Keep it clean for our grannies

This year I’ve given a range of Homemade Kids talks in Stoke Newington (London), Cardiff and most recently at the Isbourne Holistic Centre in Cheltenham (pic here of organiser, Kate, at Cheltenham’s famous hare and minotaur sculpture). Learning curve What a lot a speaker learns at every venue – including the tantalising possibility of joining [...]

How do you celebrate seasons?

Spring is turning into summer – the lilac’s out in London and the elder is flowering. Even if we are still in the midst of the hungry gap (ie, there’s not much freshly grown seasonal veg available from the UK and in particular my garden) at the moment the dryness and sunshine makes me crave [...]

How do you celebrate weddings?

A 10- year-old turned to me proudly in the school playground this morning and told me she, big sister and their dad were going to watch THAT wedding (ie, Will and Kate) near Buckingham Palace. I felt equal parts envy and happiness at her excitement, and within a few seconds we were discussing what to [...]

Half term fun: the sleepover

Ha ha, the sleepover – bet you didn’t think that would be a heavenly choice? For the families sending their children to another house it can be a great way to get a free night’s babysitting, or just a night off from the usual bedtime routine. But for the brave folk taking in the spare [...]

Half term hell: the workshop

It may be half term for the kids, but I’m obsessed by 45 minute slots and feedback forms. Right now glued to my laptop trying to work out how to do a workshop for (1) politically sassy campaigners this weekend in Cardiff. OMG. And (2) happy Cheltenham mums and dads on a May Saturday when [...]

Got kids: need help?

Don’t panic, I’m not trying to be a life coach, but in addition to writing and publicising books like Homemade Kids I spend a lot of my time trying to get people to do things. (A quiet plea here – please buy this book or suggest a friend does as it is currently Amazon’s 380,000th most [...]

Are you grown up?

Nicola finds pollen on her nose (omg perhaps this is a code for something far worse) rocks her sense of whether she’s truly grown up…

When to take a baby on a march?

              When can I take my baby on a march? If I had a tattoo I’d want one of the empowering quotes below etched into my skin. Instead I wear a necklace that reminds me to “imagine” what I could be doing to be an active enough parent to [...]

New year, new blog

Knowing me, knowing you – hello I’m Nicola Baird, environmental writer and mum, and this is a blog about creative, thrifty and eco-friendly ways to raise children