LivingwithKids

Let me start off by saying I've never met the man, although he lives quite close to me. I always thought he was the cutest one out of Take That, I voted for him to win Celebrity Big Brother. But it's not like I KNOW him, or anything. (I did once speak to Jason Orange on the phone, but that's a different story).

So I'm surprised at how much it bothers me that Mark has admitted to cheating on Emma, his partner of five years (who he recently married) with not one, not two, but 10 different women.

Why does it bother me so much? Well, apart from the fact I always thought he seemed like such a nice, honest guy, it's because he and Emma have two children, aged three and one. The celeb least likely to cheat, in fact. What a disappointment.

Even more of a let down for his partner, of course.  For their sakes, I hope he gets himself sorted.

I love Tesco Direct - there's always amazing bargains on computer games, clothing and electricals. And right now they're having a brilliant clearance sale with lots of bargains on toys, TVs and more.

Plus, if you’re stocking up on baby and toddler products,  there's up to half price off in the Baby and Toddler event. And don't forget, if you shop at Tesco Direct through KidStart, you get 3% back for your kids. So it’s a Win Win! Click here for more info.

Yesterday one of my friends said something which really surprised me. ‘It’s much more difficult raising girls,’ she said. ‘With boys, you don’t have to worry about things like pregnancy.’

Well, apart from the fact boys probably do worry about things like pregnancy when they’re old enough to understand that actions have consequences, I think this is nonsense.

Raising boys comes with its own set of problems – as they grow up, they’re probably more vulnerable to dangers outside the home, for example, like fights and random attacks.

And I would say both boys and girls are equally at risk of bullying and stranger danger.

But maybe I’m wrong. What do you think?

Half an hour into my first driving lesson and I knew it was going badly. I’d crashed into two bollards and I could see my instructor’s teeth starting to clench.

Like Maureen from Driving School, I was not a natural behind the wheel.

20 lessons and three instructors later (not my fault – I don’t think) and I was no nearer to being able to drive anything other than one of the Autopia cars at Disneyland Paris.

And now, 15 years later – well I think maybe I’m too old to learn. It’s too expensive. I’m scared. I know it would make life a lot easier, particularly for ferrying the offspring to and from various activities, but I think it may be too late.

So there you have it. I can scuba dive and snorkel. I can count to 10 in Japanese, cook a perfect risotto, throw birthday parties for 30 kids without blinking an eye, and change a fuse and a plug.

But I cannot drive.

*Is there anything you can't do, but would like to? What's stopping you? I'd love to know...

When I was a kid a family who lived near us had a beautiful black labrador. He was gorgeous, that dog. They bought him from a pet shop, and he was soft and bouncy and friendly, always licking your face and happily letting everyone pet him.

But one day while everyone was playing at their house a little girl we all knew went into the kitchen while he was having his food. He turned round and bit a chunk out of her face, scarring her for life.

The problem with dogs is that they are unpredictable and so far the law has been largely ineffective. Now plans have been made to microchip all dogs.

I'm not sure even this will help.

I frequently see a man exercising his dog in our local park. The dog is a banned breed, the Japanese Tosa. He is enormous, this dog, the size of a pony. The man exercises him without a muzzle, or lead, and yells at parents and children to get out of the park - he knows exactly how dangerous that dog is. Of course the parks police always arrive just that bit too late to catch him. And I don't know how many 'pit-bull types' I've seen in our area. The same 'types' that are known to savage babies and children.

I'm not sure what the answer is. Personally I'd like to see the reintroduction of the dog licence. But putting babies and children before pets, educating people about owning dogs and a clampdown on pet shops, puppy farms and possession of dangerous breeds would be a start.

I don’t know about you but we seem to have loads and loads of photos all over the place and I've been meaning to organise them for a while now. Which is why I was so excited to discover Photobox’s personalised Photobooks.

They’re just fab. Basically you choose which photos to include (you can have anything from 26 to 100 pages holding up to 1200 photos), and then customize each page with captions, backgrounds, fonts, colours and layouts (or you can autofill if you’re pushed for time).

Then they send the book back to you, beautifully bound, like a coffee table book. Uploading the pics can take a little time but the end results are definitely worth it.

The photo books start at £23.99 plus P&P, but if you order through KidStart you get 5% back for your kids and 2 for 1 on Photobooks and canvas prints. PLUS all orders taken in March will be entered into a draw to win one of four £50 vouchers. Click here for more info.

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a year since Jade Goody died.

I met her a couple of times, and I can honestly say she was one of the most genuine celebrities I've ever encountered. Which is why it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that she has left the bulk of her fortune to her boys.

Her children were her whole world. Unlike other celebs who seem hooked on the publicity, from the moment she became a mum Jade saw her fame as a job, an opportunity to provide for her sons. Everything she did was for them. She was the Real Mum Deal.

Jade's other legacy, of course, was to remind us all of the importance of regular smear tests.

But I think that knowing about the contents of her will is actually an important reminder of why we all need to make sure our children are properly provided for, even if we haven't got million pound fortunes. No one likes to think about the worst possible scenario, but when you have kids of course you have to, and I'm ashamed to say I've been putting it off and putting it off.

That's it. It's on my To Do list for this week.

Yesterday to the surprise of my offspring and myself, I uttered a phrase which I honestly thought I would never use.

A phrase that my mum uses regularly, which basically makes it pre-War (or older, as I suspect she inherited from her mum).

What was it?

'Wrap up warm, you’ll catch your death of cold.’

Now apart from the fact that this is, obviously, quite a scary thing to say to a child and the concept of dying because you've forgotten to put on an extra layer of clothing or a scarf could be deemed as scaremongering, what’s surprising to me is that apparently I’ve inherited more of my mum’s parenting technique than I realised.

Not that she’s a bad parent – far from it. But apart from occasional advice from Annabel Karmel and Gina Ford, I honestly thought I was making it up as I go along. (My mum was also incredibly liberal when we were growing up, and we were latchkey kids from the age of 11. Not what I want for my offspring.)

I thought I was a Maverick Mum.

*What about you - do you think you've 'learned' your parenting techniques, or do you do it your way? I'd love to know.

All mums could do with a bit of pampering from time to time (hint hint, MotH) and one of the best gift ideas for Mother’s Day has to be a spa treatment – either gift vouchers or a visit arranged as a surprise.

And because mums-to-be need lots of TLC I thought I’d surprise the lovely Amy – a mum of four with one on the way - with a visit to the Sienna Spa at the Radisson Edwardian Hotel  in Manchester. Here’s what she thought of her experience:

‘My first impression of the spa was the fabulous smell, the lighting was soft and relaxing and the assistants were very friendly and informative. I turned up a bit early but I'm glad that I did because I was given a complimentary drink and guided into the relaxation room to start my spa experience.

There were nice deep chairs, soft lighting and relaxing music being played through the speakers at just the right level. The room overlooked the swimming pool and Jacuzzi, which looked gorgeous. Don’t forget your swimming costume!

After relaxing for a few minutes I was greeted by my therapist and lead to the treatment room. The room was lovely. Candles were lit, the lighting was dim and once again relaxing music flowed calmly through the air. I had the New Life treatment (£55) which is specially designed for pregnant women. My therapist ran through the treatment with me which started with a back, shoulder and neck massage before progressing onto the rest of my body. It was so relaxing and I felt completely at ease throughout. The final step was a lovely facial.

'The whole experience was great, I felt so good afterwards and I smelt wonderful from the amazing cream that was used on me. I would recommend this treatment to anyone who wants a hour of total carefree relaxation. The team at the Sienna spa were very helpful and caring which made me feel at ease from the moment I walked through the door. This is the perfect gift to give to someone you know who is pregnant or just to book yourself for a last minute bit of pampering before your baby arrives.’

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, including Global Patron Sarah Brown and WRA Ambassador Naomi Campbell, are asking people around the world to wear white and hold a dinner party in March to celebrate the 100th year of International Women’s Day, which is on the 8th.

Now as I can’t invite all of you round to my house unless you’re happy for it to be standing room only, I thought I would hold a virtual dinner party  - with a little help from some of my talented friends.  I hope it inspires you to host your own.

Here’s what’s on the menu:

Starter Carrot and Coriander soup served with crusty granary bread (created by Sandy from Baby Baby)

Main course
Pan Fried Sea Bass fillets with new potatoes crushed with spinach watercress and rocket (courtesy of Nick from My Daddy Cooks)
or

Tender Sweet Chicken Satay (from My Daddy Cooks) served with Persian Jewelled Rice (made by Carly at Wives and Daughters) or Butternut Squash Risotto from English Mum

Dessert Cheesecake courtesy of Lorraine from Ramblings of a Mum on the Run or Divine Chocolate’s Little Hot Chocolate Mousse. Served with cream.

Mmmmmm. Enjoy!