A Really Good Day

I've come to understand that "witching hour" (which is not in fact an hour but generally the period just before dinner until bed time) is 90% responsible for all bad days.

Mornings are pretty nice in our house. Sadly W continues to wake at a completely inappropriate hour (sometimes pre 5am…) but one can easily recover from this injustice when he is at his morning-happiest, full of smiles and chatter. It's also good as he wakes at least an hour (sometimes two…sometimes three) before H, so you get to spend some alone time with him as well as enjoy a cup of tea, catch up on emails and the like.

Hearts can be heard sinking when H wakes up within an hour of W, but generally we get a good period of time to come to terms with the day before breakfast is demanded and the general three year old onslaught begins. Anyway, by the time she wakes up W is almost ready for his first nap which occurs daily from 8am-10am. This is always another easy period of the day with just one lucid child to care for, and usually said child follows me around pretending to be a princess/mermaid/ballerina while I do the morning chores and then we have a little play (I'm the shopkeeper…I'm always the shopkeeper).

Generally by the time W wakes up the house is tidy and we're all dressed and ready to head outside. Sometimes we'll go to the park or walk up to get groceries. Yesterday for example we walked to the tile shop to order tiles for the new kitchen (yes!) then all sat down to lunch at our local French cafe, which was VERY civilised if I do say so myself. I caught myself thinking what a LOVELY day we were having.

When we get home from our daily outing W has another nap and H and I apparently have a "rest time", which is almost never a rest time. Occasionally she pesters me enough that I let her watch TV. Usually there is more of the following me around/"helping" me while I get dinner on. Very, very rarely there is actually rest time.

By the afternoon, things begin to get fractious. H as mentioned has generally NOT had any rest time and is tired and whingey. She can't decide if she is hungry or bored. Something hurts, but she's not sure what. Meanwhile W has only recently dropped his third nap of the day so by 4pm he's also getting grumpy - but he won't nap. Suddenly at 4.45 the shit really hits the fan because oh, H IS hungry and WHERE'S HER DINNER? and W is also hungry, and really tired actually and Mummy has a headache.

But of course H doesn't want what's on the table for dinner, she wants the dinner she refused last night or will refuse tomorrow, and W is REALLY getting tired now and oh wait he might have a meltdown, let's get him in the bath but quick before he…oh yes he's peed on the bed. And H doesn't actually WANT a bath tonight Mummy she thinks she'll skip it and oh wow, today is a really crap day!

So now H is running away from me while I try to get her dressed and W has REALLY kicked off the screaming, which is really disconcerting as he rarely screams…just at 5.50pm every night when we're in this exact predicament.

And just as I'm cursing J for NEVER being home at this time and cursing everyone ever for simply existing, things are suddenly calmer. W is guzzling a bottle and drifting off. H is dressed and picking out books for us to read. And I listen to her happy, ridiculous chatter and look down at my tired, perfect baby boy and am finally able to reflect that today, like most, has been a really good day.

Z x