Suits you sir!

Ah the Irish Summer! Well so far this year we cannot complain too much. Most primary schools will finish up this week so expect a turn for the miserable in no short time. This year, however, I am uber-prepared. I have a list of things to do, I’ve sorted the toys and with quiet optimism I have purchased* a pair of children’s wetsuits from Puddleducks. I say quiet optimism because, while I hope to hit the beach, I am presuming it will be cold enough to require said wetsuits. About 3 years ago I bought a wetsuit for Himself so that he could “enjoy” surfing when visiting friends in Donegal even in November. Either the wetsuit or male bravado enabled him to stay in the water for up to 3 hours while myself and the other surf wag chased children up and down the beach purely for the purposes of keeping us all warm. We soon realised after one weekend in Donegal when the kids were paddling with their Puddleducks raincoats on and nothing else (I kid you not!) that wetsuits were a no-brainer for the Irish weather.

Last year we holidayed in lovely Lahinch. (I never did rustle up the energy to post about the lovely holiday we had there. We rented a holiday home in Ballyellery from Trident Holiday Homes. Photo on right was the view from the cottage on one of the truly Irish days 🙂 Ask me if you need more details.) Lahinch is a major surf destination so Himself and some of our friends had a great time. Yet again I missed an opportunity to surf as I was pregnant and too bloody tired even though I wasn’t so far gone. The weather was only okay at the time and we looked at wetsuits in the surf shops in town. The available range wasn’t great in Lahinch and even the second hand ones were pricy so we left it. However there were a number of days where we had to quit the beach as children’s lips turned blue!

I sent a tweet to Puddleducks earlier this year asking them if they were planning to stock wetsuits ever and Aedan replied to me that they were researching the options. A while later Suzanne contacted me and said they were sourcing two different types of wetsuits from suppliers and would I like to try them out. We opted for the full length suits in XSmall and Small. They have since launched a range of different beach products including these suits, a shorty version and various UV suits and beach shoes.

Due to the fact that their father has a wetsuit the Nippers were already favourably inclined. Considering the pair of them had to date refused to even put a two in the water we were concerned that it would be money badly spent regardless. Well the Nippers seemed to think that these suits would make them invincible and Nipper 2.0 even had great plans to go bodyboarding! (Where does he get these ideas!) Their first outing was literally a wash out which involved a real Irish picnic in the car before putting on all our raingear for a walk and some sandcastling in the rain on the beach. Our next outing was on one of the hottest days in this recent hot spell. My sister and I rustled the two of them up after school and headed for Sandycove. While I wouldn’t recommend Sandycove for a hot day, even midweek it was jammed, it was perfect to get the boys in the water in their suits. It’s a very calm inlet which helped them get over any reservations they might have had.

They played happily for the 2.5 hours that we were there in and out of the water. No blue lips and we are saving a fortune in suncream! The suits are great and a good fit with some growing space in them. The Nippers are very different shapes and both at the smaller end of the scale for their age. You can see from the photos that the limbs require a little turning up. Nipper 1.0 is whip thin and so we managed to pull the suit onto him no bother. Nipper 2.0 still has some of his baby fat (he recently turned 4) so we struggled a fair bit to get him into his. Let me put it like this: a child who was disinclined to put on their suit would win that particular battle! That would be my only issue with the XSmall size – it doesn’t seem to allow for the fact that a child that age might be likely to have a little more pudge. Add neoprene, however stretchy, to the mix and there’s a bit of heave ho-ing. But they were both very easy to remove and because of their size far easier to rinse than an adults. In fact I rinsed them in the sink and there is no way you would fit even a small adult suit into a sink.

We subsequently spent an afternoon on Curracloe strand in Co. Wexford which was far less sheltered and there was a stiff breeze that day. Again they played very happily in and out of the water although Nipper 2.0’s courage failed him somewhat. (Who’s talking about bodyboarding now, eh?!) Of course, I put them all to shame by swimming in plain ol’ togs. Due to the ongoing fluctuations in my body weight over the last 8 years there has been no point in getting a wetsuit for myself!

At €35.99 for the suits I think they are well worth it. They seem to be well made (I’m not expert) and include all the features you would expect on a wetsuit: tight ankles and cuffs and a turtle neck with adjustable fastener. The zip is sturdy with a strap for closing and it tucks away neatly. All the tech specs are included in the Puddleducks listing. Look at it like this: on an overcast day you might decide that the beach is just too cold for the kids so you go to the swimming pool. In Lahinch last year that notched up €21.00 for 3 of us. Alternatively if you compare it to the cost of suncream at circa €10.00 per bottle which may get wiped off as soon as it’s on it’s also a far longer lasting bargain. I also really believe it’s the way forward for holidaying in Ireland. I’m the only family member who doesn’t have a suit but I noticed in Lahinch last year that most of the families were all kitted out in them and many of them were not surfing at all, just swimming.

*Disclosure: I received these suits at cost-price from Puddleducks.

Mo thrua mo ghúna/ Alas my dress

(English below)

Bhí droch-am agam an tseachtain seo chaite le gúna a bhí mé ag iarraidh déanamh do na Gradaim Fís Idirlíne. Seo thíos fís Qik a rinne mé nuair a bhí mé fós dóchasach, roimh a chuaigh gach rud tóin chun tosaigh. Is ar éigean is a bhí an gúna críochnaithe agam. Tháinig mo mháthair sall chun cúnamh agus comhairle a thabhairt dom i dtreo é a chríochnú. Roimh a chur mé an tsíp isteach (an tríú ceann a bhí ceannaithe agam an tseachtain sin!) dúirt sí, “Cuir ort é go gcinnteoimid nach bhfuil sé ró-mhór nó a leithéid.” Beag baol go raibh an diabhal rud ró-mhór! Bhí beagnach dhá orlach ar iarraidh sa dhroim! Mar a bhfeicfidh sibh ón bhfís thíos rinne mé toile agus gach rud, agus ní raibh fadhb ar bith le droim an toile (bhí fadhbanna eile leis ach sin scéal eile…). Bhíomar ar tí tosnú ón tús arís ach bhí sé chomh déanach bheartaigh mé ar sean-gúna a tharraingt amach as an wardrús. Tar éis dom trí no ceithre cinn a thriail dúirt Mum agus Himself go b’é an ceann a bhfeicfidh sibh sa dara fís thíos an ceann is deise orm. Bhraithe mé an-aisteach ann oíche na ngradaim toisc go b’é mo ghúna bainise agus gan Himself i mo theannta ach ar ar laghad bhí mo bhean chuideachta liom mar a bhfeicfidh sibh sa dara fís thíos!

I had a terrible time last week with the dress I was trying to make for the Net Visionary Awards. Here’s a Qik vid I made while I was still hopeful, before everything went arse over backwards. I nearly had the dress finished; Mum came over to advise and help me finish it (she’s brilliant at dressmaking) . Before we put the zip in (the third one I had bought that week!) she said, “Try it till we make sure it’s not too big or anything.” Fat chance the thing would be too small – two inches too narrow at the back. And I wouldn’t mind but I made a toile – I’ve never made a toile before – and it (mostly but that’s another story) fit me perfectly. You can see me working on the toile in the first Qik video below. So we were about to start pretty much from the beginning with the dress and I just decided I can wear something from the wardrobe. So I tried on three or four but in the end Mum and Himself decided that the one you can see in the second vid below was the best. It felt a bit strange on the night of the awards, wearing my dress without Himself being there but at least I had my bridesmaid as you can see from the second vid.