It’s just about now that I start to feel the festive anxiety rise. I’ve never been particularly organised with gift purchasing and sending – I’m always the one in the Post Office queue sending things off to relatives far and wide on the 22nd December. And don’t get me started on the mess in the … Read More
Even the most exotic dish can become mundane if repeated every other Tuesday ad infinitum. But it’s easily done: kids have a reputation for enjoying the same old familiar favourites. Experience tells you that they’ll kick up a stink if you attempt something new, so it’s hardly surprising that you’ve fallen deep into a rut … Read More
Combatting fussy eating with harmonious routines at the dinner table Would you rather sweat cheese or vomit marbles? What’s your favourite dinosaur? Beach or forest? Wellies or Flip flops? What would you change about your school if you were in charge for the day? How do bananas grow? *** Mealtimes can often be the … Read More
Every Monday night as we go to sleep, my husband leans over, gives me a kiss and whispers “Night. Love you. Bins in the morning”. Oh, be still my beating heart, you’re killing me with the romance. Luckily I get it, the bins are a big deal around here, I’m delighted it wasn’t me who … Read More
SUMMER BLOG SERIES – 3 Routines Summer holidays send everything into the breeze. All the happy, predictable old routines are shot to pieces and every. single. decision. becomes a trial and a challenge. I do love the freedom and fun times the summer holidays can afford me within the family set-up, but when the … Read More
Summer Holidays Blog Series – 2 – Camping CAMPING HACKS WITH GUEST BLOGGER SAM SWANN and a exclusive peek at two recipes from The MasterPlan! Camping is a bit marmite, isn’t it? I’m in the ‘love’ camp – pun intended – but even if you’re not a happy camper, there are still loads of … Read More
Let’s talk about the sexy stuff. I’m not kidding. I want to share what I think is sexy. I’m only talking about me, right… not passing judgement on anyone else. Just sharing how I feel about sexy times and how my definition of ‘sexy’ has changed as I’ve morphed into some semblance of a grown … Read More
“LIMES!” she squealed as she thumbed lemon wedges over the top of our dinner. We hadn’t expected that as we walked back in the room last Friday. It was as if she’d done a Little Britain-style leap up onto the table! And to be honest, it was the perfect start to the meal – once … Read More
My three children are 6, 4 & 3 and I can assure you that there is no shortage of drama at the dinner table, but with the right approach, we’ve found that it can be very short-lived. I have written and continue to write posts about happy vibes at tea time, but the biggest piece … Read More
We have a magic bag of things we take out to restaurants. I don’t want to sound like a show off, but we have four sets of grandparents (…divorce…not what I’m showing off about), five sets of siblings, and our combined friendship groups all close enough to see each other over food and drink, so … Read More
“Nooooooooooo!” he screamed. “I don’t like that!” This is the standard reaction from our middle one. He’s rarely at the table at the start of a meal. He’s not one for conforming. But this meal was special. We had two cousins staying with us and I’d prepared a two-part curry with naan and poppadoms in … Read More
How do you manage your working hours? How does your partner manage it? How do you make family & work work? Man, it’s been so windy this week. The perfect weather for flying a kite. Cue a Mary Poppins singalong… Hilariously, kite flying was not our friend, despite gale force winds! We tried on Sunday. … Read More