Tuesday 12 November 2013

A quick week in NY before heading back home (ie Ireland)

My week in New York was very relaxing, I didn't really do much at all because I just wanted to hang out and hang around the house so that's exactly what we did. On Monday I didn't even change out of my pajamas I just sat around watched TV and played with the boys. Shaun was a little cranky on Monday but not as bad as he was on Sunday.  I think he must be teething because there's no real reason for his crankiness and there's not a lot that I can do to make him happy so I think it must be teeth. Other than him being cranky he played with Lino and Siesta and he seemed to have a good day.  


Fun with Poppop and Siesta... While he's rocking the mantail that Mike hates so much. 



On Tuesday we decided to go out and get a few things done. So after we had breakfast we headed to the store so that Nini could to get some stuff for dinner.  Then we went to the grocery store so that I could get a few things to bring back to Ireland. I wanted to get some Mrs. Butterworth syrup but they didn't have any there so I had to settle for Aunt Jemima instead. I know that Mike is in love with Mrs. Butterworth but he's going to have to settle for this instead, at least it's better than the true maple syrup that they had in Ireland we just don't like that stuff we prefer the invitation stuff...hahahaha. I also wanted to get some other things but they didn't have all that I needed at the store we went to King Kullen maybe that's the reason they didn't have the selection that I needed. I tried to find the red lobster biscuits that I found in Kansas City but they didn't have that there either then I looked for the Chips ahoychewy cookies w/ Reese's and they didn't have that either...this store sucks. Then I spent about 30 minutes it seemed looking for some medication for the boys. With Shaun being so fussy with teething I figured I better get some fever reducer medicine for him and I wanted to get some cough medicine for Lino because he has been coughing and has had a runny nose for the last week or so. But in true RenĂ©e fashion I couldn't make up my mind so I spent 30 minutes looking for medicine and didn't get anything at all. Nini had given me some stuff to get for her because it was on sale if you purchased $20 so I thought I was going to have enough stuff to get the deal but after I couldn't find the five things I was looking for I didn't have enough in my basket to qualify for the deal. So instead of just putting the items back because I knew she just was getting those items because they were on sale, instead I decided to get more junk so that I could qualify for the deal. Of course Nini fussed at me about it later and I know she was right but oh well. 



Nothing special happened on Wednesday...Another lazy day around the house.  I should have pulled myself together to go up to White Plains to see my friend/ex coworker who just had a baby but I just wasn't motivated. So nothing really to report for the day but that night was a doozy...Shaun was up all night it seems and was cranky again so it was hard to please him. He didn't finally go to sleep, the first time, until after 1am and Lino didn't do much better because he didn't get into the bed until almost 11 I think. What a rough night it's going to be. 

Shaun Shaun playing at freaking midnight...go to sleep kid!!!





Thursday was wet, rainy and cold so neither one of us wanted to go out plus we were all up all night so we were pooped. So the Costco trip will have to be postponed for another day or two.  So we had a lazy day today but on the good side Nini made polenta which was excellent... This is like one of those secret recipes that she never made for me until this year now it's one of my favorites. 




Friday was Nini's surgery so Nini and PopPop got up early to go to the hospital while we slept in. Thankfully the surgery went well and didn't last too long so Nini and PopPop were back at the house before noon. So we spent a few hours at the house with Nini recovering and thenPopPop  and I decided to go to Costco with the boys so that we could give Nini a little rest. So I shopped at Costco for a few more things to bring back to Ireland while PopPop and Lino had a hotdog... Lino loves the hotdogs there and PopPop was a fan as well, I think he was just impressed by the size and the price it's a good deal for sure. Then we went to pick up some medicine for Nini before heading home. PopPop ordered pizza and we had a nice dinner while the chef recovered.  This was Shaun's first time having real New York pizza and he absolutely loved it. It was so funny to watch him eat it he was tearing that pizza up...get it Shaun Shaun!!!






Today is the last full day in New York so PopPop decided to take us to the Bronx so that we could see grandma and Pepa. So we ended up spending most of Saturday with them, we had a good time, had lunch and the boys got to play with their great-grandparents. It was the first time Pepa and grandma had met Shaun so it was a special moment. Lino acted like he was right at home because grandma had got him a car so he was running around rolling his car all over the floor in the house, it was funny. Once we left there we had a few errands to run before heading back to the house. Oh course I fell asleep in the car ride because that's what I do... But PopPop was in charge so he stuck to the original plan and took me by PC Richards so that I could try and get a battery for my camcorder. Unfortunately they didn't have the right battery for my camcorder so we had to go to Best Buy. Thankfully they had the right one so I was able to get a battery and I also picked up some Mickey Mouse earphones for Lino so he could have something for the plane ride. I know we have some wraparound earphones for Lino but I must've left them in Ireland or I threw them out because I couldn't find them and I didn't have them for him on the plane ride to New York so I needed to get him something. Hopefully Mike won't complain about the splurge I like them, and I think he'll like them too.  Then we stop to get coffee and some other stuff for PopPop then went home. It seems like we were gone forever but really it was only 7 o'clock by the time we got home so we had dinner and hung out for the night. 




Sunday Sunday...travel Sunday. Since our flight isn't until later tonight I left most of the packing for today which is unusual for me.  I was up early and Lino was still sleeping and I told PopPop that I was going to wake him up so that he would be tired tonight for the flight. PopPop didn't think that was a good idea but I did it anyway...I think it's the best plan of action :-/   So I did one last load of laundry then try to pack all of our stuff in the two suitcases that we brought with us but with the 25 pound converter that Mike bought plus all of the extra junk that I bought at the stores there was no way all that stuff was going to fit the suitcases. So I ended up stealing an extra suitcase from Nini in order to make sure we had enough room for all of our stuff. It seemed like it took hours for me to organize the bags weigh the suitcases, reorganize re-weigh the bags before I finally had the right combination. So much work, for what??? Peanut butter and granola bars??? Crazy huh. Actually I guess it is worth it because without this 25 pound converter I won't be able to vacuum because my husband is too cheap to buy me a new vacuum cleaner for Ireland so in the end, it is worth it!  I ran to the store quickly before we left so that I could get a few things and to load the pictures from grandma and Pepa's house so that they could have them. I also got some medicine for the boys because I'm not sure if the same options are available in Ireland. I was able to find some cough and cold medicine for Lino that was nighttime formula so maybe I'll give him a dose of that before we get onto the plane so maybe he'll sleep the whole plane ride... Is that bad parenting??? I hope not... I just want him to get as much sleep on the plane as possible so that he can reset a little easier with the time change going back to Ireland. We will see how it goes I guess. So before we headed out we took one last family photo of the grandparents and their boys... they're going to miss these little rascals!!!




PopPop got us to the airport in good time.  I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get all of our stuff checked in and walk to the gate. And I'm glad we got there really early to because there was a super long line to check your bags... I was worried for a minute that we weren't going to make it. But thankfully PopPop asked one of the ladies there if that was the right line for us to be in and it wasn't. So we found the right line and was able to get our bags checked in pretty quickly. I had made a last-minute switch and put peanut butter in a different suitcase but once we checked in the lady told me I had a bag that was overweight so I had to put the peanut butter back in its original suitcase... Guess I should have just kept with my original suitcase order since I spent all that time weighing them this morning. Oh and we decided to leave the boys car seats at Nini and PopPop's house so that was one less thing for me to have to check in. So we got all through security and headed to the gate and I realize we had almost an hour before it was time to leave. So thankfully I had packed the boys some snacks, a peanut butter sandwich, hummus and some other things so Lino had him an early dinner while he was running around the terminal. And I realized that I had forgot to give Lino the cough medicine before I checked the bags so now I was screwed. So I decided to encourage Lino to run around more so he would get really tired and hopefully sleep on the flight. So even though we had a hour before the flight was leaving we ended up rushing to get to the gate before they close the doors because Lino had to go potty and I had to go potty and Shaun needed a diaper change ... it was just one thing after another but we made it.  Well we didn't have the row to ourselves this time but we at least had a nice guy sitting next to me.  So I got the boys all situated in their seats then Lino drops the snacks on the floor which is typical but he was happy and content watching his movie. He actually fell asleep before we even took off so I was really happy about that. Lino ended up sleeping pretty much the whole flight, he only woke up once they turned on the lights to serve breakfast which was the last 1.5 hours of the flight so I think he got four hours of sleep which was good. Shaun either couldn't get comfortable or was just too hot sleeping with me but he only slept about a hour of the whole flight so that meant I barely got 40 minutes... if that. But once we got to Ireland I was happy the flight was over we had a good trip and the boys did great on the flight so I really can't complain at all...vacation time is over :-(

So we get to Dublin and get off of the plane and I'm waiting for my stroller or should I say buggy since back in Europe. Now normally the buggies would be right there at the gate when you get off the plane but for some reason they weren't there today. So the ladies kept telling me "no they'll be there" so I kept walking to find them and ended up upstairs and wasn't able to go back downstairs to the gate. So I had to have somebody put a key into the elevator in order to let us go back down to find the buggies. It seemed like it took about 30 minutes for the buggies to come up but finally they did so we were able to head to the customs area. We got through customs pretty quickly and Lino entertained most of the people in line, they thought he was really cute. Finally we were able to get our bag and we got to see Mike it was really nice to see him. By this point I was really pooped but the boys were so happy to see Mike and so was I so we just stood there for little while hugging and chatting befor heading off to the car. We got all of her stuff in the car and headed back to Cork.  It was a nice long 3hr drive to Cork and Lino was up most of the time but Shaun was right out. I had planned to go to sleep too but ended up talking to Mike half of the ride. But at some point my eyes closed and I was out cold, I remember opening my eyes once because we had stoppped but I saw a gas station so I just close my eyes again cause I knew we weren't home yet. Once we got to the house I was still out and so is Lino so Mike just took Shaun with him and let us in the car I was just too tired to even move. We must've slept in the car for another two hours before I finally was able to pry my eyes open and get out of the car but Lino was still out so I let him sleep some more. Mike and Shaun were watching Star Wars actually Mike was watching Star Wars while Shaun was sleeping so I sat down and join them. Mike had surprised me on the drive home and told me that he had the day off so I felt bad about sleeping but I was so tired so I was finally able to just hang out with him which was nice. Finally around 3 o'clock I decided it was time to wake me know otherwise he would sleep at all tonight so we woke him up and we all sat around and watch Star Wars and Transformers... talk about family time. We were all pooped and tired so we just decided to go and get a pizza for dinner so that so we did and then we all crashed around 1030. Unfortunately it was the night from hell because Lino and Shaun were up crying most of the night... I guess because they couldn't sleep or because of the jet lag...either way it was a rough night. I felt that for Mike because he had to go to work the next day but I was so tired I needed the help so we were all up basically crying ourselves to sleep. What a welcome home. But it feels good to be back as a family and to cuddle with the hubby.

No comments:

Post a Comment