Columnists
Marisa Mackle: Watch out, I’m back in the driving seat
I've just bought a new car. I can't drive it yet. Well, not unless I have a proper driver in the car with me, but still, I'm excited. It's not my first car.
Marisa Mackle: I take my hat off to stay-at-home mums
I put my hands up. Guilty as charged. I used to be the type of woman who would look down on stay-at-home mothers. I used to think they were lazy people, sitting at home all day doing nothing apart from arranging coffee mornings with other stay-at-home mums and occasionally driving their 4x4s to amuse themselves.
Marisa Mackle: Dinner date? I'd rather a play date, thanks...
A date? The last date I had was of the fruit kind. It was so long ago now I can't remember when it was exactly. Single mothers don't have time for dates.
Marisa Mackle: Looking good isn't easy when you're due
There's a baby boom going on right now. Yes, the bump is back with a vengeance. The recession and the bad weather this winter has probably contributed to the vast number of babies due this year.
Marisa Mackle: Time to change lives, one smile at a time
Is there anything as beautiful as a baby's first smile? I doubt it. When you're having a hard day, all the little munchkins have to do is look up and smile and your heart melts. Everybody loves a smiler and, no matter what age you are, you can brighten somebody's day with a smile.
Marisa Mackle: How I got away from it all at home
As a single mum, I find holidays a bit of a nightmare. Airports are stressful at the best of times, but when you've a case and a buggy to carry around it's no joke. Last year I took my baby Gary to Morocco. It was a spur of the moment decision. It was freezing and thick snow covered the ground. I found a great deal for us on the internet.
Marisa Mackle: Going private can be a public affair
Public or private? It's the burning question for expectant mums. Should you pay the €4,000 extra for private care? I didn't. I've always had health insurance -- I wouldn't dream of not having it -- but after much internal debate, I decided to go public when I was expecting Gary.
Marisa Mackle: Penny-pinchers are the biggest turn off
Nobody likes a skinflint. You can be the best-looking man in town with a cracking sense of humour, but when you disappear off to the Gents just before your round, very few women will laugh.
Marisa Mackle: Not even love will make a bad boy good
There are women who find bad boys attractive. And there are those that don't. Bad boys leave me cold, especially when they're supposed to be role models for their sons. Bad boy du jour, Charlie Sheen may have amassed a million Twitter followers within hours of setting up an account, but I wasn't one of them.
Marisa Mackle: Spare a thought for singletons
So Valentine's Day is still going ahead. I have to say I'm surprised. I really thought they'd cancel it this year, especially with the general election looming, and the recession and everybody being miserable and everything.
Marisa Mackle: Driven potty over child toilet training
We're potty training right now. At least, we're trying our very best to. It isn't easy. We started a month ago, but so far we have got no further than buying a potty. Well, two potties actually.
Marisa Mackle: Imagination
Oh, no! It's the school holidays! I keep hearing this from distraught parents, wondering how on earth they are going to amuse their offspring for the next two months.
Marisa Mackle: Private and public both need a clean up
Imagine giving birth in a broom cupboard? I met somebody the other night whose daughter recently gave birth in the cupboard of a well-known maternity hospital. I thought the woman was joking as she handed around the photo of her daughter and her new grandchild.
Marisa Mackle: Exam nightmares and student stress
I didn't sit my Leaving Certificate. I slept it out, and then when I arrived to the venue exam hall late, I realised that I'd got the date and time wrong altogether. I didn't get into college or make anything of my life. I became a loser and a drifter, never got a job and my whole existence was a complete waste of time. At least that's how the dream goes. Or, rather, the nightmare that I have at least twice a year.
Marisa Mackle: Summer time brings hunt for an au pair
A 27-year-old hottie tried to move in with me recently. He said his bags were packed and he was all set to become part of my family for the summer. A fitness instructor with a nice smile, I was half-tempted but he didn't have much English and I had clearly said I wanted a female. Why do people not read?
Marisa Mackle: Nannies sent packing as Mums take over
Imagine! The recession has got so bad that Irish yummy mummies are now raising their own kids. Well, maybe not all by themselves, but they are certainly cutting down on the hired help.
Marisa Mackle: Hooked on words not Eurovision stars
A friend of mine used to worship Johnny Logan. She would cut out photos of him and hang around the gates of RTE whenever he was on the TV. She even got her mother to drive her out to Dublin airport once so that she could see him arriving home after his second Eurovision win.
Marisa Mackle: How cake can cure the terrible twos
I was bitten on my thigh the other day. It really hurt. Baby Gary even left teeth marks. He is now two and it's all true about what people say about the terrible twos.
Marisa Mackle: My kingdom for a goodnight's sleep
"I'd run away with him," well-meaning friends say about my son Gary.
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