The Only Girl in the House

StartRite Rhino School Shoes Review

StartRite Rhino School Shoes Review

It would appear there’s a shoe-destruction elf at the boys school. Admittedly I’m yet to receive the email informing me of such, which I imagine would be in a similar manner to the “there’s nits in your kids class – watchout” text that I receive twice a month, but I have the evidence to show he exists… Whilst they sit at their desks beautifully, listening attentively to their teachers every word simultaneously writing poetry whilst unicorns graze in the playground, the mischievous little imp does everything in his power to destroy a perfectly good pair of boy’s school shoes which cost moi anything between £30-£60, depending on the desperation level I’d reached at not being able to find decent school shoes in the boys’ sizes at a moments notice. This is an easier pill to swallow than that of “my children just decimate footwear with little regard for my bank balance.”

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Brexit: The Kids’ Questions

Brexit: The Kids’ Questions

I usually shy away from blogging about the latest trending subject matter – fodder to soon become tomorrow’s chip paper’s just not my bag; neither, until the last few days was politics. But after Friday’s revelation that our fine and glorious country will be leaving the EU, many seem quite up in arms, upset, offended and brutally disappointed with the outcome. Panic not, I’m not about to wade into a political rant. This is not to berate or applaud either side of the argument, yes, we’ve all seen the enviable diplomacy of the Facebook friend that says “we all need to move forward together despite the decision”. This is simply to pose the questions asked by the generation this outcome will potentially affect the most – our children. On being informed of the Brexit on Friday morning, something which I’ve done my best to inform my otherwise pretty clueless sons about, these were the responses given from the 8 and 9 year old.

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Elderflower Fields Family Festival

Elderflower Fields Family Festival

When I received an email asking if we wanted to head to Elderflower Fields Festival in the days leading up to our first ever family holiday (which you can read about HERE), I was dubious and even typed out the declining email due to the mammoth packing task that lay ahead. But, of course, not before clicking the link to see what it was all about. About 30 seconds into my browsing experience, I retyped my email and it was a resounding YES! This was a family festival, taking place in the heart of the Sussex country side with a plethora of boy-friendly madness – although we couldn’t go for the whole weekend, we could certainly put the packing, washing and ironing to one side for a day trip of fun.

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Pre-Kidders on Planes

Pre-Kidders on Planes

There’s an unspoken understanding between parents on planes: Do whatever the hell it takes to get through. Be it seat swapping, sweet giving, playing peekaboo over a seat, snorting the innards of a sherbet lemon in a vague hope of some legal high or simply accepting that normal rules will not apply for the duration of the flight. This seems to be if your children are aged 1, 10 or 33. If you’ve ever been a parent on an aircraft, you just get it. Then there’s those pesky people that fill up the family-void spaces on a plane: The pre-kidders or the people that made the life-choice to never have the little darlings (is it too late to make this choice?!).

Here’s just some of the questions and comments I would like to put to the pre-kidders who occupied 34A and 34B on our recent travels…

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First Family Holiday with 5 Kids

First Family Holiday with 5 Kids

It was this time last year when I cautiously made my way over to the Thomson Holiday’s stand (actually a replica airplane) at the spectacular Blogtacular conference. Like many of the bloggers in attendance I fancied a go at pitching my holiday idea to the company behind sending so many British families on their hols every year. I challenged Thomson Holidays to keep our 5 boys so entertained for a week in the sun that they wouldn’t be tempted by their gadgets – and they accepted!

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