The 36-year-old Neighbours star
and her partner, celebrity chef
Shannon Bennett, have a chaotic
life with their brood Phoenix, 11,
Hendrix, 9, Xascha, 6, Xanthe, 4,
and twins Xalia and Margaux, 2. Yet
despite the madness, Madeleine says
she wouldn’t have it any other way.
My darling munchkins,
Thank you for putting down
whatever weapons you have fashioned
to injure each other with to read this.
I’m so excited about Mother’s Day, here
are a few ideas you might consider:
- Let me wake up when I’m ready.
(Not to alarms or wailing children.) - Make me breakfast in bed, but
keep it simple and likely to cause min-
imal mess. Because while I’m grinning
my way through charcoal toast, all
I’m thinking about is the clean up. - Now, take me out for an actual
breakfast, cooked by (and more impor-
tantly, cleaned up by) someone else. - Only give me flowers with a
note explaining you will trim them,
monitor their decline, remove droop-
ing stems, bin them and wash the vase. - Chocolates: give me two boxes,
one I can share with you lot, and one
I can scoff alone with a glass of red in
front of a box set of Vikings. - Make me a lunch
booking at somewhere
I like, or even better, let
me choose it myself in
advance, with a guest of
my choice. Hand me
my credit card with
instructions to buy
myself something nice
while I am out. An
opportunity to buy myself something
is the ultimate gift, except for perhaps
my very first macaroni necklace. - Post-lunch, send me to my
room. All I ask is a chance to relax,
have a glass of wine and watch a movie
in bed, alone.
“RAISING ALL SIX OF YOU IS MY
GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT”- Madeleine West, actor
Raising six young
children is a
challenging but
rewarding experience
for Madeleine.“Being the centre
of your perfect
little universes
is the thing I
treasure most”Mum xxxxx- If all of the above is impossible
what I want, more than anything, are
your best hugs, kisses and for you all
to tell me you love me. Because right
now, being the centre of your perfect
little universes is the thing I treasure
most. Perhaps it feeds my ego, per-
haps it justifies the sacrifices mother-
hood has asked of me along the way,
but I suspect it is just the realisation
that this time is fleeting. Right now,
you cannot show me your love enough,
but it is something that I know you
will too soon grow out
of, and it is the thing
I will miss the most:
being kissed, being
held, being loved. Look
me in the eye and tell
me you love me. Not
just on Mother’s Day,
but every day. You are
my greatest achieve-
ment, my pride, my joy. I hope that in
some small way, I am yours, too.
Thank you, my darlings, for com-
ing into my world. The person I am as
your mum is the very best me I could
ever wish to be.
EMOTIONAL