Life, Love and Dirty Dishes delivers award winning funny tales from the parenting front line delivered with humour and heart. We're all in this together.
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.
A few days after Christmas I was lamenting that we had far too many devices in our home. Little got his first tablet for Christmas, and Big got his first phone. And what with Alexa’s and various other devices it’s fair to say we are getting our moneys worth from our broadband. Yet fast forward […] Read more…
Lockdown is hard for everyone, no matter your circumstances. But lockdown can offer a chance for employers to show that they are human, that they care about their employees. To offer long overdue flexibility. Sadly, too often they don’t. Too many employers assume that home schooling is plonking your kids in front of a computer […] Read more…
We all do things differently as parents, and I am a firm believer that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work. We are all different, and we have different views. It’s what makes the world interesting. But I think there is sometimes a degree of parenting peer pressure involved in our decisions. We need […] Read more…
I think it’s fair to say the Corona virus pandemic has taken us all on an emotional roller coaster. But what I find utterly exhausting is the conflict. It’s everywhere. In the government, in the news, on social media, and in my head. And it’s the Corona conflict that is causing the overwhelm. The knot […] Read more…
I have a lot to be proud of with my little corner of the internet. I’ve built a business from scratch that allows me to work flexibly around the kids. I make good money from it. I’ve won awards. I’ve learnt huge amounts about websites, social media and search engine optimisation to name a few. […] Read more…
I don’t think anything has made me question the English language and weird sayings we have, more than having kids. Especially when it comes to them learning to read and write… “The ‘e’ sound darling” now would that be ‘ea’ ‘ee’ ‘e’ or ‘y’. Not to mention trying to explain why house isn’t spelt ‘howse’ […] Read more…
This post may offend some people. But I have been upset, hurt and offended by people not following the guidelines or interpreting them for their own means, so if this post does offend, so be it. I was really upset at the announcements yesterday. We haven’t been to my parents house for three months now. […] Read more…
Although we are all facing the same restrictions in this lock-down situation. The reality is that actually lock-down looks quite different for all of us. Some of us may be key workers under enormous amounts of strain doing their daily jobs. Some of us are working from home. Some of us are juggling working from […] Read more…
I know I am not alone in saying that my emotions are all over the place during this pandemic. How I am feeling can change every hour, and the range of emotions is exhaustive! From Negative feelings to feelings of contentment and everything in between. But what I do know is that no one has […] Read more…
As things stand Little, being indeed little, is due to go back to school on the first of June (if the government deems it safe to do so). But should I send my child back to school? My answer to that question can change at any point of the day. I feel trapped in a […] Read more…
It all seemed so far away when it first started. I hung onto posts about more people dying from cancer than corona. But things changed. They changed fast. Everyones life has been effected. Everyone. It’s scary and everything is uncertain. The day they announced the schools would close I cried so much. Even now anthing […] Read more…
When it comes to Christmas we all do it a bit differently. Some of us have Yorkshires with our Christmas dinner. There are some that leave Father Christmas a G&T. Some of us watch the Queen’s speech. And some of us write Christmas lists. It wasn’t until I somehow stumbled into an AIBU forum on […] Read more…
“Cherish every moment.” That phrase sets unrealistic expectations and can isolate anyone who is having a tough parenting day. Which we all do. There are many beautiful moments to cherish. First steps, giggles, hand written notes telling you you are the best Mummy. Sunny days with the paddling pool, Christmas magic. Cuddles and conversations. But […] Read more…
I rarely believe in a one size fits all approach to parenting. Whether you breast fed, co-slept, control cried, or did baby led weaning. We all have a right to bring up our children how we choose and to respect one another’s choices. Except when it comes to vaccinating our children. I have no time […] Read more…
For all of my adult life I have struggled with zero body positivity. Even when I lost a lot of weight and was a size 12/14, I still struggled. And it’s a struggle that impacts my life on a daily basis. Having low self esteem holds me back, stops me from putting myself out there, […] Read more…
I caught a bit of a debate on TV the other day about parenting classes. A viewer had tweeted the comment, “If you need to go to parenting classes, you shouldn’t be a parent.” It’s that exact attitude and stigma, why I haven’t told very many people that recently I did a parenting class. Like […] Read more…
11 sustainable steps to reduce, reuse and recycle at home. As I’ve gotten older I seem to be afraid of more. Before kids, horror was my movie genre of choice. Now I can’t watch them. Before kids, roller coasters were my drug of choice. I loved them. The more thrilling the better. Now I stand […] Read more…
My social media drug of choice is facebook. I’ve always felt at home there. Felt that I can be myself, and my voice is heard. Twitter has never done it for me. Too fast, too limiting, too stressful. I can’t take a leisurely stroll through twitter. And why say something in 280 characters when you […] Read more…
Yes, you heard me. I’m sure it’s some kind of parenting cardinal sin for which I am being punished for with two kids that get up at the crack of dawn every dam day. But it’s true, for my sins, I hate the park. And I know it’s good for them. Fresh air. Climbing. Running […] Read more…
We’ve all had them. Days when parenting is really really tough. Days when you find yourself sobbing on the kitchen floor because it’s all too hard. When you are having one of those days it’s easy to feel totally alone. Because the bad days are not something we talk about often. But the truth is […] Read more…