Magic Mix

Max has been up to his tricks again, taking advantage of our wonderful new Latvian au pair.

He told Ana that he and Freya drink Ribena without adding water - apparently Ana has never come across 'cordial' before, and was giving it to the darlings to drink as per their instructions. Further Max has taken Ana to our local Tesco Metro on the way home from school, to restock on chocolate spread - as he told her that we had 'run out'! He is a cheeky little chap. I didn't think that he even knew what chocolate spread was! Also, surely drinking Ribena with no water is totally disgusting? Actually it explains why the children have been a pair of maniacs every evening this week when James and I returned from work.

This is a sign of intelligence as far as I am concerned. Nothing too dark there I feel. But I did rather fear that I would loose my mind completely this evening, when I returned home with Freya having taken my mother home, to find Max had been playing upstairs in my bathroom unsupervised for over an hour on his own while Papa nursed the remnants of his hangover from yesterday.

OHMYGOD! Max had been making a special 'magic mix', in the glass from my bedside table. He had mixed a large portion of Molton Brown 'thai vert' hand wash, with the remains of a bottle of Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin perfume, my Pearl drops tooth polish and a chunk of my Eve Lom cleanser! He was mixing it up with my electric toothbrush. I am losing my sanity!

Have I ever been 'sane' since these sweet children were born? Sleep deprivation and general exhaustion have pushed me to the edge of reason on many occasions. For a long time I enjoyed bath time - but lately, I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when the children simultaneously do that thing in the bath where they move all of the water at once into one enormous tidal wave and out onto the bathroom floor. Bath time has become terrifying - an exercise in damage limitation.

In my innocence (before motherhood) I had always imagined baking with children or even messy play of any description could be the most satisfying fun. Now I am aware of the price of home furnishings, and this form of activity could very well herald a panic attack.

Family life is turning out to be an expensive destructive 'magic mix'. I want a glass of wine! 35 days left of not drinking (if you don't include today). Today is so hard.......... actually, 36 days to go as today is not over yet.