J is for . . . Juggling

Juggling, a cool trick that clowns do?

Yes, but no.

It's also something that many families deal with every single day. The juggle between, being a mum, having a clean house, having a social life, working or studying and being a partner.
Some people are fantastic at this.

Me, on the other hand?

Well all it would take is a look inside my house to see that things aren't spotless. Its something im struggling with.

im at uni, every day. Somedays for 3 hours, some for 8 and its not a shock, that I miss my little man to no end when im gone. So when I am with him, I want to spend all my time playing around with him, giving him cuddles and reassuring him that ill always be here, even when i'm not.

And then with study, as soon as he goes to sleep I try and catch up on a weeks worth of tute questions and lecture notes. For those of you studying or who have studied in the past, will know, it can be never ending!

So how do I sort it out? how have I managed to spread myself among all the tasks I have to do?

Planning! I have written up a plan for housework in the past, this one is more specific that for sure.

but very simple.

Each day I write up at least 3 items that need to be done around the house. I then make sure that every time E goes down for a nap, I complete one of these. He has 2 naps a day and then bed time at the end of the night. So I complete the 3 tasks by bed time and I find myself feeling more accomplished!

I also let the little stuff go by, i'm not going to put his toys back in his toy box every time he goes to bed, because he is just going to pull them out again, and that fine! Choose your cleaning battles I say!

As for study, I do it for the reminder of his nap time. I will do some at bed time and my wonderful partner looks after E for a few hours on the weekend, out of the house. So I can have some peace and quiet study time! Which I truly appreciate.

Also coming into winter, I will be making full use of my slow cooker! Such an easy way to prepare delicious meals and so quick! Something I can leave on all day and have a beautiful meal at the end of it! Just perfect!

And lastly, I make sure there is time for Thomas and I to just be, us!
Of a night time we can sit in bed and just chat about our day. It might not be anything important, but just getting back to basics and really talking to each other.
And then on he weekend we might get a bottle of wine or some chocolate and watch a movie in bed together. Just really simple things, that help us to reconnect. I think this is such an important part of relationships after children.

So it might not be perfect, My house might not be spotless, we might not have gourmet dinners every night, we might not get to enjoy romantic evenings anymore.

BUT

Im studying hard, and getting good marks, we do eat, the house is clean enough and my little man gets as much one on one time as I can possibly give him.
And to me thats a juggling success.

So my key points?
-Plan, (Meals, chores, and friends)
-Enjoy (every little moment you can, with kids and partners)
-Be proud (of everything you do, no one is perfect)
-Prioritise (MOST IMPORTANT, if your having one of those days, and just need to spend a little extra cuddle time with your kids, then do it! the cleaning will always be there tomorrow)

What tips do you have for the juggle of life?

Today, for the first time in a long time, Im linking up with the lovely Jess For IBOT.
Go ahead and link up!

W is for . . . Where for art thou Crunchy?

Where am I?

Here I am!!

The juggle between uni, motherhood, Love and a somewhat clean house, left little time for my poor neglected blog! I miss the relaxation of writing and connecting with the wonderful people I have met....so guess what?

Im Back!

and better than ever! I have posts scheduled, products reviewed, training to (re)start and a blog to show some love too! I just hope it missed me as much as I missed it.

What has happened since I left?

Well I have a 9 Month old! Yep 9 months! and boy oh boy is he clever!
He claps and waves, he hi fives and shakes his head to say no. He says dad, nan, ta, this (what this?) hi, yeah, no and tries to say pup (he gets the pah out) still no mum (its ok, its not like i birthed him and feed him or anything)! He also pulls up on EVERYTHING and took a few steps behind his walker today!

Oh and he has no hair...

...and no teeth. But he is totally perfect! (mumma brag over)


I have totally nerded myself out, I spend all my spare time studying. Which as crazy as it may sound, is amazing! Im loving my course so much and I even have my first placement coming up soon!
Being a midwife is going to be fantastic, im even considering a placement for a couple of weeks overseas. But we will see how that goes!

Life is busy, its stressful and its totally crazy fitting everything in on very little sleep (im sure he will sleep through eventually right?) but it is amazing, I am more happy than I have ever been in my life!
I have found my calling
my happy place
I feel like I am on the exact path im meant to be on!

Bring on the future!


Whats new with everyone else?
Update me on the goss!

M is for . . . Mummy problems

When you become a mummy, you will know all too well that things change.

Your sleep changes

Your moods change

Your heart changes

Your whole life changes

And its totally amazing, the special feeling you get when you look at your little person smiling back at you makes everything worth it.

But what they don't tell you, is how having a baby, sneaks into seemingly unrelated moments in your life.

I thought I would put together a short list, and this is only from this morning!

-Thomas bought me some flowers the other day, they are beautiful! Well when he changed the water, some way or another he added something else as well.

-I decided to get the sewing machine out this morning to have a bit of  a play around, look what I found. Now I have to wonder where the other one is hiding.

-Babies gone to bed, time for some breakfast and a cup of tea. It doesn't take long to become a creature of habit, luckily I love soldiers

-Finally, that moment, every single parent has gone through. The foot injury related to the baby toy, hiding in a dark corner somewhere. He isn't even mobile yet, so its beyond me how it managed to get here!

In saying all this though, While i'm eating my soldiers, my foot throbbing and staring at my bizarre vase of flowers, I would not change anything, not one thing at all.

I love mummy life, throbbing foot and all.

Ohh and today is my first IBOT with "Essentially Jess" Yay!