Where has Franglaise Mummy been?

For those of you who regularly follow this blog or who follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I’ve been a bit quiet recently. I love writing this blog, as well as catching up with my online friends via social media, and reading/commenting on other blogs, but for the last few weeks this has been on the back burner while other things go on.

I blogged about solo parenting a few weeks ago, and in the last 6 weeks I’ve had two lots of week-long sessions of dealing with the kids, the pets and the house on my own, whilst running my childminding business too. I love my kids, I love my pets, and I love the children I mind, but by the end of the day I am fit to collapse into bed when I’m doing it alone, rather than sit in front of my computer/phone. Sorry.

My FiL has been mentally ill for many years, and his state has recently deteriorated, necessitating a trip from Hubs to France, and many discussions between the two of us over what we can do to help, all of which has been emotionally-draining and taken up many an evening.

On the bright side, though, Hubs and I were lucky enough to escape to Sharm-el-Sheikh for a week’s holiday en tête-à-tête, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary (which was in August but I was still breastfeeding then, so leaving C wasn’t an option). My incredibly fabulous parents came and house/baby/child/pet sat for a whole week while we luxuriated in the peace and quiet of a child-free holiday. There is a blog post coming on that at some point, until then here is a hint of the paradise we experienced:

The daily view from my sun lounger.

The daily view from my sun lounger.

Work-wise, I’m still loving the childminding that I’m doing, but the baby I’ve been looking after has moved out of London, so I’ve been trying to find another playmate for Baby C, which has been fairly stressful, and very time-consuming. However I’m delighted to share the news that I have found someone and it’s a perfect fit, so all’s well that ends well.

On top of all of the above, it seems that our household has been fighting the usual winter bugs for about the last 6 weeks or more, which means children are waking more often and mummies are needing more sleep, which in turn means less “stuff” gets done.

Finally, whilst on holiday I read a very interesting book called “The Emotional Energy Factor: The Secrets High-Energy People Use to Beat Emotional Fatigue“. I highly recommend it to anyone feeling tired, or overwhelmed, especially if you can’t figure out why (if your kids are preventing you from sleeping this book won’t help unfortunately). It made me take a long, hard look at my life and (re)prioritise certain elements, so you’ll see me putting my phone down more often and ignoring my “to do” list to take my girls to the local park. It means I’m less efficient, but I’m happier and more fulfilled.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share with you where I’m at, and to let you know that I hope to be back, fully functioning next week.

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8 Responses

  1. I am glad things are pulling together
    Claire Toplis recently posted…Ora Kitchen TowelMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks, almost feeling like I can see a light at the end of a tunnel now….

  2. Kara says:

    Welcome back – you’re holiday sounds amazing. So sorry to hear about your FIL – solo parenting is hard isn’t it?
    Hope you’re all feeling better soon xx
    Kara recently posted…Mum and Me Little ExplorersMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      The holiday was absolutely incredible, although it seems very far away now. Solo parenting is a tough one, fortunately I think it’s over for now. FiL is unlikely to get better as such, so it’s more working out the best way to deal with everything. Thanks for your support xx

  3. Katie says:

    Welcome back! Glad you had a lovely holiday – looks gorgeous! Hope all is ok with the FIL x
    Katie recently posted…November Lust ListMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks lovely, FiL is an ongoing concern, but we’ve managed to put some things in place to help out. Holiday was soooooo good 🙂 x

  4. Honest Mum says:

    What a beautiful post gorgeous and prioritising is key. Making sure you switch off is so neccessary. Sorry to hear about your FIL and glad you got time off too. Well done you for single parenting it, must have been so tough, hugs x
    Honest Mum recently posted…Atkins Diet Update-6 Weeks OnMy Profile

    • Franglaise Mummy says:

      Thanks for your support lovely. I’m getting better at prioritising but it means something misses out and it’s often the blog and catching up with my social media friends 🙁 Reshuffling a bit at the moment so hopefully in the new year I’ll have time for everyone and everything…. xx

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