REBBECCA WHERE ART THOU?

Hey all,

Hope your week has been swell. As for me to say i am beat is an understatement. The challenges of raising three kids under 3 is taking its toll on me. After a restless night of waking up at least twice to feed my baby, my morning starts with my eldest son knocking on my door coz he has to use the bathroom. This is usually between 6-7am and inadvertently wakes up the others and then the chaos begins.

I proceed to give the three of them baths amidst stopping fights and soothing my baby. Dressing them up isn't a breeze either. There are struggles, cries and fights. After laying their beds and making up the bedrooms we proceed upstairs for breakfast which is another ordeal especially coz of my daughter. She barely likes anything for breakfast so i practically have to stand over her and force the food down her throat. I do this most times with my baby on my back of course.

After breakfast comes the task of keeping them occupied so they don't drive me nuts. My son has learnt to play games on the computer so that keeps him busy for some minutes before my daughter goes and switches it off. Needless to say fighting and screaming ensues. My son has an educational toy that helps him with spelling and writing and he loves it so much but his sister won't let him have peace with that either.

In resent times they have both grown an insatiable appetite for mash mellow and pop corn so I indulge them and that gets them calm for a while until the sugar kicks in and their energy surges out of control. I try to calm them down by singing with them or colouring but that only lasts for some minutes. They have some TV shows they like so i put that on for them but that doesn't last for long either. Did i mention that amidst all these I clean the house feed the baby etc.

Most times I feel so overwhelmed and alone so I call my friend but the chats don't go well coz my kids won't let me have them. My friend once said she isn't in my house but she has a migraine from all the chaos.

Nap time is usually between 1 and 3. I literally count every second till that time. It's not like I get any rest when they go to bed coz my baby could be up or there could be chores to do. When nap time is over it's the chaos all over again!

If I were in Nigeria, I know I would have had a maid to help me out with cleaning and stuff. It is so hard to catch up with everything alone. I am so tired most times. My back aches, my head aches but i still have to be strong to take care of my kids and perform my wifely duties when my hubby desires.

Anyway, as therapy, I have an imaginary maid I call Rebbecca. I find myself calling out to her sometimes but she doesn't come(lol). I know soon all these will be over. The kids will be more independent and I 'll have a career and all that but for now, I need Rebbecca!

At the end of the day when I peep in to see if they are asleep and well tucked in, they look so peaceful that it's hard to believe my body aches so much from taking care of them. At that time it seems worth it.

Cheers