Cookie Daddy

I have been on a bit of a baking kick for the last few weeks, making cakes and cookies. This week I found a new cookie recipe and bought some Christmas cookie cutters so Conor and I got down to work again - he is a great helper! His favourite parts are licking the spoon and playing with any left over dough to make his own shapes. I had some dough left over so last night decided to use it up and left Conor make his shapes when I was finished. He made Lee and then we baked him and then he ate his cookie daddy! Thoroughly enjoyed it and I love that he gets so much enjoyment out of it. I remember when I was little my favourite thing about helping Mum when she was baking was playing with the left over dough or pastry and then getting her to cook whatever I made. Obviously making it out of cookie dough makes it taste better than just out of pastry but either way it is good fun! I got all creative after he went to bed then and iced them putting decorations on the Christmas trees and giving Santa a hat etc. they looked really cute (and tasted good too!). Will definitely be making more of them soon and I will put the recipe on my recipe blog if anyone wants to try it.

Old and boring

It is a strange thing that is bothering me right now. I was out with the girls at the weekend and felt a bit like I had outgrown them. They were all very enthusiastic for a mad night out and I found myself very reluctantly being dragged along. I really enjoyed getting together again and we had a nice meal and some wine which was all lovely and I would have been more than happy to go for one or two drinks after that and then head home. Unfortunately that is not what the rest of them had in mind!! We ended up going to a nite club which I left about half one leaving them to their own devices. They stayed there till the death and then headed back to one of the girls houses until the early hours! I'm just not able to keep going any more. I am constantly thinking about the following day and the time I will be wasting if I am tired and hung over and time with my boys always seems more important. Weekends are short enough as it is so why would I want to waste a day eing unable to enjoy my time with them?
I know it sounds like I am old and boring but I just think my priorities are very different from most of theirs right now and they just don't seem to understand that. My idea of a perfect night out is a nice meal and a couple of drinks and home by 12 so I can try get a decent night sleep before Eoin wakes at 6.30. I think it will be staying that way for the forseeable future and I hope my friends can understand when I need to go home early and not see me as old and boring!

Pyjama update...

Went shopping this afternoon in a well known high street store, and there, walking around like it was an everyday occurance, was a woman in her pyjamas!!! What is wrong with these people?? I think we should start a pyjama watch and hopefully shame people into getting dressed when they go outside!!!!

Cranky Pyjamas

I am hitting that wonderful time of the month when everything is sweetness and light and I am constantly happy.......NOT!!! Wow I am so cranky right now I would probably win a fight with a pit bull! Thankfully I have the sense to be a bit objective and at least try to calm down before I say anything - except to Lee of course who will get the brunt of it for the next couple of days(god bless him!) Why is it that it seems like he is deliberately trying to annoy me and says the wrong thing at the worst time. I suppose, to be fair, there isn't really a good time when I am like this and I would probably pick a fight with my toenail if it looked sideways at me so he really has no hope!!!
There was a girl here this morning dropping off a car IN HER PYJAMAS!!!! Where have peoples standards gone?? I know I might leave the house without brushing my hair an odd day and sometimes I will be blissfully unaware that I have baby dribble down my front but I am always dressed! The most shocking part was when she came back to collect it 2 hours later she was still in her pyjamas. I mean, "hello I'm sorry did we make you get out of bed to fix your car?". I just don't understand it at all. And then there are the people who want you to bend over backwards for them and get annoyed with you when you can't. It's not my fault a stone jumped up off the road and hit your windscreen!! Peoples expectations have skyrocketed and they want everything yesterday. We are losing our reputation as a laid back country because of these demands and expectations. I say take it easy and come back tomorrow (you might find me in a better mood!).

Christmas photo

I decided it would be nice to have a christmas themed photo for sending with Christmas cards this year. When they say never work with animals or children they are not kidding!!! Eoin wasn't too bad but Conor would not sit still!!! Here are a few of my failed attempts....

And my absolute favourite, contender for the picture we were going to pick which I think just shows the personality of the boys brilliantly...

The reading room

Conor headed off to the toilet this afternoon and when he seemed to be taking longer than usual I checked on him to make sure everything was ok. There he was sitting on the toilet with the newspaper open in front of him. He looks up and says "I'm just checking what the news is today Mammy!".

Catch up

Ok, well things have been a bit hectic around here over the last week (but then again when are they not!). Eoin had a few nights of messing when going to bed and taking ages to settle then got a cold which has resulted in nasal drip making him cough - so much that he got sick the other night from coughing, my poor baby, I hate when he is not well in any way, I just wish I could take it away from him. Conor also had a cough which of course we were worried would turn into a chest infection which has happened so many times.

We were heading to Dublin for a 30th Friday and really didn't know whether to leave them or not but Conor got wind of his possible "sleepover" with Grandad and was having none of my suggestions that I stay at home to mind him!!! When I got home from work Friday afternoon and was dropping some of their things into mum's all I got from Conor was "NO!!!!". I think he still wanted to stay with Granny and Grandad!

So we went to Dublin for the 30th anyway and were very glad we did cos it was great craic!! We had a great time - even if Lee's head was complaining a lot the following morning, and it was great to see everyone.

The problem with going anywhere these days even for one night means we are playing catch up for a couple of days to try get back to normal again. I realised today that there is no point trying to get anything done in the afternoons and just to wait until the two boys are in bed at night because I was getting down about things and how I never seemed to be able to do anything but if I just accept that I have to wait until they are down that is ok. Lee and I make a great team and I am really lucky to have him around to help, I really admire single mums because I have no idea how they do it on their own!!!

On a lighter note when out walking this afternoon Conor overheard me talking to Lee on the phone about dinner and repeated to anyone that passed that we were having skins for dinner!! Innocent really but could be interpreted wrongly by the elderly couple that looked strangely at me when he said this!!!