Daddy day care

Good morning – I’ve made it to day two of daily blogging. And if you’re reading for the second consecutive day, you have too – congratulations! You must obviously be someone who makes all the best decisions in life!

Today is the first day I have both kids to myself. Mrs OddFather is going back to work for the next 10 Thursdays as part of her keeping-in-touch days, and I’ve decided this is my chance to swoop in and spend some quality time with the OddSon (and sometimes the OddDaughter too).

How I expect the day to go down:

• Both kids will wake up with a huge smile on their faces and we’ll enjoy time cuddling and playing silly games before getting out of bed.
• Breakfast? Easy, I make a pretty solid banana porridge that the kids love and will scoff down in a timely manner.
• It’s a day at home. I’m not going out in the impending storm/cold snap. So it’s naturally a Onesie day!
• The OddDaughter being 5 years old is great assistance. She’ll help look after the almost-10 month old OddSon, giving me plenty of time to vacuum the house, put a clothes wash on, and take down the Christmas tree.
• The OddSon will take his naps on time. He’ll settle in his cot, giving me a chance to get ahead and cook lunch and dinner in advance.
• Mrs OddFather will return in the evening with a clean house, smiles all round, with the kids showing how great of a day they had with their old man.

How the day will probably go down:

• There will be a lot of chaos as both kids want my attention.
• The porridge actually turns out solid – so it’ll have to be thrown out and Bran Flakes will have to do.
• The kids will mess up their outfits during breakfast – requiring a complete change in clothes. It will then turn out I don’t have the necessary ingredients for dinner so I will have to walk to the local supermarket in my Onesie which is covered in milk, banana, and porridge.
• The OddDaughter will decide today is a day where she chooses not to listen (a regular day, then). There will be lots of screaming, shouting and crying – and the kids may not show their best selves either. No errands will be done.
• The OddSon will decide he wants me to carry him while he sleeps. I’ll have little time to cook anything, and I will resort to downloading Deliveroo for a McDonald’s lunch and a kebab for dinner.
• Mrs OddFather will come home to a house turned upside-down, the OddSon locked in his playpen, the OddDaughter crying her eyes out, and me rocking in the corner mumbling things to myself.

Truth is, it’ll probably be a mix of the two. I’m actually relaxed – after working so hard for the last 6ish months without much of a break, I’m looking forward to a lazy day with the kids. The ups and downs are all just part of the fun.

Famous last words? Probably. I’ll report back on how it goes tomorrow.