My life as a stay at home mum

 Being a stay at home mum is fun but it can also be hard. Some people think that we have it easy and that we are 'lazy' but that couldn't be any further from the truth. I think people forget that staying at home with your children 24-7 isn't just all fun and games and that actually it can be quite tiring, frustrating and lonely. Some days when my partner is working i can go hours without having an actual adult conversation, i mean i can talk to my 5 year old but it just isn't the same as talking to an adult. 

Don't get me wrong, i absolutely love being a stay at home mum, but i do also have bad days where i wish i had a job to escape to, because sometimes we all just need 5 minutes to ourselves but these days with 3 kids, it is quite impossible to have. No matter what i am doing i always have a child at my feet. Going to the toilet, i can bet you one of them will be right behind me, trying to sneak some chocolate, they will instantly sense that i am daring to eat something without sharing! Having a shower, usually interrupted by someone needing the toilet or just wanting to be wherever i am. Everywhere i turn there will be 1 or 3 of them there, even if i sit down for 5 minutes i can't do so without them jumping around on me or fighting about who is going to sit on my knee. It is lovely to know that they just love being around me all of the time but sometimes it would be amazing to get just even 5 minutes to sit down without a little human using me as a bouncy castle. Most of the time i can't sit down without having to get back up again 2 minutes later! 

What is funny is that when i have finally been given the chance to go out or stay in or whatever it is i choose to do with that 30 minutes or 1 hour or one whole night away from my children(which is rare), i tell myself that i plan to chill out, relax and not have to worry about the kids for the time being, but in reality they are all i think about when they're not with me. I think about what they are doing? Will they be okay without me? I can't wait to see them again and not have to worry about if they're sitting upset waiting for me to come back to them. Most of the time they have forgotten about me leaving and they'll be fine after 5 minutes after a few tears, they will play with their toys or watch tv and probably don't give me a second thought. What i do love is when they see me again and they run up to me to give me the biggest cuddle, even if i haven't been away for long, it is still so nice to see the excitement seep from them that mummy is back again. 
What can be hard is when they go through that phase of separation anxiety, this can be upsetting for both. I have gone through this with my children and it is a hard thing to cope with because you cannot leave a room without your child screaming for you because they think you are leaving them. Trying to go out of the house even if it's not for very long, you feel guilty leaving them behind crying their little eyes out for you. Sometimes it can be frustrating and even harder if they only want mummy and they won't even stay with daddy or any other family members like nanna & grandad. 
Staying at home with my children all day can be fun and special, because i get to watch them grow up, i get to watch them take their first steps, see their first ever smile and their first ever giggle. I get to watch them grow into their own little person and see their personality open up. It means i get to take them and pick them up from school, i get to put them to bed and say goodnight, and kiss them upon their sweet little foreheads before they fall asleep. I get to wake up to them, even if it means early starts to the morning, but i get to see their sweet little faces every morning and for that i am grateful i am able to stay at home. 

Like i have said in my previous blog, being a stay at home mum feels like a full time job to me, because i don't just get to sit around playing with my children all day, i have a whole house to look after as well as 3 children, who i have to feed, bathe, do bedtime, look after them when they are ill, even if i am ill myself, i don't get to take the day off and spend it in bed to recover, i have to get up and get on with it, even when i don't feel like it. I have to find time to clean, washing, tidying, play with my children, and most of the time this means i don't have time to sit around and i will spend most of my days on my feet doing something around the house. I do some days feel like my days are constantly repeated because i seem to have the same routine most days which can look a little like this most days: 

• Breakfast 
• School run
• Start cleaning up
• Lunch time & clean up 
• School pickup 
• More cleaning 
• Lots of tidying up toys
  
• Hoover at least 3x a day
• Cook dinner
• Clean up kids and dinner mess
• deep cleaning at least 3 or 4 times a week
• Do teeth clean and bedtime 
• Quick clean up before bed because nobody likes waking up to a full sink of dishes and a messy living room!! Or at least i don't. 

I hope that has given you a little insight of my crazy little life at home with my children, and maybe you have learnt something new from this. I do really enjoy being able to stay at home and i am grateful i am able to do so, i have been able to watch my children grow up and haven't missed a milestone, as not every parent is as lucky. I appreciate the time i have had and continue to have with my children and being able to spend so much time with them and being able to make so many memories with them. 

Until next time...

Goodbye teacakes

Emma xox