2020 has been what I'd describe as a "multi-tasking pressure cooker roller coaster ride that none of us asked for".

But, in amongst all of the hard bits, the juggling of working, parenting, remote learning, Zoom calls, and all spending more time under the one roof than ever before, there have been some very funny moments in the madness.

The defining story that sums up parenting in 2020 for me was when I decided to panic-purchase a bearded dragon.

I felt so guilty that my son was having his birthday in isolation. He had been so sad, and the lizard made him so happy which turned me into an anxious, first-time helicopter dragon parent.

I became petrified that she was going to die and with it, my son’s happiness. I became fixated over how much she was eating, drinking, the lighting. I kept getting up in the night, tapping on the glass looking for signs of life. I even created her very own Instagram account, @beardedandbedazzled, and dressed her up in costumes.

In a mixture of boredom and challenge, my eldest dared my other two kids to cut their own hair. They happily obliged. My daughter cut herself a very obviously self-given fringe and my son took the clippers to the front of his head and shaved a nice big track down the middle of his head.

Louise.

My kids went from seeing me in mostly corporate and work attire to seeing me in leisure wear 24 hours a day, seven days a week. One morning I walked out after getting ‘dressed’ for the day and my eight-year-old daughter looked at me and said, “I didn’t even know you had this many tracksuit pants, Mum”.

Estelle.

I was nagging my son to get dressed out of his pyjamas and hadn’t realised the Zoom camera was on and his class lesson started - and neither had he. So, the poor thing got undressed... in front of the whole class! The old nightmare of being naked at school came true.

Jade.

I told my five-year-old daughter that if she didn’t leave me alone for 10 minutes so I could work, that we would lose our house and live on the streets... and made her cry.

Anika.

My kids were quiet for ages - too long. Suspiciously I walked into the living room to find everything we owned out all over the floor...as well as a biscuit and tomato sauce work of art.

My three-year-old now uses the virus as an excuse and blames everything on COVID.

“Why don’t you have your shoes on?” “Because coronavirus.”

“Why haven’t you put your books away?” “Because coronavirus.”

Can’t fault him, really.

Amber.

My husband and I were both on work calls and my husband started furiously and urgently pointing out the front door at me. So, I excused myself from my call and I went out the front and my six-year-old and three-year-old had found two large bamboo sticks and were charging each other on their scooters using the bamboo as jousting sticks screaming “yaaaaaay” about to impale each other before I screamed at them to stop.

Erin.

My boys came running up the hallway in the nude. When I asked why they had no clothes on, they said it was because their clothes were wet because they weed on them when they were doing a number two in the backyard.

They were both so excited that one of them managed to poo just like our dog on the tiny bit of grass we have and said "Don't worry, Mum, we covered it up" and they had put all the cushion covers, spare bottles and their clothes on top of it.

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