It is easy for it to all get on top of you. 
 
Whether you are a working mum - racing home from work, balancing groceries while giving your children 100% attention the second you walk in the door, OR you choose to stay at home with the children and have to spend the entire day trying to keep those little scamps happy (why are they ALWAYS taking off their shoes?) It isn't easy. 
 
Inevitably, in the evenings, when you look at their peaceful little faces fast asleep, you get a pang of guilt that you could ALWAYS be doing more. It is all part of being a parent. 
 
But it's also really important to make sure you don't let things overwhelm you - after all, you are an important cog that helps this household function well. 
 
So to avoid complete mum (or dad) burnout - here are our top tips: 
 
1. Get ahead of yourself
It may seem like MORE work initially, but getting a headstart on the week is invaluable when it comes to being organised. When I'm feeling virtuous, I like to spend a Sunday prepping meals for the week ahead. The children love to help as I throw together some simple but much-loved meals like spag bol and chicken curry.We still have a baby in our house, so using the hand-held blender for pureeing is also really handy.  I've also recently started making some nice soups and freezing them for the week ahead. 
 
In the mornings, I have all the fruit already chopped and ready to throw in the blender for a really nice healthy and quick addition to breakfast. So, no matter how busy my day it, I know that they have started it well and I will just pop out a nice soup to defrost in the evenings. This really lessens the stress in our house.
 
 
2. Stay ahead of yourself
In an idea world, we would all have partners that did equal amounts of housework and fair play to those who do. We would also have a cleaner once a week who would do those pesky chores like vacuuming under the bed (essential in our house because of allergies) but in the absence of this - I like to try to stay on top of household jobs that stress me out if they get left undone. 
I try to make sure I give the house a quick going over (or pay my son 1 euro to do it as he is saving for a hoverboard). He loves it because we have a seriously cool vacuum which is tornado red and cordless and zips around in no time at all. I try to stick by the one minute rule - if it takes a minute or less, just do it then and there, rather than wait until later. It is a surprisingly easy way to get little jobs done so they don't mount up. 
 
 
3. Learn to say NO
We all love to help our friends or family but when you have a busy household to run and multiple children to keep happy and well, sometimes we are guilty of trying to do it all. It is important to learn when to simply say no (politely of course). I'm talking about when your sister asks you to drive an hour a day to feed her cat the same week your son has a bad cold. Or the PTA asking you to volunteer to sell raffle tickets the week you have a major presentation at work. Knowing your limit is really important. It means that when you feel like you ARE on top of things, you will be more inclined to sign up to these things and do them well. 
 
We joke about being superwoman, and there is no doubt that we are a lot of the time, but managing your own expectations about when you are able to do successfully becomes paramount when you become a parent. 
 
There is no better more satisfying job - but it is also the most exhausting job in the world.
 
Mind yourselves, mums!
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