Sand play alternatives

Saw a tweet from the über-stylist Poppy Norton (the brains behind baby style file) today that got me thinking...

We used rice krispies instead of sand for a messy play activity at Twins Club the other week and I've been meaning to recreate it at home ever since. We used a cement mixing tray (available from most DIY stores), filled it with rice krispies and let the babies clamber in and out. They loved crunching the krispies, and the fact that they could eat them for a snack was an added bonus! 

Play and snack times combined at Twins Club!

I'm sure this could work with lots of different cereals – and I've definitely been inspired by Poppy to give uncooked rice a go as well.

Has anyone else got any easy, messy play activities to suggest?

Twins on tour - a week in pictures

It was cold when we arrived

But we had a little paddle in the pool anyway

We bonded as a family

Then the sun came out

And we all had fun on the beach

We visited the playground and enjoyed the swings

And ate some delicious food

It was a wonderful first family holiday and we can't wait for the next one...

The Italian Job

We survived!

Yes, the Young family made it all the way to Sardinia and back in one piece, and we are still smiling.

Our accommodation was great (a snazzy mobile home), Sardinia is beautiful, and we got out and about as much as we could including trips to the beach, a local market, cafes, a restaurant (yes, just the one, but for us that's a huge achievement), and gorgeous Italian towns. Unfortunately the weather wasn't that great, so it was too cold (or windy) for swimming (one of the things I'd most been looking forward to) so we'll save that for the next holiday.

By far the best thing about our week away was spending time as a family, with no distractions. Our days were spent enjoying each other's company and trying new things and we were all very happy campers. Miss E and Mr A charmed everyone they met with their smiles and giggles and I have never felt so proud of them. They were fantastic to spend time with and amazed me once again with their capacity to adapt to new situations. And we've obviously trained them well as they slept through every single night we were away (I am available for hire for a very reasonable hourly fee!).

Things I've learned about my babies this week:

• Sand is apparently very good to eat, though tomatoes and red peppers are not
• Having spent eight and a half months loathing being hung upside down, Miss E has decided it's one of her favourite things in the world (fickle little lady)
• Mr A's eyes are the exact colour of the sea at Costa Rei
• Miss E has a very sweet tooth and would give up all savoury food if given the chance
• Mr A thinks that ice-cream is very strange indeed, but he'll still eat it thank you very much
• Miss E and Mr A are wary of strangers initially but warm up after a couple of minutes
• Both babies are very happy and contented little people

And what I learned about myself:

• I enjoy spending time away from the computer
• I think of myself as an anxious person but at some of the most stressful times (mainly on the journey), I was calm and positive
• A cold beer on a hot day is heaven
• The attention I get walking round with twins makes me self-conscious and proud at the same time

I shall post some more photos throughout the coming week, and I'm also compiling my own list of travel tips to share....

Repetitive Brain Syndrome

What day is it? I'm never quite sure, as my days have started blurring together. My routine is like a stuck record - same thing over and over and over.

Get up.. feed the babies breakfast... put them down for a morning nap... shower... breakfast... wash up... get babies up... babies sit and play with toys in a bowl... lunch... more play (same toys) and watch Waybuloo...lunchtime nap... up and walk to the park... walk home... dinner... bath... bed... blogging/twitter. Put this on repeat and that's my week.

As a day it's not that bad, we have some fun, we get outside, but the repetition gets more than a little boring, not only for me, but I think the babies need some more variety to their playtime too. So I appealed to Twitter for new things to do with Mr A and Miss E and got some fantastic responses. @vwallop (It's a small world after all) suggested sitting the babies next to a bowl of water with toys in it, or giving them some newspaper to shred (or the phonebook is apparently very popular). @violetposy (Violet Posy) sent some links about heuristic play, and suggested finger painting and homemade playdough.

I tried out the water bowl idea and though it was a little wet (putting cups in the bowl was not one of my brightest moments), Miss E and Mr A did seem to really enjoy it. I also gave them a phonebook to tear up, but Miss E was just intent on eating small bits of paper so I might leave this one for a while.

Mr A and Miss E make a splash

I'm going to try to give our week some structure and create a bit of a timetable...

Monday - Sensory play (water, lights, textures, noises etc) or heuristic play (creating a 'treasure basket' - a collection of found and natural objects made from any material but plastic such as shells, egg boxes, wooden napkin rings, ribbons, leather purse, tea strainer, small mirror etc)
Tuesday - This is the day we used to go to Monkey Music, so I think this should be 'music day'. Sing some songs, play with some instruments, have a little dance about.
Wednesday - Art/crafts? Finger painting. Any other ideas?
Thursday - Need some ideas please!
Friday - Meet up with NCT friends

I think we'll always keep our afternoon walk, as it's great to get some fresh air and explore the park or surrounding area, but have you got any other great ideas for additional activities I can do with the babies?

Like ducks to water...

I've been feeling nervous about it all week, but today we finally had our first swimming class (Baby Swimming) and the babies really seemed to enjoy it, chatting and smiling throughout most of the class. I'm on such a high! I was fully prepared for some mega-screaming (especially from Miss E) but they hardly grumbled at all, even when we were shoehorning them in and out of their wetsuits and neoprene nappies (no mean feat, I can tell you!). I had such a good time, I didn't even worry about the fact I was wearing a swimming costume in public (though I did buy a new 'tummy-control' ruched M&S costume especially for the occasion).

A Saturday class is perfect for us, as it means that Young Daddy can come along. It was really lovely doing an activity as a family and although I was worried that Young Daddy would be the only guy there, it actually turned out to be the other way around and I was the only mummy in the pool - the others watched from poolside. Nora, our Hungarian instructor, was very calming and is apparently a European synchronised swimming coach, so we were in good hands, even if some of her instructions were a little bit hard to decipher. I'll give her a break though - English is her fifth language after all!

Mr A was in such a good mood when we got home that we couldn't get him to feed properly as he was too busy giving us HUGE grins and laughing like a hyena. I'm already looking forward to next week....

Ridiculous baby gym class

When I went along to the Lewisham-run twin club the other week with my fellow twin mum, Helen, we were encouraged to give the Baby Gym sessions a go, so we took ourselves there this week. I caught a glimpse of the room through the door, and immediately asked if the session was suitable for young babies. After being assured that it was, and that young babies attend all the time we both woke our babies and got them out of their pushchairs (Helen's twin girls are five months old). Once inside, I took in the small climbing frame, ball pond and trampoline and immediately realised the class was far from suitable for my little ones! There weren't even any mats to put the babies down on, just a few cushions dotted around for mums to sit on. Helen and I stayed just long enough for me to feed E and to avoid a heavy downpour outsidee and then we made a hasty getaway. Needless to say we won't be returning!