Standing at school pick up on Thursday a Friend, picking up his Daughter looked around at me said hello and then “Every time I see you, Matt, you look knackered …” “Do I oh! really…” then one of the mums I know said, “that’s what 4 kids do to you!”

Well, I’ve sadly had to leave my job due to the large amounts of dust that is created where I worked and this dust have a negative effect on my lungs so after nearly 3 weeks I am finally feeling human again (apart from the man flue runny nose I seem to have) although being at home alone I feel a little bit cabin fever but I am now getting good sleep.

So I now wonder what the hell did I look like before when I worked silly hours so the kids were covered. I ran on 5 – 5 1/2 hours sleep a night and a couple of power naps (usually when doing the kids reading homework or whilst the kids were watching a T.V. show ) this kept me going till the weekend when I could have (I dreamed this) a lay in.

For the past 6 years I believed that I looked like the man in the diet coke Ad (although I hate dungarees) Doing the school run with all the mummy’s (and gay and not so Gay Dad’s) looking at me over there glasses thinking wow look at him whilst I sipped from a cold diet coke can but reality has slapped me around the face with a large tuna fish.

Where I worked was very physical, lots of lifting and up & downstairs all day so I got fit, but now I can feel all that work disappearing and my belly slowly getting bigger (then again if I didn’t scoff mince pies and panettone all day and not sit in front of my (sorry the wife’s as my laptop broke) Laptop it is going to happen so I need a fitness mindset and get jogging or something.

OK my now weekly Norm! is Monday to Friday get the kids up (or as it weekday) they (apart from Squash who has taken to Mummy’s “I can’t get out of Bed” until lunchtime) wake me up at around 6 am (well Tibbius gets up about 5.30 am but now is too scared to wake me up for fear of the Daddy growl) 3 kids that have bothered to get up bounce around the house (like a pack of kangaroos) screaming and fighting trying to find the bloody Naughty Elf which if he has decided not to move (because Daddy had one too many beers last night and forgot) the winner proudly will jump on to our bed and scream into our ears about where the blasted Elf is (not that we don’t already know) so fuzzy eyed I get the teas on brekkie sorted and school bags ready (but because we have become quite organized recently lunch bags ready in fridge and a selection of fruits and lunch treats filed so the monsters can choose what they want).

We have a toss of a coin who takes the kids to school and that’s it the Wife I’m not walking to school silence is the only noise in the house apart from the birds fighting in the garden or the hum of the fish tank until…

2.50 pm yes back on the school run, walk the dog to school (leaving later these days as I can’t be bothered with the small talk with parents I don’t know and yes I could make the effort again but each year 60 parents to introduce myself and the wife which is approx 240 give or take a few single parents, knowing that the only ones you ever really know are the parents of each child’s best friends or your firstborns as you basically spent that foundation year with them and I never get to speak with our “Friendly” parents as I know as they are stuck trying to escape the ” want to be’s” …I hope you get it)

Pick up kids (get told off again by teacher for making Tiddly wait but I’m sick of waiting for her so quickly I get the others and then she has her little routine…”hello Daddy did you have a nice Day?, have you got any food?”) which is a challenge as 4 kids in 4 different areas of the school (why we chose such a big school, 90+ kids per year at kick out in summer if you blink one of them will disappear into a mass of a green sea of children) lucky most of the teachers know us now and help us fish out our beloved children.

Once all present and correct the roll call starts , jacket,jumper,lunch box shoes … Tibbius! back to classrooms as one of them will of forgotten something, Tibbius is our repeat offender that boy loses most things.

Back home then its homework, tea, (and T.V. babysitter as trying to do 4 lots of homework for 4 different ages is a nightmare ) stories (power nap!) bath and bed finally Dinner for the wife and me then Bed as suddenly its the 10 o’clock news and your thinking of the next day praying for the weekend.

In between school runs my days are now filled with Washing, washing and more washing, the two lots of dishwashing from the night before and the mornings carnage of bowls and cutlery (why can’t they stick to one glass/cup in the morning) hoovering and because its winter and Christmas and no matter how many times you hoover there are pine needles and bits of tinsel, mud, leaves and sweet wrappers all over the place.

Then its my time to write about my life for hopefully you to read and laugh and relate.