Jem's field notes

Whilst bathing Isabel last week, Karl and I were playing the “what noise does … make?” game. Lions say rawr, monkeys say “ooh ooh” etc etc. Karl then asks “what noise does mummy’s driving make?” Isabel replies: nee-naw-nee-naw Thanks kid. Anyway, this seemed like an appropriate way to lead into the results of my driving… read full entry »

At the end of last month I decided to try a meal-plan month. Plan your family meals for a set timespan, buy the necessary foods and don’t waste money on food that won’t get eaten because you’ve changed your mind when you get home from work. I’m surprised by how well it’s working; I expected… read full entry »

I got called a mommy blogger yesterday. Ouch. It was a harmless remark, included in an otherwise genuine question, not intended to offend. And yet nearly 24 hours later I’m still thinking about it. I guess what bothers me the most, aside from my distaste for the “PPP” / sponsored posts crap that most ‘mommy… read full entry »

(This post has been constructed over a period of several days, snatching minutes here and there. If it seems choppy / all over the place, it’s because it is.) Struggling to find the time to write at the minute.. life busy passing me by undocumented. It’s not like I don’t HAVE the time, it’s just… read full entry »

I wasn’t originally going to post this link, and settled for sharing it privately with a couple of friends. However, after having spent several hours immersed in it this evening I can’t NOT share it: “Navelgazing Midwife” It’s not often I enjoy reading a blog as much as I have this one, particularly ones about… read full entry »

…next to Izz, who’s fast asleep in her car seat. Typing feels weird, because the skin on my fingers has been shredded from shovelling gravel and lifting concrete. We went out to try and buy Isabel a slide yesterday, and while we couldn’t find one (end of season, all shops seem to be swapping garden… read full entry »

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to find some obscure UK debit card icon, or a certain size of twitter icon (whatever) for work… I have an Icons folder for saving sets that I probably wouldn’t be able to find easily again: (Like my desktop wallpaper? It’s from vladstudio) And yet all… read full entry »

While I was on maternity leave in 2009-2010 I had an idea for a website / mobile phone app… a central location for feeding and changing facility reviews/ratings across the UK. There was nothing else like it available, and parents (especially breastfeeding mums I came into contact with) were desperate for accurate info on things… read full entry »

I want to tell you all about my amazing daughter and how at 20 months she can already count to 15, identify several colours, name all of her body parts (including her “bits” – her words) and talk the hind leg off a donkey but I want to balance that with the guilt I feel… read full entry »