Putting out the parenting spot fires

Uh-oh

Isn't it the way that as a parent, you are sometimes waiting for the next 'stage' to pass?  You may remember my building frustration with my son, Master F (now 3) as he continually decorated my house with his excrement. His creations were nothing short of epic. I would walk into the lounge room to discover he'd finger painted his poo on almost every surface (including my freshly steam cleaned carpet).  There was poo in places poo should never been and despite the fact that I think I may have cried in frustration one day, my son didn't quite get what he was doing wrong.

Thank the Lord, the Picasso-like poo painting has ceased and he is (most of the time) doing his business in the toilet. I think I may have let out a loud 'Halle-freaking-luljah'!  Everyone take your places, life can now resume...or not. Because before long something else will hit and with four small children sometimes you can have multiple issues igniting all over the place like spot fires during a hot summer.  I'm running around with a virtual fire extinguisher in my hands but it's just not doing the job. By the end of the day I'm exhausted and tired and sometimes when they are all tucked up in bed at night, I close my eyes and try not to cry.

Yes Little H...PAPER!!

Little H (now 20 months) is proving himself to be a proper Monet. Except he's not fussy. Any kind of writing implement will do, Daddy's pen, big sister's felt tips, big brother's crayons. Everything is sneakily obtained and any blank surface will be covered before you can say 'FOR GOODNESS SAKE, DRAW ON PAPER!'  Nothing is safe. Even the TV has blue crayon scrawl on it. The coffee table is sporting the new orange neon trend and black ink is over my cream leather office chair. I'm SO over it. Obviously the solution is simple as my husband pointed out to me this morning. "Hide all the pens. Only allow him pencils," he said simply.  Yes, yes that makes perfect sense but in a house of four small children, there are writing implements everywhere. Even my kids have them in places I'm not aware of.

You may also remember that Master F has a little thing for my bosoms. And despite assurances from everyone that he'll grow out of it, he still strokes them on a daily basis, often in public. I have repeated on many occasion that 'these are mummy's and they are private' but the little hand continues to slip in there before I can stop the surprise on people's faces. He tells me that he loves me a hundred times a day (I kid you not). The conversation goes like this:

Drawing on paper (for once)

F: Mummy, I love you.
M: I love you too.
F: You miss me when I'm at Kindy. I stay with you.

I adore his sweet affection but the constant clinginess and crying when he wants me, is doing my head in a bit and by the time his Kindy day rolls around, I am ready to have four limbs to myself no sneaky hands trying to make their way down my dress.

 My two big girls have their things as well. Although we don't have the toddler behaviour battles, my big girls are proving to be no less tricky.  My big girl is trying to find her place in the world and is discovering it's not always easy. My little girl is fighting for a piece of her mummy and is trying every bit of attention-seeking behaviour in the book. What am I doing? I'm running around trying to ensure they all get 'mummy time'  and to ensure that I'm not missing anything major that's going on in their lives.

Having four kids is a bit ridiculous, I don't mind saying. It's constant and intense. I'm sorry for the whinge. You know I love them all like crazy, which is why I run myself around in circles trying to make sure they are all OK. Sometimes I eventually accept that sometimes they just aren't and there may not be a whole lot I can do about it.

My cheeky monkeys

I don't want to be a 'lawnmower parent', one who makes sure there's a smooth path ahead for each of them, but I find myself doing that sometimes to my own detriment.

Yes, I need to learn to relax a bit more, you know and live the saying, 'Keep Calm and Mother On' (I may have made that up).

Do you find it a challenge to keep on top of everything that's going on with your kids?