Parenthood

Unzipped

“Mummy. Your bum…” says Molly as she comes up behind me and places her hands on my hips. “It’s soooo big.” In despair, I turn to the husband. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, patting the derriere in question. “After all, you are nearly 8 months pregnant, it’s bound to be a little bigger.” Not exactly the reassurance I was looking for. Sigh. It has been one of those weeks.

Yes, it hasn’t been the most yogic of weeks. It has been a week in which Molly dropped the ‘F’ bomb. Twice. I’d like to say she learned the expletive from some unsavoury child at nursery, but instead I have to take full responsibility, having uttered it myself on at least three occasions that I can recall. Personally, I blame the raging hormones of the third trimester for making my fuse a little shorter.

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By on May 3, 2015
Parenthood

The Final Frontier

It was a strange feeling to get up today and not pull on my yoga gear to head out to teach my usual vinyasa class. With last Friday marking my final day of teaching for some months, the reality of what lies ahead is really starting to dawn. Next week I fly home at 34 weeks pregnant to get ready to nest down and wait for baby number 2 (gender of which is currently unknown!)

The decision to have the bean back in Ireland is as much to avoid the feeling of being caged in with an energetic toddler desperate to run around a 48 degree celcius garden, as it is to have the wonderful hands on support of grannies and grandpas! That and the fact that my big sister who also lives back home is due her second baby exactly a week before me! Yes, it is set to be a very eventful summer.

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By on April 27, 2015
Food

Pancake-tastic

I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that if you waved a bag of Maltesers in front of my face that I would politely decline. Or say that I would really much prefer something sugar and gluten free to accompany my dairy infused cappuccino. I will confess to baking banofee pie and being secretly proud of how perfectly toffee like my condensed milk had become after 2 hours of intense boiling. I’ll also admit to making a cheesecake recently that had the potential to use up your daily calorific intake with just one slice.

But occasionally I come across a recipe that ticks all the boxes. Easy to do. Healthy. Tasty. Toddler and husband friendly. This pancake recipe, shared by one of my yoga students, is one of those: gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, high protein, but also really delicious – and I can assure you won’t miss the flour or milk. They’re such a regular fixture for us at weekends that even Molly knows how to make them!

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By on April 19, 2015
Parenthood

Superwoman on strike

It’s 1am. Knee deep in the passport queue at Dubai International Airport, a heavily pregnant woman is having such a bad coughing fit that onlookers could be forgiven for thinking that she might go into early labour. After bursting into tears she is whisked to the top of the queue by an attendant who takes one look at her huge bump and red, snot filled face and takes pity.

Actually, that woman is me. After struggling through a 7 hour flight from London with searing sinus pain and the husband’s ‘manflu’ that I thought I had escaped from contracting, I had finally reached my wits end. It was a not so nice finish to an otherwise fantastic trip to Bath for my Dubai best friend’s beautiful wedding – a chance to relax and spend a few days on my own (which at 31 weeks pregnant, will be in short supply of very soon!) Continue Reading

By on April 12, 2015
Yoga

Inner Child

Picture the scene. A kids yoga class. My daughter, Molly, is squealing around the room, rolling herself up in her mat and leaping in and out of her version of downward dog, but as a whole, generally not doing very much yoga at all. Ten minutes later, her teddy is out, her thumb is in and she has collapsed into a small sweaty pile on her yoga mat. Exhausted.

It is messy. It is noisy. There is jumping, laughing, robot walking. It is as far from the serenity you might expect to experience from a regular yoga class, where we tut inwardly every time someone arrives late and disrupts our ‘zen,’ or mentally clear our throat when someone OMS badly out of tune. Yes, welcome instead to the world of teaching kids yoga. A world that has thrown any expectations I had at maintaining control out of the window. And I’m not even teaching the class! Continue Reading

By on March 31, 2015
Parenthood

Top 10 Mum Commandments vs Reality

When it comes to the crazy world of motherhood can you recall all the rules that you thought you should stick to that have since fallen by the wayside? Well, one toddler later and another bambino due in June, here’s an (honest) list of my top 10 commandments that didn’t exactly turn out to plan…  Continue Reading

By on March 12, 2015
Parenthood

Beach ball baby

“Your belly button, mama. What happened?” inquires my 2.5 year old, gently proding my protruding navel. “It is popped!” Yes, I tell her. It has popped. The result of an ever-growing belly that is rapidly reaching beach ball proportions way faster than it did the first time around. A changing body that I’ll admit I’ve become increasingly self-conscious about lately. So much so, that the images you see here nearly never saw the light of day… Continue Reading

By on March 3, 2015
Yoga

Community Omm-ing at Yogafest 2015

It was definitely a case of the ‘bump’ and I on tour at this year’s Yogafest – a fantastic community event that brought together over 5000 yogis, pilates lovers, meditators and more on 19th – 21st February. I was honoured to be asked to instruct a session once again at this annual event which this year supported PCRF – the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund – a wonderful charity that helps children in the West Bank and Gaza. I taught a soothing lower back and hips flow, and thankfully no-one seemed too put off by my increasingly beach ball sized belly! Continue Reading

By on February 23, 2015