Dublin, August 2016 Dear Universe, I'd like a little word about something. You see, we had this deal - I do the right thing, and you don't punish me. A very straight-forward agreement. But you don't seem to be holding up your side of the bargain these days, and I think we need to thrash it out. Take ...
Tag: parenting
Overthinking it at the Sandpit
5 Things to do in Dublin for Free
This post could also have been called "What we did this summer so far", or "Places I lost my youngest child this summer and needed help from strangers to find him" or simply "Brambles cafés we've been too, because they are EVERYWHERE now." We were away for the heatwave and since we've come home from holidays, the ...
Ferry or Flight – Which is Easier When Travelling With Kids?
How I Stopped Shouting at my Kids
My name is Andrea, I'm a yeller, and it's been 163 days since I last shouted at my kids. By no coincidence, it’s precisely 163 days since I had a blow-out shouting match with my six-year-old. She is a chilled out child – my easy one. But unlike her siblings, who are more used to getting in trouble ...
Removing Guilt and Adding Presence
Everyday Sexism and Girling Up our Kids
I've never personally experienced any sexism. Or at least not as far as I can remember, which may mean it has happened, and I've brushed it off as a normal, unremarkable, everyday thing. And that's exactly the point Laura Bates was making when she set up The Everyday Sexism Project in 2012, a platform for women to talk ...
In praise (or not) of praise
The literal bruises of motherhood
As I lay on my bed yesterday evening, my four-year-old suddenly bounced onto my rib-cage WWE style, and it struck me that parenting involves a fair amount of physical pain. And endurance. And sometimes bravery, while holding back tears. Today is just a regular day, but putting trousers on the wrestler involved being kicked; manhandling him into ...
How to make the best chocolate cake in the world without selling your kids on eBay
This really, really is the best chocolate cake in the world. So much so, it's worth going through the drama of baking with kids, just to eat it. Announce that today’s activity is baking, then bask in the shrieks of joy and pronouncements that you’re the best mum ever. Tell them nobody is baking unless they’re fully ...