What's Been Happening

Our first walk
Last week we decided to christen the buggy and take Noah out for his first walk.
We couldn't have had a more perfect day. The sun was shining, barely a cloud in the sky and lots of people out and about enjoying the fine weather.
Having been cooped up in a hospital for 3 nights and being at home for a few days without going anywhere, it was a great feeling to be outside and to breathe in the fresh air again.

Noah slept almost the entire time so we had a chance to relax a little and take in our surroundings.

We stopped off next to the Dinghy club for a mini-picnic. If we had been a bit more organised, I would have packed up a proper lunch. Unfortunately, at the moment, it takes me 4 hours to get ready to leave the house!
If the weather stays fine, that will be my excuse to buy a proper picnic basket!

We celebrated 2 weeks of life! (And almost at the 3 week mark now)

Visitors
Auntie Jac and Uncle Rafa!

Skype dates
Met his Auntie Belu for the first time. Yes, it was over Skype, but we hope one day soon they will meet in real life. I'm so lucky to have such amazing friends that even though they are on different continents, they are still such a huge part of my life and now I hope of my sons.

World Cup
Since my little Tic Tac came so early, we have been able to enjoy the World Cup with him as well as Wimbledon a few weeks ago. A good time to come into the world! As he has 'family' in so many different countries, he hasn't made his mind up who he supports yet but he is with Argentina for the final!

First dinner out! 
We went out for dinner last night for the first time since Noah came. It wasn't planned, we hadn't even prepared the milk correctly, but I had a (post pregnancy) craving for a cheese burger and were right across the road from TGI Friday's. We went for it! Tic Tac behaved like a perfect gentleman all through the meal. And by 'perfect gentleman' I mean he fell asleep at the table and didn't wake up until we got home. Perfect!

I still can’t get over how tiny Noah is. His pictures make him look way bigger than he actually is. I see pictures of other new babies and can’t believe they are the same age or younger than Noah when they look so big in comparison. It’s hard for me to imagine him getting any bigger; I know he will, but at the moment, he is still my sweet, tiny little boy.
I want to embrace and cherish this time and not wish it away because of lack of sleep or being overwhelmed. He will never be as ‘new’ as he is right  now, so I want to take it all in.

I'm trying to find some good baby/mommy blogs/forums. Does anybody have any recommendations?
It would be great to get some advice and share stories with other new moms.

Have a great weekend!

What's Been Happening

Why do weekdays pass so slowly and days off pass by so fast? Especially when you have lots of fun things to do and get to spend them with the people you love. These days, I am living for the weekend - it can't come soon enough. Getting home on Friday evening is the best feeling. You know you can sleep on the next 2 mornings, you know you'll get to see friends and go places you don't have time during the week, you know it's time to get on Skype/Facetime to your friends abroad and share stories about the week gone by.

Last weekend we celebrated my Godson Ben's 1st birthday

I had a very welcome visit from Dearbhla

We sat up in Howth, out in the cold drinking hot chocolates and coffees and talking about life!

 Alan and I visited Clontarf Castle. It's so cozy there - little open fire places, high ceilings, old style furniture. I realise the picture below does not do that discription any justice but it was impossible to rest the camera anywhere on self timer to take any kind of decent photo. Alan needs a medal for his patience!

Almost Wednesday everyone..... half way there! 

Have a great week! 

Christmas in the Sun

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost 3 months since my last post! This has been the longest time I have gone without posting anything here since I started this little 'diary' almost 3 years ago. There has been a lot going on lately that I have found myself with 0 energy to do some of the things I like, this being one of them. I am back now and will have lots of updates over the coming weeks.

Just got back from a few weeks in Florida for Christmas. Boy, how much do I miss it there!
I remember when I was a child, I used to hate the thought of being somewhere hot and sunny for Christmas. I thought it was a time to be in the snow, or at least in the cold and rain. How wrong was I? Christmas in the sun is awesome!! (Especially when you haven't seen it since the summer time)

South West Florida is so full of natural beauty, around every corner you will find some sort of wild animal , beautiful birds, beautiful sun sets, greenery, blue skies, clear waters and beautiful people!

Not too bad looking at these from your balcony every evening.

The one thing that might be a little unnatural in South West Florida are Christmas trees.
But the Power household cannot have Christmas without a real tree...even if we do have to haul it up to the 11th floor of the condo in the wee hours of the morning so that nobody would see.

Love  stocking time! So exciting! Yes, I am 10.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and best wishes for 2014!

Powerscourt Gardens

Last Sunday, Jacqueline and I decided to visit Powerscourt Garens in Co. Wicklow.
It's somewhere I had wanted to go for a long time and I figured Fall would be a good time to visit.

Thankfully we left quite early and were not in a hurry because the 1 hour drive it should have taken from my house to Powerscourt, doubled, as we got lost in Co. Wicklow. While driving around, we discovered some of the most beautiful places.. absolutely gorgeous houses spotted around the mountains, beautiful neighborhoods, little country villages. It made me realize how much I would love to own a house outside of the city, surrounded by nature.

Thankfully it was just us girls so we were not afraid to stop and ask for directions (unlike the other species) so shortly after that, we were headed once again in the right direction. I suppose it was just unfortunate we didn't realise we were lost until we were over 30 minutes away from our desired destination!

It was worth the detour though...

At Powerscourt Gardens, apart from the obvious...gardens, there is an Avoca shop, which I love as well as an awesome garden centre. They had the cutest things, if only I took some pictures. I always feel shy taking my camera out in a shop to take photos. Probably because I've been told to put it away on so many occasions.

As of this morning, winter has officially arrived.... I'm off to turn on my heater, pull out the warm pjs and hop into bed.

Have a great weekend everyone!