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I have two younger brothers, Hubie and Michael, and we had a magical childhood. We were great friends growing up and are still close, even though we live in different countries now. We are all close to our parents too and love to spend time together. We were all athletic kids so the emphasis was always on spending as much time as possible outside in the garden running and then playing soccer and badminton when we got a little older.
It was a very happy and much easier time without social media. I still remember having dial-up Internet access, although I never spent much time there. I only joined social media after graduating from college, and I’m extremely grateful for that.
My first memory is Christmas morning when I was three years old. I woke up to find Santa had left the most amazing Fisher-Price kitchen in my room, complete with an oven, microwave, and realistic cakes and pies. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and creating new recipes, even though I don’t have much time in the kitchen with three babies at home anymore.
The person I turn to is my husband Wes. He hears the good, the bad and the ugly. We spend most of our time together, mostly feeding the babies, so it’s good that we get along well.
We have two boys and a girl, so it’s the same dynamic as my own family, which I adore. Our daughter Sophia is only 14 months old and walks in a wobbly manner, and our identical twins Hugo and Oscar are only 12 weeks old and full of smiles and sweet little gurgles.
Having our surrogate daughter in Kiev was a big challenge in many ways. It took a full year of multiple blood tests, legal and medical appointments, and a huge amount of paperwork before we could travel to Ukraine to begin the process of egg retrieval.
I was studying full time and trying to focus on researching and writing my thesis which was a big challenge in itself.
I accidentally found myself walking into Miss Ireland and Miss World, to be honest. It was all for a bit of a laugh at first. My line of work was not an area I would have chosen, although I love the travel, the creativity and the interesting people that my career has brought. I never aspired for a 9 to 5 job, although I have always loved the discipline of studying.
I probably would have taken an academic path if I had taken another fork down the road, or into a scientific career. I was offered a UCD PhD scholarship in sociological research after I finished my studies there in 2005, but I had just finished my year as Miss World and wanted to work, to to travel and explore the opportunities that the title brought me.
I’m secretly a science geek and completed my MSc in Personalized Nutrition around the year Sophia was born.
We are much more relaxed as parents this time around. When Sophia arrived in 2019 we had no idea about babies and it was all intimidating and terrifying. But this time around it’s a lot less scary, albeit a lot more exhausting with two newborns and a toddler.
Our family is certainly my greatest pride. I still can’t believe we have three happy, healthy children at home after our fertility issues. I hope our story inspires others in a similar position to never give up hope in their family dreams.
I would like my friends and family to remember me for their kindness and loyalty, and for my kids to remember me for being a fun and loving mom. I am a loving and kind person, deeply grateful to the people in my life and hardworking too. I am extremely organized and a perfectionist, and I can’t stand wasting time. This can be good or bad depending on who you ask.
I am better at multitasking. My brain spins all day long with how much there is to do for three little kids, besides trying to do work, and don’t forget to drink water and text your kids. friends.
The lesson I would like to give you is that you never really know what is going on in someone’s life no matter how it turns out on the outside, so it is important to be non-judgmental, kind and empathetic. towards others.
There’s a lot of really valuable advice that I’ve taken over the years so it’s hard to narrow it down to just one, but it’s important for me to be true to myself, to be present in the moment, to love and respect myself, and not be afraid to show my vulnerabilities. We are just humans trying to survive each day at a particularly difficult time in our lives.
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