Sick and tired

Both my babies are sick!

I'm so glad that I am able to stay home and mind them!

They are wabbit! Sore throats that make it hard to eat are a....pain in the neck!!! Boom boom!!

Talk about pyjama days!! I don't think Thomas has got dressed since Saturday....until we went to the doctor's today....then he was straight back into the jammies!

Ah well....love them, spoil them, stuff them full of antibiotics and painkillers!!! If I can't do it, then who would?

Today I am grateful to be a nurse. A very fulfilling job.

Hopefully one more day will see them on the mend.

Watch this space!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Every cloud

The cloud in my beautiful blue sky today was that I now have two poorly small people at home. Megan seems to have helped herself to Thomas's strep throat! I say "helped herself" because he never shares anything with her - boom boom!

However, as I am very fond of saying these days, every cloud has a silver lining, and I found mine this afternoon.

No school runs! No homework! No ballet to race out to after a rushed dinner!!!

I finished one book, and got pretty far into the next, sitting in the sitootrie with the doors wide open to let in the gorgeous warm afternoon - in between spoiling my two invalids, of course!

Today I am grateful for those all important silver linings!

Pity about the clouds though!

Gratefully yours.
xx

A good day

What am I grateful for today?

I'm not sure.

I've been sitting here for a while, going over my day, and cannot come up with anything exciting, or new, or different!!

I'm grateful that we've not needed the heating on for the last two days.

I'm grateful that I had a pile of club card vouchers, which paid half my shopping bill!

I'm grateful that I got a nice walk in, by walking to collect Meg from school, and that we had a lovely walk home together.

I'm grateful that I was able to be here to spoil Thomas, who is still under the weather with his throat.

I'm grateful that I can go to bed now and get stuck into my book again!

A good day so???

Gratefully yours.
xx

A day of two halves

Well, the morning was spent on the golf course, and the afternoon was spent in the pub.....if you are Kieran, that is!!

I think he was using up all the Brownie Points he made yesterday!!

But would I complain?? Of course not!

I had a lovely, lazy, sunny Sunday.

Thomas wasn't feeling up to much, but he did go to the pub with his Dad to watch the BIG MATCH (we lost, by the way!!). He was wrecked for the rest of the evening!!!

Megan and I got in our walk, with cameras this time!!

It was a glorious afternoon, so we had great fun, and took lots of photos. The apply blossom trees round about were especially photogenic today!

So, today I am grateful for sunny Sunday walks, and photogenic trees.

You really don't need anything else!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Lovely lemon

Again it is the simple things!

Sitting drinking a cappuccino with K and Meg, enjoying the tastiest lemon tart ever.

I am becoming quite a lemon tart connoisseur!!

About time I started making it myself! Eeek!!

And lemon drizzle cake!! (Got a bit of a theme going here, see??)

Ah well, as I say....the simple things!

Today I am grateful for lemons!!


                   

If life throws you lemons....make lemon tart, I say!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Four seasons

Talk about having four seasons in one day!!!

Beautiful blue sky one minute, and hail, with thunder and lightening two minutes later!!

Thankfully, Megan and I were only out during the periods of blue sky! We managed to avoid the hail!!

The sun, when it was out, was actually very warm, but we also had periods of very blustery, cold wind.

So, today I am grateful that I was not working, and the kids were not at school. We could make the most of the sunshine while it was around, and didn't have to be caught out in it when it started to rain....although Thomas, being a boy, was only too delighted to stay out, even in the rain!!

How do you like my Puddle Picture?

Gratefully yours.

xx

A four-way split.

We all went our separate ways this morning.

Thomas went off for a morning at the golf club....won a few golf balls for his trouble!

Meggie went off to the leisure centre in "Daddy's hotel" for a kids camp - swimming, nature ramble and the gym!!

Daddy was, of course, at the hotel working hard, and I was in Limerick, also working hard!

As K was taking Meggie with him to Adare, I got the job of taking Thomas out to Shannon, to the golf club. He had to be there at 7.15am!!

It was nice, though, to be up at that time in the morning. I had almost forgotten how peaceful and quiet it is at that time of day.

Time to get back into the early-rising habit I think!

Today I am grateful for the reason to get up early! It may just have given me the push I've been needing!!

Up with the lark tomorrow so!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to one and all!

Guess who's the worst mother in the world??? Eh, that would be me!!

"Why is that?" I hear you ask.

I didn't buy Easter eggs, that's why!!

For some strange reason, I thought the kids had out-grown that sort of thing!! WRONG!!

So....today I am Grateful for chocolate covered pancakes!!!

All was, I think, forgiven!

Won't make that mistake again!!! Mind you, as I suspected, they still ended up with about four eggs each from other peeps!!! Was there really a need for one from me???

Gratefully yours.

xx

The simple things

It really is the simple things....or maybe I just have a simple mind!!!

Being able to leave the sitootrie door open till nearly nine at night.

Home-made salad dressing!

Sleeping on clean sheets!! (Looking forward to bed-time!!)

Sometimes I get caught up in worrying about the bigger things, and I forget about the little, simple things that give me joy.

So, today I am grateful for the simple things.

I think dusting a beautiful, newly decorated, newly minimalistic lounge would be pretty good too......but you'll have to ask my Mam about that!!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Shattered!

Having a wonderful time with Annie, Stephen and the kids.....although I'm not sure how relaxing a holiday it is for Stephen and Annie!!! Put it this way....we've decided to have a "lazy day" tomorrow!!!

The boys were up and out early this morning, for a round of golf....what else would they be up and out early for????

The girlies, plus Kian (poor wee man has no choice!! Give him a couple of years!!!) headed off to Stonehall Farm, to pet the piggies and pinch feathers from the peacocks! Poor wee Aya was desperate to find a peacock feather, but we wouldn't let her pull one from his tail!!!

Then we headed to The Crescent, to Costa for our lunch....well, where else would you go on a girlie (plus Kian) day out???

In the afternoon, we all headed out to the Dunraven, for a swim. Poor wee Kian was tuckered out, so he lay, cuddles in his Mammy's arms, wrapped in a towel, while the rest of us splashed about. 

I think, personally, that it was a ploy by said Mammy, 'cos she didn't fancy the swimming cap we were trying to make her wear!!!

Anyway....today I am grateful for Annie's energy....and I don't just mean her physical energy!!

I don't often get to spend much time with someone who gives off so much positive energy! She has certainly given me a boost over the last couple of days!

Lazy day planned for tomorrow though....well, the kids are exhausted!!!

Gratefully yours. xx

Tuckered out!

What a lovely day!

We had a wee walk to the swans this morning....they get fed too much! They weren't too interested in getting bread, but one of the swans was in the mood for flying around! I love seeing (and hearing!) swans flying!

Then we took a drive out to Killaloe, where there was a Viking Day. Good chance for most of us to have a wee snooze on the way there!!

After watching the Vikings slaughter each other, we went for an ice-cream....as you do after watching a slaughter!!

More snoozing in the car, then a run around the play-park for half an hour to wake us all up again! Great fun! Even the sun came out to join in!

By tea-time we were all about ready for bed! Kian and Aya were out like lights, and I didn't need to tell Mag it was bed-time...she was already up in bed! Ah, the soporific effects of fresh air!

Today I am grateful for new, or perhaps re-newed, perspectives! I had forgotten how much fun was to be had with little or no trouble at all.

And 4 more days of fun to look forward to!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Eleven

Who would have believed it???

Eleven years ago today, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, with a head of gorgeous red hair, that has never faded in colour!

She  has gone from a girly wee girl, to a tom-boy with attitude in only a few, short years.

She adores animals, especially the endangered ones! She loves reading, and plays Mindcraft endlessly on the computer.

She needs fifteen reminders to make her bed, but no reminders to give cuddles! And today she taught me how to accept an apology graciously!!

I love and adore her, and can think of nothing more special to be grateful for today than my beautiful, darling Meggie.

Gratefully yours.
xx

My angel.

All good things come....

....to those who have loyalty cards!!!

1) Tuesday (on way to work) - free mocha in Olio and Farina. Sugar rush!!! Yeah!!!

2) Wednesday - free card/paper in The Art and Hobby Shop....and lots more money still on the card!!

3) Wednesday (now for the biggeee) - free flat white and de-elicious lemon tart in Costa!!!!

Think I might have to go into Pamela Scott tomorrow!!! (Well, I can always dream!!!)

Today I am grateful for all the littles that add up to a lot!!

Oh, I almost forgot....got a stash of vouchers from my Dunnes card in the post on Monday!!!

What a week!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Countdown....

.....to visitors coming!

Not only do I need to re-Spring clean (twice in the space of a month!!! I ask you!!), but I also need to child-proof the house!!

It's been a while since I've needed to think about sharp corners and slippery floors!!

Still....5 more sleeps to go, so that gives me plenty of time to worry about it!!!

Today I am grateful for a quite week, work-wise, so that I have time to get ma heid round the housework!!!

And I'm looking forward to having a few days with the bairns!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

Time to spare

I had a very relaxed day today, knowing that I don't have to rush out to work tomorrow!

Knowing that I don't have to get things done gives me the time and space I need to feel relaxed about doing stuff!!

I dunno!! I just feel that when I slow things down, I get more done!

I seem to have been rushing around like a headless chicken recently, and I'm glad I have some time now to slow things down and get my head together again!!!

Stop, breathe, relax and smile!!

Today I am grateful for time.

Gratefully yours.
xx

Whatever the reason

Who wants to go walking for exercise when you can go walking for pleasure?

I had a wee walk today at lunch time.

It was a nice enough day, and I just didn't want to do the normal lunch time rush around. I wanted to relax and do something slow!! So I walked the  l...o...n...g   way to the school for Meg, taking an hour just to enjoy the scenery along the river - the part that I don't normally see!

It was so nice not to feel that I was in a rush, not to feel that I had to be somewhere or be doing something. I was just walking. Feeling the fresh air on my face, listening to the traffic and the rush of the river, and seeing the city from a different angle. Heaven!

Today I am grateful for slowing the pace!

I really needed it.

And even better, I've found some lovely new views that I would like to capture with my birthday camera!

Bring on the good weather!!

Gratefully yours.
xx

My favourite things

Dew drops on roses.....

....well, dew drops on spiders webs actually!

Have you ever gazed in awe and wonder at the delicacy and intricacy of a spiders web, covered in dew drops on a cold morning?

If you haven't, it's about time you did!!

Never mind "slow down and smell the coffee".....slow down and admire the handiwork of the arachnid!!

Seriously!!! It's good for the soul!

Today I am grateful for dewy spiders webs on a cold morning.

Lets hear it for spiders!!

Gratefully yours.
xx