Double Trouble

I’m lucky enough to be working from home the majority of the time, though my work arrangement requires me to frequently go to London, sometimes several times a week, as well as visit our head office at least once a month. 

But because my first few weeks back have been a bit unpredictable, what with all the illnesses that we’ve all been suffering from, I guess I had an involuntary grace period and didn’t have to travel anywhere initially.

And because I’m not commuting to and fro an office every day, I’ve had plenty of time in the mornings to get us all ready, shipped off to nursery – which, conveniently, is in our village - and me sitting at my desk well in time for my 9am start.

This, however, is beginning to change, and soon I will be back on my usual trains, planes and automobiles. Which brings me to my point: Getting me and the kids ready to actually go somewhere on a schedule and be at destination x at timing y – well, it’s going to be hell.

I’ve already had a first taster of this last week, as I had to do a couple of trips away, one to a conference in Birmingham and one to visit my head office (a four hour train journey each way).

And … Oh my Goodness, the stress of getting organised for this is unbelievable.

Getting ready with one little lady was a challenge, but with two kiddies to get sorted and myself looking relatively presentable (the biggest challenge of them all, ha!), getting out of the house on time and with correct and appropriate footwear / clothing and related paraphernalia is nothing short of an organisational mega coup.

Two kiddies – double the trouble indeed.

Kids really don’t have a sense of urgency and timing, do they? No matter how often I explain to Becky that Mummy needs to go to work and be on time, she has absolutely no inclination to do anything in a hurry. She’ll faff around doing her teeth, while I hiss at her like a broken record to get a move on, or she’ll pop to her room to get dressed only to start undressing her dollies instead and swapping their clothes, etc.

And then there’s Alex, who – being a baby and all - needs everything doing, so planning in his morning feed, then changing and dressing him, packing his bottle and stuff for nursery is plenty to juggle, too. There’s a lot to consider and get done for such a little guy.

As John is not a morning person at all and barely manages to get himself ready for work in the early hours of the day, he’s not really part of the equation (it's probably for the best, to be truthful) and we have reached the agreement that I do the morning run, and he picks them up from nursery and does all or at least a big chunk of the evening routine, especially when I’m out on my work trips, because I’m usually not home till late.

So the only way of dealing with the morning mayhem is to organise as much as I can the night before and get up extra early, get completely ready myself and then start tackling the kids (not literally, obvs!), which involves a lot of shouting, bribery, threats of toys being taken away, occasional tears (that would be me, too), cursing (only in my head, I promise) and me craving a Bloody Mary before 9am.

Is it just me, or is everyone’s morning just sheer chaos?