Exercise is a wonderful thing to fit into your day, it can be something as simple as a leisurely walk in the evening or as challenging as a good long run. I love it purely to unwind after a day spent meeting the demands of four small children. I find it’s a great way to process my thoughts and give me some much needed headspace which in turn leads to a better night’s sleep. Regardless of the type of exercise you go back to after having a baby there are a few things you should check before you whip out the runners and stretchy pants. After my fourth baby I went back running a few months after she was born but my whole body was weak. I ended up damaging my knee in just one run which took a frustratingly long time to sort out. Continue reading
Food
The most perfect apple pie with Pink Lady®
AD ¦ I love baking but it’s one of those lovely pass times that has had to take a backseat over the last few years making way for dinners and snacks and lunches and snacks and breakfast and did I mention I serve up a lot of snacks during the day!?!? I think by the time I’m finished feeding my brood I’m spun out and just don’t have the energy for baking and cleaning. Continue reading
A little round up – upcycling IKEA furniture, simple makeup routine and more
I feel like this website is sorely neglected and to be honest I should be pumping more time into it. I feel lately like all my social media or online time is directed solely at Instagram and sure if that were to vanish in the morning where would I be! And I started blogging as a way to channel my creativity and writing is one of the best ways to do that so from time to time I might throw up a quick blog post covering a few bits and pieces that I’ve been up to over the last while. Continue reading
Be good to yourself this January and revaluate rather than resist the food you enjoy
This post is an ad in association with Brennans Bread
I don’t know about your house but here we don’t go in for new beginnings with the dawn of the new year. I find myself so fatigued by the end of January by all these offers of new diets and new fitness routines, urgh, just not for me, I am more about moderation and healthy, sensible eating all year round. That said I do find January a nice time to reassess what we already do, life is busy and sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a rut when it comes to food and routines so it’s a good time to take stock and look at how we can be sure to be good to ourselves for the year ahead! Continue reading
All hail the slow cooker!
If there is one item in the kitchen that makes life so much easier it is my slow cooker. It stood in my cupboard, grossly under used for years until lady number three arrived as did I to my senses. I have a lot hate relationship with cooking, I like it and I hate it in equal measures. I try so hard with my efforts often falling short of the cullinary delight I expect after all the effort I put in. The slow cooker is perfect not just for time pressed parents but for me it is great because it takes my average cooking to a whole new level, meals are so much tastier when they’ve been stewing away slowly for hours. Continue reading
Hassle free dinners and lunchbox ideas for back to school
This year I want to be more adventurous with the ladies lunchboxes. I almost thought my eldest was going to turn into a ham sandwich by June of this year. Thankfully she didn’t start snorting but I really want to broaden all our horizons now that we have spent one year navigating all that starting big school brings. The ladies are back in camp at the moment so it’s perfect time for me to get the thinking cap on while the days are still lazy and come up with a selection of back to school foods that I can basically whip up in my sleep. I’ll throw in a few dinner Continue reading
Dining with a difference at Cork International Hotel
One of the things we do enjoy as a family is eating out, one day in the weekend we go on an adventure and love to find somewhere new along the way to eat in. It can be at times a little stressful if I’m not having a particularly zen day but the girls enjoy it and we enjoy food so it’s worth a few frantic jumps across a table to catch a falling glass of milk. Continue reading
Family dinner ideas
I’ve done a post previously on how to get a relatively healthy dinner on the table in about a half hour so this post on family dinner ideas assumes a bit more of a time luxury in the evenings to prepare. I thought I’d put together a post on the meals I’ve done in the past week. Some evenings I’ll go for quick and some evenings I’ll go for broke and try something new altogether. In general though, I try and use different meat everyday and a different starch, so pasta one day potatoes the next. I keep threatening to introduce one veggie meal a week but thus far my husband has resisted the suggestion. Continue reading
Romantic mini pizza snacks
This year our wedding anniversary fell midweek, so while we treated ourselves to a truly memorable evening out the weekend before at The Old Convent in Tipperary, I wanted to mark the day itself and involve the girls. I try and do some baking with the two ladies at least once a week, it’s fun and productive. Usually when I make pizza I use my bread maker to create a proper dough with yeast which makes the most unbelievable pizza’s ever. Continue reading
Baking with toddlers made easy
You know sometimes you’re struck by just how clever a product is. And if you’re a mother who loves and encourages baking with toddlers but hates mess I think I may have the answer for you! I met the lovely and enthusiastic Maria at an Afternoon Tea event in Cork over the weekend. She had travelled from Kerry to be with us and had on display her lovely selection of Bake it Easy products. I had come across Bake it Easy via a Twitter chat and when I met her yesterday I was struck by how well the products is put together and just how tasty it is! Continue reading
