I'm in awe of all the people I know doing Dry January, but I'm going to have to sit this one out. I admire you, but I can't find it in me to make the toughest month of the year even tougher by giving up nice things. I can't forego my Friday night wine any ...
It's that in between Christmas and New Year bit when I've had just about enough of the Heroes but not quite enough of the Baileys coffee, and I'm looking back at the year gone by before moving on to planning the year ahead. So I'm jumping on the round-up wagon - taking the lead from Sadhbh of Where Wishes ...
This post could also have been called "Pass the Rescue Remedy" or "Christmas is Cancelled" or more practically "I've Signed a Book Deal". At this point I'm more focused on the Rescue Remedy than anything, and still wondering if I'm having a (rather long) dream. A couple of years ago, a very lovely person called Margaret Scott ...
This time five years ago, I was counting down the days to the birth of my third baby - he was due on Christmas Eve, though at the time we didn't know he was a he. And whether or not we'd have a boy or a girl wasn't really on our minds at all - ...
On Monday morning, my youngest got up at 4.45am, and as is always the case when he comes into my bed, neither of us could get back to sleep. An hour later, I convinced him to go back to his room, but for me, it was too late. I couldn't get back to sleep, so ...
I have a dress I love but never wear. It's a blue print dress with an elusive and sometimes indefinable "flattering fit". I wore if for the first time when my second baby was a few months old - to go out for dinner with friends. I remember feeling so good about being dressed up and having food and wine ...
What do you miss about life before kids? That was the question in an online discussion I read recently. Sleep. Free-time. Me-time. Money. Nights out. Lying-in. Tea that's not gone cold. Peeing alone. Not in any kind of "I wish I never had kids because I miss that hot tea so much" way. Just a list of things that we sometimes miss - if we're ...
Once upon a long ago, I used to get the Dart into work every now and then – back in the pre-kid, pre-crèche, pre-car-space days. It was not so much an adventure as a trial by fire back then, and as I wait now (12 minutes!) for my rush hour Dart to arrive, I wonder ...
"You've such a great colour!" said my friend. I was ten years old, and made an "ah not really" gesture, shrugging my shoulders, but secretly thrilled with the comment. Or let's call it a compliment - it doesn't really make sense that it's a compliment - I hadn't actually done anything that required talent - but ...
June is mad. So says everyone. Teacher presents and end-of-term nights out and inductions for junior infants. Sports tournaments and school summer fairs - and barbecues every time it stops raining for more than six hours. I woke up this Monday morning and let out a long breath - another manic weekend done, and finally time to ...