Tonight my daughter is sleeping in her own bedroom. I’ve never been able to say that before. Yes, she’s slept in a room with her bed and her things, but it hasn’t been truly hers until now. It’s been a rough few years. When I had my daughter, I brought her home to the toxicity […]
“My nose is too full” “Get the things out of my nose” “I can’t smell” “I want my smell back” This is the first cold she’s really been aware of having, and it’s fascinating to see her noticing the effects it is having on her and her senses. I didn’t think she’d miss her sense […]
We shared this wonderful story by Oliver Jeffers at bedtime recently. We had a little chat about it afterwards. I asked my daughter who she thought the moose belonged to. She thought it belonged to Wilfredo (he’s the chap on the front), even though the others thought it belonged to them. I put forward the […]
The nightmares come when I’m happy Fear and stress bring blackout bliss Hope and optimism, technicolour terror This is the trade off I must make The path I must endure The fire I must walk through to be free
And though the nightmares should be over, some of the terrors are still intact. I’ll hear that ugly, coarse and violent voice, and then he grabs me from behind and he pulls me back. When you’ve been controlled and abused by another person, their voice becomes your inner monologue. They don’t need to lay on […]
My daughter has conceived a little project for herself, and has been ardently collecting cardboard toilet rolls for the past couple of weeks. She’s delighted every time we finish a roll, and proudly lines up her collection. Well today was the day she announced she was ready to start. Depending on when she’s talked about […]
So today I lost the battle of which cuddly toy was coming with us to the shops. And, as predicted, she got fed up of carrying Emily Elephant within minutes, so that vital job has fallen to me. My “I told you so” is falling on deaf ears. She’s not bothered. She’s had her own […]
“Can we make cakes today, mummy?” I love when she asks this, and have rose tinted visions of how our little baking session will go (despite having enough experience by now to know that it never quite goes that way!). I find it really difficult to let go, and be child led, when it comes […]
Our local activity farm is one of our favourite days out. The very nature of a farm means that there is always something new or different to see, which means it’s always an interesting trip. Yesterday, we were lucky enough to be able to see a brand new litter of piglets. They were less than […]
We’re about to brave our first family festival. By “we”, I mean my friend and I and our three kids (2,3 & 4). Excited? Yes. Nervous? A little! My only other festival experience was Reading 2005 and I have a feeling this time round will be very different. I’m clearly not going to be dancing […]
Unconditional Unschooling 