My word, it’s been a long time since I have written a blog. I feel like I’ve aged about 200 years in the last six months, which is mostly down to homeschooling two children. Very honestly, we sort of had it easy compared with most parents. Both TheBloke (TM) and I work flexibly from home, … [Read more…]
I thought we had got off lightly with YoungestGirl’s tantrums. She is annoyingly difficult to discipline, usually smiling beguilingly when you tell her off, or making you laugh despite yourself, but the positive side of this is she rarely loses control into a full-blown tantrum. Whenever EldestGirl was made to sit on the naughty step, … [Read more…]
This month’s Let’s Cook the Books is slightly sneaky, firstly because it’s featuring YoungestGirl, rather than EldestGirl, and secondly because we’re not actually cooking a recipe from The Gruffalo itself (roasted fox, anyone?). YoungestGirl received for her birthday, from my lovely friend Erica, a fantastic children’s cookery book based on The Gruffalo. (Believe it or … [Read more…]
I mean, I barely know where to start. When I was younger, I was never a big fan of Christmas; being indoors for several days whilst all the shops were shut and the weather was shit, and the heating was turned up too high was never my favourite time of year. Now I have my … [Read more…]
Wednesdays are my least favourite day. EldestGirl has a music class across town after school. The unpredictable traffic means that we tend to get in the car as soon as we’ve walked back from school and everyone has been to the toilet. If the traffic is OK we’re usually about 15 minutes early. I use … [Read more…]
YoungestGirl had been to nursery before. But she had taken the summer off, and today, she started properly at her new nursery, which is based at EldestGirl’s school. Where EldestGirl is largely self-contained, YoungestGirl is – ahem – expressive with her emotions. She cried every day we took her to her old nursery (and then … [Read more…]
The extra inset days from EldestGirl’s school seemed like a gift at the time. “Let’s use the extra week to take the cherubs on a holiday we could only normally do in term-time!” we squealed excitedly, before booking a Butlin’s break, because, frankly, we’d forgotten the bad bits from last year. This time EldestGirl and … [Read more…]
Honestly, half term sort of snuck up on me. I was aware there was a bank holiday, and that looming at some point, there would be a half term, but I hadn’t properly, properly realised it was here until… it was here. We had planned… nothing. Shit. I desperately tried to overcompensate. Day One We made cornflour … [Read more…]
We have always made an effort with both of our daughters, not to stereotype, not to call things “girly”, or to use words like “tomboy”. We preach that all colours are for everybody, that looking beautiful is less important than being kind. That being kind is important, but so is being clever. It has mostly … [Read more…]
I went to an all girls’ school. When I got to the sixth form, much excitement ensued, as we were trusted with our own little kitchenette, which contained a kettle, and was adequately stocked with tea, coffee and milk. I don’t believe there was a microwave, because although many of us were legal voting age … [Read more…]