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?…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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….

Back in Your Box Buddy

Straight up, this one is a rant. An Anti-Elf rant. And no I’m not a Grinch!! I happen to think that elves are actually quite lovely for the most part, but when it comes to the very ironically named “Buddy”… I just can’t deal. Whoever introduced him to the Pre-Christmas mayhem is definitely not on…

Heavy is the Head

The Queen. Her Majesty. Ma’am. A leader of people. A Head of Nations. And a mother. A guilty one. Never was Queen Elizabeth II more relatable than as she was portrayed in a new episode of The Crown. (No spoilers coming I promise!) The episode in question puts the spotlight on the Queen’s relationship with…

Shur Look, We Have to Get on With It

“Shur look, we have to get on with it.” I feel like I spend my time saying these words lately. At home, in school, on the phone, in the shop, at the chemist, I don’t go anywhere else so that’s the end of that list! Level 3, level 4, level feckin 90, it’s all the…

Mammy Birthdays

“Happy Birthday Mommy! I’m hungry…” “Where is your cake?” “Are you getting balloons today?” “Why is the party taking so long Mommy?” This, all by 8.15am. Mammy Birthdays are almost like mythical days. Yes, it may be the anniversary of your birth, but at this point in your life, anything you do not pre-arrange or…

Dinnertime Downers

So many childhood professionals tell us how beneficial family dinners are… or should I say, are meant to be. They encourage conversation, bonding, relationships, social skills, all those good things. Apparently. It seems I must be doing them wrong. In my house there is less conversation & bonding, and more complaining & giving out. Dinnertime…

Where is He?

I read a piece from a fellow blogger today, and it got me thinking. It got me mad, but it also got me thinking! She wrote so well as she always does, this time about “filling your cup” and how her cup is empty. Like, not even a drop left at the bottom kinda empty….

Banishing the Bottle

“Can I have Baba Milk Mammy?” These words have haunted my life for the past 18 months. Being screamed at by a toddler at all hours of the day & night for a Baba Milk. Like an addict looking for his fix, he would wake numerous times a night & howl until he got his…

Neverending Night Waking

Why do our kids rob us of so much sleep? With our first it was 9 months of hell every evening & night. Hours of drama. Hours of crying. Hours of up & down the stairs. Months of despair wondering if he would ever just sleep drama-free. Then he started creche & literally that night…

Magic Words

I hate the phrase “magic words”. What’s magic about them? Does saying Please or Thank You automatically entitle someone to get whatever they want? I don’t think so… We drill into toddlers from as soon as they can mumble to say Please & Thank You when they ask for or get something. It goes without…

Calling BS on Parental Peer-Pressure

I’m probably not alone when I say that one of the hardest elements of being a parent these days is the amount of Parental Peer-Pressure we are exposed to. Whether it’s cute little Pintrest-worthy sandwiches with slightly creepy faces on them, or craft activities need a small fortune worth of materials not to mention hours…

Head to Head with a Threenager

Three. 3. Small number. Not very significant. Of course it all depends on the context. When it comes to small humans, three is a HUGE number. Very significant. Quite terrifying in fact. The run up to the 3rd birthday is a massive milestone for the whole family. The Birthday Boy/Girl is at the stage of…