People that read my blogs on Cook Clean with Kate’s social platforms often me how lucky I am to have the life that I do. I am really lucky, I appreciate that. Let’s face it, anyone who has their health, a loving family and food on the table is lucky in my book.

I’m grateful for having a healthy, happy family, the opportunity do what I’m passionate about for a job whilst still being there for my husband and three kids. I really am lucky, but I’m also just an ordinary girl. For every bit about my life that looks glamorous, there is also an entirely unglamorous side going on behind the scenes. The yin and yang I guess you’d call it.

I also think that to a degree, ‘luck’ comes from the way that you think and the way that the view life. I am a great believer in trusting my intuition, being optimistic and persevering when the going gets tough.

For me, social media is a wonderful platform connecting my followers with my business ethos in a wonderful, hands on way. However, back to the yin and yang priniciple again, there is a darker side to social media – the perception of perfection. What we see and read is only a very small part of the story. And of course, we only see the BEST part of the story. What we don’t see is the bits that aren’t so wonderful.

So yes, my life is great. I am super lucky to be doing what I do, but I’m just like every other busy working mum. The bits of my life that I share on social media are of course the best bits. What you don’t see (because it would be really dull) is the humdrum bits in between.

So yes, you might see my post about ‘the small event’ of moving the whole family to Ibiza! But what you don’t read about is the stress and aggravation that goes with packing up your entire life into a removal lorry and driving miles to another country.

I’m really excited to be able to give this dream of ours a proper shot but my God, it’s a huge job! From packing to selling furniture in my house, to sorting out the kids’ schooling, this is a full time job in itself and at times rather daunting.

Those who know me well will tell you that I’m not one to stand still for long! Back to that old ‘lucky’ principle again … you’ve got to grab opportunities when they come along, otherwise nothing will move forward.

To show you that perception isn’t everything, I thought I’d share with you ‘a day in the life of Kate’ because my life, just like yours, is ‘warts and all’!

My day starts around 6.30am when I throw on some gym clothes, repeatedly ask the kids to get up and get dressed and then rush downstairs to prepare breakfast for my brood. This would be a much more straightforward task if I didn’t have to make three different breakfasts owing to the fact that not one of my little darlings will eat the same thing! Oh, and throw into the breakfast pot the sibling rows I witness every morning over which television channel is on – which every morning I tell the children shouldn’t be on anyway!! Oh and I nearly forgot, my gorgeous pooch needs feeding as well AND has to be marched into the garden and ‘supervised’ to check she goes to the toilet – thus saving me the job of cleaning up a little surprise which she will undoubtedly sneak into the lounge to do later if left to her own devices! This can take up to five minutes while Mrs High Maintenance and I have a stand-off!  Five minutes doesn’t sound long, but when you are constantly clock-watching to get out the door on time, (whilst simultaneously searching for hair bobbles, remaking the beds the children did so badly (but at least tried), and trying to clear the breakfast mess away!

Then into the car and off on the school run we go – row over television channel often still in full force in the back. Twice a week my lovely mother-in-law does it for me, so on these days, I usually update my social media platforms at this time. It’s an essential job and one I love doing to spread the CCWK love. (How this can take up to 20 minutes is beyond me, but it does! Another 20 minutes out of my day lost forever!)

As health and fitness is my game (quite literally) keeping fit is all part of my working day. You  have to practise what you preach!! Once the mini mes are dropped off, it’s off to teach spin, lift some weights or stretch out at yoga. A lot of people may think that it’s great to have time to do all this exercise, but the reality is, I make time to do it. What you don’t see on social media is me flying out of my exercise classes, hot and sweaty to pursue various meetings with my marketing team or graphic designer to discuss book layouts, events and any number of other projects that I could be juggling at the one time.

I’ve also had a photo shoot every Tuesday at my house since the beginning of January. I’m trying to photograph as many dishes as I can before I emigrate to Ibiza. I have a lot of projects in the pipeline and without professional photographs, my business wouldn’t be taken seriously! I bang out approximately 15 dishes each week, all of which of course have to be created, trialled and tested and made by me! Therefore, Sundays to Tuesdays are filled to the brim organising for the forthcoming shoots. I then have until the end of the week to write up the recipes and plan for the photo shoot the following Tuesday! This won’t b happening forever, but for now I am making the most of having my photographer, my lovely mummy (who washes up for me) and my sister (whose food styling is quite AMAZEBALLS) all in the same location!!

Of course, then there’s dog walking to fit into my day as well. Dear Margo!!!! Anyone with a dog will appreciate that walking the dog in the delightful British weather, can often seem more like a chore than a pleasure! But a dog is for life so shoehorning some quality time with Margo is an important part of my daily routine. I’m not advocating slave labour at all, but roll on the day the children are old enough to occasionally walk the dog for me!!!

I’m very lucky to have a cleaner, but that doesn’t stop me from having to tidy like a maniac, hoover round, wash the kitchen floor and keep the bathroom clean on a daily basis! I hate clutter and I hate mess! And I really hate doing the stuff that eradicates in!

Once again, I want to practise what I preach, so dinners are always cooked from scratch in our household (unless it’s a weekend treat), so at some point in the day, you will find me in the kitchen rustling up some new idea or other. My husband is a pescatarian (doesn’t eat fish) and my three kids all have wildly different tastes so this makes meal preparation ‘interesting’ to say the least. I have learnt from experience that you ‘can’t please all of the people all of the time’ and try not to beat myself up that not everyone is over the moon with what I’ve put in front of them! I just try and fit in with them as best I can, as let’s be honest, sometimes us mums will do anything for an easy life!

By the time I’ve blinked, it’s time to collect the kids from school and do the numerous drop offs to clubs. Between 3.00 and 5.30pm, I am continuously in and out of the car playing taxi driver! Oh and there is frequently a meltdown after school when the children ask me what’s for dinner!!!!

Back home to go through ridiculous amounts of homework with the children. I won’t miss that when we move to Ibiza!!!  Some weeks I don’t even bother with it all #rebel!  Oh and I nearly forgot to mention, the frequent arguments that break out because guaranteed, at least one out of my three won’t want to get off the Xbox or pull themselves away from the TV to do their homework on any one particular occasion!

While I’m trying to help the children with their homework (please God it’s not maths – not my strongest point), I’m simultaneously serving up the dinner, and trying to get straight. See, I said we were an ordinary family just like everyone else!

Then of course, every mother’s worst time of the day is looming! The witching hour from 6-8pm (or 5-7pm when they are babies) when it’s time to get the little cherubs bathed and into bed! My children go up in half hour intervals so I’m constantly up and down the stairs in between tucking them in. I should keep tabs on how many times I must say ‘ it’s bedtime now’. I say it at least a dozen times per night and by this point, I bloody wish it was MY bedtime! Good job we don’t have a parrot. I’d hate to hear what else it would come out with!!!!

In between the kids’ bedtime routine, my husband walks in through the door after a hard day at work, so picture me trying to serve up his and my dinner, attempting to have a ten minute adult conversation whilst trying to reply to the dozen texts I’ve not had a chance to reply to all day! Multi-tasking is my middle name! But it’s no rest for the wicked! After unloading the dishwasher and washing machine, whilst it’s quiet, I’ll take the opportunity to catch up on my e-mails or write a post for my blog. In fact, it’s currently 11:07pm on a Tuesday night and I’m silently cursing my laptop as I grapple with uploading and sending a file to my graphic designer (yet again!).

So whilst I might seem to live the life of Riley, there’s a great deal that isn’t seen or heard! My ‘inbetween moments’ are just like yours.