Lego is brilliant stuff, isn’t it? I went to a learning conference this week and there was a Lego stand and they had a huge table-full of Lego for delegates to build with – the idea was to build bits of the school of the future. Brilliant fun. I could …
If you need to move furniture around, then you should wait until all possible children are home and in the room. In fact, it would probably be advisable to arrange a couple of playdates, so that you really have maximum numbers of helpers. This works particularly well when moving the …
I come from a family who pretty much always makes their Christmas cards. Now and then we’d have to cheat (yes, that’s what it feels like) and buy some, because we were too late or someone was in hospital or something like that, but generally we would make them. When …
Chris pointed out to me recently that I was sometimes having unrealistic expectations of Eleanor. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before how I’ve forgotten a lot of what it was like to have a two-year-old and, even when I remember how Rosemary used to behave, that doesn’t really guarantee that Eleanor …
We’re a bit shell-shocked here at the moment. Eleanor has been, generally, a pretty happy, polite and remarkably compliant child. We’ve had problems, of course – sleep problems, tantrums and breastfeeding issues – but nothing major or unusual. Of course, there’s nothing particularly unusual happening now, but it’s still come …
I had a beautiful afternoon with Eleanor today. It took me back to Tuesdays with Rosemary when she was at nursery school; when life wasn’t such a rush and a juggle. Eleanor started nursery school a couple of weeks ago, and we had been trying out my mum picking her …
One of the most commonest phrases you’ll hear me and Chris uttering to Rosemary (not quite as common as ‘Just sit still for a few minutes!’) is ‘Remember you’re a role model to Eleanor.’ Eleanor copies pretty much everything Rosemary does, whether it’s good or bad, whether it’s funny or …
Eleanor is starting nursery school tomorrow. She’s starting a couple of months earlier than Rosemary did, because the nursery school has changed the age when they start taking children (from 2 years 3 months, to 2 years). She is very excited about it and is talking about doing ‘painting and …
We had been considering going away for half-term. Actually, we went through a number of possibilities, from me and Rosemary going off to Barcelona or Valencia for a few days, to us all going to Menorca. In the end, though, we decided that a holiday at home, but a proper …
I’ve been thinking about stopping breastfeeding again recently, and a post from another extended breastfeeder has prompted me to consider it a bit more. I’m a very strong believer in stopping breastfeeding when both (or either) the mother and the baby are ready, rather than following a guideline put down …
