The Art of Juggling

This blog has been pretty quiet and that's exactly what this post is about. Since I went back to work full time life has got busy. You just need to look at the backlog of programmes on my Tivo box to know I am not exaggerating. These days I am always rushing off somewhere and always trying to catch up. My 'To Do' lists have grown arms and legs, blogging has taken a back seat and friends think I have dropped off the face of the planet.

So why?

I'm Exercising

After declaring to Instagram last October that I was going to get fit and tone up, I have been hitting the gym with gusto. I'm running, doing weights and even going to the odd class. FYI Spin? Never again. I've devised a 5 mile running route and I even know how to use the scary weight machines in the gym. I have muscles in places I didn't know I had places. Which thankfully I only notice when I'm exfoliating because I do not want to look like Jodie Marsh. It's not easy to find the time with a kid though. I have been booking her into a creche on some evenings whilst I work out (more mum guilt). This usually means we don't get home till around 8.30pm and by the time she is bathed and in bed, I only have time for a quick shower, dinner and tidy before I hit the hay myself.

WOE IS ME.

Housework

I don't want to sound like one of those self-indulgent, moaning single mothers who go on about how hard it is to find time to clean on top of a full time job but I'm going to anyway. I decided to treat myself to a cleaner. But I have been let down twice in the same number of months by two separate cleaning companies. Despite numerous arrangements and texts the first one never showed up and then the second company folded just before our first appointment. I took it as a sign I should be spending the money on cocktails instead and have went back to cleaning the place myself. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty bruised. Both cleaners broke my heart and left me scared and vulnerable about starting over. So I am back to cleaning my own flat again.

WHAT A MARTYR.

Blogging/Writing

My name is Dawn and it's been a month since I last blogged. I'm the worst person when it comes to working till late in the night. If I have spent an hour busting my gut in the gym, done a full day's work and then ran around after Ava until bedtime the last thing I want to do come 9pm is open the laptop. Which I do when I have a deadline. But if not then there is just no way I want to be writing a 'Lately' blog post or continuing on my quest to put myself 'out there'. Anyone else hate that phrase? Bleurgh. It's impossible to write anything with Ava in the flat because the kid won't even let me pee alone. So I dedicate my time to a few regular writing jobs I have and try desperately to blog in between. 

ISN'T MY LIFE TERRIBLY HARD?

This One

And then there is this one. The reason I get up every morning. Ava is the biggest chatterbox you will ever meet and she never stops asking questions. She decides what she has for breakfast every morning, what she wears that day and what she wants to do on her days off. I wash the play dough and paint out of her clothes and hoover the Honey Nut Loops from the floor. I make her what she wants for dinner (within reason) and read her whichever story she chooses. I give her a row when she is cheeky or refuses to tidy up her toys. I make her wash her hair and then endure the squeals and tears when I try to brush the tugs out. It can be exhausting. But I love it.

So between exercising, my baby girl, the every day upkeep of a home and the writing I find little time just to breathe. I don't watch nearly as much telly as I used to, I have a million things needing done around the flat and I have a list of friends mentally filed under 'call before they dump you' in my head. But I do love it. I love the feeling of achievement I get from balancing a job and a child. I get a buzz when I write about the things I love to write about and I even enjoy when I finally get the time to clean the flat from top to bottom. I have finally discovered a love of exercise I never knew I had and am enjoying the endorphins and the feeling of being fit. 

Life is not busier. 

It's fuller.