I Think We Are Finally Official

I thought after receiving the green card we would be done with making things official. We still needed to go register which meant we had to go to the Immigration office and wait many many hours. It made me think of the Social Security office in America.
When we got there we had to get in line to get a number and then wait many hours until called. Not a lot of fun when you have the whole family including our little Tatar-Tot. She handled it very well and we are very proud of her and her patience. After getting called (one at a time) we each had to show proof of who we are, sign a paper, pay money and then go stand and wait to be called again. After being called we then went into another room where they finger-printed us. Then we went and waited once again. We waited at least another hour before we were given our Residence Card.  I am so glad that is done.  We don't have to do that for another year. 
One of the best things that happened while there is when Tatar-Tot made friends with a little girl (same age as her) from Bangladesh.  While waiting they sang, danced and ate snacks together.  I am so glad that our children have had the opportunity to get to know so many people from so many different countries.  What a blessing!

Youghal (pronounced Yawl)

We went to Youghal a couple of months ago but the pictures never made it to the blog.  I want to share as much as I can so here is the gist of it.
Our trip to Youghal was fun and short.  On our way back from visiting Blarney we decided to take a detour over to Youghal and see a small part of the Atlantic. 
One of my favorite things about Ireland is the many small villages.  They are full of friendly people, and old world beauty. 
Our first arrival there was to the local Petrel Station to get some soft-serve ice cream cones.  If I haven't mentioned it yet, Ireland sales soft serve at almost every "gas" station and it is delicious.
With ice cream in hand we then drove to the town of Youghal.  Our first site was the typical Irish town with beautiful little colorful homes alongside shops and people walking along the streets. 

Below is some sites we saw while arriving into Youghal

 

The coast line was beautiful and we really enjoyed wandering about.  Tatar-Tot had a blast looking at all the colorful rocks.  She is our little rock hound and so it was a real treat for her.  She also had a few moments of squishing her little hands into the wet sand and then trying to put wet sand on us.  She just giggled and giggled.

 

 

                                                                                 

 

 

 

                                                                           Seaweed

 

Babby and Tatar-Tot had fun looking for seashells which are very easy to find here.

 

 

 

Spending some quality, sibling time together.  Although they do fight on occasion they are best friends.

 

 

 And the last of our pictures from this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tatar-Tot enjoying the view.

 

 

 

 

  Some pictures on the drive home

 

 

A Summer Walk

These are pictures I took while taking a walk near our home this summer.  The difference now is that there isn't as many flowers and some of the trees have lost their leaves or changed color.  I have been amazed to see that the grass is still green.  I don't have very many new pictures yet, since it is quite cold out. 

 

Our First Holiday in Ireland

I didn't really know how Halloween would go so I went for a walk yesterday and asked some of the locals what we should expect.  Before going for a walk I researched Ireland's Halloween.  I found out that it originated here with the Celtic people.  The Celebration marks the end of Summer and the start of the Winter months.  It seems innocent enough when you think of it that way but Halloween was actually a very superstitious holiday revolving around the dead.  The Celts at one point called it Samhain pronounced (Sow-een) meaning All Hallowtide.  The creepy and scary part of it all is that it stands for the 'Feast of the Dead'.  Halloween was one day when the Celts believed that the dead could revisit the mortal world. 
There were many superstitions revolving around Halloween night.  One of them was to dress up in a costume.  On that very night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house.  They did actually say 'Trick or Treat'.  In addition they dressed up to disguise themselves as spirits and devils.  It was believed that the the evil spirits and devils would not know they were mortals if they were dressed that way.  By being disguised they had high hopes to avoid being carried off in the night. 
I find this a bit disturbing and therefore Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  We make it a point to not decorate with anything frightening or dress as anything evil.  I see it as a time for little ones to enjoy dress-up, appreciate the changing seasons as well as give and get some candy from some neighbors we might not have met otherwise.  I don't see a need to make the night one that will terrorize children. 
Click here for an article about celebrating Halloween in a positive way.

Here is Tatar-Tot dressed up as a fairy.

 

The whole family took her to visit neighbors, look cute and get some candy.  She did very well and was adored by all.  Halloween here was much like an American holiday, which is what one of the locals told me it would be like.  The kids dressed up and went door to door saying, "Trick or Treat."  We even had one kid say, "Trick or Treat, smell my feet."  (With a very cute Irish accent)  Many homes had decorations up, both scary and not so scary.  We were done by 6PM and answering our door.  I bought six bags of candy and only handed out 2 a person.  We were out of candy by 7PM.  I had to put a sign on the door, sadly announcing our shortage.  I am glad we went.  We saw many new faces and met several neighborhood children.  We had recently heard that much of the neighbors were very well aware of the "American family" moving in.  It gave us an opportunity to make a presence without being over bearing. 

I mean, how often can you go door to door and meet every neighbor in one night?

A Brisk Autumn in Ireland

Fall is definitely in the air here in Ireland.
I just went for a walk to the store with my son and it was completely beautiful.  Many leaves have fallen or changed color.  Every step we took seemed to be on a leaf.  What we noticed different was that there was no crunch.  The ground is so soggy that instead of a crunch you either hear nothing or a light sloppy sound.  The air was cold and brisk.  It truly is beautiful outside.  The perfect weather for a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa.  Actually, I think might just  go get one...