Mary Claus is a woman who gets stuff done. Have you seen the Christmas Marks and Spencer ad? That’s the type of preparation I like! Family Christmas with small kids should come with a disclaimer. What is that, I hear you ponder? A disclaimer is a statement that is meant…
I didn’t need to be asked twice on this occasion. “Otterbox would like you to have Afternoon Tea with Leona and Nessa from Dreaming Always ” was how it was presented to me over the phone. “Um, yes, let me check my diary – yes I see that I am pencilled in…
“What do you mean I can’t carry a 20kg dumb-bell on board?” “You can’t take that off me….That’s my fold up weights bench!” “Yes, yes I know the ticket says 6 people but I really wanted to carry my childminder with me in my hand-luggage – she’ll surely fit in…
I love kids. I’d just never manage a whole one myself. Hilarious aren’t I? Yes forget about “Sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out” – that was one was straight from the school of Dad bad jokes!! But whichever of the above you subscribe too, one thing…
Hello Winter!!! The clock change is beckoning and so are my winter woollies, warm socks, fluffy jumpers & comfort food! What is better than a big bowl of warm porridge oats for brekkie? It’s healthy and filling! But there are other ways to indulge with oats in a quick, delicious…
Last Friday night was Electric! Having received an invite from Electric Cork to come and dine in their restaurant upstairs over looking the South Mall & River Lee, I persuaded hubster to join me on a date night! Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife…..for richer,…
Many of you may have seen from my Snapchat and Instagram Stories I have recently started a collaboration with Elite Pilates in Cork. I vaguely remember a time when my knees didn’t crunch when I walked up a stairs. It was quite some time ago! My body has furnished us…
As most of you will by know now I had a little girls weekend away last weekend in Marbella. Otterbox decided it wanted in on the trip too. And why not? 11 school friends with busy lives all let lose in Spain for 4 glorious days! A rare out of…
This summer was a riot! Quite literally. Everything stared off fairly ok. Things normally start off that way with kids and animals though, don’t they? But by the middle of August we had descended into the family equivalent of Black Friday in Macy’s. Total and utter mayhem. Rules? What’s that?…
Hands up who has been on a girls holiday. I hear they are a little crazy. There’s nothing like a holiday to make me hot foot it to the gym. I’ve never been on a girls trip abroad before so now the time has come. 10 school friends and I…
My mum asked me 2 days ago if I had given up blogging. “Yikes” I thought aloud!!!! “No Mum, life just got in the way” “You’re dead right” she replied – Mum’s are good like that. And now I find myself here at my kitchen table in an extraordinarily quiet…
Who the??? What the???? Eh hello? Is there a typo here? Zoats? Surely someone is having a laugh here. Alack and Alas no I kid you not. Zoats is actually a real thing! A real tasty thing, at that. But what are these things of which I speak (and of which…
I sometimes think I am half woman, half sniffer dog. I kid you not. Since I became pregnant for the first time nigh on 7 and a half years ago I have developed the most extraordinary sense of smell. I, for one, have the aptitude to sniff out a stale…
The ice-cream van is much maligned in this house. A little piece of me dies every time I hear the familiar, gut-wrenching jingle. It normally signals begging, pleading, imploring and general freaking out from the under 5 footers & it also normally occurs at either dinner or bedtime. I, of…
Last Friday morning was going pretty well, all things considered. Recapping my week as I stuffed the remainder of a packet of ham into 1st born’s wholemeal sandwich (standard – half girl, half salty pork at this point) I had kept everyone alive, not been in trouble with the law…
I sit staring at my phone. With a feeling of mild trepidation, fear and worry. No I’m not willing it to ring……sitting solemnly waiting for that call that will deliver some life altering news and send me in a trajectory unheard of and unknown to the likes of ordinary me.…
There have been several moments over the last week where I have suspected that there is a cat after taking up residence in my mouth – you know that dried out, furry feeling your tongue gets when you are dehydrated and you have to peel it from the roof of…
Dear Man with the Mower, I know that you work hard everyday providing for your family. 6:30am starts, rush hour traffic, shovelling down a quick lunch in order to get through the workload and then home at 6pm to see what the evening holds. You may find the winter a…
Someday I am going to go into my kids bedroom to get them up for school (eh…..let me rethink that last statement – when was the last time I actually had to WAKE my kids…..um…. that’ll be NEVER. It’s always a pre-dawn start here!) But if I do happen to…
You might remember a few weeks ago I spoke briefly about the early morning visitor to my house. You remember? The tired looking woman who kept appearing in my bathroom mirror first thing every morning. Well, she’s still knocking about – she’s still tired. But she’s does look a little…
