Writer, journalist, blogger, mother of boys, A380 pilot's wife, sun-worshipper and distracted housewife surrounded by souks, skyscrapers, shopping, sea and sand.
If you like my blog, please click the cover to find out about my book!
Meet all sorts of characters straight out of daily life in Dubai: Helicopter Mum, the Atlantis Tooth Fairy, Shopaholic Katie and many more. Includes Travel with Kids: The Bad & the Worse and the popular short story Cupcakes & Heels
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Tag Archives: raising boys
On bribing your children
We all do this – don’t we? “If you eat your greens, you can have a cookie.” “If you do your homework without whining, you can have your iPad back.” But what about cash bribes? As a non-parent, it never … Continue reading
On refereeing competitive siblings
I touched on this the other day, but there’s something you can’t fail to notice about boys: their competitive streak. Eager to one-up each other the WHOLE TIME, my sons compare everything, from who gets to sit next to whom … Continue reading
Overheard in the car
For the past two years, we’ve been car-pooling with a French family to get Son2 home from school. Our son, and their son – let’s call him M – quickly became firm friends, and despite not being in the same … Continue reading
What I’ll be wearing Wednesday
When I got home from work tonight, I did the first thing I always do when transitioning from the peaceful buzz of the office to the happy, barely contained chaos of homelife: I went upstairs to get changed. Usually this … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Dubai, Expat, Family, Parenting
Tagged bringing up boys, raising boys, raising boys in Dubai, work clothes, working mum, working mum in Dubai
2 Comments
A growing boy’s insatiable appetite
It happens almost overnight. One day, he’s licking pureed food off a plastic spoon; the next he’s wolfing down the contents of the fridge, and gnawing at the fridge door if you momentarily take your … Continue reading
Five weeks down … five to go!
“So it’s the lipstick and handbag museum today then?” I said to the boys, raising a hopeful eyebrow. It’s a running joke: keeping them entertained during the long, long holiday involves so many boy-related activities that I do like to … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Expat, Family, Holiday, Parenting
Tagged being the mother of boys, Brooklands Museum Surrey, children bored during school holidays, how to keep boys entertained during school holidays, long expat summer vacation, raising boys, vintage racing car ride at Brooklands near Weybridge
2 Comments
The boy-mum initiation
The other day a friend promised me that while bringing up boys might feel like more work up front than girls, it gets easier. It really does, she told me, as I exhaled a sigh of relief. “When my teenager’s … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Dubai, Family, Parenting
Tagged boy moms, boy mums, boy-mum initiation, bringing up boys, coping with boys, energetic boys, raising boys
10 Comments
Heads that go bump
A nice quiet evening after a busy week of work sounded just the ticket. A movie for the kids, a shawarma sandwich to eat, and rattling through my favourite blogs. But when is an evening ever ‘nice and quiet’ when … Continue reading
Posted in Children, Dubai, Family, Parenting
Tagged boy injuries, boys, boys injuring themselves, bringing up boys, empathy, head bump, mother of boys, mum mom of boys, quiet night in, raising boys
4 Comments
CIRCLES IN THE SAND … Marianne Makdisi 