MY STORY - Observations of how funny my children are!!

At the weekend, I looked at all three of my children, each busying themselves, muttering, singing and occassionally shoving the other out of the way and it got me thinking how wonderfully different they all are!! My eldest son, Tommy, is 4. He is determined, opinionated and strong willed at home amoung his siblings and when out presents as quietly confident with an alluring sense of charm and wit. He is Superman one day, Ben 10 the next and Spiderman a week later, he is loving then moody, occassionally wrong yet always right, caring then bossy, good at sharing as long as everything is his!! He has the most fascinating eyes, like puddles, they are blue, green, brown and grey always happy but quick to get mad. He is eager and willing to please, giving and expressive yet in a blink of an eye he can turn into a raging bull determined to put the world to rights and hates injustice if only in childs language. He is a Taurus, which explains alot, and from the moment he was born I knew he was my baby bull, a gorgeous perfect 5 pound baby bull!! I think its fair to add at this point that I too am also a taurus, so there is alot of butting heads with Tommy and I, but many loving moments too. Like me, he enjoys and devours fine food. He will normally chose the most expensive and luxurious thing on the menu, he isnt afraid to explore with food (with gentle encouragement) and loves all things which allows him to be hands on with cooking and art. My Tommy, a complex child, a deep thinker and intellectual but with pearls of absolute wisdom of a man who has been on this earth 90 years, he will never fail to suprise me nor end my fascination in his words.

Then there is George, he is 2. George is a fiery red head. Bright orange to be precise!! He was my largest baby and has remained so. He is chunky in everyway from his fingers to his toes, but the most loving boy to his mummy. George was born just after christmas in 2008 and from the moment he was born he showed me his very strong need to be heard. Oh Yes, he cried and screamed and cried, but yet he appears to be a fairly independant child, happy and somewhat unaware of his own being. Unlike Tommy who stands very close and listens to instruction carefully, George is a wild child, every opportunity he takes to leg it, he is off. And he runs and runs and runs, laughing and NEVER listens to commands. He never sees danger and as a result needs constant attention to make sure he doesnt escape and find himself in a dangerous situation. His red hair is coupled with his bright blue eyes, pure and untouched they never show malice or hate only kindness and love. He has learnt that his older brother will always win the war and so far has backed down and allowed him his own way, sharing his toys and saying sorry without prompt. He also has a robust nature, falling down and hardly batting an eyelid at the blood pouring down his knees, unlike Tommy who would cry and howl for hours at a pin prick!! George, like his good old fashioned sturdy name, is everything but stupid, although he may not have any sense of occassion and expected behaviours yet he understands that he too possesses a charm which melts his mothers heart. He does have a stubborn streak and when the mood takes him, he will lay in the middle of the street screaming and will not budge!! He can be much like this with his eating. They say that 2 year olds go through a stage of not wanting to eat but George has no interest in meals at the moment other than to graze constantly on carrots and cucumber, which I am gratful to him for not chosing  chocolate or crisps as his grazing choice!!

So as I continue watching them playing along side each other, for once fairly quietly, I notice my little girl Florence, 1, come up to me with a toy man, desperately waving it in my face, as I go to take it she snatches it back then throws it down casually and going off in search of something else to bring me. Florence is a joy, with a mop of blond curls and deep blue eyes she is (at the moment) a mummies girl, very eager to please me, show me her achievements and to give me so much just from a gummy grin and a clap of her hands. She always has a smile and a cuddle for anyone, although likes to make sure I am within easy reach in unsure territory. She has such a purity and innocence, completely untouched although instinctively caucious of her surroundings. She is the definition of what all little girls should be, cute, blonde curly hair blue eyes with a little button nose which gently scrunches up when she smiles, but she too is a taurus, guttsey and boisterious, she knows how to get around her brothers and they love her unconditionally. She will stand her ground and stare you out!! She has a very soft but certain nature and with gentle persuation she will adapt to most situations using her natural charm to her advantage and when it comes to her food, her stealy determination makes her want to feed herself in her own unique manner and make a complete mess, but she will try anything and when appetite strikes will sit and devour huge meals and healthy snacks too.

I am sure each of my children will change, develop and flourish into something completely different in a years time, five years time and ten years time. Ever determined to find the person they are destined to become, each discovering new talents, foods and characters, learning to socialise, behave and adapt to society. As a mother its both exciting and nerve racking to watch them change and to allow them freedom to express themselves in a society that sets such ridged boundaries of acceptibility.

So I sat and watched and smiled. Feeling very lucky and blessed to have such wonderful, healthy children full of such character giving me everything a mother craves to feel a sense of achievement. In the good and bad, I cherish every moment and even when life can become routine, boring or too serious they always remind me in different ways how to smile and just appreciate the things which are right in front of you.

Take a moment out of your hectic life to just observe your children and take the good, the bad and the funny from everything they do, it really will just pick you up!!