Musings on a Life Quite Ordinary

There were many things I didn't know about being a parent when my family started and I'm sure there are many more I have yet to learn. One thing I definitely didn't realise until my children started school was that whatever time I had to myself at the weekend before reduced even more when they got into extra curricular activities. This past weekend, one of their activities was a sponsored 6 kilometre walk.  My husband did it last year, so this year was my turn.  It was also my 6 year old sons first time to do the entire 6 kilometres on his own feet. It is probably important that I mention I got home 2 hours before the walk having spent most of the previous 22 hours away from home on the hen night of my brothers lovely bride to be.  I spent approximately 16 of those hours, eating, drinking, chatting and being very merry.  It was fantastic, however, the persistent headache and permanent dry mouth didn't make what lay ahead any easier. We are very lucky to l...

Things They Say Every so often I like to revisit a post I wrote a while ago about the funny things that come out of my kids mouths.  Almost every day one of my three children say something that brings out a smile, a guffaw or if I'm really lucky, a tears running down my face belly laugh. Allow me to demonstrate: 6 Year Old:  You know how we have an extra chair at our table?  Well let's go steal your brothers new baby and put her in it, then the kitchen will look all nice and neat for dinner. 9 Year Old: Mum, were you alive in the olden days? Me:  How olden are we talking? 9 Year Old:   Before mobile phones. Me: (sigh) Yes 9 Year Old:  Oh my god! How did you play candy crush saga? 6 Year Old:  My friends mum has a new boyfriend, he buys him presents. Me: That's nice of him. 6 Year Old: Why don't you have a boyfriend? Me: Because I'm with your Daddy. 6 Year Old: If you got a boyfriend, I wouldn't tell Daddy. Toddler: I keeeeeeel ...

It all began last Christmas when the then eight and a half year old decided that she would like to have a sleepover party for her birthday in June.  Sure, we said, it's no big deal and in six months, she may have forgotten all about it.  If she doesn't, it's only a few kids on the floor in sleeping bags watching movies and eating popcorn.  Right? Hmmnnn. Closer to the day, it became clear that I may have under estimated the significance of the event.  Especially when other parents told me they were viewing our house as the guinea pig for the whole sleepover party scenario before attempting it themselves.  I was wished luck, patted on the back, advised to drink lots of strong coffee and told I would be seen when I came out the other side.  I became alarmed and rightly so. Now that I have in fact come out the other side, I feel it is my duty to help other parents out there whose daughters want to have all their friends spend the night.  Here ar...

9 and 1/4 years ago this week I became a parent for the first time.  It was terrifying, overwhelming, emotional and exhausting.  I was completely unprepared and believed I was going to be the cause of my baby spending years in therapy when she was older. Now a mother to three balls of energy I have chilled out a lot, because, honestly, what other choice is there?  I am coming close to the end of the nappy and sleepless nights part and have been reflecting on my family and the journey they have taken me on. There are good days and bad days, just like every other home.  I've stayed up nights worrying, I've pulled over and cried after a disastrous school run, headaches are a regular part of my life, I've reverted to hating homework again and many other things that every parent out there knows all about. However, just like every other parent out there also knows, every so often one of those little things happen that make my heart sing and remind me of just how luc...

I still think that my middle child has just started montessori, yet the other day while I was waiting for him to come back from his first ever school tour on his first ever school bus, I realised how close the countdown to "Big School" really was. He's just a little guy,  he still says schweep instead of sleep and crap instead of clap.  He doesn't know anyone in what will be his new class, what if he's lonely?  Or what if he's too shy to ask to go to the toilet and has an accident? What if all the other kids know each other and nobody talks to him? What if he doesn't understand that he has to look after his own lunch and if he doesn't eat it, he'll be really hungry by the time I come for him because it's a much longer day at big school than montessori. What if he doesn't like it? I know he'll most likely be fine and figure it all out as he goes, but I'm not ready for him to go.  I'm not ready to let go of that precious hour...

  When I gave birth to my first child, my grandmother brought me a box of dark chocolates called Black Magic; she told me I would need them to replenish my strength.   I laughed, but in the middle of the night in the hospital, while I struggled to feed my tiny baby girl, I reached for those chocolates and I can still remember how amazing they tasted.   I brought the last of them home and kept them in the fridge just for me.   A few years later when it became clear she needed help; my Granny went to live in a nursing home.   It was a lovely place, the staff kind and caring, but it was still hard.   Visits with her could be difficult; she just wanted to go home. A few months on and one day I brought her a box of Black Magic, her face lit up, she scoffed most of the box before we left her.   It became our thing.   I would bring her Black Magic, my kids who would have been watching the box in the house for days would get to eat some too. ...

I know I’m not wrong saying this was one of the longest winters ever, a dark, damp, cold, rainy, hail stoning, almost but not quite snowing miserable winter that over stayed it’s welcome and annoyed everyone. So now that spring has finally sprung isn’t it wonderful to see life budding all over the place?   There’s actual green stuff growing on the ground, I hear it’s called grass.   It’s beautiful. My interest in the garden in general and all things green started last year.   My daughter and I grew a tomato.   It may not sound all that impressive, but to me it was wondrous.   It grew big and round and I’m sure if we hadn’t planted it so late, it would have ripened and we could have shared it in a salad. This year I’m going for it again – growing things.   I do admit freely though that I am no expert and will take all the help and short cuts I can, so far that has involved my husband fixing what I’ve made a mess of, but I am optimistic and shall pe...