September, Oh How I Love Thee....

September really is one of my favourite months of the year. Birthdays are the main thing but I like it when it starts to get cooler but not too cold and not too wet.  So, here's what has happened since the last post.

1. Baby boy is now 4. FOUR years of being a mother to 3 little boys and I really can't remember life before it. This is where I am supposed to be in the world.

2. Liam's birthday was centered on him. He went to nursery then daddy and I took him to the local soft play center. He LOVED it. There were only 4 other kids in there at the busiest time so he ran himself ragged for 3 hours.

3. We collected the big brothers from school and went out for a meal at a local public house. Liam had his favourite dinner of jacket potato with beans and cheese and a blackcurrant fruit shoot drink. The kids then played out in the park.

4. James surprised us with how co-ordinated he is these days and with his agility.

5. We then went home for birthday cake. Liam blew out the candle and the kids tucked into a third of a cake between them with squirty cream. The cake was supposed to serve 16!

6. Liam had been invited to a party on the Saturday before his birthday but we chose to go away for the weekend instead.

7. What a mistake that was! The weather was ok but there had been rain and the park had 6 inches of water at the bottom of the slides and under the swings. The kids indoor play area was over-run by older kids and the staff didn't seem to care. The entertainment was cringeworthy but fine if you like hearing "OMG" and "LOL" EVERY 30 SECONDS. It was too much. It hurt my brain. For the first time ever we left a getaway break early not feeling we could do it another day.

8. The day after was hubby's birthday.  We dropped the kids in town and went for breakfast in a town restaurant. It was nice to have a rest day.

9. Hubby has run out of petrol TWICE this week. We've discovered that when the tank is low, we shouldn't park on a hill. Also, we've discovered that the fuel light that tells you that you are very low on petrol only seems to come on when it's virtually running on empty.

10. Today I have driven the car for the first time in about 8 weeks.

11. Liam has gone up a year in age but up about 3 or 4 years in tv preference. He no longer likes Disney JR but loves Disney XD.  He now has 2 new favourite tv shows. Phineas and Ferb and Crash and Bernstein. How can it be so? My little man likes this sort of stuff already!

12. Still on the subject of Liam, he's being a bit of a naughty boy at school. Nothing major, just a case of being in a little trouble with his teachers for being a bit pushy and rough with other kids. Not spitefully, but just a bit "bumpy" when someone is in the way and being a little bossy. We think (and hope) it's because the dynamics have changed. He's no longer the little one, he knows he is one of the oldest in the class and is demonstrating that. He's always been the little one, the one at the bottom of the food chain so to speak so now he has found a new "power" of age, size and strength all in one go and is discovering new boundaries with his teachers.

13. Matthew and James are happy with their school and James is getting on very well with his new books. He's on the picture books before learning to read. He's doing so well and loves going into school.

14. I had my smear test last week. Nothing has come back yet so fingers crossed that is good. My nurse thought I may need a repeat one as she wasn't sure she had enough cells. So far I've not been recalled nor had a scary hospital letter.

15. Finally, this is my last weekend of being 32. Monday I turn 33 and head rapidly to my mid 30's. On Friday, bestie and I are off out for a curry and visiting some of the public houses in the village on a girls night out. I do actually like being in my 30's. I'm more self assured and confident in myself in these years. I am not trying to please others all the time, I'm happy to have my voice heard and I am happy to be able to do everything I need to for the kids. I've dedicated their early years to them and I would like to think that by this time next year or at least by the time I'm 36 I can be back at work with the knowledge that my children are in school and being looked after so I can think about contributing to the household. I just need to find a job that's ideally 9-3, Monday to Friday term time only and maybe, well, ideally, have a day in the week off too to catch up with friends and housework rather than squeeze it all into a weekend. I guess that is me and a few million other women wanting those hours. :)