What a time to be alive! I wonder if I was the reading type and this story line popped up on the pages of my book would I think it far fetched? The lead character being a slightly disheveled mother of three arriving to collect her children only to be told that the schools where closing. Continue reading “Lamenting the Lockdown”
Every night when my kids lie down in their beds I give them a hug goodnight. I could have
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hugged and kissed them 26 times in the process of getting them into bed but that last hug is our thing!
As with most households bedtime is rarely a smooth affair. There’s pleas and cries and claims of immeasurable hunger on many a night. I try to stay calm. I try to have empathy for these emotions surging through their little brains but I’m not always successful.
When all else fails me I loudly announce to them that they don’t deserve their hug and leave the room. Harsh perhaps but effective. I promptly return to the room to be greeted with remorse, more hugs and then sleep.
Last night was another fraught journey to bed and I felt particularly aggrieved because there had been treats and extra screen time and I thought it was so unfair of them to treat me this way. Totally rational behaviour from a grown ass woman. I put them in bed and left without a big announcement and without the hug. Normally I’d be asked or there’d be tears but nothing.
I went to the toilet and thought I’ll go in now and give them their hugs. I hugged Kyle he apologised and then went to Finn. He was already asleep. Well I was overcome with sadness and said oh no he’s asleep and I never gave him his hug.
The tears flowed. I was distressed at the thoughts of him going to rest thinking that I didn’t care. Lads not a word of a lie, I was hegging. I kissed him till he woke. I needed to give him his hug.
I know it’s completely morbid and incredulous to think that some of us might not wake from our slumber but that is the truth. Tomorrow is not promised. I won’t be using that hug as emotional blackmail ever again. I realised I need it just as much as they do.
I feel like I didn’t really know the true capacity of my heart until I had children. Of course I loved my parents and my sister (most of the time). I’d even been in love once or twice before the kids came along.
Continue reading “I Have A Favourite Child”
We love a trip to the cinema but it’s an expensive ordeal. The kids club allows us to enjoy our movies at a fraction of the cost. It’s a fantastic service in terms of your purse strings. Enjoying the movie, well that’s a whole other kettle of fish altogether. Continue reading “Cinema Kids Club; A Survival Guide”
My youngest is four and it’s only now that I’m getting my head around the idea of taking them off for the day on my own. I was always just a little bit worried that the day would be a disaster without the support of another adult. Continue reading “Day Tripping : Sealife Bray”
Growing up I was mainly around women. I have one sister and no brothers. My Mam did everything with her two sisters and my cousins were predominantly girls. So when my first child was a boy, I was at a loss. What do I know about boys?
Kyle was the first boy born on my father’s side in over 50 years.
There was a massive amount of uncertainty about how I was going to raise a member of the opposite sex. Then number two Finn came along, another boy just in case you were in doubt and I had come to adore the idea of having two big strapping young men on either side of me as I grew old disgracefully.
The thing I found disappointing about having two boys was the selection of clothes available. You’d walk into any department store to three or four acres of girl’s clothes and one rack of boys.
Every boy within a 60 mile radius looked like they were members of cult that required a uniform.
Having said all that it was easy to make the boys look good. Nice jeans and a t-shirt and they looked effortlessly cool. Pair of kicks or runners as we call them down my neck of the woods, and they were like mini pop stars.
Then low and behold like a gift from the Gods I got my girl.
The house exploded into a maze of pink and tulle and I loved it. For Macy’s christening she got gifts of clothes almost exclusively. I had to get extra rails put in her wardrobe to allow for the selection of outfits that my 6 month old child possessed.
But wait….. It was all grand when she was teeny because the clothes are usually sold as an ensemble. They are matched up perfectly for you in advance so all thinking has been done on your behalf by some designer in China. As she got progressively older I found dressing her becoming more difficult. Now I’m no style icon, I have pictures from the nineties that would attest to that but I do know how to coordinate an outfit.
However, there were so many elements to this child’s clothes, I was truly overwhelmed.
I’d go to the wardrobe and pick out a dress that had stars on it.
Perfect!
Now I had to find a pair of tights to go with her lovely star dress.
Simple!
Wait…. the tights have polka dots on them. Now again, I’m not claiming to be a stylist but as far as I’m concerned I wouldn’t match up horizontal stars with vertical polka dots unless I was walking in a pride parade. I could get nothing to coordinate. A lovely cream and navy dress with a little pair of mary jane patent shoes
Glorious!
Do you think I could find a pair of cream socks to go with them? Not a hope in hell.
I longed for the simplicity of dressing the boys. I couldn’t handle the pink pig on the jeans and then the neon unicorn on the jumper. I found myself dressing her in plain jeans and tops because it was near impossible as far as I was concerned. Then the tide turned because as children often do she developed an opinion of her own, at about two and half. A couple of years earlier than I would have liked but she loves her clothes. She lives for a twirly dress and often likes to pair this with pink neon wellies.
I wish the people who design young girls clothing would follow the rule of looking in the mirror and taking one thing away before they put their items into production. The beauty of her getting bigger is when I have no other choice but to dress her like a cartoon confectionary company has vomited over some polyester, I simply shrug my shoulders and say…..
She dressed herself bless her!!!
Reality T.V is very divisive. You either love it or you hate it. I love it. From following families who have made millions for just being famous, to watching celebrities eat worms for our entertainment, I watch them all. Continue reading “The Reality Of Babies Being Born”
Even though I am now a mother to three lovely children I am still my mother’s child. Like all good children do, I like to give my mother a hard time. One of the distinct memories I have of growing up is repeatedly and without mercy giving my mother guff over the fact that she seemed to not remember many details of us as we were growing up. Continue reading “Memory Lane”
When the house falls silent because it’s child free,
All manner of noises crawl out to haunt me.
There’s a beep that pipes up every 30 seconds or so,
I lay flat eyes opened counting that’s how I know.
The radiator is clicking as the temperature cools,
Replacing deep child breathe and avoidance of drool.
What I hear so clear and loudest over them all,
Is the silence in each room bathroom,bedrooms and hall.
No crying for mammy to come fix my bed,
Or can I sleep in your room I was good like you said.
Luckily tomorrow the mayhem returns times three,
Then I’ll long for the silence and the noises that haunt me.
Money makes the world go round.
Money can’t buy you love.
Money doesn’t grow on trees.
We’ve heard them all before. The fact being that none of us can survive without money. Continue reading “Talking about Money with the Kids”
Blush, Belly and Babies 