The cute car-ride comment

I want to share a rather funny comment my almost four-year-old little madam came out with in the car a couple of days ago.  Well.  The actual thing that led to the comment happened about a week ago when little madam, little man and I were on our way home from our weekly supermarket shopping expedition.  There we were, driving along, trying to get home before the ice-cream melted, when we turned into a street (where the speed limit was fifty kilometres per hour) only to find ourselves stuck behind a loony learner driver who, in his/her quest to pick up the rather difficult skill of driving a car, was doing less than thirty kilometres-per-hour.  Well.  Although I’d consider myself to be a responsible mother driver, who drives a responsible motherish car (a Subaru Forester...and not a turbo-charged one either) - and someone who’s given up their hooning ways and tends to stick to the speed limit more often than not - come on people!  I’m sorry, but even my car (which is far from being the super-speedy sports mobile I dream of owning) almost stalls if it’s forced to travel at a ridiculous thirty-kilometres per hour!  So, naturally, my first instinct was to mutter a few words of disgust at the fact that I was now forced to slow the car to a speed that I could almost walk faster than. 

Now little madam - who was sitting quietly in the back at the time and doesn’t normally go a single moment without questioning everything that goes on around her (she’s going through the “what” and “why” stage at the moment) - was no way going to let my muttering pass without asking, “What’s wrong mummy?”  After realising that my muttering had drawn the attention of little madam, and suddenly becoming aware of the horrible and impatient behaviour I was displaying, I sighed and then explained to little madam that the person driving the car in front of us – the one with the big yellow “L” sign attached to the back – was learning to drive.  Then I went on to explain, while reminding myself at the same time, that I also drove slowly, like the person who was driving the car in front of us, while I was learning to drive many years ago.   

And after a much slower journey than I’m used to, I’m pleased to report that we eventually reached home before the ice-cream melted all over the boot of the car; only just anyway.

Then a couple of days ago, as I pulled out of our street, with little madam and little man in the back again, I found myself repeating my behaviour from the previous week, and muttering disgustedly as I was, once again, forced (in a fifty-kilometre zone) to drop my speed down to around thirty-kilometres-per-hour.  And, despite the fact the car in front did not have a big yellow “L” sign displayed on the back of it, a very astute little madam leaned across from her seat, peered out the front window, and asked, “Mummy, is that person learning to drive?”   Naturally, as you can imagine, I forgot my annoyance quicker than I could put my foot down and increase my speed as soon as the slow-coach in front turned off. 

Hmmm.  This sign might have been well-placed on the back of the car I was behind a couple of days ago.

Or perhaps this one might have been more appropriate!

Thanks, little madam, for giving me something to cackle at in the car.  I guess I should try and take this as a lesson to be a little more patient and tolerant.  Love you! 

Whoops.  Perhaps I should wear a sign like this myself sometimes.  After all, a lesson in patience and tolerance probably wouldn't go astray... 

When, “Where was I?” became a very difficult-to-answer question

I never anticipated that the fun task of showing little madam (who’s now three-and-three-quarters) through some of my old photograph albums, could end up in a tearful and extremely difficult Q&A session.  I mean who would have thought that, as a mother, such a fun experience could have ended so....um...well - thanks to my complete and utter inability to know how to respond to little madam’s rather difficult question -awkwardly. 

The experience began rather well.  After all, it was terrific to see little madam’s rather astonished face when I pointed out photos of people she knows - including her Oma and Opa (that’s Grandma and Grandpa to those who aren’t familiar with the German language) - in some rather old photos.  And it was amazing to watch her excitedly point out people she recognised as we turned the pages of each album, despite the fact that many of the faces have changed over time.     

But the fun didn’t last, I’m afraid.  As we made it through the albums, and eventually stumbled upon our old – well, not that old really – wedding album (an album in which she once again recognised the faces of friends and family) this difficult-to-answer-question came about: “Where was I?”  Well, of course, at first it didn’t seem like that difficult-a-question to answer.  But unfortunately my simple, yet rather blunt, reply of, “You weren’t around then”, wasn’t the right (or perhaps “best” is a better word) answer.  As although immediately, after a short moment of confusion, little madam stopped frowning and looked as though she understood, when she came back at me with, “Oh! Was I at Oma and Opa’s?” I realised that little madam "understood" as well as little man understands the word "No!"     

"Mummy...where was I?"

Now, given that a couple of pages earlier she’d actually seen Oma and Opa in a photo at the wedding, I decided I’d better not beat around the bush (in case it caused more confusion) and answered – a little less confidently, this time - with, “No.  Oma and Opa were at our wedding.  You hadn’t been born yet.”  Well.  Talk about a bad reaction.  I mean it was obvious a second later, when tears filled little madam’s eyes, and she shouted out a rather distressed, “But...but...I need a mum!” that the whole matter of a world without her (and life before her arrival) is way beyond the scope of a three-and-three-quarter year old's understanding.    

"How dare a world exist without ME in it!"

Thankfully, though - after I laughed (unintentionally) at little madam’s distress, along with the apparent difficulty she faced with having to comprehend a world without her in it (it’s ironic, after all, as even I have a huge amount of difficulty remembering what life was like without her around – she and little man are my world, after all) – little madam was distracted away from the photo albums and she forgot her little conundrum.  And I, at the same time, was able to avoid any more difficult-to-answer questions for the time being. 

To mummy's relief, little madam busies herself with another task...PHEW!

   

Could I have done a better job answering little madam’s question?  Was I wrong to feel extremely relieved when little madam was distracted away from the photos and forgot her worries altogether.  Absolutely!  I’m sure of it!  But if you ask me how I could have done a better job at dealing with the situation, I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you (which I guess this means this would be an equally as difficult-to-answer question).  For now though, until someone can tell me how to better respond to such a difficult-to-answer-question, I think I’ll keep the photo albums out of sight.

Thanks, little madam, for giving me another amazing thing to ponder.  Love you! 

The BOO BOO that became a BIG BOO!



Whoops!  I've made a boo boo!

 
This story isn’t quite like my other posts.  I mean it isn’t actually about parenting as such.  It’s about the potential to parent; the potential to parent not just two, but three children.  Yes.  That’s right.  THREE!  As this, for a very long week-or-so (for some unexplained reason), was what I thought I was going to have to do.  Yes.  Although I am in my thirties (and not some careless teenager...no offence to teenagers), I honestly thought (for that very long week-or-so) I (with the help of my lovely other half, of course) had made one very large and terrifying boo boo.

Towards the end of this very long week-or-so, when the panic really started to set it, I don’t know what was worse.  Knowing that I’d have to explain to my shocked (and possibly somewhat horrified) family and friends, that the shop (the same shop that I’d said after little man was born nineteen months ago...the shop that is also known as my own “baby making shop”) was well and truly closed for business.  This is also the same shop that I swore black and blue would NEVER again reopen.  And, on top of this, knowing that I’d have to explain to these same family and friends, that although this could be described as an accident, my own view on the situation put it in an entirely different category.  The category of stupidity. 

Now I won’t go into details, in case there are youngsters reading, but my other half and I have been using the same method of contraception for years (many, many, many years before the arrival of little madam and little man, anyway).  And on top of that, this method of contraception had to be well and truly put on hold (no pun intended), in order for us to be able to finally announce the imminent arrival of both little madam and little man.  So call me naive, but it was only after I Googled our particular choice of contraception that I discovered (with a large and impossible to swallow lump in my throat) that 6% of women still fall pregnant using the very method of contraception that’s been keeping me “safe” for years!  Surely not!  Well.  As they say, “You learn something new every day!”  I mean, is the only real way to avoid falling pregnant to avoid doing the deed altogether?  Goodness me!  What has the world come to? 

But perhaps, worse than this – worse than having to reveal to my family and friends my stupidity - was coming to terms with the very real realisation that my house – the one currently occupied by myself, my other half, little madam and little man – was already far too small for its four occupants.  And that the two solutions to this very small (well three-bedroom, anyway) problem – being either 1.  Buy a bigger house, or 2.  Put on an extension - were going to be well and truly unattainable thanks to our current financial situation; which is thanks, by the way, largely due to the fact that the shop (you know, the baby making one) has been opened for the last few years.



Now this is a bit of a worry!

Now I admit after sobbing on the couch at five-am, in front of my early-rising husband while he hurriedly dressed for work, and muttering something along the lines of, “This isn’t what I had planned for my life” – as though adding another little someone-or-other into our current mix was going to be the worst thing in the world – and then having to deal with my own thoughts after he bolted, with a rather worried look on his face, out the door (he did call me later, by the way, to say “Whatever happens, don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine”), I did come to terms slightly with the idea.  And believe it or not, by the time my rather late signal (the monthly signal that confirms a pregnancy is definitely NOT on the cards) I had even begun to think that having a third might be actually something great.  I mean, my mum did it.  And I love the fact that I have not one, but two terrific siblings.  And I know a couple of people that have three – and a couple that even have more than this -and they’re not so badly off.  They actually are (or seem, at least) really happy.   AIso.  Believe it or not I really love kids (especially my two little treasures who I adore to death) and babies are the bees knees.  So, I guess I think I might even have been a tad disappointed when I finally received confirmation that the above scenario wasn’t actually to be.  Despite my initial dread-filled reaction.

Oh.  But don’t worry.  To those reading this and thinking, “She can’t be seriously considering another”, rest assured, I’m not!  I’m actually planning an overdue trip to the doc’s in the next couple of weeks to make damn sure I don’t have to go through any drastic steps (such as avoiding the deed altogether) to ensure my shop (yep, the baby making one) remains closed; for now anyway.               

Thanks...um...to Google I guess.  For teaching me something new today!  

Phew!  What a relief!

Parenting lesson number 1567...

Here's a brief lesson for all you parents:  Never give your nineteen month old son the car keys (then close the door) to distract him while you attempt to load the shopping, pram and a hundred other things, into the boot.  Would you like to know the reason this lesson became obvious to me only yesterday?  Because yesterday, I did this exact thing (ie. gave my nineteen-month old little man the car keys to distract him, then closed the door, while I attempted to tend to the job of loading a pile of stuff into the boot of the car) and the clever little sod managed - only a second after the thud of the car door closing echoed into my ears - to push the lock button on the car key.  I know what you're thinking?  How stupid is this woman?  But honestly - and I dread to think of the consequences of such an action in the middle of a sweltering summer day - I've done this heaps of times before.  Given little man the keys, that is.  And, I'm pleased to report, he's never managed to press the lock button.  Until now that is.  Well.  You can imagine the state I was suddenly in.  All of a sudden, my nineteen-month old son has locked me out of the car...and locked himself and his sister in.  The latter, being my three-and-a-half year old little madam, is the reason I can now laugh at this scenario and put it behind me.  Because, it didn't seem to matter how clear my instructions were (given the pressure I was suddenly under), little man was not going to be able to (no matter how clever or nimble his fingers are) find the much smaller button on the key that would have unlocked the door. 

Eventually though, after shouting "Press the unlock button!" a number of times (and realising this was getting me no closer to solving my conundrum) I went around to the other side of the car and shouted a different instruction to a rather shocked and confused looking little madam.  And, thankfully (despite the fact that she's never in her life had to unlock a car), after only a few attempts, she managed to push the unlock button and I was able to promptly open the door.  And, naturally, reach over little madam and yank the set of keys clutched firmly in the very nimble fingers of little man, so they were once again in my possession.  Phew! 

Thanks, little man, for teaching me this very valuable parenting lesson.  I can't believe, in hindsight, how easily the mistake was made!  Love you!

Regression; or was it just a case of deliberate defiance?

Sorry.  I know it's been a while since you’ve heard from me.  Believe me, my absence from blogging has not been by choice.  I've just been flat out. And, on top of being just regularly flat-out running around taking the kids to their various activities, running around to try to get things done myself, and running around the house to try and keep on top of the mess (and the operative word here is “ try” because I’m not all that successful at this), I recently found myself at the local Maternal & Child Health Centre for little man’s eighteen-month check-up, and little madam’s three-and-a-half year check-up.  And, despite the fact little madam’s check-up was a couple of months overdue, in an effort to reduce the strain on my already chaotic schedule, I decided I’d delay little madam’s check-up slightly so I could take little man and little madam together. 

Well.  I realised almost as soon as the appointment began, that organising an hour long appointment for little man and little madam to have their particulars checked, was most definitely not my best move.  In fact it was apparent as soon as I sat down to begin my brief chat with the lovely Maternal Child Health Nurse (MCHN), when little madam began to crawl around the floor in an effort to imitate little man (the little man before he started walking, at least), I should have found a separate time in my busy schedule for each of their appointments. 

Perhaps the MCHN sensed my dismay because, in an effort to get little madam off the floor, the MCHN - who had strategically placed a few coloured pencils and a piece of paper on the small table in the centre of the room - asked little madam to draw a picture.  Well.  Not only did little madam refuse with a rather defiant “No.  I don’t want to!” she did so in a tone of voice that I could only describe as babyish. 

The drama continued when little madam decided to again raise the eyebrows of the MCHN by throwing the small plastic tea-set, that the MCHN had pulled out for her to play with, around the room.  And, despite my gentle request of, “Why don’t you make me a cup of tea...”, she, again, exercised her defiance by refusing, and continued to toss the plastic cups and plates around the room.  Well, I’m pretty sure by the time we finished with little man’s check-up, the MCHN had more than one concern about little madam’s behaviour; perhaps she even felt that I’d booked her in for her three-and-a-half year check-up prematurely.  

Never-the-less, the appointment continued and little madam’s assessment began.  As expected, it didn’t begin all that well.  First, little madam refused to participate in the eye-test.  Well.  Actually.  Her initial protests of, “I can’t do it!” had me a little worried.  Perhaps she really was struggling to see the cards the MCHN was holding up from the other side of the room.  Thankfully, though, it turned out that little madam was, in fact, just demonstrating her defiance once again.  As, after a few protests on her behalf, she eventually complied and was able to complete the test successfully.  Phew!

I was so relieved at the end of the hour long ordeal – as little man wasn’t exactly fantastically well-behaved either, and I found myself, towards the end, having to wrestle one of the small wooden chairs off him after he threatened to tip it over rather forcefully – that I’ve made a vow never to attempt a double appointment with the MCHN again; unless, of course, I can go alone.   Not likely though is it? 

Thanks little madam for showing your true colours to the MCHN.  I really was hoping you’d leave your defiant side at home that day!  Love you! 

The Secret De-Clutter

I've been asking myself the same questions, numerous times over the last several months.  "Where on earth did I put that thing last?"  "Why can't I seem to find it anywhere?" Of course, I'm referring to objects around the house - and a rather vast range of objects, at that - when I ask these questions.  Objects such as the egg whisk, some pieces of one of little madam's puzzles, bottles of rather expensive, nice-smelling hair product from the bathroom cupboard, soft toys, blocks...the list goes on.  And, as you can see, quite a list it is. 

Interestingly enough, although I've had the sense to turn the house upside down in my quest to find the various missing objects, I lacked the sense - for some reason or another - to look in the one place little man, over the last several months, has shown quite a fondness for.  No. I'm not talking about the toilet, for those who read my very first post titled, "The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Handset."  Thankfully, little man's obsession with the toilet seems to have died off recently.  And what a relief this is, too.  After all, as a walking - or should I say, running - and constantly on -the-go busy little eighteen-month-old, he can get his hands on a lot more things than the telephone handset these days.  Which brings me back to the original point of my story. 

As I was saying, the one place I'd forgotten to look, in my quest to find missing things, was the bin.  Of course, for those who've also gotten around to read another of my earlier posts (one titled "What a load of RUBBISH! The Terrible Sin Involving The Poor Kitchen Bin"), his bin infatuation will come as no surprise.  But, like the toilet, I honestly thought he'd moved on, to bigger and better things.  Things like the washing basket - where, of late, I've managed to rescue a few misplaced items before they've ended up in the machine, including some crayons and sheets of paper which, I'm certain, would have been quite disastrous for any clothes they ended up being washed with - and even outside in the garden.  Oh.  And I mustn't forget to mention the bath. Unfortunately, poor Charlie Bear - little man's favourite of all soft toys - ended up having to participate, rather unwillingly I'd say, in a swimming lesson in a tub full of hot water (it was in the process of being filled for little man and little madam's bath) only a few nights ago.   

So, as you can imagine, with so many other wonderful places around the house to hide/place/toss things, it hasn't really occurred to me to check the bin recently, when conducting a search of the premises for a missing object.  The other day, however, when my husband located the roll of bin lining bags -purple in colour, with a lovely lavender scent - lying patiently awaiting discovery in the kitchen bin, I realised how stupid I'd been.  Why of course.  The bloody bin!

Suddenly, my questions have been answered.  Now I know exactly what's happened to the missing pieces of the puzzle, the missing toys, the kitchen utensils, and even my bottles of expensive hair-product.  They've all been unfortunate enough to end up at the tip!  And long before their used-by-dates I might add.  Well, I guess I could never accuse little man of having, like little madam in my last post, hoarding tendencies.  And in a house the size of ours (which is rather small, I might add) it's not such a bad thing.  Even if little man's de-cluttering has involved disposing of a full bottle of Moroccan Hair Oil.  Ouch!

Thanks, little man, for taking the initiative to clean out the bathroom cupboard, and kitchen drawer, and etc.  I suppose, given the state of my hectic life recently, I probably wouldn't have gotten around to using any of that hair stuff anyway.  Love you! 

The Young Hoarder

It’s amazing how many junky little bits and bobs accumulate around the house; particularly when you’ve got kids.  Yes, thanks to the good-old McDonald’s Happy Meal, cheap, tacky Christmas crackers, and lolly bags crammed full of plastic whistles that don’t sound, my house has, at times, resembled nothing more than the shelves of a $2 shop.  Thankfully, little madam’s toy-box (an amazing invention, the toy-box) has played (in the three-and-a-half years-or-so, that it has been in our possession), a huge part in helping to rid the house of much of the clutter.  So, every time I get sick and tired of seeing crappy McDonald’s Happy Meal toys, and the like, scattered around, I find myself on a mission to eliminate the clutter these small - and more-often-than-not completely junky - toys  seem to create in an otherwise relatively normal, yet still chaotic, home. 

Unfortunately, the downside to toy-boxes is they aren’t – like Mary Poppin’s amazing carpet bag – bottomless pits.  And the other day, when I tried to find room for the latest collection of plastic fantastic toys in little madam's toy-box - and after I realised the toy-box wasn’t going to close with ease due to the immense collection of stuff that seems to have built up over the years, I decided it was time for a spring clean (or perhaps early autumn clean, if you go by the actual seasons). 

What a great opportunity, I thought to myself.  A great opportunity to teach little madam that cleaning and de-cluttering is just as important as accumulating.  Great opportunity my a**!  As, what began as a mission to eliminate some of little madam's junk, almost turned into an ordeal which, if captured on film, I'm certain would have been a terrific addition to the latest season of that fascinating (yet sometimes horrifying) show, Hoarders.  For those who aren't, like me, completely addicted to crap television, this is an American series that's aired on one of those new channels (not sure if it's 73 or 90) every-now-and-then, late at night, about people who actually have real-life hoarding issues.  Yes.  Little madam, it seems, is quite the hoarder.  Unlike me, who is keen to throw out just about everything in sight when the mood strikes. 

Anyway, so on this particular Autumn day, after convincing little madam that her toy-box was well and truly overdue for a clean-out, we began the task of attempting to select a few items to dispose of .  I think, all up, I suggested that little madam select ten things, and this was in addition to all the little crappy junky toys. 

Unfortunately, as we began slowly sorting through the mass of toys, it soon became clear that this wasn't going to be as easy as I'd first anticipated.  As, not only was little madam rather insistent that she was in no way willing to part with the plastic cockatoo that came in last month's happy meal, she was also rather adamant – to the point of tears, I might add – that she couldn’t possibly survive without the handful of plastic insects, a handful-or-so of small plastic bits and pieces, and the array of plastic smurfs  – including a revolting wind-up one that spins around on the ground, but looks rather odd, like a break-dancer with dislocated elbows – despite the fact they haven’t been looked at since the day our house was graced with their presence.

It was at this point, that I began to lose patience.  Well, perhaps I began to lose it the minute she refused to let me chuck out those damn insects.  So I decided I’d force her to make a decision, by giving her an ultimatum.  Well.  Not a very clever move on my part because, when I asked little madam to choose for the tiny chuck-out pile, between a beautiful musical Steiff bear – which was a gift from one of our overseas relatives, and something I NEVER EVER thought she’d part with – and a bloody two-dollar shop tiara and wand, I nearly fell over in shock (although I shouldn’t have I guess) when she opted to add the Steiff bear to the chuck-out pile!  Aaagghh!  Needless to say, it wasn’t too long later that the mission was aborted.  You’ll be pleased to know that the lovely musical Steiff bear was secretly (by me) returned to the toy-box as soon as the ordeal was over. 

As you can imagine, the toy-box remains an overflowing nightmare.  Funnily enough, I was reliving the experience with a friend a few days later, and complaining about little madam’s hoarding tendencies, and she very kindly and wisely told me that I would only be successful in achieving my mission of ridding little madam’s toy-box of all the clutter, if she was far from the task.  I wish I’d realised this before.  See.  As I’ve said many times before, a little bit of foresight would have gone a long way.  So I can assure you, with this being the case, next time I decide to conduct a clean-out of little madam’s toy-box, I will complete my mission with great success; of course, I’ll be making certain little madam is out and about at the time.    

Thanks little madam, for making me realise that using your toy-box to help rid the house of clutter, is not exactly a wise move.  Love you!