They [mess] you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you. (Philip Larkin, This be the Verse) As much as my husband and I try to be ‘normal’, well-adjusted parents, I can already see recurring [...]

I haven’t written for my blog for a couple of weeks at least. That’s the longest break I’ve ever had from it I think, in the year that I’ve been writing it. In fact I think I missed its first birthday! One excuse is that I’ve been busy writing for another blog, for a new [...]

This guest post is written by my friend Gareth Frampton, and is the first in a short series of posts about the realities of  being a stay-at-home Dad. Back in 2009, just a few months short of my daughter’s first birthday, I received some terrible news. I had been selected for redundancy. Some people would [...]

Little I has just gone up to two full days at preschool, which brings with it a very exciting development…packed lunches! In the run-up to the new school terms we had the following conversation several times over: Little I: “I’m so excited to go back to preschool”. Me: “What bit are you most excited about?” [...]

As a parent I sometimes feel there can be too much focus on helping your child to get things right, or do things the correct way. Sometimes it can be nice to just let them be children. They all get there in the end! All young children get a few words a bit confused or [...]

We’ve very recently entered the ‘monster’ stage at home. Little I has invented an alter ego for herself called “Smookie Bear”. She’ll go behind one of the chairs in our lounge to get into character, and emerges with zombie-like, rolling eyes, as she scuttles across the room on her tip toes to attack. Smookie Bear [...]

Oh it’s ‘orrible being in love when you’re 3 ¼! I’ve suspected for some time, and yesterday had it confirmed, that Little I has her first real crush! She’s fallen head over heels for the very sweet lad next door, who happens to be seven years her senior. Yesterday evening he almost decapitated my husband [...]

I have always been completely rubbish at fancy dress. I can never seem to sum up the enthusiasm that’s needed to pull it off. I always leave my costume until the last minute to organise, and then it’s a last minute panic to sort out some kind of half-hearted effort. I have always admired my [...]

Sunday evening I stayed in a central London hotel, all by myself. Yes, that’s right…all by myself! I admit that my stay was purely for work reasons. I had an early start the next day and didn’t want to be contending with Olympics travel chaos. But despite the work agenda, the overnight stay turned out [...]

I have been working for myself from home since 2006, and so when I fell pregnant with Little I in late 2008, my hope was that I would be able to return to work fairly quickly. As I’m sure all first-time Mums do, I’d imagined I’d have an idyllic baby who would nap for hours [...]