Parenting
What my daughter teaches me about being a woman

Today is Mother’s Day and last week it was International Women’s Day. Days when we celebrate the strong women in our lives. Since I became a mother to a daughter I have felt my parental responsibilities more acutely. Not just to her but also her brothers. They will learn from her and me about how … [Read more…]
Spaghetti head

I’m a mess. My brain is like a bowl of spaghetti. A big jumbled tangle of thoughts and feelings all leading nowhere. I would love to separate them all out and straighten them one by one. Observe them and understand them. Then chose to keep or discard them. This is what I thought Mindfulness would … [Read more…]
The badly timed poo

Take cover. We’ve started potty training number 3! Wonderfully, just as she embarks on her terrible twos with great enthusiasm. Before I became a parent I knew there was going to be poo but no one prepares you for the amount or the length of time the poo dealings continue. You would think that once … [Read more…]
Recovery starts in the brain and the body

Have you ever felt like you have fallen to the bottom of your 'To Do List'? Or even fallen off it? I recently realised that, despite what I thought, I was not giving me the time I really deserved. The physical injuries I have sustained over the last few months have been testimony to this … [Read more…]
An 11th Junior-Parkrun: Well done Middle Monkey

One of my goals this year, before injury, was to get my older monkeys running. They are naturally outdoorsy and always full of energy that needs burning off for a happier and more peaceful life. The plan was Junior-Parkrun. Every Sunday, 9am an organised 2k run in a park a short drive from our house. … [Read more…]
Sometimes it is ok to shout STOP The Monkey Train!!!

Since I returned to work after my third and final maternity leave I have felt like life has just sped up. Like I’m living the same day over and over at the same time as being bombarded with never ending, mundane and taxing demands, intermittently interrupted by moments of heart meltingly wonderful monkey moments and … [Read more…]
Team Mummy Duathlon

One of the things I never truly appreciated before I became a parent was the need to find solidarity with other parents. From those first tentative, sleep deprived steps into the baby groups, to the first time you hold a little hand into the school yard. The importance of making new connections with those around … [Read more…]