I don’t know about you but time just seems to be flying for me at the moment, which means it’s hard to find the time to tell the important people in our lives how we feel. So in honour of Mothers’ Day I have written a letter to my mum, to say all the things that I don’t take the time to say.… Read more
We’ve recently got back from our first family ski holiday to the French Alps. Hubs learnt to ski when he was 3 and was doing competition skiing by the age of 10. He is a God on skis. End of. I, on the other hand, “learnt” to ski in my early twenties after moving to France (where EVERYONE seems to ski), a good 15 years later I still look like Bambi, in slow motion, as I attempt to come down the slopes.… Read more
L will be 6 years old in December and with the imminent arrival of her baby brother or sister have come various questions about where babies come from and, what she is more fascinated with, how they come out of mummies’ tummies.
The first time she asked me about how they come out of their mummy’s tummies I was completely caught off guard, I hesitated for a milli-second, wondering if I should go with the “zip on mummy’s tummy” theory, but decided I couldn’t carry it off believably; I did also wonder at what stage you then tell them the truth.… Read more
This week a 5 year old girl was taken whilst playing outside her family home. As a mum to a 5 year old girl this hit home very hard, and I can’t stop thinking about what those poor parents are going through.
Most of my Twitter and Facebook timelines showed total support for the family.… Read more
Today is B’s and my 9th wedding anniversary. On the 2nd August 2003 we said “I do” and “oui” in a civil ceremony at the “hôtel de ville” in Cagnes sur mer (near Nice) first of all, and then at an English church in Cannes, before heading inland to Vence to party under the stars until gone 4am.… Read more
I’ve talked about toxic friendships before, but I get asked all the time about what to do when it’s a toxic relationship with a family member. This is far more complex because, in general, you can’t just cut them out of your life. So you have to figure out a way to live with them in your life, without allowing them to hurt you or ruin your life.… Read more
In December I will have been a mum for 10 years, and over that decade I’ve spent a huge amount of time feeling like I’m failing as a parent. Partly because of the expectations I’ve set myself – the things I feel I ought to be doing. Partly because, you know, I didn’t go to Parenting University and I don’t have a degree in being a mum, so I’ve been learning on the job.… Read more