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. Life refers to the funny stuff. If becoming a parent has taught me anything, it’s enjoying simple pleasures and having a sense of humour about things. How else would we survive the poonamis and the tantrums? If you’ve stumbled into this category I hope these posts make you laugh and brighten your day a little.
We’ve all heard of the bedtime witching hour. When kids turn slightly ferrel and parents are counting down until the moment they can collapse on the sofa and ignore one another in marital bliss. But did you know parenting involves a lot more witching hours than just the bedtime one… The Early Morning Witching Hour […] Read more…
Whether it’s a sickness bug or chicken pox, childhood illness can cause stress, worry, and a lot of googling. Not to mention a severe decline in the number of hours parents sleep, and a sharp incline in the amount of chocolate they eat. Maybe that’s just my house. Batten down the hatches, the kids are […] Read more…
I read the other day that one of the best things you can do when visiting a new Mum, is to offer to take her precious bundle of joy for a walk. Seriously? On what planet is that good advice? ‘I’m going to make a sweeping generalisation here, but most new mums I […] Read more…
Big went on his first residential trip in March at the grand old age of nine. Two nights on the Isle of Wight with the school. I was fine. I was organised. Everything was labelled within an inch of it’s life. The trip started on his Little Brother’s birthday, so my mind was consumed with […] Read more…
When I was growing up we had a climbing frame with slide in our back garden. My best friend lived next door and had a climbing frame too. Most of my childhood was spent on either hers or my climbing frame! I believe I acquired many life skills hanging around on those bars. Now this […] 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…
I am becoming increasingly aware that the days of Big not having a mobile phone are limited. Primary school seems to be flying past, and in the not to distant future we will be looking at secondary schools and he will get his first phone. It’s uncharted territory for me. I managed fine walking to […] Read more…
As I was having the daily argument with Big about putting his coat on this morning, it dawned on me the different stages we go through of wearing a coat during our lifetime. Coats when you are a baby Let’s face it coats are way too big and puffy for babies. They just look like […] Read more…
Can I start by saying I do hate the term ‘influencers’. I guess because we like to think we know our own minds and are not influenced by anyone. But the truth is we are. So on International Women’s day I thought I would share my favourite female influncers who are doing amazing things with […] Read more…
Unless you’ve been under a rock you will have heard about Luther by now. The BBC (also on Netflix) drama starring Idris Elba as Police Detective John Luther in the Serious & Serials division. Basically he catches all the psychos. If you have been under a rock, may I suggest you stay under it because […] Read more…
The husband and I started going out just before my fifteenth birthday. But although he is the love of my life there have been others. The boys I loved before… First Love I was eleven when I first fell in love. He was blonde, Australian, and went by the name of Jason Donovan. His pictures […] Read more…
The presents have been opened, the turkey has been eaten, the crackers have been pulled, and the Baileys has been downed by the mug full. Another Christmas has been and gone. Hopefully you got some nice gifts, you probably added an inch or two to your waist line. But for now the chaos and fun […] Read more…
It’s official, my thirties are very rapidly coming to an end. Next month I will enter my forties. At the beginning of this year the thought of turning forty was not a pleasant one. But now I am seeing the good things about getting older and I am ready to embrace the next phase of […] Read more…
Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house,The children were feral, and had head louse;A child was crying ’cause someone didn’t share,Another was frantic because they’d lost a stuffed bear;Daddy was pleading “Is it time for bed?”,While mummy was muttering ’bout de-licing their heads,The tree looked dishevelled, no thanks to the cat,Who played […] Read more…
I love that saying about cousins, “Cousins are those childhood playmates who grow up to be forever friends” It perfectly sums up my relationship with my cousin Katie. She was bridesmaid at my wedding and now I get to be bridesmaid for her. Her wedding also happens to be in Australia, so I get to […] Read more…
If there is one thing that gives me a deep sinking feeling in my stomach more than trying to plan activities to keep the kids entertained for six weeks, it’s shopping for school shoes. It normally involves a lot of waiting, some tears, and parting with an extortionate amount of cash. Of course too late […] Read more…
When you reach that stage of pregnancy where it’s obvious that you have a bun in the oven and haven’t been eating too many cakes, you suddenly become ‘approachable’ to strangers. People you don’t know, or those you occasionally nod to will suddenly want to talk to you and know everything about your unborn baby. […] Read more…
No one warned me how noisy kids are. It’s like a daily assault on the ear drums that can leave me with a pounding headache. Of course the house feels weird and not right without all the noise now, so I guess I’m getting used to it! This is part two of the A-Z of […] Read more…
I was the girl who played with dolls and still has her favourite doll Amy. I was the girl who made my little brother pretend to be a baby when we played. I wanted to be a nurse, a hairdresser, a teacher and a lawyer, but above all else I wanted to be a Mum. […] Read more…
Next weekend marks a ‘big’ birthday for the husband. It also means a night out without the kids. Gone are the days when I used to stress about leaving them over night. Nowadays I break open the Prosecco and enjoy the silence! The kids would rather be staying with the Grandparents and jumping all over […] Read more…