Mummy at the School Gate

Unsurprisingly, the post about my au-pair created the most outrage amongst my lovely fellow bloggers.  It was a tad unexpected though, because I found the incident quite funny (although a little disturbing, if I'm honest.). Ben has been hiding in his room...in fear of his manhood I guess. BH has made himself available for all viewings should they happen suddenly. Miriam, well, she's just Miriam. Water off a ducks back!  I finally plucked up the courage to tackle it head on and came away feeling a bit of a prude!  I mean, after seeing Mocha Beanie Mummies silent Sunday post (the wardrobe decoration)..I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on the poor girl. Miriam was surprised that she offended anyone..but was the garden off limits for sunbathing in a bikini? I said no, of course not as long as she shaves her legs...well, she said where's the difference? Miriam has been with us for quite sometime.  The boys like her, Mimi likes her, BH is terrified of her (which is how

Following in the vein of the bloggers I so admire ( thanks to @notesfromhome), I thought I'd add mine into the mix. I'm probably repeating some very wise words (actually, I'm probably not!), and these are some of the things that my kids will probably think are gross now, but when they reach my age will realise that I'm a pretty cool mum. They may not see it, as they have no one else to compare me with just yet! 1. I once gave up my job because it interfered with my social life! OK, so it probably wasn't a good move, but if I hadn't left, I think they may have sacked me so I took a leap of faith and it threw up various opportunities which would never have happened had I not thrown in the towel. My parents never made me do anything I didn't want to do, and told me I could be whoever I wanted to be...and this is what I want for you. Do something you love...it makes life so much easier! 2. I had a ball as a twenteen. I did because I had no ties. I tra

Its been three weeks since Peewee (aptly named by Mimi), joined our household, and he's settled in as though he's always been here. Chubba has taken him under his paw, and together they make forays into the garden, sniffing, doing their business and "reading the papers" as my ma says. They make a handsome couple and Peewee is never far from Chubba's watchful eye. Persuading BH to get Peewee, was easy. "Chubba will teach him the rules" was one persuasion. "It will teach the kids a sense of responsibility" was another. Walking him won't be a problem as I always do it anyway, and in my own weird way I plan to train him with love, after all I've potty trained 3 kids and never lost my temper. I know, I know, like kids dogs and puppies need to know the boundaries, they need to know how far they can push and they need to know who's boss...and it isn't me! Peewee has me feeding him by hand. He just won't chow on down like m

Yesterday morning I decided that the chaos at home deserved more attention than my attire. The school bags had been lost and the packed lunches hastily cobbled together. The shopping hadn't been done this week because the new puppy couldn't be left on his own...and anyway I didn't want him destroying the relatively new kitchen!! As usual, Miriam (au-pair) was lazing in her pit, while Armageddon was close to destroying her slumber. She was planning on visiting 82 year old Mrs B down the road to do some cleaning and needed to get some well needed rest before the onslaught of cups of teas and more rest. Now I've seen Mrs B's house, and I know for a fact that no cleaning gets done. I've told her she's taking money under false pretences and I've told Mrs B to make her earn her money, but it all falls on deaf ears. Mrs B thinks Miriam is a sweet girl (she is), and she needs a rest from us! Miriam thinks Mrs B is a sweet old lady who only really needs a

Most women make and keep their friends from an early age, or they meet them when they first start work. I made my friends when my children began school and despite the varying age gaps it works well for us. That’s not to say that I don’t keep in touch with my “old” friends, but at the moment I have more in common with this particular group of women. Our ages range from 35 through to 55, but that doesn ’t seem to matter now that we have got to know each other better. It all began with the School Quiz night. I remember BH , (Better half), voicing his opinion that he wasn ’t particularly interested in meeting new people as he had enough friends to keep up with and this group would only add to the list…and he didn ’t like the look of “those women”…they scared him ! Did he have to go? I said that I had no intention in going by myself, and anyway we’d be back by 10pm, plus he didn ’t have to take me out that week as this counted towards our “social life”. I must admit, that I was fair