When the girls were little there were many occasions when I locked myself in the loo simply to get a break. In amongst the crazy demands of toddler taming and working from home it was my chance to breathe slowly and think clearly about the many tasks I needed to complete to impossible deadlines.

The memories came back tonight as I worked my way through a mad, busy to-do list.

I’m in the middle of cooking dinner when I realise you really can’t push cream to its use by date. It’s decided to curdle prior to tomorrow’s expiry date. Carbonara without cream is going to be a challenge.

Then I notice there’s only one child at home. What have we done with the other one? Oh that’s right soccer training. That means someone has to collect her. Negotiate and delegate (and can you get cream on the way to the soccer field?).

Google images of unlabeled reproductive systems. It’s exam time and the youngest wants to try to remember which bit is the penis and where the ovaries are located (hopefully she doesn’t think she’ll find them both on the same diagram). As she explains it I don’t want her googling sex organs because it’s highly likely she will be subjected to inappropriate images. Tonight she decides to be RESPONSIBLE!

I have to finish reading a book and write a review of it for Creative Women’s Circle.

I haven’t written a blog post today, although my post on how hard it is to raise teenagers has made an appearance over at iVillage. So I really should put up something witty and clever to greet anyone new to this site who pops on over. Instead, I’ll just wave and say hi, this is the best I can deliver, I’m UNDER PRESSURE HERE.

Then there’s my other self-inflicted deadlines, the book I wanted to finish reading for the The Pink Fibro Club (Books and Reading) and the other one for First Tuesday Book Club at Meet Me At Mikes.

The entries to writing competitions I wanted to finish.

The 2,000 words I wanted to add to Shambolic Living the book.

Breathe. Breathe. Breathe.

I decide to have a bubble bath. See retreating to the amenities just like I used to do all those years ago (don’t ever say my posts don’t link disparate points nicely together).

I take the book I have to read for the review to the bath with me. I was going to illustrate this post with a selfie of book and bubbles. But I was down to the last dregs of Radox and my bubbles went flat quickly so couldn’t be sure I wouldn’t accidentally post a picture of my nipples I gave up that task. See I do set limits on what I will subject you to!

I’m now ticking off the blog post, and sometime by midnight I’ll the book review completed. I’M ON FIRE NOW.

How’s your household tonight (or this morning dependant on your hemisphere)? Are you crazy busy? How do you cope?