A mother's challenge

Every single school morning, I struggle to get my kids out of bed. Apart from the fact that I struggle to get them into bed, it's like a vicious cycle that starts all over again every morning and every evening. These must literally be the worst parts of my day as I'm physically exhausted after competing in the into- and out of- bed championships every...single...day!

Those who have read some of my 'who I am' posts before, will know that I am a perfectionist who never leave my house without putting my face on first. It's my confidence and my identity and it must be perfect, along with my hair. As you can imagine, getting the whole image right before doing the school run is quite a task so it's needless to say that my mornings start very early - when it's still dark and creepy outside.

Since the start of May, each and every Saturday is now dedicated to Rugby too. That means that I no longer have Saturdays to myself either, but I have to take my sons to different schools each Saturday to play against other school teams and I have to be there, cheering them on on the sideline whether I know anything about Rugby or not. Basically, I now have only Sundays to sleep a little later than usual and catch up with all the other stuff I didn't get to during the week.

If you're a parent, you will know that those days when you can finally get some little extra sleep are the days that the kids wake up earlier than ever and find everything funny while at it. It's also the day when they talk louder usual, can't hear the television very well, bangs every cup as loud as they can against the kitchen counter and have a million questions to ask you while you are trying to play dead and being poked in the eye with little fingers.

Source

Today was Sunday. The Mother's day, Sunday!

I specifically reminded them yesterday evening that I want them to be extra quiet this morning because it would be the greatest gift a mother could get on Mother's day after running around the rugby field the day before and needing to study for an exam on Monday. Just a little quiet! Just a little extra sleep! That's all I asked!!!

This morning (at 05:15) I opened my eyes to the sound of "Mamaaaaaa! Come wipe me!"

Are you kidding me!? My youngest child is 5 and have been able to wipe himself since he was 4 so why on earth would anyone be yelling for me to wipe them at 05:15 on Mother's day???

Source

So I pull myself out of bed and stomp along to the bathroom where the little clown is sitting on the toilet. I have no idea what I had to wipe because there wasn't anything to wipe but I guess it was his idea of a surprise...for me. I wasn't pleased at all so I chased him off to bed and climbed back in myself, but I couldn't fall asleep again. My head was thinking about all kinds of things which had nothing to do with happy thoughts. I want sleep! I need sleep!

In the meanwhile (before 06:00 already) they have all managed to wake up very eagerly (because it's not a school day, obviously) and proceeded to fight about every single thing in the house - literally! Have you ever heard a 5-, 6- and 7year old fighting over who will sit in the front seat of the car on MONDAY? I have!

The rest of the day wasn't so bad. This was the first Mother's day where I had to do everything myself but it didn't kill me. I also did not want to wash too many dishes so I bought a salad and made a barbeque. I even had a Strawberry Daiquiri by myself today, something I would only do when someone else has a drink with me.

I also survived the bedtime routine this evening - might be the alcoholic beverage that made it all easier tonight?? Perhaps I should have one tomorrow evening as well? Hmmm...

Now, I'm going to kick back and enjoy a little me-time while enjoying the chocolate covered Oreo's the kids got me and I'm going to convince myself of all the reasons why I can't study tonight, which I should actually be doing!

Source