Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I do miss the fun Thanksgiving festivities. Pigging out on chips and dips before getting stuck into a big dinner and following with a few servings of pumpkin and apple pies and feeling exhausted and a little sick because you ate too much. Yummy apple cider and fights with the family... ah, the holidays!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving... I'm celebrating in spirit, in work.

Back in the USA

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip back to the states. I had tons and tons of visits planned and only one was missed because I simply ran out of time. I wish I could say that the flight over was good, but I can't... because it wasn't. First we were delayed on the tarmac for over an hour and a half- not fun when you have a 10 month old who doesn't like confined spaces. Things initially got better when we took off... initially. Liam fell asleep for an hour- long enough for us to have some lunch and Ollie to get food poisoning. He was feeling like hell about 2 hours into the 7 hour plus journey... for him, it was hell. Then Liam was up and not willing to sit still or behave in the slightest! He wasn't a very happy camper, but we got through it... eventually. It was so great to see my Aunt and Mark at Newark Airport.

The next day Heather and Sam came to my Aunt's house for a visit. I was so excited to meet her wee man and introduce her to ours. Sam was even cuter in person than in pictures- completely adorable! He was so smart and well behaved and warmed to everyone in minutes. Our boys...

Liam was a little jerky- taking all of the toys from a very patient Sam. I don't think he understands the concept of sharing yet! We're working on that. That evening Heather, Sam, Liam and I (Ollie was still feeling like hell) took a trip to Lora's house in Philadelphia. Mikey and Annie and some of the other Irish pub girls were there with their kids. It was a lovely night with good food and great company! I was sorry it had to end, but both Liam and I were exhausted- jet lag is not fun! It was so great to see everyone!

My mom was over the moon to have Liam there and really helped us get over our jet lag for the first few days- Liam wasn't sleeping well and we were all pretty exhausted. Mom was over some mornings at 4:30am to allow us to get a bit of sleep... thanks mom! Here's one proud grandma with her grandson...
Those are 2Ts, but still a little long in the leg. Well we shopped until we dropped. Maxing out the credit cards and having to buy extra suitcases, but that's what we do right? We were home for Halloween.. which was not as I remembered. There were hardly any kids trick or treating... weird, right? I remember those streets being flooded when I was young. But there was some amount of crazy decorations! Liam was dressed up as a monkey... so freakin' cute! He was fast asleep by the time we got around the 3rd court in my Aunt's development. Here's my sleepy little monkey.

Cherie and John's Wedding

One of the main reasons for going back to the states in the cold chill of autumn was for one of my bestest friends from high school's wedding. The service was lovely... and thankfully the mass wasn't as long as ours only about 40 minutes! Woo-hoo! The bridesmaids wore lovely long 2 piece wine coloured dresses. And Cherie and John both looked lovely. The reception was loads of fun... with friends I hadn't seen in years in attendance. There was some amount of dancing and I fear many embarrassing photos of me jumping around on the dance floor are floating around somewhere. Here are some nice pictures from the day...

The happy coupleThe beautiful cake...
Me with Andrea, Lorie and Vindy
The Maritime Aquarium

The day after the wedding Ollie, Liam, Aunt Linda and Mark all piled in the car and headed up the turpike to Connecticut to meet up with some of my university mates. We went to brunch with Rachael, Ian, Amy and her wee baby Mya. Rachael brought some of her albums from college and our European trip... pretty funny stuff! We then went to the aquarium for a bit of kiddy fun... Liam is still a bit young to properly enjoy it, but it was fun and really cute to watch him look at the fish and amphibians.

Me with Rachael, Amy, Mya and Liam

The trip was great, but it was good to get home. Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures up. I've been swamped. Stay tuned for more pictures of Jack's birthday party, Liam's upcoming birthday party and some random pictures from the past month.

Conor and Siobhán's Wedding

We went up to Donegal for our friends Conor and Siobhán's amazing wedding. We also got 2 nights baby free! We headed up on the Thursday night and rented a lovely 3 bedroom cottage with 2 other couples. I got a little drunk that first night... maybe it was more that I got giddy- it was my birthday and I was allowed to enjoy myself sans baby. I only stayed at the pub for a few hours and headed back with Laura to paint our nails and put on fake tan (and drink champagne). The next morning I was up bright and early and ready to party!


We headed to the church which was just below the hotel which looked out onto the sea. It was a cold day, but the rain stayed off for most of the day. The bridesmaids wore gorgeous chocolate brown dresses and all looked beautiful. Siobhan was so beautiful and simply glowing! If you know Siobhán, you know she is bright and sunny and full of life. This day was no exception, if it is possible she was beyond happy! Here is the blushing bride and her new hubby walking down the isle.
The food was great. The company was even better. I laughed so much that night! All of our friends were there without our babies and enjoying ourselves. It was so much fun!! Here's the happy couple at the top table.
And cutting the cake.
Brilliant time. Congrats to the happiest couple in the world!