Mission impossible...

If leaving the house with one child was difficult, leaving it with two can feel like mission impossible.

Weekdays are particularly challenging; as well as getting myself ready for work, we have to get Harry and James bathed and dressed so that Harry can go to playgroup. Melissa, of course, also has to find time to make herself presentable to drop Harry off at playgroup.

To anyone without children, this probably doesn't sound like a difficult task. After all, how tough can it be to give two children a wash and get them dressed by eight o'clock in the morning? The answer, at least in our house, is very tough.

For a start, Harry can be a little monkey when you want him to get dressed in a hurry. I dread to think how long I spend during the course of a week trying to persuade, coax or bribe Harry into getting ready. I'm convinced he does it just to make us cross.

Some days, this alone can take half an hour which throws out our timings altogether. And if he doesn't want to get in the bath, you can write off another 15 minutes of your life.

Melissa's solution to the problem is simple: set the alarm earlier than its current time of half six. While this does sound very sensible, my views on the subject are quite clear: we need every minute of sleep possible. I would rather rush around like a headless chicken for an hour and a half than sacrifice one more moment of sleep.

So the rush to leave the house will continue. I'd like to think it will get easier as the boys grow up, but our experience with Harry tells me that won't be happening any time soon.