Happy List #11
Here’s to Friday! My children received positive feedback during our first ever parent-teacher conferences in an Irish school, so I’m quite happy with that. Apparently they are doing a great job learning to speak Irish even though I hear none of it at home. Go figure. On the blog this week I shared Valentine’s Day Card ideas that both boys and girls would like to receive and I also shared a recipe and story about making Dill Bread. Here are the other things making me all happy and humored this week. Does Being Pessimistic Makes You Happier? Food for thought. Alain de Botton’s premise is interesting. As a bonus, I found…
6 Valentine Card Ideas For Girls or Boys
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. Ready, set, panic! No, no. Don’t do that! Here are some fun DIY Valentine’s Day cards that I think both boys and girls would like. My kids would be content picking out themed Valentine’s Day cards from the store, but they also like to sit down and craft with mom, so I’ll take that time with them as long as it lasts. Balloon Card It doesn’t get easier than this idea for a balloon card! This idea is via A Pretty Cool Life, which is a pretty cool name for a blog. There is not a balloon in this world that my kids have met…
Recipe to Try: Dill Bread
This post is all about delicious dill bread, but I have to tell you the back story first. There’s always a back story. Much to my utter dismay and disbelief, I have discovered that pickles are not big in Ireland. There is no section for pickles at the grocery store. There are not multiple shelves for pickles. There are not countless varieties of pickles: sweet, spicy, dill, stackers, hamburger chips, spears, etc. Nope. None of that delicious excess exists here. How do they survive? Each of the two grocery stores in my area carries one type of pickle. One single type and it can be found in the section with the Polish…
Happy List #10
Hello! I hope you had a great week. In case you missed it, this week on the blog I shared my creative use for a shower curtain and what to see and do if you visit Copenhagen, Denmark, with children. This was earth-shattering information, folks. I can wait while you get caught–oh, who am I kidding? I have the patience of a toddler! Let’s get on with it. Here’s what’s on my Happy List this week. As usual, it’s quite random…just the way I like it. Papadag – Daddy Day One day a week, dads in The Netherlands take the day off work to spend time with their kids. Say what??? Apparently, this…
Travel: Copenhagen, Denmark With Kids
One of our goals when we moved to Ireland was to use our time here to explore as much of Europe as possible. We were able to visit two countries during the holidays: Denmark and Sweden. Since we spent the bulk of our time in the Copenhagen area, that will be the focus of this post. GETTING THERE Thus far, we’ve had good experiences finding relatively inexpensive airfare on the budget airline, Ryan Air. All 4 of us were able to fly round trip between Dublin and Copenhagen for less than what we have been used to paying for one roundtrip ticket on most any of our travels in the…
Friday Funnies #3
Well, we survived our first week back to school after the holidays. Just barely. Humor gets me through it all! Here, in this edition of Friday Funnies, are some moments, pictures and stories that made me laugh out loud recently. BUSINESS ADVICE FROM KIDS 6-year-old Son: How many subscribers do you have, mom? Me: On YouTube? I haven’t posted any videos, so zero. Son: What about on that other thing you do? Me: My blog? Probably 3? I don’t know. I don’t pay attention. Son: Wow. That’s bad. That’s really bad. You should work on that. Me: Thanks, kid. INTERVIEWING 101 If I ever go back to the corporate world… (source: @leahgay…
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 2
The other day my 6-year-old son was standing in front of his bookshelf and I hear him holler out, “Mom! You need to get me some history books!” I was so shocked to hear this come out of his mouth since he spends most of his time talking about farts, Legos and Minecraft that I didn’t even mind that he forgot to use the word please. I have no idea what prompted this declaration, but the next time we go to the library we’ll be sure to head straight for the history section. In the meantime, here are some books my kids and I have read together recently that they loved –…
The Easiest Way to Make a Pretty Home
I thought I’d go for a sensational headline to kick off my 2017 blog posting. I’m baaack! I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about after my Christmas blogging break. I didn’t do much that was project or craft-related. I tried to feed my kids cereal three times a day instead of cooking. I stayed off the computer more than normal. The days were lazy and unscheduled, which is needed from time to time. Well, except for that one day when we went hiking and Handy Husband swore this was a trail. That’s totally a trail, right? Needless to say, that wasn’t a lazy day. I did flip…
Living in Ireland: Merry Christmas 2016
Here we are. The eve of Christmas Eve. My kids are busting with excitement! Today, instead of my usual happy list, I thought I’d show you some of my recent Instagram snaps of Christmas lights around Dublin. Plus, a few more random gems for good measure. Seeing Christmas lights makes me so happy. I love how this building in Dublin’s City Centre is lit up in red and green. In the distance in the below picture is the Ha’penny Bridge – a famous pedestrian bridge that crosses over the River Liffey in Dublin. Here’s my girl at the ice skating rink that was set-up near us just for the holidays. She…
