It’s a wonderful thing, being a parent – no, really, it is! At the moment a few of our friends are having/have had new babies and along with meeting the baby, giving it a cuddle and maybe even a bottle, come the inevitable questions of whether or not we’ll be having any more…
For those of you that don’t know, I’m a mum to twin girls who are now all grown up at the grand age of four. Which means that our house is already pretty full, our lives are fairly hectic and at the moment we’re preparing to send them out into the world to start full time proper school on 10 September this year (not that we’re counting or anything).
So I’m pretty assured that the answer to the ‘are we having any more’ question is categorically ‘no’. I love my girls to pieces and wouldnt change them for the world – but I don’t envy the new parents dealing with sleepless nights, bottle making, nappy changing, endless washing/changing clothes (for you and the baby!), and all the worries that come along with it.
It’s weird but you really do forget what it’s like – as your kids grow you grow with them so everything you learn about babies and what they need gradually gets pushed out of your brain as you learn about toddlers and then 2 year olds and so on – at the moment my brain is full of what 4 year old girls want/need/demand!
Here’s the top things we’re currently facing in our house:
Fashion
As many of you will have witnessed, our 4 year old girls have a very strong sense of ‘fashion’. Call it strong willed, call it individual – I like to think of it as chaotic genious. You can try as a parent to guide them towards something that matches/co-ordinates even slightly but it’s no use. We’ve resigned ourselves to being happy if they have clothes on that are suitable for the weather and cover them up – spots/stripes/dresses with trousers and skirts with wellies are all fair game. At the moment Twin A is going for the kids of fame look, complete with leggings/headband.
Food
Ahh, food – are they getting enough/eating the right thing/eating too much? Argh. Our household has never been much good at food but, I’m pleased to annouce, this has been solved by the simple addition of gravy to every meal. Hoorah for Bisto I say (the low salt version, naturally). It’s transformed the girls eating habits from a staple diet of sandwiches/raisins/cheese/apple to eating roast chicken, brocolli, carrots, peas, even rice, pasta, stir fry veg, baked beans and potatoes – as long as there’s gravy on top.
Negotiation
Four year old girls are incredibly strong willed, and sneaky with it. Don’t get what you want from on adult? Why not try asking someone else in the sweetest/cutest/most irresistible way possible? They NEVER give in.
There’s also the problem of dealing with two girls who are, near as dammit, EXACTLY the same age. It’s deadlock. There’s no big sister/little sister thing to fall back on so it’s all down to deals, trades and negotiation in our house. In fact I should probably go into some kind of diplomatic role based on my experience.
That’s probably enough for now… the list is endless!
