The one night my girls are both sleeping through and I manage to stand on the only talking toy on my way to the loo! There I was all stealth like and quietly tiptoeing to the bathroom when all of a sudden 'to infinity and beyond' followed by space invader noises. After an hour of settling, I am back in my bed but can't sleep. Aaaaargh. Dominique asked if I could plant another baby inside me as she quite fancies having a brother too. Its a no from me!!! I could happily go through the 9 months of pregnancy again, it's the 4+ years of minimal sleep and averaging 3-4hrs on a good night that I couldn't start again. as I've said before, I would change a thing but I wouldn't go back to start again.

I'm now looking forward to buying a cinema ticket and actually seeing the end of the film without having to leave halfway through because my 2 year old prefers to dance in the lobby than see the film we've paid for.  I'm looking forward to downsizing my handbag, which at present could be mistaken for a small child's ready bed. For now, I will remind myself that they don't stay small forever and will be a bit bigger tomorrow and for that reason, I will embrace my interrupted sleep, my sore foot courtesy of said noisy toy and the 3 halves of films I got to see. Life is short but it can be amazing if we stop and enjoy it instead of looking too far into the future.

I have come to the conclusion (whilst sitting and listening to Gisele scream down the monitor at me) that siblings 'take it in turns' to play up at bedtime.  I don't know if they secretly pull straws or just simply say 'its your turn tonight, I'll take tomorrow'.

Normally I struggle to settle my 4 year old with her demands of tickle scratches and wanting someone to stay with her until she drops off, which in previous times could take days!!!  Tonight, Dominique dropped off instantly.  Gisele however, is still going nearly half an hour in.

Gisele will be 2 this week and is finding new ways of telling me the best is yet to come.  We spend the first half of our lives wishing we were older than we are, we spend the other half of our lives wishing we were young again.  Its the same when you have children, when they can't crawl/walk/speak we want them to rush to those points.  Once they are there, we want them to go back to being non crawling/walking/talking newborns!

I am at an inbetweeny stage with Gisele right now because I wish she could tell me why she won't go to sleep.  It would make things so much easier.

The way I wish it would go:

ME: 'Gisele, why won't you go to sleep darling?'

GISELE: 'because I am overtired and this third tooth from the left really hurts Mumma'

The way it actually goes:

ME: 'Gisele, why won't you go to sleep darling?'

GISELE: 'MUUUUUMMMMA, uh duh duh doooooooooooo waaaaaaahhhh'

Still, one good thing has come of Gisele's playing me up tonight.  I have been up and down the stairs so many times now, I don't feel like I need a gym pass.  Thank you for helping me to lose the weight you helped me gain babies x

Stay at home Mumma - Wednesday 15th April

Wednesday 15th April

As a stay at home mum, I do sometimes get the luxury of a spare hour while Gisele sleeps and Dominique is at school.  Every day I dream of sitting down and enjoying a hot beverage with a nice crunchy biscuit....what actually happens in reality is that I run around filling washing machines, dishwashers, clearing tables, tidying up in preparation for Gisele getting up to make her next mess, do a bit of online shopping because rugby tackling a 1 year old into a trolley is just no fun and so the list of jobs goes on.

I can’t complain can I?  I could be stuck at work then have to come home and fit all of the above into an evening.  I do know I am lucky to be at home with my little lady and to be able to take Dominique to school and collect her.  This is a luxury some don’t have, so don’t get me wrong, I am truly grateful.  However, I do also wish sometimes that I got to pee without an audience or have a shower without having to leave it halfway through to split up a fight between my girls over who is using my deodorant for a microphone.

Dominique's brilliant question of the day had to be 'Mummy, do I look like Jesus?'.  I pointed out that Jesus was a man with a beard and although he wore a dress, that's where the similarities ended.  

Stay at home Mumma - Monday 13th April 2015

Monday 13th April 2015

Wow!  2 hours sleep last night so I don't feel like playing the grown up.  Today I want to be the stay in bed teenager.  Dominique (my eldest) started breakfast conversation off with 'Mummy, why do we parp?'.  I know this is a cop out but it was early and I was tired therefore my response was 'ask your teacher'.

Not that Dominique's teacher parps a lot but because I didn't have the strength to go into the depths of bodily functions over my corn flakes.  I knew the answer would promote the 'WHY...' train of questions after. I sat wondering if any mother had ever poured Bailey's over their flakes to help them through the day!

Came home from school run and waited for my online shop to arrive while Gisele played with her sticker book.  Sat on the sofa and the next thing I know, I was being woken by a loud bang at the door and Gisele shouting 'Mumma, Mumma'.  The online shop had arrived and Gisele (aged nearly 2) wanted to be her usual helpful self. 'Der da duudda Mumma?' she said as she launched a Tampon box at me from the first carrier bag.  'You've got yer hands full' the driver said.  Was he talking about the fact I have periods or children?

I thought he was staring at my nether region a bit too much and discovered why as we stood waving him off (a ritual my daughter will not go without).  There it was.  The biggest smiley faced sticker I have seen, right on my crotch!  Gisele looked up at me almost as though she was thinking 'that's what you get for falling asleep on the sofa Mumma'.  The icing on the cake was the statement on the crotch sticker which read 'I DID IT'.  I've never claimed to be a nun but advertising it with my daughter's stickers isn't a good look.