A day in the life of a mum of 3

She woke with the sudden urge to urinate. Not at all uncommon given the fact she'd had 3 children, this was simply her routine. This bleary eyed & staggering lady goes by the name of . She made her way to the toilet, eyes half closed, the top she'd thrown on at bed time, was now sitting crooked with her left breast almost hanging out & her bare arse on show to the darkness of the bathroom. She finished peeing & stood up, glancing at herself in the mirror, her hair was chaotic, just thrown into a bobble & left to fall free, her eyes still half closed, tired & worn out, her mascara had not lasted well, despite what it said on the tube. No makeup brand was a match for this dishevelled mess. Yawning & rubbing her eyes, she snuck back to the bedroom, trying her best not to wake the children, hoping it was still early enough to catch a few more hours of sleep before starting the day. 6:30am the clock read "damn my lousy bladder" she said in a quiet huff. Not much point in returning to bed after all, she decides it best to go for a much needed, peaceful shower & start her day.

A day in the life, of a working mum of 3.

While drying her stretch mark, covered body, making sure to get every nook & cranny she'd gained over the years, she heard her baby starting to stir, he was making his lovable, little noises, trying to grab the attention of his Daddy; who was still fast asleep, completely unaware of the commotion already ensuing in the bathroom. As quickly as she could, her makeup was on, hair & teeth brushed & bra & knickers, thrown on. She quietly ran through to the bedroom to pick up her little troublemaker, who was full of smiles & absolutely delighted to see his mumma walk through the door. His hands in the air & happy squeals brought a huge grin to her face. She scooped him up & swiftly left the room. She entered her daughters bedroom, to gently wake them for the school run, using her finger tips to drum on the metal bed frame while saying "good morning girls" was always a nice way to wake them. Then of course her 10 month old baby wanted to join in, slamming his hand against the frame made a loud dinging noise, waking the girls up to his beautiful tune. Once their hearts stopped racing, they were full of smiles, seeing their baby brother so happy, making as much noise as he possibly could, so early in the morning.

And so it begins...

Breakfast time, now usually she'd just make a bottle for the baby & send him back to sleep but since he was now wide awake, Redhead decided to get him some cereal, putting him in his walker, she moves him into the kitchen to watch while she gloriously organises the bowls, spoons & cereal boxes & with his gorgeous blue eyes, he stares in wonder while his mother prepares his favourite thing in the world... food. This boy just loved to eat, it didn't matter what it was, he would try anything, smacking his lips together, waiting in anticipation for that first wonderful bite of weetabix to tantalise his taste buds. Finally it was ready & he was finished just as quickly as he started & given the chance would have probably even licked the bowl clean. Hearing the girls upstairs, it was great that they were finally at an age to choose their own clothes & get themselves dressed. They had been doing so since around the age of 5 years old, but their outfit choices were sometimes, questionable. Multicoloured trousers with several layers of clothing that weren't required, such as a skirt or dress over the trousers & bright green cardigans with orange or pink tights. All of these wonderful memories. Although Redhead never made them change as she believed it showed their little personalities. Now they were fully capable of making themselves look smart. Looking back those days don't last for very long. This was reminding Redhead to make the most of what's to come with her little guy.

At that, the girls came barrelling downstairs with the dog close behind, sounding like a herd of elephants, falling down the stairs. Straight to the back door to let the dog out for his morning pee; this was usually around a minute long & always followed by a poop with awkward, full, eye contact, until he was finished. Then he'd stand at the back door with longing eyes, patiently waiting for one of them to take pity on him & allow him back in to the house, to have his breakfast. Having 2 girls, this always demanded hair styling. So the brushes, products & bobbles all came out, while they took a lifetime to decide which colour of bow they wanted in their hair that day. Redhead allowed this, even though she knew, as soon as they were in school, those much loved bows & bobbles would be removed from their head & most likely exchanged with a class mate or lost in one of the many rooms or outside areas of the school. But it was worth it, knowing they felt good about themselves, going to school. Bickering amongst themselves about who would have the last blueberry flavoured breakfast bar, Redhead becomes the referee for the first argument of the morning, coming to the conclusion that since there is only one left, its only fair if mum eats it & the girls pick something else; you know to save the girls fighting over it. Putting it in her pocket to put away later, knowing it will probably be discovered there in a weeks time, but right now, out of sight, out of mind. Toast & jam it is! Carefully watching them with the toaster, so they wouldn't accidentally turn off the switch for the freezer... again. Experience had taught Redhead quite a few hard life lessons. Redhead sat admiring their handiwork with a butter knife & how long it would take her youngest girl to butter her toast, her tongue sticking out in concentration, while she slowly made sure she covered every inch of her toast, before the jam could be spread over the top. Taking her first bite you could see the joy in her eyes & how proud she looked with herself. Redhead's oldest daughter didn't care much for precision & was quite happy with whatever amount of butter & jam she ended up, which usually resulted in some sticky fingers & a sticky counter top. But the look of sheer bliss was the same as her sisters, both indulging in their buttery, gooey slices of heaven. The time had finally come to send the girls on their way to the bus stop, they would meet their friends in the morning & get on the bus with them. So with a kiss, cuddle & wishing them a great day, they ran out the door, shouting "love you" & waving & blowing kisses. And just like that the school run is complete.

Now for phase 2 on the daily task list. Operation put baby down for a nap, is a go!

Now this particular challenge varies from day to day, sometimes her boy puts up a fight & ends up very cranky, rolling like a crocodile trying to dismember it's prey, calling out like a banshee because "how dare you try to put me down for a nap" even though the bags under his eyes, confirm his tiredness & the constant bopping of his head on the mattress, which usually calls for the secret weapon, something that many mums have used, passed down from generation to generation, works like nothing else... patting his butt. Once this has begun, he only lasts a few seconds longer, then he's out like a light... Or it goes very well & Redhead puts him down, hums a little tune & he falls straight into a deep sleep. Obviously this day, she was hoping for the latter. But.... nope, secret weapon it is. Okay, now the baby is asleep. Since Redhead isn't working today, this means housework, from one job to another, she has a look around to see what there is to do around the house... everything, there's everything to do around the house. Dishes cover the sink, clothes piled high in front of the washing machine, coffee stains, jam & butter on the counters, the livingroom has been torn apart by a 10 month old tornado, who has recently learned he can empty his toy box & it makes a great noise when all of the toys crash to the floor. The door windows are covered in paw prints from an excited pup, desperate for attention, more coffee stains on the livingroom table; this household really likes coffee. Tooth brushes & uncapped toothpaste cover the bathroom units, unflushed toilets, clothes to be folded & put away piled high in the bedrooms & then there's the dog hair, dog hair everywhere, even though the house is vacuumed from top to bottom, daily, it never ends. She makes quick work of the dishes & cleaning the kitchen, sorts the livingroom & washes down the windows, then makes her way back upstairs to deal with this mountain of washing. "Where does it all come from?" She thinks to herself. Magical powers would be an amazing thing to have right now, one click of the fingers & all the house work could be done... imagine that. But nope, there's no choice but to do it on her own.

Once upstairs, she decides to tidy the bathroom but wait to vacuum, so her boy can stay sleeping for a bit longer. She then goes back to bed for a little while, because let's face it, no one wants to do housework all day long. As she climbs into bed, her husband wakes up, says good morning, gives her a kiss & asks if she'd like a coffee. Her eyes light up, "yes please" she realises she hasn't even poured herself a morning cup of coffee yet. Determined to go back to sleep, Redhead closes her eyes, hoping sleep will come, but her mind is running & all she can think about are all the things that need to be done. Even the things that can't be taken care of right this minute, whizz through her thoughts, like the girls bedroom carpet needs a good scrub, needing new vinyl flooring in the livingroom & kitchen, door handles needing fixed, cabinet doors secured, even the car needs cleaned inside & out. Thoughts running all the time! Just about to fall asleep & her Husband appears with a cup of coffee & a slice roll, a welcome surprise.

He's a very thoughtful man, her husband & she appreciates everything he does for her, the small gestures like this, make her fall in love with him, just a little bit more. Like most relationships, I love you or I appreciate you, probably isn't said enough. Her husband said it a lot but she didn't, not because she didn't feel the same, she just had so many other things on her mind that sadly these small acts were put on the back burner. Which didn't make her feel great. Another thing to add to the list of "things to do more of" Digging in to her breakfast & sipping her coffee, she thought it best to stay awake & get some more things done around the house, then once her little man woke up, she'd convince herself to go for a walk with the dog.

Promptly finishing up the chores for the day & hanging up yet another load of washing; honestly where does it come from? She got her baby & the dog ready to go for a walk. They didn't go far, as the girls would be home from school soon but the dog had an absolute ball, running around daft, never tiring, always that big, goofy smile on his face, he was just such a good dog. Her little guy was quite happy sitting up in his pram, eating once again, munching on a soft cheese sandwich & those 7 month plus, no added sugar, no added salt, colours, preservatives, so called crisps that he loved, they were completely flavourless to the adult human being, but he thought they were utterly amazing & often tried to fit as many as his little mouth would fit. Back to the car, before heading home, there's just enough time to run in to the shop & grab some bits & pieces. Redhead even remembered to grab a snack for the girls finishing school & of course a new packet of those blueberry breakfast bars for in the morning. Adhering to a list was not Redhead's strong suit, so after a "quick" look up & down the "middle of lidl" she walked out a few pounds lighter than expected. Up the road & it's time to put the groceries away & start dinner, an easy dinner tonight since the girls have kick boxing.

Pesto pasta

A mix in pasta dish that takes around 15 minutes to make, allowing enough time for changing clothes & re doing hair, before their class starts. Now there are more dishes piled at the sink from dinner, the cooker has splatters of starchy, pasta water & cheese, lots & lots of melted cheese, that clings to the black, ceramic hob, usually leaving a stain behind, that only time & multiple wipe downs will take care of. Okay, ready to go. The girls head for the car while Redhead and her husband have a conversation of whether it's better to leave the baby at home with his Dad or take him with, to allow the husband to "get things done" around the house. The road was paved with good intentions for Redhead's husband & although he would manage to get the majority of the housework done, his bass or his PC, always ended up with his uninterrupted attention. Just one more challenge or run through he would say, then before he knew it, it was late & he'd played for longer than he thought, then he'd panic trying to get as much done as he could, before his wife's return. Thinking Redhead was none the wiser, but she knew, wives know everything. Unwillingly, Redhead gives the girls full control of the music choices for the journey to their class, so inevitably, the whole car is bellowing with disney songs, Redhead knew every lyric to every song because there is no better excuse to watch Disney films, than having 3 children to watch them with.

After the tedious half hour journey to their class, they're sent in on their own & Redhead waits in the car for an hour, listening to her own music & entertaining her baby in the front seat. He pretends he's a formula 1 racer & continuously tries to beep the horn, which would be fine if they were in the middle of nowhere, but they were parked right in front of a housing scheme. So Redhead tried her best to cover the horn on the steering wheel to stop her little curious monster from delighting in the loud noise. Sometimes Redhead's sister in law would join them on this venture but she'd just recently had a baby of her own & that makes things slightly more difficult, but that's a story for another time. Walking in to the hall to pick up the girls, (because there are many muddy puddles outside & the woman who run the club are worried the kids will jump into them or hurt themselves upon leaving the hall, so it's preffered that we collect our children, instead of letting them walk the 30 steps outside to the car on their own) understanding this & knowing her children, she walks in & says a quick hello to all the other parents, asks the instructors how her children are doing & then swiftly leaves to make her way home. Again! Disney songs on the way home, but also the constant complaining of 2 "hungry" girls who seem to work up an appetite each & every time they go to kickboxing, even though they've just had their dinner before we left. They're always hungry, the saying "they'll eat you out of house & home" is very true in this case. This is where her baby gets it from, witnessing his older sister constantly in at the cupboards & fridge, looking for something to nibble on. Redhead tells them to stop asking & they can have some tea & toast when they get home, as long as they stop going on. Amazed they actually listened for once, as soon as they arrive home, it's time for the "bedtime routine" which consists of Redhead & her Husband repeating themselves, several times, "jammies on, teeth done, into bed" they say, over & over again. When that doesn't work, the threats of not getting a movie on or tea & toast, usually does the trick & in fact makes them magically move faster, so they get what they want. Into bed they go. Redhead's Husband baths the baby, it's all well & good until its time for him to come out of the bath, that is an offence as far as her 10 month old is concerned. He loves his bath time, playing with his toys in the warm water, jumping around, splashing the water all over the bathroom floor & chewing on the sponge; all children have this obsession with chewing on sponges, it must feel good in their little mouths. Teeth brushed, bottle & into bed. All three children are finally settled for the night.

Downstairs & everything is done, so her Hsuband must not have gotten distracted after all. Hes a good guy. It can be hard for him too, when Redhead is at work & hes left to clean, do the school run & run after the dog, but he makes it work, same as Redhead & doesn't complain... much, about the things that need to be done. The rest can be taken care of tomorrow. Exhausted, Redhead & her Husband now have some time to themselves, to fall asleep on the couch, while trying to watch their show & spend some quality time together before repeating it all again the next day. Its a neverending cycle & it can be tiresome but they work as a team & that is a marriage, you work together through the hard times & talk things through & you can overcome anything. I wish there was some magical conclusion to sum up the day & allow for self reflection & some great motherly advice to help other mums through the day but the truth of it all; parenting is hard, it can be a daily struggle & a routine is key for a good night's sleep; which makes all the difference of being a good Mum or Dad, but isn't always achievable. A good night's sleep helps you think clearly, makes you less ogre like & is just so much better for everyone when mum & dad have had a good night of rest. But at the end of the day, to quote ‘cage the elephant’... there ain't no rest for the wicked.

Redhead xx