Help, please?

Little Kaci and her pacifier

Kaci and Brett

Breaking the binky addiction a tough task for parents

Tales from the crib

Amy Bickel

The Hutchinson News

abickel@hutchnews.com

She tears apart the house. Her eyes watering, she frantically searches the floor and under her bed. In desperation, she peers up on cabinets and dressers. She's like an addict trying to get a fix - a dieter trying to find some sweets hidden in the kitchen.

She is a 17-month-old in search of her pacifier.

I'm ashamed to say it. My youngest daughter, Kaci, has an addiction.

My husband, John, and I are the parents of twin daughters - Brett and Kaci. We've been on a journey for nearly 1 1/2 years, trying to learn the ins and outs of raising our firstborns.

We've been through the spitting-up-on-mommy-and-daddy stage and the let's-throw-solid-food-on-the-floor stage.

We're still in the everything-is-mine stage.

The latest feat, however, is the get-rid-of-the-pacifier-cold-turkey stage.

We have a lot to learn.

As soon as they were born, the nurse gave our girls pacifiers.

Since then, John and I have spent money making sure their little mouths are happy.

Pacis help get them to sleep. Pacis keep them calm during rides home from day care.

It keeps them from crying during outings to public places - like sporting events, restaurants or the grocery store.

Ultimately: A pacifier nips a screaming baby's tantrum quickly. And when a baby wakes up wailing at midnight, John and I have been known, in a frantic state, to scour the baby-room floor ourselves.

I think we're just as addicted to the little sucker as they are.

Now, we're trying to fight the binky battle. Progress is slow.

Little Brett has been a champ. She doesn't seem to mind the fact she doesn't get her pacifier anymore. She's too high on life.

Kaci, however, bursts into tears every time we take it away. She doesn't sleep without it. She even has a name for it - her ba-pa.

There's a statistic out there that says 40 percent of smokers try to quit each year but fail. I now can understand why.

I keep trying to get rid of it, but frankly, I don't have the guts.

I like my sleep. I like quietness.

Is there a pacifier's anonymous?

We are making progress - slowly but surely. And someday, John and I will be able to look back and say proudly: She's been clean for six weeks, six months, maybe even a year.

For now, pacifier anyone?

Any advice? E-mail Amy at abickel@hutchnews.com. Visit http://www.hutchcountry.com/talesfromthecrib/ to read more about the twins.
"Tales from the Crib" runs quarterly.

Copyright (c) 2008, The Hutchinson Publishing Co.

We got a grant!

Brett and Kaci in their wagon at our town's football field

where Daddy coaches high school football.

Thanks to our little girls, Brett and Kaci, the town I live in will have an outfield fence for the ball field.

This summer, I wrote a grant for the KC Royals Charities, which offers $5,000 matching grants. Besides telling them about the need for the town, I mentioned Brett and Kaci.


If you haven't guessed by now, little Brett is named after KC's great George Brett. Daddy, a die-hard Braves fan, picked out the name and spelling of Kaci without realizing the significance. I didn't tell him until after she was officially named, either.


How cool is that?


Anyway, the grant committee called this week to tell us we got the grant. They also said they loved the pictures we sent of the girls.


Of course they did!

Future duck caller

Little Brett learns how to blow on a duck call from Daddy.

Children's science exam answers

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can
be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it
removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and
canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them
perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets still on the stairs.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.

Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.

Q: Give the meaning of the term "Caesarian Section."
A: The Caesarian Section is a district in Rome .

Q: What does the word "benign" mean?'
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.

Fourth of July fun

Sometimes I wonder if our children are more hyperactive.

This Fourth of July, while all the other kids in their clean little outfits ... khaki shorts and cute little tops, stayed clean for their parents, our twins were covered in dirt.

They didn't sit still. They ran around like little monsters. I knew the other parents at the party we attended were wondering if we had control of our children.

We do, but if we want to talk to anyone, we have to let them roam. After all, we are watching two, not one.

Brett and Kaci are cute. They are funny. They are a handful. But we love them dearly.

Still, the girls had a great Fourth of July. Grandma Vicki bought them some cute red and blue outfits. We spent most of the day at our city's July 4 celebration, which was a lot of fun. They picked ducks out of a pond, played in the dirt, watched a volleyball and basketball match and played in the dirt some more.

By the end of the day, they needed baths before heading to the annual fireworks display.

We drove up town to watch it. However, they were asleep before it even started.

Advice?

Brett like the word "mine," even though she doesn't really own anything, yet. Maybe someday.

She's about ready to go to church. She's in her Sunday best, as I would call it.

My life is a little less hectic. My husband and I direct the rec program in our little town, and we've been swamp. Plus, I cover agriculture for my job at the Hutchinson News, and wheat harvest is a busy time. But it is all fun. I'll be posting some new photos soon, as well as updating my column for The News.

As for the twin girls, they are great. If anyone has advice on how to solve the "Mine" problem, that would be awesome. Little Brett loves the word, and gets mad when she doesn't get what she wants. Any advice would be appreciative!

They can be good ... sometimes

Brett and Kaci in a rare moment being good.