I am glum. I have no excuse. No reason to be glum. I mean, yes, it's been raining for 457 days solid now, so that might have something to do with it. This morning, for the first time this week, we could walk to school again. Such joy in that walk. And then back came the ...
"We'll fit loads in over the next few weeks," I'd said to the kids two weekends ago, not wanting to say what I really meant, which was, "There are only twelve more days left of summer holidays, let's make the most of it." Because I didn't want them on the countdown that I was already ...
They came on Saturday afternoon - my almost-last round of edits. This is the time to make final tweaks and find typos. (Typos are so hard to find, but I know they're there, lurking, grinning slyly, hoping to make the final cut.) And for me, the only way to do this is to read it out loud. All ...
"So what did you do for St Patrick's Day?" asked our lovely optician on Monday. "Did you go into the parade?" "No..." said the child. "Did you watch it on TV?" "No, Dad was watching the match, so we didn't see it." I jumped in then, quick to clarify that I'd been at a wedding, so my husband had stayed ...
What’s your ideal holiday? If you had asked me ten years ago, the answer was easy. Reading good books, getting some sun, sleeping in, eating out. Basically relaxing. I didn’t need to go to the warmest beach or the hottest club – my needs were simple. Or so I thought. Until I first tried holidaying ...
The alarm goes off. I fumble under the pillow, trying to press any button I can find. There is no way on earth it's morning. I refuse to believe it. I try to find the button that snoozes rather than turning it off, because even though it's clearly impossible that it's morning, I have a ...
I accidentally ate a smidge of banana yesterday, and the kids were in convulsions watching my own near-convulsion when I realised what was in my mouth. Most people have at least one food they can't bear, and for me it's bananas. (Shudder) I'll eat pretty much anything else though, and I was the same as a ...
These are just my own personal essential parenting tools - they're not by any means universal - but without them, I suspect I'd be in some kind of institution at this stage. In no particular order: 1. Kids' TV TV saves my life every evening. Take yesterday for example. There were fourteen children running around my kitchen ...
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 ...