London Calling

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As I mentioned, I ran away to London last weekend partly for the Capturing Childhood workshop and partly to get a break from the kids. It was the first time away from Alex for more than an hour. I’ve learned recently that it is important to admit that you need a break, especially as a mother and as a stay at home mom. It was so refreshing to be without the kids, running around the big city soaking up culture and sunshine. I definitely needed it and came home even more pumped to make this gig as a full time mommy work.

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I stayed with Chris’s cousin, who is a lot of fun to hang out with. She also has a beautiful apartment that overlooks the canal (that’s the view from her balcony above). We went all over town and managed to fit in a ton of things in 4 days. Four days! Kid free! Buggy free! Boy free! So here’s what we managed to do: lunch (with sangria) at Borough Market, birthday dinner & drinks in Covent Garden, 6th row seats to Eddie Izzard at Wimbley, Impressionists at the National Gallery, free Egyptian food at the Regent Street festival, shopping on Carnaby Street (scoring some cute £10 bargains), Museum of London, coffee at the Barbican, lunch in the shadow of St Pauls and a quick zip in the Tate Modern. I’m going to make weekend escapes to London a regular thing, hope she doesn’t mind!

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lon10 lon7But the best part of going away was coming back to my little men.

Snap Happy

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Last weekend I flew out to London for Capturing Childhood’s first photography workshop in London. I know, so jet set. The workshop happened to be a 10 minute walk from my cousin’s flat and I needed a break from an outbreak of terrible-twos and what-the-hell-ones, so Chris lovingly surprised me with tickets. (He also mistakenly booked the wrong flight, so I got an extra day away!) I’ve taken Capturing Childhood’s Manual Overdrive and Shooting Stories online courses. They were fabulous, but it is really nice take courses like this in person.

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Curtain Road studios were lovely. Honestly, I’d pay just to hang out in a clean, quiet, toy-free room for an afternoon. I love my kids, but it’s great to get a little reprieve from their madness. After a quick refresher on using the manual settings we heard from the fabulous Poppy Norton on photo styling. I wish I could live inside some of her photos. I love her bold colours and whimsical style. She set us the task of styling shots of flowers, which was really fun and challenging. We learned a little about lighting and then headed out into the uber trendy Shoreditch for a photo-walk  With our DSLRs around our necks, we blended right in, although we probably needed significantly tighter skinny jeans. I really enjoyed the experience and gained a few more tips, a lot more confidence and a really cute new camera strap from Kitschy Coo.

The Kats are absolutely lovely ladies, I highly recommend everything they do and hope I can join more of their real-life workshops in the future. And London was a blast too. More on that to come. Here’s some of my favourite snaps from the day.

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Book Report – The Extincts

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Do you remember reading your first chapter book? One where the little kid is the hero and squaring off against evil caricatures of adults. One with mild peril, mystery and a bit of magic? Remember how big you felt as the strange world swallowed you up? The Extincts could very well be one of those books. I really enjoyed it at 31 and I’m sure my boys will too (once they learn to read).

Set in a quiet English village of Squirmington, our hero George stumbles on a fantastic farm on the outskirts of town housing all sorts of extinct, mythological and down right silly creatures. One has escaped and is wreaking havoc across town as more and more pets go missing. When a sinister taxidermist, Diamond Pye, rolls into town with her long suffering stepdaughter, Prudence, the story really kicks into gear. George and Pru team up to find the missing Wyrm and save him from being stuffed and mounted by Pye and her crew. Can they keep her from discovering the fantastic secrets on the farm?

The names and creatures in the book are nonsensical and perfect for an imaginative child. We’re talking giant carnivorous ducks, donut munching dragons and two-headed piglets that must be bottle fed. It definitely takes a queue for Roald Dahl in creating a slightly gross, slightly dangerous world where children must correct the mistakes of adults. It’s a book my boys will love and so will any other kid (boy or girl) with healthy sense of adventure and a great big appetite for absurdity.Get your hands on the book before it goes extinct (ba-doom-ching).

The Extincts by Veronica Cossanteli (Chicken House) is available on The Book Depository

Its all in the bag

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courser1I just purchased my first proper camera bag – the XL Courser from Rigu – and thought I’d share what’s packed inside. I probably don’t carry around the traditional photog gear, but I’m sure a lot of ‘mommy bloggers’ out there can relate. I’ve been looking at bags for about 6 months and have gone back and forth on what I wanted. I still reserve the right to want a smaller bag (I was so close to getting this super cute, discrete artificial leather satchel) What I really needed was something that I could also fit baby gear in. While I’d like to have a cute little bag for running around town, the truth is I always have my incontinent entourage in tow and need nappies, wipes, snacks and the lot. This bag can be shared between Chris and I, but it’s not too masculine. It’s actually really similar to my favourite bag from college.

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The bag is bigger and smaller than I thought it would be (if that makes sense). It is quite compact and light (no bigger than your average nappy bag or school satchel) Yet it holds so much. Along with the really well padded, five panel interior, there are two large side pockets (more than enough room for an iPhone or wallet), a large front pocket and a zippered internal pocket. There’s also room to slide things like magazines or colouring books in between the padded insert and bag.

courser3On our day out to the GP and park I was able to take my camera with lens attached (and room to spare for a larger lens), nappies, wipes, changing mat, nappy bags, sunglasses, pens, Flip camera, wallet, snacks, water bottle, books, colouring books, crayons, tissues, diary and iphone. It was great having the camera with me in the park with the confidence that it wasn’t getting tossed around the bag.

Definitely check out Rigu. It’s UK based, so unlike many other camera bags from the US, the shipping is very cheap. Andy, the man behind the machine, is very attentive and offers fantastic, personalised customer service.

Our Big Pirate Adventure

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stenalineYou may have read all about our amazing trip onboard the Pirate and Princess Cruise. Now watch our little video of the day. I’m sure you’ll be able to tell that the trip was a blast and our little guys were exhausted after the day out. Can’t wait to join the crew again!

Think you have the sea legs to take your own Pirate and Princess cruise? There are many more setting sail throughout the year for you to plunder. (I really need to brush up n my pirate lingo)

No payment was received in compensation for the post, but our trip was provided by Stena Line so that we could review it. All opinions are my own, who else would they belong to? 

Stena Line Pirate and Princess Cruise

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pirate1Last weekend we were  guests on the Stena Line Pirate and Princess Cruise. It was amazing. There’s so much to say about our delightful day out, so bear with me while I spread this over a few posts. We sailed from Belfast to Scotland and back again (you stay on board the entire time), all the while enjoying the pirate themed entertainment and on board amenities. It was tough only waving hello to Scotland. I’m dying to visit and thought about jumping overboard, but I imagine a ferry trip to the Highlands is in the cards soon.

pirate6 Our kids (aged 1 and 2) really had a great time. Luckily we had beautiful weather and a pretty smooth crossing. I spoke to a couple of princesses aged 8 and 9 (it was the 9 year old’s birthday) and they were having a fabulous time running around like they owned the ship. By the end of the cruise, they practically did. Despite the frenzy of little pirates and princesses, the staff was always friendly and helpful. The children’s entertainers were especially great with the little ones. I’m sure they were wrecked at the end of the day.pirate5

We had lunch onboard and the food was surprisingly good. I had pretty low expectations based on previous airline experiences but this blew plane food out of the water (see what I did there?) Along with ready made sandwiches and snacks, there is a pretty big selection of hot meals. There’s a nice kid’s menu or you can get a half portion of anything on the main menu. The boys had fish fingers and baked beans (fish just seemed appropriate). Chris and I had burgers and chips. As an Texan, I feel I’m uniquely qualified to judge a burger and this was one of the best burgers I’ve had in a long time.
pirate4 There was so much entertainment onboard, not that we needed much, the novelty of being on a boat was more than enough for Nate and Alex just liked watching all the big kids. There were movies, magic shows, treasure hunts, face painting, story telling and costume contests. The kids got a goody bag as soon as we got on board with pirate stickers, stationary, an eye patch, temporary tattoos (Nate loved that!) and Haribo (which strangely disappeared under Chris’s watch). There was a really cool interactive display floor with fish swimming around. The water slashed and the fish swam away when you stepped on it. I really wish I had that at home because it entertained Nate for ages!pirate3 While all the kids were going mad below deck, I got to chill out in the Pure Spa. This tips Stena Line way over the competitors for me. Lisa and her team were absolutely amazing. The spa is a wonderful oasis and a great place to destress or detox. I relaxed in the jacuzzi with a beautiful skylight above as seagulls flew past, watched the waves thrugh the full window in the sauna and got a full body massage (my first since I got pregnant with Alex!) There are a range of massage and nail treatments you can get at incredibly reasonable rates. pirate2One other favourite spot on the boat was the soft play room. Unlike other ferries we’ve been on, this was a dedicated room with places for parents to sit. There was also a TV showing kid’s movies. Alex loved the room (and all the little princesses in it, the big flirt!) He started climbing and pulling himself up for the first time there! I think he was inspired by the bigger kids. The play area (and Curious George) feature on all the cruises and is definitely one of the reasons we prefer ferries to flights.

We also stayed in one of the cabins, a gorgeous and really comfortable room with double bed and en suite. The boys all took a little break there while I was in the spa. If you have really little kids that need to nap, are nursing and want some privacy or just want a place to get away from everything I can definitely recommend the rooms. You get your own TV, tea & coffee and the mattress is really comfortable.

All in all it was a fabulous trip and lots of fun. I think we’d like to do it again when the boys are little bigger and can really get into dressing like a pirate. Thanks to everyone at Stena Line, all the fantastic crew on board and at the Belfast check in for making the trip such a success.

There are many more Pirate and Princess cruises planned for the year, so hop on board!

No payment was received in compensation for the post, but our trip was provided by Stena Line so that we could review it. All opinions are my own, who else would they belong to? 

 

World Meningitis Day

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Today marks the 5th World Meningitis Day, an important opportunity to remind parents of the very serious danger of meningitis. Our children are not vaccinated against all types of meningitis, so learn the symptoms and if in doubt, seek medical attention right away. Trust me, you’ll skip all the queues in A&E if you suspect meningitis, we’ve been there.

A non blanching rash (one that does not disappear when the skin is stretched or a glass placed over the area) is one of the hallmarks of meningitis, but it does not always appear. Other symptoms my include a strange cry, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, vomiting and listlessness.

Symptoms include Non blanching rash (doesn't disappear when skin is stretched or a glass pressed over)Fever Vomiting Stiff neck Sensitivity to light Severe headache Confusion Very sleepy Seizures

Meningitis can kill within 24 hours. Those who survive may may have brain damage, amputations or hearing loss. Ireland has the highest incidence of meningococcal disease in Europe. Meningitis can affect anyone, but young children are most at risk. Please share the campaign video or spread the word on Facebook to remind other parents of the danger of meningitis.

When Nate was 11 months old he had the perfect storm of benign ailments that mirrored many of the symptoms of meningitis. This is not a matter to be taken lightly, so our GP recommended we go to A&E. He had a spinal tap and many other tests and had to stay in isolation in Crumlin for a week until all the tests came back. While the long stay in hospital was challenging, it was a small price to insure that Nate was healthy.

‘Meningitis: Keep Watching Ireland’ is a new campaign launched by Meningitis Research Foundation Ireland with support from Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics Limited, encouraging parents to remain vigilant for the signs and symptoms of the disease.

For more information, visit Meningitis.org or like the MKW Campaign on Facebook

Strawberry Cinnamon Torte

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berrytorteOn Alex’s actual birthday Nate made him a cake. He is slightly obsessed with cake and loves reading my cook books. While flipping through BBC’s Good Food 100 Cakes & Bakes he found this gem. A perfect dish for a toddler to assist with. In fact, he did almost all the work. By the way, he can also count to cake: “2, 3, 4, cake!” Math is tasty!

berrytorteingredientsIt’s actually very easy and great if you get a punet of not-so-sweet, out of season strawberries. Cooking will bring out the sugar to make a lovely, sweet centre for your torte.

Ingredients:

  • 450g of strawberries, sliced 
  • 175g self raising flour
  • 175g ground almonds
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 175g butter, softened
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 1tsp cinnamon
  • icing sugar for dusting

berrytorte3Plop everything into a food processor and give it a whir until a thick dough forms. It’s much more like cookie dough than cake batter. Take half the batter and press into your lined spring form tin. Go ahead, get your fingers dirty. Spread all the strawberries out on top of the dough. Take the rest of the dough and spread evenly on top of the berry layer. The easiest way to do this is to spoon out tablespoon size dollops around the tin, then press together to ‘hide the strawberries’. This was Nate’s favourite step.

berrytorte2Place in oven at 180C for 40 minutes. Loosely cover with foil to keep from over-browning and cook for a further 20-25 minutes. It will rise slightly and be a lovely golden brown. Cool until you can safely remove the spring form. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with fresh whipped cream.

berrytorte4It doesn’t keep for very long, not that you’ll have that much left over anyway! Nom, nom, nom. The light, frothy whipped cream really brings out the torte and is not to be missed.

berrytorte5Alex loved it. He’s a very happy birthday boy. And a cheeky little devil too. Someone gave him attitude for his birthday and it looks like he’s going to be trouble. Adorable trouble!

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(Adapted from BBC Good Food Strawberry Cinnamon Torte recipe) 

Love that muddy water…

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BostonLoveYesterday something terrible happened in my beloved Boston. Terrible things happen all the time, all across the world but it really hits you in the gut when it happens in a place you once lived. I went to college in Boston, got married in Boston and spent the best part of a decade there. It is still full of so many amazing people that I love, even if I never get a chance to see them to tell them.

Chris and I talk about Boston all the time. How we miss the glorious spring and stifling summers and even playing in the snow. We miss the diverse ethnic cultures that create so many amazing restaurants. We miss the T and the (by comparison) functioning public transport. We miss the sports-mad, warm-hearted, funny-talking Bostonians that welcome anyone (well, with the exception of Yankees fans). We miss the Celtics and JP Licks and Dunkins. Sometimes I wonder why we left.

It’s so easy to take life for granted. It’s even easier to let friendships fade away. The bombings at the marathon struck a chord in me because people I know where there. Beautiful friends of mine felt the blast. Life is too short to not tell the ones you love that you care about them. It’s hard being an expat sometimes, being so far away from home makes it easy to lose connections. I’m going to try to work on that–here and there.

If the bombings at the Boston Marathon have struck a chord in you too, here’s ways you can help. And if you’re wondering how to talk to kids about tragedy, here’s a great resource from PBS. All of us can do our part by being good to one another and spreading as much love as we can into the universe.

 

Let’s Make Things: Feisty Fiesta Alphabet

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I made a fun little paper ‘A’ for Alex’s birthday to keep things bright and bring a little Fiesta into the celebration. It was really easy, but definitely a job to do when little fingers are far away. You’ll need some spare cardboard, bright coloured tissue paper, clear tape, scissors and ruler.papera2papera3papera4papera5papera6

First make your letter by cutting 2 identical shapes out of cardboard. Cut strips (I chose about 1 in thick) and attach to the sides of the first letter with clear tape. Secure this inside and outside, keeping all corners sharp. Attach the top letter to the sides with more tape. Layout your colour pattern and cut strips. If you have it on hand, use a self healing cutting mat and sharp blade for precise cutting of the delicate tissue paper. If not, use scissors. The strips should be about 2 in wide. Tape your first strip along the letter, covering all nooks and crannies. Rather than cutting to size and then taping, I found it easier to lay the paper flat, tape along the top edge and then cut to match the contours of the letter. Remember tissue paper is wicked delicate. Cut thin slits about 1 in up the paper. So that it frays. Layer the next colour above so that the bottom is aligned with the top edge of your cuts. Cut the new colour in the same manner and repeat until you’ve completely covered it with paper.

How to have a great 1st birthday

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In case you haven’t noticed, Alex turned 1 last week and we’re super excited. On Saturday we had a great little Go, Dog. Go! themed party. If you don’t know PD Eastman, you should check out his books. They were some of my favourite growing up. Alex likes them too and we all love a good party. Here’s our recipe for success.

The Décor

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It was 100% chance of rain on Saturday, so I knew I had to bring spring indoors with lots of bright colours and fresh flowers. I proudly put our favourite photos of Alex on display and did a quick de-cluttering of toys, making sure that all his favourites were out. With one pack of multi-coloured tissue paper, I made a super festive ‘A’ and loads of poms to jazz up the boring light fixture. We have a cute dotty garland from Nate’s 1st birthday, so I printed out pictures from his invite (adopted from the book) and attached with blue tac.

AlexBirthdayParty3I think cupcakes are the best for parties with little kids because it’s portion controlled and it makes it easy if someone has to leave early or arrives late. These were carrot cake with sugar free cream cheese icing. Delicious. I also make cheese crackers and meringue with sprinkles. We also served lots of fresh fruit because its delicious, pretty and kid friendly. We always end up with a lot of soda we don’t want after parties, so this time we decided to serve water infused with fresh fruit (citrus fruits & raspberry-lime). It was so delicious and a nice change. Nate drank a litre easily because it was pink water.

The Gifts

AlexBirthdayParty4Alex has pretty much everything he could ever want and more, so we decided to get him a collection of Alex-based gifts: a name puzzle, Baby Alexander (he’s Peppa’s cousin) and Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (I loved this book so much as a kid). His uncle brought him a giant balloon that was quickly adopted by Nate and we gave all our little guests copies of the book we based the party on.

The Attire

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The Cake

AlexBirthdayParty6Everyone else may get cupcakes, but Alex got his own two-tiered cake to destroy. You only get one first birthday and I love a good ole cake-face photo. This is what being a parent is all about: cutting grapes in half and keeping all salt, sugar, chemicals away from them for 365 days and then going nuts on their birthday. Live it up little man.

The Aftermath

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Toys everywhere and an exhausted baby boy (and parents). Time to put on the kettle and put our feet up until a certain little boy turns 3 in August!

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Alex!

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Alex’s first year has been an exciting one. He travelled to England by ferry and got to hang out in The Cotswolds while testing out his lungs screaming at us every mile of the car journey. He went to his uncle’s wedding and met loads of relatives. He spent a week in hospital, but pulled through like a champ. He dressed up as soy sauce to his brother’s sushi for Halloween. He went to the theatre. He met Santa. He learned to swim, crawl and clap (in that order). He had an Easter egg hunt and saw his first snow. We fell in love with him and I think after watching this video, you’ll know why.

Here’s to many more adventurous, numerous and Alex-filled years!

It’s Our Birthday

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Alex turns one today (more on that later) and I wanted to take a moment to reflect our amazing birth experience. I say our because although he won’t remember it, his birth was definitely something we experienced together. We worked together through the push and pull of contractions. We held each other in those last moments of being truly connected before the cord was clamped. We cried, we relaxed, we fell into a deep blissful sleep curled up on the bed.

Both of us evolved during the labour and birth. Alex left his womb behind, changing from foetus to baby. I became older, wiser and stronger as I transitioned to a mother of two. There was something very unique about Alex’s birth. I had the perspective of a second-time mom. I knew what it meant when the midwives told me I was 5cm dilated  I knew the contractions would get worse, then end. I knew that the final three pushes would sting and burn as skin began to stretch. I knew that the moment Alex was delivered all the pain would subside to be replaced by blissful, delirious joy and a great dose of oxytosin. I knew that Chris was by my side, we’d learned what worked and didn’t from Nate’s delivery. I knew how to hold a baby and change a nappy and respond to cries (things that came to a huge surprise to us after Nate was born). But I still had no idea what to expect, you never really do I suppose.

It was a magical experience because I had Alex at home. (You can read the birth story as I remembered it after his birth here) The house was dark and warm. My favourite playlist, the same one I listened to for Nate’s birth, was playing (with songs like  Pixies “Here Comes Your Man” to add a little humour to the situation). Two amazing women form the Holles Street Community Midwives Unit where there to coach me, support me and challenge me through the labour. By challenge I mean they helped me work with active labour techniques–deep squats, walking up the stairs, more deep squats–when all I really wanted to do was sit on my birthing ball and take a little nap. I never had the pressure of epidural or meeting an arbitrarily determined timeline of labour progression. Instead I had Kate telling me I was strong enough to keep pushing through the pain of the contraction and Clodagh whispering in my ear words of encouragement and peacefulness as the contraction subsided. They were a labouring woman’s Dreamteam.

Chris and I came together in a magical way for this birth. Nate’s was amazing, but there were so many unknown variables and silly mistakes that we made during the rush of excitement as first-time parents (Chris getting into the shower with jeans on and no change of clothes for example) This time we were focused, in synch and physically and mentally stronger. At one point in the birthing pool I was overwhelmed by the hot water and way past the point of being able to articulate anything to the outside world. It only took a one look at Chris for him to know what I needed. It’s a simple moment that I keep with me to remember the importance of our bond with each other.

The serenity of Alex’s birth, the joy we felt looking into his silly little face, the stillness of and warmth of the house that night and the genuine affection for the women joining me on this journey are what I will always think of when looking back on his birthday. From the very first breath, Alex has brought nothing but love into this house. I should thank him for that some day.

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