Hey ho, hey ho, it’s into Advent we go! The Christmas countdown is certainly apace. We’ve started scanning Amazon for present ideas and refining our story ahead of the annual inquisition ... Read More
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I check my phone and see an email from school. The sort of email every working parent dreads. “Sorry for the short notice..” it begins, and things don’t get better from there. It is... Read More
When your wife is pregnant, as a prospective father there are million and one things rushing through your anxiety ridden brain. A preterm baby is not one of them. Dealing with this level of trauma wh... Read More
I recently returned to the city after a wonderful one year of maternity leave. This was my second maternity leave but for some reason, this time around the nervous feeling before the retu... Read More
August hadn’t gone well. In fact life in general seemed to have taken a distinct turn for the worse. The work/life scales were heavily overloaded on both sides and frankly it was taking its tol... Read More
Like many of us with school age children, we have started the autumn term and come back to earth with a bit of a bump. Although we didn't go away this summer we went out on various day trips, saw... Read More
Last August, I decided to go part-time, dropping down to a four-day week. A number of the females in our team have being doing that for some time now, and our team leader is very supportive, so... Read More
Since becoming a parent, I was very thankful when my younger son stopped breastfeeding at 11 months and moved into his own room, I was thankful when my older son got accepted into his first school ch... Read More
I’m sure that many of you reading this have some kind of routine established with your children – set times of day when you get them up, have food, get them ready for school (or similar),... Read More
Trigger warning: serious illness
Most people hate hearing the “C” word, and get very angry and upset when it’s said. But I'm going to say it, here on this blog. I h... Read More
It’s a balmy summer evening and I’m lying on my acupuncturist’s couch in leafy suburban London. I’ve got needles stuck in me and tears running down my face. We’ve just h... Read More
I have been chuckling at the assumption that life gets ‘easier’ when children start school and that juggling home and work becomes simpler. My juggling skills seem to have reached another... Read More
"Mummy, there's nothing in the house!"
As some parents may be able to relate to, sometimes it feels as though children's appetites grow exponentially at certain times of the ye... Read More
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ‘19 - that’s the preschool class - if I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
We’re in the south of France, w... Read More
I am so over kids’ parties.
Even when I was a kid they caused me trauma. Not being invited confirmed my gnawing fear that I didn’t fit in, but being invited was e... Read More
They say that if you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning. Sadly, it was into this second category that our recent au-pair experience fell. Whilst we ca... Read More
I recently went to a WorkLife Central lunchtime seminar on Stress and Burnout and realised that I was very stressed and running dangerously close to burning out. One thing that really resonated with ... Read More
With summer holiday season almost upon us, I have found an unpublished blog I wrote last summer after returning from holidays (I hope you don’t mind the recycling!)
I had just finish... Read More
The youngest son breaks up for school at the beginning of July for a full 8 weeks of kicking back and doing nothing (at least in his opinion). Think of the fortnights of Fortnite and other incredible... Read More
At a recent parent teacher information session, the Headteacher discussed the importance of online safety and safe guarding procedures that have been put in place for the pupils. I found that the ses... Read More
Our big drive at the moment is to make new friends. It’s a strange mission to have in your mid-30s (37 is still ‘mid’ isn’t it?) but we moved back to my wife’s home town... Read More
It’s been 12 years. Can I leave my kids on their own yet?!
After a decade of live-in childcare we are now fending for ourselves and I’m enjoying the freedom of walking naked ar... Read More
I realised as I was about to start writing this that, other than writing on here, I have written a lot less over the last 12 months than I did in the 12 months before that. I used to write regular bl... Read More
The change of season is upon us and the warm sun and longer evenings are welcome as leaving for work in the dark and getting home in the dark seem like distant memories. It’s a time of year for... Read More
I read an article once which I think summed it up perfectly – life as a working mum can seem like one long exercise of never measuring up!
I think the guilt factor is ever present for all ... Read More
Only about 3 weeks ago all parents of year 6 found out which secondary school their kid/s will be going to in September.
It’s a big step for anyone but in my case it felt huge, let me expl... Read More
'I don't really care about going to this one, I just want to go to the one up the road where most of my friends will be going', says my nine-almost-ten year old, currently in Year 5. ... Read More
World Book Day and lots of our children will have gone to school dressed up as their favourite characters. I say lots because my wife overheard someone in the supermarket who was unsure if her daught... Read More
I appear to have accidentally bought a house in France...
Well, not a complete accident obviously. More the somehow unexpected culmination of 7 years dreaming, French holidays and an Internation... Read More