Kids: They Will Prematurely Age You, Spend Your Money And Make Your Hair Fall Out

**Collaborative post**

Oh, I remember the days before children when a lie-in meant dragging yourself out of bed at 2 pm to grab a snack from the kitchen in a bid to soak up the drinks from the night before.

I remember the days when I could check into a hotel after a party as I couldn’t face getting home from that party or would crash on a friends floor without care for having no clean underwear or toothbrush.

The days when a hotel deal popped up which was just too good to turn down and when disposable income was spent on clothes, hair-do’s and makeup.

Good old days when house parties lasted 2 days and we would find friends sleeping in all corners of our house.

High heeled shoes were something I could wear and my waist was visible and not hidden under the layers trying to hide the mum tum.

The fridge used to be full with wine, brie, pate and whatever ready meals were on offer – cooking was a chore back then and vegetables an afterthought or something which only came as a side dish when eating out.

Dresses were purchased without an occasion – found years later at the back of a wardrobe still with the tags attached.

Oh, how things change once the kids came along.

I would instead, find outfits in their wardrobes with the tags still attached where they have outgrown them before getting a chance to wear them.

My hair is sorted out at home instead of hairdressers, using home dyes in a bid to save some pennies – gone are the days when I can blow £120 on highlights or a full colour every other month, not when a box dye costs under £7! I blow dry my own hair ready for nights out when I used to head to the hairdresser through laziness on my own part. Now, I have been known to even pop on a wig to even save me from doing my hair at all, there are so many different styles of wigs to choose from so I could have a couple for different outfits.

Hair toppers or part wigs cut down the time needed to style meaning I can use my time elsewhere, as let’s face it, getting ready to go out when you have kids is cut down to under 30 minutes including showering.

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Nowadays my fridge is full with easy to grab lunchbox snacks, such as Babybels, mini pepperoni’s, yoghurts and vegetable dippers.

Wine has been replaced with full-fat milk, apple juice and fruit shoots.

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Holidays need to be planned around the school holidays and inset days

and spontaneity……..well, what is that?

Mornings start with an alarm set before the kids rise, in a hope to get a shower in peace and bedtimes are usually at the same time as the kids as I’m too exhausted to keep my eyes past 8 pm.

Exercise is running around the house frantically trying to work out where the kids have hidden the school shoes this time.