My top 5 frustrating mummy moments to banish to Room 101

So, this morning, I found myself in the car, hunched over the seat, grappling with straps, hooks and the ISOFIX. Yes, the modern invention that makes travelling safe and comfortable for our little ones. Wonderful.

Except.

How does any human being with all the time in the world on their hands actually fit this?? Never mind a slightly frazzled mum with several children standing at the door with bed hair, smeared faces and screams of “she pushed me!”

I just can’t do it!

I understand the premise – feel for the little metal hooky things and push until it turns green and clicks. But WHERE ARE THE LITTLE METAL HOOKY THINGS?! More often than not I am literally stabbing at the seat.

Of course, there is always darling hubby who swoops into the rescue albeit with a grimace and a “you really need to do this for yourself” or “please stop calling me at work – I’m in a meeting!” And part of me wants to be able to do it myself, but there’s a bigger part that feels that, like grating cheese or laminating, life is just too short!

So what’s my point?

Do I like knowing my children are secure? Yes. Am I pleased the powers that be have gone to such lengths to keep my children safe? Of course.

Perhaps they do a Fisher Price version just for me?

But this got me thinking: what else would go into my Room 101? I can’t claim to have had it hard bringing up my littlest one; she was a very easy baby and, through all of the toddler tantrum-ing, makes me laugh and smile much more often than she makes me howl, hide or weep!

But of course there are things……

So here are my top 5 frustrating mummy moments to banish to Room 101 forever. Let’s call the Iso-can’t fix number 5.

In at 4...

All-in-one winter snowsuits. Lovely and warm once our littlest ones have been wrestled into them but, as they can’t be worn in the car and you can’t lie them down on the floor of where you are going ie: Morrison’s carpark, I have found myself on many occasions, doing the ‘Baby Balance’. A new dance craze to which I have definitely NOT mastered the steps. Did I just hear a rip?

New in at 3...

The how-many-times-do-I-have-to-say-it-before-it-happens? Say no more.

A non-mover at 2...

The classic. Finding a PAIR of socks at 8.25am (I started looking at 6.30am, then gave up and thought a pair would magically present themselves at the last minute). Of course, there are socks – plenty of them. So many that we could actually clothe the feet of most of the little ones in our street – but a pair? Don’t be silly.

So what’s number 1?

What’s the biggest gripe and challenge? Actually I don’t have one. Because the reality is that every day presents something hard, easy, wonderful, entertaining, magical….. and what was hard yesterday is fine today – even quite amusing. And what we can handle well today, may overwhelm us tomorrow.