I'm a Full Time Mum from tomorrow - HELP!

[runawayquickly]

I have been working from home for the last two years and have had the most brilliant childminder who has looked after DS (7) and DD (3).

She is going into hospital for an operation tomorrow and so for the next six weeks I will give up work to look after the kids. That's fine...except I'm sad to say I'm dreading it.

Childminder is so brilliant, patient, creative, organised with them. I feel incredibly guilty and upset about admitting this, but I just get bored with childcare and housework and frustrated at not being able to slink off back to my Mac and work. I feel like a selfish, horrible mum. I feel like a failure when my idea of hell is soft play/baking/going swimming.

My kids NEVER go to sleep before about 9.30 and it can seem like such a long day, especially with DD who is only at nursery for 1 3/4 hours and is a total livewire.

Don't want to be a grouchy, miserable old cow - DH gets enough of that! How can I be the fun mum my kids deserve?

I say just try and get out for one activity a day. Even if that activity is going to tescos. Also remember to do something for yourself each week. For example, I sometimes go clothes shopping with my children they don't enjoy it but I do.

Furthermore, hopefully the weather will be good so just send them into the garden and have friends round. I hope this helps!

Don't try and be alpha mum! Take it slowly, just do one thing with them everyday for a few days and it will all come together, I'm sure. You might even find you DO like some of the activities you dread! If you try too hard, you will fail. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine. Good luck!

God last time I took them shopping they run me ragged. Not enjoyable at all, in a 'why's that lady so fat' and 'will Runawayquickly please come to customer services, where her DD has been found' way.
Good advice, though - thanks. I will try to plan one little thing for every day and make sure I mention it in the morning so they HOLD me to it and there's no backing out, ha ha.

Thats not a bad idea actually, telling them what you are going to do each day. So many kids get dragged here there and everywhere and are bound to get p*ssed off if they don't know whats going on. Its understandable really, if you were dragged around, not knowing where you were going - you'd be hacked off too!

I'm not the greatest hands on mum either. And I'm a full time SAHM too.

But I've found that lots and lots of games are the answer. At the risk of sounding anal, I drew up an excel spreadsheet to schedule activities, lunch times, nap times etc. It's summer so you can go outside lots too. Well, in theory anyway.

I've found this supplier www.orchardtoys.com to have great, cheap, simple and educational toys that will kill an hour at a time.

And I'd definitely start to implement a much earlier bedtime. For your sake!

I would say, make sure you schedule some time for yourself...are there any local state run nurseries that offer stay and play sessions or something that you could book the kids into for a session halfway through the week? If you're not used to being a full-time carer, you need to give yourself something to help you get through the week

Otherwise, and I mean this in a completely un-alpha way, I would give my right arm to spend a week with my dd - it could actually be fantastic and one of the best things you've done!

Sixofone, I really hope you are right. It could be the best thing ever. I'm all for the spreadsheet timetable thing, as long as the last entry is 'LARGE GLASS OF CHILLED ROSE FOR SAHM'