Young & Younger

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noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:40:00 +0000

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Young & Younger has moved

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 22:26:00 +0000

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Silent Sunday - Gravy fan

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 15:37:00 +0000

Ready for the big day...

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Fonz and Ez, Christmas Eve, 2010

3, 2, 1, and breathe....

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 19:56:00 +0000

I'm finally winding down for Christmas. Having not had any time off since starting back at work in July I'm in desperate need of a break. I've worked every spare hour going, rushing Ez and Fonz through to naptimes so that I can take my well-worn seat at the computer and catch up on what I've missed while they've been awake. Young Daddy was going to work between Christmas and New Year, but he's booked the time off now, giving me even more opportunity to relax a bit.

But a leopard can't change her spots, and true to nature, here I am, planning every second of my time off. My to-do list is growing steadily, as I unwisely replace one type of work with another. Some things will bring me enjoyment I know. Even if sorting 16 months worth of baby clothes sounds like hell to you, having the space and opportunity to potter around at home and tackle some household chores is like a dream to me. But I must remember: everything in moderation.

There's no point working so hard to get some time off, only to cram it so full with stuff and pressure, that I don't take the time I really need to to sit back, breathe, and relax. I don't think I'll realise until I stop just how stressed I've been. The world has been moving at a million miles an hour, and it will take my brain a while to slow down. Taking some long, deep breaths, is going to feel so good.

Let's just hope when the adrenalin wears off, I don't come down with flu.

The Gallery - Love, four years on

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:15:00 +0000

Mr & Mrs Young, 29th December 2006

One week today, Young Daddy and I will be celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary (probably by watching a DVD and having a takeaway), so when I saw that Tara's Gallery prompt this week is 'Love', I couldn't resist putting this picture up.

A lot has happened in the last four years – new house, new jobs, and of course, becoming a family of four. I'm just as happy, if not more so, than I was four years ago (and that's saying something – my face ached for about a week after our wedding, I was grinning so much), so to Young Daddy: I love you.

The fourth anniversary is celebrated with flowers and fruit. So now I've won some brownie points with this post, I've got a few anniversary gift suggestions, most of which are related to a certain fruit-related brand called Apple...

Head over to The Gallery now to see all the other love-inspired entries this week.

Dear Santa...

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:08:00 +0000

Silent Sunday - Twins Club Christmas party

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 09:56:00 +0000

Silent Sunday - my new baby

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 22:51:00 +0000

Festive Friday - personalised Christmas cards

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Last week, being stuck in the house thanks to the heavy snowfall wasn't fun. The thing that I look forward to most every week is our trip to Twins Club on a Friday morning, and when that got cancelled because of the weather I was gutted. But along with the email cancelling the club, were the instructions for the messy play activity we were due to do that day - some handprint Christmas cards. Having been inspired by Christine's Festive Friday posts, I thought I could combine the two.

Without letting myself think too much about it, I pinged out an email to the rest of the club, offering to host Twins Club for anyone who could make it to mine. I immediately regretted this offer almost as soon as I sent it, as I was sent into a mad panic about having a (pretty small) house full of energetic twins.

On the day, however, we only hosted one other set of twins - our friends from down the road. We were determined to do our messy play, and here's what we created (finishing touches still to be added)...

Customize your own slideshow design

Silent Sunday - two plus two

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:17:00 +0000

2 December 2010

Our family Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 14:35:00 +0000

Our fireplace last Christmas

So, the countdown to Christmas has begun. I may not have found the time to do the homemade Advent calendar I'd planned to do this year, but we're having just as much fun opening our shop bought calendar and burning our advent candle each evening.

Last night on Twitter, Pippa, Sandy, Jay and I were chatting about how family traditions mean so much more to us over the festive period than all the material stuff, and we compared some of our own ideas for traditions. Sandy, quick off the mark as ever, wrote a lovely blog post about the Calico family traditions she's planning to start this year, and I've decided to follow suit with my own post.

This year, the Young family hope to....

* decorate the tree together, to the sound of Christmas music (music from the rat pack, probably)
* find a local Christingle service to attend
* watch The Snowman at some point over the Christmas period
* give each other new PJs on Christmas eve, and all wear them for dinner
* eat Christmas eve dinner by candlelight
* open our stockings together in bed on Christmas morning
* have a special Christmas morning breakfast as a family (treats all round!)
* enjoy sparklers outside when it gets dark on Christmas day

And next year (maybe) we'll add these traditions...

* hang the stockings I've made myself
* bring out my homemade Advent calendar for its first year of many (I hope)
* add extra decorations to the living room after the kids have gone to bed on Christmas even (idea stolen from Lucy's comment on Sandy's blog)
* put wrapping paper over the door to the living room so Ez and Fonz have to burst through to get to the presents on Christmas day (idea stolen from Laura's comment on Sandy's post)

Do you have any special traditions at Christmas time? Beware that if you share them below, I am on the prowl for ideas so they may well become Young & Younger traditions too!

Silent Sunday - for dad this week

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 09:52:00 +0000

Photograph taken at Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons,

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Life with twin toddlers

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:11:00 +0000

With Ez and Fonz both confident walkers now, I've realised that my days with twin babies are behind me, and my time as a mum of twin toddlers is beginning...

This way and that way
Obviously the biggest thing with them both walking is their increased mobility. I got them out of the pushchair in a cafe, and immediately they ran in opposite directions. We went to the playground with my friend and her twins (only a couple of months older), and all four of them ran in opposite directions! Think it will take me some time to get used to the added stress - it's so hard to keep track of where they both are all the time and I'm wondering if I may need to invest in some reins.

At home they're running around the living room, and we've taken the stairgate between the living room and kitchen down as they hate being penned in. There are three stairs, but they've learnt to negotiate them. I keep telling myself that if they fall, it's not a big drop.

One of the best of the recent developments is dancing! Both Ez and Fonz have always enjoyed music, but now they've started bopping along to it. Ez especially will grab my hands so we can dance together – she thinks it's hilarious and I'm just hoping she's not mocking my dancing skills.

Understood, over and out
The last couple of weeks have seen huge leaps in the twins' levels of understanding. If I ask Ez to bring me her shoes, she'll happily trot off and deliver them to me. Just before they go to bed, when I say it's time for milk, both Ez and Fonz will go and lie down on their sleeping bags, ready to be zipped in.

They know their routine, and they're getting to know various cues. If I put Fonz's coat on him, Ez will bring me her jacket and wait by the pushchair. They don't have many words ('dada', 'mama', 'cat' and 'maamaa' (banana) but the chat is constant, especially from Fonz.

Excuse me, this isn't what I ordered

Food is generally enjoyed, but new foods (unless given at nursery) are viewed with great suspicion. If what's put in front of Fonz at the dinner table isn't to his immediate liking, he'll swipe the whole plate off the table.

Ez is more considered, and she'll meticulously pick each offending bit of food off her plate, and leave it in a neat pile on the table next to her. Their sense of independence at the dinner table is clear and they want to use the spoon themselves – Fonz is still happy for me to load it for him, but Ez won't have help at all.

I guess it's all the energy they're expending running around, but their appetites seem insatiable! Morning milk bottles, breakfast, mid morning snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks, dinner, bedtime bottle. I honestly don't know where they put it all.

Character building
Greater understanding means more interaction, and I'm loving spending time with the two of them. Their own, distinctive characters are clear to see – Fonz a cheeky, happy-go-lucky little monster most of the time, and Ez is sociable, engaging and full of good humour. They are getting to know their own likes and dislikes, and are enraged if things don't go their own way.

The slightest little thing can send Fonz into a fury. If I've passed him the wrong toy in mistake, or taken something he shouldn't have away from him, he'll throw himself to the floor and writhe around screaming, and if he's ignored the screaming will develop into ever-more-desperate sobs.

Ez is working out ways to wrap me and her daddy around her little finger – her approach is much cleverer as we don't realise we've given in and given her what she wants until it's too late. Mini manipulator in training I think.

I said NO BITING!
Watching them chase each other round the living room, in fits of giggles, is wonderful. You can't help but grin from ear-to-ear at the sound of two chuckling people. Ez and Fonz get on best when they don't have to have physical contact. The love being on opposite sides of a glass door, for example, or in their cots (pushed end to end).

The problems come when there aren't any physical barriers between them – then one can very quickly overstep the other's boundary mark, and there's pushing, shoving, biting (mostly from Ez) and shrieking. They are definitely beginning to enjoy each other's company, but they are a long way off learning to play with each other.

Jealousy is playing a bigger part in our day-to-day life, with Fonz particularly upset if I pick Ez up and not him.

Cut to me stood with two babies pulling at my legs and holding up their arms, whinging to be carried. My new life as mum of twin toddlers.

It's for charidee

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Even before becoming a mum, charities that support kids always drew me.

So when I was asked to post the video below to help launch the latest Fairy and Make-A-Wish Foundation campaign, I said yes without hesitation.

The Fairy and Make-A-Wish Foundation aims to make magical wishes come true for children across the country. According to their research, there are around 20,000 children and young people in the UK with a life-threatening illness right now, and Make-A-Wish has granted wishes for over 650 children and young people so far this year.

For further information, please click here.

Living on cloud cuckoo land

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:53:00 +0000

In my dream world, we can buy a bigger house when we move to Berkshire for Young Daddy's job in the new year. Something with more living space, an extra bedroom and a big garden.

In my dream world, I'm planning a holiday abroad next summer. Nothing extravagant, just a camping holiday in France or sharing a gite with some friends. The cost of the ferry isn't a problem at all.

In my dream world, I'm considering a weekend away with the girls in the new year. Maybe back to that hilarious place in Gran Canaria we went to a couple of weeks before my wedding. There are some amazing deals up for grabs at the moment.

In my dream world, the time I spend with Ez and Fonz is full of fun activities, laughter and smiles. We meet up with friends, go on outings and enjoy spending time together.

In my dream world, Christmas is going to be incredible. I've been looking forward to it for months, and can't wait to enjoy it with the babies now they're older. I'll make them a stocking each, craft an advent calendar, and decorate the house to the nines.

...........................................

In reality, I'm working myself into the ground trying to make enough money to pay the mortgage, the bills and the nursery fees.

In reality, I need to take a serious look at alternative childcare options to see if there's any way we can find a cheaper option.

In reality, we'll be lucky if I can afford to stop working for a week to go on holiday. And that ferry ticket? Not a chance.

In reality, a meal out with friends is a rare luxury. The chance of a holiday is zero.

In reality, my days with Ez and Fonz come round so quickly I'm caught on the hop. I have no time to make any plans, and I spend my days rushing them through, so that I can work through their lunchtime nap.

In reality, Christmas will be upon us before I've had a chance to say 'stocking' let alone make one. We'll have a lastminute rush to scrabble presents together, and I'll probably have to work right up to the day. Then there's all the added pressure of the social events you're supposed to attend. I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

...........................................

Sorry for the moaning post, but life feels pretty damn tough at the moment.

This post was written for Josie's Writing Workshop. I chose the prompt 'red' because that seems to be the permanent state of my bank account.

Twins at 14 months - Ez

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:33:00 +0000

Ez is so busy, busy, busy, always bustling around. She loves to tidy up, and and is forever emptying boxes or bags, only to refill them again. If she finds something she brings it over to give to me as a little gift.

She's been walking for a couple of months, and is pretty confident now, though her pigeon steps make me laugh. Her strides haven't got any bigger since she started walking, she just does more of her teeny tiny steps to get where she wants to go faster.

Ez thinks her shoes are the best thing ever. She carries them around, or brings them to me to put them on her. She tries to put them on herself, but can't manage it yet. She likes everyone else's shoes too, and will happily pass Fonz's shoes to me when we're getting ready to go out, or she'll grab my boots for me. She's definitely inherited my love of footwear!

She loves cuddles and hugs, and will regularly come over to say hi while she's playing, then go back to get on with whatever she was doing. Her tummy's really tickly, and I can have her in hysterics when I tickle her.

Her favourite book is Sweet Dreams Maisy, and every evening she picks up her book, brings it over to daddy and settles herself in his lap for him to read it to her. She chats along as he reads, though she prefers the first page to any other!

She loves sardines, she loves climbing stairs, she loves playing "Where's your...?"

She hates being buckled in a pushchair or car seat, and she hates having her teeth cleaned.

Twins at 14 months - Fonz

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:09:00 +0000

Fonz is so much happier now he's walking. The frustration and anger that kept spilling over comes out less often and I'm loving all the belly laughs and cheeky grins he gives me now. He's busy cutting what seems like a whole mouthful of teeth at once but on the whole he's managing it pretty well.

He's chatting all the time now, with a few recognisable words as well as 'dada' and 'mama'. He'll pick up my mobile and answer "hiya". He says "gat" (translation: "cat") and delights in chasing the cat around the living room. When she lets him stroke her ("Gentle please Fonz!") he beams with pleasure and lets out a gurgly chuckle.

Ask him "where's your head/nose/tummy" and he'll grin and show you, and if he's hungry he's just started making the sign for 'eat' (he's added smacking his lips to really bring the message home). Bathtime is mostly a big hit and he careers up and down the bath, splashing vigorously (something Ez detests).

He's spent his first days away from Ez when she was home poorly and he went to nursery and he managed brilliantly and enjoyed all the extra fuss he got from the staff.

He loves being chased, he loves making loud banging sounds, he loves anything with wheels and he loves watching the washing machine go round and round and round.

He hates having his teeth cleaned.

I have an addiction...

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 09:22:00 +0000

Sand play alternatives

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 14:13:00 +0000

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?

Two to one

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 21:02:00 +0000

We're living in Lurgy Land at the moment, with poor Ez very under the weather. She woke up with a temperature last Wednesday of just over 40°C. I'm much more used to thinking in Farenheit so I didn't really realise how high that was until Thursday night, so we paid the doctor a visit on Friday. A chest infection was diagnosed, antibiotics were prescribed, and she's been slowly improving since then. I can honestly say that she looked like we'd dressed her up for Halloween - all pale, white, face and red red eyes. I've never seen her look so ill, and I just felt so sorry for her.

A poorly Ez naps on my lap

She wasn't well enough for nursery on Wednesday, so I dropped Fonz off and spent the day with Ez at home. This was a first. The babies have never spent a day apart from each other, and I did have a little tear in my eye when I said goodbye to Fonz for the day. I was worried how he'd cope without his sister.

Obviously it wasn't nice that Ez was ill, but I really enjoyed spending one-on-one time with her. Because she was poorly she was very drowsy so we just spent the day cuddling up on the sofa, sometimes sleeping, sometimes giggling with each other. I did feel some guilt about 'abandoning' Fonz, but it made me look forward to having a day just with him.

Today Ez still wasn't well enough for nursery, so we had another day together. She was well enough for a trip out, so I bundled her up, and we went shopping and for lunch with a friend. Of course I did miss Fonz, but the feeling of freedom being out with one baby, rather than two, was incredible. I could manage the pushchair up and down the station steps, I didn't need to juggle crying babies, and I could actually eat my lunch in peace while Ez napped.

I would never say life is easier with one baby, because we all know every baby is different, every parent is different, and every day is different, but I have to say that it felt simpler (not better, just simpler) with one. I felt less anxious, more able to cope, and I think I relaxed more. I think so much of my parenting can focus on the practical, and the struggle and pressure to balance my attention between Ez and Fonz, that I can often overlook the simply pleasures of spending time with my babies.

And while Ez looks to have recovered enough for nursery tomorrow, Fonz's temperature is rising, so who knows, I may get my one-on-one time with him sooner than I expected.

The two sides of Fonz

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 14:26:00 +0000

Fonz is quite a complicated little chap. He's often frustrated at home, resulting in tears and angry tantrums. He's very determined, knows exactly what it is he wants (usually my mobile phone or any remote control he can spy), and is not a happy bunny if he can't have it. He loses his patience very quickly, and can be happy as larry one minute, and inconsolable the next, and once he's lost it, it's very difficult to snap him out of it.

So you can imagine my surprise when one of the carers at nursery said: 'Fonz is so happy, isn't he? He never cries.'

Ummmm, really? I buckle him and Ez into the pushchair where Fonz grizzles all the way home, and is in a right grump until he goes to bed.

What's that all about, then? Am I doing something wrong at home? Is he happier playing in a group (Ez isn't too keen on playing with him at home so could that frustrate him)? Does he hate me having to share my time between him and Ez? I'm sure it can be tough being a twin at times.

Of course, the other possible answer is that he bottles it all up at nursery, and is more comfortable and at ease at home so can show his emotions more.

I doubt I'll ever know the answer, but that won't stop me trying to work it out.

I'm not perfect

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:49:00 +0000

There, I said it.

I am a perfectionist. I discovered pretty soon after Ez and Fonz were born that being a mum and a perfectionist does not a happy mummy make. Now I'm finding out that being a perfectionist and a working mum is even worse.

I'm not content if I don't do things well, if I'm not achieving the best possible results I can. I work and work and work and work to get everything just right. Anything less than 100% makes me lose sleep. But right now I'm struggling to balance that with all the other demands on me. I need to be able to switch off when I'm with in mum mode, and just enjoy spending time with my babies. I only have this one chance to see them growing up and I feel like I'm throwing it away. I'm going to have to lower the unrealistic expectations I have of myself and my work or I'll self-combust with stress and anxiety.

I need to get to know the new, post-babies, working me.

Why do we put such pressure on ourselves? A recent survey has shown that mothers are much harder on daughters than sons, and suggests that it could be why women are much more self-critical than men. I know I've always given myself a hard time about most aspects of my life – I'm not thin enough, not exciting enough, not witty enough, not articulate enough, not creative enough.

But I want to stop. This isn't a legacy I want to leave to my children.

If the shoe fits

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 19:25:00 +0000

We had two shoe-shopping trips with Ez and Fonz this weekend, good and bad, with a nasty sickness bug separating the two (our first experience of trying to care for poorly babies whilst being in a bad way ourselves. Not nice).

The first was a trip to Clarks in Lewisham, and I was pretty excited about buying the babies their first pairs of shoes, especially as Ez is walking unaided now. I'd been told about the Clarks First Shoes experience and was looking forward to our trip. As a baby-shoe novice, we arrived to get the babies' feet measured without socks, so I had to do a mad dash around the shopping centre to buy some while Young Daddy tried to entertain two bored babies in Clarks.

Once we were able to get their feet measured, we discovered that Ez's feet are too small (size 2.5F) for Clarks' walking shoes, and were told we'd have to make do with some cruising shoes instead. We had the choice between two pairs, so grudgingly selected one (why are all baby girl's shoes pink with flowers on?), plus a cute pair of cruising shoes for Fonz (size 3G). As usual, I'd left things until the last minute when Ez was in urgent need for shoes and we were due to go to a wedding the next day so we didn't have much choice.

The time between our shoe shopping expeditions was spent in a hellish haze of vomiting, anxiety and sleeplessness as the whole family battled our first family stomach bug, and so we never made it to the wedding.

After tweeting about our Clarks experience, a few lovely people on Twitter recommended Start-rite for smaller babies' shoes. We were feeling recovered enough today to seek out our local Start-rite stockist, Pares Footwear in Blackheath Village. Within five minutes, the lovely assistant had measured Ez's feet again (2F now), and provided us with a beautiful pair of Start-rite walking shoes. No fuss, and we felt completely at ease and reassured by the sales assistant's obvious experience and expertise.

New shoes don't come cheap though, do they?! We have shelled out a whopping £47 for two pairs of baby shoes (I'll be returning Ez's Clarks pair), and advised that Ez and Fonz's feet will need re-measuring every six weeks until they're three or four years old. Hopefully they won't need new shoes every time we visit, but if they do, we'll be looking at a colossal £1,500 on baby shoes in the first four years of their life. Ouch. It's a good thing I gave up my shoe obsession when I got pregnant, because who knows when I'll next be able to afford to buy myself a pair.

Now here's Ez, walking for the first time in her brand new shoes...

Hoping for a MAD night

noreply@blogger.com (HeatherY) — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:57:00 +0000

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.