Rainy day

Three girls, a day to ourselves, and pouring rain outside. Oh, what to do.
Let’s have a……

Spa Day!

Now bear in mind that two of the aforementioned girls have a combined age of 1 ½ so we had to be creative.

Firstly, to get in the mood, pink nappies all round (with the obvious exception of mummy's ample bum).



Then...

Crazypixie had:
Pedicure and manicure, although she insisted on having the moisturiser applied to her elbows and knees.
Warm oil head massage. No more embarrassing cradle cap!
Yoghurt facial. Granted, this was supposed to be lunch.

Tinyelf had:
Pedicure and manicure. She obviously found it relaxing as she slept through it.
Then she chilled in the massage chair for the rest of the afternoon.

Mummy had:
A pixie massage. Unfortunately it preceded Crazypixie’s manicure and the jury is still out on the benefits of pinch therapy.

More rain tomorrow. I wonder are they too young for Bridget Jones Diary and maltesers.

Snapshot

Here’s a snapshot for my girls to look back on:

Tinyelf, at 6 weeks old;
You are growing and developing by the day and we are constantly amazed by your new feats.
You can now smile and you chat to us in your cooing language.
You are very alert and like looking at peoples faces,.
You love your sleep, like your dada, and love to snuggle up next to your mama and hold on while nodding off.
You are very patient with the enthusiastic attentions of your big sister. But when you’re tired, hungry or bored, boy can you scream!!!

We love you, you tiny little snugly elf………

Crazypixie, at 16 ½ months old:
Your new thing is spinning around in circles until you’re dizzy and then falling on your bum. This is your dancing!!
Your favourite book is your birdie book, A Bird Identification Guide, which we frequently have to sellotape back together.
You like to figure things out. You can now almost get your shoes on yourself. Well, you can get the right one on and closed but you haven’t quite got the left one yet.
You climb on all the furniture and instead of sitting in the bath you run back and forth.
You love playing outside and being nude. You would probably explode with excitement if we left you run around nude outside!
Every evening when Daddy comes home from work you squeal ‘Daddy’ and run to the door.
You have new words every day, and are starting to say little sentences, ‘bye, bye baba’ and ‘in bin’.
Your favourite toys are your Bear (‘B’), dolly (‘Baba’) and plastic cow (‘Moo’).
You are a great big sister, you insist on trying to hold tinyelf on your lap and read books to her. Sometimes mummy has to curb your enthusiasm as you try to drag her around by the arm.

We love you, you determined little pixie…..

From me to you

So, I got this Meme award from Sandy and, the rules are as follows:

• Acknowledge the person who gave you the award
  
• List seven personality traits about yourself
  
• Pass the award on to seven other blogs that deserve recognition for the personalities that they share with the blogging world.

Between compiling lists of seasonal vegetables for tinygreenpeople and feeding tinyelf who was a total boobie monster today (crazypixie was off adventuring with my parents) I did a wee bit of introspection and came up with the seven personality traits required (btw himself thought I should add Brilliant to the list – he’s saying all the right things at the moment).

Seven Personality traits of Jen:

Caring. I might not be great at expressing it always but I care deeply about my family and friends. I care about the welfare of strangers and animals and nature, and the wellbeing of the world in general.

Fair. I try to be fair and treat everyone with respect, especially my own children. I hate to see people being treated unfairly, and I particularly dislike people abusing power over others.

Determined. Try coming between me and something I feel strongly about and you’ll see how determined I am.

Bookish. I’ve always been a total bookworm and since I’ve become computer literate I am proudly both a nerd and a geek! A gnerd, maybe?

Mischievous. Or evil as some of my so called friends would say!! I like a bit of fun if it doesn’t harm someone else. On holidays with my brother we bought a load of garden gnomes and at night placed them in strangers gardens; there must have been some pretty confused people the following day.

Self critical/analytical. I am guilty of over analysis. I’ll remember something stupid I said 10 years ago and still cringe. I can’t watch the video of our wedding as I have such good memories of the day and know I would spoil them by nit picking.

Sensitive. I take things personally. I can’t help it! I may come across as a confident woman but there is sensitive little girl in here too.


So I’ll pass this award on to some bloggers I’d like to know more about. Some of the blogs I’ve only just discovered, others I’ve been following for a while. Some are due babies imminently so blogging awards may be the last thing on their mind but hey, when you’ve got the time guys.


JennyMac at Lets have a Cocktail
Mick at WannabeDad
Whoopsie Daisy at Living in a Toy Box
Danka at Dublin Mama
Miss Leslieanne at Life with a Little Dude
Hot Cross Mum
Potty Mummy at Potty Diaries

Thank you and Helloooo

Firstly thank you Sandy at Baby baby for the Meme award, I’ll compile my list and pass it on soon….


In the meantime, for your entertainment and to give my grown up girls an insight into their parents juvenile humour………an extract from a Skype chat between myself and himself while the girls were napping.

It’s just cut and pasted, I couldn’t be arsed adding punctuation.

Me:hellooooo
Himself: hi
Me: poor crazypixie is napping but very restless that bottom molar about to appear
Himself: molar: her 2nd molars
Me: canine...i need sleep
Himself: fffwww
Himself: feeww
Himself: or something like that
Me: phew? or not enough?
Himself: that'll do to
Me: poo maybe?
Himself: no: I'm fine thanks
Me: (smiley face)
Himself: to think, in 5 years they'll all fall out: teeth not poo
Himself: maybe I do need to go
Me: another quiet day at the office?
Himself: no, up the walls, just taking a minute out to chat to you!
Me: ah, nothing like five minutes to chat about teeth and poo
Himself: reminds me of a south park episode (smiley face vomiting)
Me: not the one where where they eat..........
Himself: ....through their....and.....through their
Me: eeewwwww
Himself: right, on that note best do some work
Me: (smiley face blowing a kiss)
Himself: (smiley face blushing)

The Solution.

I figured out what I need to make daily life a little easier. The one little thing that would allow me to be all and do all……………

An extra arm.

Surely this is possible. They grow human ears on pigs for goodness sake.

If that plan doesn’t work…….maybe a change of perspective is called for.

Me time.

Things I could (all the self help books say not to use ‘should’) do while the girls nap:

Wash nappies and clothes: it would only take a fraction of the usual time without my helper.
Prepare lunch and dinner: with nobody simultaneously emptying the cupboards and insisting on sampling everything.
Tidy up: without pausing for feeds or nappy changes.
Wash the dishes: while the contents of the bin remain safe from eager little hands.
Nap: in uninterrupted bliss.

Things I actually do while the girls nap:

Banter with himself on Skype chat
Check my email. It’s the only time in the day where I don’t have to battle crazypixie for control of the mouse.
Update my websites. It’s so much quicker typing with both hands and without a baby on my other shoulder.
Blog. By 10:30 there have usually been 1 or 2 blogworthy events.
Drink tea: slowly and without worrying about where to put it down.
Eat chocolate biccies: without having to share them.
Catch up on my favourite blogs. It’s almost like having an adult conversation.
See who’s up to what on Facebook. Hello outside world.

So…….we continue to live in chaos but I remain both sane and happy, and I retain the capacity to get enthusiastic about an afternoon of blowing bubbles, colouring, chasing cats, reading stories and doing housework ‘together’.

Now, if only they could co-ordinate their napping every day…..

another day at the office...

By 5 o’clock today this is the situation:

The sitting room is a sea of primary colours: blocks, bikes and books, dollys and drums, playmats and prams. I’m afraid to put tinyelf down on her mat in case I can’t find her again.
The back garden is strewn with discarded shoes, balls, sippy cups and buckets. All are the result of crazypixie, a two year old and a six year old having great fun.
Cat food scattered over the kitchen floor (this find provided crazypixie with a little pre-breakfast snack). The kitchen counter top ares piled high with vegetable peelings and dishes that, surprisingly, don’t wash themselves.
Tinyelf is actually sitting happy in her bouncer chair, but is wearing a suspiciously fresh set of clothing and smelling faintly of baby vomit.
Crazypixie is overtired, sore from teething and not impressed that dinner isn’t ready yet.
Like tinyelf, I also smell of baby vomit (slightly less faintly unfortunately) and after undressing in the kitchen I’m now wearing a tracksuit pants that is so unflattering that it must go in the next charity bag and a t-shirt that used to fit perfectly before breastfeeding boobs took over my chest but now is struggling to cover my midriff (classy bird, me).
I’m trying to put on rice for the dinner, while diverting crazypixies attention from her little sister, who she is patting a little too enthusiastically. This involves letting her rifle through the cupboards while I sing Old McDonald with thoroughly faked enthusiasm.

In walks himself, after a long day at the office.

He takes one look at me and what does he say?

‘You look lovely.’

And he meant it!

I think I’ll keep him.

Dressed to Impress.

Heading out to play football with mummy........in the rain....Irish summers are all about being dressed for the conditions!

Well, duh...

My local public health nurse said something very wise to me on her last visit:
‘We are all idiots with our first baby.’
How true……

I mentioned that tinyelf was having digestion problems and had a witching hour (or three) in the evening, well Infant Gaviscon has returned her to a cooing, snuggly bundle of joy (thank you Sandy for the tip). She still frets a little bit but is much easier to soothe………..
When crazypixie screamed each evening, we thought it was normal. My mother in law said that himself and his brother used to be the same as babies.
It took 16 months and the discomfort of tinyelf for me to twig that maybe, just maybe, reflux runs in the family…..

(for when you read this in later life, crazypixie, mummy is sorry for being an idiot)

Can’t you take a hint mummy?

A friend called over this afternoon with her tiny person and as we sat there chatting I began to wonder what crazypixie was up to out in the hall. A quick peek around the corner revealed the results of her labours.
In the middle of the floor were: my sandals, her sandals and her jacket that she had managed to extricate from the bucket of freshly washed clothes.
Crazypixie herself was sitting on her bike, which was parked at the front door and attempting to tie the straps around her waist.

Do you reckon she was trying to tell me something?

Thank you for the days.....

Dare I say it but things seem to have settled down here. Crazypixie is teething; canine no.1 has just cut through, but is dealing with it superbly. These are the first teeth that have cut through since she weaned so it is considerably easier on mummy too.
Tinyelf is now 3 weeks old and it seems as if she’s been around a lot longer. Her sister showers her with kisses daily and when tinyelf cries, crazypixie admonishes me, ‘Mummy (we’ve progressed from Mama), row, row…’ Meaning, sing ‘row, row, your boat.’ Mind you, ten minutes later tinyelf is often jolted awake by crazypixie shouting ‘boo!’ into the pram……..
Our days are on the whole very enjoyable. We don’t go that many places: we’ve made a trip to the doctor for checkups and vaccinations and we’ve recommenced our weekly trip to the farmers market for some decent food. We also make the odd visit to friends and family but otherwise they have all been coming to us.

Once crazypixie is in bed, you’d think things would be even calmer…but, oh no.
Tinyelf, like her sister at that age, has a witching hour (more like 2 to 3 hours). This involves general restlessness and crying and the ritual dousing of mummy. Over the last three nights, I’ve been pooed on once and puked on twice. And we’re not talking spit up here, but the type that requires both mummy and tinyelf to strip down completely (much to himself’s glee) and be power-hosed. All I can say is, I don’t know how the parents of colicky babies cope……10 mins of crying and we’re all at our wits end here.
I’m currently cutting dairy out of my diet to see if that has an effect of tinyelf’s windiness but it may also be due to the drops she’s on for thrush, or a myriad other reasons and we may never know………….. ah the joys of it all.

So my final thought for today:

Sometimes being a parent means having to scoop poo from your cleavage………

Wedding Regrets

We were invited to a wedding today. We couldn't go. Here's the email I sent to the happy couple.

To the Bride and Groom,

As you exchange marriage vows, we’ll be thinking of you while we change yet another nappy.
As you sip champagne and chat with your guests, we’ll think of you while we cuddle our girls and put them down for their naps.
As you eat a wonderful meal with your family and friends, we’ll think of you as we try to grab some dinner while ducking to avoid flying toddler bowls
As you share anecdotes and proclaim your happiness in speeches, we’ll think of you as we read Woof’s Bedtime Story for the 2000th time.
As you dance the night away, we’ll think of you as we pace the halls soothing our newborn baby.
As dawn breaks and you happily head to the bridal suite, we’ll think of you as we are roused by an enthusiastic toddler and a very hungry baby.

Have a great day.

Myself, Himself, Crazypixie and Tinyelf.

The New Boss

Crazypixie has a new word……..
‘No!’ accompanied by vigorous shaking of the head.
This means that combined with her heretofore favourite word ‘more!’ she can pretty much get mummy and daddy to meet her every whim.

At lunch today she pointed her imperious finger towards the middle of the table, “More!”
‘More bread?’ I asked
‘No!’
‘Cheese?’ I ventured
‘No!’
‘Tomato?’
‘No!’
‘Water, maybe?’ At this point, I was beginning to feel like a kindly but slightly stupid Labrador.

Image www.guidedogs.co.uk

‘No!’
‘Do you want olives?’
‘More’
Now I was confused; olives usually result in her pulling theatrical grimaces, fishing the hideous object that mummy has tried to poison her with from her mouth and flinging it with contempt to the floor.
I waited as she sampled my offering.
The olive elicited its usual reaction.
Yet she kept pointing, ‘more!’
Then it dawned on me (silly mummy), crazypixie had had red grapes earlier that looked almost exactly like the offending olives.
I, like the aforementioned Labrador who has suddenly realised the true meaning of ‘Fetch’, leapt up with a grin, scampered to the fridge, retrieved the grapes and presented them to crazypixie who bestowed a smile on me as she happily began munching.

I reckon in another year or two she’ll have us fully trained.

Awards, Puzzles and Naps....a good day.

By lunchtime today, 3 events of significance (well, in my little world anyway) had occurred…….

Firstly, I turned on my PC to find I had been given my first Blogger Award. Thank you Maternal Tales for the One Lovely Blog Award. I feel all warm and fuzzy and accepted!!

Then Crazypixie matched up all the animals in her puzzle (I’ve emailed Mensa).

And last but not least………

I had an hour and a half nap while both my girls slept. I will brag about it now as it may never happen again!

Yippee for today…..

And now it’s my turn to pass the One Lovely Blog Award on to five lovely blogs.
So here goes:
To my fellow mummy bloggers, campaigners, and recent mothers of two, Mammydiaries and Irish Mammy on the run, ladies you are great!
For her food inspiration and generally lovely blog Arty Feminist
To Mumunplugged and English Mum in Ireland, I really enjoy reading your lovely blogs.