Blog List

So it's happened. The dreaded return to work has come and gone. After the first hour of the first day it was like the previous nine months off never even happened, apart from the gentle reminders when people asked: "Are you back already? That flew!". And it did. I was back into the swing of work life within an hour, albeit tired and red-eyed from being up washing duvets and dealing with a...

Recently, a fellow mum took time out of her day to document the various reasons her daughter saw fit to throw a tantrum. From her brother looking at her to her mother offering the wrong breakfast, this particular journey through a little girl’s typical day offered an unrivalled insight into motherhood and family life. Like millions of other mothers, I immediately related, but perhaps...

A close female relative of mine who shall remain nameless (upon pain of death apparently) recently reached a very exciting milestone in her life and it's fair to say she's slightly overwhelmed. Having wished valiantly to join her friends in an exclusive club they named Period Pals, this particular relative has now gained entry, and doesn't quite know what to make of it. Instead of the...

As a mum of four, there are many, many things I don't have much time for: cleaning skirting boards, matching socks and making soup from scratch to name but three. However, if there's one thing that really grinds my gears, it's when my children tell tales on each other. Yes, if one of you requires medical attention, then by all means point a finger at the perp and allow them to take...

As any mum knows, children have an innate ability to push your buttons and test their limits, and while the vast majority of us have learned various ways to deal with this, there are times when we simply don't have the energy to tackle the issue. Recently, I was confronted with a shrieking six-year-old girl who had thrown herelf so deeply into her tantrum, it looked like she may never find a...

Myself and my husband once made a pact to never go to sleep angry. No matter how blazing the row or how frayed the nerves, we both believed it was important to hash out the issue before turning in for the night. Dragging rebukes and recriminations into the next day was a receipe for disaster, we told each other, as the ill will slowly festers and both parties find further issue with one another...

I recently found a list my daughter had compiled which, and I'm going to be honest here, didn't exactly portray me in a favourable light, to say the very least. Discarded among stray lego pieces and Barbie shoes, the crumbled A4 page outlined my shortcomings in a document which wouldn't have looked out of place in the Mean Girls' Burn Book. Settling down on her beanbag which was, I...

My teenage daughter asked me to describe childbirth over the Christmas holidays and despite having given birth four times in the last 15 years, I seriously struggled with my response. The conversation came about after watching an episode of Gogglebox where one of the cast members described labour as the hardest, but most rewarding day's work you'll ever do. Intrigued by the remark, Rebecca...

Alex has spent the last three weeks in a heightened state of euphoria as he struggled to come to terms with the fact he had landed the coveted role of Donkey in the school Nativity. While the girls in his class crossed their fingers in the hopes they may secure the role of Mary, and the boys longed to be a Wise Man, my son wanted nothing more than the admirable role of the stable donkey. Ecstatic...

I'm not a huge fan of shopping in general, and going for groceries is definitley not my idea of a Saturday afternoon well spent. But needs must and every weekend, a rmed with a list and a clear map of the grocery store in my head, I throw my bags in the boot and head off on my merry way. And every week, without fail, the same thoughts run through my head as I wander around picking up items for...