This week actually went by pretty quick. The beginning of the week is always slow because I have both boys at home all day and I usually don't have enough activities set up for us so we get board quick but once Lino goes to school it gets better. Hopefully I'll get better at making plans for us but for now I pretty much suck at it. Monday we didn't have anything to do except go to the GP because Mike was worried about Shaun's caught. We ended up going to a new place because I had heard it was better. After we went there and I gave them my 55€ to tell me Shaun was fine we went to Monkey Maze because Lino was dying to go. We spent most of the day there and right before we left I met an American lady that Mike had met before. We had actual exchanged emails before but never met so it was kind of funny that we would meet in such a way. It's crazy how small Cork is. Lino didn't have a great time there but I think it was good enough. He was kind of board to begin with because there were no other kids his age and the little girls he tried to play with would't play with him so it made it hard. Eventually he found some boys to play with but one of them was kind of a bully but Lino wanted to keep playing with him anyway. He wasn't a bad kid he was just pretty aggressive and a boss anyway I have to try and so better about getting some friends for Lino to play with. That evening I made these lettuce wraps that were pretty tasty and I was even shocked when Lino ate his. I did cheat a little because I put a little honey in his but I knew he would eat it if it was a little sweet...so I was happy. Tuesday we went to coffee morning then back to the house. I was going to go to the playground but it was just to cold and gray outside for me. So we cleaned up the playroom then played a few games before heading out to get Mike. We had started a puzzle and Lino was really into it but the funny part was that he wasn't really doing the puzzle it was me finding the pieces and he was just fitting them into the spot...it's funny how that works. Lino was tired and ready for bed so it was an easy night to get the boys to sleep. School on Wednesday so I had a few hours of Lino free time. I went to look for a craft store because Lino has about 10 pairs of pants with the knees all torn out so I wanted to patch them if possible. I went to the Mahon retail area and asked around for a place that would have something for me but the place they suggested was closed for another hour...I couldn't justify staying for a hour doing nothing so I went home. I was able to clean a little while Shaun napped then when he woke up I vacuumed because he likes the vacuum for some reason. I finally was able to put away all the suitcases from Christmas since I finally unpacked the last bag...it's only been 2 weeks since we got home. Then off to get Lino. I had made an appt to get him assessed for swimming but I knew if he was going to be cranky we were not going to make it. I also was trying to find him play dates for today but couldn't pull it together so we ended up staying home...again...this is getting old fast. I told Lino about the swimming and he was excited. So I told him he had to eat his lunch so we could go and he said ok but that is Lino code for No Way In Hell!!!!! We went round and round about eating for hours and finally I gave up and told him we had to go to the swimming pool so that I could talk to the teacher. He thought he was going to be able to swim but I wanted him to see the pool and get excited and hopefully motivate him to eat. So we headed out there and he was excited to see the pool and he wanted to get in!!!! I had to convince him that he couldn't go today because be didn't eat but if he ate dinner he could go tomorrow. "I don't want to go tomorrow I want to go today!!!" He said that about a million times and finally he gave up and we left. I felt like I might have made some impact but only time would tell. So I rescheduled our swimming assessment apt because Lino didn't eat and I was hopeful that he would eat tomorrow then we left. He was a little of a mess in the car, he really wanted to go swimming. So we hurried to the home focus place so that I could get the patches and the lady kind of looked at me like I was crazy because I wanted to patch up my sons pants. I know it's cheep and I should just buy more but he's just going to rip them up in a couple of weeks so I need something to do with them in the in between time. Anyway, Lino found some superman patches that he liked too so I got those as well and we headed to get Mike. The traffic ping thru the tunnel was crazy but nothing compared to Dallas traffic so I couldn't complain too much. So we got Mike went home for dinner and of course Lino didn't eat...no surprise. He looked at dinner and was like "I'm ready for bed"...hahahaha. I had to laugh and if I was really sensitive I would take it to offense but it doesn't bother me anymore...it's not my cooking it's my son :-) Oh what am I going to do with Mr Lino??? Coffee morning Thursday but I went to the store to get a few thugs for dinner/lunch first. The whole morning I was thinking of ways to get Lino to eat and came up with: let him cook what he wants to eat and taste the food and put it together like he likes it! So I was excited to try and see how it would work out. I went to the house for a few min before heading off to the coffee morning and I even got to patch a few pants first. I didn't want them to show so I put the patches on the inside of the pants. I wasn't sure exactly how well it would work out but I figured I would give it a try. It seemed to stick ok but now let's see how many washes I get out of it before they fall apart again...I love the home craft projects. So I headed out and I got to see a bunch of the moms I hadn't seen in a while so that was nice. I finally got to give Nicole the card for Cian and we ended up making plans for later in the day so that was nice. Once I went to get Lino I told him he could make his own lunch and if he made it I would tak him swimming. He seemed to be interested so we talked about what he could make and he came up with rice. Then I suggested a wrap with ham and he said no but when we got home he was like "I want to try the ham mom". So he made his own rice then we pulled out all the fixings for a ham wrap: ham, mayo, mustard, cheese & tortilla. He tasted all the ingredients then put them all in his wrap and freaking ate it!!!! I've made him a ham wrap about a dozen times and he might have eaten a whole one combined...I was shocked but happy. I guess he wants to be in charge of his cooking which is cool with me as long as is a semi balanced meal. So we ended up meeting Nicole and the boys at Go Safari and we had a good time. Lino loves going there and before Nicole made it he was going down the big slides all by his self and was so proud. I was glad he was keeping his self entertained but once Cian got there he was stuck to him. One of Cian's friends was with him too so the three of them just ran around together. Before we left they opened the go karts so Lino got his first drive on a go kart...he was excited and wanted to keep riding but the rides were 1€ each and we needed to go so we could go to the swimming assessment so I had to kind of pull him out. But after I mentioned swimming a couple of times he was better.
On the way to the leisure center I realized at that moment that this was going to be an issue. He was going to want to SWIM and he wasn't going to understand that we just went for an assessment so I started telling him that we were just going to swim for a few min to show the teacher how good of a swimmer he was. He was like ok ok but I knew he really didn't understand what was a out to happen. Anyway we got there and Lino put his suit and was all excited. Mike couldn't make it because of work so it was just us. When the guy took Lino to do the assessment you would have thought he gave him a huge candy or something because he was so excited...I was worried because he was to happy. The assessment took less than 5 min and really was a waste of my time....I was so pissed. So basically the guy said since Lino was 3 he would be in the toys class "straight away" but he would do the assessment anyway. After the assessment, which consisted of Lino jumping on the stairs in the kiddy pool and the guy splashing water on his face/head, he said he would be in the toys class which is the same as level 1 but he would be wearing floats and stuff. So Lino was upset because he was only in the water a few min and the guy told me before he got into the water that he would be in toys anyway. So what the heck was the pout of the assessment??? If they are automatically going to put them into the tots class because he's 3 then don't waste my time with some assessment. Because if the guy took 2 min to actually see if Lino could swim instead of just splashing water on him like he was a baby he might have realized he was ready for level 1. Ugh!!!!!! So frustrating and now my kids all worked up for nothing. So I ended up having to buy Lino a bag of candy to calm him down. Then I had to talk to the lady at the desk about which class to put him on the freaking waiting list for and that was a fucking joke too. So the form I had to fill out asked which day I would prefer and I put down Monday because I assumed he would be in the level 1 class but the lady was like there is no class on Monday for tots so what day would you prefer?? I told her I didn't really care and I would take the next open spot. She looked at me like I had 5 heads and was like "you have to have a preference day and I'll put you down on the list for that day". I told her again that I didn't have a preference and just wanted the next available time and she got activated. So I asked her to check the Tuesday class to see if it was full...she checked and it was. So I asked her which class isn't full I would like to go on that list. Her response "We can't put your name down on every day, I need you to pick a day and we will put your name down and call you when a spot comes available." I couldn't understand so I just said keep us on Tuesday. I thought about it the whole way home and picking up Mike...why was it so complicated to check the list to see if there would be an opening sooner on Wed than on Tue or something like that??? And why do I have to wait 12 weeks to hear back from them? Isn't that a little ridiculous??? I couldn't understand it and neither could Mike when I tried to explain it to him. I guess it's an Irish thing or an American thing because at home I would be able to know what spots are available now which ones are available later and about how long it would be before we could get in...if the classes were all booked. Here I couldn't get a straight answer out of that lady without getting attitude...for her and me. Very frustrating...tomorrow I'll call around and see if there are other options. I know Cian went to a place not to far so I'll check with them...I just don't understand. Finally it's Friday, these last couple of days have actually flown by. I guess I just look forward to Friday because I get to chill. So I did the normal drop off and I was going to go to the store to get meat for Sat but forgot my wallet and decided to get it later anyway. Mike gave me his card on the way to work but then have me more work to do so I told him to keep his card...and his errands...hahaha. So instead I went home and watched my reality shows ad got a quick workout in while Shaun slept. Shaun actually had a good night last night and only woke at 11:30 and 6:30 so I was happy about that. I guess having his last nap at 3 vs 5 helps a little ;-) After I got my few things done at the house I decided to try and get 3 things done in the 40min I had before Lino got out of a school. First to do Mikes errand which I was not able to fully complete because I needed his signature. I was just going to forage it but I couldn't do it right I'm front of the lady so I figured I would come back to them. Then gas then raced to the store to get chicken for dinner Sat. I didn't think I would actually make it to all 3 places and be on time to get Lino but I did and I was even a couple min early...go mommy!!! So I got Lino then got stopped by one of Lino's friends mom and she invited Lino to a bday party. I was more excited than Lino but then I was worried because it was a little girl that was dying to invite Lino to her older sisters bday party...a girl already going crazy for Lino...it starts early. So after we talked about the party for a few min Lino was excited too and wanted to oh to his girl friends house now!! Haha oh Lino. So Lino made his lunch again, a repeat of Thur and he ate it again so I was happy. We worked on his puzzle that we had been working on for the past 3 days and Lino actually finished it his self. At the beginning his idea of "us" working on the puzzle together was mommy & daddy find the pieces and tell Lino where they go and Lino will put the pices in place...fun huh. But once I got board and there were only 5-7 pieces left Lino was determined to finish so he finished it his self...I was very impressed. Then I decided we would go swimming today so I went on the hunt for Lino's old baby swim suit and I ended up having to go to the attic to find it. I told Mike about the plans and he was ok with it so I was excited. Then I remembered that we don't have swim caps so I thought it wasn't going to work. But then another thought crept into this little brain...why don't I go to the store to get swim caps then go back to the bank to drop off the forms then go get Mike????? I thought I was going to be able to do all of this in less than 40min so that I could get back to Mike before he got off. So I tried to pull it all together...get the swim stuff packed and get the boys in the car and got on the road. About 1/4 of the way there my brilliant husband had a great idea (it happens about 1/quarter)...buy the swim caps at the pool!!!! Duhhhhhhhh Renee. Of course they would have caps at the pool, so I called to confirm and they did so that saved me. So I was able to go by the bank but it was all for not because freaking Ireland banks close at like 3 or 4pm everyday. How does that work??? I can't believe the banks close so early. If you worked a full time job how would you be able to make it to the bank...ever!!! So I told Mike I was on the way but he had an emergency so he was later than he planned. We almost decided not to go swimming because he was late and I thought that by the time we got there Lino would't have much time to swim but we decided to go anyway. The traffic thru the city was crazy and it took even longer than I expected. We didn't know how to get there either and the google map directions were not the best but we made it. After all that worring they let them stay in the pool for the full hour...you pay by the hour but only get one hour of swim. It's kind of expensive for an hour of swim but I guess it's not too bad, 7.50€ for Mike and Lino was free. We got the swim caps there too so that was nice. The pool was nice and the kid area was really nice, Lino really enjoyed it. They had a little play house with a slide then a nice sized kid pool area to let the kids swim...but not too deep. Lino played there for a while but by the time it was almost time to go he was ready to go to the big pool. I was happy that he didn't forget how to swim and he was swimming to Mike like a pro...he loves the water. So after their swim time we raced home and I made a quick dinner, then bath and bed. Lino was beat and so was Mike. It was a nice end to the week.
Saturday was pretty normal, pancakes for breakfast, walk to the train station, ride to the city, stopped at the Italian shop for a few things for Mike, stopped by the travel agent to check on holiday flights (they were not as helpful as we would have liked but it was more because we have specific request not that they weren't nice), stopped to get Mike a haircut and the guy talked his ear off but did a good job, then back to the station and a long treck home. Of course it started raining on the way back but at least it hardly ever rains long so it rained for a few minutes then stopped and started again. We made it home without getting to soaked so that was nice. I was worried that if it was too wet & cold the boys might get sick again...or we would get sick but thankfully it wasn't that bad. We were all pooped after the walk relaxing was in order. Mike made his garlic & oil pasta which was good as usual and we watched Despicable Me 2...about 3x :-) Nothing fancy for Sunday either. Shopping and handing out around the house. Shaun got to ride on daddy's shoulders while we were at the store and Lino didn't really like that...someone was a little jealous.
We ended up going to 2 stores for our shopping...one because Mike wanted to try the new Starbucks that opened in Mahon Pt and because I wanted to get some stuff from the health store and two because I just like shopping at SuperValu better...Mike thinks I'm crazy which he is probably right. We got all our suff for the first part of the week but I knew I would need to go back to the store before Tue...it never fails I always need something. We had crazy burgers for dinner which was yummy and we had oven fries which I thought were ok..Ike thought they were great. Hopefully we didn't over do it with the calories but we will see next week.
Week if Jan 27th
I guess you can say Shaun is pretty much sleeping thru the night which is kind of exciting. I say pretty much because he almost always is up for a midnight feed but then usually sleeps until 7am...on the dot. I can't complain too much because it's definitely a longer stretch than he was giving me. Mike was saying that he pretty much is set but I'm not so sure. I still go to sleep with my extra warm pjs on because I was having to get up 2-3x a night and sit outside the boys room and try to calm Shaun down. Usually the hallway is cold so I ended extra protection against the cold and instead of putting on more clothes everytime Shaun would wake up I would just layer myself before bed. Anyway it's not the most comfortable sleep because I'm usually hot which makes Mike hot but I just know the day I go back to regular pjs Shaun is going to be up and I'm going I freeze...I guess we will see how it goes. This week was a good one, I had a couple play dates and activities set up for Lino so it was nice to have something I look forward too. On Monday we didn't do anything because the boys slept in so Mike took the car. As usual we planned on Mike bringing the car back around lunch but Lino was to into the TV and Shaun was napping so I didn't even bother with it. I was able to get a few things done around the house which was nice. Mike tried to use the time that he was going to pick us up to go run a few errands on his own. Only to find out it's not as easy as that. In Ireland all the businesses have weird open and closed hours. So he tried going to the bank but they were closed for lunch then he went somewhere else and they were closed too. Then back to the back to get a money order or bank draft as they call it only to find out he can only do that at the post office...unless it was for over 500€. Why would a bank draft mainly be done at the post office and not the bank??? Isn't it called a BANK draft???? Unbelieveable. So then to the post office but guess what...closed for lunch. Hahahaha. The funny part is that we passs the post office almost everyday and Mike has never seen them open...they have the weirdest hours. He told me all about his adventure when he got home and I told him that's exactly how I felt when I first got here and was trying to get things done. I mean the bank is barely open 5hrs in a day, the open at like 9:30, close a hour for lunch then close at 4pm. How the heck to you expect anyone who is working to be able to do any banking???? Just crazy to me. Anyway his adventure became my new adventure as he tasked me with getting his passport sent off...geeee thanks hun. So Tuesday I was on a mission to complete mission impossible. First off Mike gave me horrible and incomplete instructions. He starts off telling me we need a specific sized envelope for the passport and stuff and I didn't understand why. We had envelops that would fit all the stuff in it but he was adimit about getting this freaking 6x9" envelope. He was like "just get it at the post office...it's not a big deal". He obvious has never been to the post office because of he had he would know that there is freaking nothing at the post office. It's not like an American post office that is a shipping office with all your shipping needs & supplies. No this post office is just to post, get stamps, a couple bday cards, a bank draft and I guess multi-use cards (like gift card). So anyway we headed to Tesco after dropping him off and I was able to buy a pack of 25 envelops that were the correct size that he had specified. Then to the house to get another envelop (talk about inefficient) then to the post office to mail the stuff and get a bank draft. I had a feeling I needed a name to address the bank draft to but my lovely husband didn't give me one so I had texted him for a name but he didn't respond before I got to the post office. So I got the blank bank draft and had to come back later to actually mail it because I needed to know who to address the draft to. So in the mean time was coffee morning then we went to meet a friend at a community center for a play date. There was actually a book club group, home schoolers, that was meeting there and she invited us to come join. It was actually a nice little setup...the lady in charge puts on this event once a month and they have crafts, story time and do some sort of group activity. So today's theme was Gruffalo which I had never heard of. Actually my new frond had invited us to go to the opera house with her and her family to see the Gruffalo musical and I said I would go but I didn't really know the story...it just looked cool and looked like something that would be entertaining for a kid. So it was cool that they were going to do a little skit and read the book. They also had a little craft time so they had clay and some little nick nacks that the kids could use to put on their clay sculpture. Lino enjoyed playing in the clay then when it was time to read the story he was super excited. He loves story time and was right in the middle of the group trying to get a look at the book and all the pictures. It was pretty cool story and they even said it in German which was cool. I really enjoyed the afternoon there but before everyone left the coordinator made and announcement about the group being a closed group and only for home schoolers and by invitation only and stuff and I felt a little out of place. I felt like we was talking to me directly but I was invited and I isn't know it was just for home schoolers so I wasn't sure what to do. Anyway I told my friend about it and she told me not to worry about it because she invited me so hopefully I won't be escorted out. Talk about feeing awkward. Anyway it was fun and we were going to go to the playground afterwords but the weather was turning bad and the kids were getting restless so we just went back to the house. I did stop by the post but they were closed of course so I had to stop by on the way to get Mike. Wednesday was school so I had a little break from Lino. I actually washed and dried my hair before the morning drop off which was impressive for me. I'm getting a little better with the time management but not that much. Shaun slept for a little while in the morning so I had time to do a few things before Lino got home and even was able to flat iron my hair too. We were planning to meet up with another mom that afternoon but she couldn't make it so we just hung out at the house. Lino made himself a huge (but small) triple decker hamburger sandwich for lunch and he actually ate it. He is really into tasting all the ingredients and he is more likely to eat the stuff if he taste it. So he made a little sandwich with his hamburger, mayo, mustard, ketchup mad lettuce (because mommy said he had to have at least one piece of lettuce). Then he wanted another piece of bread so that he could put the pickles on the top so he did that and put more ketchup and then another piece of bread. I couldn't believe it and I just knew he wouldn't eat it all but he actually did and I didn't have to force him to eat it. It must have been good and he must have been hungry.
So after lunch I decided to take a trip to the city to buy the tickets to the Gruffalo musical. I was going to buy the tickets online but they charge a 3.50€ Booking charge per ticket. PER TICKET!!!! I couldn't believe that when I saw it and to make it worse when you book online you can't even pick out your seats so that really sucks. So it's either pay and extra 15€ for a booking fee and get whatever randome seats they give you or go to the city to buy them at the opera house and pick out the area you want to sit in. Since I had nothing planned for the day I said what the heck...so we drove to the train station and just bairly made it before the train left. We had a nice little walk and Lino and Shaun shared the single stroller, because I want going to truck the double stroller up and down the stairs at the train station by myself. They didn't really seem to mind sharing the stroller so that was nice but I can tell I only have a few more months of them being able to both fit before I have to use the double stroller all the time. If link would just walk we wouldn't have this issue but I can't even get him to walk at the grocery stores so I know that he's not going to walk around the city center the whole time. Anyway we got our tickets and Lino like the place so much he didn't want to leave. I got him to leave but then he walked back in so we ended up sitting down and ordered a sandwich because he said he was hungry...I couldn't believe he was hungry after eating all of his hamburger. He wasn't really hungry but he did actually eat half of the sandwich that I got him...crazy. So after he terrorized the whole opra cafe we were able to leave and head back to the train station. Of course it started raining on our walk to the train station and all I could think was "why the heck does it always rain on the days I wash my hair???" I thought about my question for a second and answered myself quickly "Renee, it always rains...this is Ireland and it has nothing to do with you and washing your hair!" Ahhhhhhh, reality is so brutal...hahaha. We got back to the station a little early so se hung out in the waiting area for a while. I tried to get Lino to go pee worth me but he refused it. He was so mad when I made him go pee in the girls bathroom when we first got there that he refused to go in the girls restroom again. He said he had to go and he wanted to go to the boys bathroom with daddy but since daddy wasn't there he said that he was going to go by his self!!! By yourself????? Talk about growing up right before your eyes. So I let him go in there by his self and I gave strict instructions to not touch anything and to not put his hands in his mouth...I'm so worried that he would touch the urinal with his hands then put his fingers in his mouth or something...gross. Anyway he was in there for a couple of min and I was getting a little worried and sent in an old man to check on him but at that point he was coming out...with his pants half way down. I had to laugh then I almost had a tear in my eye because I couldn't believe he went by his self for the first time. Time flies so quickly and my little man is just growing up so quickly. Well he's growing up in some areas and other areas he is still struggling to find a reason to move on...oh well. We ended up having a nice afternoon in the city. A nice little walk around the city center, a snack at the cafe and a train ride...I can't complain. Once we got back to our car there wasn't much time before we had to get Mike so we just decided to go to the park. Actually I had to do a bit of convincing to get Lino to leave the house but eventually we left. It was cold out there too but at least it was dry. It was nice to get out for a little while and Lino I think enjoyed it too and Shaun did too...until he fell asleep. We were only there about 20min when it was time to get Mike which was ok for me because it was freaking freezing and I was ready to go but after all that convincing to get Lino to go to the park he wasn't ready to leave. Thankfully I saw one of the moms from Lino's play school, a mom that I go have coffee with, and she said she would watch Lino. She use to work at Pepsi too so she knew it wasntva long drive, plus she lives about 6 houses down the road so worst case she would take Lino home with her if they were ready to leave before we got back. So that was helpful because I wasn't in the mood to fight with him and I was hoping that he would be ready to go by the time we got back. So I went to get Mike and he was looking all over the place for Lino in the car. I was playing around with him and told him that I left him at the park with the other kids since I knew it wouldn't be long before we were back to get him. He was all freaked out and thought I was completely crazy. Then I really started putting it on thick and was acting like I was getting worried about getting back because it was taking so long to get back there...the freaking traffic to go 2km is crazy. So we get to the playground and Mike sees the mom and gives me the look of "I'm going to hurt you". Hahahaha...I love messing with his head. Well my plan of having an easier extraction didn't exactly work out either, Mike had to go and chase him down and grab him from the slides then brought him to the car kicking and screaming because he wasn't ready to go...talk about a melt down. At least I knew the other mom there and she has delt with the same thing so I didn't have to be too embarrassed. After all that we got home and enjoyed our evening together. I decided that tonight I wasn't going to wear my heavy pjs to bed since Shaun had been sleeping pretty well the last week or so. I had been sweating like crazy the last few nights because I've been so warm that I was just ready for a little relief. I have no idea what I was thinking because tonight Shaun did not want to sleep. It was horrible. We, I said we because we were all in the house but WE, as in Mike and I, we're not sitting up all night but WE did have to listen to all the screaming. I'm not sure what the deal was but Shaun just wasn't in the mood to sleep and he didn't want to nurse and all he wanted me to do was to sit with him and I didn't want to do that. And of course after about a hour of Shaun screaming Lino got up and was screaming too...what a nightmare. I can't blame Lino because Shaun did wake him up but I just wish Lino would go back to bed but he won't. So at one point I had both of them on my lap and I was trying to nurse Shaun and rock Lino and it just wasn't working. But Lino didn't want to go back to his bed because I was holding Shaun and Shaun... Well Shaun just was a mess. So I told Lino that I was going to put Shaun in his bed so he could go back to his bed too and he agreed. But that just enraged Shaun so that meant another hour of screaming. Eventually I was able to get Shaun out of his bed and nurse him without Lino giving me too much grief so he finally went to sleep. But that was short lived because he was up again a couple hours later...thankfully this itme Lino didn't wake up so it only took about 45min to get him back to sleep. Of course he was back up so 7am, his normal time so at that point I think I had got about 4hrs of sleep...but not consecutive. What a night, I should have never changed out of my sleep training pjs... WTF was I thinking??? Never again!! After a hell of a night I was ready for a big cup of coffee so I was glad it was coffee morning Thursday. I did the nor,mal drop off then had to get a few things and of course Shaun was passed out in the car before we even dropped Mike off. I was worried Lino was going to be super cranky today too but there want much I could do about it. The debate in my head was so I let him sleep in the car if he falls asleep or do I wake him...oh the tough decisions a mom has to make. But before all of that I had my coffee and a very small but very delicious slice of NY cheesecake that a lady made for the coffee morning...it was sooooooo goo and I know it had about a million calories in that little bitty slice that I had so I shared it with Shaun so that I didn't eat all the calories. God knows I don't need any extra calories. After that got Lino from school we had a quick lunch then headed out to meet up with one of my friends for a playdate at Chuckies. I had never been there but it ended up being nice. It's pretty much the same as Monkey Maze just smaller and the parents are allowed to get inside of the structure which is nice because you aren't suppose to go inside of the structure at the other places. So we had a nice afternoon there and I got to catch up with my friend that I hadn't seen in a long time. I could tell Shaun really liked the place too because after a little while of being there he started trying yo crawl up the stairs to the big slide. At one point I had turned around to talk and when I looked back he was already up three of the stairs. So instead of me fighting him I just took my shoes off and went up the stirs with I'm then went down the slide with him. He absolutely loved it then I realized that I started something bad. Now he wanted to go up the stairs by his self and for the rest of the time we were there. I ended up going up with him a few times then played with Lino and Molly for a while which was fun. I don't really like going to those play centers all the time but I could actually enjoy going to this place since I can play with the boys. After a few hours it was time to go and Lino didn't want to leave of course but he did. He ended up falling asleep on the drive home, as expected and I just let him sleep for a little while because I knew he was pooped and I needed to get dinner ready so it was a win win for me...I'll let daddy deal with the fussiness at bedtime. I had such a night and I was so stressed that I decided to make me a little dessert...a little treat for my torturous sleep or lack of sleep last night. I remember seeing a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie in a cup so I found it and made it. I had to top it with a little peanut butter too and talk about delicious!!! And fatty!!!! It was so good and it was nice that it wasn't a full batch and I could just cook it in the microwave for 50sec. Mike helped me to enjoy it, thank God, so I didn't have all 500 calories to myself but I did have a big portion. It really hit the spot, oh so good and oh so not good for me. I know I had a rough night but I definitely can't indulge lie that every night or I won't loose any weight...but tonight was with it. Tonight I put my sleep training pjs back on because I just knew that was the issue... But unfortunately it didn't help too much. It wasn't as bad as Wed night but still a broken night of sleep. Friday couldn't have come any sooner, the week flew by because we actually had things to do so that was nice but I was ready for my lazy Friday. So I caught up on my shows and chilled with Shaun Shaun. When Lino got home it was Despicable Me then Monsters vs Aliens...then repeat until it was time to get Mike. I was ok with that because I was finally able to fold the 8 loads of laundry I had waiting on me to fold and put away all week. Then since it was Friday Mike took Lino swimming. But unfortunately there was an issue at the plant that Mike was dealing with so he had to make a few phone calls when we got to the pool before he could go swimming and Lino was loosing his patience quickly. At one point I thought I might have to take him in the water myself which would have been bad because my arm pits were so hairy that someone might have thought I was a boy if I lifted up my arms...hahahahahaha. But have no fear daddy came thru and the boys had a good swim. I keep bringing Shaun and my suit in case I decide to take Shaun in but I never do but I think next week I will...as long as the pits get shaved first (wink wink). Lino did a lot of swimming so we knew he was going to be pooped which was nice. Once their hour of fun was over we raced home to have dinner and get the boys in the bed. It was actually a good and easy bedtime routine for us...just a little later than normal. These last two days of no sleep have wore me down is I headed to bed earlier than Mike, I need a few extra winks. Plus I was praying for a good night sleep for the boys but that didn't happen either...oh well. Shaun woke Lino up 2x last night and Lino was so upset. The only way we finally got him to go to sleep was to remind him that he had a party to go to in the morning so he needed to go to sleep so that he wouldn't be tired. He didn't exactly believe me but he knew he had a party so I guess he decided he better at least lay down so that he could go to the party...what a night. Shaun was up early on Sat and I tried to let Lino sleep a little longer but he must have heard Shaun & I lave the room because he came downstairs about 15min after we did. So since it was still early and I had tried to get Shaun to go back to sleep, with no success, I let them watch a movie while I got breakfast started. For some reason I had it in my mind that the party started at 1 so I thought we would have time to have breakfast, walk to the train station, take a quick trip to the city and head back in time to get showered and dressed for the party but the party was at 11 and ended at 1 so that plan was out the window. Plus it was raining sideways and there was no way I was going out in that mess and getting all wet and the boys wet...it totally wasn't worth it plus we didn't have time. So we got ready and I had planned to go to the store really quickly to get the bday girl a present before the party but it took longer than planned to get us all ready so I didn't have enough time to go to the store before the party so I dropped Mike and the boys off and I went to get a gift. Mike thought I might be able to get something at the Ballyseedy but to me that was a plant shop and it wasn't going to have gifts for a small girl. But really I didn't think long enough about his suggestion because that place is like a 4 in one shop...gardening, clothing store, toys for kids and crafts all in one place...and super expensive too. I guess not super but kind of expensive. Anyway I ran to the store that wasn't so close but I made it there and back within 20min which wasn't bad. Martha had texted me earlier in the day to say she was heading to Go Safari too so I knew she was already there. It had been a while since we met up so it was nice to see here. The place was so busy tho and I was trying to talk to some of the other moms from the school so we really didn't have a lot of time to catch up but it was nice anyway. Lino was excited to see his friend Partick so that was nice. I did kind of feel bad because Lino was there for a party but he was spending more time with Patrick than he was with his school friend. Then cme to find out he was the only boy at the party too...how funny. I don't think he minded one bit. After that we went home and just hung out. The wind and rain was so bad we didn't really want to fight with it if we didn't have to. We let Lino watch what he wanted and Mike and I took turns napping on the couch. I complained that he got more sleep than me during his ap so he let me take a second one and I slept way longer than he did...that was a nice gift from my husband. Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday and my big sisters birthday!!!! The weather had actually cleared up some so we decided to take our normal Satuday walk on Sunday. Lino was a little confused because we didn't take the train to the city but we were able to distract him by buying him a chocolate treat at Fitzpatricks so that helped to avoid any excessive crying...ah the power of chocolate. So he got a treat and so do we, we almost got a cake but we knew that was going too far...that shop is dangerous. So back home we went to get cleaned up, we went shopping for food for the week and for our Super Bowl big out (a batch of buffalo chicken dip just for us...talk about being pigs) then headed back to the house. We all got our foot ball gear on for the last game of the season...Denver vs Seattle!!
Future Super Bowl Champ here!!!
My Super Boys!!
My Super Silly Boys!
It's a hard decision on who to root for because we both hate the Broncos but we want Payton to win one more Super Bowl before he retires and it's exciting to have the Seahawks finally in a major game too. Apparently Seattle hasn't had any real major sport win in about 40yrs so they are more than over due. We might just be neutral but slightly more for Seattle ;-). So after we got home we had lunch and Mike wanted to watch Monsters vs Aliens with Lino so that's what we did. We made a light dinner but we had lunch late and no one was hungry so I had dinner for Monday already ready...sweet!! Mike had a great idea for us to take a nap when the boys went to sleep so that we could have a couple hrs of sleep before being up late watching the game. So we got the boys all in bed and we tried to nap but Shaun was up about 30min later and it took about 20min to get him back to sleep. After I finally got him down I barely had an hr to nap and I don't think I even got 30min but I wasn't complaining. Mike actually got up before me and started the buffalo dip then I pulled myself together and was starving at this point but the dip wasn't ready so I pulled out a bag of chips and discovered that we had one bottle of our favorite salsa from Texas in the pantry so we snacked on that. The funny part is that when they came to pack up our house in June of last year they basically packed it up exactly as it was but when we got to this house everything was put away in different places so we've forgot what all we had. So we had a bag if Tostitos Cantina chips that we were obsessed with when I was preggo with Shaun but the expectation date was like Nov 13 so when we tried them they tasted a little off, a little rancid. But they were not bad and we were so excited about having real chips and salsa that we just ate them and didn't complain a bit. Well I would like to say that we had a good night watching the game but the truth is that I only watched about 25-30 min total because Shaun was having a horrible night and absolutely refused I mean refused to go to sleep without me there. I tried nursing him but he had been nursing all night and there was really nothing left so he was frustrated. And I know he was tired so he was frustrated about that too and I was frustrated too because I had just barely sunk my chip into the buffalo dip when he first started whaling. So needless to say this was the worse Super Bowl that Mike and I have ever watched, or not watced. The game it self was even terrible, I couldn't believe the first 12sec of the game was such a cluster f^*% for Payton. I guess I didn't miss much but I still would have liked I have watched the game and the half time show. At one point Shaun and Lino were up screaming and I was about to loose my mind so I went downstairs and told Mike it was his turn. He had tried to come relieve me and update me during the halftime show but I told him I was ok, I felt bad that he had to watch the game with all the screaming but I figured someone should be able to enjoy the game. But after 2hrs of straight screaming, well no not straight screaming...at one point Shaun was about to give up but that is when Lino had enough and he got out of his bed and made me go in the room and that just set Shaun off again...otherwise 2hrs of straight screaming I had enough. So Mike went up and I watched the last 10min of the game. Really there was no game to watch I just wanted to see the commercials. After the game was over Mike went to bed and I stayed up with Shaun for another hour or so until he finally gave up...I could not believe it took over 3 hours for him to finally giving and go to sleep. At that point it was about 3:30 or 4 in the morning and I thought maybe I'll be able to get three hours of sleep but no Lino decided to get up about 40 minutes later and I was up with him for another half an hour. At this point I knew that Lino was just overtired so it was a complete battle... winless battle to get him to go back to sleep. I ended up having to sleep on the floor outside of their room so that I could get about 45 minutes of sleep ... what a rough night. At one point Mike and I were talking about why it was such a bad night and the only thing we could come up with was that the boys didn't want us to enjoy the football game or 2, the song that we had playing for Shaun was the wrong song. We usually play rock-a-bye baby on my phone on repeat and that's his "Night Night" song but I had also downloaded an album that we had played for Lino every night when he was a baby and for some reason that album was playing instead of the rock-a-bye baby song so we think that might have threw him off. Lino used to listen to the Metallica baby lullaby album every night for over two years so we just knew that Shaun would like the same thing. But I found the rock-a-bye baby song before I found the Metallica baby lullabies so we started Shaun off with the rock-a-bye baby so I guess it was too late to make the switch. Whatever the issue was it was a bad night and we will never put on the Metallica song again just in case that was the issue.
