So I wrote the end of the last of the short stories I needed to write last night, and while it still needs some work, I’m pretty much done with that commitment – my plan was to enjoy one blissful day of baby cuddling and domestic catch up before I plunge into finishing that pesky third novel once and for all.

Ha, guess what happened? Yep, one sick child home from school.

In practice it hasn’t been too bad – I have reformatted a story, sorted some doll business and parcels, and otherwise am catching up on my reading, sewing and Xena watching when one child isn’t threatening to throw up and the other isn’t randomly screaming or clinging to my leg.

Then there’s the pipecleaners.

We’ve had an ongoing niggle with the school about notices – Raeli’s teachers seem to prefer the method of waving a small pile of notices around vaguely and *not* insisting that each child take one and put it in their bag. Five and six year olds. Uh huh. Which basically means that those parents who spend any amount of time in the playground chatting to each other are constantly finding out about things that we missed! You know, important things like notes to participate in school photos, or preparation for free dress days.

Last week, i discovered thanks to the parental gossip network that a flyer had gone out, detailing a particular “boat” that they wanted us to help our child construct for this week. When I asked the teacher about it on Friday, she had no flyers left and promised to have one there for Monday (which meant, as the boats were required this week, that we wouldn’t have the weekend to build the dratted thing).

With Raeli home sick today I was fretting a bit about that flyer, as we were running out of days when boat-construction was remotely practical. My honey, being the Best of Dads, volunteered to go to the school this morning and fetch the flyer. He ended up having to go to the office and photocopy it himself!

Not just a paper boat, as it turns out. It’s an elaborate sail-car which requires all kinds of crafty ingredients. Bendy straws, beads, toothpicks, pipe-cleaners… I have all of it except the last item, and my one attempt to leave the house was stalled by that promising-to-throw-up child again. Gah.

Pipe-cleaners. Really. This is my life, where the difference between a calm day and a stressed day is the lack of two freaking pipe-cleaners.

What I want to know is, how do families with two working-outside-the-house parents possibly cope with the weight of expectation that comes from primary schools? if it’s not baking cakes and constructing articulated vehicles it’s attending assemblies, sports days, fundraisers, meetings and that’s before we get to formal parent help – something I constantly feel guilty about not volunteering for.

Bah. What is a blog for if not whinging? Everyone cross fingers with me that my tykelet will be fresh as a daisy tomorrow, so my first daycare afternoon of the week can be spent as it should be – finishing a novel!

Tags: mothering, raeli, schooling, writing