I am Suddenly Remembering Mum

Women are incredible.

I think there’s a slight truth in the old myth that we can choose what we want to remember, and forget, about pregnancy and childbirth. Let’s be honest. If we couldn’t selectively block out things, there’s a good chance we’d all refuse to ever go through it again and we’d eventually run out of tiny humans on our messed up little planet. 🙂

Last night, I was reminded of one of the things about being pregnant that I have obviously blocked out, when my good friend who is expecting told me she’s off work with Pelvic Girdle Pain…

pgp

At the mention of it, I crossed my legs and stopped short of kicking The Him out of the bed and into the spare room, or dog box… or wherever!

Jeeeeeeeeeesus, even the thought of it as I type has my ovaries tying themselves in knots…

I remember the first day my Pelvic pain kicked in on my first pregnancy.  The Him and I had gone to Belfast to the Christmas Markets.  I was walking through the stands when I stopped in my tracks. I couldn’t physically move.

There and then, I was certain that had I taken one more step, my ladybits were going to end up on the ground. I felt like someone was sticking a burning hot poker into my pelvis. I was convinced that my entrails were about to be outtrails.

pelvic-girdle-pain

I scared the bejaysus out of Himself. I don’t really remember how, but he got me shuffled to the nearest taxi and back to the hotel. After a terrified phone call to my Midwife-on-call (or Aunty! I’m not THAT special. haha!), she calmed me down and prescribed a long sleep and a trip to the physio the next day.

Panic over and insides still inside, I did indeed relax, but did the pain go away? Did it feck!  I got an appointment with a physio next day and she gave me the most fablis, sexiful and incredible invention ever… a girdle belt.

belt

It saved my ass.  Literally.  I wore it religiously, took smaller steps when walking and generally behaved my pregnant self, sleeping with a mahoosive pillow between my legs and following the physio’s advice. Thankfully, it didn’t get any worse.  Apparently it CAN get worse, a LOT worse.  I want to puke even imagining how it could have been worse if I’m honest. It was bad enough as it was!

It was horrific. The pain was shocking. The whole experience was enough to put me off ever wanting to experience anything like it ever again!

pregnant-2021797__340

So yes, even typing this has my Ladybits throbbing in terror. I want to fly to England and give my buddy a hug.  Instead however, I’ll send her a virtual hug and remind her that it’ll all be worth it in a few months when she holds her wee munchkin in her arms.

I’ll also remind her that she’ll soon not even remember the pain she’s in right now…until someone reminds her of it in the future.

And that someone will NOT be me!

Now, it might be time to hit those Christmas Markets in Belfast again? And maybe this time I’ll get past the gate!

belfastchristmas

 

I am Sixth Sense Mum

“Mammy. Tell him to STOP!”

“Tell who to stop what?”

“He’s staring at meeeee. Tell him to stop”.

These are not words you want to hear from your 5 and a half and three quarter year old at 7am when there is no one else in the kitchen.

In the 3 seconds it takes me to walk from the utility room, my imagination has delivered me to Destination WCS (Worse case scenrio). I have images of all of my kitchen cupboards having been flung open like in The 6th Sense.  Holy Christ, I think, She’s seeing Dead people…   There is no one else in the room so I know that there is no one to BE staring at her! I take the ten steps to the kitchen, already planning the conversation I’m going to have to have with the priest when I call him to come do an exorcism.

shyamalan16a

“Stop iiiiiit!” she screams.

“Mammy’s here Darling. Who’s staring at you?”

“That cow.”

“What cow?” (WT-actual-F?)

She’s now pointing her little finger accusingly out the window at the cows in the field.

 “Him!  He’s STARING at meeeee. Tell him to stop staring at me.  I can’t eat my Pancakes when he’s watching me.”

The unsuspecting bovine is indeed looking in the window, happily chewing its cud, probably wondering why the little human is screaming at him.

cow-1715829__340

It moos, probably telling its own Mammy cow “Mammy. Tell her to STOP! She’s staring at me and I can’t eat my regurgitated food wif her watching meeeee!”

Mini-Me is now banging on the window at the cow.

“Maybe you’re scaring the poor cow? Eat your pancakes and stop your nonsense” I laugh, glad I don’t actually have to ring the priest after all.

I’ll save the exorcism for another time, not that I can ever see any poltergeist brave enough or stupid enough to take her on!

How was your day?

I am So Noisy Mum

Have you ever noticed how NOISY the following things can be in certain situations?

Situation: Trying to get OUT of wobbler’s bedroom after putting her down for nap, the following things will sound like a 65 piece orchestra, with 398 microphones in a 15sq ft room…

1. Bare Feet being lifted off a wooden floor
2. Shoes hitting the floor, no matter how gently you step
3. The dog’s nails on the wooden floor in the kitchen, at the OTHER END OF THE HOUSE!
4. Your mobile vibrating on the worktop in the kitchen at the OTHER END OF THE HOUSE!
5. Your breathing
6. Your hand being removed from the side of the cot? (You might as well roar like an elephant!)
7. Your breathing
8. Your spine as you straighten your back to stand up!
9. Your EYEBALL as it moves towards the door which seems 56 miles away
10. The material of your clothes as it MOVES; like when your thighs meet as you walk…

Seriously? It’s as if every NON-sound is magnified and amplified by 100% and your baby’s hearing turns supersonic.

Sometimes, I seriously consider just standing there, not moving, not breathing… just to let her sleep.
Anyone else as mad as me?😂

What’s the noisiest thing in your house right now?

I am Share the Daddy Bloggers Mum

With so many support groups and networks in place for Mums, wouldn’t it be great to see similar initiatives being set up for male parents?

DAD

Most Mums agree that the Menfolk would benefit from support groups just as much as Mammies.

Of course they would, but when we live in a society that still thinks Dad is “babysitting” when he spends time with his kids, rather than, you know, “PARENTING”, and where Dads are often dismissed as being lesser parents or not as significant as Mammies, we have a long way to go.

father-and-son-2258681_960_720

But change will come. And the first signs of it are seeping into society.

I know four  Daddies who stay at home with their children while Mum goes out to work.  And that’s just off the top of my head. Loads more share parenting duties and responsibilities with their children’s mum. It’s not a new thing.

baby-22194__340

I am single handedly fighting the “Is Daddy babysitting?” bullshit with my semi-violent responses becoming quite famous around Donegal.  It may eventually be a nationwide epidemic that might even cause some bloke in Government to ban the question completely, and punishment for uttering the words will carry a sentence of a full Netflix session of Peppa Pork… or worse, Max and fricken Ruby.

20641997_10159012912185167_1185981266_o-1.jpg

The Him Most Certainly DOES NOT Babysit his girls. He Daddies them.

But most fabulous is the rise of the Daddy Blogger.  I know and follow a few Daddy Bloggers and am delighted that this rare and wonderful species are speaking out for the Daddy folk and giving the Mammy Bloggers a run for the children’s allowance.

So in order to spread the love and in the hope that maybe some of my 97% female readers might tag or share with their Daddy Bear type, I want to share my top 3 with you. (If you know a Daddy who might enjoy following some really cool Daddy types, tag away and share this with them.)

My Favourite Daddy Bloggers!

The Stented Papa is a must follow for ALL parents. I’ve met this dude. He is one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and his blog has me in stitches laughing frequently.

 

 

 

Daddy Poppins is the hilarious and honest musings of an Irish House Husband. Serious wit here my Lovelies!

 

 

 

Digital Dad is brilliant.  Again, funny and so honest, his posts will crack you up!

 

 

OMG Family, Life and Food keeps it real and relevant. Love his food posts.

These guys are a breath of fresh air.  Get following!

If we can get Dads sharing and reading and recognising and empathising with other Dads, who knows?

Eventually we might live in a society that praises and applauds all the amazing Dads who DO exist, rather than wondering what’s wrong with them for being, you know, Dads?

And yes, there are some useless Dads out there. but remember, there are some useless Mums out there too. Shock fecking horror! I get in trouble every time I say this, but hey! Giving birth doesn’t make you the best parent. Loving the child does, and that includes the parents who love their children from different homes and sometimes from afar.

 

If you have any Dad bloggers to recommend, please do so in the comments!

#dadsarefabtoo

I am So Delighted Mum

It is no secret that myself and my Him LOVE Christmas.

We’ve been discussing a few ideas for fundraisers over the past few months and decided one wet and dreary Sunday in October, while we were all snuggled up with the girls watching The Polar Express (yes, Christmas Movies start in October in our house!), that it would be amazing to see it on the big screen again. (It carries memories of our first Christmas together…aaaaaw!)

So! Lightbulb moment!

An hour and 2 phonecalls later, and we had it sorted!

ThePolarExpress_Advert-01

AnneMarie and Mark in Century Cinemas Letterkenny  were as excited as we were at the prospect of showing this Christmas Classic as we were.  They have kindly offered us the use of their largest screen on the 2nd of December at midday.  The rights for the movie had to be acquired and paid for, so Mr Rushe Fitness offered to sponsor this and all the tickets for the movie.  The advertisement and tickets were designed for us, (as usual) by the incredibly talented Lorraine from LorAyn Designs.  I swear this girl can see into my brain.  That in itself is a talent!

The proceeds of the event are going straight to two very wonderful charities which benefit families all over Ireland:

The Jack and Jill Foundation

which provides care and love to so many children each day

and

The Victoria Thompson Scholarship, a Donegal charity which supports the creation of palliative care services for young children.

On Friday last, we announced our plan.

We put tickets on sale for 90 minutes yesterday. 

We sold out. 

tickets

And so now, the golden tickets have made their way into hundreds of Donegal homes and we will all gather together to enjoy OUR favourite Christmas movie on December 2nd.

Apologies to those who didn’t get tickets and thank you so very much to everyone who has supported this event.

ALL ABOARD!

#rushetoraise