During the School Holidays, I am forced to spend time with my own Munchkins...rather than other people's kids! It is during this time that I learn all kinds of different things that I had never known or realised before...like the fact that (and please don't judge me for this!) I could never be a Stay-At-Home Mum, and that day-time television is simply appalling! I must, however, admit to watching the odd episode of Jeremy Kyle! There is a slightly morbid satisfaction in realising that there are people out there whose lives are far more complicated that ours! Anyway, here I go with my Top Five School Holiday revelations. 1. Youtube Kids This has been a revelation on two completely different levels. Having older Munchkins, I have simply relied on the filters to ensure that the content that they watch is suitable. However, these do not always work...as I have discovered with the Peppa Pig-obsessed two year old. Endless hours of listening to the Peppa Pig theme tu...

Five Things I Wish I Had Never Started! (Apart from this Blog!)   Last night, for the first time since Father's Day, I put my youngest daughter to bed and read her favourite story to her. Usually she goes straight off to sleep, but last night she refused point-blank to go off. The reason for this is that, for Father's Day, I bought Prince Charming a personalised book from her that they could read together and this has become THEIR ritual. There was no way that she was going to go to sleep until DADDY had read to her! I must admit that there was a pang of jealousy as they laughed and giggled together, and she fell asleep without a murmur, followed by abject panic when I realised that I was never going to be able to get her to sleep on my own again!   This got me thinking about things that I've done that I wish I had never started. So here are my Top Five!   1. The Bear!   Bear! Bear is the youngest c...

Well, you finally have seemed decent (albeit interim Court-ordered) contact with your children...but there is a downside...you now have to feed them, clothe them and, most importantly, entertain them! How on earth are you going to afford that, as most of your income goes straight to the Evil Queen?! (See my previous post on Spousal Maintenance ). There are times in our house (with six kids and two adults) when it almost feels like we are living like Hansel and Gretel, and the option of abandoning them in the Woods becomes an increasingly positive proposition. However, the little buggers would probably just use the GPS on their mobile phones to find their way home! So, while the Munchkins are munching on their homemade pizza (made with Yellow Sticker mozzarella and accompanied by Yellow Sticker garlic bread), you trawl through the internet looking for inspiration for cheap (or even better, free!) days out. For those of you who live in other countries (or are just unfamiliar ...