Just realised today is Friday the 13th, just wondering if I should head back to bed, pull the covers over my head and only emerge when the calendar reads a more favourable date. Then again I'm not superstitious, I don't think. I have avoided walking under ladders but I reckon that's a practical thing, people working above you could drop stuff on … [Read more...]
Dads at Home
It seems we've come a long way in a single generation. Dads now play a much bigger role in their children's day-to-day lives than they did a few decades ago. Yet it is still unusual for men to accept the role of fulltime stay-at-home parent. Research carried out in 2010 by the Australian Institute of Family Studies identified only 7 per cent of … [Read more...]
A Question of Faith
Hippie Child laughed at me on Good Friday. It's not unusual for Hippie Child to laugh at me but this time she included questions that left me tongue-tied. There was no food in the house on Good Friday. Despite my best intentions to get to the supermarket on Tuesday I just hadn't made it. By Thursday I should have left work and gone straight to … [Read more...]
A Shambolic Birthing
If you had had a blissful pregnancy, a trouble-free birth and slipped easily into the world of yummy mummy step away from the screen there’s nothing for you to see here. On the other hand if you found the whole pregnancy/birth/breastfeeding thing a bit darn hard then open the wine we’ve got bonding to do. It’s been 15 years since I first … [Read more...]
Diary of the $120 Food Challenge
Well we've got through the week trying to live on the one grocery shop, how did we do? Probably not a raging success. I was attempting the $120 Food Challenge. Saturday Pantry clean out. Inventory of supplies. Plan the menu. Do the shop. Go over budget by $50 by adding in way too much expensive fruit and other breakfast/lunch treats. Not a … [Read more...]
Take The Kids To Work Day
Once upon a time my children and I lived a completely intertwined life. I worked from home and they saw first hand exactly what "mummy's job" involved. As they grew older and went off to school we still kept close, I was at the school doing maths groups and reading time. Our lives were glued together. Then they got older. I went back to a … [Read more...]
Why are we obsessed with giving children experiences?
Can someone please explain to me when it was mandated that parents provide an unlimited supply of interesting, exciting, educational, new experiences for their children on a daily basis? When I was growing up my Mum's idea of giving me a good time was dropping me at the local pool to swim unsupervised with my friends for a couple of hours with … [Read more...]
The Quest For Me Time
It's now official women get no "me time". They did a poll. Seriously just asking for "hands-up who doesn't have a minute to themselves" at the school gate would have done the trick but nevertheless 1000 women with children aged 16 and under were surveyed by Galaxy Research for Procter & Gamble. The outcome - mums average less than 40 minutes a … [Read more...]
Happy Birthday Hippie Child
Sunday was the 15th anniversary of my becoming a mother. Hippie Child you arrived at 4.26am on a very dark and rainy night. You cried very little and spent a substantial amount of time lying in your father's arms looking up at him with big, wide eyes contemplating the world. It was the first sign of your philosophical, dreamer-like nature. Over … [Read more...]
When Your Kids Have Hobbies You Know Nothing About
It is inevitable your children will one day develop an interest in things outside your scope of experience. Now on one hand you can consider this a learning experience, expand your horizons to include areas you have never considered. On the other hand, it can be annoying. My children play musical instruments and like to sing, I think they are … [Read more...]
