Carolyn Mandache

Mandache clan An important, and quite scary development has happened in the Mandache household this month. We now have 3 tweens at home (2 ten year olds and an 11 year old). Thankfully, I still have little A. at home to balance out all the moodiness. I've been remembering the Cbeebies show "The Tweenies" for some reason. I wonder why they called it that, when the characters were all pre-schoolers? I can make a few comparisons between the colourful characters in that show and my own clan at home :) L1. would be Bella, the bossy one who can be a bit of a know-it-all, L2. would be Fizz, the girly one always playing with her hair, A1. would be Milo, the winder-upper, and A2. would be Jake, the youngest one who gets frustrated if he can't keep up with the older ones. I know they like to think they are no longer little kids, but they can often argue like toddlers the way their Tweenie twins do! Of course I will never tell them my comparisons which make me smile, they wo...

I have been overjoyed by a recent development in the Mandache household....I now have an assistant toilet roll changer! Maybe it doesn't sound like such a big deal, but having spent years being singularly responsible for such a simple, yet vital task, it really is fantastic to have a helper in the form of my youngest son. However, upon praising my little assistant last night for changing the loo roll WITHOUT BEING ASKED, I was taken aback by his older brother's reaction. Acting pretty girly, he teased "oh Alex, you can be a maid when you're older." It's not the first time big brother has implied that chores around the house are for females, and I'm more determined than ever to change his attitudes. Maybe at some point you, like I, have received the emergency toilet roll text request from your spouse. My wish is to put an end to that madness for future generations....teach them to get off their butts (literally),and get it themselves! Of course it is...

Swimming....so relaxing, peaceful, almost therapeutic. That is, unless the person swimming is your child and you are there as loyal spectator. I am very proud that my son has reached level 9 of his swimming lessons, enjoy watching him become stronger and more confident in the water. I don't however, enjoy being on the spectators balcony at 8 o'clock on a Sunday morning! At first I had thought the class was 8 in the evening, it didn't even cross my mind that my beloved Sunday morning lie-ins would soon be a distant memory. (I use the term "lie in" very loosely, as anyone with young children knows, 8am is probably as good as it gets)However, the letter confirming my son's place clearly said AM not PM. We are not in April yet, so clearly it wasn't some cruel joke that I would now be up and dressed even EARLIER than the daily school run. This weekend was our first attempt at making it to the pool so early. Luckily my sister slept over the night befo...