Ten on Tuesday 6

This week it's the turn of Dara from Mum Of All Trades


1.Describe your family I have been very happily married for 10 years. I have 5 children. 4 boys, 9,7,5 and 3, and one little girl who is 21 months. Its a very noisy and busy house, but I wouldn't have it any other way.


2.How do you spend an average day? I teach part time. So on my working days, we are out of the house by 8.15am. My eldest 3 go to the school where I teach, which makes life so much easier.
They go to the afterschool club as well. My mother in law minds the two babies. She is a fantastic help and will usually have a stew or something ready when I pick the children up after work.
When we get home I start into the homeworks and getting the boys to do their piano practice. It is 9 o'clock usually before both of us get sitting down in the evenings.
Thankfully on my 2.5 half days off the pace is much slower. Still hectic but I don't feel as pushed for time.
I have to say I feel so lucky to be able to work part time. I love being at home, but I do love my job as well.
The weekends are very much family time for all of us. Either hanging around at home or going out for walks.


3. How did you get started with blogging? I started blogging when I was on maternity leave. I was reading a lot of blogs on decorating and crafts and was struck by someone saying having a blog gave them an incentive to get projects finished. So thats what I did. I began to use it as a way to keep me focused. This house was newly built, so it needed a lot of decorating. But this had to be done on a budget.
I started to share little things I was doing and then a bit more about my life, it grew from there.


4.What do you love about where you live? We live in a rural area on the shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland. It really is beautiful. In Summer I never want to go on holidays as its so scenic here! I love the small community feel  in NI. It is rare that I would go into a shop or walk somewhere here without stopping for a chat with someone. Children can go out and play safely here. From the outside it might have gotten a bad name over the years but it is remarkable how people here are full of humour and optimisim.
The house we live in was a self build. We moved in two years ago. I am enormously proud of the fact that we managed to finish it. Anyone who builds their own house will tell you how stressful it can be. We still have lots to do and I am always full of ideas. Many of these become the topic of my blog posts.


5.Is there a song that can brighten your day as soon as you hear it? This is the hardest question to answer! I am big into all types of music and have a bit of a knack for remembering lyrics for 1000's of songs. I am always singing in the house and in the car. I love anything from Johnny Cash to Elvis, ACDC to Beyonce.


6.What would you do on a child-free day? Shop! Along with a spot of lunch with a good friend or two. I love shopping. It doesn't have to be clothes shopping, any kind will do. I don't always have to spend money either I just love looking at all the nice things. Even a good rummage at the charity shop or car boot sale will suffice.


7.Do you have a favourite holiday destination? I have travelled to some beautiful locations and I love the USA very much. But my favourite place is Rome. My husband and I  could happily spend months there wandering around, discovering interesting places.


8.Do you have a claim to fame? Not really. I was little Miss Volvo when I was 6. Does that count?


9.What would be the top three things on your Bucket List? I had to think about this one. I'm not really into anything mad like bungee jumping!
1. Go on a shopping spree to New York and stay at somewhere fabulous.
2. Set up my own business doing something creative. I have done a few wedding flowers and people tell me I should set up a business, but in the current economic climate I am reluctant to leave the security of a job.
3. Hear a wolf howl in the wild. I would love to be safely cosied up in a log cabin and listen to wolves howling.


10.How do you spend your spare time...if you get any! I go to crochet class one night a week, which is lovely and relaxing. On Saturday mornings I enjoy meeting friends for coffee or just pottering around the shops enjoying some child free time. On the last Friday of every month I meet up with a group of girls I've been friends with from school. Sometimes its tea and cake or sometimes if we all manage to not be pregnant at the same time its wine until the wee small hours!


Thank you so much for answering the questions Dara. It's been really interesting finding out about you and your life.


Lough Neagh sounds incredibly beautiful and it's so lovely that you can appreciate where you live. We're often so busy with our lives that we don't take time to take a look at the area we reside in and appreciate it's beauty.