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Showing posts from February, 2014

New App Review for Pre-Schoolers: Jonty - The Dinosaur Who Could Not Go to Sleep

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My daughter has been testing out a beautiful new App called “ Jonty – The DinosaurWho Could Not Go to Sleep ”.   When I first saw the title I felt like replacing ‘Jonty’ with her name, to be honest! This is a very cute story about a lively young dinosaur that has trouble getting to sleep at bedtime.  The story is fully interactive so your child can help to get Jonty to sleep, encouraging ‘invisible learning’ while having fun at the same time.   My little one, who is 3 ½, loved that she could get involved in the story and make the characters move and interact with other items on the page.   I can’t really count the times that we’ve played it but the fact that she goes back to it over and over again, finding new things to do each time is wonderful.   She loves me to read it her as well as have it read to her by the narrator.   For her, getting to interact with the characters on the page really brings the story to life. You can interact with the ...

It's true. No two pregnancies are the same...

We waited for over three years before thinking about trying for our second child, and in the one month that we weren't trying, I fell pregnant.  Shock was the first reaction along with utter disbelief.  That lasted for the best part of the first month.  Waiting for something for such a long time and then suddenly having it is a very surreal feeling. So, now at nearly 18 weeks pregnant I am still stunned by my every expanding belly and my voluptuous upper body.  Other than extreme tiredness, a bit of swelling and my bump, I've had no 'real' symptoms.  I was sick from just after 5 weeks until 11 weeks and 4 days (yes, I remember it well), twice a day, if not more with my daughter.  I could barely eat never mind how I felt when I caught a whiff of something my senses now decided to despise. This time round I couldn't eat enough.  I was like a machine in the first three weeks after I found out, shovelling everything and anything in to try and satisfy t...

Limerick: Ireland's City of Culture for 2014

Named Ireland's City of Culture for 2014, Limerick is playing host to a programme of events this year. Straddling the River Shannon, it's a traditional Irish city with a gritty but intriguing past, as seen in the famous book Angela's Ashes, that hasn't lost any of its working class charm in the years since its modernisation. As a small city, it's easy to navigate on foot - or perhaps you'd prefer to hire a bike and see the city at a somewhat faster pace? With friendly locals, a great café culture, traditional pubs, a historic castle and a great art gallery, there is much to be found here. Visit St John's Castle, the ancient stronghold built by King John of England between 1200 and 1212, as his military and administrative centre in the region. Take in the stunning architecture at St Mary's Cathedral, founded in 1168, where parts of the 12 th century building still survive to this day. Or perhaps visit Limerick City Gallery of Art, which showcas...