What to do when you babysit twins

You start by giving them everything they demand. Because you don’t have any other options. It’s them or you. And they will win. 

Bed time is hysterical. Matthew and Stephen have matching cribs across from each other, but their sleep habits are completely different. Stephen snuggles up and lays down quietly, while Matthew yells and jumps. They each have a video monitor looking down on them from shelves next to their beds. The problem is Matthew will  destroy anything within reach of his crib. One afternoon I couldn’t figure out why they had not gone to sleep an hour after I had closed the door. I went in to find out Matthew had leaned over and flip on the light switch using a book that was in his crib. WHAT?! Both kids were bouncing happily and chatting- wide awake. Hello early bed time tonight! The other problem is both babies attack their baby monitors. Matthew will throw anything he has to dislodge the video camera. If he runs out of ammo, he will lean over, grab the edge of the shelf and shake it until the monitor falls. So Matthew's crib must be centered on the wall equally far away from the light switch on one side and the shelf on the other. And if you get it wrong - madness ensues. 

If the babies haven’t moved their monitors, it makes for great entertainment at bed time.

In between bedtime and naps the twins run the house. Stephen and Matthew will ask (OK lets call it DEMAND) treats through out the day. We will be playing a game and then suddenly one of the twins will remember ice cream exists and start yelling “NUM NUMS!”  This sets off the other twin and in a frenzy together they will run out to the garage. They are smart little things and they have learned to improvise with their toys. Sometimes they will take their little chairs and throw them down the stairs into the garage and then drag them over to the fridge and climb up to open the top freezer. Then they will stand there and yell for "num nums" while they clutch the edges of the freezer. They will yell until they get it. Who am I to argue anyways? 

The second day of babysitting, I’m on the phone convincing my family we are handling the babies just fine and I turn around to see the husband feeding the babies Nutella by the spoonful. He looks at me and says “They asked for it, what was I supposed to do?”