Both kids are going to be home sick tomorrow, and I need to work, so I'd better write down some happy thoughts now....
- Jack loves making little craft things from this book he has. We've made some neat stuff -- sock puppet dragons, paper plate turtles, etc. What's funny is when he comes upon a page that requires stuff we simply don't have. "Can we make this?" he says, pointing to something that requires a dozen blocks of wood. "No, Jack, we don't have any little blocks of wood lying around." "What about this?" Something that requires painting, roughly 10 minutes before bedtime. "Er...." Anyway, it's very cute.
- When I got home with the kids from daycare yesterday, I sat down on the rug to maybe read Kate a book. She reached to pick up one from the coffee table, proceeding to knock about half a dozen on the floor. She gave me a look with her mouth in an "O" shape, a mischievous look in her eyes. As if to say, "OOOoooops....." A minute later she picked up a puzzle. All the pieces fell to the floor with a crash. Same look. "Oooooopssss....."
- Jack tells stories that I think start out true and then get pretty crazy. (Is that the premise of Pinky Dinky Doo? I must look into it.) Like he said the kids at school were telling him they were going to the Aquarium today. "And I already knew it, but they told me anyway." And when I laughed at his mild exasperation, he went on. "And then they LOCKED me in a CAGE!" "Really?" "Yeah!" Those kind of stories are pretty common from him nowadays.
- Yesterday Jack was in the bath and I wanted to get a laugh out of him, so I tickled him. And he laughed, which is a great laugh, but then he was like, "Stop, stop....don't tickle me." Still screaming with laughter. So I stopped. And he sat there for a minute, then said, "Daddy. When I come close to your hand, you can tickle me." So I said OK. He moved a little closer. "OK, now you can tickle me." And I did, and he screamed with laughter again.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Max's
Today we went next door to play at Max's for a little while. Max is about Jack's age.
It was fun for Jack, who plays great with Max. They run around together and have little inside jokes and conversations. At one point they were way up at the top of their yard, by a stone wall, sitting and laughing about something. It was like two high school friends leaning against the hood of a car or something.
It was fun for Kate, who loves the various toys Max has that he's only mildly interested in at this point. A little house, that Katie likes to go in and out of, in and out of, over and over again. She rings the doorbell each time she goes in, as if that's what allows her to open the door. Funny.
It's fun for all of them, as the boys like to be chased by Kate and she likes to run after them, not necessarily aware she's chasing them. They shriek -- "Ah!!! Here she comes!" And run off in some direction. Kate, noticing them running away, looks up from whatever she's doing and goes after them. Generally, I don't think she's aware she's chasing them.
At one point, though, while running, she paused, threw back her head, and laughed a long, loud, mouth wide-open cackle. "HAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAA!" she said. Thinking, perhaps, I am Katie, and they fear me!!!!!
- Unrelated incident from when Kate was napping today. Jack played with this book Aunt Robin had given him for his birthday, and we only recently opened up. You could use little magnifying glasses and 3-D types of glasses to see different things in each page. He LOVED it. It was kind of neat to see, him finding little things that the space alien ate, and saying "HEY! Look at THAT! He ate a CAR! Wow!!!!"
Sometimes you forget how cool it is to really get excited about something, and then a 4-year-old comes along and reminds you.
It was fun for Jack, who plays great with Max. They run around together and have little inside jokes and conversations. At one point they were way up at the top of their yard, by a stone wall, sitting and laughing about something. It was like two high school friends leaning against the hood of a car or something.
It was fun for Kate, who loves the various toys Max has that he's only mildly interested in at this point. A little house, that Katie likes to go in and out of, in and out of, over and over again. She rings the doorbell each time she goes in, as if that's what allows her to open the door. Funny.
It's fun for all of them, as the boys like to be chased by Kate and she likes to run after them, not necessarily aware she's chasing them. They shriek -- "Ah!!! Here she comes!" And run off in some direction. Kate, noticing them running away, looks up from whatever she's doing and goes after them. Generally, I don't think she's aware she's chasing them.
At one point, though, while running, she paused, threw back her head, and laughed a long, loud, mouth wide-open cackle. "HAAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAA!" she said. Thinking, perhaps, I am Katie, and they fear me!!!!!
- Unrelated incident from when Kate was napping today. Jack played with this book Aunt Robin had given him for his birthday, and we only recently opened up. You could use little magnifying glasses and 3-D types of glasses to see different things in each page. He LOVED it. It was kind of neat to see, him finding little things that the space alien ate, and saying "HEY! Look at THAT! He ate a CAR! Wow!!!!"
Sometimes you forget how cool it is to really get excited about something, and then a 4-year-old comes along and reminds you.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Random
- Kate drives me crazy these days. Throws food on the floor (tonight it was a container of white rice -- excellent). Throws her milk on the floor, then wants it back. Says "No" and nods yes to the same thing in a span of a minute or two. Wails like a banshee if I put her down, or don't pick her up, or try to wipe her nose (and I always, always have to wipe her nose), or take something from her she shouldn't have (one of Jack's things, or a metal fork, or whatever). It's frustrating, and then I remember that she's frustrated too, maybe because she doesn't have enough words yet to articulate what she wants. Maybe we should have worked harder at the baby sign language, I don't know.
But when I was making dinner, she came out into the kitchen and (I suspected) planned to cry for food, or to be picked up, or whatever, but in fact she spotted the drumsticks from the xylophone, which she picked up happily and disappeared with. A minute later, I heard the happy xylophone noise coming from the next room. And then: she came back into the kitchen, with the xylophone and drumsticks, and started beating on it on the kitchen floor. Making happy noises, too.
And then tonight I was putting her to bed, reading her stories, and she was as into them as she's ever been. Laughing and pointing on each page of Big Red Barn. Opening all the flaps in the "Do Crocodiles Moo?" book that I hated the first time I saw it, but she clearly loves (and so now I do, too). And then at the end when I turned out the light I normally hold her in my arms horizontally, but instead she kind of snuggled into me as I sang her to sleep.
So, I forgive her.
- Jack came up to bed with Mommy tonight. When I was hugging him goodnight, he said, "I kissed all my toys goodnight downstairs." Big smile on his face as he explained. "I said to my balloon, 'now balloon, good night, and please don't pop and please don't lose all your air tonight....' And...." This went on for a little while, with him using a different voice to represent him talking to his toys. It was pretty funny. (Later, Emily told me he actually started doing this when she was in the next room. He looked up when she walked in, paused, almost guiltily, then went right back to talking to his toys.) Sweet.
We start soccer on Saturday. Blog entry to come, I feel certain.
But when I was making dinner, she came out into the kitchen and (I suspected) planned to cry for food, or to be picked up, or whatever, but in fact she spotted the drumsticks from the xylophone, which she picked up happily and disappeared with. A minute later, I heard the happy xylophone noise coming from the next room. And then: she came back into the kitchen, with the xylophone and drumsticks, and started beating on it on the kitchen floor. Making happy noises, too.
And then tonight I was putting her to bed, reading her stories, and she was as into them as she's ever been. Laughing and pointing on each page of Big Red Barn. Opening all the flaps in the "Do Crocodiles Moo?" book that I hated the first time I saw it, but she clearly loves (and so now I do, too). And then at the end when I turned out the light I normally hold her in my arms horizontally, but instead she kind of snuggled into me as I sang her to sleep.
So, I forgive her.
- Jack came up to bed with Mommy tonight. When I was hugging him goodnight, he said, "I kissed all my toys goodnight downstairs." Big smile on his face as he explained. "I said to my balloon, 'now balloon, good night, and please don't pop and please don't lose all your air tonight....' And...." This went on for a little while, with him using a different voice to represent him talking to his toys. It was pretty funny. (Later, Emily told me he actually started doing this when she was in the next room. He looked up when she walked in, paused, almost guiltily, then went right back to talking to his toys.) Sweet.
We start soccer on Saturday. Blog entry to come, I feel certain.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Ireland, Day 10
Kate (in general): "Dad-dee! Daddy! Dah......Deeeeeee!"
Jack (when asked what the favorite part of his trip was): "Getting my toys." Er, second favorite? "Playing with my toys." With trepidation: third favorite? "Seeing the castles." Top three, that works.
Mikey (as I was putting Jack to bed): "I like the part at the end where you sing."
Abbey (being very helpful, which was later explained partly by Robin as her probably getting a kick out of bossing Mikey around): "Don't shout, Kate's napping." "Remember, don't make a lot of noise Mikey, Kate's sleeping." "Jack, do you want to play with cars? But we need to play quietly because Kate is sleeping." Considering Abbey (and Niamh) were sharing a room with yelling Kate the night before, it was quite generous of her.
That night, Laura and Niamh were home. We all went out to dinner; I chatted a little bit with Laura on the walk there. Asking her what kind of things she'd bought (New jeans, and a book in a series she liked, and something or other related to "Twilight.")
Niamh wanted to watch the newest Lost, which Emily and Robin and I had watched two nights earlier. Her frequent (and reasonable) questions made it clear that Lost isn't a great show to pick up midway through, or try to follow if you only catch occasional episodes. I felt bad for her. "So wait, there are two Bens?" "Wasn't Locke dead?" "Why did Ben take that baby?" "So wait, if he saved her life, why did he let the bad guy kill her?" "How did they get into the 1970s?" "There are two islands?" And on and on. Sorry, Niamh. It's a confusing show to get caught up on.
Packed, went to bed, got up, packed more, and went to the airport, for a teary farewell with Robin and then back to Connecticut. The whole thing seemed like one big, continuous moment.
It was a great trip and now we're home. It was a little crazy being around six kids, rather than just two, for 10 days. All of them unique, interesting, beautiful. I could say a lot more, wrap this up with some great sentimentality, or talk about highlights and stuff, but the truth is I'm exhausted. I won't forget the trip, though. Next to sharing experiences with others, it's the best reason for blogging there is.
Abbey (being very helpful, which was later explained partly by Robin as her probably getting a kick out of bossing Mikey around): "Don't shout, Kate's napping." "Remember, don't make a lot of noise Mikey, Kate's sleeping." "Jack, do you want to play with cars? But we need to play quietly because Kate is sleeping." Considering Abbey (and Niamh) were sharing a room with yelling Kate the night before, it was quite generous of her.
That night, Laura and Niamh were home. We all went out to dinner; I chatted a little bit with Laura on the walk there. Asking her what kind of things she'd bought (New jeans, and a book in a series she liked, and something or other related to "Twilight.")
Niamh wanted to watch the newest Lost, which Emily and Robin and I had watched two nights earlier. Her frequent (and reasonable) questions made it clear that Lost isn't a great show to pick up midway through, or try to follow if you only catch occasional episodes. I felt bad for her. "So wait, there are two Bens?" "Wasn't Locke dead?" "Why did Ben take that baby?" "So wait, if he saved her life, why did he let the bad guy kill her?" "How did they get into the 1970s?" "There are two islands?" And on and on. Sorry, Niamh. It's a confusing show to get caught up on.
Packed, went to bed, got up, packed more, and went to the airport, for a teary farewell with Robin and then back to Connecticut. The whole thing seemed like one big, continuous moment.
It was a great trip and now we're home. It was a little crazy being around six kids, rather than just two, for 10 days. All of them unique, interesting, beautiful. I could say a lot more, wrap this up with some great sentimentality, or talk about highlights and stuff, but the truth is I'm exhausted. I won't forget the trip, though. Next to sharing experiences with others, it's the best reason for blogging there is.
Ireland, Day 9
Let's start with the way the day ended, which is to say, badly. Kate woke up right around the time we were going to bed, 11:30 or so (half eleven as they say here), and didn't want to go back to sleep. Or, she wanted to, but she didn't. For the next 3 hours, Emily and I tried to get her back to sleep. The crib, our bed, the crib again....it was ridiculous. She was exhausted, but didn't sleep. I don't know why. Finally, around the time we'd given up, we just dumped her in her crib and she wailed a bit more and then, finally, slept. A little reminder, I guess, that vacations aren't always easy on the youngest members of our traveling party. This morning I was in the process of apologizing to Niamh, as she and Abbey were in the room that Kate made much of her noise in. Niamh was kind of conceding she'd been woken up once or twice, when Robin said, Andrew, it's no worry, Niamh was fine. Niamh, Kate didn't keep you up too much, did she? Niamh: "No. Not at all." It was not entirely convincing, but we decided to go with that anyway.
Yesterday was a sight-seeing day. We drove out to Black Head, which was a point basically at the edge of The Burren looking out on the ocean; we could see the Aran Islands, which remains one of my best memories from my previous trip to Ireland. Lots of parking awkwardly by the side of the road, clambering out over slumbering children in car seats, and gazing out over the water.
We drove into The Burren and stumbled around on side roads looking for tiny signs that more often than not weren't there. Eventually, though, we stumbled upon things. We saw a Faerie Circle, which was where an old ring fort used to be, but was totally covered by the earth. You climbed over a little wall and were in a space that almost appeared natural -- as if it were designed by nature, since the man-made structures were covered in earth. Trees ringed it. There was a ridge -- probably the top of the inner wall at one time -- that could be walked on. It was pretty amazing, very Lord of the Rings. I couldn't help but think of odd occurrences like pagan rituals (Robin said there were various stories/beliefs around such things) or at the very least high schoolers sneaking out there on a regular basis. Kate and Jack were each determined to walk despite narrow pathways and unsure footing, but there were no serious tumbles. Robin staged a nice photo of Emily and Jack sitting on the huge branch of a cool old tree. Around the time we were getting ready to leave, nature decided to hurry us on our way by raining harder.
Later we stopped for lunch at a creperie. Jack had it in his mind that he wanted a milkshake -- I have no idea where that desire came from. Remarkably, the place we stopped did in fact make milkshakes along with its pancakes and creative, pricey crepes. Jack apparently liked the idea of a milkshake more than actually drinking one ("It has bubbles," he griped. Yes, Jack, it's a milkshake), but I enjoyed it. Kate ate some pancakes with strawberry syrup, Jack some with maple.
Our next stop was an old ring fort that we had to approach three different times to 1) find and 2) pull into. It's very difficult to turn around on narrow roads in The Burren. Eventually we made it, and Emily and I got out to check it out, leaving the kids in the car. Emily worked her way off into the underbrush, expecting it to be similar to the Faerie Circle, returning as I pointed out a stone path that led up a ways. And there was the fort, a very cool stone entrance way circa 500 A.D. to 1300 A.D. -- they couldn't be more specific. We went through the entranceway and I had images of being transported to another world or time, which is what happens I guess when you watch or read too much science fiction. After going through the entrance and walking along a path, you came to a wooden structure that had been built with a nod to visitors -- stepping up onto the platform, you could gaze out over the fort wall at acres upon acres of land below, with houses, farms, fields. You could see all the way to the water, miles away, a reminder that forts were built as they were to help those inside spot attackers. I can't pronounce, spell, or remember the name of the fort, but it was pretty cool, and I even think Jack and Kate enjoyed it. Well, Kate mostly liked running up and down the wooden walkway, back and forth and over again, but that was fine with me.
We returned home, had a cup of coffee with Robin's friend Catherine, had a tasty dinner, put the kids to bed, and went out for a drink at the pub. Came home early enough for a good night's sleep. Well, in theory, anyway.
Yesterday was a sight-seeing day. We drove out to Black Head, which was a point basically at the edge of The Burren looking out on the ocean; we could see the Aran Islands, which remains one of my best memories from my previous trip to Ireland. Lots of parking awkwardly by the side of the road, clambering out over slumbering children in car seats, and gazing out over the water.
We drove into The Burren and stumbled around on side roads looking for tiny signs that more often than not weren't there. Eventually, though, we stumbled upon things. We saw a Faerie Circle, which was where an old ring fort used to be, but was totally covered by the earth. You climbed over a little wall and were in a space that almost appeared natural -- as if it were designed by nature, since the man-made structures were covered in earth. Trees ringed it. There was a ridge -- probably the top of the inner wall at one time -- that could be walked on. It was pretty amazing, very Lord of the Rings. I couldn't help but think of odd occurrences like pagan rituals (Robin said there were various stories/beliefs around such things) or at the very least high schoolers sneaking out there on a regular basis. Kate and Jack were each determined to walk despite narrow pathways and unsure footing, but there were no serious tumbles. Robin staged a nice photo of Emily and Jack sitting on the huge branch of a cool old tree. Around the time we were getting ready to leave, nature decided to hurry us on our way by raining harder.
Later we stopped for lunch at a creperie. Jack had it in his mind that he wanted a milkshake -- I have no idea where that desire came from. Remarkably, the place we stopped did in fact make milkshakes along with its pancakes and creative, pricey crepes. Jack apparently liked the idea of a milkshake more than actually drinking one ("It has bubbles," he griped. Yes, Jack, it's a milkshake), but I enjoyed it. Kate ate some pancakes with strawberry syrup, Jack some with maple.
Our next stop was an old ring fort that we had to approach three different times to 1) find and 2) pull into. It's very difficult to turn around on narrow roads in The Burren. Eventually we made it, and Emily and I got out to check it out, leaving the kids in the car. Emily worked her way off into the underbrush, expecting it to be similar to the Faerie Circle, returning as I pointed out a stone path that led up a ways. And there was the fort, a very cool stone entrance way circa 500 A.D. to 1300 A.D. -- they couldn't be more specific. We went through the entranceway and I had images of being transported to another world or time, which is what happens I guess when you watch or read too much science fiction. After going through the entrance and walking along a path, you came to a wooden structure that had been built with a nod to visitors -- stepping up onto the platform, you could gaze out over the fort wall at acres upon acres of land below, with houses, farms, fields. You could see all the way to the water, miles away, a reminder that forts were built as they were to help those inside spot attackers. I can't pronounce, spell, or remember the name of the fort, but it was pretty cool, and I even think Jack and Kate enjoyed it. Well, Kate mostly liked running up and down the wooden walkway, back and forth and over again, but that was fine with me.
We returned home, had a cup of coffee with Robin's friend Catherine, had a tasty dinner, put the kids to bed, and went out for a drink at the pub. Came home early enough for a good night's sleep. Well, in theory, anyway.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Ireland, Day 8
Was woken up this morning by Jack coming in, wanting to sleep with me. Emily had gone downstairs with Kate a little earlier. After a few minutes, Jack showed me a tiny yellow chick he had apparently gotten with his Easter candy. Said, "You must come down, there won't be any left." Very excited and eager. Then: "I'll go get you one, OK?" He disappeared and came back 2 minutes later with a tiny chick. "I got you a chick, Daddy!" Thanks, Jack.
It was Easter, so we were around the house all day. In the morning were Easter Egg hunts. Laura and Niamh hid eggs for Jack and Kate, and it was funny -- everything was easily found. Jack would see one, shriek, and run gleefully over to it. I would see one, screen it from Jack, and call Kate over, who would eventually arrive and dutifully put it in her little basket, even though she had no idea what she was doing or why.
I hid eggs for Laura and Niamh, trying to be clever; putting them in the bird feeder and such. That was fun.
Emily and I went to Easter Mass. Walked out about half a mile and went to a Catholic church that was apparently the oldest continuous church in Kinvara. Standing room only; very crowded. We had a tough time with the sermon given the priest's thick Irish accent, the babies wailing, and the crowd, but it was nice being there anyway.
I think we could essentially call this Trampoline Day, as the kids seemed to spend most of the day out there. All of them. Kate really got into it, running around wildly, falling to her knees, getting up again, falling, laughing. Laura and Niamh bounced up and down holding Kate's hands, which resulted in her being bounced high up in the air. She screamed with laughter.
By the end of the day, it seemed a little bit like the vacation was catching up with them. Jack had a few mini meltdowns, mostly from being tired I think. Kate was failing, too. (When I put her down for a nap midday, she seemed almost grateful, immediately rolling over onto her stomach. I was in there for an extra minute closing the curtains, and at one point she lifted her head to look at me, meaningfully, as though to say, GET OUT - I'm trying to sleep, here.)
A lot of sitting around, drinking wine and tea, talking, taking silly photos. Pretty much what Easter Dinner should be about, I think.
At the end of the day the McArdle kids went off with their Dad and the Richardsons went out in the green, throwing the baseball around and stuff. Jack actually hit a couple, which was very rewarding -- he's mostly used to Tee-ball, so it's a big accomplishment when he hits a pitched throw. Kate picked up one of the balls and ran off away from us; taking her ball and going home, as it were.
When we went in, we went up, gave both kids a bath, and read them stories and sang them to sleep. Then we headed downstairs to watch TV over wine with Robin.
It was Easter, so we were around the house all day. In the morning were Easter Egg hunts. Laura and Niamh hid eggs for Jack and Kate, and it was funny -- everything was easily found. Jack would see one, shriek, and run gleefully over to it. I would see one, screen it from Jack, and call Kate over, who would eventually arrive and dutifully put it in her little basket, even though she had no idea what she was doing or why.
I hid eggs for Laura and Niamh, trying to be clever; putting them in the bird feeder and such. That was fun.
Emily and I went to Easter Mass. Walked out about half a mile and went to a Catholic church that was apparently the oldest continuous church in Kinvara. Standing room only; very crowded. We had a tough time with the sermon given the priest's thick Irish accent, the babies wailing, and the crowd, but it was nice being there anyway.
I think we could essentially call this Trampoline Day, as the kids seemed to spend most of the day out there. All of them. Kate really got into it, running around wildly, falling to her knees, getting up again, falling, laughing. Laura and Niamh bounced up and down holding Kate's hands, which resulted in her being bounced high up in the air. She screamed with laughter.
By the end of the day, it seemed a little bit like the vacation was catching up with them. Jack had a few mini meltdowns, mostly from being tired I think. Kate was failing, too. (When I put her down for a nap midday, she seemed almost grateful, immediately rolling over onto her stomach. I was in there for an extra minute closing the curtains, and at one point she lifted her head to look at me, meaningfully, as though to say, GET OUT - I'm trying to sleep, here.)
A lot of sitting around, drinking wine and tea, talking, taking silly photos. Pretty much what Easter Dinner should be about, I think.
At the end of the day the McArdle kids went off with their Dad and the Richardsons went out in the green, throwing the baseball around and stuff. Jack actually hit a couple, which was very rewarding -- he's mostly used to Tee-ball, so it's a big accomplishment when he hits a pitched throw. Kate picked up one of the balls and ran off away from us; taking her ball and going home, as it were.
When we went in, we went up, gave both kids a bath, and read them stories and sang them to sleep. Then we headed downstairs to watch TV over wine with Robin.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Ireland, Day 7
I usually start each day's writeup with the first "activity" of that day, because that's how my mind works. Prior to that though, there's usually this familiar pattern:
Kate wakes up wailing and I go get her. With any luck it's actually morning, say after 7 a.m., as opposed to just technically morning. Then we try to sleep more, followed by Kate and I or Emily and Kate going downstairs. There, we're usually joined by Mikey, followed closely by Jack, at some point. Milk, juice, cheerios, and melon are had. Frequently humorous things are said or done, which escape me now. Often Kate walks around with her arms out asking to be picked up, saying "Mommy" or "Daddy," while we attempt to make coffee. Jack asks to go out on the trampoline. That kind of thing. It's a meandering type of morning, and I admit I can't fathom what it's like around here when Robin has to go to work and the kids have to go school. I imagine it's very, very different.
Bunratty Castle was the main order of the day, an epic trip which actually didn't turn out to be as far away as I expected. Abbey and Mikey went to their Dad's house so we could all fit in one car and I didn't have to struggle attempting to drive a standard. Kate gratefully fell asleep for her nap mere moments after the car started moving, and Jack soon followed.
We parked and stumbled out into the parking lot, got the kids up, debated whether to give Jack (who was sleepier, and heavier) the stroller over Kate. They ended up switching in and out over the course of the afternoon. The castle itself was pretty cool, a large castle keep surrounded by walls. Inside the walls were a line of cannons of different sizes, which we immediately posed with. Funny picture of Jack posing with his hands over his ears. Inside the castle itself, I was struck by how old and cool everything was, and also by how in the world residents carried small children up and down the ridiculously steep and narrow staircases. Then imagine navigating them in a suit of armor. A suit of armor carrying a baby in one arm and perhaps a bow and arrow in the other. Not possible. Anyway, it was pretty cool and we went all the way up to the roof and looked over the edge to see if any enemies were out there that we could pour boiling oil on. Nope. Jack and I went into the dungeon and looked down into the pit and I said, that's where bad guys went, and Jack said, how did they get there, and I said, well, they stood near the edge and somebody pushed them in. Maybe their pet dragon shoved them over the edge. That answer seemed to work for Jack. "Yeah," he said. "He PUSHED them!" This was exciting to Jack. Me too I guess.
Laura and Niamh spent a lot of time carrying Kate. Emily and I spent a lot of time pushing Jack in the stroller. After leaving the castle, we walked through the old folk village, which had represntative touristy type shops and buildings and was of zero interest to Jack and I admit minimal interest to me. It's true, I like seeing the buildings the kings lived in more than I liked seeing the tiny cottages the servants lived and shopped in. I also think people were much shorter then, as I kept nearly cracking my head on doorways.
After the castle and the folk village, we went to a pub next door for fish and chips and Guinness. We could still see Bunratty rising majestically overhead. It was perhaps the 
best fish and chips ever, even though it occurs to me now that I forgot to use vinegar, and it also might have been that I was starving. Kate ate a lot and we took a hilarious picture of her with a pint of Guinness. Jack also ate a lot: his first pub meal. He said something to Aunt Robin about being so happy when he was around her that he thought his heart would pop; that might have been earlier but she wanted to be sure I mentioned it. And he said funny things about something or other, as well as expressing great fondness for his new toy, a little metal Irish double-decker bus.
best fish and chips ever, even though it occurs to me now that I forgot to use vinegar, and it also might have been that I was starving. Kate ate a lot and we took a hilarious picture of her with a pint of Guinness. Jack also ate a lot: his first pub meal. He said something to Aunt Robin about being so happy when he was around her that he thought his heart would pop; that might have been earlier but she wanted to be sure I mentioned it. And he said funny things about something or other, as well as expressing great fondness for his new toy, a little metal Irish double-decker bus. Driving home, Kate slept again, a look of total peaceful bliss on her slumbering face. Jack talked about the castle, or maybe his toy bus, one of the two.
Later, Emily and I decorated the bunny cake for Easter.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Ireland, Day 6
A kid-rich day, even though we barely left the house:
- In the morning, we walked out to Dungaire Castle again. It had been open a day or two earlier, so we hoped it might be open again. It wasn't. Jack, though, got into walking the loop around it once we got there. Pointed out little tiny windows with bars on them: "I think THAT'S the dungeon." We also had further dialogue about the 'pirate ships' in the bay. There was only one of the green ships today, and we speculated about what happened to the other one. Heated battle with one being sunk? Got his treasure and went home? All possibilities were discussed.
- Kate became fascinated with Mikey, and tried repeatedly to engage him in conversation, chattering away busily and waving her arms demonstratively. Mikey wanted none of it.
- Laura and Niamh helped Kate draw, and color, and use stickers on a book. For a little while she was totally engrossed in what her older cousins were doing and saying to her, obligingly picking stickers, finding things to color, nodding in response to their questions. It was pretty cool, and a side of Kate I don't see very often: Patient, listening Kate.
- Jack played on the trampoline with me, Mikey, Abbey, Kate. His favorite thing was to run around saying "I believe I can fly!" and crashing into the net around it, then flopping onto his back. I think Mikey started it. When Mikey did it, then crashed to the trampoline, Jack erupted in peals of laughter. It was pretty funny.
- I played baseball with Jack and Mikey. As we got set up, with me pitching to Mikey and Jack fielding, Mikey suggested Jack (who wanted to stand near me) move back some. Jack wanted to stand where he wanted to stand. The first pitch I threw, Mikey hit a line drive that drilled Jack in the shoulder. There were tears. It was bad, and somewhat miraculous given that I threw about 100 more pitches over the next half hour and Mikey probably hit only two other line drives. After comforting to Jack, I reiterated, imploringly, that he move back some. Jack looked at me with sad eyes. "But I'm TIRED," he said, and it was evening; he was. Fortunately, he rallied after that and we were all good, taking turns with me pitching to Mikey and then Jack. It was a nice green area.
- Robin folded a heckuva lot of laundry.
- Emily made her bunny cakes.
- We dyed Easter eggs. As per usual, Jack was impatient, wanting to take the eggs out of the dye mere moments after placing them in. Then when I wanted to take his green egg and dye its bottom half purple, so the Hulk egg we'd make would have purple pants, he didn't want to do that either. "Jack," I explained, "we can't have a naked Hulk." Ended up making the red egg into a Spider-man and a blue egg, at Jack's excited suggestion, "Into Mr. Fantastic!"
(As I write this, we're having a discussion about the eggs. Jack: "I don't want to eat my eggs. I want to have them forever." I explain that eggs get rotten and stinky. Jack is sad. I say, but you know what, I took a picture of you holding your eggs yesterday, and when we get home I'll print it out and put it on your wall. Jack brightens. "Did you get a picture of Mr. Fantastic Egg?" I give him the egg and take a picture of him with it, so I now have one with that egg and one with his other two eggs. "I will have these pictures forever!" says Jack.)
It was a good day.
- In the morning, we walked out to Dungaire Castle again. It had been open a day or two earlier, so we hoped it might be open again. It wasn't. Jack, though, got into walking the loop around it once we got there. Pointed out little tiny windows with bars on them: "I think THAT'S the dungeon." We also had further dialogue about the 'pirate ships' in the bay. There was only one of the green ships today, and we speculated about what happened to the other one. Heated battle with one being sunk? Got his treasure and went home? All possibilities were discussed.
- Kate became fascinated with Mikey, and tried repeatedly to engage him in conversation, chattering away busily and waving her arms demonstratively. Mikey wanted none of it.
- Laura and Niamh helped Kate draw, and color, and use stickers on a book. For a little while she was totally engrossed in what her older cousins were doing and saying to her, obligingly picking stickers, finding things to color, nodding in response to their questions. It was pretty cool, and a side of Kate I don't see very often: Patient, listening Kate.
- Jack played on the trampoline with me, Mikey, Abbey, Kate. His favorite thing was to run around saying "I believe I can fly!" and crashing into the net around it, then flopping onto his back. I think Mikey started it. When Mikey did it, then crashed to the trampoline, Jack erupted in peals of laughter. It was pretty funny.
- I played baseball with Jack and Mikey. As we got set up, with me pitching to Mikey and Jack fielding, Mikey suggested Jack (who wanted to stand near me) move back some. Jack wanted to stand where he wanted to stand. The first pitch I threw, Mikey hit a line drive that drilled Jack in the shoulder. There were tears. It was bad, and somewhat miraculous given that I threw about 100 more pitches over the next half hour and Mikey probably hit only two other line drives. After comforting to Jack, I reiterated, imploringly, that he move back some. Jack looked at me with sad eyes. "But I'm TIRED," he said, and it was evening; he was. Fortunately, he rallied after that and we were all good, taking turns with me pitching to Mikey and then Jack. It was a nice green area.
- Robin folded a heckuva lot of laundry.
- Emily made her bunny cakes.
- We dyed Easter eggs. As per usual, Jack was impatient, wanting to take the eggs out of the dye mere moments after placing them in. Then when I wanted to take his green egg and dye its bottom half purple, so the Hulk egg we'd make would have purple pants, he didn't want to do that either. "Jack," I explained, "we can't have a naked Hulk." Ended up making the red egg into a Spider-man and a blue egg, at Jack's excited suggestion, "Into Mr. Fantastic!"
(As I write this, we're having a discussion about the eggs. Jack: "I don't want to eat my eggs. I want to have them forever." I explain that eggs get rotten and stinky. Jack is sad. I say, but you know what, I took a picture of you holding your eggs yesterday, and when we get home I'll print it out and put it on your wall. Jack brightens. "Did you get a picture of Mr. Fantastic Egg?" I give him the egg and take a picture of him with it, so I now have one with that egg and one with his other two eggs. "I will have these pictures forever!" says Jack.)
It was a good day.
Ireland, Day 5
Postscript to Day 4 - You know how sometimes you forget things because while they're happening you stay away from them because they're so perfect you don't want to ruin them? That's kind of what it was like the other evening when Jack and Kate were both fully entertained and happy for about half an hour or more by Laura, down on the floor with them playing with the oven, the sink, and everything else associated with the little kitchen. I think Jack likes the sound the oven makes and Kate likes the sink, and together the three of them made little meals for each other. Jack and Kate playing happily, and I am in no way involved in the proceedings: perfect evening for me.
Day 5: It rained. A lot. And we were all tired, at least all of us but Jack, who slept great. So we hung out around the house. There were board games involved -- Mousetrap, Balloon Lagoon -- and an Incredibles puzzle. Jack every once in a while lamented his cousins (who spent the afternoon at their father's) not being there. Which reminds me of the previous night, when they also weren't around for a short while, with Jack being rather sad while going to bed because Mikey wasn't there. He was very relieved when Mikey got back before Jack had gone to sleep.
So we didn't go outside, but the playing inside was OK. Kate had about a 3-hour nap. I think the best part was that when Jack and Mikey were playing, they seemed to have their own secret language, making each other laugh and coming up with little jokes for each other. Jack cracking up over simply the way Mikey said something. Funny.
In the evening, the kids had macaroni and cheese and hotdogs while we prepared to go out for dinner. Robin was going to put the kids to bed while we had a nice seafood meal at Linanne's, this nice seafood place which for me is distinguished by the hilarious picture of a lobster holding a pint of Guinness in one giant claw. Emily is rolling her eyes. I thought it was funny. We put the kids in their pajamas and zipped off to the restaurant, then Robin dropped us off and brought the kids home while we ate dinner.
Robin told us about putting Kate and Jack to bed. Niamh read Kate stories. Robin held Kate and walked around the room singing songs: "Hush Little Baby." Kate's head resting on her chest, thumb in mouth. Went into Jack's room, sat on floor building K'nex monsters. They had giant green feet and big purple wings. Then read the Koala book, then superhero book. Then Jack said, "Mommy lies down with me and sings this song" (Swing on a Star, which is actually the one I sing to him, but whatever). When the song was over, Jack, with evident relief, said "Now Mommy sleeps for a little while." His eyes got heavy, and Robin started walking away. Jack stirred, Robin said good night, and tired Jack held up his little stuffed tiger, and waved good night -- too tired to do more than that.
Back at the restaurant, Robin had mentioned there was a big American guy named Kevin who lived nearby and might be there, and we saw a guy who we were debating approaching to ask when he came up to us: "Are you Robin's brother?" So of course he bought us a pint, and when Robin picked us up she stayed for an extra beer.
Slept great last night; Kate didn't stir until 7:30 a.m. Or else we didn't hear her until then, one of the two.
Day 5: It rained. A lot. And we were all tired, at least all of us but Jack, who slept great. So we hung out around the house. There were board games involved -- Mousetrap, Balloon Lagoon -- and an Incredibles puzzle. Jack every once in a while lamented his cousins (who spent the afternoon at their father's) not being there. Which reminds me of the previous night, when they also weren't around for a short while, with Jack being rather sad while going to bed because Mikey wasn't there. He was very relieved when Mikey got back before Jack had gone to sleep.
So we didn't go outside, but the playing inside was OK. Kate had about a 3-hour nap. I think the best part was that when Jack and Mikey were playing, they seemed to have their own secret language, making each other laugh and coming up with little jokes for each other. Jack cracking up over simply the way Mikey said something. Funny.
In the evening, the kids had macaroni and cheese and hotdogs while we prepared to go out for dinner. Robin was going to put the kids to bed while we had a nice seafood meal at Linanne's, this nice seafood place which for me is distinguished by the hilarious picture of a lobster holding a pint of Guinness in one giant claw. Emily is rolling her eyes. I thought it was funny. We put the kids in their pajamas and zipped off to the restaurant, then Robin dropped us off and brought the kids home while we ate dinner.
Robin told us about putting Kate and Jack to bed. Niamh read Kate stories. Robin held Kate and walked around the room singing songs: "Hush Little Baby." Kate's head resting on her chest, thumb in mouth. Went into Jack's room, sat on floor building K'nex monsters. They had giant green feet and big purple wings. Then read the Koala book, then superhero book. Then Jack said, "Mommy lies down with me and sings this song" (Swing on a Star, which is actually the one I sing to him, but whatever). When the song was over, Jack, with evident relief, said "Now Mommy sleeps for a little while." His eyes got heavy, and Robin started walking away. Jack stirred, Robin said good night, and tired Jack held up his little stuffed tiger, and waved good night -- too tired to do more than that.
Back at the restaurant, Robin had mentioned there was a big American guy named Kevin who lived nearby and might be there, and we saw a guy who we were debating approaching to ask when he came up to us: "Are you Robin's brother?" So of course he bought us a pint, and when Robin picked us up she stayed for an extra beer.
Slept great last night; Kate didn't stir until 7:30 a.m. Or else we didn't hear her until then, one of the two.
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Ireland, Day 4
- Postscript to the day at the Cliffs of Moher. Robin took Jack back to the car, stopping along the way to get a coin that got mashed into a pattern in a little machine. Later, Robin told me that you could choose different patterns, and Jack chose a castle, but got one of the Cliffs anyway -- ironic since he didn't enjoy standing in the whipping wind to see the Cliffs. So Jack was all, "Where's my castle?" And he was sad for a minute, and then brightened and said, resiliently, "Maybe the castle looks like the Cliffs?" And Robin said that might be it. And Jack was happy.
- Since Tuesday was a touring-centric day where the kids stayed home, Wednesday was a day for the kids. So we zipped off to Galway to go the Aquarium and have a picnic at the playground. I'm a little torn to come up with stories since all went pretty much as you'd expect, so I'll just go with a stream of consciousness rambling:
Kate and Jack fell asleep in the car on the way there. We brought the stroller and Kate wanted no part of it, so we pushed an empty stroller around the aquarium for an hour, carrying it up and down stairs and such. Jack was mildly freaked out by a huge crash of water near the entrance, moreso freaked out, I think, by Izzy or Anna shrieking two feet away from him when the crash occurred. Kate loved everything -- climbed up the glass to point at the rays, whacked against the glass where there were fish swimming around. Jack (all of us) were suitably impressed by giant eels the size of the kitchen counter. There was a very cool skeleton of a fin whale, which its sheet indicated is the world's second largest mammal and the history was that it had beached itself somewhere in Ireland, possibly suffering from an ear infection, back in the '80s I believe. Sad, but at least the whale now brought enjoyment to visiting tourists like me.
Then it was off to the playground, and a picnic. Great fun for all and we were all ravenous; I think we had food just in time for the kids and Emily, who were on the verge of getting cranky. Then there was lots of playing, which was nice. Walked along the Salthill Prom, which I remembered doing back in 1993. Pleasant. Then it was home, jumping on the trampoline (Jack loves it and Kate finally got into it, too, crawling around a bit). I should mention, Jack wanted Abbey to come on the trampoline with him. He loves her. I'd offered to go on with him, but he said, "I don't want big people on the trampoline." Niamh said she'd go on; I asked if Niamh was big people. He said, "Yes. I want Abbey." We went out front and he yelled for Abbey, and she came over from playing with friends to go jump on the trampoline with Jack. Fair play to her. Then it was breakfast for dinner (pancakes and bacon, any time a good time), and a nice bath and bedtime for the kids. And a big glass of wine or two.
- Since Tuesday was a touring-centric day where the kids stayed home, Wednesday was a day for the kids. So we zipped off to Galway to go the Aquarium and have a picnic at the playground. I'm a little torn to come up with stories since all went pretty much as you'd expect, so I'll just go with a stream of consciousness rambling:
Kate and Jack fell asleep in the car on the way there. We brought the stroller and Kate wanted no part of it, so we pushed an empty stroller around the aquarium for an hour, carrying it up and down stairs and such. Jack was mildly freaked out by a huge crash of water near the entrance, moreso freaked out, I think, by Izzy or Anna shrieking two feet away from him when the crash occurred. Kate loved everything -- climbed up the glass to point at the rays, whacked against the glass where there were fish swimming around. Jack (all of us) were suitably impressed by giant eels the size of the kitchen counter. There was a very cool skeleton of a fin whale, which its sheet indicated is the world's second largest mammal and the history was that it had beached itself somewhere in Ireland, possibly suffering from an ear infection, back in the '80s I believe. Sad, but at least the whale now brought enjoyment to visiting tourists like me.
Then it was off to the playground, and a picnic. Great fun for all and we were all ravenous; I think we had food just in time for the kids and Emily, who were on the verge of getting cranky. Then there was lots of playing, which was nice. Walked along the Salthill Prom, which I remembered doing back in 1993. Pleasant. Then it was home, jumping on the trampoline (Jack loves it and Kate finally got into it, too, crawling around a bit). I should mention, Jack wanted Abbey to come on the trampoline with him. He loves her. I'd offered to go on with him, but he said, "I don't want big people on the trampoline." Niamh said she'd go on; I asked if Niamh was big people. He said, "Yes. I want Abbey." We went out front and he yelled for Abbey, and she came over from playing with friends to go jump on the trampoline with Jack. Fair play to her. Then it was breakfast for dinner (pancakes and bacon, any time a good time), and a nice bath and bedtime for the kids. And a big glass of wine or two.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Ireland, Day 3
- Woke early. It was raining. A lot. Went downstairs, had breakfast, watched Jack and Mikey eat corn flakes together and then go watch TV. Wiped Kate's nose every few minutes. Drank coffee. Uploaded pictures. Laughed at Robin's pictures. Took pictures. Drank coffee.
- Put Kate down for nap. It was 1 p.m. and still raining. Decided to take advantage of napping Kate to go see things. Asked Jack, somewhat rhetorically, if he wanted to go outside in the cold, wind and rain. Jack thought about it for no time at all. "No," he reflected.
- Robin and Emily and I went out to see various old things. A cemetery at Corcomroe Abbey. A fort that we could only see the outside of, because they were actually charging to walk around in the pouring rain. Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, which was this cool old structure from around 3200 B.C., which I actually didn't know at the time so I'm even more impressed now than I was while shivering in the bitterly cold wind and driving rain, elements I was woefully unprepared for in my Red Sox cap and barn jacket. Brrr. Got very wet but got some neat pictures and I guess it's officially the oldest structure I've ever seen. at least, I think so.
- Went to some Perfumery, a stone's throw from a pub which was sadly closed. After that, though, we went to a pub which was happily open. Had seafood chowder and a Guinness. It was brilliant.
- Got back to find Jack happily watching a movie with his cousins and Kate attached to Niamh, both of whom seemed pleased with this arrangement. Had dinner two doors down, the same meal we'd had the previous night by coincidence, but that was OK and it was very tasty.
- Put Jack to bed, late. He was asleep the instant he was horizontal.
- Watched The Terminator movie with Robin, then went to bed.
- Put Kate down for nap. It was 1 p.m. and still raining. Decided to take advantage of napping Kate to go see things. Asked Jack, somewhat rhetorically, if he wanted to go outside in the cold, wind and rain. Jack thought about it for no time at all. "No," he reflected.
- Robin and Emily and I went out to see various old things. A cemetery at Corcomroe Abbey. A fort that we could only see the outside of, because they were actually charging to walk around in the pouring rain. Poulnabrone Portal Tomb, which was this cool old structure from around 3200 B.C., which I actually didn't know at the time so I'm even more impressed now than I was while shivering in the bitterly cold wind and driving rain, elements I was woefully unprepared for in my Red Sox cap and barn jacket. Brrr. Got very wet but got some neat pictures and I guess it's officially the oldest structure I've ever seen. at least, I think so.
- Went to some Perfumery, a stone's throw from a pub which was sadly closed. After that, though, we went to a pub which was happily open. Had seafood chowder and a Guinness. It was brilliant.
- Got back to find Jack happily watching a movie with his cousins and Kate attached to Niamh, both of whom seemed pleased with this arrangement. Had dinner two doors down, the same meal we'd had the previous night by coincidence, but that was OK and it was very tasty.
- Put Jack to bed, late. He was asleep the instant he was horizontal.
- Watched The Terminator movie with Robin, then went to bed.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Ireland, Day 2
A whirlwind of activity yesterday. Let's get right to it....
- Jack and Mikey came downstairs as a duo, or perhaps Jack following behind. Got cereal and headed into the TV room to watch Scooby Doo. Kate, who had come down with me, ate a banana like a monkey.
- After breakfast and showers, which ended up being around noon, we decided to walk out to see Dungaire Castle. About a 15-minute walk. We put Kate in the stroller and Jack walked/was carried. Sadly, the castle itself wasn't open, so we could only see it from the exterior. Got some nice pictures and I pointed out the dungeon to Jack, which may very well have been the kitchen or some kind of medieval daycare. He was impressed anyway.
- Jack had complained about the cold and the wind on the walk to the castle, but as soon as we got home he wanted to go out on the trampoline. This ended up being one of the day's highlights: Jack was happy, we jumped up and down, Kate joined us. When she was in my arms and I jumped up and down, she laughed and said "wheeeeee!" When I set her down on the trampoline, she tended to flatten herself out like a pancake and natter away fretfully until I picked her up. After the trampoline, Jack and I kicked a soccer ball around and then played with a batty ball.
- After a late lunch, the weather had cleared up and we decided to go see the Cliffs of Moher. This was in many ways a mistake, given that Jack was tired and had pretty much had it with cold and wind. On the bright side, on the hour-long trip there he and Kate both slept the entire way, nodding off about 2 minutes into the drive. On rhe downside, it was so windy and cold that Jack was miserable at the cliffs, wailing his way into a meltdown with every step. It was quite a scene. The cliffs themselves were beautiful, but it's no place for a cold and tired 4-year-old. Robin ended up cheering up Jack by showing how to put a penny into a machine that mashed it into a cool oval with a Cliffs of Moher design on it. Jack carried that around with him possessively for the rest of the day. Our pictures excluded Jack, but I got a nice shot of Jack's toy pirate with the cliffs in the background.
- On the way home, we stopped so Emily could take pictures of a gutted out church and some old gravestones. I remained in the car wedged between my kids. Kate only wailed a little. Jack admired his penny. The pictures were very nice.
- At home, Jack, cold and tired at the Cliffs, immediately wanted to go out on the trampoline.
- Late dinner, kids got to bed OK, and then I went out for Guinness with one of Robin's neighbors. Had 2 pints in a little pub called Connolly's. Tasty. Got home in time for Kate to wake up and spend most of the night coughing, wailing, sneezing and crying. Not much sleep was had, but it was a good day anyway.
- This morning, I went downstairs early with Kate. While we were sleepily traipsing about the kitchen, Mikey and Jack came in. Jack was in great spirits, high-stepping and dancing, actually dancing, like he'd lived here with his big boy cousin his entire life. Happy.
- Jack and Mikey came downstairs as a duo, or perhaps Jack following behind. Got cereal and headed into the TV room to watch Scooby Doo. Kate, who had come down with me, ate a banana like a monkey.
- After breakfast and showers, which ended up being around noon, we decided to walk out to see Dungaire Castle. About a 15-minute walk. We put Kate in the stroller and Jack walked/was carried. Sadly, the castle itself wasn't open, so we could only see it from the exterior. Got some nice pictures and I pointed out the dungeon to Jack, which may very well have been the kitchen or some kind of medieval daycare. He was impressed anyway.
- Jack had complained about the cold and the wind on the walk to the castle, but as soon as we got home he wanted to go out on the trampoline. This ended up being one of the day's highlights: Jack was happy, we jumped up and down, Kate joined us. When she was in my arms and I jumped up and down, she laughed and said "wheeeeee!" When I set her down on the trampoline, she tended to flatten herself out like a pancake and natter away fretfully until I picked her up. After the trampoline, Jack and I kicked a soccer ball around and then played with a batty ball.
- After a late lunch, the weather had cleared up and we decided to go see the Cliffs of Moher. This was in many ways a mistake, given that Jack was tired and had pretty much had it with cold and wind. On the bright side, on the hour-long trip there he and Kate both slept the entire way, nodding off about 2 minutes into the drive. On rhe downside, it was so windy and cold that Jack was miserable at the cliffs, wailing his way into a meltdown with every step. It was quite a scene. The cliffs themselves were beautiful, but it's no place for a cold and tired 4-year-old. Robin ended up cheering up Jack by showing how to put a penny into a machine that mashed it into a cool oval with a Cliffs of Moher design on it. Jack carried that around with him possessively for the rest of the day. Our pictures excluded Jack, but I got a nice shot of Jack's toy pirate with the cliffs in the background.
- On the way home, we stopped so Emily could take pictures of a gutted out church and some old gravestones. I remained in the car wedged between my kids. Kate only wailed a little. Jack admired his penny. The pictures were very nice.
- At home, Jack, cold and tired at the Cliffs, immediately wanted to go out on the trampoline.
- Late dinner, kids got to bed OK, and then I went out for Guinness with one of Robin's neighbors. Had 2 pints in a little pub called Connolly's. Tasty. Got home in time for Kate to wake up and spend most of the night coughing, wailing, sneezing and crying. Not much sleep was had, but it was a good day anyway.
- This morning, I went downstairs early with Kate. While we were sleepily traipsing about the kitchen, Mikey and Jack came in. Jack was in great spirits, high-stepping and dancing, actually dancing, like he'd lived here with his big boy cousin his entire life. Happy.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Ireland, Day 1
- On the drive from the airport, Kate slept and Jack was remarkably chatty.
- At the house, Jack jumped around on the trampoline, seemingly oblivious to having been up most of the night. Later, though, when everyone was going to a birthday party, Jack said he wanted to go. Robin said she'd take him in a few minutes and then she held him on her lap for a few minutes. Suddenly, Jack was snoring. She put him down on the couch and he slept there for the next 3-4 hours.
- Kate napped during the day a little, then went to bed at a reasonable hour.
- After dinner we went for a little walk in the neighborhood. Jack dropped one of his toys, naturally, which he and I and Niamh found by backtracking, then meeting up with everyone on their return trip. There were some green ships out in the water and I told Jack they were probably pirate ships. We sat on the wall for a few minutes looking at them. Jack wanted to stay all night to see the pirates, but I explained they wouldn't come out until after dark and after we'd gone.
- Both kids eventually went to bed. Jack stayed there. Kate woke up wailing around 1 and after a couple of efforts to get her back to sleep, she came to bed with us.
- At the house, Jack jumped around on the trampoline, seemingly oblivious to having been up most of the night. Later, though, when everyone was going to a birthday party, Jack said he wanted to go. Robin said she'd take him in a few minutes and then she held him on her lap for a few minutes. Suddenly, Jack was snoring. She put him down on the couch and he slept there for the next 3-4 hours.
- Kate napped during the day a little, then went to bed at a reasonable hour.
- After dinner we went for a little walk in the neighborhood. Jack dropped one of his toys, naturally, which he and I and Niamh found by backtracking, then meeting up with everyone on their return trip. There were some green ships out in the water and I told Jack they were probably pirate ships. We sat on the wall for a few minutes looking at them. Jack wanted to stay all night to see the pirates, but I explained they wouldn't come out until after dark and after we'd gone.
- Both kids eventually went to bed. Jack stayed there. Kate woke up wailing around 1 and after a couple of efforts to get her back to sleep, she came to bed with us.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Plane trip
In Ireland now. Kate's first plane ride and the first one Jack can remember. Worst part was that we taxied on the runway waiting to take off for about an hour and a half. Not much fun spending that long on a crowded plane with two small kids and not even getting closer to our destination. We read a new Backyardigans book about 8 times, interrupted every now and then by Jack saying, "Are we flying now?" and "Is it time to watch the movie yet?" Best part was that the actual flight wasn't so bad. Sort of a noisy takeoff and a sharp descent that my ears still haven't recovered from, but otherwise very smooth.
Kate napped for about 90 minutes while Jack was watching a movie. Jack napped for about two hours at the end of the flight and we had to wake him up during the landing. Nobody ate much.
As we landed, engines roaring and the plane rocking with the intensity of it, Kate threw her arms up, said WHEEEEEEEEE! and cackled with glee. Emily laughed and looked at me. "This one is gonna be trouble."
After being cranky and half asleep all through customs, Jack rallied nicely in the car. Pointed out cows and stuff. Kate fell asleep, her head lolling drunkenly on her shoulder.
At Robin's, Emily and I slept. Jack and Mikey were inseparable. I came downstairs after I guess a 2-hour nap. Everyone was jumping on the trampoline, Jack beaming, Kate giggling in Niamh's arms.
Kate napped for about 90 minutes while Jack was watching a movie. Jack napped for about two hours at the end of the flight and we had to wake him up during the landing. Nobody ate much.
As we landed, engines roaring and the plane rocking with the intensity of it, Kate threw her arms up, said WHEEEEEEEEE! and cackled with glee. Emily laughed and looked at me. "This one is gonna be trouble."
After being cranky and half asleep all through customs, Jack rallied nicely in the car. Pointed out cows and stuff. Kate fell asleep, her head lolling drunkenly on her shoulder.
At Robin's, Emily and I slept. Jack and Mikey were inseparable. I came downstairs after I guess a 2-hour nap. Everyone was jumping on the trampoline, Jack beaming, Kate giggling in Niamh's arms.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Distracted
Sometimes it's hard to concentrate. Like today, we're getting ready for a trip to Ireland, and I felt like I had all this stuff to do and was kind of stressed about the whole thing. We haven't flown in about 2 1/2 years. Haven't traveled with two kids, ever. Just seems like so much to pack, so much to organize, so much to make sure we didn't forget.
So I had the kids home today, but I couldn't really enjoy it. I was thinking about other things, and I was tired, and stressed, and I didn't want to play or sit still. So I didn't much. In the morning they watched too much TV. In the afternoon, when Kate was napping. I played a little with Jack -- he beat me at Candyland five straight times -- but couldn't really focus. Played with his castle a little bit, admired a couple of frankly amazing pictures he drew, but wasn't all the way there.
And then the hours had ticked away and Emily was home and we ate dinner and played hide and seek (pretty much an every night thing these days) and put the kids to bed, finished packing, checked all the luggage, had a glass of wine, watched a little TV, and here I am. Feeling bad that I didn't spend as much time with my kids today, wasn't all the way there even though I was HERE.
I'm very lucky and today I didn't appreciate it and it's not the first time and it won't be the last, but tonight I feel bad about it so I'm looking forward to vacation, because I'm going to make the most of it with my family.
So I had the kids home today, but I couldn't really enjoy it. I was thinking about other things, and I was tired, and stressed, and I didn't want to play or sit still. So I didn't much. In the morning they watched too much TV. In the afternoon, when Kate was napping. I played a little with Jack -- he beat me at Candyland five straight times -- but couldn't really focus. Played with his castle a little bit, admired a couple of frankly amazing pictures he drew, but wasn't all the way there.
And then the hours had ticked away and Emily was home and we ate dinner and played hide and seek (pretty much an every night thing these days) and put the kids to bed, finished packing, checked all the luggage, had a glass of wine, watched a little TV, and here I am. Feeling bad that I didn't spend as much time with my kids today, wasn't all the way there even though I was HERE.
I'm very lucky and today I didn't appreciate it and it's not the first time and it won't be the last, but tonight I feel bad about it so I'm looking forward to vacation, because I'm going to make the most of it with my family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
