Busy Weekend-

Friday Taylor and I went to one of our friends 21st in Cork. I think Tay would agree with me it was a great night out! It is so fun to be in the city so close to Christmas, a lot of the pubs and bars were playing Christmas music, and people were sporting their Santa hats.

Saturday Taylor and I went to Blarney to stock up on some things from the Irish Shop. We also had an Irish breakfast which has become one of our favorite things here. Saturday night Naoise had a Communion Mass (they are required to go to a Saturday night Mass every month in order to prepare for their communion). I went along with them this time, and then ended up minding the girls because Paul was going out, and Catherine's sister called needing help with the new baby.

Today the girls, Catherine, and I had a full day. We went to the Opera House in Cork to see the Pantomime. It was a great performance of Cinderella. Apparently it is a big Christmas tradition here to go see the Panto every year. The girls were SHOCKED that it was my first time seeing one. After the show we went and grabbed something to eat in town, and then headed to Josie's so the girls could meet their new baby cousin! He is so adorable! and didn't make a peep the entire time we were there. The girls each got to hold him, which they were very excited about! All in all it was a great day!

Just 5 more days till I am on my way home for Christmas!

Chicken Pox-

So the last two weeks have been a little hectic. Aoife came down with the chicken pox Wednesday of last week. She had a fever Tuesday night, but was fine by the time she went to bed so we sent her to school. When she got home she was changing out of her school uniform and I noticed the spots. She was out of school until Tuesday of this week, but is doing fine now. She was surprisingly good about not scratching them, and only had one really bad night.

Catherine's sister Josephine also had her baby Tuesday morning which added toe the craziness. She had a little boy Conor Joseph. The girls are so excited to have a little cousin, but they haven't been able to meet him yet because of the Chicken Pox. Naoise has somehow escaped the pox, not sure how she managed that, and if she is still spot free tomorrow they are allowed to see the baby!

I leave Friday to go home for Christmas. I am so excited to see everyone, and can't wait to be home for the Holidays! Wish that Dad could be there, but it will be nice for at least most of us to be in the same place!

School Update

Forgot to mention that Friday when I got to school I was told that they needed me to take over a class because one of the teachers was out. I was definitely not expecting that, but it was nice to be back in the role of the head teacher. The class I was teaching is a mix between Junior and Senior Infants (the two lowest grades). It was definitely interesting trying to teach two separate grade levels at the same time, but was a nice challenge. The teacher didn't leave much in the way of lesson plans, so I had to improvise a bit. All went well though, and I really enjoyed it.

What you all have been waiting for...

Okay so i'll just give you the highlights since it has been so long....

Milking Cows- Had my first experience milking cows this past weekend. Basically to sum it up I barely escaped being pooped on by a cow, and got stuck in a mixture of cow poop and mud.

For all of my London friends, I finally had Wagamama last Tuesday and it was amazing! Wish you guys had been there to enjoy it with me!

Wednesday was Aoife's Birthday so it was a week of celebrating. We had cake at the house Wednesday night, and Catherine's sisters came over to celebrate with us. Aoife was of course delighted with all the presents and attention.

Thursday of course was Thanksgiving. I baked most of the day, and turned the McCarthy family into pumpkin eaters with some really good pumpkin cookies I found online. I got to skype with my Mom, Sean, and my Dad which was really nice. Also got to see most of Owens family via Skype. It all made me really excited to see everyone at Christmas.

Friday we went up to the City to celebrate Aoife's birthday with both sides of the family. We went to Nanny Hazel (Paul's mom) first, and then Nanny Pearlie's (Catherine's mom) house. Needless to say I had WAY to much cake. After we got back I went and met some friends to play team trivia, although we probably shouldn't have even shown up because I'm pretty sure we came in last place. Should have had General Lee's Revenge there to help us out.

Not much to report this week. Naoise is home sick from school today, so I must got take care of her. (pretty sure she is perfectly fine)

Quick update

Just a few pictures of the girls playing/eating edible playdough that we made last week..

Mid-Term Break

Last week was the girls mid-term break from school, so I had them Wednesday-Friday all day.

Wednesday was Catherine's Birthday so we made little mini-cakes for her. Then we started to write a Christmas play (can't wait to perform that one). The girls were tired from the weekend in Dublin, so we watched Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events int he afternoon.

Thursday Taylor came over in the morning (She had the week off since Gill is a teacher). The girls were pretty excited that she was and that they were having a play date that afternoon with two of their friends. The playroom was a mess, so we spent most of the morning cleaning it up. Then we headed to the grocery store because Taylor and I had offered to make dinner that night. The girls weren't so excited about the trip to the shop, but it was the grand opening of a new grocery store in Fermoy so they lucked out getting balloons, and treats. We made it home just in time to make lunch, and then their friends arrived. It was a pretty easy day for Tay and I since the girls had their friends to play with. We made Chicken Divan for dinner, and although Paul and Catherine seemed to love it the girls were not the biggest fans. This was to be expected since they really aren't that adventurous when it comes to their eating. It was nice to have a meal from home though. Taylor stayed the night Thursday night, and we went and met another Au Pair at the pub. She had just arrived in Rathcormac and was feeling homesick, so her house mom called Catherine to see if we would meet her. She has only been here since last Saturday and is apparently already going home on the 20th of November. Her list of complaints: the 10 month old baby keeps moving when she tries to change his nappy, and the two year old is always messing with the baby. (Has she ever been around children before?)

Friday morning Taylor and I made a pancake breakfast for the girls, and then got ready and took them to Corrin (a walk up a hill with a beautiful cross at the top, and the stations of the cross on the way up). We packed a picnic and had lunch afterwards.

This weekend was pretty quiet. Taylor and I went and got Chinese Friday night, and took William dinner. We went with him to check on some cows, and then hung out for the rest of the night.

Saturday we went into the City to shop, and definitely did some damage. William took us to dinner in Mallow Saturday night, and then we were all suppose to go out but all three ended up falling asleep watching TV. It was nice to just have a relaxing weekend, especially since it's back to our normal schedules for Tay and I this week.

Bank Holiday- Dublin Marathon

Monday was a Bank Holiday and also the Dublin Marathon, which Paul ran, so we all went up to Dublin Sunday morning and stayed till Tuesday. We had a nice little surprise when we arrived in the city, our hotel had been hit by the floods. They had booked us into another hotel, although it was located outside the city. Catherine and Paul were understandably frustrated because 1. we had booked in the city in order to make it simple and easy for Paul on the morning of his first ever marathon and 2. the hotel had not contacted us, we only found out when we rang for directions the day we were to check-in.

We ended up staying outside the city Sunday night, and then were able to get a room in a hotel in the city Monday night. Everything worked out in the end and it was a great weekend. Sunday after we have everything sorted we all went and had lunch, and then Paul went to get his race packet, and Catherine and I took the girls to a spooky walk in one of the parks in the city. It was a great set up, although the girls didn't quite buy it. We heard a lot of "This isn't even scary, that's just a radio, this is fake" the whole way through. We met up with Paul afterwards and drove out to the hotel. We were all tired after the day, so we had dinner at the hotel and Paul and the girls went to bed. Catherine and I stayed downstairs to have a drink, but were up shortly after them.

Monday was the day of the race. Paul got up in the morning to get to the finish line. Catherine and I stayed with the girls at the hotel and had breakfast. Afterwards we took them to St. Stephen's Green, a park in Dublin. We walked around for a bit, and then let the girls play at the playground there. Afterwards we went shopping for their Christmas day outfits. Then it was time to go see Paul at the finish line. We made it there just in time, he finished in 3 Hours and 51 Minutes. He was shooting for under 4, so he was quite happy with his time. He felt pretty good after the race, which is great for his first marathon. On the way back to the hotel we of course got caught in the rain, typical Ireland. We were all soaked by the time we got back to the hotel, so we changed and went downstairs for some soup.

Monday night we had dinner reservations at the hotel, and then had a few drinks in the bar. I volunteered to watch the girls that night, so Paul and Catherine could go out a celebrate. Tuesday morning we all got up had breakfast and headed to the Zoo (We were suppose to go Sunday, but obviously had a change of plans). They have just redone a lot of the Dublin Zoo, so it was really nice and we all enjoyed it a lot.

We got back around 5 Tuesday night, and just relaxed around the house. The girls are on mid-term break this week so they are home with me all week. I'll hopefully update again tomorrow, but am going to have to give up for the night!

Halloween

Friday I volunteered in the school, and was lucky enough to be able to help out with 1st class. Centers are just now starting to be used here, and our school is testing them out in 1st class. It is pretty interesting to see their take on the whole thing. When I think of centers I would normally think of children working more independently than they are in the Irish classroom. Their centers are set up so that their is a teacher at every table, and the students rotate around the room. The drawback to this is that if one teacher is out it throws them all off. For example, I have been helping out the days I am there because one of the teachers was out both days. (they seem to be in a panic when this happens) I think that their main purpose for centers is to differentiate the learning. I don't really see much, other than in this classroom. I was surprised to see that they weren't really focusing on the independence that can be fostered through centers. I think that a lot of the students in the class could benefit from that type of environment (of course I have only spent a short period of time with them). It is interesting observing it all, and then trying to make judgements on whether they are open to suggestions. I think that time will only tell, but I would love to work with them more on this.

Friday night I gave Catherine, Naoise, and Aoife a spin up to her Mom's house to meet Paul. Then collected Taylor and we went to dinner. After dinner we hung out with William for awhile, and then met friends in Glenville (which is between our two villages) before heading into Cork City.

Saturday Taylor and I went to lunch, and then hung out at William's for most of the afternoon. Saturday night we decided to go to Killeagh where one of our friends lives with a group of people, and then go out in Youghal. It was fun night, but early morning for me since I had to be back to leave for Dublin with the family in the morning.

No School- Election Day

Today was the Presidential Election in Ireland, and the girl's school was being used as a voting point. They were so excited to have the day off! It ended up being a pretty eventful day. I was sorely mistaken to think that they would sleep in until at least 9 like the weekends. At 7:58 there was knocking on my door and two little heads poking in. Thank goodness they were happy to watch a little TV while I took a shower and got ready.

We stayed around the house till about 11, and then headed over to Taylor's. The girls have skyped with the Forde kids plenty of times, but they have been asking for ages to meet them in person. They finally got to meet Katie and Grace today, but unfortunately Eoghan was in school (only the schools being used as voting sites were out). Aoife and Naoise were so excited to play with the younger girls, it was pretty adorable how they were interacting with each other.

We left Taylor's at about one and went to the cinema. The girls had been wanting to see Judy Moody, so Catherine and I decided it would be the perfect activity for the day off. They really liked the movie, and of course the slushy and popcorn that went along with it.

We picked Taylor up after the movie, and she came back to our house. She finally got to experience playing school with Naoise. Taylor will tell you she runs a pretty tight ship! I think we were being a little disruptive students because she threatened to separate us a few times!

Not sure how excited the girls will be to go back to school tomorrow after their day off!

Weekend update-

Not too much to report from last weekend. I had Friday afternoon off, so I went and collected Taylor and we went on a nice long walk in Rathcormac. She was planning on spending the night here because I was suppose to be babysitting, but Paul and Catherine decided not to go out. We had dinner with my family, and then decided to out in Cork City with some friends since I was off for the night. It ended up being a really fun night!

Saturday we slept for a good part of the morning and then headed into Fermoy for a big Irish Breakfast (Irish Sausages, Rashers, Black/White pudding, Beans, Toast, Potatoes). If you are wondering if I really just listed beans, yes I did! We haven't quite figured out why that is considered a breakfast food here, but beans and toast are a common choice for breakfast.

Taylor had to babysit Saturday night so we just hung out at her house. I was really good company and fell asleep on her couch about 10 o'clock. Sunday we went to lunch with one of our friends, and then relaxed for most of the day.

Better late than never....

So I am finally updating about last weekend!

Nothing too exciting to share, it was a fun but low-key weekend. Taylor was babysitting for Gill's sister Friday night while she was at a wedding. Marie had told Taylor to ask me to spend the night if she wanted, so I headed over there before dinner. Thank goodness I was coming because I saved Tay by bringing frozen pizza's for the boys to eat. We watched The Fox and the Hound and then the boys went to bed. Gill's other sister Carmel called over, as well as one of their cousins so we all just hung out. It ended up being a pretty fun night.

Saturday Taylor and I went into town and had lunch and shopped for most of the day. We went back to her house that afternoon and took a nap. I had to mind the girls Saturday night, so I headed home around eight. I got a nice little surprised when I got home. Everyone else was at Mass and they had set the alarm. I didn't know the code because it is normally only on after everyone goes to bed. Needless to say I was in a panic for about thirty minutes while this obnoxiously loud alarm was going off. Finally, after calling about 50 people, I got a hold of their old Au Pair who lives near by and she remembered the code. The rest of the night was a breeze from there.

Sunday Taylor and I went to Blarney and had lunch. Then we made our way over to the Blarney Castle, and of course kissed the Blarney Stone. It was a lot scarier than you would think. I knew I would have to lay on my back and over the edge of the castle, but I didn't realize just how far!

Funny quote of the week: Saturday night when I was putting the girls to bed Naoise asked "Caitlin, are you really 22?" Of course I answered "yes" her response "Are you going to stay that size forever?" (yes again) her response- "BUT I"M NEARLY AS TALL AS YOU!"

Friday

I volunteered in the school today, and got a new little assignment. I work in the Junior Infants class all day at the moment, but starting on Monday I will also be working with a 6th class student who is an English Language Learner. I am really excited to start working with him after spending three years volunteering with Neighbor to Neighbor in Raleigh. I met with his regular classroom teacher today to discuss what she wanted me to do with him, which I was really interested in hearing since I wasn't sure what type of work they do with ELL students. They have no ESL teacher or anything of that sort, and before this was brought to me I had not heard of any one-on-one work with ELL students. I think that this is something the Irish schools are just becoming used to because they have only had non-english speaking students in the school as of recently. I was telling the teacher about my experience and she has told me that I can use my own ideas as well when working with the students, so I think it will be very interesting to see his progress.

Kinsale

Friday night I had dinner here with the family, and then headed over to Taylor's to keep her company while she minded her kids. We just hung out and watched TV for most of the night, then Saturday morning we got up to go to Fermoy so she could finish some of her passport paperwork at the Garda station. We had an Irish breakfast, and then did some shopping for the rest of the day.

We met some friends in the village they are from later that night and then headed to Kinsale for a night out. Kinsale is on harbor, and near the coast so it is really pretty and a fun night out. We stayed in a B&B which is always nice because we get a full Irish breakfast the next morning. After we had gotten ready and eaten we headed out to do some exploring. We walked around town for a bit, and also went to one of the beaches nearby where a lot of people were wind surfing. It was a little colder than we are used to it being at a beach, but it was still really pretty. Taylor and I walked around for a bit and then sat and enjoyed the views while the boys decided to play soccer for about an hour. They also got a quick lesson on how to get a a wind surfing kite up from one of the kind people on the beach. After the beach we headed back into town to eat and get ice cream.

Teacher Talk

I just finished my Friday volunteering in the school. I have been assisting in a Junior Infant class for the last couple of weeks. Junior Infants in the first grade in the Irish school and is a cross between preschool and the beginning of K in our school system. It is really interesting to see the differences in schools here.

All of the students have breaks at the same time. The first break is 10 minutes and the second 30. All the students in the school are in the yard at the same time (almost 300) and there are only 2-3 teachers on duty. The rest of the teachers get these breaks as well, and spend it in the staff room. It seems so crazy to me that the students have that little supervision during their breaks. The yard is large and has several different areas, so there is no way the teachers can see anything going on. It is very different than recess in the states.

Technology-

The school has just recently gotten what they call interactive white boards for the classrooms, but this is really the extent of technology in the classroom. There are no computers for the students, no listening centers, or anything of that nature. The school has 1 maybe two copiers that are very outdated. It is interested to see how the school functions with so little to work with.

Today I was amazed to hear in the staff room that centers are a new concept here. They are just starting centers in 1st class (1st grade). One of the teachers was beginning to explain it to me, and was telling me how it is a very new thing here. I think she realized I knew exactly what she was talking about, so she began to ask if we had centers in America. (For all the education people reading this- I wonder what they would have to say about Daily 5)

Birthday Blog

I walked out of my room this morning and right away the celebrations began! The girls were so excited to sing Happy Birthday and She's a Jolly Good Fellow to me as soon as they could. They were so cute, and sweet! Then as I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom they rushed in with cards and chocolates! Such a great way to start my morning.

Photograph by Aoife...
Photograph by Naoise....

I took them to school, and then headed to Taylor's for our usual Wednesday together. She had all my birthday presents spread out on the counter, and had made chocolate rice krispies, as well as Banoffee pie (one of our favorite Irish things). William called over for tea and pie as well, which was nice.

Grace even wore her birthday suit...

The girls and I had a pretty normal afternoon, but of course they were on their best behavior since it was my birthday! Tonight we celebrated with dinner, and chocolate cake! It was nice to have a small family celebration like I would normally have at home. This weekend I will celebrate with Taylor and some of our other friends.

Finally updating

Okay- I have really been slacking on updating my blog! I just haven't made myself sit down and type it out recently! I am just going to go ahead and skip to this past weekend.

Friday night Catherine's parents came down from Cork city to stay for the night. We all had dinner, and then the girls went to bed soon after. Paul and Catherine's dad went to the pub around 9:30. Catherine, her mom, and I opted to stay in drink some wine, and watch a movie. It was a nice break from going out, and was just really relaxing.

The girls had a Gaelic Football match Saturday morning, so we will went to that around half past 10. It was fun to watch them play, although it's mostly a huge group of girls swarming at the ball since they are so young. Aoife had a nice time playing catch with her friend during the game, and could have cared less where the ball was for most of the game. Needless to say she takes it very seriously.

Saturday afternoon Taylor and I were suppose to go to Kinsale to sightsee, but the weather was bad so we ended up going shopping and to the cinema in the city. Saturday night we went out in Mallow with William. Sunday we all just laid around William's house. William and I exposed Taylor to The Town (you need to see it if you haven't!), and she loved it! Then William took us to the farm too see some lovely cows and tractors. We have been promised that we will get to milk a cow, and see a calving in the near future!

Videos

You should be able to see the videos that I posted now! Let me know if you can!

Also, Happy Birthday Jen Quinn!

One Month In Ireland

Taylor and I have officially been in Ireland for one month as of Tuesday! It is crazy that we have been here that long! I really don't feel like it's been more than a week. So far, so good! I am loving it here, and really enjoy my Irish family. I hope the rest of our time here doesn't go as fast as this first month did!

Not too much else to report this week! The girls and I have really gotten into a routine, and they seem to still be enjoying school and the fact that I am volunteering there.

I've sort of been slacking on taking pictures recently but here are a few of the girls!

Naoise in her Meredith shirt that I brought her!

Aoife had to check to see if it was raining on the other side of the garden. Surprisingly, it was.

Naoise wanted a picture too. Pizza for lunch.

Here is a picture video of Aoife....she gets a little camera shy, but still funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMnEkM8AtOQ

Well- this weekend wasn't too eventful. Friday night I hung around the house and had dinner with the girls, Paul, and Catherine. After dinner I went over to Taylor's because she was minding her kids. We just hung out and watched movies while the kids slept. Saturday morning we got up and went into Mallow for a little shopping (although neither of us got anything). We had lunch in town and then headed back to my house.

Saturday night we had dinner in Fermoy (the town closest to me) and then went over to William's before we went out. We went out in Mallow, which was a good time and met some new friends as well!

Sunday I didn't do much, which was great! Just relaxed for most of the day and had our usual Sunday dinner around 3.

I volunteered in the school today, and I have the afternoons off since Paul is home to mind the girls. It worked out really well that I could volunteer on Mondays and Fridays when Paul is home because then I don't have to go straight from being in the classroom all day to watching Noaise and Aoife.

Finally

I finally got my passport stamped and my Ireland ID today after my second visit to the Garda station in one day.

It was a pretty typical day. I picked both the girls up from school, and we had some lunch, watched a program, worked on homework, and played. Naoise has recently decided on a best friends, Zoe from her class at school. So today she decided to make a poster for her.

If you were wondering (or can even see it) the BFFNF stands for Best Friends Forever Never Fighting.

Not much else to report. I volunteer in the school again tomorrow.

Last but not least here is a photo of my house. Are you happy now Jen Quinn?

Garda station = my new home

This week has been pretty relaxed.

I had my first day of volunteering Monday which I already told you about, but Monday afternoon I had to go into Fermoy to pay for my registration with the Garda (Police) in Ireland. Tuesday the girls and I made American Pancakes again after school, and did homework (nothing too exciting). Yesterday I got the girls up and off to school and then had to pick out a present for a birthday party that Aoife was going to that afternoon and then went to Tay's to hang out for the morning. The afternoon was full of picking up and collecting Aoife and Naoise from Birthday parties, school, and Taekwondo.

Today I had to go into Fermoy to visit the Garda station yet again. I thought this would be the final time, but apparently not. Sunday when I was there the immigration office told me to come back with one form, well apparently that was not all I needed. So, I will be heading back into town later today before I pick Aoife up. Hopefully it will be an easy and relaxing afternoon other than that!

I did get to print some pictures to put in my room while I was in town today!

Weekend Update

Another great weekend in Ireland. Friday afternoon was a bit chaotic at the house, but fun. The girls had friends over for a play-date, Catherine and Paul's friend called over around 5:30, and Catherine's mom came down from Cork City to spend the night. Needless to say there were a lot of people in the house. The girls had fun with their friends, and I know they were happy to spend the afternoon playing. Taylor came over about 6:30, and we headed into Cork City. We met the other American Au Pair that is in the area for dinner. After spending some time finding a parking spot we finally made it to the restaurant. Bridget (the other Au Pair) was really nice, but VERY talkative. She is from Boston, and also just finished school. She seems like she will be a good person to meet up and go out with.

After dinner we headed to our hostel to get ready to go out. We were in a 6 bed room, and I am not sure the other 3 girls were happy to have 3 loud girls in there with them. Lucky for them we really weren't there for long. We had a great time out in the city, we went out to two different pubs and ended up running into some people that Taylor knows from her village.

Saturday morning our new friend Bridget took the bus back to her host families house, and Taylor and I stayed in the city to eat lunch then headed back to her house. We hung around for most of the day then Taylor had the kids from 4 till the next day since Gill and Kieran were at a wedding. I was minding the girls Saturday night, so I headed back to my house around 7. It was nice to stay in since I was so tired from the night before.

Sunday was pretty relaxing. I had to go to the police station to start the paperwork to get my passport stamped for the rest of my time here. Then we had Sunday dinner like always, and watching Beetlejuice with the girls. Apparently it is one of Paul's favorite movies, although it wouldn't be my first choice.

Today was my first day volunteering in the schools. It was a bit of a hectic morning getting the girls ready since I also had to pack my own lunch and eat breakfast (I usually do all that after I take them to school), but we made it! I helped out in a Junior Infants class today, which is pretty much like our Pre-K. The grades or classes as they call them are a bit different here, basically they split our Kindergarten into two different classes (Junior Infants and Senior Infants). It is definitely interesting to see the difference between the schools, and the heavy influence Catholicism has on their curriculum. I still felt a little funny when they said their prayers in the morning. Although I do love how cute they all look in their uniforms with ties and all.

I am pretty tired today after all that, luckily I will be volunteering on Mondays and Fridays when Paul is home. I have a nice break in the afternoon, and only have to mind the girls for about an hour.

I am pretty happy tomorrow will be a relaxing day!

Happy Friday!

I am happy to report that I am feeling 100% these days! The stomach bug is gone, and lets hope for good! This week has been pretty normal nothing too crazy to report. Most of the week was pretty rainy, so the girls and I have just been hanging around the house after school. Yesterday was beautiful! I actually had to change into a short sleeve shirt after picking Aoife up from school, which never happens to me! Needless to say we went to the park since it was so nice!

Taylor and I are going into Cork City tonight. A lot of the Au Pairs from my village will be there, and Taylor and I are meeting another American Au Pair that lives near the city.

Hope everyone else had a great short week! and I'll update again later on in the weekend.

I'll leave you with a few pictures the girls took on the computer!

Stomach Bug

Not too much to report. Taylor and I both managed to get the stomach bug that Eoghan had the other night. It hit me about 1 AM on Sunday night and I was up about every hour after that. I thought the worst was over by Monday morning, so I got up and took the girls to school. I was wrong, it wasn't quite out of me yet. I told Catherine, and she was great about it. Paul is home on Mondays so it made it worked out well. I spent literally the entire day in bed yesterday. Mostly catching up on sleep I missed the night before. I felt pretty bad all day, and couldn't really eat. Thankfully I woke up feeling much better today, and it was back to normal. Catherine did work from home today, just in case i wasn't feeling well, which was nice because she helped with the girls some.

Weekend Update

This weekend was pretty eventful. Friday after Paul collected Catherine from work I headed over to Taylor's so we could go out to dinner. Our plan was to just hang out and have a pretty uneventful night minding the kids. To our surprise right before Kieran and Gill left to go to the pub we started to hear noises from the bathroom that could only be one thing. Eoghan was sick. Not sure if it was something he had to eat or a stomach bug, but needless to say our night didn't go as planned. Eoghan seemed fine after Gill and Kieran calmed him down from the initial shock of throwing up for the first time, so they went ahead to the pub. We were wrong about that as well. He was up about every hour after that. Tay and I both felt so bad for him (he looked pretty pitiful). I'm happy to report he was back to normal Saturday, so I guess he got whatever it was out of his system.

After that traumatic night Tay and I decided to go into Cork city for a relaxing day of shopping and eating. Well, it was relaxing after we got out of the car. I am pretty proficient driving these days, but it is still a bit stressful. It also doesn't help when your passenger is having a panic attack every five minutes. I do have to say I don't think it was because of my driving, but just Taylor's fear of Irish roads in general. (A normal road here is about the size of a driveway in the states.)

I was suppose to mind the girls Saturday night, so after we finished shopping I dropped Tay at her house and headed back to Rathcormac. Paul and Catherine decided not to go out, so I hung out around the house for a little bit and had dinner with them and the girls. Since I didn't have to watch the girls I decided to go out with Taylor in Mallow. I finally got to experience the infamous Chasers that all of our friends have been hearing about for a year now. I have to say it lived up to Taylor's description.

This morning I got up and headed back to Rathcormac. After a quick nap and a shower I spent about an hour looking at Communion dresses with Naoise, Aoife, and Catherine. Naoise makes her First Communion this year and she couldn't be more excited. We went to Cork this afternoon to have Sunday Dinner at Paul's mother's house. I got to meet his 2 sister, brother-in-law, and their kids. We also celebrated one of the cousin's 12th birthday while we were there.

Now I'm exhausted, and am so happy to be laying in bed.

American Pancakes

I took the girls to school this morning, and then headed over to Taylor's house. We went on a walk with her two little ones, and then I headed back home to shower before picking Aoife up from school. Aoife gets out before Naoise, so when I picked her up she asked if I could make "American Pancakes" for them. They are obsessed with them, and oddly enough they sell them pre-made and packaged in the store here. Although it is a special treat to have them made from scratch.

The only thing we were missing was syrup. The girls eat them with Nutella on top. When Catherine got home the girls were so excited to tell her they had "American pancakes made by an American!"

After the girls had eaten, and changed out of their school clothes we headed to Castlelyons another village about five minutes from us. The girls like to "park hop" if you will. So it was a nice change from our usual Rathcormac park. They also decided that they wanted to pretend to be twins so they both put on their playsuits (rompers).

First Day of School

Today was the girls first day back to school after summer holidays. Catherine took the day off so she could be here for the exciting occasion! The girls could hardly wait to get to school this morning when they woke up. Naoise kept talking about the butterflies in her stomach, and how she couldn't wait to see all her friends. Aoife was a little quieter about the whole thing, but I could tell she was just as excited. I could really see the difference in their personalities today. Even though Aoife is the younger of the two she was ready to be on her own as soon as we got to her classroom. She is so eager to be a "big girl". Naoise on the other hand wanted hugs and dropped her stuff off in the classroom, and then walked us back out of the school yard. Both the girls got ice cream on the way home as a special first day of school treat. They loved it, especially since the kids size cone was almost as big as them! After they got home, we went to the park once again. It was really nice weather today, and since that will change most likely we are spending as much time outside as we can.

Another Au Pair was at the park today, so it was nice to get to talk to her. She is German and will only be here till the end of September, but she knows a few of the others living in Rathcormac so hopefully I will meet them all soon.

Here is the girls first day of school picture! They are so cute in their uniforms!

Back to School

Today was the girls last day of summer holiday. They have been saying all week (actually since I got here) how excited they are to go back and see all their friends. I think they are a little bored of each other. Today's mission was to make the day go by fast so that it would be tomorrow and they could go to school. We spent literally the whole day at the park. In the morning we walked over and spent about two hours there with one of Naoise's friends. We took a quick a lunch break and were back at it. I took my camera in the morning, and the girls were eager to take pictures themselves. They never seem to want to get their picture taken, but LOVE to take pictures of themselves, or rather unattractive ones of me. Here are a few from the day-

The only other big news is I finally was able to master hill starts! and I am starting to become pretty comfortable with the roads here. I'll try and snap a few pictures of the girls before school tomorrow to share. They tried on their uniforms tonight, and they are pretty cute!

Sunday Afternoon in Rathcormac

Manchester United played Arsenal this afternoon, so after I took a nap I went with Paul and the girls to the pub to meet Catherine's sister and her boyfriend. We got some food and then the girls left with Josie to go to the park in Fermoy. Paul, Mark(Josie's boyfriend) and I stayed and watched the game. Paul is a huge United supporter and Mark pulls for Arsenal, so it was pretty funny to see their reactions. If you didn't catch it United won 8-2, so needless to say Paul is out celebrating at the pub now.

I decided to come back and go on a walk. I haven't gone on a walk since I have been here so I thought it would be nice, and the weather was great this afternoon. Catherine had pointed out a road to me that leads down to a little pond, but I hadn't been down yet. I had my Ipod with me so I took a few pictures so you could see how pretty it was.

Weekend Update

I went to a festival in Taylor's village this weekend. Paul dropped me at her house on Friday (I wasn't quite ready to make the drive on my own) and we went down to the pitch where the festival events were going on. There was entertainment for the kids, and an tug-0-war competition going on that night so we stuck around to watch. Saturday we went into Mallow and did some shopping. I finally got a blow dryer and hair straightener which I was pretty excited about. It was a pretty low key day just shopping and then taking a rest in the afternoon. Then at 6 we went down to see the kids in the fancy dress parade. The costumes were great, and the kids had a great time. Taylor and I had to get Gill to explain some of the costumes to us because we didn't understand the humor behind some of them.

Last night was also the dance in the hall. Gill was on the committee for the festival so she had to be there early to set up, so Tay and I went with Kiran to the pubs in town before heading in for the dance. They were all really crowded, and we could tell most of the people were wondering who we were. We had a great time though and it was fun to meet all the people that I have heard so much about from Taylor.

I just got back to my house a few minutes ago, and am about to take a nap! I hope everyone is okay after Irene, from the updates I have gotten it seems like everyone is doing okay. The storm is all over the news here, and everyone was asking us about it last night.

Another gem...

Naoise decided to make a video of a news broadcast the other day (which was pretty funny itself but too long to post), so Aoife had to get in on the action. Here is a video of her magic trick she did for the camera...although she forgot one thing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIUgtCA3kAY

Rainy Day

Today was pretty low key. It was raining on and off all day so the girls and I spent most of the day in doors. They wanted to paint cards this morning, which ended up being an all day project. I only took a few pictures, although Aoife decided that she was the official photographer, so needless to say I couldn't tell you how many pictures I have of windows and parts of our faces on my computer right now.

These are a few of the pictures from today. Some I took, and others Aoife did.

The girls couldn't stop talking about Katy Perry yesterday, so today we had a little dance party. Aoife was especially excited to show off her skills, and insisted that I videotape her. I know you all are so excited that you will get to see her moves as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmv8VVIwr38

We also skyped with Taylor today, which the Naoise and Aoife thought was great. The girls were curious about why Taylor's skin looked so different than ours over the video chat. They don't quite understand the concept of a tan. I'll see Taylor tomorrow afternoon, and am looking forward to my first weekend in Ireland.