This post that I read today so wonderfully captures what has been on my mind and weighing on my heart the past couple of weeks.  Thought I would share:

http://www.lauraleighparker.com/2011/12/when-skype-falls-woefully-short-on-living-far-away-from-family/

Though we may not be together in person this Christmas, you are all very much with us in our hearts.

Cook Christmas Party

Nate had a taste for fish and chips last Sunday, so we decided to try Durty Nellie's, the oldest pub in Ireland.  It opened in 1620 and is supposedly the best place to get a pint of Guinness. 

Nate and Scarlett had a staring contest while we waited for our food.

Me and my boy.

After lunch we headed to the Cook Christmas party.  The kids had a great time.

Scarlett was thrilled to have her face painted like a fairy princess, and Grayson was completely engrossed while we watched the magician.

They were a little hesitant about seeing Santa at first, but walked right up to him with their letters as soon as they saw him.

Nate and I were so impressed with this party.  Face painting, balloon animals, a magician.  Each child got a gift from Santa, a treat bag with a juice bottle and treats, AND a box of chocolates.  It was amazing.  The kids have already been talking about going again next year.  :)

O Christmas Tree

We went in search of our Christmas tree a little over a week ago.  We didn't get to walk through fields of trees looking for just the right one to chop down, but we all enjoyed the experience none the less.

"How about this one?"

I love these two.

A lot.

"Look Mom!  We have antlers!"

Freshly delivered.

It was strange leaving the lot without the tree, but the kids LOVED the anticipation of waiting for it to be delivered.  Stay tuned for the decorated version.

Catching up

Almost every night I compose post after post for this blog in my head as I lay in bed waiting to fall asleep.  And day after day I think about sitting down and actually writing how I'm feeling about living in Ireland.  And then I don't.  I'm not sure why, really, but today I'm going to attempt to change that.  Especially since my last post was such a downer and I don't feel like it's a good representation of our life here at all.  Yes, there are difficult days, days when I miss our friends and family like you wouldn't believe and want nothing more than to stay home and dwell on how hard it is to be away from everyone.  But mostly?  Things are good here, we like where we are in our life and are loving the opportunity that has been given to us. 

I ran up to the petrol station the other night to grab some milk before they closed....at 7pm.  ;)  I parked the car, ran in and grabbed the milk, paid for it, and was back in the car in about 5 minutes.  And that's when it struck me.  I am so incredibly happy right now and totally and completely love this moment in life.  It was one of those moments when it just kind of hit me and made me pause for a moment.  I love where we are right now.  I love the life that we are creating for ourselves.  I love that it felt incredibly normal to run into the petrol station at 6:30 on a Saturday night for a jug of milk.

Giving Thanks

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, an American holiday not celebrated in Ireland. It was strange waking up with Nate already gone to work knowing it was a day usually spent together as a family. Stranger still to drop Grayson off at school where it was just another day for everyone else.  Gray took in some pumpkin pie cupcakes in an attempt to share Thanksgiving with his new friends.  I'm willing to bet it was the first time the majority of them tasted anything made with pumpkin.  Scarlett and I laid low most of the morning, snuggling on the couch while momma fought a headache.  The afternoon brought skype calls from family, which we are always so very thankful for.  We had tacos for dinner, choosing to save the turkey and all the fixings for Saturday when we can spend the whole day together as a family.  This year we have so very many things to be thankful for: the opportunity to live in Ireland, friends new and old, family, an extended network of support.  But more than anything, this year I am so incredibly thankful for Nate and the kids, thankful that we have each other, through good times and bad, no matter what.  Happy Thanksgiving, friends.  I hope you all had a day filled with family, friends, and giving thanks for all the  blessings in your life.

I'm struggling today. 

Nate has been gone for the past week and a half, and the solo parenting is starting to really wear me down. 

I've made friends here, but it's very easy to still feel very much like an outsider.  I miss the ease that I have with my friends back home and the laid back nature of our friendships.  I miss sitting on my couch in my sweats and chatting about everything and anything with girlfriends and not feeling like I have to "be on" all the time. 

I miss my best friend.  She received some terrible news yesterday and it's breaking my heart that I can't be there for her, that I can't drive the 7 minutes to her house and help her family or drive 5 hours to sit next to her as she tries to make sense of it all.

I miss home right now, and it kind of sucks that I am so far away from everyone I care so much about.  I love the dream we are living right now, but today is definitely one of the hardest I've had since being here.   

Post O' Pictures

Bunratty Castle

Irish Wolf Hounds

 Being silly under the Spanish Arch in Galway

Salmon Weir Bridge in Galway

Galway Cathedral

Enjoying a hot chocolate in Eyre Park, Galway.

Doors of Dublin

Happy Halloween

The kids had a great time Trick-or-Treating

around our neighborhood tonight.

It was so much fun watching them

run from house to house and they brought

back quite a haul.

My boy learned to ride his bike without his training wheels yesterday.

He didn't ask for any help

or call any attention to the fact

that he was trying to do it on his own.

 In fact, he didn't say a single word until he had already figured it out.

My boy learned to ride his bike in Ireland all on his own,

and thinking about it puts a huge smile on my face

and leaves me feeling so incredibly proud.

The Cliffs of Moher

We woke up to sunny skies this past Sunday and decided to take full advantage if it by heading to the Cliffs of Moher.

We were not disappointed.

The first thing you see after crossing the road from parking lot is these little gift shops.

Everything is built into the hills so that it doesn't take away from the natural landscape.  Even the visitor center is built into the hills.  It's awesome.

 And then we got to see this:

The cliffs were breathtaking! 

And these pictures don't come close to doing them justice.

I was REALLY hoping to get a good family photo that day,

but I kind of underestimated the wind. 

Not a good family photo day, but a great memory.

 The other end of the cliffs.

After walking along the paved pathway with a wall along the edge to keep us safe, the kids and I decided to head to the visitors center.  It had started raining and the wind had picked up even more, so there was no way I was attempting to take the kids along the side with no railing or wall to them from falling over the edge.  I knew I had made the right choice when Nate came back with this picture:

 But he also came back with these, which I love.

The Cliffs of Moher will most definitely be on our

permanent list of places to take future visitors.

Can't begin to tell you how happy this makes my heart:

 

My house feels a little too quiet and empty these days,

and only seems "normal" when I have all of these boys

running in and out of my house. 

I am so beyond thankful for the wonderful

friends that Grayson has made in Ireland already.

Rainy Day Fun

The kids have really been missing their blocks and legos.

Not wanting to go out and drop a bunch of money on a new set,

Nate and the kids opted for some PVC pipe and connectors.

 Nate used this as a lesson in measuring and maybe safety

(I'll be honest, I wasn't listening too closely),

and I love the way the kids are paying attention to

whatever he's telling them in this picture.

And then I distracted them and made Grayson try out some fun angles for me.

But then they got back to work and started the process

of cutting the pipe down into shorter sections.

I love this one of Scarlett helping Nate sand the ends of the pipe after cutting.

Sadly, I can't get the video of the "after" to upload.

All I'll say is that my boys are awfully dangerous with a hairdryer

and an ear of corn from Scarlett's play food.  ;)

I'm not going to lie, the weather here has been pretty crappy. 

The temperatures aren't horrible, but the rain just may do me in. 

We try to take advantage of every last bit of sunshine we get.

One of the kids favorite things to do when we actually see the sun

is jump on our neighbor's trampoline. 

I love it, too, 'cause it means very little work on my part

and Scarlett actually sleeps all. night. long.  ;)

Self portrait

What seems to be a more and more common Saturday night at our house:

An update on us

It's been 7 weeks since we moved to Ireland.  At times it seems like it hasn't been that much time at all, and feels slightly like we're still on vacation.  Other days aren't quite so easy and it's difficult to imagine not coming back to our life in Bloomington as soon as we can.  We've all settled fairly well, for the most part, but still have our days of homesickness.  Nate is pretty quiet about whether or not he misses home, and though I know it's been an adjustment for Scarlett and that she misses her friends like crazy, she's not been fazed by much.  Grayson has definitely taken it the hardest, but is completely happy most days.  We still hit rough patches with him every few days, but I think we would have them no matter where we were or where we lived.  I have my days, also, but try to keep it to myself as much as I can.  I try to keep things as normal as possible for the kids, and while I'm not afraid to admit to them that there are things that I miss deeply, I know it wouldn't do either of them any good to see me pining away for the states.

Nate is on his way home from his second trip to Germany since we've been here.  I know that he alternately hates and loves the travel that sometimes comes with his job.  I'm fairly certain that he is enjoying his work here, but I also know that he stresses every day about whether or not he can complete the job he was sent here to do.  I know that he will do it, and I know that he will do it well.  Hopefully in time he will realize it as well. 

Scarlett is doing well at her creche.  She absolutely loves school and is constantly singing the songs that they work on there.  She was very proud of herself this week when she was able to walk in on her own and not need me to stay with her.  Not a single tear was shed this week, and it felt like such an accomplishment for everyone involved.

Grayson is also doing very well at school.  He loves his teacher and gets on great with the other kids in his class.  He's doing great with his reading and his math, and is soaking up the Irish pretty well.  We are working on his printing right now, since our boy tends to be a tad bit lazy when it comes to taking his time writing.  He LOVES all of the songs there learn at school, and I can't get enough of hearing him sing them.

As for me, I keep fairly busy carting the kids to and from school and doing all of the other errands that need to be done each week.  I will admit that I'm going a tad bit crazy not having anything else to occupy my mind other than the kids and household "stuff." I'm really hoping that once our shipment from the states finally arrives and I can get my hands on all of my crafting stuff again that it will help.  I'm also hoping to maybe take a course on speaking Irish at the University of Limerick in January.  That should give me plenty to think about then!

Hugs to you all!  We miss you!

Lough (Lock) Gur

We visited Lough Gur (Lake Gur) a couple of weeks ago. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery wasn't bad either.  ;)

This is an old "lime kiln," which was used to burn lime in the 16th century

to be used as fertilizer.

I know it doesn't look like much, but the stones in the circular pattern were actually the foundation of a "dwelling."

The Lough Gur "Pigeon House," or what's left of it.  They have it dated back to 1681.