A year of engagement

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This is my 100th blog-post. And tomorrow is New Year's Eve. So I'm thinking that it might be OK for me to say something about that - about my first year of blogging. For me, 2013 has been a year of engagement. Not the diamond-ring type - that was a decade ago (though I wouldn't say no to ...

A Christmas reunion

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It was going to be the best Christmas ever. We say that every year of course, and every year we mean it. But last year was definitely going to be the best Christmas ever. We had planned everything in tiny detail - not remembering any of that "if you want to make God laugh, tell him ...

Five things I now know about Christmas

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As an antidote to yesterday's slightly downbeat post, here's something more festive: five things I didn't know about Christmas until I had kids. 1. There's a reason kids go to bed early on Christmas Eve Before having children, I wondered about the emphasis on getting kids to bed earlier than usual on Christmas Eve - why all ...

Christmas card casualty

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"Mum can I tell you something?" I looked down at the sad little face of my four-year-old and tensed slightly, hoping it would be that she was thirsty or hungry (states often inexplicably accompanied by a sombre tone) "Today the twins in my class - you know Sarah and Robert*? They brought in Christmas cards and gave ...

Office Mum stories: Brenda Brooks

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The next interview in this series is with Brenda Brooks; mother of two small children, actress and producer. She has just finished filming The Play Next Door by Deirdre Purcell which will be broadcast in January on RTE 1 and is currently filming Citizen Charlie a three-part drama about Charles Haughey’s life. Brenda is also ...

The Office Christmas Special

image credit Bubblews.com

Little black dresses, large gins, lots of shots. Speeches, spills, too many beers, late night tears. Every Christmas party ever. New dresses bought each year, sparkles everywhere - eyeshadow, clutches and heels. Glamorous venues like Powerscourt and Luttrelstown and the Guinness Storehouse. Drinks then buses then drinks then food then drinks and more drinks. Important questions about the ...

Office Mum Stories: Jill O’Herlihy

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“I’m a firm believer that women can do everything men can, only better and with more humility!” Jill O’Herlihy has worked in Communications at O’Herlihy Communications for the past 17 years. She is mom to two children; Martha is six and Bill is three and a half. She doesn’t have any pets to throw into the ...

Impostor syndrome

(image credit amymarquez.com)

Spring 2011, sitting in Copenhagen airport, sipping a €7 cappuccino and eating a Danish pastry (of course), I browsed through my copy of Marie-Claire, stopping on an article about "Impostor Syndrome" Just the week before, I had been explaining the term to a friend who hadn't heard of it. Many people haven't - it's essentially the ...

Office Mum stories: Laura Murray

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 " you don't have to be a SAHM to be a good parent. This is just how I can be a good parent"   This week's interview is with Laura Murray, a mum of one-and-a-bump who is at home full-time. She blogs at MyInternalWorld, and here she gives an honest picture of life as a stay-at-home mum. When I asked Laura ...