Today is International Day of Families. This year, the UN observance is focussing on Sustainable Development Goal 13, climate action. We all need to do our bit – even on a micro level – so this is a great opportunity to assess whether we’re doing enough. I’m forever fretting about whether we’re doing a good …
My 40th birthday is now just six months away and, although I know it’s not really a big deal, it’s a constant in my mind. And my knees too, for that matter. That is to say that, while I’m still as fit and active as I was ten years ago, I’m really feeling it these …
I’ve been fairly quiet both on here and social media lately. Little seems to have gone to plan recently and, to put things mildly, I was feeling rather deflated as a result. I very rarely give myself a break so, for once, thought “sod it, I’m having a few days off”. And the good news …
Easter is almost upon us and with it comes the confusion as to who the chocolate eggs come from. I like to refer to it as an eggs-istential crisis. Does the bunny deserve the credit, or should it be awarded much closer to home? Due to the fact that this celebration is literally a moveable …
I’ve always liked a good pun. In fact, the same goes for bad puns. I even like most of the offerings you get in Christmas crackers. Apart from that one about vampires with coughs and a typo for a punchline that somehow gets printed every year. In my days as a journalist, I delighted in …
One of the things that has amazed me since becoming a parent is kids’ relationship with technology. I shouldn’t be so surprised, of course. It’s part of the furniture to them, whereas a lot of what we take for granted these days wasn’t around when I was a child. There’s also the fact that it’s a …
Big news. The toddler finally knows how to spit out toothpaste. It came at a cost, of course. My favourite hoodie is now slightly stained. But at least some progress has been made. Just under a year ago, I wrote a post about how to brush a toddler’s teeth in 37 easy steps. I can …
Toddlers are funny little things, aren’t they? Youngest, for example, has been at her contrary best of late. We should have called her Mary. Here are five kid-friendly things she has a complicated relationship with. Pyjamas Thanks to hand-me-downs from her brothers and cousins as well as ones we’ve got her, she has a veritable …
Before having kids, I was pretty squeamish about certain things. I didn’t like getting my hands dirty and was always at great pains to avoid doing so. That’s not to say I was afraid of hard work, you understand. Just that I’ve always been a bit Lady Macbeth with regards handwashing. Things have changed a …
I’ve been playing quite a lot of Football Manager lately. Once everyone else is asleep, I fire up the computer and play a few matches, handle press conferences and try to keep in control of finances. Yes, this sounds both geeky and not particularly fun at all but I love it. I completed my second …