Life Happens

The funny thing about parenting is…that life happens.

Things happen that you will eventually learn will shape you. Not that I, myself, can see that right now. I’m still sitting under a cloud of self-pity.

We made the unfortunate decision to pull out of the house we were hoping to buy. Everything was on track. Then reality set in. And the more questions we asked, the more vague the answers were becoming. So we decided to be grown-ups about our decision, and to save a lot of issues in the future (because we all know if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is).

So we are now back to square 1 in a way. Still searching for that perfect house where we can see potential, where we can get back to living as our little family again. Where Paige can have her own big girl room decorated as she wants.

As you can probably tell, this whole thing completely deflated me. The day we decided to pull out was my birthday. It completely undid all the relaxation that I had enjoyed the night before. But that’s life isn’t it.

If estate agents were a lot easier to deal with, it would probably make this whole process so much easier. But alas, life happens and the friendliness that we should be greeted with when viewing a house no longer exists.

We will find our Home. We will find it and love it.

For now however, I will just go weep in the corner that I’m now well on my way to 30 and still don’t have a Home.

Weekend

The funny thing about parenting is…. we all love the weekends! That is of course, if you have the weekend off as not all parents do. My hubby has to work the odd weekend-always has! But we all love our days off – even if the kids are so set in a routine that sometimes they drive us crazy. (I’m not going to lie!)

Paige has a habit of not eating at the weekend unless it’s just yogurts, chocolate, crisps and juice. She likes to graze. She likes to pick at things. If kids are around, she’ll wolf down her food.

But the weekend for us is family time. We get out and about, and yes, most of that time is spent shopping, going for a coffee and maybe going for the odd dinner out. The odd dinner out, used to be every weekend we’d eat out in London in the fabulous restaurants that were all 5 minutes from the house. Since we moved home, we’ve been saving so cut down on the non-necessities.

This weekend however, mummy and daddy are going away for the night on Sunday. It will be the second time we’ve left her alone. We went to Monart Spa in Wexford when she was 5 months old for the night as it was where we got engaged, many years previously. Thinking about it now, it was easier to leave her with the grandparents back then, compared to now. Obviously nearing two means she is used to her surroundings, she’s used to having us with her and putting her to sleep. She is used to sleeping in our bed – her cot-bed has become redundant.

Now it’s time for some mummy and daddy time. I am entering my final year in my twenties. We have also just had an offer accepted on a house. We are both pretty shattered. We need a night away to relax and to enjoy each others company and as selfish as that seems, sometimes parents need to have that alone time and it’s fine. I do feel bad that we’ll be leaving early on Sunday, but she’ll be spending quality time with her grandparents who are just returning from holiday.

It’s time for us to put on our fancy clothes that we can’t wear around little grubby hands and to enjoy the surroundings of a hotel. Originally we were toying with the idea of taking Paige away for a couple of nights, but sometimes, as adults, you just need a break. You need that full night’s sleep. You need to eat a meal without it ending up all over you. And that’s OKAY!

I think I was and still am quite apprehensive about leaving her, as when she wakes in the night, she cries for mummy and daddy. Even if my parents went in to her, it was mummy and daddy she wanted. So that’s part of the reason we booked a hotel in Dublin. It won’t take us long to get to her if all hell breaks lose.

Looking back on that first night away as a couple and leaving Paige for the first time, it was easier than it is now. Yes, she was still small, but she was still small enough to fall asleep with the aid of a bottle. That all stopped as soon as she hit 12 months. But we just have to suck it up. My parents reared 3 kids and we’re all still around. They’ll be well able to handle my ‘angel’ (good thing they really know what she’s like!).

So this weekend, we as parents shall be enjoying family time for one day, and then getting dressed up, like little miss Paige above, and we shall be taking one night off duty. It won’t scar her for life. It will make her miss us even more! As she keeps telling us ‘I’m not a baby’.

And I shall celebrate turning 29 with a good night’s sleep, a Jacuzzi bath as well as a sauna in the room. All with a glass of bubbly in hand! And bonus, I’ve a day off work on Monday.

So here’s to all you hard-working parents, who work, don’t work – whatever it may be! As being a parent is a full-time, hard, and loving job!

Happy Weekend everyone!

Can you tell I’m excited?

P.S. Crown is from the amazing Fable Heart (Claire is amazing at what she does-so I might have to steal missy’s crown for Monday!) and the amazing dress is from Dunnes Stores (last year’s collection however and it only cost €14!).

Sometimes Being An Adult Takes Over

As parents, you want to enjoy every single moment that your child presents you with. Sometimes, we get enveloped in the adult things, that you take the smallest little milestone for granted.

Paige can now count to 10, and higher if needs be. But she so confidently counts out 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. She so confidently says the A,B,C. She so confidently has started to identify colours. She so confidently chatters away, and has a full blown conversation with anyone who is so willing to listen. And to be fair, most people are. She’s not yet 2.

I think I take these things for granted. I think that as a parent, I have gotten so caught in finding us somewhere to live, somewhere we can call home, somewhere where Paige can have her own space, somewhere where we can take out all of her toys without hesitation as it’s our space. Our Family Home.

Hopefully, fingers and toes and everything else crossed, we have found our Family Home.

The next chapter in our little lives is about to change. I am fully aware that the upheaval, once again, will have to be done gradually. In the last 7 months, Paige has had some drastic changes to her life. Moving from London to Dublin was a shock for all of us again. I’m not going to lie. We as a family unit were used to our own space, just like my parents were. So we thank them for allowing us to move in and save for a house, something which we could never have done in London.

We are fully aware that Paige has decided she doesn’t want to sleep in her cot-bed. She rather sleeps in our bed – she even had a meltdown last night when I said it was Mammy and Daddy’s bed. So when we move, I think we’ll be turning her cot-bed into her big bed.  We know she will love your new room, and all of this upheaval will be worth it.

These little things, counting and speaking, are forming my little lady. The person who will grow to become someone amazing in everything she does, no matter what she chooses to do. I love to see her counting to 10. I love to see her feeding her dollies and changing their nappies. I love showing her pictures of what will hopefully be our new Family Home.

And once we get settled, those moments can become the centre of my world again – but I think, just for a few months, I can forgive myself for acknowledging that these things are happening, but I’m not walking around with trumpets. That my dear, we can do in our new Family Home. So I suppose, this little post is my noting that yes my little darling, you are truly amazing in our eyes, even if at times, we don’t always have the time to say it.

The Funny Thing About Parenting Is…

It may be a New Year, but the toddlers don’t realise that.

So on that note, Happy New Year everyone.

It’s been awhile since I last posted as in the run-up to the Christmas period, we had a sick toddler (bronchitis) and a million and twenty things to do-what between working full time, caring for the toddler, finishing the shopping, house viewings and seeing friends.

Since my last post, a lot has actually happened. Paige has come on in leaps and bounds, she can string whole sentences together with ease and you can have a pretty functional chat with her. She now tells us off. She is very strong willed and has turned into a teeny bit of a girly-girl who loves, LOVES, loves her dolls.

We are also house hunting at the minute which means plenty of evenings spent looking at houses that need a lot of work and time spent on them. Probably too much time if we’re completely honest.

I have been spending a lot more time on my twitter and Instagram accounts and updating them on a daily basis, with my -Instaxaday- shots for Paige which I plan to create a feature wall in our soon to be purchased house. I can dream! It’s actually a great idea as I’m forever taking pictures but never printing them. Now I’ll have a picture for every single day of 2016. I’ll just pat myself on the back for that one!

Paige is really getting into her ‘I’m gonna try your patience’ phase at the minute with the terrible two’s having been in full swing for some time! She even bit her dad the other night (to be fair he wasn’t paying her the attention she was commanding and had promised to put Peppa Pig on, and hadn’t!) but I believe she’s just testing us. As we’re still living with the grandparents, boundaries and rules get very skewed as all she has to do is walk into nana and grandad and say ‘Mama won’t give me chocolate’ and boom, she’ll have all the chocolate she desires – before dinner, or just before bedtime. So yeah, buying a house is kinda our top priority now.

To catch you all up, here’s run down of the #project365 pictures – if you want to join us, use the #instaxtoddler – but check out my instagram for more: @toddling_along.