Blog List

For me, spring is one of my favourite seasons because it brings new growth and new beginnings. This year though, I’m finding autumn is bringing me a new lease of life. Last week, our four-year-old son began preschool bringing much change to our home. For the last four years, I have been his primary carer and now for three hours a day, I will be sharing him with a local preschool. While I was...

You know those memories you have of your childhood – those silly but special ones that stick with you forever? We all have them if we’re lucky. My parents gave me the gift of a fantastic childhood and it’s funny what stays with you. As a child of the 80s, my fond recollections are of holidays to Donegal beaches, where one minute the sun would be shining and 30 seconds later, the rain would...

Social media has been awash with ‘first day at school’ photos recently and it made my heart smile to see so many lovely happy faces setting off on this new journey in life. It’s one that starts out at four or five years of age and continues into the early twenties and nothing prepares us for that first day saying ‘goodbye’ to our little treasures. It’s been a few years (quite a few...

I was going to start this post with the phrase, "The one thing nobody tells you about becoming a parent…" but it would, in fact, be a lie, because everyone tells you. They take great pleasure in telling you, and it might, in the beginning, almost feel like they're lining up to tell you. You tell them – and by "them" I mean ‘people who are already parents’ – that you're expecting...

I knew it was too good to be true. After a summer of being told on an almost daily basis that he didn’t want to go to Big School, but wanted to stay at home and play with his toys instead, I was dreading the First Day. However, when the big day arrived on the last Thursday in August, he went into his classroom quite happily, having met his little buddy from playschool in the queue and spied the...

There’s precious little I enjoy more than taking a trip down memory lane with my seven-year-old daughter. From recalling her first words to recounting her excitement every time Daddy arrived home from work, time spent reminiscing with Grace is always time well spent. Until she wants to go even further back, that is. Until she wants to explore the months leading up to her arrival, I mean...

Well, here we are, six weeks on from the babies being born. I got to drive after four weeks, which was great and my energy levels have reverted back to how they were before I was pregnant. My tummy is not doing too bad on slimming down and although I am tired, I’m getting into the swing of getting up every three hours in the night. What I have not practiced for is that I will be up every three...

Most of us are guilty of preaching to our kids (well I do in my house) about how they should eat their dinner, do all their homework and keep their room tidy. And while we mean well it can be a little annoying to kids to hear the same thing every day. But my little girl caught me out recently, and she left me so completely stumped that I felt guilty for the whole day. One morning, I was eating my...

My daughter’s return to school this week has signalled the beginning of yet another year of worry. Not mine I hasten to add, but hers. For a child so capable and confident, she worries more than anyone I’ve ever known. Since she began school three years ago, every end-of-year report has noted this particular trait of hers and mentioned specific methods will may help in the coming year...

In late July, we were on our two weeks holidays in sunny West Cork – my hard-working hubby, the two kids and myself were renting a house, as we do every year. But what’s completely different about this year is that as a County Councillor, I am never off the clock. I remember one gloriously sunny day when the kids couldn’t wait to hit the beach to build sandcastles, surf and hunt for crabs...