So have you entered your daughter in the Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant this weekend? Me neither. Kind of a no-brainer. Kind of not worth writing a blog post really, as there’s nothing to debate, the argument makes itself.And I’ve just read that the Bracken Court in Balbriggan, revealed this week to
From sandals to boots overnight – summer is a goner. And we’re all fine with that; as a nation we’ve agreed that we can’t complain, because the summer was just so good this year (by nation I mean three real-life conversations plus the general consensus on Twitter) I’m thinking back
“I hate the playground” said the woman as she sat back down on the low wall. “Me too” I replied, shaking my head as I plucked a squirming toddler off the top of the slide. The very nice woman had just leaped up to grab Sam, who had decided that
You stepped silently down the stairs, gliding almost, and quietly joined us in the kitchen. The skirt that grazed your ankles a year ago when you first wore a uniform is now swishing around your knees. You slipped wordlessly into your seat, entirely focused on breakfast to the exclusion of
Two weeks ago, the toddler discovered television. And I am so happy. I know it’s not good for him, I know at twenty months he is too young for TV, but my happiness outweighs any anxiety or guilt I might have about this. For the first time in six years,
This week, the Irish Parenting Bloggers are writing about back-to-school costs, a topic that’s causing frustration for some and fear for many more around the country this week. In our house, we are at the early stages of the school life-cycle; we have just one of our three in school,
My lovely nanny Silvia moved on to a new job in a new career as a writer last week, as mentioned here. The kids sobbed, I sobbed, Silvia cried too on her last day. But happily for us, we found a fantastic new nanny last week – she started on
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you picked it up from Twitter or Facebook – it’s not news that we’re getting most of our, well, news, entertainment, information and of course blog posts, from social media. And this includes parenting information – who do parents talk to when they
Three days, three hashtags: Malala, Slanegirl and RoseofTralee It has been a strange week so far for women in Ireland – a wake-up call on how women are viewed, how women are judged. It also raises a question – what are we looking for in terms of role models
You know it’s back-to-school time when RTE starts to reel us in for The Rose of Tralee. It reminds me of shiny new pencil cases and covering school books and writing my name on everything. Everything. I loved the Rose of Tralee as a child. As an adult, I laughed at it
I worry a lot that I’m not very good at being a parent. I work outside the home because financially I have to, as many mothers do. I also enjoy my job, and wonder sometimes if it’s easy to hide behind the financial obligation – how would I really feel
Don’t be a martyr. Don’t be a mammy-martyr or a worker-bee-martyr or any other kind. It didn’t end well for Joan of Arc and it won’t end well for you. I don’t know if it’s an Irish thing or a woman thing or a mother thing, or maybe a little
Tips for finding a childminder she said. Post your questions here she said. And the Gods of Taking Down Smug People thought “ha!” And even though I wasn’t being horribly smug, take me down they did. Within one week of writing a blog post with tips for finding a childminder,
Just before teatime: “Mum can I use the big scissors to cut some paper? please say yes, mum please, just say yes” from my five year-old. My instinctive response was “No, I’m getting the tea ready now, I can’t let you use the scissors on your own” But I stopped
It’s World Breastfeeding Week from August 1st to August 7th, and the Irish Parenting Bloggers have decided to do a Blog March to show support. Each of us will publish a post this week based on our own breastfeeding experiences, and linked to this year’s theme: Breastfeeding Support: Close to
So, you need to find a complete stranger to come into your house and be solely responsible for your children while you’re not there. Scary stuff. Looking for a childminder (or nanny to use the more correct term) can be a very daunting challenge. When I was starting to think
The ferry never changes. The familiar smell of exhausts as engines are switched off and families squeeze between rows of roof-box-topped cars to reach the entry doors. The staff with genuine smiles waiting to greet us and help tiny children clamber up the steep steps. The sense of relief when
There was a funny moment this morning when I was getting breakfast for the kids – well ironic more than funny. The two girls were busy at the table making necklaces by threading beads onto string, and deep in concentration, they were ignoring my requests for help. I was rushing
We’ve just returned home from what has been our best holiday ever. We say that every year of course, and it usually takes a few months and a healthy dose of hindsight to admit that two weeks in a damp mobile home while it rained almost every day was not
This is a picture that I took of my kids having a picnic lunch today, and instinctively thought “I should put this up on Facebook!” I suppose because the kids look happy, they’re having lunch on a picnic rug, and maybe on some level it makes me feel like a