I know, I know, I was all hopeful before schools closed. We’d spend such lovely time together. We’d learn so much. Everyone would calmly get on with their own projects. We’d fill the days with such variety. How did it really look, when it came down to it? Honestly? 2 weeks on, we’ve scraped together a teeny bit of experience of this new world and an even teenier bit of hindsight, and I think this is the first chance we’ve had to look back and review what we did, what worked and what needs improving, what lessons to learn and how to tweak things to go back with a better plan after this blessed ..read more

I’d barely dropped my kids off at school this morning when my Whatsapp groups started buzzing madly with friends’ reports of the newly Pesach-stocked Kosher supermarket being mobbed with hundreds of desperate balabustas stocking up before the imminently feared lock-down. The congestion just driving into the carpark was so severe it actually blocked a major London artery, and fearful reports from inside the shop told of the meat shelves being empty already. But within an hour, the same Whatsapp groups delivered a voice note from the store manager: Don’t come shopping now. It’s crazy here, an ..read more

Click here to get the Stories in your inbox So, we’re on to night THREE already! Tomorrow we’ll be halfway through Chanukah and how the time slips away! Have you made parties yet? How many doughnuts have you eaten? Did they like their presents? Did you feel, maybe, that in all the lovely fuss of ‘things’ you had less time than you wanted to just ‘be’ with the candles and feel the message of the day? Tonight instead of being thoughtful over the candles, I was exhausted from frying way more latkes than eleven people could possibly eat. Then I was giving presents. Then I was serving. Then I ..read more

Click here to get the Stories in your inbox Learning how to WANT – from a focussed 3 year old It was one of those early shabboses when all of our kids could walk and we could finally venture out on shabbos. That’s why, even though the sky was heavy grey and the autumn leaves were turning to mulch all over the pavements, it still felt worthwhile for us to pop over to my parents’ house for no special reason. The walk up the hill was going surprisingly well. My five-year-old was going strong, marching along in her shabbos coat and wellies. My three-year-old was swinging her bejewelled ar ..read more

My neighbour’s best ever Chanukah present Click here to get the Stories in your inbox When Hashem replaced the old carpet – my neighbour’s best ever Chanukah present I used to have a neighbour, and she was one of the most determined people I ever knew. She had high standards of housekeeping, and her house was minimalist and spotless. But small and, well, it had awful carpet. When they’d moved in they replaced the kitchen, and over the several years they’d lived there, she’d managed to update a lot of the house – paint the walls, buy matching furniture, fit a cupboard here and there…bu ..read more

Bitesize, meaningful real stories to remind us that for a Jew, there’s More than meets the eye. Click here to get the Stories in your inbox Yay! It’s Chanukah!!!! I love it! We all love it! You know what I don’t love, though? I don’t love the bit where we’ve just lit the first candle, and as the last word of Maoz Tzur leaves our lips (hakem lanu ro-iiiim shii-iiii-va), there’s a frantic dash to rip paper off presents while simultaneously scoffing 2 doughnuts, a latke and five chocolate coins, and fighting over whose is the blue dreidel. Sometimes all the expectations of Chanukah ..read more

Do thoughts of laundry interrupt you while you’re at work? Work thoughts when you’re with the kids? Kid worries when you’re doing the shopping? If you find yourself constantly interrupted by one part of your day when you’re in the middle of another, if you have multiple to-do lists running in your head all day (work list, kids list, shabbas list…) then block scheduling would suit you well. This is something I discovered last Elul and I’d been using it with pretty satisfying results until I forgot about it a few weeks ago… I’m now attempting to reinstitute it! There are reams of articl ..read more

We’re heading for winter and it can make us feel, well, bleurgh. But Hashem never wants us to feel bleurgh! So I looked for tips on how to find the goodness and thrive our way through Cheshvan & winter… (It’s my first video so please excuse if I’m a little bit shy…) To make even better use of these 4 winter pointers, I jotted down a little cheat sheet of 30 ideas, positive stuff we’ve done in Cheshvan, mostly with the kids. It turned out to be really inspiring! I’ve called it ’30 Growth-minded things to do in Cheshvan’ & shared it below: Get 30 Growth-minded, positive wi ..read more

Last week, my car got a scary light on it that said ‘Engine Malfunction’. Eek! This was NOT going to be simple. School is 40 minutes away. There are 5 kids in my rota. Shopping. Errands. A doctors appointment. Eek. Eek. EEK! Day 1: I beg six uncomfortable favours for lifts for my kids to and from school. My 5 year old has to go home with a lady he never met before. I push off the dentist. Day 2: I beg three more cringey favours, and rope in my father-in-law. I schlepp my sister to a store she doesn’t really need to go to so I can do my grocery shopping. I push off getting bir ..read more