Worst times of the day

Having children is wonderful, but there are times when they drive me crazy.  In particular there are two times each day that are the worst times of the day.  Those are the moments that would push even the most sane of us over the edge.

Breakfast madness

Breakfast times are manic, they have to be up there when it comes to talking about the worschool  the week though, there are lunch boxes to pack; which is one of those little jobs that I hate.  I've never had a great deal of creativity when it comes to packing a lunch box, but having to do two every morning is horrid. The thought that in a few years there'll be four.......I think that the kids might be doing their own.
It's not just the lunch boxes that make breakfast time one of the worst times of the day though, it's the rush to get everything done: Deciding what people want for breakfast, eating breakfast, getting dressed, getting ready for school, getting out of the door on time......
Every morning, no matter how organised I start off being, it all seems to go down hill, shoes disappear, car keys wander off, school bags vanish. Stress.
Monday was worse than ever this week, in the early hours of Sunday the clocks went back.  For most people, this means a lie-in, for people with small children it means that they wake up 'earlier' or what is now earlier.  You'd think that gave us more time, but sadly not.  You see I was up, showered, dressed and all the usual things were done by about eight, half an hour earlier than they needed to be, and I fell into the I've got enough time trap.  Before I knew it, it was five to nine and I was shepherding reluctant children out of the door and into the car.

The evening meal

Every parent knows that the hours between around four thirty and seven pm are some of the absolute worst times of the day.  Combine tired children, cooking an evening meal with your own need to sit down and relax, and you know it's not a good combination.  The whole house descends into madness and sometimes it really feels as though you've achieved great things if everyone makes it through to bed time in one piece.  Oh yes, evening meal time is definitely one of the worst times of the day.

I don't mean to moan, and most of the time it's all good, but getting through these worst times of the day can really take it out of you, and make you enjoy that sit down at night even more.  The good news is that it's nearly school holiday time, so those worst times of the day aren't nearly so stressful or frantic.