Devastation In Oklahoma

I woke up this morning to my timeline on Facebook going crazy with the news of the F5 Tornado that had turned the town of Moore in Oklahoma to debris. Killing at least 91 people, with at least 20 of them being children, and leaving a ton more people (including children) injured. 

I don't usually comment on world news on my blog. But with the continued devastation that has been happening over the years due to crazy weather i wanted to say something as it always really affects me. I think this is because there is something so horrendous about the thought of being so helpless and I just can't stand the thought of it.

When freak weather strikes and natural disasters happen, apart from the run and hide approach - there is not much you can do. You are helpless as your personal world, literally, collapses around you.

Now, I know in the case of Oklahoma, tornadoes are not exactly an unexpected disaster, and with storm warnings etc they have a little bit of a heads up of the devastation that is coming - But really, I don't think even knowing about a tornado and having places to hole up, along with a 5 to 15 min warning can prepare you for devastation such as this. The destruction and loss of lives caused by this tornado is not something that the people of Moore will ever truly recover from. The toll is too steep. 

Tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and snow storms have all in recent years caused significant and life changing devastation. Taking lives and livelihoods and making sure that every person that they touched would never be the same again. 

I live in the UK so freak storms are not something we are used to. The worst we get is a a ton of snow and floods that ruin businesses and homes (which is horrendous enough, but still not anywhere near the scale seen in any other parts of the world, where occurrences like these seem to happen). 

lt is all too easy when reading the news to not really connect with what is going on in lands so far away - but I always feel my heart break slightly at the news of loss of lives and homes and businesses.  The world has always been prone to disasters and in an age where we can find out about anything happening across the other side of the world with just a click on your iPhone or through other various media outlets, it has become really clear how precious life really is.

Since becoming a mummy to my twins, I am always rocked by news stories, especially ones with loss of life and children, as for me it is too hard to imagine a day or a life without them. And for some of these poor families - that is exactly what they are having to do. 

I find that perfectly awful and my thoughts and sympathies go out to all the people that are affected. 

I don't mean this post to be trite, I just wanted to post about how I feel.

I really wish there were less disasters and a bit more love in the world. We all really need it.

And with that last very hippy-like statement I am off to give River and Indigo lots of mummy hugs and kisses! 

Stink Bombs!

I am going to touch on a subject that is not very elegant... Everybody does it (though I like to pretend I don't because it makes me blush) but everybody does.

Whatever you want to call it: Farting, bottom pops, bubbles (which is what we call it) or stink bombs (which is what we should call it!). 

Over the last couple of days the twins have been releasing the most lethal 'bubbles' I have experienced. They may be tiny, but I swear they could take out a whole room and put people in a sleep coma, fairytale-style for 100 years.

Now, that they are on regular food - instead of all the jars and baby mush, their internal digestive systems have taken a bit of a change of direction. Their nappies are a lot more interesting and they can now burp like sailors! But as I said before, they have become a couple of stink bombs. 

Last night was the worst. Opening the door to their bedroom, was like opening a door to a booby-trap, the gas was almost visible. It felt like a low cloud hanging above the cots, whilst they smiled peacefully in their sleep. Suffice to say the room needed airing. 

I guess it is a bit like science really, we just need to find some food combinations that don't induce the lethal 'bubbles'. Though that combo has not been found yet. But as they both tend to giggle, when they let one go...I guess it is not a big deal. At least they are having fun - I just may need to invest in a gas mask! 

Head Touching - The Art Of The River Hug

My twins are super affectionate but they each have their different ways of showing it.

They are both all about the cuddles and they spend a lot of their time on my knee with their arms around my neck enjoying 'big hugs' (which is what I say to them when they run into my arms and get scooped up for some mummy twin hug time). 

Indigo is very forthcoming with kisses and will pout her mouth and look at you expectantly, or will hold onto your shoulders and land a big sloppy kiss on your face. Indigo kisses are always sweet and lovely, if a bit wet. 

River, however, likes to do things a little bit differently. He stands in your lap and holds your head with his hands on either side and touches foreheads with you. He quite intensely presses his forehead for quite sometime whilst smiling. 

It is lovely and different and his own unique way of being affectionate. It is also quite cool as it is a little bit scifi. I imagine that mind melding Vulcan-style could feel a bit like it, but even nicer as it is full of toddler son love.

They both have their ways and both are entirely scrummy. There is nothing like sharing the love with your kids. Everyday that I get to show my twins how much I love them is a day where I feel complete and very grateful that I have them in my life. Schmaltzy, but true :)

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream, The Review

I am quite girly when it comes to my make-up and potions to make myself look a little more presentable to the world on days when I am not covered in baby food and wearing pj's (so basically at the weekend) and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to try the new Clinique CC Cream. This is what I thought...

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Hydrating Colour Corrector Broad Spectrum SPF 30

I am a big fan of anything that can make my daily routine quicker and easier and this cream fulfils that need to perfection. 

It is easy to apply, it is lightweight - though it is has a thick consistency, which makes it easy to know that you have applied it evenly. It has a fresh summery scent that is delicate and invigorating and best of all it makes your skin tone, even, radiant and glowing. I was really impressed. 

I love how it only takes a couple of minutes to apply and roughly 5 minutes after applying, your skin appears radiantly teenage (without the blemishes). 

I tried it under make-up and it made my usual foundation smoother and stay on for longer, but I also tried it without and overall I would say wearing this cream, removes the need for foundation. It looks great without and it feels so natural that you forget you have it on. 

I would highly recommend this cream. It leaves your skin feeling soft and looking fantastic and best of all it shortened my routine, which is a must when you have twins constantly tugging at you, asking you to come play. This has become a permanent addition to my daily routine.

(I used the very light cream).

I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Network , a group of parent bloggers picked by Mumsnet to review products, services, events and brands. I have not paid for the product or to attend an event. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.

Twins 1, Mummy Nil! Why Won't They Eat?

For a while now, feeding the twins has been fairly easy. Breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a fair few snacks all down the hatch in a nice and timely manner with no, or mostly no issues... Until now!

For some reason feeding time is now a nightmare. Food is refused, heads are turned away, food is thrown on the floor and occasionally at each other or at me... It has become a battle to get them to eat anything... Apart from sausages and chicken breast (my twins, it would seem, are definitely not vegetarians)!

I'm not sure what I am doing wrong, or what has suddenly changed, but it is getting a bit frustrating and also they must be fairly hungry and that is awful as I hate to think of them with grumbly tummies. 

I feel a little bit tense and frustrated today :( hmmmm! 

Trip To The Zoo!

Last week we took River and Indigo to the Zoo for the first time. For the most part it was a lot of fun, though River spent a lot of the time a bit unhappy as he couldn't get out and walk around, like a lot of the other small people we saw everywhere.

The thing is though - he is just not there yet. He has had his try of walking and is now refusing to do it and is doing an in-between thing where he just walks on his knees... Hopefully he will decide that he is ready to embark on walking again soon. It must be so frustrating to see everyone else excitedly running around whilst trapped in a pushchair.

We did let him have a little crawl/shimmy around on his knees on a big grassy area and Indigo had a run around too (a little unsteadily in her new shoes).

A lot of animals were seen - elephants, giraffes, penguins, bush dogs, lions and tigers and the twins seemed particularly enamoured with the butterflies (probably because it was very warm inside the enclosure) and the flamingoes (probably because they were a lovely bright shade of pink).

All in all, it was a lovely day - though I think we might wait to go back until they are both walking properly.

Like A Bath, Only With Balls Instead Of Water

As part of my weekend of Birthday fun and adventure (yes I am another year older... Can you tell?) we took the twins to an indoor soft play area that had a ball pool.

It was so much fun. River got buried in the sea of multicoloured balls.

Indigo examined the balls very carefully with a lot of ooos and ahs.

And once they were used to the strangeness of being surrounded by soft (well kind of) plastic balls they decided to treat the whole experience a bit like bath-time (though with clothes still on, thankfully).

There was much splashing, both with feet and hands, so much so that these balls started whizzing all over the place. It was a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, they then decided that there were far too many balls in the pool and decided to empty it out a bit by throwing the balls, one by one, out of the pool. Mostly towards the table area that had people drinking coffee and eating cakes... And seriously my twins have good arms. Those balls travelled a good distance.

I have decided (after I climbed in and joined the fun) ball pools, sure are a lot of fun!