Most assuredly, they are maniacs in the typical sense, but for this post, I’m talking about their New England upbringing.

My toddlers are Mainiacs because:

1. When Oli points at something, he adds “right there” to his sentences. “That’s Topsham, right there.” “That’s the river, right there.” “Look! A woo-woo, right there.”
2. When my boys want to pretend something is a baby, a stuffed toy moose becomes the most obvious option. 
3. On a rainy day with nothing to do, we go to L.L. Bean. Not for shopping, but to see the fighting moose, the fish in the pond, the fish in the tank, to climb into every setup tent, and to run lap after lap in the playhouse/bridge upstairs. To my boys, L.L. Bean is an indoor playground.
4. We rarely shop at L.L. Bean, but when Bronson went off to preschool, it was a red L.L. Bean bag on his back.
5. You are more likely to hear my children using a duck call at my house than any instrument.
6. One of the most important gifts they’re received to date: a lifetime hunting and fishing license.
7. “Ah-yuy” is communication. They get it.
8. When we visit the grocery store, we get free cheese and a cookie, but we also stop to gaze at the lobsters. Every time.
9. Yesterday, Bronson asked for water. He said, “Can you get me some whatah please?” I gave him a look. “That’s what I call it now mom, whatah.”
10. Camping, hiking, canoeing, biking, climbing – these are things they are already familiar with.
11. When they put on red sox, they declare themselves baseball players.
12. They are familiar with three-hour car rides for two-hour activities.
13. Lighthouse was an early vocab word. So was camp.
14. Cousins are friends.
15. Boots are plentiful. It seems like in every season, there are at least two pairs of boots floating around for each of them.
16. We never fully put away their winter wardrobe. Pants, sweatshirts and jackets are needed year-round. For that matter, hats and mittens need to be constantly accessible.
17. Flannel is a whole segment of their wardrobe.
18. They want to go swimming when it hits 50 for the first time in the spring.
19. They basically go swimming when they jump in the puddles.
20. Bug spray is more familiar than sunscreen.
21. Though the amount of time varies greatly from winter to summer, they play outside in every season.
22. When bribing is needed, woopie pies are the answer.

And if you ask them where they are from, there’s always an exclamation mark at the end of their answer: “Topsham, Maine!”