Week 29

 

Roibeard recently cleared off our balcony so that we can use it for summer activities.  I've had back decks before, but never a balcony over-looking the street. I love it so much.  As of right now we only have the one plant, but we hope to get more soon.  The cats love it but require a little supervision.  Mostly they sit on their cat tower inside and just enjoy the cool breeze and sounds of the chirping birds nearby.  However every once in a while they venture out and try to get up onto the ledge.  So we just have to be careful.  The above photo isn't the best.  The over exposed areas drive me crazy.  I see the "zebra stripes" everywhere, haha.  Throwback to film school right there.  However I decided to post it because what I DO like about it are two things - Panthro's intent stare as he overlooks the street and NES poking his head out the door in the bottom of the frame.  I'm loving it.

 

 

 

Well, I'm at 29 weeks now and working my way up to week 30.  Just a little under 11 weeks to go!  That is just so crazy!  The nursery is starting to look more like a nursery (I'll post photos after the crib arrives) and everything is becoming just a little more real.  I feel like I've finally gotten a handle on this pregnancy thing.  Every day has its own challenges, but usually I can find a way to work around them.  However, when I think about the fact that there will be a little baby here soon I go right back into freak out mode and have no clue what to do or expect.

 

I finally decided that I'm going to bite the bullet and start paying for prenatal yoga classes.  I've held off because I wanted to save the money, but I think being around other pregnant ladies will be a good thing for me.  None of my friends or co-workers are at a point in their lives where they are ready for a family.  Some of them know for a fact it's something that they never want.  So sometimes I feel a bit of a loner when it comes to all of my fears of being a new mom.

 

It's weird because I feel like I have been quite clearly showing for awhile now, but only in the past two weeks have people actually taken notice.  All of the customers at my job have been like, "you're preganant?!  Wait, when did this happen??"  Which amuses me a bit when I tell them how far a long I am.  I think the fact that the weather no longer requires jackets, sweaters, or other layers has helped to reveal my huge baby bump.  Also all of the sudden people are giving up their seat on the bus for me.  Well, not the the 20 year old hipsters.  They are too cool for that.

 

Other than a giant belly I am also sporting giant hobbit feet these days.  I just need to glue some hair on the top of them and I'm pretty sure I could fool just about anyone into thinking that I am a real life very tall hobbit.

 

 

 

 

The little ones are starting to realize that something is going on.  Okay, in truth I think that they have known for a while.  They look so cute and innocent in the above photo, but do not be fooled.  The other day at 5:30 AM when I woke up for work and was in "grumpy sleep monster mode" I found that they had "poopy-trapped" the nursery.  That is no typo.  There was old poop from the litter box (which they dragged from the other side of the apartment) strategically placed in all of the places that I need to step.  I had been poopy-trapped.

IRELAND! Cong

 

I thought that I would take a break from maternity posts for the moment and revisit my trip to Ireland from last year.  It's so hard to believe that it has been a full year since we were there.  I miss it so much and the fact that Roibeard and I have decided to postpone our wedding only makes it worse.  We were scheduled to get married in October.  When baby Micheal came into the picture we decided to put it off, but it was too late as his family had already made the payment at city hall.  For the past few months we've been trying to convince ourselves that we can do it all...just for the sake of not losing that money...

 

Now that everything is getting closer though we've both spent a lot of time talking and thinking it over and have come to the decision that putting it off for a year is just the best thing for us to do.

 

Planning a wedding in a different country, worrying about visas, worrying about taking additional time off right after my maternity leave, trying to find a new job, recovering from giving birth, and traveling with a two month old baby is just too overwhelming for me.  For both of us actually.

 

Don't get me wrong, it really sucks that we are going to lose the deposit that was put down at city hall, but looking at the big picture...we haven't spent any money on vendors or the reception yet.  We never sent out save-the-dates because that's not a thing in Ireland. I haven't yet bought a dress (due to not knowing what size I would be two months post birth).  We haven't booked our plane tickets or spent the money on a marriage visa. So in the long run we are saving ourselves from unnecessary stress and we'll have some extra money set aside for when the baby comes.  Plus we won't be losing money from booking off work for the wedding.

 

But...it means not seeing the Emerald Isle again for a whole year... 

 

 

 

 

 

Cong pretty much captures the image that pops into my head when I think of Ireland.  Stone walls...green hills for miles and miles...sheep...a cool breeze...and clouds that always have the slightest threat of rain.  It's certainly a very romantic image and dramatically different from what Roibeard's image of "back home" entails. Even so we both found ourselves awed by the charming little village of Cong.

 

Although the bus dropped us off right outside of the downtown area finding our b&b was a bit of a hassle.  Like most places in Europe, Ireland isn't the best at posting street names.  So of course we started off by walking a mile in the wrong direction before realizing that we should have found the b&b by that point.  So we headed the mile back to where we started passing by all of the serene farmland on the way.  Then we had a walk a mile or two in the other direction before we finally found our place of rest.  Only when we got there we were informed that they had accidently overbooked and we would have to stay at another b&b five miles down the road.  Our hearts sank at that point.  Five more miles of walking?  With all of our luggage?  NOOOOO!  Luckily the hostess offered us a lift to the other place.  Phew!

 

We ended up staying on a farm with the cutest elderly couple.  The husband tended to the farm duties while the wife ran the bed and breakfast.  They were a good team and really helpful.  They told us a back way of getting into Ashford Castle (where we didn't have to pay...hehe...) and offered us a lift to the bus station once our stay was up.

 

 

 

Cong is located in county Mayo on the western coast of Ireland and is just a teeny tiny little village with a population of 185 people.  Its claim to fame is that it is where the 1952 film, The Quiet Man was shot. 

 

Its other main attraction is Ashford Castle, a 13th century castle that was built by the Anglo-Norman House of Burke.  Today it is a luxury hotel.  That's right...you can actually spend the night in the castle!!!!  (As touristy as that sounds....I was really into the idea...that is until we discovered one night there costs around 300 pounds...)

 

Roibeard and I spent our day there exploring downtown, the old abbey ruins, the castle, and the castle grounds.  For such a little village there was quite a bit to do and see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately our camera battery ran out just as we made it to the castle, so we ended up with very few actual photographs of it.  I really wish we could have gone inside and explored all of its secrets.  Oh well.  Next time. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 28

 

Wow, I have been a terrible blogger lately.  It's just so difficult with working two jobs and having a broken computer.  The computer is kind of sort of working now which is why I am able to update. 

 

Anyway this post is a bit of a mishmash of photos.  The photos above are from our trip to the lake during the first really nice day that we had in May.  It was around 80 and sunny and it was absolutely gorgeous by the lake.  Roibeard and I set up a blanket and lied back and discussed our excitement and fears of upcoming parenthood. 

 

 

More maxi love!  Seriously, the larger I get the less I want to wear clothes altogether.  Since I hear that's illegal in the state of Illinois I tend to settle for flowy maxi dresses.  I wish I had a few more to get me through summer, but I don't want to keep spending money on clothes that aren't going to fit me in a few months.  Hmmmm....maybe I'll just do one more trip to the thrift store?  I'm so bad.

 

I did actually just get an adorable white vintage dress while I was home in Michigan this weekend!  Which takes us to...the baby shower!

 

 

 

This weekend Roibeard and I hopped a train to Detroit to celebrate our baby shower.  The forecast threatened rain and storms all weekend but it ended up being beautiful.  My family did an excellent job hosting everything and I was so pleased and grateful with the outcome (thanks again guys!).  Unfortunately I was only able to get a shot of the table set up before the decorations were added, but we had a cute little "under the sea" theme to match our nursery.  I really hope little Micheal grows up loving the sea and has an innate desire for travel and adventure just like his parents.

 

I booked the rest of the week off from the cinema to give myself a little time to rest and set up the nursery.  I'm still working part time at the café this week, but it's still a little bit of a breather from my usual hectic and busy work days.

 

It's so hard to believe there's only 12 more weeks to go...