Angels at work...

We have been experiencing a bit of a thaw here, so this morning Lee and Roo set off confidently for school with no worries: no sign of frost anywhere. Then I heard on the radio that the roads were deceptively icy. So I texted and rang Lee to let him know.

When I spoke to him about an hour after they'd left, he agreed that yes, the roads were very dangerous....

...and that Roo had warned him to be careful as they drove off. 'But Roo,' Lee said, 'the roads are ok today.' 'My angel told me the roads are slipp-edy,' replied the little fella.

A little visitor

This little chap is staying with us for a short while. He doesn't say much but obviously shops in the same places cos that hat and scarf look very familiar.

Feast of St Nicholas

Here are some Santa cupcakes we made today, as decorated by Roo.
December 6th has brought us mixed tidings over the years. This year was fairly uneventful, the highlight being these cheery little cakes. My phone camera isn't great, but if you look closely, you'll see Santy has a marshmallow beard.

Toy show, toy show!

Here is the Poonch watching the afore-mentioned Toy Show on RTE player. It is a week since the original broadcast, but he keeps asking to watch it again. This from a bookle who doesn't go in much for telly. So thanks to the wonders of the internet, here he is watching it yet again, from behind the safety gate, there to protect my beloved computer from his destructive streak!

Meanwhile, one of the more pleasant things about this cold spell is that Lee has collected Roo from playschool a few times to avoid my having to drag his two little brothers out of the warmth onto dangerously slippery roads.
This means that Poonch gets a proper bed-snooze, which he still really needs, rather than an unsatisfactorily short car-nap.

The reason I am able to write this post is that he is asleep and I am pinned to the sofa under another slumbering babe and his big brudda, back from practising the Christmas play and very sad to see that the snow has disappeared. Unfortunately for him, we have escaped the heavy snow that has blanketed much of the rest of the country. I, on the other hand, am thanking God for the reprieve. How very boring we become as adults. I was just remembering the excitement I felt one year in college when, close to our Christmas exams, there was a flurry of snow. Of course, back then I only had myself to worry about. Nowadays, with three little people and a hubby who depends on his car for all of his work, snow brings many other concerns. But I think on balance, I have a MUCH better deal now! God is good. :)

Peppa pig and the Jesse tree

While Poonch slept off last night's disturbance, Roo and I squeezed in some RE. As we were reading about Noah and the flood, we decided to make a little rainbow as today's symbol for the Jesse tree Poonch and I found on our walk yesterday.
When Poonch woke up, we watched an episode of Peppa Pig I'd Sky plussed while Roo was at nursery. As I tried to settle the littlest Toot, what should appear in the background but a rainbow, courtesy of Peppa and her family! The lads are quite fond of Peppa at the moment. (I think even our Daddy Pig has a soft spot for her since we got the DVD for watching at the Wowee house.)

Brrr

Very cold here this morning. We're in the middle of a cold snap. In spite of the adverse conditions, Lee and Roo got back safely from their trip to see Granny and the tuddens yesterday, thank God.

According to the miraculously ever-cheerful Marty Whelan, of whom I am a big fan, today's the feast day of St Brendan of Birr.:)how very appropriate.

Raarrh!

Not much time for blogging or anything else at the moment. My days are completely filled by just trying to keep the three lads fed, warm and clean.
Before he got sick, Roo had been learning all about dinosaurs at playschool. He's been surprising me with lots of big new words like 'extinct' and various dino names (dinosaurs aren't one of my strong points-'mummy, what's that one?' 'hmmm, not sure, diplodoccus?' 'Or an apatasaurus, maybe?' 'Clunk!' i.e. Sound of me falling over in shock and admiration).
Here's a picture of a T. rex he brought home a couple of weeks ago. Little Toot, sitting in his new Bumbo seat/throne, wasn't really bothered by him- that's his foot in the photo- mind you, compared to the attention he receives from his older brothers, the dinosaur was very tame.

Ee ee Mama... and some kiddy artwork

Building inspired by one of Robert Louis Stevenson's poems

Autumn squirrel holding a little acorn, who sings a little song to the tune of "I'm a little Teapot"

Scary!!

It's been a bit like a hospital ward here the last few weeks. Nothing serious, thank God, just chicken pox, colds, coughs, runny noses, fever, earache, out of hours visits to doctor, antibiotics and several sleepless nights. Even poor old Roo, who seemed to have escaped the worst of it, developed a high temperature and was really 'crook', lolling on the sofa with droopy cartoon eyes, very unlike him. One of the more worrying symptoms was an inability/ unwillingness to walk which really put the wind up me, as it seemed scarily similar to one of the symptoms my younger brother suffered with ALD. But our GP, who we have been seeing a lot of lately, reassured us that regular Nurofen was all the little fella needed. Thank God he is back at school now and able to make things such as you see in this post.

tough going at the moment...

Inside Daddy's tank

Sitting here with the little Toot on my lap and the two older lads in the back snoozing. Just saw their little hands resting next to each other. :)
We are on our maiden voyage in Lee's new 'car' for work, although tank is nearer the mark. Up til now, we couldn't all go anywhere in the same car if he was on call, which is quite a lot of the time. So this has assuaged my guilty feelings about how big this vehicle is, cos frankly there was nothing environmentally friendly about driving two cars to Mass or town.
Roo had his Halloween party yesterday at school dressed as a 'knight' although the helmet I made wasn't very historically authentic and his teacher thought he was a 'warrior', but he was happy out. He is all excited about the occasion for the first time and although I love Autumn, Halloween in its modern, non-religious form has never really done much for me. Must somehow tie it in with the Saints book that Roo is interested in at the mo.

Some things I didn't get round to blogging about...

In the last few weeks, Roo turned 4. The day started well with his card appearing on CBeebies bright and early so we all saw it.
But things took a bad turn when the poor little guy started to get sick just as Lee left for work. What rotten luck! Sick on your birthday. Fortunately we hadn't planned a big party with lots of little people invited, so we just postponed the cake and candles for the next day.
A couple of weeks later, we went en masse to the wedding ceremony of a college friend. The lads weren't actually invited, so Mum looked after them in the car while we went to the wedding mass, valiantly trying to pretend we didn't have children. I missed the bride's entrance due to a combination of feeding the little Toot and torrential rain, but me and the baby caught most of the service, which reminded me why I actually love weddings. I get all silly and teary-eyed like the cliched Mother of the bride, especially during the vows. I was in dire need of a hanky when the priest read the lovely Blessing of the Hands. It was a new one on me. Here it is for you to enjoy:
These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your Wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow and forever.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe tears from your eyes: tears of sorrow, tears of joy.
These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.
These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.
And lastly, there are the hands that, even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.
Lord Jesus, bless these hands.

Things that €34billion can't buy

Some things are just fab and they cost nothing at all...
The sound of toddler footsteps thundering towards you.
Tentative smiles and little coos from our soon-to-be 6week old baby (just started in the last couple of days- much more responsive and with-it)!
A washing line of clothes being ballooned by the breeze (sorry, bit obsessed with that one).
Sleep (hmmm, what's that like again?).
Picking blackberries on 'Benny's farm' with the lads and then making two (and a half!) pots of jam with the ones that didn't get gobbled straight away.
The sound of children or animals (especially cats) eating. (Bit of a weird one that- a legacy of my first career, I think)
I'm sure there are lots more. How about you?

Little piggies

We went to visit the latest addition to our family this afternoon. One of four little 12 week old pigs that we are going to rear organically outside. The two older boys were excited to meet them and loved it when they jumped about in surprise. Having worked with pigs in the past, it is lovely to see ones with their quirky little curly tails attached. They were uncurling them to good effect to swat flies while they rooted about in the grass.
I do love pigs. They have the best personalities amongst farm animals in my opinion. It will be interesting to see how attached to them we get. I think it's probably best if we don't name our one...

Tiny triumphs

Another day, another boring photo and three tiny triumphs. We had nowhere to rush to this morning, so I was able to concentrate on things. This meant that Little Toot actually slept for a while during the day, so I got a little knitting in! First time since he was born I've worked on the blanket I'd planned for him.
Once I'd got some washing on the line and the lads were fed, we all sat at the table reading, drawing and knitting. Yay!
Then just before his nap, Poonch used the potty. Amazing what the promise of a jelly can do. Little things mean a lot, don't they?

Chicken noodle soup for my soul

Just enjoying some Heinz chicken noodle soup with the little Toot on my lap. Had some heartening words with Roo's nursery teacher today which made me inordinately happy- he is joining in well, helping out and making friends- two in particular that he likes to sit near each day.
Less heartening was our research into a lovely site close to the nursery. Not much luck there with previous planning applicants it would seem. Not sure even St Joseph can influence the planners! Talking of whom, I made it into town to register our lickle baby's birth at last! We decided to call him Joseph, or at least the Irish version of the name, pronounced Yosef. With all the Marian connections throughout the pregnancy, I thought it appropriate. He was also blessed with one of Padre Pio's mitts while in my tummy, so given that it's his feast day today and his devotion to Our Lady, it all ties in serendipitously (if that's a word!).
He is a sweet little fella, but quite unsettled- possibly suffering from reflux. Absolutely adored by his big brothers who love to hug and kiss him at every opportunity and won't go to sleep until they've had a little spoony cuddle next to him. Poonch's enthusiasm meant he was unintentionally rough at first, but is improving all the time.

...just quickly passing on a reminder from Jessica at Shower of Roses of a novena to St Thérèse which starts today.

See that? Behind the flowers there's rain on the window. And we're inside nice and cosy. With a basket full of dry nappies! Yay! Who says I'm not easy to please?
Now I think I need to find something else to post about apart from just washing...

well that was different...

...a chill in the air, no sun, and I just about fired the nappies on the washing line in case the little Toot in my sling woke up. No leisurely enjoyment of the summer sun and fresh air.

Another season is here for sure.

But at least I got another load of washing out. Phew!

It's ridiculous...

...how happy putting washing out makes me feel.
But then it's so peaceful and sunny and warm out here today. And peaceful. Did I mention peaceful?

Quick fotie post

Well, it was back to reality today for us all as Lee headed off to work after a week looking after us. We got through it ok actually, thank God! I even got some washing dry ☼ It was a beautiful sunny day, so we had to get out and about: baby in the sling and the two busters in the buggy.

Here are some pictures from our lovely week with Lee:

Eddie Rocket's Knickerbocker Glory.... yummmee. At least I think he liked it...

Holy fish, Batman! Look closely.

A different kind of milking machine. At the milk market, of course. You bring your own bottle and fill it with creamy milk here.

Swordfish outside Rene Cusack's.

Digging the praties.

Sweetie. Lee said he was a great help. Brought back memories of his big budda 2 years ago.

He's here! (short version)

Our third little boy has arrived! He weighed in at 7lb 50z, in between Roo and Poonch, which was appropriate, because he looked like a mixture of the two of them. We beat the dastardly induction date by 3 days, hooray! and we came home on Sunday, just like we did with our previous two babies, stopping for celebration cake on the way.

He's here! (the long version)

Well, today was scheduled to be Induction Day for me and the Babycake: the consultant booked us in last week as I was overdue. But me and the Babycake had other ideas and I started getting funny twinges on Friday evening after a walk across Benny's fields feather-hunting with the two lads, Granny and her dog. We came home with our pockets stuffed with fluffy white feathers which we decided had fallen off some angels' wings.

Around 5am the twinges were getting more powerful and regular so I woke Lee to tell him we might need to go to the hospital soon. By the time we'd had something to eat, the lads were awake and the contractions were getting less frequent. Lee had phoned his business partner to tell him he couldn't work and so was getting a bit 'quiet' about my disappearing labour. In the absence of any contractions, we decided to stay busy and go into the village. Mum and I went to Mass and afterwards the priest said a lovely blessing over my bump. We bought some homemade cakes and went home. Lee left us to do a call and so of course, the contractions resumed their pattern!

So I rang the hospital and in we went. We arrived at 3.25pm and after examining me, checking out the baby's heart rate and movements and discussing baby names, the admissions midwife packed us off to the delivery ward, at 6 cms! Things moved quickly once they ruptured the membranes and our little fella was born just under an hour and a half after we arrived in the hospital.

As with the other lads, I used my yoga breathing to get through the contractions. This automatically placed me in Nora the midwife's 'hippy weirdo' category of patient, because she looked at me like I was a nutter when I said I was going to try and get through it as naturally as I could. Then, after our little baba was delivered, she asked us if we wanted to bring the placenta home with us and bury it in the garden....! It's not that I'm super-brave or anything. In fact probably the opposite- the list of possible side effects/ disadvantages from epidurals and the like is pretty scary to me. (Not least an increased chance of having more interventions including Caesarean section, which to name just one thing, puts you out of action for 6 weeks: not a good idea when you have two busy boisterous buachaillí at home.)

We came home next day after an excited, relieved, sleepless night. Thank you everyone for your good wishes, prayers and kind words.

Our next mission.... to find a name for the little babe! Aren't we terrible?

Waiting

Just sending a little picture of some roses and freesias I bought the other day while pushing the two lads and a trolley (a miraculously unwonky one) round Tesco, the day after my due date had come and gone. I don't normally buy flowers for myself, but I LOVE freesias and they cheer me up no end when I'm doing the washing up, which to my mind, makes them worth the price, once in a while.
That's Poonch's little hand reaching up to pick one. He and Roo have been passing the time and making me laugh by blowing raspberries on my tummy for the Baby.

Babycake Update and thank you

Just a little update on what we've been up to lately. The short answer is, 'not much', and it's wonderful. I have been able to stay out of hospital so far, although my GP and obstetrician keep talking about 'taking me in early' even though I have no symptoms of the Obstetric Cholestasis that I was supposed to have had when I was pregnant with Poonch. So far all blood results have come back normal and I'm not itchy, so they really should leave us alone!

When not sitting like a condemned prisoner in some doctor's waiting room, I have been taking it fairly easy and enjoying life with Lee and the two lads. This includes several trips to the fabulous new Milk Market in Limerick city, (including a solo trip to the first monthly craft market, which almost made waiting 4 hours for last week's Dr Nicey appointment worthwhile), lying in the grass absorbing Vitamin D while being climbed on by Poonch and Roo, playing 'runny tubby', making aeroplane noises, baking fairy cakes for Mum's birthday and just because, mixing up 'mah-tee latte' as in the picture, (that's tomato food, in case you're wondering) and trying to complete the blanket I rashly started knitting for the baby a few weeks ago.

The Babycake is due on the 15th, the Feast of the Assumption, and still remains nameless. I promised St Raphael I would name the baby after him if he kept me well, so we have a middle name. I love the name, but couldn't imagine calling him it at toddler group in front of the other mums.

I would like to thank you for your prayers. It is lovely to think there are people I've never met wishing me well, thanks to the blogosphere. So a big 'tah-tee', as Poonch would say, to you all and God bless you.

A Catholic Meme

I have been tagged by Breadgirl for a Catholic Meme. Like her, I was a bit confused at first, but I think I have the gist of it now.

The rules, (from Mac) which need to be posted:
"Name your three favourite prayers, and explain why they're your favourites.
Then tag five bloggers - give them a link, and then go and tell them they have been tagged. Finally, tell the person who tagged you that you've completed the meme. The Liturgy and the Sacraments are off limits here. I'm more interested in people's favourite devotional prayers."

My three favourite prayers are:

O Angel of God,

my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this day be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.

We say this every night with the lads, as it was said with us by our parents, fadó, fadó.

Prayer to Our Lady of All Nations

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Father,

send now Your Spirit over the earth.

Let the Holy Spirit live in the hearts of all nations,

that they may be preserved from degeneration, disaster and war.

May the Lady of All Nations,

who once was Mary, be our Advocate. Amen.

I found this prayer in my kitchen. I think Mum must have left it there. I like the idea of Mary as being a unifying force throughout the world.

A prayer in my own words to St Thérèse

I consider her a friend who I talk to as a friend when I am troubled or thankful. Fittingly, I think she prefers us to speak our requests to her from our heart, rather than from set formula.

I am tagging

Anne

Maria

Miss Ellen E

Mary

Elizabeth

By the way, is it a 'Mee mee' or a 'meem'?

Blessed Teresa of St Augustine and her companions

Today marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of a group of French nuns during the French Revolution. I had never heard about them until I stumbled on this post from the blog of the Third Order of Carmelites in the Philippines while searching for a name for the baby in my tummy.

It always surprises me that I have never heard about many of the brave men and women who gave their lives for our faith, but I suppose that just goes to show how important it is to try and make them better known.

Great parents and spouses

Today is the liturgical feast of Blessed Louis and Zélie Martin, the parents of St Thérèse of Lisieux. Happy feast day Guys! Thank you for your help in the past, help us to be more like you and please keep me well so I can stay at home with my little boys.

a sigh of relief and now I'm holding my breath

Well, at long last, we did it. Poonch is out of our room. He is spending his first night in the neighbouring room, formerly known as Roo's bedroom. The two of them seemed fairly happy about it in the end, but of course the real test is to see what happens if Poonch wakes during the night. It was so easy and comforting just to reach out my hand to him when he was in the cot next to our bed, which is why it's taken so long for me to bite the bullet and evict him!

I will miss seeing his happy little face first thing in the morning, as he wakes me with his little call, 'Maaaamaaaaa' and of course it will be interesting to see what time the two of them wake in the morning! But it had to be done, as Baby uimhir a trí will be here soon, please God. Maybe even sooner than we had hoped, as the old problem from the last pregnancy seems to be appearing again.

Please say a prayer it won't mean I have to go into hospital again. I think it would destroy Poonch as he is way more attached to me than Roo was as the time, and it had a terrible effect on him.

An awareness of angels

Just a quick one before I forget. This morning in Mass, Roo was quietly reading his Busytown book while his brother kept up his non-stop babble throughout. At one point, after all our entreaties had failed, I thought about asking his guardian angel to help. On the way to Mass, Roo had told me that he had asked his guardian angel what Poonch's one was called and he said it was Toto. Just as I was thinking my thought, Poonch said, 'Toto' and quietened down. It only lasted for a short while, but how amazing is that?

18 months today

...since you came into our lives, Babba Poonch. Our sunshine-headed buachaillín bán. xxxxxxx

Lovely stuff

Haven't had a chance to post about some happy things we've done lately. Here's Roo with a 'baby' ladybird on his collar. He was very excited to find him this evening, observant little guy that he is.

At the weekend, we went to the Donkey Sanctuary in Liscarroll on a mission. Roo had been bitten by a mean stallion the week before and I was worried he'd be put off them for life. He loves animals and is confident around them. Even around horses, where I would be naturally very reticent, he shows no fear, so I thought it would be terrible if he lost that self-assurance.
Well, I'm glad to say it seems to have been a success. He was very happy to pat them and decided donkeys were cool and that the one we met last week was a bit of an oddity in the donkey world. This one in the picture seems to be having an '80's legwarmer moment, don't you agree? Very cute. I think he was Dessie, or maybe Lorcan. Donkey bottoms... Was this Shakespeare's inspiration for the character in A Midsummer Night's Dream? Hee hee...

Here's a picture from our week-off. The Cheese Experience in Stoneyford, Co Kilkenny! They were very welcoming and served a lovely cheese plate, free-range sausie roll, local apple juice and i-meam (known to most people as ice cream). Afterwards, the nice lady allowed us to have a stroll around their farm and cheese 'factory'. They have a little farm in the middle of this village, which just strikes me as the perfect mix.

This is a picture of the bridge over the River Barrow in Graiguenamanagh, also in Kilkenny, which Lee and I have to admit (a little grudgingly) is a lovely county in parts. We had a stroll around Thomastown too and would have done more than drive round Inistioge if we'd had the time. But then, now that the Wowee house deal has fallen through, we probably will have a fair bit of time to explore it properly, as it is less than an hour from there.

ohhhhhhhh

Sad and disturbing news...

but it reminded me how important this prayer is.... and helped me find it after it had fallen down from the fridge.

PRAYER TO SAVE A CHILD FROM ABORTION
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I come to pray for every mother who is
today considering the termination of the life of her unborn child.
Grant her the courage and grace to persevere, 
so that the child already living, 
will be born safely. 
I pray also that those who support, encourage, 
promote or perform abortions 
may be granted a conversion of mind and heart. 
Finally, I pray for all those who have been
hurt by the tragedy of abortion.

Eternal Father, I offer you the most precious Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
in union with the masses celebrated throughout the world today, in 
atonement for our sins, and for all the sins of abortion in the 
world. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us
and on the whole world. AMEN
Pray one Our Father....One Hail Mary....One Glory be.

let's hope you never need it...

Poonch managed to out-do himself today in his constant striving towards what Lee calls 'reckless endangerment'. I even had to dial 999 today as he seemed to be choking on some cucumber. We both got an awful fright.

In a strange coincidence I then heard about 'Citizen CPR' on the radio and followed some links to this video. Thanks to Louis and Zelie, Poonch is ok again now.

honeysuckle stroll

Roo woke up feeling 'crook' this morning. He missed his school tour yesterday and had to come home early from school on Tuesday on account of a mysterious tummy bug. Today he was supposed to be taking part in sports day, but he was sick at breakfast, so we had to stay at home again. It's such a pity because he loves 'school' and all the fun and company, and the year is nearly over, so he'll be stuck with boring Mum and annoying little brother for two months until he can see people his own age again.

The weather continues warm and pleasant, thank God. I went for a walk down the lane with the lads in the buggy. The place seemed alive with bees: Roo spotted one in the 'white elephant pen' that the landlord made outside and we saw and heard many more along the way. At least three different species of bumblebees and some honeybees, the sacs on their back legs bulging with yellow pollen. They were busy touring the many wild flowers that have appeared since we last walked there. Pretty wild roses and heavenly honeysuckle, as you can see in the pictures. So, lovely sounds, sights and smells, including a warm earthy smell that reminded me of being a little girl (maybe from one of the long Surrey walks Dad used to drag us along on). A lovely stroll, we all benefited from being out in the fresh air: Roo chattered most of the way (even when he's not well he can't stop talking).

I gave the lads a little sprig of honeysuckle to smell and Poonch got upset when it fell out of the buggy as I folded it up. Sometimes the lads really surprise me with little sensitive things like that.

more lovely stuff

I thought of some more things that happened in the last week that I wanted to share.

Roo talking about his guardian angel Tony

picking out wool for my baby's blanket, receiving it in the post and casting on!

bike rides across silage-cut fields with pint-sized pillion passenger

Tah-tee and sossie from Poonch

Back to the Wowee house

Well, our holiday at home continues and this evening we find ourselves at the Wowee house. It is completely our house again because I'm afraid the sale fell through. The people who had agreed to buy it have bought another house in the estate instead because the builder dropped the price lower than ours when he found out we'd had an offer.
So we will have to keep up the prayers to St Joseph and Louis and Zelie Martin.
Here's a picture of the pretty rosebush outside the front door which is covered in fragrant little flowers at the moment. Very enticing, no?

Our Tour of the Burren

The Burren Perfumery was one of our stops today. We wandered in their lovely gardens, sniffed their roses and various creams and scents, ate some cakes, spent rather a lot of money and basked in the sunshine in the lovely courtyard (above).

This butterfly and lots of little moths were very attracted to this plant.

Earlier on in Lisdoonvarna, we left the inviting Wild Honey Inn where we spent the night and visited the Burren Smokehouse where we bought some tasty goodies. Poonch likes their Smoked salmon which is less salty than others he's tried. 'He must be a bit of a gourmand,' said Birgitta, the friendly Swedish lady who runs it with her husband. She met her hubbie, a local man, in Lisdoonvarna, as did the Texan lady behind the till. Maybe Uncle B should visit...

Fionn MacCumhaill....

and the Salmon of Knowledge