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Rookie Mom
I have big feet. Like, size 8 big feet. I seldom paint my toenails bright colours because there is just SO MUCH surface area. On a normal woman, pink toenails look sweet and summery. On me, it looks like I spilled paint on my feet. I call them Roadmaps.Because of the veins, you know? This,…
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How To Be A Better Parent All The Time At Everything

Rookie Mom
Dear Parent, You’re probably thirty-something. You probably have a child or two under the age of four. You never knew you could feel SO MUCH LOVE, but you also never knew it was going to be THIS HARD. There are moments of sheer delight, but they’re often separated by long, mundane hours that range from…
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Rookie Mom: How to Partner with Teachers

Rookie Mom
First days. If you live in South Africa, this week your Facebook feed has been filled with pictures of kids on their first day of school. If you’re like me, you’ve been sending messages back and forth about kids who are fine, mothers who are not, hints of tears and declarations of wine. When I imagine having…
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2015 – Happy New Year or Crappy New Year?

Rookie Mom
Well, hello 2015. Like most things in life, I’m a little behind the curve. I had to Google “bae”. I found out what Tinder was like, 2 weeks ago. And my first blog of the new year is on 17 January. Welcome to my organised, on-top-of-things life. This is Luke eating a nutritious snack at an…
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Well, hello.

Rookie Mom
I see you’re searching for something to do with your kids this weekend. For an outing. Maybe for your sanity.  You’ve come to the right place.Over a decade ago, this blog was where I shared the messy, beautiful journey of losing myself in motherhood. This was us when I wrote this blog: Cos having small kids…
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My Extremely Helpful Guide to Christmas Shopping

Rookie Mom
This is me trying to choose a present for someone. Notice the dark rings under my eyes. Notice the worry on my brow. I’m actually feeling stressed out just writing this. Everyone is always saying, “I love Christmas shopping! I love queues! I love credit card debt!” Not me. I don’t like any of those…
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What To Do When Life Is Hard

Rookie Mom
It sucks, but it’s true. Today, I got a message from a special friend of mine overseas whose three year old has just spent two days in hospital. Her little girl has some as yet undiagnosed cardiac and respiratory problem. The day before, I got an email from another close friend who found a lump. We’re…
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Are You a Terrible Parent?

Rookie Mom
This is a photo of Will crying because another child was playing on the part of the jungle gym he was playing in before we left the jungle gym to have a snack. Obviously. Last week, I was informed by a perfect stranger in a public place that I was a terrible parent. When a…
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What My Father Taught Me

Rookie Mom
“Don’t you wish you had a son?” This question was often directed at my father, who has three daughters of which I am the oldest. Every time, he answered surely and quickly, “Nope. I love being a dad to girls.” And he really does. Even when the house was full of GHDs, giggling girls and…
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Parenting is Not a Profession

Rookie Mom
Along with the chocolates, flowers and – wait, NOTHING FOR ME BECAUSE ALL MY BOYS DID NOT DO ANYTHING (insert sheepish apology from Husband here), Mother’s Day came and went with dozens of viral blogs and videos. They ranged from extolling motherhood as the hardest “job” in the world to lamenting the emphasis of mothering…
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