What’s it like to be a Single Mother by Choice?

The simple answer is, not much different to being any other mother. We all spam our Facebook feed with pictures of adorable newborns, food-covered weaning babies and exuberant toddlers.  We all tell tales of sleepless nights and bodies that are never the same again.  We all scan the parks and baby groups for the sight…

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To Date or Not to Date?

That is the question. It’s a question that I have so far been answering with a resounding “no.”  The thought of going online and putting myself forward to be scrutinised by strangers, and not making the grade.  The thought of having to sit opposite someone and make small talk, thinking all the while about how…

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Piglet’s Birthday Party: A Review

OK, so I am not actually reviewing Piglet’s birthday, but rest assured that if I did, it would be a 10/10 from me. It felt as though Piglet had already been two years old for several months, since I have been telling people that he is “almost two” for ages.  I have also been fretting…

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Having a Baby: What’s The Right Time?

Another day, another brief trawl through the news; another headline flashing a great big red warning light decrying the trend for women (note I said “women” and not “people” here, as if women alone are responsible for furthering the next generation of humans) to have children later, and admonishing us all for being hard-headed careerists/wanting…

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Who Needs Conventionality?

It was all supposed to be so easy. Grow up, go to university, enjoy your youth for a few years, then settle down, buy a house, have the big wedding with the big white dress, the perfect photos, the perfect venue, the perfect gushing speeches, and then pop out a baby; then a second, between two and…

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Middle Eastern Mash-Up

Hello and welcome to Part 2 of Single Mum Cooks. Yes folks, it’s another RECIPE, straight from the mouth of me.  You can all breathe easy.  I have not written another lengthy political rant, nor is the title some sort of attempt at doing one of those dance tracks where they ruin two great songs…

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My Favourite Bloggers

I try not to spend too much time blogging about blogging. I find it all a bit weird and meta, and of no interest to anyone except other bloggers.  And anyway, if truth be told, other people write those posts far better than I do. I will not be telling you how to monetise your…

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Five Things I Swore I Would Never Do When I Had a Child

There were many things I swore I would never do before I had a baby. Most of them were things that other people did that unintentionally annoyed me, as someone who was desperate for a baby, and as a member of the public frequently forced to take public transport.  Others were merely naive reflections of…

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What do you do in your “Me Time”?

At the beginning of this week I found myself in the unprecedented position of having no less than two days to myself. That’s right, time to myself: Me Time.  No work, no childcare duties, no nothing.

Poor Mummy

I never used to be ill. I was one of those people for whom making it through a school year without taking a day off was both a source of pride, and a regular occurrence. Then I had a baby.