Loving... NOT Loving: Kids

Of course you know that I am ALWAYS loving my kids. Just thought I'd clear that up before I got started. But you know there are some things that come with having kids that I am not loving so much.

For instance...

NITS. I am Definitely NOT Loving Nits.
Do you call them that where you come from? Cooties? Lice? Ugh. Whatever you call them the mere mention of them starts me itching. I've managed pretty well to avoid too many infestations. I bought a RobiComb (a battery powered nit zapper) as insurance. Totally useless. Then I spotted some little white cling-ons in Miss Fab's hair. Instantly I felt itchy. My scalp crawled. Off to the chemist I went and bought some Nit Shampoo. We were de-nitted quick smart. The boys are all clear. But I never found one single creepy crawly even after much combing of mine and Miss Fab's hair. Still,  you can't deny the itching. And better safe than sorry. Sigh. I hate those darn things.

CRUMBS. Wherever I go, crumbs! I vacuum, I sweep, I wipe. Two seconds later the crumbs are back. Ugh. NOT Loving crumbs. The birds can have them.

ENDLESS BITS OF PAPER. Everywhere. My kids are both scribblers. Miss Fab likes to draw pictures of herself and her friends. And me and her. And flowers and butterflies. Which I DO actually love.

Dash draws endless diagrams of football pitches, marking out player positions and listing down endless Premier League teams. That's fine. But then... they just leave their darn bits of paper discarded all over the house.

Under beds, behind chairs, all over the floor, in my bedroom... next to my bed!! I am not loving that at all. And I feel slightly guilty when I quietly scoop up the abandoned bits of paper and stash them in the recycle bin. What???!! Am I s'posed to hold onto every darn scribble for ever??? Not loving the residual guilt of being an art recycler.

MY SHORT FUSE. Not loving that at all. I don't want to be Grouchy Mummy. But lately I've had such a very short fuse. I've been tired and nauseous and sweaty and headachey... (don't worry I'm not, you know. I did a test. Or two.) Anyway to put it simply I have been feeling like total crap.

I've just been wanting to hide away in my own private (bloggy) world so I don't have to deal with... the noise. The squabbling. The complaining. The endless demands. Oh the guilt! That just makes me feel so much worse!

I'm getting some blood tests done (have to wait a few weeks for optimum conditions) but until then I will just have to soldier on and try not to transform into the Incredible Hulk Mum at the slightest provocation. I think the ear plugs will be making a re-appearance. Sigh.

All that being said.... on the brighter side of life, I can't deny...

...how utterly much I love my children.

I'm sure I would totally leap in front of a bus for any one of them. But most days don't require any bus-leaping. Just after-school snacks, homework & readers, changing pooey bums, playing choo choos, picking up stray hot wheels and hair clips, dinner-cooking, teeth-cleaning and bedtime prayers. Some days that all feels like a lot.

But the snuggles? LOVING those. They are like air in my lungs.

The slobbery kisses? LOVE them. Won't even wipe off the toddler drool.

My daughter holding my hand all the way walking to school because my hip ached and she wanted to help me?? Priceless. My heart was bursting, even as I limped.

My big seven-year-old boy wanting to lie in bed after dark and listen to stories about my life? The stuff of dreams.

So yes. I am LOVING my kids. Even on the sucky days. Even on the Hulk days. And I'm learning to switch off the computer before they get home so I can give them my full attention.

Because they are the best kids. And they deserve my best too.