Bad parent...

What is it about tea time that reduces my hobbits to a gaggling bundle of giggles?

I fear that I have no control over them and their infectious laughter.

I know I should reprimand them for burping, farting or speaking with their mouth full - but alas I end up often laughing with them...does this make me a bad parent?

Stern faced I say, "Don't speak with your mouthful." Which 9 times out of 10 sends them into laughter, and after some initial concentration I eventually can't help but join them - I am clearly a failure.  My hobbits will grow up with dreadful table manners and it will all be my fault.

It can be very hard when you don't have a second parent to back you up in your quest for the perfect child, and having three infectious giggly hobbits often means they rub off on each other and make the whole situation worse than it was.

There are some that view my life as very hard and complicated.
"Oh my god, three boys...really? How do you cope?"
"They are a little noisy aren't they?"
"Why would you choose to have three?" An odd question if ever there was one, but has been asked on numerous occasions.

Well, to be honest having three was not a deliberate choice - falling pregnant very quickly after having our first child was not exactly planned, and being told it was twins - was definitely not mentioned in the small print. The fact that sods law gave me all boys, was just karma of something I had done in a previously life.

However, individually they bring happiness and sunshine to my life, and lately not many things do that - so actually I am more than lucky to have them.

For those who look at me with concern as I bundle my way through supermarkets, and argue for the fifteenth time to put on their shoes/get dressed/clean their teeth/bring their bikes in - or whatever comment you add here, well to be honest you don't really see what I see.

Maybe you only had girls, or one child, or a large age gap between your children - but please don't judge my boys, because they are amazing.

They are the only ones who know when to hug me instinctively; who bring me home made paintings with pasta on them or who make me feel special EVERY day.

Who said children should be seen and not heard? A foolhardy person if you ask me, because isn't that what children are all about? Learning, shouting and having fun?

So far they have completed me in every way - I can't wait to see what they do in the future.