'You've got your hands full'

Happy birthday to my favorite twins!

Happy birthday to my daughters, who turn 5 today!

also blogs at Deep Muck Big Rake. Write her at becky_handsfull@yahoo.com.

Top ten things not to say to a family with twins, triplets or more on a day out

OR at any other time, come to that.

For anyone wondering what it's like to venture somewhere new with three babies, this video gives it you straight.

How many "you've got your hands full" can people say in such a short space of time? I counted four - and there are plenty more thoughtless comments besides.

But there are also some lovely ones. See over the 'page break' below' for the comments that are most inclined to cause upset rather than pride.

Read this family's wonderful website here. See more videos from multiple birth families here.

Career focus: Fun sessions are music to Cathie's ears

Cathie Flynn, far left, and fellow Musical Minis franchisees.

IF your children are still very young, you may be wondering if the day will ever come when you will return to work and not feel totally frazzled. In the first of an occasional series, mum of 10-year-old twins, Cathie Flynn, explains how she found a career path that fitted in perfectly with family life - and brings lots of laughter too...

Cathie is a franchisee for Musical Minis.*

This is a nationwide network of music sessions for babies and toddlers and each 45-minute session introduces music and percussion, concentrating on rhythm, song, sound and movement. A "world of music" is introduced to the children - from classical to modern, to encourage language development and improved co-ordination.

"Best of all," says Cathie, "it's great fun."

How much 'one on one' time do you give your multiple birth children?

HERE'S a picture of my daughters on a recent trip to London.

That's Emily and Melissa in the front and a friend they made one day. No I don't know what he's supposed to be either.

We went together as a family. It would never have occured to me that we should split up and head for different destinations.

So imagine my surprise, when they both returned from a school trip last week, to numerous parents asking with a bemused expression: "They BOTH went then?"

Did they really think one would go without the other?

Win a Wii with Singleparentdad.blogspot.com

FANCY writing a 120 word product review and bagging yourself the chance to win a Nintendo Wii? Head over to Singleparentdad's site and give it a go. Good luck! And while you are there, please stay a while and read this fabulous blog. It's a cracker all right.

British 'mummy bloggers' hit Disney

THERE are lots of things I have never done. Two which seem to surprise people are 1) watching an episode of The Simpsons all the way through and 2) visiting a Disney theme park.

Now at least one of those is going to change as I have been invited to Walt Disney World, Orlando, as part of a group of British parent bloggers, to see 'everything the resort has to offer.'

No, I can't quite believe it either. I've already blogged about what it's like to be leaving my children to ride a rollercoaster or six and now I'm also looking forward to meeting the other mums going along, later this month.

Sweet magazine feature on childhood obesity

THE UK is sitting on a childhood obesity time bomb.

Our youngsters are now heavier than they have ever been and are putting on weight at an earlier age – before they even start school.

Not only are our children more likely to die younger through conditions linked with obesity, they are also falling ill younger, with 1,400 children in the UK already known to have been diagnosed with lifestyle-related type two diabetes.

Overweight children are more likely to become overweight or obese adults and face increased risks of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and stroke. They’re also prone to developing psychological problems including depression and low self-esteem, and face bullying.

According to recent research from the Earlybird Diabetes Study published in the Pediatrics Journal, one in four children aged four to five in England is now overweight.

And the government has forecast that by 2050, 60% of men and 50% of women could be obese.

Book review: Twins in the world by Alessandra Piontelli

Review by Katrina Hill

As a recent mother of twins I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review Twins in the World: The Legends They Inspire and the Lives They Lead and wasn't disappointed.

From the moment I found out I was carrying twins I felt driven to find out as much as I could about the two little lives that would be entering the world and coming home with me. Whilst an expert with singletons, twins are a whole new experience and, quite frankly, daunting at times. Unless you have twins, are a twin or have a fascination with twins then you probably don't know about the complexity with just the basics of the genetics.

Would you plan to give birth to twins or triplets at home? Couple say hospital denies them "rightful choice"

WITH more than 300,000 views on YouTube, this video has a pretty powerful message.

Questions tackled head on by the producers include:

* So both babies have to be head down for a vaginal birth?

* So all twins should be born by c-section?

* So older mums have to have a Caesarean?

What's it like looking after baby twins? Read and weep (with laughter)

FOUR down, mum to go, is a fantastic, relatively new blog, all written from the "frontline" of raising four boys.

This post - filled with squirty poo and vomit (you have been warned) from twins Zach and Jonah made me wince and laugh out loud.

I hope you can find time to check out this wonderful blog. Way to go, mum of four! The post has made me remember a day I kept a diary filled with how many times I'd changed nappies and cleared up vomit.

It was fascinating as you can imagine. Perhaps I will dig it out, bet you can't wait.