I woke up this Mother's Day without Flea - she was with her Dad this weekend. Obviously, I spent my weekend shuffling miserably from room to room thinking of how my life is meaningless without my baby, and definitely NOT taking the opportunity for a quiet swim, followed by skipping dinner in favour of snacks  (mini thai fishcakes and chilli sauce, followed by a slab of brie on crackers), then a few hours playing Candy Crush on Facebook and lolling on the sofa watching Vampire Diaries, beer in … [Read more...]

Over on Tots100 this month, there's a brilliant competition to win a spa day - in exchange for your top Christmas crafts. Obviously, I can't win but it seems like the perfect excuse to show you what is basically our ONLY successful Christmas craft project - home-made snow globes. They're dead simple to make and we like to make personalised backdrops so the globes make cute presents for teachers and relatives. How to make a Snow Globe First, you'll need some nice glass jars. Mason jars work … [Read more...]

Marriage is a tricky business. Not that I'd know, necessarily, only having been married once and then for only a year, but still... It's easy to wonder as a divorced person - where did I get it so wrong? Was it a fundamental clash of personalities? Different expectations of what married life meant? Was it because someone (not me - obviously) was in the wrong? It's a tough question to answer. But at the age of seven, it seems Flea has got this marriage thing sussed. This week, … [Read more...]

I've a sneaky confession to make. I'm not keen on babies. We're running a competition over on Tots100 this month where you can win £500 by sharing your best baby photo, and I've been looking at all the entries. Intellectually, I can grasp that the whole big headed, wide-eyed thing is supposed to be cute, but it doesn't push my "aawww" button the way a kitten might. Kittens are unequivocally cute. Ditto for puppies. Small bush babies, even. But human babies? Not so much. Don't get me … [Read more...]

Flea should have been back at school tomorrow. This was a big moment for her because it's her first year in junior school. Flea's been excited for weeks to try out her new uniform - this year she has a skirt rather than a pinafore, and her PE kit has switched to singlet and tracksuit rather than shorts and t-shirt. There's a new school bag with room for more books, and this term she'll be starting hockey for the first time. It's all important stuff when you're seven. Added to which, Flea … [Read more...]

Growing up must really suck. Obviously, being an ancient critter myself, I can barely remember, but Flea is most definitely growing up. She'll be in junior school this term, and that means all sorts of changes - not least purchasing a gum shield and shin pads (gulp). Flea's also started to call me Mum sometimes - tentatively, as if she's trying out how it sounds on her tongue. She wants to do more, too - taking on the care of the Forces of Darkness (aka the kittens) almost … [Read more...]

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Kids are basically creatures of mystery. Like why is it Flea can’t hear me when I’m at the top of the stairs and calling her because her bath is ready… but she can hear the opening of a packet of Munchies from 500 feet? Or why is it that Flea can be exhausted and unable to walk another step if we’re at the supermarket, but discovers previously unimagined reserves of energy if we pass by the park on the way home? Some mysteries, though, are just beyond the power of human … [Read more...]