Out and About

On Saturday we decided to take our eldest daughter Beth on a special mummy / daddy date. We asked friends to look after our other girls and caught the train to windsor to see the castle and to have tea and cake. This, we thought would be a fun treat for all of us without the worry of two 1 year olds getting cross about being in the buggy  or alternatively running away!! Little were we to know that number one, it would pour with rain and number two that Beth would be in 'one of those moods'. So we battled all afternoon with Beth running into crowds, jumping into rather large puddles (thank you Peppa Pig), and walking straight into people as she merrily went along looking behind her. 


By the time we arrived home we were exhausted!! Okay - so we did have some fun, large pieces of cake and hot tea featuring as the biggest attraction - but it did get me thinking - was it worth it?!!


I have kids who can only cope so long with being at home and who need to get out of the house, but that has always been a big challenge for me. Even with one child it used to take ten minutes at least to get out of the house, longer when with shoes and coat on and key about to lock the door you hear an almighty poo being done!! Good times!! - And then I was faced with the challenge of getting a still fairly wobbly 17 month old, and two screaming babies in car seats down a flight of stairs, and into the car - with neighbours unaware of how much space you need to leave either side in order to open the door wide enough to get a car seat in! Looking back this accounts for why I didn't leave the house a lot for about 6 months. 


My best friend has a new baby and is currently battling with a 20 month old who won't have her hand held - this is now a much bigger deal since there is another little one in the equation and scooping the eldest up out of danger isn't so easy!! Even going out to feed the ducks seems like a huge challenge when it is no longer one on one. I so often compare our family to others and feel guilty for not doing or going out as much, and often have to be reminded that we are different because we have three little ones so close in age. And I have to be careful not to wish this time away, willing them to be old enough to......  The truth I'm learning is that it is tempting to think that things will get easier - and in practical ways they do - going out must get quicker when your kids can put their own coats on!! But really parenting doesn't get easier, it just comes with different challenges! And so we must be determined not to wish our time away - and on the difficult and trying days, to only focus on the joyous parts!! And, when your child is having a huge tantrum in the middle of the supermarket, remember that most of the people staring at you are doing so in sympathy and not in judgment because they have been their too!!