Day In The Life | Feeling Overwhelmed | There's A Lot Going On Right Now | Working Mum of 3 

I went thur this last week, my kids have already finished. That last week was made, keeping to arrange my work diary as I’m self employed. Then last week, my engine went in my car and I use my car for work. Fast forward, car not fixed and haven’t enjoyed one moment at home with the kids. Don’t forget, you have three children, if you miss work then who pays for the kids fair, holiday pocket money and just daily cost towards the end of the year. THEN you have to buy the school uniform!!!! Never ending !!

My 11 year old son has acupuncture for his hayfever. He's had 3 sessions this year and it's really helped. X

You are doing an amazing job. One strong lady, remember that ❤

Hi Claire, I know exactly how you feel! Nothing like a good cry. Thanks for sharing real life with us. ❤

Hi Claire, although I don't have children, this has brought tears to my eyes as I can see just how overwhelmed you are feeling. My Mum used to do it all too. Please try not to worry too much about feeding the children healthy food all the time. Sometimes it's fine & better for everyone to get out the curly fries & fish or whatever you have in the freezer if it means it gives you a few minutes to rest & have a little more time for you and your family. My mum used to cook mostly from scratch, but guess what? When she was working weekends, us kids had those Bernard Matthews Turkey steaks/turkey drummers with mashed potato & vegetables or sausages, mashed potato & baked beans. We loved it! :) She also used to buy pizza bases for us to make our own pizzas and guess what else? If we didn't help with tidying etc, well we wouldn't be going out until we were done, so we knew we had to do as we were told so we could get down to the beach etc. I think a little 'right Mummy has worked hard for us to go on holiday, to have a nice time, so if you want a few treats to enjoy on holiday, you need to start helping Mummy more. Maybe earn treats by tidying up, but what do I know.. I am not a Mum, so it's easy for me to suggest things. :) 🌸 Sending you a big hug from Portsmouth X Ps it's 5 months til Christmas & the elves are watching & enlisting all the good stuff ie children who are tidying up etc! Elfis & Elfin here: Hi Kids! It's that time of year to play the daily game of...'who can do it in the quickest time? It doesn't matter who wins, what's important is that you put all your wrappers in the bin, tidy your toys away & there will be treats for you all on Christmas day! Oh cheers to you too! Love Elfis & Elvin Santa' s helpful little 🎅 elves xx :) hehe xx

Oh this was so hard to watch you upset 😢 but I’m so happy you have somewhere you can let it out. We all have days where we let the things that build up out it’s ok and normal. I get that feeling where it all is just go go go and so much to remeber, and it feels like you don’t have a second to breathe and you never stop. Big hugs hun I’m here if you ever need to vent we’re all in it together. Your not alone big big hugs xx

Sending you lots of hugs. I know how awful overwhelm feels. You are amazing just take one hour at a time. I hope you feel better soon

Thank you for sharing Mum overwhelm is hard. You said that you wanted to let other Mum's know they are not alone, I hope you know you are not alone either xx

Claire, love you show the vulnerable side. There is too much ‘perfect’ shown online. You’re not alone, I have 3 kids (2 in school) and it’s definitely a stressful time of year with the end of school. Just think of your holiday coming up to get you through. X

Omg with regards to the asking the kids to do things over & over again & then just exploding because it’s all got too much with the constant asking…..I totally relate! & then you feel bad for shouting & blowing up in front of them 😢. My kids are 10 & 5. Their dad doesn’t understand either as he only sees them twice a month so he doesn’t get it when I say I’m overwhelmed. He used to have them once a week & that was when I’d have my mental break & it really helped, but then he decided to get a new job & sacrifice his time with his kids 😢 which made me feel bad for the kids 😢, but it’s also made me more overwhelmed. Thank you so much for sharing the realness, i needed it ❤ Also what is your recipe for your dinner rolls please 😊 So happy you managed to get a new car as well!!!

I love those home made rolls. I really need to stop being lazy and make some really!! Glad there was nothing wrong with your scan! Hope you narrow it down soon. Happy you got a new car, and allow yourself to be happy about it, if something goes wrong it does we gotta go with it but enjoy having a working car ❤ Haha glad my kids are not the only ones that stick stickers all over me lol on me my laptop my bag my car 😂 I can’t wait for you to have your holiday you deserve it and it’s very much needed. Although I understand how stressful holidays can be with kids too but do enjoy it and try relax!! I’m secretly going to be jealous while you’re away 😅 I’m craving a holiday but we need to wait until October!

Thank you for being real :)

Hope you're feeling better. The sense of hundreds of things to do and looking after people/kids is overwhelming. I feel like this every so often. My way of calming myself down is chunking it. Dealing with one thing then the next and so on. This time of year, end of school year, is MADNESS😢

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Honeybee keep things simple buy box of biscuits packet of teabags sugar and jar of coffee and write 1 card from all 3 kiddos and ask the school receptionist to put it in the staff room .... job done . My sister is a teacher and the end of year gifts she recieves is sheer madness and she feels awful as she knows full well some if the parents simply cannot afford such extravagance. It upsets me to c u r struggling but you know you can get it touch to offload anytime px

Try and think positive lovely, you have gorgeous healthy family, your home is lovely and you can eat and pay the bills. I lost my first daughter and swore that I'd never worry about silly things anymore and I really don't. sending love from London x

Hi Claire, everytime I watch you and I see you upset, you remind me of my old self, when I lived worldly and I was always stressed and upset. Then I turned to God and my whole life changed. You are such a good mother and wife and I really pray that you turn to God. Get rid of all the witchcraft out of your house, tarot cards ect, they are letting all the negative spirits in...please seek the word of God...lots of love ❤️ ❤❤

Massive hugs Claire, hope you're feeling better, end of school year is so stressful I'm on your page xxx

Hang in there Claire , it is always crazy near the end of summer term and you have extra this year , be kind to yourself xx

Ahhh it’s not easy being a mum,and 3 kids all different ages,only so many times you have to keep asking. You do so much and never seem to stop,my downtime is to go to bed early,but then I have teenagers so go to bed before them!

Hi Claire, big hugs to u. I hope u are feeling better since you filmed this. My heart goes out to u. I have days like this too. I think u are a wonderful parent. Xxx

Oh Claire, my heart goes out to you. I know how tough this is, you are in the rapids of raising your children and managing financial resources. We are middle class and here in South Africa there is also a cost of living crisis. I know you had to pay a significant amount last week, I think, and you also had to buy a new car. That is enough to drive one’s anxiety through the roof. There are two ways to raise children: by just letting them get on with it, either drive fear of you into them so they don’t step out of line or letting them do whatever they want; there is very little or no love shown or communicated and very little or no time investment. Then it’s easy to raise children. But when you choose the right way, as you and Gareth are doing, it is really rewarding but also really hard. You and Gareth are showing love to your children, and investing in them in many ways, seen and unseen. Trust me, this hard season will pass, you are really in the rapids now of raising kids. It’s rough but there are also so many good moments. To feel overwhelmed, especially if you are anxiety prone, is normal under these circumstances. You seem like an incredibly hardworking person. You clean other people’s houses which is physically exhausting, then come home and clean your own home and cook for your family most evenings. I think you are physically exhausted and that also lower one’s resistance. I also have a star husband that always helps where he can, but he is a freelance musician and music teacher so cancelling a job or a music lesson would make it uncost-effective so I did most of the kids’ stuff. I don’t care about feminists and the modern world; for us it came naturally that I do most of the practical and nurturing work and he does most of rough and tumble kind of engagement. I wanted to do these things for my kids,even though it was hard at times, because the easier times are so much more and it is all so rewarding to see your children bloom into beautiful adults. I wanted to do it myself and I sacrificed willingly and now that my kids are grown I can say it is 1000% worth it. I have a 24 yr old son who is an engineer, my 2nd born, a girl, is in her final year of her Physiotherapy studies. My lastborn completed grade 12 last year and is taking a gap year (she is gainfully employed, that was our condition for the gap year):and,will go to uni next year to study Theology (we are Christians). So know that “this too shall pass”, and if you feel stuck and anxiety-ridden, the best advice I have ever heard is “just do the next thing”. Don’t think far ahead, just do the thing right in front of you, that will lead to the next and the next and the next. And so things will get done. You are a bright clever woman, you may also want to look into other career options for you, and upskill yourself so you can perhaps also get income from work that is not so physically hard. Cleaning others’ homes and then going back to clean your own - you work so hard. All the physical cleaning is probably enough exercise for you. This is all to encourage you and not to criticise, really. You must be so tired. These are just some of my thoughts that you can consider if you want to. As your children grow older things will become easier. E.g. one day you will realise there are no more toys lying around. Your house becomes tidier and cleaner, kids can do some of their own washing, etc. I know you are pagan, everybody needs Someone or something stronger than them as their firm foundation, I found that in God and that also carried me through. And if I may give one last piece of advice: if you have a diagnosed anxiety disorder and diagnosed ADHD, use the medicine available to treat it. I am so thankful for medical research that provide us with these medicines to help us cope.

Oh Claire sending you a huge virtual hug, I can so relate, I get very overwhelmed with timings etc….. and I agree when you say people should know the good and bad days ‘real life’!! I hope you’re feeling much better now and I hope you enjoy your holiday , time to just relax with your family !!! ❤❤xxxxx

Sometimes life really is a bit%h. You're having to do what most mums have to do Claire. We are all torn into a million pieces and you may feel totally inundated with things to do, but in reality Claire You're a mum what you have to do, we all have to do and many work full time ie from 8 to 5 and still we cope. BUT many of us also have times were we lock ourselves away & have a good cry & some days it's worse than others. Thankfully my schedule is no longer insane but i have a 13 ye old hormonal son with intense anger issues, autism and dyspraxia and i have days were i just want to jump off the nearest bridge, but i can't. Was wondering Claire if you physically write down what tasks you have to do and then give them a priority number? It really does help especially with people who get over whelmed with tasks at hand.. plus by giving them a priority it helps your over whelmed anxiety riddled head. Why panic about getting everything done when 3 things are priority 5 or 6 (top priority =1). Re Kids. Have you tried allocating daily/weekly tasks to each child? With an incentive be it pocketmoney, a treat they don't normally get or at the end of the month a day out to somewhere they love. You are Claire 1st, a mum 2nd and then a husband (yes people put their hubby 1st or b4 kids...i don't..we're all different). Nowhere have i mentioned slave. Everyone lives in the house and kids needs structure and kids also need to be taught and given responsibilities...they may yap for a while ..so what, let them complain. You have chosen to be a traditional mum doing so-called women's work which is fine but if you are constantly over whelmed Claire, get the kids involved. Sorry for the ramble, but these are easy things to do and they are effective Claire. As i tell myself billions of other mums cope with all this shit every day and are these women better than me...hell no, are they better than you Claire ? HELL NO!!! I hope since a bit of time has gone by from you filmed this that you are feeling a bit better. Remember no one can eat an elephant whole, but we can break it down to small pieces and eat it that way. If all else fails watch 365 days ❤.....

Awe 😭😭😭 I don’t have kids of my own but I did bring 2 of my nephews up from a young age and I can totally understand the stress end of term brings (especially year 6 leavers) Just take a minute too ur self and relax ☺️ ur kids and husband are all healthy all fed and all happy 😃 kids are challenging at times my nephews tried testing the boundaries But u gotta stick too ur guns hun get them cleaning their mess up tell them too make their own beds in the morning little things that will help u out 🥰 my niece is 5 (almost 6) and my brother started her from 2 too pick up her toys clean. Her messes up and by 4 she was making her own bed in the morning sometimes she tries to push her parents buttons and misbehave she doesn’t like it when they are mad at her for not listening but she’s a kid and will always try push the buttons of my brother 🥰🥰🥰 I would recommend u try get a diagnosis of ADHD sooner rather than later then if u do have it there are tablets especially formulated too treat it my brother as it and he can really struggle with time keeping even more so since he has a 5 year old and a 9 month old 😭😭😭 Take care Claire ❤❤❤ love Claire from Bradford xc

You are doing an amazing job I'm a mum to and some time's it's shit but we keep going on . We love our babies but we must also love ourselves. Stay strong ❤

Hi Claire I totally get where your coming from and about saying to the kids about picking up their wrappers i at times shout at my nearly ten year old you just blow up from time to time cause if they don’t listen it can get frustrating and life can get overwhelming at times I’ve been feeling my ms symptoms more lately and that’s frustrating me plus got to keep up with the kids but us mum’s solider on don’t and I’m sorry I haven’t commented in a while just been preoccupied with life stuff I always love watching your vlogs also Ria’s to ❤

Deep breaths my lovely and a big hug 🤗cup of tea and a biscuit you have a lot on so glad to hear you have your car sorted and so excited for you all for your much needed holiday just take one day at a time you do so much so lovely to see the stickers the children gave you shows how much they care take care and be kind to yourself 🥰❤️❤️❤️😘 xxx

Claire you look and sound exactly as i did at end of last yrs school year! I was so overwhelmed, so much going on, preparing my eldest for high school, end of year events, concerts, you name it! I can happily say (hoping that this will insipre you) that i am feeling very calm now after a crazy 6 months! What i mean is hang in there it WILL get easier!!! ❤ sending love and hugs

Oh Claire god bless you, its normal to feel overwhelmed there is so much to think about when you have family involved, especially the children. We all have had moments like this but I think these days are much harder for parents 100% than when mine were younger. Sending you a big hug and cry let all that stress out this is all about your feelings and it's all completely normal. 💚💚

Big hugs Claire I know how you feel working and looking after a family is hard and life gets you down sometimes look forward to you holiday and had a break from everyday life ❤

I understand the overwhelming feeling, im a single mum to 2 and i work as well as just finishing a degree. Something that helped me was to rethink what i did, instead of saying 'i need to do...' i changed it to 'i want to...' someone gave me that as advice so it didnt feel so laborious and it works for me. Sending love ❤

Hello dear Claire, it's all too much these days, I understand your feelings and I wish you a beautiful weekend with your family xxxxxxxxx

You’re so right about new mums being hailed as the heroes, which they are! But so are the in the midst mums! We basically run several lives and it’s insane!

I'm sorry it's been hard for you lately hope the holidays give you some time away to relax ❤

Aww bless you I get how stressfull things can be. Your very real and I think your brave talking about things like this it’s helped me today for sure. I always find packing makes me feel excited because I know we’re getting that lovely change of scenery. Sending hugs ❤

Oh sweetie im so sorry your feeling like this, i dont know how you do it, i think you are doing a brilliant job, please dont beat yourself up. YOUR DOING GREAT❤❤❤

Thank you for sharing, I find you so relatable, honest & realistic. I am feeling the same as your right now, and my children are all similar aged, with one heading to Secondary in Sept. & two younger children. Also have fussy eaters. Totally understand how you are feeling, and thank you for reminding me that I am not alone in feeling like this right now. x

Sorry must of missed that about your car going to scrap? That’s very stressful and money worries don’t help at all,and waiting to hear from the doctor.x

Sending you hugs

Oh I feel with you

I'm always saying and thinking I've got adhd coz I am always running late 😅

x💕x and an extra 💜 for you Dear Claire x

Advice for teacher gifts: I kept the cost very low. In primary school, grade 1-7, I gave every teacher the same gift, something affordable like a non-fancy choccie tied with a nice ribbon, with a small card that we wrote a nice message in. If there were soecial teachers that my children identify, I would give them something more expensive and special. In high school (grade 8-12) I asked my children who they’d like to give something to and we only got something for those teachers. I know some parents give really expensive gifts, and even go completely overboard. Do what you can afford❤

Oh sweetheart big hug, I do completely understand how you feel, I think l'm a lot like you ❤❤❤

Hope you are all ok

I’m always here for you ❤you have such a kind heart and you check in on me privately and I appreciate it ❤❤❤😊

And this is why I watch your channel as you show real life. To be honest I don’t know how you do it with 3 children and work. I think it is much harder with pre-teens & teenagers. Give me a babe anytime😊

That's funny it's your voting day but it was our independence day