Pictures...A Little Late

I found my camera cord, so here we are!

This is Sass and Princess dancing in their tutus. Sass has her back turned, Princess is giggling.
Now opposite. You can kind of see Princess twirling in this one.
This is what the tutus looked like before they were packed. Excuse my foot. I just saw it.
For reasons I can't really explain, I love this picture. It's just so perfectly my girls. Princess has no idea what's going on and is laughing and Sass is legitimately angry. Perfection.

This is (kind of) it.

Well, I have most certainly been a failure at keeping a summer blog. My apologies about that. But, my girls were just so great this whole summer. They kept me in stitches or ready to pull my hair out all the time. Today was amazing because the girls refused to say today was my last day and pretended I'd be back tomorrow. They also got me a really (gaudy) pretty necklace that I will wear loud and proud simply because I love them so so so much. Instead of writing about the day in detail, I'm going to give a synopsis of the place I spent my summer.

• Where being twins doesn't depend on age, race, or having more than two of you.
• Where wearing pink everyday is accepted, and often encouraged.
• Where sass is not intended to anger you, but more a way of life.
• Where being a princess is an everyday thing, royal birth or not.
• Where baby dolls have their own thoughts.
• Where those thoughts are expressed out loud and often require responses.
• Where the question "Why are you wearing that shirt Miss Mica?" often denotes that you should wear a different shirt because the one you're wearing is ugly.
• Where being best friends is solidified by holding hands.
• Where "I love you" can either mean: "I love you," "Don't be mad about what I'm about to do," or "Don't be mad about what I just did."
• Where meatball subs and fish sticks are the lunch de jour. Every de jour. (I ate at home...)
• Where tutus are all it takes to make you a ballerina.
• Where "I like your headband" means "let me wear that for the day."
• Where a goodbye present from me consists of BBQ chips, a King-size Kit-Kat, and matching Princess Silly Bands for all three of us.
• Where it's not acceptable to be angry for more than two minutes and the punishment for most offenses is tickling.
• But most of all, where the most common language spoken is love and appreciation with a side of hugs and occasional kisses.

I love my baby girls, and I have been given a standing invitation to come over for a birthday party for Elmo. You bet I'll be there.

Daddy's Girls...Kind of

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but the reason we're at Princess's house instead of Sass's house is that Sass's dad moved into temporarily to help calm her down in the early mornings and late evenings. It's kind of a jolt to Sass's system because she likes routine and despises change. This was the beauty of the conversation we had today.

Sass: "Miss Mica. What does your dad do to you?"

Me: "Well, I don't know what you mean, but my dad and I watch movies, play games, talk, we do a lot of stuff together."

Sass: "Oh."

Me: "What do you do with your dad?"

Princess: "My dad spanks me like this..." (while imitating how she gets spanked) "...because I don't listen."

Sass: "My dad does too because he gets mad when I yell and kick."

Me: "Oh. When I was younger my dad spanked me for not listening too."

Sass: "What does he do now?"

Me: "Well, he loves me and we're friends because I listen to my parents now."

Princess: "Oh. Oh well."

Ah. Adolescent relationships to parents.

Potty Mouth

Because it is 9 billion degrees in North Texas right now, everyone is being sure to drink more than enough water. Which consequently leads to...you guessed, more than enough bathroom time for everyone.

Myself included. I had to use the potty at Princess's house (for the first time, since today is the second day there). Princess didn't really like the thought of me taking a break for two milliseconds in order to expel the excess liquid in my body.

As she pounds on the locked door (thank God I remembered to lock it):

Princess: "Miss Mica. Are you in there?"

Me: "Yes. You just saw me come in here. I'm in here."

Still pounding:

Princess: "Miss Mica. Are you done yet?"

Me: "I just have to wash my hands real quick."

Sass's Mom: "Princess, back away from the door and let Miss Mica pee in peace."

I, however, was not the only one to feel the pains, er strains, of excess water.

While Sass was in the bathroom she felt the need to call me in there.

Me: "Sass, can I help you?"

Sass: "No. I'm done. I just need to wash my hands."

Me: "Oh. Okay."

Princess needed to go one half second after Sass got out of the potty, and this ensued:

Princess: "Miss Mica."

Me: "Yes?"

Princess: "Oh, I don't need anything. I just wanted you to check on me like you did Sass."

Me: "Okay. Consider this me checking on you."

Princess: "Okay."

Today was eventful.

Seeing Spots

Because of some unforseen events, we have switched locations from Sass's house to Princess's house. You know what that means? All princess games all the time. Including princess doctor. I know, I used to play it too, but now I'm sorry for everything I put my parents through while playing it.

Princess, naturally, was the doctor during this particular visit and Sass was the nurse.

Princess: "Miss Mica. Why you got so many spots on yours arms?"

Me: "Oh. Those are my freckles."

Princess: "Gross. Why you got so many?"

Me: "That's the way God made me."

Princess: "I'm sorry he gave you so many spots. You need shots for your spots."

After saying this, she took her infant Motrin dispensers and promptly gave me "shots" in all 700 freckles on my arms. Thanks for that Princess.

Being Mad

I didn't post yesterday because Sass had a doctor's appointment that was rescheduled last minute.

Sass was having a bad day today. It was not as bad as other bad days we've had though, so that's good. Anyway, we had a conversation about making good decisions and being a good girl because that's what Jesus would want. Specifically, we had a talk about being nice to each other.

My conversation clearly didn't work because Princess's mom came and had a talk with Sass (Sass's mom was on a conference call). After he conversation with Princess's mom, Sass was pouty and wouldn't come out of her room for a good twenty minutes. When she did, I was trying to talk to her.

Me: "Sass, I'm glad you came out to play with us!"

Sass: "Miss Mica, I don't really want to talk to you right now."
Me: "Oh? Why not?"

Sass: "I'm mad at you."

Me: "Why?"

Sass: "You told me I had to be a nice girl."

Me: "Okay."

By the time I left twenty minutes later, Sass wouldn't stop talking but it made me laugh so much that she even said that.

That's my precious girl. Haha.

Pink Glitter Galore

I posted the other day about making tutus for my precious babies. Well. I did it and they looked great (if that's not conceited to say...)! I was also doubly excited because they loved them. I think.

Sass opened hers first because it was her birthday.

Sass: "What is it?"

Me: "It's a tutu!"

Sass: "I don't like it."

Me: "Okay. Well we'll just put it in your room until you like it."

Sass: "Okay."

I should explain that part of Sass's personality is not liking things until she has time to get used to them. Last year, I got her books for her birthday (because her favorite thing was reading), and she threw them down and told me she didn't want them. Now Purplicious is her favorite book.

Princess: "Oh Miss Mica. I like it!"

Me: "Good! I'm so glad!"

Princess: "What do you do with it?"

Me: "You wear it. Like a ballerina."

Princess: "Oh. Cool."

So, to be honest, at first I was bummed because I thought they didn't like the tutus, but Princess wore hers for two solid hours, and Sass kept hers on for over an hour. Mission accomplished.

Also, to make it that much better, the pink tulle spreads glitter like crazy. So their mothers have that to look forward to. Ha.

*I said I would have pictures, but I need to find my camera cord to make that happen.

Sisters?

My apologies for this being a late post, but I was so so so sick yesterday. I even got teased by Princess for being a "potty-head" because I had to run to the bathroom so many times. I know, the insult hurts me down deep in my heart too. I'll get over it. I hope.

Anyway, before I kind of zoned out and simply made sure they weren't just killing each other or themselves, Sass decided to let me in on a little secret.

Sass: "Miss Mica. We're twins."

Me: "Oh. You and Princess?"

Sass: "No. Me and You and Princess."

Me: "Oh. Cool."

I'm sure you can understand my confusion if you read my post from Wednesday. Besides the fact that it's a little ebony/ivory twin-ship going on, there's a slight (21-10-7) age difference going on as well.

Monday is Sass's birthday and I'm making both the girls tutus. Expect pictures on the next post.

Throwback

Well. This conversation is a throwback to one that Sass and I had a million and one times last year and didn't have this year...until today.

She's really interested in my family because she's never met them. She asks me a ton of questions about my mom and dad, but she's really intrigued that I have a big brother because she only has a little brother.

Sass: "Miss Mica. What color are your brother's eyes?"

Me: "They're brown, but a little bit lighter brown than yours."

Sass: "What color is his hair?"

Me: "It's brown, but a little bit lighter than yours."

I should probably go ahead and mention that she and Princess are both African-American, therefore much darker than my "peaches and creme" (ahem, ghostly white) complexion.

Sass: Holding her arm up to mine. "What color is his skin?"

Me: "Well, he's tanner than me, but still close to my color."

Sass: "If he's tanner than you, is he my color?"

Me: "Well, no. He's still white, but he's darker than me."

Sass: "No. If his skin is my color and his eyes are my color, he looks like me."

While this is superior reasoning, we still have to have conversations about my brother looking like me, but just a little bit darker.

Things in the conversation got a lot dicier when I tried to explain that I have foreign-exchange sister.

Sass: "But Miss Mica, you don't have a sister."

Me: "Well, not technically, but I love her like my sister. And she lived with my family."

Sass: "But I love Princess, and she's not my sister."

Me: "I know, but my family kind of adopted her."

Sass: "How old is she?"

Me: "Well. Too old to be adopted, but my family loves her."

Sass: "That doesn't make her your sister."

Again, touche on the reasoning skills, but still.

All in all, it was a really great day and the girls were a lot of fun today.

Teasing

Here's the honest truth: because Thursday was a worse repeat of Tuesday, I didn't post about it. I didn't have the heart or energy to.

Today I got an apology (unprompted!) from Sass. It was so sweet.

Sass: "Miss Mica. When I used stupid words last week, that was mean."

Me: "Yes it was."

Sass: "But now we're going to use nice words. I'm going to use nice words."

Me: "Well thank you, Sass. I really like your attitude and that's good to hear."

Sass: "You're welcome."

Apparently, Sass's mom decided to combat our little situation by only allowing teasing to happen if you use fruits or animals. I know it sounds silly, but it makes the girls think in order to tease someone.

So Sass, Princess, and I were playing babies in the hallway when my baby started crying (don't blame me, they gave me the electronic baby). Sass didn't really like that and told me to "make that baby be quiet."

Me: "Sass, I'm trying. I don't know how to turn it off!"

Princess: "Well try harder! It's so loud."

Sass: "Miss Mica, you need to turn that off."

Me: "Still trying."

Sass: "Miss Mica, if you can't turn it off, you're a strawberry."

Princess: "You're a strawberry." (In that sing-song teasing voice. You know the one.)

Me: "Okay. Now think of an animal."

Princess: "Umm. You're a...cotton?"

Me: "Princess, cotton is not an animal."

Sass: "You're a duck."

This went on for quite a while until the baby stopped crying. Finally. So as I was walking out the door today, Sass yells out: "SEE YOU LATER MISS STRAWBERRY DUCK!"

Love you too Sass, love you too.

It's all about the learning

Yesterday was a horrible day of epic proportions, but today was infinitely better!

Sass went back to her perfect self and Princess kept talking my ears off, so all was well.

I did, however, learn that the girls actually listen to what to I say, as per this conversation at lunch time:

Princess: "Miss Mica, remember that time you told Sass to choose nice words?"

Me: "You mean yesterday? Yeah, I remember."

Princess: "Oh. That's good that you told her that because she's choosing good words now."

Sass: "But why do we do that?"

Me: "Because we want people to know we're nice, and we want them to feel loved."

Sass: "But what if I don't want them to feel loved?"

Me: "Then it's better not to say a word. That way, we don't hurt anyone's feelings."

Sass: "Oh."

The conversation changed topics for about ten more minutes, and then this happened:

Me: "Sass, you want to play with me and Princess since you're done eating?"

Sass: "Yeah. I want to play with Princess."

Me: "But not me?"

Sass: "I'm not saying anything. That's nicer."

Oh good, thanks for that.

Choosing Nice Words

I'm officially a slacker. I haven't updated in two weeks and I told you guys it would only be one. My bad. But in my defense, we really didn't have any stellar conversations last week. We talked a lot about camp and school, so yeah.

I don't know what's going on with Sass, but I think maybe school made her angry this morning. First of all, did everyone know that Tuesdays are Meatball sub day at Subway? No, I do not eat the meatball sub every Tuesday, but Sass does. And today she scarfed that sucker down. So. Fast. Usually it's like pulling teeth to get her to eat in a timely fashion. After she finished lunch, Princess showed up.

All Hades broke loose after that. I wish I were kidding. Both the girls were screaming, throwing fits, Sass wouldn't keep her clothes on. It was a madhouse. Have I mentioned that both their moms work from home? Yeah, I went out in the main end of the house to check on how loud we were and both moms had headphones on...Oops?

Regardless, gum usually works to calm Sass down, so I gave her some Orbit Sweet Mint (because that's what was in my purse). Did not work. At all.

So this delightful conversation ensued:

Princess was incessantly laughing the whole time, which really worked against what I was saying.

Sass: "I hate you."

Me: "Let's choose nice words."

Sass: "I'm going to kick your @$$."

(All I could think of was this YouTube video...)

Me: "We do not say things like that. Jesus would not be proud of what you're saying."

Sass: "Fine. I'm gonna kick your face."

Me: "Sass, no one will play with you if you choose bad words like that."

Sass: "Yes they will. You better shut your crack mouth."

This went on for a good thirty minutes during which I attempted to put her in time out, but really how well can you punish an eleven year old Autistic child? Not well.

Me: "Sass, you're hurting my feelings and I will not play with you until you're nice again."

Sass: "Okay Miss Mica. I'm sorry. I won't hurt your feelings anymore. I will choose nice words and keep my clothes on."

This concession happened three minutes before I had to leave. Naturally.

I would also like to throw in that I don't know where she heard that said. Especially the part about the "crack mouth." I'm still not sure if she meant crack like the drug or crack like my mouth was cracked. Either way, it was hard not to laugh.

On days like these, I remember why they're called "special needs" kids.

Future Kids...Now?

Well. This conversation threw me for a loop. A big, big loop. I was utterly confused, but really, what else in my life with these precious girls doesn't confuse me?

So Princess, Sass, and I were playing when (surprise, surprise!) I did something that neither Sass nor Princess liked. I put Elmo in time-out. I know. I'm that mean babysitter that does mean things like put Elmo in time-out. Let me tell you, this life-size Elmo doll was being tugged in two directions. Sass wanted Elmo in her room, Princess wanted Elmo in the 'puter room. As the shouts of indecision grew louder, I stepped in.

Me: "Okay. That's it. Elmo is going in time-out until you two can decide to share him."

Princes: "But Miss Mica, Elmo didn't do anything."

Sass: "Yeah Mica. Elmo was good."

Me: "However, you two can't decide where to put him, so he had to be put away. Or do you two want to go to time-out instead?"

Sass: "No. Elmo can stay in time-out."

Princess: "You know what Miss Mica? You're mean. Elmo doesn't like you. You're not a good mommy, and your son doesn't like you either."

Hm. There were several things wrong with that last statement, but I decided to control the anger issue instead of correcting her.

Me: "Princess, you need to calm down and understand I'm not punishing Elmo. I'm giving him a break to let you and Sass be able to get along. Get it?"

Princess: "Yes. But your son still doesn't like you."

At this point, I decided to let her know in what way she was wrong.

Me: "Princess, I don't have a son. And if I did, and he was fighting with his best friend over Elmo, I'd put Elmo in time-out for them too."

After she thought for a second, and this is what came out of her mouth...

Princess: "Miss Mica. Your son still doesn't like you."

Ah. So that's the future I have to hope for with my children. Good to know.

P.S. Now I know Bailey reads my blog. This is a shout-out to her. You should read her blog or her other blog. You know, all 2 of you that aren't Bailey and read this...

P.P.S. I'm going to camp with our youth group next week (as a counselor, but let's be real. I'll be the biggest kid there.), so I won't have any new conversations to share. I know. You're all upset.

Why can't I hit?

Well. Today was intriguing. It was just Sass and me since Princess had some things to do. When Sass is one-on-one, she often has the strangest conversations. Today is a beautiful example of that.

Sass: "Miss Mica. Where is Jesus?"

I have to admit, the first time she asked me this last summer I had no idea what she meant or wanted me to say, since when I said 'He's everywhere' she got mad. I had to ask her mom.

Me: "He's in your heart."

Sass: "What's He doing in there?"

Me: "Well. He helps you make good choices and makes sure you know He loves you."

Sass: "Okay."

A few minutes pass while we talk about her babies and then some puzzles. Then she says...

Sass: "Miss Mica. Why can't I hit Him?"

Me: "Hit who, sweetie?"

Sass: "Jesus. Why can't I hit Him?"

Me: "Um. Well. Why would you want to?"

Sass: "Because."

Me: "Well. You can't hit Him because He's inside your heart. So that would hurt."

It was the only thing that came to my mind. Don't judge me.

Sass: "Okay."

End of conversation. I was dumbfounded and trying not to laugh all at the same time. Turns out, she got in trouble for hitting her little brother last night, so maybe that's where it came from. I have no idea.

I love you.

This post is going to be short because I have the worst migraine. Bah. Anyway, this is maybe one of my favorite conversations I've ever had with Sass. Of course, Princess needed to chime in too.

Princess and her mom came over to meet me for the first time and make sure I'd be an okay babysitter. Sass got a little jealous that Princess and I were talking, so this ensued:

Sass: "Mica."

Me: "Sass."

Sass: "I love you."

Me: "I love you too!"

This is a typical conversation for us. I'm a touchy person and when someone says something sweet like "I love you," I feel the need to touch them. So I reached out and started scratching Sass's back.

Sass: "Mica."

Me: "Sass."

Sass: "I love you."

Me: "I love you too." I was still scratching her back, mind you.

Sass: "Good. Stop touching me."

Princess: "Um. Miss What's your name?"

Me: "Mica."

Princess: "Right. Miss Mica, I love you too."

Me: "Well, I love you too Princess."

Princess "You can scratch my back."

Ah. Nothing like love.

The Beginning

First of all, let me explain my situation. I'm a college student trying to make money in the summers. I really like kids. I really like working with kids who have special needs. There's something really satisfying about seeing them smile after a big accomplishment, helping them learn something new, and seeing them love other people. That's what led me to the summer job I currently have: Special Needs Nanny. I absolutely love what I do.

*Disclaimer: I'm not using anyone's real name but my own, since these kids aren't mine. Now that that's out of the way...*

Last summer I babysat the sweetest, sassiest little girl with Autism, Asperger's, and PDD. Basically she is on the Autism scale and has developmental delays, but she is verbal. Very verbal. She'll tell you how it is, and mostly in the sassiest way she can. Therefore, I call her Sass. I love her. I like to think she loves me too, mostly because she tells me she does every five minutes. She's turning eleven this summer. I can't believe it. She also grew about a foot between last summer and this summer. She's so tall. It would be an understatement to say I was beyond thrilled when her mom called asking me to babysit again this summer; however, this summer she asked me if I could handle not one but two girls.

Princess is Sass's best friend. She's seven and developmentally delayed. She also has a knack for spotting every single thing pertaining to baby dolls, princess crowns, stuffed animals, and dress up five minutes after walking into any environment. She's precious and loves to be girly, which is right up my ally. I just can't get over how cute she always is.

Basically, I want to chronicle my summer with these precious babies. They say the funniest things to me, which is why I want to share it with the world. Or at least the tiny portion of the world that will stumble upon this blog. Get ready, it'll be a fun ride. I promise.

Even though I know this post is about a billion words too long, I just want to give you a taste of my life. One day, Sass and I were playing because Princess wasn't there. Sass's OT (Occupational Therapist) gave her a new therapy to try and calm her down. It didn't work. At. All. She was so riled up. The only thing she could think of to do was run around the house playing Hide-and-Seek.

The great thing about playing Hide-and-Seek with Sass is that she slams doors. Loudly. So you always know exactly where she's hiding. The first time I "found" Sass, I apparently scared her. She screamed and looked at me like I was a horrible person. So, I did the only rational thing I could and decided to start knocking on the door to tell her I was about to open it without actually telling her. She loved it. At first. Then she got really mad at me for who knows what reason (I'm personally blaming it on the therapy).

Sass slamed the closet door, looked at me, pointed her long finger in my face and said:

"Now don't you dare follow me into the hallway."

So of course, I did. She dug out her play cell phone, dialed 9-1-1 and the following conversation with the pretend operator on the other end of the line.

"Hello? Emergency?"

Pause for answer.

"Yeah, this is an emergency."

Another pause.

"She keeps knockin' on the doors. You need to do somethin' about it."

Pause.

"Now."

Longer pause.

"Thank you."

Close the phone.

She turned to me, pointed that finger again, and said: "Yeah, they're coming to get you. I told 'em you was bad."

They didn't come after me, but her threats are never idle.