Anger is a perfectly normal human emotion, but it’s how we channel it that matters

Whenever I think of allowing myself an extra hour’s lie-in in the morning I ask myself: 'What would Leo Varadkar do?' and drag my bedraggled bottom out of the bed quicker than you can say 'sleep is for the weak'.

Before giving your baby what they want, you must first decipher what they are saying

Such is the ongoing battle in relation to family food that the only real winner in our home is the compost bin.

“I really think you’re in labour,” Fred says, but I dismiss him quickly, because if Dr Quinn Medicine Woman taught me anything it is that men have contributed absolutely nothing to the canon of medical knowledge.

"It all sounds a bit too much like effort when you could just switch on the movie Super Mario Bros and be done with it..."

"I worry that school is not a place where everyone will shine or be happy. As such, I can’t help but bite my lip a little as I watch him take off with his new Spiderman bag"

We will be grand because even if we now live in a house consisting mostly of storage boxes, at least we are currently smelling of Mr Sheen. And to be fair, you could smell worse

I want you to know that I am a good mammy. I might not be the best prepared, dressed, or presented, but I will love you so much that your first words will probably be something along the lines of “Mammy, I need personal space, please”

People are taking guesses as to what we are having based on the shape of my bump

When it comes to the subject of men talking about labour, it’s a case of whatever you say, say nothing

In becoming a mammy again, you do lose yourself, a little. It is impossible not to become subsumed by the tsunami force about to hit your life, and that is the fear. It is a fear that wills us not to be forgotten

"I’m not sure where I thought I was going, but underwear-wise, I was either feeling highly optimistic about what I would be getting up to in hospital or in complete denial as to how in bits I would be after the birth."

"Throwing himself to the ground, Ted cries out, leaving me feeling like I'm officially the worst mother in the world because I have meandered over to the playground minus snacks."

This week Ted is revelling in his crowning glory and rubbing salt into poor Daddy's increasingly receding hairline

"At the risk of bottle-shaming my son, I’m pretty sure this is our fifth bottle of the night, which given the fact we haven’t even hit the nine o’clock news is too much bottle."

This week I attempt to network at a comedy festival while simultaneously wrestling coffee capsules from Ted and running in flip flops

I’m sure I found the heat just as tricky when pregnant with Ted in the summer of 2020, but this time it feels a lot more oppressive

Both my husband and toddler are high-energy extroverts, while my idea of a dream holiday is sitting alone in a darkened room staring into space

Much like I wore Fred down initially and tricked him into our relationship, so too has Fred worn me down and convinced me to book a holiday in the sun

We are currently in the throes of potty training, and so far, much like my comedy reviews, results have been mixed

"I was sitting on my favourite horse-shaped seesaw yesterday when a child — who couldn’t have been more than five — marched over to me and informed me that the playground equipment was “just for kids”."

I would be lying if I said I haven’t questioned whether my expressions of love for Ted are a bit over the top, especially of late

This week I have been more consumed by parenting TikToks than tracking POTUS like a Pokémon

I once managed to dislocate my shoulder while walking alongside a bike I was pushing

Always a panicker, I have married a man so chilled out he once uttered the immortal line: ‘Julie, relax, it’s only a grill fire. There’s time there.’

In a scene not unlike the opening moments of Dunkirk, these kids are just flinging themselves into the abyss and hoping for the best

The gestational diabetes is back and this time round my motivation to get on board the diabetes train has been akin to a Junior Certer getting out of bed on a schoolday - reluctant, at best

I draw my husband a quick diagram and explain what happens when two adults love each other very much, and eventually the penny drops - we really are expecting.

The last time I brought Ted to a friend's house for a playdate, I dropped a bottle of lemonade at the doorstep, resulting in more broken glass than at a traditional Jewish wedding

This week we are changing cars, potty-training, and reminding Fred that honesty is almost always not the best policy

For years I hung around smoking sections in a bid to get the shift, drove to Galway for lunch dates and even, in one desperate move, briefly joined a tag rugby team (all those broken fingers!). But the best love to come was the love that came from this tiny person.

After the physical and emotional trauma of childbirth, the least a mammy deserves is getting dibs on the moniker

If emancipating your toddler was a thing, this would have been the week I’d be consulting my solicitor for legal options

Lately my toddler is so physically attached to me it's as if he’s desperately trying to crawl back in from whence he came 

While most media outlets have been consumed by the narrative of Prince Harry telling his truth, I have been following the big stuff: notably Stacey Solomon clearing out her fridge

The subject of a potential Baby Number Two has become an increasing obsession for everyone and anyone except Darling Husband and I

Being a parent is to be on the receiving end of questions, questions, and more questions

Ted is increasingly lethargic and miserable, and it is awful to watch - he has RSV

Upon getting a text to say my flight has been delayed, I take it as a sign that this is, in fact, a terrible idea

If you see me googling madly on any given day, more often than not, I am looking for tips to get a child’s jumper quickly 

Yes, shifting your husband is nice, but have you ever unclogged a shower drain? 

Yes, I have finally met an Irishman who gets me - all I had to do was to make him

Ted is only two but somehow this is his third Halloween, which is something my pass maths brain just can’t get my head around