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Tree-Trunk Drum Fun!

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We love our country park!

After the adventure playground or the farm trail we go back through a woodland walk. Right at the start of it is a natural playground sculpted from tree-trunks: both artistic & fun!

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The taller trunks are actually drums. They have slits cut into them & in such a way that they make a different noise depending on where you bang them with a stick.

Jake & Ellie however are more interested in climbing & jumping!

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The game used to be that I had to lift them onto the first stump then zoom them through the air  - while saying “WEEEE!”, of course – to the next one.

Now that they’re so much more physically able they just need me to life them on then they jump off. Which is just as well as I have a bad back at the moment, to go with my dodgy shoulder!

After we’d done that & run around for a bit they discovered something new: a low-hanging branch to swing from!

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This is another new activity here. As with many other things they’d seen some older children doing it & so of course wanted to try it themselves. Not always a good idea, but this time it was fine!

They hung, they swung – and they fell! But they’re physically capable enough they have no problem doing that either.

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And they had a swingin’ good time!

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1-DSC00907I may have spoilt the mood slightly however by insisting on singing “I’m the King  / Queen of the Swingers, the jungle VIP” etc. to them afterwards…

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Bad singing aside, it’s a magical little spot & one we all enjoy

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Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

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School Runner

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I got 2 pre-schoolers walking the streets…I need ya, Dad. This is a bad one, the worst yet. I need the School Runner; I need your magic.

Not quite what Jake & Ellie’s pre-school teacher said to me. But it might have been.

And, to be fair, she hasn’t actually said anything like that to me at all. I just couldn’t resist appropriating a quote from one of my favourite films

- for I am now officially a School Runner!

Cue swelling spacey Vangelis synths while my spinner car swoops over city skyscrapers before descending onto the mean streets of suburban south Wales

In my head, anyway…

The reality is slightly different.

Jake & Ellie have been eased gradually into their new life as pre-schoolers: at first 2 afternoons a week, then 3, & now they’re up to the full 5.

To start with the Mummy & I were dropping them off & picking them up together; now we ‘take turns’. She likes to do it herself when she can, & she does. I can usually go with her on her days but we want them to get used to just 1 of us collecting them as she can’t go with me on my days.

They are really enjoying pre-school & are usually excited to be going. We just point them in the right direction & off they go; taking them there isn’t a problem.

Picking them up again afterwards, however…

I gaze with envy at the other parents walking along sedately, hand in hand with their little darling – or little darling & slightly bigger & more mature little darling – trotting along sweetly at their side.

I’m not sure what they think when they look at me. They’re probably too busy trying to avoid a flying Jake as he attempts to become the fastest 3-year-old on Earth. There’s a nasty chicane at the gate which is always trouble, then a long lane which is perfect for a little boy intent on doing his best Usain Bolt impression. The lane leads to a footpath then a busy road, & he hasn’t quite got it into his head yet that running onto roads is generally a bad idea.

There’s usually shouting.

Ellie on the other hand likes to dawdle. There are lots of little walls on the way & she sees it as her mission in life to walk on every one of them, very slowly, balancing with her arms in the air so she doesn’t fall off. Except she sometimes does. Some of the walls are in people’s gardens. “That belongs to someone else” is a sentence which just doesn’t seem to register in the world of a 3-year-old, or at least our 3-year-olds.

There’s usually shouting.

Of course I try to grab their hands on exit. They’re surprisingly quick, especially Jake, so that often doesn’t happen. Even if it does they’re also surprisingly strong & are experts at wriggling free.

We’ve tried wrist-straps, but that caused World War 3. They actually seemed genuinely hurt so we haven’t had the heart to try them again.

The one time I used the buggy, strapping them in, was during a freezing rainstorm where they seemed to accept my argument that we were doing it so I could get them to the car as quickly as possible. I’m not convinced it would work on a normal day, but that’s the plan for my next time.

I’d love to hear about the experiences of  other School Runners, especially other parents of twins. Is it smooth sailing getting them home or are yours little terrors like ours?

It seems to me to be a twin thing, but I could be wrong!

I don’t think there’s any real danger; it’s just stressful so I’d like it to be better! We always make it home more or less all in one piece, unless you count stress as an injury. Where, even if I don’t manage it, I feel like having a sleep – and when I do I hopefully won’t dream of electric sheep or unicorns ;)

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Best Friends Forever: A Magic Moment

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I’ve written before (here, and also here) about how Ellie seemed to be going through a ‘girly’ phase, how she’d told Jake that he was no longer her best friend, & that it was instead a girl from their little playgroup.  Jake seemed a bit sad when she told him, as he said Ellie was still his best friend.

On Saturday while I was in the kitchen making lunch for them, I heard this wafting in from the lounge:

Jake: “So I’m your best friend now?”

Ellie: “Yes”

Jake: “I’ve always loved you”

Ellie: “And I love you”

I walked in on a great big cwtch.

My eyes met with Jake’s & we shared a smile…

Definitely a Magic Moment :)

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Space or stuff – can I have both?

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I’ve written before about how frustrating it is here to have so little space; the house is fine for 1 or 2 people but add active young twins and it’s just way too small. I have to admit ‘though that with twins running around we found space to be a problem even in our old home. I expect we will too even after we move; we could always do with a little more space.

A lot of the things the twins had when they were babies I’ve given away or taken to charity shops. A lot of it is still in storage! I could really do with selling some of the larger things, but it’s difficult when most of it is in another country!

It’s not as if we don’t need the money. We’ve been paying the mortgage on an empty house for a year, as well as full Council Tax now: thank you Mr Cameron. I know that times are hard, and saving money is a necessity. These adorable little 3-year-olds of ours just won’t stop growing – I’ve asked them to stop really really nicely but they just won’t listen – so we’ll always need to buy new stuff for them. 1-DSC00565

With them having just started pre-school, for instance, we don’t need reminding that children’s gear can be pretty expensive. We’re always on the lookout for places where we can get hold of inexpensive stuff that will last ages so a competition where you can win loads of stuff has to be worth a look.

Bounty itself also seems worth having a look at, if only because of the community; there is a lively community board there full of great advice for both new & experienced parents, & lively debate. I’m quietly smug now that I can actually answer a fair few questions, as well as ask them.

Every month, Bounty offer a prize draw with some pretty amazing prizes. This month you could win £2000 worth of baby products. All you need to do is sign up to become a member of the site, which is easy enough.

With twins you need two of everything! That’s not just food – nappies, prams, cots. It’s double the trouble – but to be fair, double the fun. Mostly. Anything that could save me money has to be a good thing, so if anyone comes across any more competitions and the like that might be of interest to Dads of young kids just let me know!

Disclosure: in association with Bounty

Firsts

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Firsts.

We’ve had a few lately!

They seem to come fast & furious & excited within a child’s first year or so. Grabbing, sitting up, the first crawl, the first word, the first step, the first sentence.

Now that Jake & Ellie are 3 firsts may be less frequent, but they’re still there.

Perhaps they’re just less noticeable, & so seem less momentous. After all who, at any age, doesn’t have firsts? None of us have done everything, not even Keith Richards.

The twins do however seem to have spurts, & I think we’re in 1 of them now. I’m sure also that they spur each other on: if one sees the other doing something cool, especially if it’s something for which we praise them, they naturally will want to do it too.

Ellie’s getting pretty good at dressing herself. Recently she insisted on trying to do up her own zip; I tried to do it for her as usual, but she wouldn’t let me. Then only went & did it herself perfectly: a first!

Last Friday at Monkey Music we found that Ellie knows left from right: a first!

This week Jake has been speaking in rhyme, & using rhythm. “Red & bed: that’s a rhyme!”, & “Ellie & belly: that’s a rhyme!”. A first!

Ellie can do forward rolls, Jake hand-stands. Firsts!

Then, after pre-school today, this:

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Jake saw an older boy climbing & wanted to join in, then Ellie did the same.

Jake was actually very pleased with himself, believe it or not, & did a little celebratory dance, shouting “I did it!”, when he came down! Although they both got stuck & had to be rescued they really enjoyed it & kept going back. We eventually had to drag them away with a bribe promise of ice-cream at home.

I was very pleased! Many of my happiest childhood memories involve climbing trees.

I assume it’s allowed…

If not, don’t tell anyone, OK?

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A message from Jake

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Jake & Ellie brought back some great pictures from pre-school this week; this was one.

“From the mouths of babes & infants”?

Or their colouring pens, at least.

And I’m really pleased with how good with their colouring-in is now :)

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My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher

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My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
There was free milk for the kids and it was quiet
No-one went on strike
‘Though when Jake took Ellie’s trike
She cried “No mine!”& then tried to start a riot

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
A day of happiness & fun for all the babs!
Would be better I suppose
If the ball-pits weren’t still closed
And young Arthur didn’t pick at all his scabs

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
The big boat there’s for making play, not war
No task force to send out
And no missiles thrown about
Just Ronnie Ray-gun and a chewed-up apple core

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
Rules & regulations had been relaxed
Then “Get in line!” the Nanny stated
And the children there they waited
With low interest rates but minds still over-taxed

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
Boys were hugging boys and it was fine
Though Jake was quiet as a mouse
Because he’d bought his dolly-house
With a jelly bean & half a ball of twine

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
The quality of mercy was not strained
No buildings caught on fire
And no bombs to raise the ire
Just that naughty boy who wasn’t potty-trained!

My children started pre-school on the day they buried Thatcher
And I wonder what effect she really had
Standing up for independence
Are we all now her descendants?
Teacher went to pick a crony
Saying “That would be my Tony!”
So I asked my darling twins
But all I got was cheeky grins
Then hands held out to go back home with their loving Mum & Dad

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All Change! Jake & Ellie’s first day at school

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Yesterday was Jake & Ellie’s first day at pre-school. The 3rd stage of their young lives has begun: they were babies, they’ve been toddlers and now they’re pre-schoolers.

It was harder & sadder than both us expected I think. The image of them both walking away into their new classroom holding hands with their teacher, 1 on each side, will stay with me for a very long time.

They didn’t even say goodbye. I think they were expecting us to be there for the first few minutes at least, as was I. The other parents said goodbye at the ramp leading up to the door & didn’t go in with their children so we didn’t either.

I wasn’t even sure what size group they were in. At first I thought they were just in a little group of 4 newbies –  just them & their 2 best friends from Karen’s little group – but I have since learned that they’ve already joined the 20 or so children who were already there from last year. That’s a really big change for them! Especially as they join all the other, bigger & rowdier, schoolchildren when they go to play outside

They’ve been with Karen’s little group this last year as preparation, and I think it’s worked well. They’ve adjusted really well to it from spending most of their time with either me or the Mummy in their first 2 years, but this is a big step up.

And for me it feels as if I’m handing over control over what my children see & do to people I know very little about, & who are also strangers to Jake & Ellie.

“Trust”. That’s such a big word when it comes to your children.

Over the next few weeks they’ll gradually increase the number of days & hours they spend there until September. They are then expected to attend full-time; however we’re not at all comfortable with that: they’re just too young.

I don’t really know what they did there. With Karen we could always find out what they did, whether or not they’d used the loo, if there were any accidents (usually not!), whether or not they’d had a nap (usually not!), what they’d eaten, etc. About yesterday I didn’t have much of a clue! To be fair I probably just could have asked the teacher there as they seem very open. I asked Ellie instead, & she was a little vague!

The teacher did tell us that Ellie had had a little cry, very briefly, but not Jake: the opposite of what we had expected. Ellie told me that she didn’t like the teacher! It seems that she had been stopped from doing something she wanted to do & asked to do something else: which I later found out was that she didn’t want to line up! I think it probably had a lot to do with going outside with all the 40-odd older children too. I can imagine it being quite overwhelming. Ellie very often however is a girl who doesn’t like being told what to do!

I can’t imagine where she might get that from.

They seemed happy afterwards anyway, so that’s got to be a good sign. Ellie especially, as you can see, was in high spirits!

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You know how you try to get a photo of your darling sweet twins in their new uniforms after their first day of school, & expect then to be all cute & smiley? Very little ever goes to plan with children does it?

My children started school on the day they buried Lady Thatcher. And yes: there was milk there, and it was free.

It really does feel like the end of era, & a new beginning.

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It’s good to talk, but does it have to be now?!

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Warning: this post may contain traces of poo. 

The twins have quite a Roman attitude towards the toilet. Ellie, in particular, seems to see doing one’s business as a social event.

In the demarcation of duties between me & the Mummy the role of ‘Toilet Attendant’ somehow seems to have gone on my CV.  I think ‘Skilful Negotiator’ is very probably on hers…

When she’s on her throne Ellie likes to chat, with me.

I say “likes to chat”; I really mean “insists on chatting”. She can be very determined: “Daddy, come & have a chat with me! Sit there!”. It is my place to sit on the side of the bath. So we can “chat”.

And actually it’s alright; nice even. She’s mature enough & skilled enough in language now that we can have something like a “So how was your day?” conversation. With a little extra, sometimes uncomfortable, punctuation. And some slightly odd facial expressions.

I’ll ask her what she did today, & what she liked the most. And, after a bit of prompting, she can answer. I still really haven’t got used to my little babies, who for so long could only cry & gurgle, now having proper little conversations with us!

And as someone who isn’t naturally talkative or outgoing it adds extra demands on me, & adds to my skill set. And so is very good for me as well!

Of course the opposite is true too. When the Mummy or I have to answer nature’s call Jallie see it as an open invitation. They really can’t understand why we might want privacy.

Well we tweet from there don’t we? (Or so I’m told). And they don’t have a twitter account (yet) so why not? I guess.

Which reminds me: I really must get that lock fixed…

Wot So Funee?
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More Farm Fun!

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We managed to cram so much into our Easter weekend that I haven’t managed to post about it all yet! Especially as I think, with trying to do something great each day, we’d saved the best ’til last. On the Monday we went to Folly Farm Adventure Park & Zoo, in Pembrokeshire. This was one of the main attractions: 1-DSC00388-001 1-DSC00391

Peppa was there too of course. But actually I think they’d lost interest before she turned up. I think they’d sussed it. Jake said to us later at home: “It wasn’t George was it? It was a man dressed up”.* I couldn’t resist saying “Jake is a clever-clogs”…

So next we headed to the farm vehicle playground, full of all sorts of pretend heavy-duty things to pretend to drive, & miniature diggers you could move sand around from. They loved it  BUT IT WAS VERY COLD. Easily the coldest day of the long weekend. Although we would have preferred not to we’d have stayed outside if Jake & Ellie had wanted to, but by common consent we soon decided to see what the indoor attractions held for us.

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The trouble was it that seemed that everyone else had much the same idea: it was extremely crowded! By this time we needed lunch; just finding food was trouble enough, then finding somewhere to eat it even worse. We had to settle for eating standing up at the side of a walkway.

Jake & Ellie hugely enjoyed the trick mirrors we found after lunch; they’d never seen anything like that before & were fascinated 1-DSC00409 Then we found some more big vehicles to drive. But they had competition this time!

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“This is worse than the 7.50 to King’s Cross!”

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Jake, bus-driver!

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“Why do they never sit down where they’re supposed to?!”

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“Who are you? I’m the driver here!”

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“Ahhh, alone at last! Now I can put my feet up!”

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” I like tractors, I do”

There were farm animals there too, & small ‘wild’ animals in a separate building, but they were much less interested in them this time than when we visited last year. They were mad for the driving!

There was a huge indoor old-fashioned fun-fair indoors, which they loved even more, including a big, beautiful & ornate carousel. Unfortunately we didn’t get any good pictures of that. This ride was also a big hit: 1-DSC00435 1-DSC00438 Another special attraction was a children’s magic show. They had never been out to anything for which they’d have to sit still for any length of time so we weren’t sure how they’d react. But they loved it! The guy was very good, a children’s entertainer with a few basic tricks. They joined in with the “behind you!” stuff with great enthusiasm. There was also a particularly entertaining game of musical chairs between the magician & some Dads, which was eventually won by a man named Ziggy. Presumably a Bowie fan, or at least the son of one! Jake is such a sensitive soul! He cried terribly at the end, saying “I want more magic!”. He got to stroke the rabbit that had popped out of the hat, & that seemed to calm him down enough.

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Image from folly-farm.co.uk

As we were leaving it was the best we could do to dissuade them from going down the huge helter-skelter outside. Even the argument “you’re not big enough yet” wouldn’t work, as they made it by a matter of centimetres. Seriously, it was so high I would have been nervous on it, but they insisted they wanted to do it! They don’t wear nappies now so there was no way I was taking them on that thing… We somehow managed to use enough coercion &/or bribery to get them back to the car without any meltdowns. I think they knew they’d had a terrific day, despite the weather, and they went home happy. We’ll do the helter-skelter next time! Another great day to round off a great Easter weekend!

*He actually thought it was the magician who was inside the George Pig costume, but he had the right idea

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall