Friend or foe?

I’ve just done my first extended time on my own with the babies. Young Daddy’s been away for a couple of nights on business so I’ve been flying solo. Not long ago this would have sent me into a complete panic, but Miss E and Mr A are just that bit older now, and I find them much easier to manage.

One of the most noticeable recent developments is the level of interaction between them, especially now they’re both mobile (yes, Mr A is now crawling too!). Miss E has got used to having the run of the place and now that Mr A can keep up with her, she’s not amused. I think he just wants to play, but she seems him as a pest.

They spent all day on Monday fighting. Miss E swiping at Mr A, him grabbing fistfuls of her hair and giving her a good shake, her biting him. I spent the whole day consoling one or the other and trying to play ref. It left me wondering if this was what my days would be like for the foreseeable future.
I woke up apprehensive yesterday, expecting more scrapping. But instead the babies seemed to relish each other’s company. They raced up and down the hallway in fits of giggles. They sat and played, catching each other’s eye and letting out a raucous chuckle. Instead of napping at lunchtime they stood opposite each other in their cots and chortled wildly. At the table after they’d finished their lunch, they just sat there laughing, at what I have no idea. I felt a bit of a gooseberry!

It’s given me an snapshot of the best and worst of being a twin. On the one hand, a readymade playmate, there to entertain and amuse and hopefully offer comfort when needed. Co-conspirator. On the other, someone to constantly invade your personal space, steal your toys and generally get on your nerves. Rival.

Any advice about how to encourage a positive sibling relationship from an early age, and to manage the situation when it does kick off, would be very gratefully received….

Building my nest at last

The twins are now nearly ten months and the nesting instinct has suddenly kicked in in a BIG way.

I did worry about getting the house ready for the babies, but when I really wanted to nest, I’d got so big and uncomfortable I couldn’t do much. Five minutes of cleaning left me struggling for breath with my whole body starting to ache. I had a few unwise sessions up a step ladder painting our spare bedroom, but quickly realised it wasn’t a great idea.

When we moved into our house two and half years ago, it had been rented out for nearly thirty years and was in a sorry state. By the time Miss E and Mr A arrived we’d done the big stuff. Bathroom, tick. Kitchen, tick. Nursery, tick. But there was still plenty to be done. We innocently thought that Young Daddy could do some of the jobs on his extended paternity leave (he had nine weeks off work). I laugh at our naivety now.

We’ve managed bits and bobs over the last ten months, but have been somewhat distracted. When Young Daddy is around I don’t want him to be absorbed in some DIY project, I want him to get stuck in with the babies, so the renovations have gone on the back-burner.

But recently the shock of having two new babies is wearing off and the fog is lifting. I’m turning my interiors-trained eye to my home and all those unfinished jobs are suddenly screaming out to be done. We finally got carpet laid on the hall, stairs and landing this week after two years of bare, untreated, nail-ridden floorboards. We’re turning this house into a home.

Only now my motives are all different. Now every decision I make is about making a home for my family, not for myself. I’m picturing Miss E and Mr A as they grow up, and how they’ll use the space. Coming home from school and dumping all their stuff in the hallway. I’m painting the banisters imagining them peering through them on Christmas Eve, looking down at the fairy lights below. I picture games of hide and seek. Putting on plays.

And I can’t wait to create a place for them to grow.

The funny thing is...

Eek, I've been nominated as Best Funny Mummy for the Gurgle Blog awards! Now I really don't think of myself as funny, and now I feel under pressure to make you chuckle. You can't normally shut me up but I am definitely stuck for words! There are some fantastic blogs on the Gurgle shortlist so head over and check them out. I promise you, they're all a lot funnier than mine..

As I can't come up with any funny words right now, I thought I'd do what I'm best at and share some funny baby pictures with you, snapped on my Blackberry over the last nine and half months....

Two mischief-makers

Mr A doesn't much like the smell of Miss E's nappy

Plotting mummy's demise

The latest It bag

No-one gets in Miss E's way

Mr A practises for sleeping soldiers

The Great Sock Thief and Santa's rudeboy

Miss E's monobrow

Cybermummy's takeaway service

When I saw a tweet from the Cybermummy organisers asking for people to live-blog from Cybermummy, the upcoming conference for UK parent bloggers, I volunteered without hesitation. I've been lucky enough to be sponsored by Huggies to attend the event, but for the many bloggers out there who can't make it for whatever reason, the Cybermummy team have put together the Cybermummy 5. This is a crack team of five bloggers who'll each live-blog from one session at the conference, ensuring that anyone who reads our blogs can benefit from the amazing speakers Cybermummy is bringing together.

For those of you who, like me, have never heard of live-blogging before now, it means that I'll be writing about my assigned session, CyberLabs at 2pm on July 3, as it happens. I'll be publishing a series of posts, recording the session in real time. The session is split into two parts - SEO Basics and Twitter tips with Charlotte Smith from Glam Media, and Blog to book, tips for writing your book from Robin Harvie, Harper Collins.

As a mum of twins, I reckon I'm a multi-tasking pro. I can be feeding Mr A a bottle with one hand, while reading a book with Miss E with the other, and tweeting with my toes (ok, so I haven't quite mastered that last one yet). And I'm most definitely going to need my multi-tasking skills when I'm trying to concentrate on the session while writing and publishing posts at the same time. It'll be a challenge, but luckily I like challenges so can't wait to throw myself in at the deep end... though I might need to skip the coffee at the break after the session and reward myself with something a bit stronger.

Downtime

Time for a break. Time to log off for a little while. Hopefully just a couple of days but maybe for longer, we'll see. Real life is calling, or rather, hollering in my ear. The house is the most chaotic it's ever been, I've run out of food for the babies, the cats need fleaing and are running wild and this morning I have not a single clean item of clothing to wear thanks to prioritising everyone else's washing for the last week or so.

But all those things are just the tip of the iceberg. There are big things that have been ignored for too long and now need serious and urgent thought and attention. Big, important life-changing things that can't be put off any longer.

So I'm going to bid the blogosphere and Twitter goodbye for a bit so I can bring things back into focus.

Wish me luck. See you soon....

Nine and a half months

I've been a bit slack and missed my monthly round-up when the babies turned nine months the other week. So here it is, better late than never....

Mr A loves his face being tickled, or being tickled under his chin. He loves being carried up or down the stairs and thinks it's hilarious. He likes to blow raspberries on the floor. He has six teeth now - three on the bottom and three on the top. He splashes like a madman in the bath. He loves to bite my finger, but it hurts now that he has teeth. He loves his door bouncer - throwing himself around regardless of how many times his head hits the doorframe. He always wants to stand and likes me to walk with him. He is crawling, commando style. It takes quite some effort but he can travel across the room. He likes to touch our tongues and gets a fit of giggles if you waggle your tongue at him. He chatters and screeches and blows violent raspberries. He doesn't like being made to wait for his food. He doesn't like the sound of the tap running. He hates the noise of the hand blender.

Miss E is a proficient crawler, whizzing around rooms, sandpits and parks. She loves to pull herself up to standing whenever possible and stands at the stairgate waiting for me. She greets me with a huge beaming smile in the mornings, and stands up in her cot to say hello. She can feed herself with a spoon if you hand it to her. She has six teeth, two on the bottom and four up top. She likes to make a clicking noise, and thinks it's brilliant if you echo her. She loves to chase the cats, but rarely catches them. She loves me blowing on her face. She likes to offer me a bite of whatever she's eating. She is trying to wave and clap her hands. She loves cuddles. After her bedtime bottle she will snuggle into my shoulder and fall asleep. She loves to see herself in the mirror. She hates her nose being wiped and any clothes being pulled over her head.

Motherhood

Sometimes it gets on top of you.

Sometimes you feel invisible.

Sometimes you feel smothered.

But you'll always be there to support.

Always there to make them feel safe.

Always helping them grow and climb.

Always their rock.

Their mother, always.

 This post is for The Gallery over at Sticky Fingers. This week's theme is 'Motherhood'.