So first the given, I love my kids, my life is better with them, I wouldn’t change it for the world and blah blah blah. All very true. BUT… There are a few things from my life before children that I miss because they were, well, easier.
1 Going to the bathroom alone
They don’t warn you about this one enough you know. You will NEVER pee alone again. And not only do you have a little person watching your every move, but they ask you lots of questions like “Why don’t you stand up like Daddy?” or “Did your willy fall of Mummy?”
2 Being ill
Okay I don’t miss being ill. But when I am ill I miss being able to be ill properly and do it justice. You know taking your duvet to the sofa and doing nothing all day but watch trash telly and wallow a little. No time to wallow now. If I did attempt to bring my duvet to the sofa there would be little monkeys jumping all over it. There’s no time for Mummy to be ill. There’s still mouths to feed, stories to read, bums to be changed and school runs to be done.
3 Listening to my music in the car
I don’t have a flash car, in fact the only pre-requisite I have for a car nowadays is “How big is the boot?”. I don’t care about the shape or the colour but I need to be able to fit a stupid amount of crap in the boot. But I miss being able to listen to my choice of music in the car and not something sung by chipmunks. On rare outings alone in the car with my iPod plugged in and the volume up, I actually seek traffic jams. I’m that loon in the car singing her heart out and drumming the steering wheel. I’m not crazy, just alone!
4 Getting ready to go out
I still get ready to go out of course. I don’t leave my house in my pj’s still sporting bed head. But in my life before children I didn’t have to get two kids ready to leave, and remember to take enough nappies / toys / bottles / snacks etc with us. I only had to worry about me, so I could spend two hours doing my hair and make-up and it was fine. Now I often find myself staring longingly at my GHD’s thinking ‘one day I will have sleek beautiful hair again’.
5 Shopping
Remember the days when you could spend a whole Saturday wondering around the shops. Trying on clothes and having the money to buy them. You didn’t even need an occasion or an event as an excuse. You could just by them because, well just because. You didn’t need a reason. But shops and children do not mix. Especially clothes shops. Children get bored easily so to amuse themselves they play hide in seek in among the clothes rails. You end up having a heart attack when they actually disappear into an array of chiffon and you can’t find them. Not to mention the disapproving looks from shop staff. And the changing rooms are a no go, unless you are prepared for more personal questions such as “Can I touch your boobies?” in a very public forum.
6 Lay in’s
Enough said.
7 Room in my cupboards
I had some cupboards that were next to empty before I had children. Now I seem to spend every weekend sorting out a cupboard or a drawer that is close to collapsing with the strain of it’s contents. And the more I sort out, the more of my things that get turfed out in order to make room for the kids stuff. If I’m not sorting out a cupboard I’m making a trip to Ikea to buy a new one because we never seem to have enough storage in our lives.
8 Silence
I love the noise of my children playing and laughing. But life is loud. And sometimes I just want a bit of peace and quiet. Because if there is silence now, it normally means someone is doing something they shouldn’t and I’m going to have a big mess to clear up. I miss the kind of silence that didn’t make me nervous.
9 Handbags
I love handbags. Buying a new one is one of my favourite things to do. I covet an Orla Kiely leather bag. So much so that when I drool over them in John Lewis I can feel my heart rate rising. (In no way do I make special trips to John Lewis just to stare at Orla Kiely bags. That would be very sad. I would never do that.) These days I have a change bag and It’s not the same. It’s big and practical and boring. Even when I do get the chance to go out with a bag that’s more stylish and goes with what I’m wearing, it’s filled with raisins and wet wipes and I have no room for my stuff.
10 Wearing white
A colour not seen in my wardrobe since late 2009.
Of course I also miss my pre pregnancy body, driking hot tea, being able to walk in heels, and the ability to be able to drink anyone under the table, a skill that I spent years practising. However those things I believe are well and truly in the past and never coming back to me.
But despite the things I miss, I get the best cuddles and kisses and I wouldn’t change things for the world. Except an Orla Kiely bag. I could swap one of my children for an Orla Kiely bag! 😉
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Love this! I really miss silence, handbags and most importantly, my ability to drink wine – after a day of #mumfails, I need that skill more than ever! But on the flip side I have some new ‘mummy friends’ who I’d never have met before little N arrived and i’d be lost without them now! Thanks for sharing.
OH I love that quote above so true! Best friends in the bathroom hahahah All these fit me…it definitely is so different having kids….just think we can be doing most of them again when they move out. lol Thanks for linking up to Share With Me and the continual support. #sharewithme
Haha yes! I miss all of these things!! Fab post, made me laugh lots! #sharewithme
Silence. What is that? I seem to recall it, but can’t quite place it. #sharewithme
I promise it all comes back, my kids now lie in longer than me! #SharewithMe
When Fiona?!
Aaaah, great post! You had me reminiscing about all of those things with you…! Being ill is definitely the hardest! In my old job, it was so intense, and I was always rushed off my feet and stressed out, and I know this sounds awful, but I’d sometimes welcome illness, just because I needed to stay in bed and recover from work! But now I dread the first hint of a sore throat… My kids are pretty good with music in the car though! Recent requests have included Lauryn Hill, and Alanis Morisette!!
#fartglitter
My musical taste is definitely not influencing my kids. I have therefore given the big one an old ipod and bought him some headphones!
Just been sick recently and reaffirmed the phrase ‘no sick leave for mums’. Oh what I wouldn’t have given for a day on the sofa with the duvet binge watching some TV series. Instead my ear drums were deafened by ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ on a loop and the baby repeatedly hitting me in the face with board books.
Thanks so much for linking up to #fartglitter x
Ouch!
So I was okay with the company when peeing thing, I can’t pretend that I haven’t done it on nights out in too crowded clubs but now I have to give a runnning commentary, ‘Look mummy’s weeing in the potty! Do you want to wee wee in the potty?’ Its gone too far.
Inquisitive aren’t they!
Reading in peace and having a child free holiday are the things I really miss, although I would like to go shopping or at least to the loo alone again too 🙂
#FridayFrolics
Fionnuala from http://www.threesonslater.blogspot.com
I’ve got one night away with the husband next weekend. Does that count as a child free holiday?!
Amen to absolutely everyone of those!
watching what I want on television would make my list
Hide the remote!
Yes. Yes & Yes!!!! 🙂 xx
Haha, I hear you. Especially silence. And lie ins. In fact, no- all of the above!
#fridayfrolics
I’m with you on all of these…apart from maybe the handbags. Having a crap used to be my alone time where I played on my phone, now it is interrupted by a baby moving all around the bathroom taking stuff out of boxes and throwing it around. Ah, I remember those peaceful dumps so well…
ha ha! What’s a man gotta do to have a dump in peace?!
Love this post – can definitely identify with all of these! Glad I’m not the only one who loves singing along to music in the car whilst stuck in a traffic jam! Being ill is definitely the worst one – it is so hard having to just carry on and get on with things when all you want to do is crawl under the duvet and hide. Clothes shopping is a nightmare with kids in tow – I rarely attempt it these days.
Clothes shopping isn’t quite the same online though is it!
Haha, yes very true. Why is it that they’re do quiet when they’re up to something?
Concentrating!
Ha ha! I LOVE that you would swap a child for a bag 😉 The illness thing is so bad isn’t it. Thanks for linking up to #TheList x
Just discovered #TheList and didn’t realise how many posts I had done in a list format! Will definitely link up again.
Definitely agree with a lot of your points 🙂 But despite that I would not turn the clock back… My life feels so much fuller now!
#thelist
Me too. I had to write another blog to balance the equation!
Hahah I love this and nodded along in every single one of them. Oh those were the days. Whilst I love my children dearly it’s ok that we pine for these things again. lol Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme
Thanks. Really enjoying the Share With Me linkey. Reading some great blogs and gaining some new followers.
Haha I think my list would be identical too! But then I realise that all the things I miss pale into comparison with what I have. It’ll all be back soon enough 🙂 x x
I should do one for what I appreciate more now I have kids. Cuddles and giggles. X
Too funny this one is…..love “…not something sung by chipmunks,” and love the idea of swapping out one kid for a bag….Yes, I do understand……all of these!
Thanks x
So true for many of these, especially storage. Although we didn’t have enough to begin with and definitely don’t now we’ve got N!
I need storage for my storage units! I actually don’t know where I’m going to put the Christmas tree this year!
Oh yes! I am with you with all of that!! In fact I wrote about the ‘loo’ thing in my latest blog post! I guess it gets easier?!!
I’m sure it does. In about 20 years!
The getting ready to go out is the main one I miss. To be able to get out the house in 5 minutes again would be amazing!
It would wouldn’t it. I thought I had us all ready in record time for the school run this morning, until I noticed a smell coming from the baby :/ !
Yes yes yes to all 9 points!
I have a special ‘work’ bag. It’s cream and beautiful. But best of all it doesn’t contain a single nappy/wipe/chocolate button. I love it.
Not only am I jealous that you have a bag that is all yours, I am very jealous of the fact you have something cream coloured. Right now all shades in that spectrum are not a part of my life. Maybe that should be number 10!
Lol, yes! Obviously it’s not allowed anywhere near my normal life!