Moving moving moving...

Friday:

Well lets just say we are all glad it's Friday...Lino had a horrible night of sleep and ended up in our bed earlier than normal and Shaun was/is sick so he wasn't sleeping to well so he was basically sitting up in my arms all night...the poor baby. Lino, the tornado, was just wiggling and moving and turning  but not sleeping so when Shaun woke his self up from not being able to breath thru his nose it was bad news. Lino thought that meant it was time to get up so I tried to keep Shaun laying down but he couldn't breath thru his nose so I had to get up and try and get some of the snot out. Lino tried to follow so I had Mike run some defence.  It was working for a while until Shaun started to cry and Lino wanted to come see what was going on. Mike made him stay in the bed so that I could finish what I was doing and when I went back into the room Lino was a mess so Mike took him back to his room. He screamed in there with Mike for about 5-10min before he calmed down but it seemed like hrs then Mike came back. I thought Lino was sleep but Mike said he was just laying there...so you know what that means...here comes Lino a min after Mike. We gave up and let him sleep...that is the last time!!!! So he didn't go right to sleep it seemed like it took for ever before he went to sleep and only 30min or so later Mike got up. Once mike left and Lino felt the cold side of the bed he was up and woke Shaun up too. Great...  It wouldn't have been so bad if Lino was in a good mood but whenever he super tired its always a nightmare...so me and Shaun getting out of the bed just set him off. He screamed the whole hr before we left for school. There was hardly any reasoning with him so at that point we just had to do what needed to be done and couldn't wait around for Lino to try and find his happy place place.   So that just meant more headache for us to get him ready but we survived. I had to put Lino in his place once because he was really going off the deep end then he seemed to find a semi calm place and was fairly reasonable the rest of the morning. We ended up putting a diaper on him because we know when he's tired he will just pee his pants...probably to get back at us. So that was a fight of course...we almost decided not to take him because we were worried he was going to get his self kicked out for being so unruly. But since he calmed down a little I went ahead and took a chance. I warned his teacher and Mrs Joan that he might be off and they didn't seem to be to worried about it...good luck!!!  

So 3hrs without Lino...I need to be efficient.  I had to stop by Supervalu first...seems like I go grocery shopping every other day (the fridge in the apt is pretty small). I was able to get 7 out of the 9 things I wanted to get so not bad. Then back to the apt for a quick little break...I needed a moment. So I had a half a cup of coffee and a scone...the moment went by to quickly...

Next, tend to Shaun for a min...poor sick baby...all he wants is for me to hold him. Then prep for dinner so that maybe I can have some free time when Lino takes a nap. Then wash, fold, hand up clothes...it's such a donating task here. Something that should take 1-2hrs could take 10hrs-2days...absolutely ridiculous. I know I've complained before but I'm pretty sure I'm going to complain about laundry the whole time we are here. By this time it was time to go get Lino...time flies. On the way there I actually saw a cop or Garda posted under the bridge trying to catch speeders...he had one of those speeding guns and everything...I didn't know the Garda actually do that. I thought only the bus catches speeders...good to know.  So I actually got there a few min early...I thought but the kids were already lined up waiting for their parents. Lino apparently had a good day and was happy to see me...that was nice. So I had a quick chat with Joan and she seems  to think Lino is doing well and getting adjusted well...he just doesn't like to stop play time but that's pretty normal for Lino. It was good to hear he was getting settled into the class and still enjoying it. On the drive home I just knew he would fall asleep especially since he missed the last 3hrs of his sleep this morning but nope he stated up...great now that means I'm really going to have a hard time getting him to take a nap.  At least I knew he was hungry and lunch time shouldn't be a fight. He told me I'm the car he wanted a peanut butter and a cheese sandwich...now if he eats them both that would be cool. He actually did eat both half sandwiches so that was nice. I repeated my same trick from Thu about setting the timer and it worked again...Lino was out within 20min I think.  He likes the idea that he doesn't have to go to sleep he just have to lay there until the timer go off. Little does he know he's for sure going to go to sleep before the 2hr timer goes off...so it's a win win for both of us. Now it's time to try and get Shaun to take a nap. Every time he tries to sleep I end up moving him or changing his conditions and he wakes up...so I know he's tired. I was finally able to get him to sleep around 2 and I knew the alarm was going to go off at 3 soooooooooo...guess I should close my eyes too!!! I couldn't lay Shaun down because when I tried he would start gasping for air so I held him and I fell asleep on the couch with him. For some crazy reason I couldn't sleep long and my eyes popped open after about 20min of laying there (15mim of actual sleep) and I couldn't go back to sleep. Are you serious?!?!?!? (Another famous Lino phrase). Oh well I'm sure Lino will be up soon...well Shaun was up not to long after that so I guess it was only meant for me to have a little nap. So I did some more laundry and Lino's was stirring so I made his timer go off. He told me he was still tired so I just sat with him for a little while until he woke up...I had Shaun help me a little which seems cruel but its only payback for all the times Lino wakes Shaun up. Thankfully it was a very good wake up and he was in a good mood!!!!!  So we hung out for a while until it was time to go...today we get the keys to our house...FINALLY!!!!!!!

Lino wasn't really keen on leaving but I got him to go once I told him he could run around at the house. Mike was running late so we met on the main road to the house so he could follow me there...he wasn't really sure how to get there. Once we got there the owners and the relocation lady walked us around and explained all the little things to us...like how to work the oven so that I don't have the same chicken incident.  How to work the fridge, washer, dryer and freezer. Mike walked around with the husband and asked all the man questions...where's the water heater, how to work the electric heating, where's the 1000 fuses...stuff like that. I told the owner that I wanted to start a herb garden and I wanted to know if that was ok and she took me over to the one that the tenets before us had started...sweet!!!! So we already have a huge rosemary bush, some curly parsley, lavender (what I'm going to do with this I'm not sure...maybe fragrance the house with it), raspberries, strawberries and a time of roses. I think there might have been a couple more things there like onions but it looks like they were from last year and needed to be replanted which isn't an issue. I wonder of we could grow garlic out there??? I know I'll be able to have a basil plant in the house which we will use all the time but I have to find something else to put in the garden and be able to use it...any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. So that was nice and it got me really excited to move in. We also found out that the horses that they use to have are gone so the land in the back can be used for whatever so if we have a big part we are going to have a massive volleyball area...can't wait!!!! Now we just needs a nice outdoor furniture set.  We are so cheap we only have the one that Mikes parents gave us 6yrs ago and I think they had it for at least 5yrs too so needs less to say we need an upgrade but not sure we will be getting one here...it's going to be way more than one in the states. Otherwise it was good. We will start to move the boxes that we have in the apt to the house over the weekend. Lino had a ball too...he just ran around the house like 10x...just because. He also pee'ed his pants 2x because he was too busy running around the house that he didn't stop to pee...that kid is going to drive me to drink...drink more than I already drink :-).  Once everyone left Mike and I tried to decide where to put all the crap we have on the boat ad we both where at a loss...lets think more about it over the weekend...hahahaha. So we have keys to our house and a nice bottle if wine and flowers to welcome us home...only a couple of days until we are HOME!

Well we kind of wasted a bunch of time at the house so we decided to go back to The Fish Wife for dinner. We had a nice stroll there and back and Mike was able to do the night time routine with little fuss from Lino. Lino even wanted him to set the timer so he knew when it was time to get up...this is like a wonderful new tool for getting Lino to go to sleep...why didn't we think of it sooner!

Saturday:

Everyone slept in...and slept in the bed. We had family bed cuddle time which was nice then we got up to go. Since this is our last weekend in the apt we have to go to Liberty Grill one last time....hahahaha...any excuse to go there. The weather seemed like it could go either way so we (not including Mike) dressed warm...just in case. The walk down to the city was nice, it was still a little early so the streets were not completely filled with people, there was a nice breze and the sun was trying to peek out...going to be a nice day in Cork. We got to the restaurant in good time again and the waiter knew how many were in my party before I could even say hello...I guess we have been here quite a bit :-/  So we had a little 15min wait which wasn't bad...everyone got their normal and in true Cutaia fashion...3 Saturdays of going to the Liberty Grill, 3 meals always the same and 3 consecutive Liberty Grill poops by Lino!!!!!   Hahahaha.   

Then to complete the tradition we headed to Mikes favorite chocolate/coffee shop for a coffee and brownie. We got to hang out there for a little while and chat about the house and some of the things we need to do when we get in. We also talked about our garden that we are both pretty excited about. We have no idea what we are going to do with all the rosemary but I'm sure we will be able to find some recipes to use it.  We spent the rest of the morning just hanging out in the city center. Did a little shopping, finally found plain white socks for Lino...it's crazy they. Love their crazy designed socks here and it's almost like a game to try and see if you can find plain whites for the kids. I'm sure at some point I'll be ok with the other socks but for now I would just prefer to keep it simple. We looked for a bike shop for Mike because he is going to start taking his bike to/from work but we didn't see one on the way...we will find it later. By this time the weather had changed and now our long sleeves were too much for the weather and Mikes summer attire was perfect...go figure. Someone told me that you kind of have to wait until its around 10:30am to get dressed in order to have a better idea how the weathers going to be...so true. Either do that or dress in layers so you can add and subtract as needed throughout the day :-).  I'm sure we will figure it out eventually.  Then back to the apt for a little nap for Lino. Mike put him down for his nap and use the timer trick and it worked really well...3x in a row!!!! I think it's safe to say that's a good method to get Lino to nap & sleep with the least amount of fight. While Lino was napping we tried to watch TV on the sling box but it was still really choppy...too many users on at the same time so we just played with Shaun...kind of...he is still sick so he was a little cranky...poor baby. I needed to do a little laundry so I let Mike handle Shaun and this is what happened ...hahahaha. 

After nap we tried a new method to wake up Lino...Mike found a Thomas the Train YouTube video and was playing that kind of loud in the front room while the timer alarm was going off in Lino's room. Within 2 or 3 min Lino came running into the front room all smiles because he was excited about Thomas...sweet move daddy!!!  So we planned to go to the playground after nap since the weather was so nice but Lino didn't want to let go of the iPad. He had found some YouTube video about an airplane game simulation that was 45min long and he kept telling us we could leave after it was over...uhhh I don't think so little guy. We tried to negotiate but he wasn't really in the mood to negotiate so we had to strip him of the iPad and take him out kicking and screaming...you know...the normal method. He wasn't happy at all but after a few min in the car he finally got over it. He was happy to be at the park, I think, so it was worth it. Today Mike was in charge because I'm always on playground duty plus I had Shaun in the sling. Lino was running around from swing to swing but not really riding or playing with any...he seemed content but just wasn't interested in riding...ok. So while he was playing Shaun and I sat in the cushioned playground area and were playing. We were next to this spinning thing and eventually Lino wanted to ride it then Mike wanted to ride it then I felt left out so I rode it too. It was fun but I couldn't spend very much time on it because I was getting dizzy. Lino tried to push us but it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be...it was funny. At some point I had to feed Shaun and went to sit on a bench in the corner and I caught Mike talking to the guy on the bench with him. The guys son and Lino had found some bug on the slides and the were "playing" with it...the poor bug. It was more like Chinese torture or something because the little beetle like bug had wings but wouldn't or couldn't fly away...poor thing. Anyway the boys were showing their dads what they had found and Mike and the guy must have sparked some conversation...I was really proud of my husband because normally he's a true NY'er and he won't talk to random people and even tho he's getting better about it he's really not to fond of random chit chat...but he did it today!

It's a bed pic because I was all the way across the playground but you get the point. 

After the playground we went back to the apt to get the stroller so we could walk to dinner... I totally didn't feel like cooking especially since we only have a couple more days left in the apt and near the city.  We let Lino bring his iPad so he could watch ad movie and let mommy and daddy eat in some piece. We had a good dinner but Shaun was just exhausted because he wasn't able to sleep much all day...couldn't breath so I had to keep walking around with him.  Then we picked up a little dessert (won't be having all this dessert when we get to the house because we are both getting fat...or at least not loosing any weight) and wine on the way back to the apt. We saw the aftermath of an accident on the intersection to the hotel...first accident we've seen. But there was only one car there and he was sitting right in their slow of the intersection...and his front bumper was smashed and on the street so he was causing quite the back-up. We were trying to figure out of he got hit of if he was the one who did the hitting...it was hard to tell. But it was funny because as we were crossing the street, with the long line of cars behind the car, the driver of the car behind the crashes one got out of his car (after sitting there for about a min) and asked "is there a problem here???"  Hahahahahaha...are you serious??? Mike and I were dying laughing...the driver of the crashed car was like "yeah...there was a crash! You'll have to go around."  I couldn't believe it, it was too funny. And it was also interesting that there was no Garda around to direct traffic or help the crashed car...just interesting. We make it back to the apt for bath and bed and Lino tells Mike to set the timer again do he knows when to get up...and he crashes...we could totally get use to this!!!

Sunday:

Time to start moving the crap from the apt to the house...so the morning was spent packing up crap and trying to get organized. 

It's amazing how much more room was in the apt once all the boxes and junk was moved out.  Shaun wasn't in the greatest mood when we were packing up the car...poor baby is still sick. 

Once we got to the house we unloaded and had to do some cleaning. I guess we didn't have to but the place wasn't super clean...it was a little dusty and most of the cabinets / drawers needed a fresh wipe because of the dust that had settled.  Mike had to go back to the apt to get another load so stayed with the sleeping boys and started on the cleaning...they love to sleep in the car. 

The boys love to sleep in the car!!!  They slept for about 1.5hrs in the car so we decided to meet at Tesco and get our groceries and some moving in items. I used the timer to wake Lino up and he was in good spirits and nice and rested...good deal!  Shopping was exhausting...not sure what we needed it didn't need exactly but I wanted to get started in cleaning so I kind of just got the stuff I needed and will take it back if we have it in the shipment.  Then back to the house where we spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and trying to figure out where we were going to put all of our crap. Lino had a ball running around and finding bugs to play with and Shaun enjoyed being on the ground and watching Lino so it all worked out. Once we were done cleaning we went to have dinner...decided we were done cooking at the apt. Then back to the apt for bat h and bed. We did FaceTime with my family and it was kind of sad because normally for Labor Day weekend we would be in KC with them but now we are all the way across the world.  Lino was already sleep by the time we got to FaceTime (he told us he was tired...again!!) so the only got to see Shaun and he was so intrigued by the video it was funny...he was full of smiles so that was nice. I told my mom about Lino telling us that he was tired and that he wasn't fighting us as much about going to bed and she just laughed because about a month ago she said he would eventually do this and I told her it would be at least 10 more years before he was telling me he was tired...I guess moms know best. After that Mike and I crashed because we were pooped from the day and excited to start the moving in the morning...need to be rested!!!

Monday:

Moving day!!!! Moving day!!!!  Mike could barely sleep because he was so excited about the move...I slept fine. We headed to the house with a load of stuff in the car but before we left I put out a load of wash because I figured I would be able to get it after lunch and we wouldn't have a billion dirty clothes. We figured we would check out after the movers left but we got almost everything out anyway so that we didn't have to worry about bringing a lot of stuff later...Hopefully we will be able to stay at the house tonight. So I left before Mike and once I get to the house the movers hadn't arrived yet. I wasn't sure if they were lost or not because I know I would be lost trying to find this house. But eventually they showed up and they said they had no problems finding it, they got "general" direction so everything was grand!!! So they had unloaded our container into two trucks, actually it was four total that they had to bring. They said that the container would never make it up this road and there would be no where for it to park which is what I was worried about initially. So let the moving begin...

Once the movers started unloading, we found out that he was going to take two days to get everything unloaded and they didn't think we would be able to stay at the house the first night because they wouldn't have the beds were together by that time. So that meant we had to call the hotel to let them know we needed to stay an extra night. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue but later we found out it was a little bit of an issue. Apparently they had already planned for someone else to be in our apartment on Monday so that meant we had to go to a different apartment room for the night. That wouldn't have been an issue if we had know before we left that morning so we could have got everything our...we still had clothes outside drying and a few things inside the room too. We called the front desk to ask about the clothes and what not and they seem to not know where they were ...so maybe we lost a few items on our last day...oh well.  Otherwise we spent the day watching the movers move and unloading our stuff. Lino made sure to bless the house as well with a nice yard christening 

Some pics from the move...

Shaun enjoying some toys in the yard

Lino being a big helper with the move...the guy let him hammer the table and he thought that was the best thing in the world. 

While we were unpacking and tossing a bunch of crap that we packed for no good reason we stumbled across a used In and Out burger bag...now why in the hell would we pack a used fast good bag and ship it across the Atlantic Ocean just to throw it out????  Talk about stupid things we do...anyway it makes a good blog pic. 

End of day one and 4 truck loads of crap has been unloaded!!!!

Mike and I continued the unpacking for a few more hours after the movers left. We got the pantry and most of the kitchen done!!! Tomorrow we will tackle the bedrooms and the boys play room.  Since we are in between homes and because Mike needed to get on the Internet for his Fantasy Football Draft we went to have dinner at The Elm tree...really nice kid friendly place and super good food. Glad it's close to the house too...I think we will become frequent diners here for sure. Unfortunately Mikes draft was a bust...something wrong with the site so try had to reschedule it for Tue at midnight our time...doesn't look like Mike will be making it so my sisters boyfriend will draft for him...maybe.  Late night for the family and everyone is tired...only one more night in the hotel!!!! 

Tuesday:

Lino was up early so up we all were. We didn't have anything at the hotel...clothes, tooth brushes, bath soap, nothing...so we got up...changed Shaun's diaper, took Lino's diaper off and left :-). Got to the house and had breakfast..our first meal together in the house

Then we got to work on our bedroom...We had to stop about 45min later because we had to go to the Garda station to get our residency information filed. The relocation rep told us what all we needed and Mike was in charge of getting it while I got the boys together but half way there he realized he had forgot one document...hopefully they will still process us without it :-/  We ended up on Cobh (pronounced Cove) which is the last stop the Titantic made before...pretty cool. And whe we get to the Garda station a big cruise ship was just docking...the boys were sleep and since we didn't have one of the documents Mike just went in to see if it would be OK or not and I stayed with the boys. After 30min of waiting it seemed to be "no bother" as they would say here, so I got the boys and we went inside. Lino wasn't to cranky but I think it was the big boat that kept him in good spirits. So it only took 10min and we were pretty much good. We have to go back on Sunday to take pictures for our cards but that should be a quick visit too. On the way out we had to stop to look at the boat because Lino was just in ahhhh about how big and close it was. On the way down the stairs to see the boat I nearly fell to my death...had to take a picture and share with my old Dannon buddies...can you say "safety contact"!!!  I can't believe there was no gate or chains or nothing to stop you from going into the water...crazy. 

Then on the drive to the house we see this...just seems a little out of place...

Spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking. We stopped to have a sandwich from Fitzpatrick's but otherwise it was all business. The movers got everyone put together and moved around kind of like we wanted it and where gone before 4. We finally called it quit around 6 because we wanted to make sure Lino go to bed at a decent time since he had school in the morning...oh and my son decided not to nap today other than the 45min in the car on the way to the Garda at 9:30 so he was a mess with his pee pee's. Pee'd on the floor 2x because he was so busy playing with his toys that he didn't want to stop to pee. Eye yi yi...he's killing me. Anyway, we got our bedroom and the boys room unpacked and in order which was nice.  Lino needed to go to bed so I ran to KFC and got us a quick chicken dinner...it wasn't bad just sucked because they don't have crispy chicken...it's all original recipe...or at least it looked like it was. I did bath and bed while Mike finished up a few things.  

The boys first bath in the house!

We don't have any Internet or TV so Mike hooked up the computer and we transferred a movie from there to the iPad to watch. We probably should have went to sleep when Lino did but we wanted to have a moment to take in the fact that we were finally in our house...so we had a glass of wine and watched Inception...feels good to be home!

Oh and I saw the biggest spider scurry across the floor while we were watching the movie...it freaked me out!!!  Thankfully Mike was able to find and kill it!!!!  There are so many spiders here, I'm not OK with that!

Lino's starting his learning school!!!!

Today we went to a coffee morning that was coffee and lunch so a full day which was nice for us because I had nothing planned for the day. Last night Lino ended up in the bed pretty early and eve tho I told Mike it was his job to put him back in his room if he came in before 7 somehow all 3.5 of us ended up sleeping in the bed...Shaun joined late in the night/morning. Mike said he was tired so he didn't want to fight with Lino so hopefully he's fully rested now because Lino will start his learning school on Wed so I want him to be rested...if that's possible. Since we have 2 cars for the moment Mike was able to drive his self to work while we got ready. Lino was in pretty good spirits so he got ready in about 40min...that includes eating the little breakfast that he had. Since he was so efficient we had time to spare so hung out and played a few games. Then we headed to the playgroup which wasn't very far. Today's host had a really nice house that she & her husband had remodelled. So it was all custom and cool and spacious. She was such a good host and she had a million toys & a big trampoline in the front...a total kid haven. Lino had a ball and made friends with the older boys of course and they didn't seem to mind playing with him either so that was nice. When Lino wasn't wrestling with the big boys he was lining up all the cars and trucks and he didn't want to share. He is kind of OCD when it comes to lining up the cars and if anyone gets close to them he looses it and if you move a car to the wrong spot he will be so upset...it's bad. So that means a lot of little tug of war fights with the other kids because Lino basically had 90% of the cars lined up and one small toddler kept trying to get some of the cars and Lino kept knocking him over to get him out of the way. I kept telling him to share but he was like "but mom he keeps knocking the cars over...he's messing them up!"  Oh Lino...finally I told him it was either share or go home and he found it in his heart to share...but only a few select cars. So we had out cakes and coffee the the host made some lunch...super nice and gracious I must say. I kept asking Lino if he wanted to eat but he couldn't be bothered with stopping to eat. The only thing he ate was a cookie for going potty and a fruit kebab stick...it's hard to tell if he would be hungry later because he can go on barely anything and be fine. I figured if he was hungry he would say something and he would eat. I was glad to be able to spend a few hrs there talking to the moms (actually listening more than talking) and Lino was able to play with other kids without me!!!!  But the fun had to end at some point and when it did it was a fight with Lino...I ended up having to pick him up and carry him out kicking & screaming. Sometimes I wonder what is going thru his mind because its just not that serious. Anyway he wasn't dying so it was all good. 

Since we were close to a Tesco I decided to stop by to get a few things before we went back to the apt. The Tesco couldn't have been 5 min away but Lino feel asleep...despite my best efforts to keep him up and when I woke him up to get out of the car he was peeing in his sleep...oh the pee pee accidents just keep coming. I knew he had to go but he wouldn't go before we left so I thought we could make it to the Tesco and I would be able to get him to go there because I knew if he went to sleep he was going to have an accident...and he did. So now he's half sleep, tired and annoyed because I put a diaper on him so it was not a fun shopping trip. Even tho I only went in to get 3 or 4 things I came out 45min later with a bag full of crap...going to try something new for dinner tomorrow. I asked Lino like a million times if he wanted me to get him something to eat and he kept saying no but I got him some lunch meat anyway...just in case. Once we were done with our shopping I checked out and had to fight with the cashier lady at the self check out about my receipt. It looked like she charged me twice then she gave me a receipt that said transaction cancelled so I wasn't sure what happened...I guess it's right. We get home wait for Mike to get home and he takes Lino with him for a jog while I make dinner. After dinner I put Lino to bed and he was so pooped he actually went to sleep around 8:45 which is amazing for us these days. Tomorrow is first day of learning school so I hope he gets some rest. 

Wednesday:

Well last night Mike got up at 3am...why you might ask??? Because of his fantasy football draft...he won't get up to put his son back in his bed because he is too tired but he can get up for a hr in the middle of the night to do fantasy football...something is wrong with that picture but ok. So since this was Lino's first day at the school Mike wanted to go with us to drop him off...that was nice. Lino was up around 7:15 so it was plenty of time to get him ready to go. I sat up with him and Shaun for the first leg (breakfast) while Mike got a little more sleep then he finished him off (clothes). I figured while I had a little help I would wash my hair and maybe while Lino was gone I could dry and straighten it. Mike thought I was crazy for washing it because he thought I was going to make us late but I was right on time!  Mine didn't know exactly how to get there so he followed me, we had to stop to get gas first and Mike tells me that the car took 2 tries to start-up...no bueno. Maybe we should have got it checked out by a mechanic...oh well...or maybe it was nothing??  We had plenty of time to make it there I thought but I didn't prepare for the school traffic which was a little much in Glanmire...but we made it there pretty much on time. Mike was so funny he was like "I'm completely lost..,I have no idea where we are" hahahaha. So we take Lino in and he runs in...no hesitation at all. We talk to Mrs Joan for a little while and I find out that I was suppose to pack him a snack...shi*!!!  And since we didn't know how much the fee was I was going to have to go to the store anyway to get cash so I told her I would bring it right back (suck a bad mom). All the other kids had book bags and lunch boxes and everything...I was so not prepared. Anyway he was fine and now I had another task to complete during my 3hrs of freedom. So we left and I tried to give Mike directions on how to get to work but he looked completely lost so I wasn't sure if he was going to make it there before lunch ...hahaha.  I ended up calling him to try and talk him thru the first turn because after that he should be able to figure it out...and he did. So I raced to Supervalu to get some "snacks" got Lino which wasn't easy because all the snacks are so different and what's easy to find is junk so it took me a little bit to figure out what I was going to get him. Where's the Cheeze It's and Gold Fish when you need them...eventually I found a few items that's weren't fried or filled with artificial sweeteners...fruit and baked crackers and an all juice juice box...whew that was hard work. I even made my first Danone purchase...got Lino some Gervais or Danimals if you're in the States. Actually the Danone kid selection was pretty pathetic so if Lino doesn't like these we might have to try the store brand or the arch enemy Yoplait...we will cross that bridge when we get there. 

 After my small snack shopping adventure I went to check out only o discover that I don't have my credit card...are you serious!?!?!?  I must have left it at Tesco yesterday when I was fighting with that cashier...at least I hope that's where it's at. It wasn't a complete bust, I just used the debit care and got the cash to pay Joan so that at least worked out. Now back to the school to drop off Lino's snack then back to the apt to try and finish my hair. By the time I got back it was almost 10...where did that hour go????  So I start in on my hair which is no small feat...first I have to find a converter for the hand dryer then my flat iron then had to stop to feed Shaun change Shaun and play with him for a min...now it's almost 10:30 and I'm just now starting to dry my hair. After about 1.5min of my dryer half way working the converter started smoking and my dryer stopped...great...my hair is half dry and I have no dryer. So I try and think of other options to dry and I finally come up with ask the receptionist...I needed to ask them to send someone up to look at the smoke detector that was beeping anyway so we took a walk to the front office. The lady said there was one in my room but I told her there wasn't one then she said she would have someone being it to me "straight away" which in my short experience can mean anywhere from 1hr to never and since I didn't have that kind of time I told her I would wait for it because then she couldn't forget. Thankfully it only took a few min and I was able to finish drying...the drying process works so much better when you have the right tools. Next was straightening...and since my hair is on the brink of needing a new straightening treatment this was a critical step. I got about 1/2 way thru and it was 11:20 and Shaun was done sitting and watching mommy play make up...so the second half went a lot quicker and didn't get as much attention as I wanted it to but it worked out in the end. I was able to get out of the apt and get Lino and I was only 5min late. I texted Mike and he was surprised I made it in time too...it's moments like that that make me miss my stylist Tim...but at least I don't look like a hobo anymore...

We were rushing out of the apt so fast this morning that I forgot to take a picture of Lino and when he got to school he was too busy so I didn't get one then either. But after school I kind of tricked him into taking a picture even tho he was like "don't take my picture mom!!!" And he was serious...as you can tell...anyway I got a pic but will have to try again tomorrow to make it a little better. 

On the drive back to the apt Lino was telling me about his day and he said he had lots of fun so that was great. He really enjoyed it I could tell...or maybe he just liked it because there are new toys there...either way he was excited to go back tomorrow. Then as expected, within five minutes of us getting in the car Lino fell asleep...I knew he would. I tried everything to keep him awake and somehow was able to keep him from completely zonking out. I figured it would be easy to get him to nap but that was a joke. He wanted to eat when got in which was fine so I made him a grilled cheese and he ate a whole sandwich but it took him over a hr to eat it...he is super slow. Then I fought with him for 45min about going to sleep and somewhere in there he finally fell asleep...such a battle. I sometimes wonder if its worth it but I know he will be in a better mood if he naps. Then I worked on dinner for a while, fed Shaun and finally got him to sleep.  My mom was finally able to FaceTime me so that was nice, we talked for a while and she got to see Shaun sleeping (nothing exciting but the grandparents love to see the babies awake or sleep). After all that I ended up with about 30min of freedom and what did I do...surf the web...such a waste of my 30min but oh well. I said I was going to wake Lino up but I couldn't bring myself to do it but he woke up about 15min after the time I said I would wake him up so it was perfect. He was nice and happy but it was 3:45 so I knew it was going to be an interesting night time. Since it was so late I didn't want to leave the apt so we played games then went outside to wait for Mike. I let Lino "run around" and he says "you mean I can run around???"  I said "yup, you can run around out here"  Lino "oh thank you thank you thank you mommy!" He is so funny. So he runs in a circle for a little while then comes over to me to start a conversation and says his new favorite conversation starting phrase "it's not going to be that bad...it is or it's not...right mommy??"  What the heck do you say to that??? Every time he says that I just laugh and say "no, it's not going to be that bad". Love that kid. So he races back and forth for a while until Mike gets there then I hand over both boys to Mike and go back to the room. mike looked at me like "hey...why are you leaving me with both kids"...I didn't even hesitate I told him they want daddy time. Hahahah. They played outside for a while and Mike texted me to say he couldn't get Lino out of the car so I have him a tip and he was finally able to come in. Then he took both boys on a jog with him and I put dinner in the oven. When we sat down to eat Lino was like "I'm hungry so I have to eat...I can't wait to say grace". Seriously??? Lino hungry...but he looked at what I had for him and he wasn't sure...I made a new recipe...double mushroom and spinach strudel, and he had never eaten anything like that so he wasn't sure. Then he was like "I'm done mommy"...that's Lino for I don't want what you've cooked. So my rule is try one bite and if you don't like it fine...so he tried one bite and that was the end if him not liking it...we barely got him to put it down so we could say grace.  Anyway it was a good moment...he was loving it and it was stuffed with good veggies unbeknownst to him...loads of mushrooms, spinach and bell peppers...definitely adding this to my recipe book!!!  Unfortunately he ate a little too slow and daddy had killed the rest of his portion...he's gotta be fast in this family. So tonight was Mikes night to do bath and bed and it went ok other than Lino not being tired and wanting to see someone while he was in the bed...if its not one thing it something else. It took about 1.5hr of Lino laying in the bed before he went to sleep...maybe I need to cut his nap down to 1hr max :-/   Mike wasn't a happy camper because that meant he had to stay in the hallway 1.5hrs so Lino could see him...whew...glad it was daddy's turn...

Thursday:

Day 2 of school and Lino is up at 7 and excited about going to school. So "it wasn't that bad" getting him ready. I figured I would go to Tesco to get my card the go to the farmers market for a few things while Lino was at school. So I got all my crap together and I was able to convince Lino to take a pic for school...he was happy because he got to take his Thomas book bag that he got for his birthday. 

Today was a little better for the drop off...got Lino there right at 9 and I was able to fill out a little paperwork in the car before I left. Then to Teaco for a few bits then the Farmers Market just to have a look and to get a few sweets because they are pretty amazing. I spent about 2hrs there and was debating on if I had enough time to go drop the food off at the apt and make it to Ballycotton seafood before I had to pick Lino back up...it was pushing it but I did it.  I had to take the crazy back road to the apt but it saved me like 5 min and I needed every min I could get. Thankfully the road wasn't very busy so I only had to encounter one other car which was nice. 

So I made it back to get Lino just in time but even tho I was on time he was still the last kid to be picked up. Another mom was just in front of me so I guess it wasn't that bad...there goes what phrase again...I guess I do say it quite a bit so that's why Lino is always saying it. Today Lino wasn't as sleepy as he was on Monday so we made it back to the apt without him falling asleep. He told me he was sharing and being nice to the other kids and that he drew a picture and built a castle...amazing!!!!  Back at the apt I made him lunch and then put him in the bed for a nap. He was debating with me that he wasn't tired but I told him he needed to rest. I tried something new and it seemed to work so I'll have to try it again tomorrow...I told him that he didn't have to go to sleep, if he wasn't tired he could just lay there but he had to lay there and not play and I was going to set the timer and he when it went off he could get up...he said ok! He loves this timer thing...of course I took advantage of the fact that he couldn't tell time so I set the timer for 2.5hrs (but I was only going to let him sleep an hr) then I read him a book and he laid down and no crying or protests and eventually he went to sleep...actually I don't think it took very long at all. So exciting!!!!!  Shaun on the other hand wasn't sleepy yet so he helped me prep for dinner. Once I was done with that and cleaning I had about 15min to spare...something Is better than nothing I guess. Then I went to set the alarm off hoping that Lino would hear it and wake up happy...but no. He heard it and I saw him rolling around and I told him that he could get up because the timer went off and he said he was still sleepy...wow...ok. I told him to come get me when he was ready to get up...I didn't want to push it because like I said I was praying for a good start-up. So after about 10min I was worried that he had fallen back asleep so I went in there with Shaun and let Shaun make some noise to get him going which it did. I told him that once he wakes up we could go to the park and that must have been the wrong thing to say because he started crying and screaming...about what I will never know. So I just left him alone and he screamed for another 5min until I went in to see if he was ready to calm down and as soon as I walked in I was knocked down by the smell of poop...if this kid pooped in his diaper I'm going to be so mad...yup...pooped in his diaper. LINO!!!!!!  So the punishment for that is a shower so he screamed because he didn't want to take a shower then he screamed because he butt was sore (I told him its because he was too big to poop in his diaper) then he screamed because he didn't want to wash his butt and he screamed for me...an afternoon of screams!  Eventually, I mean almost 20min he spent standing in the shower before he actually washed off and let me wash him, but eventually he got out and found his happy place. At this point it was too late to go to the park so we just stayed at the apt...again.  Shaun had just feel asleep while Lino was in the shower and I needed a moment to get over all the crying so Lino player his game and I blogged for a min. Then I had a snack of carrots and hummus and I asked Lino if he wanted any and he said no of course. After about 5 attempts to get him to try it he finally did...and liked it of course. When he ate the hummus he was like "that's what Nini buys me, we have that at Nini's house". Duh...that's what I've been trying to tell you sill kid. I guess once the initial shock wore off he sea covered that he really liked his snack and even allowed me to photograph the proof!!!  But he was so busy telling me about his snack he wouldn't stop talking for the picture...anyway I was glad he was having a healthy snack...and lots of it!

After snack we went outside to wait on Mike. Lino talked to every since person that came outside...he even tried to go into the apt with these old people!!!!  It's such a double edged sward with him...I'm super lucky he so friendly but it's scary that he would be willing to go with almost anyone if they talk to him. I gotta find a way to get a balance between being nice and being careful about strangers...God help me.  So I guess we were outside to long because Lino was ready to go inside before Mike got home so I had to stall him so we FaceTime with Nini...we actually had better reception outside than we usually do. Maybe it was because we were calling before the network was over loaded with people getting on after work or sight seeing...who knows. So a quick chat then Mike got here and Lino wanted to drive the car so Mike let him sit on his lap while he drove the car around the parking lot. I got a cool video if it too!  Then it was family walk day while the veggies cooked.  Mike gave me the update that we should be able to get the keys to the house on Friday evening which is cool then I got Nini & PopPop's itinerary for their visit in Nov...kind of exciting that we will have visitors this year and we talked a little about work...a nice walk and time to actually talk.  Once we got back we ate, bath then bed. Lino was sleep within 15min...sweet!!!!  One more day until the weekend...actually this week has gone by super quick but I'm looking forward to the weekend...even if we spend most of the time moving stuff into the house...that just means one step closer to finally getting settled. 

We have a car!!!!!

Last night wasn't a great night of sleeping but probably was due to over tiredness of the whole family. I wasn't sure what that meant for my day but it wasn't good. Lino was up at half 2 and Mike tried to abandon ship again but Lino put the smack down on that...told Mike to stay in the bed and he gave him about 6 inch if bed to sleep on...talk about rough sleeping arrangements :-)  but he was finally able to escape when Lino told him they should go sleep in Lino's room...hahahaha. But Lino didn't last long in there and he was back in the bed with me...fighting for Shaun's spot regardless of what side I put Shaun on. Finally he went back to sleep and Shaun and I got up...10min later Mike was up and 10min after that Lino was up. All up and well rested!!!! NOT!!!!!! No use complaining...so Mike and I got ready while Lino decided if he wanted breakfast or not. Finally he settled on a bowl of pops cereal that he had to get yesterday but no milk...whatever Lino. We took Mike to work and Lino was so cranky he didn't even tell Mike to be careful or that he loved him...poor Mike. Once we got back home Lino seemed to have found his reset button because he was in a pretty good mood. I didn't have to fight with him to much to get dressed and he was ready to go to the playground so so far so good. 

Once we got to the playground my friend Annett had just arrived too and Lino ran over to see her baby boy who is only about 11 weeks old. He just wanted to kiss all over him...he loves babies and he was actually really sweet and soft with him. He helped her with her bags but wouldn't help me...go figure. There wasn't very many people at the playground when we first got there which was nice but after about a hr it was packed.  At some point Lino came running over to me with half a banana...where the heck did he get a banana from??? He must have got it from some mom and I missed it...I kind of felt bad because he was eating some other kids snack...I brought him snacks but he didn't want them. Finally I was able to convince him to eat his own snacks. We spent about 2hrs there and Annett was about to leave and Lino told me he pee pee'd in his pants...seriously Lino?!?!?  So we left too. We stopped at Fitzpatrick's for a sandwich because I love that place and I got some tuna salad from the salad bar...I have no idea why but I've been dying to try it. I tried to get Lino something but all he wanted was a peanut butter sandwich and he had like a million of them last week so I told him he couldn't have any this week...we will see how long I last with my threat.  When we were leaving I told Lino it was nap time since he had an accident and he old me be wasn't tired. But not even 10min later he was sleep but I kept messing with him so that he wouldn't really go to sleep until we or home and he told me "I'm tired mommy...I just want to go to sleep". Really??? That never happens. I knew he would be tired especially with that crazy sleeping last night. So I figured if I could keep him sleepy but not sleep he would go to sleep pretty easy once we got back to the apt...wrong!  I got him changed into a diaper and he wanted me to read him a book so I did and then he told me to stand outside in the hallway...that's our compromise instead of laying in the bed with him, so I was sure he was going to go to sleep but nope. He did lay there for a good 30min and finally I walked by to see if he was sleep and he was just looking up at the ceiling so I told him to get up...he was like "I'm not tired...I feel good!"  Yeah right...lets see how well you feel I about 3hrs when you are dead tired. Since I knew he wasn't really in any condition to socialize I just decided to stay in for the rest of the day...which turned out to be a good decision...I think. Lino played pretty much by his self for most of the time and I started dinner. Shaun sat in the swing for about a hr which was nice then I tried to play a game with Lino in the iPad and everything was going good until he pee'd a little...I could have killed him. This is what he does when he's really tired...accidents after accidents. I had enough so I put a diaper on him and he wasn't happy about that but I didn't have the energy to run around after him begging him to go pee and washing all the pee pee clothes.  He protested but I told him since he had 2 accidents he had to put a diaper on..."no mommy"... Whatever kid!  So it was getting close to time to go get Mike, we had arranged to go get the car we saw last week and made and appt to see another car too. That last hr at the apt was brutal...Shaun was just having a fit crying because he wanted to be held...he was tired and I tried to get him to go to sleep in the swing but he was determined to be held and Lino was being a not so helpful brother (but otherwise good). I finally got dinner ready and packed to eat in the car and Lino comes over to me and says "look" as he turns around for me to see his back...I'm like what am I looking at Lino and I check his diaper and there was poopies in there...are you freaking kidding me...I couldn't even deal with that at that moment. I know he did that to get me upset so I just ignored it and told him he was going to have to sit in his poop until we got back home...we were already 30min late. Dear God!

So we get Mike and he txt me that this weeks moving dates aren't available anymore..,seriously. So we have to wait until Mon & Tue next week to move...it kind of sucks because I was getting myself ready for the move but then again it will be nice to have Mike home to help...oh well. It is what it is so next week  it is. I gave Mike a quick rundown of my day and he just shook his head. Lino went to sleep a few min after I got Mike so we kept bothering him to keep him up...he didn't like that at all...but it worked. We got the the first place and saw the car..,I had actually called about the car almost 2 weeks ago and never heard back so I assumed it was sold but apparently the guy was on holidays so he was just getting back and getting a chance to respond to the messages. The car was nice and the price was pretty good too. I told Mike we should just get it even if we don't drive it that way we are done with the car search...it was in good condition and priced well soooooo...we will see. Then we drove up the road and bought our first car in Ireland!!!!  I left to get the boys ready for bed while Mike did the deal and drove it home. It's crazy that we own a car but its way over due. We both like the car and even tho it's like a station-wagon it's perfect for what we need...one car down one to go. 

 

Even tho it was early (for us) it was time to put Lino in bed. So after a quick shower and a little fussing we got Lino in bed around 8:45....a new record for Ireland!!! He was pretty pooped so everything we did sparked tears so we knew it was time. Now the only question is how long will it last tonight??? Hard to tell...I don't even want to guess because I won't be even close. Since Lino was sleep early we figured we would watch a little sling box but it wasn't working good...too many people on it so it was super choppy. So we had over a hr to talk to each other...and what did we do???? Play games on our phone or surf the net...what is this world coming to. Shaun wasn't really sleepy so I guess it wasn't that easy just to chat because we were constantly trying to entertain him. And we must have bad a silent farting competition going on because we were both blowing up the apt and each other with disgusting silent stink bomb killer farts...not sure what we ate but whatever it was it was brutal on our bellies. I know it's gross but that's part of life. So Mike set off the last 2 bombs and it was so bad I had to use a random card to fan the stink away from me and Shaun. I accidentally hit his head when I was fanning and he thought that was the funniest thing ever. It was so cute..,he was dying laughing so Mike got a little video of him. I don't know if it was the actual card hitting his face that was so fun or if he was loosing his mind because of all the farts...either way it was great fun for all of us.  

Now it's time for some sleep!

Cars and Animals!!

Friday:

Lino must have been completely wiped out from yesterday because we had to wake him up at 8:15 so we could take Mike to work...poor baby. So today we planned to go to the Brooklodge mom & tot group in Glanmire but it didn't start until 10:30 so we hung out at the apt for a while until it was time to go. Lino must have been really board because around 9:30 he was like "let's go mom"...that kid. I was able to stall him for a little and then before we left he told me "somebody needs to come clean this place". I asked him, "why did you say that?"  His response "it's a mess in here" hahahahahaha. I was dying laughing...I even had tears it was so funny and so true all at the same time. We are so on top of each other hear that it just stays a mess...plus I try to spend as little time here as possible because I'm so over being in this apt but the tidiness of the place kind of suffers...oops. Anyway, I had a good laugh. So we get to the community center and I see a lot of moms packing up their kids...well I couldn't exactly tell if they were packing or unpacking but once I saw a few car loads of kids drive away I knew something was up. One mom finally stopped to tell me they canceled for today because of some repairs so they were going to go to Monkey Maze instead...no problem for me but Lino was not OK with it. I told him we were going to go to another fun place because this place was closed and he was like "let me see". That kid is so stinking smart...he knows I try to trick him sometimes and he wasn't about to be fooled today...except today I wasn't tricking him. So I had to talk him down from a ledge because he was seriously upset about not going to the play group...even with me telling him we would go to Monkey Maze instead (I guess because he's never been there so he didn't really know what it was going to be like). I had to take him to the building to see it was closed and 2 people even told him it was closed and he still wanted to go inside...seriously kid????  So I just put him in the seat because there was no negotiating with him. Once he realized we weren't going to the play group he started asking if we could go to the monkey place...I figured he would change his tune if I said we were going back to the hotel ;-)   So we get there and he was super excited. I sat and talked to a few of the moms but I could barely focus because I was so worried he needed to go potty and was going to have an accident I spent the first hr or so looking for him. Finally I had to find him so I went on a search and a couple of the moms helped me look for him too (they sent their older kids into the maze to find him...he wasn't hard to spot since he was the only mixed or black kid there...hahaha too funny). I knew he was safe because the put a little chip on them so if they leave without getting the chip removed it will alarm which is really nice...I was just worried about the accident. But one of the moms found him playing with one of the toy machines so I was able to convince him to go potty. After that I just let him play...he didn't seem to need any help from me. So I had a nice couple hours of adult conversation which is nice. I learned all about the traveling Irish Gypsies and how to spot them...kind of weird and interesting all at the same time.  I'm not sure I really know to spot them but I guess you could pick them out...learn something new every day. Then they had cake for one of the kids birthday and Lino asked me when we were going to eat?? Eat??? He never asks to eat so he must be hungry so I got him something to eat which he didn't really eat at that time but eventually I was able to get him to eat.  We spent the whole day there since he was having fun and I didn't have any other plans. Around 3:30 we started to pack our stuff up to go...I had to do a little convincing to get him out of there but it went pretty easy I must say. I had planned to go to the store before getting Mike so that i could get some stuff for breakfast but Mike was ready to go when we left so we just went to pick him up. We went by Fitzpatrick's to get something sweet for dessert then headed back to the apt. Mike and I got to talk about work again which was cool...I get to be like an advisor or something because he gets to bounce ideas off me and I get to learn something new about drinks. He had a crazy week so I think it was kind of nice for him to be able to talk about what was going on because I could kind of relate...at least I could relate to my working days ;-)   Then Mike gives me the update on the move, the moving people can unpack our stuff on Thu & Fri next week if we want so I need to decide by Monday what I want to do. I am so ready to be in the house because this apt sucks (too small) but its also a little convenient since we are so close to the city center then again I don't want to do the unpacking by myself (well be at the house by myself while the movers unpack)...so many factors to such a little question.   Mike also called the lady about the car we saw on Monday. We really like the car and it works perfectly for us so we just need to get it and stop making a fuss about €200...unfortunately she didn't answer so we will have to wait to hear back from her. The car is still listed so unless she sold it and didn't update the post we should be ok...if its sold that would really suck.  

So we had planned to just stop at the apt for a few min to change clothes and then go back out to get the few things we needed for breakfast but we ended up laying around until we left for the city. Once we finally got motivated we took a walk down to the city to see a car show...we weren't exactly sure what kind of show it was going to be but we knew there would be a bunch of cars and Lino would like it so what the heck. It was kind of chilly so I brought jackets for the boys and Mike combined his summer and winter apparel in order to prepare for the walk...an interesting combo to me but ok...

On the way down we stopped at the Clarion to see if they had our blanket that we left there back in June :-)  Actually we needed a diversion for Mike to be able to use the restroom so we thought we might check on the blanket as well and surprisingly they had it...sweet!  We also found out that the car show was like a race then a kind of a car parade and it was going to be really close to the Clarion so we were in the right spot. In the end it was just a bunch of random cars driving around but I think Lino had fun even tho he thought it was too loud. There were a couple cool cars and even Chewbaca showed up which was funny...

Lino enjoying the cars...but not the sound.

Mommy and Shaun were not to interested in the cars but we had a good time sucking in the fumes from all the cars revving down the little alley. 

Chewy!!!!

Back to the future...

The car parade didn't last very long which was good because I swear I was getting high from all the fumes but Lino was really excited to see all the cars and it was something for us to do so a win win for everyone. Since it was getting a little late and I didn't have anything planned for dinner we decided to try The Fish Wife because we heard they had some of the best fish & chips...which they did!! Mike got Cod I had Hake and Lino had sausage...oh Shaun had a french fry because he was determined to have something in his hand. It was a cheap take away place but pretty darn good fish & chips...I can't wait to go back!!!  The only thing that sucked was that you have to pay €0.30 per 2oz container if ketchup!!! Crazy but us Americans need our ketchup on or fries so it had to be done. We ordered like 4 containers because there was a million fries in each container and the guy must have thought we were crazy because he was like "4??? Really???" Then he only made us pay for 3...hahaha. 

While we were eating Lino had to go pee like 3x and there was no restroom so Mike just took him to go pee outside the shop. I couldn't believe he had to go so many times...I actually think he just liked the idea of peeing on the building in public. Thankfully we didn't get in trouble. So we finished our fish & chips then walked back to the apt...but we stopped to get some ice cream for our pie that we got at Fitzpatrick's and then a bottle of wine because it was that kind of week. Friday is Mike's day to do bath so he did that while I tried to clean up a little. Somehow Lino convinced Mike that he should watch a movie before bed so he ended up watching Cars but Mike fast forworded it to close to the end so it was only like 20min left in the movie when he started watching it.  Even tho we had made this arrangement with Lino that he would watch a movie then go to sleep he of course didn't want to hold up his part of the deal once the movie was over...he never seems to remember the deal when it's his turn to pay up. So we had a little tantrum but it didn't last long because he was tired...so he was out after a few min!!! We were pretty excited about that and we were planning to watch a show in the sling box until Shaun went to sleep then we were going to have our wine and pie...well Shaun must have not agreed with that plan because he didn't go to sleep until almost midnight...thanks Shaun. So we barely got to watch the sling box because it was so slow and choppy we both wanted to throw the thing out and we didn't really get much quality time because Shaun didn't want to sleep even tho he was sleepy. And he was a little fussy because he wanted constant attention since he was tired...geeze o peez o kid.  So our traditional Friday night quality time without the boys will have to wait until tomorrow...maybe we can get the boys in bed early so we can have more thana hr of freedom...MAYBE. 

Saturday:

We all slept in...well except Shaun...he was rolling over all night and waking himself up so he was up almost every hr (yikes). Since we didn't get stuff to make breakfast (unless we wanted cereal again) we decided to go to Liberty Grill for a 2nd round of brunch :-). Thankfully the weather was nicer today than it was last Saturday so we were able to walk down without having to abort mission half way down the hill.  On the way there we ran into the President/CEO of Pepsi and his wife. They are super nice and we had a good chat about living in Kansas City, Dubai and Ireland.  I actually didn't know who he was until we walked away and I was like "what the heck does he do to live on Dubai for 7yrs and love next to Derrick Thomas in Kansas City???"  Once Mike reminded me who he was it all made sence...hope I didn't embarrass Mike because I was complaining about my hair and the rain in Ireland to them :-0   Hahahaha...oh well...that's who I am.  So we had awesome timing getting to the restaurant because we got there and there really wasn't a wait which was nice but about 20min after we got there a line formed with about 4 groups ...thank goodness we didn't have to wait. So we all got the same thing we got last week...we are kind of creatures of habit. It was just as good as the first time. Mike finally got his hands on one of the scones and he was happy. It wasn't super great but it was good.  A nice start to our Saturday...we won't be visiting this place as often when we move so we had to take advantage of bieng so close.  

Lino took his traditional Liberty Grill dump then we went to get Mike coffee at the chocolate place...and a brownie too of course. We went to look for some protein bars for Mike at the Tesco but they were out and right next to the store was a barber so Mike & Lino got their first Irish haircut!!! When they were waiting in line we noticed the prices for haircuts varied depending on the day. So a Sat cut was €1 more and a Sun cut was €2 more...crazy. But even with the up charge the haircut for both of them was less than the GreatClips cuts at home so I guess it wasn't a big deal. 

The lady cutting Lino hair was not very nice and had no patience for little people because she kept getting frustrated with Lino when he would turn his head to talk to me...I don't think we will be coming back here again...not cool lady not cool. 

After haircuts we did a little shopping and I found clear solid deodorant for men in the Boots pharmacy so that was pretty cool...all hope isn't loss for Mike. 

  

Then I looked for a cookbook because for some reason I'm feeling like I need to increase my recipe base and I wanted to get a Jamie Oliver cookbook but they are freaking €37-€40 which is like $48-$50...way too much for me to spend on a cookbook so I'll have to stick with the online recipes for now. Mike thought I was crazy for wanting a cookbook because we have several already that I never use but I told him now that I'm a SHM I will have a little more time to so some real cooking so it's the perfect time to add cookbooks to our inventory...he wasn't really buying it but he played along anyway.  Then I told him me and Lino were going to make us a little herb garden at the house and he just gave me the "yeah right look"...hahaha. Well I don't know if we really will but I think we should...it's not like in Texas where we know the herbs will die from the sun, here it should be easy to keep a little herb garden but we will see how it goes. On the walk back to the apt we were trying to figure out what we were going to do for the day and we decided to go to Leahy's Open Farm in Midleton...since it wasn't raining. The only issue was going to be how do we keep Lino woke for the drive there???  We thought we had a plan but by the time we got to the hotel both of the boys were out!!!  Guess we need to change our plans....

We were so excited that they both were sleeping...this hardly ever happens so we better enjoy it while it last...

And the moment didn't last long because Shaun was up after about 15min...oh well. But the big monster was out for about 1.5hrs so that was sweet...

he's so cute when he's sleeping. 

The wake up pose 

At this point our plans to do anything kind of went out the window. We talked about going to the movies to see Planes but it was showing too late to go, eat and get Lino in bed at a decent time. Then we said we would go to Leahy's Open Farm but then the clouds came in and I didn't want to be on the farm in the rain. Then Mike wanted to go back to Eco for dinner but they were all booked for the night.  So finally we just decided to go shopping today and do Leahy's Farm on Sunday. So that's what we did then we ate at the hotel bar. The funny part is that Mike said we should call to make a reservation and I was like there is no way we need a reservation for dinner at a hotel but we did...they were all booked in the real restaurant so we had to eat in the bar area. Crazy but ok. It was good and bad because there was plenty of room for Lino to run around and no one really seemed to mind but that meant Lino was running around the whole time...can't win for loosing. The food was ok, nothing to write home about. Then bath and bed for the boys and we actually got about 1.5hrs of free time without them...I think it's been almost 2 weeks since we've had this much kid free time. So we got to enjoy our apple crumble pie with ice cream and a glass if wine while we watched the sling box. Then Shaun rolled over and woke himself up and the sling box started going crazy so it was time for bed. 

Sunday:

Even tho we were doing good this week wit getting the bed back last night I was too tired so I didn't fight it...they were both in the bed and Mike had to abandon ship because Lino had him on the edge of the bed with only enough room for his side to lay on...poor daddy...so he went to the other room. Once we got up I made breakfast tacos that turned out ok and we got dressed and headed out. Mike made a quick pit stop at the coffee place but they weren't open yet so he had to get coffee somewhere else :-0 he was not happy about that. The we drove to Leahy's Farm and Lino fell asleep of course so he was super cranky when we got there and woke him up. Once he woke up he was happy to be at the farm but he wanted to play in the playground area for like 30min and Mile told him "we didn't pay good money for you to play at the playground...so lets go see some animals!"  Hahahaha...it didn't quite have the effect Mike intended but eventually he was ready to see the animals. We had got there right before the first feeding of the day so that was cool to see. On the way to the feeding area there were a bunch of chickens &geese that you could feed bread to so Lino wanted to feed then of course. At first it was cool but then the geese started getting rough and jumping up to Lino's hand to get the food before the other one did and it scared the crap out of me & Mike. We thought the geese might jump and snap Lino's finger so we tried to keep him back but he didn't want to move back...he wasn't afraid of them snapping at him at all...crazy kid.  At the feeding section they pulled out a corn snake for the kids to see/touch and even put the snake on the kids if they were willing. Then they let the kids find the eggs in the chicken coup but Lino must not have understood or didn't care for those instructions because all he wanted to do was crack the eggs. The farmer was able to stop him from cracking about 3 eggs but the 4th one Lino just threw on the ground and it cracked and the chickens went crazy for it...I had no idea they loved to eat their own eggs so much. You would have thought it was the best thing they ever ate...they pounced on it!!!!  Then they let the kids feed the baby lambs...but I think these lambs weren't babies...more like preteens but they loved getting milk from the coke bottle...I couldn't get a picture on my phone but it was funny. Next was milking the goat...Lino wasn't interested so he went to find the fire truck and tractors. Then a ride around the farm in the dirt bike train, a little manual go karting and some big piggies.  In between each area Lino had to go back to the fire truck and drive daddy...he loves driving.  We spent about 3hrs there and Mike convinced Lino to leave by buying him a scoop of ice cream...it actually worked and we left with no fight at all...I guess it was worth it. 

Lino driving daddy on the fire truck...and Lino yelling at me to not take a picture but obviously I didn't listen. 

Mike taking a little break on the swings

Lino driving while Mike pushes him on the go karts. It took about 1/2 a lap for Lino I get the hang of driving and turning the wheel...by the time he was 2/3 thru the course he wasn't running into the side walls any more. Mike says he takes after him with driving...not sure if that's good or bad but ok whatever. 

Lino is so brave...he kept trying to grab the snakes face and he would not listen to us that it was dangerous. But he thought it was cool to have the snake on him. 

A cool day at the farm. But sometimes I wonder why I subject myself to such torture because the whole time we were there I was freaking out about germs. I think Lino washed his hands about 10x and sanitized then 20x but that still wasn't enough for me. Then I was worried about Shaun being in the farm and picking something up from the air or the stroller flinging something into his mouth...I was just a reck. But we all had fun. The drive back was about 35mim and Lino fell asleep again...of course. When we got to the apt I told Mike to just take him out and wake him up because it was after 4 and I didn't want him to sleep to long and not be ready for bed tonight. So we woke him up but once we got into the room he climbed up on the couch and went back to sleep until we woke both of them up at 5...Lino was tired...maybe the nap won't be so bad :-/   It ended up not being horrible...he was a little cranky at first but Mike started messing with his trains then chasing him so he was happy. We had reservations to go to Man Friday in Kinsale...kind of a celebration dinner. The directions the GPS gave us were kind of weird but it got us there. Dinner was very good and since we knew Lino was on the edge of being cranky we took his iPad for him to watch a movie...good move too.  Mike and I kind of decided we should go ahead with the move on Thu and Fri instead of waiting until the next week...we are just ready to be in the house with our stuff so I think Mike will call on Monday to make the arrangements. Everyone at the restaurant  commented on how good and cute the boys were and oh'ed and ah'ed over Shaun...kind of maked us feel like we have cute kids. The drive home was interesting...my horrible sense of direction husband thought he could find he way out of Kinsale without help and he ended up taking us around the west cork coast...seriously Mike?? Hahaha...I love him but he's not the best at navigating in new places and sometimes old places...hahahaha. But we found our way out and made it home safe and sound...everyone was knocked out in the car so Mike didn't have to hear me fuss about his crazy driving :-)  Back at the apt it was the normal bath and bedtime routine...Lino wanted to hear Bom Bom Pow on my phone so I played it like 10x then let him watch the video before bed...he got a kick out of it. Oh, we also tried to FaceTime with my mom again but unfortunately it still wasn't working. My sister even tried to FaceTime her and no dice but she was able to call us no problem...weird. Eventually she got it to work but by that time the boys were in bed and I was heading to bed so we will have to reschedule for another time. Well...yet another week in Cutaia history..,