Yes, thank you, I realise I'm at risk of being crowned Miss Stating The Obvious 2009.

My point (I do have one) is that people aren't prepared for the little changes.

You expect to give up sleep, sex and eating toasted sandwiches for tea at 9pm.

It's things such as uninterrupted phone conversations that you don't think about beforehand.

Not that I miss them the uninterrupted phone chats.

It's everyone else who seems to have a big problem with my inability to have one.

I'm an annoying woman who keeps stopping mid-conversation to talk to my children.

Apparently it's irritating to the extreme.

People come right out and tell me it's annoying (childless people, generally).

Other times I just interpret their long-suffering silence (when they're cut off mid-sentence) as irritation.

If they get really huffy, I put the youngest child on the phone.

There's nothing like having a one-sided conversation with a two-year-old to improve your mood.

So for anyone who's ever rung and been constantly interrupted by sudden startling phrases such as ``Don't sit on your brother's head'', ``Not in the house'' or ``I'll wipe your bottom in a minute, just wait, noooo don't, hop off'' then I have only one thing to say to you. Tough.

Ha! You thought you were getting an apology didn't you?

Here's the thing. If my children interrupt, it's because you have rung me. I don't make calls unless the children are far away or fast asleep, which is probably why I never ring you. I text. I email. I Facebook.

Yes, I should teach the children better manners. It's on my To Do list. For now, however, I'm concentrating on getting them to use their cutlery at dinner time.