When I was small, I don't remember my parents ever holding Santa over us at this time of year - there was never a sense that if we didn't behave, the man in red wouldn't deliver. Yes, he was magical and all-knowing, but it was all very positive - there was no threat of an ...
Kissing each child goodnight, I said the same thing - in my head so I wouldn't wake them - I said "From now on, I'm going to be the best parent ever." It's something I often say when I'm kissing them at night - when they're fast asleep and it's easy to want to do ...
My four-year-old regularly offers to help me cook. On a macro level, this makes me really happy. Because I am trying to be a good parent, and I know that it's beneficial to him to learn to cook. On a micro level, this does not make me quite so happy - especially if I'm in ...
What do you miss about life before kids? That was the question in an online discussion I read recently. Sleep. Free-time. Me-time. Money. Nights out. Lying-in. Tea that's not gone cold. Peeing alone. Not in any kind of "I wish I never had kids because I miss that hot tea so much" way. Just a list of things that we sometimes miss - if we're ...
Another week done; in fact a whole month done now, and a little more progress with getting used to school. Actually, to anyone who sees at us at the door every morning, it would all look perfect - my small boy gives me a cheeky grin, runs towards his classroom, then turns to blow me ...
I own a book monster. I take her to library, she gets out ten books, and two days later, she's read them all. I usually find her roaming around the house at night, picking up newspapers and magazines, desperate for something to read until she can get her next library fix. (Which is why she ...
I know this is supposed to be an emotional time. My smallest; my baby; my last baby is off to school. I am meant to be in floods of tears. I should have pockets stuffed with tissues. I'm supposed to just about hold it in when I drop him to his classroom, then let it ...
I like things to have a theme; I like to be able to look back and easily sum things up in three words or a couple of sentences. Like the golden autumn when everything was shiny and sparkling and brilliant. Followed by literal and metaphorical November rain. Or the summer holiday with inauspicious beginnings that turned ...
Sometimes I hide my phone from myself for an hour, so that I can concentrate on the kids without being distracted. And I have some reasonably strict self-imposed rules about not browsing mindlessly when they're around. But one major weakness is taking photos - and it's for that purpose more than any other, that my ...
"Mum, can I go into the sandpit?" Hurrah! Music to my tired ears, after an hour following him around slides and swings and zip-lines and rope bridges. I'll just sit on the side here and keep an eye on him in case he throws sand or walks off to try something else. I might just check my phone in ...