Keeping on top of your daily chores as well as rearing a family isn't easy.
There are never enough hours in the day, and often when the evening comes we can feel defeated and disappointed in ourselves for not ticking off every item on our beloved to-do list.
But is there any harm in asking for a small bit of help every now and again?
Leslie is a mum-of-three who lives the daily ritual of having a list as long as her arm, and probably that little bit longer.
Writing for Her View From Home, Leslie reveals that her family is your regular middle-class family, who work hard and are still continuing to pay their student loans, even nearing their forties.
The family keep an eye on their monetary funds; shopping in the clearance section of their local store, rarely going on holidays, and working hard.
But when Mum and Dad are not working, they spend all their time with their three children, enjoying the little moments life gives them, playing games, reading books and singing lullabies.
Leslie states: "By 9pm (if we’re lucky) we’re planted on our couch to watch something mindless on Netflix, before our eyes drift off to sleep for another day."
"And we love it. Gosh, we love it. This simple life is everything my husband and I dreamed of having. We’re in a busy season. A tired season. But that doesn’t mean we can’t do something for ourselves every once in a while."
Nevertheless, we all have a breaking point, and Leslie's finally came.
While she was scrubbing her floors due to some new sticky residue left behind by the kids, she had noticed her cupboards had hand marks and even came across a number of cobwebs she hadn't realised were lingering.
Not resorting to tears, the mum-of-three made a pretty good decision for her family - she was hiring a cleaner.
"Because at night, I’m too tired to do it. And on the weekends, I want to spend more time with the people I love and less time with my broom. Lazy? No. I don’t think so. Smart? Yes."
"At this point in motherhood, I’ve figured out what to do to make myself happy, you know? And I’m not ashamed to do just that. Even if that means I have to tighten our budget just a bit more to make it happen," added Mum.
Not embarrassed or afraid to admit that someone else cleaned her home, Leslie clearly stated: "I paid a stranger to clean my home."
The mum-of-three revealed the ways in which her cleaner helped her home become less cluttered and neater, however, she commends the cleaner for doing something else for her, something extraordinary.
"Someone else helped this mama find a bit more sanity in her day which will, in turn, make me a better wife and mother to this family I love so much."
Giving some much needed advice to all the mamas out there, Leslie suggests: "Don’t be afraid to do something that will make your life easier, friend. Believe me – you’re worth it."
It's always OK to have some extra help - and if it means spending more time with our family, there's nothing to be ashamed of.
