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.
I’m an organised person. But there’s something about the kids going back to school after the Summer holidays that always puts me in a spin. Even when I start preparing by buying the t-shirts in July, at the end of August I start having the same panicked thoughts… Back to school thoughts… Where did I […] Read more…
My son’s Primary school is an old Victorian building, very similar to the primary school I went to. My eldest came home the other day with a very detailed story about the toilets and how they were haunted. It made me smile because the toilets at my old school were haunted too! But whilst some […] Read more…
We survived the first year at school! Summer Holidays are around the corner and it’s been 9 months since I said my first goodbye to my son with a lump in my throat at the classroom door. The little boy who could barely write his own name now writes me notes and knows what a dodecahedron is. (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…
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…
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…
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…
I am the frazzled mum in the school playground. The one who looks stressed, a bit sweaty, and pretty close to loosing her shit. Why? Because I have a toddler on the school run. Let’s face it, getting out of the house with the kids in tow, on time, and ready to go, is no […] Read more…
At the end of this week the big one turns seven. All the standard cliches apply, time flies etc. Mainly I’m thinking WTF! How do I have a seven year old? Living with a six year old has been interesting. There’s been a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but not much in […] Read more…
It was one of those perfect parenting scenes. Early Friday evening. After a week of barely seeing each other for longer than a hello or goodbye, the husband and I had a romantic evening planned. Dinner and Netflix and chill. And by Netflix and chill I mean the parenting version of a movie and fall […] Read more…
I’m in panic mode. 6 long weeks with both my boys at home as the summer holidays begin this week. I need to get my arse in gear and plan some fun activities to keep the smalls entertained. If my facebook news feed or Pinterest is anything to go by they need to be educational, […] Read more…
The Big Questions I thought I would be a no nonsense mum when it came to the ‘awkward’ or ’embarrassing’ things that my children would ask. The big questions. I admire those mums who use the correct words for body parts, I really do. But I can’t say penis without giggling. I completely […] Read more…
I do enjoy a nice mooch around the shops. But sadly I have learnt from experience that small children and ‘mooching’ do not mix. In fact Mooching and small children have much the same relationship as small children and white carpet. The two should never meet. So here’s my top 5 reasons why you should shop […] Read more…
The mention of World Book Day makes me break out into a cold sweat. I love getting lost in a good book. I love sharing books from my childhood with my children, and discovering new ones. I love the idea behind World Book Day. I do not love trying to turn a character from a […] Read more…
The big one has just celebrated his sixth birthday and in honour of that here are some lessons in how to make friends and influence people from the world of a 6 year old boy. How to Make Friends 1 Lower your expectations Not of the people you are friends with, but […] Read more…
It’s 1999 I’m driving around in my Austin Metro with the window down (because it was broken) and singing my heart out to Why does it always rain on me? by Travis. I didn’t actually care if it was raining or not. Sleek hair was not in fashion and no one really knew what GHD’s were. […] Read more…
After the success of the very important, influential, ground-breaking, and not at all made up study into how many hands does it take to change a nappy, we are now analysing the daily task of the school run. Exactly how many eyes a parent is required to have for this task of getting the children […] Read more…
Remember when you wanted to leave the house and you just grabbed your bag, picked up your keys and left? Nowadays I dance to a very different tune. The Leaving The House Dance – Part Two – The Summer Samba Start internal debate with myself as to whether the boys need hoodies this morning. […] Read more…
The general election looms ever closer and the parties have all had their say. Although the majority of their say always seems to involve telling us who not to vote for, rather than why we should vote for them. I’m looking to vote for the party whose policies would most benefit me. Which got me […] Read more…