Our holiday was 80% amazing, and 20% hot-sticky-cross-cranky. Or at specific moments, 80% hot-sticky-cross-cranky and 20% I’m a parent, get me out of here. There’s the stuff that can happen on any holiday – even before kids, or when they’re older and a trip away (presumably) becomes a relaxing event. Like when a dying wasp leaves its ...
It's a full two months since I finished up in the IFSC so it seems like as good a time as any for an update on life as a WAHM. Highlights Summer holidays - I feel like I've discovered a secret world of amazingness. The heady mix of no office and no school-run has been going on ...
In most countries, temperatures of 18 degrees don't qualify as a heatwave but in Ireland, we'll take what we can get. It might be still chilly in exposed areas (in either sense) but we know how fleeting this is, and we're making the most of it. Some signs there's a thing we're calling a heatwave in ...
We were going to go to Howth today, for fish and chips. Or maybe Ardgillan Castle. Or possibly Glendalough, for a picnic. But like everyone else, we woke to that same mixed sky weather we've been seeing all week - rain, sun, rain, sun, except with more grey than blue. Howth and Ardgillan and Glendalough ...
A very nice thing about blogging is being offered products to review. The hard part is deciding whether to say yes or not, but when Claire Povey asked if I'd like to try one of her hand-made beach bags, one click through to her website was enough to convince me to send back a resounding "Yes ...
Recently, I asked my seven-year-old if she remembered Sequoia Parc, the campsite we stayed in, two years ago in France. "Of course I do - it had a dragon pirate ship thing beside the pool," she said. "No," I said, "That was Clarys Plage, last year." She was sure I was wrong. I was sure I was right. ...
Twenty-six years ago, my parents took the ferry to France and made their way down to St Jean de Monts, with four of us rattling around in the back-seat. The roof-rack that held our suitcases was covered in water-proof tarpaulin, secured with rope. My parents found their way by following a big, unwieldy map; cracked in ...
We're getting braver. This summer we took five day-trips. Not too adventurous and not too far from home, but a step-up from last year. Baby-steps - or toddler-steps as the case may be. So here's a quick review of five destinations - all within an hour of Dublin: 1. Clara Lara This was possibly our favourite day ...
All the talk after the first kids' club visit was about Darragh-from-Dublin. Or Mr. Pilkington as he was known by those in the know. Emmie had gone on her own for this first visit, but her enthusiastic stories of painting and treasure hunts and Darragh-from-Dublin were enough to convince Clara to join her the next ...
My six-year-old has been talking for months now about an idea she has - she's planning to open a theme park when she grows up. It'll be covered snow, there will be sledding, ice-covered slides, and reindeer carousels. You can stay overnight there - like glamping she says, only in igloos. And there will be ...