Introducing Rascal...

We recently had the pleasure of minding Rascal for a week. When I told Joules we were minding a rat for a week he thought I had finally lost my marbles, Dillon said he was going nowhere near the rat and Ben was a little bit afraid. By the end of the week Rascal had five new fans...can anyone guess what Mollie would like for her birthday?

Busy as a Bee!

Life is very busy at the moment what with projects, exams and little monkeys! Not to mention my belly dancing, hockey, tennis and PA commitments, throw in a few birthday celebrations, nights out and books to read and I'm exhausted just thinking about it. The project is going really well thanks to Yvonne who moved from Dublin to Luxembourg as a child and has given Mollie lots of valuable information including unusual facts that wouldn't be readily available to Mollie. Dillon's exams are nearly finished, just two left on Friday then he has a week off school. Dillon is fairly confident that they all went quite well, except for the maths paper where he rubbed out every single answer (the less said about that the better)! As for me, I've been busy putting together an outfit for a fancy dress party I'm going to next week, the question is, should I go white and virginal or black and sexy? Can you guess the theme of the party?

Once again I bring you Witty Wednesday thanks to John.

Male or Female?

You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:

FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again.They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.

TYRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated HOT AIR

BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under their butt.

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES: Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying New Law:

My Family

Joules, me, Dillon, Mollie and Ben

I pinched this idea from the wonderfully witty misslionheart. Go here to make your own.

All quiet on the Irish front.

Firstly I would like to thank everybody who left comments on my last post and who read and commented on Sam and mum's posts. I'd also like to thank those of you who emailed me with words of sympathy and comfort. It really does make a difference so thank you.

Dillon and Mollie have gone camping with the scouts in Lough Dan so Joules and I offered to take Ben to the cinema to see Ratatouille but he turned us down. Instead he wanted to rent a DVD and eat out in TGI Fridays, so we're shortly off to gorge on burgers and chips then it's home to watch Night at the Museum. It's been quite nice not having to ferry Mollie to football and tennis and instead we had a lovely walk in Cabinteely Park and Ben got to have a play in their playground, of course I forgot to bring the camera.

The Wanderer Returns

I'm back but not yet recovered from my flying visit to Bristol. I had to get up at 4am on Tuesday morning to catch my flight over and I got home at midnight on Wednesday evening. I managed to squeeze in a lot in my short time, that shopping trip where I bought a dress, cardigan and gorgeous boots for the winter as well as lots of craft goodies to start making birthday and Christmas cards. I ate out both nights I was in Bristol which was a real treat for me, drank champagne, bathed in natural spring water and spent some precious hours with Sam. I just wish I could have stayed longer.


Just before I left I was delighted to receive my book swap books from the Anglophile Football Fanatic, she sent me two very different books which I have never read so I'm looking forward to getting them started as well as a magnet to join the collection on my fridge. Many thanks to Emma for organising the swap.

Joules New Toy

Joules think I should learn to ride this, I'm not so sure, what do you think?

A Family Gathering

It's been a busy week here in Bristol and I'm just too tired to tell you all about it. Yesterday we had a small family get together for my dad. The food was delicious (apart from the diabetic birthday cake I baked), the children got on great (despite either having never met or only met a few times), some of the adults drank lots of alcohol, we saw some hot air balloons from the fiesta, a neighbour let off fireworks (not for us) at the end of the evening and I taught my Uncle David this Irish, pog mo thoin. I think mum is going to post photos of the soiree as I didn't take any.

Oggy, Oggy, Oggy, Oi, Oi, Oi

Last night was spent trying to pack nine days of clothes for the Irish weather, which includes shorts, sun cream, trousers, rain gear and jumpers , as well as a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, wash gear, insect repellant and plate, bowl, cup, knife, fork and spoon into one rucksack. Twice. Lucky Dillon and Mollie left this morning at 9.30am with their Scout Troop for their summer camp at Gartan Outdoor Education Centre Donegal. Their nine days will be spent sailing, raft building, kayaking, wind surfing, rock climbing, abseiling, hiking, gorge walking, orienteering and hill walking. All food will be cooked on an open fire and evenings will be spent around the campfire singing. Dillon is one of the oldest scouts (and a patrol leader), Mollie is the youngest (she should still be in cubs but they needed more girls in scouts and asked her to move up early, she was thrilled and jumped at the chance to go).


Of course I'll miss them but I know that they'll be having a great time and Ben and I have our own trip planned to visit someone special.

A Day Off

Yesterday was election day and Mollie and Ben's school was closed as they used it as a polling station. I took the opportunity to meet up with my sisters-in-law for a picnic at Powerscourt Waterfall. The sun was shinning, the rain stayed away, we had a delicious picnic lunch while the children got to play in the playground. After that we went to the waterfall where Ben, Mollie and Sara (Mollie's friend) donned their swimming togs and got very wet. The younger cousins managed to keep dry (although they were dying to splash with their big cousins).

P.S. Can anyone guess where we were before we went to the waterfall?

It's party time!

To celebrate Mollies 11th birthday she choose to bring four of her friends to Clara Lara Fun Park. Yep folks this is the height of excitement here in the Emerald Isle. Luckily the rain stayed away although there was a bit of a cold wind. We spent six and a half hours there and returned home with a car full of exhausted children (and parents)!

Thank you all for your kind wishes regarding my egg buddy. The doctor I saw yesterday is also very confident that it is a benign cyst but I have to go to another hospital to get it removed. The doctor I saw cannot refer me to the other hospital so I have to go to my GP and pay another €60 just to get a letter of referral. How daft is that. Joules and I have been paying into a private healthcare scheme for 11 years and have never once used it as it does not cover GP appointments or A&E fees. Maybe I'll be able to use it to get my knee looked at sooner rather than later.

Happy Birthday Mollie

As you may be aware from yesterday's post Mollie is 11 today. She woke up a few minutes earlier than usual and had plenty of time to open her presents. She was a very lucky girl and got lots of things she wanted including a charm, wii game, cd's, t-shirt, jibbitz, sunglasses and some money (she now wants to go shopping)!

I was very pleased with the plate of pink and white fairy cakes and found some twisty candles for her. (Joules and I were making candle holders out of clay at midnight last night). These cakes went into school for Mollie to share with her class, they'll be a welcome break in between the exams they have today.

For all of you who performed rain dances or kept the rain with you so I could play tennis in dry weather, it didn't work! It rained the whole two hours I was on court but I won so I didn't mind!!!

Update: Look what arrived in the post from Auntie Sam.

Wednesday

I had a long post planned for today highlighting Livestrong Day and what it means to me. Unfortunately I've run out of time. Tomorrow is Mollie's birthday and I have spent most of the morning looking for her present and card which I had put somewhere safe away from prying eyes. Just as I was about to give up and rush off to the shops to re buy the present I found it, phew *breathes a big sigh of relief*. I have her cake in the oven, she is going to bring it to school in the morning to share with all her class. I still can't find the card so I'm going to make her one and I've just designed some jewellery which I have to get made before she comes home from school at 2.30pm.

This afternoon I have to bring Ben to his swimming lesson then it's a mad dash home to shove food down everyones gullets before I dash back out to play the first summer league match at my tennis club. Will somebody please tell the rain clouds that this is a summer league match therefore some sun or at the very least no rain would be much appreciated!

As today is Livestrong day I recommend reading these posts which highlight the day through food and statistics or these blogs where the writers share their battles with cancer.

Pets.

Maybe I'm a mean mother in only letting my children have pet fish. Until two weeks ago Molllie wanted a guinea pig for her birthday and we had decided to get her one as she's wanted one for two years. One shopping trip and one pair of boots later and her mind was changed. Instead Mollie and Ben have started collecting internet pets. Pop over, say hello, play with their pets, I'm just pleased that they have decided to make up for a lack of pets in their life by going overboard with internet pets as it means less real pets in our house and I'm sure I'd end up looking after them all as I do the fish.

It seems to be Mother's Day everywhere except here in Ireland and the UK (we celebrated Mothering Sunday in March). So I'd just like to wish all mothers everywhere a very Happy Mother's Day. I hope you all get spoilt rotten and have a lovely day.

An artists view.

My mother-in-law is a very talented artist and we are lucky to have some of her paintings on our walls. Marie likes to paint 'beach' scenes and on many an occasion we have been dressed up in white, with hats on our heads and gone to our local (stony and grey coarse sand) beach to have lots of photo's taken. Out of this Marie produces paintings of us on golden beaches with the sun pouring down (if only the reality was like that)!

This is the first painting Marie gave me, it is of Mollie and I when Mollie was one and my all time favourite.

A few years later Marie gave us this painting which was painted from the same set of photos as the painting above. It is of Dillon, Mollie, Eva (my neighbours daughter) and myself.

This painting has recently been finished and is on loan to me as it is for mum. Mum asked Marie to paint a picture with Sam and myself and all her grandchildren. The photos Marie used of myself and the children were about four years old and Sam sent some photos of her over from San Francisco. My favourite bit of this painting is Ben's bum cheeks!


Now all I have to do is plan a way to keep this picture here, maybe never drive to England again and it's too big to fit on a plane!

A break or to laugh that is the question.

Apparently Mollie's arm could be fractured. This is not what I wanted to hear when we went back to the hospital yesterday for a check up. There is a lot of fluid around her elbow which could result in the fracture not showing in the x-ray. Mollie has to keep wearing the sling until she has another x-ray next week. The good news is that even if her elbow is broken it will only take three weeks to heal and will not need to be plastered.

On a lighter note here is my Witty Wednesday joke. John, I tweaked it a bit!

To my darling husband,

Before you return from your business trip I just want to let you know about the small accident I had with the pick up truck when I turned into the driveway. Fortunately not too bad and I really didn't get hurt, so please don't worry too much about me.

I was coming home from Wal-Mart, and when I turned into the driveway I accidentally pushed down on the accelerator instead of the brake. The garage door is slightly bent but the pick up fortunately came to a halt when it bumped into your car.

I am really sorry, but I know with your kindhearted personality you will forgive me. You know how much I love you and care for you my sweetheart. I am enclosing a picture for you.

I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.

Your loving wife.*

Breakfast chit chat...

Yippee, my mum has finally got her new computer up and running so we can chat over breakfast. My granny insisted on taking out her pink roller before I took the photograph.

The Next Jamie Oliver?

Yesterday Ben was feeling a bit bored as Dillon and Mollie are away camping with the scouts and his friend from down the road was out so I suggested that he help me with some baking. 'Is it for us ' he asked, 'no' I replied explaining that it was for a charity cake sale for some children who lived in an orphanage. Alas this didn't tug any heartstrings and he said he would only bake if it was fairy cakes for him. How could I refuse his big brown eyes, so he washed his hands and dragged the stool into the kitchen announcing that he was going to make them all by himself. He measured out the marge (with a little help from me) and sugar and asked to beat them with a spoon because he didn't 'like the noise of that loud thing' (electric beater). Next his favourite job, cracking the eggs, then folding in the flour. He even spooned all the mixture into the cases making very little mess (something Mollie has only done in the last year). After the cakes were cooked and cooled he had great fun making the icing, using a drop of every colour we have, and decorating them. Then it was time to eat.

Mollie's Blog

Mollie has finally finished a post she started writing six days ago!

Lazy summer days

Yesterday was the hottest day so far this year here in Dublin with temperatures reaching 22 oC. Joules, Mollie, Ben and myself headed off to the beach where it was lovely to see all the children in their swimming costumes enjoying the sand and the sea. I took the camera but alas the battery was dead so no pictures today! We then enjoyed our first BBQ of the year, Dillon invited three friends to dinner and we enjoyed chicken marinated in oil, lemon juice, garlic and basil, burgers and sausages with a pasta and bacon salad and crispy potato skins, followed by a sponge cake with cream and strawberries. I love BBQ's and as there's some salad left over we may just have another tonight!

Terri tagged me with this meme which has been doing the rounds.

1. Go to Wikipedia and type in your Birthday month and day only.

November 21st.

2. List 3 Events that occurred that day:

1953 - Authorities at the British Natural History Museum announce that the "Piltdown Man" skull, held to be one of the most famous fossil skulls in the world, was a hoax.

1974 - The Birmingham Pub Bombings by the IRA killed 21 people. The Birmingham Six were sentenced to life in prison for this and subsequently acquitted.

1995 - The Dayton Peace Agreement was initialled in the Wright Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio, ending three and a half years of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was formally ratified in Paris, on December 14 that same year.

3. List 2 important Birth days.

1694 - Voltaire, French philosopher (d. 1778)

1965 - Björk, Icelandic singer

4. List 1 Death.

1999 - Quentin Crisp, British writer, raconteur and actor (b. 1908)

5. List a Holiday or Observance (if any).

World Hello Day

6. Tag 5 other bloggers.

I've decided not to tag anyone so if you fancy trying it out get yourself over to Wikipedia.

Finito!

So I'm €40 and two cinema tickets worse off but Dillon, Mollie and Mollie's friend spent the day cutting down the remaining hedge and bagging the branches for me so my hands were saved more agony. I hope I can fit all the garden rubbish in my car! I spent the day clearing out and tidying the sheds. One shed is now full of rubbish (a trip to the dump) and children's toys we no longer need (ready for the church fete). This shed was originally the children's playhouse but they don't really use it anymore so I've also stored all the outdoor toys and scooters in there giving me more room in the bike/tool/garden equipment shed.

Today is yet again a beautiful, sunny day, we have been really blessed with this gorgeous weather while the children are on their Easter holidays, so we're going for a picnic with friends. I'm off to make the flapjacks and sandwiches, hope you have a good day.