where do you get the time and energy to do stuff?!

[donttelme]

I have 3 DC, youngest is preschooler and others at primary. I work school hours and do all the cooking, cleaning, kids stuff. We have a mad dash after school to get ready to be dropped off at club at 5 till 7. After which I just want to spend the rest of the evening lying on my bed.

I look forward to the weekend but I end up not really doing anything productive then too. I just feel tired all the time and exhausted mentally too. I find life boring as well which doesn't really help with my motivation either.

There's a million little things I'd like to start but don't and would love some tips to help me get out of this.

I have been to the doctor's recently about feeling tired and bloods came back fine.

Is the club a language or religious group? Is this the reason why it can't be dropped?

I hope I dont offend when I say you might have a bit bit low level depression.
My other word of advice is to ride out the next year or two. I wasn't myself until mine left pre school. It's relentless

Once they dress themselves and occupy themselves and tje tantrums stop. It's so so much easier.

Flopping on the bed is never a good move.

If it were me, I would use the child free hours to do something for me. Could you join a gym, I know it sounds exhausting but a gym class can make you feel alive.

It sounds like you are stuck in a habit now. But you do need willpower to make a change somewhere.

The club that's not a club sounds dreadful. For you and them. They don't get home until gone 7pm every night?! That going to push bedtime back and impact on everything. Imagine a world where they were in bed at 7pm and you had the evening free.

On the plus side you could use the early evening slot to exercise etc which would probably help you feel better.

Similar ages to you, I work longer hours for four days a week but now mostly from home so at least there’s little commute. My children are not overly fond of sleeping either.

I work in fits and spurts and run on lists. But truthfully, I could do housework/garden work/sorting out of kids stuff every day and still not be done if I let it. Instead I work out my compromises - my house has piles of clothes and toys grown out of/to be grown into, birthday decorations up from eighteen months ago. But I have things that are musts: the counters (ok, the food prep one, not the corner with accumulates the piles of crap) must be clean at the end of the day, and the floor swept.

I do wonder, with three kids, if I didn’t see the floor how long it would take for us to drown in crumbs, because there is Always Mess On The Floor.