To think I'm going mad??!?!

[Weathermerrier]

Any other stay at home mums feel like just screaming ahhhhhhhh half the time. I swear I'm actually going insane. The house is a mess, the kids run rings around me, the pile of washing in the kitchen is bigger than everest and my bloody puppy is having its first period and is bleeding everywhere!!!!
And my DH works 6 days a week and is the least understanding person to have graced the earth!!!
Give me some sanity guys. That doesn't involve 'getting out of the house' coz that's far far more stressful.

Weeeeelll

At what point did you think a puppy would be a good idea?!

Surely a puppy like kids needs exercising every day

Open a bottle of wine and stick the cork up the puppy's hooha.

Do you have a garden?

The children need fresh air and exercise every day, and so do you.

Do you know the ten ten loaf method of getting stuff done? Ten mins on task A, ten mins on task B, ten mins loafing. Repeat. You nibble away at tasks that would otherwise be incredibly daunting, highly recc.

I was going to say take the puppy and the children out for a runaround. And then I remembered that you have a bitch in season. So leave the puppy at home in case you end up with even more puppies.

Got to wonder just why you thought a puppy might help life feel any less chaotic, mind.

Yup totally get where you are coming from. Started a similar post myself earlier on the week and agree going out with the beggars little angels can be completely torture. Marking my place to see what others suggest

(yes I did think erm WHY about the puppy too)

5318008 Love that idea.

Weather how old are your children? If they are old enough make some of the cleaning up tasks a game, yes they may take longer but at least something is getting done! DS is 2.5 and loves 'polishing' with a babywipe!

Go to a pet shop and get some doggy pants and sanitary towels. At least the puppy won't then be bleeding over everything and that'll be one stress less. The ten ten loaf method sounds good, I might try that out.

No. They don't. Or at least it has never occurred to me to refer to a bitch being in season as "having a period". Each to their own mind...

And that is why I work part time. Being at home with 4 ds' & a husband that works all hrs (including weekends) nearly drove me insane-literally

5318008 I am so going to start the ten the loaf method! You should get that copywrited or trademarked or something...

Ten ten loaf is genius! Maybe clean up shove to one side all the toys, put on Florence ATM or ABBA and have a massive boogiefest with your childer.

There's a brilliant picture on the Internet- sorry wouldn't let me link. It's called 'what have you done all day,woman'

Feeling your pain over here! Completely sympathise with all of your OP - I too have a messy house and children running riot altho no puppy! Husband doesn't work long hours but has a lovely habit of coming home and immediately running thru all the things he expected me to do during the day - did you ring the garage about the tyres? did you wash the baby sleeping bag? did you post those letters? No, no and f*ing NO!!!!! You're not going mental - it's just normal when your home is your workplace so there's no escape!

My DS are both under 4 so if it helps, we:
clear a space / track and chuck soft balls about (IKEA do a soft fabric football).
Run about being horses, with or without hobby horses.
Tape Tree Fu Tom off CBeebies and repeatedly do Tree Fu.
Dance to anything with a good theme song. Once we played Bob the Builder off YouTube doing Big Fish Little Fish, which they loved.
Play Monsters / Chase Mummy and hide-and-seek.
Still do Easter Egg Hunts as that went down really well.
Go for a walk to the postbox (see above for nagging husband) in the hope that it's exercise with only a small potential for misbehaviour
If you've got the room, a friend has an outdoor slide in the front room, waiting to go outside, which makes for brilliant play
HTH

5318008, ten ten loaf is indeed genius. You should be Mayor of London. Or on the Olympics team, we'd have had them done by last year with that method

Get the dog spade

I've had Mischka for ages now, and she does get walked everyday but i can't get her spade til she's one. any she's not really the issue, its me!
i just feel like i don't get a second to sit down. feel like I'm kind of losing myself in it all.
don't get me wrong, i love playing with my kids, were really really close, but sometimes i just feel a bit like 'where did i go?'
i just feel like theres no let up, like the entire responsibility of the house is on my shoulders...

Do you have a garden?

The children need fresh air and exercise every day, and so do you.

btw dictating advice like this thats extremely obvious and condescending is really horrible to read. mums have enough shit as it is without people making you feel and inch tall when all you want is some support.

also.. pouring rain? good for children?

Is there someone to come and help you get organised I felt like this once and a dear friend came over and we got up to date with my bombsite and all felt better.

Or invite a friend with kids/relative to come over for a cuppa this afternoon (make them bring cake!) Nothing like the prospect of guests to force you to blitz the mess

What are your evenings like OP? Mine are viciously protected....the kids know that if they dare to come near the stairs once they're in bed then I turn into Hulk Mum....try getting some early nights and that 10 10 loaf method is great...I'm going to try that today.

oh god yes OP you are soooooo not alone. There is no magic advice though! When I went through this it was a hot summer, and I just left the mess er house every morning as soon as I could, and sat in the playground while son ran around and I had a flask of coffee, and a magazine. I couldn't even read a book my throught processess were shot to buggery. Sometimes all I did was sit in the sandpit raking sand with the gardening toys. That was incredibly therapeutic! As for getting out of the house ... I didn't always dress him. It was summer, and you know there's little difference between most PJs these days and jogging bottoms etc.