Monday 23 February 2015

Working days, children…….and me.


Ok, I’m pretty sure anyone reading this will think that my day is a normal working mum’s day and is nothing out of the ordinary. However, I don’t feel normal or particularly ordinary, I feel like I’m on a constant merry go round, getting dizzier. So in my attempt to feel sane I'm blogging about it.

After approximately 4 hours of sleep (max) and getting up 9,000,000 times, to replace a dummy or to comfort a sobbing little man who doesn’t like sleep or his cot, my alarm goes off and scares the hell out of me, as surely it can’t actually be morning already, can It?! (yes that really is my first thought of every day) I drag myself an the boy out of my bed (which he isn’t supposed to be in, but after the 9,000,00 time I gave up, bad me!), I then have to wake and coax my 5 year old daughter out of her bed, which she loves, along with her sleep, (yes, I really do have one of each kind). We then all unenthusiastically go down stairs, where my daughter will watch TV still half asleep, while my son pulls out every toy from the toy box, creating his own obstacle course. Ahhh morning bliss...!

Breakfast
It used to be my favourite meal of the day, but now it’s a mad rush to scoff anything down one handed, whilst feeding the baby, making bottles and sorting washing out. Neither of the children are particularly interested in breakfast so this takes allot longer than it needs to and usually involves allot of nagging and reminding them to actually eat and not play with their food (or throw is across the room, where the little man is concerned)!

Getting ready
The little man is first, I have to catch him before he makes a run for it, restrain him as he likes to roll on to his front in an attempt to escape, dress him quickly without ever letting go of a hand or a foot, so he cant get away, whilst trying to distract him with Mr Tumbles, which can usually only just be heard over the screeches and shouting (from him not me) then he can be set him free, I can only pray that he doesn’t come into contact with anything too dirty (or un-wipable) between now and going out the door.

I then have to bribe my 5 year old to get dressed, with marbles (reward chart type thing) then I'll resort to threatening and the cancellation of any activities in the foreseeable future and when that fails and she's still trying to put on her vest half an hour later, I then give in and do it myself!!!

By now I only have half an hour left to get myself ready and all 3 of us out of the door and to 3 different places, on time!  I have the quickest record breaking shower, whilst the baby trashes his cot and the 5 year old throws toys at him for him to throw across his room, they’re going for the bombs hit it, look. I then consider make-up and hair in attempt to look at least half human for a day at the office. After 20 seconds I end up saying something like, fuck it there’s no time, I can’t be bothered or no amount of make-up will fix this tired face anyway and resort to tying my hair up and slapping on some foundation and mascara. 
One then brushes his teeth without any resistance as he thinks it’s the best thing ever and the other argues that she doesn’t need to brush hers as her teeth are white enough, and obviously she knows best! 

Out the door
Stepping over the toys and walking past the chaos that breakfast caused we head out the door with 4 bags, 3 coats and 2 children in tow, who are relatively happy and clean. Job Done.

Drop offs
Whilst listening to one bloody direction (again), we drive to the school, my daughter who is still slightly reluctant to leave me gives me a kiss and a squeeze and strolls off. Then onto nursery, where as soon as we get through the door, he bolts off in the direction of the toys, without even a kiss.

Then I breathe deeply and relax and go to work. I feel no guilt about this at all.  

Here’s the thing, the two+ hours of total chaos in the morning is worth the few hours of child free bliss I get by going to work. It’s essential for me, to use my brain, to feel like an actual human being and mix with other big people. I need this time in order to re-charge my batteries.

Throughout the day I do give them a thought like, how many toys has the son trashed and how many arguments has my daughter had (because she is going through the 'always right' stage) I also think about the amazing cuddles and beaming faces I'll get when I collect them, as they will be as excited to see me as I will to see them. Absence does make the heart grow fonder.

Oh and how could I forget to mention, my partner, who gets to sneak out of the house before anyone else is awake, therefore missing all the chaos and only has himself to get ready and to get to work! lucky him, right?!
Then he returns again right before bed time to get sleepy cuddles. Men have it so easy, don't they?

Linking up to:

The Twinkle Diaries

6 comments:

  1. Your mornings sound very similar to mine with the exception of only having 1 child to contend with although it often feels like an army! My husband works away in the week so also misses all the 'fun'. Sounds like you are doing a great job especially considering the lack of sleep.

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    1. Thanking you for taking the time to read my post and leave a comment :) They say you get used to the lack of sleep, but I don't believe this.
      Holding the fort all week must be tough, I hope you get a well earned break when your partner returns.

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  2. I feel so guilty reading this. My husband is a stay at home dad so this is his morning. I have to be at work by 7am so like your partner I'm up and out before anybody else is awake. I then get home just to eat dinner with them, do the bath and enjoy the sleepy cuddles! Sorry - I genuinely envy you getting to have breakfast with your kiddies each morning. I really miss mine during the week.

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    1. Thank you for the different perspective, when writing this post I never really considered that there is also stay at home dads. I think because I do it every day I tend to take it for granted but of course I love anytime with my babies. I think everyone is guilty of not appreciating the everyday things in life sometimes. Thank you for reading and leaving me a comment x

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  3. I know how you feel! My boys are 9 and 7, but the morning madness is still much the same! By the time I get them out the door to put them on the bus, I breathe a sigh of relief that for a few hours, things will be calm and quiet. The hardest thing is when, like you, I am getting myself ready for work at the same time. Today, I am going into work late, so I am enjoying sitting around in my bathrobe reading blogs for a bit before I am out the door too. :-) Found you on #twinklytuesday

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  4. I remember those days! Now that my girls are 9, at least they can dress themselves! I'm just like you. I need the time at work to be able to appreciate the amazing time I get to spend with my kids. Without it, I suspect I'd focus on the whining and bickering instead of the cuddles and conversation. Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday.

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