• “Having twins in your class – and not being able to tell one from the other – is a teacher’s nightmare, so imagine how confused staff were when five sets turned up at the start of the new school year.” Read more on the Daily Mail website.

• “In what is being hailed as a medical miracle, eight month old conjoined twins Joshua and Jacob Spates have survived being separated at the base of their spines after a gruelling 13 hours in surgery.” Read more on The Daily Mail website.

• “11 month old conjoined twin girls, Rital and Ritag Gaboura,have been successfully separated by British doctors. The girls, who were joined at the head, survived at odds of one in 10million, after four complex operations at London’s Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.”  Read more on The Daily Mail website, and watch a video of the twins on the BBC News website.

• A set of twins have been born in England, one black and one white.  Watch video footage of the twins and their parents on the BBC News website.
  

A particular family favourite of ours is Wii Party.  Here’s a taste why…

Board Game Island game (1-4 players) Players throw dice to move round the virtual board game, having to compete in various mini games along the way! (This takes approximately 45 minutes.)






Statistics are shown at the end to illustrate each players progress.

If you don’t want to play a structured contest, then you can just use free play to select your favourite mini games from 1 versus 1 to 4 Player Battles.

Wii Party

Games include:
• Hide ‘n’ Hunt (2-4 players)
• Animal Tracker (2-4 players)
• Time Bomb (2-4 players)
• Word Bomb (2-4 players)
• Buddy Quiz (3-4 players)
• Board Game Island (1-4 players)
• Globe Trot (1-4 players)
• Swap Meet (1-4 players)
• Spin Off (1-4 players)
• Balance Boat (1-2 players)
• Friend Connection (2 players)
• Match-Up (1-2 players)

Wii Party available at Toys R Us for £24.97.

Controller sold separately.

Here’s a couple of pictures of my twin daughters not long after we adopted our wee tortoiseshell cat, Heidi in November last year…

The first photo is Rachel. Check out her wobbly tooth! LOL She ended up with no front teeth before Christmas!

The second pic is Sophie, who still had all her top teeth at the time! She also had no front teeth at Christmas!

I’m linking up (albeit late!) to:

• Twin Tuesday
• Tortie Tuesday

… and also Wordless Wednesday.

My Most Annoying Celebrity

Nadya Suleman AKA Octomom really annoys me!  I think she’s an attention-seeking freak, whose selfish indulgence of her baby addiction is a disservice to all her children.  She is pompous, deluded and self-obsessed.

Just when I thought I’d seen it all, I came across this story today:

Revealing pictures emerge from the ‘infantilism’ video made by Octomom Nadya Suleman

Hubby and I work hard to support our two children.  Sure, we’d love more children, but we haven’t the time, space and money to do it!  However, this single, unemployed woman decides to have fertility treatment again and again until she ends up with FOURTEEN kids!!  She lives in a lovely big house in a good area, and has a team of nannies to help raise her brood.  She justifies turning her home and family into a freak show by claiming she needs to make money to feed her children.  Well, IMHO, she should’ve thought of that BEFORE getting impregnated again, and again and AGAIN!!  :O

Enjoy!

See!!? Now what did I tell you? It’s great eh?

When I was pregnant with my twin girls, Hubby and I joined The Twins and Multiple Birth Association (TAMBA) for help and advice on raising twins.   It’s a great organisation for parents of multiples and I would recommend that all UK parents expecting multiples, or who have young multiples, check out their fabulous resources online and enquire about joining.

When the girls were two years old, we went to a TAMBA event at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling.  Unfortunately, it was a typical Scottish summers day – i.e. pouring with rain!!  However, there was a marquee set up with refreshments and entertainment under cover.  It was strange to see so many twins, triplets and more, not only in the marquee, but also throughout the entire safari park.  I’m quite sure that other day trippers must have thought they were seeing double!! 

It was also great to have the opportunity to chat with other parents of multiples and share experiences and tips.

Sadly the following few years, we were unable to attend the annual events, as they clashed with other committments.

TwinHappyJen is organising an online annual event for parents of twins in August this year.  The event is called Twinstock, and there will be fabulous giveaways from Twinstock sponsors.  Please visit the Twinstock site to find out more.

Please visit TwinHappy to link up with your Twin Tuesday post.

Today's Prompt: Write about a memory you have of playing in the water.

Their wee faces looked puzzled, as Mummy and Daddy lifted their little bodies into the huge yellow floats.  Their puzzlement soon turned to alarm, as Mummy and Daddy let go and the floats began to slowly drift inches away.  Thankfully, their fear was only momentary, and they began to kick their chubby little legs and splash their tiny hands in the water.  Soon there were shrieks of laughter coming from the two yellow floats, as Mummy and Daddy moved them around.  Yes, our first family outing to the swimming baths with our twin baby daughters was a success.

You can link up at: The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: Water#links


This week’s Twin Tuesday QOTW is:

Have you taken your twins on a road trip, yet? And, if so, any tips/tricks for making the ride smoother?

Shortly after our girls turned one, Hubby and I took them away on holiday to Wales for a week.  We stayed in a caravan site, just outside Prestatyn in North Wales.  The girls were so well behaved during the journey (which I think took us about 5 hours with a few stops).

We made sure the girls had a selection of toys to play with in the car and, thankfully they actually slept for much of the journey.

Four years on, and we went on a family holiday to Florida last summer.  Our trip involved flying to London Gatwick in the first instance, and then a long haul flight to Orlando.  The girls were patient, relaxed and well behaved throughout the journey.  They had little backpacks with story books, colouring books, puzzle books and a couple of dolls and fave soft toys, as well as some snacks. 

You can link up with TwinHappy Jen on her TwinHappy blog here or join the blog hop below.

On Twitter @TwinParenthood also posed a twin-related question today:

TwinParenthood

Twin Parents: Are tantrums worse with twins? What age is the peak? Tips to cope?

Well, I am very lucky that I’ve never had much of a tantrum problem with my daughters .  Don’t get me wrong, they have had their moments, but they’ve been rare.

When they were toddlers, we used the “Naughty Step” as a way of tackling tantrums and bad behaviour.  It was mostly used after a spat between the girls.  They often used to fight over toys! 

I have never really had to deal with a double-whammy tantrum in the supermarket or shopping centre.  There was the odd ‘wobble’ with them fighting for space in the cramped supermarket trolley seats, but that was all really!

They’re now almost six years old, and I couldn’t tell you the last time we needed to use the “Naughty Step”.  They play well together most of the time now and, though there may be the occasional wee niggle, they rarely come to blows.

I am very lucky that I can take my girls anywhere with me and know that they will behave.  I often take them to the hairdressers, beauty salon or opticians with me, and they wait patiently for me in the waiting areas, reading, drawing or playing their DSi.

I  found a twin story in today’s Daily Mail about identical twins, Ruby and Pearl (great names, huh!?):

“They are so alike that even their boyfriends struggle to tell them apart.

But Ruby and Pearl Day’s other halves can be forgiven – especially since the pair were yesterday judged to be Britain’s most identical twins.

In a nationwide competition, the 18-year-olds were deemed to be most alike in terms of facial likeness, personality and ‘dancing synchronicity’.”

You can read more about this story on the Daily Mail website here.

“A 31-year-old woman has given birth to sextuplets at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire.

The four girls and two boys, ranging in weight from 1.3 to 2lb, were born 14 weeks early on 14 May.

The mother, from Oxfordshire, is said to be recovering well and all of the babies are in the hospital’s specialist Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.”

[Source: BBC News website - accessed 21 May 2010.]

Congratulations to the family!  I wish them all well! 

You can read more of this article on the BBC News Website here.

I also have another amzing multiple birth story via my friend, Jennifer Miller of Twin Happy.  It’s the story of a family who had twins – one via IVF and the other naturally – and the family will never know which one is which!  Watch this video of the lucky family here.

Yes, I know it’s Wednesday, but I sooooo love taking part in the Twin Tuesday meme that I thought I’d just go ahead and post it late.  It’s not the first time I’ve posted late, and it certainly won’t be my last!….

TwinHappyJen from Twin Happy was late in posting her Twin Tuesday post yesterday, as she had taken her twins out for the day, then she fell asleep, exhausted, on their return!  LOL.   Jennifer and her lovely daughters live on the other side of “The Pond” so the time difference meant that it was after 1am here in Scotland when she posted.  I was tucked up in bed, fast asleep by then! 

This week’s QOTW:

Do you buy two of everything for your twins? Or do they share certain things?

We have always bought the girls one each of small toys and treats, and just one of larger items to share.  We’ve been doing this since they were babies, and we still do it now they are approaching their sixth birthday.  Family and friends have followed our example for Christmas and birthday presents.

When they were babies we only had one baby swing and one baby walker, which they would take turns to use. To be honest, the decision to do this was based, in part, on a space-saving exercise, as much as it was a conscious decision to teach them to share.   Soft toys, dollies and doll’s prams were bought in twos.  Books, DVDs and puzzles were not.

When the girls were two, we asked our families to pool together to buy the girls some outdoor equipment for our garden.  The girls were delighted with their triple swing set, slide, double trampoline, sandpit and playhouse.  This collection has been added to over the years, with another larger slide and a seesaw.  They share these outdoor toys, not only between the two of them, but also with their friends (particularly their best friends who live next door).

One Christmas, Santa bought them a doll’s house.  It was a huge doll’s house, standing taller than the girls.  Santa had also bought them a Barbie each (similar, but not the same).  The girls have played well together with this doll’s house over the years. 

In recent years, I have tried to encourage a little individuality in my girls.  Therefore, when they are asked to choose a small toy, treat or item of clothing, they can pick a different item from that of their sister.  We do, however, insist that the item is of similar size, value and quality.

Last Christmas, Santa brought the girls a Nintendo DSi console each (in different colours) and a selection of games to share.  Friends and family also bought the girls a selection of games to share.  They have managed to share their games quite happily most of the time.  However, they have been known to come running to me whining,

“Mum!  NAME has had the WHATEVER game for a very long time, and won’t let me have a shot!”

In March, Rachel won £50 at the School Spring Fayre.  Hubby and I suggested she use the money for a share toy for both her and her sister to enjoy.  She agreed.  Both girls discussed what they would like to spend the money on, and it was unanimously decided that they would like to buy Mario Kart Wii and a couple of games for their DSi consoles.

Having observed the singleton children of friends and family, I can honestly say that my girls are far better at sharing their belongings than other children.  I believe this has a lot to do with them being twins and having to share everything from such a young age (even Mummy’s time).  However, I do give credit to their good behaviour too.

You can read my short one minute post on my twin daughters’ relationship here:

One Minute Writer: Relationship