A very Specific Christmas Gift Guide

It's beginning to look a lot like (a very different) Christmas - especially for retailers and small businesses whose doors are still closed. But there is nothing like a crisis to bring people together, and it's heartening to see the effort people have been making to buy Irish, support local businesses, and spread the word about ...

Five Go Off To Eat Crisps : The Clayton Hotel Liffey Valley and Tayto Park

Five years ago when we first went to Tayto Park, I admit, I was confused. Was it a playground with a zoo attached? Or a zoo with a playground attached? Our kids were too small for any of the rides, and I don't remember seeing any rollercoasters - I was too busy trying not to lose sight of ...

The best of… no, wait, all the books I read this year

Last week I wrote about the books my kids loved this year - 28 recommendations from my kids to yours - so this week I thought I'd post about the books I loved in 2018. There are lots of "best books" newspaper articles and blog posts at the moment, and at first I thought about trying ...

The Photo Not Taken

Marina di Venezia Andrea Mara Office Mum

Two summers ago, we spent a glorious fortnight in Marina di Venezia, a campsite near Venice that's situated right on the beach. About five days into our holiday, I was lying awake in bed, cranky after a bad night's sleep, and irrationally irritated that everyone else was still snoring (including the four-year old source of my ...

Worry Not: No More Worries Kit – Review and Giveaway

No More Worries Kit - Andrea Mara Office Mum

"What's up pet?" I asked my middle child on Friday evening, when she looked a bit sad. She shrugged. "I'm not sure what it is. I think I'm just worrying about lots of things but I don't even know what they are." This isn't uncommon - she's my little worrier. She worries when her glasses are missing, ...

Hayfever – Practical Tips and Literal Solutions

Boots hayfever bundles - office mum

Until my mid-twenties, I thought hayfever was something limited to children, limited to summer, and limited to people who sat around in fields of hay, rubbing sheaves of dry grass in their eyes. That last one is a slight exaggeration, but really I didn’t think of it as debilitating, and I didn’t think it would ...

Women’s Executive Health Screening – Review and Giveaway!

Smithfield, Charter Medical - Office Mum

Apart from an unfortunate incident with a laundry basket which resulted in a broken finger (I knew laundry was dangerous) I haven't needed medical attention very often over the years, and happily for me, I'm rarely at the GP. However the downside of this is that there's no regular general check-up, not to mind anything more ...