My Inner World

The last few months, I have been increasingly fatigued. So much so, that I even go for quick naps in my car on my lunchbreak. I get mad dizzy spells, and am constantly thirsty. I can easily drink 3 liters of water a day and still want more!
Some of you may already be having the same idea as I am: Diabetes. They are the classic signs and add to the mix that I am one obese Mamma....
So, considering that I have to take extra special care now, I am going to see my Doctor today. Have him confirm the pregnancy (As if the two pink lines would lie, but it's mandatory that a doctor confirms it) and let him draw some blood.

Here's hoping it's not, but if it is, I'd rather just know. There are loads of people that have to cope with much, much worse!

Wish me luck.

My Works for me Wednesday this week, covers Good Manners.

When Munchkin answers a question, I want her to say "Yes, Mamma" rather than just "Yes." We also insist on "Please" and "Thank You". The latter is very common here, the former? Not so much. My MIL asked me why I do that. Well, it was something that was hammered on when I was a child. For me, it's good manners. We don't ask her to call us "Sir" or "Ma'am", but neither did we play marbles together in the playground and she should be aware of the difference. When she doesn't hear us properly, she says "Pardon?" rather than "What?".
Lately, I find that there is a severe lack of manners in children and parents alike. And I think it's a shame.

When I was a kid, if I would walk in to the sitting room, and there would be an adult sitting there, I had to go over, shake the person's hand and introduce myself. (This could take quite some time, say at a birthday....)
If we went out for a meal somewhere, it was normal to be polite to the waiter/waitress. "I'd like a *insert yummy dish here*, please."

There is a certain formality in the Netherlands. This can seem a bit cold but at the same time, it's also a safety net. A comfort blanket. If you know the rules, you will be able to handle yourself in company. You will be able to carry yourself well and with confidence.
I never received etiquette lesson's as such, but I am very happy that my parents gave me these basic skills.
There are lots of tools to help you. Even Barney teaches manners and you can get books on the subject.

But, the best way to teach manners, I think, is to have good manners yourself. There is a difference between what's considered good manners in Ireland and what's considered good manners in The Netherlands, but we are finding the golden middle-ground.
When Paddy and I have good manners in our every day life, it will be normal for Munchkin too. And I think that's what's key. To make it so normal, that it's an automatic thing for her. We say "Please" and "Thank you" to each other, including Munchkin. Treat each other with respect.
She will not be having a cotillion or a debutante ball anytime soon, but she will have the basics. It's one of our gifts to her.

Teaching good manners, by having good manners - Works for Me!

Right, here's a doozy for you. I am pregnant!

We decided to try for another baby on the weekend of November 4/5th. Started trying the week after and on November 23rd, 4 days before TOM was due, I tested positive. I can not believe how lucky we are!

Paddy was in a slight state of shock. He never in a million years expected us to be successful so quickly. The shock kind of over-shadowed the joy for the first few hours.
My MIL was so surprised, she didn't even congratulate us. When I asked her how she felt about it she said "If it's to be, it's to be." It was like being doused with ice-water.
My best friend, had to have an abortion the day before I found out so she was understandably not ecstatic about the news. She and her husband did not want the abortion, but there was no choice.
My own parents were very, very happy. Munchkin told them through the webcam and it was lovely to be able to see their faces.

I have to say, I am delighted about expecting another baby, although I do not "feel" pregnant yet. It's very early days and a lot can happen before August 5th. What I am feeling a bit blue about, is that a few people's first reactions were so luke warm. This baby deserves to be just as welcomed by everyone as Munchkin was

I am sure that everybody will come 'round though. I don't know what their problem is, and frankly I don't (well, shouldn't) care. Because that's exactly what it is, their problem, not ours.

God(dess) willing, we are going to be parents again, and I couldn't be happier!

Christmas "Works for me Wednesday"

I *heart* Christmas. I love the sounds, the smells, the anticipation. Plus, it's Munchkin's birthday on the 27th, so that's added an extra sparkle to the season for us. :-)
For me, good preparation goes a long way towards having a nice Christmas. I tend to have all my shopping done by early November. Then, I can just sit back and enjoy the holidays.
The first year we spent Christmas at my MiL, I was stunned by the amount of gifts under the tree. It was like Santa's Grotto in there. I had never seen anything like it. Beautifully wrapped presents everywhere. By the evening, the whole house was covered by scattered pieces of wrapping paper and toys were strewn all about the place. When it was time to go home, most children couldn't even remember which toys were theirs
They had received so many toys, that they couldn't see the forest for the trees. It was a real eye-opener.

This year, we have started a Chris Cringle for the adults as well as the children. Each couple pulls one Child's name out of a hat and only buys for that child and their own children. This way, there's still presents to open together. There's still the "everybody together under the tree" time, but there is no overkill. And, of course, it saves a lot of money in an already expensive time of year.

More tips:

*If you have a paper/cardboard recycling wheelie-bin, make sure you put it out on collection day before Christmas. (We forgot last year!!) You will need the space for the wrapping paper! The plastic "window" on toy boxes are usually only glued in slightly and are easily removed in one smooth motion. The rest of the box can then still go in the recycling bin.

*Keep a pair of scissors handy (out of kiddies' reach, of course) when the kids are opening their presents. The amount of cello-tape and wiring it apparently takes to keep Barbie in place is unbelievable!

*If things need assembling, do it on Christmas Eve. Then throw a blanket over it for Christmas Morning if it's an awkward size/shape to wrap. Your child will be a lot happier with a toy they can play with straight away. And who has time for assembly on Christmas day?

*Buy a stash of different sizes batteries. Lidl do batteries and you can buy different packs for quite a reasonable price. You just know that someone will give a battery operated present, without the batteries....

A Well prepared Christmas - Works for Me!

Looking forward to reading everyone's Christmas WFMW Idea's at Rocks in My Dryer!

Am just after realizing, I have used the word "Treassured" in my last three posts.... Should really use the Thesaurus more.....

LOL! That "Friends" episode. "Baby Kangaroo Tribbiani"

Great, just laughed so hard I gave myself another coughing fit. Should really stop having so much fun in my own head.

Darn Cough!

Yuck, in work right now when I should be at home, getting rid of the cough from hell! Apart from the night's spent awake, coughing, we had a very productive weekend. I made a list of all the things to be done in the house before Christmas, big and small, and we have committed to doing one of them each, every weekend. We got lots done last weekend and hope to be able to receive guests for Munchkin's birthday without too high an embarrassment factor. (Fingers Crossed)

Sunday, my daughter and I watched "The Little Mermaid" both 1&2. (Which sounds like a lot, but taking in to consideration all the fast forwarding involved due to scary bits, it was more like one movie.) Me with my large mug of Senseo coffee, her with her smiley cup of milk and her Dora plate with peanut butter crackers. Together under her Care Bear blankie, snuggly and warm, with black skies outside. We watched, and talked about the movie(s).
I got this big lump in my throat. My Little Honey, it seems like only yesterday that she was a baby. She is growing up SO fast (Hellooo Cliché!) and hearing her chatter about how she's going to be a Mermaid-Doctor-Princess-Queen (What? It could happen! ;-) ) and how much King Triton loves his daughter and how much her Mamma and Daddy love her (Munchkin), almost reduced me to tears. Tears of pride.
We are SO lucky to have this precious little girl in our lives.

Every night, when I put her to bed. I say this to her while I hold her in my arms. It's from "Love you Forever" and "Guess How Much I Love You"

"I love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My baby you'll Be. Mamma loves you all the way to the moon and back!"

Only she will demand that I say "Big Girl" rather than "baby" and we will say "All the way to the moon and back!" , together. She loves these two books and it's something small that we have together that I treasure dearly.

And I do love you Munchkin, all the way to the moon and back.........

When I found out I was pregnant on Munchkin, I told Paddy I was going out to get myself two new Billy Connolly DVD's. The way I figured it, once contractions started, I was going to throw on Mr. Connolly and laugh the baby out!
My intention was to not watch the DVD's until that time. But, Mr. Connolly is irresistible. They were viewed several times before her due date. In the end, I was in hospital before I even got the chance to watch them once contractions started. I adore the laugh out loud, belly shaking inducing qualities of his shows. Billy Connolly's World Tour DVD's are a must have, but his "just" Show DVD's are treasured possessions of mine, too. There are still a few on my wish list. I get a little "Happy"-buzz, every time I find a new one.
If we are lucky enough to become pregnant again, I will be heading off to the shops with the same declaration as last time! I swear, Billy should be required viewing in the delivery room. (Wonder what Billy would have to say about that!!)

For your viewing pleasure: (Beware, he is fond of the F-word, but look past that, he's Scottish! ;) )

Tuesday Morning, I arrived in to work to a find blast from the past in my inbox. An English lady living in The Netherlands, that I used to be friends with, is coming over to Dublin for a week next Sunday. She was a member of the motorcycle club I was involved with. We were very close from when I was about 17 until I was 21. I would go over to her apartment for dinner, we would have loads of fun on Rallies. Spend Birthdays, New Year's Eve, Days at the beach, shopping at IKEA together.
She's about 12 years older than I am, but I was always very mature for my age and it was never a problem. This was the lady that pointed out to me that there were jobs in UPS in Ireland. The lady that organized a surprise party for me at the town bowling alley, I had NO clue! ;-)
She was a good friend.

When I was living here for about three months. She came over to stay with me. Other club members were in the country, too. She didn't want to go and see them, I did. And I was nasty to her. I don't remember exactly what happened. But I do remember getting very annoyed with her. I thought she was being very childish for some reason and I snapped at her. This startled her as I had never done that to her before. The situation became very awkward as she was staying with me in my house. Later, I met her at a rally in Germany, and it became obvious that some real damage had been done to the friendship at that was the last time I spoke to her. Almost 5.5 years ago. Thinking back on it, I regret the course our friendship took, all those years ago. Whereas I believe a friendship should be able to handle a few knocks, I do admit that I could have been a lot more diplomatic. I definitely should have handled things differently.

I have tried to send the occasional e-mail, but they were not well received, or so I thought. The e-mail this morning said when she would be here and asking if we could meet up.

I am delighted at this and treasure the idea of being able to apologize in person.

This week is shaping up pretty well!

On Monday night, after dinner, we sat down with Paddy's mother. We had decided to talk to her about our plans of trying for another child. This was not an "asking permission" conversation, but rather a: "Here's what we are planning, would you be willing to care for a second child of ours?"
As per my last post on the subject, if the answer had been "No", we would have had to make other plans. Which most likely would have involved moving to a different country as Ireland is just too expensive. We simply would not have been able to make it work here, had my MIL said "no".

So, we sat down. Paddy starts taking deep breaths, opening his mouth and... not saying anything. This gave me the giggles and there we were, like two little Toddlers with a secret. It was too silly, and I Could. Not. Stop. His mam started to give us the "one eyebrow raised" - look, so Paddy had to come out with it. And before Paddy had even finished his first sentence, she answered: "Yes, no problem".
She answered quickly, genuinely and without hesitation. Turns out that she was kidding for the last three years when she was saying that she would not take care of another baby before we had our own house......
One part of me was upset, that she had let us get so worried about this when she was only joking but the other (bigger) part was just so relieved! She said Yes, before she knew what our alternatives would have been. We did not want her to feel blackmailed: "You say yes, or we move your granddaughter to another country!"
The choice had to be genuinely, completely hers. And it was.
Later, she asked what we would have done if she had answered differently. When we told her, I could see that she was startled by it. And the relief, that we were in fact, not moving now, was clearly visible on her face.
When we left for home, Nannie scooped the Munchkin up in her arms and said "You are not going to the Netherlands, are you, Honey?" To which she replied "No, silly Nannie, I am going to my house!" Queue giggles all around! :-)

When I was driving home behind Paddy and Munchkin, I had butterflies in my stomach. We are really doing this, we are going to try for another child!

Wish us luck!

Works for me Wednesday - MSN Messenger

Most of you will probably think I am incredibly slow in catching on to this but here goes. Last week, I installed the latest version of MSN Messenger. This version facilitates both video and audio links. Then, last Saturday, my parents and I both bought webcams with built in microphones. (I bought this one, for about €23,- )


That evening, Munchkin was seeing her grandparents and talking to them through the laptop. She was waving and blowing kisses. loving every second of it! As we pay a set fee for the broad-band connection, there are no extra costs for calling like this and I am already looking forward to seeing how much less our next phone bill will be! I am loving the way I can stay in touch, and even see, family and friends so quickly and easily.
They are in The Netherlands, I am in Ireland, yet we can see in to each other's sitting room and chat about whatever we like, without worrying about clocking up too much phone time!

MSN-Messenger web chats - Works for me!