Friday, February 8, 2013

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.

2 comments:

  1. I just love the little conversation you shared with us! Can't wait until our sons are old enough to talk to each other that way. And I think it's so great that your kids are bilingual.

    Sorry about the insomnia; that must be tough.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so glad that you got a bit of sleep. Traveling with toddlers/preschoolers is tough... I can't imagine doing it with twins. When we go to K-town I always come home more tired than when I left.

    Hoping that once you get home you're able to get into a good routine that works to get you some good sleep.

    And that conversation is hysterical! I can't wait until Ginny and Pip can have conversations together.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!