Home now.... didn't get to the art gallery because Verity was too tired after being with DH all morning (although they both really enjoyed the time together)... but it was still good to get out...and some of you know how much Wade loooves playing at that Thomas The Tank Engine table in Myer hey

IK: thanks, you made a lot of really good points but the main issue with the cleaning up around here is that I need blocks of time to do stuff that a cleaner couldn't do. Our paperwork (filing bills and statements) and putting away clutter. Stuff that gets brought into the house and/or just needs putting away is our biggest issue. I actually do manage to keep most surfaces clean (which is really all a cleaner can do) so when I get my mum's assistant she'll be keeping an eye on the kids while I tackle the filing etc. DH and I just never seem to find time to do it. He pushes paper all day in the office so the last thing he wants to do when he gets home or on the weekend is more filing... we have about 10 years of "papers" that has just been shoved in Reflex boxes that desperately needs sorting. Before we got the digital camera we accumulated about 10 years of photos that still need putting into albums! This kinda stuff... cleaners can't do this and it's really really getting me down. None of it's desperately urgent... we manage to pay all our bills on time, that's no problem, it's just doing the paperwork afterwards. The thing is if I was to say, tackle the photos right now, Verity and Wade would want to get involved and before I know it the whole process has either come to a standstill because I have to answer a million questions about the pictures or else Verity will try to start organising me or saying "no! I look awful in that photo... don't put it in the album!" etc.... I just want to be LEFT ALONE to do the job... and that's only about 1 issue... there's other stuff that needs sorting like all my artwork/creative writing etc that's cluttering up the house and needs time to be dealt with. *sigh* so it's head space i need... I just never seem to get it... so a Mother's Assitant it will have to be... she can take them to the park and i'll be able to get on with it... and because I'm paying her I won't be tempted to dawdle over the task either.

back in a tic...

back: DH is actually quite domesticated despite his upbringing. He cooked all the meals over the long weekend, for example. He also tends to do the washing on the weekends and cleans the kitchen to perfection. But like your DP IK, he somehow can't wrap his brain around putting away general clutter and definately has a strong aversion to filing. Oh, he also loves doing the vacuuming and makes a good effort to clean the toilets every so often. I can't really complain about him... but like I keep saying: he does kinda think that because I am at home I should be able to do stuff like the photos and filing... but he doesn't understand how much the kids get in the way, even just the sound of them arguing puts me off. For example. I need to read and ring around a few utilites companies because i'm not happy with TRU energy... so i have all this literature that I want to be able to read and digest... then I want to be able to ring the companies to compare deals etc... but this isn't possible with kids in the house.... I've HAD to do it before when we have moved house... and it's just too frustrationg and mistakes are made and I'm so sick of trying to explain to the call-centre person that the screaming in the background is not an axe murderer... it's just my baby exercising his lungs! LOL

Ok... thanks all for indulging me in yet another rant... here's me emailing DH that mother's assistant Job Descrption.