I used to do these Top 10 lists because random thoughts would pop into my mind about the various stituations I was in and doing a list was a funny way to compile them.

The Top 10 posts were all in my multiply blog though, which I don’t update anymore, so I’m going to shift all my old Top 10 posts and some others from there to here and back date them into the archives. Yeah, this blog is now our home on the web, and I’m digging in for the long term.

The only problem is that if you are using a RSS reader, I think you will be bombarded with all of the posts at one go when I publish them - so my apologies in advance for “spamming” you with old posts. If you don’t use a reader, you will be able to see all all the Top 10 posts here, when I re-post them.

Anyway, here’s 10 “fun” facts about parenting a kid

10. You pick up food that has fallen on the floor and pop it into your mouth without even realising what you’ve done.

9. You get cheered up by a cheeky smile (with dimples thrown in) after the depressing 4-1 defeat of your favourite team.

8. You suddenly realise you have one more mouth to feed, and a sashimi platter for two just won’t do anymore.

7 You find yourself saying “No” 100 times more a day than you ever did.

6. You count down the hours to nap time and bedtime.

5. You get a little too happy when friends have babies because you want to share ALL the joys of parenting with them.

4. You willingly spend money on anything that will stop the screaming.

3. You get to play your dress up barbie games again on a real life doll.

2. You become a regular at zoos, parks and toy shops instead of wine bars, cafes and fancy restaurants.

1. You remember reading that people without children are happier than those who do have children, but you can’t imagine going without anymore.

10) Thick doona, soft bed, the sound of rain pelting on the roof and nothing to do all day

9) Keira laughing

8) Japanese buffets

7) The sound of a loved one arriving back home

6) The taste of that sweet creamy something to round off a fulfilling dinner

5) The start of a new episode of Heroes

4) A pristinely clean house after a good round of scrubbing

3) Perfectly succulent siew yuk with crispy crunchy crackling

2) Big loud family reunions with every member present

1) Baby cuddles

10) Becoming totally boring to non-parents because all you can talk about is baby related

9) You start referring to yourself in the third person and your names become “Mummy” and “Daddy”

8) Saying goodbye to the “dinner and movie night out” couple’s staple activity

7) Letting yourself go because no time for personal grooming

6) Becoming nostalgic about 8 hours of good sleeping

5) Having to go to the toilet very quickly before baby notices you’re missing

4) Having to eat your meals with one hand because the other hand has a baby in it

3) Having to reduce your vocabulary to ah goo and ah boo

2) Living in London but not seeing any of it

1) Becoming a soppy idiot by saying that one grin from baby makes all the above worth while

10) Having to visit every public toilet anywhere you go

9) Gaining 3kg in one month

8) Having to sleep on 3 pillows at a 45 degree angle otherwise can’t breathe

7) Having to waddle breathlessly instead of stroll romantically along the River Siene in Paris

6) Having real life kicking action added throughout 2 hours of Spider Man 3

5) Eating a whole box of KFC popcorn chicken immediately after eating lunch

4) Forgetting the bump is there and bumping it into cabinets, sinks and everything standing at waist height

3) Having to roll off chairs and beds to get out of them

2) Bursting into tears when watching a birth scene on TV

1) Losing ownership of your own body because someone else is in there renovating!

10) You take two and a half hour lunches and no one cares

9) You’re gaining weight with the number of farewell cakes you have to eat every week

8) People from other companies tell you it will happen in two months

7) Your boss leaves and there’s no replacement

6) You’ve completed watching entire seasons of American dramas during work hours and have resorted to posting inane blogs to fill up your time

5) You get in to work at 10am and leave at 5pm

4) Even when there is work to do, no-one notices that it’s not been done

3) The only emails you receive in your inbox have subject headers that look like this: “FW:Talking Cat!”

2) Strange groups of men walk around the office with measuring tapes and notepads

And the number one sign that your company is going bust…

1) The standard water cooler greeting has evolved from “When ah..?” to “You’re still here ah?!”

10) Eat a New York hot dog by the curbside and philosophise about how this is essentially the same thing as having Chendol by the roadside

9) Catch a New York taxi cab by waving and shouting “Taxi!” and jump in before the little old lady can

8) Have a rude encounter with a New Yorker

7) Have a friendly encounter with a New Yorker *

6) Buy a bootleg designer item from the back of a car

5) Get yourself spotted on the NBC Today Show or the David Letterman Show

4) Order a Chinese takeout meal and figure out how the sauce doesn’t leak out from those paper boxes

3) Have a Cosmopolitan and drink it while peeping sultrily at the guy across the bar through your eyelashes

2) Have sashimi in a funky modern restaurant with friends and complain about how being gay has lost its trendiness.

1) Take a photo of yourself holding a Cornetto with your right hand held up high so at least people think you are a funny tourist.

* Yes take one of those little squirrels home.