Month: August 2014

Expressions 20: My brave girl

This is GG, aged 9 and 3 quarters. On Tuesday she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. This is her 24 hours later, in hospital, having already learned to prick her own fingers for blood sugar testing, and inject herself with insulin. I am proud, and humbled by her bravery. She is the most amazing person I know. This is her 48 hours after diagnosis. She will not let this change her: I will not be sharing posts this week; we have just so much to get to grips with right now, and I need to focus on my family …

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Wot so Funee? A new baby sister

Fairy dress up

  Ah, that got you, didn’t it? I can quite categorically reassure you that there is no sister on the cards, baby or otherwise, but a conversation with my daughter over the summer made me grin. We met some children to play with while we were on holiday in France. Each of the chosen friends had brothers and sisters, with varying degrees of likeability, according to age and interestws. We got to talking about whether GG and the Bug are enough for each other, or if things would be better with an extra sibling, of either variety. GG was very …

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Back to school shopping list

Back to school

6 weeks of freedom! Exactly one month ago, I ditched my school uniform and we headed out for the traditional McDonald’s end of year tea. I breathed the 9 year old sigh of freedom as I sat back with my McFlurry and contemplated the long lazy summer ahead. Then I froze. Outside, just over the road, was a sign in the stationer’s window: Back to school.. WHY!!!? Why do they torment children with the back to school message when they’ve only just broken free? I’ll tell you why. Because there’s so much to organise, and parents are so harrassed while …

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Expressions #19

I knew if I took a break from Expressions for a couple of weeks I’d come back with something worth posting. Of course, it’s not difficult to take beautiful photos when you’re sitting around a pretty French harbour drinking the first Orangina of a family holiday. More on that another day, but this is my favourite shot of the holiday. I rarely get a totally natural shot of the Bug, given as he is to wild grins or teenaged glares when the camera appears. But this is him happy. We left that hat in this café, and he’s been sad …

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Tell me about your Mum: Tesco Mum of the Year Awards 2015

Last Autumn I went to a party. Not just any old party, this was one of those surreal, dreamlike events where I ate beef two tables away from Boyzone, tried not to gaze at Jason Merrells over my pâté, and gossiped with Eileen from Coronation Street about what everyone else was wearing. This was the huge perk of being an ambassador for the Tesco Mum of the Year Awards.  In actual fact though, it was difficult to stay starstruck for very long. Every single person in that room – famous or not – was in tears at some point, as we …

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Because of Asthma

I’m finding it hard to breathe. My heart is racing, and there’s a fluttery feeling in my stomach. My skin prickles, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to get through this. It’s panic, no other word for it. And the reason? I just received an email containing this sentence: Thank you for registering to run in the 2014 Royal Parks Half Marathon for Asthma UK. We will be in touch over the next week to welcome you onto the team. My daughter has asthma. She’s had it from birth, in a viral form, but this summer saw her …

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Ideas for a day out in London with kids: Freaky Rivet

Ideas for a day out in London with kids

I’ve seen a number of posts recently from parents worrying that their children are getting too much screen time during the long school holiday. Personally I’m comfortable with an hour or so of TV or gaming – kids need to switch off and mine are definitely happier for a bit of down time. But too much will turn them feral, and so once my official work hour is over, I’m all about getting them active, or using their imaginations, in a fun way. Getting kids active in the holidays. This year we’re working with an organisation called Freaky Rivet, to …

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A family day out at Kew Gardens

Climbing trees is obligatory at Kew Gardens

Our friends I once had a conversation about family with my mother-in-law. She is a lady who sets great importance in family. To her, family takes precedence over everything. I get it – my own mum (and goodness gracious my Dad!) would have been the same, if I’d let them get a word in edgeways. And yet, I argued with her; I think that as generations have moved forward, as children have flown the nest further afield than they once would, there is a new kind of reliance on friends. Where once, mine and my husband’s mothers would have almost …

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Expressions #18: panic

NB: Expresssions will be taking a break for the next two weeks. I’m finding it hard to keep up with posts as well as spending decent time with the children during the school holiday, so I’m taking some time out. If you’d like to continue with weekly #expressions do please tag me on twitter and I’ll happily read and share. Expressions will be back on 23 August. For now, go ahead and add your links to this week’s post. We took advantage of the good weather to celebrate the Bug’s birthday with a BBQ, inviting his best friend to come …

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