1. Listen to other mums at the school gates marvel at how much you get done; working full time, studying to improve my chances of future success while managing a house and kids- all with relative success. 2. Get used to hearing uplifting comments from fresh faced, energetic mums like “I don’t know how you do it” and “I think it’s great- if did that much it would finish me off” while battling exhaustion. 3. Create recipe for success; add together constant work with chronic insomnia, a large amount of erratic meal, bath and bed times and stew for a few years. Finish off with a garnish of meaningless toys and games for your children to compensate for being too busy to play before serving with family and marital neglect is one I’m following right now. 4. Appreciate the fact that you may be the only woman in the family to have had both a meaningful career together and a family, and be grateful that you are fortunate to live in an age where it’s possible to be more than simply a housewife and mother. 5. Be smug about your impressive achievements, but wonder if the price the family and you pay for a mother who wants to have it all is a too high.