Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Before 8.30am

It started well with the normal early morning visit to my bed.
The five year old asks if she can be my daughter for a long time. Yes I say.
But even when I'm ten?
Even when I'm a mummy?
Yes, forever, you'll always be my daughter.

Then, we got up.

Coco, can you get dressed please? (find her playing with cat in pj's)
Coco, can you get dressed please? No response.

Wanders back into my room, dressed but without a skirt.
Where's your skirt? No response
Go and get your skirt, it's in your room. No response
(can you just fffing get out of my hair while I get dressed and find your ffing skirt, I know where it is as I carefully placed if on the chair in your room to avoid having to ask you to put it on 20 times)

Me: Henry come on, lets change your nappy
Henry: No zank you
Me: Common Henry on the change mat (Henry legs it in opposite direction. I run after him and carry him back).
Henry: light ON light ON
Me: No Henry, lie down
Henry: light-light-light-light (I give up and hold him up so he can pull the light on - bad move I know, but my patience...)

Go into Coco's room to find her 'reading' - still with no skirt on.
Yank skirt onto her.
Chase Henry with clothes and manage to wrestle him into them.

Breakfast goes relatively smoothly with the anticipation of being able to open a window of the advent calendar.

Then more of the same ensues as I try to get coats on, bike helmets on (no zank you, says Henry again) shoes on, gloves on and out of the door.
All before 8.30am
No wonder I feel exhausted all the time, just writing all that down has tired me out.

This post is a big NOD to Charlotte's post from yesterday.
(Charlotte, I'm afraid to say, it doesn't get much easier... not yet anyway, just different). Someone told me that you actually have to repeat things three times before kids 'hear' them. Which is fine, except that it drives you mad.


  1. Ah Alexis - I can completely sympathise. Charlie has got to a point now where he just does it. (nearly 7) Rufus still has to be asked 4,5 times to do anything (5 years)... like this morning lying on the floor wrestling his dinosaur whilst there is the morning chaos going on. And still he wouldn't put his shoes on! SIGH... one day xx

  2. I hear you completely!! Glad I'm not alone though ;)

  3. Oh good lord yes. I feel battered and broken most mornings by the time we leave the house at 8.30. Children are EXHAUSTING!

  4. Love this! A similar post from me today on 'Brighton Ramblings'.

  5. This is EXACTLY like my morning! Trying to get Dex & Flo to put on their uniforms is sheer hell. It doesn't help that they are trying to do every task in 'Gangham Style' .... not annoying at all.
    Aaaaand India is in that exact same 'light on light on ligggghhhhhhtttt ooooonnnnnnnnn' stage too - aaaagh!

  6. Oh god, getting Lillian dressed is the worst. The other week it took over an hour. I was swearing my head off in text messages to Dave at work. I was standing out the front of the house honking the horn on the car. I was yelling. I may have thrown things. After that day we started a new rule. She must now get dressed before anything else in the morning. No breakfast, no playing, no computer, and yes, no advent calendar until she is dressed. She still argues about it. Just that it's usually Dave dealing with it now. :)

    I do love Henry's "No zank you". So polite!

  7. Ah, thanks ladies - it's nice to know that we're all in the same boat!