Irish Christmas

I've shared our American Christmas morning. Here is a look at our Irish Christmas. It started the usual way with milk and cookies for Santa.



The presents were under the tree, but it was a bit chilly so we brought them in front of the fire for Caitlin.

Nana helped her open the first one...

Meeting Grover....you can almost see her thinking, "why isn't this Elmo red?"

Of course there were Irish sweets

and a pint sized Liverpool shirt.

Caitlin decided that 8am was not too early for white chocolate buttons...

if you ask the right person that is!

American Christmas Morning

The day we left for Ireland we woke up and found we'd had a surprise visitor!

Can you tell Caitlin was excited?



Santa wrote a note explaining how he didn't want Caitlin to have to carry her gifts on the plane. Mrs. Claus had him doing some training exercises that night so he decided to stop by and help little Caitlin out by making a quick stop along the way. (The note is hanging on the tree in the background. Very official looking!)

The ball pit was a big hit! That is until...



She met Clippity Clop!

I think Caitlin was as excited about see what we got as she was about opening her own gifts. She explored my camera bag and I wasn't sure I was ever going to get the jellybeans back!

It is hard to believe that last year she fell asleep in the swing while we opened her gifts for her. She is such a blessing!

WW: Missing my Loves

This picture was taken Christmas Day.
Together in Ireland.


Before the flu.
Before the delayed trips home.
Before the break in.
Before the locksmith.

I miss them so much!

Only a few more days...

I should have asked

The locksmith just left. I am in shock.

I should have asked how much it was going to cost.

I can't believe I didn't ask.

He secured the glass doors. He drilled little pins in each of the 4 doors.  Everyone said the pins were the way to go. He did the first one and I had him do the other doors while he was at it.

It was $135 a door.

The total came to over $700. I managed to find an online coupon that brought the total to $682.

I feel so stupid. How could I have not asked how much it was going to cost?

This was not the locksmith that came so highly recommended. He hadn't gotten back to me and I wanted to get it done today so I called someone from the phone book.

I am so frustrated.

This whole thing is awful. I just want to wake up and have it all be a dream.  I cleaned up some today. I was making plans to replace the TV. I was seeing the glass as half full.

Then I had to pay the locksmith.

I should have asked....

2011 Do Over

That last post was left on my phone and must have finally gone through yesterday when I got to this side of the pond.

I've decided that I want a 2011 "do over." I really think I deserve it. I thought about asking "what else could go wrong?" yesterday, but then I wised up and decided not to chance it!

I flew home from Ireland yesterday without my loves. They are still there recovering from the flu. I was pretty down about the whole thing.

When I landed in New York I noticed 4 messages from my friend Lyndsay. They all said, "call me when you get this. It is important."  I was worried. Morgan called me at the same exact second I was picking up the phone to call Lyndsay. He insisted on calling her so I got off the plane and waited.

It turns out our house was broken onto Thursday night. Lyndsay had gone by to check on the cats and found Moses on the patio. She realized the front door and sliding glass door were open so she left and called 911. She met the police there and they filled out a police report and took pictures and tried to get fingerprints. The cats were spooked, but they are both home.and safe.

I had lots of time in the airport to think of things that might be missing. My Uncle Ken picked me up from the airport last night and took me by the house. They ripped the tv off the wall. They ripped open a few wrapped gifts  to check for things of value. They went through my jewelry box and underware drawer. I can't tell yet what they got, but it looks like my Grandma Jo's watch and a charm bracelet. Unfortunately they were looking for gold and the little gold I had was the jewelry Grandma Jo gave me.

They did not get my school iPad. It was in a case under the tree, but somehow they missed it. I had an envelope with a cash gift from my class in it and they didn't find that. I had several gift cards from my students that were left behind. My string of pearls was left in the jewelry box.

We've joked that they got in, saw the state of the place, and decided to take the tv because they felt they needed to take something from our disappointment of a house. The Irishman pointed out that the tv was on the wall crooked anyway. All joking aside, it was not as bad as I was afraid it would be. They went through things which is hard, but even that could have been worse.

I don't keep valuables in my underware drawer. I had pictures from my ultrasound of Caitlin in that drawer. No idea why, but that was where I'd put them. It was unnatural to see them thrown on the floor. The rocking horse we gave her for Christmas was knocked over. All the things that matter to us were tossed aside in and picked through in searching for "valuables." I can honestly say I think they were disappointed by what we had to take.

I am staying at my grandparents' house. Our friends and family have been fantastic. I have several people who are going to help get the locks changed, secure the glass doors, and clean up the mess. I've had offers for meals and help. My phone is buzzing with messages of support.

I still have a cough and am not 100% so I have taken off work Monday and am going to be careful not to push myself.

I told myself that if they hadn't taken my school Christmas gift I would treat myself to a pedicure and I think I am going to follow through with the promise. I can't remember the last time I got.a pedicure, but for some reason pretty toes seem important to me.right now.

I guess the fact that I've been up since 6 means I have a bit of jet lag as well. It has been a crazy few days and looks to be a crazy week, but I'm okay. Today is a new day and everything is going to be just fine!

P.S. I typed this from my phone while jet lagged. Please excuse any typos and autocorrect errors!

From High Above the Atlantic Ocean

I have to admit, my expectations this morning were low. The only part of the trip that was organized was the person staying at our house to watch the cats.

We were up until about 2 getting ready to celebrate "American Christmas" before we left. It must have a late night for Santa, too. We woke up to find a note telling Caitlin he made an early visit so she would not have to worry about fitting presents in her suitcase.

The Irishman also woke up with a stomach bug. I am pretty sure flying across the pond with a baby and a sick husband is up there with things I fear most.

It was a rough morning trying to celebrate "American Christmas", pack, clean, and not get sick. Despite it all, we had a lovely Christmas and thanks to Uncle Ken we got to the airport in one piece.

As for the flights, I'm afraid to speak too soon, but so far they could not have gone better. Caitlin and her daddy slept soundly through the flight to New York. (even I managed to doze a bit) We are now high above the Atlantic with free WiFi and a sleeping baby.

Not sure how our computer access will be once we get to my in laws house, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Now that the shopping and wrapping and traveling are done I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the time. You can expect pictures of Caitlin in front of the castle down the road.

Edited to add...
I might have spoken too soon. First the Irishman's tv screen wasn't working so they reset the system on the entire plane. Caitlin woke up as dinner was being served. We managed to make a bottle of warm milk from powdered milk, hot water, and a small carton of cold milk. We managed to juggle two trays of food and a squirming baby.

Then the Irishman's nose started bleeding.  Gushing blood actually. The nice couple behind us saw our flight attendant call bottom and the panicked look on my face. They took my two trays of trash and ran for paper towels. The flight attendant who'd been ignoring us was slightly embarrassed.

So after dinner, a diaper change, and a few adventures along the way, we are settling back down for the last 4 hours of the flight.

Fun times!

Instead

I had wonderful plans for this trip to Ireland.

Don't get me wrong...we got to spend some wonderful time with the Irishman's family. We spent a day in town. We played in the snow. We had a lovely Christmas.

We also got the flu.

I'd had plans to take a new picture for the blog header in front of Blackrock Castle.

Instead we got the flu.

The Irishman and I have no local babysitter in Florida. We had been talking about going to see "Little Fockers" on a real date night. We'd talked about going out for a meal together...alone. We had the best intentions for our fantastic family babysitters.

Instead we got the flu.

Morgan went to the doctor this morning and his man flu was officially termed "severe influenza" and he was advised not to travel for a week.

We were supposed to fly home in the morning.

The doctor also saw Caitlin and put her on an antibiotic. If you are keeping count that makes three doctor visits, three cases of the flu, and three infections requiring antibiotics.

It isn't the way I expected this trip to go...

Unfortunately I do not have time to take off work waiting for the Irishman to recover from the flu. I am not quite 100% myself, but I have been on my medicine a little longer than the others and am on the mend. I had to make a really tough decision this morning. I am second guessing myself every chance I get.

I am heading back across the pond tomorrow without the Irishman or Caitlin.

I've never been away from her. I am heartbroken. At first I was thinking of the positive. I can take it easy and rest. I can sleep on the flight. Missing the flight with the baby. The nice bits.

Instead all I can think about is being away from the baby. We are going to set up the web cam before school in the morning. They have promised to send me lots of pictures.

I still don't know how I am going to get through the week. I know that it will all work out and that Caitlin will be in the best hands, but I know she is going to miss me. And I am going to miss her. The thought of her calling out, "Momma!" breaks my heart. I struggled to make it through story time tonight without tearing up.

Sigh.

Please pray for us!

Irish Flu

Caitlin is still learning to share. Unfortunately the first thing she decided to share was her germs. I have the awful flu she had last week. It is pretty much miserable.

I sent the Irishman to the 'chemist' yesterday to pick up some cough medicine for me. I gave him very specific directions about which one to get. For reasons I won't go into, they would not sell him any cough medicine unless I'd been seen by a doctor. Great.

We tried calling the local healthline, but that led to an appointment at the local urgent care center. The very nice doctor said it is most likely viral. I have the flu and I just have to wait it out. My cough was outrageous, so I did get a prescription for some cough medicine, but the "chemist" looked at the list I'd written down of the over the counter medicines I was used to from the States and she sold me a bottle of that instead. Translation? We paid 68 euros for a diagnosis of flu and a bottle of Robitussin.

I've spent the day in bed fighting a cough and fever. I am finally starting to feel human again. Morgan, Caitlin, and I are sharing a room. I was a mess at 5am and moved into the front room instead. I was spending all my energy trying not to cough and wake Caitlin, so sleep was not going to happen. I missed the cousin's birthday party this afternoon, but the Irishman took lots of pictures for me.

We had a lovely Christmas. The snow stayed on the ground and Caitlin was well enough to go out and play a bit. We surprised Morgan's parents with a new laptop that we snagged during Black Friday sales. We are not good at surprises, so we were thrilled that we managed to pull it all off! I was so out of it this afternoon that I could not figure out how to open the laptop. I blame the fever on for that one! I will try to upload some pictures tomorrow. For now I have a family snapshot taken on Christmas night in front of the very-distinctive Christmas tree. We've joked that the top of the tree is a tribute to the Florida palm. They actually cut the tree down from the garden so it is home grown...with character!

For now we are going to work on NOT sharing these germs...