We're all going on a summer holiday...

Actually we're not, or we didn't. It was just myself and Sean. When we got the wonderful news of going back to baby land and rewinding our lives by 3 years, we decided that if we didn't go away now, we never would. Obviously we haven't a hope in hell of anyone ever offering to mind 3 children for us while we swan off to the sun. So in our first holiday together since our honeymoon (when I was also pregnant, incidentally), we went to Malaga for 5 days, while Mam and MIL co-minded the kids. It was fab...lying by the pool, reading books, eating out every night. I bought a little picture of Spain that I'm going to hang in the bathroom so that when I'm sleep deprived, with leaky boobs, not having showered for a week and dealing with twin toddler tantrums plus baby colick, I can remind myself that things do get better, life will get back to normal eventually and Sean and I will have another holiday together...when I WON'T be pregnant...babysitters willing. Anyone? Anyone? Helloooo...anyone there? The highlight of the holiday (for a complete stranger, not me) was being caught mid-pee, giving a pretty much full naked frontal in the men's bathroom of a tapas bar...curse them for their dodgy door locks. In my defense, being pregnant, it had been at least a whole 15 minutes since the last time I went and I couldn't hold it in the queue for the ladies. The poor (or lucky?) Spaniard got a view that only Sean and my gynecologist have ever been honoured with. Cringe! I'm never going back to Spain.

Looks like its a girl!

For the last 3 scans we've asked and the doctor hasn't been able to tell, but each time he thinks it might be a girl. Its hard to tell because the legs are tightly closed together...prompting Sean to comment "I wonder where she gets that from?" But on the basis that he wasn't sure three times in a row, we've ourselves 100% convinced that its a girl, so I've given everything blue to Clo and kept everything pink. If it turns out to be a boy, he'll just have to get used to wearing pink and will only have himself and his tight-closed legs to blame. Needless to say, we're delighted. Girls are wonderful...once they grow up, leave home and unite in a sisterly bond against their mother. We'd be thrilled with a boy too, even if he does turn out to have gender confusion issues because of all the pink!

So long, terrible twos?

Ronan and Lucy had their third birthday a few weeks ago. I can't believe we got to three years and we're all still standing (especially me). In the elusive search for the holy grail of toys...one that will keep them occupied for more than 5 minutes...we invested in a trampoline for their present. All the promises other parents made to us about toy kitchens, wendy houses, bikes, tea sets, etc. (as in "they'll spend ages playing with it, you'll never see them") turned out to be hollow, but yet again we got our hopes up. And the trampoline has been somewhat successful, in that they might spend 10 minutes in it instead of 5...then they'll come in and drag myself or Sean out with them to "keep them company in the trampoline." Still, it was a great success on the day of their birthday, so it was money well spent...until one of them sprains an ankle in it at some point in the future, or worse, someone elses' child does and sues us. In other news relating to dashed hopes and dreams,I'd very high hopes that the big 3, together with the trampoline, would magically mark our transition from the terrible twos into a calmer, more serene phase, but my God, have they been making it clear ever since that absolutely nothing is going to change any time soon. Hopefully by september maybe...fingers and toes crossed...both mine and the baby's. PS...from the creche photo it looks like there were only two of them at their creche birthday party (somewhat reminiscient of my own birthday parties), but just for the record, there were lots of their friends, but I didn't want to put up photos of other people's kids...in case some one sues us!