My lazy Friday.

I don't work Fridays. I've agreed that normally I'll work Monday - Thursday lunchtime. That gives me Thursday afternoon to do housework while the kids are at nursery or to catch up on extra work that I really need to do. Some weeks I have a Thursday evening or afternoon meeting but Fridays are always free.

Just me, chilling at home with two toddlers.



Yeah, yeah - Butter wouldn't melt in his mouth would it?

 Today I initially decided that I was too poorly with a rotten cough and cold to do more than the bare minimum; hoovering and laundry could wait. Then it dawned on me - maybe I'd feel worst over the weekend and then have to slog through the housework whilst really ill. So after the kids had been fed gallons of porridge I got my first wash load on. I agreed to make a cake with the boys, a nice hands on activity and set a bowl of dried fruit to soak in tea. I drank my first cup of tea and started operation tidy the lounge.

Then I popped a couple of chicken breasts into the oven to cook so I could add them to a paella and soup later. I Found a couple of healthy kiddie lunchs in the freezer (tuna sweetcorn and pasta bake for Ciaran, turkey and carrot burgers for Ben). While these defrosted I scrubbed, dusted and polished the lounge then hoovered so that the carpet no longer felt like Brighton Beach, I loaded the dishwasher and got it going the first wash load hung out on the line with the second load in the machine. After unloading the dishwasher I helped the boys make their Ginger and Fruit Tea Loaf and popped it into the oven to bake and had a well deserved second cup of tea and a very late breakfast / brunch of bacon omlette (shared with Ciaran who has a seemingly endless capacity to eat food).

I put the kids lunchs in the oven to cook (normally seperate meals are a big no-no but Ben hates tuna pasta bake), broke up a fight, sent Ciaran to the naughty corner for one minute for continually laughing and standing on the sofa when ever I told him to sit down, sent Ben to the naughty corner for three minutes for kicking Ciaran and refusing to say sorry because he "doesn't like Ciaran anymore"; coaxed a very grudging apology from Ben and served kiddie lunch.



Give me some more food NOW!

 The I fed Ciaran a huge portion of tuna and pasta bake and tried to ignore Ben sulkily refusing to sit down to eat his turkey burger until my Mum (who'd popped in for a chat and cuppa) got bored of waiting for him to remember his manners and got him to the table. I stupidly concocted a story about Scooby Doo wanting to eat Ben's burgers and then had to keep rushing to the door or window to send Scooby Doo away (when will I learn - these innocent stories always backfire!). Fed myself, the boys and my Mum tea loaf with cup of tea number 3.

Ciaran is currently napping, Ben is engrossed in the adventures of the Imagination Movers so I have a little Mummy time. I had planned to blog from my iphone on the sofa, but my technical expertise is not quite enough to allow me to log into the app - let alone use it!

If you told me this was how I would spend days off before I had kids I would have been horrified! I keep reminding myself that in 12 years time with two teenage sons I will look back at these Fridays with rose tinted glasses and at least now they'll still let me cuddle them when they are in a good mood - I somehow doubt that teenage Ben and Ciaran will apologise with a cuddle and tell me that I am "the best Mummy in the whole big world that I ever saw before".