Look what I found....

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

Bad blogger.......

It's been ages since I blogged but as my camera is out of action and I'm taking pics on Jerry's camera, which he uploads, and I can't find my stuff, it seems kinda pointless. I started this blog to show my cards but it's turned into a diary for the lack of photos......
Yesterday was Cathals 8th birthday. He doesn't like the whole "party" thing with loads of people, he gets a bit overwhelmed (anyone with an ADHD child knows what I'm saying!) so for the last 3 years he's been allowed to pick a friend and do a "no holds barred" day in town. So this year we; booked and paid for tickets for Simpsons movie, moved quickly to Smyths to spend a voucher he got for his birthday, Maccy D's for a quick snack, into movie (which I recommend for anyone with kids over 7/8ish, I laughed more at them laughing! Although Leah didn't let the side down, she laughed when everyone else laughed and stayed the whole movie!!!!) then across the road for bowling, then the arcade, on the way home Leisureland (another €50!) and Morelli's pizza, chips, battered sausages and snackbox on the way home!
Yes, it would have been cheaper to throw a party, but he doesn't like them. This way, he's happy, and I'm happy that he's happy.
What a beautiful sunny day today in Conemmara. I was sitting outside with my neighbour at 3pm and we were admiring the sun and thirst qualities of it. We decided to have a few drinks at 7 before the sun went down. Talk about a snowball effect! We had a full house by the end of the night. There were fiddles and boudhráns and 2 little Irish dancers (well not really, we need to get them onto classes though!) going at one stage. It's the night's you don't plan that end up being the best. Thanks Mags and James! Great night was had by all! Will post some pics tomorrow.
So I think that's it really unless ye want to hear about how I still have to get the school books, uniforms, lunchboxes, etc etc.......no, didn't think so! Enjoy the weather while it lasts!
Will post pics soon!

What a great weekend...

Just had a fantastic weekend which I'm wrapping up tonight with a glass of vino or two as tomorrow is officially the first day of the Summer holidays!!!! No alarm clock tomorrow morning, bliss....

It was a neighbours birthday yesterday (yes, one of the "new neighbours"!!) so we decided to go out for a meal and a few quiet drinks on Friday night. One chinese meal, 2 pubs, a gatecrashed 21st, (everyone had left for the nightclub, we were doing them a favour!!) and loads of dancing later we traipsed home for more dancing! I haven't had a good night out like it for ages. Maybe thats because I don't go out to pubs anymore, just the odd dinner now and then. The company was great and the craic was mighty. It does the soul good to have a good laugh like that now and then (and boy did I have a laugh that night) Then yesterday they had a barbeque to celebrate the actual birthday so we had to do it all over again....only problem was, the brain was willing but the body was weak...: ( Oh well, I suppose the days of going on the lock for a weekend are well and truely over. (Sigh....)!

On the crafting front, it's been pretty quiet as I still haven't finished tidying and organising my stuff since the carnage Jerry created. I've made a few cards that were asked for and also 3 altered notebooks for Cathals teacher as a thank you present. It seemed like a great idea at the time and even though I was pleased with how they turned out (I'm not really one of those crafters who "plans" projects, I tend to start with one piece of paper and hope for the best!) I still felt it was a bit cheap or something and that I should have bought her something "shop bought" as well. She did come to me after school and thank me personally and she seems really happy with them. I wish I had more faith or confidence or something in my work. I'm always second guessing my work and fret that people won't like them, even when the same people have come back to me for more stuff.

Anyways, I'll try to upload the notebooks and also the card I made her. The card was made with the decoupage fairies from Yvonne Tune's "Card Art Originals" site. I love them because they are die cuts so you just pop the layers out of the page. No cutting! That is a godsend to me! A bit of glitter on the wings and they look beautiful.

Can't find them but here are the baby cards I was asked for. They were scanned so they didn't come out too well but they were fine IRL! Also a fairy from the decoupage sheet, unmounted or on a card yet!

Mish mash of a week....

It's been one of those "funny" old weeks where you're up and down like a yo-yo!! on Thursday I had Cathals appointment in town re. his ADHD assessment. (En route to app. I got a call to tell me a guy I went to school with died in a crash in America) There seems to be a lot of improvement and they think so too so fingers crossed xxx There will be another assessment in September to see how he settles in with the new teacher (God help her!!) His teacher this year was fantastic and she was saying by the end of the year that she thought he was great. I nearly started crying. If your kid has ADHD tendencies you'll know what I mean....

Friday was a bit of a non starter really but Saturday night all the neighbours gathered round in our back garden for our (neighbourly) annual bonfire (a slight change of venue this year by a few hundred yards but thats another story...) Good God, a night of singing, dancing and drinking like it hasn't been seen 'round these parts for a while I tell ya'!!! The new neighbours really got into the swing of things and even dragged out boudhráns, tin whistles and recorders well after midnight! I even sang Ámhrán na bhFiann to finish us off (hmmm, might have been on my 3rd bottle of Miller????!!)

Next morning I had to drag myself, kids and 2 sleepovers out of bed for the Salthill Airshow. Jerry reckoned he wasn't fit to drive anywhere after the night before. I don't think he should be allowed on the road without supervision at any time but thats beside the point! I gave the "new neighbours" a good lie in before I went ringing their doorbell with their kids in tow. (Have ye figured out yet that me and the "new neighbours" get on really well????) So off we all headed into Salthill. Kids are asleep by the time we get there (both cars) and we have to park a mile and a half from the prom. Did this fuzzy headed Mommy remember to throw the small buggy into the boot???? Answers on a postcard please... Anyways we eventually got there and in between the showers the sun was glorious. Got a pic of two kids dancing in a huge puddle while the sun was out and I think it's priceless! Got loads of pictures but then started getting really hungry. Now, I'm not a woman you want to let get very hungry. By the time we got to and got served in SuperMacs I was about to start shouting "Just get out of my f*"k(%g way people" (Well not about to, I'd just started saying it in my head!) Supermacs that day was a disgrace. The hall was flooded into the bathroom. The bathroom was flooded but instead of taking the tissue out of the sink they were trying to stem the flow in the hallway????? Not a scrap of toilet tissue to be found anywhere (thank God for my trustee Mommy bag!) Then I was waiting in line behind 3 people for 20 minutes. I noticed a young boy standing to the side looking eagerly in. When I finally came to the front I asked him if he was trying to order. Poor dote had been standing there since before I got there. I had to tell the guy who came to take my order that he'd been waiting to be served for ages. As I was doing this and old Biddy barged in beside me and started shouting out her order to the guy. And they say the youth of today have no manners???? If it wasn't for me that poor child and his little brother would still be waiting for curry chips, and that biddy is probably still munching away..... Now this post is running long enough as it is so I won't get into what I got when I ordered 4 kids meals, to consist of: 1 nuggets, 1 cheeseburger, 2 plain burgers. UUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

So you can imagine my house come Monday between the bonfire and not being here on Sunday (but Jerry and big brother (actual big brother, not the t.v version!) were here grilling all sorts and frying and making mess all day. Grass all over the floor, buscuits mashed into the carpet, curtains hanging off the railings (not to mention the kids rooms!!!!)

Then Tuesday (today) I got the call that my friend had been brought home and there was a wake tonight. Jesus, there's nothing like an Irish funeral I think. Although I was only there long enough to pay my respects I saw people from my year in school that I haven't seen since I walked away that last day. I found it very difficult, especially as I wouldn't even recogise him, I thought someone had made a horrible mistake, but then I saw his brother. I couldn't do the whole going into the other room and meeting the genuine friends and the ghouls who thrive on "I knew him, give me another drink, I can't cope" people. I was actually going to go the the burial tomorrow (which I don't normally do) which brings me onto the next stage of my topsy turvy week.

My Dad asked me during the week to make some cards. One specific baby boy card and 4 neutral baby cards. I have never made neutral baby cards in my life, they have always been for a boy or girl and usually with a name I can put on it somewhere. With the hectic weekend I was running a little behind but I knew I wasn't late yet . Then my Dad rang me tonight. I said "the cards are nearly done, they'll be on tomorrow's boat" (he lives in the Aran Islands) and he says " Well I can save you the trouble of putting them on the boat, can you pick me up and bring me to Casualty in the morning?" He's a stonemason and he got a slpinter of rock/stone in his eye. The doc's on the Island were able to give him painkillers but nothing else. Now I love it out there on the Islands for a visit but this is exactly why I wouldn't live there. Unless you are actually dying, or giving birth, they won't come out to get you (to my knowledge)

So I managed to finish the cards tonight, and I have a day full of Casualty to look forward to tomorrow but you know what? I couldn't give a shit. I'm glad actually. I'll spend some time with my Dad, have a chat, which is something we haven't done in a while.

Hmmm, It's saying my images have uploaded to blogger , first for a long time, but they dont seem to actually be there??? Yes it definately says "your images have uploaded to blogger"Oh, there it is up at the top!!! To shattered to now to do anything else. Will show pics of the fallen helicoper door tomorrow

Just chillin' !!

My camera has gone to join all the other broken, unwanted, unused and out of fashion cameras in the sky. I believe there is a place for us, cats and dogs so why not my beloved camera? The kids dropped it on it's head too many times at the beginning of its short life that apparantly there were long term after effects that just cannot be rectified.....a moment of silence please.




Thank you. Now. I'm friggin' raging. I haven't even finished paying for the damn thing and a few knocks on the head and it's gone????? Please.....You'd think they would make things a bit more robust these days considering where some of these products are going.
I am also raging because jerry has thrown out my 3v voucher with €15 left on it. He broke his computer yesterday and instead of being a man about it and go do his work elsewhere or drink a few beers he decides to "tidy his office"aka "Bull in Waterford Crystal Shop". His office is also my craft room so there is a little overlap re: papers and stuff. In the end I told him to get out and I'd do it. You wouldn't believe what he was putting in the bin......apparantly my 3v voucher went in before I stepped in to stop the carnage....
I am also missing 2 craftknives and 2 bonefolders and a sheet a peeloffs that I was assuming I would find in the pile he dumped on my table (which he moved.....ummmm)
I was chillin' when I wrote the title of this post but I finished my glass of wine now (2 glasses as I deleted the post by accident and had to write it all again) so I'm still going to bed annoyed. But just annoyed, not mad or angry which I hate 'cause I can't sleep then. My babies are safe and fast asleep like caterpillars in their beds. I am well and happy (but annoyed!!) and Jerry is fed and relaxing on the settee in front of a blazing fire......really, where else could I be.....chillin' out!??!!

Pics????

Oh my God, I don't believe it! It let me upload a picture! I love this one of the two terrors (and terrier!) They can fight like cats and dogs but they are as thick as thieves at the end of the day. I was lucky to get this picture they thought I'd stopped clicking! Myself and The Missus (forgot about that nickname in an earlier post...) came home from town today and you'd swear she hadn't seen him for months! It's the same every day we pick him up from school. Slobbering all over him (even I feel sorry for him sometimes). But 20 minutes later they're killing each other. It's natural I know and I try not to get too involved unless it gets rough. It's funny, if she learns something new, Cathal is the first one she wants to show. If Cathal teaches her something new, they want to show everyone, and if anyone else was to be a bit "untoward" to Leah, Cathal is fit to kill. I know it's the same still in my family. I can bitch about my sister but God help you if you try it!!!!

I'm going to try to print out this photo to scrap it. I'm thinking "Butterfly kisses". Saw that somewhere and thought it was lovely. Photo printer is still sulking after having the beaker of milk spilt into it though. Thank God my brother bought one too (and never uses it, imagine how much ink he has!!! I'm on my 2nd and have another filled) I'll try it tomorrow as I've left it to dry now for over a week but I think she's a gonner (maybe I shouldn't have used it just after the "incident"????)

Anyways it could be worse, I don't care 'cause the sun is back and my friend Jean is back! Yay! I've somone to chat to at 2am on the forum when I can't sleep! Speaking of which, I went to bed at 10 PM last night and the way our house is, the front catches all the sun from about 2pm onwards. I opened windows, slept under a sheet (for about 5 minutes) and the heat was killing me. It was like being on holidays again. We've been on 2 foreign holidays. Both in the height of summer and both times never checked was there air conditioning. No x 2. Many many fans bought and still sweltered. That's what you get for leaving things till the last minute Jerry....

We're not going on holidays this year. Mostly because the kids are so hyper it isn't a holiday and partley because Jerry has set up his own business. Fingers crossed this time in 5 years time we can affoard a holiday again and the kids will know how to behave themselves (so we can leave them at home with Mamó!!!!!)

2 people have answered my tag, pull your socks up people!!!!

7 random facts about me

My blog still won't upload photos and it getting a bit boring now so I figured I'd do one one of these random survey things and tag a few of ye!!!

I''ll be nice, and be brutally honest about myself so ye don't feel bad....(he he) I am going to list 7 random and unknown facts about me and I hope ye do the same.



1) I bite my nails something awful

2) I have trouble telling left from right(I know where they are, I just have to take a moment to think about it)

3)I have had 10 pieces of my body pierced (7 were in the ears)

4) I have one tattoo

5) I HATE slugs

6) Sunflower's and the color purple make me really happy

7) I'm convinced I must have a bad bitch in my last life, I'm making up for it now, I recon I'll be the new Joan of Ark when I come back again (unless someone up there takes pity and decided to leave me be..!!!!)

I'm tagging
Jean
Tigger
Kate
Caroline
Jackie
Karen
Audrdy