Obsession with illness isn't healthy
I had never really understood the phrase "enjoying ill health" until the child turned two - and became a raving hypochondriac.Nor had I realised quite how bad things had become until 3 o' clock one...
View ArticleDriving me mad
We are in the car, heading north. We have no sooner turned out of our road when the child starts demanding snacks. It is 8 o' clock in the morning. There are still 200 miles to go and I have already...
View ArticleMy girl's in pain. Keeping calm is not an option
It is a regular Tuesday afternoon and we are rolling up our sleeves to wash our hands before tea (although by "tea" perhaps I should clarify that the repast to which I refer may be better known to you...
View ArticleWake up, it's time to trampoline
It is 6am on a weekend morning. This is an hour I have not cared to acquaint myself with since… well, ever really. And since the child was a new-born, to be fair, I have not really had to. With very...
View ArticleHere's a wee problem that's driving me potty
If I have grown 20 years older in the space of the last fortnight then I can attribute it to only one thing: potty training.My desire to outsource this rite of passage was thwarted by the fact my...
View ArticleAfter months of struggle I've given birth… to a book
When I look back over the past three years I see that my life has changed in ways I had hardly dared to hope it would.Yes, yes, I may have walked away from a well-paid and successful career and gained...
View ArticleCaught napping by my girl's sleep strike
To sleep perchance to dream… chance would be a fine thing.The infant's midday nap is surely seen by many, if not most parents, as a brief opportunity to regain one's sanity. Perhaps a chance to cram in...
View ArticleLet that be a lesson to me
With the child's third birthday fast approaching, it is time to take stock. To look back over the past 12 months and see what I have learned. Namely:1) A season is no longer a season: I'm quite sure...
View ArticleSo who's the cry baby in our house?
I wouldn't say that I have ever considered myself to be a heartless person. But it would be accurate to admit that in years gone by sentimentality was an alien concept and that even the most mawkish of...
View ArticleA wobbly over the wellies
Five things I learned last week:1) Big hair can be a big asset. Number of gifts given to my child by random strangers on the train from Manchester because they liked her locks - four (two packets of...
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