August 2024 - Happiness in the Smaller Things

The summer holidays have been a mixture of wonderful memories and 'pull your hair out' moments. My 3 year old is still coming to terms with a new baby in the household and is now a huge fan of the word 'No'. He's also the most adorable, sweet, adventurous and charming little boy full of curiosity and determination. 3 month old baby girl is also flourishing. A duplicate adorable and sweet munchkin whose smile is contagious. This is the most my children are alike. They look complete opposites so far. Little lady is the doppelganger of my baby photos and the boy; well he's the spitting image of his dad. One was tiny and the other not so much, one loves milk, the other couldn't wait for food. Mike and I are also learning how to parent 2 kids. We're finding our 3 year old demanding much more attention, which we expected and can completely understand however this doesn't make the juggle any easier.

This month we've tried and failed mini-golf as a family of 4. In hind sight, a busy mini golf with long queues and a impatient toddler wasn't a great idea. We've been geocaching and thought we were going to be kidnapped by a mysterious man in the woods (I'm sure he was completely innocent but the woods were incredibly eery). We attempted going to a big adventure park but parked at the wrong entrance and got completely lost trying to walk there. After a couple of awful weekends of short tempers all round, frustrations and shouting, I was determined to have a good time with my family. We focused on the small things. Quality time with no expectations. We walked to the park, fed ducks, went to our local fair and scooted at a local skatepark over the course of 3 days. We all had a fantastic time eating yummy food, making precious memories and most importantly, enjoying each other. When I look back at what made the weekend so special, it was how chilled we all were. We made very vague plans and adjusted them depending on our circumstances.

It hit me like a tonne of bricks. The realisation that having any sort of expectation with 2 children under 4 was meaningless and naïve. We'd been trying to make such an event of weekends and we were overstimulated, pressured parents with often tired or hungry children. Waking up on a Saturday and searching for something to do with such expectation had us constantly chasing our tales. A simple, carefree, no pressured plan on the other hand; that's when we thrive. My boy loves going to the park, searching for bugs in mud, reading books and playing rough and tumble with mummy and daddy. He doesn't need to play mini golf. Why do we parents always feel such pressure to come up with overzealous events for our children when what they truly love is home comforts, short journeys, familiar food and happy parents.