There are some pretty impressive lifestyle bloggers and Instagrammers out there. I follow several peeps whose lives in little squares look beautiful and amazing. Now, I know full well that they probably have a mahoosive cupboard full of shit and only 30% of their home is actually shown, but I am still in awe of them!
In contrast, here are ten reasons why I will never make it as a lifestyle blogger: Continue reading
I’ve often joked that I have three children because Mr. British Maple is a massive kid (fortunately he can just about feed himself and doesn’t talk about poo constantly either!) He’s always first in the ball pit or down the slide. Whilst others roll their eyes at the thought of soft play, Mr.BM is digging out his loyalty card faster than I can open a bottle of wine.
The Lord and the General love how fun Daddy is and how willing he is to be silly and squeeze himself between padded rollers whilst being chased by a mob of sweaty, demented kids (he usually temporarily adopts at least three per soft play session). They take for granted how lucky they are to have such an involved daddy and I get so many warm and fuzzies from seeing them galavanting around. Continue reading
A few days ago I had coffee with a good friend. She’s a relatively new friend and someone who I see frequently but never on a one to one. She’s bright, engaging, confident and fun to be around so I was truly looking forward to sitting across a table from her.
If I’m being honest, I was selfishly anticipating taking much more away from the date than she would. I was hoping to tap into her experience and wisdom to help me make some decisions about my own life once both kids are safely ensconced in the school system. Continue reading
At the end of my last few posts I have added a little personal update. It’s all been rather tongue in cheek (which is very much my style) but I think it deserves a little more credit and its own post:
I’ll let you in on a little (badly kept) secret…I may appear gregarious and outgoing to many of you; but underneath the sarcasm and smiles, I am a panicky, lost little human (aren’t we all?) Continue reading
A few weeks ago, whilst we were visiting Granny Ev and Pop, the boys became transfixed with the slideshow of photographs that plays on repeat on Pop’s Mac. There were photos of holidays, old cars, eBay sale items and loads of family throughout the years.
Every now and then, the Lord would ask “who’s that, Mummy” and I’d fill in the blanks with a cheeky little anecdote about the event or person. As the weekend went by however, I noticed that on most occasions they didn’t even recognise their own mother! The baby photos I get, but surely I’ve not changed that much in the last twenty odd years, have I?!
As the General Election looms and certain key political figures are demonstratively missing from the stage; I have taken heed of the public backlash and completed my alternative political parties series as promised!
Today is the turn the Child-Hating Unattached Men Party, affectionately known as CHUMPs. This interview was a toughie because CHUMPs like to stay fairly anonymous and prefer to spread their message vicariously. Nevertheless, The British Maple dug deep and got to the bottom of their key policies and plans for the future post-election. Continue reading
As promised in my last post, today we take a look at our second alternative political party – the Mums Estranged from Real Life Outside Toddlerdom party.
Contrary to its name, the MERLOT party includes and represents the views of dads, guardians and the odd teacher or ten too. Their main aim is to assist in the rebalance of power in the homes of all toddler keepers.
Today, I interview myself (the friends list is still pretty short) to see what improvements the MERLOT party could bring to the UK. Continue reading
I don’t like to get political on The British Maple (mostly because it makes me cross and I hate arguments!) but with the UK general election looming, I thought it was high time to bring some high brow discussion to the table.
I’m not overly enamoured with any of my political options this time round (are we ever?!) so I turned to the Lord and the General for an alternative. After all, if a blithering, swollen headed womb ferret with a bad case of verbal diarrhoea can ‘run’ one of the world’s largest countries, surely a couple of gobby toddlers can make a go of it too?! Continue reading
As parents we have had pretentious, over-used parenting terminology thrust upon us for years; Helicopter parents, Tiger parenting, Laissez Faire… we do it, they name it! Personally, I don’t really give a flying chuff if some pseudo-psychoanalyst wants to categorise me into some bullshit pigeon hole; I’m dragging up my man cubs the best I can and adapt my “parenting style” accordingly at each turn! Continue reading
You guys! I was completely overwhelmed by the response to my last post. And also more than a little baffled, which in itself spoke volumes! I had friends from years gone by texting me to see if I was ok, a local mama asking to meet for a coffee and mucho transatlantic love from my Tdot tribe. Continue reading
The British Maple 