My favourite things

Latest list of the things I'm loving about being a mum at the moment.

No more nappies! No change table, cot or double pram either. And the stroller is gone, although when I see other parents easily wheeling around their tired pre-schoolers, I am a tad envious.

While rather eloquent for their age, it's still cute to hear all the words they mis-pronounce.
"Kwerly" = curly, "flamingo" = flamenco, "newdle" = noodle, "pewdle" = poodle etc etc.

Anything they say in French is twice as cute. Animals such as "Le re-no-se-ros" or "lipo-pot-arm" are especially sweet.

Sharing a double bed often means extra giggles and silliness before sleep, but also means they snuggle up together and look so angelic all intertwined. Which brings us to....

...musical beds. Goes something like this: Little sis sneaks into our room during the night, water bottle in hand. Climbs into bed between mum and dad. Spreads out like a starfish. Big sis quietly whimpers alone in her room. Little sis wakes dad, advises him that big sis is lonely. Dad trudges in to comfort big sis. Mum awakes next morning, squished on the very edge of the bed. Dad is found snoring next to big sis. Big sis hasn't slept a wink due to snoring. Little sis is sleeping soundly in the big bed.

They think families with 2 mums or 2 dads are quite normal. That 2 men or 2 women wanting to marry is blase. So is having sisters that have a different mum. They get that some men like to dress up as women, that all gay people are not drag queens but "are all drag queens gay?" they wonder. God bless Mardi Gras.

Miss 6 is still in love with her special teddy, Chocolate the Bear. A thoughtful gift from a friend when her baby sister was born, they are inseparable. Which gives me night sweats since he is apparently unique and a replacement is not available anywhere, for love nor money.

Miss 4 is a homebody. Seriously. If I'm cooking she wants up on the bench to help, wash, chop, arrange, stir. She often asks to dust or sweep the floor. Ditto for folding and putting away clothes. (I must have done something right!!)

Miss 6 has amazingly neat hand-writing (from dad), can draw a princess/mermaid in heartbeat, is great at packing up after herself and looking after her little sis.

Miss 4 often refuses to write though she can, thinks swirly scribbles are sufficient for artistic endeavours, would rather watch big sis pack up and thinks she doesn't need much looking after, thank you very much.

Miss 6 has incredibly thick hair that grows like weeds (thanks to both grandmas). Miss 4 has whispery, curly hair that never seems to grow past a bob (thanks mum). Both have natural highlights I would kill for.

Miss 6 is all limbs, wiry and coltish. I see her rock climbing, running and hanging off monkey bars. Miss 4 is all limber, flexible and cuddly. I see her doing gymnastics, yoga and belly dancing.

Miss 6 is a fashionista and loves matching her hair accessories to her outfit. Miss 4 always seems to have stains on her clothes and sand in her shoes.

They are becoming gourmands thanks to an obsession with My Kitchen Rules. If they ever request coconut sago, braised ox or whole fish in salt dough, I'm outta here. (And how devastated are they that neither can remember Pete Evans used to bring his girls for swimming lessons at the same pool.)

Miss 6 is on a mission to taste any animal that's edible. Snails, check. Raw fish, check. Crab, check. Squid, check. Still to come are venison, lobster and squab!

Miss 4 will eat an entire avocado in one sitting. Just cut in half, remove the seed and let her scoop.

I love that they still call me "mamma", still answer to "bubba" and their favourite man is still "dadda".

Seeing my darling girl go under general anesthetic and wake up from surgery all startled is one of the hardest moments I've ever had. Being strong for her so she wouldn't be too scared is one of my proudest.

Telling them I am going back to work full-time soon was another hard moment. Seeing how happy and proud they were for me when I got the job was one of the best.