'You've got your hands full'

Okay so the kids are away...now what?

I HAD big plans.

Perhaps a meal out, a trip to the cinema, or a night enjoying the theatre. Neil joked we should go clubbing. Perhaps we could even do any of these things more than once.

The prospect of more enthusiastic romance reared its head.

Our girls are away with school until the end of the week. They've gone to an outward bound centre with the rest of the year.

Because families come in all shapes and sizes...

I'VE just posted about this at Have a Lovely Time, but it's something that I also wanted to add here in case anyone who just so happens not to have a family that fits into a neat 'two by two' box is reading. I know families with triplets or one child then twins can feel the pinch so I hope this can help!

Plus I absolutely love Quentin Blake so I wanted to use the picture again!

DOES your family fit the shape of a standard family ticket?

Or perhaps it's Mum plus her four kids, Dad plus his only child, and the young cousin who lives with them.

Maybe it's grandparents and their grandchildren, for whom they care or big sister and very little sister, whom she looks after. Mum, Dad, Auntie and her daughter.

Yet what’s the shape of a typical family ticket to a museum or gallery? Two plus two.

Memes are made of this: We sang Shang-A-Lang and we ran with the gang...

CAN you imagine Howard Orange or Keith Duffy grappling with your stopcock?

Me neither. So when I read that Alan Longmuir, one-time Bay City Roller 'got used to the life of a plumber' a long time ago, it's pretty baffling. 

When I was six, I dreamed of the day I'be 16. I imagined I would be living in a flat by then, with a boyfriend called Dave or Steve and he would be a builder.

Bostin ay it? How my daughters speak

MY daughters have a Black Country accent.

Asked what colour Dad's shoes are, they say "brow-un."

Some people, I know will turn their nose up at this potentially disturbing news. The accent I mean, not the brown shoes.

But I'm really very happy with it. I mean, is there any more bostin’ phrase in a hit parade of regional dialects than: "Ow am ya cock?"

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Photo by Andy Woo on Flickr

I do.

Because it happened to me.

In fact I think it was love the first time I heard Neil's voice.

He called the newspaper where I was working to ask me to show him round.

Why? Because on paper I could be described as his new boss.

I'll never forget what he looked like that day he turned up for the tour.

As he stood there in reception in his green suit (yes a green suit, sounds bloody awful now!) I immediately thought phwoarr.

But it was more than that. It really was like a thunderbolt.

Thirteen years on and with two daughters aged 11, I'm still feeling its effects.

How lucky am I?

That's my girl

SINCE becoming immersed in this mum blogging malarkey, I've noticed how lots of lovely, charming, compelling writers weave brilliant tales showing just how adorable, clever and unique their children are.

Meanwhile I'm posting about shouting "cock" in the supermarket.

In an effort to rectify this frankly disappointing show, I thought I'd add a snippet of our family life. On how my daughter has discovered shoes.

A letter best left unsent...how has having children affected your friendships?

I CRIED tonight when I thought of you. I realised you and I were just six years old when we first became friends – the age my girls are now.

The tears didn’t last long. I was sobbing for a lost youth, I’ll not weep any more over you. We always said we were like sisters.

That makes me laugh now, when I see how close my daughters are. I never knew you really, not realising how much you hated kids.

On turning the air blue in the supermarket and other adventures up the aisles

Photo by daveknapik on Flickr

EVER wondered what goes on behind the scenes to bring you your weekend news?

Once this involved me standing by the satsumas in Sainsbury’s yelling "cock".

I'm surprised I didn't get arrested - or escorted off the premises at the very least.

A bit of a cock up on the parenting front

LAST week, I was the featured 'favourite mummy blogger' on MyChild.

One question asked was "What is your most overused parenting expression?"

As I told Emily I'd been interviewed, I quizzed her on what she thought my answer was.

She said: "Is it dickhead?"

Help find Madeleine McCann and other missing children

MUM bloggers are being asked to help publicise this video in the hunt for Madeleine McCann.

As the appeal slips further from the top of news agendas, the hope is that some momentum can be maintained.

The video is from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

If you are interested in learning more about other missing children in the UK, and how you can help, please also check out Missingkids.co.uk.