Mondays are a special day in our household.

A day for one-on-one time with our 5-year-old, who's eagerly awaiting the start of kindergarten next year. Today was no different, except that it involved an artistic twist that led to a delightful rollercoaster of emotions.

With our 3-year-old and 1-year-old happily dropped off at day care, we were ready for some quality time with our eldest. Our 5-year-old's choice for the day? Face painting (and arm painting, too). The enthusiasm was infectious, so as soon as I returned home from the day care drop-off, we set up the ultimate face paint station.

Our young artist decided to transform into a blue and purple snake, and with steady hands and a loving heart, I painted his face and arm accordingly. The joy on his face as he examined his reptilian reflection in the mirror was priceless.

As the day went on, our little snake had a grand adventure full of slithering, hissing, and pretending to be a serpent of the highest order. But, as is often the case with young imaginations, our snake began to "sweat" from the demands of its day. So, with a gentle touch, we wiped the canvas clean, which, in this case, was our 5-year-old's innocent face.

This time, he decided to become a dinosaur. After an hour of intense Pinterest research (because even dinosaurs need the perfect design), he settled on a fantastic dino face and a "cute ghost" for his other arm. We rushed to bring these designs to life, watching the clock tick past our usual pickup time for the younger siblings.

With our colourful creations complete, we took our customary post-face-paint happy snapshots. I then asked our budding artist to put on his shoes so we could head out to pick up the little ones. But, in an unexpected turn of events, he proclaimed that now that he had transformed into a dinosaur, he wanted to wash it all off and start again.

I gently suggested that he could do that when we got home, as his little sister would surely want to see his fantastic face paint, and we were running late. But instead of complying, he threw himself on the ground, fully immersed in child tantrum mode.

Thankfully, I had snacks in my parenting toolkit, and a bit of bribery got him into the car, and we carried on with our afternoon.

A couple of hours later, as bath time rolled around, it seemed like a good opportunity to wash off the dinosaur paint. But, as you can probably guess, he had changed his mind yet again. He now wanted to keep that dinosaur face for posterity.

As I sit here at the end of another eventful day, I can't help but chuckle at the unpredictable twists and turns of parenting. It's a reminder that when dealing with young children, flexibility is key, and sometimes, it's best to just go with the flow. So, for all the parents out there facing their children's ever-changing whims and desires, just remember: "It's not you, it's them!" And it's all part of the adventure that is parenthood.