If you’re a mother who has ever read a back-to-work article or blog post, you’ve probably heard references to hot tea - the fabled drink that we all get to try once we return to work after maternity leave. It’s usually mentioned in tandem with adult conversations – two luxuries that we miss during maternity ...
I made three new year's resolutions this year; one for work, one for running, and one for home - this is the home one: "fix afternoons with the kids so they're less chaotic." But unlike my work and running goals, the home goal isn't specific, nor is it measurable, and it didn't come with any kind of ...
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 ...
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 ...