Hassle free dinners and lunchbox ideas for back to school

August 8, 2017 | thetwodarlings

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 →

Finding the middle ground with breastfeeding

May 28, 2017 | thetwodarlings

I really wanted to put some thoughts together on my whole breastfeeding experience, not because I want to pitch a tent in that camp, I don’t, I’ve said it a million time I’m neither ‘pro-breastfeefing’ or ‘pro-bottle’, I am ‘pro-feeding your baby the way you want to’ and that’s my stance on that. That said I do want to make comment on how I got on with breastfeeding, the good and the bad, and maybe it might give someone who is wondering about it all a bit of impartial advice. I’ve written previously about what I did differently this time round with this baba compared with my two previous attempts, so it wasn’t for lack of trying that I got it right eventually! Continue reading →

Discovering Cork – Fitzgerald’s Park

May 24, 2017May 25, 2017 | thetwodarlings

Ages ago now I had a post on my Facebook page where lots of other Mum’s suggested places to hit for with kids around Cork. Suggestions came for near and far, from model railways to beaches, parks to playgrounds. My aim this summer is to discover them all. When the big lady started school I think I had underestimated the commitment involved in a child going to primary school and really felt I hadn’t made the best of our free time last summer. Granted I was akin to a sweaty whale Continue reading →

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

April 4, 2017 | thetwodarlings

I watched a film recently that made me cry. Me! Cry! Rarely, rarely happens I can assure you but something about it really resonated with me. It’s a documentary called Embrace by Taryn Brummfit which explores the relationship women have with their bodies and encourages us to be more body positive. Not the first of its kind but I think its the way she gets all the different women to open up and talk about their journeys is what really struck a chord with me. It showed how magazine’s photoshop models so that not even the models recognise themselves and then these are the images being fed to us, that we are supposed to aspire to? Continue reading →

A year as a stay at home mother

January 8, 2017January 8, 2017 | thetwodarlings

I am now officially a stay at home mother for one year and eight days. Hard to believe when this time last year Lucy was merely a hope and a dream and didn’t exist in any way shape or form. What a year it’s been! I often get asked whether I miss work or not and my answer is always the same and always as enthusiastic; not for one single solitary second have I missed it, mainly because I haven’t had the time! Of course there are times when my husband comes home and talks about grass growth and milk prices, topics around which my days used to revolve, and I do genuinely listen with interest. And for a fleeting moment I will look at him and think about how different our careers have worked out despite both graduating with a PhD within months of each other. And quick as a flash the moment is dissipated with a Cork twanged ‘Mummy’, usually from a bathroom and always urgent. Continue reading →

5 breastfeeding tips from a mother that finally succeeded

November 15, 2016 | thetwodarlings

I had originally written this post in advance of the latest arrival but then I felt i had to hold off publishing it until I tried and tested my own advice! We’re five weeks into the journey this time round, and touch wood, all is going well, I’m out the far side of soreness, we’re settling into a lovely rhythm together, and most importantly the small lady is piling on the pounds, literally!! I think if you can survive the first couple of weeks you’re on the road to success. I’ve written before about my hit and misses with breastfeeding in the past, not through lack of wanting to do it did things not work out but for various reasons which have led me through a good journey of discovery! BUUUT, this is my time to shine. I really, really want to make a proper go of it this time round so I put together this list of breastfeeding tips I’ve learned to date, for other Mums that may want to try it out or that tried and failed but want to try again. Continue reading →

The ultimate breastfeeding pillow

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October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 | thetwodarlings

I’ve used breastfeeding pillows before, mostly they serve one purpose, to make life easier when you’re breastfeeding a baby. Around our house since the smallest lady arrived you will often hear someone or other looking for ‘the hen’. The hen has become one of those unbelievably useful items that you don’t realise you need until you have it and then you wonder how you lived without it. Continue reading →

Nimue – skincare worth investing in

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September 16, 2016 | thetwodarlings

Anyone who has read my blog for a while now will know I struggle with my skin having written previously about how to deal with hormonal skin and how to cover it all up. I have battled with bad skin pretty much all my life, I can barely remember a time where I haven’t had at least a couple of spots, that usually being a good skin day. A good few months ago now a group of us Continue reading →

Housework hacks

August 1, 2016 | thetwodarlings

Never one to shy away from a seemingly boring topic, for me there is however, no escaping this subject on a daily basis. The one thing I’ve noticed since being at home with the ladies is the sheer increase in the amount of housework that has to be done. I’m the first to admit I’m a bit anal about the house being kept relatively neat and tidy. The girls are great at helping to be fair, I hold pretty tight on the rule that if they are finished playing with one toy/puzzle etc they must tidy it up before tearing out the next pile of stuff. The bump is beginning to impede on daily tasks so I’ve been trying to come up with some handy tricks to make life easier for myself. Continue reading →

Introducing the baby to the toddler

July 31, 2016August 1, 2016 | thetwodarlings

When we had our second lady, the first lady was a few weeks past her second birthday. Her understanding of the impending situation was pretty good. I gathered advice and tips from friends and books on how best to go about introducing a toddler to a newborn. None of the below stopped me constantly worrying about how the whole thing would play out but it certainly did work when the second lady landed. To date, there has been little to no jealousy, apart from a little over zealous hugging and kissing, the girls are best of friends. Continue reading →

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