Mum of the Year award?

You know it's nearly the end of the year when everywhere you turn there are countdowns on TV, in the papers and magazines reflecting the past year. Recently I have read various postings from Mum׳s of twins who feel parents of singletons really don't get what it's like to parent twins and it got me thinking who would be up for awards for Mum of the Year?

Would it be Mum's of only children, Mum's of twins or multiples, Mum's of sick children, Mum's of many children? What makes a good Mum and who would get an award?

Until I became a parent I had no idea what being a Mummy entailed other than knowing that I wanted to emulate the amazing upbringing and foundation in life that my dear Mum (z"l) gave me. I must have made countless "Best Mum of the year" cards, certificates, bracelets, mugs for her over the years and every one was true. I knew that I wanted to have lots of kids to teach, love, hug and bring into this fun but crazy world. Having one baby was tough. I spent a lot of my time in pyjamas and never really worked out why it took 2 hours to leave the house. By the time my twins came along I could get 4 children out of the house in record time.

For me this time of year is always very special as the 2nd January is my gorgeous girlies birthday and unbelievably they are about to be 3 years old. I still remember as if it was only yesterday being told in the Harley Street clinic that I was going to bring identical twins into the world. DH and I still sometimes say to each other "Can you believe we have twins?"

I look back fondly at the baby stage of their lives when they were able to gurgle cutely on a play-mat and if I left them for a moment they wouldn't move and certainly couldn't take a red felt tip pen and draw all over the playroom walls like they did today.

A and E come home from nursery every day like a whirlwind, a force to be reckoned with but they are also great company. There is rarely a dull moment when they are around. On Sunday we got home from a trip to the Dead Sea. It had been a great day and the girls had slept in the car all the way home. When I got them home I woke them up, carried them individually up the 26 steps to the front door of our house and tried to convince them it was dinner time.

Well 2 years olds are known for their ability to have tantrums and clearly my gift after taking them out for the day was to have a tantrum in stereo. They both screamed, lay on the floor, kicked and demanded that I hold them. Neither of them wanted DH it had to be me. So in the end I did my best to sit on the sofa with them both. Neither of them were impressed as they wanted both my knees and both my arms around them. Somehow we got through it. It took approximately 45 minutes (which gave DH time to make dinner) and eventually peace resumed in the house.

So does any of this constitute me being awarded Mum of the Year award? Sometimes I feel more like a police constable (telling them off), shepherdess (rounding them up), judge (deciding who really is to blame and doling out the appropriate punishment) as well as chief cook and bottle washer and laundry maid.

But really I think that all Mum's do an amazing job and I know if we were to ask our kids who they would vote for in a Mum of the Year contest we would all be chuffed at their response which reminds me I really should treasure (and keep ) all the cards and awards I get from my amazing kids.