For this mummy, the witching hour is the time period between making Little Miss H's dinner and leaving her room knowing that she is in sleepy land. It is when chaos descends.
For this mummy, the witching hour is when I look around the flat, hang my head in shame and wonder how the hell it got so messy.
For this mummy, the witching hour is when I run around like a blue arsed fly. When I tend to Little Miss and restore order to the flat.
For this mummy, the witching hour (or hours) look something like this:
17:00 - Make Little Miss H pasta and a vegetable sauce for dinner.
17:15 - Serve Little Miss H dinner. Put a load of laundry into the washing machine.
17:20 - Little Miss H's dinner ends up on the floor
17:25 - Serve Little Miss H second dinner.
17:26 - Start to tidy bedroom; change sheets on the bed; put clothes away and fill Mrs H's box of miscellaneous crap (please don't ask).
17:40 - Little Miss H throws second dinner onto the floor.
17:45 - Give Little Miss H some fruit and sultanas to eat. Turn the TV onto CBeebies to keep her happy.
17:55 - Bedroom complete!
17:57 - Wash grapes for Little Miss H, hand her these and the water bottle she has thrown on the floor.
17:59 - Begin to tidy Little Miss H's room; put away the toys that belong in the nursery; sort out Little Miss's clothes; organise another load of washing for the machine and prep the room for bedtime.
18:10 - Little Miss H's room sorted! Give Little Miss H some more fruit and some breadsticks to eat.
18:12 - Begin to tidy the hall and bathroom; throw away rubbish; sort out even more clothes; put out some clean towels; sweep and wash the floors and prep the bathroom for bedtime.
18:24 - Hall and bathroom - tick!
18:25 - Mr H arrives home. Celebrate.
18:26 - Greet Mr H and share news. Discuss what we are eating for dinner. Mr H entertains Little Miss H (who is very happy at her daddy's appearance) and I tidy the kitchen; load the dishwasher; wash and dry the dishes; wipe work surfaces; put food away; organise paperwork; unload washing machine and hang laundry to dry; put away sheets; load the washing machine; sweep and wash the floor and disinfect the highchair.
18:45 - Mr H begins to cook dinner. Clean up after him.
18:55 - Finish kitchen. Grab a drink. Mr H continues to entertain Little Miss.
18:58 - Move on to the living room; tidy up paperwork; clean dropped food off the floor; put away toys, books and DVDS.
19:05 - The living room and thus the whole flat are now tidy. Hurrah!
19:06 - Have a celebratory loo break.
19:08 - Start the ritual of getting Little Miss ready for bed. Run around the flat after her in an attempt to give her some calpol and teething powder. Run around the flat after her trying to clean her teeth.
19:15 - Mr H called in as reinforcements. Team work needed to change Little Miss H's nappy and dress her in her PJs. Mr H and Little Miss have sleepy cuddles. I tidy the bathroom after nappy change.
19:20 - Little Miss enters her room to go to bed. I read her a bedtime story; "Dinosaurs love underpants" (complete with silly voices).
19:25 - Daddy comes to say good night. The lamp is turned off and Little Miss H's slumber frog is switched on.
19:30 - I cuddle Little Miss until she falls asleep.
19:45 - Little Miss H is asleep in her cot. My contact lenses come out, glasses, cosy socks and a big snuggly cardigan go on. Feet up and iPad out. Peace at last!
Hugs
Mrs H
xxxx
P.S. The following night Little Miss H added peeing on the floor and walking in it to the witching hour cocktail of activity. I was thrilled, as I am sure you can imagine.
This is my day every day! Celebratory loo breaks are the best ha! Thank you for linking up with the #WeekendBlogHop
ReplyDeleteLaura x x x
Hi Laura. Thank you for popping over. Oh, I am so glad it is not just me. I don't know how anyone manages bedtime with more than one child. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteWith 2 it helps if you have 2 adults around, one each.. otherwise you get the older one to 'help' and do a story together, then put them to bed one by one after that. All things are possible, but not always all the time.I've found that Slow cookers or fast meals are good so you don't end up eating at 9pm. The main thing to remember is however you do it, you are doing it and that is that main thing! Wonder woman has nothing on you! x
DeleteHi Laura. Thanks so much for your comment. We are all wonder women but the sound of it. But you are exactly right, it doesn't matter how I get everything done. It just matters that I am. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteThis sounds so familiar except you are much more of a domestic goddess compared to me! I am afraid most of the tidying (that gets done) happens when the girls are asleep!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen. Thanks for commenting. Tidying up after bedtime sounds much more sensible. Unfortunately, I have a husband who loves tidiness and I hate for him to come home and the flat to be a mess. He doesn't care less. But I like to keep up the pretence that I can look after Little Miss H and keep the flat in order. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteThis sounds very familiar!
ReplyDeleteHowever you put me to shame... my house gets to certain point and I just think 'bugger it - might as well wait til she's in bed'.
How DOES it get so messy?!?!
How does is get so messy? That is the meaning of life, My flat is all tidy first thing in the morning. 2 minutes after Little Miss H gets up and it looks like the flat has been hit by a hurricane. I probably should just think 'bugger it - I'm going to bed!". Thanks so much for commenting. I hope to see you back here soon. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteI am v impressed with the bit from 6.12 to 24!! Wowzers! You are putting me to shame! I am usually calling my eldest to put his stuff away and wash his hands while trying to cook something with baby gal attached and often crying next to my legs! She's very clingy at the moment, making any task difficult! Good job we mamas are so good at multi tasking! Xx
ReplyDeleteAhhh, the clinigness stage f a toddler is teh best (*writing dripping with sarcasm*). Little Miss H is jut about to turn 18 months old and is getting more and more clingy. It is almost impossible to do anything when she is up and about. At least at dinner time I can strap her into her high chair and know that she can't go anywhere. This gives me an opportunity to tidy. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteFab post, Mrs H!
ReplyDeleteI think we all have hours in the day like this - it's hard work!
Jenna at Tinyfootsteps xx
Hi Jenna. Thanks for your lovely comment. It is bloody hardwork. But it is worth it. It really is worth it! Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteLove this Mrs H a true representation of being a Mummy I laughed at celebratory loo break and celebrating at Daddy come home, Love it xxx
ReplyDeleteWe always celebrate when Daddy comes home. I celebrate because I can breathe a small sigh of relief and Little Miss H celebrates because she is no longer in the flat on her own with her demented mother. Thanks for visiting and commenting. I am thrilled that I made you laugh. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteYou are not alone! Some witching hours become witching days here
ReplyDeleteX
Ditto. We definitely have witching days in this house. on those days, I tend to go to bed the moment that Daddy walks through the door. Sod, finding out how his day went. I need a break. I hope to see you back here soon. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteBrilliant! Why do they go like this at this time?!! Mine are wild at bath time and then bedtime completely shattered! Peace is restored at 730pm every night when they're asleep and I get a few hours break! ;) xx
ReplyDeleteI love that peace is restored when they go to bed. Sigh! Although, Little Miss H often sleeps so badly that she can wake up lots during the evening. Argh! But if Daddy is home then he has to deal. So I can still sit down with a glass of wine and watch Hollyoaks. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteFab post, although you are a better woman than I! When my older lot were little I always left the running round tidying until after they had gone to bed. Now they are older they have chores so we all help tidy up before bed. #SundayStars
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until Little Miss H is older and I can tell her to tidy up after herself. Although, I realise this maybe hypocritical as I don't often tidy up after myself. Looking at all the comments, I think the consensus is to tidy up after the kids go to bed. This does actually sound more senbsible. Thanks for commenting. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteI always joke about the witching hour but its definitely a thing!! Between 5-7 in our house is usually a bit mental....I'm counting down the minutes until bedtime!! xx
ReplyDeleteI count down the minutes until bedtime too. But it is like the clock slows down and 5 minutes feel like an hour. I am so pleased that I am not the only mum who has to deal with the witching hour. Although, you do have my deepest sympathies. Thanks for commenting and I hope to see you back here soon. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteYes!! However mine starts a little earlier and the two of them bully me. They tease and pick on me. They throw their dinner on the floor too. It's virtually everywhere but there gobs. They look at me all smug faced and happily drop food on the floor in front of me. While I may an attempt to get food down their necks (baby led) OMG and they try and feed themselves yogurt I start the onslaught of tidying, getting their bedrooms sorted, PJs on radiators, dummies and milk sorted! All in all it takes 2 hours, we do the same thing day in day out! Peeing on the floor is also a must in our house and G actually poohed for the first time in the bath - luckily this happened whilst we were sipping on our G&T's at Blogfest!! Boom!! Mwah love this post darling!! Just fabulous! Imagined you whirling round like a lunatic sorting everything out. xxxxx
ReplyDeleteHa ha! This comment almost made me pee on the floor I have been laughing so much. I love the fact that the first poo in the bath was experienced whilst we were living it up in posh blogging society. But I don't like the fact that they bully you and gang up on you. Would you like me to come round and have a word with them? Thanks for commenting honey. Speak soon. Hugs Mrs H xxxx
DeleteAww, I feel better now! Food rejected, miscellaneous mess, and tidying then re-tidying for about 2 hours every night. This is my life!!
ReplyDeleteHope you've had a good week and thanks for linking up to #theList xxx
Hi Hannah. Thanks for commenting on my post and thanks for hosting such a fab linky. It is good to know that so many mums have a witching hour. It seems to be a theme. I'm trying to get more organised and have more routine during my days. It has helped to make the mummy witching hour less "witchy". Hugs Mrs H xxxx
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