Today started again with Alexa telling me that it’s 6.30am. I reluctantly rolled out of bed and went and woke our daughter. The morning story is the same every day, the only variation being how difficult the children are. We got out of the house on time and took daddy to work. Arriving at school we sat in the car a while and discussed my son’s spellings. He was very good and we thought he had practiced them enough. Unfortunately, when he did his test me did not do to well, he is not sure why.

I left the children at breakfast club and was glad to be heading for home. After doing some shopping I went home and finally got myself motivated to start sorting out my garden for winter.  The soil in the pots was rock hard due to it being so cold, so I have some dead plants and weeds still left in their containers. Now I have a selection of weeds, pots and plants in my summer house.  My Cordylines now have fleece coats on, Hopefully, they will survive the winter.  The weather is getting so cold now, my woolley hat is firmly on my head when I’m outside.

I managed to get the Christmas presents wrapped which was an achievement, I’m now just trying to work out if there is anything else I need to buy. The presents are now hidden in our bedroom ready.  I still have cards that need to be written, maybe over the weekend, we will get them finished and posted. The run up to Christmas is always a stressful experience, trying to remember everything and get things organised.

It was the school summer fayre today. I collected the children early and we went and had a look at the stalls. There was the usual stalls, the raffle, cakes, face painting, books, tombola, popcorn than a cafe and a game of throwing hoops at ‘The Grinch’.  The children wanted to do everything, though thankfully they did not pester to hard to do face painting. We threw hoops at ‘The Grinch’ and then did the tombola.

There were toys as well as food and household items.  My 7 year old was hoping to win a toy, unfortunately, after spending £1.40 all we won was a bottle of hand soap. He started crying and I could not stop myself from laughing. His face really was a picture. I told him it could have been worse as there were tins of peas sat there as well as shampoo, at least he can use the soap. Most of the good prizes had already been won so I didn’t dare try again, chances are we would have won the peas and there would have been more tears.  I then bought them some popcorn, they now calmed down, munching away.

Santa visited the children today, my son was insistent that he was the real Santa. He told him that he wants Cola left out for him on  Christmas Eve.  So something else that I need to remember. He opened his present as soon as he saw me, I could see that he had loom bands, I was expecting him to be upset. Instead, he was excited and pleased. My 5 year old was given some duplo, not so good as we have piles of it no longer played with as both children now love the Lego. I told them that they need to share the loom bands.

Our son was trying to work out how the loom bands go together and then getting very upset that he could not do it. He was screaming at me to help him however, I’ve never played with loom bands so I do not have a clue what to do. I called in my daughter to help. Straight away she seemed to know what she was doing and made herself a bracelet. Our 7 year old says she has done it wrong as it is different in the instructions but she got further then him and no tears.

Tomorrow my daughter has been invited to two parties. 12 – 2 and 2 – 5, the 1st is a boy, the 2nd a girl. It is going to be a long afternoon, hopefully, I am will be able to have some party food. I have bought the little girl a crafting present, it is quite pretty, cords and beads. I have wondered whether to buy another, as I’m sure my daughter would love it. Though she has seen it and has not asked for one and I would probably end up forever picking beads and bits of her bedroom floor.

The children keep asking for the Christmas tree to be put up. I have told them Sunday if they behave. At the moment they are not doing as they are told, I am hoping that I don’t have to carry out my threat and not put the tree up. Next weekend is a bit to close to Christmas for the tree but I will wait if I have to.

I am now going to go and get some rest it is going to be a long busy day tomorrow. I am now going to try and build some energy ready for tomorrow and my job of being mum.

For Christmas see, Christmas poetry,

Today started in the usual way. Daddy woke our son and once Alexa woke me, I helped our daughter to get dressed. You may have noticed that our mornings always follow a similar pattern. From getting the kids dressed, to getting them to clean their teeth. The argument over eating toast in the front room, daddy will let them as it is easier, I have the row. Getting out of the house on time and remembering all the bags and coats. Today we also had to de-ice the car, I hate the cold weather. I scraped whilst daddy poured warm water over it. Then strapping the kids safely in their seats and my 5 year old complaining that her harness was to tight.  Our mornings are a bit like groundhog day.  We left on time and got daddy to work for 7.45am.

Arriving at school my 5 year old climbed into the front and sat on my lap in front of the steering wheel. My son was climbing around over the back seat then scrambling over the parcel shelf. Telling him to just get down he ignored me and carried on. Sitting in the car in the morning is sometimes a gamble between standing in the cold or the kids wrecking it. It would be nice if they would just sit and listen to the radio, or just sit and talk. Tomorrow we have spellings to work on again and reading if we are early enough.

At breakfast club my daughter commented on the sneaky cheerio hiding in her shreddies. My son was happily talking with his friends. I then left them and started my journey to work. The traffic was the same as always, busy. I finally reached my destination and then logging into my laptop my work day properly started.

Once I had finished I drove home and started work again. Meanwhile my dad tried to help with listening to the children read and help them learn their spellings. My 7 year old wanted to play with grandads train set.  We told him to complete his homework first and then he could see the trains.  Reading his book on sporting legends, he was not concentrating, so despite reading well he could not tell us who Ellen McArthur or Bobby Charlton were.  This evening he would not reread it to me, so I am hoping that tomorrow morning we can go through it again before going into breakfast club.

My daughter has gone up a reading level, she read most of her book to me but then refused to read to grandad.  My son was able to do most of his spellings but stumbled on appointment, disappointment and ointment. Three words to go over again in the morning.

Putting them to bed tonight, my son was to tired to read, he also didn’t ask for a book to be read to him. He was almost asleep when I passed him his toothbrush. My daughter was playing. She had another late night, sat on her bed drawing and then coming back downstairs. It’s hard to convince a 5 year old that she really does need her sleep. She has forest school tomorrow, we had a fall out over what clothes she could take. I do not want her doing it it in her nice clothes. Old clothes are fine to be covered in mud but I do not want decent clothes ruined. She agreed in the end to take the old clothes which ended our argument.

Daddy has just called me upstairs to look at my 5 year old, aka Banksy’s bedroom wall. Yes, this time it is either felt tip pen or board marker on her bedroom wall that I have already repainted for her, see fixing a mess, https://justmuddlingthroughlife.co.uk/2018/10/19/fixing-a-mess/

I am not impressed as we have told her so many times to not draw on her walls but she just continues. Why do children do this? Do I repaint it again? Or do I leave it?

So tomorrow is my day off again, Friday. I have the kids and daddy to take to school. Then I have some shopping to do and washing. I then need to make a start at wrapping presents and maybe finish writing the Christmas cards. We then have the Christmas fayre in the afternoon, so school will finish at 2.30pm, half an hour early.

Anyway I am now going to go and get some rest. Build up my strength ready for the stress again of tomorrow morning and being mum.

Wednesday again, another school day and another work day.  Daddy went back to work today so I had help with getting the kids out of the door to get to school. Our son went straight downstairs to find daddy who helped him to get dressed. I helped our daughter and she then went and found her toast. We got out of the house a little earlier and got daddy to work on time.

Arriving outside school the kids climbed into the front as I stopped the car. They were both playing and running around whilst I was unloading, I told them to stop and they would not listen.  Why won’t kids just do as they are told? My two are just too independent or just disobedient.

I left them both at breakfast club, they were happy as I went. I drove to work through the busy morning traffic. Getting to work I had a good productive morning. I am lucky that I get to meet some nice people in my job.

The day went by and I was soon home with my work laptop in front of me. The kids came home from school and were as normal wanting food.  I finally finished work and spent some time with the children.  Then I started to cook dinner, the children should have been doing their homework. Unfortunately whilst cooking the telephone rang which meant I could not sit the kids down and help them. Consequently, we did not manage to get homework or reading completed.

The balance of keeping up with work demands, sorting out the household chores, managing the family budget. Then friends who need to talk, whilst trying to support two children. Tonight it was just too late to listen to either child read or work on rhyming words. My 7 year old left his spellings at school again so we still have not been able to practice them.  I’m hoping he brings them home tomorrow because he will be upset if he does not get 10 out of 10 on Friday.  I am going to photograph my daughter’s spellings as her homework is due in tomorrow and her spellings are in her book. It would be nice if she would just learn them, she can sound them out but spelling them is another issue.

My children will always demand yoghurt after their dinner, regardless of whether they have eaten it all.  When I was a child I was told that if I didn’t eat my dinner then I would not get a pudding. My parents would stick to this as I’m sure many parents still do. If I tell my kids no pudding because they have not eaten everything, I then have two children having a very loud tantrum. This will then end with them helping themselves to the fridge as I am screaming no at them. Why is this? They know how to get around us and once the yoghurt pot is open there is no going back.

As I was putting food in the oven my daughter was climbing the cupboards to get cream crackers, she then wanted jam.  I told her no which then led to a full meltdown as she was hungry. To inpatient to wait 20 minutes for the oven she then consumed two which then meant that she did not eat all her dinner. After I had got her ready for bed she then came downstairs complaining that she was hungry and wanted pudding. We had no choice but to let her have a yoghurt otherwise she would not have gone to bed.

The ongoing challenges of being a working parent. Work commitments, child commitments, family commitments, the stress goes on and it does not get easier.  I’m sat watching ‘The worlds most expensive presents’. A man has just bought a 24ct gold plated bike for £250 000, crazy money.  Where could you ride a bike that expensive? surely the buyer is keeping it on display in his house somewhere. It is a fully working bike but I’m sure no bike lock would prevent a thief stealing that if you were daft enough to ride it to the town.   The seller said ‘there is a buyer out there for everything’ I’m not sure that’s true but maybe true when it is 24ct gold plated.  There were many other presents, there was also a very expensive colouring book. Oh to be super rich, I can dream.

Anyway, I am now going to go and get some rest. I am very tired tonight as it has been a busy day. I need to go to sleep and try and recharge ready for work tomorrow, a busy day and the morning stress of being mum.