Orla's Christmas Play

Sorry for the delay in posting - I was sick and then had 600+ exams to grade.  I hope to finish the exams tomorrow (December 23rd).

So, a couple of weeks ago (before illness struck), ORBJ had her Christmas play.  Her "classroom" was divided into three groups - Christmas trees, reindeer, and Santas.  You can see which one she was:

ORBJ enjoying her Christmas play

Given the age range of kids (2.5 to 5), it was not bad at all.  The room was packed with proud parents and a couple of grandparents.  LBJ and I were there as well.  The kids had a great time, and that's what really mattered.

Singing the Christmas classics with gusto!

ORBJ's "school" sent lyrics for 3 of the songs with her.  FABJ was happy to practice the songs with her.  I can only imagine the looks we got in late November and early December as we were going home from ORBJ's school - ORBJ in the bike seat as I biked home, with FABJ on her scooter.  The girls belting out "Frosty the Snowman", "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer," and "Jingle Bells" at top volume.  All the while, I'm trying not to bust up laughing.

The best bit is that the kids learn a verse of Jingle Bells in Irish.  It's not a literal translation (I think), but the girls do a good job.  They know quite a bit more Irish than I do, which isn't saying much.  I know a couple of colors and the random kindergarten phrase like "hands up."  About the only color I remember is yellow, which is buy (with an accent on the i - don't know how to do that in Blogger - sorry!).

Here are a couple more photos for your enjoyment.  I hope to post a little more regularly now that I'm nearly done grading for the semester.

Yes, they even had actions like ... oh, I forget what this was

Happy with a job well done (or enjoying the cookies)

Oh, one last thing, they even got go play percussion instruments for 1-2 songs.  ORBJ had the triangle.  Surprisingly, no one was hurt, and no instruments were broken.  I'm always amazed at how little destruction occurs despite the constant chaos; I'm also impressed by the calm of the workers - I could never handle that job.

Orla turns 4

First, a cute picture of ORBJ.  As LBJ points out, ORBJ looks quite a bit like her mother.

Is she cutie or patootie?

ORBJ turned 4 on Sunday.  Alas, she was in such a hurry to open all her presents that we don't have many good photos of the occasion.  In fact, here is the best of the lot:

ORBJ in her PJs, looking for more clics to put together

As usual, she did well and enjoyed her presents.  Among them include some jigsaw puzzles, a backpack, a bike helmet cover, and some legos.

The girls enjoying ORBJ's birthday presents

She had a good birthday.  After playing with the presents for much of the day, her grandmother (LBJ's mum) took her and FABJ to a puppet show version of Cinderella.  The birthday girl chose the dinner menu - mac and cheese, ham and peas.  LBJ made some wonderful chocolate cupcakes as a version of the birthday cake.

The next day, FABJ became an official member of ladybirds, part of Irish Girl Guides.  She was excited all week about the day - I can't wait until December 2nd, she said over and over.  She was very happy, and - as you can see - she looked quite cute in her uniform.

FABJ enjoying the ceremony

LBJ is quite amused by the Girl Guides, as she says that they haven't changed since she was a Brownie / Girl Guide.  The person in charge - Sally - is a no-nonsense woman.  She keeps all of the girls in line - I could learn a thing or two.

All the girls looked very sweet and were very excited.  The parents looked very proud as well (LBJ and I were happy that FABJ was happy).
 

Making Sushi

As mentioned in the Kilkenny, LBJ won a free cooking lesson at a cooking demonstration we attended during the Savour Kilkenny food festival.  Last week, we attended the cooking lesson.

My trek to Citywest did not get off to a good start.  I got hopelessly lost in the country west of Dublin.  Eventually, I was able to turn around and get to the town of Saggart, where I was to meet LBJ at the Luas light rail stop (I drove; she took the train).  I could not find the stop, and my phone could not figure out my location.  Eventually, I pulled over, found the location on the phone, and made my way to the train stop.  But I had left LBJ standing in the cold for over 10 minutes, not a wise thing to do given her intolerance of the cold.

Somehow, we still managed to get to the Miele showroom (the location of the class) at 6:30, the designated starting time.  In fact, we were the second of three couples to arrive.

The class was about how to make sushi, and the instructor was Fiona Uyema, who also runs a very entertaining food blog here.  Despite being a bit frazzled about getting so lost (when will I learn that Irish road signs sometimes don't match Irish maps?), I had a good time.  LBJ, despite being left in the cold for 10+ minutes, did as well.  It started off with green tea, something we enjoy.  In fact, rumor has it that I might get some of this tea for Christmas, given how much I enjoy tea.

Next was some miso soup, which was also yummy.  (Everything was yummy, as expected.)  I can only hope that LBJ will make some in the future.  We also had endamame, which LBJ and polished off much faster than the other couples.  Hmm...were we a bit hungry?

Now, the main event - making our own sushi (as opposed to watching Fiona make the miso soup).  First up was a Temake, or hand roll.  We picked our own ingredients.  Here is my attempt, which wasn't too bad.  The important thing is that it tasted very good (I think I put mango and red pepper in it).

How about a little something for the effort?

Next was a big sushi roll.  Again, LBJ did better, but my attempt was perfectly acceptable - better than I expected.

Action photo of the hand roll (with avocado, red pepper and mango)

Look, I was taking the class seriously:

Being a "mature student" is not as easy at it looks

Our last roll was uramaki - and inside out roll.  I think I did a little better at this one, although again not as proficient as LBJ.  That's ok - she has attended cooking school, and I was smart enough to marry her!

FABJ claims that she doesn't like seaweed, but we suspect that we could get her to eat the inside out roll if she didn't see it.  She used to like sushi quite a bit, particularly salmon rolls.  Same for ORBJ.

Anyone else thinking of "Inside Out" by Phil Collins?

Finally, we reached the best part of the class - eating all the "big" rolls (we got to eat the small temaki rolls right after we made them).  The only down side was the rolls were served family style.  This was bad for me because many people included shrimp and/or crab in their rolls, and I'm allergic to shrimp.  Fortunately, most people wanted to eat the shrimp, so I had a fair amount of salmon and veggie rolls to myself.

Enjoying the fruits of our labor, so to speak

All in all, it was an enjoyable evening.  And it took us very little time to get home.  The only down side was that LBJ had forgotten to tell her mum how to turn on the heating, so she was cold and grumpy (understandably so!) when we returned.  And FABJ had a bit of meltdown about going to bed, although she's doing much better this week.  We give her a sticker every morning that she gets dressed by herself without any fuss.  She quite likes this scheme and has gotten a sticker every day this week.  Although the eagerness to get dressed will fade over time, it has been a very pleasant week.

halloween

Halloween is a prolonged affair here in Ireland.  Students typically get the last week of October off from school.  They are allowed to wear their costumes on the last day of class before the break.

As the picture below indicates, FABJ decided to dress up as a witch again this year.  So LBJ went to work on the homemade broomstick

Flight FABJ123 ready for take off

Alas, FABJ left her broomstick at school, which did not please her (as you might imagine).  She has been a bit agitated since then.  Not due to the broomstick, but likely due in part to the break from school.  She likes her routines, and she was out of routine.

Still, she went to UCD sports camp, which she likes.  She was in the same group as the daughter of two of my colleagues, and she got to go swimming in camp (normally, you need to be 7 to do that!).

But she wasn't quite happy about her costume.  So, by the time Halloween came around, the costume had been re-purposed as a witch pirate.  ORBJ stuck with her original costume - princess.  She's pretty easy going on that front (and many, but not all, others).  But the girls quite enjoyed a quick tour of the neighborhood for some sweets:

The girls and pumpkin #3 (1st two destroyed by rain)

However, the next morning, FABJ did not want to be a witch or a pirate witch.  But somehow LBJ talked her into being a fairy witch (or something like that).  So one costume, with a few accessory changes, provided 3 different outfits.  Good practice for the working world, I suspect.

FABJ has been a bit cranky, even though school started back up.  She's had a couple of meltdowns for the usual minor reasons, such as ORBJ going to a birthday party (without her).  So we'll see - hopefully she'll settle down again soon.

A parting shot of the first two pumpkins, which the girls quite enjoyed carving.  However, the weather was not so kind to them, so we got a replacement pumpkin (shown above).

Fine craftswomanship from LBJ and the girls

 

Kilkenny

The last Monday in October is a holiday here (no historical or religious event - just a day off for everyone from school and work).  We celebrated by going to Kilkenny for two days.

I was a bit late in researching accommodations, so I was unable to find a self-catering apartment in town.  Rather than stay out in the countryside, we opted for a B&B in town called Celtic House.  I found it via Google, which lead me to www.kilkennycityonline.com.  It was very conveniently located - a 5 minute walk from the main part of town, on a quiet side street with onsite parking.  Their family room had two queen beds, not ideal but I was tired of calling and e-mailing places that did not have room.  Plus, it was very reasonably priced.

The B&B was great for us - hearty Irish breakfast (without the pudding, which is fine with me).  The only challenge was the girls didn't really want to share a bed.  We ended up putting ORBJ on the floor (on a camping mattress) for the first night.  The second night, they woke us up at 4am with cries of "stop kicking me" and "get on your side".  Somehow, we got them back to sleep until 6:30am.

Despite the sleep deprivation, we had a very nice time in Kilkenny.  There was a food festival going on - Savour Kilkenny - and many of the events were within walking distance.  It was raining when we arrived, so we went to one of the food demonstrations.  It was led by a chef named Fiona, and it was on sushi.  The first sushi dish was vegetarian and designed to make with kids, so FABJ helped chef Fiona make the dish:

This isn't quite as exciting as I thought it would be.

Big deal, my mama went to cooking school.

When do I get to eat?

Yes, we took about 8 photos and these are the best of the lot!

FABJ didn't like her sushi roll of red pepper and mango - she doesn't like seaweed - so I got to eat it (without the red pepper or mango, though).  LBJ answered a question correctly from chef Fiona and won a free cooking lesson.  We're all looking forward to some Japanese food!

We ate well that weekend, and the girls quite enjoyed Kilkenny Castle.  The tours were self guided, but a couple of rooms had guides to provide more information.  One room was dubbed the "princesses bedrooms", so the girls enjoyed hearing about the princesses.  In the drawing room, the girls got to see more pictures of princesses and duchesses - they enjoyed the stories as well.

The ladies in back of the castle after the rain stopped

FABJ on the castle grounds

Possibly the highlight of the trip for me was a wonderful walk along the canal.  The weather was perfect, and everyone was in a good mood.

One happy family (I bet LBJ was smiling as she took this, too)

We even managed to visit a cultural site - Kells Priory (a different Kells from the Book of ...).  It was a fascinating site with no one else around.

Peppa Pig or Minnie Mouse, I can't decide!

Cutie and Patootie exploring the grounds

Not another soul around ...

The girls enjoyed some quality playground time on the way back at Castlecomer Discovery Park.  They have a climbing wall that we may take FABJ to some day.

Words that end in "it"

FABJ has been very helpful in teaching ORBJ her letters - she would write the "letter of the day" in the morning, and we'd think of words that begin with that letter.  Of course, there is the inevitable Dr. Seuss reference: "Big I, little i, what begins with I?"

After finishing the letters, FABJ suggested we move on to sounds.  So, yesterday, she chose "it".  It was breakfast time, we were tired, we were naive, etc.  So we asked ORBJ for words with sounds.  FABJ suggested "hit".  ORBJ thinks for a second and says ,,, yep, you guessed it .. "sh*t".

Of course, my response was "What?!"  So ORBJ repeats herself.

FABJ tries to help out asking ORBJ, "don't you mean hit?"

ORBJ: "No, sh*t". (Said matter of factly, of course.)

LBJ: "That's not a nice word, so let's not repeat it."

Nothing more said.  (We were able to not laugh in front of the kids.  At least I think we were - I was pretty tired.)

I tried to blame LBJ, since she is (a) Irish and (b) a sailor, but she pointed out that she does not use that type of language in front of the girls.

In Memory of Great Aunt Reta

Today's post is dedicated to my great aunt Reta, who died this morning.  She was 100 years old, and was in great health for the first 97 years.  ORBJ and I visited her in May / June.  Although she didn't really remember me, her eyes lit up when she saw ORBJ.  One of the staff at the nursing home asked if she knew ORBJ, and she replied "Oh, yes!" with a big smile.  (Soon after, she asked if I wanted to be called Billy.  I actually thought she was making a joke.)

However, we'll remember the good times.  She accompanied my mom and sister on a visit to Chicago when I was in graduate school there in the late 90s.  We met up with friends of mine for dinner, but there was a long wait for a table.  So my friend TK asked the hostess if we might be able to get a table sooner rather than later because my great aunt was rather frail.  So he came back to us and asked Reta if she could look a bit frail in hopes of getting a table faster.  Without hesitation, she replied (earnestly), "Well, I can try."  In truth, she probably had more stamina than my mom at that point.

Aunt Reta worked for years in DC for the federal government.  She loved to travel and traveled the world, often on cruises, until about 10 years ago.  She enjoyed discussing travel destinations with my wife, and she loved kids.  She always loved seeing the girls when we visited.

For example, here are a couple of photos from a trip from March 2008 with FABJ.

Aunt Reta and ORBJ on the town

Lounging with P-Rab at Aunt Reta's apartment

Although she will be missed, we have many fond memories of her that we will cherish.

March 2009 visit for the NCAA tournament

Fortunately, cheerleading is nonexistent in Ireland

Celebrating Aunt Reta's 97th birthday - "Cheers!" (May 2010)

During this dinner, Fiona was chowing down on bread and "sauce" as she called it (olive oil and balsamic vinegar).  So I told her that I was cutting her off.  She looked at me with the most innocent eyes and asked "Why are you cutting me off?"
 

Hiking and other stuff

The wonderful weather continues here in Ireland.  It has been unseasonably warm: nearly 70 degrees, which is warm at any time of year for Dublin.  In order to take advantage of such amazing weather, we planned a hike to the hills nearby (in County Wicklow).

Mountain man in his element?

However, I had a few challenges today.  As we're driving down the N11 out of town (a main road south out of Dublin), I notice a lot of gas stations.  Finally, after the third one, I think that I should stop at the next one since we have about 1/8 of a tank, it's a Sunday, and we're headed to "the country".  Alas, we do not see another station.  The fuel light goes on.  We're getting fairly close to the desired hike, but I'm so concerned with the fuel that I cannot remember exactly where the trailhead is.  Fortunately, the reservoir is next to a small town, so LBJ smartly suggests going into town for gas.  She can tell I'm frustrated by the gas situation, but she is kind enough not to point out all the stations we passed 30 minutes ago.

Alas, there is no station in town, so LBJ smartly suggests that we pull over and make a plan.  She suggests going back into town, stopping at a newsagents (i.e. convenience store), where there is a touristy map in the square across the street (so we can also find the trailhead).

The lady in the shop is very nice and points out that the nearest gas station is only 10 km away in a touristy town right by Glendalough, a beautiful hiking spot (we took my sister there when she visited).  So LBJ suggests that we just do a hike around there - plenty of options.  So we get gas and go for an amazing hike along the "upper lake".  The girls have a great time and are perfect angels.  We have an enjoyable and leisurely lunch afterwards in the town where we stopped earlier for directions.  It turned into a great Sunday afternoon.

The secret to a happy hike - walking sticks!

Our  two little angels

Two lifelong friends deep in discussion on the trail

There's a waterfall in the background, honest

 

FABJ's eventful day

Last Thursday was an eventful day for FABJ indeed.  After dinner, FABJ was going to practice biking in the lane (i.e. alley / shared driveway), as she sometimes does on pleasant evenings and weekends.  However, LBJ thought it would be good for her to get a bit of practice in our garden (i.e. backyard). That way, she might be a little less scared because any fall would be on grass rather than pavement.  Clearly it worked, as FABJ was able to cycle down the lane without any assistance beyond a gentle push to get her started.  She still struggles with that one, but it's great that she can now ride her bike.  Needless to say, she was very excited.  LBJ was also quite pleased with herself (rightfully so) for her expert instruction.

ORBJ was practicing on her scooter as well, and she was going pretty fast.  However, unlike FABJ, ORBJ still has not mastered the art of using the brake.  This is a bit of a concern, as we live near the bottom of a non-trivial hill (at least by Dublin standards - for SF, it would be pretty wimpy).

But wait, there's much much more.  (Imagine a ginsu knife commercial from the late 70s / early 80s....)

FABJ was also in a good mood last week because she had her first wobbly tooth.  While brushing her teeth (while getting ready for bed), the tooth fell out!  You should have seen the expression on her face - a combination of complete surprise and excitement.  Sadly, it turns out that the tooth fairy in our house seems to pay less than in my colleagues' houses, but I didn't discover this until the next day.  Besides, the money really isn't the point.  In fact, I suspect she has no clue where the money is now anyway.

Another efficient market transaction by the tooth fairy!

 

Cops, Robbers, FABJ, and ORBJ

On Friday, FABJ pointed out a flyer at Orla's daycare about an open house at the Garda (Police) station.  She mentioned that she saw the same flyer in her school.  She really wanted to go, but ORBJ really didn't want to go.  I think ORBJ was worried about being locked up in a cell (as we talk about the police station being the place where we put baddies), and she was also being 3.  So, we decided to risk the wrath of ORBJ and go.

We started out with snacks and a hi-vis backpack cover (the latter for FABJ).  Next, we explored the garda vehicles on display.  (Note LBJ in the background talking with another parent from ORBJ's daycare - in her America's Cup.)

Putting those horse riding lessons to good use

Note the evil grin on the face of "the Juice"

Then, LBJ took the girls upstairs so they could see the cells and the fingerprinting, etc.  They got fingerprinted (so to speak) and helped the garda keep the peace.

FABJ keeping order (with ORBJ observing)

Meantime, the garda band provided some background music when kids weren't sounding the sirens on the various patrol cars, etc.

My tax euros at work?

Perhaps the highlight, at least for FABJ, was the opportunity to put on some riot gear, although she did complain that the helmet was too big.

Don't mess with FABJ or else!

The regular garda outfit wasn't nearly so exciting for her, but she still enjoyed it.  In fact, this outfit was supposed to be for another kid, but she commandeered it.  Fortunately, the other kid was very patient, and FABJ handed over the outfit after these pictures.

Future career choice?  She does like rules.

The girls had a great time.  In fact, LBJ almost missed her flight to London because it was so hard to tear away the kids!
 

Camp Dada / First Day of School

FABJ's first day of school was on a Thursday.  So we (I?) decided, rather than trying to find some camp or activity for three days, that she and I would have a couple of days together.  Thus, we called it "Camp Dada".

She seemed to enjoy the camp, more or less.  I took her swimming twice.  We went to see Monsters University in the cinema (as they call it here).  The highlight for me was the Dublin Bay Cruise, although FABJ seemed to prefer the two playgrounds we visited that day.  We took the cruise from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, taking the train from home to Howth.  It has great scenery, although it was a bit windy.  I was hoping for a touch more commentary beyond the three recorded statements.

I think there's a smile in there somewhere

An hour later...

As you can see, FABJ grew tired of the cruise.  But she didn't get seasick at all (unlike her propensity to get carsick).  And she seemed to enjoy her lunch, along with the playground in town before the cruise and playground in Dun Laoghaire after the cruise.  All in all, I thought was Camp Dada was a success, although I need to put a bit more thought into the activities next year.

She wasn't nearly as nervous as we feared on the first day of school.  She woke up on Wednesday morning convinced that school started that day.  She was quite disappointed not to get to wear her uniform.  Of course, she does look quite cute in it, as does the rest of the family (or at least the ladies):

Ok, perhaps a little nervous here

Dada and FABJ in their "work shirts"



 FABJ was concerned about having a boy teacher for the first time.  But by the second day, she was convinced that her new teacher was "not as fierce" as her teacher last year.  LBJ thought as much - her first reaction upon seeing him was that he was a total pushover.

The rest of the family in their work clothes

U.S. Adventure - SF

After the race to get the car returned, we breathed a sigh of relief.  We got cleaned up and went out for sushi for dinner, followed by ice cream.

The next day (Saturday) we went to the ferry building to meet up with our good friend AT (an international man of mystery).  We had some amazingly fresh and yummy peaches before heading off to the America's Cup festivities.  It was quite a well run event with lots of activities.  The girls quite enjoyed the sailing simulator and other events.  FABJ was very good at hoisting the sail (and she really enjoyed it).

Future America's Cup participant?

"Me too!"

LBJ was able to see a bit of the race from the pier, but unfortunately it wasn't much of a race.  Both boats were crippled within 10 minutes of the race's start (although LBJ informs me that one of the boats was able to finish the race).  Still, she enjoyed the atmosphere, amenities, and shopping.  We wore the kids out, but they rallied for one of their favorite meals - pasta.

One of the things the girls really enjoyed about the trip was the amount of pets that our various hosts had.  More than one host pointed out that we need to get a pet (preferably a dog) for the girls.  I'm sorry to say that I'm not a dog person.  I'm happy to be around dogs but not to own them.  I'm a cat person, and so is LBJ.  We plan to get a cat once we own rather than rent (or have a cat-friendly lease.)  Note the happiness with the bunnies (pronounced with the appropriate Dublin accent, of course).

We had a low key final day in SF, visiting with friends and having a home-cooked meal.  Our trip back was more eventful than desired.  FABJ threw up in the taxi on the way to the airport.  Fortunately, LBJ had a ziplock bag with her, and FABJ was able to hit the target so to speak.  Good job to both of them.

Thanks again to the family and friends that hosted us throughout our trip.  We would not have had such a great trip without your generosity.  We only hope that we can return the favor here in Dublin someday.

Here is where the trip all started - waiting for the airport bus to pick us up.

Alas, they weren't always this happy on the trip