The Mummy Juggle | Jess The Prosecco Mum

Hello and welcome to this months edition of the Mummy Juggle series. A series designed with mums in mind to share stories and inspiration about how we all cope with the day-to-day battle of juggling work and family life. A struggle I’ve affectionately named ‘The Mummy Juggle’

In the series so far we’ve heard from four amazing mothers who are juggling work and life, but slaying it by making life work for them and successfully building some fantastic blogs in the process. From the stories we’ve heard, it’s clear that the notion of a ‘perfect mum’, with an amazing career, perfect house, flat stomach and four beautifully groomed children doesn’t actually exist (unless she pays for a little help!). The reality is there will always be compromises that have to be made.

In this months post we hear from Jess, an honest speaking mother of two who tells it exactly like it is! She quite rightly points out just how many plates there are to keep spinning at any one time, but also highlights the really important fact that it’s OK to let some fall if we need to! As much as it feels like we need to be superwoman to keep it all together, sometimes we really need to give ourselves a break! So what if little Johnny has shop bought outfit on World Book Day, or Olive had to take a box of Sainsburys flapjacks to the bake sale on Tuesday! The most important thing is that Mummy present, there and happy on those rare occasions you get to spend time together! Not flapping about trying to make a Victoria Sponge, snapping like a Rotwiller in a heatwave!

I love Jess’s straight forward approach to parenting and I hope you enjoy reading her story as much as I did…..

The Mummy Juggle: Jess from The Prosecco Mum

I don’t think anything, or anyone, can prepare you for motherhood.

Life before kids, I was the first to moan if a colleague was off because their child was ill. I really didn’t get it. Now as I write this, I’m sat at work, my parents have got both of my mini-monsters – one who yesterday was struck with the sick bug. So I’m suffering guilt that I’m not there with her when she’s ill, worrying that my parents and Arlo are now in the firing line to catch it, whilst struggling with my own anxiety over my ridiculous fear of the D&V bug. Oh, and my husbands sweating in bed with flu.

● We juggle work.

● We juggle a family.

● We juggle friendships and relationships.

● We try to maintain a work/life balance.

● We even throw in added pressure like blog writing!

Everything that you took for granted before children came along and some days it feels like we never stop juggling. Because when we do stop, what happens? Balls fall!

I’m lucky enough that I work part-time, my husband even uttered the words ‘you know that you don’t have to go back’ and even at the time when the first back to work ‘dread’ was setting in, even then I knew there was no way that I’d ever be a stay at home mum. I wasn’t going back for money, but of course I love the independence of having my own, I was going back for sanity!

I feel like working three days I get the best of both worlds – my sanity, my independence and still have more time when I’m with the kids than when I’m not. I appreciate our time together more and our days ‘off’ are generally action packed with swim class, gymtots classes and a bit of jiggy wriggling thrown in.

The other half of me finds it tough to leave work behind. Pre-babies I used to work full time; I’m the sort of person who never worked a 9-5, I worked until I finished the project, then I’d go home and chill – sometimes we’d even just spontaneously go for dinner. And now? I just can’t do that. There’s nursery to drop off at and pick up times to adhere to. And don’t even mention the weekends; we’d lie in, enjoy long lunches, off the cuff plans with the girls to get our gladrags on and have all of Sunday to wile away the excesses of the night before. And now? Theres birthday parties and playdates where we have to have an itinerary to fit in meeting with friends – which when it happens, I do the Oliver Twist heel kicks as I glide out of the house to relive my former life. Even if for one night only!

Keeping all the plates spinning sometimes feels like an overwhelming task – and something often gives. But the minute you realise that it’s OK to drop the balls, the day gets a lot easier and the conscience quickly clears.

I know for sure that I couldn’t do this parenting adventure without grandparents, cleaners and prosecco.

Cheers to that Jess!! I don’t know what any of us would do without our favorite tipple here and there! You highlight clearly here just how crazy it can be keeping all those plates spinning in the air and I think its really important that you emphasise the fact that its ‘O.K to drop those balls!’

If you’d like to hear more from Jess you can find her blog here at The Prosecco Mum. You can also find Jess on Twitter @proseccomum, Instagram @the_prosecco_mum and Facebook ProseccoMum.

If you enjoyed this post and have a story to tell that you would like to see featured in this guest series, please drop me a line at emma@thehalcyonyears.com. It would be great to hear from you x