Bat Crazy.

"Motherhood is a blessing!' This is what Chad's mother had told Cleo when she was informed about the impending arrival of twins for the young, hopeful couple they had been. These days, her mother-in-law was still worse than her own mother, who always opened each home visit with, "Are you pregnant again?" Her mother-in-law from hell and Chad kept telling Cleo to 'get over it', she would soon recover from her darker days and nights by giving Chad more adorable babies. Cleo decided she was already exhausted enough.

When their grandparents were around, her twins appeared shy, smiling and very well-behaved. At home, they spent days and most of the nights stampeding, running around, refusing to stop demanding, foiling Cleo's attempts at toilet training, and downright brawling, before grizzling at bedtime for hours on end. Cleo could not imagine adding even one new born babe to this family scene, where her husband slept like a true male, with very selective hearing. Even worse, twins ran in his family tree.

Right now, Cleo was not looking or feeling too blessed. Marilla and Nerida, her once adorable images on a scan, so blonde and angelic, had turned into a pair of uncontrollable two year old toddlers. In addition, she was still trying to zone through her postpartum issues, days where everything was a constant battle.

"Children grow up too quick these days, enjoy these precious moments!" Cleo's smother-in-law told her on the phone, as the Bat Crazy twins attempted to raid the cutlery drawer, then tried to chop the tail off their cat. The feline ran away through his cat door, maybe to join the wild feral feline population, totally disgusted with his lifestyle. Cleo did not look too far ahead, as they started to really yelling as they played in the kitty litter, again. She definitely could wait until these blonde beauties began to chase boys. That would be in her too hard basket.

"Cleo, look at this credit card bill online! Why can't you control your spending?" Cleo gulped. It was time for Chad's monthly rat therapy over the bills. Chad was supposed to be managing a phone server company branch online at home, on his laptop. Unfortunately, his daily national teleconferencing had to be cancelled, just as the adorable twin angels found all the saucepans to make dreadful noises. All at once. Of course, that was Cleo's fault too, as well as the mounting piles of washing and bills to sort.

"Am I really to blame?" Cleo wondered, rescuing a meal bubbling away on the stove. She wandered off for the dreaded long walk to the letterbox, trying not to clutch her sore back. It was five minutes dodging Chad and the Bat Crazies. Even walking up and down the driveway back to her messy lifestyle and frothing husband was such a supreme effort. No man would ever understand how she felt. Cleo sometimes got a rare chance to gaze at social media, for the next round of bad news about how great everyone else was doing. They were all so slender, posting their flaunting of their high functional lifestyle, hairdos, flash cars and over achieving children. Her former friends and forever young sisters belonged to some strange world of their own.

But she made it to the letterbox, to see if there was any of that vanishing world of snail mail waiting for her. Reading a catalogue online or in a postal version was the most self-improvement that Cleo could see ahead. She had been advised not to waste her time, thoughts and fatigued energies on comparing herself to others. Each woman was unique in her life journey, they could not really walk in her shoes either. Some days were total bombs, a good day was when she could wrangle her twins into bed and sleep before she went to sleep with one of them, on the twin bed, right next to them. Contact napping was a good, effective contraceptive, like total avoidance. If Chad ever stopped whinging and left her, Cleo had warned him, "If you ever leave me for some young babe, the Bat Crazies are going with you!" Chad had wanted to put his arms around her, but a pat on her butt was not getting him a son, not in the forseeable future.

Cleo did find a colourful catalogue in the letterbox. She wondered if this was a sign, to try a new path, if it was the hand of fate. This catalogue was so bright, inspiring creativity. It was from a craft superstore. Kiddie craft! What a good idea. Cleo had once loved the calm, meditative soothing of knitting, scrapbooking and all forms of handcrafts. Each hands-on hobby had taken her to the zone of bliss and peace.

Cleo could not resist. She did proceed with her sudden plan to buy, spend, buy. She could not resist this chance to channel the twins' energies into craft. Yes, she could be a solution-focused Cleo. If Marilla and Nerida were going to be so messy, she could guide what they were missing, a craft and creative zone in her own home. Hiding discreetly and quietly in the loo, away from Chad the grumpy, she ordered up big on her phone, and then some. A craft stash, courtesy of online shopping. Praying her credit card would not be declined, Cleo went to town at home.

It was like a cargo cult in the modern world. Daily, Cleo's front doorstep was a wonder of fun new arrivals, change from bills. Soon enough, Cleo discovered a light in the dark days of struggling to restore her pre-birth zone. She had started to tame her toddlers, believe it or not. Sometimes, Cleo could not resist laughing at their efforts. There was craft glue abundant, so the twins really enjoyed that. Cleo found a couple of their Barbie dolls. Marilla and Nerida had adhered their arms to the dolly sides, and both toys had been covered in sequins, right on their vital bits. Show stoppers. Good idea.

Chad, on his laptop, soon had company at the kitchen table for family interactions. His proud twins showered him with hand made paper tolle cards . Toilet rolls were soon repurposed. Sadly, he opened the fruity texta envelopes on his computer. That glitter goes everywhere. Cleo was glittering too. "A girl can never have too much glitter!' she commented, as Marilla stuck yet more sequins on the cat, who had mistakenly returned. "Sparkles!' yelled Nerida gleefully, adding to the wall decorations with her texta.

Finally, the Bat Crazies were fully engaged, mending their toyboxes they had trashed. The house was festooned with primitive crafts. Cleo was, indeed a problem solver. Cool to create. It is fun!