Posts
This past weekend was a three day 'bank holiday' weekend here in Ireland. Periodically during the year we get 3 day weekends known as bank holidays. They are often associated with an old holiday - May Day, Halloween, harvest, etc, but we don't know all the roots. Travis is convinced sometimes they are just because everyone needs a day off to go play (especially during the summer!). If you recall we took advantage of the May bank holiday to scurry off to Scotland, for the June bank holiday we stayed closer to home (no more ankle swelling plane rides for me thank you) and drove out to the Galway/Connemara area for some R&R.
We've been out to that part of the country before, but had skipped the busier sections and did more hiking/scenic things. This trip we massively splurged on a stay in a fancy-schmancy castle and headed for the big tourist attractions in the area.
Our hotel was unbelievable, we did feel we got our moneys worth! I would definitely recommend it if you feel like splurging - Ballynahinch Castle http://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/ Our 'room' was bigger than our current apartment, with a truly huge bed. Also a dressing room and bathroom that was bigger than most decent hotel rooms! The bath was so big Travis opted to go for a dip, he could quite comfortably stretch out - while watching TV on the built in flat screen bathroom TV. The service was impeccable, the food stellar, and none of our bizarre requests even merited a batted eye!
We did day trips from the castle to Galway, the Aran Islands, the Burren, and the Cliffs of Moher. All were quite lovely, but I will admit we looked forward to going back to our weekend castle home each night. We lucked out with the weather, normally the west coast is quite damp, we experienced blue skies and mild temperatures the entire trip.
Now it's back to the daily routine again, I'm packing our few belongings in anticipation of the move next week and Travis is back working on staying sane at the plant. My mobility is rapidly declining, good thing we're getting closer to arrival day! Travis and I can't wait to meet the new one, although I will admit I'm a little worried about the activity levels - the baby never seems to rest and I'm pretty sure that won't change once he joins us!
There are just a few pictures from this weekend -
Friday, June 1, 2007
On The Road Again and Exactly How Long Are We Staying Here Anyway?
It's been nice and quiet lately, I've throughly enjoyed having the time to go walking, swimming, AND manage a load or two of laundry in the meantime! (of course our dryer is broken and has been for at least a month now, so it's an even slower process than it used to be).
I seem to have either great days or really slow days during my last trimester - some days I wake up full of vim and vigor and am ready to tackle the world. Other days, well, it's just hard to get out of bed and get dressed. Luckily I generally have the first type of day, and even better when I have the second type I live a life of luxury where I can afford to be a bum on the couch if I want to be. The headaches are killer, I will readily admit I miss my meds!
So, Travis and I hit our one year anniversary of moving to Dublin! whoo hoo! How time flies. It really doesn't seem like a whole year has passed, yet here we are again in the land of 19-20 hours of light (MUCH better than when it was nearly the reverse this winter). Trust me, I can vouch for the fact that it's light at 4:20, I'm up most mornings about that time :) With the anniversary came a new contract, our original was up after a year. Last we'd heard our departure date was appx August, when the new contract came the date listed was Oct 30. Whoa! That threw us for a bit of loop, but after some conferencing we decided on an action plan. To stay that much longer after the baby comes we really need a different living situation.
Where we are now is great for 2 of us, but there are a few things that make it difficult to add a 3rd person in. When we thought we were only going to be here 6wks after baby it was OK, but several months? Nope, not gonna work. So, part of the new deal is a new place to live, which we are moving into on June 15th. Bigger, with a dishwasher, no stairs (3 flights up a skinny staircase now), and also NO TRUMPET! Our downstairs neighbor teaches private trumpet lessons. Always during the day, so as not to bother us in the evenings, but some of his students are truly awful. It's just painful to listen and with our thin floors (the walls are 2 feet thick, we wouldn't hear a thing thru them) we hear every overblown, out of tune, wavering note. I'll miss this part of town, I've really enjoyed it here, but will be thrilled with all of the new conveniences that will come with the new place. It's closer to Travis' job, so it will be easier for us to share a car some days, too.
While I'm at this long post, this weekend is a holiday weekend here in Ireland. One of the several 'bank holidays' sprinkled throughout the summer. We're headed to see the last little bits of Ireland we feel we haven't covered and will stay in a castle (Travis' request) out in the west about an hour or so from Galway. Our plan is to get out to the Aran Islands and on the way home swing by the Cliffs of Moher with a pass through The Burren. I'm sure there will be a few pictures to post after this weekend, hopefully the weather holds for us! It's been brilliant the last couple of days.
That's about all the news for now, more after this weekend!
I seem to have either great days or really slow days during my last trimester - some days I wake up full of vim and vigor and am ready to tackle the world. Other days, well, it's just hard to get out of bed and get dressed. Luckily I generally have the first type of day, and even better when I have the second type I live a life of luxury where I can afford to be a bum on the couch if I want to be. The headaches are killer, I will readily admit I miss my meds!
So, Travis and I hit our one year anniversary of moving to Dublin! whoo hoo! How time flies. It really doesn't seem like a whole year has passed, yet here we are again in the land of 19-20 hours of light (MUCH better than when it was nearly the reverse this winter). Trust me, I can vouch for the fact that it's light at 4:20, I'm up most mornings about that time :) With the anniversary came a new contract, our original was up after a year. Last we'd heard our departure date was appx August, when the new contract came the date listed was Oct 30. Whoa! That threw us for a bit of loop, but after some conferencing we decided on an action plan. To stay that much longer after the baby comes we really need a different living situation.
Where we are now is great for 2 of us, but there are a few things that make it difficult to add a 3rd person in. When we thought we were only going to be here 6wks after baby it was OK, but several months? Nope, not gonna work. So, part of the new deal is a new place to live, which we are moving into on June 15th. Bigger, with a dishwasher, no stairs (3 flights up a skinny staircase now), and also NO TRUMPET! Our downstairs neighbor teaches private trumpet lessons. Always during the day, so as not to bother us in the evenings, but some of his students are truly awful. It's just painful to listen and with our thin floors (the walls are 2 feet thick, we wouldn't hear a thing thru them) we hear every overblown, out of tune, wavering note. I'll miss this part of town, I've really enjoyed it here, but will be thrilled with all of the new conveniences that will come with the new place. It's closer to Travis' job, so it will be easier for us to share a car some days, too.
While I'm at this long post, this weekend is a holiday weekend here in Ireland. One of the several 'bank holidays' sprinkled throughout the summer. We're headed to see the last little bits of Ireland we feel we haven't covered and will stay in a castle (Travis' request) out in the west about an hour or so from Galway. Our plan is to get out to the Aran Islands and on the way home swing by the Cliffs of Moher with a pass through The Burren. I'm sure there will be a few pictures to post after this weekend, hopefully the weather holds for us! It's been brilliant the last couple of days.
That's about all the news for now, more after this weekend!
Monday, May 21, 2007
Hiccups for All
So anyone who has seen me lately knows that I have the weirdest hiccups you've ever heard. I've always had crazy hiccups but I don't get them very often. Now that the wee 'un is squishing everything around I seem to have random, single hiccups on a regular basis. Travis tells me I sound like some bizarre exotic dying bird when I hiccup and he tries not to laugh at me as sometimes they hurt!
Today, however, I was NOT the only one with hiccups. The wee 'un had a round of hiccups that took me by surprise! I get a lot of baby movement every day, which ranges from gentle squirming to kicks and jabs that make me cry out (generally the former, less often the latter which is a good thing) but this afternoon was something totally different. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, didn't feel like movement but something was definitely going on in there. After a couple of minutes they were all done and we went back to our normal program of wiggles and squirms.
I sincerely hope for our baby's sake that if hiccups continue that they'll take after Travis and not me :)
Today, however, I was NOT the only one with hiccups. The wee 'un had a round of hiccups that took me by surprise! I get a lot of baby movement every day, which ranges from gentle squirming to kicks and jabs that make me cry out (generally the former, less often the latter which is a good thing) but this afternoon was something totally different. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on, didn't feel like movement but something was definitely going on in there. After a couple of minutes they were all done and we went back to our normal program of wiggles and squirms.
I sincerely hope for our baby's sake that if hiccups continue that they'll take after Travis and not me :)
Monday, May 14, 2007
Scotland and baby update
Home at last! No more trips, no more visitors (we enjoyed all of you that came to see us!), and now it's time to scare out all the dust bunnies that have collected in our tiny apartment and rearrange furniture to make room for +1 coming in a couple of months.
Just posted, a small photo album of our trip to Scotland. The first weekend in May was a holiday weekend here (known as a 'bank holiday' it's rumored to celebrate May Day). We took advantage of the day off, added a couple more days, and flew all the way to Scotland. Turns out it's a good thing we opted for a short trip this time (45 min flight time Dublin-Edinburg) as the wee 'un is already pushing for space. It's difficult for me to sit totally straight up in the position of airline seats, the wee 'un let me know know how squished it felt in there.
So far all is still going well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely slowing down and feel absolutely enormous. My knees remind me of how much weight I've gained every time I try to bend them. The munchkin is VERY active still, my belly looks like a wave machine most of the time! Travis is back to working 6 days a week, which is rough on both of us, but we're hoping he'll get out of the thick of work in the next few weeks. He will be able to take some time when the baby comes, I'm hoping that the time sacrifices now will free him up later when it will actually be more important to be together.
Just posted, a small photo album of our trip to Scotland. The first weekend in May was a holiday weekend here (known as a 'bank holiday' it's rumored to celebrate May Day). We took advantage of the day off, added a couple more days, and flew all the way to Scotland. Turns out it's a good thing we opted for a short trip this time (45 min flight time Dublin-Edinburg) as the wee 'un is already pushing for space. It's difficult for me to sit totally straight up in the position of airline seats, the wee 'un let me know know how squished it felt in there.
So far all is still going well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely slowing down and feel absolutely enormous. My knees remind me of how much weight I've gained every time I try to bend them. The munchkin is VERY active still, my belly looks like a wave machine most of the time! Travis is back to working 6 days a week, which is rough on both of us, but we're hoping he'll get out of the thick of work in the next few weeks. He will be able to take some time when the baby comes, I'm hoping that the time sacrifices now will free him up later when it will actually be more important to be together.
Monday, April 30, 2007
A Few Days in Dublin
Home again! Well, Dublin home that is. And only for a few days. I'm starting to feel like it's not worth ever unpacking again. I'm just going to live out of a duffle bag for the rest of the year. No, I'm not complaining, who could complain about getting to go all the places I/we've been travelling to lately?!?!
After a short 2 weeks at home in Denver I came back with not one, not 2, but FOUR - yes you read that correctly - giant duffle bags full of baby stuff. And some treats for Travis who didn't get to come with me. A very special thank you to all of my friends and family back home (Denver home) who were able to share their time and advice with me. It was a great trip, not nearly as frantic as some of the previous ones. Other than the fantastic baby shower that Melinda threw for me and getting to see a huge portion of my family I think my favorite part was cruising garage sales for tiny baby things! Let me tell you, buying baby clothes/toys at garage sales is the way to go. I can't count the number of things I paid $1 or less for that were still on their store hangers with price tags still on them. Oh yes, and Target is truly a wonderful place.
After a short 2 weeks at home in Denver I came back with not one, not 2, but FOUR - yes you read that correctly - giant duffle bags full of baby stuff. And some treats for Travis who didn't get to come with me. A very special thank you to all of my friends and family back home (Denver home) who were able to share their time and advice with me. It was a great trip, not nearly as frantic as some of the previous ones. Other than the fantastic baby shower that Melinda threw for me and getting to see a huge portion of my family I think my favorite part was cruising garage sales for tiny baby things! Let me tell you, buying baby clothes/toys at garage sales is the way to go. I can't count the number of things I paid $1 or less for that were still on their store hangers with price tags still on them. Oh yes, and Target is truly a wonderful place.
So, I'm home for just enough days to unpack and pack again, Friday we leave for my last plane trip for a while. Off to bonny Scotland for an extended weekend. We'll be back on Tuesday and then will stay put for AN ENTIRE MONTH! Can you believe it? We've got one more pre-munchkin trip planned at the beginning of June here in Ireland and then....well who knows!
So soon we'll be back to some semblance of a normal routine again - after this coming weekend of course. It will be nice to get back to going to the gym, having the house a little tidier (and cleaner) and wearing less wrinkled clothes out of a closet instead of a duffle. Stay tuned for upcoming photos of the Gales' visit to Dublin (at the end of March) and Scotland!
