Real Mums #11 Mum for Fun

I started this feature to celebrate real mums. Mums come in all shapes and sizes but sometimes we can feel alone, we can feel as though we are the only ones struggling to keep on top of things. I want to lift the lid on motherhood so we can all feel a part of sisterhood, to feel proud about our own achievements and know that we are doing the best we can!

Without further a do let me hand over to Katrina!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

I am Katrina, I have a lovely husband, an adorable 3 year old toddler Nate and a Border Collie called Cali. We live in Milton Keynes. My husband and I both work full-time at the same large organisation and our son attends full-time nursery. We all love to watch movies and go on family trips and days out.

Describe a typical day in your life

I work full time so a typical weekday is like this:

06:40 – Wake up to my iPhone alarm, most days I press snooze, there is something so indulgent about an extra 5 minutes in bed.

06:45-7:05 – I get myself ready, dressed brushed and all that jazz.

07:05 – I wake Nate up (yes he has to be woken up on week days, he usually sleeps in until 8/8:30 on weekends) and tell him to choose his clothes for the day and his pants, while I make his breakfast. This is new to our routine, since he turned 3 I have been encouraging him to be a ‘big boy’.

07:10 – I check that his clothes are appropriate and then help him get dressed. He can’t put tops on himself yet, but he can do his pants and trousers if he chooses to, I try to encourage this as much as possible, but some mornings he is so grumpy I have to do it for him. We then brush our teeth together and go downstairs, usually on our ‘trains’ collecting passengers on the way downstairs! He is normally eager to show daddy something most mornings i.e. “Daddy look at my batman pants”.

07:20ish – Nate watches the iPad and eats breakfast while I make his lunch and put on my make-up. (Yes bad parenting I know, but without this he insists on being played with, which I adore, but that’s just not possible in the morning).

His lunchbox usually consists of: a sandwich (ham is his fave), 2 pieces of fruit, a yoghurt, a babybel cheese, dairylea dunkers, yoghurt covered raisins and a breakfast/snack bar.

At 07:40 – to keep us on time I always shout “5 minute warning”, that let’s my husband and son know that they have to finish what they are doing and put their shoes on as we need to be leaving imminently. Without this reminder we would be late everyday and I would hate to be late for work, in fact I wouldn’t even want to be on time! Having a small child is no excuse, in my mind, I can be on time.

07:45 – husband drives us to nursery (I drive us home), while he drives I give Nate a snack if he wants one, chat to him a little, point out things like the train or a big truck whilst singing along to my music (RnB or Hip Hop is my fave) and reading through my work emails.

08:00 – Drop Nate off at nursery, say hello to any mums or dads, grab things from his tray then dash off to work. Husband drives us again, but it’s only 5 minutes round the corner.

08:10 – Arrive at work, hubby and I work at the same place, we walk in together, his office is first so once he is off to his office, I walk the additional 5 minutes to my office (it’s a big campus) listening to my latest audiobook.

08:15 – Arrive in the office, turn on laptop, fill up the coffee machine (for my boss), make myself a large glass of water and a cup of tea while my machine boots up. I have the luxury of my own office in a very large open plan area as I work for the second in command in a very large organisation.

08:30ish – I actually have two bosses in a way, the person I work for is very high up in the organisation but my line-manager is the Director of our Unit, both are lovely to work for, and I do different things for both of them. My top male boss arrives in the office around now, we have a quick chat, I make him a coffee and see if he needs anything.

09:00 – The person that I manage is the Executive Assistant to our top boss, she arrives around now. I am usually still catching up on emails at this time unless I have a meeting.

---

It’s hard for me to describe a typical work day as it is so varied, but let’s just say that today for example, I spent the first hour in a rush trying to add speakers notes to our corporate presentation so that our Director could present to some external potential customers. Once that rush was over I had to continue working on my briefing for a visit we had the next day. This month is very busy as we have many visits to fit in a short period of time, and it is my job to ensure my bosses are fully briefed and prepared for meetings and presentations, sometimes I write their speeches too. I spend a lot of my time writing, organisation, attending meetings, taking and writing up minutes of meetings, organising events for the unit and organising visits from externals. My job is busy, varied, high pressured but I love it. At lunch times I eat in our on-site restaurant, usually meeting a friend for lunch and then going for a walk as we have very beautiful grounds on and around the campus.

16:30 – Finish work and collect Nate from Nursery, I drive us home and we listen to hubby’s music.

17:10 – Husband and I take it in turn to make dinner. Last night we heated up left-over cottage pie – although Nate flat out refused to eat it!

We play with Nate – sometimes a board game, sometimes with his dragons or planes (his current favourite toys), play doh, colouring or football in the garden, these are his favourite activities.

18:45 – Hubby and I take it in turns to ‘put Nate down’ for the night, this is when we start his bedtime routine which includes a bath, a story, PJs and teeth brushing.

19:20 – As I close the door to Nate’s bedroom we both sing quietly “don’t let the frost-bite….biiiiiiiiiite”. Nate is down and now it’s our relaxation time, even though it feels awfully short.

---

The evenings vary, once per week is ‘my night out’, hubby gets the same, mine is on a wednesday. So every Wednesday I can go out while hubby cooks dinner and puts him down, I do the same for him on a Thursday when he plays tennis. On my night I often go to the cinema, sometimes with a friend, sometimes alone – I love the cinema! Sometimes, like tonight, I just go to a coffee shop and write, or sit a read, or I meet up with a friend, or go round my parents house for dinner.

On the normal evenings I either watch a movie, read, blog, check social media, work on our finances, or house organisation.

Around 20:30/20:45 I get ready for bed, fill up my water, get some lunch ready, brush teeth, clean/cleanse face etc.

21:00 – I lie in bed and watch television, this helps me to feel sleepy, but for the first 30 minutes I am usually reading twitter and bloglovin, this is my one time of day to read all the blogs posts I want to read, yes I do this whilst watching TV. I have a lot of TV series box sets, and I watch them all in obsessive order, some of my faves include: Downton Abbey, Greys Anatomy, Friends, Will and Grace, Prison Break, Charmed, House etc.

22:00 zzzzzzzzzzzzz (I love to sleep!)

What is the best thing about being a mum?

I love that my son has made me re-appreciate the world again, every leaf, spider, train, cloud, moon etc is special and magical to him and he is re-awakening my senses. As a grown-up it is easy just to get on with your work and let the world slip by, but he makes me slow down and appreciate the small things. I love being called mummy, I love his cuddles and kisses and being needed. He doesn’t care what I look like, he loves me anyway and that is precious.

What have you found hardest about motherhood?

The lack of free time is really hard, even though I am lucky enough to get more free time than most, thanks to my amazing parents, who take Nate 2-4 nights per month.

The uncertainty, the worry and the constant phases are hard. Worrying if he will ever be potty trained (he is now thankfully), will he ever eat the food that we eat, will he get into a good school? There are so many constant worries as a parent, and those are just small things.

How has your body changed?

I was overweight already before I had Nate, so I don’t look very different. The c-section belly is worse though, and I still don’t have full-feeling from the surgery 3 years later! Weird fact – my eyelashes are not as long or curly as they were pre-baby – cannot imagine why!

Do you wear makeup? If so, what does your routine look like? 

I suffer from adult acne so for the sake of man-kind I wear make-up almost every-day but definitely on work days – I could never, ever go to work without make-up.

I wear foundation or a cream powder, it has to have good coverage, then some pale pink blusher and pale pink lip gloss, very neutral and natural. That is it for my work day, I keep it simple. I save eye-liner and mascara (and a red lippy) for special occasions as it makes a big difference and looks like I have made an effort.

What’s in your handbag? 

God, what a horrifying thought. I have quite a big bag! In the side pockets I keep deodorant and perfume – just in case! In the other side pocket – headphones. In the first front pocket my sunglasses (in its case), I suffer from migraines so I have to have these on me even in the winter. In the second front pocket – tissues and a mini pack of baby wipes. Inside I have so many receipts, loose change, a toy plane, a pencil, 2 pens, my purse, my migraine tablets, paracetamol, ibuprofen, aspirin (yes I am like a walking drug store thanks to my migraines), strepsils, mints, my keys, a breakfast bar for Nate, a Malteaser Santa chocolate bar (love those), spare foundation, coffee stirrers, more receipts, napkins, tissues, my security pass for work, a fruity bar for Nate, a thank you card.

What is your relationship with housework?

Like everything else, hubby and I split things. He does most of the cleaning in the house, I help with the tidying (I am no good at cleaning), dishwasher, clothes washing but mostly hubby does it. I look after our finances, house and budget management, and do all the paper related chores, organise trips, birthdays, dentists, doctors etc.

How do you relax?

Dinner and a movie are my favourite activities. We are lucky to get free time a couple of nights a month, as my son has a very close relationship with my parents, he has his own room there, his own toys, clothes etc and stays over fairly regularly, on those occasions hubby and I like to go out for a nice meal and go to the cinema.

What’s the best parenting advice you have ever been given?

Trust your own instincts, I so regret the times when I haven’t done so.

Buy two of the same teddy bears for the cot, so that if/when it becomes the ‘comfort toy’ that they later attach to, you have a back up.

For any new mums out there, what would you like to tell them?

You don’t have to choose an extreme, breast or bottle, baby-led or pureed food, cloth or disposable, in almost every area we believe things in balance are better, I did both and was much happier and found things easier – the best of both worlds. But ultimately it is your choice, and don’t let anyone make you feel bad for whichever you choose for your family.

What makes you happy?

A happy and laughing toddler make me so happy.

And finally, complete this sentence:

I am a great mum because….. I am a great mum because I always think I can do better, I worry about getting everything wrong and I question and worry about the decisions I make…does that sound familiar? Great mums are those who care and worry and always strive to do their best. I would worry if I didn’t worry.

Thank you so much Katrina, such a lovely interview and wow what busy days you have! I love how you describe your re-appreciation for life, I know exactly what you mean! x

If you want to find out more about Kat and her world then head over to her blog Mum for Fun.

She is also on Twitter and Instagram if you want to go follow her there.