Back to our Routines

Sorry about the long time away.  We recently decided to go traveling to other parts of Europe and there just wasn't enough time for blogging.  In the beginning of the month we spent about 4 days in Rome and 3 days in Paris.  When we came back it took us about a week to recover from everything.  Getting back into the regular everyday life routines isn't easy when you visit two cultures in one week.  (pictures coming soon)

Last week for Valentine's Day my wonderful husband got me some flowers.  Here is a picture of Tater-Tot enjoying the beautiful pink display.  She was rather intrigued by them.

Since Tater-tot loved looking at the flowers her daddy got we decided to go for a walk yesterday and look for some.  The weather was full of sunshine and beautiful.

 

As you can see from the way she is dressed it is still quite cold. 

 

Nope, that's not a flower.

 

Yep, those are flowers!

 

There isn't much in the world more beautiful then spring time flowers.  I could have stayed there all day looking at these crocuses.

 

 

Nope, no flowers here.

 

 

Much to my delight when we came back Babby was mowing the lawn.

This is the first time we have had to mow since the end of autumn.  It made for a wonderful end to our neighborhood walk to smell fresh cut grass.

 

 

Right before coming in the house Tater-Tot found these snail shells.  They were broken and of no use for any snail.  She brought one in the house and we cleaned it with bleach.  She now has a snail shell of her own.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed spending the day with us!

 

 

Below is a video of the Cliffs of Moher

I found this video on YouTube and thought it would help you to see what the cliffs were like.  The music really gives off that good-ole-Irish feeling.  I also thought the song was beautiful.

Visting the Cliffs

We went to the Cliffs of Moher right before Christmas.  The cliffs were enormous and absolutely breath-taking and beautiful.  It took some time to get there but it was well worth it once we arrived. 

This is what we saw upon arrival and while parking our car.  At home in New Mexico all of the grass would be brown and yellow during the winter but not here.  The grass is always green.  We have learned that the grass truly is greener on the other side. But, in order to have this green land you have to endure wind, cold, fog and lots of rain.



 

 

These birds were waiting for us to get out of the car.  They knew we must be tourists since we were parking in this spot and so they waited patiently for food.  Yes, we gave in.

 

 

 

The stores as well as the ticket office were built into the landscape.  I had read they chose to do this so to not disturb the beauty of the landscape.  It made me think of the Shire.

 

 

Although they did have fencing to protect you from the edge, if you chose to, you could walk right up to the edge and look down.  We chose to stay on the safe side of the fence.

 

 

 

 

I got very little pictures due to the cold and fog.  But, even through the winter weather it was worth the trip.

 

 

This is O'Brien's Tower.  It is to the north of the cliffs.

 

Some interesting information about the cliffs:

 

Some movies filmed here were The Princess Bride, Harry Potter, and Leap Year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffs_of_Moher

 

The cliffs also have many fascinating birds.  I wish we could have been there in the summer to see the Puffin.  What a treat that would have been.

click here for facts about the puffin

 

Click here for a short video of the cliffs



Spring Time in Ireland

The cold outside is still so noticeable.  I can't quite figure out why the flowers and trees are deciding to bud.  The last few days the kids and I have gone for walks in the neighborhood and noticed budding tree branches.  Today we saw some flowers emerging.  To our surprise there were some trees in the village with not just buds but full leaves.  Ireland is a strange beauty.  I guess the trees and flowers are so used to the cold that they don't mind it as much as people like us, who come from the desert. 

I recently discovered that tomorrow is Ireland's first day of spring since it will be February 1st. 

This date is also chosen to honor St. Brigid.  According to pagan legend February 1st is the first day of spring on the pagan calendar.

May 1st is the beginning of summer.

August 1st is the beginning of autumn.

November 1st is the beginning of winter.

 

Through much searching I have discovered that Ireland's (true) first day of spring is March 1st, NOT February 1st.  summer begins on June 1st, autumn begins September 1st and winter is on December 1st.

So, it currently looks like we have one more month before spring truly arrives although the flowers and trees might be saying other-wise.

Scottish Bagpipes Are No Surprise Around These Parts

We recently went to the local shopping center.  When we got there we went to one of my favorite coffee shops, Costa.  I rather enjoy it there since they always have some sort of gluten-free treat.  While sitting and enjoying some coffee and cocoa we could hear the sound of bagpipes getting louder and louder until we could actually visually see them strolling by.  In New Mexico it would be no surprise to suddenly see a Mariachi band.  Apparently here in Ireland, it is no surprise to see Scottish bagpipes playing.

Garda

While in Lucan I took a picture of this Garda (police) Station.  Everywhere I go the buildings are old and neat looking.  If I didn't see the Garda sign I would have never guessed this was where the police are at. 
Some interesting things we have learned while living here:
1-Most of the "regular" Garda officers do not carry firearms.  If they are in need of back up then armed Garda are available.
 2-The name Garda is short for Guardians.
 3- It is not likely to get a speeding ticket by a Garda officer.  There is, however, speed cameras.  If they catch you then you will be sent a ticket in the mail.  There is quite a few of them all over the country so you are better off just not speeding.

Doing Away With Organization and Preparations

The last couple of weeks have been full of me thinking about this blog.  I consistently think on it and wish that I had more time on my schedule to blog.  It is tremendously hard to find the time but I have decided that I will continue to blog even if it is for bits at a time.  Whoever reads this please know that as long as I have this blog I will blog.  My intent is not to ignore it but to spend time on it but reality is I am a sojourner, home-school mom and wife .  Most of our days are spent focusing in on our school and learning new discoveries of this far away land all while keeping house. 

I am very excited to announce that we are planning  a trip to       ,       and       
  (I have decided to wait to say where to keep the supense up.)
I won't say when.  I don't think that would be appropriate to announce on-line.  And of course, I will blog about our journeys as they come. 

I am beginning to think the main reason I struggle finding time to blog is because of my desire to be so organized, which takes up quite a bit of preparation. I have decided to throw out organization and post whatever comes to mind. I think I will be able to more easily find time if I do it that way. So, you may only see photos at times but I figure that is better then nothing.

Below are some pictures of a polish store in the village of Leixlip.