So, I have been quiet on the blogging front for a while.   Partly because I've been working hard, (new job)  and partly because I've been trying to make more time to listen.

There is just so much to do everyday, and I realise that more and more I am not really listening to my kids, as I chase them through the daily routines so I can get to that job I need to finish.

It feels like we are living in the age of  "infobeasity" where we are constantly bombarded with stuff from e-mail, texts, Facebook...
Continue reading ...

 So on the first day of Christmas flu I gritted my teeth, tidied the house, made up 2 double air-beds, one spare bed and a party lunch for 5 ..    I smiled through the nativity service drunk my way through a few G&T's in the pub after (purely medicinal of course) and struggled to our Christmas Eve pub dinner all before collapse.

On the second day of Christmas flu I cooked about half a Christmas dinner for 9  before collapsing asleep on the sofa ....  and it was all down hill from there.

I haven...
Continue reading ...

I HATE SHOUTING.  Sometimes its good, (e.g. when they do something dangerous), but mostly its a horrid thing, only a few steps from bullying.  So why do I do it? The last week or so I've been trying to track when I get cross enough to shout and why.  I've also been talking to my friends about their shouting habits, and together we have come up with some thoughts on how to avoid shouting so much.

 

1) Find The Shouting Button: 

Shouting happens when they have pressed your but...

Continue reading ...

Changing career at any point in your working life journey is seldom easy, but it might not be as hard as you think.  

If you have determination, courage, and a realistic plan there is every chance that you will join many millions of mothers who have successfully travelled this path before you.  In many ways being a mother is a career change in itself, as you have suddenly acquired a whole new job description (often on top of your paid one).   You have rapidly acquired a whole different set of ...
Continue reading ...

Oh dear, not even reached the end of January, and I find myself already in no-life-balance.com world.   I realised last week when I noticed I had 3 UI's (un-identifiable injuries) on my leg...   Used to be un-identifiable partying injuries somewhere back in my youth, but now its just bruises from bumping into tables and chairs as I rush around 10 minutes late for the school run, and fearing the 'late token' for missing the school gates!

Other symptoms include the re-emergence of scary mummy (d...
Continue reading ...

Early this year I lost someone special.  She was only 20, at least she knew she was loved.

So as I think about what I want to achieve this year, it was a huge kick up the back side to set myself some goals about people I love.   My first goal is to laugh with my boys every day, and make sure they know they are loved. 

Ok so this morning when I was yelling at my oldest for taking ten minutes to get his coat on, it all went down the pan a bit!   But seriously, you never know what might happen tom...
Continue reading ...