The third and final addition to my brood has just turned one. It was a real bittersweet milestone buying that big foil “1” balloon that was bigger than himself. As I walked up the street with it, I realised it was the last time I would be doing it. The next time I’ll be carrying…
Category: Blog
Third Time Around
For over a year, I had a draft article sitting in my WordPress app; “Going from 2 to 3”. It was an article I kept coming to and going away from just as quick, about the internal debate many go through; trying for Baby #3. Everyone around me seemed to think we were “done”… maybe…
How Lucky I Am
How lucky I am to be Irish. To have been born and raised in a neutral country that no longer has to hand over their sons to war. A country that I will never have to flee or be herded out of. To live in a country that doesn’t go on fire or get taken…
I Want to be Sociable…But
I’ve been on Maternity Leave for nearing 6 months now, and lately I’m desperately feeling the need to be more sociable. But. There’s always a “but”! I want to get out of the house. BUT… Anything I want to do involves driving places. And that feels like work. And let’s face it it’s also bloody…
Boobie Trapped
I’m almost 4 months into breastfeeding our third boy and I am well and truly Boobie Trapped. For me breastfeeding is, and always has been, a complete contradiction and confusion of feelings. If there was ever something that you could love and hate in equal measures and all at once, it’s breastfeeding. I love the…
The Power of an Hour
We have all heard the phrase “what a difference a day makes”, but I think the humble hour is underrated… An hour with friends. An hour driving in the car on your own. An hour of your favourite TV show. An hour listening to music. An hour at the hair salon. An hour at the…
CenterParcs Longford Forest; Full Review
Hey folks! Long time, no blog! Life has been a small bit mad to say the least, but I felt compelled to do a quick (ish) write up on our first proper family holiday to Centerparcs Longford Forest. Having listened to other people’s accounts of their trips over the past couple of years, we were…
Avoiding the Merry Meltdown
In case you’ve been under a rock since Halloween, I’m here to let you know that it is Merry Meltdown season! I’m not a grinch, but every year I feel more and more that the in-your-face non-stop marketing and selling is getting stressful. Stressful to the point of sending a lot of us on our…
The Kitchen Table
Sit Serve Eat Drink Mess Share Pass Wipe Crunch Munch Gobble Slobber Clean Play Draw Colour Write Read Learn Study Practice Paint Fold Stack Scatter Gather Talk Laugh Cry Whisper Shout Celebrate Mourn Grieve Grab Steal Hide Roll Squash Shape Stamp Pop Slice Poke Splash Spill Mop All around the Kitchen Table.
Latest Picks of the ‘Flix
Hello November! The month where the curtains never seem to even get opened! Dark evenings closing in, a North wind that would beat any Hollywood Browzer, and a fairly empty calendar… There is only one thing for it! Embrace the cosiness and take control of that remote… you now have full permission to dive headlong…
A Women-Only Nightmare?
I had a nightmare last night. Like a full on shaking, trying to wake myself up nightmare. It was so so strange, I don’t ever remember having a nightmare since childhood; the odd bad dream, yes but not a nightmare. Earlier in the day I had been chatting with my sister and the Sarah Everard…
I Don’t Want to Play
“Mommy can you play with me?” Does anyone else shudder and wince when they hear those words…? I feel like a bit of bitch even writing that but jesus I hate playing with kids… I mean, I can tolerate some kinds of playing, I’m not a total buzzkill… I can do Play Doh. I can…
Peeing on a Stick
I think it’s safe to say that if you are a female of child bearing age, the title of this blog will spark many emotions in you. Many a stick has been peed on by all of us in our lifetimes to date… I am of course referring to pregnancy-related sticks… but maybe you have…
Keeping it all Going
Week 4 of being back to work full time… I honestly did not think I would still be functioning at this stage! Or at the very least that the house would still be standing! The fear of the unknown was real as the end of August came barreling towards me. My head was spinning on…
How to Grow a Book-Lover
If there is one thing I have learned in my 14 years teaching it is this; children who enjoy reading find everything easier when it comes to school work. They don’t have to be amazing at it, if there is enjoyment, skill and mastery will follow. I am now at the stage where I am…
Preening and Panic
Yay! It is finally happening! I have a Hen Night & a wedding to go to within the next month! The excitement amongst our gang of girls is palpable… The sheer panic of how the hell we are going to put ourselves together is also palpable😅 What? Full face of make up? Co-ordinated outfit? HEELS?…
Warning! Family Holidays are NOT Suitable for Adults
Do you aim to relax and unwind on holidays? Do you enjoy lazy late evening meals? Do you look forward to long lie ins and leisurely breakfasts? If so, a Family Holiday is NOT what you need… Oh great here she is again, bitching and moaning… well no actually I’m not, so read on or…
Women vs Men; Illness
I am compelled to begin this one with a disclaimer specifically for my wonderful super-human husband who NEVER gets sick and so he can’t give out to me for bitching about him in this blog🤣 not that I would EVER commit such a heinous crime… Illness… malaise… sick… laid up, whatever you want to call…
Women vs Men: Event Planning
Ohhhh yes. Whether it’s birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, weekends away, night out, weddings, the Women Vs Men argument is strong here. Let’s take a basic one; birthdays. Kids birthdays for example. Anyone who has ever organised or hosted a kids birthday party, no matter how small or simple, knows the weeks and maybe even months of…
Women vs Men; TV choices
*Disclaimer* I am acutely aware that everybody is different and all that stuff, and yes I am 100% making sweeping generalisations here, but my Women vs Men series is based on a lifetime of hard evidence gleaned from living with a typical man for some years now and having grown up with a typical man…
Body Thoughts
I want to talk bodies. Bigger bodies. Weight. Fat. Image. Confidence. Whatever. Bodies. I have avoided this topic quite consciously up to now but my thoughts are just screaming to get out at this point so here goes… Weight is a struggle for me and has been my entire adult life. I don’t remember even…
Love Island; Pros and Cons
My newsfeeds are flooded since the weekend with Love Island publicity. On the one hand there are many excited viewers clearing their schedules to get stuck in for another series. On the other hand there are many people making very valid declarations of refusal to engage…and I’m in two minds about which side of the…
Reunited
Eeeeeekkkk!! The shrill but infectious sound of over-excited thirty somethings reunited after an 18 month hiatus. “Are we hugging!? Oh go on, shur aren’t we sharing a room we might as well hug!“ They needed this more than they realised. “Right, we have three rooms, who’s with who?“ They pair off, bound for the lift,…
Mam Down
What a fortnight it’s been… illness, injury, more days off sick than the past 10 years combined, and more hours spent on the couch than I ever imagined possible! I’m almost back to myself after an unfortunate run of bad luck. This Mammy has been up on blocks for the first time in… possibly ever?…
Does Your Childs’ Choice of TV Affect their Behaviour?
Mine does. We have had a crazy month with our eldest and his completely erratic behaviour. There were endless issues at home with hyperactivity, aggression, just general mayhem. And then it spilled into school, and that’s where I draw the line. I realised one day recently that his taste in TV had changed lately, and…
Home
The places they describe are not Home. Those places were never Home to anyone. Home is happy. Home is love. Home is comfort. Home is hugs and food and warmth and laughs and rows and play. Hundreds, thousands of women and children were kept there, but they were never Home. Babies were born and taken…
Beach Trip Tips
The good weather this weekend and the easing of restrictions meant that the boys and I could hop in the car and hit the road to get some beach time in lovely old Miltown Malbay; Spanish Point beach is our fave. My parents live 10 minutes away from there so we have become pro’s at…
Will the Real Me Please Stand Up…
Hi, my name is… Huh? My name is… who? My name is… Tikka tikka… I’m Mommy… I really hope you read that while rapping Eminem in your head!! I tuned in to an Insta Live with @themammyblog.ie and @lisa_nolan.ie this evening in which they were discussing Maternal Mental Health… and how it is about so…
Being “Good” to Yourself vs Being “Kind” to Yourself
What’s the difference I hear you ask? Are they not the same thing? I have come to realise lately that no, they are not the same thing. I love a good excuse to be “good” to myself. What that means to me is usually over-eating foods that I FECKIN LOVE but that are no good…
Big Kids Small Handbag
I have graduated at last! Nope, not a new piece of paper, or new letters after my name… Much more exciting than that! A new handbag! A nice small handbag. For almost 6 years now I have been a mother, and by default I have also been a glorified sherpa. For a mother of small…
The Day That Changed My Life
Hey guess what! I finished a book! Actually I finished two books but the amazing thing is that I managed to finish one at all! One busy week of reading back in March got me to the end of Caitlin McBride’s truly great book “The Day That Changed My Life”. It’s a really warm, inspiring…
I am SO Not Ready
It’s the start of a new chapter in the Book of Parenting for this house. GAA training starts this week, and I am SO not ready… I’m not ready to give up my evenings. I’m not ready to give up my Sunday mornings. I’m not ready for the freezing sidelines & the filthy gear. I’m…
Enhance This
Enhance this, reduce that, smooth this out, plump that up… Ladies, what are doing to ourselves? Lips, lashes, skin, nails, hair, brows, boobs, bums, bellies; we are all born with these things, but most of us are unhappy with what we have been given. Have we made ourselves unhappy or is the world around us…
This is Not News
As I scrolled through the headlines during the week, trying to find something that wouldn’t just enrage me, I came across an article in the Irish Examiner with the headline “Half of New Mothers don’t take time for themselves after Birth” My immediate reaction was to think THIS IS NOT NEWS. Every mother in the…
Disco Drive Meditation
Right ladies, time for some meditation. Some very loud, lively meditation. Meditation is supposed to calm the mind, slow down your thoughts, clear your head of clutter. Meditation in the traditional cross-legged, eyes closed sense is not for everyone. It’s not for me anyways, try as I might! So I have identified my own kind…
Why Bother
I spotted a field of cows & calves right beside the road yesterday while driving back from town. I thought “Great! That’s tomorrow’s activity sorted!” The morning after a boozy zoom is never really a great time to have plans as we all know, but nonetheless I was all gung ho about this amazing adventure…
Recipe for a Happy Easter
At 12pm today both sides of my brain made noises… The teacher side went… WOOHOOOOOOOOOO a mental break for 2 weeks at last! The Mammy side went… Oh Jesus how are we going to manage a fortnight off???! So as I tipped around cleaning my classroom ready to say Slán until Term 3, my brain…
Frenemies
“Ah two boys! And so close in age! They must be great friends…!” Well let me tell ya folks, it’s 50:50 around here when it comes to how these boys get along… “Frenemies” is probably the best description! Since Small Bro turned 3 last Summer, the dynamics between the duo has changed radically. Up to…
What Women Want
WHAT DO YOU WANT??!! A withered Ryan Gosling screams at his crazy-in-love other half… (probably the most relatable Ryan Gosling has ever been to most men…!) Mel Gibson also tried his hand at figuring this out on the big screen with amusing results… The million dollar question… what do women want? Well here’s what I…
The Hardest Part
Motherhood. Everyone has a different idea of when it starts, but for me it starts when you see that positive test. You fly into the future in the blink of an eye. You imagine and dream about the minute details of what your life will be with this baby that has been created inside you….
Treading Water
I haven’t put together a blog post in 3 weeks. That’s the longest gap between my efforts in blogging since I started this properly 12 months ago. I just haven’t had those “ping!” moments where an idea comes to me & I start putting words down. My brain has just felt so empty. And at…
Firefly Lane… a Feminist Feast
Netflix has yet again come up with the goods. Firefly Lane aired last week for the first time, a show that I saw previews for before Christmas & thought “Ooh! That looks like a nice show!” Well I was wrong. It was so much more than a nice show. It was amazing. So much more…
Oh to Be a Cress Seed
Wouldn’t you just love to be as simple as cress. Bitta water, some damp tissue & you’re ready to grow at lightening speed! That right there is low maintenance. I unfortunately am not cress. I need a hell of a lot more than damp tissue to be my best self. I need lots of food……
Walking Out the Door
Go on admit it, we have all had the split second of thinking it… Contemplating… Tempted… Considering… Fantasizing… Wanting to walk out the door and just keep on walking. Insert obligatory statement here that I love my family & I’m so grateful yadda yadda yadda but really… What would actually happen? If we did just…
An Ode to Heels
Shoes are memories. Particularly heels. Flashbacks. Throwbacks. Highlight Reels of a woman’s life. Pandemic life has rendered my heels redundant and it makes me sad. I’m not someone who wears heels on a daily basis, or even a regular basis. I am 5’1″ and perfectly happy to stay at that height until there is an…
The Waiting Game
Just a sec. In a minute. I heard you and answered you the first time. Yes you can, once I’ve finished this. You can see that I am in the middle of something right now. You can have it later on, after lunch. It’s not time to eat again yet, you’ve just had two breakfasts….
Thrown Off
I have been thrown off balance. I am falling off the tight-rope that I was barely clinging onto this time last week. Whatever shred of post-Christmas balance I managed to regain last week is well and truly gone. I had reeled in the sugar binges. I had reduced the evening snacking. I had returned to…
Any Craic?
One week into 2021… it’s been eventful! Have we learned anything? Here’s a roundup of the week that’s been… Similar (but yet opposite!) to the Millennium Bug, Covid didn’t care about 2020 being over at midnight on December 31st and has decided to stick around Rona is a spiteful b*tch and has chosen to start…
Toilet Training Diary; 6 Months On
Last May I took on what I thought would be the challenge of the year… Toilet Training Small Bro. Little did I know it would probably be the least stressful thing I have endured since then! I documented our early days & put them into some brief blog posts if you fancy having a read…
Millennial Irish Mammy 