I need Lone Parents to come over here and give me a kick up the arse!

[Zoinks]

I am the main salary earner in the family (not that this is important but I have to work to pay the bills) and dh does quite a bit of the childcare and also works.

He has been asked to go on a work trip which would be very important for his work (for a number of weeks). He is going on it and I am extremely pleased for him.

But I am inwardly screaming about how to organise everything while he is away! We only have enough childcare to cover half the week so I have to arrange another form of childcare to cover the other half. Dh did a lot of school drop offs and pick ups and I haven't been able to organise all of them so on some days I'm going to be rushing the children to school, rushing to work (will arrive very late), then rushing out the door to collect them and keeping everything crossed that all the links work and I get back on time!

For all the time he is away (19 working days), almost every arrangement is different and the 3 sports matches that are happening while he is away (for ds's team) happen to be 3 away fixtures at locations that are more than an hour's drive away which mean getting up and out of the house on Saturday at 8am.

I feel very stressed at the thought of it all but I am reminding myself that some of you do this all the time. So please give me a huge kick right now and tell me to stop being such a wuss!

LOL I'm not going to give you a huge kick up the arse, I think what you need to remember is that we do it all the time and that's precisely why it's easier for us - we get used to it, so it's normal, and human beings adapt to their normality. Before I became a LP I would never have thought that I could manage - in fact, I was convinced there was no way I could have done. But when the alternative became unbearable, I unexpectedly found I could. And I'm getting better and better at it as the years go by. It's just habit. And if you're not in the habit, then hell, it's bloody hard, so don't feel guilty about feeling stressed. Just decide that you are incredibly competent and put your "I'm a competent superwoman" attitude on every day and you'll feel very proud of yourself when your DH comes home. Also, try and arrange a couple of playdates so that you get a few hours off. Good luck!

No kick up the arse from me either. It is hard, but with a bit of planning, not worrying about everything being done and a few treats for you then you will manage. Can you do some meal planning / big internet food shop so you only need to worry about grabbing a few fresh things in the shops during that time?

Hi Zoinks, well, you have to think ahead and be organised. Try and share some of the care with other mums/friends especially the away matches if you can, you take them someone else collects, all that sort thing??

How old are they?

Cook in advance etc, but I'll say again, get organised.

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Good luck, it takes some getting used to, by the time he comes back you'll be a different person