Trendy Tot Thursday (25/09/2014)

Another Friday comes by, and here is this weeks Trendy Tot Thursday! I’m only getting to write this now as I have a bit of a poorly and tearful Cracker cuddling in next to me after I had to pick him up early from the childminders. Luckily Biscuit is still there and having a fun time, even if her twin isn’t there.

We take the twins swimming every week as Rob and I both feel it is very important for them to be safe and happy in the water. Rob feels especially strongly about this having grown up on a small island surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea.

Over the months we have found a problem in that they both get quite cold once they’re out of the pool and out of their wetsuits. They have a lovely warm shower and then are wrapped up in snuggly towels, but are still always quite chilly. When they were little they had fleecy babygrows with feet, but since they want to walk everywhere we had to find something a little more age appropriate.

We found ‘Après Splash’ towel suits from Splash About, here. They consist of tracksuit-style trousers and a hooded jumper made of supersoft bamboo towelling material.

On the way to swimming this week it was warm enough that Biscuit and Cracker just wore the trousers with little vests from Primark and their Clarks doodles sandals.

On the way home, and at home afterwards, they wore the hooded jumpers too to keep them lovely and warm.

They are obviously so comfortable in these tracksuits and love having them on. People always comment on them, including the manager at the swimming pool we went to on holiday, people on the beach when they wore them after splashing in the sea and people at the gym. The general consensus is that they’d sell lots of adult size ones if they were available! I’d definitely get one!!

I hope you enjoy reading our Trendy Tot Thursday as much as I enjoyed writing it! Check out The Mother Geek and Clearly Bex for more!

Hope to see you again next week for another Trendy Tot Thursday, and please feel free to stop by and say ‘hi’ whenever you have time!

Trendy Tot Thursday (18/09/2014)

“What should we wear today”!

No wonder I love picking the twins’ clothes out, look at their beautiful wardrobe from Feather and Black! The only problem is that it is full of lovely clothes all ready for the winter and we haven’t had days cold enough to justify getting them out- just you wait though!!!

This week I have to apologise for the photos. My pictures are never the best quality but this week, in particular, Biscuit and Cracker have been camera shy. They smile and pose beautifully for me, until I get the camera out, then they move and run away!! Typical!

Cracker wore these fantastic nautical shorts from Boots MiniClub. They are quite smart shorts, but still comfortable and fashionable. His t-shirt is part of a set from Vertbaudet. It came with some brilliant denim dungarees (watch this space, I’ll be showing them soon) but I teamed it with these shorts. It is a plain t-shirt, but with the pocket detail on the sleeve that adds a different dimension. It also has poppers down the back which sounds bizarre but it means the t-shirt looks quite fitted as it doesn’t have to go over his head. I teamed it again with his funky Scruffy Dog Shoes. Cracker is super picky over his shoes, he will go into full blown tantrum mode if you try and put on shoes he doesn’t want to wear!!!

Two outfits for Biscuit this week. The first is a long-sleeved t-shirt from Boots. Again, this was part of a set with a beautiful denim dress (I love these sets, you can really get your money’s worth by mixing and matching the clothes to make different outfits). But she wore it with this fabulous, patterned skirt from George at Asda. Our childminder adores this skirt on Biscuit, and we always get compliments on it when she wears it out. I love the 60s vibe to it, particularly when she wears it with a little jumper and some trainers and ankle socks! For this outfit, I teamed it with some Crocs. Love them or hate them for yourself, you can’t deny how handy they are for kids! The second outfit is a long-sleeved dress from Boots. Again this also came with navy, spotty leggings, but she didn’t want to wear them (toddlers, hey?). This outfit is also teamed with her Scruffy Dog Shoes. The twins always want to match each other and, as Cracker had his Scruffy Dogs on, Biscuit had to wear hers!! Funny bunnies 😉

I hope you enjoy reading our Trendy Tot Thursday as much as I enjoyed writing it! Check out The Mother Geek and Clearly Bex for more!

Hope to see you again next week for another Trendy Tot Thursday, and please feel free to stop by and say ‘hi’ whenever you have time!

Instilling Body Confidence in Twin Toddlers (Why You Look Good Naked)!

Every once in a while, and often by complete accident, you stumble across a blog post that seems to speak to you. Whilst procrastinating by reading my twitter timeline I discovered such a post, here. So why do I care if Rita Templeton wants her sons to see her naked?
Because I agree with her, wholeheartedly. I am determined that Biscuit and Cracker should be confident and happy with the bodies that they have.
I’m hoping that by them seeing both Rob and my bodies au natural will allow them to see what ‘normal’ (ie not airbrushed or surgically altered) bodies look like and this will mean that they go out into the world with a true perception of what we all look like. This is why I don’t run and change in the bathroom, but I let them see me getting dressed in the bedroom- even if that means they see my post-babies wobbly bits and stretch marks. They are also young enough to let us jump in the bath with them (as happened yesterday when Bizzy was looking at my boobs before proudly telling me that they were “heavy”- she’s not wrong there!!!).
I am also interested to see how having an opposite sex twin will affect their perception- Cracker will be used to being around a girl who will not be sucking everything in and wearing make-up to impress him and Biscuit will know what boys are like when they haven’t just had a shower and done their hair. I think it will take the mystery out of it a little bit, and hopefully improve their own confidence too.
Like Rita, I am not deluded- I know that both Biscuit and Cracker will look at perfect bodies in magazines etc when they’re older, and will probably have fantasies about them. I just want them to understand that people like that are not the “norm” and that people who don’t match up to these standards are beautiful and sexy too.
I was once told that part of a parents job is to fill their child up with so much confidence and self-belief that it doesn’t matter how many holes society pokes in them, it will never run out. I obviously don’t mean creating deluded children who think they’re something that they’re not! I am hoping that both Biscuit and Cracker will love what they are, what they look like and what they can do and this will allow them to aspire and hope and strive for greatness!

One Lovely Blog Award Nomination

So I woke up this morning to a lovely surprise fromA Mum on a Journey as she had nominated me for a “One Lovely Blog Award”. It’s so nice to hear that people are reading, and more importantly liking, this blog and I thank A Mum on a Journey for recognising me!!

Recipients of this award are asked to
1. Thank and link with the person who nominated them.
2. List the rules and display the award.
3. Share seven facts about him/herself.
4. Nominate 15 or so other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
5. Optional: Display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.

Seven Facts About Me
1. I am 30 years old (gulp, when did that happen).
2. I am 9 months into a years degree at university (ah, the end is almost visible).
3. I have 2 year old boy/girl twins, my inspiration and my motivation.
4. I am married to a lovely Italian man, and my next ‘project’ (after my degree) will be to finally learn to speak Italian.
5. I have a gorgeous kitty cat, I, who is part Maine Coon and beautifully furry!
6. I am an events and fundraising team member for the amazing charity Saying Goodbye (a division of the Mariposa Trust).
7. I love reading and (when I get the chance) I devour books.

Other Blogs I Read/Follow/Enjoy
1. Clearly Bex
2. The Mother Geek
3. Edspire
4. Whiskey For Aftershave
5. Mummy’s Blog
6. Tween Teen Toddler
7. Me The Man and The Baby
8. Geek Chic Diary
9. What Elsa Wears
10. More Than Just A Mummy
11. Flying With A Baby
12. Twinderelmo
13. London With Children
14. Twin Mummy and Daddy
15. Crazy With Twins

Thank you once again for the nomination, I hope I can keep entertaining you with my posts!

Thanks for reading!!!!

Alex Bath Toys ‘Rub a Dub Beep Beep Roadway’: a Review

When we packed for our recent family we were limited to what we could carry (along with the twins) onto the train so we ended up limiting ourselves to two suitcases and two backpacks for the four of us for a week. Those of you who know me personally will understand what an extraordinary feat this was- I usually take a suitcase for a weekend at my mum and dad’s with Biscuit and Cracker!!

In the pile of things I had to leave behind was the twins’ bath toys. They do love their baths and we have a whole collection of toys in mesh bags and baskets around the bathroom- they choose what they want and love playing in the water. I figured for a week we could do without, surely they’d be so tired from the fresh, country air that they would just have a quick bath and sleep like angels all night….
Ha, how wrong I was. The first night there they ran into the bathroom and I saw disappointment in their faces as they looked into the bath and they were met with water.

The next day, just by chance, we popped into a bookshop in Bude and I saw these…

Alex Bath Toys ‘Rub a Dub Beep Beep Roadway’ (available from Amazon here) and I couldn’t resist. And thank goodness for my impulsive purchase as Biscuit and Cracker LOVED them. Cracker wouldn’t let go of the bag for the whole car ride back to the farmhouse and opened them as soon as we got in!

That night they couldn’t wait to get in and play with them. We had some difficulties as the pieces wouldn’t stick to the tiled wall as the tiles were textured. However the twins soon realised that they stuck to the side of the bath and Biscuit liked floating the road on top of the water and driving things along it!

There are enough pieces for two children to be happy in the bath with not
too many squabbles!

Three weeks on and they still love them. They ask to play with the road and Cracker especially loves looking through all the different vehicles. The only down side is that the twins have emollient bath oil in their bath water (hence the rather grotty colour in the first photo) for their sensitive, dry skin and this can have an affect on the paint that’s on bath toys. It scrapes off quite easily after a few sessions in their bath (you can see it on the road pieces a little) but that happens to every toy they use in there so it’s just a minor point.

I love them so much, and can see the potential for more role play and pretend play as they get older that there are already another couple of Alex Bath Toy packs on their Christmas wish list (the Beach and the Farm sets if Father Christmas is reading this, please!!!).

I have not been paid to write this review, nor did I receive the toys free in return for a review. I purchased them because I thought they were brilliant and all the words and views are my own and I stand by them!

Trendy Tot Thursday (11/09/2014)

Yawn snore snooze As it’s a late night post for me, I thought that I would take inspiration from what the twins are currently wearing.

These are some old school Mothercare pyjamas that, I think, came in a handy pack of two (perfect for a pack of two babies)! I got them ages ago when I saw them on offer in store and thought “oh they’ll grow into them one day”. The best thing about having twins in this situation is that I don’t have to pick whether they’ll wear the “my heart belongs to mummy” or the “daddy you are my hero” top as they both get worn!!

They are very comfortable and are generous sizes. These are 18-24mths and even my big boy, Cracker, fits into them beautifully. The thick waistband is strong but not tight and the envelope neckline makes the tops easy to get on and off.

We chop and change who wears which top and which trousers depending on who asks for which animal (giraffe or elephant)! I love pyjamas for myself, I would quite happily love in my ones and I love buying pyjamas for them. In fact, I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to do a Trendy Tot Thursday about them (and maybe more to come in the future, they have some fantastic night wear in their wardrobe to grow into). I make sure they are the softest material that I can, with a comfy waist and that are not too tight around the wrist or ankle.

I admit that this photo is a bit of a cheat as it was from a couple of weeks ago when we were spending one night at my brother and sister-in-law’s house before going on holiday, but I couldn’t resist showing you how sweetly they snuggled up to each other that night!!
I hope you enjoy reading our sleepy Trendy Tot Thursday as much as I enjoyed writing it! Check out The Mother Geek and Clearly Bex for more!
Hope to see you again next week for another Trendy Tot Thursday, and please feel free to stop by and say ‘hi’ whenever you have time!

Trendy Tot Thursday (04/09/2014)

Welcome to the first #TT_Thursday of September, I am amazed at how quickly this year is flying by. My uni course is hotting up with ten tons of work due in the next month or so, hence why I’m slightly late with my post (again). Thanks to The Mother Geek and Clearly Bex for being patient hosts of this linky!

These are important photos to us as the twins have never been in supermarket trolley before!! Living in Central London means we use baskets or online shopping. Grateful that this supermarket had a trolley with two seats next to each other, not sure how we’d have sorted this shop out otherwise!

Miss Biscuit is wearing a really funky Primark ‘rock star’ dress. It is a nice length, has sleeves for chillier days but is light enough that she can run around and not get uncomfortable in it. I have, obviously, teamed them with Slugs and Snails tights. She is so comfortable in them, I genuinely can’t sing their praises enough (and can’t wait for my mummy-size ones to be delivered). As you can see from my pictures, I also had her in a back carry in our beloved Manduca sling. Having tights on means that she has no gaps for cold drafts to get in and no bare legs to get rubbed. I wouldn’t normally pair this outfit with white Clarks shoes, but we are getting the last wear out of them and I don’t mind if they get slightly messed-up!

Mr Cracker is wearing some super comfortable tracky bottoms from Primark that he can run around in and fall over in (!!) and that are long enough to wear in the Manduca sling. He is also wearing out his Clarks shoes by jumping in every puddle within a 10 foot radius! The bit I love about his outfit is his rain jacket. This is a fantastic Boots MiniClub jacket that is waterproof, warm enough to keep the wind out but light enough to be suitable for Autumn or Spring. You may be thinking “so what, most jackets do that” but the great thing about these is that they fold down into little bags.

This photo shows Cracker’s jacket open and as a bag, and shows the style of Biscuit’s coat too. I loved them so much that I bought more than one size of them. As a MoM (Mama Of Multiples) I am always on the look out for things that make my life easier- these coats fold down really small, they have Velcro ties to strap on to bags, buggy or, even, for the twinks to carry themselves. They will go over a t-shirt for summer showers or layered with jumpers for colder days. Why are all toddler coats not made like this?!?!
I hope you enjoy reading our slightly delayed Trendy Tot Thursday as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Hope to see you again next week for another Trendy Tot Thursday, and please feel free to stop by and say ‘hi’ whenever you have time!