Well it’s been that long since I last wrote a blog post that I’ve almost forgotten about my poor, neglected baby.
Lots has changed in the dB household of late and I am still trying to figure out how to get on top of everything. Living in a whirlwind of chaos is not doing wonders for my OCD either, so my poor nerves are still in a state of shock.
So what’s changed?? Well last month I got myself a new job. Like an actual proper job with an office and a regular salary and everything. It’s been over 5 years since I last did that, which it’s kinda cool, but a bit of a shock to the system to say the least.
I never planned to get a job this year, I was quite happy just writing my blog and doing the bits of freelance work that kept things ticking over. After a bit of a shaky start, I’ve actually come to love being a full time mum and my plan was to stay doing that until Lexi-Rose started school (I don’t think I could get away with it much after that).
However this job popped up unexpectedly and it was JUST what I wanted (but in a year or two’s time). I agonised over whether or not to go for it now or wait until the timing was better? My biggest road blog was that it was FULL TIME. Eeeek, how on earth was I going to manage that AND the whole mum thing AND the whole blog thing????
Mr D promised to help out with the ‘stay at home’ stuff so we decided that I should give it a go. I went in for the interview and I got it. YAY – I think?? SO…… you are now looking at the new content and community manager for The Healthy Mummy. That’s a very fancy name for looking after blogs and social media, but something I think I am pretty good at.
So far I have managed to miss the bus 3 times and get on a school bus, which took me everywhere BUT home. I am clearly a virgin when it comes to public transport. I’ve also lost control of my weekly meal planning, so we’ve all eaten scrambled eggs and beans on toast a few times too. On the up side, I have not missed a school pick up yet or a sports drop off and I am loving the independence the job has given me. Oh, and it’s also so good to be in smart clothes and high heels again!!
Anyone want to give me any tips on how to FIT IT ALL IN???? They’ll be gratefully received.
At the same time as landing this fab new job I also discovered that I have severe dairy, egg and gluten intolerances. Talk about tipping me off balance when I am already wobbling. For the first few days I pretty much lived on smoothies while I tried to figure out what exactly I could eat. Dairy and eggs are hidden EVERYWHERE!! I’m slowly starting to get my head around all the alternatives now and I’ve become a demon at reading food labels. I’m also craving cheese so badly that people on my morning commute are starting to look like walking blocks of brie!!! Sigh!! It will get easier I’m sure. I also have a strong feeling my girls have these intolerances too. I’m just waiting to get my own head around it all before I go and complicate things even more by having them tested. Telling them they can no longer have ice-cream and chocolate might mean they start growing horns, so I need to be prepared.
Luckily, through all the crazy that February and March have brought, I’ve still managed to get my bare feet on the beach at least twice every week and everyone is still smiling. That definitely counts as a win in my books.
Have you ever switched from full time mum to full time work? How did you survive?
Do you have any working mum tips for me?
Do you have any fussy allergy diet tips for me?
I’ll try my best not to leave it too long before my next post but in the meantime HAPPY EASTER!
9 comments on “A seriously OVERDUE catch up!”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Exciting times – congrats on the job! I found that when I was working full time and the littlest was in daycare, my husband and I really had to work as a team. Nothing was someone else’s job – if you saw something that needed to be done, you just did it. We also just had to lower our standards on a few things and go with the flow. And weekends became very precious. We spent a lot of time together just as a family.
Congratulations! Sometimes the timing seems not quite right, but it was obviously what you needed!
As for the dairy allergy, is it dairy or just lactose? I’ve found that by switching to goat or sheep yoghurt, lactose free milk, sour cream and ice cream, and goat’s cheese I’ve been ok. I’ve also put my son onto lactose free milk in his cereal and smoothies and he is feeling much better too!
Go you Robyn, it nearly killed me working two days a week when I did that contract last year!! I can imagine it’s great to be wearing smart clothes and having a full life outside mummydom. Great if you and your husband can share things too.
Hope to see you in real life soon.
Congrats on the job – great news! It’s so funny now I’m not working, I wonder how I ever fit it all in, but when you’re working, you just DO! So many intolerances, so little time. I don’t know if it helps but some of my low iodine recipes are dairy free, egg free and gluten free so you might find some deliciousness there! Keep on keeping on, sounds like you are doing an ace job!
If time to delivery is longer than your plan anticipates then that is the tiome to begin negotiations on how the tiime might be shortened.
Loved catching up on what you’ve been up to – the food changes must be really quite a shock to the system, but I hope it means you’ll feel better in the long term xx
Two words… “Delegate”and “Lists” Unfortunately I have always been a full-time mum and prep teacher. I can not separate the two as they are both my great loves of life.
What works for me most of the time is planning ahead (meal planner, white board messages, and lists (my friends are always having a laugh at my lists (or me…still trying to work that one out) On the weekend I get up before everyone and do a couple of hours school planning which means it is out of the way by the time the day really starts. I also try to include my family in the meal planning, finding out what they would like to eat in the hope then they might like to help prepare it a bit. Since my children are a bit older now, I even put a name to who is preparing what dinner 😀 Sundays are a “get ready for the week ahead” day. I prepare at least 1 meal to freeze and 1 meal ready for Monday. My daughter bakes treats and freezes them. So my kitchen is busy with slow cookers, Thermie and of course the coffee machine, but it smells great and everyone always pops in to chat and to see what goodies they can taste test.
So proud of you hun, and you are going to rock it. My biggest tip is to be kind to yourself during the transition and make time for you to relax – you deserve it xx
Robyn- you MUST look up Quirky Cooking!! She’s the Queen of Thermomix allergy cooking. Good luck with the new way of eating and particularly the new job!