Happy List #29
First week of summer is in the books. We’ve done museums, play dates and playgrounds. I now remember how much fun grocery shopping is with children in tow. Actually, my kids are eager to help with the shopping and if they are helping they aren’t whining. So, I like to give them something obscure to find – like sriracha sauce – and see how long it takes for them to track it down. This week I shared what it is like when your kids don’t get a report card for a year. I also shared our latest children’s book list, which features some books we really enjoyed reading last month! Let’s…
A Year Without Grades
My children completed their first year in an Irish primary school. Woohoo! Next year it is on to 2nd and 5th grade. How did that happen so fast? Time is flying, people. Just flying by. When we moved to Ireland almost a year ago, my kids had been attending a terrific public school in the southern United States. Suffice it to say, this year has been a big adjustment for all of us – especially them. Side note: My kids are not in the Irish public school system. They attend a private primary school. I detailed those reasons here. If you’re an expat moving to Ireland, it’s worth the read. My kids…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 4
I was reading aloud to the kids last week while we waited at the train station. My son, in typical fashion, was sitting on my lap and my daughter was sitting on my right. On her right sat an elderly man. I read for 5 or 6 minutes while the kids munched on their after school snack. When they hopped up to throw their granola bar wrappers in the bin, the man turned to me and with a quiet, gravelly voice said, “I remember my mum reading to me when I was a young lad.” I noticed his eyes had teared up. “She’s been gone 5 years now.” With that…
Happy List #28: SCHOOL IS OUT
Today is the last day of the school year! No more homework. No more keeping track of school uniforms. No more packing (and the dreaded unpacking) of school lunches. No more forcing certain offspring to wear socks AND underwear because that’s what civilized people do on school days. HURRAY! HURRAY! HURRAY! On Monday I’ll probably be saying, “Oh, sweet heavens how long until school starts?” Kidding! That will definitely probably happen on Tuesday. This week I shared the unexpected thing I am so glad I saved after my mom died – sweet, sentimental pieces of her handwriting. By the way, I love you all to pieces. Your sweet comments here and on social…
Tourist Maps Make Great Wrapping Paper
Monday’s post was a little heavy, emotionally speaking, so let’s reel it back in, shall we? Besides, this blog, similar to the inner workings of my brain, thrives on randomness and abrupt topic changes. Keep up! Keep up! The whiplash is worth it. How many of you have traveled someplace new and picked up a tourist map (or 3 because each of your kids needs their own map even if they ask you to hold it 7.3 seconds later, thank you very much)? *raises hand* Then how many of you have chucked that map(s) in the recycle bin or garbage when you were finished? *raises hand* If one of your tourist maps survives…
The Unexpected Thing to Save When Your Parent Dies
My mom died in a car accident. To me, she is forever frozen in time as a larger-than-life, full-of-zest, tell-it-like-it-is, 52-year-old. Her 65th birthday would have been yesterday. The reverberations of her death echo through my family to this day. It irrevocably changed us all in ways that are still unfolding. Not a day goes by that she is not on my mind. Not one. When someone dies, there are immense amounts of mourning. Understatement of the year. There are also practical matters that callously intrude upon your grief. Decisions to be made. Items to be sorted. Paperwork to be completed. Things that must be done RIGHT. NOW. Before you’ve even laid the deceased…
Happy List #27
Why, hello again! I sure am thankful for all of you who keep coming back week after week! I’m excited because we have a 3-day weekend. I have no idea why Monday is a bank holiday and I do not second guess these things. Also, if you want to do anything touristy on a bank holiday weekend in Ireland – forget about it. All 5 million people that live on this island plus a herd of sheep will be in the same place at the same time. Guaranteed. This week I shared how I repurposed my wine rack into a display shelf for my children’s beloved tchotchkes. If dessert soups are your…
Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup
Any Iron Chef fans out there? Anyone like to try weird food combinations? Well, buckle up Buttercup, because today I’m going to take your tastebuds on a virtual trip to the beautiful country of Hungary. I learned a lot about Hungary in the last month because my daughter recently completed the mother of all a very lovely school project on Hungary and Slovenia in celebration of European Union Day. The final requirement of her project was to prepare a dish from each of the countries she studied and share it with the kids and parents at school. No pressure. For Slovenia she made a braided bread. Read about it here. For Hungary, we could have gone…
Wine Rack Upcycled Into a Display Shelf
A million years ago when Handy Husband and I grew up and started purchasing real furniture, we bought a buffet table for our dining room that included a built-in wine rack. Here it is in our last house. I miss that old house, by the way. Turns out we prefer a mixed drink over wine in this house and the wine we did keep on hand was properly stored in a wine fridge. The wine rack has bugged me, off and on, for YEARS. First, half of this piece of furniture is a waste of space. Second, that thing is a dusting nightmare. Third, it looks dumb without wine. I’ve wanted to take the wine rack…
Happy List #26: I SURVIVED Edition
TGIF! Finally! Some of my friends are celebrating the last day of school. Or, as I like to say, the last day of packing school lunches! I love seeing all of those first and last day of school pictures pop up in my social media feeds! You guys know I crack myself up right? I’m not even ashamed to say that! This week I shared a funny story about the new vegetable my husband hates. Celeriac. Have you had it? It’s delicious. I also shared an awesome craft, which I’ve aptly called emoji golf balls. My daughter and her friends had so much fun making these. If you have some…
