The book ‘I don’t know how she does it’ has just been re-released to tie in with the film of the same name starring Sarah Jessica Parker.
Written by Allison Pearson, it tells the story of working mum Kate Reddy, who juggles work, the nanny and her relationships whilst trying to do her best as a mother. I especially loved the opening scene where she distresses mince pies so she can pass them off as her own for the school carol concert. “Women used to have time to make mince pies and had to fake orgasms. Now we can manage the orgasms, but we have to fake the mince pies. And they call this progress.”
The film tie-in edition was published by Vintage on 1st September, price £7.99 in paperback. The film opened in the UK on the 16th September.
Giveaway
I have one copy of the book to giveaway to a lucky reader of baby kearney.
Simply leave me a comment telling me what, if any, corners you’ve had to cut as a parent.
For an extra entry tell others about the giveaway using the retweet button below.
Small print:
The competition will close at midnight on the 27th September. The winner will be chosen randomly and contacted using the email address or twitter name provided. If the winner does not reply within 3 days the competition will be redrawn. UK and Ireland only.
corners i cut – if it don’t have to be cleaned i don’t clean it!
I have to admit that sometimes the ironing takes a back burner and if it is really bad then I use the hairdryer on it!
I have also tweeted!
@MultipleMummy
would love to read this book!! i must admit i cut back on the ironing for me and hubby, whilst i iron everything possible for my son… i just havent got time to stand at the ironing board for hours on end doing all of our ironing. now i just iron the things that crease easily.
have shared and retweeted
contact email: jennakeller126@yahoo.co.uk xx
corners I cut – I buy non iron clothes where i can and once a week take away from supermarket. @ljbarton
have tweeted @ljbarton
I always got the shopping delivered and only cleaned upstairs occasionally.
I've tweeted @feefeegabor
Only ironing the bits you can see!!!
As long as everyone is fed and clean, don’t worry about a bit of dust.
I don’t iron sheets or pyjamas. I admit I have bought fancy cookies, little cakes or scones from the supermarket and put them in a cake tin with a piece of kitchen towel so to make me feel like I bake Lol! You can also buy a roast chicken from the supermarket on your way home and quickly make veg to go with it 😉
I usually skip breakfast in the morning as i am too busy shouting “hurry up”!. Also like the others, i only iron what is really necessary now. I used to iron EVERYTHING! socks, towels etc! Now i dont even think about it-fold and put away!!
have also tweeted @angiesandhu
Skipping breakfast
I know it sounds awful, but to save time and cut corners, i sometimes only shave the bottom half of my legs, well no one apart from my husband sees above the knees ! only hope i never get knocked down by a bus ! ha ha x
Hats! Who has time to do their hair? Just pop on a hat… or a headscarf…. or a paper bag…
I have a microwave and a mini fridge in my room so I can heat the bottles up in the middle of the night without having to go downstairs.
i only hoover the darker carpets once a week, i make thee nights worth of meals in one go and freeze it, and dry shampoo is my lifesaver!
I only used to iron the front of my kids clothes, now I dont iron anything!
I often skip breakfast as after getting son to eat his and make his packed lunch I simply don’t have time. I usually end up getting something when I get into work as we have a shop there.
Tweeted – @clairew137
the dust and dirt will still be there when we are not so its not a big worry
Well (and this is terrible) I only have a bath every other day as with a 2 yr old and a 3 yr old, groups/mother and toddlers/preschool/taking my husband to work first (one car) its just impossible. And like someone else put only shave my legs below the knee, in fact if i know i'm going to be wearing jeans all week, i'll just give the legs a miss full stop. Baths are a very quick affair for me as my toddlers are normally jumping on beds etc and i worry about them falling off so anything to lessen it the better! Also, now and again if i haven't got time to make lunch before picking the 3 year old up from preschool i nip in the co op and buy dairylea dunkers. Housework gets done every Saturday Morning with both toddlers helping where i blitz the house, but only basic tidying up is done the rest of the week. Oh and have tweeted too @desbrownllaneza
i only iron my sons stuff the hubby can do his own
my hair- perfectly turned out children but i've been known to get to lunchtime before i remember to brush mine!
Twilight saga, Team Edward or Jacob?
@littleboo_21
Tweeted too
@littleboo_21
i must admit i cut back on the ironing for me and hubby
have shared and retweeted
never tidy when youngsters are awake,only clear floor areas for safety,wait until there are settled,then do it all at once. And also,I do ‘read’ bedtime stories,but never from books,I make up the stories,so they can end,when I want to sneak downstairs,and have few minutes to myself
I go to a well known supermarket well after 6pm when the reduced shelf is full goodies reduced to great prices and have gotten lovely fresh fruit (raspberries/peaches that i cant afford normally) i occasionally find fresh flowers,nice bouquets for 75p and have gotten big packs of premium sausages etc for next to nothing. I also put a bit of water in the bottom of toiletries or washpowder to make sure ive used up the whole bottle (she blushes!)
Have tweeted the giveaway!
@mountaingirlee4
i always clean
putting a hat on him rather than sorting out his hair!
Well, talking of faking mince pies – I admit to faking loads when cooking – I buy ready made pastry cases, pizza bases and think the herbs in a bag idea for chicken is really fabulous but I never confess to buying ready made products – my family think they are totally homemade – ooops hope no-one I know reads this!!!
Serve cold tinned food for tea and called it a Tin Tin salad.
I dont seem to clean the corners anymore. You know skirting boards etc. If it looks tidy then im happy
also tweeted @simontink
BEING A PARENT IS ALL ABOUT CUTTING CORNERS ESPECIALLY FINANCIALLY BUT THE REWARDS ARE PRICELESS
I always got the shopping delivered
Hmm, well let's see, no more face packs, hair treatments, exfoliating only once a month if I'm lucky, shaving legs twice a week not every other day, no manis, no pedis, heck I'm lucky if I have time to moisturise! But who needs to look good when everyone's looking at the baby 😉
Warm milk in the microwave instead in a pan on the hob 😉
I don’t iron! I have 4 under 9 and if I ironed as I washed i’d be FOREVER ironing. I just give them a good shake as they come out the tumble.
Retweeted as @Linz_TOYT
Insteasd of ironing uniforms, throw them in the tumble dryer for 5 minutes
I only buy clothes that are crease-free! (the only time i iron is for very special occasions)
Well I hate admiting this but I don’t actually own an ironing board or an iron. I don’t have a magic wand that does my ironing and i don’t pay anybody i just don’t do it. Sounds mad but my iron broke and i managed perfect without an iron the clothes for some reason are never really creased. Meh hate ironing anyway
I cut corners with cleaning…but only cos I’m lazy, not because I don’t have time!
I’ve tweeted the message @Isis1981uk
I’ve cut lots of corners….I only tend to iron when absolutely necessary and never iron sheets, pillowcases etc. I buy non-iron clothing whenever I can. My hair is now no longer styled and ‘perfected’ instead it’s in an easy-to-maintain cut that just requires a quick comb through every morning before the joys of the school run with my elder 2. As bath or shower time for me must be as quick as possible, like many other mums, I only tend to shave the bottom half of my legs!! Not classy I know, but no-one sees the upper-half!
I tend to dust only when I notice it around the house
ironing can always be cut
Yep my hair has to be last on my list by the time i’ve finished putting 3 girls hair up mine gets flung back into a pony and away i go. Oh i miss straightening my hair lol x
2nd hand clothes although I wouldnt call its cutting corners but saving money to use it where needs most
Tweeted as @andrewcbo
hmm. the house isn’t always as tiday as it could be.. i usually choose sleep instead!
its the ironing that takes a back burner
I try to keep uniform trousers, dresses and cardigans going all week by quick inspections at the end of the day and rubbing any dirt marks out, with water. Shirts are changed daily (but I might rethink that as I HATE ironing them!)
I have retweeted.
@maisietoo
Sometime use processed potato products like ‘smilies’ and the like 🙁
I avoid ironing where possible.
I didn't bath my twins daily until they started school <blush>
get kids to help you tidy there rooms
The biggest corner I cut is hair & make up, same style all the time just pulled back into a pony tail, and even then my daughter loves to pull it out again, spend most my day looking like a scarecrow lol
I shower with my 3 year old (never have a bath), refill hand wash despensers with supermarket value stuff (who will know ;)) my daughter has used her older brothers old tshirts as nighties as I couldnt afford to buy her pj's. I've gone without dinner when our eldest was small pretending not to be hungry as we didnt have enough food for all 3 of us. I've stood old shampoo/conditioner/ketchup/sauce bottles upside down on the new bottles overnight to let the last dregs fall in. I've even gone so far as to only use 1 tea bag between mine and my husbands tea so that the bag lasted to payday 🙁
I have used double sided tape when i didn't have time to sew back the hem on a skirt – It works really well actually!!
i sometimes have to do the dishes in the morning to fit int he bath/ bedtime routine
It has to be ironing since baby no.2. With no.1 I ironed baby vests, sleepsuits and even teatowels but now its only work shirts and really creased things that get done!
i steam press the clothes as often as i can!
tweeted
@kiki_725
I dont iron anything :/
ironing lol
wow too many corners cut! lol I dont iron in bulk anymore, just when we need the items. I love winter as it means i can wear a hat and not even have to brush my hair!! lol
Girl Interrupted !
I don’t do the ironing any more – takes up too much time
what corners havent I cut? lol Not ironed a shirt if its under a jumper then the weather improves and you cant take your jumper off!! ready meals, a cupboard that you use just to throw all the mess in when someone knocks on the door, lol x
I cut corners everywhere buy especially when it comes to housework. I’m afraid I don’t need much encouragement with that one. I’d much rather cuddle up and read stories to my wee one than scrub the house clean.
(maggieleung222@aol.com)
Have tweeted about the competition @ maggieL123
(maggieleung222@aol.com)
all the time, i’ve four kids and sometimes its just a nightmare to get out the door in the mornings.. the worst, gave them a rice krispie bar one morning for breakfast! oops
Where a hat when taking kids to school!
I iron very little, creases will fall out!
cleaning……………….hired a cleaner as a mum not got time to do it myself!!
For me it has to be P'S I Love You, both were fabulous but the film had me in tears
Wasn;t keen of the Da Vinci Code
Goldfinger – superb and the best Bond book and film