As I sat in my local Starbucks recently, I noticed how many dad and baby pairings surrounded me, and wondered if perhaps the roles of mothers and fathers are drawing ever closer. Then I thought a bit more, about how different my husband and I are at home and changed my mind. I thought about ...
Some days are just grand, and some days are great. Not for lotto-winning type reasons - just easy days, when things fall into place. We had one of those today. It started wonderfully - nobody cried during breakfast, and I didn't shout. Winning by 8am. On the way to school, Clara, who is six, told me ...
Drink eight glasses of water a day. Take the stairs. Put the phone away when the kids are around. Be on time for work. Be on time leaving work. Pay attention during homework time. Eat five servings of fruit and veg a day. Don't let the kids watch too much TV. Get seven hours sleep. Don't eat red ...
I clash with my daughter. She's six. And I'm not six. I'm not proud of clashing with someone half my size and thirty-ish years younger than me. But, as we are fond of saying here, it is what it is. And the reason we clash? Because we are the same. I am her and she is ...
As part of lovely Learner Mama's linky, I've put together ten random things I've learned about parenting. They apply to me; they may not apply to everyone. But I wish my pre-mother self had known some of them. Or maybe that would take the fun out of it... 1. Nothing you can buy or do will ...
"Want other mummy, not you!" said the two-year-old, pushing me away when I tried to hug him after work this evening. Oh. Not what I was expecting. Maybe I'd misheard. I tried again - reached out for a hug. "No, you stay there. Want other mummy, not you!" Right so, I hadn't misheard. I tried explaining. "I'm your ...
It was the August bank holiday weekend, and I really wanted to be like those families who head away spontaneously for a night - we've never done that. The budget allowed for this to be a one-night-only event, so options were limited. We considered a self-catering house, but this seemed like a recipe for cooking, tidying and ...
I'm a bit nosy, and have been enjoying the "week in dinners" series on Bumbles of Rice lovely food and parenting blog. This week it's payback time - she's asked the rest of us to confess our own "week in dinners", warts and all (that's not actually a nice image) I'm going to cheat. Our childminder ...
Before I had children, I had pretty high expectations - of myself. I thought I'd be a good mother. I thought I'd have children who ate mostly vegetables. I thought they wouldn't watch TV. And I thought I'd maintain a certain level of personal-grooming. No need to let it all go is there? Then I ...
I'm writing this intro from the floor of my toddler's bedroom. He's sort of asleep, but not quite. I'm safe to have my phone switched on, but it's not yet time to sneak out of the room. I know this because I have been doing it every night for the last three months. Since we ...