When I don’t know my neighbors from Adam, I assume they won’t recognize me either. I realize this may be a mistaken philosophy. In fact, our family has some rather distinctive habits: I’m not aware of anyone else in our complex who plays ABBA songs and the Wicked soundtrack at all hours; I haven’t noticed any other two year olds that have to lug four stuffed lambs and a handful of freshly picked dandelions to the car every time we go somewhere; I haven’t seen any other large pregnant women who are constantly threatening to count to three—followed by a sobbing four year old jumping off her bike and charging angrily up the stairs.
However, the anonymity I feel, whether real or imagined, is enough to convince me that it is a great idea to wear yoga pants every day. Now that it’s fall, I have retired one pair of basketball shorts and broken out the yoga pants. And, happy day, I have THREE pairs of yoga pants—thanks, in part, to my sister, Danielle, who shares my love of comfortable clothes, and who loaned me her good black maternity yoga pants. That is true love.
But these days, I’m not the only one in our house adhering to strange fashion principles. Sage has also imposed a fashion code of her own, which requires that she and Eliza always have to be dressed like twins. The obvious implications of this are that 2/3 of both girls’ clothes have become unusable, since they don’t have a counterpart in size 2T or 5T. The less obvious implications are that if I inadvertently fix Eliza’s hair with two ponytails, and Sage’s with one, I have to find somewhere to add in a second on Sage’s head. If I dress Eliza in pink PJ’s that are short sleeved with pants, and Sage only has pink short sleeved with shorts, I either have to start digging in the dirty clothes, or strip Eliza down and start over.
If one girl slips on crocs, Sage will require that the other have crocs before leaving the house. Since Sage has to wear a preschool uniform twice a week, Eliza has also been wearing a lot of pink, green, and brown. Occasionally, the “twins” must even use the bathroom at the same time—whether both need to go or not.
Eliza is oblivious to most of this matching game that Sage plays day and night. I, on the other hand, know that it takes less work and energy to just comply with Sage’s fashion idiosyncrasies than to fight them. (Though I refused to change Sage's ribbons in the picture below--in spite of Sage's pleading.)
I can already anticipate my family’s unfeeling responses to this blog. They’re going to say I deserve a four-year-old with strong opinions on fashion, because of my own elementary school obsessions—for which I still suffer much teasing, I’ll have you know.
All I have to say is that I didn’t require that anyone else match me back then (although I couldn't understand why they didn't want to). However, I probably exercised undue influence over my just-younger-sister Danielle in the realms of fashion, for better or worse. And, here she is, blessing my life with black yoga pants. We really have come full circle. And if I could, I wouldn't change a thing. Except maybe the big bangs.
12 comments:
You're one to be talking...I remember when you used to lay MY CLOTHES out for me when I had to go to your class in elementary school for any reason. You didn't want me to be an embarrassment. Everything had to MATCH! Now, I wonder where Sage picked that up from? --Mom
I knew the rebuttals would come.
Mom, I didn't pick out your clothes to be matching to the little kids. I just had to make sure you weren't going to wear those super embarrassing "bell bottoms" that we thought were horrible. Oops. I guess you had good fashion sense after all! (I don't know about those culottes...)
don't worry--kim and i did the same thing, and we grew out of it after a few years... :) at least your girls have a wide variety of cute clothes to pick from, so they don't always go around in cousins by the dozens or t-rex shirts!
Every time I go to a clothes store, the only thing I notice with interest are their yoga pants. You were nice not to mention that nobody sees me in anything but yoga pants for a year before and a year after the birth of each child. I wish I could see Sage dying to match, even on the potty! And my favorite line was about the sobbing four year old charging angrily up the stairs. I could totally see it!
seems like if I truly am mini-janel then I've gotta get me a pair of these yoga pants! how much do they cost?
Where's the picture of the infamous Yoga Pants, we need at least a belly shot!
Just imagine how excited Sage would be if you were having twins!
It is just so much easier to give into their desires when it comes to fashio...I gave up long ago on dressing my "barbie doll" She left the house today in a brown dress with hot pink jelly flip flops with purple lights...sigh
I'm all for yoga pants. You can dress them up a little and look nice in an athletic sort of way. (Meaning everyone thinks you workout more than you do.) You just have to have the talent for pulling an outfit together. That's something I have to work hard at.
Becca-- you forgot glow-in-the-dark Mickey Mouse and lambie T-shirts in your list.
Oh, and at least Sage and Eliza haven't picked up Becca and my habit of trying to make everyone guess who is who. Not that that would be hard with Sage and Eliza!
I'm with Kelly--yoga pants lend a certain air of athleticism. Embrace it.
I love the last picture of the girls. Muy cute.
Just get them matching Diego shirts, then Eliza will want to wear it all the tim!
Ahhh...the yoga pants. I relent to comfy black pants (awful sweats in SBend) during the last few months of pregancy, ya gotta love it!
Yeah for cool sisters who let you borrow their clothes!! And for those with enough fashion confidence to force you to wear whatever they're wearing.
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