17 weeks in and the effects of having one husband, two children, one stroppy cat and a larger house to look after have finally caught up with me. After the return from our lovely (please note I did not write relaxing) holiday to Cornwall, I am feeling so over whelmed and exhausted. My body aches from head to toe, I feel as if I am coming down with the flu or a bad cold, but nothing ever develops, just the aches keep on aching.
Last weekend was about the drive home, loads and loads of laundry and starting to air and store the camping equipment away until next summer. During the week, I did not do much housework. If I am honest I found getting out of bed each day and just doing what I have to do for the children a huge challenge. This weekend was supposed to be about getting the house straight and back to normality. It didn't happen!
Saturday we decided to chill, promising each other we would do the cleaning on Sunday. Sunday came, Tim went out for a bike ride with his friend in the morning, we went shopping in the afternoon. So once again the cleaning didn't get done. Hence I am here this week with a massive lot of cleaning to do.
This leaves me feeling torn. There is the part of me that wants my house to look like a photo shoot out of "Living etc", minimalist (never going to happen with two kids!), clean, tidy and a place I am proud of. The other part of me is screaming "you're exhausted, the housework doesn't matter".
A conversation we had over the weekend led on to a brainstorming session about how to make our lives simpler, less high maintenance and easier to cope with. So today I fished out the slow cooker, and slow cooker recipe book, and a Lamb casserole is on the go. I find getting even a simple dinner together hard these days, especially as Benjamin is getting to the stage where he isn't happy to just sit and not be entertained. Two children in the lounge, me in kitchen trying to cook, running back and forth to check on them is hard work. A simple spaghetti bolognaise takes over an hour to prepare. I wonder what I am doing wrong?
Our groceries are already ordered online and delivered to us at home, so that saves a couple of hours each week, plus it has the added benefit of calculating what you spend on screen, so I find I am able to come in on budget, which rarely happens in the store. A cleaner would be a LIFE SAVER! I am making it one job I do do this week to inquire about costs. Even a couple of hours each week would help me immensely.
Another thing I am going to do this week is go to Zumba. There is a gym 2 minutes walk from our house, and I am anxious to start exercising again, to get some "me" time where all I have to think about is my enjoyment and relaxation.
Maybe a modern Mummy can have it all - clean house, delicious, healthy meals for her family, healthy body and perfect relationship - she just needs help to do it!
While I agree that being a modern mummy is a challenge, I dare to add that the partner the mummy has makes a huge difference to whether it is overwhelming or just hard work...
ReplyDeleteIt's about time that men became "modern" too and realised that their role has changed and they must do what they can to help the mummy who works and yet still does it all in the house.
Thank you and goodnight..!
Agreed! It definitely makes a difference.
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