Every year, bright-eyed and innocent, I look forward to going away on holidays – to reading and relaxing and resting, and to getting lots of sleep and sun. And every year, I am yet again taken by surprise to find that the holiday isn’t quite the chilled out, easygoing, restful
Holidaying with a toddler is kind of a contradiction in terms – if you expect, that is, for a holiday to be a relaxing affair. If you like high-octane adventure holidays, where you come home exhausted after two weeks of running, climbing and water-based-activities, then of course, holidaying with a
So, inspired by a recent Huff Post Parenting article called “Moms, put on that swimsuit!“, I’ve decided to show solidarity; I’m sharing some photos of myself at the pool. I’m kidding. Of course I’m not going to do that. I’m not insane. Like the mum who wrote the article, I
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
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,
Autumn equinox, the country bathed in an unexpected heatwave. A day to mark summer’s end with one last everything. One last ice-cream, one last outdoor lunch, one last walk on the Dun Laoghaire pier. It was the day of the All-Ireland football final, and Dublin Bay glinted in the sunlight,
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
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