There's no denying it - St Albans is one of those places that people move to to have a family. It means that the local parents Facebook groups and online forums are absolutely full of questions about local schools. Things about how big the intake is, where the catchment area stretches to and where they can find the latest Ofsted report. Information about all these things is out there somewhere on the internet, but the relaunched School Reviewer website brings it all together beautifully. As a parent, your child's education is one of the most important things you can plan for and parents are ... read more
Confessions of a Summer Parent Challenge – the laid back approach
I'm not going to lie - I do kind of dread the six week summer holidays. My kids like the routine of school and pre-school and enjoy spending their days there with their friends. I'm simply not the kind of parent who manages to set up a Pinterest style set of educational activities for my kids every day, and to be honest life's too short for that. Truth is that whilst the kids are off school I still need to do all the various jobs around the house, plus my self-employed work too, so the six weeks ends up with a hell of a lot of juggling in this household! I keep thinking to myself that I ... read more
Surviving a poxy week
I feel like Master C has been dodging chicken pox since before he was born. His sister had them whilst I was pregnant with him and I remember all the mad googling about what the risks of chicken pox were to an unborn baby. It was all fine though as I'd had them myself as a child (still have the scar to remind me) and there was no risk to him at all. But when you're pregnant you do just worry anyway. That was nearly four years ago and ever since then he's managed to be exposed to the pox loads of time and never caught them. Playdates with friends who came down with it the next day. It going ... read more
Featured Post: Making the most of now #PowerOfSoft
I can't pretend it isn't happening any more. Little Miss C's pre-school days are well and truly over. She's been in Reception now for over a week and, although they're not up to doing full days yet, there's no doubt that she's very ready for it. Rather than having a pre-schooler and a baby at home I have a school girl and a nearly pre-schooler. Master C will turn two in a couple of weeks time. How on earth did that happen so fast? In my head I still think of myself as a new parent, yet actually we've had over four years experience at this parenting lark now. With two children I find that ... read more
Mum’s don’t get sick…
That was the really "helpful" message that Mr C gave me as he waved a copy of the above book at me as soon as I mentioned that I thought I might have a sore throat starting at the weekend. The weekend that came just before he headed off overseas for his first trip away with his new job since Master C arrived. Can you guess where this is going yet? Yes, that's right. Cue three days of me feeling rough - to any men reading imagine man flu following 6 weeks of never having more than three hours sleep in one go and you're getting close - and combine with it a 5 week old who still ... read more
Mothercare’s new store
When pregnant with Little Miss C Mothercare was my first port of call to look at baby things. I'm guessing the simple reason why was because I remember going there with my mum as a small child to buy things either for myself or for my younger sister. Nowadays there are also other stores selling things for babies and toddlers, and supermarkets also have a wide range for this market, but Mothercare is still there and they're making some changes to their stores to make sure that they meet the needs of modern parents and their offspring. I was delighted to be invited along to see the new-style ... read more