wee, wee, wee wee all the way home

So my afternoon went like this. At around 4pm, after a day of rain and lots of inside play, Missy Moo decided her clothes were annoying her and insisted they come off. I thought she'd be happy running about in her nappy but no, that had to go too so before I knew it I had a naked 17 month old running about. This was highly amusing to Monkey Man who kept pointing out that 'she was rudie nudie'....
There was lots of bum shaking and smacking, and loads of giggles. We have hardwood floors so I wasn't worried about accidents although truth be told I was hoping for a number one rather than a two if it was to happen. Missy Moo has been showing signs of interest in toilet training, but is yet to actually do anything on the potty or the loo. So my naked toddler pushed the potty over next to her chair at the dining table and then demanded 'tea'. Into her chair she went, rudie nudie and dinner began. Of course at this point my phone rang and it was a friend I hadn't spoken to in a while so I couldn't be rude and we attempted to chat through the chaos. Throughout dinner Missy Moo pointed at the potty and yelled 'wee wee' many times so I had to unclip her seatbelt and lift her down onto the potty at least 6 times, and then back up into her chair. While this was happening, Little Miss was yelling for food and Monkey Man was demanding refills and seconds. It was a noisy dinnertime and my phone call was soon abandoned. The toddlers were soon finished and let loose again while Little Miss continued to demolish vegemite toast. All 3 of our kids love vegemite much to my English husbands disgust, hahahaha!! As I picked up toast for the baby I was telling the toddlers over and over to stop running around with the potty, that it wasn't a toy. I may have even said 'someone's going to get hurt soon' and shuddered as I heard my mothers voice in my ears at the same time. Sure enough, there was a crash, Missy Moo was on top of the potty, Monkey Man on top of her and the potty was in two pieces underneath them and the wailing, oh the wailing. Little Miss was crying for her toast which she'd dropped for the 55th time... sigh. Calm was restored with a few cuddles, Missy Moo got on and off the potty at least 6 more times with still no action and just before we headed upstairs for bath and bedtime, I spotted the puddle in the corner. Yes Missy Moo did a big wee all over the floor, so I guess she was right that she did need to 'wee wee' however we've got to work on her aim. And I need a new mop head before we get seriously into this toilet training business. . . sigh.

domestic duties blah blah blah

It's a new week, and I'm determined to have a good week. After a good weekend with lots of family time and minimal whinging (from me annnd the kids), I'm determined that this week will be better than last. Today was a fairly productive day from a domestic point of view, I got two loads of washing done, one dried and if I had trusted my instinct instead of believing the weather forecast I would have got the second load dried too. Oh hum. Do the weather people ever get it right??
I got a few bills sorted, and although I'm still not upto date, I'm definitely making progress. I really do need a day to sit in the study and empty out old bills, shred them and just organise stuff. Anyone that knows me would testify how organised I am but looking at our study, or junk room as it currently resembles, those same people would question if I really lived here. I must get that room sorted as it's stressing me out. Unfortunately the prospect of doing any sorting in there during a week day, with two small helpers, is not an inviting one. More mess would be caused and my stress levels would be through the roof watching them pull everything apart!!
I went to Costco on Friday, in an attempt to master all things domestic, and loved it. I would have become a member but I had the whole red, swollen, weeping eye thing going on so decided I'd go again when I looked less freakish. Who wants to be stuck with a crappy ID pic forever right? Overall I found alot of items cheaper than normal supermarkets but of course everything is in bulk so as long as you've got the space then Costco is great. We have the space and I have no doubt I will save some money shopping there, especially as my three monkeys turn into gorillas and eat me out of house and home. It won't be my regular shopping place for a while yet, but definitely a place to stock up on cleaning products, frozen foods, nappies, personal items and fresh meat - if only I had a bigger freezer.

In monkey news, daycare informed me on Friday that Monkey Man is suddenly a chatter box... this surprised me as he chats non stop at home and has done since a very early age. I feel a bit sad I didn't realise how quiet he normally is at daycare, especially as he went fulltime for about 5 months. I guess he's making up for lost time hey? Missy Moo is also talking alot, her words have exploded and her current favourite is NO, said many many times a day and with alot of attitude. She also tells me there is 'mess', and takes me to it, and waits there til I clean it up. Cute at first, but mainly draining especially when she insists on making so much MESS at every mealtime! Her little personality comes out more and more each day. Both toddlers are full of cold with lots of snot that I am told about all day, and also told to clean. Little Miss has had one of her overnight feeds dropped as it was impacting her day feeding and thus sleeping. Night 4 or 5 I think we're on and each night has gotten better, with less wake-ups each night. She's still not that interested in solids but we continue to offer. Monkey Man was eating a 3 course meal by this stage! From a parenting point of view, both hubby and I are pretty much exhausted. I'm not sure how long it's been since we both had a full 8 hours sleep, and I dare not try to remember as the reality would be quite disturbing. Today I tried to calculate how many nappies I will have changed by the time all 3 of mine are toilet trained. Silly really as I don't know how long it will take to train them all, and whilst it will probably be no more than any other parent of 3 kids it will be in a concentrated period. Today for example I changed 11 nappies between 6am and 4pm. How depressing is that? I have days where I wonder how I am going to get through, and wonder did I ever really understand what I was getting myself into. I also have days where I can't imagine my life any other way. It's all swings and roundabouts I guess, but that doesn't make the bad days any easier to cope with. As soon as you say you're having a bad day, someone pipes up with post natal depression and how you should talk to someone. Yes sometimes it would be good to talk to a professional. Most times it's just good to vent how you feel, and have someone pipe up and say 'I totally get it, and know how you feel'. And some days you just need to get it off your chest, have a cry and get on with it.

I had a nanna nap this evening and it's now midnight and I'm wide awake. I should be tidying that study rather than blah blahing online. Pass the chocolate someone?

what a week!

I can honestly say this week just gone was a shocker. I was tired, cranky, got my stupid periods and my kids have driven me nuts. I love them dearly but they are hard work and between the 5mo going through sleep regression/teething/hitting milestones/basically she's broken, and the fighting, screeching, biting(!??!), hitting, cranky toddlers... well it was a long week. If I wasn't so terrified of being alone with 3 under 3 and a hangover, I would have downed many a bottle of wine once 7pm bedtime was reached, every.single.night. I read an awesome blog post tonight about 'true confessions of a stay at home mum' and I really did relate to almost all the mummy quotes written. I really giggled at this one: At the end if the day, my needs are really simple: To be able to shit in peace. (Hallelujah) and nodded along, so so true and really an important daily requirement in order to maintain your sanity. Sadly it seems the more children I have, the less often this happens. If it's not a toddler wanting to come with you and look at your undies and/or poo, its another toddler who wants to bang on the door or unroll the loo roll, laughing hysterically, or the baby that cries when you leave the room - all part of the fun, remember my baby is broken right now. I go so far out of my way to avoid this fun that I've trained my body clock to do this daily function once they're all in bed for the night. Some things I just need to do alone.

I woke on Thursday with a nasty case of conjunctivitis, so now my looks matched my mood and I felt hungover, just for a bit of extra punishment! I was a mess, and that was WITH a nanna nap, which I never have. Perhaps that was the final straw for me? I shouldn't have had a nap? I preach that mums should grab a sleep when they can and everyone tells a new mum to sleep when the baby sleeps. Me personally I never have been able to, so on Thursday when I woke after 2.5 hours (!! wow!!) I felt worse than before I went to bed, nothing was achieved, the daily routine was shot to hell and my head was banging!! Kids up, life back to normal and when my husband messaged me to say he was on his way home I replied with 'thank god, I'm over today'... by the time he walked in the toddlers were screaming and fighting in the bath, ignoring me, my Little Miss was screaming in my arms from being overtired and hungry yet wouldn't feed for what felt like the 100th time that day. He walked in to me bawling, the kids all crying and I'm sure he wanted to walk back out and go straight to the pub. Thankfully he accepted the screaming baby I thrust into his arms and allowed me to go have a big cry in private. I still felt shitty, I felt that I was in this alone (I'm not) and that it wasn't fair. Hormones and exhaustion got to me, and I crumbled. Days like that I doubt my ability to cope with this stay at home mum gig and wonder if it's really worth it. Then I find out the yellow wiggle I loved, I mean my kids loved, is being replaced... and replaced by an older, uglier, creepy looking guy, well this was the icing on my already burnt and crusty cake. Listening to the wiggles over and over was made alot easier when Sam's voice was there, he was 20 years younger than the others and can actually sing and even dance. He's been shafted royally and I've read many blogs, articles etc on the subject. Mummies everywhere are pissed the good looking wiggle is gone, and the fallout over the way he's been treated is huge. Poor Sam, thinking about it all, I think he had a worse week than I did. Maybe I'll just put it down to a bad week and think positively for a better shot this week.

5 under 4, yes really.

Before anyone gets excited, or texts me with a million questions, I am NOT pregnant, and I am definitely not pregnant with twins. Oh dear gawd my reaction to news like that would be loud and contain many, many swear words!! No, we spent the weekend with 5 kids under 4 at our house as we had friends visit from interstate. Last time we saw these friends none of us had any kids so to go from 0 to 5 in three years, well we've been busy to say the least! It was a hectic weekend, it certainly gave me a taste of having a big(ger) family and I'm pleased to report that I'm happy with my lot in life. Our kids played well together, with only a few tiffs and tantys thrown in and considering their ages those were to be expected. Any tiny feelings of 'maybe one more baby' were squashed, quicksmart! We took them to see the Wiggles exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum and what a great time we had. The kids were able to run free and play with so much stuff, it was very interactive and really well laid out for little kids. I couldn't help but laugh watching Missy Moo dance with Henry the Octopus and get scared by the adult size Wags the Dog and Dorothy the Dinosaur. Monkey Man was straight into it and was climbing onto and into everything within minutes. We left Little Miss at home for a morning with Nanny and this meant hubby and I were able to divide and conquer the toddlers - there was lots of 'I've got him, you get her' and vice versa. It was a rainy day, during school holidays and it was very busy although I expected worse. I can see how people lose their kids in settings like that though, the speed at which kids move combined with the crowds.... agh it hurts to think about it. Those Wiggles are smart cookies, or have some smart cookies working for them and it's no surprise they're making mega $$$. We probably won't see these friends again for another year and by then another lot of friends will have a 9mth old baby so we'll organise a holiday of some sort, meet half way in a kid friendly environment and watch the carnage unfold. By then we'll have 3 mobile monkeys on the loose meaning we better think of a divide and conquer strategy for then or we'll be in big trouble. Can you buy leashes for kids? Can I get my mobile number tattooed on to their bodies somewhere? Can I never let them out of my sight? I feel that 'where have you been, do you know what time it is?' anxiety kicking in way before adolescence.... I am in serious trouble with the three I already am blessed to have, no chance in hell I'm adding to the worry and stress with another monkey.

mind your own business

Today the whole family went on an outing to buy new shoes for the toddlers... sounds simple right? From the minute we got to the shops my inner voice was screaming 'abort mission, abort mission!!' and I should have listened to it. Being Sunday the shops didn't open til 10 which from a timing perspective sux. Little Miss is usually asleep at this time but we decided to keep her awake and drag her along. No morning sleep for her today. Missy Moo and Monkey Man can only tolerate shopping for a short period of time and like anything with them, the earlier you do it the better. A late start was a massive hindrance so we were behind the eight ball from the beginning. We get to the shops and there is a queue to get into this kids shoe shop, which still had ten minutes before it even opened. Bloody parents trying to be organised for the return to school!! I joined the queue with Monkey Man who funnily enough was on his monkey leash (animal backpack) while hubby did a few laps with the pram trying to get Little Miss to sleep before the shoe torture started. We waited in the queue, we took a number (yes really) and then Monkey Man proceeded to try and pull every shoe off the shelf and tell me 'get this one?'.... as much as I reckon he could rock a pair of bright pink piglet trainers, I wasn't there to buy trainers, especially not $100+ ones. What the?? Anyway, 20 mins or so in to the wait, and on my 55th 'no' to Monkey Man, all hell broke loose. He threw himself down on the floor and had the mother of all tantys. I thought he'd thrown some good tantys before but this was truly one to remember... Legs and arms flailing, back arching, head butting, screaming DADDDDYYYYY at the top of his lungs and the tears were flowing. I picked him up and copped the screaming in my ear, I told him multiple times to stop it, I showed him the scene in the mirror in an attempt to embarrass him - he's 2, what was I thinking??, I threatened a smack, I told him we'd go home. I could feel my face getting redder, the embarrassment was paramount. Nothing was working and the screams were deafening. Every parent in that shop, and there were alot, glared at me. No one attempted to help me, or distract him, they just glared and the feeling of all those eyes on me, judging, is not one I want to experience again anytime soon. I put him down, got down to his level and attempted to reason with him, which was not easy in a crowded shop. At this point an older lady, a member of staff mind you, said to me with attitude, contempt and tone, 'whats wrong with him???' I snapped in my head, and the words flowed. I responded with 'I have no idea, if I knew I could fix it so perhaps you could mind your own business'. I was so proud! I wanted to tell her to fcuk off, I wanted to hand 16kg of screaming, flailing toddler to her and ask if she could do any better. I had tears and snot all down my shoulder, a red and hot face and we were still no closer to bloody shoes!! I stormed out of that shop and plonked my screaming toddler down 'on the wall' of some random shop and told him I would leave him there and go home if he didn't stop. The tears stopped immediately. Don't know if it was the threat of leaving him behind (a new tactic) or the wall (which he hates!) that did the job and I don't care.
In the distance I heard my number being called. It was a matter of principle now, we'd come this far and I was not leaving without shoes. I marched back in there, avoiding eye contact with every person in the shop and put a whingy toddler on the seat for shoe fitting. Hubby emerged from the centre, I'm sure he'd been having a coffee somewhere thinking how easy this parenthood gig is and wondering what I go on about. Both toddlers were fitted, we chose from the only two choices of shoes available due to low stock and we left. We hurried to the food court to feed the growling beasts in the pram, and exited as soon as possible. All three were asleep in the car, looking innocent and sweet and totally incapable of such appalling behaviour. I wished I could join them, honestly a nanna nap would have been lovely. Instead I had a domestic with my hubby over how it was all his fault, obviously, and we drove home in silence. I'm still mad at him and really it was all his fault. I wonder how many parents who witnessed today's events have since talked about 'that child and his mother'?? Perhaps they too should mind their own business???

love thy neighbour

As I hung washing out this morning, I heard some things... Here in suburbia you often hear your neighbours so this was nothing unusual however it was more what I heard. I heard a Mum, and I know she was a Mum due to what she said. Her kids who sound similar in age, if not a little older, than mine were playing in their backyard. Something happened, it was time for something, protests were made or fighting broke out because next thing you know its full on war. Kids are screaming and the Mum is yelling. She tried doing the count to xyz thing, failed. She took the toy/thing away, failed. She threatened bed, failed. She threatened no more xyz, failed. She threatened a smack, failed. She said no, failed. Everything she tried, failed and my heart sung! I'm not alone! I'm not the only one having these battles daily. Of course I'm not alone, mums all over the world face this battle all the time. Sometimes though it really seems to me that I am the only one dealing with naughty toddlers who will not listen to anything I say. They're defiant little buggers when they want to be! This shouldn't bother me should it? It does though, it infuriates me and I'll tell you why. If they ignore me now, what will it be like when they're older and bigger? I dare say Monkey Man will be bigger than both hubby and I. What am I going to do when they work out there is 3 of them and 1 of me? I'm also worried they will be smarter than me, which won't be difficult but its still not a nice thought. Basically I'm doomed.

I listened to my neighbour yelling and felt her pain. I first checked it wasn't actually me yelling, that I wasn't having an out of body experience during toddler tantrums, that I wasn't floating above listening to myself go mental. Once I established that no it wasn't me yelling, and nor was it my kids screaming. My kids were all in bed for a nap, praise the gods! I then pondered how could I track this Mum down? Should I go door knocking and say 'hey, were you the one I just heard yelling at your kids? Don't panic, I'm not gonna call DOCs. I'm the other crazy loony tune mum in the neighbourhood, you may have heard me yelling at my tribe on more than one occasion. Let's be friends!' ..... how would I react if someone knocked on my door and said this? Hmmm perhaps not a good idea, especially as then she'd know it was me who yells at my kids. She'd know who Monkey Man, Missy Moo and even Little Miss were, she'd dream their names due to hearing them so often. We'd do the polite nod when running into each other at the shops but I don't think we'd be friends. When my kids are older and go collecting for charity or selling cookies or something, she'll give them with a knowing look and say 'I used to listen to your nutjob mother, yelling at you to get down/get up, stop climbing/hitting/throwing, telling you not to eat bird poo or berries off the trees or worms and bugs from the ground, to get your feet out of your mouths, that yes clothes are required should you wish to bum shuffle along the deck and preferably not the brand new outfit she just paid top $$ for. Your Mum used to yell at you alot didn't she'.

Noooo I think for now I'll just enjoy the anonymity I have, and love my neighbour from a distance. I'll hear her yelling and feel better about myself, that I am not alone in this motherhood gig. And perhaps bring my tribe inside before I yell at them, once I've shut the back door of course.

let's play: A to Z

 

Age: 32
Bed size: King (LOVE it!!)
Chore you most hate: putting away clean clothes

Dogs: none
Essential start to your day: Loo and ten mins to wake up. Rarely happens
Favourite colour: Black

Gold or Silver: white gold!

Height: 180cm
Instrument you play: recorder - hahahaha

Job title: Homemaker nawwww

Kids: 3
Live: Sydney
Mother's name: Sue
Nicknames: Liiiiiiza
Overnight hospital stays: 2x eye surgery, 1x thyroid removed, 3x baby deliveries

Pet peeves: too many

Quote from a movie: "That'll do Pig" - Babe.
Right or left handed: Right
Siblings: 1 brother, a half brother and sister, 2 step sisters... its complicated
Time you wake up: 6am on average, begrudgingly

Underwear: fan of the nanna pants!

Vegetable you hate: chinese mushrooms
What makes you run late: Kids or the husband, or both.
X-Rays you've had: way too many to count

Yummy food that you make: dessert stuff, rocked my first glazed ham at christmas. such a domestic goddess

Zoo animal: Monkey!!!

Working 9 to 5

As of yesterday I am officially unemployed. No more maternity leave, just good old fashioned unemployed. I'm not sad about it, its officially the next chapter in my life and despite finishing work 6 months ago, this is the finale. Ironically I'm busier now than I was in any job, ever. There's no smoke breaks, no coffee with the girls, no drinks after work because funnily enough, my job now never stops. If it's not a child I'm dealing with it's housework or domestic duties. And it never ends and it's alot more complicated than you think. Not just because I have 3 monkeys to care for and raise plus a house to run but the logistics of what used to be simple tasks is now up in the seriously complicated relm. Hell in an effort to be a domestic goddess I've spent many Friday nights doing groceries. Why? Because it's easier than taking the family with me, it's unfair on hubby to leave all 3 kids with him on his first day off and I've missed the online grocery delivery slots for the weekend. Oh and I don't want to spend all our quality family time running errands. Did you know supermarkets are surprisingly busy at 11pm on Friday nights!

Yes, yesterday marked the end of paid employment for me, and with that I am free, no longer committed to someone else's time schedules or demands. Or at least I should be, however it turns out I replaced one demanding boss with three. The hours are long, my bosses are demanding, there are no sick days or holidays and its certainly far from glamourous, I'm usually covered in vegemite, puke, milk, chocolate, noodles or fruit, geez somedays I don't even get a loo break... But the rewards far outweigh any negatives. Watching three little people grow from babies, witnessing their milestones, being here to apply bandaids and give cuddles, helping to shape their minds and give them an education, well all that certainly trumps any paid work I can think of. I'm lucky to be here, to be able to stay home. Financially it will be a little 'snug' and we don't have a plan much past the next two years but that's ok. I will be forever grateful for this time as I know not every parent has the luxury. And when I do go back to paid work, after motherhood has kicked my arse for a few years, I'll be able to handle anything thrown at me.

A little note for future me so I can remember how the kids were at this point in time:
Monkey Man is 29mths old and getting smarter everyday. He repeats everything we say, and has a vast knowledge of animals and things, not to mention knows every single train from Thomas the Tank Engine. I blame/thank daycare for this as yes we read books but the kid knows stuff we've never talked about. He's train mad and we all have to play trains everyday. Thomas is pretty much his favorite word.
Missy Moo is 17mths old (yesterday) and she too is getting smarter everyday. Shes's mastered the word milk which until this week was 'momo' and also book... Both are now repeated frequently. She loves to dance and is bopping away as soon as any music comes on. She's also decided she hates clothes and would much rather be naked all the time. She's showing interest in the potty but is yet to do anything in it. I wouldn't be surprised if she toilet trained before her big brother.
Little Miss is 5mths old (2 days ago) and has found her voice. She loves to squeal and shouts for attention, understandible really. Her first two teeth (bottom ones) are visible under the gum but yet to poke through. I've tried her on some solids a couple of times and she's not very interested although she did destroy her first rusk yesterday. Yet to sleep through the night.
The two older ones play together well most of the time with alot of fighting thrown in. They desperately want Little Miss to play too so it will be lovely to see that develop over time. They smother her with kisses and cuddles which has to be supervised as the line between affection and suffocation is very thin in most instances. They're just beautiful kids and my greatest achievements, EVER!

Sadie the cleaning lady

Do you ever feel like you clean all the freaking time? And do you wonder what the point is? I slaved away cleaning our kitchen from top to bottom on Saturday (yes I know it was NYE but thats how I roll)... I scrubbed cupboard doors, the fridge, the oven and oven trays, sink, the windows, the lot! I nested like I was pregnant which by the way, I'm not... it was exhausting! And within minutes my family had destroyed my hard work. What is it with men and their cleaning ability or lack there of? I watch my hubby sweep and mop around things? The thought to move things just doesn't occur does it? Watching him wipe the table down and not rinse the sponge out seriously revs me. He vaccuumed on Boxing Day before the family descended and I had to specifically ask him to move the lounges and vaccuum under them. He made a comment last night about how lucky it was he did clean under the lounge as he had to move the lounge to move the table so we could eat. Ha ha!! He was surprised to know I move the lounges each time. I probably should be grateful to have a partner who does help with housework. My husband is a great Dad and we pretty much deal with the house as a partnership. Yes I do more but I'm here more. There is a lot to do, between washing, folding, putting away, washing bottles and kids plastics, packing and unloading the dishwasher, cleaning bathrooms, floors, windows, carpets, arrrgh it never ends. Some days I do find myself humming that Sadie the cleaning lady song. Yes I would say I do the majority and although hubby does his fair share, let's be honest, I do it better *wink* (just dont tell him that!!).

I am still suffering post birth hair loss, where my shoulder length hair is molting like a dog. It's been a month now, and my cream coloured carpet is suffering. This is causing much more vaccuuming than I would like, and I'm over it! I'm lucky I had thick hair to begin with as I really think I'd be bald by now otherwise. My kids are even getting my hair on their cups and dummies, Monkey Man comes to me and tells me 'mummy's hair on this, get it off'.... On the plus side I've had to shave my legs once since August.... or maybe that should read I HAVE shaved my legs once since August, lets not worry about the actual need to shave them!!!

I spent the first day of the year laying in bed or on the lounge with the most intense head pain I've felt in a long time. I thought it was a hangover despite only having two drinks. When it was still going at 6pm I admitted that I was sick, not hungover, and toddled off to bed. That pain, oh my lord I do not want a repeat anytime soon. The next day I still felt bad but nothing like the day before. My husband had his first full 12 hours of being 100% in charge of the kids. He coped but threw his back out. So many things I could say, the irony of the situation! I won't bad mouth him though, I will just say well done on surviving and the kids are all happy and healthy so really does the rest matter? Not sure many men could handle 3 under 3 as well as my hubby does... would just be nice if he moved the lounge when he vaccuumed.

Different Strokes

Today we loaded up the kids and headed to our local pool. It was no simple act given the amount of crap we had to take and the simple math of it all : two adults + three babies??? Crazy? Perhaps but off we went much to the amusement of our neighbours I dare say given we were loaded up (with two bags, 5 towels, afternoon tea, sunscreen, hats, floaties, etc etc). Monkey Man was itching to get in the water. The child has no fear, of anything, so the first ten minutes were hubby or I telling him to wait, stop, no, not yet etc etc. Missy Moo as always was very hesitant. Little Miss decided she was tired and had a nanna nap in the pram which in all honesty I was grateful for. Not sure how I would have held her and Missy Moo. Monkey Man was in the toddler part of the pool with us, splashing happily and hubby and I turned to pop Missy Moo into her floaty seat. Within seconds Monkey Man was in the big pool, being held up by his life vest and a rather helpful 5 year old. He looked totally panicked but didn't cry and within minutes attempted to go back in again!!!! Meanwhile hubby and I are quietly having heart attacks! A helpful neighbour said she saw him heading in and wondered if he could swim?? Ummm he's two?? Can't blame anyone but ourselves and the 'what if' thoughts are still haunting me. Both kids, even hesitant Missy Moo had a good time in the end although I dare say the packet of tiny teddies at the end helped substantially.

Missy Moo has developed a habit of wanting her clothes off all the time, including her nappy. She's also showing signs of being interested in toilet training although is yet to actually do anything on the potty as yet. Monkey Man isnt interested at all, shows signs now and again but nothing consistent, and nothing on the potty or loo yet and he's 12mths older. Three kids into this motherhood gig and it still strikes me as odd how different they are. Monkey Man will be the kid racking up the frequent flyer points at the emergency room. Missy Moo will probably be toilet trained before her brother is. I'm really hoping her being a clingy and needy toddler means she'll be a dream teenager. I live in hope anyway.

And Little Miss? Well she's just placid and quiet although is currently 'chatting' non stop when awake and when she should be rolling she's much happier sitting up and standing up. Missy Moo was the same.... Not that I compare or expect them to be the same. I'm just saying....

Oh and we managed to be at the pool for less than 3 minutes before I was told 'you've got your hands full' !?!?!!!!?!!!!!!!