Our year of Friday mornings is over, and I’m trying to be a grown-up about it, but you’re holding up better than I am. You love our routine almost as much as I do; we drop your big sister to school, then we wander slowly back, you holding onto the
Can a working mother be as good at her job after maternity leave? That’s the question – a Telegraph article headline – that caught my eye yesterday. The writer, UK journalist Antonia Hoyle, goes on to say: “Post-children I am distracted, indecisive and less confident. I am more prone to mistakes and often
I haven’t stopped crying for two days – this is only slightly more crying than usual; fueled by goodbyes to teachers and to pre-school and to another chunk of childhood. I’m a crier. Anything sets me off. Some days, everything sets me off. Like yesterday. It started early, when a
What parenting moments are over for you? And how do you see them now, when you look back? What do you miss? These are the questions being asked by The Busy Mamas for her brand new linky, so I got thinking. I thought about some tangible stages that have finished for good;
It’s 8.30pm and I’m sitting in my garden as I type. The doors are open behind me, and I can hear the noise of tonight’s World Cup match. My husband is waiting until full-time, then he’s going to run to the supermarket for some mid-week supplies. And maybe some ice-cream.
I wonder sometimes if as a nation we all suffer from a little bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder – or at least if there’s any science behind the national mood-lift that takes place every time the sun comes out. “Imagine if it was like this all the time,” we say,
As I sat in my local Starbucks recently, I noticed how many dad and baby pairings surrounded me, and wondered if perhaps the roles of mothers and fathers are drawing ever closer. Then I thought a bit more, about how different my husband and I are at home and changed
Sometimes he doesn’t pick up the kids’ clothes, and sometimes the same toys sit on the stairs for days, waiting patiently to be transported up or down. He might not spot the mess in the kitchen or the Lego on the floor. But the next time you have an inward
“It is exceptionally hard but people still do it. Other than hormones, there must be a reason people make the choice to become parents multiple times” I had a very interesting, eye-opening conversation today with someone close to me – I’ll call her Claire because I know she’d like to
Drink eight glasses of water a day. Take the stairs. Put the phone away when the kids are around. Be on time for work. Be on time leaving work. Pay attention during homework time. Eat five servings of fruit and veg a day. Don’t let the kids watch too much TV. Get seven
Where to buy a moses basket mattress, what to pack in the hospital bag, which books to read, where to find baby name meanings and why you must put your unborn child’s name down for schools: these are just some of the many pieces of advice I was given when
My third child is experiencing quite a relaxed toddlerhood, compared to that of my second and especially my first. He has fewer toys, fewer clothes, and hand-me-down everything possible – so a lot of pink. But he’s the happiest, most chilled out kid of our bunch, so we must be
As part of lovely Learner Mama’s linky, I’ve put together ten random things I’ve learned about parenting. They apply to me; they may not apply to everyone. But I wish my pre-mother self had known some of them. Or maybe that would take the fun out of it… 1. Nothing
“Want other mummy, not you!” said the two-year-old, pushing me away when I tried to hug him after work this evening. Oh. Not what I was expecting. Maybe I’d misheard. I tried again – reached out for a hug. “No, you stay there. Want other mummy, not you!” Right so,
It was the August bank holiday weekend, and I really wanted to be like those families who head away spontaneously for a night – we’ve never done that. The budget allowed for this to be a one-night-only event, so options were limited. We considered a self-catering house, but this seemed
“I have guilty moments, I think most mothers do. Fathers tend not to, which is interesting; most men I know are pragmatic about it. Work has to be done, bills have to be paid” This week’s Office Mum interview is with Sinéad Crowley; journalist, RTE Arts and Media correspondent and
Before I had children, I had pretty high expectations – of myself. I thought I’d be a good mother. I thought I’d have children who ate mostly vegetables. I thought they wouldn’t watch TV. And I thought I’d maintain a certain level of personal-grooming. No need to let it all
Statistics from Safe Food show that Irish children are not getting enough physical activity: four out of five kids get less than the recommended sixty minutes per day. It’s hard to pay attention to all the statistics that are sent out over the airwaves. We often switch off – we can’t