Right, Spring is here at last!! I decided to avail of our fleeting sunshine and take the kids up to the new playground in Marley Park, Rathfarnham. Alas I was not alone in my thinking as the place was jammed with like minded parents. Do not be put off by this though as the playground’s popularity is a barometer of its success. Both myself and the kids had a whale of a time, enjoying all the experiences on offer at one of Dublin South’s best play area for kids. All ages and sizes of children are catered for here.

Upon enetring the playground, which is adjacent to the ample parking area, you are greeted by a cacophony of sounds and colours. The first area is for toddlers and younger children. Here you find the usual appartus such as slide and mini wobbly bridge. Adjacent to this is a small sand enclosed play area, innovative in its design. My two year old boy had a ball here as his clothes can testify!!

For the older kids the park is very well laid out and easy to use. There are two slides built into the hillside which were a big hit. Beware though the slides are lightning fast and more than one or two children landed firmly on their backsides onto the softened ground!! For mums and dads there are plenty of benches to relax on while the kids run themselves ragged though with so much going on one does need eyes in the back of your head.

All in all a fun few hours were spent here.

Well done to Noelle & Katherine.

More areas coming soon!

A great film, funny, sad, exciting and poignant!

Its a lovely story suitable for people of all ages. I love a film that is magical for both children and adults. The sad parts completely went over my daughters head fortunatley but left me in tears! The film is showing in all cinema’s across Dublin now and there is a 2-D and 3-D version.

A brilliant movie with a lovely message and a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon this mid-term.

Fun alphabet snacks that start with the letter A
Letter A coloring sheets
Letter A search worksheets
Letter A trace sheets
Letter A flash cards and
Game of the week idea around the letter A

You can download them for free from this page

The premature deaths of mothers Natasha Richardson and Jade Goody this week has made me think this mothers day just how lucky I am. We may be in a recession, there is doom and gloom constantly on the news and it so easy to forget about the all the good things in life. Tonight I kissed the little people goodnight and thanked them for a lovely day, how blessed I am to have them and that we are all healthy, happy and here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all.

As I have two little people we got in just as it began and left after an hour it was just too busy to be hanging around with toddlers. However, the hour we were there,thrilled the little people, the displays, dancing and music and the huge King Kong figure had them overawed!

If you have any photo’s of the day be sure to upload them to The St Patrick’s Festival Photo Site there are some great prizes for the best photo’s and there are some fantastic photo’s of the festival there to view if you missed the parade or if you want to relive it!

We had some breakfast in St Stephen’s Green and then just as we were about to walk to Merrion Square, I spotted one of the 7-Up Eco Cabs.  Eco Cabs Ireland offer free ‘Hop on, hop off’ rides for all. This service is ideal for short distance city centre and is available free of charge to the public every single day of the week between 10am and 7pm! These cabs are great fun and emission free and my little girl loved it.

So we got up to Merrion Square to find the whole area transformed! A 150 foot big wheel stood in the centre of the square, the centre piece of a colourful funfair. There was also several art workshops taking place for children, face painting, music andamazing street theatre performances…My little boy was  particularly enthralled by the dancing robots. I didn’t think there would be much for toddlers but to the kids delight there was a small area with sand pits and slides and the street performances were suitable for all ages judging by the looks of delight and amazement on the faces of kids of all ages.

The view from the top of the big wheel was great and worth the queue. The funfair is taking place for the next two days so if you haven’t gone in yet try and make it, its well worth it! We then wandered back up to Grafton Street where there seemed to be more than the usual amount of buskers and performer’s. The atmosphere in the city today was fantastic, everyone seemed happy and relaxed. The kids had a brilliant day and fell into bed an hour earlier than usual, exhausted and still with traces of face paint on them. I love Dublin on St Patrick’s Weekend!

I have decided to try and visit all the playgrounds in South Dublin this Spring and Summer with the kids and maybe rate them! If anyone wants to do the same  you can find a full list of them here:

http://mykidstime.ie/read/features/preschoolers/1481-dublinsouthplaygrounds

Next on my list is the new big playground that opened in Sean Walsh Park in Tallaght ( opposite the Plaza Hotel) last week. I drove past it the other day. It was full of children and looks really good, very bright and colourful. Apparently there is also outdoor gym equipment for Adults including a cross-trainer and sit up benches!!! Now personally I would rather eat my own toes but for fitter/healthier parents than myself this could be good.

Then home for the family tea party!! Birthday Boy loved all the attention and all his lovely gifts. I was particularly thilled when his Nana arrived with a large fish tank and two fish with no prior warning and no food for them, que a a rush to get fish food for our unasked for new pets in the middle of the party before the shops closed!!!!!! So we have now have two, as of yet unnamed, fish! Any tips on how to keep them alive would be gratefully accepted. Or any offers to rehome them would be even more gratefully accepted!

So, bar the new pets, the day was a great success, although am still picking bits of cake off the carpet and tripping over balloons…My little girls birthday is coming up soon so am considering a party away from the house and a gift list!

I’m thrilled you have found us! Mykidstime.ie  Dublin South is officially launched!!!

I have been working on this site for months now so it’s brilliant to see it up and running. I really hope you like it and find the information useful, up to date and relevant. As a parent of two young children, I have found so many things to do and see with them from researching this information, I hope you do too! I would love to hear from you and appreciate all feedback, excellent or otherwise!

Deborah