Mondays

On Sunday afternoon (or sometimes earlier), I start mentally checking through my list of things to do on a Monday. I almost breathe a sigh of relief on Monday morning when the weekend is over and I can regroup, clean, get organised and get ready for the week ahead. In my mind it's a big day. I like to clean the whole house from top to bottom, make sure we are home for the kids' sleeps after a weekend out and about and usually do some cooking. Although I love it when there is enough dinner left over so I don't have to worry about cooking dinner, and maybe just get some purees done for Olive. Olive also has music and usually we have a coffee with someone either before music or after the kids wake up from their afternoon sleep. It's predominantly a home day, but my busiest day.

I tried a few weeks ago to do the whole clean your house in zones thing. It makes so much sense to me to thoroughly clean a few rooms one day, a few the next and a few the next on top of the usual stuff that has to be done every day to keep the house wheels turning. The problem was I would clean one zone really well (windowsills and all), then just not get to the other zones like I planned because other stuff took over. So I would have a really clean portion of the house but then our room skipped a vacuum and mop for the week. So I am back to cleaning the whole house on a Monday. My concession was changing our sheets Monday and leaving the kids' beds until Tuesdays!

But Olive is helping me not sweat the small stuff. I am such a person of routine. I love the kids in a routine, I like knowing what is coming myself, I like having things done and ordered. I love planning. Don't get me wrong when I say this, Milo has been showered in affection his whole life, but with Olive I stop and enjoy the cuddle. I mean really enjoy it. Sniff her head, kiss her cheeks and just stretch it out as long as I can. Milo was a toddler before I knew it and I know this lovely baby stage will come to an end quickly.

So yesterday (Monday), when Olive woke up after an unusually short morning sleep and I had only gotten as far as cleaning the kitchen and bathroom I got her up and we cuddled. I mean beautiful, quiet, uninterrupted cuddles. Milo was with his grandparents so we just sat and I enjoyed it. It was the best part of my day actually. She is usually so active and busy (even though she is a snuggly baby) so I stopped and drank her in rather than putting her down to play with her toys and rushing off to finish the cleaning. I just can't imagine anything better. I posted one of the photos above on Instagram yesterday and conversation ensued about whether it really does get better as kids grow up, because I love this stage so much. My friend Olivia told me there is gold in every season, but nothing quite like the baby snuggles.

So today I have to mop the floors because while I finished the rest of the house in her afternoon sleep yesterday, I didn't get that far, and that's ok with me.

As an aside, do you think because I love the baby stage so much God has given me two baldies so they look like babies for longer? I think so!



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