The Papa just twisted his ankle at a soccer games last Sunday. And while it’s been kinda painful for him, and I feel bad to gloat about it, but I was glad Papa had to rest at home because of that.

Even though, admittedly, Papa doesn’t do that much to take care of the kids at home, the house somehow just becomes brighter and happier whenever he’s around. The kids swamp to him, bug him to carry them or play with them, and for naughty situations, there’s always Papa to ensure compliance and discipline.

Mondays are my off-days BUT are typically my most tiring day of the week, especially if Joey doesn’t go to school that day. Papa goes to work in the morning and a mad day of being stuck in the house with 2 hyperactive kids commences.

There is hardly a moment of peace when both kids are up and awake and running around. One moment, I need to tend to Joey’s request for 101 things, and the next thing I know, Jayne is already soaking wet cos she went into the bathroom without my knowledge and had started her ‘pretend swimming’ on the bathroom floor (Check out the wet patch on Jayne’s tee in photo above). In between all the rescue work, I have to manage cooking the meals for the kids (usually soup & rice for Joey and porridge for Jayne), a meal for myself and the basic sweeping and mopping every Monday. And I haven’t even mentioned the endless diaper-changing and bottle-feeding.

Usually by afternoon time, things settle down slightly and the kids nap. If I am lucky enough, I get to lie down and have a little nap as well, until Jayne wakes up. Sadly though, Jayne usually doesn’t nap for long. On a good day, she sleeps for 90 minutes to 2 hours, and I get to have a decent rest. Otherwise, she normally sleeps for an hour and is all hyper and active again. An hour’s nap for me usually does more harm than good – I am forced to wake up with a terrible headache and a groggy head. Sigh. I know: At least I got to nap. But still.

After naptime is usually spent waiting for Papa to reach home and that ends my very tiring Monday. Next thing I know, it’s time to sleep and my first day of work in a week beckons me.

So seriously, you can’t blame me for wishing that Jayne is already 3 years old and starting school. By then, both girls are in school and my Mondays can truly be spent on more relaxing stuffs than bonding with my kids (which can be reserved for Saturdays and Sundays anyway, when Papa is around too!). What would I do on Mondays then, you ask?? Here’s my list of the Top 5 Things!

1) SLEEP THE WHOLE DAY
Seriously, I admit, after becoming a mum, the thing I’ve been most deprived of is sleep. I don’t just crave for sleep, I crave for the freedom to sleep anytime I want! With kids around, I can only sleep when they sleep and when they fall asleep, I sometimes don’t feel sleepy anymore and that irks me max! By the time I get sleepy enough, they wake up.

2) SHOP & EAT
Now, if you are not yet a dad or a mum, you will never appreciate how relaxing it is to be able to eat an entire meal in peace. Most of the time, when I bring my kids out, I have to feed them or entertain them while I’m eating. If they refuse to sit in the high-chairs, I have to carry them on my laps or carry them and walk around. We call it multi-task meal time.

3) MANICURE & MASSAGE
Yes I would go for all the self-pampering stuffs I have been dying to do! Right now, whenever I want to plan for a hair-cut, manicure, pedicure, massage, whatever, I have to take leave just to go do them! A Monday would be the perfect day to do them all. =)

4) GO DATING WITH MY HUBBY
People who say that dating is no longer relevant after kids came along obviously don’t know what they are talking about. In my opinion, dating became even more important after the little ones entered our lives. They took up such a great portion that we need quality soul time to perk ourselves up and give each other the boost we all need to keep the sanity. Hubby can take leave, whatever! And we can go pak toring like we used to! Ah… bliss.

5) JOIN A DANCE CLASS
I do still love dancing. It’s just not something I can afford to do now, time-wise. Blogging is undoubtedly my hobby, but I can do with something that allows me to exercise and sweat it out too! I used to dance in my younger days and dancing always make me happy. =)

Sidetrack, my girl has a warped kind of dress sense. She did this randomly the other day – Pulled up her PJ pants high up to her chest and said to me, ‘Mummy. Isn’t this pretty?’

As you can see, I have already made grand plans for my off-days when it finally comes in 2 years’ time. I seriously can’t wait.

Now, back to the kids first.