'You've got your hands full'

BBC Coventry and Warwickshire radio interview about twins

A FEW weeks back I was interviewed by Mark Powlett on BBC Coventry and Warwickshire about twins.

Our chat touched on the following among other things and I hope you enjoy it:

• A unique bond between twins
• Sibling rivalry
• Do you dress twins the same?
• Should they be in the same class at school?
• How does a twin pregnancy compare to a singleton one?
• My crap maths

I know I sound a bit "eccentric" which is of course a polite way of saying well, a bit strange, but then I always do on the radio. I don't care as I've got used to it!

Press on the button below to hear the interview.

Massive thanks to producer Kate for sending me the MP3.

Multiple mayhem -- a carnival of posts about twins and more

PHEW. Thank you so much for all your support of this special week on You've Got Your Hands Full which has reminded me why I set this blog up in the first place and put me in touch with some fabulous blogs, some already familiar, others new to me.

If you can say one thing that unites all parents of multiples, well it's that they're busy.

Forgive me for stating the obvious. So I didn't know what to expect with my planned carnival. I've ended up with a dozen or so entries and so I'm delighted.

In all honesty this was very short notice so if anyone wants to make this a more regular feature, with us taking turns to host a monthly carnival, then please shout up and we can kick off an on-going Multiples Mayhem carnival?

The guest posts this week and the carnival entries have made me laugh and made me cry. I hope our small but perfectly formed carnival informs and entertains. 

Having twins? Relax and enjoy it by Young Mummy

Photo by Pat Austin on Flickr.

THANKS to the awesome Young Mummy for our latest guest post all about the trials and tribulations of having twins. Her post has made me smile -- I' definitely became a chilled out mum as soon as was humanly possible after having my girls. There just weren't enough hours in the day to be anything else!

MY mum commented the other day that I’m more like a second-time mum, rather than the first-time mum I really am, writes Young Mummy.

She doesn’t mean I’m some kind of parenting genius, just that I’m quite laid-back as a mother. And she puts this down to having twins.

Rosie Scribble and LivingwithKids welcome Twins, Triplets & More blog tour

THANKS to Rosie Scribble for letting me set up my stall today where I focus on a mum of twins and her story of post natal depression. I hope by spreading the word about the new free/subsidised help on offer from Tamba, word can reach those expectant mums who could most benefit so they can learn that support is out there.

Thanks also to Liz at LivingwithKids who published a guest post from me yesterday, with some facts and figures about twins. I know when I was expecting, I had my eyes opened and a "learning curve" has continued ever since.

Coming tomorrow is another pit-stop in the "tour" and a guest post here from the brilliant Fourdownmumtogo.

So you think you know about twins?

 

THIS is the first guest post in a special week of multiple birth inspired topics. So it's a big welcome to Harriet from the much admired Is there a Plan B? blog which charts the trials and tribulations of shifting from being a London lawyer to a stay at home mum of three in Scotland.  

Her post made me laugh out loud. When I read about some of the questions she has been asked, it takes me back a bit. So, thank you very much Harriet and now it's over to her...

“Goodness, you’ve got your hands full!”
Thank you to Linda for hosting this week of multiple birth inspired posts and for her support of Tamba,

This is a post about about twins. And more precisely about the stuff everyone thinks they know about twins. 

And the stuff everyone says to mothers of twins (I’ve got A and S, who are eighteen months old and identical as well as 3-year-old L). 

And  about the stuff, that sometimes we wish they wouldn’t.

Twins, Triplets and More week 2010: Guest posts, blog tour and carnival

I SET up this blog to offer information and support for parents and carers of twins, triplets and more. Years on, people searching for help with post natal depression still find us and I'm touched that I can be of help.

I've also a longstanding association with Tamba, the Twins and Multiple Births Association, being a member and former magazine editor and PR helper.

That's why when the hardworking people at the charity got in touch to tell me about their annual awareness bid, Twins, Triplets & More week, and the fact that they want to publicise free help for multiple mums, I thought it would be great to spread the word.

It runs from Monday, June 28.

Healthy eating advice from Liz Hurley? No thanks

LIZ Hurley is a beautiful and successful actress-cum-model-cum-producer-cum-organic farmer. Her face adorns advertising hoardings, glossy magazine pages and carrier bags. I'm a fat mum of two who longs to be five stone lighter. My face adorns scary rollercoaster pictures.

But I won't be buying her "guilt free" bars thanks.

Here's why. Two years ago, I jotted down the following points after a life-changing appointment with the nutritionist Lyndel Costain.

Poll: Who will you vote for in the General Election?

APOLOGIES if this has been done to death, but I'm interested in who readers of this blog, other UK parent bloggers and anyone else who wants to share, will vote for come May 6.

You can answer the questions above anonymously. If you want to explain more about choosing the "other" option, please do so in the comments, but please note I'd prefer if you could put your name to your comment.

Thanks. Maybe this will fall as flat as my attempt at Bombay potatoes, who knows.

Bloggers for Haiti - more than £1,500 raised already

From Becky at Englishmum:

UPDATE: The current total (at 9pm Sunday) stands at £1605! We’ve got enough for three boxes so far and a lovely message from James at ShelterBox:

‘ShelterBox would like to say a big thank you to the Bloggers for Haiti group. The money that you raise will help alleviate the suffering of people all over the world who have lost everything due to disaster and we are exceptionally grateful for your support.’

Original post:

So some eminently sensible person once said that nobody ever gets rich from blogging.  This, I fear, is true.  However, it does have some advantages.  I’ve been to Walt Disney World, Florida, for example, and I’ve been invited places and given things, and well, suffice it to say I’m very lucky.

The other advantage is that I’ve met (both in person and electronically!) loads and loads of really nice people.  My commenters, for example, are supportive.  They laugh at my jokes.  They sympathise when I’m miserable, cheer my successes and commiserate my failures. 

So you know me, right?  Well, if you’ve read even a tiny portion of all these thousands of words, you should have some idea.  I don’t ask for much.  I don’t even ask that you visit if you don’t want to.  But seeing as you’re here, I’d like a favour.  With several of my blogging friends, I’ve created a JustGiving page for the Haiti disaster.  I’d really, really like to be able to collect enough money to send one of these amazing ShelterBoxes.  They cost around £500.  That means that if just 50 of you give a tenner (and what’s a tenner?  A bottle of wine? – or two if you drink crappy ones like me), we’ll be able to pay for a whole one just on our own.  Multiply that by all the amazing bloggers dotted across the globe, and we could really make a difference.

ShelterBox is such a unique organisation, because what they provide is an entire rescue kit in a box.  Each box contains:

• A ten-person tent with privacy partitions that allow its occupants to divide the space as they see fit
• A range of other survival equipment including thermal blankets and insulated ground sheets, essential in areas where temperatures plummet at nightfall
• Life-saving means of water purification. Water supplies often become contaminated after a major disaster, as infrastructure and sanitation systems are destroyed, this presents a secondary but no less dangerous threat to survivors than the initial disaster itself.
• A basic tool kit containing a hammer, axe, saw, trenching shovel, hoe head, pliers and wire cutters.  These items enable people to improve their immediate environment, by chopping firewood or digging a latrine, for example. Then, when it is possible, to start repairing or rebuilding the home they were forced to leave.
• A wood burning or multi-fuel stove that can burn anything from diesel to old paint.  This provides the heart of the new home where water is boiled, food is cooked and families congregate. In addition, there are pans, utensils, bowls, mugs and water storage containers.
• Each box can be adapted to the individual needs of the disaster area, for example, following the Javanese earthquake in 2006, when some resources were available locally or could be salvaged from one storey buildings, the overwhelming need was for shelter – so ShelterBox just sent tents, packing two in each box.  The box itself is lightweight and waterproof and has been used for a variety of purposes in the past – from water and food storage containers to a cot for a newly born baby.
• And lastly, but I think just as importantly, each box contains a children’s pack containing drawing books, crayons and pens.  For children who have lost most, if not all, of their possessions, these small gifts are treasured.

So a small donation, then?  That’s all I ask.  And then I’ll feel like I’ve really achieved something out of blogging.  Even if it doesn’t make me rich.  Thanks xx

http://www.justgiving.com/Bloggers-For-Haiti

Oh and if you’re a blogger, please join us in promoting Bloggers for Haiti.  You’ll be amongst some serious blogging legends!

(Please note that if you prefer, you can also donate to the DEC Haiti Earthquake appeal and UNICEF by clicking on these links.)

Depression: My story, plus why you journalists should speak up if they are feeling down

THE following piece appears in this month's Press Gazette, but isn't online.

I'm posting it here, as well as on my blog for freelance writers, in the hope of further raising awareness that mental illness doesn't have to be 'dirty little secret' - even if when you are in the midst of it, the last thing in the world you'd ever want to do is tell people!

As someone who is fully recovered, I hope my experience and the advice offered here by freelance journalist colleagues, the NUJ and charities, may help others suffering the effects of a mental illness.

I'd welcome any comments at the end of the post, especially from others with similar experiences. Again, I hope this could help show those going through a tough time that they are not alone.

AS I sat on my bed at 3am, sobbing and contemplating throwing myself through the window, I knew I had to seek medical help. Despite thinking everyone would be better off without me, part of me was still rational enough to know I didn’t want to feel like this.