Muddy puddy!

That's what Poonch called this little oasis of joy that he and Roo revelled in on our walk this afternoon. His vocabulary has expanded in the last few weeks and he chats away, coming out with sometimes startling sentences. He has his own little poonchy take on words, pointing out 'butty...flies', 'piders', 'catty...pillars' and 'bahdies', wishing people 'happy cwisbas' or 'happy to you' when it's their birthday.

Signs of Spring

Some lovely flowers appeared today, carried by my super hubby. They were tied with a green ribbon and put me in mind of Spring as the bright sun came in the window.
As I write this, the little Toot is stirring from a long snooze and his two older brothers are asleep- an extraordinary event in this house! I'm trying to get our littlest boy into more of a routine but it's difficult during the week with Roo commuting back and forth to playschool.

Hello!

It's little me! On the swing.

Bye bye piddies!

Those were the words of Poonch as we visited the piggies for the last time today. Of course we hadn't told the lads that our porcine friends were going to the factory, but you'd swear they knew anyway, as Poonchie repeated the words during the day.

It is quite sad to think of the fate that awaits them, but they have had a much happier life than most of the domestic pigs of this world, and we do eat p-o-r-k and b-a-c-o-n (whisper). I was very glad once again, that the little pink fellas hadn't been growing in our back garden though. That is one lesson that our boys are a bit too young to learn just yet and how would we have explained their sudden disappearance?

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...