Diagraphs and Innovation!

Help!  I'm no longer bringing up babies!  My children are growing up too fast!  My (only just) 4-year-old is talking about diagraphs and yesterday mentioned the word innovation!  So I guess it's clear we're definitely in the Primary school years now!

I remember when my daughter was 4 and came home from school repeating 'we must always endeavour and we must never give up!'  A sign she wasn't going to be 4 forever!

How have they gone from this

to this is about 5 seconds!

I am now quite used to them both being at school all day.  It's nice to actually get conversations in with people without constant interruptions, and half term this week seems to have come around so fast.  However, I do feel like I've blinked and missed it a bit. 

When I had my son, second child, I was determined to make the most of the baby stage, enjoy it, because they're not babies for long, just as everyone had said when I had my first child.  With the first child you're so exhausted and I personally found it such a shock to the system, that you don't necessarily enjoy it (not true for everyone obviously). 

I still call my son 'baby' even though babies don't talk about diagraphs! 

My daughter, when walking back from the Chinese takeaway with me on Friday evening, I said 'I don't know' to something but I said it fast (so that it didn't sound quite like I don't know) she questioned what I said, when I explained she said 'oh yes Mummy that's a contraction!'  I think we have different ideas to what a contraction is!!  She meant it in grammatical terms (I had squeezed the words I don't know together).

I was left wondering who was the adult!

This was followed by my son, repeating numbers back in Mandarin! The whole school had been learning about Shanghai apparently and my daughter was asking me what numbers I thought she was saying in Mandarin, 4-year-old answered and was right!!

However, I'm not sure i should be overly concerned at this moment about their quick aging as my son is currently head butting the sofa and laughing to himself!

Xx

Little Miss

So after a stressful day at work yesterday I walk through the front door to be met by little miss 7-year-old asking 'what's the solar system?!' 'What's the atmosphere?!'

Hold on, get me wine first!

Then, on emerging from shower, I'm met by little miss inquisitive,  with 'what's helium?!'

Whilst cooking dinner little miss constant questions (and little brother) start with 'what's a planet? And why dont we live on Jupiter?!'

All this has stemmed from little miss academic's latest school reading book by the way.

However, after dinner,  whilst loading dishwasher,  and thanks to BBC news,  little miss save the best question for last asks 'What's breast feeding?!'

I gave her the truth on this one and she followed it in typical little miss lack of concentration style with, 'let's play hide and seek!' Directed at little brother of course.

Have a good day everyone!
Xx

Baggage Baggage Baggage!

Since having 2 children the contents of my handbag is sometimes along the lines of a Mary Poppins bag!  If a hat stand and a full length mirror don't appear I'm surprised!

The other day for example I went to work with 2 plastic dinosaurs for company, and ended the day with a bottle of Cif Kitchen and a pair of marigolds in there (as well as the 2 dinosaurs!)

As a mother you can generally find something for every eventuality in my handbag!  Such as plasters, Germolene, headache tablets, cardigans for me and the kids, rain coats for me and the kids, 2 water bottles for the kids, travel mug full of caffeine for me, shopping 'bag for life,' umbrella, hairbrush, hair tie, compact mirror (not full length!) the list in endless!

The school run is getting more interesting for baggage now both kids are at school too!  Particularly on Thursdays when we have 2 lunch boxes, 2 water bottles, 2 book bags, 2 rain coats and a dance kit!  My smallest one looks like he might topple over before he reaches the classroom! 

I always thought that once a changing bag was no longer needed, that the baggage would decrease, and the need to take everything including the kitchen sink every time you went out would cease.  However, since this lack of changing bag has occurred, my handbag has just doubled in size!  And without a pushchair to hang everything on as well, I actually have to carry any shopping bags, coats etc, most inconvenient! 

Honestly, all my Mummy friends with younger children, you're longing for the day you ditch the pushchair, but imagine juggling a handbag the size of a small suitcase, holding 2 kids hands, a takeaway coffee and some shopping bags!

xx

What I am actually doing

Being a mother means that various rooms in the house take on different uses.

What the kids assume is happening:      What I am actually doing:

Kitchen - washing up, loading                 Trying to stuff chocolate or biscuits in my mouth
the dishwasher or washing machine.        without being caught!

Bathroom - using the loo, washing          Hiding from the kids!
my hair.

Bedroom (in the day time, although        Hiding from the kids!
given that 4-year-old can still be an
insomniac at times, possibly night time
too). - Putting washing away, changing
bedding, sleeping.

Garage - Putting the rubbish out.             Hiding from the kids!

The car - cleaning it.                                Hiding from the kids!

And finally, living room - writing          Actually I am usually drinking a coffee and writing a few
my blog, watching the same kids film     lines of this whilst trying to sit down!  Lasts only
they are, for the millionth time!               a few seconds usually!

xx

A thought for a Sunday evening

So the last 2 Sundays have resulted in tricky questions from 7-year-old.  2 weeks ago it was 'Mummy what's sex!'  Then last week it was 'Daddy how can that lady have a wife!'

Hmm I wonder what tonight's little gem will be!

Perhaps, 'why are we human?'  or 'what's the universe?' 

How about 'Mummy why is your body different to mine?!'

I admit I almost started this conversation with her yesterday by accident!  And as I sit here trying to remember exactly how the conversation started for the sake of this sentence, she's sitting right beside me, so need to resist the urge to ask her what we were chatting about!  Thankfully she's engrossed on the tablet so she isn't actually looking over my shoulder at this moment!

Ahh I remember now, she was asking if her little brother will ever be taller than her.  I said yes probably and as you both get older and to a point where your bodies are changing that's when you'll probably notice your brother may be taller than you.  'Your body changes Mummy?'  'Yes as you get older, not yet though.'  'You mean your hair gets shorter?!'  'No, you choose whether that happens (usually).  Some changes you have no choice over.'
Oh why oh why did I start this conversation!

It actually ended at that point as she got distracted by something else, probably little brother.

Little brother is currently sat on floor, wearing nothing but pants, laughing hysterically at something blowing raspberries on TV! At this moment the thought of him being older and taller than his sister, or me, seems so far away!

xx

Statements of Fact

I'm looking for a moisturiser that reduces the fact that I have been tired for years!

Someone should invent an intravenous drip that can be hidden under your clothes to constantly inject caffeine!

Every stage of parenthood has its challenges, and you will always think that the stage you are at now is the hardest.

Your child will always come downstairs mid-summer wearing their woolly hat and gloves, but come winter you can’t get them to wear them for love nor money!

Saturday night is party night takes on a whole new meaning!  It now means watching TV in your pyjamas and having a glass of wine once the kids are in bed, in peace!

Happiness is a new washing machine!

Love is your husband bringing 2 slices of cake home and saying, ‘we won’t eat them until the kids are asleep!’  (Evil laugh!)

Excitement is the anticipation of being able to eat a Pop Tart and drink an instant latte whilst watching your favourite American series, knowing the kids are at school!

You know almost as soon as you get up that you'll need to take a nap,  not just today, but tomorrow too!
Xx

Super Mum

Inspired by and written for my lovely friend Hannah.  Both my kids were at school and you were juggling your 2, don't worry it does get easier! 💜

Super Mum is a super hero without realising she is.

Super Mum is the mother who wakes up and decides it's a good idea to attempt to take both her kids to the soft play centre for a treat.  However things don't go according to plan, she never gets that latte she's been dreaming of whilst the kids play.  In reality she ends up somehow holding both children at the same time, one screaming because he wants to get down and the other screaming because she hurt herself and is refusing to get down! 

Super Mum is the mother who finally cracks and screams at the kids because they've repeatedly ignored her shouts of 'NO' for the last hour.  She then has to shut herself in the bathroom for a secret cry because she's ashamed of the way she screamed at the kids, and is also worried that the neighbours may report her to social services!

Super Mum is the mother who when she finally attempts to fall asleep at night, can be woken by a child simply breathing in a room at the far end of the hall way and where 2 doors are closed in between!

Super Mum is the mother who wants everyone to think her kids eat lovely lush fresh healthy fruit and vegetables for every meal, when in reality in an effort to get them to actually eat something (anything) it's inevitably chicken nuggets or fish fingers again!

Super Mum is the mother who considers becoming tee total every evening, and then the kids drive her to drink yet again!

Super Mum is the mother who single handedly cooks dinner whilst listening to one child do her statutory 30 minutes of reading per day for school, removing various sponges,  cloths, washing up liquid from the other child's clutches, trying to pour a glass of wine, load the washing machine and find the new bottle of ketchup all at once!

To all us Super Mum's, as one of my son's nursery teachers told me once, you should never feel like a bad mother, it doesn't matter how other people choose to do things, you do what's right for you and your family. Don't worry, we're all doing great!

Now as i sit watching them both run riot 45 minutes before bed time I'll multi task yet again and juggle my glass of wine and my cup of tea at the same time !

Have a good evening everyone. Xx