jdettmannMar 21, 20173 minI Am A Lego DetectiveBut I’m confused, because although I think that’s what I said, what he seems to have heard is, ‘I am a Lego Detective. I can find any...
jdettmannSep 2, 20153 minRoll With ItWhen we stayed in Perth last Christmas, housesitting for friends, I noticed a box in the laundry that had ‘Who Gives A Crap’ printed on...
jdettmannJun 4, 20153 minLego, Lego, Can’t Hold It Back Any MoreFor about a year we have had, shoved into the cupboard in the playroom where no-one ever goes because it houses the vacuum cleaner, a...
jdettmannApr 7, 20152 min20 Things I Should Probably Have Explained To The New BabysitterWhen Garnet says he wants to wear a dress, he means it. Unless he is talking about a T-shirt, which I have taken to calling dresses in an...
jdettmannMar 5, 20142 minGames for Rainy DaysOthers are more prosaic. Take ‘Molly Drops Her Phone’. In this game, May Blossom is Molly. Molly takes my phone, puts it in her handbag...
jdettmannOct 2, 20132 minThe Trials of MotherhoodHe wasn’t a bad baby to begin with, but about six months ago I began to hear tales from his mother about various crimes and misdemeanours...
jdettmannAug 28, 20132 minWhat’s Mine Is Mine and What’s Yours Is Mine TooEvery Tuesday, she will go to a fantastic home daycare, which is, happily, run by my parents’ neighbour. She will be one of five small...
jdettmannNov 16, 20121 minAges Two And UpAre you aged two (and up)? Are you bored? Have you got no-one to play with but your own shadow? Try some of the new games May Blossom has...
jdettmannAug 21, 20124 minWhat I Learned on My Holidays1. You have to stay somewhere as good or better than home. My very clever friend Other Jess once told me this, and I think she is right....
jdettmannJul 24, 20122 minDegree Of DifficultyOh for the days when the in-seat phone was all the entertainment she needed. In about four hours we are heading to the airport to fly for...
jdettmannJul 15, 20121 minHumpty Dumpty Had A Great DownfallIs it just the hair? On Play School Humpty’s hair is usually styled with a centre part, but the toy’s hair just wants to go to one side....
jdettmannJul 9, 20123 minThere Are People With Games Of Thrones And Stories To TellWild scenes: May Blossom out of control in the moshpit. Tip her over, pour her out. We’ve just returned from the Play School Concert. If...
jdettmannApr 17, 20121 minDear Jess: Sleep-TricyclingHere’s the first in a new occasional series in which I will ask myself questions and then reply. I’ll be my own agony aunt. Today’s...
jdettmannMar 21, 20123 minShe Is Sixteen, Going On Seventeen (Months)May Blossom loves to play. Anything that involves chasing, shrieking and creating mayhem gets her seal of approval. Yesterday she and her...
jdettmannMar 1, 20121 minWhat I’ve Liked This Week: Trapped Indoors By The Rain EditionWearing my new spectacles: They make me look like Colin Firth in A Single Man. The ladies are going to swoon. Watching May Blossom’s...
jdettmannDec 1, 20112 minWhat A Lot Of Carry-onThe two suitcases are packed — beautifully, if I do say so myself — using the rolling technique. I am a fairly crap clothes folder, so it...
jdettmannNov 30, 20111 minCome Fly With MeDid you know that today is International Fifteen-Minute Nap Day? I didn’t either, until May Blossom informed me. It’s some sort of...
jdettmannNov 6, 20112 minBeing One, AlphabeticallyB Blueberries: why not allowed to eat unlimited quantities? C Cat: for kissing. D Doors, slamming thereof: why so annoying to parents? E...
jdettmannOct 28, 20112 minDo Yourself A FavourThis morning, between baking four huge chocolate cakes and dealing with a toddler suffering from what I thought was fear of the noise the...
jdettmannOct 26, 20111 minDown With DiversityWhere are your friends? If this is some sort of sock conspiracy to make me lose my tiny mind and turn to the cooking sherry before nine...