As I opened another box of cough syrup and loosened the measuring cup to wash before use, I thought about how many of these little plastic lids I have wriggled out of  medicine bottles over the past 8 years; probably enough to fill a bath for 3 kiddies for a week!

This got me thinking about the stuff that one accumulates as a parent, about stuff that takes up space, and which we always seem to be ‘tripping over’ but which we can never seem to find when we need it.  Aaaahhh…..for B.K. (before kids) life…..

– 15 medicine measuring cups and 2 medicine measuring spoons (just in case);

– 23 pieces of tupperware and 41 tupperware lids (of course – all mums know about the tupperware nightly alien invasion which makes matching lids to containers harder than completing a 1,000 piece puzzle in record breaking time!);

– Approx. 57 pairs of socks and 23 solo socks;

– Bags….who’d have thunk it?  How can kids have more bags than me???  That is heresy!!!  I am the bag lady, the one who appreciates the beauty of hold alls….but now my kids’ pulley bags, back packs, lunch bags, pencil cases, beach bags, shopping bags, totes (yes….DD has totes!) take up an entire cupboard……whilst mine occupy a quarter of one……

– Footballs – suffice to say we can supply the next World Cup with balls;

– Football trading cards – enough to wallpaper my entire house;

– Moshi Monsters – oh well…these little critters…..if we stacked them one on one, I am sure they would match the height of the Burj Khalifa;

– Lego – see Moshi Monsters above (and add in the Burj al Arab);

– Blankies…..seems you can never have enough of these.  A third of wardrobe space is devoted to blankies.  If you have ever lost a favourite blankie…..this makes sense!  As a parent you keep every single snuggly, comfy, fleecy blankie which might do in the event of the loss of a favourite;

– Football kits – I could kit out the English, Irish, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea teams;

– Underwear – I just do not know what they do with them;

– Socks – With 3 kids, that must mean there are 3 ‘sock ghosts’ who steal the half that makes up the pair;

– Hair bobbles – we have enough bobbles to tie up the hair of all 3…….but when we go looking for them pre-school run time…. Godot would be easier to find!

– Snacks – OMG…I have an entire cupboard of snacks.  Enough to feed an army……on both sides of the battle…..

– Goggles – enough to equip the Olympic swim team of any nation;

But…no matter what the ‘booty’, it just never seems enough!