A wedding, three years ago. A lovely friend and his lovely new wife. A room full of rowers. He had met her in his rowing club. A rowing club! We were indeed surprised when we first heard. But he had joined the club and met his wife, and there we all were, celebrating. It being a ...
This is how it goes in my house: "Kids, dinner's ready, come to the table." Then with a little less patience "Kids! Please come to the table!" Multiply this by pointlessly high number. Give up calling, start threatening and/ or physically lifting them into their seats. Cue dinner responses: Eldest: "What's this? I don't like this dinner. Why do we ...
It's messy here. Marker marks on walls, little piles of folded laundry waiting expectantly but in vain for someone to pick them up, a single toddler shoe sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. When exactly did the kids take over the house? The most obvious sign that the kids have taken over the house ...
Do your kids ever open seat-belts while you're driving? Or accidentally open a sibling's seat-belt when opening their own - the one that's supposed to stay closed because it's holding a car-seat in place? We don't have a problem with the first situation but the second is a regular annoyance. And OK, it's not always the ...
I wrote a Mother's Day post for eumom and hadn't intended to write another one here, but then my six year old told me about a game they had played in school - all about mums. Taking her turn along with each of her classmates, she was asked to tell everyone what her mother's name ...
So, how is it going having no kitchen you ask? Well, you didn't really ask, but I need to let it out somewhere. In a few short hours on Tuesday, our kitchen went from this: to this: To be frank, not having a kitchen isn't quite as much fun as I thought it would be. I have very fond ...
I was asked recently if I'd like to try Veronica's Snacks - a relatively new company, started just last year by mum of three Veronica Kenneally. I'm a sucker for a start-up, an Irish company, a mum running her own business. And I like crisps. So I said yes please. My crisps arrived a few days ...
The Lent of my childhood in 1980s Ireland was driven by a complex set of rules and norms, some of which I've listed below: 1. "Giving up sweets" had many interpretations. It could in fact exclude crisps, cake and in extreme cases, even chocolate. And chocolatey sweets, like Minstrels, which were technically deemed to be chocolate ...
Of all the celebration days during the year, Valentine's Day is arguably one of the most commercialized; one of the more makey-uppy ones. Although not as makey-uppy as yesterday's "Get a Different Name Day" which coincided with "Madly in Love with Me Day" (what, you mean you missed both of those?). At least Valentine's Day ...
It's New Year's Day and there are familiar signs that Christmas is nearly over - the tree branches are starting to droop and wilt, the new toys are scattered all over the house, and the last few Heroes have been eaten (except the Eclairs and Fudges). Each year, I think we're going to have our best ...