She goes one way, she goes the other!

So they've been inseparable for 5.5 years and today they both took their first steps into their new Reception/Gan classroom alone.  The classrooms are in fact next to one another and in the playground at the back of each classroom, is a very low fence separating the two areas. I am quite convinced that there will be plenty of chatting over the fence during playtime!. For me however as their Mummy it was a new phase in life and I have to confess that I had been having a few anxieties about the decision ever since that fateful day earlier this year when I filled in the application forms to separate them.

One of my main concerns is that one of them would have lots of friends in her class and the other wouldn't. Well thankfully the local authority got it right and they split the nursery they were in last year into two and so on the day when I discovered the names of the Ganim that they had each received, there followed a flurry of whatsapp messages, some of which I could barely keep up with, until I had compiled two lists of names as to who was going to be in gan with A and who with E.

The girls have delighted in telling me on many occasions over the summer, which gan they were going to, the name of their teacher and reeling off the names of the girls (certainly no boys were ever mentioned) who will be with them. DH and I on the other hand have had to really try hard to memorise the name of each gan for each child, and as for the names of the other children, well as the year goes on, I guess we will become familiar with who is with who.

Last week they each had to visit their new gan to meet the teacher and see the classroom.  Last Friday I took E. It was strange just driving with E only, and as much as I know they are individuals one of the first things I found myself telling the teacher is that she is a twin and her twin is in the class next door.  I guess it's a twin thing. It is so much of who they are.
On Sunday DH took A to her new gan.  Both girls in their meeting were extremely shy and reserved, stayed close to our side but coloured in the picture to adorn the classroom wall for their arrival.  I don't think their shyness had any bearing on their being separated from each other.

So this morning finally arrived and after much discussion it was agreed by all that I would take A into her class and DH would take E.  DH and I were definitely more excited and nervous than the girls were.

"Aren't you going to say good-bye to each other?" I heard DH call out.

They didn't.

I took A into her classroom, met the teacher, found her a chair to sit on with two of her best friends from last year and I left her colouring in hearts that I drew her on the paper. I took my leave. It was all rather quick and painless.

I noticed DH hadn't come out of the other room, so I peeked in. E was also colouring in. I went over to plant a kiss on her head and to say goodbye and she clung to my leg.  We had a quick chat with the teacher, looked at her drawing and I tried to leave. In the end the teacher took her from me and I ducked out of the room.  I knew within about 10 seconds she would also be fine.

This afternoon, I came a little early as a treat to pick them up, and collected E first as she was standing in the doorway and saw me approach.  A friend of mine,who also has identical twins in the same classes as our two, arrived at the same time and asked me, "Who do I collect first?" It's a tough decision for a Mummy of twins.

Obviously I got into trouble and A has insisted that I pick her up first tomorrow.  I guess it will go on like that all year.

And so they both had a great day. They had chatted at break-time in the playground. They had done different activities but had both received a sweet at some point during the day and they had eaten the same catered lunch and the best news for DH and I is, is that they are both looking forward to going back tomorrow.

Together forever?

The form has been signed, the comments written now we just have to sit and wait until May when we find out the names of the pre-school nurseries that A and E will attend next year.

And so it was that I confidently went down to the municipality to register A and E for next year in the school system.  I was going to do it online. I even opened the system and went through most of the registration process but there was just one doubt in my mind and something inside me made me want to fill in the forms with an official person for support.  So I went to the municipality, took a ticket, waited patiently for my turn, which fortunately was only about 15 minutes, and approached the clerk set with the unenviable task of registering hundreds of children for kindergarten and school.  I quickly explained my dilemma of registering identical twins for pre-school and she asked me the question I knew was coming - "So do you want them to be separated or remain together?".  Of course I want them to remain together, they have done everything together, they have the same friends, they love each other, they are best friends and are so happy together - was what I was thinking. So I calmly answered her "I need to separate them".  

The forms were both filled in and printed. Then they were stapled together and on the top of each form in red pen was written - "to separate".

I know we have made the right decision. Fortunately the three pre-school nurseries linked to the primary school that they will attend the following year are right next to each other.  Chances are their friends that they are with now will be divided between the three nurseries.  All my friends think it's great as they have a pretty good chance of their child being in nursery with a Yantin next year - and they don't mind which one they get - why would they - most people don't know who is who anyway. Which is why we have decided that the time has come for them to start being individuals.

I can't imagine what it must be like to get to nursery in the morning and the first thing the teacher says is "Who are you?" "Are you A or E". Next year A will go to nursery and be known as A and E will be known as E. 

I am sure it will take a lot of getting used to.  I am sure the first few mornings won't be so easy but it has to be done.  So now we wait to check which nursery they are placed in with the hope that each of them will be at least with a couple of friends they know.

Yesterday A and E were photographed by a lady doing a photo project on identical twins. As I look at the images (below) of the two almost identical faces and the gorgeous smiles, I know that there will be plenty of together time after nursery and I know the twin bond runs so deep, separating them for nursery won't really separate their love and devotion to each other.

The fun that is 5

I have been so busy over the past few months that I have neglected my blog post, but it would be remiss of me if I didn't use the occasion of A and E's 5th Birthday to write an update.

Life is always hectic and it's hard to take a step back and look at what is happening right now in our lives.  I'm not sure where the past five years have flown. As a family we have certainly made some major changes to our lives and it's pretty true to say that we are all in a very good place right now.

Eldest daughter is on the brink of turning 12 and celebrating her Bat-Mitzvah. Boy in the middle has found his place in his class and is integrating well into the Israeli society around him. And then we look at A and E.

They are a bundle of fun, a team, a continuous challenge and an honour to parent.

They have their best friend with them all the time. Bath-time is just so much fun when you have your twin to make a bridge so you can slide underneath.  Buying treats is brilliant as you each choose something different and then you can share two things.  And we can never just watch one episode of Charlie and Lola or read one bedtime story, they each have to choose one.

And every day they bring their best friend home from nursery and role play together for hours, play with all the toys and entirely destroy the playroom. The games are always extremely complex but they both know exactly which role they are playing and when I start telling them that it is actually time to have a bath and go to bed they tend to answer me with "No we haven't got to that bit yet, we are just going to nursery" or "don't worry Mummy it will end with bath-time and bed-time".

So now we move further away from the toddler years and with that Peppa Pig is making much less of an appearance in our lives. We tackled the final challenge of being dry during the night which we had put off for far too long. When you have one child it's not such an issue to double layer the bed and carry one sleeping child to the bathroom in the night before going to bed. But the thought of the possibility of two wet beds and the huge piles of washing of duvets had put me off for a while.
Anyway, so far so good and my washing hasn't increased that dramatically.

Their personalities are shining through more and more each day.  Recently they both received a present of some spending money in an envelope. They both opened the envelope at the same time and took out the contents. A took one look, threw the note on the floor and screamed "that's not a present" but E reassured her and said "No it is a present, we take this to the shop and buy things with it!"

And now I'm off to bed exhausted, worrying and feeling guilty about the fact that I have only made one Hello Kitty cake for tomorrow. Should I have made two?