I'm loving the ages my kids are at right now. The way our family works. We are sleeping through the night most nights, we can discuss anything and everything, we can go out for a coffee in a cafe, we can be silly, we are happy at home playing games and making stuff, we can go for walks around the place and everyone will walk, everyone still wants to hang out together and they are still happy for me to be the style police.
We've had little glimpses of the future in the past few months and I'm not ready. There have been arguments about mobile phones, about hanging about in town unsupervised, about bed times and about what goes on at other peoples' houses and it terrifies me.
I'm not ready.
I don't know how.
I remember being that age where I was filled with a restless need for something big and wanted to challenge authority and be an individual. I have no idea how my parents parented me though it and I have no idea how I'll deal with it.
I'm not ready to give up being their bestie yet. I still want them to ask me if what they are wearing looks good, to tell me their secrets and to cuddle me and hold my hand.
I'm not ready to be the baddie. I don't want to be the law enforcer. I don't want them to pull away.
So if its ok with you, then we'll freeze things here and now. If you are looking for us today, you'll find us at the craft table cutting and pasting. We'll be wearing daggy home clothes and listening and singing along loudly to music and maybe if you look carefully you'll see a funny dance move or two.
Have fun. Stay young and silly.
XX
I'm always wanting to capture moments and bottle them forever and a day, but time moves swiftly on and I love the new moments equally as well... Lovely photos to accompany this post :)
ReplyDeleteI am right there with you....when you figure out how to stop it all..let me know.
ReplyDeleteHave a fantastic day together.
Thankyou for sharing this vulnerable bit of your mummy heart with us. I know what you mean about wanting to stop time. But the amazing thing about kids (and you know this already) is that though different ages bring different challenges, they also bring different things to cherish and be amazed at.
ReplyDeleteI hope you all have a great day today :)
What a lovely post. Thank you Kate xoxo
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Kate. If only we could.... :)
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing the other day with Busy. We walked up the hill to the letterbox and she didn't complain for the first time-usually wants to be carried for the last bit but she ran ahead playing with the dog... I like that she values my opinion...
ReplyDeleteGREAT photos.
Gorgeous happy snaps :)
ReplyDeleteOh such a lovely post x
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking the other day how I wanted to keep my youngest 2 to 3 months old forever (he just turned 2) but then there are moments that happen everyday that couldn't have happened if I just froze them in time.
ReplyDeleteI remember when we WERE the teenagers wanting to rebel and be terribly grown-up.
ReplyDeleteYours was the house we all hung out at. Why? Because your parents were the ones who trusted you, who didn't give you a curfew, who let the boys sleep over.
I think by letting you go, they managed to keep you closer.
Just keep doing what you're doing and take a leaf out of your own childhood.
I'm sure it wasn't perfect but it was pretty bloody good!
xx
such a lovely post... at the same time, though, I wish you many new and special moments in the future that you couldn't even imagine today xo
ReplyDeleteDitto!! My littlies are only 2 and 3 and although I don't mind the idea of them growing up by a few more years, I'm terrified by the thought of them ever becoming teenagers! And I'm so sad to think that one day they may not want to snuggle up on my lap or let me kiss them on their soft little necks... sigh!
ReplyDeleteGreat post with great photos ! Have a happy public holiday :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not ready either... but I kinda am. Just as you kinda are too. I'm still a way off, but I'm not at the 'sleeping through the night' stage either. I think the age your girls are at is just the perfect family moment, so I would freeze it just this way too.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, you all look super-cool! x
Beautiful post Kate. I think that I butt heads with my boys often enough that I hope for future times where maybe we will click or at least be able to be better mates. But there are still moments that I want to hold on to forever... Those photos are priceless :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you on this one Kate. Wouldn't it be magical to be able to pause time like that...
ReplyDeletefun piccies. x
What beautiful girls you are!
ReplyDeleteI am scared but, terribly excited for my girls future. It is going to be a rough time when she stops coming up to me 10 times a day just to tell me "I love you Mama."
Oh wow, I just love these photos Kate. How utterly gorgeous and precious these moments are. I know it's not PC to say this, but I'm jealous! I miss these days - I didn't value them enough when I had them. I'm actually in the thick of teen-land with two girls (VERY different personalities) and feeling my way in the dark every day ;) There is no rule book and I think we respond differently to each child because they are all so individual. We just do the best we can as things come along I think. Anyway, from what I can see I think you are doing BRILLIANTLY and everything you've done so far will hold you in good stead in the future! :) Kx
ReplyDeleteDaniel and I often talk about this stage, which, lucky for us, is a while off. But it's really daunting even now, the thought of our children being confronted and challenged by what other people have. You should check out Ruby Who? - a film by Hailey Bartholomew. I interviewed her here - http://cheandfidel.blogspot.com/2010/12/ruby-who-wonderful-giveaway.html
ReplyDeleteKate, such a lovely post! Mine are 14 months and 2.5 so I am yet to move into that stage you are experiencing and I can't wait! I have been blessed with good sleepers but they hate cafes and the older one does not want to abandon the nappies! But, like you, I don't want to speed up life. What kind of crafts do you do with your kids? xxx Fiona
ReplyDeleteoh well now you've just gone and made me cry!!! I so feel ya on this, I want to just capture every little precious mometn and make sure I absorb every fun memory and every silly game that makes me laugh because I know before long I will look back and want to just glimpse it one more time. I reckon youll always be the one they'll look up too, you seem like such a cool mum xx
ReplyDeleteWill we ever be ready? I doubt it! You are such a close and loving family & that is what kids remember. All the other stuff just passes by like the clouds in the sky. Love the photo's, you look like rock stars xo
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Kate - Dave and I were discussing the other day when the time woudl come that the girls don't want to hold our hands - at the moment they fight for the privelege - and I don't want the day to come when it's not cool or embarassing to do that.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you will all learn as you go and you'll be great.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if you could freeze time like that!! I love the photo of you and the girls sticking out your tonuges - cute and cheeky!
ReplyDeleteIt would be great to freeze time. What fab photos! You are very cool :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fab post...
ReplyDeleteI have two boys, one who is 22, so definitely doesn't want hugs or my opinion in very much, lol, and I have a ten year old, who still wants me to play, to cuddle, to act daft with.
I also have an 18 month old grandson, who's not quite old enough to get up to sneaky things with Nannie so that his parents don't find out, lol.
My husband often says to our daughters: "okay, you can stop growing now!" So far it hasn't worked. (= And I'm right there with you - I'm terrified of what the next years will bring. I was a terror as a teenager. My older daughter is only 11, but we've been dealing with the dreaded Peer Pressure for a while already. sigh. I never in my life imagined I'd be a strict mommy, but compared to her friends' moms, who let them have cell phones at age 10 (!!) and have their own facebook accounts (also at age 10!!) I am so very old school. And I hate it. But so far I'm holding strong. sigh sigh double sigh. Good luck to you and cherish all the moments of sweetness!
ReplyDeleteOh gosh, I hear ya. Enjoy them while they'll let you.
ReplyDeleteme too! Its awhile off yet but I feel like begging them.... lets be best friends forever.... don't shut me out.... oh my!
ReplyDeleteOh Kate, they ask you if their outfits look good? That's so fun. I have never had the opportunity to be style police, so I am abit jealous. My girl has been 'assembling' her own outfits with ummm, very decisive independence since she could dress herself...I am now finding SHE tells ME what looks good on me (outrageous)- suggests necklaces etc. How did that happen?! I like 8 and 10. I think I have got more chance of hanging around longer with 'the boy' (he's 10) than 'the girl' because of their personalities. Oh what a tricky one to navigate. Good luck x
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful snapshot all on it's own Kate. Mums, get all the dads out there to read what Kate has written here, please, and subscribe to this blog. Kate writes many important things that dads (and mums) need to read...
ReplyDeleteOh you just wait. Teenagers are awesome! It's wonderful watching them really emerge - their sense of self, their analytical and fresh brandshinynew intellect, their amazingly unjaded and non-cynical powerful sense of social justice.
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to be the baddie, just the benevolent dictator. You will be fine and so will your girls, because it's gradual, you do it together, and most importantly, you've laid the groundwork.
x
ps. send me your address and the book will be on its way, x
pps. They do eat rather a lot though.
ReplyDeleteI am a mummy but he's a boy and he's only three.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you what I know as a daughter. You do want to push the boundaries and explore the world around you. But then home is always warm and familiar and homely.
My mum will tell you that I was a holy hormonal sh*t to live with as a teenager. I remember vaguely being in that 'embarressed by my parents' stage but overall I remember looking at my parents in comparison to other parents around me and thinking 'thank god I got you'.
I'm 31 now and I still rely on my mum. She's my mate. I am definately my own person with my own personality but I know my mum will always be there for me.
Bree
Gorgeous post Kate! You and your girls look so happy together and yes everything you mentioned rings true with me too. Those feelings of being close to your kids and them telling you things about their daily lives is what makes them grow up to be great adults. I am sure your girls will grow up very close to you and Bren as you have a wonderful close knit family!
ReplyDeleteYour family pics look amazing Kate...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing them...
It is so nice to see a lovely moment in time...Yes...Freezing would be nice...But sometimes the little treasures can surprise us and grow up...and still love there Mum...
Beautiful post. Wow, touched a raw nerve. Tearing up now. Love your work.
ReplyDeleteH
such a beautiful post. you have a beautiful family, and three girls too, the best! i had the most amazing childhood with two sisters. my parents always knew when to trust and let go and when to use a firm hand. please do not worry, because as a teenager i argued, yelled and disagreed with my mum. there will be a time when you won't be their best friend. but know that when you get through those awkward few years, you'll come out the other side, and you'll have survived and you'll fill a spot that no one else can take away from you. at 27, my mum is one of my best friends, i love her beyond words and the distance between us (m&d live in san fran at the moment) only makes the love stronger. my mum has kept the handwritten letters telling her she can't make me go to school or be the boss of me, so we can look back and laugh at them in years to come. hang in there, no one can ever replace a mother! ps. now i tell her what to wear! haha. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! I have two chickens of my own, they're 4 and 5 at the mo, but in your pics I see glimmers of our future. And it's gorgeous! : )
ReplyDeleteThis design is spectacular! You definitely know how
ReplyDeleteto keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost.
..HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented
it. Too cool!
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