On a good day, my answer to "Mom, what are we doing today?" is one of the following:

- You have school. Isn't it great?

- Heading to the beach and we're already packed up. And it's sunny!

- Your Dad is taking you all camping, and he's already packed up. See ya!

- I'm going to the airport in half an hour. Ask your Dad.

- It's the first day of summer camp. Aren't you excited?

Of course, that's when I'm having a good day - either in my attitude or the day's plans define it this way - but these are more the exception than the rule. Most days, my answer to this question is:

- You started school yesterday. What do you THINK you're doing today, Einstein?;

- I thought maybe we'd continue to hold your head over the toilet to make sure you've gotten rid of all that chocolate, before you go to hockey;

- Finishing off this petition to disallow the school to schedule PD days within the first two weeks of school, which by definition come with only 13 days (maximum) notice;

- Sorting through all of the socks your Dad has been hiding in a box in the closet while he waits passively for the re-appearance of their mates;

- Going to a movie, where we must sit in the back row due to that last incident with that angry man over the glow of my BlackBerry in front of him.

Realistically, with four kids aged 7-18 it is sometimes impossible to find even one thing that they all want to do, together, without also wanting to bring along a friend, each. So once I've done an algorithmic lottery to decide who is allowed to invite along a buddy, we are basically down to about one choice: Going out for something to eat.

But even this is not as easy as it sounds. Everyone has a preference - from pizza places which feature enormous stuffed crusts to pizza places which feature enormous stuffed mice, and hamburgers served "your way", to Happy Meals which overpromise and under-deliver on their basic premise, I've learned not to ask the kids "What shall we do today?"

Instead I say "This is what we will do today", and I purposefully pick something the kid who has pissed me off the most during the week, won't want to do. Then it's just a simple question of organizing babysitting or giving them money for the mall. It's all good.

Now if only someone would ask me what I want to do today. Is that too much to ask?

Kathy Buckworth's latest book The Blackberry Diaries: Adventures in Modern Motherhood is available at bookstores everywhere. Follow Kathy on Twitter.