May

May 1:

We have been doing a lot of thinking about putting Lino into school, Jr Infants, in Sept and today I was suppose to meet with Joan about it but Mike couldn't make the meeting so we rescheduled for next week. But after I dropped Lino off we ended up talking a little about it anyway.  She of course recommends we wait another year because of the social part of school. She seemed to think he might be ok the first yr or so because it's not that complicated but after a couple of yrs when all the kids that are a yr older than him are flying through the lessons he might start struggling and it could lead to behavior issues. I don't want to be dealing with behavior issues that's for sure.  And it seems like all the kids that are at this place school will start school when they are 5 and some even 5 & 9mo. Plus he's a boy!  So I was telling her about the other moms that I know that are sending their daughters that will be 4 between May and July to school and she reminded me about comparing girls vs boys plus I shouldn't compare what other moms are doing.  Another mom that I talk to often also stopped to join in on the conversation and agreed with waiting. Then I stopped a couple other moms and talked to them for a while and they all agreed. It seems like the theme is that a few yrs back kids would be sent to school at 4 was normal but now most of the moms are waiting a yr because it's too much stress on the kids and parents. It's such a hard decision and it seems like I could be ruining his life if I send him to early or wait to long. But I guess the reality is that it won't kill him if he's older going to school...it might help him a little.  The one mom also asked me about his toilet training because she knew that we had been struggling with that when he first started school. And I told her most dad we are good but I still have to make him go pee and if he's not in the mood to go he won't and we could have a day of 3 accidents...you just never know.  So there another factor to think about when we are considering him going to school.  The girls that I know that are going to school have no issues with them going to the toilet and they are pretty much night trained as well and with Lino it's totally the opposite. So another potential sign that he's not ready yet. I don't know!?!?!?    Anyway it was nice to chat about it a little but I know it won't be so easy talking to Mike so it's important to have him talk to the teacher too...until next week I guess. So after that I went to the store to get some things before heading over to Nicole's. We were planning to go to the coffee morning together but I got there early so we ended up chatting about school for a while before heading out. After coffee morning we made plans to meet at Fota after Cian got out of school.  I'm really enjoying the pass because we seem to be there a lot. Anyway we had a nice walk around with the boys and it chewed up like 3hrs of my afternoon which was great!!

Senan & Shaun are double trouble in the making!!!!

May 2:

Lazy Friday is starting to be more and more busy...not sure how that keeps happening. Ended up having an impromptu coffee morning at my house with Nicole, Amanda & Gabby. Need to plan it better so Michelle can make it and so that I'm not rushing out to get Lino but it was nice anyway. Weather acted like it was going to be nice so I pulled chairs out but 2min later it was freezing. Oh Ireland, I can't tell which way the wind is going to blow here...always keeping me guessing. 

May 3:

Had a birthday party to go to today. We thought about going up to Dublin for the day to go to the zoo but the weather wasn't that great so didn't want to waste a trip on crappy weather.  So instead we stayed home and I made fancy breakfast out of leftovers. Hahaha. It was good anyway :-)

After breakfast Daddy & Lino started play fighting and Lino started crying because he got a little hurt.  So I try to give him a little advice that he can keep with him for life. It kind of made me laugh. 

"If you're going to fight someone you can't cry!!! If you want to fight then be prepared to get hurt and if you get hurt you don't cry...you keep on fighting until the other person stops. Then when you get hom you can cry!"  

Not sure that's the best advice to give an almost 4yr old but I don't want him to try and fight then be crying every 5sec because he got bumped or something. To me it's simple, If you are going to cry then don't start the fight!

The boys enjoying a little TV time after breakfast. 

So the boys and I went to the party and Mike stayed home to work out...plus he didn't want to go.  I got list somehow and once I found it I realized it wasn't that far from the house so it made me feel even more silly. Anyway it was a nice party with really good potato & pasta salad!!!  Of course I couldn't get Lino to eat anything other than cookies & cake but I expected that.  Oh and poor Shaun...apparently when I gave him his sippy cup of water, before we left for the party, I guess I didn't close the lid because when I pulled him out of his car seat he was soaking wet.  I had just filled up his cup too so it was a full cup of water...whomp whomp. I didn't even bring a spare pair of clothes either but I figured he would be ok since we were inside. But later he ended up spilling juice all over him and the floor so that was just a little too much moisture. The mom felt bad for me & him and ended up giving me some clothes for him. Poor kid. So Lino had fun and it was good to see my formed because she is just going back to work these last couple of weeks so I haven't seen her I'm a while. 

After the party, which we ended up staying later than I had planned we headed home to get Mike then back out to go grocery shopping for dinner.  I had made home made black beans. On Fiday...just because and it gave us inspiration to try and make Blackbean Adobe pies like we use to have I Texas. The only issue is that we are about 2000 miles away from Texas and one of the key ingredients to Adobe Pie...Mazia!  We thought we might just give the supermarket the benefit of the doubt that they might have it but of course they didn't...that's probably way to ethnic for Cork.  So I called my resident Mexican expert Nicole and she confirms that there is a 0.01% chance of finding it in the stores in Cork...BUT she happens to have some in her pantry!!! Score!!! So it was cool that she had some & was willing to let us have some for our experimental dinner.  Problem was that she was not in town but it wasn't that big of a deal because we weren't going I have time to make them for dinner anyway...maybe on Sunday!  So since plan A dinner plans were not going to be implemented we had to think of a quick plan B...which after much debate turned into a Mexican themed hash.  It actually turned out pretty good...chorizo, potato & onion hash with cheese of course. Yum!!!

Oh my BFF in Texas was celebrating her birthday at the Houston food truck fest and I was so jealous. The food looked amazing and the weather even better. It's times like this that make me miss Texas so much!

May 4:

Early baby party this morning...so just enough time to fight with the kids about getting dressed then it was time to go.  It was the first time Mike had been out to the house since we looked at it back in May last yr so I wanted to see how well his memory was, actually he wanted to see so I played along. He actually don't do to bad but made an early turn which he wouldn't have been able to recover from. Hahaha...it's funny how the brain works. We only went to the house once and we both had a good idea how to get there the next time...crazy.  So the party was great!!! Lots of people & kids and they even had a bouncy castle. Unfortunately the weather wasn't exactly cooperating so the bouncy castle has to wait to be used a little later in the party. But eventually did get used!!!  Ha Eun had a great spread of food and the hummus the Gernot made was off the chain!!!  We had a good time and I can't believe that Mike suggested that it stay home while he went to the party. I know he was only trying to help me get a break but this party was with my friend so it was a chance for me to hang out with her. Anyway, it was great...so great get we ended up staying there until about 5:30!!!!! I couldn't believe we stayed that long!  I was trying to make our exit around 2:30 which was already getting late (party started at 11) but Ha Eun told us to stick around a bit...but I don't think she intended us to stay that long but you couldn't tell because they kept feeding us wine & food and we were just chillaxing for real.  Eventually we left and I did try to help clean up but of course they were having none of that.  They are super cool, and I'm glad we got to meet up with them. I could see them being great friends for us...and it's sweet they they are a couple with 2 kids around the same age as us and no family around because it just means we have just that muh in common.  So since we spent the whole freaking day there we didn't have time to go home & make dinner so we decided to stop at Rosie's Bar for dinner.  We ate fish & chips there on our house hunting trip and we enjoyed it so it was nice to go back.  There was some match on so the place was a little crowded but we were able to get a table, even without a priority booking, which was nice!  We had a good dinner & it was pretty reasonable too, like less than €40 for us which was nice.  It can be so expensive to eat out around here that it almost doesn't pay to eat out. Plus it's not like it's quick so you still spend a lot of time eating out & money...the only advantage is you don't have to cook or clean...which is well worth it to me!   During dinner we had a quick FaceTime call with the family in KC then rushed home to get the boys I bed. Mike did a great job of keeping them both up in the car on the way home so they crashed like the titanic when they hit the beds!

May 5:

Cinco de Mayo!!!! 

Mike happened to be off today so that was pretty cool.  We decided to go to Mahon Pt in the morning because the weather was crap.  Every one else in Cork must have had the same idea because the place was a mad house...I've never seen it so crowded.  I met up with a couple of mom and then bumped into Martha but I couldn't stay in the play area long because it was just too crowded.  Mike did do the shopping while I sat and chatted for a while so that was helpful.  We decided to make a semi Cinco de Mayo dinner so we had to get a few items and I made arrangements to get the Masa off of Nicole too so we were all set.  Before heading home we decided to have lunch at the mall and it was freaking €30 at Obrien's for 2 sandwiches 2 coffees and a juice.  Unbelievable.  The rest of the day was spent making our Black Bean Adobe pies & flank steak for dinner.  We had the flank steaks marinating since Saturday so they were nice and tender and the Adobe pies took longer than we expected but came out very good at the end.  We both really enjoyed them but the kids were not as impressed...they haven't been cultured enough to appreciate the hard work it took to make something sort of Hispanic all the way in Ireland.  Those kids...oh well...more for us!

May 7:

Busy day today...got new tires for the car because 3 out of the 4 were basically bald and the 4th was on its way out the door in the next month so just bit the bullet and got 4 new ones.  The guy was nice and pretty quick so that was handy.  Decided to get the car cleaned after that since it stopped raining for 2hrs...plus it was about time the crackers and oat meal was removed from the car.  It was starting to become more like plaster than food...hahaha.  After school it  was haircut time for Lino.  Decided to do a semi fade instead of the normal #2 all around.  Not sure I could really tell the difference but I kind of liked it so I think we will get it again.  Trying to figure out what kind of hair cut works well on him.  We, Mike & I were getting tired of the Mohawk so that had to go but I think the plain cut is to boring for him too so not sure what to do.  Anyway, we will go with this fade for a couple more cuts and see if it sticks.  The afternoon we headed over to Douglas and met up with Cara and the boys for a quick play date.  It was good to see her and to get out of the house.  Lino & Donavan are funny when they get together but they always have a good time...and poor Shaun is just trying to keep up.  We didn't stay to long because the boys were getting a little restless so we left and stopped by Martha's for a little while so that Lino could see his BFF.  I would have went over earlier but I hadn't seen Cara in a while so wanted to catch up with her.  The funny part is that I always say I'm not going to stay long at Martha's and we always stay long.  I guess we all enjoy the time together so its hard to leave.  So after a busy day we ended the day with Shaun saying yellow!!!!  I was telling him all the different colors of the balls when we were in Douglas and he seemed to be trying to say yellow so I kept asking him to say it the rest of the afternoon and by the time bath was over he was saying it very clearly.  I couldn't believe it...had to get it on tape...it was too cute.  Our little baby is getting so big...and he loves talking and saying new words.  Gotta love that!

May 8:

Today we had an informal meeting with Joan to discuss Lino going to school.  Mike actually took the car, I had Lisa take Lino to school which was a blessing and I went to the coffee morning with Nicole at Go Safari and he came to pick me up after his plant tour.  He wasn't feeling good in the morning and by the time he came to get me I could tell he really wasn't feeling good...and he said he wasn't going back to work so I KNEW he must be in bad shape.  So anyway we had a little meeting with Joan and it was good for Mike to hear what she had to say about him going into school at 4.  I think the biggest point was that he could do it if we put him in but he would probably do better if we waited another year.  I get what she is saying and Mike got it too so it was pretty clear for us that we would wait.  Its amazing to me some of the things they have the Jr Infants doing, at the age of 4.  Sitting in the class seats for up to 3hrs at a time and only one 30min break for lunch & recess all day...very rough.  So before we left we also asked for recommendations for schools and it sounded like St. Joseph's in Riverstown was a really good school...so is Glounthaune but it might be a little more strict.  So we will see what happens...I guess I better finally bring in the application for to the Glounthaune school so he can officially be on the list.  She also recommended a couple of private schools too but with only one car it would kind of be a bit much to manage but we will see.  We can always get another car but we would prefer not to if we didn't have to.  The good news is that we both feel much better about our decision and we now have a true/firm decision that we are going to wait to send him when he is 5.  Oh, the other funny but not so funny thing was that Mike got to see how bad/tired Lino can be after school.  So he was fine at school but when we got him in the car and he asked if he could have something silly and the answer is always no of course but this time he completely melted down and Mike was in shock.  He was like "why is he crying like that?  Does he always act like that after school?"  He doesn't always have a complete melt down but a lot of day's he does...he's just so exhausted from the day so I know he doesn't know how else to express his self.  So after seeing just a couple minutes of this random yet serious melt down Mike was like "oh yeah, he's def not ready for school!"  So we dropped Mike off and after lunch I took the boys with me to do a little shopping.  I decided to try something different for dinner...I want the boys (including Mike) to eat more fish so I thought maybe I should try to cook it a little differently to see if they would like it.  So today was my first time making a whole fish...sea bass and it came out great!!!  Lino went to the fish store with me and he was such a mess...kept saying "Whewwww...it stinks in here....Whewwww...whats that in my nose???  Peeuw!"  Hahaha...I couldn't help but laugh and the fish monger was laughing too but told him that the fish may stink now but mommy will make it smell and taste nice and good after she cooks it.  Thank God he was right!  But to bad Mike was sick because he didn't get any at all. Lino actually enjoyed eating it off of the bone which is what I was hopping would happen.  Made this with a little quick sticky rice and called it a masterpiece!!!  Must try it again next week. 

May 9:

Friday is finally here...seems like a quick but long week.  Lino got invited over to Suzie's house for an afternoon play date so he was super excited about that.  Its funny because him & Suzie have come a long way in these past 6 months.  When he first started going to the school he really liked Suzie but she didn't want to have anything to do with him and would actually run away from him when ever she saw him coming.  Claire and I use to joke about it all the time because we thought it was pretty funny.  But I did tell Claire that Lino would eventually ware Suzie down and it seems he finally did.  That kid is going to be a true lady killer...he doesn't give us easy at all and saying "No" only means "not now" to him so he knows he still has a chance...too funny.  So we ended up staying over there for a while because the kids were having a great time.  Lisa and another mom were there too so it was a little party...the weather was actually very good too so I'm glad we were able to enjoy it. 


Lino & Suzie sharing a ride...looks like Suzie might be in charge in this relationship! 

Lino and his bugs...he never gets enough of them.  And he always wants me to take a picture....I guess that's kind of my own fault.

Lino decided to take over the bike...or did Suzie just decide to let him drive for a little while so that she could choke him from behind???  We will never know but I do know that is one cute mini couple!!

I was finally able to pull Lino out of there and wee headed over to Martha's house for a "quick" visit.  This time it was pretty quick because we had plans for the night so I needed to get back to the house to eat and get the boys ready for bed before we headed out to the table quiz.  Clina came over to watch the boys and I was running around like a mad woman trying to put on something nice but comfortable for the table quiz.  Ha Eun asked me about eating at the pub and I just naturally assumed that there would be food there but we had planned to eat dinner at home and stack while we were there but I found out that there was no food at the pub.  Its kind of a BYOF kind of place...very weird for me but very common here.  I guess its an American kind of thing to have "bar" food at all the bars and pubs...but here the pubs are to drink and watch the match, not to eat!  Anyway, we got a ride from Ulrika and her husband which was nice.  We teamed up with Ha Eun & Gernot and we had a blast!  We were doing OK at first but not that good but by the end we completely tanked and ended up getting 7th place out of 9 teams.  At least we weren't last but we were pretty darn close.  It was a fun night but def went too quickly.  Since there was no food at the pub we went next door to the takeaway to get something to munch on to soak up some of the alcohol that we had so we got some garlic cheese fries and waited for our cab to come BACK.  Had a fun night, need to do it again sometime soon.  Mike & Gernot hit it off well too which was great and I could tell that Mike enjoyed his company so I know that we will have more couple outings like that again.   When we got home we got the update on the boys and we just prayed that they would sleep until 8...prayed!!!!  

May 10:

The boys did sleep in a little which was nice but still up early as always.  Mike had to work in the morning so Martha came over for a little while and before she left she helped me start a fire. Shaun ended up falling asleep before she left so Lino & I cozied up to the fire and put on a moive and had a little snuggle/nap time. So sweet!  The boys were both a mess from lack of sleep on Friday night so it was nice to be able to chill a little bit with them.


Watching Frozen, which we thought Lino would never get into but now absolutely loves...and enjoying a little warmth from the big fire Martha made for me.  She is much better at this fire making thing than Mike & I will ever be.

That afternoon was pretty chilled.  It was cold and rainy so we all just vegged out on the couch.  I know our kids can some times watch a little too much TV but its hard to interact with them all the time.  Sometimes we have to do a little bad parenting to stay sane.




May 11:

Mother's Day in the US!!

Daddy let me sleep in a little but I was up by 8:15. He made breakfast for us and I made a cake for our afternoon play date.  I had to send a picture to Ha Eun and Gernot of the drawing that I did with Lino on Friday.  We were working on letters and then Lino wanted me to draw a dinosaur and a water gun but I'm a horrible drawer so my pictures look more like a monster/rocket ship and a penis.  This was a little debate that we had at the pub because I tried to recreate my water gun drawing and they were all like "that's a penis"...and after looking at my drawing several more times I guess I see where they are coming from.  Hey, I'm a scientist not a freaking artist!!!

So this is the normal view on Mother's Day sunday...around 10:30 in the morning daddy is completely pooped from the 2.5hrs of being mommy and passes out on the couch as the kids watch a movie.  If only I could do that!  Thanks for a great breakfast with my mimosa!  Love my boys!

Some fun/interesting trivia that I learned today...

The afternoon was kind of busy, went shopping in the mall, Lino did leap frogs, we had our Sunday coffee & cake date then home to get the cake and back out again for the play date.  I was pretty impressed that Mike set up a play date with one of his coworkers.  The cool thing is that they live pretty close to where Annette lives which is close to us so it was convenient. 

May 12:

Dropped my phone in the toilet

Met up with Alex at Fota Gardens for the day

Saw Amelia there but didn't have my phone to call her to tell her where to meet us.

May 14:

Ran into Cara at Mahon Pt and they came over to play and get some things for their trip.

May 15:

Coffee morning at Nicole's house

Tried to turn my phone on after 4 days in rice but no dice

May 16:

Coffee day at my house!!!

Tried to turn my phone on again but still nothing.  Charged it for a couple hours but then realized that was probably a bad idea because if there was any water in it still the charger would completely fry it...ooops.

May 17:

Went to Dublin to the Zoo!  Weather was great!!

Tried to turn my phone on one last time before heading out to the Zoo and it worked!!!!  I was already making plans to go to the store on Sunday to get a new phone but somehow the darn thing came back to life and was working 100%!  Thank GOD!!!!!

The zoo was great and the boys had a good time. It was a little crowded because the weather was so nice but not too bad. The only issue was that the zoo is so big and we are starting to get use to the small crowds of Cork so keeping up with 2 busy boys is way more challenging. At one point we actually lost Lino!!!!  Thankfully he was just in from of one of the feeding exhibits but it was a scary few minutes. 

King Silver Back!!!

Gorilla exhibit...very cool. 

May 18:

Went to mall, leap frogs then met up with Ha Eun & Gernot at the Ballymaloe food & wine festival...had a great time but it started raining so had to cut it short.  Food was good and the kids enjoyed feeding the pigs. Not sure if the potatoes left by the pin where for feeding them but that what we did and the pigs seemed to enjoy it. 

Lino & Hami....so cute!

May 19:

Went to Ha Eun's house for a morning play date but had to leave early because Lino decided to pee his pants and I just couldn't deal with changing him into new clothes.  So just stripped him and put him in the car...this boy is going to kill me with this pee stuff.  Tired from a long and busy weekend so I did nothing and was a total bad parent and let the boys play on the ipad and watch movies most of the afternoon.

Finally got a picture of my ghetto blackout blinds. 

May 20:

Went to coffee morning in the morning and shopping in the afternoon. We stop by the park in Douglas so that Lino and Shaun could play for little while since the weather was actually nice. I finally broke down and bought real blackout blinds but when I got home I realized I had the wrong size because Mike wrote the size down in a different way than what it said on the package. So I thought the length was shorter than wait actually was so we had to go back out to the store to exchange them. I guess we didn't have to go back out and exchange them but I really wanted to see if they would work so I wanted to have them for the night. So I got home and finally got them hooked onto the curtain rod and I was getting excited because I thought it would make the room pretty dark ...Nevertheless they still sucked!!!!!!  They help to block out a little bit of light but honestly not much at all the room was still pretty light so you might have to just go back to using my blankets instead. And the blackout blinds are really expensive so I'm debating on if I should take them back or not. Maybe there is a better option but I have to figure something out to get the boys room dark otherwise we are not going to get any rest over the summer.   Decided to go to Zumba so went to my first class ever and had a ball!!!  I enjoyed the movement and all the energy the teacher has so I think I'll go back again soon!

May 21:

spent the morning at CUMH handing out leaflets for Cuidiu. I didn't realize how much it cost to park but after my two and half hours at the hospital I had to shovel out €8 which was absolutely ridiculous. Someone said that I could park over Tesco's and walk across the street but they also said that the guard I watch people crossing over the road and give tickets for that so I didn't want to chance it but I think next time I will because €8 for 2.5 hours is completely crazy.  After I picked up Lino from school we just spent the rest of the day out in the garden...  we planted some points from school and just done around in the dirt trying to suck up as much sun and vitamin D as possible

Lino showing Shaun how to throw the dirt correctly. 

Sun with my baby.  He doesn't seem to interested in taking a picture but I don't care!

These legs have never been so pale!! I'm almost as white as my boys

May 22:

Morgan turns 8!!!  Can't believe my niece is 8. I remember when she was born and I was the one that got to tell the family that she was here and that she was a girl. Nothing like it in the world...so special. She will always have a special place I my heart. 

Had to run some errands today to prep for our first guest. One of the things that sucks about our European washer & dryers is that they are too small to wash comforters so I had to drop off the guest comforter and ours to get washed.  I went to coffee morning with Shaun and then home for the afternoon.  I was able to convince Mike that I should go to Zumba again so I was able to get out. I got a little lost going there because it was in a small town and it was all backroads to get there but I made it and had fun again.  The nice thing was that you get a small discount the more times you go in a week so it gives you some incentive to go a couple times a week.  I only have a few more days until vacation so need to do whatever I can to burn off a little extra calories so I don't look so horrible in a swim suit.  

May 23:

Home all day because Mike needed the car.  My neighbor friend Lisa took and picked up Lino from school for us so that Mike could go to a work funeral. I'm pretty blessed to have neighbors/friends that are willing to do that for us. 

Shaun & I playing around with my new glasses...I should be doing laundry but totally not in the mood. 

We realized yesterday that we had to go get our GNIB cards renewed but the Garda guy wasn't in the office so I called today and he was telling me that it takes 3 weeks now because the cards are different and are processed/issued from Dublin and that we had to go to the city to get it done because we are in a different district now.  What a freaking pain.  But the reality is that we got the freaking run aroud so we spent 2.5hrs going down to the city center station to get them renewed only to find out we had to go to Midleton instead.  Then we found out that the Midleton station is booked for spots until middle of June which doesn't work for us. Such a mess. Thankfully I had already made arrangements with the original Garda guy to come on Sat and he would give us a temporary card...if he could.  I didn't understand the if he could part and neither did Mike but he was our only hope so we had to trust that he would be able to get us sorted.  So Mike dropped us off at Go Safari so the boys could play for a while and he went back to work for a little. What a way to end the week. 

May 24:

Up and put to the Garda station.  We were worried that the line would be crazy like it was the first time we were there but actual it wasn't bad at all.  The guy, Sean, was able to get us all sorted and settled so we didn't have to do the temporary card thing. He actually stamped our passports so that we were valid for a while, which was very nice.  After that we relaxed and hung out as a family.  

May 25:

Mom is leaving KC today to fly I Ireland!  So exciting to have our first visitor and this also means that our Italy vacation is just around the corner!!!

April Photo Blog

Because I'm getting lazy and I kind of like the idea of the photo blog here goes another one...

April 1:
Flew from NY back to Ireland.  We were able to get all the 10 million things we had bought into 4 suitcases.  In addition, Mike had ordered wood for the swing set to fix it so we had to take a long box of wood with us.  We were worried that it was going to cost us about $100 to check the extra bags and box of wood but when we got to the airport & checked in that was the least of our worries.  We actually didn't have to pay for any extra luggage which was sweet but we realized that Mike had booked his self on a different flight than ours!!!!!  He booked the same exact time as us but apparently there is an American & British Airways flight that leaves at the exact same time.  He had booked our flight on the AA flight and his was on the BA flight...WTF!!!!   We never really looked at what airline we were on just made sure the flight times were the same because we never would have thought there would be 2 flights like this...what a mess.  We thought we were going to be screwed but somehow the lady worked it out.  I mean honestly, BA & AA are sister companies so I'm not sure what the big deal would have been to move him over to the same flight as us.  Anyway she did it and was very nice about it...thank God.  But because of the confusion we didn't seem to have a lot of time to get to our gate so the lady helped us to get pass the security line faster which was nice.  So the reason for all this drama was because we had to book our flights separately.  Me & the boys were booked together because we came over earlier than Mike so he had to book his by his self.  Even though we called our self double checking the reservations we totally didn't see the airline difference...oh well.  Just glad it worked it.  So we were able to grab a quick bite and the plane was a little delayed so Mike decided to go get us a couple bottles of alcohol to bring with us because it is cheaper to buy it at the Duty Free shop at the JFK airport than it is to buy it in Ireland.  So he got that and we boarded.  The flight was fine and wasn't too crowded so Shaun & I got a row to our self and Mike & Lino got a window isle to their self.  We got to London and had a heck of a time getting through all the security...it was busy and then we got our alcohol confiscated by the security people because the Duty Free bag was slightly open.  The reality is that the bag had been stapled shut and one of the staples came open so they considered that a non-sealed bag so had to take it.  Mike was so PISSED!!!!  I was just shocked and stunned but pissed as well of course.  I couldn't believe that they took our shit.  And I couldn't believe that Mike didn't even put up a fight.  I guess since we were already a little pressed for time he didn't want to bother with it but that was freaking $80 worth of alcohol that the TSA was just going to drink later.  And I know they were going to drink it because they didn't throw it in the trash it got put behind the desk at the security gate.  Those basters!!!!!  Oh well, what can we do?  Its gone now.  So after being rapped in London and having to race to the gate because it was so freaking backed up in all the check points we finally made it to our plane and had a quick trip to Ireland...everyone napped on this plane...we were tired. After all the flying we made it back to Ireland safe and sound and the boys were completely exhausted but they did a pretty good job on the flight.  So the boys slept in the car for a couple of hours and Mike & I unpacked...I couldn't wait to unpack...I didn't want to be bothered with it on Wed so I made Mike help me while the boys were sleep...even though I know he wanted to go to sleep.   The rest of the day we just relaxed and tried to recover.  We had a nice trip but its nice to be back home.








April 3:
Rest & recovery for us.  Mike took the car and the boys slept in so I slept in too!  We had a nice return day home.  I was going to take Lino to school but he was so pooped and I didn't want to be bothered so we just relaxed.  Shaun did decide to break another tooth so that was exciting.  I tried to get a pic but he just wouldn't sit still...top left tooth so that makes 3!

While we were having our PJ & movie day Lino wanted to watch Star Wars, he loves it.  So we watched it of course and he was acting like he was fight Dark Vader or maybe he thought he was DV I'm not sure but either way I loved the roll playing with his little plastic stick.  Maybe we should get him a light saver for his bday?









I had to take a shot of this...I don't get to play Jewel Blitz very often and since Shaun's sleeping schedule is out of whack I was up late and got a few min to play and I totally killed it...not sure how but I did.  I never get that high of a score and I was pretty amazed.









April 4:


Kind of getting back on track as far as our schedules go.  Lino & Shaun are both still sleeping in a bit which is nice.  We actually had to wake Lino up for school which never happens.  I would have kept him home but I didn't want to have to entertain him all day plus today was baking day so I knew he wouldn't mind going.  When he got home from school we just played around the house and the boys were testing out a few of Shaun's new toys...this one TT & Uncle P got him.  They both liked it a lot so I had to share a pic of them playing with TT.









April 5:
Shaun's Ireland Bday Party!
We didn't really do a big party or anything but had a few friends/kids come over.  It was really more of an excuse to have people over and eat a bunch of crap.  We were expecting about 18 people and ended up with about 12 but we had enough food for over 25!!!  A typical Cutaia party.  And of course we got started late but that's pretty typical too but it was fun and the weather was kind of nice so we got to go outside for a while.  I even made a cake...well a boxed cake and it took me about 1hr to figure out how to fit this fabric wrap around the outside of the pan so that the cake would cook flat instead of puffy.  I'm not sure if it was worth all the trouble but at least now I know how to do it and I know that it does work.  In my head I thought I might try to do a fancy cut out cake shaped like a #1 and try to decorate it like a giraffe but the day before the party I slapped myself and realized that is totally outside of my skill level so just stick to a basic boxed rectangular cake!  Hahahaha...I'm so glad I did too because I was already swamped with stuff to do on the day of the party and I didn't need to add any more task to it.  Anyway, a good party and glad we got to celebrate with our new Irish friends...although it was all American's that came :-)   Nicole stayed behind after the party to help clean up with was nice and we did about 85% clean-up so I was able to sit and relax and have a glass of wine and not stress about all the mess.  It actually wasn't that bad...but totally happy that Nicole helped to clean up.








April 6:
Rest & recover from the party...we slept in a bit but were up by 9 anyway.  Me & the boys went over to Martha's for a quick coffee & play before Lino had to be at Leap Frogs.  I was planning to do the shopping while he was at Leap Frog but I forgot my wallet at home and didn't have time to go back to get it before we had to be there so I just hung out with Shaun while Lino was doing his thing.  Mike was doing a little work at the house and wanted to work out.  After Lino was done we went home to get Mike & went shopping.  The rest of the day was relaxing, made dinner, watched movies and Shaun started saying "NO" and saying it pretty aggressively.  Its kind of funny to hear him say no but I'm so not ready for the NO phase.  The funny part is that he tells Lino no all the time and then will hit him.  This is exactly what Lino use to do to him so its kind of payback but its going to be a horrible habit.  I hope I can break it before he gets to use to it but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that because Lino is always hitting or pushing Shaun and telling him no...oh the joys.










April 8:
Went to coffee morning in the city and the boys got on the trampoline since the weather was nice.  I think this might be the first time Shaun was on a trampoline and he seemed to enjoy it.  It was funny because Lino was jumping all over the place like a mad man of course and as a result Shaun was being flipped & flopped this way and that and he absolutely loved it.  I tried to take him out so that he didn't bounce all over the place but he screamed bloody murder when I did so I put him back in and told him good luck!  He did survive but I tell you it was dangerous for sure.

















April 9:
Lino went to school & Shaun & I went to pick up applications for Lino to get enrolled in school.  Its kind of crazy how they have the school enrollment or application process.  And its even crazier how they decide who goes to what school.  I can't even fully explain it because I really don't know myself.  Basically people put their names down at the school that they think is the best for their kid regardless of where they live.  And most parents have their kids name at 2 or more schools and they do this as early as 6mo of age which is crazy.  But they basically pick who goes to the school and the criteria is prioritized like: immediate area (like 4 block radius), kids of staff members of the school, siblings, placement on the "list" then area....crazy!   So the good school that everyone said to get Lino into told me, in so many words, that Lino doesn't really fit into any of the top 4 criteria's so its not likely that he will get into that school so put his name down somewhere else...dang.  I kind of expected that but it was just crazy to hear the lady tell me.  So I went to the school that would be what we would consider our district and she was like, yeah he SHOULD be able to get in here since he lives in the area.  Well thank goodness for that, I felt like they were doing me a favor to take my kid.  I just don't get it...crazy system but I guess they have a reason for it.  So after that adventure it was back home to get some cleaning done.  That afternoon Martha & the boys came over because Patrick had been asking about Lino.  The weather has been so nice these last few days so we have been spending a lot of time outside.  The boys love just running around the yard which is nice and they burn a ton of energy so I don't mind.  At some point I was mentioning to Martha that the Cuidiu Egg Hunt was going to be at my place and I was worried about parking spaces because we have a weird circular driveway.  There is lots of room but because of this weird circle and random flower bed in the middle of it, it makes it kind of hard to just park cars.  So Martha was drawing out parking spots for me with sidewalk chalk.  The kids saw the chalk and were dying to draw so we had a little drawing session which was fun.  Then Martha had the great idea to do CSI so we all laid down and got our outline made...Lino got his done 2x because he enjoyed it so much.  After it was all done it looked like a complete homicide on the driveway.  Both families, minus the dads, looked to be murdered and Martha & I died holding hands because of all the trauma...very funny actually.   It was a lot of fun anyway...













A little pasta face for dinner!  Our boys truly have the Italian gene because they love their pasta.  Anytime we have pasta I know for sure I can Lino & Shaun to have 2nds and Shaun was loving his sausage & spinach pasta tonight.  He even wanted to feed his self which didn't exactly go as he had planned so I had to help but he insisted on having the fork in his hand...he is getting to be so big.  Love this face...I know we have a couple pictures of Lino looking exactly like this when he was 1yrs old too.  I just love it!











I guess Shaun had too much for dinner because he decided to clear his bowels before bed and pooped in the bath.  This is actually the first time he has ever pooped in the bath and even Lino didn't ever do this until he was closer to 2...I think.  And this was a wet one...totally gross but I had to take a picture because I needed it for the blog.  Mike thought I was crazy because I wanted a picture but I told him its just more ammunition for us to use on Shaun when he gets older...oh the memories!



















April 10:
I had posted on one of the sling sights that I wanted a ring sling and a couple of my friends offered me to borrow them so I was finally able to go collect them from them today.  So after Lino got out of school we headed to Ballingcolig to pick up 2 slings.  I had promised Lino that we would go swimming so the plan was to pick up the 2 slings then head to the pool.  Of course I knew it wouldn't be that easy but I was hoping the thought of going swimming would out weigh playing with this friends for today.  So when we got to Cara's house I tried to just sneak in and grab the sling but Lino & Donnavan met eyes and that was all she wrote.  It took about 20min to convince him that swimming today would be more fun than playing.  I wouldn't have minded staying but since his swimming classes have been canceled because of pool work out in Cobh I wanted to make sure he gets into the water every now and then until he can get back into the swimming lessons.  So we told them we would make plans to go swim together another time and both boys seemed to be OK with that...thank God.  Then I went to get the 2nd sling and it was much easier to get in & out.  Then to the swimming pool.  Lino had ate his lunch in the car because we basically left from school to go get the slings then right to the pool because the open swim time closed at 3 and I wanted to make sure we were able to get our hr of swimming in.  So we get there and Lino was super excited that he was going to be able to swim freely and not have to do his lessons, very funny.  I was a little worried because I had Shaun with me but since we were in the kiddy pool I figured it wouldn't be too bad.  All seemed to be going ok at first...Shaun wasn't in love with the pool and even though it was slightly heated it was still a little cold and he was starting to shiver a little.  I tried to put him in the water a little deeper but he didn't seem to like that either.  I was actually a little shocked because he really likes being in the bath tub but I know he doesn't like water on his face...I know I need to keep bringing him or else he will end up not liking the pool which is not good.  So anyway, we were just enjoying the pool and hadn't been there more than 10min when Lino took a big gulp of water and spit it out & threw up at the same time...all in the pool.  Oh shit!!!  Seriously??? I can't believe that just happened....what a pain.  It wasn't a lot of throw up but enough so I told the pool guy and it was like I had told my kid to shit in the pool!  The lifeguard was pretty cool about it and kept telling me that it happens all the time and I told him that Lino wasn't sick just got a big gulp of water in his mouth and he threw it back up.  He seemed cool about it but when the maintenance man got there he was totally annoyed and even looked to be pissed.  I explained what happen and apologized for it and he just kind of nodded at me as he walked off.  Of course that meant we had to get out of the pool which for Lino was tragic for him.  The guy did say that we could go into the big pool which was nice but he made sure to tell me 3 or 4x to not let Lino put his head under the water in case he gets sick and to not spread germs in case he was sick.  I told him again about 2x that he wasn't sick at all, just a reflex to spit out the water when he swallowed it....he didn't seem to care.  So while it was nice that we got to swim in the big pool it was almost impossible to keep Lino from putting his head under the water.  Especially since I had been telling him to put his head under and breath so that he could be ready for his swimming lessons.  So we kind of listened and kind of didn't.  After about 30min of us swimming and the maintenance guy getting all his stuff together to close & clean the kids pool I end up having to fill out an incident report then he comes back to tell me we have to get out because Lino got sick.  I kind of knew that was coming so I wasn't surprised and he was half respectful about it so I didn't complain at all.  But Lino wasn't happy about it...he never does well with abrupt change...there was no 5min...1min warning that we would have to get out so he was a complete nightmare to get out of the water.  I was finally able to convince him that we had to go because he got sick and he apologized about a million times and I told him it wasn't his fault but I don't think he really understood.  I felt so bad but we had to go...so we left.  What a pain in the ass.  It was so much work to even get both boys and myself into the water now we only got 40min of swimming and I have a screaming upset 3.5yr old that I have to redress and take out of the pool...by myself.  I'm not sure why I signed myself up for this but it was totally stressful...for me and the boys.  So after we got changed Lino wanted popcorn so I let them sit & eat popcorn from the machine before we headed home...that was the least that I could do...poor boy must be traumatized for sure.  Lets see if he wants to go swimming next time...and next time will be at least a couple weeks from now.  I don't think I can take the stress.












April 11:
Decided to meet up with Michelle, Nicole & Amanda at Tir na si in Watergrasshill (about 20 min from us).  The playgroup that meets in Glanmire was going there and I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with the playgroup but when Nicole mentioned she wanted to go we decided to join them at the last minute.  I invited Ha Eun to join to but didn't invite her until very late on the 9th but she decided to come which was cool.  The place was nice, its like a farm with a little play center & café.  Since I had to pick up Lino from school I couldn't stay to see the whole thing but the little play area that were at was nice and I heard that the scones were nice as well.  I am glad that I got to go because now I know of a new place that I can go with Lino if he starts getting board of the places closer to us.  It seems like we could spend a full day there with the play area and the farm so I'm looking forward to trying it our more fully with the family.












April 12-13:
This weekend Mike worked on the swing set because the Cuidiu Egg Hunt is this Thursday and I told him I needed it fixed before then.  I know that if the weather is nice all the kids will be out on the swings so I wanted to make sure it was fixed so that there was no excuses and no one would get hurt on a cracked piece of wood.  So on Saturday Mike worked on that and me & the boys went over to Martha's for a little while.  It was nice to have a chat in the morning and I know that Mike appreciated the time to focus on the swings.  The weather wasn't totally crap so he didn't have any issues getting the swing fixed...even though he texted me to say that he didn't get to fix it...I knew he had. 






Boy time...daddy & his boys chilling out watching movies on a Sunday.  I love these boys to death!







Of course we had to have a silly face pose too.  Lino is obsessed with silly face poses so there is always one...or 2 or 3 depending on the day.













This coming week is going to be a busy one for me...the Cuidiu committee meeting is at my house on Monday and the Egg Hunt is at mine on Thursday plus Lino is out of school for the next 2 weeks so I'm going to be a complete reck after this is all done.  So I  was trying to get myself organized so I decided to get all my shopping done for the cakes & stuff and try to get most of the cakes prepped on Sunday so that I didn't have to mess up the kitchen 3x this week.  So Mike helped out a bunch and Shaun was insistent on being held so we decided to try out the sling...I say we because I put daddy in charge of Shaun so I put the ring sling on him.  I'm still getting the hang of it and even though I went to the sling meet on Wed last week it takes a lot of time & practice to get comfortable.  But I love my hubby because he is a good sport when it comes to things like this.  He put on the sling and let me tug & pull and adjust and even let me take & post a pic on facebook so that I could get some feedback on the carry.  What a sport...and what cut boys!















This is after I adjusted the shoulder.  This is definitely one of the drawbacks of the ring sling.  Its nice for a quick in & out of the shop but if you have to do any work with the ring side the fabric always gathers up close to your neck and after about 5min of it being that way it hurts like hell.  Oh and apparently I didn't have Shaun in the seat deep enough either...so many details.













So after a long afternoon of cooking & prepping for the week the kitchen looked like a bomb had exploded and then exploded again...what a mess.  At least most of the mess is done for the week and I was able to get a lot prepped which was nice.











In the midst of making nice cakes and things for the Cuidiu group daddy & Lino decided to make ice cream...for them self!  I asked if they could make a vanilla ice cream so that I could have some then they could put chocolate syrup on it for them but Lino insisted that it had to be chocolate so chocolate it was.  And since I don't really like ice cream that much and I don't generally like chocolate unless its with  peanut butter it was like a double no ice cream for me.  Oh well, I guess I don't need the extra calories anyway.  Its nice that we are actually using this ice cream machine maker that I got for my 5yr anniversary at Dannon.  The funny part is that after about 1hr of the ice cream maker churning this silky creation the machine stopped working!!!!  We thought maybe it died because of the stress of working for so long and because we had it hooked up to the power converter (the only way we could use it) but after letting it sit unplugged for a couple of hours it did turn back on which was nice. 






Doesn't that just look yummy...YUCK!!!  But actually it was really good...daddy did a great job!






April 14:
Weather is amazing today so instead of going to Hokey Kokey we decided to meet up with Cara at the Fitzgerald park in the city.  I wasn't exactly sure how to get there but figured it out.  Once we got there I noticed that the car was still running even though I had shut it off.  I didn't know what caused it but it was running like it was turned on and it freaked me out.  I called Mike to see if there was something that I could do but he didn't answer...of course.   So I turned it on again and let it run then turned it off and it was still running...crazy.  After about 3-4min it did turn off but it freaked me out.  So I called the mechanic that Michelle had recommended and made an appointment for tomorrow...I can't believe this.  Well the car does need an oil change since we haven't got an oil change since we got it so maybe that's why?  Mike has been bugging me about taking it in to get the oil changed but that hasn't been on the list so it just never got done...guess it just moved to the top of the list.  In addition to our car issue I didn't have on of the disk cards for parking, which I didn't know I needed and didn't even know what it was so I had to improvise a little...meaning I sat in the car for 20min waiting on Cara.  Thankfully Cara had an extra one so we were saved.  This was our first time at the park, even though we tried to come once before.  It was a nice park but was kind of busy because of the Easter break.  We had a nice time and ended up staying for a while which was OK because it ate up a lot of the day.  I could see us going back to the park but not sure how often since its in the city and the whole disk parking thing is kind of annoying.  I don't even know where I would go to buy one of those disk things...must look into it I guess.  Its kind of a cool system but also a little out dated too.  So basically you buy a parking card and scratch off the day, time & yr when you use it and it is valid for the max stay.  So that means if one area's max stay is 2hrs the card would be valid for one 2hr block.  If you are in an area that the max stay is 1hr then the card would only be valid for 1hr.  That is kind of crappy that its like that but I know I wouldn't need to use it that  often so I really don't care.  Anyway, always learning something new.  Oh, while at the park I was talking to the moms about school and stuff because now Mike & I are starting to worry about when we should send Lino to school.  I thought I had this whole jr infants & sr infants thing figured out but I think I missed something.  I've met or talked to a few moms that their kids are turning 4 between May-July and they are sending their kids to Jr Infants in the fall.  I had planned on keeping Lino in the play school and doing the ECC yr in the fall but not we are not so sure.  So much to think about with how the schools are set up slightly differently here vs the states.  And since we don't know exactly when or where we will go after here I don't want him to get to behind because of it and I don't want to rush him into school either if he's not ready so it is just so stressful.  Anyway, it was good & bad to talk about it with them.  The bottom line is we need to decide about it ASAP!
After our morning of fun in the sun, back home to make 2 cakes for today & tomorrow.... an apple date cake for the meeting tonight and an oreo cheesecake for Amelia's coffee morning on Tuesday.  The boys were actually good and played together which was nice.  The committee meeting was at the house and we were able to get the boys to sleep pretty easy which was nice.  Mike took a quick jog after they were sleep and I got the party started.  The meeting lasted until about 11 which was late but normal and thankfully the kids didn't wake up because of the noise...thank God!  Now if only Shaun would sleep through the night that would be lovely!
















April 15:
Tax day!  And for once we didn't really have to worry about filing our taxes...Pepsi helped out with that which was nice.




Went to coffee morning at Amelia's house and the oreo cheesecake turned out good which was nice.  Lino was telling me in the car that the moon was Gods son.  I thought about it for a while but couldn't really argue with it. I'm just happy that he listens to me when I talk about God & heaven and stuff so I don't want to challenge his view of it because it's so amazing at this stage...just love to hear the things that rattle in that little brain of his!   We didn't get to stay super long at the coffee morning because I had to take the car to the shop.  Of course I'm not having any issues with the car turning off now but I still wanted to have the mechanic look into it just incase.  While at the shop we went to the café to have a coffee and the boys got a sandwich.  While we were there some Garda men came in for coffee and Lino as totally intrigued by them.   Even though I kept telling him to leave them alone he had to sit close to them and talk to them.  Thankfully they were pretty nice and one guy actually talked to him for a little while which was nice.  Lino was asking him all kinds of questions like, what's you name, what's you moms name, when's your birthday, everything.  The guy knew right away we weren't Irish so asked Lino where he was from and he said Ireland of course but I corrected him.  It was a funny interaction & conversation and the Garda guy was impressed by his level of communication...I was just thinking he has no idea how much this kid likes to talk.  I'm not exactly sure who he gets that from because neither one of us are big talkers ...its just a sight to see let me tell you.  So we got our car and the mechanic is like you need 3 new tires/tyres, a full service and back breaks...geeze!  I pretty much trust what the guy said because Michelle goes to him and says he's an honest guy.  After I got the boys in the car he shows me the tires and is like, these tires are very low on tread and you need to get new tires soon.  I never really looked at the tread but when I did I was like...oh, yeah, your right...that is pretty low.  Anyway, he was quick and nice so I'm ok with coming back to him.  The funny part about the auto shops around here is that you have to buy your own filters in advance or call the shop in advance to tell them you are coming so that they can have your filters and stuff in stock.  That is just crazy to me because back home I can go to any Jiffy Lube or shop at a drop of a dime and get an oil change with no issues...but not here. 











Even though Lino insisted on me getting him something to eat at the café (that he really didn't eat) when we got home I needed something to eat so Lino said he would make me a ham rolly.  He got out a pot, TRIED to cook the ham, put a tortilla in the pot then my spinach (aka salad) and told me to eat it!  Hahahaha...I love that kid.  He loves his momma so much that he wanted to make sure I had a nice lunch.  He didn't do too bad, other than the rolly being more of a semi-salad bowl it was good.  Look at how proud he looks to have made me lunch...or should I say "The best lunch EVER!!!"









Since it was so nice outside we decided to take a trip to Fota.  We met up with my neighbor Lisa and her oldest daughter and her baby boy.  Her younger daughter goes to the same play school as Lino but she was on a play date but it was fine.  Her little man and Shaun were all over the place as expected but that's the place for it I guess.  We had a good time and Lino got to run off a ton of energy which is always good.


Shaun & Lino feeding the ducks.





Lino always likes to push it to the edge...feeding the ducks right on the edge of the pond.  So far he has never gone in but I'm not exactly sure just how long that luck will last.





Shaun trying to be a big boy on the play structure.  He actually climbed up those 3 logs by his self.  Then he proceeded to scream to me to help him down...or up I can't exactly remember.







Lino making friends with who ever he can.  He is like his Grandpa...he makes friends like nobody's business!  Shaun was being a typical baby brother and trying to get in on the fun.  For now Lino isn't too bothered with him tagging along but I know that will change at some point...but for now its great!







Completely filthy dirty but look at those love bugs!  OMG I love them so much!





Silly face of course...







So we were finishing up our snack and the Leemer's came and swarmed in on the picnic area and started stealing everyones lunch.  It was kind of scary at first because they seemed to come out of no where and were getting into all the open food.  This was the first time I had ever seen this so I was a little amazed.  I thought they might have escaped from their enclosure but I found out quickly that they are normally free to roam the grounds...so I guess this is a normal occurrence.


One of the Leemer's enjoying a snack curtsy of an unexpected visitor.





This little guy stole a 1/2 of a sandwich...a freaking HALF sandwich.  Crazy!!!  This can't be a good diet for them...I hope they don't get sick.  I wonder how they keep them from doing this all the time?  The many questions.





After a long hard day Shaun had enough...and while he was eating his crackers decided to take a little nap.  I didn't even know that he had went to sleep until we stopped to look at something and I saw him sitting like this.  I was worried at first because he had food in his mouth but it was only a cracker and was completely dissolved so no worries.  Dang Shaun, if you needed a nap all you had to do was tell me.









April 16:
Had tentative plans to go to Fota with Martha but it didn't work out so I met up with a few friends at the coffee shop in Blackpool.  When we got there Shaun was sleeping so I only had one to watch and when Shaun woke up I noticed he had a bunch of ear wax & gunk coming out of his ear...ear infection!!!  I couldn't believe it. I was pretty sure that was what it was but made an appt with the GP anyway to confirm. They were able to get us in that morning so I had to leave my meet up a little sooner than planned. Nicole graciously offered to keep Lino for me so that I didn't have to drag him to the GP as well. At first I said no thank you but she insisted so I let him stay with her. He just didn't want to leave so I figure what the heck. We had a nice long talk about him being good and listening to Miss Nicole and he said he would.  So off to the GP to pay €60 for the lady to tell me he had an air infection… Apparently the infection already burst and he was pass most of the infectious stage. So even though she gave me a prescription for antibiotics she said it's basically pointless at this point. She was shocked that we haven't been in sooner because apparently the air infection looked to be really red. She asked me if Shaun had been super cranky the last few days and honestly he hadn't been, maybe just a little bit but I thought it was more teething so I didn't think too much of it. And she was also impressed about how well he was walking at only 12 months. She even had to measure his height because she was shocked that he was so small and walking so steadily. I tried to tell her that he was actually a little bit behind because his older brother was walking at nine months and he didn't start walking until 11 months… She was amazed.   It seems like most of the kids around here don't start walking until 14 to 16 months but I guess kids are all different so you really can't tell why they start sooner or later.  Anyway we spent about 40min waiting to get into see the GP and she only saw us for about 10 minutes… I guess that's worth €60??  After that I met up with Nicole at Supervalu to get Lino and of course he didn't want to leave but thankfully she said he was good so I was happy about that.  Then we had to head home because we had the plumber coming out to look at the boiler again.   The boiler started making the same noise again the month ago and wasn't heating the water like it should so the boiler guy plan to come back out to check to make sure everything was okay.  We didn't really have anything else planned for the day and since we didn't make it to Fota and it was getting late I didn't want to keep the boys in the house so we just decided to go to the park and feed the pond and feed the swans.  There is a huge sign that says don't feed them but we totally ignored it.  These swans are aggressive too and big!  Shaun wanted to get close but I was too worried he would go in so I kept him back...but Lino of course wasn't scared at all.  That kid is fearless.

After the pond visit it was back home to get ready for the egg hunt. Lots of baking, prepping, cleaning and egg filling was going on and thankfully we had done a bunch on Sunday so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. But it still took forever and I don't think I went to bed until about midnight...ugh. But excited for the day of fun!

April 17:

I didn't get up early but Mike decided to take the car so that I didn't have to be bothered with dropping him off which was nice and saved me some time.  So finished up a few last minute things and I was actually on time...shocker.  I won't go thru all the details but basically it was a pretty good turn out & weather was great too so everyone was outside. I made hummingbird cupcakes which were divine and a caramel pretzel popcorn which turned out pretty good too but didn't seem to be popular in the Irish crowd but the Americans loved it.  So as I expected Mike came home and surprised us or me at the end hunt. I had asked him earlier if he would come to see the kids at the egg hunt because it would've been Shaun's first one and he acted like he wasn't going to be able to come but when he told me he wanted to take the car I knew that he was going to come surprise us. It was nice to see him and unfortunately Shaun was taking a nap so he didn't even get to do the egg hunt. Nicole had brought a rabbit suit and I somehow was able to convince Mike to put it on. I told him it would be really cool and the kids really like it, even though the bunny suit look more like a rat was kind of scary looking I thought it would be fun. It wasn't easy to convince him but he did it and it was hilarious!!!!!!  He must love me very much because that outfit was completely ridiculous some of the kids thought it was cool others were pretty scared over all the adults thought it was great. 

Some pictures from the day:

Mike had the suit on backwards but honestly I don't think anyone noticed. 

Thumbs up scary rat bunny 

Me & Shauny!  

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with him because he won't walk!!

 

We had a good turn out, about 20-26 adults and maybe 50 kids/babies!!!! 

So once Shaun woke up from his nap he refused to get down and walk which is totally not like him at all. So I was getting worried that it put him in the sling wrong and his leg was hurt. More than likely if I did his leg would have just been asleep so after I came I that conclusion I just gave him a min to wake up his leg. But after about 45min of holding him he still wouldn't walk. I was freaking out but the party was over so I just took his shoes off and was going to try to rub his legs but once the shoes were off he was gone! I kind of felt bad because I didn't realize it was his shoes that were hurting him. I had even put those shoes on him the day before so I was shocked that they weed too small. I felt so bad but I guess there was no lasting damage...poor kid. 

So after everyone left Nicole stayed behind to help me clean up a bit which was really nice. Then she headed out to get Cian and I tried to clean up a little outside. We were more playing than cleaning but who really cares :-)   While we were outside we got a surprise visit from Martha, Conor & the boys.  I was expecting Martha & the boys to come to the egg hint but they never made it and it was to crazy for me to call her so I figured she decided not to come. But come to find out she thought it started at 2:30 not 10:30 so she was totally late. Hahahaha...oh Martha. It's funny too because we had just talked about it being at 10:30 on Tue because she thought it was in the afternoon so it's funny that she forgot already. Anyway it was like egg hint part two and it was nice.  It wasn't so crazy and I wasn't stressing about keeping people happy so I didn't mind. And since it was a friend I didn't have to make her coffee or tea...I told her to make it herself and she did. Hahahaha...love Martha!  So we hung out for a little while then Nicole ended up coming back and brought me & the boys lunch...very nice of her.  I had mentioned to her that I totally forgot about getting stuff for the boys to eat for lunch because I was so worried about the egg hunt stuff and I didn't have the car since Mike took it so I wasn't sure what I was going to feed the kids.  So she was very kind to cart food up to us.  I did feel a little bad because I didn't know she was doing that and she didn't know Martha was there so it was a little awkward but I think everyone understood.  So we all hung out for a while and had a nice chat. Martha didn't stay long but it was nice to have them come by.  Once they left we cleaned up a little more then continued to eat up all the cake & pop corn...OMG get this food away from me!!!!

The boys playing outside

The best buds sharing a very small bike. They really love each other...it's really sweet.
 




Totally pooped after that day.




April 18:
Even though I was completely pooped after Thursday I knew Lino didn't want to stay in the house so I had made plans to meet up with some moms at another Easter event.  First we had to make a stop at the grocery store for a few things and Martha had warned me on Thursday that we wouldn't be able to buy any alcohol on Good Friday but I wasn't exactly expecting this.  I can't believe that for such a drinking country that they would stop selling alcohol on such a popular day.  I guess it is a very holy day but this barricade was a little much to me.  So somewhere behind the 10 pallets of toilet tissue lies the alcohol section of SuperValu.  The normal rope to tie off the area when there are no alcohol sells must not have been good enough...crazy.

After shopping we stopped over to Martha's for a morning coffee & play.  It seemed rushed because I got there so late but it was nice anyway.  Then we headed down to Lifetime Lab in the city center.  I had never been there before but saw an advertisement for this kid event and thought it would be nice.  It was actually pretty packed but it did turn out to be a good time.  We met up with Cara and some other moms from Cuidiu that I didn't know were going to be there.  The weather was great yet again so it made the day just that much more enjoyable.  I wasn't exactly sure how much Lino would enjoy it so I  did make tentative plans with Martha to go to Fota in the afternoon but she ended up having a few other things to do so we didn't go to Fota and decided to stay there longer.  Its a cool little place actually...has some sciency things, coffee shop and a little park/play area and its only like €7 to get in so not bad.  I think we would definitely come back again...when its not so crowded with people.




Of course there was face painting...and Lino got to a spider face to match his shirt.  Pretty cool!

Lino & Donavan sharing a little hug by the steam engines.





Silly pose / Fighting stands







Fishing for ducks!

Shaun couldn't be bothered with the pole and net...he just dove in with his hands and grabbed all the ducks that he could get.  The water was actually a little cold and I thought he might not like it but he didn't seem to mind to much.  He was so proud of himself for getting and squishing the ducks.  hahaha



Cutie pie!

What a day!  We spent most of the day there and by the time we got home I was completely pooped.  What ever happened to lazy Friday's?????  So when Mike got home I told him he could be in charge of the kids and I needed a break.  So they watched movies and I tried to watch some of my TV shows but they were being to loud so I got out Lino's Mickey Mouse headphones and was finally able to get 45min of "me" time.  Sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to stay sane

April 19:
Easter weekend and I decided to get family pictures done.  One of the moms in the Cuidiu group takes great pictures so I asked her if she could take some of us.  This is one of my favorites because it is so random.  Lino wanted us to do a silly pose and she wanted us to act natural and we weren't doing either of them so we just said lets take a couple silly poses so that Lino would be happy and behave...who would have know this would become my favorite one!  Think I might have to get it enlarged and put onto a canvas...thanks Lino for the inspiration!!!! 

What a beautiful day...and this is just in our back yard/garden.  Its amazing what the camera can do.

We had nothing else really planned for the day so we went to the park with Michelle then headed home.  We were going to go to Ballyseedy for a charity event but when we got there we realized it was for the next weekend...oops.  So back home we went which was fine.








April 20:


Buona Pasqua!!!!!!!!!

Happy Easter!!!!!!!!

So even though its Easter and we would normally be at church we didn't make it to church because we haven't been to church one day since we moved to Ireland...kind of scary for me actually but I think we are just not sure about the catholic church...ok I'm not sure about going to a catholic church.  Anyway, one day we will get there.  Anyway we had a bday party to go to but it wasn't until the evening so we decided to go to Fota for a couple of hours beforehand.  Mike had never been so he was kind of excited to go.

Mike & I in front of the Ostrich, Zebra & Giraffe field.

We ended up staying longer than we had planned but we were having such a good time it was hard to go.  We got to see most of the animals even though I tried to take the short cut back we ended up walking all the way around.  We even had time to stop and have lunch at the café and since no one had any cash...except mommy, we had to scrap together coins in order to get an ice cream for Lino that daddy promised him.  I tried to get Lino to get something that we could all share but he wasn't having it.  Daddy wasn't of much help either so he ended up getting some blue/green twisty thing that was disgusting.  Mike was like, "I'm sure it can't be that bad...just try some"  Of course I wouldn't because I really don't like ice cream like that and I really only wanted a little taste of vanilla.  So I passed and Mike went in for a big taste and almost spit it right out...it was jut weird.  But of course it was full of sugar so Lino thought it was great and ate every piece of it.  I guess I didn't need it anyway.  So off to the party we went, kids fell asleep in the car of course but Lino woke right up when we got there.  Shaun I tried to put into the sling to sleep but he wasn't going back to sleep once he saw all the people...oh well. The weather was partially nice by the time we got to the party...meaning some clouds were peaking in and covering the sun but no rain thankfully.  But by the time we were racing out of there it looked like rain might fall at any moment.  The bday girl, Pearl, who turned 2 slept thru most of the party which is funny but somewhat expected at that age.  We had a nice time and I even met up with a mom that I had met a few months before...its such a small world in Cork.

Lino finally decided to get his face painted...after the clown guy had put away all of his face painting stuff.  But he was nice enough to give him a little dinosaur action...RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!







April 21:
Easter Monday so Mike is off.  We had talked about going to the Irish guide dog egg hunt but we were egg hunted out.  So we ended up going to see Rio 2 with Denise and Molly which was nice.  Shaun actually watched all of it and was very good!  I think that's great but bad at the same time...this kid is definitely getting more TV time than Lino did at this age.  Its tough keeping the TV away from them.  After the movies we just went shopping and went home.  We were all pooped from our weekend so it was time for some relaxation!




April 22:


Mike back to work but Lino still off so we had a little slow start of the day.  When we got home from dropping Mike off at work I was trying to get some things done in the kitchen while the boys played and nice soft play with the bikes turned into demolition derby in 2 sec flat then I heard Shun scream!  Oh crap!!!!!  So I run to get him and I knew already what had happen...even though I asked Lino to confirm.  He actually did tell the truth which was nice.  So they were playing on their bikes and Shaun was pushing Lino as he always does and I guess Shaun wanted to get on or maybe Lino wanted to push him I'm not exactly sure about that part but somehow Shaun got onto the bike and Lino was pushing him.  I heard Lino pushing him and told him to be nice & careful and he said he would.  But that only lasted for about 60 sec then he must have seen how much fun Shaun was having and decided to take it up about 100%.  So now instead of slowly pushing him in the hall I hear him run down the hall and I hear the bike crash into the wall just before Shaun screams.  So I knew Shaun went flying into the wall.  What I didn't know is how hard he hit the wall but I knew it wasn't a soft hit...when I got to him he was holding his breath...in the middle of a major cry.  And I just felt so bad.  I talked to Lino as I tried to calm Shaun down and you could see that Lino felt bad.  He was just trying to have fun with him I know and it was more my fault for letting them play like that by themselves in the hallway anyway.  So I told Lino how much Shaun was hurting and that he can't handle being pushed hard like a big boy because he is still little and he just went over to Shaun to hug him.  Of course at this point Shaun didn't want to have anything to do with him but at least he tried.  So poor Shaun had the biggest knot on his head that I have ever seen.  He was upset and I couldn't blame him.  I started to get flash backs to when I slammed into the corner of a wall when I was about 10 and bust my head wide open because I put to much pressure on it so I tried not to do the same with this one.  Thankfully he seemed to get over it pretty quickly but man was that a scary few minutes.


Look at the size of that knot!  I have got to stop putting Lino in charge...that is just not a good idea.

So I didn't think we would go out for the day because of the bump on Shaun's head but after about 5 min he was totally fine and running around like nothing happened so we went to the coffee morning.  One of the moms there gave me something to put on his knot so that it didn't bruise up and it seemed to work.  After coffee we did a little shopping and headed home.  I ended up making a small hummingbird cake because I was going to have a couple of moms over on Wed.  I thought it would be a good idea to bake the cake and then cut it in half to make a layered cake.  Why didn't I just bake in 2 separate pans I don't know...lazy?  Because I ended up destroying the cake but thankfully I had enough icing to kind of patch it up.  It wasn't very presentable but it was going to be yummy for sure.

April 23:

Martha, Madhu, Nicole & Karina came over for coffee morning at mine.  It was just going to be 2 moms but turned out to be 4 which was nice for me.  I like having people over o the house and the kids like to play with more than just one other kid so it was nice.  It wasn't super busy or crazy...very relaxed.  The cake was good but Madhu brought something and so did Martha so it was like a sweet fest.   We had a good morning but the house was destroyed as always...oh well.

April 24:

Martha, Nicole, Michelle & I went to Fota for the morning...day!  We got there around 11 and didn't leave until almost 3!  It was nice to have the day used up outside with friends and nature but it was also a little stressful because when Lino & Patrick get together its mayhem!  Those boys are gone and flying all over the park like wild kids untamed.  Its nice to see them getting along so well but its not fun when they don't listen.  So I spent the whole time yelling at Lino and even holding his hand most of the time because he would run off and not listen to me.  Very scary because he could run into some of the enclosures or even into the water but more than anything its just annoying because I hate spending the whole day yelling "listen to me Lino" "Stop" "Get down"  ugh!!!!!  Other than the normal kid drama we had a good time. 

That afternoon my sister sent me this pic of them...I love it!!!!  Apparently it was take your kid to work day so Morgan was with TT all day and they seem to be doing a lot more playing than working but it looks like fun.  Love those 2 to death!!!

April 26:

Rainy day today but I had already planned to go to a cloth diaper event with Nicole...even though I'm toysy not into cloth diapers.  So Lino ended up coming with Shaun & I because Cian was going to be there too. I had to use my phone navigation, as always, because I didn't know exactly how to get to the place and the directions I was given were too complicated for my little brain & especially with Lino in the car. Anyway Lino loves to listen to the nav talk and he always ask me what "she" just said...it's funny.  So anyway, on the way the nav lady said to turn onto Water street and Lino was like "you know Lino street goes to heaven!" I was like, there's a Lino street??? Really??? And it goes to heaven that's cool. He's like "yeah I like heaven so Lino street goes there!" I was like oh ok!! He's like "yeah I'm going to go to heaven tomorrow!"  I was like "nooooooooo!!! Not tomorrow!!! Heaven is where you go when you die like when Nan died. It's a great place to go but not yet for you. Can you wait to go when you are really really old please???"  He thought about it and was like "no, I'll go later".  Geeze...this kid is going to give me a heart attach. I love that he is really getting it but I dot want him to go to heaven just yet...please God!  The funny part is that later that morning while we were at the baby event he stopped me randomly and was like "how do you get to heaven? Who takes you there???"  Loaded questions for a cloth diaper event but here goes...So I told him Jesus takes us to heaven becaaue he died on the cross so that all the good people could to to heaven when they die. Then he asked again how we get there...and the best thing I could come up with was...we go on a super cool & fast rocket ship!!! Jesus is the pilot & he flies us up up high in the sky to heaven.  He thought that was really cool...and so do I. Love that little brain of his. 

After that we went home and there was a charity event going on at The Ballyseedy this weekend so we decided to go.  The weather was not nice, rainy, but we were hopeful that some of the activities would be inside.  But no they weren't.  They did have a tent that you could go in and sit down to eat but all the kids stuff was outside.  We saw Martha there and hung out with them for a while and the weather did clear up a little so the kids were able to enjoy the stuff.  They had a couple of bouncy castles, a marry go round and even pony rides.  The bounce castles were a little wet but the kids didn't seem to care or notice.  Lino & Shaun loved the pony's of course and if it was up to Lino he would have stayed on the pony ride the whole time.  I'm so glad my kids are not afraid of animals! 

So we were there for about an hr then it started to rain...and not just a little rain I mean real rain.  We tried to wait it out in the tent but it was just getting to wet and cold for us...even Martha was getting miserable so we left.  It was quick but since it was charity it wasn't like we had to pay to get in, we just donated which was fine because it was for a good cause, Down Syndrome.  I did kind of feel bad because the weather was bad and they were probably not going to get the kind of turnout they could have go if the weather was better but what can you do.  We put in a few extra euro's to try to help out...it was a nice event.

April 27:

Normal Sunday...took Lino to Leap Frogs and we decided to try and enjoy a little snack & coffee while he was occupied.  This little treat set us back €15...I couldn't believe it.  €15 for 2 coffees and 2 cakes...what a rip off.  But it was good so I guess I can't complain too much.

Shaun decided to eat most of my cake...he seems to be enjoying it quite a bit actually.

April 28:

Went to Fota in the morning with Ha Eun which was nice.  Weather was great.  That afternoon we were going to have a play date but the plumber was scheduled to come back out to work on the boiler so we ended up staying home and the play date didn't make it out either.  After the plumber finally finished up we met up with Michelle & Nicole at Costa...they went to the park and I said I was going to come but didn't make it since the plumber guy took so long.  The kids ended up having a nice time at the coffee shop and the moms had a nice chat. 

Love this picture of the kids...they are going to be best friends!!!

April 29:

Went to coffee morning then to shopping center to do a bit of shopping and to kill some time.  We ended up spending 3hrs at the shopping center which wasn't all bad.  Had lunch, got a bunch of little stuff that I have been meaning to get, mailed some cards, kids played on the rides & even went to the library quickly to get a copy made.  I think the boys enjoyed it and it was super cheap day so it was a big score in my book!

Boys on the marry go round.

Lino insisted on riding a ride and I couldn't argue to much with him since he was being good.

April went by way to quickly.  We had a couple of good weeks of weather which was nice...just wish it would stay that way.  Hopefully in another couple of weeks it will.  

Only a couple more weeks until our big Italy trip and I can't wait!  That should be an amazing blog post.  May have to make it its own post :-)