The end of a stay at home mum's work week is a Sunday.
Quicker than you can say 'stop sticking your sister's fingers up the vacuum!', it's Monday morning and the whole shimbang starts all over again.
You make your morning coffee and set it aside as always to change nappies and serve babies first. "I made you guys french toast for breakfast today!" "French toast is yucky!I want grilled cheese!" ... One grilled cheese and lots of tension later and what do you get? "Not THIS cheese! The other cheese!" You put your coffee in the microwave and start the search party for that 'other' cheese.
You cleverly ditch pleas about wanting to watch their Wiggles DVD with a pre-planned Play-doh session. Turning around to see Izzy feeding Play-doh pie to Sofia, the Wiggles DVD is on and ready for distraction.
Meanwhile ... the microwave is beeping that your morning (now brunch) coffee has been re-heated. You take one sip and ...
"I want to wear my fairy dress!" "It's too cold for that today Izzy." "I'm not cold - see!" She strips down to prove her point. You go get her fairy dress.
Cautiously, you make your way back to that waiting coffee mug in the kitchen. There you see Sofia climbing the kitchen table and whisk her down just as she says her self-congratulatory "Tah-dah!"
A high pitch scream has you running back into the living room, baby in one arm. "What's wrong?!" "My blocks broken! They won't stick together and I can't make my castle!" You try helping your distraught 4 year old. "Mummy! You're getting it all wrong! That's not a big girl castle! That's a baby castle for babies! I'm a BIG GIRL!! You can't do it properly. Mummy needs a time out!"
Giving up, you leave them alone, and go cook lunch, nursing that coffee mug by the stove. "Mac and cheese for lunch today!" "But I want sausages!!!!" You throw the remainder of that coffee down the drain and head back to the freezer.
A quiet moment of colouring between you and your 4 year old, while baby takes her afternoon nap. "I don't want to grow up mummy." "Why?" "I like me just the way I am." "But you'll like who you'll become too." "But I don't know who's the me I'll be then."
.... "I can help you with that."
And THAT'S why we keep coming back to work every Monday.
