What's life without love and a few dirty dishes?
Life, Love and Dirty Dishes is mainly about parenting. Living life with small people and the situations we find ourselves in. Dirty Dishes refers to the not so pleasant but unavoidable things we have to deal with. It’s my space where I sometimes talk about hot issues and first world problems. We all need to have a rant every now and then don’t we.
I try very hard to understand that we all have different parenting techniques. There isn’t a one size fits all approach, for either parents or the children they are parenting. I hate the mum wars and the debates about breast verses bottle, stay at home verses working, and so on. We are all doing the […] Read more…
I was shocked to discover the other day just how many of my friends have been birth shamed. To be honest I didn’t really know it was a thing. But snide little comments about epidurals, C-sections and inductions. Society pushes natural birth on us so much that women feel like they have somehow failed if […] Read more…
My youngest child had a speech delay. He wasn’t really saying anything at the time of his two year check, and his tantrums born from his inability to communicate were hardcore. They brought me to my knees. and often found me googling how to help a child with a speech delay. Now at 4 years […] Read more…
You hear the word natural a lot as soon as you become pregnant. And that word ‘natural’ hangs around for the next year or so. Did you conceive naturally? Was it a natural birth? Breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world. You’ve taken to it like a natural. But when you really think about it having a […] Read more…
A few months ago I got involved in the #aminumber5 campaign through Wear White Again, and I wrote a post about period problems to highlight the 1 in 5 women who suffer from very heavy periods. I was one of those women. I have suffered from incredibly heavy periods since my periods began when I […] Read more…
I’ve often felt like a bit of a misfit or an outsider when it comes to any trends and pop culture. Because most of the time I just don’t get it, or like it! I’ve accepted the fact that in the final year of my thirties I never know who any new song I like […] Read more…
It’s that time of year when we make New Years Resolutions, or promise to be better, healthier versions of ourselves. But in a world of social media I think maybe it’s time to turn those resolutions to our online behaviour. If we all obeyed these few simple facebook rules, then i’m sure we can get […] Read more…
I love Christmas. It’s my favourite time of year. I love the pretty twinkly lights. I love that people are generally just a bit nicer to each other. I get that warm fuzzy glow inside and I get just as excited as when I was 5 years old. However as I far too rapidly approach […] Read more…
My facebook news feed seems to be flooded with ‘news’ stories about parents in uproar because their kids have been sent home from school because of their haircut, or the length of their skirt has breached the school uniform policy. I read these posts often with mouth gaping at the parent’s reaction and the subsequent […] Read more…
I have a big problem with people that blame things on ‘bad luck.’ These same people often attribute other people with being lucky. And it’s something I actually find quite offensive, because it implies that my opportunities had nothing to do with me, and that it was pretty much handed to me on a plate. […] Read more…
I got my first period when I was 11 years old and have been regular as clockwork ever since. Having a best friend who was a year older than me meant I couldn’t wait to start. It was like an exclusive club that I wanted to be a member of so bad. Of course as […] Read more…
I have two children and I am done making babies. I no this with no shadow of a doubt. Give me a newborn and I will coo and cluck and savour those cuddles, but I won’t hand them back and feel a hole that another baby needs to fill. My two kids are enough for […] Read more…
I need to start by saying that I believe men and women are equals. I think there is still a lot of sexism in the world and that makes me sad, and mad. Kids should be allowed to play with whatever toys they want. A toy is a toy, irrespective of gender. Slogans printed […] Read more…
Our relationship has reached it’s end. My feelings aren’t the same anymore. I want to tell you that it’s not you, it’s me, but I think deep down Alexa, we both know we’ve had our parts to play. In the beginning I was cold. It took me a long time to let my guard down […] Read more…
I genuinely don’t have an answer for this question. But it is a debate I see on my news feeds time and time again. With my eldest rapidly approaching the grand old age of 8, it’s something that is on my mind a lot. So when is the right age for children to go it […] Read more…
Inspired by Sparkles and Stretchmarks and Our Rach Blogs, I feel the need for a good rant about the things that irk me. The things that get my goat. The things that really wind me up. I know, first world problems, and let’s face it with Brexit and Trump, there’s enough of those at the […] Read more…
Do you remember when you were pregnant and your hair looked amazing? Mine did. The rest of me was a hot sweaty mess with cankles, but my hair? Beautiful. Thick and glossy. I could have starred in a shampoo advertisement and swished my hair around better than Davina and Cheryl put together. Then I had my […] Read more…
I try not to give advice or preach on my blog. I’m not an expert at parenting. I’m winging it like the majority of us. I try to provide light humour, something to smile at if it’s been one of those days, so you know you are not the only one. Occasionally I can get […] Read more…
I found myself in a random situation the other day. A situation that got me thinking about etiquette. I had just done the school run and had about 20 minutes to kill before a dentist appointment. I decided to have a quick mooch around our local supermarket as I was child free and we […] Read more…
If you know anyone tying the knot this summer, then chances are in the next few weeks an envelope is going to land on your doorstep. Now that envelope might be somewhat chunky as it probably contains the actual invite, a reply card, details of a gift registry, list of accommodation, directions. Basically the bride […] Read more…