Earlier on I turned into the Incredible Hulk, I don't know if I had a panic attack or just a fit of rage, but I lost it. This is what happened.
I got home from work at 4pm, two children in tow, having left the house relatively tidy this morning. I was hoping to hoover the stairs, give the bathroom a quick wipe over, put away a pile of laundry and hang out another, wipe kitchen worktops, and make a pasta dish. All before 6pm. I thought that was reasonable.
Instead of that, when I went upstairs to get changed, use the toilet, get the kids to wash their hands and make sure ds1 didn't throw his uniform on the floor. What happened was, my 22 month old threw a load of ds1s toys down the stairs and put the toothpaste and a shampoo bottle down the toilet.
I fixed this and went downstairs to do laundry. My toddler wouldn't let me do laundry because he either wanted to climb all over me, climb on the window ledges, throw toys behind the tv, and pull over any laundry I'd folded. I eventually did manage to fold it.
Then I discovered ds had had a snack and left crumbs, wrappers and bananas skin all over the clean table and the floor, then the toddler pulled over all the huge pile of washing I'd folded. I gave up and went to make dinner.
I decided I couldn't be bothered to make the pasta dish because by this point the baby was screaming because he's tired, he won't sit in his highchair and just climbs out, I've got nowhere to put him safely because he climbs onto everything. So I chucked some oven chips in to do egg, chips and beans.
Meanwhile the toddler is screaming, dh has been shoving a load of carrier bags between the fridge and kitchen cupboard and a load of freezer bags which he's bought home from work in a cupboard, all of which fell on me when I opened the cupboard.
I lost it at that point and started half crying, half hyperventilating, I got all the carriers and freezer bags and shoved them in the bin in a rage, as well as everything else dh had left lying around for the baby to grab. I felt like I was shaking and my chest was tight, I felt like I wanted to throw all the crap and clutter out onto the road.
I did then calm down because I felt like I'd had a release, but I had to leave the room when ds1 started dropping egg on the floor.
I'm in bed now, dh bathing the toddler, we haven't eaten yet ourselves and I've got a splitting headache and feel utterly useless and deflated.
I'm not mad with my kids, I love them dearly but I'm frustrated with how hard simple things seem to be to get done.
On my working days I can barely seem to get the basics done, there's more mess created than I can keep up with, I feel like just not going back to work so I can be a mum and do what needs to get done.