I used to think I was busy before I had kids.
Lottie burst into our lives nearly two years ago and busy took on a new definition.
When she slept, which to be fair to her has always been a lot, I was desperately trying to catch up on housework, fulfil client work and make the house we had moved into, a home.
Just over 19 months later, we found ourselves rewriting the dictionary again.
Because now, busy means there is pretty much no down time. As I write this, it’s 9.30pm and the first time I’ve really sat down today and we’ve pretty much been on the go since 5am when Frankie started our day for us. (Thanks angel.)
The big difference with two, is that you can’t rely on naptime. There’s no guarantee they’ll be tired at the same time. In fact my two love a game of tag and usually as one wakes up, the other goes to sleep.
So there isn’t even that hour or two to cram all the jobs into now. Frankie is nearly four months old now and despite her sleeping through the night 75 per cent of the time, I am just exhausted.
Physically you are always on the go. Running after little ones; rushing around to get here, there and everywhere, leaves you with aching muscles. The mental workout is what leaves me spent though. I’ve always got to be one step ahead, to have everything prepared and ready; to make sure there’s enough to fill your day and keep the little ones entertained; to make sure everyone is safe and well.
I wouldn’t change my brood for the world. The benefits of being surrounded by our gorgeous girls far far outweighs the hard work. But I’ll admit that sometimes I struggle. Sometimes I want a day off. Sometimes I just want to stop.
My to-do list seems endless…
Tidying and housework. Tidying feels futile with two under two in the house. Turn your back on a tidy room and it will be carnage in under five minutes.
Grocery shopping. I do a online shop once a week but despite best efforts, always forget something. Frittata without eggs. Cottage pie with no potatoes. The list goes on. Baby brain is real.
Feeding people. The baby finishes her bottle and the toddler wants a snack. The toddler goes for a nap and the baby’s hungry again. The kids go to bed and the husband is starving. It’s endless. And as for thinking about what to give them all. Thank goodness for Annabel is all I can say.
Home improvements. Moving when I was 40+4 weeks pregnant wasn’t part of the plan, but it’s what we did and has meant that the things that need doing in the house and garden are taking soooo long as we have to fit them into weekend nap times. We’ve had people in to help with bits and pieces but that gets expensive quickly. We need a pot of cash to speed things up or we’ll need to start the first room again by the time we finish the last.
Mum maintenance. It’s hot. I wear flip flops in summer. Only this year, I haven’t filed my heels or painted my toenails, so I’m found sitting on my feet at baby and toddler groups to hide them. My roots are so long that it looks like I’ve had the ombré look (if you ignore the grey). And I can’t remember the last time my bikini line was waxed. And all hail the fashion gods for their current love of big eyebrows.
Planning my post-maternity-leave career. I work for myself, so there is never any guarantee that clients I worked with before Frankie was born will still need me to work with them when I go back to work. I really need to start planning, get my freelance profiles up and running, blog more to showcase my work. I could go on.
I hate not getting things done. I’m a doer. But when your list is as long as a mum’s and your time is as short, you have to roll with the list.
*This is a collaborative post.*
