I feel like I rush everywhere these days. I remember giving myself an hour to get ready for work in the morning. Now I can get dressed, eat breakfast and look vaguely human in five minutes. These days it seems like a never ending list of things that need sorting before I can leave the house.

Since I started the blog I have been meaning to visit our local museum. I remember going to local museums and heritage centres with my Dad as a child. I remember the stuffed animals and a strange handmade rug. I also remember feeling like those places were for me and I was so familiar with them that I was happy to be back there where I knew I was welcome. I want Thing 1 and Thing 2 to feel that way about their local museum and I know from the work I have done in the past that audience development starts young.

Having said this I have put off this trip, even though the museum is only a 15 minute walk away. I forward think all of my trips out of the house with The Things, especially when I am on my own. I knew the museum had a new entrance, which was up stairs. There was going to be a flat entrance somewhere but how was I going to get the pushchair to it? I had been think about what would happen once we were inside, can I fit the pushchair around the museum? What if Things 1 and 2 make a lot of noise and ruin other peoples experience? They get restless in their pushchair. Will I be able to get them out? Will they touch everything? I also knew the museum was on two levels and in an old building and couldn’t remember if there was a lift. So many things to think about. But I thought it was time to give it a go.

While I was feeding Thing 1 and Thing 2 lunch I had a quick look online to check that the museum was open that afternoon. It was but it was closing at 4pm. Slight panic. It was 2.30pm and The Things were just finishing lunch. That was not a lot of time for me to get Things 1 and 2 cleaned up, change nappies, get sun lotion on (vital I know but it takes ages with toddlers), get shoes on, get two toddlers into their pushchair and walk to the museum before it closed. So, I rushed and 40 minutes later we were standing outside the museum.

The flat entrance to museum was not far from the main entrance but I had to ring a bell to get let in. I waited a little while until someone popped their head out of the door and asked if I wanted to get in. Once inside a very friendly volunteers gave a cheery greeting and a quick over view of the museum and said she would show us to the lift when we were ready to go upstairs. Excellent. A lift.

I decided to keep The Things in their pushchair as we walk about downstairs as there was a door open to let in some air and they would have just run straight out of it. Things 1 and 2 were having a good look about as I wondered but they don’t like to be in their pushchair when it is stationary and moaned every time I tried to stop and read something. As a result I can’t tell you much about what was downstairs as I couldn’t stand still long enough to find out. Thing 1 and Thing 2 were quite interested in the statue of King Alfred which gave me a moment to read a few bits. I did think at this point that the museum visit would be over in five minutes if The Things wouldn’t settle, so we went upstairs. Here is where it all got better.

Upstairs there was a main door to a corridor which lead to various rooms. Perfect, as long as I was between Things 1 and 2 and that door they could get out and explore. I had a quick check and realised that the museum was already toddler proofed as the vast majority of the exhibitions were behind glass. Hurrah, The Things couldn’t break anything. So, I got them out of their pushchair and let them explore. Like most toddlers, they don’t walk, they run and they moved very fast around the rooms but they were looking and pointing and chatting away to each other in their toddler babble. They liked the exhibition of costumes from the local amateur dramatics groups and they enjoyed trying on hats in the dressing up area. What they enjoyed most was space. There was plenty of space for them to move about in and as there wasn’t anyone else in the museum I wasn’t worried about the noise they were making or that they might knock someone over. I had to keep a very close eye on them as they could still run out of the door and a couple of cabinets were at the perfect height for their heads but in general felt relaxed in the space and even got to learn a bit myself. I particularly liked the room with photos of the high street through the years.

I was feeling pretty smug that I had achieved an enjoyable visit to the museum with two toddlers but if you read my blog you will know that Thing 1 and Thing 2 enjoy a bit of mischief. While I was chatting to a member of staff The Things managed to pull a bike over and pull the back wheel off. Preying they hadn’t broken anything we ran over to check they and the bike were ok. Thankfully no harm and I have been reminded not to take my eyes off of them.

All in all it was a great trip. We bought a book in the shop on our way out about visiting a museum and we read it at bedtime that evening. We will be going back to the museum and hopefully exploring a few more as I know lots of our local towns have museums or heritage centres.

If you read my blog a few weeks ago about our trip to Tyntesfield you will know I am not only a National Trust member but also a fan of the work they do. You will also know that the only way I can take Thing 1 and Thing 2 inside a National Trust property is to have at least one other adult and baby carriers that a. make it easier to carry heavy toddlers, and b. ensure those toddlers can’t touch anything. Most of the National Trusts properties are full of items that are worth hundreds of pounds and I have even come across a priceless item at Stourhead. That is what makes Avebury such a unique place to visit.

In 2011 Avebury Manor was part of a BBC documentary called The Manor Reborn. The programme followed the restoration of the building and each room in the manor was created in a different era that was important to the house; from Elizabeth the First to the Second World War. This means none of the items are original to the building, so you can touch and sit on everything.

With this in mind Daddy and I decided not to take the baby carriers and put The Things on their reins instead. We could push Things 1 and 2 in their pushchair up to the door but from there we were on foot. We put their reins on and in we went. The Things loved being on foot. They ran from room to room, playing with things, looking at things, touching things. The Things really enjoyed opening drawers, playing with toys and touching. Did I mention they touched everything! They liked being able to touch things and I liked not being worried that they were going to break something valuable.

It only took ten minutes for Thing 1 and Thing 2 to run around the whole house and for myself and Daddy to run behind them. Its not the best way to get a feel for a place or to learn anything but it will have to do for now.

It turned out that the best bit about this visit was the gardens which are beautifully kept and plentiful. The Manor has a maze of walled gardens full of colourful flowers and neatly kept hedges. The best thing about walled gardens is that they aren’t easy to run out of so The Things were well contained. They ran and ran, exploring each garden, finding secret gardens and having a great time.

The bonus with Avebury Manor is that the National Trust own so much land around The Manor, including the stone circle. Avebury’s stone circle dates back to before Stonehenge and is bigger, plus you can walk around it and in and out of it. This meant space for a nice picnic followed by a walk around some of the stones, which was a great end to our visit. Thing 1 and Thing 2 had done so much running around that they crashed before we even left the car park and they slept well that night.

Whilst only having ten minutes to see a whole manor and walking at a fast pace for most of those minutes is not the best way to view and learn about a building, it’s best we can do right now. When we visited National Trust estates when The Things were babies we thought that we would have to avoid the houses once we had toddlers, so having a property that you can all explore is great. It will also get Things 1 and 2 used to these days out which we enjoy so much – just need to make sure they learn they can’t always touch everything (especially anything priceless!)

Months ago Daddy mentioned that he would like to see Pink live. He must have had a sixth sense because she announced her tour just a few weeks later. Tickets were purchased and one of my sisters booked to babysit. All we had to do was wait eight months for the gig.

Daddy and I don’t get to go out together very often. I don’t like leaving Thing 1 and Thing 2 unless they are with Daddy. We have only been away from The Things a handful of times and even then we have never been more than a 20 minute journey away. Wembley is over 100 miles from us. I felt pretty anxious from the moment we booked the tickets. I know lots of parents worry about their children when they leave them but I have good reason. The Things were my third pregnancy. The first two ended in miscarriage. As a result I struggled with the pregnancy worrying all the time that something was going to go wrong and I would miscarry again. When I found out I was having twins the worry doubled as I had to keep two babies alive. We were paying for scans every couple of weeks to try an ease the worry that something was going to happen. Then, 29 week in to the pregnancy I was admitted to hospital for suspected pre-eclampsia. While under observation Things 1 and 2 went in to distress and were very quickly born via emergency c-section. They spent six and half weeks in NICU and while I could not fault the care in hospital, it was heartbreaking having to say goodnight to our babies and go home without them every night.

So, I worry. I want to be with them so I know they are ok. This isn’t always possible, I work, I need time to relax and see friends. But I feel ok when they are with Daddy.

As it drew nearer to the date of the gig I knew I had to relax. I had seen Pink live before and I knew she would be awesome. Five minute before we were due to leave I was going through The Things routine with my sister, making sure she knew where everything was, when Thing 1 tripped over his bean bag and flew in to the square leg of our bed. I watched from the other side of the room and knew it wasn’t going to be pretty. I quickly picked him up and gave him a cuddle. At first there wasn’t even a mark on his head, then I watched as a very black bruise and a bump the size of a golf ball developed on his little head. I looked up at Daddy and declared that we weren’t going. I did think we might need a trip to A&E but he calmed down very quickly. I knew he needed to be kept a close eye on over the next 24 hours and no one was going to do that but me. So, a couple of lucky friends of my sisters got to see Pink. Apparently they were brilliant seats and Pink was indeed awesome.

Once Thing 1 had calmed down and we were sure we didn’t need a hospital trip we decided to go to the park and listen to the band. It wasn’t quite the live music I had planned for that day but I would not have enjoyed myself being so far away from Thing 1, worrying that he might get concussion. Both Things had a great time as usual at the park. They got to run around, dance and clap along to the band. There was the usual mix of ages, families and groups of friends all enjoying the music on a sunny day.

My children now come first in my life. The regular cultural activities that I used to enjoy have taken a back seat for now. I am enjoying finding activities to do with Things 1 and 2 and Pink will tour again, hopefully!

I have been going to Menorca, the smallest of the Balearic Islands, since I was three years old. Both of my parents have property on the Island and my Grandparents lived there over for ten years. It is like a second home.

The Island, like other parts of Spain, hold fiestas. Every town on the Island holds a fiesta dedicated to a Saint and the whole town, young and old, join in with the celebrations. There are parades, events, fireworks, food and Pomadas (a local drink made from gin and lemon). In Menorca, they have a unique aspect to their celebrations in the form of their incredible horses. The Island has its own breed of horse and the riders train from a young age. The horses can dance. Not just like a horse does in dressage, they can dance on their hind legs to great applause from the crowds of mainly Minorcans.

I can only have been about 11 or 12 the first time I saw the horses dance at a fiesta. I have to confess, it scared me. They are huge, and I had never seen an animal move the way they do. Plus, I did see a horse kick a lady! In Menorca, it is traditional to touch the heart of the horse when it is up in the air. It brings good luck. As you can imagine, its quite a sight to see people on foot running under the horses. I have since been to a few fiestas and this is the only person who I have ever seen injured and she got up and walked off laughing. It sounds like a scary nightmare, but you have to be there to experience it. The discipline of horse and rider is amazing and what sounds like chaos isn’t in reality.

While on our holiday to Menorca this year we decided to attend the Festes De Sant Joan in Ciutadella. I realise from what I have written above you may be wondering if I was crazy for taking Thing 1 and Thing 2, but the locals celebrate with their children; fiesta is a family event so we chose a day time parade to attend. I would not have attempted this without extra hands, not just Daddy but also one of my sisters and her husband joined us, along with my niece (6) and nephew (4). We decided to use the baby carriers as we were preparing for large crowds.

It was hot! I am not great with the heat and neither are The Things but what can you expect in Spain?

We eventually found car parking spaces and strapped Things 1 and 2 in to their carriers and off we went. In Menorca, they don’t have signs you can follow that tell you where things are happening, you just need to follow the people. It wasn’t long before we saw a man on horseback in the distance so we knew we were in the right place. We had arrived about half way through the parade of about 200 horses and riders, and the crowds seemed to be following them, so we followed the crowds. Unlike at any British event I have been to, there were no barriers. You can walk right up to the horses and touch them. The horses were going up to windows and people were leaning out of their homes to stroke them. Being close is amazing. They are the most beautiful horses I have ever seen, they look like they are made from velvet and they shine so much in the sun. The riders all dress in a traditional dress and some looked as young as 12. Both of The Things were pointing at the animals. They are just learning how to make animal sounds.

As we followed the crowds of people, I did get separated from my family but I knew we were heading in the same direction and Thing 1 seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere. We eventually came to the area where the horses present themselves. A whole bank of children were waiting on a raised area and each rider and horse in turn presented themselves, the more advance riders did have a short dance to rapturous applause. We were close at this point and with no barriers the people move quickly out of the way of the horses. I was concentrating hard on making sure The Thing strapped to my front was safe whilst also enjoying the moment and allowing him take it in. Daddy and Thing 2 even patted a horse. Thing 2 was over the moon and started making horse sounds.

Have I mentioned how hot it was? I was starting to melt, The Things were starting to grizzle and we were all thirsty so we decided to make our way out of the throng of excitement and find water. This was quite a walk with a hot toddler strapped to me and at one point I did start to feel a little feint. My sister came to the rescue and took over the baby carrying and we eventually made to a bar for a rewarding drink. We even let Things 1 and 2 have a wonder around the quieter streets with their reins. Reins is something new to me. It all looks easy but so far I have not successfully taken both twins out on reins. It does however work when there is one adult per child and my sister enjoyed a bit of auntie time following around a toddler.

This was the briefest of moments soaking up a bit of local culture and I did think was it worth it? The answer is yes. Ok, I nearly passed out, Things 1 and 2 only lasted about 45 minutes before grizzling, it was hot and sticky and all we got was a brief glimpse of the fun, but I love it. One of the things I love most about travelling is experiencing the local culture and it was everywhere. Small children running around, teenagers all dressed in their fiesta t-shirts, locals all sitting outside their homes. It’s great to immerse yourself in it, even briefly. And I hope Thing 1 and Thing 2 will grow up enjoying and appreciating how different and how exciting it is to experience something new from another culture.

I decided to leave it two months until trying Rock The Tots again. The Things are two months older and I know the power of distraction that snacks can have. I was looking forward to giving it another go.

On arrival I heard the best news ever. The lovely Steph informed me that they had decided to remove the stairs up to the stage as other children had tried to climb them at their gig the month before. Hurrah! I knew then that we were going to have some fun.

We found our twin friends as soon as we arrived and I made myself comfortable as Thing 1 and Thing 2 had a play with the instruments at the front of the space with their friends. The Things had already started shaking maracas and dancing before the gig had started.

For the first 20 minutes it was absolute bliss. Things 1 and 2 were right up the front dancing and playing instruments and generally being a Rock The Tots groupie. I got to sit and sing along and enjoy myself. After those 20 minutes The Things concentration did seem to waver and they started to wander around the space. They were still swaying with the music and playing instruments so they were still listening and enjoying themselves. It wouldn’t be my blog if Things 1 and 2 didn’t do something cheeky and about 10 minutes before the end Thing 1 found a door at the back of the venue which if pushed could open. The first time he did this he was so surprised that he just stood there and looked at me. Luckily I had prepared snacks and this was the time to use them. They only sat for a few minutes with their drink and malt loaf but it was enough to make them forget about the door that opened.

Thing 2 also found a little alcove by the side of the stage that he could tuck himself in to and have a bash at like he was playing the drums. I have discovered that Things 1 and 2 are usually the ring leaders of any mischief and they seemed to have a little following of toddlers who also wanted to squeeze in to the alcove. I found standing up and dancing with The Things kept them away from too much mischief, plus I do love a little boogie.

The gig, as expected, was great. This month was movie themed songs and I was very pleased that a few show tunes had made their way on to the song list. Steph and Craig have created a gig that is great for babies, toddlers and children, as well as the adults who accompany them. As a parent its quite rare to find an activity that I enjoy as much as my children.

Next months gig is Round The World themed and we already have our tickets.

We (that’s Daddy and I) have been National Trust members for a few years now. There are lots of lovely places to visit near us and its been great when we have been travelling around the UK to explore local heritage sites. When Thing 1 and Thing 2 were born we continued our membership and last year enjoyed pushing the pram around some beautiful sites.

At the weekend we met some friends at National Trust Tyntesfield. It is a big site, with a big house and lots of walking. I have taken The Things before but now that they are getting more mobile they are not so happy to sit in their pushchair all the time. Having four adults to two toddlers is perfect. That’s one adult to run after each child, one to push the empty pushchair and a spare. There is so much space at Tyntesfield and Things 1 and 2 are getting quite fast on their feet that I started to wonder how I am ever going to go anywhere without three extra pairs of hands.

We decide to give The Things a chance to run before we walked around the house in the hope that it might tire them out. Then we put them in their baby carriers to be carried around the house. Baby carriers are great if you want to explore an old property with babies or toddlers. It is so much easier than actually carrying a baby and at The Things age it means they can see everything and touch nothing. This is very important in a house full to the brim with old, priceless items. I got a break for once as Daddy and one of our friends carried Thing 1 and Thing 2. This was lovely as its rare I get to be hands free and I was able to watch The Things enjoying themselves. Exploring a historic property is definitely not something I can do on my own with Things 1 and 2. Old properties are not great with pushchair access, I can’t carry both Things for a long period of time and I certainly couldn’t stop them touching everything if I was on my own.

Tyntesfield House is beautiful. It’s a Victorian gothic mansion with turrets, high ceilings and big windows. I found myself thinking about what it would have been like to have this magnificent house as your home. When we entered the house the volunteers asked if The Things could be carried on the front so they didn’t knock anything priceless. This was fine, our carries can be used on the front and back. They enjoyed being carried about and having a good look about and being really nosey. They love watching other people. The adults got to enjoy all of this too. Both Things did really well for about 45 minutes, when they started to become restless. That was our cue to get out of the house and let them run, which is exactly what we did. We walked all the way to the end of the estate where there is a second café and decided to stop for lunch.

One of the things I love about going to a National Trust property is that I feel welcome, even with my energetic toddlers. There are two play areas at Tyntesfield and both cafes have a large amount of highchairs. National Trust cafes always have a children’s option for food and there are often activities for families to join in with. As we walked trough the house we were encouraged to find the llamas that were hidden in every room. I feel like the National Trust gets families and welcomes us with open arms.

As we were finishing lunch, outside with beautiful countryside views, it started to rain. It was only light so we decided it was time to walk back. It’s about a mile back to the entrance at this property and we decided to let Things 1 and 2 have a walk with the idea that we would put them in the pushchair when they got tired. They have only got little legs, they would never walk the whole way right? As the rain got heavier we put the rain cover on the pushchair and dressed The Things in their puddle suits. They were dry, the adults, not so much. Eventually Thing 1 got tired and let Daddy carry him on his shoulders. Thing 2 was still determined to walk. I love how independent he wanted to be and as a twin, being carried isn’t always an option, but did he have to pick a rainy day to decide to want to walk? It did take us some time and the adults did get wet, but Thing 2 was so very happy at being able to stretch his legs that it made it all worth it.

I love being a National Trust member. There are so many lovely places to explore, so much to learn about and so much space to enjoy. I also like supporting the trust in its amazing work preserving our heritage. They also do a mean scone.

I don’t need to join a gym. I just need to let Thing 1 and Thing 2 out of their pushchair and the running around commences.

Libraries are a bit more tech savvy than when I last used one. I got an email a few days before The Things books were due reminding me. This is great as these days I seem to forget just about everything. This time I planned to visit the library when there wasn’t an activity to see how we got on. It wasn’t easy to look at the books during our last visit as the children’s area of the library had been set up for the toddlers activity. I was hoping that during this visit I would get a look at the libraries usual layout and see how Things 1 and 2 got on with all of the books on offer.

When we arrived I was a bit thrown as there was a class of children from the local primary school in the children’s area looking at books. It seemed like a lot of children (they were being very well behaved) and I had no idea how The Things were going to react to them. As it happens this was the easiest part of the visit as Thing 1 and Thing 2 were mesmerised by the older children and copied them by picking up books up to look at them. The school children and their good behaviour was obviously a good influence on my two. One of the school children even recommended a poetry book for The Things.

A couple of minutes in to our visit Thing 2 decided to fill his nappy. From our last visit I knew I could change him in the children’s area, the library even has a changing mat to use. I thought I would wait until the class full of children left as I am sure the sight of a dirty nappy wasn’t what their teachers had planned when they decided on a trip to the local library. Luckily the class were only about for another five minutes (luckily no one smelt it either) and as soon as they were gone I managed a quick change before any other families arrived. So, with two clean twins we got to work on looking at books. I had decide this time I was going to look for some animal books. Thing 1 and Thing 2 have just started to recognise animals and try to make the different animal sounds. I showed them to the board books which are a safe bet with two heavy handed toddlers and we started looking at books. That’s when the running began.

Don’t get me wrong, they did look at books, they sat on various seats flicking through a variety of books, they went to the different boxes and shelves and had a good look, but they also ran in-between all of this. I had taken them to the library in the hope that it might use up a bit of their energy (It was raining so the park was a no go) but instead I got a full work out running after each of the Things as they took it in turns to make a break for it. At one point Thing 1 almost made it to the door before I caught him. He was really laughing.

After some reading and choosing books and lot of chasing toddlers about I decided it was time to go before they managed to out run me. Luckily we pass Coffee #1 on our way home and after that workout I thought I deserved cake.

Once we were home I had a moment to reflect on what a great resource our libraries are for the community. I have used the library before to borrow books for fun and to study but now, as a parent the library has opened up a whole new world to me and my children. They have such an amazing collection of children’s books. It can get boring as an adult reading children’s books over and over again so its great to be able to change them. But more than that the library also offers cheap DVD rental and I even found free audiobook rental. And on top of that they have the free storytelling and singing sessions for babies, toddlers and children, as well as a whole host of other activities for older children and adults.

We all know that reading to our children helps with their own reading skills as well as language development, listening skills and imagination. Plus it’s a nice opportunity to sit and enjoy time together. Libraries offer anyone, regardless of how much money they have the opportunity to read a huge array of books to and with their children. I am also aware of the environmental impact a library has on this earth. By borrowing more books we can reduce the amount that are made and the amount that are thrown away. In fact, once I started thinking about the environmental impact of libraries I decide to find my local toy library. Borrowing and reusing are the way forward. Libraries have been doing this for years.

I am a Take That fan. I have been a big fan since I first saw them in July 1993. I haven’t missed a tour since then and I think I have seen them live 14 times now. So, last year, when they announced their 2019 tour I was ready with my many devices and my pre-sale login. It took me three hours but I got my tickets and was over the moon. As an added bonus, my sister, who lives in America and who has been a fan too was going to be in the UK and join me.

With Thing 1 and Thing 2 safely in Daddy’s hands and my Niece and Nephew with Grandma we were off. The venue didn’t have parking so I had booked park and ride. As we pulled into the car park I pointed at a couple of women and said this must be it, they look like Take That fans. That is where the laughter began. Back in the day you could tell a Take That fan a mile off. They would have a fan t-shirt on, Take That jewellery (yes it’s a thing. I still have mine), TT signs all over them and they would be crying, screaming or fainting. So, how do you spot a Take That fan these days? Look for the sensibly dressed people. We did giggle as it seems that Take That fans have a uniform, jeans, t-shirt, jumper or cardigan for when it gets chilly at the end of the night and most importantly, sensible shoes. Converse, Vans, Toms or flat sparkly sandals. Yes, we have all grown up. We might still enjoy a live show but we want to be comfortable and warm. I can confirm that my sister wore converse, I wore Toms and we both had jackets with us.

When we got to the venue we checked out the toilets, food and drink. We were very pleased to find there weren’t big queues for the toilets and made the most of it. We even met fans in the toilets who had the same t-shirts us (hoping to see that photo on the official Thatters Facebook page). After eating we had a drink and decided not to have any more. We didn’t want to have to keep getting up to use the facilities. We might miss something. It wasn’t that long ago that we were seeing The Boys at Wembley when the rule was getting there early, getting as close to the front as possible and then no one is allowed to go to the toilet in case they get lost, or worse, we lose our good spot. Nowadays, we book seats and realise if we drink too much we will miss parts of the show.

 

Take That were as fabulous as ever. They put on their usual excellent show. They sound great live and there is something so lovely about such a large crowd united in song and dance. We danced and sang our way through the whole two hour concert. We even stood and swayed through the ballads, mainly because we were worried that if we sat down we would never be able to get up again. It turns out that even in flat shoes you can get a bad back from standing for too long.

After the concert we had the usual crush trying to leave the venue. Luckily us Brits are good at queuing and after some confusion we found our bus stop and joined the queue. While we were waiting for the bus we did see a woman a little worse for wear, her friend trying to carry her. My sister quickly said, she obviously doesn’t have to get up to any children tomorrow and there were a few laughs around us. Clearly, after the fun of the concert the fans (men and women, because men like Take That too nowadays) are already starting to think of how little sleep they are going to get, I got two hours, I was pretty grumpy the next day.

Thanks to Mummy’s love for Take That Things 1 and 2 now like their music. When I play Everlasting, from their latest album, on YouTube my twins will shout for more as it ends. I hope Take That are still performing live when The Things are old enough to go to a concert.

A lot has changed for me, Take That and their fans since they began 30 years ago but they are still awesome live and I still love a live gig. I just want to be comfortable, warm and near a toilet with no queues while I am having fun.

 

Our local park, like many others, has a bandstand and from the beginning of May to the end of September they have a programme of Sunday afternoon concerts performed by local bands. We started going to these concerts last year when we had such a lovely sunny summer. It was quite idyllic as we sat in the shade with our little babies rolling around on the picnic blanket or having a snooze while Mummy and Daddy listened to the music. We often had guests staying at the weekend so we thought we would take them along and show them our local park and enjoy some tunes.

As usual we took our camping chairs. Thing 1 and Thing 2 have their own mini chairs so we set them all out in the direction of the band who had just started as we arrived. It really is lovely on a sunny day having the park filled with music. Daddy had bought some cakes from the scouts raising money at the entrance so for the first number The Things sat and ate and maybe listened to some music. This was the most sitting down I managed all afternoon!

Our local park is beautiful and big. I usually take Things 1 and 2 to the play area, which is fenced off. I figured they can’t go too far or get in to too much trouble with a fence around them. The area around the bandstand is vast and the only fence there is around the outside of the whole park and there are many gates. The Things saw all of the space and ran for it. Lucky I had daddy and a couple of friends on hand to help out and between us we tailed Thing 1 and Thing 2 until the grown ups were tired and needed to swap (The Things did not get tired). It is not the most relaxing way to enjoy a concert but the lovely music and our beautiful park did make running around enjoyable. Plus, I know Things 1 and 2 were listening and enjoying the music too. As they were exploring the park they would stop, listen and have a little dance. They also got close to the bandstand at times and climbed a few steps to take a look at the musicians and were pointing at all of the instruments.

We all enjoyed the music, got some air and The Things got to use up some energy. There were so many people in the park enjoying the music from babies to older people. There were also lots of children playing, running about, riding bikes and scooters, so Thing 1 and Thing 2 weren’t getting in anyones way or spoiling the concert for anyone. We will definitely be making the most of these free concerts and its always a bonus at the end of an event when The Things are so worn out that they go in their pushchair without making a fuss. I will have to make sure I have at least one extra pair of hands and we will be leaving the camping chairs at home from now on. After the first five relaxing minutes all of the chairs sat empty.

 

 

I always belonged to the library when I was living back home in Essex. I joined as a child, used it as a student and even worked with the library service through several of my job roles. I consider libraries to be a community hub. Obviously it’s a great place to borrow books but nowadays you can also borrow DVDs, use their computers, join a group or even watch performances. So, I am ashamed to say that even though I have lived in Wiltshire for over four years I still hadn’t joined the libraries. But now that I have Things 1 and 2, I thought it was time.

I checked online what I needed in terms of ID to join and made sure I had everything with me. We can walk to the library which is great for us. We walked straight in and I asked to join the library and was promptly seen to. Our library cards were sorted out quickly and I was informed that they had song time sessions that morning, the toddler session was starting in an hour. Once we were all signed up I had enough time for a cheeky cake, which the Things ate most of, before heading back to the library to pick some books and have a sing song.

Lots of people make sure their children belong to the library when they are babies but my usual fears of trying to feed two babies and then trying to control two moving babies/toddlers had put me off getting round to it. Lately I have also been worried about the Things ripping the books. Thing 1 and Thing 2 love books. Like most children they love being read to and like to have a look through the books themselves. I even catch them trying to read to each other. The only problem is that they can be a bit heavy handed with the books and at times pages and flaps can get ripped. I have a book hospital at home and I am forever sticking books back together. So keeping the library books from being damaged seemed like a challenge.

We arrived back at the library about 25 minutes before the Toddler Time was about to begin. Plenty of time to pick some books. Pushchairs could be parked out the back so I had to walk The Things in to the main space (always a challenge with two). Thankfully they didn’t try running around the whole library. The children’s area was quite big so enough space for them to explore. I found the board books, which felt safe to let them look at and let Things 1 and 2 pick a few books each while I had a quick look through the other books. I was particularly looking for books with a bit of diversity which is a challenge with children’s books.

Once we had our books we picked a spot to enjoy the songs, the space had started to fill up. It was at this point that I discovered that Thing 2 had filled his nappy. Oh. Now what? Two toddlers, no pram and no toilet in sight. I had to pick up Thing 2 and hold a reluctant Thing 1s hand and go and find a member of staff. Thing 1 did start to kick up a fuss but as soon as a member of staff said I could change them in the children’s area we headed back and he was happy again. After changing the rather smelly nappy, and apologising to all of the strangers around me, we were ready and the songs began.

I was hoping, as The Things were doing so well with our weekly music and movement class that they would sit and join in without being distracted but the session was busy and there were other children wondering about so it was hard to keep them in one place. I tried not to panic as the session was very relaxed and my two weren’t the only ones wondering around. Plus, in general they were dancing away to the songs, just not by me.

All in all we had a lovely morning. It’s great to add a few new books to our collection. I know I get bored of reading the same books all the time. It was also lovely to join in with the Toddler Time session. I am planning to go back when it is quieter and see how The Things get on with looking at the books. I also want to try the story telling session to see how Things 1 and 2 get on with that. There feels like a lot more for us to explore at the library, not just books but activities too. I’m looking forward to being regular visitors.