TTT.....

[AtLongLast]

OTT / self-indulgent I know, but Toddler Twin Tantrums..... aaargh! Just as well they're so cute too. Ds2 was v funny today wiggling his bum singing uh, uh Bobby' in response to me dancing round the kitchen to Bobby's girl'...

Thanks LadyM (loving the various try-ons of abbreviations for your name). Mum does that if she thinks I'm a bit too happy, esp when she's in a bit of a rut . I think she realised at the last minute that she was treading on thin ice with the hair thing. It's extremely rare that I snap at her but I got close. Haha - see, following your fashion on the Expedetalbeit you've come out the other side again. Army Museum sounds great & yes - hard to hold back on the childish side when littlies are being mean to your own.

Tarti - fab cakes! I hadn't realised they were so big til I saw the side on in your profile pic. I hope you all had a lovely day.

We're so lucky to be close to the safari park. & in this weather I could just stick their crocs on & bundle us all into the car. Soooo easy. We have a season ticket so a quick circuit is a good & easy way to get out for a couple of hours. We had another no nap nap time today . We got them up & took them to the beach. They had a sleep on the way there & we had a lovely time digging/ running around / looking at Gormley's statues (they were rather taken with the bums & pool of water that they were convinced was wee) & then ice creams.

That sounds great ALL - and the beach too! Perfect.

Was just pondering starting a thread about what to do when older kids are mean to your 2 yr old but fear I'd be lampooned for being a twat I am that parent I always hated!!!

PS: I don't like my new name. Am going to change again. DH called me it as a joke the other day and we both thought it hair-larious. (I don't think he's quite so hair-larious today mind, he went to bed at 1pm and hasn't surfaced since! ) I need something evocative, funny, and highly hintellectual......

Aww thanks guys. Only made two cos I'm greedy birthday isn't until thurs but my family are up this weekend.

Funny about the naps ALL. I'm starting to think M is ready to drop her nap as she's often still awake at 8-8.30pm despite being put to bed at 7. Very reluctant but nor do I want her up all evening...

Hm lady. Will need some thought.

Tarti I'm a teeny bit tempted to let DTri's have a small cake each this year. Every other child gets their own cake, so I might let each of them choose what kind of cake they would like, and I'll just make a smaller-ish version of each.
Either that or I was thinking to go all out on a 3 tier - 1 tier each.
Along <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=triplet+birthday+cakes&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=485&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=FA1aA9Rnk2UIDM:&imgrefurl=vanearlscakes.blogspot.com/2010/08/baby-shower-cake.html&docid=Bi0p-sU9V7a8XM&imgurl=2.bp.blogspot.com/_pZXwjmpref8/TGgTl_3cuyI/AAAAAAAAAmE/CmSYXVldvG8/s1600/STA72172.JPG&w=1200&h=1600&ei=tWaxT8uwOIWk0QW4oNmJCQ&zoom=1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">these lines? Obviously a lot different than that design, but just the concept. Or is that slightly excessive?

Stuff shoe porn, I've moved onto cake porn!!

I like your name - just the natural abv to me would be LadyMuck.... but obv not the most complimentary of names. I often see names on mn that are a clever play on words & wish I'd thought of them.

Btw.. we had to chuck out some of that lovely choc cake last weekend . Mil asked for more that she could manage. I knew as soon as she said how much she wanted that she'd never eat it all. Grrrr. Have found an `everyday' choc cake that has gone down OK. Dp says he prefers it to the yummy rich one. Heathen.

Nope.... boys are not dropping naps either Tarti. Even if it means they happily shriek at one another for an hour while I have a sarnie in peace.

Had potty success 3 times with ds2 at the weekend! Whipped his pants & nappy off & did standing wee mostly in potty. Then we had to take potty to loo & wave bye-bye to wee. & he's announced wee is imminent before doing it in the bath 2 nights in a row. V surprised - he seems far less ready than ds1. Told nursery today so it wouldn't be unexpected... except the message didn't get through to his room . They know now.

Oooh Kate.. tiers could get complicated with size / who gets which tier? I just wish our nursery would allow homemade cakes then I'd do 2 and let them eat it all. We don't know enough people to help eat so much cake otherwise. I did 2 different rice paper cupcake toppers last year & this year they didn't even manage 1 cake between them. I will def be making them one each from next year I think. I guess they care / understand more when they're 3?

Evening. How is the house of sickness-and-no-sleep mucky? Hope both battles have been won over the weekend and things feel a bit more bearable again. My heart would have broken about E being rejected by those other girls too. I am ill prepared for such things as it really hadn't occurred to me before reading that that everyone wouldn't adore my adorable two either!

I also echo the sentiment that you should reject all criticism levelled by your mum ALL as it's clearly rubbish. Something about getting older really does make parents sweat the small stuff. We will be there ourselves one day I suppose (we can swear it'll never happen, but I'm sure we all swore we'd keep up with pop music forever and now I'd struggle to name any songs in the charts). I'm not surprised your boys don't want to sleep when they can go to the beach or safari park instead! How fab to have them on your doorstep.

Your nursery doesn't allow home made cakes? Is that normal? I haven't tried foisting any off on ours yet but wasn't anticipating they'd be sniffy about it! Is this nut allergy fear at play?

Happy birthday to the girls for Thursday tarti. What did you settle on for presents in the end? I seem to recall you were struggling to decide a while ago.

Do you all have any recommendations for good toys for 12-24 month range? I have just made up my mind that the toys we have are in need of an overhaul as they're a bit too babyish now, and don't seem to hold their attention. Also book inspiration would be good. I am a bit addicted to book buying actually!

Very fed up with this miserable weather now, can we at least have some sun? We are still in the throes of trying to book our summer holiday, which is only about a month away (!) and it seems to be so much harder than when it was just two adults to think about. We're going to France and have got a week's self catering accommodation sorted out in Provence but that's such a long drive that we need to build in lots of time to get there and therefore need to find suitable places to stay en route there and back. Argh, I feel a bit 'over' the whole thing and it's supposed to be a pleasure!

We are on the mend, thanks Cerub. Which is a good job because I think my moaning levels reached a new record of intensity.

Have had a good morning and bumped into a new mum-of-twins on my way home from the playground, 8 wks old, very cute. Am off out to dinner tonight with a friend and have a babysitter coming, already deliberating how I can skulk out the door by 7.20 as I don't feel comfortable asking the sitter to put them down... feels a bit too much to ask for some reason.

Trying to think re. toys. I remember having that thought though - that it was time to move onto the next level, and feeling a bit stuck. I found books tricky - really good picture books for pointing and identifying objects are good, like this one. Mine have only recently got into anything resembling stories very recently and now go to sleep on a pile of books in the cot each night... (Ooh, one book they really loved for a long time was Dear Zoo.)

Aquadoodle was also good for them starting to be interested in drawing. One of the toys mine liked the most was a cheapie Ikea building blocks/cups thing - really simple toys. And Ikea do a fab hammer toy too (Ikea are fantastic for toys actually... we have a brilliant tunnel which can be packed away and they still love playing in it. Have you got Wheelie Bugs yet? We got them when the girls were just turned one and it took them a while to get into them, but they still love them and whizz around on them and even before that happens, when they're small they love boinging the antennae... :)

I've just invested in another piece of plastic tat - Pirate Water Table - for the summer we're very much NOT having. Girls are very into pirates at the moment, which is very cute. Not showing much interest in dolls, prams, princesses; although love wearing their tutus and pretending to be ballerinas. So - ballerina pirates it is then....

cerubina I too remember feeling stuck for toys at that stage. But yes to Wheelybugs, Aquadoodle, a push along cart with bricks in, stacking/sorting toys of any kind (including the most basic of stacking plastic cups, £5 from ELC which they still play with loads now).
Books wise, we have always read them story books which are way over their heads but for them to sit and look at themselves, definitely Dear Zoo, Peepo, any of the Spot lift-the-flap ones - in fact any lift the flap books (although flaps may not last long!)...

I've got them a dressing up box (or the beginnings of) for their birthday, with a few bits in (different hats, fairy wings, king's cloak and crown, witch's hat, feather boa...). My mum gave them baby dolls and pushchairs at the weekend which have been a MASSIVE hit. Sigh. They are getting a Brio train set from their other grandparents.

Know what you mean about traveling arrangements. I've only just got around to booking our overnight stops in France on way to and from Brittany (holiday has been booked for about 6 months ) - have gone for not-very-quaint-or-local Accorhotels (Novotel I think) as just couldn't find anything else at all that would accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids in same room. And we've had to go for executive suites or something equally silly. God knows whether my plea for two cots will have found a receptive ear...

How was your night out mucky?

Right. Summer shoes/sandals for the girls which can be worn without socks but still ok for city wear iyswim. Possible? Are we getting into crocs territory here? (and how do crocs come up size wise since we're on the topic?)

How do we feel about these ?

I'm going down the Saltwater sandal route tarti, that's if I can get the girls out of their crocs

I really like those shoes though, and might be tempted by them - if only because of the good reviews re. comfort and wide fitting. And price too.

Back later to write more, girls still not awake, really struggling now to get them off to sleep in the evenings but they wake up so late! Saw these cute bags on ebay - how can you resist, well apart from the fact that Suri Cruise was spotted with one? Less than £10 and so so cute! here

And here, with the shocking <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1421&bih=618&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=RpLijGkusNN84M:&imgrefurl=www.coolil.com/blog/2009/12/trendy-suri-and-katie-holmes-in-nyc-with-manuella-kids-backpack/&docid=YOICuju9uU3hqM&imgurl=www.coolil.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Katie-Holmes-and-Suri-Manuella-Kids-Backpack.jpg&w=520&h=400&ei=9_m1T-eDAYar8APEspybCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=689&sig=105550521792854460835&page=1&tbnh=130&tbnw=155&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:72&tx=88&ty=70" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HEELS she was spotted wearing aged 3. I have to say I hoiked my bosom at that, what think you all?

And it being worn as a backpack <a class="break-all" href="http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1421&bih=618&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=denys-o9ECh8TM:&imgrefurl=www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/512716666-Wholesale-baby-bag-Children-s-backpacks-cute-Kids-Backpack-Schoolbag-Satchel-wholesalers.html&docid=t__z38fm53xluM&imgurl=img.alibaba.com/wsphoto/v0/492980275/The-United-States-manuella-SURI-small-big-animals-manual-package-children-s-backpacks-4-color-into.jpg&w=556&h=359&ei=9_m1T-eDAYar8APEspybCg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1088&vpy=158&dur=521&hovh=112&hovw=174&tx=110&ty=94&sig=105550521792854460835&page=1&tbnh=110&tbnw=170&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:86" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here - hmm, I do not work for this company, I think I should go and do something else with my morning...

Tarti V.cute sandals, only thing I would say is that the soul looks very very thin, and so I'm not sure they would be that comfy..
My girls walk quite a lot, so I'm always looking for a big, cushiony soul on their shoes to make sure they are really comfy. Clarks air sandals have been previous winners for us as the soul is just sooo soft! I've still not found the summer sandals for the girls yet, so we're sticking to Crocs (much to your disgust lady muck ) and canvas shoes for the moment..

Tarti I also second what you say about booking holidays for an 'abnormal' family! Me and DH decided, late last year, that we were just going to go and book Disneyland for a few days - DH had managed to get a good few days off work, and wanted to fill them up to ensure that he would actually be doing something ! We were all prepared for crazy prices, amazing hotels etc with card in hand .... well, we barely even got past step 1 - availability! Because apparently you cannot have 3 2YO's aswell as 2 other Under 5's. We kept thinking that we must be doing something wrong, but we weren't - it just wasn't possible. We were over it by this time and just sent them a shitty polite email to get back to us as to how we can book a holiday. They sent one back saying that they would get in touch soon, but never did - and we kind of forgot about it. Maybe I need to get back on there and see if we can do it once they are 3.

P.s muck Looove the water table! JL then lured me in and showed me what he could offer us for our garden! Was so glued I forgot to come back and post!

Thanks for the thoughts on toys and books. You're dead right with Dear Zoo - I bought that a few weeks ago and it's been such a big hit that I've also now bought Oh Dear by the same author, which looks fun too. I love reading to them so plough on with nursery stories/Julia Donaldson books despite the fact that the only person listening is me...sure they'll get keen eventually.

A crawling tunnel looks like a really good idea and I love the water table too - might have to find an excuse to buy one of those despite being months from Christmas and birthdays. And a dressing up box, I can't wait to get them one of those (though I know some of you don't hold with fancy dress!) Did any of you get a V-Tech walker thingy like this? Every other V-Tech thing I've seen or had the misfortune to be given has been god-awful and annoying but I have heard this is good - should I trust my scepticism?

S has been sent home from nursery today with conjunctivitis, and this time I'd say it is exactly that. He looks a bit rotten with it, all gunky. Just hope R can avoid it or we've got trouble come Monday when I try to go back to work. She is getting very strong on her legs now and can stand next to the sofa holding on which seems to delight her. This is a lovely stage when they're not crying with frustration or pulling each other's hair.

I think those silver sandals are very pretty indeed tarti but also agree with Kate, soles do look a bit thin and hard. Probably ideal for parties and things, and depends whether your girls do a lot of walking.

Mucky I definitely Do Not Hold with little girls wearing high heels (except for when they're trying on mummy's, then it's sweet. Mind you, R will have a job finding any of mine to try on as I am genetically incapable of standing or walking in anything above about 1.5"). Suri is a very cute girl isn't she? Why don't they just let her dress like a little girl though?

We still haven't booked the extra nights for our holiday. DH has the notion that we will leave London on Friday morning and get to Provence by Saturday late afternoon, so only one overnight stop. I think that 800 miles or whatever it is could be seriously overestimating the twins' enthusiasm for being in their car seats and we should allow an extra night. I just don't know! Argh.

I don't know Cerub - we used to do the same/similar distance with one overnight stop from Switzerland to London. Good idea to leave as early as possible and aim to get to your stop destination by mid afternoon. That way even if you're a couple of hours late you can still try to get them to bed at a normal-ish time so you can try to relax and get a decent night's kip yourself. Last time we did it we got adjoining rooms at Suitehotel (2nd room @ 50% discount) and it was perfect. I really do not get on well with us all being in the same room - it's okay if you're all in perfect health, but you can never know ahead of time how it's going to go and we've had a few occasions where we've had terrible nights' sleep at the stopover point which makes the following day's drive even more tedious. I really do recommend Suitehotel, they are set up for exactly what you need (ie. mainly stop over families) and almost all the rooms are family rooms with microwaves, TV/wifi throughout, etc etc. It's a very good concept.

We didn't have that walker but would have probably got one had we been in the UK, we borrowed a Fisher Price non-electrical version which was fine too.

Cerub I forgot about Oh Dear, that's another favourite here.

muck how do the Saltwater sandals come up size wise - you've had them before haven't you? And are they WIDE?
Suitehotels sound good.

Pretty much everyone I know has/had that Vtech walker cerub. Think it went down well. I am a luddite and had this which to be fair they did love for aaages and had mucho fun pushing each other about on for rides...

I love that walker tarti and again had we been in the UK I would have wanted one. We had the hugely inferior Ikea version, which has no weight to it so when they're learning to walk would often flip forwards into their face.

The Saltwater shoes run true to size, I think. The first time they wear them you are meant to get the shoes wet with the child wearing them, and then let them dry while they wear them. The shoes are totally waterproof so this isn't as weird as it sounds. Eve has quite wide feet (G fitting) but after we did this with hers they were totally fine and we never had any marks. Looking at those Clarks ones though, they do look really comfortable.

We've just been to look round local pre-prep/nursery school which - if we decide to follow up on - we would be starting the girls in in September. I'm not 100% convinced it's a good idea to move them at this point and really really do love the place they're at now. But I want to get them started at some point with a daily routine of going off to nursery whereas at the moment they do 2 whole days. Gah, it's all so confusing.

How about this for a gorgeous tutu? I am very tempted to buy several and give to any friends of mine with a young daughter - so pretty.

Oh don't get me started on tutus ... check these bad boys (disclaimer - some are bit hideous). I am seriously tempted. Do like your black one I must say, am a bg fan of grey tops and thinking of those saltwaters in silver with a black tutu..... STOP ME someone!

Yes those Clarks do look comfy but don't go down to their size and only available in F andnotquiteaspretty

Oh and shudder at wierdo Cruise baby heels phenomenon