My bits 'n' bobs

Sassy Madam!

2009-08-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

My wonderfully talented friend Mandy who kept me sane alongside Sandi while I was under house arrest (Thanks girls) sent me a picture she edited of Leah for me. I sent her a plain picture and just look what she did with it!!! She is one talented lady. Thank you so much Mandy!

Paperplay Challenge No. 2

2009-08-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

I am also entering this into the Paperplay challenge. I took this picture of Leah with her brand new kitten the day we brought her home. There is hidden journalling under the picture about her first few days and how her name changed from Sonia to Sarah after a few days. It's a very simple LO but I like how it turned out.

Paperplay Challenge No 1

2009-08-09T10:45:00.001-07:00

Here is my entry for this weeks Paperplay challenge. I know, my colouring is dire. All the more reason I need to win the Copics on offer as a prize this week! The challenge was to use an amimal of some sort on your entry. This is my first time trying to use this moggy. I used glossy accents on his nose to give it a wet look. Thanks for looking and hop over to the site to join in. It's great fun.

Blog candy alert!

2009-08-04T15:46:00.000-07:00

Melissa is having a lovely giveaway here . It closes tomorrow so be quick!

Paperplay Challenge-Dimensions

2009-08-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

The challenge this week over on the Paperplay site is Dimensions. As I'm under house arrest with Swine Flu along with Cathal and the shakes have stopped I decided to give it a go. The butterfly is decoupaged and mounted on funky foam and then mounted on Whitewash Coredinations card. I think you can see the exact stitch where I got fed up with the sewing!

Paperplay Challenge

2009-07-29T12:45:00.000-07:00

This is the card I made for my baby who is 10 today! I'm entering it into the Paperplay Challenge so wish me luck! Sorry about the quick post but I've been sick for a few days and I promise to update soon.

Can you buy time on E-bay yet?

2009-06-27T17:37:00.000-07:00

So I'm sans one child today and was beavering away with these for the kids teachers on Monday.....

....when I get a phonecall.
Jerry: Can you eat Spider Crabs?
Me: I don't know, you're the one out fishing.
Jerry: Will you look it up online. I'll throw it back if we can't eat it but it's big.
Me: Call me back in 5 minutes.

Yes, you can eat Spider Crab. And it is glorious! But it's time consuming. I had to find the most humane way to kill it, how to cook it and how to get the meat out. It's also a pain in the ass when I'm questioned as to why I'm "cooking it that way" when I'm the one who was looking it up and actually cooking it. Never mind that it took over half an hour to get the meat out of. I have better things to do with my time you know. Like teachers presents. Cards. Laundry. Washing dishes.

Or.......

Lost in Translation.....

2009-06-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Today's after school conversation with Leah.

Leah: "I saw Hazel today"

Me: "Oh, who's Hazel?"

L: "No Mom, Haysel"

M: "What's a Haysel?"

L: "Nooooo MOM! Heysuls"

M: "Heysuls? I don't know what you mean."

L: (Tapping top of head) You know, the rain that hurts you on your head?"

M: "Oh, hailstones!"

L: (Rolls eyes) "That's what I said"

I really must pay more attention....

In hindsight.....

2009-06-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

....I realise it wasn't a good idea to do Laser Quest in the woods in capri pants. This is valuable knowledge I will pass on to my kids. Or not, depending on my mood! Maybe it's better they learn themselves the hard way. Like Momma!

Volvo Ocean Race Galway

2009-06-18T13:51:00.000-07:00

A few pics from our trip in to see the boats after they landed in Galway. It's a pity they passed here in the middle of the night or we could have watched them from Mom's house!

Trabolgan

2009-06-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of pictures from our weekend away in Trabolgan, Cork. We had an amazing weekend and we were all sorry to come home.

Please click on this photo to see it bigger!

Goodnight Dad.

2009-05-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Colamh Sámh.
x x x

Peace and tranquility.....

2009-05-08T02:46:00.001-07:00

No, not in this house but that's the theme I was aiming for in this layout!

It's a hat trick, twice over!!!

2009-05-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

I've crafted for 3 days, and today I made 3 cards. I have now officially made more this weekend than I have since Christmas!

This one was inspired by the Uber talented Mel over at Mel Stampz. No, it's nothing like her card but I said "inspired by" not copied....

I made this one with an image that Sarah kindly stamped for me. I used "Fluffy Stuff" on the frosting!

And this one was just a throw together. I saw a beautiful flower that Jackie did at her class yesterday and tried to replicate it. Pity I didn't go back to the computer today to see it again. I might have even done it properly!

The long weekend is over so I probably won't get to craft again till next Christmas. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted....

2 layouts in 2 days! It's a personal record!!!

2009-05-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to scrap this photo for ages and finally slapped it onto a piece of paper today! Another page in the album! At this rate I'll fill it before I'm 50!

I wonder does this fit the criteria for the PaperPlay Challenges this week?

This week's challenge is set by Kate:

A Stitch In Time" Basically use stitching on your project it can be real,draw on or stamped, up to you!

I used a white gel pen to "stitch" the word Heads as it kind of disappeared into the background. It's stitching!!!

May challenge entry.

2009-05-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

Karina over on Cara Craft forum set this months challenge. I hosted last month so I hope it wasn't too daunting to walk in my footsteps. Yes, I'm joking and having a little laugh to myself here! It was a wonderful challenge that immediately made me think of something I really wanted to do. And so I started. But as usual I ended up with something completely different to what I had in mind. No matter because I like it. It actually really does look better in real life! It's all scuffed, distressed, and inked but you can't really see it here. I was trying to print out a photo in sepia or black and white but printer isn't playing nice so I just grabbed one from the pile I've been meaning to scrap! I like how it turned out in the end and it was lovely to have messy inky fingers again after a long break! Thanks Karina!
If you click on the photo for the larger image you might see the distressing better. I really loved how the edges came out....

Apparantly.....

2009-04-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

I'm not able to use Jerry's fancy camera properly. That's not news to me but a lesser person might have felt a little miffed by this. Not me though. I know I take crap pictures. I take stuff like this......

While the expert is able to fine tune his camera and knows all about the different little buttons on it and churn out masterpiece after masterpiece.

I don't know why he even lets this imbecile play with his camera to be honest. I mean, I'm just wasting space on the computer with my substandard offerings. I'm so lucky really to have someone who knows what they're doing to preserve these precious images for me....

Is it Summer?

2009-04-18T15:26:00.001-07:00

Well we had a glorious day here in Connemara and we acted like it was summer! We headed off to the beach and it was all lovely and sunny.

Peaceful even.

And fun!

Until the malarkey started.

Mom, I have to wee. NOW!

Mom, I can't walk on this coral.

Mom.He/She's bugging me.

But this year, they are all a little older and I'm a little wiser, so I brought my book and took full advantage of my bad hearing.
Mostly I ignored the whinging and just took pictures. Some guy went off out the way (diving?) and came back with 2 crabs. So cool! Leah was "so sad" as she watched him swim/crawl off. We don't have half enough creatures in this house you know.

All in all it was a good day and I brought them all back home with me. And sure that's all that matters...

Can I get a refund please?

2009-04-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Alas, gone are the days when not only were you allowed to lock kids in a cupboard, it was positively encouraged.

Me: "Isn't it a lovely day?"
Cathal: "Um, you know when the sun shines in the window like that you can see hair on your face?"

Now where is my receipt? I'm sure the hospital gave me one, didn't they? I knew I shouldn't have taken the tag off him.....

Remember when you knew it all?

2009-04-12T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ah those wonderful days between the ages of 8 and standing on your own 2 feet in the big bad world. Remember when you thought you could actually get away with something like this?

Take one €10 note.....

Photocopy and .....

Easy money!!! Seriously, you have to give him credit for trying. Bet you can't spot the fakes!

WOULD YOU TRUST THIS KID???

Too bad he now owes me, Oh, around €10 for printer ink....

When the cat's away....

2009-04-10T14:12:00.001-07:00

...my firstborn turns into the AntiChrist. I think I'm going to have to disconnect the webcam.

I'll be sleeping with one eye open tonight.

My 3 kids.....

2009-04-09T14:18:00.000-07:00

Hey, if you're going to take pictures like this and leave them on the computer where do you think they're going to end up???

The offside rule....

2009-04-07T03:57:00.000-07:00

Subject: the offside rule explained for the ladies!

You're in a shoe shop, second in the queue for the till.
Behind the shop assistant on the till is a pair of shoes which you have
seen and which you must have.
The female shopper in front of you has seen them also and is eyeing them
with desire.
Both of you have forgotten your purses.
It would be totally rude to push in front of the first woman if you had
no money to pay for the shoes.
The shop assistant remains at the till waiting.
Your friend is trying on another pair of shoes at the back of the shop
and sees your dilemma.
She prepares to throw her purse to you.
If she does so, you can catch the purse, then walk round the other
shopper and buy the shoes.
At a pinch she could throw the purse ahead of the other shopper and,
*whilst it is in flight* you could nip around the other shopper, catch the
purse
and buy the shoes.
Always remembering that until the purse had *actually been
thrown* it would be plain wrong to be forward of the other shopper.

Thanks Petra, that's a brilliant explanation!

Fallen angel.

2009-04-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Oh how the mighty Princess has fallen. I'm thinking of opening a shop. Galway Ink??? I think it would be a hit with the kids.

Irish humour....

2009-03-27T03:26:00.000-07:00

...is alive and kicking here in Connemara! In Recess especially!

(Photo has been removed for a while. My neighbour is entering it into a competition. Good luck!)

Wherefore art thou "Notme"?

2009-03-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

Notme, if you're reading this I think we could do business. Seriously. Why give yourself a bad name getting my kids into trouble when you and I could scratch each others backs, so to speak? To date you have been blamed during the following interrogations;
"Who wrote on the wall?"
"Who pooed and didn't flush?"
"Who spilt cereal all over the floor?"
"Who pulled the curtain down from the railing?"
"Who put silly spray all over the ceiling?
"Who told Leah there were spiders in the toilet?"

Notme, are you getting tired of these juvenile pranks yet? How about we do some good in the world? Imagine my delight and joy to get up tomorrow and ask myself "Who made these lunches? Notme" Or "Who did the dishes?? Notme" Or "Who put the bins out?Notme" Or......or.....or....Oh be still my beating heart, "Who did ALL the laundry?" "It was my friend, NOTME, and I love him/her" I will leave you cookies, butter, whiskey, cans of Coke, whatever you want, wherever you want if you'd just defect to my side. Please. I'm begging you. And I will actually scratch your back if you want me to.
Hoping to hear back from you Notme,
Sincerely,
The Mom Who Cleans Up Your Mess.
x

I'm finally making cards again!

2009-03-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well after a wonderful weekend with Lynda and her gorgeous family and a day at Jackie Mooney's wonderful workshop, it was just the push I needed to get crafting again! Above is what we made at the workshop. (There's one missing, I've sent it to someone already!)I'll just have to try to recreate it! Huge thank you to Jackie and everyone who really made my day and for being so welcoming. It was especially nice to see the forum girlies. Some new faces and some old favourites! Lynda (the messer), Babs (the nutter with a flap problem......don't ask unless you're crafty!) and Karina.....what can I say? Words still fail me at this point. Only kidding, a Princess is the only way I could describe her. Isobel and Val, I feel like we're old mates now! Jess, Amanda Jane, Ann with the demo, Lorna, Angela, and Jackie C, (I know I've forgotton someone)Thank you all for making the day so great. I really should leave the house, city, hell county, more often!
And again Lynda, I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality. You are a beautiful lady with a beautiful family to match. I never would have dreamt I could be so comfortable and relaxed in a "stranger's" house. Which, in essence, we were. Thank you so much. x x x

And here are a few I made today for Lynda and her beautiful daughter who was made to sleep in the shed while I spent the night in her cosy bed!

And one I made a while ago almost completely made from a christmas card! Recycling IS the new buying you know!

FACEinHOLE

2009-02-27T07:34:00.001-08:00

Create your own FACEinHOLE

You'd swear I had time on my hands......

Out of the mouths of babes.

2009-02-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

"Are you all growed up yet Momma?"
"Grown up, and yes, I guess so honey"
"What age are you?"
"Ummmmm, ahhh.....29"
"Oooooh, you are Momma. I can't even count that far yet"

Next lesson in Princess training: The art of tact.You wouldn't want to be getting ideas above your station would you?

If you've all stopped laughing now....

2009-02-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

I'll tell you why I've been so quiet lately. (Oh,Happy Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Pancake Tuesday and Happy Lent. Thank you for all your birthday wishes!)
Sssssh now, but I have a Princess in Training. It's all very hush hush. And it's very time consuming you know.

First she has to learn to walk properly. (I would post the picture where she had her hands off the book but well, I forgot to close the curtains and a flash on a dirty glass door at night does nothing for a Princess' image I'm afraid.(Must get the help onto that pronto)

Then she needs to learn to sit nicely and look at books. And not tear around the house in her knickers shaking her booty. Also, farting at will is a habit that's hard to break (excuse the pun!)but at least now she'll curtsey and say "Go mo leithscéal" 3 times. Baby steps people, baby steps.

And of course there's no point in looking at books if you don't know what's going on in them so this little Princess is studying very hard to learn to read and write. It would seem our code word for a word she doesn't know is Homer???? I don't know either. Cat, hat, mat, sat, Homer?

And just look what a difference a day makes. See, she really IS trying very very hard. Any day now she's going to know it all!

Then there is the optional extra of grooming, which I didn't sign her up for but she had other ideas. These modern Princesses are very independant these days. Here is her new fringe that actually (thankfully) wasn't the disaster it could have been. (Oh and for future reference, NEVER EVER refer to her hair as red. It's BROWN, according to her)

And of course there is the extra classes in Patience. "Mom, are you ready yet" just isn't allowed in this class I'm afraid.

So, here is the Princess as she is. We still have a lot of work to do but she's only 4 so we have a small window of opportunity.

I'll update next year with our progress. Until then, wish me luck!

Sliding in sideways.....

2009-02-20T05:23:00.000-08:00

You know how you're late for a wedding mass and you sneak in the back and hope that everyone thinks you were there the whole time?
I wonder does that work on blogland? I was here the whole time people. Ye just didn't notice me 'cause I'm so quiet and unassuming. Quite shy really and don't like attention. No really. Stop laughing.

Well, if ye're going to be like that about it......

Blog candy alert!

2008-10-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

Jean is having a major giveaway this week. Hop on over and leave a comment to be in with a chance to win! Gotta run, a house full of kids turning up very soon......Wish me luck!

Take time to smell the roses if you don't have coffee.

2008-10-23T15:11:00.000-07:00

So I was wondering what tragedy of my life to poke fun at for this post and decided while looking through some photo's I took this past 2 weeks that actually I could do a nice post. You know, pretend like I live in The Little House On The Prairie, kinda, with clutter, and practical clothes for running, and washing up liquid, but you know what I mean. I managed to (unknownst to myself) catch some nice pictures that mean a lot to me and show that it's not all fire and brimstone here! And sometimes it's ok to blog about, well, just stuff! Also it saved me sending the kids onto the roof to create a "scenario"!!!

Like having two kids who kill each other all day long but still love each other enough to want to spend the night together....

(They are *gasp* not mismatched pillows, she robbed his. But it probably wasn't a matching set anyways!)

Or realising your baby that you took home from the hospital not 3 weeks ago is able to blow bubbles, and loving it....

And these babies are still coming back to us. A pair this year. See, we can't be that bad!.....

The kids finding the halloween nightsticks and saying "Oh go on so, but turn the lights off"....because I secretly wanted to have a go too! Cathal on the left, Missus on the right!

And that seeing a moon like this, in this day in age, with all our technology and sparkly fandangles, still makes me gasp in awe (see, the prairie in me is coming out!!!)

I was just glad to have a decent camera on hand that could take the moon picture. For you unsavvy, it was, turn on, Auto, click, and pray for the best! I really must learn how to use that camera.

You know, for times like these....

Coffee anyone....???

Parenting for Dummies

2008-10-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

I was lying in the bath wondering why I never had anything to blog about (reason for lying in the bath to come soon.....ish!) Anyways, I figured it was because I have nothing to blog about except the kids really and while they sometimes do silly, cute or dangerous stuff, I don't have enough material to work with. Or the battery is dead in the camera while they are doing it. Or Cathal is swimming when the small mackeral come in and they look like pirhanna fish splashing through the water but Mother Organised didn't even think to bring the camera. Or.......
I could go on, but I won't or I'll use up my one blog post a month on it. So, as I said, I was in the bath, thinking, as you do at such times, and was thinking how my kids still share a bath sometimes and is that legal now? And thinking of the little bath chairs they each had. How I shared a bath with my sis until I was about 6. How I shared a room with the same sis until I was 16, should I let the kids get bunk beds like they want? And my mind wandered, as it does at precious times like this, lying in the bath, and I recalled a blog post by Lynda about her next bestseller! Like her, (ya'all need to read the post!) I have "parenting issues". Like "Where the hell did you come from?" or "If I feed you chocolate will you stop asking me questions?" or "If I feed you to the....." No, I don't say that really, that was for shock factor. Really. I have no idea where that thought manifested itself from. Really. Truely. I love my kids. That's why i have nothing else to blog about!
So! (Getting away from that......) I had an epi.. (hang on, gotta go Google) Epiphany! Thanks to Barbara for getting me in the bath (I said I'd tell ye about that later!) and Lynda I realised I don't have to wait till my child breaks an arm so I have cute pictures of casts to photograph or scrapbook (touch wood neither have-I can guess what next months blog post will be....) They only get "internal" stuff like fluid on the hip (not nice) and they don't let you stay to photograph that stuff. Like the battery in my camera would be ready anyway.
So......back to the bath and thinking, and (man I have a lot of thread veins, I think I'll stick to showering) I had the bright idea of Parenting for Dummies! (I know, I googled it, it's already there, but I bet they're not REAL dummies, like I was my first time out of the hospital with a tiny human being) So I was thinking I could pass on those tiny bits of info that don't make it into the books (that are written by people with well behaved, mannerly nieces and nephews) I can give tips from the heart. What has worked for me. Oh wow, I can make a difference! Not really, but I've spent so long typing now with a faulty Shift button that to stop now would crush me.....

So, Number one tip (that I ALWAYS give new Mommies) is, "Don't take anyone's advice or tips on raising YOUR child" I do, really. I say, "I could give you advice, but I won't, but I will tell you that when your Mother in Law/sister/lady on the road/libriarian starts saying "You shouldn't be doing" or "That child should be" just smile and say "Yes, I'll try that" and make her a cup of tea or give her a brandy or get a dose of the cramps, whichever will shut her up quicker. I say Her, not for ease of typing, but because it's mainly "hers" that give advice. Which is why I'm here!

Seriously, (This is the serious part, you can disregard the above!) I was lying in the bath as ye know by now, and so bathtime was on my mind. I got to thinking about my early trials as a Mother Bathing a Baby. (In BOLD 'cause we're worth it!) I picked up a nifty trick (all by myself) after I nearly drowned my firstborn reaching for shampoo (It was a horrific experience, for me, he was fine in 2 seconds, I cried for 2 days) I found, if I had to bathe my child in a full size bath, to fill the bath a bit, put a folded towel in the bath (the length of the baby) put baby on towel and wash. No slipping on the enamel/plastic bath. The baby will stay on the towel. Yes, you have a sopping wet towel but you also have a baby in water you can manage. (Actually, if I may, one piece of advice, don't use baby oil IN the bath, unless you're an octapus! After the bath, fine! It just makes them so damn hard to get a hold of! I learnt that first time around! And therin lies "Parenting for Dummies"

With my second, the trauma of "full size bath" must have been in the back of my mind. She was bathed in the kitchen sink until she grew out of it. It's funny to hear someone talking about "how lucky ye are, we were bathed in the kitchen sink" Hey, if it was good enough for them, it's good enough for me. And if it delays a few stray grey hairs along the way, I'm happy. So The Missus was bathed in the kitchen sink until she was ready for the bath chair. I got a lot of thumbs up (one through the window down at MIL's house from the Auntie next door, and my Mother approved) but I got a few, "Have you not got a baby bath? Then why are you ....?..static.....white noise.....going into a tunnel......Sorry, I can't hear you......"

Take care of your babies as best you know how. Next installment: Antibiotics. Only kidding! Actually I think I should finally come out about my fascination with windows in the dark.....
So that's my input for today. I hope to come up with and remember a few more gems to part with ye. Most will probably be hindsight, but hey, my hindsight might be your 20/20 vision! If you'd like to leave your tips on what has worked for you I'd love to read them. (And maybe use them!)

Where does the time go?

2008-09-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

So, what have I been doing with all my time?

Well, The Missus started school.

She loves it and has already been in trouble for being the ringleader in a waterfight in the bathroom. What? This sweet, innocent child of mine?

I don't think so.....

Jerry has been taking Cathal fishing a lot lately. Look at him all grown up, scratching his arse like the big boys. I'm so proud of him. I think we're doing a fine job!

Then these babies have been keeping me occupied in the evenings. They come every year around this time but this year is the first time we've been getting 2 together.

What else? Oh, there was a festival on this weekend and we went to the festivities yesterday evening. I think we managed to get one photo of us without someone sneezing, blinking, doing bunny ears (Cathal!!!) or being slapped. We did good!

There's just something about this picture I love.

Now I remember why I don't blog so often. These pictures take forever to upload! Happy now K? Now stop texting me telling me to update the blog!!!

Bless me Blogspot for I have sinned.....

2008-08-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

It has been bloody AAAAAGES since I've blogged. I have a few excuses. I've been run off my feet since the summer holidays started and are now nearly over. Also the charger for the camera died so I've been without a camera for ages and lets face it, my blog would be damn boring without a few photos of the kids covered in paint/muck or doing something they shouldn't be doing or looking cute. Also I've been lazy about blogging. There you go, excuses out! Amen.

The summer has pretty much been a washout. I've managed to bring the kids to the beach a few nice days and more often than not I've brought Cathal down for a dip even when it's been raining if it was warm. We had a lot of hot muggy weather with no sun. But he loves swimming so I sat on the beach under a towel while he swam in the sea. The kid is nuts if you ask me. But then, I'm biased.

Cathal is fantastic in the water. He goes straight in and down, no faffing about.

The Missus on the other hand is more like Momma. She dips a toe in and quickly retreats from the freezing cold water. And it's always freezing cold here. She has up to now managed to go as far as her ankles but today was the big one! She went as far as her thighs. Yippee! She'll be a mermaid soon!

"You can do it, come on a little further"

"Yayyyyy, I did it, look Mamma, I'm swimming!"

"I need to wee Mama"

"Hmm, I know there's a way through the seaweed"

"....somehow...."

"Did you find the way yet Cathal?"

She's happy to search for pretty shells in the coral. And between you and me, so am I....

Funky Fairy!

2008-07-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

OMG what a give-away! But it'll probably go to someone in the States as there's so many visitors from there. Oh, imagine the egg on my face if I was picked! Anyways, have a goo and stick your name in, if you're not in you can't win! Good luck everyone and thanks funky fairy!

Thanks girls!

2008-07-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Kate and Clare awarded me with this.....

and I'm so chuffed! I nominate Mandy, Jean, Ais, Noelle,,Tigger Eva and Aine

"Don't run so fast, you'll fall"

2008-07-13T15:45:00.000-07:00

Did she listen?

How cool is this?

2008-07-10T11:49:00.001-07:00

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Found a link to this over on Jeans blog. I could pass away an evening doing these!!!

"I want a pony"

2008-07-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

The dreaded words finally arrived. I tried to convince her that we don't have the facilities for a pony or horse but really that's wasted on a 4 year old. I tried to convince her she'd be fine with a My Little Pony teddy but no. Well I can be as bull thick as she can! And untill we live on a ranch this is the best she can expect!

Yes, I know the last one is a donkey, but beggers can't be choosers!

Crappy photo alert!!!

2008-06-30T17:30:00.001-07:00

I really must get myself a new camera or at least craft during the day so the pictures won't be so bad.....
Anyways, here's tonights efforts. I bought this frame from the 2 Euro shop

and turned it into this....

Thanks for the idea Sarah! I pulled the back/box from the frame, inked it, stuck flowers on, some ribbon, a bit of bling and glitter paper for the photo frame. Then for the outside frame part, just rub-ons and some "Ring Bling" from the 2 Euro shop and Bob's your Uncle! It's for Leah's best friend in school so that's why it's sooooooooo girlie! I can't wait to see it with the photo in it and the back stuck back on. I had so much fun making this and it was very easy to do. Give it a try. I'm glad now I went back and bought 3 more frames!! If you try it please let me know and leave a link to your blog in the comments section.
TFL

A few crafty presents.

2008-06-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

This is what I made for Cathal to give his teacher yesterday before they got their summer holidays. She's into arts and crafts herself so I hope she likes them. The tin was free with Lyons teabags and I just covered it with paper, ribbons and bling. The notebook is just a plain notebook covered again with papers, rubons and bits and pieces. The jar has a little frame on it and some ribbon. I filled it with snazzy paper clips and mini bulldog clips. Thanks for looking!

My little visitor!

2008-06-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

This chappie usually turns up around November but Jerry spotted him in the garden tonight. Seems a bit of an odd time of the year to see them. I hope he's found somewhere dry to sleep tonight. It's teeming down here at the mo....

Oh I do love to live beside the seaside!

2008-06-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

As if all the fish in the sea weren't enough, these cheeky chaps have taken to visiting me lately for the bread I throw out for the birds. It feels a bit freaky when up to 40 of them are circling the house....

New Do!

2008-06-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

After a little "episode" earlier this week which resulted in me calling the doc with a suspected stroke, I decided to "Stop the bus and get off" for an hour (Thanks Sabrina!) to get my hair done today.
Yes folks, I finally had my first (and hopefully last) Anxiety Attack! It started with a racing heart and finished with a racing thunderous heart. I called the doc when it didn't stop after an hour and she gave me some techniques. Rub the left side of your neck and breathe deeply and hold it. It opens some artery. I've decided I need a bit more "Me time". We'll see if I manage an hour next week.....
Anyhoo, I went to get the auld gruaig done today and I love it. Sorry I have no "Before" photos and I did think of it but I was chasing my tail as usual....

Jerry was making me laugh when trying to take these photos with the webcam. Man, you ask for a little help....He like's the new do too ; )

Welcome baby Cian!

2008-06-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Cian Kevin Holohan just couldn't wait any longer to meet his family and arrived 4 weeks early weighing just 4lb 8oz on Monday the 9th June. He's small but perfectly healthy and we can't wait to meet him in person. Leah loves her baby "brother"???? huh? and Cathal was a bit put out about not being the only Grandson anymore but when he saw the pics he decided it was o.k.!! He has huge brown eyes and already looking all around him taking it all in. Daddy informs us they are both (Mommy and Cian) being allowed home tomorrow. So we are so excited to see the new Hoolie. Apparantly he looks like Jerry, as if life wasn't tough enough....!!!!
There'll be a hoo-haa in Athlone soon when things settle. Obviously the doitin is small and needs to build up his strength but if there's someone to do it, it's a Hoolie! He comes from good stock.
I feel a bit left out whenever Jerry gets a new niece or nephew because although I feel they are my nieces and nephew I still feel a bit "outside the circle". I don't know if it's because me and Jerry aren't married yet (and then they would HAVE to call me Auntie Neasa) or if it's because it's not one of my siblings' child? I see my sis's and bro having fun and spoiling my kids and I feel a little miffed sometimes. I want to be the fun Auntie, the Cool Auntie, the Auntie That Takes Me For Spins, and then gets to hand them back. I think I'd be a much nicer/funner/cooler Auntie than I am a Mom. Come on Team O'Donnell, lets get it together and make Neasa an Auntie. I promise I won't get their ears pierced.....

Each day a new dawn....

2008-06-06T18:25:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it's been ages sice I've blogged but there has been so much happening here. Well Cathal made his First Communion and didn't burst into flames on the alter (I think that will stand to him Later On IYKWIM!) That day was a great day for so many reasons. Obviously, as Jerry puts it "There's 25 more of us today" but the day meant so much to me.
As ye know, my Mom and Dad split up 4 years ago. This day was the first day they had spoken since their break up. I wanted both my parents and Cathals grandparents there. I was so glad they could pull it together for his big day. I think they enjoyed each others company for the first time in a long time. These things happen.

Then last week Dad got Lifeboated off the Aran Islands (where he lives now) in tremendous pain. They were going to biopsy his lymphnodes this week but after scans, x-rays, who knows what, thay decided on Tuesday evening that they were operating on Wednesday morning to remove the tumour and as many lymphnodes as they could.
When I visited him in ICU last night he said "They got the big bastard, now let them shoot the little fuckers"! He was talking about the chemo getting anything left in the lymphnodes.
It was heartbreaking seeing my Dad lying there out of it. The first time I saw him wink at the nurse I thought he was twitching, the second time I thought "He's gonna be fine"!
By the time I left there I'd gone from "What the hell is he on about" to pissing myself laughing at his jokes! "Cosuil le Lachin i" You had to see the hand movements!!
Apart from that things have been very drab. My poor Cathal is sick. Spicking temp and not feeling well. Oh the joys of parenting! He missed getting an award he won for an Irish story he wrote, last night. (But Aisling accepted it for him, thank you Ais!) And he missed today's Sports Day at school (which should have been last Friday, but it pissed out of the heavens that day here)

We finally got to meet Cowgirl Neeb! Leah was one happy little cowgirl. We went to Aran and did the tourist thing. Took the tour, climbed up to Dun Aengus, took loads of photos etc etc. Leah was like a little limpet on Niamh all day. I think Kevin was feeling a little left out. Had a great weekend with them and can't wait for them to visit again. Might stay on dry land this time, who knows?!!!

Between this, that and t'other, it's been business as usual......

It's been a long 2 weeks....

2008-05-11T17:28:00.000-07:00

and it's going to be a short and sweet post.
The weekend before last Lulu had another "fainting" episode but this time it sounded worse (I wasn't there, my sis was) Apparantly her hands and feet turned in and her face was distorted while she was out. That didn't happen the last time. So I decided I'd bring her to the doc and tell her about it (yes, I know kids faint, hold their breath, do stuff all the time but when it's your own.....) Anyways Monday morning arrived with loads of sunshine and an 8 yr old beside the bed saying "Mom, it's itchy...." I checked him out, he had hives, sent him to school with a promise I'd pick him up early to show the doc. He got an antihistamine (we have narrowed it down to tomatoes-no more pizza or bolognaise!) but Lulu got sent for tests. She had to have and ECG done to make sure everything was ok. Everything was fine. Apparantly she is 'breath holding' involunarily (spl???)She's not doing it deliberately, she falls and takes a huge breath to cry but the breath is too big and her body presses the reset button. Sounds fantstic, I could do with a reset button myself but apparantly we grew out of it at about the age of 5. Pity.....
Right, so the next day my Mom got brought to hospital with chest pains. My sis was in the other hospital across town with my Dad when she got the call. My Dad was diagnosed with lung cancer a month ago. His prognosis is good. They think they caught it early. If you are reading this, say a little prayer, thanks.
Right so again, Mom was kept in overnight and let out the next day with orders to take it easy and relax. Stress. She was back at work 2 days later......She's big and bold enough now, I can't be telling her what to do (Yes, I gave out to her!)
Where are we? The weekend. Passed without a hitch. Beautiful weather. Brought the kids to the beach, Bank holiday weekend, what more could you ask for?
A house that is designed so that if 2 doors are open it's not a hazard????? Maybe I'm asking for too much, you know with the good weather and all......
Tuesday...... I'm leaving the house with The Missus for Naoinra and the front door slammed shut on my finger. I saw skin and blood and went back in and made Jerry look (I couldn't) he made me sit down and put me in the car and brought me to the doc-thought I needed stitches. Not only did I not need stitches, I didn't need the bloody x-rays I was sent for and I didn't need to go back in the next day to have it seen again. I was told it was fractured and had it splinted (neighbour splint?) for a day. PAIN IN THE ASS!!! I was saluting everyone as I was driving, which was kinda funny, but it was the little things I really realised I took for granted. I could still do up Lulu's buttons on her dress but I couldn't put her hair in a ponytail. Try it sometime!
Anways, all is well again here. Say a prayer for Dad if you read this, Hopefully I can get some photos to load up.....
Thanks for reading!

Waltzing MaTILDA!!!

2008-05-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Here is Tilda that Niamh kindly let me adopt! Again with the phone so not a great pic. The card is embossed and I lightly chalked the raised images.

More cards

2008-04-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hopefully. I'm using my camera phone so here goes....
Ta-daaa!!

Thanks a million Niamh for the stamped images. You're a lifesaver!

I can't get the glossy accents to show. You'll just have to trust me that it's very shiny (and nicer in real life!!)

Auntie Cowgirl Neeb strikes again!

2008-04-15T17:58:00.000-07:00

We have one happy Cowgirl in our house tonight!
Thanks Neeb!

I do still craft occasionally!

2008-04-15T16:16:00.001-07:00

Some bits I made recently.

Thinking of having Kids???? Part 2...

2008-04-15T15:50:00.000-07:00

Imagine my dismay to find this......

on the bathroom locker yesterday evening. I was not impressed at all. She got a telling off and sent to bed (it was bedtime anyways-it's where she was supposed to be when she was being da Vinci.)

Now imagine my horror after getting Cathal into bed, and returning to the bathroom to find THIS........

With a weary heart, knowing that lipstick doesn't come out of the grouting thingy, (the white bits between the tiles that she so carefully coloured in), I sat on the toilet to take a few minutes to relax, breathe deeply (like the manual says) and get myself together. Ok, I'm calm. I am a mother, I can deal with this coolly and calmly now that I've taken a few minutes with my eyes closed to think nice thoughts.
Then I opened my eyes......

Seriously, what could you do but laugh at that stage? (Obviously the manual is right....) No, it didn't come out of the grouting.

It's the small things.......

2008-04-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

.....like,

Him:(H) "Will you stick on something for lunch, I have to leave soon"
Me:(M) "What do you want?"
(H): "Anything"
(M):"Omlette?"
(H): "No"
(M):"Soup and sandwich?"
(H):"No"
(M)"Toastie?"
(H)"No"
(M)"What then?"
(H)"I don't know, I'll pick something up on the way".....

I still don't actually know what his version of "anything" is at this stage. I'm a bad wifey. And I have to say this conversation infuriates me. If you want food, you have 2 choices,
1) Tell me what you want
2) Get it yourself

No, there is no other option, I can do tuna with sweetcorn, but you probably don't want that, TODAY. Yesterday, yes when I didn't have sweetcorn, you wanted it. Now I have have tuna and sweetcorn up the........wazzoo!!! Guess who doesn't want tuna and sweetcorn sandwitches??????

Again, it's the small things.....I'm sure sis K. will back me up on this one.
"Why are you so thin?" That's not a compliment. I don't ask people "Why are you so fat?" so why should it be different when it's the other way around? I have found people look down on me because of my weight. I cannot do anything about it. I have been to the doctor, she took blood, everything was fine, she said it was Stress. So I can hope to be an unfit size 8 for the forseeable future! G.G., can't wait till I get to go on walks with you! Maybe in the next 2 years!!!

And don't pull out of the parking lot when you see I'm trying to reverse out....(I swear, I don't think anyone in Carraroe is reading my blog!!!!!Did ye see Driving Ettiquette?) Either that or no-one has actually taken driving lessons and know's what to do.
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: If I am reversed half way out on the road with a clear road, don't skip the queue, I got there first, ok? Wait your turn.
I am going to draw diagrams for future post so ye see what it's like trying to park and get out of our local Euro shop.

Apart from that, much else just goes over my head! But it's the little things......

It's all getting back to normal....

2008-03-31T15:18:00.000-07:00

...after a 2 week holiday. By holiday I mean the kids were on holidays from school, not that I was sunning myself, drinking Pina-Colada in the beautiful Bahamas (not that I know they are beautiful, I just assume they are-like Beautiful Bray seems lovely right about now, sans kids!)
To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Cathal gave me the wide eyed "Whatyotakkinbout" stare when I called him for school this morning, but I brought him breakfast in his bed to ease the pain! He eventually got up, got ready and was happy as Larry (do I owe Larry money for that????) going into school. The other two kids I mind were dying to go back. Thanks again GG for doing the morning school runs!
Ohhhhhh, then I had to get "The Missus" out of bed at 11. She was not happy. (Must remember she's probably on old time, so it was only 10 am for her.......) I mentioned a few names of her friends and she was rearing to go! Skipped (no, actually she's not that dainty, she ran hell for leather) in to Naoinra.
Picked all kids up on time (had to set a few timers and kept checking my watch chanting....Danni-20 to 2, Leah-Half 2, Other kids-20 to 3. It takes a bit to get back into it, you know!)

Last weekend my sis G.G. brought Cathal to town to get his Communion outfit. I tagged along like a spare wheel and between the two of them he is now kitted out to his underpants for the big day! I won't spoil the surprise but he's going to look great! Thanks G.G. Love you. x
A photie of when they were in New Look!

We are very lucky to live in an area where some people still keep chickens in their back garden. Cathal LOVES eggs, his only problem is: soft-boiled, fried, scrambled, omlette, OMG the choice is endless, if you soft boil them you could make a sandwich.....It could keep you awake at night if you were that way inclined.
Anyways, he got a Goose egg from a friend of G.G.'s and actually hopped about saying, Omlette, Boil it, No Omlette, No boil it. I waited till he calmed down and....

We boiled it. It wouldn't fit in the egg holders (obviously) so we......

BTW, the other eggs in that pot were from the chickens in a back yard, not MY back yard but a friend of my brother's. Everyone in Carraroe knows how much Cathal loves his eggs! Especially "home-made" and "big" ones!!

A little bit of me.....

2008-03-28T21:06:00.001-07:00

I had a bit of fun last week on the forum with CowGirl Neeb posting cat pics. We had a whole theme/thread going. It was funny, if you have our kind of sense of humour! Anyways this was my favourite of the pics that was posted.
God, sometimes I wish I was a cat....!!!! You get fed, let in to the fire, you get to lick yourself and no-one bats an eyelid, you can take off for days with no repercussions.....sigh.....oh well, maybe in my next life!!

It's official! I'm half deaf.

2008-03-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

I had a hearing test done yesterday. If I don't answer your replies it's because I can't hear you!!!

Couldn't resist!!!

2008-03-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Most of the photo's today were taken while I was inside the cottage.... (see post below) As I was looking at them on the puter I could nearly hear what the kids were saying.....!!!!

"What scenery Dad? Ewww, is that poo? It's Poo. God, what did that?"

"I'm feckin' tired of walking. Why do we have to bloody walk to all these places?" (Click on this pic to her face!!)

"It's O.K. I know the way, follow me"

"I won't tell Mom you let us down here, DAD!!!!"

"Are you done already honey, I gotta get home and feed these kids? SMILE!!!!!"

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Well the 2 kids are all gorged out on chocolate. Myself and Leah don't like chocolate so we left them to it. I think Cathal is giving Jerry a run for his money this year!!!
We headed off today to Pearse's Cottage for the tour they were doing to commemorate the Uprising. Jerry and the kids had never been inside it so it was nice for them to see. I was there a few times when I was younger but it was lovely to see it again. Amazing to think he wrote the Proclamation of Independence in this little cottage.
Anyways, Cathal was very interested in it all. Jerry explained all about the 1916 Uprising to him (I wouldn't dare, I'd probably get it arseways!) Leah of course wanted to go look for the horse we saw in a field on the way up to the cottage. Oh, and strike a pose by the old fireplace!!
Jerry took loads of photos outside and then we headed off to Granny's house down the road for a visit. Shocking to think this house, steeped in our history, is less than a half an hours drive from us, yet today was the first time Jerry and the kids were in it.

A few photos from today....

Strike a pose!

That's my girl!!!

Some Rosmuc scenery

Pearse's Cottage

And to finish it off, a beautiful sunset when I got home.

Apparantly I am....

2008-03-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

61%

Nonsense!!!

Catch up!

2008-03-10T17:37:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted in a while.
Went out Friday night (actually out, to a pub!) Had a great night.
Went to Athlone Saturday for a meal with Jerry's family to celebrate his brother's 30th birthday. Had a great night.
Made the mistake of saying I'd drive home on Sunday morning. Eventually left Athlone at 20 to 7 that evening. Not a nice drive home in a car I'm not used to, at night, in the rain with a merry passenger.
Lesson learned!

Hope y'all had a good weekend and are surviving the storms!

Aldi, Lidl V's Dunnes Stores, Tesco's etc

2008-02-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

Last week my daughter spent a day with my sister. All was going well until she asked for cheese. She saw the orange and red packaging and said "I don't like that cheese" D'you know what cheese she loves? Aldi sliced cheese. OK. that's fine.
I buy Camembert cheese in crumb ready to be cooked that Cathal likes. He's not fussy about his Camembert, he know's he's lucky to have it! We have bought loads from Lidl, and he's loved them. Jerry did the shopping last week and got a packed camembert in crumb (same thing?? you'd think, only better?) in Dunnes, and he took a few bites and said it was disgusting.
It should make you think, who better than a child to tell you what does or doesn't taste nice. How many of ye are hiding Lidl pasta in see through boxes? Why? There's no shame. Jesus, we all shop there.
I for one love Lidl and Aldi and wish I could visit once a week, and they have all the artists stuff in at the mo. Oh, I'd love the pencils, knives and canvas's
G'night...

Donate Blood

2008-02-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

After I heard what happened to some poor sod in New York (he got mugged carrying a laptop containing info from IBTS-Irish Blood Transfusion Service), I remembered that it's been years since I have donated. I did it a few times when I lived in Limerick but not since I came home to live. Between not having a car, not having a fixed clinic in Galway and of course the many many other little reasons that get in the way of doing things, I just never got around to doing it. I did ring once but the mobile clinic dates didn't suit and of course I said I'd check again some other time.....
Well today was that time. In fairness to IBTS, it wasn't through carelessness that this happened (not like the child benefit thing in U.K....lets not get into that shall we!!) but a genuine, one is a million (hang on, it was New York, ok, one in a hundred...!) chance occurance and it's unfortunate it happened. All info is highly encrypted and at the end of the day it doesn't contain PPS no's or otherwise which could be used for fraud so really, in my opinion, no real harm done. Just try to get the system upgraded in Ireland next time, huh?!!
Anyways, back to the point of this post. After reading all about this I decided to check out their site and see if they had any new clinics near me. I have registered with them and will try to make the one in Oughterard on Wed-2nd April, 4.30-8.30. (Enough info there? If not check out the site)
Giving blood is such a worthwhile and I would say selfless task, but to be honest, although you "get " nothing from it apart from a few biscuits and some fizzy drink, the feeling that you could be saving a life is priceless. I remember my first donation, I felt like I was curing the masses! It really is a special feeling.
Go on, be a hero for a day, give blood.

Just for fun!

2008-02-26T19:30:00.001-08:00

Go on Mags, you know you want to!!!!

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct.

It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors.

If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs.

As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human.

And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

Things that make you go "Ummm, ummmm, ummm"

2008-02-23T19:50:00.000-08:00

What's that song? It's obviously so old that YouTube has no hits! Oh God I'm getting old....
Anyways, I saw a similar post tonight on Gertie's blog and thought, I have things that make me go "Ummmmmmmm" (apart from the obvious ladies, lets keep this clean, shall we,please....!!)

*)Fluffy slippers out of the drier after a bath, still warm.

*)A cup of tea you didn't ask for in the morning handed to you, in bed

*)P.J's off the rad after a bath

*)Clean sheets (with aforementioned warm jammies) after a bath

*)Having the remote to yourself for the night and snuggling up on the settee to watch True Movies!

*)Those fluffy socks in Dunnes Stores. Ohhh Myyyy Godddd. Buy a few pairs cause after a few washes they resort to being "normal" socks but the first few times........Ummmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

Next time ye're out ladies, treat yourself to a new pair of jammies, fluffy socks, fluffy slippers and slip into a bath. Change your sheets (beforehand) and then crawl into bed with a good book and enjoy the Ummmm's!!!!

I really need to get out more.....

Thinking of having kids?????

2008-02-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

Before you take the big plunge with your pink sunspecks on into motherhood (or fatherhood, I'm an equal oppurtunity "blogger" here!) please bear these 3 things in mind;

1) They run away and set up camp in your back garden. They don't put the furniture away when they decide to "come home". You will have to do that.

2) This shit doesn't wash off. Ever.

3) They make cool stuff that looks stupid on you, look good. That's just not right.

I will, on occasion, try to mention the good points of being a parent. In the interests of fairness I will delve deep and find 3 reasons TO have kids......

Ummmmm.......

1) It's pretty much THE BEST THING that'll ever happen to you!!! Seriously. Much as I bitch about them. What the hell would I have to talk/bitch about if they weren't here? I couldn't imagine life without them.

2) The smell. There is nothing like the baby smell of a new baby. Or the smell of a sleeping child. (Yes, they smell different when asleep, if you're wondering, you're not a parent)

3) It's a toss up for third place..... the "you're the best Mom ever" after a day out or "your mash is better than her mash" after being at a friends house.....I think the mash wins! I'm not a great cook but Cathal is always guiding and helping me ("How about some more cheese Mom?")

There you go, 3 against, 3 for.
Hope I've been fair.
Slan abhaile,
Neasa

Not much happenin' round here....

2008-02-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

Kids in the snow this morning....

I feel my post yesterday didn't do justice to Cowgirl Neeb. I was so blown away with what she sent that I just couldn't really express it. I'm not very good with expressing myself. NEEB, YOU'RE THE BEES KNEES!!!!! I'm still playing with everything. She texted me from the U.S. to say she picked up a few little bits for The Missus that would look good with a l.o. of her in my "I give up" post! So I thought it was a few princess stickers...So you can see why I was a bit shell shocked and speechless yesterday!!

Today Cathal woke me at 6 am coughing. He didn't wake, of course, but the barking cough had him off school for the day even if he hadn't come into me an hour later crying with a sore throat. Then it started snowing. Our first snow in about 7 years. I had to let him out to play....didn't I?

The Missus got all excited thinking it was Christmas and Santa came again. This was her first time being in the snow. She was Not Impressed.
"It's cooooooooooold"
"Yes, honey it's cold, it's snow"
"But it's not cold on Dora"
"We don't live in the telly, this is what real snow is like"
"I want to go in"
"Do you want to throw a snowball?"
"No"
"Do you want to hit Cathal with a snowball?"
".......ok......."

She got over it and lasted a while out there. Poor Cathal was dredging slush out of the drains trying to finish his snowman in the end.
I, Ms Mommy Efficiency, of course had the camera out to capture these treasured moments. Pity the camera doesn't beep like my old one when you try to take pictures without a memory card in.........yes, I nearly cried. The snow was gone when I realised.
Thankfully Jerry got some photos on his phone and through some magical technology unknownst to me I have a few photies. Thanks Jerry. Love ya, you know! (I don't think he has ever read this blog-it would be like me reading his website....boooooring!!!If you don't believe me check it out on the left hand side!)

God, it is so cold here tonight. I was going to go visit a friend earlier but the car was frozen over so I decided to stay put. Cathal is fast asleep in his new inflatable bed (bought for sleepovers but he's test running it!) Leah is watching "Spirit" and still awake. She was at her friends house since after playschool and she passed out in bed 15 mins after getting home. I naiively thought she was asleep for the night. Apparantly she saves all her "wees" for when Mommy can watch....there is no other explanation for it.....I can hear her moving. She must need to wee again....

Thanks Cowgirl Neeb!

2008-01-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Niamh, a "lady" {{{snigger!!}}} whom I have never met in real life sent me a beautiful package today with some lovely stuff she bought for me while on holiday in America. Myself and Niamh have kept each other company over on the Cara Craft Supplies forum during many's the long cold night!! She really is a super lady and Leah can't wait to meet the real Cowgirl Neeb!
Niamh hun, I'm blown away by your generosity. I look forward to making your card and something from all this fantastic stash!

Here goes!!!

First off the now infamous "Cow Card"!!! (It's cow card, not a card for a cow, Y'all understand??!!!)

Stickers and embellies

Chipboard

Ooodles of ribbon

Beautiful metal letters, tags, clips....close up

Beautiful metal letters, tags, clips....

Glitter chipboard letters

Millions of papers!

I love every single bit of it Niamh. You really are one in a million. Thanks so much. For once in my life, I'm speechless!!! x x x

It's the weekend!

2008-01-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Well folks, it's the weekend again, thank God! Quick post before I head off to Mag's house for a few bevvies.
This has been a good week.
*No one is sick
*No one broke any bones
*No one broke any windows
*The kids live to tell the tale for another week
*Aforementioned kids both had eye tests this week and have definately not inherited Mommy's lazy eye. Yippee!!!
*No one tailgated me
*No one pulled into a space I was indicating to go into
*I had lobster for dinner. Followed by profiteroles and rose wine.

Yes, I'd say all in all a good week! I also got the hang of our webcam so I've been bombarding my big sis Karen (she's not fat, just older than me!) with video's of the kids!! Man, remember not that long ago when we used to wait for letters in the post? Send away films from the camera and wait weeks for them to arrive? Now I can record the kids and within 5 minutes (depending on photobucket...)my sis is watching them on her screen. OK, granted, she only lives down the road from me but thats not the point. If she was in Australia it would be the same. Karen, fancy moving to Australia????!!!!! Actually, no, we'll send Seona, she never babysits.... (Kidding Seo!) Don't think she reads this anyway. Too busy faffing about on Bebo!! Seriously, we've come a long way. I was 16 before I used a computer. Our school got a few and we used to take classes. No internet though. That came later. In college. I used to sneak into U.L.'s computer library (I was in the RTC but I had "contacts" in UL wink wink!)and thats where my love of the internet started at the grand old age of 18!!! Now my 8 yr old son is showing me stuff!!! Anyone heard The Chipmunks sing. Check it out. Soooo funny! Thanks Cathal x

Posted this today on CS forum. It made me laugh out loud. Enjoy!

MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

1. My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...
"Just wait until your father gets home."

2. My Mother taught me about RECEIVING....
"You are going to get it when we get home!"

3. My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE...
"What were you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you! Don't talk back to me!"

4. My Mother taught me LOGIC...
"If you fall out off that swing and break your neck, your not going to the store with me."

5. My Mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE...
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

6. My Mother taught me to THINK AHEAD...
"If you don't pass your spelling test, you'll never get a good job."

7. My Mother taught me ESP...
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you're cold?"

8. My Mother taught me HUMOR...
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

9. My Mother taught me how to BECOME AN ADULT...
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

10.My Mother taught me about SEX....
"How do you think you got here?"

11.My Mother taught me about GENETICS...
"You're just like your father."

12.My Mother taught me about my ROOTS...
"Do you think you were born in a barn?"

13.My Mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE...
"When you get to be my age, you will understand."

14.And my all time favorite... JUSTICE...
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you....Then you'll see what it's like."

That's enough for now. G'night folks!!! Thanks for stopping by. x

Altered envelope backs!

2008-01-19T15:54:00.000-08:00

The super talented Kate gave a class this week on the ScrapWest blog. I had great fun making this and boy did it feel good to be crafting again!!
I used the Pheobe paper pack from Basic Grey to cover the "pages" and stuck a few bits n bobs onto it. I'll either add more tomorrow or let the recipient do it herself.

Thanks again Kate! Your a star!!!

Sorry, again the pics are not showing fully. If you click on the picture you'll see the full image. Thanks!

Driving etiquette

2008-01-18T16:50:00.000-08:00

If I am sitting on the road with my indicator pointing in and you are coming towards me, I am not, in actual fact alerting you to a space that has just opened up in the very small car park that is our local shop. Seriously???? Did you think I was waiting for you to waltzt in?
UUUUUggggghhhhhhhhh, this makes my blood boil. There are not many things (apart from obvious stupidity which I have covered before) that annoy me about driving. If I'm stuck behind a car that I can't overtake I don't get annoyed. I stay there. If I am stuck behind someone who refuses to turn off his headlights, I pull over and let the asshole go, if someone is on my ass for no reason, yes, I turn on my fog lights(thats only happened once-dyno truck, I'm onto you!!)but I will let them go.

The parking in Carraroe is awful. So awful that I have started going to our other local shop (not so much selection as SPAR but at least you can park)
The same day of the waltzing in at the shop, the same happened at the chemist. There are 4 parking spaces, a bit of road space on either side, and again I was sitting there with my indicator on.......Van, delivery.....long story short: car left where it was (off the road but not not properly parked)
Me thinks planning commisions need to get their thinking caps on before the next installment of buildings opens up.
Any amount of buildings going up but no thought as to parking. Or playgrounds/activity area'setc.
Might have some news as to the playground next week. Fingers crossed and drive carefully!

Living will

2008-01-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

Last night a friend and I were sitting in the kitchen and I said to her, 'I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle to keep me alive. That would be no quality of life at all. If that ever happens, just pull the plug.'
So she got up, unplugged the computer, and threw out my wine.
Bitch!!!

Thanks Isobel!!!

And the saga continues.....

2008-01-18T09:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday:

8.50 am-wave Cathal off to school perfectly fine and dandy.
9.15 am-"ring ring, Neasa, it's the school, come quick, somethings wrong with Cathal"

He fainted in his seat and fell to the floor banging his head in the process. His temperature shot up and he was surrounded by 4 teachers swaddled in wet cloths when I arrived. He then starts vomiting. I rush him to the doc to be told it's a "virus"

11.30 am-"If I have to tell you to stop hopping on the settee once more I'm sending you back to school, I don't care if you saw a bright light"

What's next I wonder? Bubonic plaugue?

Bad, bad blogger....

2008-01-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

People like me shouldn't be allowed to have a blog! In my defence, I've had a poorly little cowgirl who just can't seem to shake her ailments. Long story short: croup, chest infection, vomiting, temperature of 103.8......God Bless the makers of Neurophen for Children.

Anyways New Years Eve party went great. Put it this way, there was only one plastic microphone so kitchen utensils and hairbrushes were in full swing. Not only is there photographic evidence (which I'm not showing out of fear of legal action against me) but some smart arses were sober enough to remember they could tape with their mobiles....Cats, mating, on hot coals, you get my drift!!!

These are 2 notebooks I made for Cathals teacher for christmas. I used the Once Upon a Time paper stack. Such beautiful papers to work with

[IMG]http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g110/neasaod/blog%20pictures/schoolplayandmisc087.jpg[/IMG]

And here's Leah in her Naoinra christmas play. Oh the irony, she played an angel. I nearly choked when she came out!!!

And The Missus showing her true colours!!! Man her hair looks really red in that light!!

This is a card I made for a friend who has had her 3rd daughter. I figured pink wasn't high on her list anymore....

Leah is dying to see her friend's new baby sister. She keeps asking me "Is she this small?" I keep telling her "No, she's not a tadpole" I think she might be a bit disappointed when she sees her.....

....for some reason that this technophobe doesn't know, the 2nd and 3rd photos of the card is only showing some of it. If you click on the pictures you can see the full card....

I've been tagged!

2008-01-16T04:48:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by the lovely and uber talented Elisa. Thanks a million Elisa!

“You Make My Day Award” the rules are…..Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times!So, to narrow it down to ten….

There are so many blogs I enjoy but I'll narrow it down. I tag Elisa again!, Kate, Dawn, Tigger, and Noelle and Jean.

I'll try to update soon, I promise!

Tick Tock....

2007-12-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

2008 is fast approaching and I'm still sitting here in my jammies watching cartoons in front of the fire with a sick little Leah. She had croup over the Christmas and now has a chest infection and is on more antibiotics. We're off to Mags and James's house tonight to ring in the New Year. Bubbly is chilling in the fridge as we speak. I wonder would it be bad manners to turn up in aforementioned jammies???? Oh well, I suppose I'd better get dressed then....
Happy New Year everyone and hope 2008 is good to you all! Sláinte!

An amalgamation of sorts....

2007-12-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

...of two of my previous posts "Basic Car Maintenience" and "Stupidity"

After a 2 and a half hour drive from Athlone I have this advice for other drivers on these fine roads of ours....

1)I know this was covered in "Stupidity" but obviously not EVERYONE read that post. PLEASE don't overtake on a continous white line, around a bend, in the dark when it's pissing rain. It just doesn't make sense people. And it makes people watching you nervous. Even Jerry Tut Tuted. (He had turned off his Bat Wings because the rain was so bad) If Jerry Tut Tut's you, you have done something REALLY stupid.

2)You don't need your fog lights on in the rain. Even Connemara rain. You just annoy the people behind you. No end.

3)Dim your headlights when driving behind someone or get them adjusted so they don't blind the person in front of you. (This comes under Basic Car Maintenience-if people are flashing their fog lights at you all the time they might be trying to tell you something.....go to a garage and get them checked or drive behind a friend for a while)

I thought these were all "no brainers". Apparantly not. We had all 3 on our trip home tonight. Surely they weren't all pissed.....?????

Póst as Gaeilge...

2007-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

Ahem ahem, go mo leischeil,
Bá mhaith liom post as Gaeilge a dheanamh. Nil mo chuid litriú Gaeilge nó grammadach iontach ach bá mhaith liom a rá libh ar fad "Go mBeirith muid beó ar an ám seo aris" Bhi Nollaig iontach againn anseo san gCeathrú Rua agus tá muid ag taistéal go dti Ath Luain amárach le tuille spóirt agus spraoi! Tá súil agam go raibh Nollaig iontach agaibh uilig agus go bhfeicfidh mé anseo aris sibh.
Go n-éiri an t-ádh libh, agus má tá aon Ghaeilge agat, úsáid é!!!!

P.S. It won't let me do i fáda's....

It's all over for another year!

2007-12-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

YES!! Survived another year. Neasa-31_Christmas-0
Santa came and left without being spotted, even after making a pig of himself in the sitting room. Man alive, not even did he eat the sweets left out for him he started in on a box of celebrations I was saving for any visitors, and left the wrappers all over the place. No harm, he did his job and left the goods. Thanks Santa. X
Went to my Mom's for dinner this year which was lovely. We haven't done that for a few years but with the Missus having croup, when she asked if we'd like to have dinner at home this year I jumped at the chance! And it was lovely, soo relaxed as my job was pouring wine and pulling crackers. Cathal fell asleep (up since 6.30 am-he must have just missed Santa, although he did hear some scraping on the roof which must have woken him up....) and Leah just posed for pictures and vegged on the couch watching Shreck the 3rd. Jerry nearly ran me over when we stopped to check on the neighbours dog and feed their fish but thankfully didn't so all in all a good Christmas day!
Woke up this morning with a rotten head cold, snotting all over the place but apart from doing a bread and milk run was pretty much able to stay put playing with all the new toys that arrived yesterday. Buckaroo, Pictionary, "Are you Smarter than a Ten Year old?" (no-but Cathal is!!) and Buzz thingy game. Chinese for dinner as we had no leftovers. Had no water today so we couldn't set up his SeaMarine Creatures set. Hey, it beats the hell out of having no electricity. Ohhh, woe is me, I can't wash the dishes....yeah, inside I'm crying!!!!
Hope you all had a great christmas and wishing you all a very happy new year. Bottoms up!

'Tis the friggin' season!!!!

2007-12-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

Don't get me wrong, I love christmas. I love everything about it. AFTER the 1st of December, anything before that is wasted on me. I have even avoided going into town since last halloween....
But I decided to get my ass in gear tonight and clean and tidy up so we could put up the tree. (Very late this year, I would normally have had it up last weekend) My sister took the two hooligans and Jerry was away working so I had the place to myself. Everything was going great, place was "presentably" tidy, had the tree ready for decorating, the wreath thingy on the mantlepiece all decorated and lit up. I plugged all (4) plugs of tree lights in, and lo and behold they all worked!!!! And so did the 2 outside ones! I started unravelling the tree lights and they just started rolling out on the floor!!! I thought the Gods were smiling down at me "You've had a rough year Neasa, we're going to take it easy on you this time"

Till the last bunch of lights......

The end was fine, the other end was fine, but there was a big knot in the middle. I was so calm because of all the other lights being easy I thought "This'll be a piece of cake" I even made a little joke to myself about the attic gremlins only finding one set this year.....
*Fast forward 2 hours* : "*sob* Fuck you, you Godamn fucking lights, I don't need you, I bought a new set, stupid friggin'....."

Yes, I lost the plot with a set of fairy lights. I very nearly stomped on them too. I don't actually know what stopped me because they are up on the tree now and I still want to rip them off and step on them....hmmm
Anyways Jerry came home and did his "jiggy jiggy" thing and they flowed to the floor like water. I left the house at that stage to buy drink for the night. For me.
So the house is lit up like a .....christmas tree!!! Lights outside, and flashing Snowman in the garden (just his hat lights flashing, there are children around!) It was all done before the kids came back. It was worth it to see their faces. We left the bobbles and decorations for them to put on and Cathal put the angel on the tree as usual. Leah had her Naoinra decorations to put on it. I think a tree decorated with a cardboard snowman with cotton wool and a star and tree made of biscuit recipe and hand painted by your kids is the best tree ever!
It was well worth the F'ing and blinding earlier!!!
Happy Holiday's Folks!!!!
Hope ye all have a good one!
Neasa
xxx

Stolen joke!

2007-12-09T13:47:00.000-08:00

Found this over on Julies blog and thought it was so funny. I know a few people in "Management" and thought this was spot on!!! Thanks Julie!

A man in a hot air balloon realised that he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted “Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend that I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”
The woman replied “You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude.”
“You must be a scientist” shouted the balloonist.
“I am” said the woman. “How did you know?”
“Well” answered the balloonist, “everything that you told me is presumably technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of the information, and the fact is, I am still lost. Frankly, you have not been much help.”
The woman responded “You must be in management.”
“I am” replied the balloonist, “but how did you know?”
“Well,” said the woman, “you don’t know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are by means of a large volume of hot air. You have made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people below you to solve the problems you have created. You are in exactly the same position you were in before we met but now, somehow, it is my fault!”

Back to school!

2007-11-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

Kinda!!! (Is that a word?)
I'm doing an evening course in basic acountancy and business book keeping. I would of course have put it in CAPITAL LETTERS if it was run through the University College Of Galway, but it is not....it is a course run for people setting up their own business so they can keep a track of their books, learn how to do a tax thingy, the vat thingy, and know what thingys you need to be aware of and keep receipts for, thingys....
As you all know I don't have a business. My business is: wiping bums, noses, school runs, eat breakfast (a cup of tea) Leah to play school, feed and let out neighbours dog, start lunch, another school run, then pick up Leah, then another school run. Neighbours house for uniform change and let dog in.
Feed the minions, Homework, Playtime, Dinner, (considering I had to help with playtime today they were lucky to be fed! Thank God for pasta!)
After all that I got to play the student and I loved it! I've soooo longed to go back to school at some stage but something always seemed to get in the way. Oh, I should explain, sorry. Jerry set up a business a while back and has an accountant doing all his paperwork (as you do) but if I learn enough on this course I should be able to do a lot if not all of Jerry's vat and tax returns. Whoo hoo, not only does it save us money, but I'm doing something other than wiping up sick and cleaning dishes.
I nearly feel like a human being again.....

Uachtaráin na hÉireann

2007-11-15T15:35:00.000-08:00

We had a visit today from no other but our Uactaráin na hÉireann, Máire Mhic Ghiolla Iosa (Puter will not let me do a capital I fada????)
There was such an air of festivities in the air. I was so glad I brought the kids down, if I hadn't I'd've missed these:
Kid: So, are we going to see the Queen then?
Mom: No, she's not the queen,
Kid: But is she like the Queen, like our Queen?
Mom: We don't have a Queen, she's our President.
Kid: So she doesn't have a tiara.....
Mom:SSSShhhhhhhhhhh

Child: Why are all the people standing here? Is it for the Prisoner?
Mum: She's not a prisioner, she's the President.
Child: Oh...

Child:Is there gonna be food here? The last time I saw this many people there was loads of food. Where's the food?

My last words outside the hall that she had just vacated (directly across from my friends pub) "I wish I brought my purse"!!!!

A great day was had by all, she came across as a lovely person, no airs or graces about her. I particularly liked how she started her speech. " Go dti mar ata, no no, nil sé sin ceart. Ceach chú bhuil sibh"!!!! To rounds of applause !(Spelling is not correct I'm using phonetic writing here!)
Wow, she is such an elegant lady, plus she's witty and seems to be a real "people person". She spent way more than her "alloted" time of 40 mins opening the new unit and in our local centre for handicapped and disabled children. Tigh Nan Dooley. When I figure out how to post a link I will!
All in all, a great day was had by all.
Go raibh mile maith agat a Uachtaráin,
Ó clann Úi hUallacháin.

I give up....

2007-11-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

We're rootin' an' tootin' for ya!

2007-11-05T19:49:00.000-08:00

You know who you are! Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Thinking of you and can't wait to see ye again (actually can't wait to see the babs!)
Hope you see this, take care,
x

Basic Car Maintenance Lesson 1

2007-11-04T15:18:00.000-08:00

If you can smell burning you are either in the wrong gear or something is, in fact, burning.

If you can hear a rattle coming from the underside of the car, it could in fact be a can of travelling sweets. Chect this out "before" bringing the car to a garage to avoid any unnecessary embarrasment.

Note to self....

2007-11-01T09:28:00.001-07:00

Don't update blog with a few drinks on board....I couldn't find the pics of the kids in their costumes last night ("hmmmm, they were here a minute ago, hic") Here are the 2 in all their finery!!!

Halloween....oooh....aaahhhhhh

2007-10-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

...not so.... but they tried!!
Had a great evening with the kids trick or treating, pity a lot of people didn't open their doors. All they wanted, was to be seen in their costumes (which cost a bloody fortune-you can ask my sis's.....Thanks Karen & Gráinne!) The kids didn't care what you gave them, they just wanted to be seen.... In future all you people who don't answer the door.....buy a bag of penny sweets in Aldi and don't be one of those "I'm not here-although you can see my beautiful chandlier sparkling from 5 miles away" people...OK???

ScrapWest Cyber Crop

2007-10-20T16:22:00.000-07:00

Hi folks don't forget the ScrapWest cyber crop kicks off tomorrow at 8am. Hopefully I will have another few bits to post up during the week. Ooooh, the circus is coming to town tomorrow. I can't wait. Leah is so excited about seeing the unicorns???? God love her. Hope she's not too disappointed.....

Stupidity...

2007-10-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me how we managed to climb to the top of the food chain. The stupidity on show somedays is just mindbogglingly frustrating. Like: people who overtake on a continous white line around a bend (I have seen this on numerous occasions and most recently yesterday-I was the car you were bearing down one Mr White Mazda, you know who you are) Or people who decide to overtake me when I'm turning right. Thankfully this has happened to me 'only' twice. Then there are the people who stand in the queue for 10 minutes and wait till their stuff is totted up to announce "Oh I just need some bread and milk, won't be a minute" You gotta be kidding me lady???.....
Todays example of this phenomemon goes like this. Quite a lot of families have moved into our area in Connemara over the last few years, with little or no Irish. They have tried their best with regard classes but an hour every month is not good enough. 2 of these ladies put themselves forward for the parent/teacher comittee. At the first meeting they were told not to say anything as the meeting was conducted through Irish. I'm not even going to get into how I felt about that. Anyways, it would seem that 'some' progress has been made....hmm... They recieved letters to ask them if they would be interested in Adult Irish classes and what level they would be interested in taking. Brilliant!!!! Only problem is, the letter arrived As Gaeilge....
I will be updating this list of Stupidity as I find examples. In the interest of fairness and unbiasness (is that a word? it is now) I will also be posting examples of when I myself have suffered the terrible affliction commonly known as "Baby Brain" or "Blond Moment" Like how half a tub of Vaseline 2 days before her christening, didn't, in fact, cure Leahs cradle cap. It just made her look like a greasy old man. I love you baby!!! The upside of that is I now know how to fix said Vaseline disaster! (Thank heavens for friends with kids...we should get together and write a book called "Damage Control"!)

Thats it from here folks. Thanks for listening to my ranting. Feel free to post any stupid actions you have seen in the comments box. I might even use them here to back up my point! Night night!

Testing testing....

2007-10-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe I figured out how to post pictures from my Photobucket thingy!! A few more layouts here that I don't think I've posted already.

L.O.'s

2007-10-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

A few that haven't been shown yet. If you click on the pic you should be able to see it in more detail (if you want!)

Where have all the pictures gone?....

2007-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:00

I tried using Photobucket to share some L.O's and although it says they've been posted to Blogger there's no sign of them. Hmmmm, curiouser and curiouser....

Uggggh... technology

2007-09-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

I've just spent half hour trying to get into my own site! New passphrases, passwords,when was your Mom born...eeeck, it's getting a bit freaky now.
I can't even remember what I was going to say now, I'm so shocked that I was let on here. I'm nearly expecting a squad at the door anyminute now to search me and the house....

Got a "fright".......

2007-09-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

The kids are all fed (as you all know by now I mind 2 kids after school) The kids are all playing inside and out (had an exceptionally fine day last Friday, by fine, yes I mean DRY) and we had 2 "incomers". Kids that aren't normally there. I didn't care, kids were playing, clothes were blowing in the breeze, and it's Friday!!!! I have a standing order in my "New Neighbours" house on Friday which, "ahem", usually, "ahem" requires a bottle of vino. (Hell, I'm minding her kids all week, and she has to put up with mine on the weekend, I think we deserve a glass or two!!!"
Anyways, while I'm sitting with an old neighbour (she's not old, she just moved away!) we hear a thud/bang/crash (take your pick) in the hallway. I had heard Leah come screaming up the hallway so I knew it was her. 'Cause the screaming stopped just after the bang we heard.
To make a long story short(ish), I went to survey the damge, thought "Oh no, somethings broken" (It's not like Leah to not get up after a fall) She was lying in a little heap in the hallway. I picked her up and she looked like she was crying, but I realised she had done the crying thing too hard, or winded herself.... Her mouth was wide open trying to cry or grab a breath but it wasn't happening. I at this stage cried for Jerry, who told me to "Relax, turn her over". I did and she started crying to my relief. "She's crying = she's breathing" Then I turn her back to me and ask her where's she's hurt. Before my eyes her eyes roll back in her head, her lips turn blue and she goes limp in my arms. I thought she was dead or dying in my arms....
To say I panicked would be an insult to people who just normally panic. I lost the block. I screamed for my next door neighbour sooooo loud and ran across to her, after leaving Leah to Jerry, that I had a sore throat that night. By the time I got to said neighbours house, the kids were running out saying that shes ok. Jerry hopped her on his good arm, she came to, not a bother on her. The above happened in about the space of 10 seconds.
I still feel a bit sick when I think of it. I also feel soooooooo bad for the kids who saw me lose it. (I apologised to all the Mommies involved, 3..)
I'm the first one to say "Do a first Aid course", (had a nasty experience a few years back, I'll tell ya later Mags!) and I can't believe I kept putting it off. Not even putting it off just not checking up on it.
Anyways, will update tomorrow or during the week about our "visit of doom" to the vet..(which is a happy story!!)

Finally figured it out...

2007-09-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

.....and got myself a hit counter! Not that I'm expecting many hits but it's nice to know someone's checking in now and then...

Jerry and my big brother are in Barcelona for the Poker tourney (No, they're not playing) They felt it was their duty to support the Irish team ~insert rolling eyes here~! Well one of the guys on the team (of 4) is a local lad from here so we are very proud of him. I wonder if there is any crafting competion in Barbados that I would just HAVE to show my support at.....not likely ~more rolling eyes~ As of tonight Ireland are out of the competion. They had to finish in the top 4 for the final table and we came 5th. Story of our lives really....

Leah is loving the Naoinra. Cathal is unlearning a little bit more every day! And I'm (kinda) back working again. I'm minding 2 kids. School runs and after school. You know what? It really IS as easy to feed 4 as it is to feed 2. Who'da thought???!!! You just put a bit more on! I always thought that was a load of doo-dah. It's great to have something to do all day between drop offs and pick ups (all different times) instead of going round the house getting nothing done. Also we have a new routine now, lunch, homework, play, dinner and play (as opposed to lunch, play, play, dinner and homework)so to be honest it's working out really great. Mind you, they're great kids and practically mine anyways! I always thought people who had loads of kids were crazy but maybe not! Then again, I do get to hand them back!

Anyhew, thats it from here. This is a photo on the Poker thingy blog. Thats Jerry in the Yellow Rossi t-shirt at the back. Pity they called them the Iceland team.....all those pale legs in shorts and burnt faces I suppose....And our local lad Joe (who finished 2nd in his heat, the best of the lot, pros included) in the green t-shirt beside him. Gooooo Jooooooe! Well done

You did us proud, as we say 'round here!

First day of school

2007-09-04T15:47:00.000-07:00

The Missus started Naoinra (pre-school in the Gealtacht) yesterday. She was horrified with her clothes "I'm not wearing this. Where's my nuniform?" (Not a typo!) We get there still full of the joys of "going to school like my brother" but it doesn't take long for reality to kick in. Momma's not staying. I have never in my life heard screams like it. They are very good in her Naoinra in that they discourage parents to hang around. It just prolongs the agony on both sides. I knew she'd be fine when I left, but still.....
Mags, (you all know her as the "new neighbour"!) came up with me and she drove me back to the vilage (in my car, I couldn't see, had something in my eye....) where we met another distraught Momma who left her screaming child in the same place (who only started crying when she heard mine crying....) We went for coffee where myself and other distraught Momma sat and watched our watches, the clock on the wall, our mobile phones....etc. My sis rang during this coffee and I checked with her that my watch was right. They are only in for an hour this week but yesterday morning was the longest of my life.
I was there promptly on time to pick her up and waited for her to come screaming out the door into my arms. No. I had to go in and prise her away from the table.
Today she was skipping in to meet her "team"? (I hope this isn't baby talk for "gang"...) when she turned and asked "Are you coming in Momma?" She was whisked away by one of the teachers to see the "babies". She never gives dolls names, they are all her "babies". Anyways, with a wink from the teacher and a swift retreat from me, today went well. So well in fact, that she didn't want to come home again today. I was the first Mom in line so her name was called first. We were the last to leave. Hmmmm.....not sure what to make of this. Will keep ye updated on any progress.

Cathal did "nothing" at school, as usual.....

Forgot to mention that she insisted on wearing her "Space Boots" instead of the lovely black patent Barbie shoes I bought her. I've decided to pick my battles! Space boots I can live with....

Altered notebooks

2007-09-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

A few notebooks I altered for Cathals teacher at the end of the school year. I forgot to post them up at the time. (I think I lost the pictures in cyber space for a while....) Anyhoos, here they are...

Look what I found....

2007-08-28T15:56:00.000-07:00

under Leahs pillow when making her bed this morning. What could you do but laugh? I know I'm (a bit) of a hoarder but I really hope this was her thinking of a midnight snack and not a case of monkey see, monkey do.....

Then off she toddles to the neighbours garden for a picnic with her friend Danni. They bring along with them a Dora mat, a tube of Pringles, assorted toys and puppy teddies, a punnet of strawberries a bucket and a stick (gotta have a stick at a picnic....) When I went to check on the other kids on the trampoline this is what I found on my neighbours doorstep

Again, I'm hoping this is not a forecast of their future parenting skills. Poor Salty is an 11 year old male dog but to give him his due, he took his new role as foster Mom very seriously! Another picture because I thought this was sooooo cute.

We are off to Westport tomorrow for a relaxing few days. Ha de ha ha. I haven't had a relaxing few minutes for 8 years. All the same it's nice to get out of the routine of home and stay in a nice clean place for a few days! We stay at the Harbours Mills beside Westport house every year. It's only an hour and a quarters drive from here but you feel like you are in another world. I just adore it there.

Thats all for now folks. Thanks for stopping by. x