10 Fun Facts About Mothering Toddlers

As the mother to 3 bubbly girls under 5, I can say a thing or two or perhaps 10 about parenting toddlers. My life is in competition with roller coaster rides. The following fun facts will tell you why.

1. Nursery rhymes are my favourite songs. While doing chores, I sing the ABC song, “Humpty Dumpty” and more. My niece, who has a one year old daughter unconsciously sang aloud “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” in a public place until someone had to ask her if she had kids. I laughed my ribs away when she told me.

 2. Bath time is confusing. I go into the bathroom for a shower and pour the kids body wash unto my sponge. Halfway through the shower, I realise I chose the wrong soap. That’s what I get for scrubbing kids all the time.

3. TV time is toon time. Sometimes I just want to curl up on the couch and watch Mercy Johnson mending shoes in “Caro the Shoemaker” but the girls will persistently say, “Mummy, can we watch Curious George?”. In order to let my ears rest, I put the cartoon for them and probably end up watching it with them and laughing together.

4., Phone calls are chaotic. I hardly go through a phone conversation without saying things like, “N, don’t pull the baby’s hair. S, if you want to pee, go to your potty.Take turns with that toy. Don’t go upstairs.” Sometimes they choose to do the wackiest stuff when I’m on the phone. Two days ago, as I gisted with my Mom, my hair got decorated with all manner of hair accessories.These little beings can be mischievous.

5. There’s no end to cleaning. I clean, clean again, then clean some more. After breakfast, I clean, after learning time, I clean, after play time, I do a massive clean up. Sometimes I just leave the house as it is and wish it would clean itself.

6. They are enemies to your napping. At some point in the day, I feel a desperate need to nap. I lie on the couch to steal some sleep while they play or watch TV. Shortly after, S  starts pulling my feet, “Mummy no, don’t sleep. Wake up!” Urrrgh Can’t they just understand? Mummy needs a little break. When I was younger, I had an uncle whose greatest way of punishing my brother and I was to yell, “Go and sleep!” We hated him for that. But right now I just wish someone would punish me with sleep.

7. Going out is a huge project. I start preparing them about two hours before an outing and sometimes I still end up arriving late at my destination. Sometimes, when they are all dressed up, you hear a small voice saying, “Mummy, I want to poo.”

8. I hardly shop for myself. When I get into a store, I am so attracted by the cute girly stuff that I forget about me. I go to buy shoes for me and  end up buying dresses for them. It’s hard to avoid unplanned shopping for them.

9. Sometimes grocery shopping turns into a “catch me if you can” game. I normally put my 2 year old into the shopping cart and put the groceries by her. That’s dangerous because she starts opening up the groceries before I even pay for them. So sometimes I just have to let her walk. Apart from filling the cart with things I don’t need she sometimes starts running and giggling. Funny to her but definitely not funny to Mama.

10. I celebrate bedtime. After a long tiring day, I usually can’t wait to get them out of my life for a little while. When I tuck them in, I breathe a sigh of relief and thank the Lord.

Bonus point: Multitasking is my new surname. I’m always doing several things at once. While breastfeeding my youngest, I update my blog and supervise the older ones as they play. I cook, do laundry and teach ABCs at the same time. There’s always so much on my plate so multitasking is a must.

Some days I feel like I will lose my mind but I still pull through somehow. Nothing beats the experience staring into the love-filled eyes of these little cuties and hearing them profess love for you. I always remind myself that they won’t be this young forever. So I cherish everyday because a day that passes by is never coming back.

Which of the above points do you relate to most? Don’t just read and stay quiet ooh. Type something in the comments section and make me smile. Motherhood rocks! Hope you had a sweet mother’s day!