Being a Mum

Monday was my very first day all alone looking after the kids for the entire day. Yes, I know it is unbeleivable but with Cat starting work and me with a more flexible working arrangement, I have opted to look after the kids on Mondays until they begin nursery for five days a week next year.
It is not an easy task for the amateur like me so I planned the day to be very active to avoid midday slumps, whingeing and me getting too stressed. So the day began with a trip to the leisure centre for some softplay fun. Dylan loved it and was hard to chase after. Aimee just loves one thing and that is the slanted foam structure that acts as a slide. She really goes for it there. After softplay, we lunched at the cafetaria and then went home to be met by the Homestart assistant Anne. Homestart is a charity that offers volunteers to come round to families with young kids and offers emotional support and a person to just help play with the kids while you take a break. It is a lifeline that Cat very much needed when she was going through a tough period and I guess we just carried on with the scheme. But I suspect our needs are no longer as valid as other families anymore so it is a relationship that may soon come to an end.
With dylan sleeping most of the afternoon, I could take time to paint Aimee's face as you can see.
Finally, dinner and bath, then Mum comes home to kiss the kids goodnight. The day was a complete reversal of how we were when I was working and Cat was home on maternity leave. I felt very motherly all day!
And the good thing I realised at the end was that I did not need to use the TV as a distraction all day.