Saturday was its usual chaotic self. I find I spend most of the day on the road, transporting children to and from activities. On the plus side, it was particularly successful because both my son and my sister won their respective games (one in soccer, the other AFL). Both teams have now qualified for the finals (yippee!!!).
The afternoon was spent picnicing in the park with my friend Cath and her family. Seeing the children in the trees had both a nostalgic and heart-racing effect- it took me back to my childhood escapades but the wary mother in me wanted them to get down before someone got injured. There was a lot of running with sticks too. Boys will be boys just doesn't cut it when there is risk of gouged eyes. They had fun though, so all's well that ends well I suppose.
Yesterday, on my husband's suggestion, we ventured out with the younger tribe to Kiama. Silly, naive me thought it would be a 5 hour round trip- an hour and a half drive there, a couple of hours at most taking in the view, and an hour and a half back. I was wrong. Sean had other plans.
We took the scenic route there, stopping off for a 'break' every half hour. This included Stanwell Tops, Shellharbour, Figtree Westfield, and Wollongong Botanic Gardens. Which almost doubled the anticipated 5 hour trip. I don't know if anyone knows what a car journey is like with four rambunctious boys, but in case you're wondering, its anything but smooth. Or quiet. Or easy. Or safe.
'Mum, he hit me on the head'
'Mum, my ipad died, can you charge it?'
'Mum, he's teasing me'
'Mum, I'm soooooooooooooo hungry!'
'Mum, do you know what super-saturate means? Can I explain it to you?'
'Mum, can we play the countries game?'
'Mum, I need to go to the toilet'
ad infinitum...
So, to say it was a pleasant drive would be outright fibbing. But the drive was a breeze in comparison to the stops we made. Jacob has, in recent times become a runner. A runner who also happens to have stopped registering the frequency of my voice. So he runs and doesn't heed any of my pleading/warning/threatening.
Eamonn is a risk-taker (always has been- a career of stunt-doubling, extreme sporting etc would be very fitting for him), so I had a melt-down at the blow hole when he decided to run out onto the rocks. He was scolded in public before a very unsympathetic audience. Taj just wanted out of the pram. Understandable, but very hard when having to monitor another three children. And finally, Thomas found it all very underwhelming. Which makes you wonder, was it really worth all the effort?
I'm hoping it was. Despite all the challenges. I'm hoping they will look back on these adventures and remember them fondly, as mum and dad sharing their time with them. I'm hoping their exposure to the beautiful landscape of Australia will inspire a love of exploration and travel. I'm also hoping that the incessant fighting they partake in will hone their negotiation and interpersonal skills.
The night was overwhelmingly spent on 'the bed-time routine': dinner, bath, books, putting to bed. Not always in that order and very rarely in the singular. In the end, I fell asleep putting Taj to sleep. He still co-sleeps most nights, because he's replaced nursing with stroking my hair or resting his hand in the dip of my neck. It's a beautiful way to fall asleep, granted, better than driving him round and round to 'Ignorance is Bliss' on repeat (his favourite song for the moment). It does, however, spell an end to my night because I just can't stay awake.
In other news...
I've had a twitter account for over 5 years now, but being the technophobe that I am, I vehemently resisted it, making a grand total of 29 posts in that time. This weekend, I decided to give it another go, and after a brief tutorial from my eldest and a little bit of self-teaching, I was well and truly in the saddle. I think, in time, I might prefer it to FB. It's certainly a lot less invasive. What I mean by that is there is less scope for unnecessary personal disclosure, but enough space to acquaint oneself with people in ways that matter. Saying that, I have made many 'real life' friends through FB, many of whom I may not have otherwise thought to invest any time in, and I'm sure they'd say the same about me. It also affords me a place in the lives of family and friends who happen to live on the other side of the globe, so no regrets there. In any case, we shall see how my enthusiasm for yet another form of social media goes, but for now, I'm excited.
The afternoon was spent picnicing in the park with my friend Cath and her family. Seeing the children in the trees had both a nostalgic and heart-racing effect- it took me back to my childhood escapades but the wary mother in me wanted them to get down before someone got injured. There was a lot of running with sticks too. Boys will be boys just doesn't cut it when there is risk of gouged eyes. They had fun though, so all's well that ends well I suppose.
Yesterday, on my husband's suggestion, we ventured out with the younger tribe to Kiama. Silly, naive me thought it would be a 5 hour round trip- an hour and a half drive there, a couple of hours at most taking in the view, and an hour and a half back. I was wrong. Sean had other plans.
We took the scenic route there, stopping off for a 'break' every half hour. This included Stanwell Tops, Shellharbour, Figtree Westfield, and Wollongong Botanic Gardens. Which almost doubled the anticipated 5 hour trip. I don't know if anyone knows what a car journey is like with four rambunctious boys, but in case you're wondering, its anything but smooth. Or quiet. Or easy. Or safe.
'Mum, he hit me on the head'
'Mum, my ipad died, can you charge it?'
'Mum, he's teasing me'
'Mum, I'm soooooooooooooo hungry!'
'Mum, do you know what super-saturate means? Can I explain it to you?'
'Mum, can we play the countries game?'
'Mum, I need to go to the toilet'
ad infinitum...
So, to say it was a pleasant drive would be outright fibbing. But the drive was a breeze in comparison to the stops we made. Jacob has, in recent times become a runner. A runner who also happens to have stopped registering the frequency of my voice. So he runs and doesn't heed any of my pleading/warning/threatening.
Eamonn is a risk-taker (always has been- a career of stunt-doubling, extreme sporting etc would be very fitting for him), so I had a melt-down at the blow hole when he decided to run out onto the rocks. He was scolded in public before a very unsympathetic audience. Taj just wanted out of the pram. Understandable, but very hard when having to monitor another three children. And finally, Thomas found it all very underwhelming. Which makes you wonder, was it really worth all the effort?
I'm hoping it was. Despite all the challenges. I'm hoping they will look back on these adventures and remember them fondly, as mum and dad sharing their time with them. I'm hoping their exposure to the beautiful landscape of Australia will inspire a love of exploration and travel. I'm also hoping that the incessant fighting they partake in will hone their negotiation and interpersonal skills.
The night was overwhelmingly spent on 'the bed-time routine': dinner, bath, books, putting to bed. Not always in that order and very rarely in the singular. In the end, I fell asleep putting Taj to sleep. He still co-sleeps most nights, because he's replaced nursing with stroking my hair or resting his hand in the dip of my neck. It's a beautiful way to fall asleep, granted, better than driving him round and round to 'Ignorance is Bliss' on repeat (his favourite song for the moment). It does, however, spell an end to my night because I just can't stay awake.
In other news...
I've had a twitter account for over 5 years now, but being the technophobe that I am, I vehemently resisted it, making a grand total of 29 posts in that time. This weekend, I decided to give it another go, and after a brief tutorial from my eldest and a little bit of self-teaching, I was well and truly in the saddle. I think, in time, I might prefer it to FB. It's certainly a lot less invasive. What I mean by that is there is less scope for unnecessary personal disclosure, but enough space to acquaint oneself with people in ways that matter. Saying that, I have made many 'real life' friends through FB, many of whom I may not have otherwise thought to invest any time in, and I'm sure they'd say the same about me. It also affords me a place in the lives of family and friends who happen to live on the other side of the globe, so no regrets there. In any case, we shall see how my enthusiasm for yet another form of social media goes, but for now, I'm excited.
