in translation

Thanks for the comments on insomnia.  Yesterday I slept until sometime between 6 and 6:30, then I napped from 3-5, and could barely keep my eyes open after 11pm.  Now I'm up at 5:30 again.  I think I need to get on a better sleep schedule that involves going to bed early, but that's not going to happen while we're still in Italy, I suspect.  We have less than 2 weeks here, and when we get back, I'll have a fresh start to try to re-establish good sleep habits.

I'm really longing to go home.  I love it here, but staying as a guest with two 2-year-olds for 2 months, no matter how awesome your hosts are, can just get old.

Having twins is a really interesting experience.  When they both want something (usually what they want is me), it can be really hard.  When they play with each other, it's really awesome.  When they chatter away and say the funniest things to each other, it's even better.  When they join forces make trouble and create messes, well ... those are the days I wish I only had one at a time.

As just about everyone knows, 2-year-olds say amazingly funny things.  And they make a lot of funny grammatical mistakes, most of which in my case don't translate into English so I don't have much to share.  They also tend to imitate what they hear around them.  Since my in-laws own a shop here in Italy, the kids witness a lot of typical village interaction, and they often spontaneously say things like "Ciao, ci vediamo! (Bye, see you later!)" or "Buona giornata! (Have a nice day!)"

Here's a little conversation I just overheard my kids say (in Italian, with translation below):

Tadpole: Oh!  Sono caduta io.
Turtle: Sei caduta!  Ti aiuto.
Tadpole: Mi sono fatta male.
Turtle: Ti do un bacino. Muah muah.


Tadpole: Oh! I fell down.
Turtle: You fell! I'll help you.
Tadpole: I hurt myself.
Turtle: I'll give you a kiss. Mwah mwah.


These sorts of things, well ... they just melt my heart.  And make me realize I'm so very lucky indeed.