His favourite pastimes are chasing pigeons, raiding cupboards and eating bagels. At lunch-time, he ignores what everyone else is having and goes his own way, even if that’s Ready Brek with fives spoons. At dinner-time, he gets up from the table and walks off to play with toys. I bring
This is not a newsflash. If you’re reading this, you’re probably a parent, and you already know that parenting is hard. I like for there to be reason for the hard days though, and this week I learned that sometimes there is no reason. Like Monday morning. I woke up
Two years ago, the world’s media watched as Prince William strapped his newborn son into a car seat for the first time. He appeared to be nervous, and understandably so – every parent knows the daunting task that is the first fumbling foray into the world of car seats. And
As the countdown to summer holidays rolled on last month, one cohort of parents in particular were bracing themselves with an odd mixture of relief and outright fear. On the one hand, it’s great to have no more school-runs, no more homework, and a break for the kids. But for WAHMs,
Our holiday was 80% amazing, and 20% hot-sticky-cross-cranky. Or at specific moments, 80% hot-sticky-cross-cranky and 20% I’m a parent, get me out of here. There’s the stuff that can happen on any holiday – even before kids, or when they’re older and a trip away (presumably) becomes a relaxing event. Like
It’s a full two months since I finished up in the IFSC so it seems like as good a time as any for an update on life as a WAHM. Highlights Summer holidays – I feel like I’ve discovered a secret world of amazingness. The heady mix of no office
For the last few weeks, I’ve spent all day every day with a three-year-old boy as my constant companion. Three-year-old boys are very good fun to hang out with – they make for great company. But it does strike me that we’ve very little in common. For example, things I enjoy
You two. So different and so the same. Nature and nurture at play. One serious and dramatic and soft, the other quirky and dramatic and wise. Both of you in love with drawing and made-up-dancing and princesses and mermaids. One obsessed with flowers and seeds and reading, the other
1. Women can fix the world I had dinner on Friday night with five amazing, fun, smart, witty women. Over much white wine, we covered pod-casts, sex education, cyber-bullying, running, decluttering, books, blogs, the glass ceiling, tennis, part-time work, and the scary future that is parenting teens. And we had
This is a post about breakfasts (there’s no club, unless my kids growling at each other across the 8am table counts, but the film is one of my all-time favourites so I went with it) If you’re a working mum, and/ or you have children at school, doing anything more
We were going to go to Howth today, for fish and chips. Or maybe Ardgillan Castle. Or possibly Glendalough, for a picnic. But like everyone else, we woke to that same mixed sky weather we’ve been seeing all week – rain, sun, rain, sun, except with more grey than blue.
Day 1 not in the office – Tuesday May 5th The kids were off school today, and it was a very normal day. I’ve had dozens of days like this, when I’ve taken annual leave during school holidays, and this didn’t feel too different. No big “shock” moment. That’s good. We
I’m going to sound like a killjoy now. I’m going to sound like the girl who always came last and never caught the ball (I was indeed the girl who always came last and never caught the ball.) But is it time to look at refreshing sports day? Could we
We go off-road before we even start. Clara rushes across the grass, shrieking at the others to follow. They’re going to climb a tree they say. We follow, a little behind. Watching three small figures running down the hill – I hear the opening bars of Little House on the Prairie
A very nice thing about blogging is being offered products to review. The hard part is deciding whether to say yes or not, but when Claire Povey asked if I’d like to try one of her hand-made beach bags, one click through to her website was enough to convince me to
I wrote this a few weeks ago, right after I told the kids that I was finishing up in my job: I’ve just had a very grown-up conversation with two relatively small girls. It’s one I’ve been dreading – the “I’m going to be staying home from work from now
“What age you is mummy?” asked my three-year-old recently. A topical question, when the internet is full of How Old Do I Look photos (clever Microsoft!), hitting on the mild obsession some (many) of us have with how old we look versus how old we are, and how publicly we’re
Medicine and the internet – they haven’t always been the most comfortable of bedfellows. I can’t be the only one who has googled a mild headache and come away thinking I’m going to die within the hour? And I remember when my first baby was tiny, and breastfeeding was hit
Are our families being damaged by the non-stop commuting lives we lead? Or are children with two employed parents doing OK after all? The media gives us conflicting answers to this – often on a daily basis. Most recently, there’s are reports of a study that showing that children in families
I saw a little boy in a restaurant today. He was in his mother’s arms as she tried to order bagels at the till. He wanted cake, and tried squirming out of her arms to get it. When she said no, he shrieked and howled. She was embarrassed, but ploughed firmly