Hoping for a MAD night

You may remember that many months ago, I was thrilled to become a finalist for the Best Baby Blogger category in the MAD (Mummy and Daddy) Blog Awards. It's been a long old wait, but the time has finally come for the awards do. Tomorrow lunchtime I'm jumping on a train down to Butlins Bognor Regis, to meet some of my fellow finalists and enjoy some cake. Then we'll get the chance to sample the delights that Butlins has to offer for the afternoon, before getting glammed up for the dinner and awards do in the evening.

Head over to Who's The Mummy tomorrow night for live-blogging from the awards, and if you fancy joining in on Twitter, use the hashtag #TheMADs.

I'm just looking forward to a mini-break and some R&R after a relentless few weeks. When I booked my room at Butlins, the lovely lady on the phone felt sorry for me when I said I was staying in my room on my own. Huh?! That's the most exciting bit of the whole awards for me! A night on my own, with no babies to wake me at dawn. Bliss.

A MAD party political broadcast #2

It was Miss E's turn to hit the campaign trail today...

Vote Young & Younger for Best MAD Baby Blogger in the Butlins MAD Blog Awards 2010! Head over there now to place your vote.

A MAD party political broadcast #1

Mr A asked me to pass on this message....

"I'm a baby, and my mum is a blogger, so together we make a baby blog. I reckon my mum's the best baby blogger around because she makes me smile, she makes a mean vegetable puree, she takes care of me when I'm poorly, she takes me to amazing places and she makes me look really cute in all my baby pictures. So if she'd hurry up and buy me my own laptop, I'd definitely vote for her to win Best Baby Blogger in the Butlins MAD Blog Awards before voting ends on Sunday."

A new addition to the family

No I'm not pregnant! You don't think I'm that crazy, do you?!

This morning I went in to get the babies dressed after their morning nap. I got out an outfit for each of them and popped Mr A onto the changing unit and started getting him dressed while I chatted away to them both. Then I glanced down and realised I'd managed to put him in Miss E's dress. A sign I need a day off do you think?!

We got an exciting delivery today. The lovely people at Phil & Ted's have supplied me with a rather handsome Dash inline pushchair to review. When the news had sunk in that I was expecting twins, what pushchair I was going to buy was one of the main things that occupied my thoughts (focusing on practical matters was far preferable to facing the fear of becoming a twin mum!). TAMBA (Twins And Multiple Births Association) publish a fantastic pushchair guide each year, and I stalked the messageboard on the TAMBA website for pushchair recommendations. I opted for an Out 'N' About Nipper 360 Double, which is fantastic apart from the fact it doesn't fit through the doors of many of my local shops and cafes.

Our brand-spanking-new Phil & Ted's Dash

So I thought some reviews of twin pushchairs available on the market would be a useful addition to my blog, so a full review of the Dash will follow in due course. Today was mostly spent assembling it - a vlog is on its way showing me in action!

Are there any situations you'd like me to try to pushchair out in? Any particular issues you'd like me to address?

Voting for the Butlins MAD Blog Awards closes June 6th, so if you haven't already voted head over there now to place your vote. I'm up for the Best Baby Blogger, if you can't decide who to vote for!

While I'm away...

...would you mind doing me a favour?

This week you've saved some valuable minutes not reading my blog because I'm on holiday. I think those minutes could be best put to use voting for Young & Younger to win the Best MAD Baby Blogger category in the Butlin's MAD Blog Awards 2010. So why not pop over there now and place your vote?

Many thanks! x

Roll up roll up

Miss E and Mr A experienced their first General Election today with a trip to our local polling station for me to place my vote. I wish I could say that I'm going to be staying up all night to watch the results come in, but I've been hit by a tummy bug all week so I'm destined for an early night.

And now you've had your practice vote it's time to vote for the big issue of the week. Head over to the Butlin's MAD Blog Awards and have a look at the amazing blogs shortlisted in the finals.

The final countdown

After you're done mulling over who gets your vote in tomorrow's General Election (please read this post at Battling On about why you shouldn't waste your vote), there's another important vote that needs to be cast.

I'm delighted (and quite taken by surprise) to find that Young & Younger has been shortlisted for Best MAD Baby Blogger (sponsored by TinyTalk) in the MAD Blog Awards (sponsored by Butlins). Thank you so much to all you lovely, lovely, lovely (did I mention you're all rather lovely?) people that nominated me, and a big hello *waves* to any of you visiting my blog for the first time. Now I just need a minute more of your time to vote for me here please!

I'm up against some amazing baby bloggers, and there are some fantastic blogs shortlisted for the other categories so grab a cuppa and sit down and have a browse. I guarantee there's some fantastic reading there. Here are a list of the baby blogger finalists so pop by and check them out.

Muddling Along Mummy
Mellow Mummy
New Mummy
Babyrambles

And if you're having problems deciding who to vote for, here are my compelling electoral promises:

1. Many, many, more cute baby pictures and tales to be delivered on a regular basis.

2. A warts-and-all vlog from the rumoured flashy awards ceremony (complete with swaying camera-work).

3. A chocolate brownie for every voter*.

* to be delivered next time we meet up. Young & Younger cannot be held responsible for the quality of said brownie.

And a massive thankyou and well done to the MAD organisers. The positivity and excitement the MADs have generated has been great fun, and hugely enjoyable to be a part of.