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.
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…
Let’s be honest, the term ‘influencer’ is a bit cringey. I’d go so far as to say it’s a wanky term. I have enough trouble saying that I am a blogger. Preferring to dance around the ‘what do you do for a living’ question using words like ‘website’ and ‘writing’. I am small fry in […] 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…
I’m guessing by now everyone has seen the Gillette advertisement about toxic masculinity. I get why some people are uncomfortable about a brand profiting from the #metoo movement. But for me, the more this is talked about the better. If you are one of the men that finds this advertisement offensive, I do have to […] Read more…
It’s a very scary time for young men. President Trump 2018 Really President Trump. Really? That statement makes me angry. Really angry. Because all my life it’s been a dangerous time to be a young woman. But it is only with the emergence of the #metoo campaign that […] Read more…
There are things I find in life incomprehensible. Serious things like child abuse, and rape. Not so serious things like the Star Wars phenomenon and the fact that at some point This Is us is going to have to end. But I genuinely cannot get my head around the fact that a mentally unstable person […] Read more…
I love the internet. I love the convenience it brings to my life. The ease with which I can keep in contact with family and friends. Not to mention the fact that I never have to leave my house to do the ‘big food shop’. It’s so easy to share things. But I can’t help […] Read more…
Antibiotics have been oversubscribed for years and we are facing a situation where people could become immune to their effects. Therefore something had to change. And I have noticed a change. At my doctors surgery it is incredibly rare to be prescribed antibiotics. Everything is ‘viral’. Whilst I don’t disagree that there needs to be […] Read more…
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…