Blog List

After I had my daughter almost seven years ago, I made the decision not to have any more children. The news was met with despair by friends and family who thought it was selfish of me and my partner to deprive Ella of a sibling and playmate, but I was steadfast in my decision. And for the most part, I don’t regret it, but every now and then I wonder if there was any truth in my family’s...

Oh dear, where’s the summer gone? Or rather, when will it show up at all? A recent week in Kerry felt more like an October mini-break than a summer holiday. Less bikinis, more fleeces. The barbeque supplied by the house-owner in a fit of misplaced optimism served as a bird bath until it was blown over in a gale. But at least staying indoors meant that we got to light the turf fire, and nothing...

Flying with young kids is stressful at the best of times and the four-hour flight to Lanzarote was our longest flight with the nippers. On top of that we were flying Ryanair, which made me even more nervous as I had sworn after my last flight while heavily pregnant with Princess Firstborn, that I would never fly with them again due to their complete lack of customer service. But in fact, we were...

We are smack bang in the middle of the summer holidays once again and true to schedule, we cannot rely upon the Irish weather to accommodate us at all! But schools and colleges are out, so let’s just enjoy. The rain can pour, the wind can howl, but routine has gone out the window. I’ll settle for that! As we approach the forthcoming Bank Holiday weekend at the start of August, I can feel a...

Last week a survey came out with a figure for how much having a child is going to cost you: a six figure sum - €105,000 on average. Ouch. I never thought having a child was going to be a money saving exercise, what with all these labour laws that frown upon young ones cleaning chimneys and picking fruit, but still, a hundred grand? That’s a painful thought. Painful, but it shouldn’t come as...

Ah, the summer… From the grim reaches of November, when the days last just long enough to show you how insufferably bleak it is out there before plunging into howling darkness, July waves at you from a sunny distance. You fantasise about the smell of cut grass and warm skin, days spent outside with rosy-cheeked children laughing and splashing into the sun-kissed evenings. You count down the days...

‘Toilet’ and ‘training’ are two words that strike fear into most parents’ hearts. Luckily I have the magic solution, although it has taken me three children to discover it. The secret? Wait until they are three! Allow me to explain… The eldest was just shy of two-and-a-half-years-old when I trained her. I was in full crèche mode, I stayed calm when she had accidents and I had loads of...

My friend asked me to join her for a yoga session recently. A dedicated yogi, she’s always on the hunt for new recruits. Politely declining, I told her I never found yoga particularly relaxing nor did I find it any way invigorating. When I exercise I like to break a sweat and when I relax I like to do it in the knowledge I can break wind with wild abandon and not find myself clenching my stomach...

So today I am 28 weeks – hurray! I really didn't think we would get this far when I was admitted to hospital with absent flow on Baby One on 3rd July. The chances for the three little babies have increased significantly now I have reached Week 28. I had my growth scan today and Baby One is certainly a little fighter and has grown the most out of the three of them! Baby One is 2lb, Baby Two...

It's that time of year again, when many families are shutting down their computers, locking up their houses and heading off on holiday for a couple of weeks. And while destination, length of time away and how you get there are all very different when you become a mum, that's not all that changes! If you are anything like me, you may start to notice that how you pack now is significantly...