What Parents should do to unwind

No matter how hard we try as parents, I have come to the conclusion that is it impossible to beat the clock. There are only so many hours in a day and I need double that for all the jobs and roles I have to fulfil. I'm sure you feel the same!?

I wake up and its go go go! From that 5am cry for a bottle till getting on for midnight I do not stop. I often have people say to me - I just don't know how you do it??! You see I have to do it. I don't have a choice. I have to rise above my tiredness and exhaustion and get things done!

I have 3 children - a bubbly, creative little girl who is 3 and just started doing 2.5 hours at school Nursery (she loves it) and I have twin boys who landed 3 months ago now. Life has never been so busy!

We have teamed up with Rattan Direct as we want to find out what you do to relax. What do you do to ensure things run more smoothly? What do you do for YOU?

My partner works long hours so I have to do lots on my own.

I like to do several things which I believe help keep a nice, calm(er) household. 

1) Get up, get washed and GET DRESSED!

No matter how tempting it may be to take a day to keep the PJ's on you will feel much better, alive and ready if you get up and get dressed. I really don't have anything against people who decide to rock up to the shops or school run in their PJ's but it's certainly not for me!

You can always guarentee you will have a relative or friend randomly turn up on days like this too! So to make your day a little brighter - make an effort and get dressed and pop on a bit of make up, it's amazing how much brighter you will feel with a flick of mascara!

2) Have a tidy up the night before you go to bed!

There is nothing worse than coming down from a rubbish nights sleep and the house looking like its been through a tornado! Just 10 minutes picking up before you go to bed will make a big difference! It's also much more productive as you wont have your little ones running about bringing even more toys downstairs or even worse unpacking the ones you have just put away! Always wait till they have gone up to bed!!

3) Always make 5 minutes!

Whether that's 5 minutes to make yourself a drink and actually drink it while its warm or just to simply sit down and do absolutely nothing - do it!!

4) Put on the music and have a sing out loud!

If you are ever feeling stressed and feel like everything is piling up on top of you - singing is the answer!! So get yourself on to YouTube, plug in your device and turn up them speakers. Apologise to the neighbours afterwards!!

5) When all the children are a sleep - have a soak!

After a super busy day you deserve a little time to yourself! Having children around is one of the most wondering things ever, but its also sensory overload! You need that time to collect your thoughts and just be.

6) Go for a walk or a drive.

If the kids are unsettled - pop them in the car/buggy and get out. Whether you go for a little drive or a walk around the local park getting out with a change of scenery will not only do you good, it will do the kids good too!!