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.
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…
In any doctors waiting room you are guaranteed to see three things; patients, patience, and one of those wooden toys with the blocks on twirly metal things. It’s boring waiting as a fully fledged grown up. But as a kid? Doctors waiting rooms are a place where parenting skills are put to the max […] Read more…
The job of raising children is not a quiet one. My kids only seem to have one volume and that’s full blast. It’s something you get used to, the constant sounds, the parenting noises. In fact if you find yourself home alone, as much as the peace and quiet is welcome, it feels odd. Home […] Read more…
For some reason in my slightly warped brain, Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus has always reminded me of childbirth. Maybe it’s the site of her writing around on that concrete ball. It reminds me of trying to bounce the baby out on a birthing ball. It’s been a while since I wrote a parody, so […] Read more…
Summer is coming. It feels like a long time coming, but it is coming. Sunny days in the garden seem like a distant memory right now, but before you know it you will be pinning down your offspring in a bid to slather them in sun-cream and dedicating an entire drawer of the freezer to […] Read more…
Being a parent often brings out the nurturing side of people. It also brings out some pretty wild animal instincts. Have you ever wondered which animal characteristics you possess most as a parent? Lets take a closer look… The Owl The owl is notorious for being wise, as are you in the eyes of your offspring […] Read more…
If there’s one piece of post childbirth advice that winds me up, it’s “The housework can wait”. It remains a constant piece of advice given at any stage of your child’s life and I for one am calling bullshit on this particular wisdom. Why? Because quite simply it’s not true. Of course prioritise those baby […] Read more…
Romantic weekends away are a thing of the past. A distant memory from long ago in a life before children. The husband is more likely to bring home a bottle of nit shampoo than he is a bottle of bubbly. But romance is not dead. It’s just different. The best romantic gestures that […] Read more…
I’ve paid my dues. I’ve squeezed and pulsed and looked slightly constipated all in an effort to ensure I regained control of my bladder post squeezing babies out of my vajayjay. Pre children I used to pride myself on being able to consume alcoholic drinks, shake my groove thing, and hail a cab at the […] Read more…
My kids will never know of a life before mobile phones. They will never even know of a time before smart phones. I got my first mobile phone when I was 18 and off to University. Three Years later with my first pay check I got my hands on the Nokia 6410. The must […] 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…
Or as she rightly prefers to be called, Jocelyn Macnab I know from the many google searches that refer people to my blog that the children’s TV program Topsy & Tim raises a lot of questions. Questions from the grown up’s, not the kids. So I was really pleased when I had the opportunity to […] 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…
I have given birth to a tiny human. Twice. And whilst my birth stories are different, it is more than fair to say that my experience of giving birth was like nothing that I had ever seen in the movies. Neither was pregnancy. Being Comfortable When 9 months Pregnant. Movies A pregnant woman is […] Read more…
It’s hard work being a kid. Having people there to take care of your every desire. Serve you food for you to turn your nose up at. Take you fun places for you to have meltdowns. Give you money to buy yourself sweets and toys. Apart from the obvious not having to go to work […] Read more…
You know you get those smug parents, the ones that say “Oh Rupert was reading Shakespeare at age six”. Their smugness will always be short lived. Because as much as kids learning to read is wonderful, it also signifies the end of conversations with spelt out code words between you and your husband. Life changes […] Read more…
Whomever coined the phrase “Sleeping Like a Baby” has clearly never spent a night in close proximity to a baby. Lack of sleep is the number one reason why parents are exhausted. It’s what everyone somewhat joyfully warns you about when you announce your pregnancy. But there are lots of other reasons parents are exhausted. […] Read more…
So although you and I have long known that baby brain is a real condition causing embarrassment and shame to Mum’s everywhere, now top London scientists have claimed the condition to be real. I would like to suggest to the top London Scientist people that further research needs to be conducted into the condition known […] Read more…