Questions and quick update ...

I have so many posts I want to write!  But this is going to be a real quick one, with just a couple questions.

1. This question is especially for those of you with boy-girl twins, but I would love feedback and opinions from anyone.  My kids definitely have their own distinct personalities, and society is clearly having an impact on them choosing "girl" toys and "boy" toys to some degree, but when they are not around other kids, they tend to play together.  In addition to "girl" toys, Tadpole plays with cars and trucks, and vice versa - Turtle plays with cars and trucks in addition to dolls and the toy kitchen.  Tadpole's favorite toys tend to be her stroller and stuffed animals, and Turtle's favorite toys tend to be his trucks, but for the most part they both play with everything.  They each have a couple special toys that are their own, but share everything else.  But they're definitely starting to claim toys more and more - this is MINE, and that is YOURS.  I'm struggling now that I'm starting to buy toys that are more "gendered" because I DO want them to have things that are special to each of them, but not to stereotype them as much as possible.  For their birthdays, I'm getting Tadpole a cute little stuffed frog because she loves stuffed animals and especially frogs, and I also got her the IKEA bath set, which I'm expecting her to share for their role-playing games.  For Turtle, I want to get a fancier set of blocks (like this one, maybe), but I want him to share it, so I feel like I have to get him something just for him, maybe another truck or something.

I know bigger issues are coming.  We went to a store with cool wooden toys the other day, and they both loved playing with the (very gender-neutral) wooden dollhouses.  (Why is a dollhouse a girls' toy anyway?  Don't men live in houses?)  They're expensive.  I don't want to buy more than one.  I'm considering getting it for Christmas, but who do I give it to?

So my question is ... how do you handle this?  Who gets what?  How much do they share and how much should I let them have their own toys?   I think it's a bit more complicated because they have their own rooms, so any shared toys have to stay in the living room.

BTW, their big birthday present was a sandbox that I still have to post photos of, and their grandmother is getting them bicycles, so if it sounded above like we did a good job not overdoing it, I'm not so sure ...

2. Kind of random question - my husband and I are right-handed, although he has lefties on both sides of his family.  I don't know of any lefties in mine, but I don't know my extended family that well, so I've never noticed.  Turtle and Tadpole are both lefties.  That seems awfully improbable.  How weird is that?  Also, one of my brother-in-law's two daughters is a leftie, so my in-laws have three out of four grandchildren who are left-handed, and they are both righties.  I'm just pointing it out because it seems so odd!  Cool, but weird!

Hope you are all having a good weekend.  We are about to have some unseasonable cloudy cool weather, and I am LOVING it!  One thing I don't like about where we live is the boring, two-season weather - hot and sunny all summer, rainy and cool (but never cold enough to snow) for a relatively short winter.  I'd love a bit more rain and all-around slightly cooler temps, so I'm really enjoying this variety!

I'm up early to sew, a hobby that's really catching on around here.  I'll have to do another post with photos of my recent crafting, and to catch up on life in general.  It's been awfully busy here - my mom sold her house and is in the process of me packing her up while she does nothing, my kids are in swim lessons and summer preschool, and I'm just trying to hold it all together for everyone - crazy crazy times!  And our first camping trip coming up, and my garden is doing great, and the kids' third birthday is coming up, too!  Lots to talk about, soon!