Yesterday the Husband and I seized the moment and had sex in the kitchen. This is not the first time it has happened there; it’s not that there’s anything particularly erotic about our kitchen, simply that we tend to be in there at the same time, which is a rarity nowadays. Half-way through (not that […]
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Charades on the front lawn
The magnificent lilac at the front of our house was cultivated by former occupants and was much loved by them and their neighbours. As we conveyed endless boxes through the front door on moving day, no fewer than five local residents dropped by with welcome cards and pruning tips. Clearly we had inherited a shrub […]
Toilet training on the move
Life with three children in nappies is undoubtedly hard work, however I can’t help but conclude it is far simpler than life with two children in nappies… and one in big boy pants. I have been dreading toilet training almost since the Toddler was born, and have been ignoring the signs of readiness for several […]
Family ties
I follow my mother’s car back home from the hospital; his things in a brown paper bag on the passenger seat next to me. I need to be there for her when she first opens the door, and we walk in together, silently acknowledging the absence of a man whose presence defined us all. The […]
Secrets of an 18th Century cupboard
Children are essentially engineers, aren’t they? They just love taking things apart and – just occasionally – putting them back together. Dropping shapes into shape-sorters, posting letters through boxes, under the fridge or down the back of the radiator; nothing gives them greater pleasure than slotting pieces into holes. My toddler is obsessed with keys, […]
A narrow escape from poo-related career downfall
With the rose-tinted memory of maternity leave still fresh in my mind, and a boss whose idea of flexible working is asking his secretary to bend over to pick up a file, I am ever conscious of making a good impression in my new job. Rightly or wrongly I don’t want to be labelled as […]