Having it all?

It's only Monday, and I'm exhausted. As I set off for work this morning, it occurred to me how often I feel like I've done a day's work before I even leave the front door. For instance, before I left for the office today I:

• Sent five emails and replied to half a dozen more
• Wrote a shopping list
• Scooped all the sorry-looking toys out of the bath and cleaned it
• Sorted out a pile of clothes belonging to other children that Eden has brought home from school by mistake
• Changed two nappies (one for Nath; one for Ava)
• Filled in a form for a school trip for Eden
• Sterilised some bottles
• Paid for Eden's school dinners on the school caterer's web site
• Made everyone's breakfast
• Fed Ava her porridge
• Tidied the dishes away
• Cleaned all the kids' faces and hands

Somewhere along the line I also had a shower, dressed, put some make-up on and packed my bag for work. Since I got in this evening (after a full day at work) I have:

• Fed Ava her tea
• Cooked spaghetti bolognaise for everyone else
• Discussed a school bullying issue with Eden
• Dealt with a heated row about who was going to sit on my lap first
• Bathed the kids, changed them all into their pyjamas and put them all to bed
• Read Dr Seuss to Eden and Nathan
• Cleared the dinner table and stacked the dishwasher
• Picked an unbelievable number of small, sticky pieces of spaghetti from Nathan's highchair and the floor
• Sorted out the dirty washing
• Sent three emails and answered several more
• Re-folded and put away all the clothes from Eden's wardrobe that earlier she had flung to one side in the hunt for a particular fairy dress
• Tidied the huge variety of small toy cars and multi-coloured baby-stimulating gizmos up from around the living room furniture and floor
• Got Eden's PE kit ready for tomorrow
• Hunted for Eden's school bag for ages before leaving it by the front door so that it doesn't get forgotten again tomorrow
• Scoured the kitchen sink
• Sterilised more bottles

I'm sure someone (probably male) thought they were being very clever when they coined the phrase about modern women 'having it all'. I don't know what you think, but from where I'm standing this feels more like 'doing it all.' It's almost bedtime now but first I'm off to read the end of my Peter James novel, Dead Simple, with a glass of wine in hand.

P.S. If I sound grumpy, forgive me. I'm not really. Do you know the best thing that happened today? I gave Eden two scoops of her favourite raspberry pavlova icecream for pudding tonight. When she reached the last spoonful I noticed she'd saved the best bit till last - a particularly gloopy, jammy bit. She lifted the spoon to my lips and said, 'Would you like my last spoonful, Mummy?' She's the best.