Still talking?

Beginning to study again has had some surprising and some obvious side-effects. Okay, I have no income, have fees to pay but still have to find the cash to pay a childminder. Despite that I'm not eligible for working families tax credit and generally have neither time nor money. I'm used to having to choose one or the other - but losing both is hard. There is an upside. Improved conversation!

Husband and I have been married for nearly ten years (yes, I know, I was a child bride) and seemed to have nothing to talk about any more. I don't mean that anything was wrong – we've just already had nearly all the deep conversations possible and know each other inside out. Conversation had been dwindling to sorting out who would do what around the house or with the children.

It's been quite a bonus to discover that my course and the things I'm learning about are putting some new ideas into my head that we can discuss. I'm also enjoying showing him my latest youtube discoveries – the Dove evolution video and a spoof version. (Thanks to Mary Ann Sieghart for the tip in her column.) The trouble is, then he knows I've not been glued to my books while he's been working hard to bring home the money... Time-wasting is a traditional student activity I suppose, as well as watching children's TV – but I have an extra excuse for that.)





When I've not been studying hard in front of youtube, I have been busy gathering things for child 1 to take into school. We lived in Freiburg, by the Black Forest in Germany, last year for a year (more new topics of conversation) and Child 1 went to kindergarten. 11 November is St Martin's day, celebrated in Germany with bonfires and children's lantern processions.

So we've taken a lantern, CD and songbook into school for her to tell her class all about it. She and I have also baked lots of traditional "Weckmänner" – gingerbread men without the ginger, made with sweet yeasted dough – for the class. Trouble is, I don't have enough containers for transporting them all. Trying to get us all to school by bike in one piece could be interesting – at least I'll have something to tell Husband when he gets home in the evening.

This post was previously published as a student blog on The Times online.