the Ones You're With...

Today I heard some depressing news. The woman who teaches next door to me wasn't back at school today after the break. It turns out her brother in law passed away after a battle with cancer. He was only in his thirties.

The thing is, I only knew this man through the stories that were told to me in passing. He seemed like your average, nice guy. In light of our non-relationship I was surprised at how greatly the news effected me. I guess I'm just sad because it is just a really sad story all around. To lose someone, especially someone so young, whom you love is never a happy event.

To my friend and her family I send my best thoughts for happier times to come and vivid memories of the happy times that have past. To the rest of you I wish you days filled with those that you love and enough time to treasure all of the good moments. Be well.