Published Wednesday, 08 February 2012
If only life was really like that...
I dream of being impossibly glamorous, but the reality is very different. The people who think I stroll into the studio at five to six, read the news and bog off again don't see me at five to seven in the morning making vats of porridge for my wee tribe.
Possibly still wearing the remnants of last night's make-up, with big hair, while simultaneously trying to waken the house with trills of "Time to get up kids - breakfast's ready".
This will usually happen for about ten minutes, gradually getting louder, then it's time for direct negotiation with the sleepy heads.
While Annie (8), Finn (6 nearly 7) and Kitty (2) emerge from their comas, I turn myself into a TV reporter.
Far from being a mere news reader, I work all day on stories for UTV Live. This means I need to be camera ready upon arrival at UTV Towers, something I can do in about 15 minutes flat while the zombies get their school clothes on.
Now I am uber-organised, with uniforms left over radiators the night before, lunches made and breaks left out. Sometimes the next day's bags even make it into the car before bedtime to make the next morning go as smoothly as possible.
I have discovered that although military planning helps, there's always something.
"MUM - I need money/a letter/3D working model of a tyrannosaurus rex" - and this is ALWAYS as you are stepping over the door on the way out.
The ensuing row makes everyone miserable and while the kids will have forgotten about it by the time the first bell rings, I am left to fester all day with bad mum-itis.
It's not easy being a working mum, but I imagine it's just as tough to be a stay at home one. In fact being a mum is a big job full stop, but I love it.
I'll be blogging the ups and downs of family life regularly on u.tv from now on.
I'd love to hear your stories! You can get in touch by email at Alison.Fleming@u.tv or you can tweet me @alilfleming_utv on Twitter.