Back in Ireland...and already off again!

Even though today is Tuesday it's really my Monday since Monday was like my Sunday... weird I know. So today daddy was back to work and we were back to our routine, instead of going to the coffee morning we just hung out at the house though. There was lots of cleaning and clothes to be washed so I had plenty to do today.  We went and did a little bit of shopping for the week but I didn't have to get very many groceries because we are leaving to go to London on Friday so it's a short week here. After shopping it was back home for some more cleaning and unpacking and repacking...oh the joys of traveling.  Oh, so I did get to use my vacuum finally for the first time in over four weeks so that was pretty exciting. I had to get some help setting up this major pain of a converter but once I got it set up I was all good to go. It's crazy saying that I haven't vacuumed in over a month but that's the truth... but now all the floors are nice and vacuumed, well not all of them. We need to move some things around in Lino's room so that the armoire that Mike put together will fit in there better once we do that I can get everything nice and vacuumed. 

This is what I have to lug around every time I want to vacuum talk about getting a workout and I majored pain in the butt...

So that's basically all that we did today we went to get daddy after work, had dinner, put the boys in the bath and in the bed for an early bedtime. We were going to catch up on some shows that we had recorded from the month but the Slingbox or the Internet wasn't working which ever one so we ended up watching a movie from the computer which was nice and relaxing... so we had a nice Tuesday night. 

Wednesday Lino was back to school and I was back to cleaning again it's amazing how much cleaning I have to do even though I just got back I guess i'm just not happy unless the house is clean to my specifications... even tho Mike did clean a little before we got back I'm a little OCD about cleaning sometimes so it wasn't good enough until I cleaned it the "Renee" way.   So today's project for cleaning was to mop the floors in the kitchen. Lino and Shaun were both attached to my leg so I put them in the playroom and gave Lino a sucker because he was begging me for it and I thought maybe I'd have 20 minutes to get the floors cleaned before they had enough playing by themselves. And I did have 20 minutes to get the floors cleaned but once I was done Lino comes in there to me wanting me to do something with Shaun because Shaun was fussing so I had to go see what was wrong with him. When I go in there and pick him up he stops crying so of course I don't know exactly what was wrong,  then I turn him around and I find something sticking out of his hair... I was like "What the heck is this???"  Then I remembered I gave Lino a sucker so this is what he's done with it even though he told me he would be careful with it. I guess this is what he thought being careful meant. I'm not sure if he actually gave Shaun the sucker or if he left the sucker on the table or what... All I know is that it ended up in the wrong place in the end... poor Shaun. I know for sure I'm going to the bad mom club now...how horrible is that for me to trust a three-year-old with a sucker???? shame on me!

Thankfully I was able to get remnants of the sucker out with just a little bit warm water, so no major hair was lost in the process. After that I decided to take a break from cleaning since it was causing my kids to endure crazy tortures. Then later that afternoon we met up with Martha and the boys at Monkey Maze for a little afternoon of fun...really it was more like a quick trip to the play area because I couldn't stay long...had to get the hubby from work.  We made plans to meet up next Wednesday and do something as well, hopefully this time will have more time to spend hanging out.  Even tho it was quick was a nice little reunion for the boys. Lino and Patrick really missed each other and had a ball playing together. Best buds they are. Then we went to get Mike, went home for dinner, that I still needed to cook so the boys had a late bedtime but I guess it was worth it since they got to see their friends. 

Thursday morning was the normal morning routine. Dropped Mike off at work then dropped Lino off at school then Shaun and I went to Mohon Pt for the farmers market. I didn't really need anything from the farmers market but I just like to walk around there, plus I wanted to try the Indian food this time. And since I was there of course I had to pick up some sweets because we love the sweets there, it's nothing but junk but it's good.  I ended up seeing one of my friends there so we had a quick chat before I had to leave to pick up Lino.  I needed to get Lino's haircut and I wanted to try a new place closer to the house but Lino was actually hungry after school so we went home and have lunch first. So once we go home usually it takes forever for us to get back out of the house so it was well after two before we actually left to get a haircut. So we stopped by a place close to monkey maze and Lino got a nice little mini mohawk it's kind of cool. I thought I would never give my kids a mohawk but it actually looks nice on him. My excuse is that it's so cold here he needs to have a little hair on his head to keep in some of the heat... A lame excuse I know but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Since we were so close to Nicole's after the haircut we decided to stop by there and see her and the boys for a little while. Plus I have picked up some stuff for her from the states so I needed to pass it on to her before Mike or I used it. We ended up staying at her house for couple hours and we had a good time. It's nice to talk to another American about some of that American conveniences. I was telling her all about some of the new shows on TV and she told me she's going to get a Slingbox so that she can watch her shows like we do...that was very exciting for her and me too.  I suggested that she pick up Scandal and watch that series because it's pretty amazing so in the next few weeks I'll have to check back to see if she likes it or not... I'm pretty sure she's going to like it but I guess I'll have to wait and see. So after my boys completely destroyed her play area we headed on out to pick up Mike from work. So once we got home we had dinner and I finish packing how might put the boys in the bath. Tomorrow we leave for London but I feel like I just got back ... it's crazy how busy we are. 

It's Friday!!!!!! Mike went into work early so that he could get off early enough for us to get to the airport.  So we just put the boys in the car in order to drop him off at work and I took them back to the house to get them all dressed and ready for the day. Since it's Friday I decided just to relax, I've done enough cleaning and packing for the week so me and Shaun sat down and watched a few reality TV shows. Nini got me hooked on one of these crazy shows on Bravo so I ended up watching that and then a couple of my own shows, it was nice and relaxing.  We picked Lino up from school and he told us all about the alphabets that he made into sugar cookies at school...that was really cool. So before he devoured his little cookie he would have to tell me what alphabet it was and then I would tell him what word starts with that alphabet.  It's a cool way for them to learn their alphabets, maybe we will have to do that at home sometime as well. Once we got home we just hung around the house a little bit until it was time to pick up Mike. We knew we were going to have to repack the suitcase or at least we thought we were because we were flying on Ryanair and the suitcase requirements are very strict and I wasn't sure if the bag that I packed was too big or not. So before we went to pick up Mike we stop by Fitzpatrick shop in order to get some sandwiches so that Mike would have something to eat before we got onto the plane.  Mike got off of work a little bit later than expected but once he get home and check the bag he said it should work so we just went with that. We got to the airport got all checked in and then set at the gate waiting for the plane so we could board. Ryanair is very similar to Southwest airlines in the US where you don't get the seat assignment. You basically have to race into the plane in order to find your self a seat. Actually it may be more light Spirit Airlines in the US because you have to pay extra for everything. If you want to book your seat in advance that's an extra €10 if you want to check a bag that's an extra €60 if you want to drink water that cost as well ...it's crazy. But the flights are really cheap so I guess you pay for what you get. We didn't mind not having some of those conveniences since it was just a quick trip to London the flight was only going to be about an hour so it wasn't a big deal for us. While we were rating at the gate Lino decided to make a phone call to his best but Derek but of course no one answered... He loves him some Derek I know he misses him a lot because he always names his toys Derek...so cute. 

So once we actually got onto the plane we find out that the seats don't even recline so that made for a slightly uncomfortable plane ride but like I said since it was only an hour flight it really wasn't that bad. We made it to England and then we had to find bus station because we are taking a bus to London. Originaly Mike thought it would only take us about an hour or so after we got off of the plane before we would get to our hotel but the reality is it took more like 2 1/2 hours because it was so busy at the bus station that we had to wait for the 3rd bus before we could get on.  The bus ride was not bad at all.  It was a quick trip into London with a few stops along the way. Once we got to our stop then it got interesting because we had to navigate ourselves to the hotel. Mike spent a hr or so today looking up a map for us to use so that we wouldn't be totally loss so that was nice. But the issue is reading the darn map and knowing which way to turn when you get to the street you're looking for. So Mike was in charge of that but when he kept looking at the map and the street name then turned the map and used two fingers to mimic walking on the map like we walked on the street...I knew he was messed up. Now we have a long standing understanding that he is horrible at directions even tho he use to swear up and down to me that he had a great sense of direction.  But after being together for over 9yrs that fairy tale has long died so of course I took over.  Now I'm not the best at maps by any means but I can get to where I'm going. So we thought we might find something to eat on our walk to the hotel but by the time we got cash and turn the corner we must've left the busy area because there was no restaurants or shops open at all. So we make it to the hotel and think we're going to order some food but the only place to order from his Domino's Pizza and there was no way we were going to order Domino's while we were in London so we decided to starve ourselves... oh well, at least we had a sandwich earlier. Oh and the hotel room was just one queen size bed my thought he had ordered two double beds but that's all that they had so we ended up sleeping all together in the bed and actually wasn't too bad but it was funny when we first saw the room. 

We kind of slept in on Saturday because we got in so late last night everyone was tired. Once we finally got moving we decided we better find a place to have breakfast. So Mike looked for that while we got ready. We talked about prebooking our bus tour and maybe tickets to the aquarium but Mike really didn't like that idea and instead of him telling me that everytime I talked about booking he would kind of blow me or or go to another topic. I had been asking him about prebooking since Wed and he wasn't giving me any indication one way or the other...which means he really wasn't interested. So finally after we all were ready to go I asked one last time and he was like "I don't want to be bother wit prebooking". Thanks Hun for letting me know, I could have saved my breath asking you 5x today about it...geeze. So we head off to breakfast but by this time it's almost 11 so it's more like brunch.  Mike found a cool place that had good reviews so we wanted to check it out. On the way there we joked about needing to make a booking because in Ireland it seems like you have to make a booking for all the sit down restaurants no matter what. But we didn't think the same would be true in England.  So we head to the train station, but our day passes because we knew we would be on and off the train, or Tube as they call it there, all day. The trauma were actually pretty easy to navigate, Mike was in charge of that, but the thing that sucked was that most of the stations didn't have elevators, lifts, so we ended up carrying the boys in the stroller up and down the stairs all over the freaking city...talk about a Royal pain in the ass. Otherwise it was a pretty easy train ride there, then we had to do a little navigating on the street to get there but that was actually easy too so no issues. Once we got there we started lugging all our stuff into this small café/restaurant and when we were all in there the guy asked if we had a booking, we said no of course, and he said they didn't have any openings...of course. We were pretty bummed out because there were a ton of stickers on the door showing all the awards they had got in the last few yrs so we knew it was going to be good...and even Lino was bummed out and stated crying because we weren't going in there to eat. I think he was just hungry but it was funny that he was crying. So thankfully there was a hotel restaurant right at the corner so we went there for breakfast. And we had to laugh at ourselves because we ended up eating at a hotel anyway so we could have just ate at our hotel. But our bestie Alicia knows all to well they we don't like I eat at chain restaurants when we go on a trip, and eating at the hotel is only allowed in special circumstances, this would not normally be acceptable. And there are only a few places that are exceptions...IHOP for sure and maybe Starbucks...just depends.  If we are in Washington it's not acceptable to have Starbucks and maybe if we go to a coffee country like Costa Rica or Africa or something like that. Anyway, hotel brunch it is. The food there was actually good but it's crazy how much weight the pound has over the dollar. Our meal was like £30, which is crazy for what we had, I had one piece of bread that was called French toast, Lino had 2 very dense & small pancakes but both of our plate had like a slap of real bacon and a half a pound of syrup already poured on it and Mike had eggs Benedict...and water!!! So £30 is like almost $50...for breakfast, for that breakfast, and we are still hungry???? Insane!!!!  On the plus side we did decide what we where having for dinner and Mike called to make a booking while we were eating. And he even walked over to the restaurant we wanted to go to and made a booking for brunch for Sunday...so we are all set!  

We left there and headed back to the train station because the bus tour has a stop by our hotel so we wanted to catch it there. But before we got to the train we had to detour because there was a Starbucks right there and Mike had to have a coffee...especially since he didn't have coffee at breakfast. I was surprised that they had the American Christmas flavors there like Egg oNg Latte so I had to get one too...so we ended up spending $15 on 2 coffees but Mike didn't complain about that...I guess we have our priorities straight...not!!!  The only issue with us getting coffee was that we didn't take into account the fact that we had to drag the stroller with two boys in it up and down the subway since there were no elevators and since the Starbucks in England don't believe in the little green spill sticks, our coffees spilled all over the place on the journey back. We kept yelling at each other to drink more of our coffee so it would't spill but by the time we drank enough to minimize the spillage we were basically back...what a mess.  So the hop on hop off tour was right across from the station we got off at so that was nice. We headed over there and got tickets. Apparently the guy was giving us a discount because it was a slow day...not sure I believe that but it was nice to save a few extra £ anyway...and it was actually more of a savings than we would have got if we would have prebooked online so it all worked out. While we were waiting on the bus Mike got him some freshly roasted nuts, they were ok, not as good as NY and we got on the bus.  Mike and Lino went to the top if the bus and Shaun and I stayed down below...it was too cold up there for me. We road around for a little while then decided to get off at the Eye of London...a huge ferris wheel. We bought our tickets from the bus company because they were cheaper and they said we wouldn't have to wait in the ticket line but once we got into the line or the ride they told us we had to get our tickets from the other booth. So we did have to wait in a ticket line just not the major line. But by the time we got back to the line for the ferris wheel the line had doubled in size. Thankfully the line moved really quickly so that helped. Each of the carriers can hold like 25 people so that helps I move the line along very quickly. Even tho they don't fill up the carriers completely they pack enough people in there to put a huge dent in the line and keep the line manageable. While we waited in line Lino found himself a girl friend, a lady in her 20s or 30s and he kept trying to get close to her but of course she was walking in the line so she kept moving. She thought it was cute and so did we until he decided to kiss her butt!!!!! I was like LINO!!!!! Don't do that!!!!! He just laughed and didn't think anything of it. It was funny...I have no idea what this kid was thinking or his attraction to kissing & sniffing butts...it's just not a good habit to have. Anyway it was funny.  So there was also a little stand with snacks and Lino had to have a sucker so we got him one but old him it was for after the ride. He said ok then we bought it and he changed his tune very quickly, as he always does. Now he wanted it now and I didn't want him I have it on the ride so I said no and all he'll broke loose. He was having an out right fit, falling out all over the line, kicking & screaming and just making a big production. We just ignored him but the other people in the line didn't think to fondly of it. It was funny because we got to the picture taking station and the lady didn't even try to take our picture because he was having such a fit. It was actually a good thing because we didn't want to take a picture and if we did take a pic we would have probably bought the pic even if it didn't look the greatest...we are a sucker for those photos so that saved us a lot of money!!! At that point we were really close to getting on one of the carriers so Lino finally decided to straighten up because he saw we were about to ride the ride. The ride takes about 30 minutes or so to make the full revolution so it was a nice ride for the money with beautiful views as well. I was really excited that the weather was nice like I said it was just a little cold but clear skies got to see lots of London up the top of the Ferris wheel it was really cool!!  After that, we decided to get back on the bus and ride around for a little while... we weren't sure if we were going to get out somewhere else so we just said we would get on and see what happened. We actually did not get off the bus again, we decided to take the bus back to the hotel so that we could get ready for dinner. Get ready for dinner I mean put on more layers of clothes because it was getting cold outside and with the sun going down it seemed like the temperature dropped about 10 or 15° at least. So we got everybody all suited up and then we decided to take the train over to the London Bridge since we had a few extra minutes before dinner. Mike was like I want to see London Bridge again and take some pictures because it was so beautiful from the bus but I told him that the bridge that we were looking at from the bus that was pretty wasn't London Bridge but he didn't believe me. So once we actually got to the bridge he was like "is that it?" and I was like "yeah I told you!" Hahahaha but the bridge across the way was all lit up and pretty so we got a picture of that and we got a picture of the sign this said London Bridge. So after uneventful trip to London bridge we headed on to dinner. We had decided to get Indian food since we had heard such good things about the Indian/curry food in London. The place that we went to wasn't super fancy but it was nice and the food was actually pretty good and the price wasn't too bad as well. Lino didn't really eat his dinner but that was okay because he had been snacking all day Shaun did enjoy his curry tho. Since we had dinner so early we decided to do some more strolling around the town just to get a look at London at night. So we took the subway back over to  Liverpool Street and we decided to walk around there for little while. By this point both of the boys were passed out so Mike and I were able to have a nice walk and talk together uninterrupted. Right outside of the train station there was a little sushi shop that we had saw when we first got into town on Friday so we decided to try it out. It was weird because it's like a little stand that has fresh sushi but there's a real shop across the street so I'm sure they just get their sushi from there.  So the nice part was that you can get individually wrapped sushi so we were to try one piece each without having to commit to a full meal... Especially since we did just eat dinner.  They actually tasted pretty good just needed a little wasabi and a little soy sauce to round it all but otherwise tasty for street food.

So we walked around a little bit more but there really wasn't anything to do with found ourself on a weird corner that seemed like it was going to nowhere so we turned back around and headed back to the subway. Before we got to the train station we saw a pub and decided to sit and have a pint and enjoy London while the boy slept. It was kind of weird because I wasn't prepared for the warm beer but after a few sips I remembered that's how it is in Europe, although it's not like that in Ireland. While we were enjoying our beers and then came up to talk to us about our boys, he was pretty nice but weird.  It's always funny to have conversations with drunk people on the streets no mater where you are in the world. Since the night was still early, we decided just to walk back to the hotel instead of taking the train especially because we didn't want to carry the strollers up and down the stairs again. As we got close to the hotel we saw a he/she on the corner "working" and it was funny because we both were trying to figure out if it was a he or she. Once we got closer and she turned around there was no question at all, it was a man...scary!  What a way to end our Saturday in London. 

So this is the last day in London...time to pack up and leave. But our flight doesn't leave until later on in the evening so we just packed our bags, checked out and decided to do a little more exploring before we had to leave for the bus. Even though Mike had made reservations for the place we went to yesterday to have brunch we decided just to get something on the street so that we can use our time sight seeing instead of eating. But that proved to be more difficult than it should have been... Absolutely nothing was open and I mean nothing. We had saw a little restaurant on the way back to the hotel last night and it looked like it had a decent breakfast menu so we thought we would go there but they were closed. I guess he left out a little detail but we looked at the menu should've checked to see if they were open on Sunday oh well. So we decided just to walk around the corner and thought maybe we would find another place to go to like a Café or something that we could just get a sandwich and run but there was really nothing open around our hotel it was very depressing. It seems like we walked around for about 20 minutes before we actually found a place to go to. It was a little Italian shop that nobody was in so we went in and basically rated the place but the guys are really nice. The guys let us pretty much make whatever we wanted, it did matter if it was on the menu or not so we had them make us a couple breakfast sandwiches. We ordered Lino bacon and a croissant and again they gave us what seemed like a half of a slab of bacon. It's crazy how much bacon they give you.  Across the street from the Italian shop with a Starbucks so of course we had to stop by there and get a coffee before we contunued on. Then off to the bus to take the hop on hop off tour to our next destination which we weren't exactly sure what it was going to be. We were walking up to the bus stop when our bus was leaving so we were pretty bummed out about it but we figure the next bus would be there in the next 10 minutes or so ,so it would give us enough time to figure out what we were going to do next. But it seems like it took more like 30 minutes for the next bus to come and in the meantime Lino was running around chasing birds and almost running into the busy streets of London... He was about to give me a heart attack and he was making Mike run around the place like a mad man it was horrible. The same guys that were at the bus stop yesterday selling tickets to the bus with her today and it was funny to watch them try and hustle people and take customers from the other bus companies. One guy was a little ruthless and seemed like he wasn't following the rules of the street because everybody kept yelling at him about how dirty he was taking customers that other people had already started to sell tickets to. In the meantime we saw at least three buses from one bus company go by and two buses from the other bus company before our bus finally showed up. So we were thinking we must have booked the wrong bus company but oh well we got the second day free so we couldn't complain too much. So we had decided that we were going to take the bus over to Buckingham palace and Big Ben so we could take some close up pictures there. We got to Big Ben first and I saw a guy taking pictures with a nice camera so I asked him if he would take a family photo of us and I would take a picture of him and his girlfriend and he did. He took a really nice picture too, too bad I don't have it on my phone but at least now we have one picture of us in London as a family. Then we just decided to walk to Buckingham palace because it was right down the road and we weren't sure how long it was going to take the bus to come back around to pick us up so we walk there. We got a little turned around but it didn't take a step to get there. On the way there Lino had to go pee and I was so afraid that he was going to pee on some Royal Grounds but he had to go and there was no toilet available so he had to pee on a building... thankfully we didn't get pulled over by the cops so I guess we were safe. So we made it to Buckingham palace and took a bunch of pictures there... Mike thought it was amusing to see the standing guard because they're standing there basically as part of a show and then there's the real cops around the corner with the guns protecting the building. Next it was on to Speakers Corner. I had heard about this on the bus tour yesterday and wanted to actually check it out. So apparently every Sunday in the park there's a corner where people can go and have freedom of speech... I think there's a certain time limit like from 9 AM until 2 PM that they are allowed to do this. During the Sunday time window they can go to this corner and say whatever they want to say as long as they're not talking about the royal family I think and as long as they are not using obsessive foul language other than that there's no rules at all... Oh and they have to be 6 inches off of the ground... I think this is where that soapbox saying comes from. So most people are on box or ladder so that they aren't talking bad on the nations soil at least that's my interpretation. So based on the map we thought that this would be a short walk as well... Well not a short walk, a medium walk, but it seem like it took forever to get there.  I told Mike we should've just took the bus since we have to bus pass but he said it would be quicker just to walk... We will never know if he was right or not but all I know is my legs were super sore by the time we got there and I was in a sweat. So we got there and there is only a few people out taking advantage of their freedom of speech time. Mostly they were talking about religious things so it wasn't very interesting but when we were leaving there was a guy talking about Christianity and there were some Muslims around him yelling at them and I thought it was getting a little scary... But then the Muslim started laughing so I think they were just trying to taunt the guy so I guess it was all part of their plan.  I had to take a picture of them yelling at each other but I have to do a quick because like I said I was a little scared... I wasn't sure when the friendly taunting was going to turn into a real out right anger. So I got my quick snap and ran back to Mike and the boys. Then we decided to go down Piccadilly Street which is like Michigan Avenue or the magnificent mile in Chicago where all the fancy shops are at. Again we decided just to walk there instead of taking the bus because the bus route was going to take us all around town before it would take us to Piccadilly Street so we trekked it, basically all the way back to Buckingham palace... this was a really long walk. Once we got there we just walked on the street until Mike found a chocolate shop that he wanted to go into. This place had some pretty amazing chocolates that they would let you sample but it was super expensive but Mike wanted to have some so we got a small box. We got to customize it so we got to put whatever chocolates we wanted to have in there but the problem was that we only liked a few of the chocolates so it seemed like we kept putting more of the same chocolates in the box... it was kind of funny but I guess it doesn't really matter if we got a box of all the same kind of chocolates as long as we like it. The lady helping us was really nice though she seem to stuff a lot of chocolate in that one little box so at least we got our moneys worth. Well actually not sure we got our moneys worth, the one little box with about 28 pieces of small chocolate which couldn't weigh more than half a pound cost us about £28 which is close to $40... I'm Not sure I can call that value. Anyway it's a splurge that Mike likes to do because he really likes good chocolate so I wasn't mad... really that was the most expensive splurge that we had the whole trip. Next it's time to find the bus because we've seen the last few sites we wanted to see before we leave and it was getting close to time to make it back to the charter bus to head to the airport. Of course we get turned around a little bit and an old lady sees us looking at a map and looking around and she decides to help us and she points us in the right direction to catch the bus... I'm very grateful for that lady. It's on the bus and back to our hotel to pick up our luggage, had to change Lino because he fell asleep on Mike on the bus and peed on him. We changed his clothes on the bus but the pants he changed into were not the warmest so I wanted to put something warmer on him before we left.  Then we walked to where the coach bus station was at. The bus stop was actually close to where the train station stops on Liverpool Street so we were able to get something to eat there. We had minced meat pastry that was pretty good and then we got some noodles to share and we still have a few minutes left before the bus arrived. By this point it seems like we have walked about 10 miles and the boys seem to be pooped from all the walking is well they were both crashed in the stroller it was hilarious...

So we are waiting for the bus and there was a ton of people in line waiting as well. I wasn't sure if they were all planning to get on the same bus we were getting on or if there was another one. Come to find out there was another bus so some of the people got onto that bus but there was still a ton of people left for our bus. And when our bus actually got there it was like roaches scrambling to pick up a crumb of food... all the people just flew to the door of the bus and it was a complete mess. I was trying to make my way to the door but I had the stroller with the boys so Mike pushed his way closer so that we could actually get onto the bus. Like I said it was a complete mess and I wasn't sure how we were actually going to get onto the bus but the lady started calling out different things apparently asking for those people who have pre-booked to come forward because she was going to take them first. Thankfully we pre-booked so we were able to just get onto the bus without much trouble at al...l well other than me having to yell at about three people to move out of my way so that I could push the stroller through in order to get to the door. After fighting through that massive crowd really there was only about 8 or 12 people that got on the bus and there was at least 30 more still waiting outside. I'm not sure what the processes is but I guess the people who did not pre-book have to wait for the next bus to come around and if there's room they will put them on the bus.  Maybe it's cheaper just to book a ticket and not pre-book a time ...I don't know but it's a pain if you don't have the pre-book time. Thankfully Mike  booked our time...good job hunny!!!  So off we go we set the back of the best because that's the only place for three but unfortunately that was by toilet. Lino had to go potty so we actually had to use it this time... And it was not fun. We had to use it while the bus was moving and when I closed the door there was water all over the floor.  I wasn't sure if it was pee if it was cleaning solution but after a few seconds I could smell that it was wasn't pee pee...thank God. But the problem was that whenever the bus with move more of this cleaning solution with slosh out of the toilet so it was a little bit of a challenge to trying keep Lino from getting wet and me as well. Somehow we made it out of the toilet with only getting the bottom of our shoes little wet but I was just disgusted afterwards. Then the whole bus ride we had to keep hearing this noise that Mike said was the brakes but I think it was some sort of suction in the toilet to try and take the water out of the floor. Whatever it was it was bothering me know and made him scared so we had to deal with him screaming for the first 15 minutes or so because he thought the noise was a monster... The poor kid is tired because he got his nap interrupted twice so there really wasn't much reasoning with him we just had to let him get over it. Eventually he did and the rest of the bus ride was pretty easy. We got to the airport in plenty of time so we were able to get checked in and go to the waiting area. Now this is the craziest thing I've ever heard for some reason they don't give the gates to the plane until a few minutes before boarding time. So even though we were at the airport about an hour before our flight was going to board we had to sit in this waiting area for that hour watching a board waiting for our gate to pop up. And this wouldn't be so bad if we had seat assignments but since we didn't we were worried that if we didn't move fast after the gate was signed we might get too far back in the line to board the plane and not get seats together. So this means that Mike was staring at the board intensely for the whole hour... That's not exactly true he was staring at the board for the first 30 minutes but then I told him to watch Lino because he was running off all over the place and I told him to run with him instead. He was worried that I wouldn't be diligent enough to watch the board but I told him Lino needed to run around so it was more important for him to let Lino burn up some energy so that he wouldn't be a nightmare on the plane than to be the first ones in the line to board. Finally our gate popped up and it was about one minute before boarding time, how ridiculous is that???  At the same time another flights gate number popped up so there was two flights worth of people making a mad dash to about the same area in the airport and I mean a mad dash!!!!  It was absolute insanity, I really did not like that at all but what can you do for cheap flights. Luckily we made it to the gate and we were not too far back in the line so we should be good to have decent seats on the plane. Then we ended up standing in that line for another 15 or 20 minutes before we were able to board what a mess!!! The flight back to Cork was pretty uneventful actually got to close my eyes for a few minutes and take a nap while Lino watched his movie and Mike read a book. By the time we got back to Cork, got to our car and drove home it was almost 10 o'clock so we were all pretty pooped. We had a pretty good weekend but it was so fast I hope might can get some rest tonight so he's ready for work in the morning. I really enjoyed our quick we can I know it was quick and we didn't get to do much but at least we got to visit London as a family. I'm so excited to take our next trip now even if it's only a three day trip it's going to be lots of fun to travel with the family around Europe and make all those memories...I can't wait!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 weeks in KC

Week of Oct 21st

Monday we just relaxed around the house. Uncle Joe & Aunt Nancye came by before they left and we chatted a little while. Then we hung out until Pierre's mom had to leave to go back to Texas. Nana actually had to go to work today, it was her first time back to work in almost 3 weeks since the government shutdown. She wasn't sure how crazy it was going to be after the offices being closed for so long but she had to go so it was going to be whatever it was going to be.  TT and Pierre were both off...needed to recover from the weekend so it was a nice relaxing day. 

Tuesday was clean-up day so I spent most of the morning/afternoon trying to scrub TT's house. I wasn't able to clean everything but I got all of the high traffic areas and bleached the toliets so that made us both feel good. 

Wednesday I decided to get out of the house and we took a walk to the park near TT's house. It was such a nice day and the trees were all different colors so it was beautiful. Lino played at the playground for a while then we walked around the little lake...we had nothing else better to do.  After a while u could tell Lino was getting tired and cranky so we headed back but on the walk back it started raining then little balls of hail started coming down and I thought I was going to be drenched. I had Shaun in one hand and Lino fussing at me in the stroller and I was trying to stear with one hand while semi running to get home...talk about a disaster.  This guy rolled by on his bike and asked if I needed help and although I could have used the help I couldn't do anything but laugh...I think he could tell from my crazy kackel that I needed help but he wouldn't really be able to help me. So he kept rolling and thankfully the crazy rain/hail stopped almost a quickly as it started so the rest of the walk home was good. 

One of the beautiful fall trees on the trail today

Thursday was another slow relaxing day but we made it to the park because I had promised Lino we would go. We went to the one closer to the house and good thing because I had volunteered to watch my ex-brother in laws son...WTF???  It's crazy but his son who is the same age as Lino, played with Lino at the park on Saturday during Morgans soccer game and he was dying to play with him again. So today was a parent teachers conference so I said he could come over while the parents were at the conference.  So I had to run to the park so that the boys had enough time to play before we had to be back for the play date. Shaun got his first ride on the swings and I think he liked it...I think. 

Lino wanted to push his brother of course so I let him but he didn't really realize his strength and started pushing him really hard and Shaun didn't like that but once he made the adjustment in his push they both seemed to have a good time. Lino loves being a big brother and Shaun loves his big brother!!

I love my boys...Shaun wasn't in the mood to smile but it was a good afternoon. 

So we raced home and had a snack then the real fun began when the 2 3yr old boys got together...the noise level increased by about 100 decibels!!!  Ah the joys of play dates. The boys had a good time and they both are full of energy so it was great to watch them. 

Ice cream break

We ended up all going to Morgans soccer practice while TT worked...me, the 2 boys, Shaun & of course Morgan & Pierre.  The practice was in the evening but since it's getting dark so early it was already kind of dark when practice started so we knew it wasn't going to last long. So we weren't even there 5 min and Lino and Landon were running around on the playground equipment then WHAM!!!!  CRY!!!!!!  I knew the cry wasn't Lino's and my heart sunk because it was Landon...I was just praying he wasn't hurt. I ran over a quick as I could and he was crying still but not too hard so I thought maybe he was ok then I saw a little pant or bruse on his head and I was like "whew, at least it's just a little bump" but then he turned to the side and I saw how big the bump was and I felt so bad. Poor baby, he instantly got better when I told him we needed to put something on it, he is a true boy, but then I was worried because he got hurt on my watch and it's my ex-brother in laws kid so that's not the best situation...eye yi yi. So Pierre and I tried to convince him to leave the park but he was more historical about leaving the park than he was about his head. He kept telling us it felt better and it didn't hurt and he was ok...all in attempt to not leave the park. Thankfully Morgans practice was ended early due to the dark so we gathered up all the kiddos and headed back to the house. We tried to put an ice pack on his head to keep the swelling down but he wouldn't have anything to do wth it. I was so worried that his parents were going I be mad at me and more so mad at TT but once his mom got there so wasn't bothered at all. She knows he's rough and told us some stories about other times he's bumped his head so I didn't feel so bad. It's crazy because if that was Lino I wouldn't be worried at all because he does that kind if stuff all the time and he never listens to me when I tell him to be careful so it just keeps happening so I'm use to it but when it's someone else's kid it's so different. Anyway I think all is good, he was fine as his mom put an ice pack on it when he got home...I guess I better think twice next time I take on this kind of challenge :-/

Nothing special happened on Friday. We played during the day and I got my pictures in the mail finally but I was so overwhelmed with how many pictures I had I didn't know what to do...so all I did was try to organize them and that was it. I have over 340 pictures of Shaun from birth to 6mo for his scrapbook...I think that's a little obsessive!!!!  I have no idea how I'm going to narrow those pictures down to a reasonable amount to put them in his 1st year scrapbook so I asked my scrapbook guru Gina for some advice and she told me "good luck with that"...thanks buddy :-0. Otherwise nothing fancy for the day.

Happy 7mo birthday to my Shaun Shaun!  At 7 mo Shaun is able to say (in order of appearance): baba, dada, mama, pppppppppppppp (with lots of spit).  He is crawling like a champ, crawls up the stairs and rolls/tumbles down them, eats table food like he's a pre-teen boy, the only thing he doesn't seem to like is bananas which is weird and he loves cakes/muffins, ritz like crackers, goldfish (might be his favorite), and I think the only thing he hasn't eaten is fish and nuts...although he has had food that had nuts in it or on it so I guess it's like he ate nuts. He doesn't sleep thru the night, still nurses all day (and night), loves TT like she is me and he hates to be in the same room as me if he isn't in my arms. Other than mommy I think Lino is his favorite person in the world and Lino loves him almost as much.  If he can survive another 5 months he might just make it...fingers crossed. We love u Shaun!!

Saturday we started off the weekend with a trip to IHOP which was really exciting...even GG was really excited and rushed to get ready so she could make it out there as well. My family loves IHOP!!!! We kind of had to rush because Morgan had a soccer game to go to but it was a good breakfast. Grandpa surprised us at the game and him & Shaun played for a while, they had a good time. It was Morgans last soccer game so I was glad we could see it and they won 2-1 which was cool too. Then we all went back to the house and hung out for the day. Pierre put some chicken, burgers and brats on the grill so we had a nice late lunch/dinner.  I had put Lino down for a nap earlier and he was out cold for almost 3hrs so I had to wake him up for fear he would't go back to sleep that night. When he woke up he was actually really happy so that was nice. And he wanted to go to grandpas house so I was like "sweet!!!"  So he went to grandpas house and I had a nice Lino free evening. Robert and Frederick surprised us and came to town for a quick visit so it was nice to hang out with them for a while. Robert even brought over Robin for the night and it's been a while since I've seen her so it was nice to see her too. Too bad Lino went to GP's house and Morgan was at her dads. Frederick left that same night because he had to go to a study group on Sunday so it was really a quip trip. 

Sunday was football Sunday and we celebrated with brunch at Nick & Jakes...yum!!! We watched most of the Chiefs game there then me, Shaun and GG went to GP's house to hang out for the evening before dinner. The Chiefs really surprised us with another win...must have been the big Chiefs fans that flew into town...

Happy happy Shaun Shaun...go CHIEFS!!!!

So we spent the afternoon at GP's and the boys had fun wrestling with him and watching the game!

Although we ate enough brunch to last us all day only a few hours later we went to dinner to have family sized pan fried chicken...at an old school KC place, Stroudes. I was still stuffed but the chicken and fried gizzards/liver were too yummy to pass up. It was a nice dinner and good times with the family.  Lino didn't want to come back with me bc he had so much fun with GP but such is life. 

Week of Oct 28

Monday was a semi busy day but sort of unproductive as well. I decided I wanted to do like 5 things today but really only got 2 done...oh well.  I dropped off film at Walgreens for GG but it took forever it seemed because I didn't really know how to work the machine. I wanted to upload pictures from 2 disk but when I would take out the first disk to put in the next one it would kill my order so I had to upload the pictures in like 2 separate transactions...what a pain in the ass.  Then I went to meet TT at the mall to look for Halloween costumes because we were suppose to do it on Sunday but I went to GP's house instead so we didn't get it done. So we went into the mall walked to the directory then decided we needed to go to another place because it was going to take forever to walk the mall and GG couldn't walk that far and TT didn't have that much time. So we decided to go to another place that TT found on her phone so we went there and it was not a Halloween store...it wasn't anything...what a bust. So we were going to give up and try again after TT got off of work but we decided to try one more place that was kind of on the way back home.  And guess what??? Another bust...at that point I was done and TT was too so we just headed home and not 1 min after getting back on the road we saw signs for the Halloween store so I honked at TT but she had already started heading that way so after after we spent 2hrs driving around looking for costume shops then finally found one!!!!  So we walked around for a little while and finally decided on Angry Birds since they had enough for all of us and they even had an infant suit and they were cheap so we said what the heck. So even tho we had our outfit picked out TT was still walking the store looking for a costume...for work but didn't come up with anything so we went to checkout and the lady told us to make sure the suits fit because there were no returns. We decided we better let Lino try on his just to make sure it fit and it didn't...ugh. I guess it was a good thing we tried it on, so we got the other suits and left and I told TT that Lino would wear his angry bird shirt so he would still match us.  I had planned to do a few more things before going back to the house but I was pooped. So back home it was. The evening was quite so nothing to report there.

Tuesday I planned to get some things done but really I didn't get anything done. I did manage to make it out to Starbucks for a caffeine / sugar kick so I got a coffee and my favorite pastry, pumpkin cream cheese muffin...yum! The only thing that would have made this better would have been if they had the Eggnog Lattes available...in another week or so they will so that means I'll have to go back. My muffin was so yummy I was in heaven and Shaun really liked it too, he was fighting me to get to it...too cute. 

Not much happened today other than me going back out to the store to get some supplies for Shaun's scrapbook & pulling out my pictures and getting them a little organized.  Then I pulled out my scrapbook supplies, a huge tub of scrapbook junk, to get ready to scrap at some point. Then finally I decided I should just do it, just get started. I was kind of overwhelmed with all the pictures and I wasn't sure how to start on it but I finally decided to just start cropping all the pictures and arranging them on the page and I'll glue & sticker them later. So that's what I did...I actually got a bunch done and it helped that Lino went with TT and Morgan to Morgans award party for soccer...another little break from Lino. And TT was going to take Shaun with her too but after she put him in the car seat he fell asleep so she just left him at home...and he slept the whole time they were gone...Sweet!!!!  So even tho I didn't get much done on my "to do" list I got started on my scrapbook and got a lot done so I say it was a successful start to my scrapping challenge. Now if I can only get all 340 pictures cropped in 2 days I will be set. 

Oh and I got tired of seeing the little frizz ball on top of Shaun's head so I gave him a mantail...daddy hates it but he's all the way across the ocean so not much he can do about it. 

Wednesday I really needed to get some things done because I only have a few days left in KC so I'm determined to be productive.  Of course the day I really want to get a lot done is the day the boys want to loose their minds. Lino was being a complete nightmare this morning, he didn't want to do anything I asked him to do. So I was fighting with him all morning and Shaun was being super clingy so I barely got anything done...what is it with these 2 today. Finally I was able to somewhat get them under control so that I could get the day organized before we left. First things first, GG has a bad rash on her foot that needs to be seen so I'm calling the Dr office of at to see about getting her in today. Once I finally got that done I arranged for Lino to go hang out with Landon for the afternoon while I take GG to the Dr.  I got all that set and it started to rain just as we were about to leave so I got stalled a few min but we made it out and to Landon's house. I was a little nervous leaving Lino there but I knew e would have fun. I really felt bad more than I was worried, I didn't want James & Heather to be a babysitter for me but when I got there they seemed pretty ok about the whole thing. It have Landon someone to play with other than his girl sisters so that was nice for him...good luck!  So we headed to the Dr office super early since the nurse told GG to be early so we could fill out the paperwork since she was a new patient. First we dropped off Lino then went to Walmart for a few things. I needed to get a few more pictures developed that I was missing, plus I needed more diapers and wipes and GG wanted to get a few things too.  We actually were in and out pretty quickly so I was happy about that and thought we would make it in plenty of time to the Dr office.  But somehow I got lost...no surprise actually. I had only been to this office one other time and for some reason I thought it was off of 119th St but it was really off of 135th. So I made it to 135th, which took me at least 10mun out of the way then I ended up turning right instead of left and went another 15min out of the way (7min each way) so once we finally made it to the office instead of being 15min early we were 10min late...good job Renee. Thankfully they were really nice and took us anyway. It seemed like it took forever to fill out the new patient information but once that was done they called GG in a few min later to check her. I was going to make a quick to while she was in there but I was so pooped at that point I just closed my eyes and took a quick nap with Shaun. 

The Dr ended up coming out to get me to talk about the rash and let me know what she suggested for GG which was to see a dermatologist so she set that up for us for tomorrow which was really sweet, especially since GG doesn't have much longer to be in KC before going back home. Then the Dr asked me some questions about GG and I told her she was the most able bodied elderly lady I know, other than not driving she is perfect!!! She was impressed but I could tell she thought it was strange for a nearly 90 yr old lady to be living by herself but that's my GG. So we high tailed it out of there and I went to get my rings cleaned and checked...I should have done that while GG was in the office but I didn't. Thankfully that went really quick so I decided to go ahead and get the oil changed in the car and while that was going on I took GG to get her nails done...she loves getting a manicure :-).  The oil change actually was really quick so I had some time to spare and there was a Starbucks on the corner and my day had been so crazy I decided to treat myself to 2 pumpkin cream cheese muffins...hahaha. One for today and one for tomorrow actually!  I got my guilty pleasure, got the car, got GG and went to pick up Lino from Landon's house. He seemed to have had a good time and wasn't really ready to leave but such is life. I would have left him there a little longer, maybe, but I promised dad I would come by to see them today because I wasn't sure of he would be ale to make it out to TT's house for Halloween. So after we picked Lino up we headed back to TT's house but when we were almost there I decided to just go straight to my dads house...so off we went. We got there before dad got off of work but he got there maybe 30-45min later and we hung out with them for a couple hours. It was a work day so dad was tired and he needed to go I bed because he gets up early to go to work so we went home. What a day...I actually got everything done that I said I was going to do but I wanted to get the car cleaned today too but with all this rain it wasn't really worth it. We got back to the house and I got Lino in the bed and Nana showed up so I decided to let her watch Shaun while I did a little more scrapping. I stayed up late because I new it wouldn't be able to get much done on Thursday so this was my last chance to put a big dent in the scrapping process...and actually I got almost all of it done!!!! I had a couple more pages to do plus a couple more to do once I pick up the photos from Walmart so today was a major success!!!!!

Here is one of h favorite pages, my midwives doing Shaun's foot prints...one for me and one for Angela...these are some amazing midwives, I love them so much for being such big supporters during my labor and delivery. 

I finally made it to bed around 2:30am...long day but it was well worth it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Today Nana was at the house to help out and good thing she was because I had a hair appt and GG had a Dr appt almost at the same time. So after we got the boys dressed and Nana took Lino with her to Morgans school so they could have lunch together...he had been asking to go to school with Morgan all week so this was the compromise. We were suppose to go to Morgans school for breakfast and books on Tuesday but we slept in so we missed that so I was glad that Nana was taking him today. While they were gone I thought I might be able to run to Walmart really quickly to get the pictures and some socks for Lino but Shaun was being clingy...somehow I was able to get him to sleep and I snuck out. I was able to run to Walmart, get the few things I needed plus get windshield wipers for Nanas car, get gas and get home before Nana and Lino got back...that's impressive for me. I had to get mom new windshield wipers because hers were absolutely pathetic. I couldn't believe she hadn't changed them before now and I couldn't believe they were so bad...my mom has issues. Anyway someone is going to have to put them on her car but at least I got them...so 50% of the challenge is done. Once Nana and Lino got back it was time for all of us to head out...Nana was taking Lino to Landon's house then taking GG to the dermatologist. She was also going to drop me off at the hair dresser before taking GG to the Dr but my appt got moved so TT said she would do it. I figured since I had a little extra time I would have TT stop by Chick-fil-a so that I could get a spicy chicken sandwich while I could but by the time we got close to Chick-fil-a the hair dresser said she was ready for me. I didn't want to delay my day or TT so I decided to hold off on my chicken sandwich until before we get on the plane...hopefully it will happen.  TT dropped me off then headed across the street to do a little work and since it wasn't going to take long for my hair she came back to get me and we went to Morgans school to see the Halloween parade. But we missed the parade so we just stopped by her class to see her all dressed up and playing games...I love that little farty fart face. 

TT dropped me off back at the house and GG and the crew were already there. About 45min later I had to go get Morgan from school then we started gettig ready for trick or treating.  Well everyone except me started gettig ready, I finished my last few pages of scrapbooking. Before I knew it, it was 6pm and kids were starting to come by the house...even tho it wasn't dark yet. So at that point Morgan was more than ready to get out and get her candy so Nana changed into her costume, my old high school cheerleader suit, and we tried to figure out what Lino wanted to be but he wasn't focusing so it took forever. Morgan and Nana almost left without him but he finally settled on being a pirate (TT bought him this costume yesterday "just in case" he wanted to wear something other than his angry birds shirt). So off they went...before I could even asses the weather...and I quickly realized I should have put an extra layer on Lino but it was too late for that now. Once they left I got Shaun dressed for his first Halloween but he was pooped she he crashed as soon as he was dressed...still cute as a button. 

King Pig from Angry Birds...but to me he looks more like Sleeping Beauty :-)

So basically this is Lino's first real Halloween. Last year he got dressed up for it but he was bad and didn't get to go trick or treating. This year he's with his cousin and Nana so there was no way he was missing it. Once TT Pierre and I got all suited we headed out to find the early crew and we left GG in charge of handing out candy for the millions of trick or treaters in TT's neighborhood...crazy how many kids were out. We didn't think we would be able to find them very quickly but we actually did...shockingly.  TT tried to convince Morgan it was time to go because they had promised James and Heather that they would stop by their house for their Halloween/birthday party for Heather. Well Morgan wasn't exactly ready to leave and Nana in her cheer gear wasn't ready to go either. See Halloween is like Nana's chance to show how much candy she can get for the grand kids so she loves it. Two yrs ago Morgan was out trick or treating from 6:3-10pm and came home with a pillowcase full of candy...talk about being black & ghetto. So every since then it's like a competition with herself to get that much candy again...or more...so of course she want ready yet, they had only been out for less than a hour...geeze o peez o. So we stayed out for a while and Shaun woke up so he was looking around at all the costumes but he wasn't afraid which was cool. Some people commented about our costumes but I couldn't tell if they liked it or though it was out dated...Tt Pierre and I were all angry bird characters...I thought it was cute, so did TT, Pierre was hesitant at first but got on board after a while so in the end it was a winner for us. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture on my phone so I can't show how cool we looked but we were cool...I think.  

Eventually we convinced Nana and Morgan to head to the house and dad & his crew had finally made it. So we ended up staying at the house a little longer than we had planned but eventually made it out to James' house. We stayed there for 30min then headed back to TT's. We spent the rest of the evening with the family and finally got to eat the Chipotle that we had ordered earlier in the day...we were all starved!  So the kids are a little more candy and we wrestled them to bed...not easy at all even tho they were pooped and it was late but it had to be done. Grandpa hung around for a little while then they headed out, we said our goodbye which was sad...2 weeks go by so quickly.  Once everyone was gone, the kids were actually sleep we curled up on the couch with a glass of wine and watched Scandal!!!  It was really good but it was funny because tr Pierre and I are all obsessed with it so of anyone starts talking we stop it so that we don't miss a word...and of course TT had something to say throughout the whole show so it ended up taking like 1hr 15min to watch a show that we should have been able to fast forward thru in about 45mim...crazy. It was a nice last night in KC so I really can't complain. 

Last day in KC today, so I got up early, that means before 9am, told Morgan goodbye, packed, got the boys dressed then tried to clean up the house a little before we left. I felt bad leaving tt's house in shambles like we did so I tried to at least clean up the kitchen and bathrooms. Nana had planned to take us to the airport and had taken off of work and everything but she was already saying it was going to be hard to drop me off because she didn't want to see us go. So TT said she would take us but Nana was determined to take us, it was kind of nice to have them fighting over who would take us. So TT was going to come home at lunch to say goodbye and Pierre went into work late so we said goodbye to him before TT got off of work. I kept telling him that he must be glad that we are finally leaving because we have just taken over the house and completely invaded his & TT's privacy. He said it was cool but I didn't believe him. He gave the boys a big hug and kiss and told me I could leave Lino there with him if I wanted too...I was tempted but I knew he was just joking. I gave him a hug to say goodbye and he rushed out of the door before I could say anything else. I didn't see his face but I had a feeling e wasn't ok, could he really be getting upset about us leaving????  He's crazy!!!  So TT came in and confirmed my suspicion that Pierre was sad that we were leaving, his words were "I'm going to actually miss those jokers" hahahaha. I couldn't believe it, I mean I am going to miss being at the house with them and seeing the family all the time and I know TT is going to miss us because she loves having us over...gives her something to do but for Pierre to actually miss us is just a little crazy to me. I guess he has never had such a family dynamic as ours :-). So we got our crap together said our goodbyes to GG and had to get some last min pictures with my Gorgeous Grandma!!!! Love her to pieces and I'm sad I won't be there for her 89th bday but at least I got to see her for 2 full weeks, these are the special moments, never know how many more I have left. 

Love her funny faces...she is so animated...I can only pray that I'm as lively and feisty as she is when I'm close to her age. 

Nana took us to the airport and I thought I would have time to go to Chick-fil-a before going to the airport but then once we got on the road I was worried I wouldn't have enough time to we decided not to go. Once we got to the airpor it was a little bit of a pain to get all checked in and my one suitcase weighed 75lbs so I had to take crap out to give to Nana or else pay $90 more for them to check my bad. What a f'in rip off!!!! I could check 2 bags for $50 or I could pay $115 for one bag...hummmmmm, let me think about it...I don't freaking think so. These airlines are getting really ridiculous with these baggage fees I can't believe it. Anyway I left my pump because Shaun isn't taking a bottle anyway so no real reason to pump. We ended up having plenty of time so I thought I might walk around the terminal to find something to eat but there was nothing in that terminal because they were planning to close that terminal but had some delays in the move so everything is closed there...pretty much. It's funny I just saw on the news last night that KC was ranked in the top 10 of worst airports in the US and I might have to agree after this experience. It's a small airport and it's pretty easy to get to your terminal/gate but the food and restroom options are very scarce...oh well. Nana offered to go get us something but it wasn't worth it so we went to our gate and boarded, perfect timing. Nana watched us all the way until we got into the jet bridge, she is going to miss us, but at least she held it together while we were there. Love her to pieces too, gonna miss her and the whole KC crew...until Christmas family. 

The plane rides were nice, we got a row to ourself on both flights which was nice. Lino didn't sleep except 30min on the first flight, he fell asleep as we were preparing to land and that was it. They were both really good on the planes so I couldn't complain.  The only issue was Lino seemed to need to go pee just as the plane was leaving the gate so the first time I had the flight attendant call the pilot to tell him we couldn't take off until we got out of the laboratory.  Thankfully it was a quick pee pee and we really didn't hold up the plane at all...Lino saved the long poop for when we were in the air. And thankfully the flight attendants were nice and liked babies because I gave Shaun to one of them so that I could deal with Lino & his stinky butt :-). On the second plane Lino had to randomly go pee again just as the plane was leaving the gate...again...but this time I made him wait because I knew he didn't have to go that bad, he probably just wanted to get out of his seat.  Anyway we managed and we got to NY pretty much on time even tho the weather was bad, windy & rainy, and PopPop was right there waiting for us. We got our bags and headed home. By the time we got to the house it was late so it was only a quick welcome back then to bed. 

Saturday we just hung out at the house and PopPop and Shan got to bond a little...hahaha. Well I don't know if you call this bonding or Shaun sleeping but PopPop enjoyed the cuddle time :-)

I also got to do a little bit of scrapbooking today. It seems like it takes more time to pull out all of my crap and get it organized than it does to actually do the pages. So I spent about 45 minutes working on my scrapbook but I really only got two pages done just crazy. Hopefully I can get a few more pages done tomorrow and leave my stuff out so that I can just start scrapping cannot have to worry about organizing. 

Sunday we had company coming over so I tried to get a few pages of my scrapbook done before they got there.  I actually was able to get 5 pages done so I felt good about that. But since company was coming over I had to pack up all my stuff and put it away so that I didn't leave Nini's house looking a mess... So that means the next time I scrap I have to spend 30 minutes of it just getting organized...oh well. So Nini's cousin and aunt came over so we hung out with then most of the afternoon. Lino & Josey got along great because she didn't mind wrestling with Lino so she was his new best friend. And she really liked Shaun, she was good at being a big sister...maybe one day she will be one :-).  But it was nice to meet some more of the family. 

Of course since we are in NY my boys have to dress in their Jets gear.  Mike doesn't have to work on Monday because it's a bank holiday so he's excited to see the boys sporting their Jets gear too, hoping they will bring them some good luck. But unfortunately Mike stayed up for nothing because the Jets had a horrible game and lost, but at least mommies Chiefs are still undefeated!!!!! It was a horrible game for the Chiefs too but somehow they pulled out another W, go Chiefs Go!!!