Welcome to Jugglehood!
When I was asked whether I’d like my parenting blog to be featured as a weekly column in the local press, a wave of excitement came over me! Me? I thought. Me? Boring old mum of two who’s been recording random thoughts about parenting over the past few years?
I suddenly felt like Carrie from Sex and the City! But let’s face it, it’s not going to be as juicy as that. It’ll be more potty training and toddler tantrums than talk of hot date nights and raucous girly nights out! Think thirty-something mum in Somerset, up to her eyes in nappies, washing, drool and food, rather than a glamorous singleton mingling in Manhattan!
Nonetheless, I am excited to be sharing my Blog with the local newpaper! I started writing Jugglehood when my little girl, Lylah, now 4, was around 10 months old. It started off being about how I was a working mum, juggling life, a job, children, play dates… you get the picture. As my family has grown and life has evolved, I now try and capture those moments you never want to forget. You know, the ones where the toddler has pooed in the bath, been sick on an aeroplane or thrown yet another wobbly over me picking the wrong pyjamas.
Why did I start to write a blog? Especially one about being a mum…
You need only scroll down any new mum’s Facebook feed to see shared links to various blogs, forums, discussions and articles relating to this whole new chapter in their lives.
I knew one thing and that was that somehow, amidst my crazy busy working and being a mummy week, I had to do something to be a bit more creative. Be it part New Year’s resolution and part an actual need to express myself, it was something I must do. I thought long and hard about what my blog would represent, and I kept coming back to one thing – the one thing that I am experiencing every single day, and that’s being a mum . So, why try and be something I’m not? I’m good at being a mum, and everyday, my children do something that is new and funny, so they naturally feed me with regular inspiration!
Now to the title – I wanted something different, not the same old mum blog clichés, and I could only think of one word – juggle. Because that is all I do, juggle! I juggle my time as a mummy/a wife/a career woman, with work commitments, family time, social events and play dates. I also juggle shopping bags and changing bags, colourful toys with lunch trays, my laptop bag and the five bags that have to come anywhere with us! It’s a never ending, circus themed, juggling act in my house!
So roll up, roll up and welcome to my life!
I like to think of myself and my husband as the jugglers, the people in the household managing multiple elements, each like a juggling ball filled with endless to-do lists and tasks to complete, errands to run and places to be.
The children are the ringleaders. I can’t count the number of times I said when I was pregnant with Lylah, “she’ll fit into our lives, we won’t need to change things that much!” How naive was I? our children dictate everything we do, and do you know what? I wouldn’t change it for the world. My every decision is now based around our children and their needs, and they come before everything else.
You can find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/Jugglehood or Follow me on Twitter @JugglehoodBlog