IRELAND! Dublin

 

Our very last stop in Ireland was to Dublin.  We only spent one day there and it wasn't even a full day, more like an afternoon/evening.  Once we reached our b&b and were able to set all of our luggage down we headed out without any real plan in mind. We saw St. Patrick's Cathedral and spent a lot of time in the Temple Bar neighbourhood, but mostly we just walked around the streets and took it all in.  We found a cute little artsy cinema that is exactly what I want our cinema to be like.  They were showing independent films, had a cute little café, and they also had a little store where they sold film books and dvds.  It was the perfect little community space.  We also discovered an American 1950s style late-night diner where we treated ourselves to ice cream.

 

Sometimes not having a plan is the best way to discover a new place.

 

I had so much fun during this trip last year and I cannot wait to return!!!

 

IRELAND! A Day in the North

 

 

 

This post is a little photo heavy, so I'm just going to pop in with a quick word so that you have some context.  After Doolin (the Cliffs of Moher) we returned back to Belfast to spend a little more time with Roibeard's family.  The delicious cake was made by Roibeard's sister to celebrate our recent engagement.  We had a party at a local pub in the evening.  During the day we took a guided trip up to The Giant's Causeway with Roibeard's brother and mum.  There were a few stops along the tour that included a castle, whiskey distillery, and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

 

The story of The Giant's Causeway involves two giants, Fionn MacCumhaill (the Irish giant) and Benandonner (the Scottish giant).  Fionn lived on the Antrim coast and one day gazed across the sea where he saw Benadonner.  The two challenged each other to a fight but neither had any way to get across the sea.  So Fionn began building a pathway that went from Ireland to Scotland.  Once it was complete and he finally got a glimpse of Benandonner up close he freaked out and feared his massive size.  Fionn retreated to Ireland with Benandonner following behind him.  Fionn convinced his wife, Oonagh to quickly disguise him as a baby.  When Benadonner barged in, he was terrified.  He saw the baby and thought, if that's just the size of the baby, what must the full grown giant look like?!  Benandonner raced back to Scotland and tore up the pathway as he went.  What is left of the path is now known as The Giant's Causeway.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Micheal Sean!!

Born August 6th, 2015.  Weight: 8 lb 2.5 oz.  Length: 21".

Welcome to the family little dude!

IRELAND! Cliffs of Moher

 

I figured that I would schedule the remainder of my Ireland posts for while I'm recovering from giving birth and spending time bonding with the babe.  Today's post is from when we visited the Cliffs of Moher.  This is one of the things that I was looking forward to the most during our trip to Ireland.

 

The Cliffs of Moher are 700 feet high and stretch 5 miles long across the western coast of the country.  If you look up photos of them, you'll see why I wanted to go - they are beautiful, mystical, and magical.  Perfect for an adventure on the sea.

 

If you scroll down, you'll see that only the last two photos are of the cliffs themselves.  All of the other photos were taken while we were killing time before we got on the boat (and while I was still in good spirits).  I have never been one to get sea sickness - ever.  I love boat rides.  This experience however changed all of that very quickly.

 

Once we got on the boat I made my first mistake:  I dragged Roibeard and I down to the bottom floor of the ship.  There was no one down there, everyone else had all taken spots up top.  I thought it was only because they thought they would have a better view.  Haha, suckers (or so I thought).  Then I made my second mistake (which is the one that finally did me in) - I started going through my camera so I could delete some photos to make more room on my memory card.  Awful  idea.  The waves were really rough and with the combination of the boat rocking so much and me staring at a fixed screen while everything around me was moving was too much.  It took only a few minutes for me to start turning green.  I went to sit down, hoping it would pass after a few minutes, but it only got worse.  I ended up barfing all over the tiny boat toilet several times.  The remainder of the one hour journey I spent on one of the benches curled up in the fetal position with my eyes shut as tight as I could make them.  Every second I just kept hoping that it was over. 

 

I couldn't even so much as lift my head once we actually made it to the cliffs.  I never actually saw them.  Roibeard took a few photos and that's the only way I was able to experience them. 

 

If I ever go back I think I'll skip the boat ride and just hike them instead. ;) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 39: A Very Merry Un-Birthday!

Oh my gosh...don't I just look so bizarre with my bangs pinned back?  I look like a completely different person.  It always throws me a bit off.  It has just been so hot lately that I can't stand to have any amount of hair whatsoever touching my face.  Ugh, I just hate it!! 

 

Anyway, this post isn't quite from week 39.  I cheated a bit.  The photos are from early in week 38 and I'm writing this from the later part of week 38.  You know, artistic license and all that.  Actually I wanted to write it now because Roibeard is pretty much convinced that the baby is coming either Sunday (August 2nd) or Monday (August 3rd).  He's one of those people who is usually right when he gets "a feeling" about something.

 

I'm going to have a few scheduled posts after this point, but I won't be updating about the baby or the birth experience until I've had some time to recover.  At the most I may just do a super quick birth announcement post.

 

However, if you want to see an overload of adorable baby photos feel free to follow my instagram:

 

https://instagram.com/catseabird/

 



 

 

As you can see from the above photo, last week was cause for a serious celebration: my un-birthday!!  Don't know what an un-birthday is?  Well it's any day that's not your birthday of course!  Go watch the animated Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and you'll understand.  Roibeard spoiled me by stuffing my face with amazing Mexican food for lunch and incredible Indian food for dinner.  It was wonderful.  Especially since these past few weeks I've been able to eat a normal amount of food in a sitting.

 

Then in the evening we made it to our first Cubs game ever.  Seeing as Roibeard is Irish and has only lived in Chicago for just under two years it's understandable that he has never been to a game.

For me though...I've spent nearly 1/3 of my life in Chicago (almost 10 years!) so I really don't have an excuse. 

 

Neither one of us are really sports people and went just for the fun of it.  Roibeard even bought me a hat to make the night authentic, haha.  I'm sure the people around us thought we were nuts as we were joking around about the teams, confused by some of the plays, and talking about how the Cubs were sucking at first.  Because, well, they were.  It took them like 4 or 5 innings to get a homerun.  They ended up winning and we got to eat ice cream from plastic Cubs hats, so all in all it was a really nice early birthday.

For realsies this time...this will be my last time posting before I officially become a "mom"!  Next outfit post will be sure to include short hair and "mom jeans".  I mean, don't they just supply them in the delivery room as part of your take home freebies?