I took the youngest to the pet shop last night to get a Siamese Fighting Fish. I gave her a desk for her birthday, her dad gave her a fish tank. It's a very nice fish tank, with a filter and heater and rocks and fake plants ... but no fish. I was kind of... Continue Reading →

We had the youngest's parent teacher interview yesterday. "We" being my ex and I, perched side-by-side on kiddie chairs as handmade mobiles twirled above our heads. The youngest's teacher said it was unusual for separated parents to attend parent-teacher interviews together. I can't imagine NOT doing it together. We are her parents. Her progress and... Continue Reading →

Sometimes I wonder if I need to join Planning Anonymous. "My name is Alana and I'm a plan-a-holic ..." My obsession with planning drove my ex CRAZY. I'd go for walks at the crack of dawn each morning, get home, wake him up and bombard him with ideas for our future. He's not a morning... Continue Reading →

"I Quit Sugar" queen Sarah Wilson was the subject of an ABC article last week that focussed on her anxiety issues. I could relate to much of what she wrote. The anxiety has been strong in this one recently. When I wake in the middle of the night, sometimes literally with a gasping start, it... Continue Reading →

The ex and I joined forces for our last primary school birthday soiree over the weekend, to celebrate the youngest turning 11. She wanted on a "party boat" on Pittwater, come hell or high water (or torrential, incessant rain). We had to cancel the party the weekend prior because of the unsafe conditions and things... Continue Reading →

My ex is turning 50 this weekend and it's freaking me out on so many levels. First level ... my ex is turning the big 5-0. How on earth is the wild 24-year-old I first met waaaaay back in the early '90s turning 50? That's just SCARY. I've only known DD since he was post-50,... Continue Reading →

Isn't it always the way? You start working for an awesome boss, then they announce less than a year later that they're leaving. Sigh. It's been a crazy few days in the workplace, putting together the comms for my CEO, Sandra Przibilla resigning. She's been with the organisation for more than 10 years and has... Continue Reading →

There must be days when you read HouseGoesHome and wonder if I deliberately do daft things just so I can blog about them. How else could so much melodrama be crammed into one suburban single mum life? Today is one of those days. This is a rush-job blog post because it's the youngest's 11th birthday... Continue Reading →

"There is an easy standoff between the two kinds of mother which sometimes makes it hard for us to talk to each other. I suspect that the non-working mother looks at the working mother with envy and fear because she thinks that the working mum has got away with it. And the working mum looks... Continue Reading →

A lot has happened - and not happened - over the past few days. Turning 49 wasn't too bad at all. If I didn't have so many wrinkles, I'd be positively buoyant about it. (Though I am a little put out that I had both a pimple and period pain for my 12-months-til-I'm-50 birthday, where's... Continue Reading →