2015 was the year that I, along with a few good friends, decided to set up a book group. We all have busy lives, but we thought a book group would be a great way of making reading a top priority, while also expanding our literary tastes. For me, it has certainly achieved both of […]

I’ve heard many of my parent friends say that the summer holidays are when they “get their children back”. The final few weeks of the summer term are so busy with sports day, summer fêtes, music showcases, prize-giving, school reports and school trips, that it’s an achievement (and relief), to make it through to the […]

Today is National Tell a Story Day. To mark the occasion, Room to Grow asked several bloggers to take part in their Storytelling Challenge. Each of us were asked to come up with a story theme, including a character, setting and object, which would be passed to the blogger we had been paired with. Likewise, we would receive from them […]

Not everyone’s a reader, my husband included. But I, on the other hand, have been collecting books since I was a child. Over the past 30 or so years I have amassed a pretty big collection, and hats off to my husband for allowing me to turn our small fourth bedroom into my own personal […]

At the beginning of the year, one of my many resolutions was to try and read at least one book a month. Little did I know that resolution would be completely thrown out the window when I picked up Donna Tartt’s epic new novel The Goldfinch…but hand on heart, it was completely worth breaking my […]

A survey published this week found that mothers have on average just 17 minutes of ‘me time’ a day. Apparently these moments of peace are spent reading a book, having a (hot!) cup of tea, or watching soaps on TV. Reading will always win hands down for me, with a hand-crafted coffee running in close […]

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 […]

This week I have had a small identity crisis. It’s a bit of a cliché – you become a Mum and suddenly you see yourself being plonked at the bottom of the pile. Slowly but surely your identity gets chipped away at, until one day you realise that you don’t really have one anymore. I’m […]

Earlier this week we confirmed Little I’s start date for pre-school. Her birthday falls in May and so her free early education place will begin on 1 September, but since she doesn’t yet go to any nursery, my husband and I have decided that it would be good for her to begin two mornings a […]

I write this blog for a variety of reasons, and I find they are evolving all of the time…but my main motivation initially was so that I would have a creative outlet for jotting down my thoughts and observations as a first-time parent. I don’t profess to know anything of significance regarding child development, other […]