Ireland

Here are a few pictures my sister-in-law sent me from our trip to Ireland. It was a chilly, but beautiful day that these pictures were taken - the perfect opportunity to let Gavin outside to stretch his legs!

My husband's brother and his family have a beautiful house overlooking a serene lake. (Tomas, myself, Gavin and cousin Michael, driving the bike):

Gavin and Michael:

The boys on the tractor...or "truck" as Gavin is obsessive about:

New Year, new changes

Happy New Year! 2009 has been a whirlwind adventure so far. The New Year and the first week of '09 were spent visiting our Irish relatives in Couny Cavan. It was a wonderful 2 weeks partying at all of the siblings houses. I'm not sure how much wine and beer was drunk, but needless to say, the husband and I are still drying out. Wee man had a fabulous time with all of his cousins, and was in for a very rude awakening when he came home and wasn't being spoiled anymore.

We're all settled in now and preparing for the Steelers to play in the Super Bowl next week!

On top of all of that, we've done more remodeling to our house. (By "we" I mean the husband has been the laborer and I just keep managing the money flowing into the projects!) We picked out very nice re-engineered hardwood for the entire upstairs (minus the bedrooms and stairs) and the landings. After 2 long days, the LR and DR are done - and we're so pleased. Already I can feel my allergies disappearing and Wee Man has found that the new floors lend to a faster Nascar-esque speedway for his trucks. In all, I think we can call it a success!

After we finish the flooring, we'll be getting a drywalled half-wall where the "spindle wall" is behind the tv, and then new couches to replace the 11-yr old ones that are now ready to be retired to the game room downstairs. Then a couple of area rugs, a new ceiling fan and some decorations on the walls should complete this phase of renovation!

Slowly but surely, we're getting there. I think we'll have to have a party once it's all done!