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.