Thursday, March 13, 2014

Things I Took For Granted Before I Had Children...


  • going out any night of the week, even on a whim!
  • my belly looked normal.  It completely lacked stretch marks
    Oh dear! - I just google images-ed 'stretch marks tummy' to show you what I'm talking about, but I just can't put any of those pictures up here!! - they're a little too close to home! :p
  • I had never bought baby wipes.  Now I think I will never stop... in fact they should probably contact me to be one of their spokespeople - I recommend them for pretty much anything!! :)




  • never buying nappies (groceries were much cheaper back then!)
  • 'ducking in' to shops for a quick second - returning a DVD, etc., without getting children out, safely in, make sure they don't wreck any shop's property, then safely out and then back into car-seats
  • my living room used to stay completely clean, even when I wasn't watching it




  • not bothering to make dinner if I didn't want to
  • having SO MUCH ENERGY!!



  • how clean my kitchen tiles were after a meal
  • being able to leave the house grabbing just my keys, wallet and phone on the way out the door
  • walking into church without the pram, book bag, food bag and nappy bag
  • doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted
  • real 'off duty' time, where I'm not even thinking, planning or worrying about the children - completely switching off!! - apparently this will never happen again!
  • doing everything only once.  Instead of ironing 4 sets of clothes and making 4 bowls of cereal and washing 4 times the amount of dishes, bathing 4 people, cleaning 4 sets of teeth, etc, etc..



  • taking a third of the time to do everything, and not having to stop what you're doing over and over as people need you
  • the tiny amount of laundry I had to do, and the comparatively HUGE amount of time to do it in
  • us getting in the car taking literally 2 seconds, instead of 10 minutes




  • never, ever, ever having had to teach anybody how to control their own bodily functions
  • people greeting me when I walk in the door, instead of just my gorgeous babies
  • taking trips without having to pack half of the house up
  • enjoying the full use of our boot, instead of whatever we could fit around the pram and toddler seat




  • booking little weekend getaways to hotels/B&B's/units, without caring that they 'do not cater for children' - who knew so many don't?!
  • holding hands with James whenever we're walking - now it's more one pushing prams and holding babies and toddler hands




  • standing up without someone on my hip, sitting down without someone/s on my lap, and not having a foot constantly bouncing the bouncer
  • not having to buy an entire new wardrobe for household members every single season, because they're actually growing that fast!
  • wearing heels and not worrying about if I can run after a small (but fast) person in them,
  • not taking my camera with me wherever I go, 'just in case'
  • showering, shaving legs, brushing teeth, brushing hair, painting nails, etc. - for as long as I want!




  • sleeping in on weekends
  • sleeping in, EVER
  • sleeping for an entire night without waking up, once




  • not having anybody else's mess all over my clothes
  • Wow, I'm not really running out of ideas here lol :)  

Of course, there are compensations...






But today when James came home after my long day, and I threw my 3 angels at himclosed the bathroom door (yes, it's that exciting I decided to 'bold' it!) and had myself a real shower, I got to thinking...



By Abby Easthope


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