Luckily I like Superheros!

Most people who knew me before I had kids would have probably visualised me having little girls #whoruntheworld. I expected to have to navigate my way through the teenage years with my empowered, head strong, versions of myself who thought they knew it all, based on my own experience of being a teenager (which made me nervous). I really didn’t expect to be such a boy breeder. In the end (and yes it is the end!! My pregnancy days are over!) turns out I am totally outnumbered in my house and live with 4 men including Derek (husband). As I have no experience raising girls I don’t know if all the generalisations are true such as ‘boys wreck your home and girls wreck your head’. What I do know is boys definitely wreck your home...and your head. A friend of mine (another boy breeder) recently said she found herself saying to her boys “are you fighting in real life or Roblox”...that really does encapture life in my house too. It’s a whirlwind and because I’m so used to the madness it’s only when other people outside my family or close friends are around that I notice that the stuff I find normal are in fact utterly crazy. Yesterday we went on a walk in the Furry Glen in the Phoenix Park, myself and Derek were chatting away as our children pretty much scaled a muck wall the height of a house..it was only when a couple of men walked by saying “Wow” we realised it was no mean feat! We ‘asked’ them to get down, as every responsible parent would (oops), so they decided to slide down saying “WEEEEEEE” having wild craic as if on a very steep water slide. It was mostly funny and impressive...if not somewhat alarming.

When I had my first boy I fell so utterly and absolutely in love. When I was pregnant with my second boy I knew it was meant to be that I would be surrounded by beautiful boys. I take my role pretty seriously and hope to send 3 amazing, kind, considerate, happy men into the world. My main aim here is so when I’m old they will look after me as I won’t have a daughter to do all the minding (I’m only half joking). Myself and Derek are definitely not the type of parents to expect boys to be boys and girls to be girls however it would seem our children have decided Ninja is a way of life since birth and are very stereotypically ‘boyish’! When I realised it was to be a house full of men for me I decided to not be the boring mother who sits freezing on the beach while the kids and Derek brave the icy sea. That I would jump off the dive boards in salt hill even though it’s freezing. That I would embrace whatever sports they liked, learn all the rules and go to all the games...all of these resolutions were overruled when I realised that I HATE BEING COLD. I will go on any rollercoaster or jump out of a plane but I will avoid being cold at all costs. Over the years going out with Derek I have tried to get to like soccer, figure out the rules and know what’s going on in which league but it turns out I just don’t care enough. Now that my eldest son is absolutely obsessed with soccer I try my best to get into it..it’s hard...really hard! My sister Claire O’Loughlin has the right idea, her plan is to encourage and pay as much interest into Leo’s soccer dreams (and buy him all the stuff he might need to perfect his skills!) on the off chance he makes it big and will remember all her support! Excellent forward planning on her behalf however when the piles of endless mucky soccer (and GAA) gear keeps coming hard and fast at me,

it’s hard to maintain that kind of enthusiasm...especially when you know there is a 5 year old and a 3 year old coming behind him who will no doubt have similar mucky obsessions.

I have become very comfortable as Queen in a house full of boys...totally outnumbered but I’m fine with that. I may not love soccer but I LOVE Superhero movies so to my kids I am seriously cool (for now)...I won’t tell them until they are older that the movie stars in said movies are a big draw for me...but I will enjoy the fact that we can bond over something other than soccer and that I can answer all their Superhero related questions. As I write this all three kids are engrossed in Superman II from 1980...heaven.