Getting connected or Got connected????

After my post for yesterday I got to chat with one of my BFF's, Gina!!! Gina's first FaceTime, such the virgin, but a successful first attempt. It's so nice to have FaceTime and Skype because it makes being so far away so much easier. It was super nice to talk and catch up, I think I'll have to make that a regular meeting a couple times a month. Then after Gina I got to FaceTime with my mom...crazy lady. I asked her if she was home so we could FaceTime and she said yes but when we got on the phone she was in her car freaking driving!!!! Crazy lady...you can't FaceTime and drive...what the heck are you thinking????? I had to threaten her in order to get her to stop driving...insane...who does that??? After yelling at my mom we had a quick chat. I think she misses me more now than when I was in TX which is weird to me. But she is doing good and it was good to see her. Now if only my dad had an iPhone all would be good, we would be able to see our parents whenever we wanted to. Don't worry dad, you will have an iPhone soon enough...can't wait to FaceTime with you too!  So I was up late talking but it was worth it...love catching up with everyone <3

Another day of trying to get connected...took Mike to work and I was determined to find a mommy group. I even called the lady who put the post on the website but she didn't answer. Then I found the number for the sports club where the meeting was suppose to be at and again no answer. So I almost didn't go and I figured I had nothing to lose, at minimum I would get out of the apt. And since today's group was meeting close to where we would be living, in Glanmire, so I really wanted to try and make it there to hopefully meet some mommies that live close by. So as I'm getting our stuff together I get a call on my cell...not Mike...it was a return call from the Club! So the guy tells me there is no meeting today but he would check and ring me back...and he did...no meeting :-(   So what to do? Stay or go anyway???  Nothing to lose so I went...armed with nothing but the name of the club and the town. No GPS coordinates or anything...talk about being brave!  Well I had GPS coordinates to the city center in case I got lost but I was pretty sure I knew how to get there. So after a few bends and turns and guesses on how to get to Glanmire...and after hitting a few curbs bc I can't judge my distance on the left side very well... somehow I make it to the shopping center that we went to during our home finding trip...talk about being excited and proud! But instead of going to the shopping center I kept driving and yo my surprise I found the GAA Sports Club where the group supposedly meets at. I couldn't believe it...there was no one there but at least I found it...maybe for future reference. It's the small things that just mean so much. After finding the club and nearly knocking off my side mirror (oops) I headed back to the Glanmire shopping plaza for a pot of tea...and hopefully I'll be able to spot out some moms!

So Shaun and I enjoyed a pot of tea while trying to scope out the moms...actually I had tea and Shaun are his fingers...I think someone is teething already...why won't he stay a baby just for a little longer ;-(

While enjoying my tea at Cafe Beva I see a mom and her daughter stroll in and I was trying to figure out if I should talk to her. I was intrigued because her daughter was all black so I thought that would be interesting but then I thought Lino might be too rough for her. I thought about it or a while and was going to go over after they got their order but then another mom with a young boy (in between Shaun and Lino's age it seemed) came in and I thought that might be a better match for us. It's funny, as I was sitting there, on the look out for moms, I kind of felt like a stalker. Looking for the perfect prey...hahaha. So I decided that the second mom looked friendly enough and I took a leap of fate and went to introduce myself to her :-/  Thankfully she was really nice!!! Martha and her 14 month old son...I can't pronounce or spell his name but I think it's something like Tadhg, true Irish name I would say. So I find out she also has a 3yr old boy named Patrick...couldn't have been more perfect...mom with 2 boys and one the same age as Lino...I felt like I had hit the lottery!!!! So we chatted it up for a little while and she set me straight on all the mommy groups I had been trying to make it to. Basically the website that I WAS using was super out dated (I kind of figured that) and she gave me several Facebook groups to join that are more accurate and updated...that was priceless. 

After they finished their breakfast we took a walk to the play park right down the street. We had a good chat and it was just nice to have another mom to talk to. She just shared everything that she could about how to get connected. I told her what brought us here and that Mike was working at Pepsi for a few years and she asked me how he was able to get a job here because the employment is so low. Her husband is actually out of work at the moment because there are no jobs and she works at the school. It was a kind of awkward conversation because I really felt bad for her, not that they were poor or struggling but that her husband couldn't find a job for several years yet here we come from the states and take a job. It's a hard situation, I wasn't sure how to deal with it...anyway I told her our story and she seemed to be ok with it. Anyway, we played and talked for a bit and she invited me to her house after lunch...amazing...so open and friendly!!!

My new little friend :-)

So I went for a stroll to pass the time until our after lunch meet-up.  Went to the Glanmire library...super small compared to our library at home, but nice. I could see Lino, Shaun and I in there once a week to get a new bed time book to read.

Then I strolled the Supervalue and found some Gluten free sweets (scones) for Paul Engler 

Then had lunch at Cream Coffee Bar and met yet another mom!!! This was a new mom with a 4 week old boy. You could tell she was wore out and sleep deprived but she talked to me anyway, another really nice lady. Although I don't want to be out every day looking for new moms to befriend, it has been super easy and nice to chat it up with everyone today. I could go for a nap but must push on :-)

After lunch...and after getting a bit turned around... I met up with my new friend again. Her youngest got two shots just before I met her so he was a little cranky, can't blame him. But he was still such a good kid. So we chatted and she let me try one of her wraps on...we have a lot in common... We both wear our kids (wraps or slings), breast feed and have 2 boys...perfect!!! Shaun loved playing in the grass while we were there so I had to take a pic ... Such a happy boy. 

Martha also contacted one of her friends to connect with me which was really nice of her. We made plans to meet up again tomorrow, that is after I meet up with the 2 other groups she told me about today! Good times!!!! So finally I had some success with finding a mom or mom group...it only took a week. 

On my way out to get Mike I was able to meet her husband and 3yr old Patrick :-).  Mike was impressed with my day and he had a pretty good day his self. He got to watch them make some of the Pepsi flavors which is pretty cool. It's like a top secret recipe and only a few of the top dogs know it...he's not even close to that level but at least got to see a part of the process. 

At the apt we just enjoyed a quick salad for dinner (I was too busy making friends to cook) and I had to throw out the bread I just bought yesterday because it was all molded!!! I was so upset. First off, the bread is packed in the wrapper that you can't actually see the bread, so it starts off as a guessing game whether or not you are going to like it in the first place. Then you have to play gess the intended shelf life once you get it home. I guess most people refrigerate the bread as soon as they get it (because of the weather, even tho it's not refrigerated at the store). And I thought I would at least have one day to have room temp bread before having to put it in the fridge but that was not the case. Oh well, guess that means I have to get bread from the English  Market tomorrow. After our bread disaster we had a cup of coffee outside on the bench. Today was a little bit cooler than it has been but still really nice, mid 70s. We also had the pleasure of watching Shaun have a laughing attack because he was so happy...just priceless. 

Oh, found out a man did die in the explosion Sat...very sad. And that Limerick won the hurling match...which I heard was a heck of a match. 

Can't wait to see what is in store for us tomorrow.