Friday Quicktakes

1. It was midterm break this week, so we decided to take a wee run up to check on the caravilla. We'd winterized it in October, (I DIDN'T make that word up), and this was our first time checking  on it. We'd put down industrial amounts of silica gel and salt to absorb the moisture, but we'd also heard about the dreaded mould, so it was with a certain amount of trepidation that we opened the door.  But.... it was grand, except for the basket holding the crocs and sandals. I didn't notice it initially, but then it dawned on me that it didn't seem to be made from brown wicker anymore, rather it seemed fashioned from white/green cotton wool. Nice. Note to self-you can't winterize wicker.

2. Staying on the Caravilla theme, it really did feel lovely to be up there again. It was a beautiful, bitterly cold day, and completely deserted, so understandably enough I used the opportunity to nosy unchecked through the windows of the other Caravillas. (Sure you'd do it yourself!)
I could almost imagine as I wandered through, the play park filled with kids, the smell of the barbecues, the sound of the icecream van- the promise of the new season seemed just around the corner and I'll admit I felt a real frisson of excitement ..kinda like Mr Kellerman must have felt at the beginning of Dirty Dancing, and Baby and Johnny and salsa classes and watermelons and 'nobody puts Baby in a corner' and I can definitely feel a song coming on. Roll on Summer 2013!

3. We stayed in a hotel for the one night we were up there-a huge treat and the kids loved every minute, most especially the breakfast. In fact, I had one slightly unsettling moment when the waitress came over and congratulated me on how much they could eat. I mean, what does one say to that?
'Four Weetabix,  two croissants, toast, poached eggs and bacon! That's really very good, very good indeed.'
'I'm so proud. They take it after me.' (I didn't really say that)

 'And five glasses of apple juice as well!' one of them reminded her happily. Clearly she wasn't used to boys, because she definitely looked at me oddly when I then did a 'mammy' and wrapped up a few sausages and a croissant in a napkin for the car journey home.

4. I'm probably one of the last to see it, but myself and a few laydees finally went to see 'Les Miserables' last night in the cinema. OMG. I'd seen it on stage last year in London but was still completely unprepared how utterly AMAZING the film was. The closeups, the sets, the drama, the tragedy, the emotion-all five of us wept from beginning to end, passing tissues up and down the row-just wonderful! Alright, so these were definitely actors singing (they were no SuBos), but I thought they did a great job, even the much maligned Russell Crow. And as for the talented and 'very easy on the eye' Hugh Jackman...and Anne Hathaway ...and even Borat! Who knew! Go and see it if you haven't already...just remember to bring your hankies.

5. I'm going to park the 'Carseat Boogie'  this week and instead stay with Les Mis for today's musical treat. Here's the Dublin born Colm Wilkinson-the original and many would say, the best Valjean ever, singing the beautiful 'Bring Him Home'. (An interesting piece of trivia is that he played the much smaller role of the priest in the movie-surely that must've broken his heart just a teensy bit?). Hope you like it and happy Friday peeps xxx

Heeding Nature's Call!

I was scrolling through photos of Anna for her birthday post when I came across this little gem of  Cormac as a baby that I just couldn't resist sharing. You KNOW what he's doing...there's no need to spell it out.

 I showed this to him and unsurprisingly it was met with great hilarity, and unmistakeable pride-for in my experience, no one appreciates a bit of toilet humour more than an eight year old boy. (Except possibly that particular boy's brothers.) 

At his work.....

Our Lovely Luke



The night before the big day

My baby is two years old today. Two years ago, just about now, I was sucking back the gas and air for dear life, and a few hours later our fifth child, and fourth son was born. This time, we knew we were having a boy- he was the only one we chose to find out, but we told few.

I remember The Killers had a song out at the time which began ' When there's nowhere left to run, is there room for one more son, one more son?' and it used to make me cry. I suppose that I wanted to get any guilty, crappy, disappointed feelings about not having a girl, out of the way before our child arrived...And of course I did, and now, looking back, I'm incredulous and slightly ashamed that I ever felt that way at all. But then I tell myself that that was before I knew him, and held him, and loved him.

From the moment he arrived, he was everyone's baby. Every morning, I would discover Cormac lying on the bed beside his cot, gently holding his hand, waiting for him to waken.  Rory sang songs to him that mostly featured the name 'Luke' monotonously over and over. They all fought over whose turn it was to hold him and suddenly he was 'Lukey', and it was as if he'd been here always. I remember reading somewhere that there isnt a finite amount of love to be shared among your children - with each one the heart miraculously expands and love multiplies ....and its so true.

Before his op in the hospital

First Birthday

He didn't give us the easiest of starts either. I was more tired this time around, which probably had to do with being pregnant at 38, not 28, and now having 4 other children to care for. Then, in the last two weeks I started going into spontaneous labour-once we even made a late dash to the hospital - only to find that it would peter out, leaving me exhausted and weepy. Later, both sets of our parents expressed their fears that something was wrong with the baby. When he was born, it was with the cord round his neck and he was blue and silent, but the midwives rubbed him and he quickly pinked up and when he cried, we cried too.

 At five weeks old, it was discovered after weeks of projectile vomiting, that he had a condition called pyloric stenosis that required a one off operation on his stomach muscle. One of the happiest moments of my entire life, was giving him that first feed afterwards- he had been starved for almost 2 days before the op, which was truly awful to watch - so he guzzled the milk down and then lay back on my lap like a wee drunk man...and kept it down. Sitting there, at that moment, I thought my heart would burst.

The Man himself

And now he's two and he's leaving his babyhood behind and that does make me a little sad. But then I really love this next stage, (despite tantrums and potty training!), because his personality is really emerging and every day brings new words and games. He rules the roost, with his brothers and sister catering to his every whim, while he, like an imperious mini dictator ponderously selects who will carry him, or bring him to the 'bouncy' (trampoline) or push him on the swing or just watch Teletubbies.

So, a very happy 2nd birthday to our precious Luke - You were meant for us and we were meant for you and I'm so thankful every single day that we didn't stop at four...but then we never were sensible! Thank you my little man for all the joy you've brought us already and all that is yet to come. Xxxxx