Ta-dah!!! We have a winner!

I am delighted to announce that Sandra from Life Sublyme has won the book on St Joseph that I mentioned in the last post! She has a beautiful blog which is really worth visiting, in which she discusses her own battle with chronic illness (Lyme disease) and how her faith has helped her through the suffering.

Congratulations Sandra! Thank you for dropping by and I hope you enjoy the little book as much as I did.

1st Birthday Freebie!

I have been reading this little gem of a book in spare moments while waiting for the little Toot to drop off to sleep. It was one I picked up during our recent trip to Knock. After Mass in town this morning, I bought another one because I would love to share it with someone else!

So in honour of St Joseph and in thanksgiving for the impending first birthday of our youngest boy, who is named after him, I am going to give it away! If you would like to receive it, just leave a comment on this post before Sunday 21st August. Then if I get more than one reply, I will draw a name from a hat and publish who won in a new post as well as in a follow-up comment on this post. So when you comment, be sure to check the box that emails follow-up comments to your email address or check back to see if you are the lucky recipient! I will post it out to whoever wins. Good luck!

First Birthday surprise package

Guess who's trying to have two big announcements for his birthday?

Our littlest boy is very nearly one year old and is doing his utmost to be able to walk by then. I suppose when you have two noisy older brothers you have to try even harder to get people to notice you!

Any chance he gets lately he's been using anything solid to pull himself up into a standing position. But in the last few days he started to make tentative little sidesteps and today he was pushing a chair ahead of him as if it was a baby-walker! I think I have noticed a slight change in him on account of his increased mobility and viewpoint. He seems happier: I suppose life just got a lot more interesting!

I remember when I found out I was carrying a third boy being really curious about how he would turn out as his older brothers are so very different from each other. Would he be like one of them? Or different again? I suppose the answer is yes to both questions. Personality-wise, he is not quite as sunny as Poonch, but he seems less cautious than Roo is.

And of course, his interests are different, he seems more interested in physical feats: he squeals with delight as he sits on the ground and throws the ball, he likes to climb up the little red slide and from an early age he would strive to grasp objects within his (surprisingly long) reach so that he could examine them. On the other hand, talking isn't a priority for him: he doesn't really have any actual words yet, although he enjoys singing (a series of single short notes), loves pointing an imperious index finger at people and things and used to 'tell' me what he thought of his dinner each evening. He will give you a high five if you ask him and has a very cute floppy wave which the ladies love!

Everyone says he is the image of his Dad. He has recently got very adorable, whereas before he looked like a real Scroonk with dishevelled hair and bad skin that only we could love. But we sure do love our littlest boy. His older brothers are so affectionate towards him and protective too, especially his oldest brother, the little gent that he is. In turn, he gets endless entertainment from them and laughs at their antics that make me cross!

We are delighted you came along to join our mad little family. Happy Birthday little Toot!

Fota foties

Feeding time at the zoo: a sneaky peek into the feeding buggy on our annual Summer trip to Fota (yay)

... on the train (woohoo!)

It was a day of penpens, albeit slightly bored and dozey ones, above

and stripey bah-loo cardigans.

We had a great day, meeting old friends with their hands as 'full' as ours, eccentric second child and all. And I found a lovely, proper, newsagent full of magazines, newspapers and a lovely proper newsagent-y smell I haven't experienced for years.

If I was a Playmobil character...

...it would have to be this one! She is carrying her baby in a sling! She has her brown hair tied in a ponytail! She has very little regard for current fashion trends! And I just realised she's wearing red shoes too! Quite uncanny really.

Today's Gospel according to Roo:

Matthew 14: 22-33

Assumption Novena starts today

I am fond of the odd Novena. Any excuse really and off I go: at the very least, it's a good way of making sure I find time to pray each day. Nine days from now is the Feast of the Assumption, so in preparation for that great day (which last year was the Little Toot's due date), I will be one of more than 2800 Catholics praying the Assumption Novena through this novena website.

If you'd like to join in too, you can sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: Assumption Novena.

The lovely picture came from this website, which tells you a little more about the feast.

Every cloud...

Well, due to a misunderstanding, I had a bit of a disappointment this evening. It was supposed to involve this restaurant, my hubby, some friends and a meal I didn't have to cook. But at the last minute, with nobody to mind our bubs, it wasn't to be for me. Here I am in front of the TV on my own.

Never mind though, I'm actually fine about it! Those rosary beads I mentioned in a previous post arrived this morning, much to the delight of Roo and Poonch. They were so excited this evening when we got to use them for the first time! Thanks to my cancelled engagement, I could take my time and say our prayers without having to rush away. What a treat.

It was so cute to see them touching the lego brick beads, with Roo diligently counting them off as we prayed and read through their lovely rosary book. I gave him the choice of which Luminous mystery to pray and he was intrigued about Jesus turning the water into wine, so he decided on the Wedding at Cana. Poonch just loved the colour and Lego-ness of his beads and wanted to wear them around his neck all day, despite my opposition. I have been surprised and utterly enchanted by their sweet, endearing reaction to the rosary each evening. Thank you Lord for such precious and priceless moments.

No one does accidents quite like Richard Scarry does...

Quite an unexpectedly eventful day today. A few little mishaps along the way, but all ended ok, thank God. It started out as a mundane Saturday trip into town. The whole family went in to pootle round the market and round up school supplies for Roo.

On the way home though, it became apparent I had left my phone behind me somewhere. (Quel surprise, Rodney.) And on the way to retrieve it, the car stopped dead right on the busiest roundabout in the city. Lee put his back out trying to push the car single-handedly somewhere less accident-inducing. The car door handle broke as he tried to get back into the car. And then the rest of us sat stranded with me praying we wouldn’t be the cause of a Richard Scarry-worthy pile up while Lee set off looking for a petrol station. (Yes.... I know.) That led to a few hairy moments marvelling at how there aren't more accidents on the road, the way people drive. I think Guardian angels must be so busy just keeping people safe in their cars every day.

Anyway, thanks to Lee, we got moving again. Drama over. No harm done. And now I'd like to mention the highlights of today. The bits God drops in to help you through difficult times:

The thoughtful honest man who handed my phone in and the nice man in the car park who thought to phone Lee to tell me he had it.

The lovely people who stopped in a risky spot to see if we were alright or ‘to offer us a lift’ as Poonch put it.

The three little boys in the back as good as gold despite being variously in need of the toilet, a drink or a nap.

Roo suggesting we ‘ask God to help us’ and the relief saying a prayer out loud brought.

Offers of hugs from Poonch and Roo when I got a little broken-voiced from experiencing the kindness of strangers.

The little sparkle in Roo’s eyes when he saw himself in the mirror with his uniform on for the first time ever.

Watching Uncle Bee playing with the lads and their interaction (particularly little 11 month old Toot) with him.

I will probably never get the chance to thank the people that helped just by offering to help. But I would like to ask for a little prayer for them tonight. I hope they receive many blessings for the care they showed to us. Thank you.

Ever wondered why you wake at night?

Of course, sometimes there is a clear reason! For instance, when I wake up in the middle of the night, it's usually because one of the lads has woken me. But other than crying babies, do you ever wake up at night, seemingly for no reason? This morning I read one possible explanation, which I'll tell you about in a minute.

When one of the children is awake, it can lead to quite a long period of enforced wakefulness for me, back and forth until they nod off again. Praying during such a time helps to make it seem less frustrating and even useful. Certainly, I don't get much time or quiet to pray during the day.

I do try. Lately, I have started to say the Divine Mercy Chaplet with the lads at bedtime. As they are so young, I thought it would be easier to hold their attention than the rosary, although I might try to alternate it with one decade of the rosary every second night.

Not surprisingly, the thing they most enjoy seems to be counting the prayers off on the beads. So I have decided to get them their own beads. What a great excuse to buy some of these great Lego rosaries from Memento Moose's etsy page. Aren't they great? My boys are eagerly awaiting them in the post.

In contrast to the rainbow beads: handy for when you're in the jungle and don't want to stand out

And the reason for insomnia? Maybe someone needs your prayers urgently! Here's the extract from St Faustina's Diary that I read today:

"809 During the night, I was suddenly awakened and knew that some soul was asking me for prayer, and that it was in much need of prayer. Briefly, but with all my soul, I asked the Lord for grace for her.

810 The following afternoon, when I entered the ward, I saw someone dying, and learned that the agony had started during the night. When I verified it-it had been at the time when I had been asked for prayer. And just then, I heard a voice in my soul: Say the chaplet which I taught you. I ran to fetch my rosary and knelt down by the dying person and, with all the ardour of my soul, I began to say the chaplet. Suddenly the dying person opened her eyes and looked at me; I had not managed to finish the entire chaplet when she died, with extraordinary peace. I fervently asked the Lord to fulfill the promise He had given me for the recitation of the chaplet. The Lord gave me to know that the soul had been granted the grace He had promised me. That was the first soul to receive the benefit of the Lord's promise. I could feel the power of mercy envelop that soul.

811 When I entered my solitude, I heard these words: At the hour of their death, I defend as My own glory every soul that will say this chaplet; or when others say it for a dying person, the indulgence is the same. When this chaplet is said by the bedside of a dying person, God's anger is placated, unfathomable mercy envelops the soul, and the very depths of My tender mercy are moved for the sake of the sorrowful Passion of My Son.

Oh, if only everyone realized how great the Lord's mercy is and how much we all need that mercy, especially at that crucial hour!"

If you're not familiar with it, you can find the Chaplet and how to say it here.

Tall Ships, big dogs and small ones too

Continuing our whistle-stop tour of Southern Ireland, we arrived in Cappoquin to spend a night in Richmond House, somewhere we remembered fondly from our pre-sprog days. The house is as lovely as we found it before and our family room was memorable for the fact that Roo and Poonch slept peacefully and harmoniously together in the same bed. (Another memory is that of Poonch sitting regally in his potty surveying the carpark below from his lofty perch on the expansive bathroom windowsill.) A visit to Granny Daddy and her gift of a pair of cuddly plush puppies helped to tire them out, although we've had so much going these last few days that they have a cumulative tiredness at this stage.

Pictured above is by far the friendliest member of staff that we met at Richmond House. Make of that what you will. The lads were very taken with this big old bear of a dog: cuddly and quiet. And so was I.

The following morning, we drove off to Waterford to what turned into a glorious Summer's day to see the Tall Ships, or should that be, to queue up for various food items at numerous market stalls. The city was absolutely packed and we strolled around with the older lads in and out of the buggy and the Little Toot in the sling. In hindsight, we would all get much more out of it when we are able to climb on board the actual Tall Ships in a few years' time, please God. One of the more memorable things was a Sea Shanty group from Exmouth who wandered around singing a most stirring song.

Despite the fact that the lads are generally very well-behaved (do you think I would be biased, now really?), there has been the odd occasion when I haven't felt entirely, shall we say, loved by certain people we have come across on this holiday. They seem to have a pre-formed negative attitude towards children, even before they have crossed the restaurant or hotel threshold. Curiously enough, in some of these places we have been pretty much the only customers. I would have thought that in the country's current dire economic state that any customer at all would be treated like a long lost friend.

Sacred Heart Novena...

....starts today. Click here to join in on the Sacred Space website.

Holiday revisited part 4, Thursday: Can you tell where it is yet?

Here is the other side of the church, the side that people know better. This is where Our Lady appeared to some dumb-founded inhabitants of Knock, Co Mayo, on 21st August 1879. We visited it on our Mayo holiday: it was in fact the reason we decided to come up there in the first place.

This gable-end is one of the parts of Knock that I love. There is a real sense of something amazing in this quiet spot, which for some reason seems almost deserted whenever I visit. In my experience, people tend to rush past it on the way to the Basilica, yet to me it is a far more attractive place. I see the basilica as just a functional place which can hold a lot of people. Lee likened it to a mart in design, which is bang on. Another part of Knock that I love is the Reconciliation Chapel. It always feels inviting and friendly, which aren't two adjectives that normally come to mind when I think of confession. On this visit, the two older lads were very good as they waited in turn for Lee and I, but I had to bring the Scroonk in with me in the sling and he was a bit busy, to say the least!

After that, the lads went off with Lee for some well-deserved messing in the playground while I went to yet another of my favourite parts of Knock: the bookshop. I could really spend hours there, and that's just in the children's section which has so many appealing books. I got some great books for Roo to help explain what's happening in Mass and some lift-the-flap Bible stories for Poonch. Then I went looking for a 'penny catechism' only to find it next to YOUCAT , which I was very excited about. It is such a great book: even apart from its contents, it is very attractive to look at and handle, with a friendly, straight-forward and approachable tone and a wonderful foreword from the Holy Father.

It was a welcome change not to have to face into a three-hour plus drive back home and instead we headed back to the hotel and our final night there. All together now: aaaaahhhhh!

Day 2, Tuesday... in Mayo!: Cycling the Greenway

We woke up for our first proper day of holiday and off we toddled to the nearby town of Newport to collect our snazzy electric bikes.

My trusty steed for the day

Electric bike + trailer= plain sailing

We had been really excited about this part of our holiday because it involved us, bikes, fresh air, nice scenery and exercise, but as Roo would say, not too much. Lee and I aren't as fit as we'd like to be, so when we heard that we could cycle about with the lads in tow with the help of an electric motor, we thought yippee! Roo wasn't too sure though- he didn't like the sound of the trailers that he and de bruvvers were going to be travelling in.

Nonetheless, we met Paul from Electric Escapes at Clew Bay Cycles and collected our bikes. And so began the pirate connections: my bike was called Grace, as in Grace O'Malley, the famous female pirate of Mayo, appropriate, as we had chosen the Pirate Queen tour. Roo settled quickly into his trailer with the Scroonk next to him, while initially Poonch was a bit nervous on his ownio behind me.

And we were off! The weather was very clement: warm and dry, with a gentle breeze to prevent us getting too hot from our exertions. And the scenery was, well take a look at this....

Mostly very peaceful and relaxing: no cars speeding by to scare the bejayny out of us. We weren't completely alone of course:

Moo!

Baa!

And we did meet some people too. A broad mix of young families, retired couples and young, fit types who seemed to me to be regular users of the cycleway. All sharing a friendly 'hello'. What a very civilised and cheery way to spend the day! And what a fantastic amenity to have in the area: a safe, superbly-maintained track to walk or cycle along. Not just for tourists, but local residents too. Aaaahh, if only there were more trails like this around the country. My Dad would have loved it.

Whizzzzzzzzzzzz!

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

It wasn't all plain sailing for me though. As the initial euphoria/novelty wore off, I realised I should have asked someone to adjust my saddle before we started as my botty wasn't feeling too happy towards the end. Overall though, we did really well, considering the last time we biked regularly was over 10 years ago in college.

And the lads had a great time: the first thing Roo said the following morning was, 'Are we going cycling again today?' So there you go, highly recommended.

Holiday revisited: Day 1 Mulranny Monday

We started the long drive up to Mayo after collecting Roo from his first day at 'big' school: he got on ok and we met some very nice parents and teachers too. We had our customary pitstop in Clarenbridge at the Provident Market Kitchen cafe, which is always tasty.

We took a slight diversion in Galway at Little Dreamers, a lovely shop for children's stuff, to pick up a new addition to the family (pictured). After that the road became narrow and the countryside boggy as we started on the last leg of the journey. Driving through the pretty town of Westport, we decided we would have to return later in the week for a browse. As we got closer to Mulranny, we noticed bits of newly refurbished cycleway running closeby the road and guessed it must be the Great Western Greenway. It looked very well made and we couldn't wait for the chance to cycle it the next day.

Eventually, we reached our home for the next few nights: Mulranny Park Hotel. This old railway hotel was built long before the Celtic Tiger's glut of ghost hotels. Our room was surprisingly spacious (as we opened the door, we all gasped at its size) with gracious sash windows and high ceilings. Some of the views from the hotel were like landscape paintings and the window tables in the restaurant were much sought after. Well, more popular than the ones near our motley little crew anyway!

Well, I was going to post some more pictures from our recent trip, but my phone suddenly broke down today (possibly caused by a grouchy Scroonk) so it will have to wait until I can get it repaired (I hope)...

We were in Mayo for a few days and it was lovely. The weather was very friendly to us so we got loads of fresh air and the lads (and us) were happily exhausted at the end of each day from cycling, swimming, pedalo-ing, fluming and bouncy castl-ing. More info to follow.

Lee's time-off continues so today we found ourselves in Limerick at the Milk Market. Then my broken phone caused us to stumble across the pop-up Etsy shop on Catherine Street on its last day. Poonch fell asleep so I had a lovely browse through handmade cards, crochet, jewellery and the like before settling on some cute felt brooches from Bettyoctopus and earrings from Silver Soul Design.

We love shopping at the market and getting to know the people who make the things we like. Vi's Sunflower Bakery is one of our favourites: when I eat her creations I always wish I could bake like her. Maybe she does classes....

We've been away for the last few days. Yesterday we visited the town where something extraordinary happened outside this unassuming little church...

Some messy fun outside