Cooking with Flea is on my list of things that I should do but never quite manage, along with ‘crafting’ and learning how to do those fancy ponytail things with her hair. So we were delighted to be invited to a Junior Chef weekend at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington, where Flea would be taught how to cook by a team of professional chefs – result! The Royal Garden Hotel is absolutely lovely – and unlike many 5 star hotels, it employs staff who seem to actually like children, … [Read more...]
Testing a new rollercoaster at Drayton Manor
Posted on April 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment
One of the things I love about Flea is that while she is terrified of completely random things (flies, mashed potato, wearing sandals), she’s a complete adrenaline junkie in others. So it turns out she was in her element this week when we were invited to get a sneak peek at the latest ride at Drayton Manor Park – a brand new Ben10 Ultimate Alien Mission rollercoaster, which opens to the public tomorrow. We arrived at the park on time which meant Flea and I were able to join the … [Read more...]
How to Organise the World’s Best Sleepover
Posted on November 23, 2010 · 8 Comments
This week saw a momentous milestone in the Whittle household – Flea’s first sleepover. It didn’t start well, because one of us had completely forgotten there was a sleepover. I think you know it wasn’t the five-year-old. No worries, we managed to get everyone safely out of the school's late room (I may have been a few ten minutes late for the pick-up) and safely into the car. We made a brief stop at Tesco on the way home for a bag of Haribo, a tube of Pringles and a packet of … [Read more...]
Halloween Costumes: Sorted.
Posted on October 12, 2009 · Leave a Comment
This month, The Great Toy Guide team has been hard at work testing kids’ Halloween costumes, and we’ve put together our guide to 12 of the best outfits for your children this Halloween. Hey, it's a tough job, but we're there for you. We think there's something great here whatever your budget or your kids' preferences: from cute pumpkin outfits to spooky ghouls, medieval princesses and Peter Pan. Tim from Bringing up Charlie has even tested a fantastic face paint and … [Read more...]
An Ode to Playmobil
Posted on October 11, 2009 · 6 Comments
As a parent, you enter - or rather re-enter - the World of Toys. One of my favourite rediscoveries has been Playmobil. For those who aren't familiar, this is a range of plastic figures and playsets that allow kids to play at all sorts of things, from construction to hospitals. They're a bit smaller than your typical action figure (that's because of the 1970s oil crisis, trivia fans) and so they're just the right size for little hands. I loved Playmobil as a kid, and Flea … [Read more...]
Oh, you have a life? Cancel it.
Posted on October 7, 2009 · 18 Comments
As a school Mummy, I am an abject failure. This Monday was Harvest Festival. I remembered this just as I was holding open the school's front door for another School Mummy and her three kids. Each child was holding a cardboard box filled with Arborio rice and jars of organic pasta sauces. As I mentally kicked myself, I noticed the three kids’ boxes were decorated. With lovely sparkly wrapping paper and glitter and everything. That’s just offensive, frankly. Also? It meant I couldn’t … [Read more...]
Pushy Parent Syndrome
Posted on October 1, 2009 · 20 Comments
Last night, I attended a seminar (for want of a better word) at Flea's school, where the teachers explained how the children are being taught to read. I was expecting something quite full on - this is a private school and one that has a reputation for "bringing children on" (as they call it). But the evening took me by surprise. The head teacher said we shouldn't feel the kids always need to do their homework (which is lucky for us, considering we are bona fide homework … [Read more...]
Single Parenting. Not better or worse. Just different.
Posted on September 28, 2009 · 16 Comments
There’s a lot of chat about single parents in the blogosphere at the moment. Notsupermum and Rosie Scribble have written eloquently on the upsides of solo parenting, while MyShitty20s is talking openly about the downsides. I’ll admit – I've been trying to write a post for days but struggled to say anything sensible about single parenting. It wasn’t a choice I made. My marriage imploded when I was six months pregnant, and it was a bit late to think, “probably shouldn’t have kids … [Read more...]
And it’s not even 9am
Posted on September 28, 2009 · 14 Comments
My ongoing campaign to win “Worst Mother Alive” continues to gather pace. This morning, I was rushing around trying to find the permanent marker to write the name in Flea’s new school coat, purchased on Friday at enormous expense to replace the school coat she’s already lost. In case you’re wondering, I’m using a permanent marker because I’ve lost the name labels I bought sometime over the summer holidays. Like mother, like daughter, I guess. Anyway, Flea is pouring her … [Read more...]
And the prize for “Top Mummy 2009″ goes to…
Posted on September 24, 2009 · 14 Comments
Sometimes I think my greatest achievement in life might be making all the Other Mothers feel better about themselves. My excuse is that life’s manic. I have a proper job (journalism) and I’m a single parent. Somewhere in the gap between those two roles I write this blog, I do the top 100 index, I edit the Great Toy Guide, and I take on occasional training, PR and copywriting clients. Sometimes I might even catch a glimpse of the chap, as I am obliged to refer to him online. All of … [Read more...]
