One of my earliest childhood memories is of the time my mother went to see the Pope in the Phoenix Park, and I stayed home with my dad. My dad, not a seasoned cook, heated up tinned Campbells meatballs for lunch. He split the can between us, pouring the delicious juicy gravy-covered meatballs into two bowls, ...
"The weird thing about lockdown is how we all got used to it so quickly," said my daughter, as we went for our regulation exercise the other night. "Humans are very adaptable, I suppose." And in one way she's right - we're all instinctively veering out and steering clear and wiping down and washing washing washing. ...
Four years old. Just over three feet high. In a uniform that was ludicrously long. Tiny then, even tinier in hindsight, and in the pictures I can still find on my phone. The pictures I was going to use for the “First Day Last Day” post, like the ones I saw on Facebook last June. First ...
It's a year this week since we got the keys to our house and a year since we began the process of giving my dad back his house, after four months living with him. And every day of lockdown, I give quiet (and out loud) thanks that we are here and not still there, invading my ...
My kids have been asked to keep journals as part of their work from home packs. I keep telling them they should - that they are living through history, and they keep telling me they have nothing to write, because they do the same thing every day. Fair point. But it made me think. And it ...
Just your average day: 9 am: It's time for PE with Joe. We are not good at being organised for 9, so I pause the screen while one child gets dressed and one child asks me if he takes part in the PE class, does that mean less enforced outdoor exercise later. You know all those kids ...
One week in. It is surreal to think that a week ago, the kids were still at school. Things have changed so much since then, in ever decreasing circles of things we feel comfortable doing. So where are we now? It changes every day. Every hour even, as we all try to find our rhythm. Then it changes ...
Date: February 28th 2018 Time: 7:15 am Sound: Earsplitting shrieks This is a little story about the snow that led to a very different story about the snow. We'd gone to bed the night before, wondering if it would really, really happen this time. The promise of snow. Or depending on where you live and work, the threat of snow. ...
Deirdre Spillane first featured in the Office Mum interview series in May 2015 - almost five years ago! - you can read her original interview here. Back then, Deirdre was working in commercial finance in the telecommunications sector, doing a busy four-day-week job, and taking parental leave on Fridays. She had two children at the time. ...
"This week is crazy," I said to my husband. "It'll calm down next week," he said, and I nodded. "Who are you kidding," said the little voice inside my head. "You've been saying it'll calm down next week since 2007, and it still hasn't." This is true. I've even blogged about it before I think (here) and I've ...