What part of your routine do you always try to skip if you can?

I’m Monica—resident normal mom in a very not-normal family. My husband works in IT and just happens to be a wizard, my kids are learning to control their powers (emphasis on learning), and our cat is technically my husband’s familiar but acts more like my boss. These are my stories from the front lines of magical motherhood.

If I can skip morning snack time, I absolutely do. Don’t get me wrong — I love feeding my kids. But by 9 a.m., we’ve already had breakfast, a “second breakfast” (thank you, Hobbit influence), and someone’s asking for a smoothie. Honestly that sounds delicious so I don’t usually say no. Then I’m left with more cleanup when they inevitably realize they can make bubbles from them.

The problem is, snack time isn’t just snacks in this house. It’s negotiations, messes, and at least one minor spell gone sideways. Last week, my oldest decided to make his applesauce “sparkly.” It was sparkly, all right — and permanently bonded to the ceiling. I’m still not sure how.

Meanwhile, Adam was in the other room pretending not to hear me calling for help — something about “debugging a spell loop.” Sure, honey. Debugging.

So yes, if there’s one part of my routine I try to skip, it’s snack time. I know it’ll happen anyway — it always does — but for those few quiet minutes before the kitchen explodes again, I can sit, sip my coffee, and pretend I’m living in a normal house. Preferably one where applesauce stays in the bowl.