Of Dragons, Snails and Lambs

Jeff came home yesterday (May 31) from a one-week business trip up north of China (Beijing). It felt like it was a month. Everyday was a struggle for me to wake up as early as 6:00 a.m. to give the twins their bottles, play with them, feed them breakfast, give them a bath, put them in their cribs, sing a song (or dance like a silly Mom), and tell them a story. Jeff takes the 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. shift if he is not away. That’s only the first three hours of the day! With him on a work trip, I have to take his shift – plus my shift! – so it really leaves me exhausted at the end of the day.

Jeff is a better “Mom” than I am. I should have given him a card on Mother’s Day. He is more patient with the twins. He is also better during meal time with them because he can manage them better when they scream and cry. I can too, but not as good as he does it. I don’t know how he manages to do his professional work and take care of the twins (and me, because frankly, he does most of the cooking). I am thinking that God knows I am so bad with housework (save for cooking!) that He just went ahead, gave me some slack and blessed me with a man, who is more domesticated than me.

Our home is livelier with Jeff around so when he got back yesterday (May 31), I literally jumped for joy. Then, he showed me a bag which he said “has some presents for the twins.” I know they were toys because I had a Skype chat with him the night before and I told him that the twins need more toys. We like giving them the kind that has no wood or plastic (for now) because everything their hands manage to reach or grasp, they put them in their mouths. For lack of a better term, I call them “cloth toys” because they’re made of a certain type of material from which clothes are made.

Jeff arrived at about 4:00 in the afternoon when I was cooking a Filipino dish called pork sinigang (pork and vegetables boiled in sour broth). He told me we should go together to the twins’ room, wake them up (which is about the time that they wake up from their afternoon nap) and give them their surprises.

They were already awake when we got to their door. I told them: “Hey guys! I have a surprise for you. Look who’s here!” Enter Jeff with a big smile on his face and the bag of surprises. The twins didn’t smile. Just wide-eyed little mutants with open mouths.

Jeff then showed them their gifts. First, a dragon for Toni and another dragon for Nick; a snail for Toni and another one for Nick; and finally, a lamb for Toni and another lamb for Nick. Jeff brought them from the airport while waiting for his flight back here in Guangzhou.

Notice Nick’s dimple? And Toni kissing her dragon? There is a video of Jeff giving the twins their new “pets” here. But here are two photos I took of cute Nick hugging his Dad and Jeff attempting to kiss little Toni.

And here’s Toni showing some snail love:

Last Friday (May 30), we had three cleaners came in to tidy up the apartment. They do this every other day. With Jeff away, they really made things easier for me here. They always do but I appreciate them more while I was the lone adult in the house.