It's a Lazytown Day

Well, we're on the count down to Lazytown Live!!! The show is tonight at 5 pm and Hazel and I are taking off around 2:3o or 3 to ensure we get to Belfast in time to have a small snack and get into the theatre in time. We have Hazel's Stephanie Wig ready to go. Her skirt is at the other house and I'm still debating whether to retrieve it or not. She has Stephanie PJs that I thought she could wear the top with jeans. We'll see. I even thought about getting her something to wear at the concert, too. Who knows. We'll see what we come up with.

Poor girl is getting cabin fever. She hasn't left the house in a week and a half except to go to the backyard. I was going to take her to Cheeky Monkey's yesterday, but with Lazytown being today, I thought 2 really big days out would be a lot too much. We'll have a day in tomorrow and then maybe Daddy will go with us to CM's or Junction One and play on Friday.

Brett has a 4 day weekend this weekend due to no more working Fridays (which started in June and will continue through the year until further notice) and a holiday on Monday. Stinks that his 4 days will be full of moving. We've still got so much left at the old apartment that we can't take the weekend for anything else. Maybe. We do have until the 28th to move out, so maybe we'll do something fun this weekend instead. One of the guys Brett works with is going to Rome and inivited us to go back in May. I'm so jealous. I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanna go to Rome, but that may wait until October when the weather is a bit milder and prices are cheaper. Tourist numbers will be down, too, which will make taking Hazel through the touristy places a lot easier.

We still have a few growing pains in this house. The clothes dryer gave out last Thursday and once looked at, it was declared unworthy for repair. Then our landlords decided they weren't going to replace it unless they could find a cheap one at a second hand shop (which is fine) but even then, shopping for one wasn't a priority. So my laundry keeps piling up higher and higher. Hazel and I are going to venture out back to hang up a load here in a few minutes, I'll let her run like crazy so maybe she'll take an early nap to rest up for the evening. We're looking into buying a new dryer as we can't live without one and have a toddler in the house. The weather is just too cold and too unpredictable to rely on the clothing line. Besides, the line only holds one load at a time and takes about 3 hours per load to dry. Not reasonable if you ask me. Our shower continues to clog unless you clear out the drain of hair before every use. I don't mind cleaning out the drain, it's just annoying not to be able to just jump in and clean it out once every few days, ya know? I dread the thought that we're moving home in a few short months, provided FG Wilson doesn't renew our contract for another year, but I do miss everyone. I miss my car. I miss being able to jump in the car and run into town and get whatever I need at anytime of night. Shops around here close around 5:30 typically, being open late (8pm) on Fridays only and most being closed entirely on Tuesdays. I'll miss our friends, and soft play areas (like Cheeky Monkeys) and mom and tots groups. I'm grateful each and every day that I was able to find friends shortly after moving here otherwise, I think living in a foreign country would be nearly unbearable. Most people don't make living abroad more than 6 months. I can't tell you how many women I talked to while living in Peoria who couldn't handle it and in the process thought it was cool that I could live in Ireland but thought I was nuts for agreeing to it. I'm so lucky to have Marina and Michelle and all the lovely other people in my life. They're what make this worth every second.

Well, I need to figure out what the Nut is up to and go hang up clothes....hugs to all and hope you have a great day!

Just another lazy day

Nothing much has been going on these past 3 days. Pure boredom on Hazel's part. Poor girl. I was going to take her to Cheeky Monkey's today to get her out of the house, but then Brett reminded me that we get to go see Lazytown tomorrow in Belfast, so I'm thinking it's probably a better idea that we stay home. Lazytown starts at 5, meaning we have to leave here no later than 3:30 to get there in time, although we'll probably head down between 2:30 and 3 just to be on the safe side. I don't want to get there early as we have purchased seats and she's only 22 months (well, nearly) old and I can't imagine her having too much patience with sitting there early. If we get there quickly then we can go get a snack or something before going in.

I'm so excited abotu taking her I can't stand it! I'm a little nervous that it'll be so big and loud that it'll scare her, but I think she should be alright. She's been marching around in her Stephanie wig for a few days now. It's her "hat," she says.

Well, I should be off. Not a lot to say other than that!

Happy Independence Day!

Oh....my....goodness. I think we survived our Fourth party. House is intact, and surprisingly unmessy. I started cooking Friday around 1:30 and between meals and getting stuff ready for the party, I don't think I stopped (with the exception of bedtime and eating) until 5:30 last night. And I was ready to drop.

Jenn and Matt came over early to help us out. Bless Jenn's heart, she tackled the deviled eggs. I would give her the messiest job ever. She was champ and did a great job! Nicola and her son, Alastair, we the first to arrive after them. Everyone else started arriving about an hour later around 4. I seriously can't tell you how fun a houseful of people is. I think at the top of the night there was...(hang on I have to think about this) 22 adults and 6 kids running about. I got to meet Ian(head of Brett's office)'s wife, Caren and their daughter, Charlotte, who was just a sweetheart. It was really nice to get to meet them. I also got to meet Stephen's wife, Valerie, who was just the nicest soul. We had a sick amount of food, beer, and wine, laughter, and chats, the kids ran around like only little kids can, one kid barfed on our patio, the new grill burned the first 4 hamburgers, but the weather was gorgeous and the company was incredible and I couldn't have asked for a better Fourth of July.

Praise God for a gorgeous day b/c the weather called for downpours all weekend. He truly is an awesome God and I'm glad he's on our side!

Well, the aftermath of an awesome party is usually pretty brutal, so I should get started on the clean up!