My photoshoot was cancelled today, so I got to spend the day with my boys (apart from meeting a bride in the afternoon… and yippee got another wedding gig for next year), but me oh my, it was one hell of a challenging day!

Connor was in top form!  I normally don’t blog much about my family life on this blog (apart from showing you hundreds of photos), and this is a little TMI but I have to get this out there.

He looks positively angelic in this photo… but wait until you hear what he got up to today!

5am – he woke up demanding a bottle, which Lance kindly got and I got to sleep in a bit late

7am – Bradley comes running upstairs shouting for us… Connor poo’ed on Bradley’s bed!!

8:30am – drama because he doesn’t want to eat the boiled egg and toast soldiers that he insisted on, and eventually had a banana for breakfast

9am – throws a frothy because Andrew (the gardener) doesn’t want to let him mow the lawn with the real lawnmower

9:45am – I take the boys to the photo shop to hand in a memory stick with TTD photos to get printed for my portfolio. Connor spots a balloon in the shop next door, grabs it and runs into the carpark.  I manage to grab him, return the balloon, and then forcibly restrain him on the counter at the photoshop while I try explain to the guy what I need to have done.  He’s screaming blue murder.  Eventually he promises he won’t run away again, and I put him down.  Within 5 seconds, he’s gapped it, and run out the door again into the carpark!  Manage to catch him and restrain him while he’s squirming and screaming like I’m killing him. Poor dude in the photoshop was trying hard not to laugh, and was trying very hard to hurry up so I could get out of the shop.

10am – arrive at Lifestyle to have their hair cut at Chop-It (a kids hair salon).  He spots the pet shop on the way through  the nursery and runs at top speed and runs from the bunnies to the hamsters to the birds and the fish and back again. Manage to catch him, and carry him squirming and crying into the hair salon.

Bear in mind, that at 2 and a half, he’s already weighing 19kg (42lb)… all this carrying around to restrain him is insane! For all you naysayers who moan at parents who have their kids on leashes – my day today is EXACTLY why leashes are a brilliant invention!

10:15am – Throws a frothy again when he spots a new chair they’re trying out at the salon.  It’s a motorbike mounted on a stand… very small motorbike.   He’s way too heavy and too big for the thing, so I wouldn’t let him sit on it.  It took me about 5 minutes to stop him screaming and squirming so that the hairdresser could cut his hair.

10:45am – Had another fit because he wanted the Ben10 toy I bought Bradley, and threw the new Bakugan I’d just bought him on the ground.  This time I didn’t have to carry him, as he was catching a ride on the nursery trolley (you know the huge ones that you shop for plants with).

4pm – peace at last… Bradley and Connor were riding bikes on the driveway with no problems, and I even managed to get a photo of him with a smile on his dial.

4:30pm – I was in the front garden planning where I’m going to move plants to, when Connor comes outside and starts stripping.  He wants to wee in the plants.  I’d had enough by then, so told him to go and wee in the toilet… 2 seconds later, I turn around to see him weeing on the front door!!

5:30pm – start cooking supper and convince Connor to stop bugging Bradley while he’s playing computer games and come and help me cook.  He felt a little warm… so I took his temperature… he has a fever!! No wonder we’ve had such a bad day!

Are you exhausted after reading that?  ‘Cos I sure am!