The A-Z of Me!

The A-Z of me tag is a quick way to tell people lots of useless crap about yourself.  It’s a bit of narcissistic fun and I’ve really enjoyed reading them all lately.  It’s also a lot harder than you think! 

Anyhoo, I’ve been tagged by Ellen from El and Baby A so in passing the baton I now tag Mum I Am.

A is for Athy the town I hail from in south Kildare.  A heritage town and one I didn’t appreciate when I was younger.  But who does?    

B stands for Blogger.  I have been a blogger for over three years now and it has opened up a whole new world for me.  It has helped me (I hope!) hone my writing skills and I regularly appear in Irish parenting magazines such as Easy Parenting and Mums and Tots.  I also have a weekly column in a local newspaper.  People aren’t afraid to talk to me at all. 

C stands for Caesarean Section.  Lovely Liam was whipped out rather quickly when I was almost 38 weeks.  He is still rather fond of listening to the story of how he came out of my hole.  His words not mine.  

D stands for Dublin where I lived during that obligatory rite of passage in my twenties and into my thirties.  I have some very fond memories of the lovely time spent in Ranelagh with a large group of friends.

E is for eggs of which I am rather fond.  A great source of protein and they really do fill me up.  I love them boiled, poached or scrambled.  But I have to scramble my own.  Very fussy like that.

F is for fanny.  Fanny bag, Fanny in Enid Blyton’s Folk of the Faraway Tree books and I’ve got one.  What’s not to love? 

G is for Guinness.  I love the stuff.  But I will only drink a glass and not a pint.    When I was pregnant for the first time, non-alcoholic beer tasted too much like sudsy washing up water for my liking so I tried Guinness on the premise that if it was good enough to be dished out in Irish maternity hospitals, it was good enough for me. I allowed myself one glass only.      

H stands for hangover.  Which I had at the time of writing.  We attended a lovely family communion over the weekend and I over indulged in the white wine.  I will never learn.  But at least my four year old witnessed everything and made sure to fill me in the following morning.  Leaving him at home the next time!    

I stands for incoherent.  Sometimes, when I am very tired, pissed off, stressed or just plain old full of life, I literally do not have any of the words.  Even simple stuff like trying to say my boys’ names and issuing instructions is beyond me.  I use words like “thing,” “yoke,” and “stuff.”  Example being, “Boy!  You!  Get that yoke and put it in the place.  No!  Not that!  The other thing and put it in the place!”

J is for Juno, our lovely girl doggy.  Without a doubt the smartest, cleverest most patient four legged critter to have ever lived with four boy children and their parents.  She is almost three years old and already getting her little white beard under her chin.     

K is for Kick Ass which I like to think I do on a daily basis but in reality I usually get my own ass kicked.   

L stands for Lidl as in the supermarket.  Ours was razed to the ground for a total facelift.  It got one and opened its doors for the first time last Thursday!  I feared for my life in the car park!  And I almost lost my four year old twice when I got inside.  It was so much fun I went back in after the school run with the other three.

M stands for Menfolk of which I have five.  And they have made my life all the richer.

N is for notebooks of which I have many.  Some are empty, some are filled and others have bits and pieces written in them.  I love notebooks.  But you should see the absolute state of my handwriting.       

O is for Opulence.  A lifestyle I aspire to.  When I win the lotto.  See here and here for my lotto wish lists.  

P stands Partial Heterochromia Iridium.  That’s the science bit.  The English bit is I have one.  Basically it’s a brown spot in my iris.  My left eye is half green and half brown.     

Q stands for quiet which my house is not!  I like my space, both physically and emotionally.  When things get too loud, I get nervy and jumpy. I have been known to cry on the stairs during these times.    

R is for running.  I spend quite a bit of time doing this; away from my boys and of course the times when I strap on a pair of Asics and go for a 5k or a 7k depending on the energy levels.  Juno comes with me and sometimes I try to race her.  If the weather is really hot and warm, I win.  She doesn’t do well in the heat. 

S is for sleep.  Of which I was denied for so long.  But now it is all mine again.  Bahahahahaha.

T stands for The Fear [of lots of things] but mainly any of my kids falling and cracking their skulls open or losing a digit in the slammer gate in the school yard.  Breaking it down further, it’s the logistics of arranging childcare for three other kids in the event that I have to rush off in the case of an emergency.  That’s the hard part.  I’d let them fall all over the place otherwise.   

U stands for underwear.  (Sorry, I was stuck!) I could have mentioned u-bend or underwire.  Did you know that a good bra can make you look anything up to 6 pounds lighter?  It can!  Your clothes will fit much better as a result.  G’wan, treat yourself.  Get a professional measure and buy yourself something nice.   

V is for Vanilla.  I love vanilla ice-cream, I use proper vanilla extract when I bake and if I were to describe myself, I think I would probably say vanilla.  Maybe with a bit of strawberry ripple on a really good day.  I am ok with being vanilla.  I don’t court drama and dislike confrontations of any description.  I’m vanilla and proud.   

W can stand for nothing else except wine.  My lovely ice cold Pinot Grigio of a Saturday evening.

X is for X-rated and by that I mean my language at times.  I suppose it’s not as bad as what I say in my head.  Having kids around you pretty much 24/7 keeps it clean.  Ish.  I do love a good swear word though.

Y is for Yes!  Yes when I step on the scales and lose another pound.  Yes when I won a lovely dress from Rock Frocks at Valentines. Yes when it’s the weekend and Yes for Equality.  Vote Yes!

Z is for zits.  Or fekin spots.  I seem to be breaking out more and more recently.   It’s not adult acne or anything like that, but I do get one or two really sore under the surface ones.  It’s only one of the many things I am noticing about myself over the last while.   It’s like puberty in reverse for me.  That Time of My Life.

That’s my A-Z of me.  Feel free to do one of your own.