A lesson on twins

So I will start my first post as a lesson.

 I don’t necessarily blame everybody for not totally understanding the concept of twins, but if you have them you get the same DUMB questions and comments over and over. 

This weekend I took the boys out for a Daddy Day.  Husbands, this is a great way to give your spouse some alone time, and this way you get total control on where you go and where you eat.

 At the restaurant I was asked by the waitress “Are they twins?” “Yes,” I answered knowing that this will lead to those DUMB questions and comments I mentioned earlier.  “Are they identical?” she asked. “No!” I answered trying not to yell and scream.  You see my boys at least to me, look very different.  The big difference is one is blond and the other has dark hair. There are many other differences to them, but that is a hard one to miss. So thinking I was done with the questions I felt like I had to answer or she would not take us to our table…came the question that still stuns me to this day. “Are you sure they are not identical?”

Ummmm…how do you answer that? I think as the father I would be the subject matter expert if my kids were identical or not…but I guess my credentials should be questioned for some reason. 

So here comes the lesson in hopes that you will never be that waitress.

Paternal (identical) twins,  develop from 1 egg and are identical

Fraternal (not identical) twins, each get their own egg and sperm so they will not be identical. They might look a little bit alike but not any more than a regular sibling would.

Now here is another misconception…just because they are not identical…does not mean that one is a boy and one is a girl.

As a proud father with two strong and healthy boys, I was constantly disappointed by the assumption that one of my boys was a girl (not the same one, it differed every time.)  You parents out there that have dealt with the wrong gender guessing will understand my pain.  There is no way to avoid these want to be “psychic baby gender guessers.” I say NO WAY because I tried them all.  I tried dressing them in blue, having them carry a football with them, and once saying the word “Boys” every three words, and I still got this…

So the moral to this lesson…if you are going to be a parent, get ready for stupid questions.  Instead of getting mad…save it, and start a blog.