Endotarama

Got up at 2.30am to give Jack cough medicine, a drink and a cuddle. Didn't bother me.

Got up at 4.30am to find Phoebe's dummy. That was fine too.

Was woken by cold little feet being put into my side of the bed at 6.30am. Not a problem.

Left Christian to sleep in for a few hours while I made the kids breakfast, dressed them and watched "Finding Emo" (yes, that's right, it's a movie about a search for a troubled teen, I think) for the 20th time this week. Perfectly fine.

Endured several hours of a tired, sick, cranky Jack before he put himself back to bed. No worries.

Cleaned a house on a Saturday mornning, knowing that the same jobs had been performed the day before, and would need to be done again tomorrow. All good.

You may be wondering if I had discovered a secret stash of hallucinogens in the linen cupboard, or perhaps begun drinking absinthe before lunchtime? No, my friends, as tempting as both of those explanations may sound, the reason behind my zen attitude today was quite simple. No matter what happened to me this morning, I knew that I was off to Endota Spa this afternoon for 30 minutes of sheer bliss. That's right - HALF AN HOUR!!!! When Maisie was born, my darling friend Kathryn gave me a 30 minute massage at Endota for a baby gift, and I have only taken seven months to find the time to do it. The enchanting thing about going to Endota, is that there are no phones, no bright lights, no children, no endless, endless questions that would have no logical answer...just a darkened room, soothing music, and aromas that do not make your nose wrinkle and beg the question, "ok, who did THAT one??"

I enjoyed every second of my massage today, even though the time went so fast I am positive we had entered a time warp. My beautiful husband took Maisie out for a walk, my parents-in-law entertained Jack and Phoebalina, and my lovely therapist Ashley took great joy in attempting to beat the tension out of my shoulders (on the questionnaire before I went in, they asked how tense I was on a scale of 1 to 10...I said a 7 because I didn't want to frighten them...I think she guessed I fibbed!!) Now, I know that in itself that 30 minute block of time should have been enough spoiling for one girl in one day. However, we then went on to my brother-in-law's house (just Christian, Maisie and myself), where my dear B-I-L had cooked a roast for dinner. That's right people - no cooking for this little black duck tonight! (And may I say, it was absolutely delicious. I could have eaten the whole thing twice!!) And then, just when it all seemed too good to be true, we watched a DVD without any interruptions, spewing, fights, needing to go the toilet, wanting to change the DVD, or fighting over who was sitting where. How good is that? A whole movie. I was exceptionally impressed with Maisie's ability to curl up and sleep peacefully in my lap. She's very considerate.

And now we are back at home, taking it in turns to go in and cuddle two children who missed us today. Maisie is fast asleep after her adventures with Mummy and Daddy, although for how long I am not sure! I am surrounded by washing waiting to be folded, enough ironing to sink a ship, and an empty pantry. But what a glorious afternoon I had (and I must say, my skin feels lovely and soft...must remember that moisturiser was invented for a reason!). I'm sure if I made the effort I could find half an hour every seven months, or so. In fact, I have up my sleeve a second Endota gift voucher that I received for my birthday from my besties Gertrude and Esmerelda (Don't I have the most gorgeous friends in the world??) . Now all I need to do is convince Christian to take Maisie on a three hour walk....