Graduation

Five long years at Queen's University concluded with a wonderful graduation ceremony this afternoon. It was full of pomp and circumstance... I don't recall UMass' being that formal. I graduated with a Second Class, First Division Honours degree in Management and Business Studies. It basically means that I can get into a post graduate programme (even a PhD) without any GMATs. I'm looking into several programmes, but I think I'll take next year off and maybe take a patisserie course.

My team at work had organised a photographer to take pictures for our photo library and I was the primary model. I'll get my hands on some, hopefully, great pictures of the day. Until then, here are a few that we took...

US Trip

Sorry for the delay in getting pictures and commentary up... our laptop was dying and the slowness was too frustrating. It was almost 7 years old, so it was past its expiration date and we're happy to have gotten this many years out of it. Although tempted by an imac... they are so purty... we got a new toshiba.

So, yes, our trip back home. The 7 1/2 hour plane ride over went surprisingly well. The plane was only 70-ish percent full and we got the back two rows to ourselves. This meant we could take shifts entertaining Liam who is a busy bee these days. The weather was pretty miserable overall with only 5 days of dry weather. We just hung out the first couple of days. I found the time adjustment really difficult and was up most mornings before 5 am. Liam and Ollie acclimated straight away... jerks. The first friday we went up to northern New Jersey to visit with a childhood friend, Nicole. She has 2 adorable kids, the older is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer in his sinus cavity. He was so happy and kind and positive that you almost didn't notice his bald head and darkened eyes. Both Julian (8) and Kai (3) took to Liam like white on rice. They were hugging him and playing with toys and dancing around- it was really touching and made me very broody for another baby. I don't have any pictures of the day because I forgot my camera.

Ollie and I headed down to Philadelphia on Saturday for some adult time. We meet up with Lora, Mikey, Wayne, Annie and Kim. We ate at Reading terminal market and did a little pub crawl from 11th and Walnut down to 2nd and Market. It was so much fun catching up with everyone! That's the worst thing about living over here... I miss my buddies so much!

The next day my aunt hosted a bbq for us. Thankfully the weather cooperated and gave us sunshine and warm weather. A few friends from high school came over along with some cousins and family friends. We turned the sprinklers on outside and Liam loved getting wet. We had tons of food, drink and craic with everyone.

Liam looking super cute in his wee sunglasses.

We chilled on the Monday in preparation for our long journey on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon we headed to upstate New York to stay over my Aunt's partner, Mark's, house and break up the journey. We headed for Amherst early the next day- wanted to show Ollie the first University I went to. It hadn't changed that much since I left over 10 years ago. We stopped into the town for some lunch and to stretch our legs after the 3 1/2 hour car ride. Here's Liam enjoying some pizza at Amherst Brewing Company. They do the best sweet potato fries.

A further 1 1/2 hours brought us to our final destination in Fitchburg. We had 2 rooms at the Marriot there- the rooms were a great size and lovely decor. Pretty nice quality considering it was a relatively cheap night rate. On Thursday I spent most of the day with Rachael and her other bridesmaids- sister Angela and friend Chrystal. We did our nails and had a tan before the rehersal and dinner. The weather was so awful- torrential rain and some localised flooding. We were really worried about the Friday- especially since Rach's wedding service was outside and the reception in a marquee. Thankfully the weather broke and it was sunny and warm.

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Rachael's hair- She added in an additional flower.

They had a bunch of really cute ideas at the wedding. Here's the 'candy bar'. They had chinese take away boxes saying 'life is sweet, thanks for sharing our special day' and a variety of candy. Tasty!

The cake was so yummy!
Rachael looked gorgeous and had a smile on her face all day.

You can see my dress here. It was really nice and I'll definitely be using it again!
Congratulations Rachael and Ian! We had such a wonderful time at your wedding- it was a brilliant day!

After Massachusetts, we tried to take it easy. We went out to Paoli to visit with Ollie's aunt and uncle. I also got to catch up with a very old friend and meet her family. She has 2 adorable kids and a beautiful house in Yardville. Nicole and I hadn't seen each other for about 10 years, but it was if only days had passed.

All in all it was a great trip. We needed another vacation once we got back home to Belfast! Next trip we might head south... get ready Fieldens!

I have some more pictures on another SD card, so I'll get some more up shortly.

Our football star

I had to get him into this cute little football (soccer) outfit before he was too big. The weather has been rotten, so we've been doing our exercises inside. He kicks the ball about and claps when he gets it into 'goal' or through daddy's legs.Liam can reach all of the doors and spends hours opening and closing them. It's a little annoying, but he gets a kick out of it.

He loves running around...
And singing and dancing...

Easter Holiday

We had a lovely time off for the Easter Holidays. The weather was nice and sunny (not very warm, but nice and sunny) and we spent loads of time together as a family. Here's Liam enjoying his little Easter basket. They don't do baskets here, so it was only by luck that I got this one. I also had to cut up a bunch of green napkins to make the little Easter grass- apparently they don't do the grass here either (or at least, I couldn't find any). He got a few stuffed toys and bunny cookies and chocolate (plus some new clothes and money from the family).

Liam in his nice little Easter outfit. I think he looks really tall in this photo, but I also think it's the angle it was taken at. He was fairly well behaved at mass- thankfully our chapel has a 'crying chapel' which is an enclosed room for parents with young children. There are some toys in there and at least the screaming and crying won't interrupt the mass! We enjoyed Easter Sunday dinner at Ollie's mum's house. Aunt Susan and Uncle Gerard were there as well. Liam loved his Turkey dinner and the chocolates after! The turkey was massive and Ollie's enjoyed turkey and stuffing sandwiches nearly all week!
Cutest little Bob the Builder pyjamas! Look at the hair- it's wild first thing in the morning.

We went to the Belfast Zoo on Monday. We were wise to have arrived before 10am as we only had to wait in the queue for 1/2 an hour. Had we left it any later, we would have waited up to 1 1/2 hours! The traffic and parking looked a complete nightmare when we left the zoo around 1pm.

Here's the wee man with a cute bear in the parking lot. He was so excited by the bear and was screeching in enjoyment. It was super cute! He's not much for still shots these days, so it was very difficult to get many shots of him enjoying the animals.

They have a small petting zoo area with farm animals - Liam liked the wee donkey. I was close at hand with anti-bacterial wipes.
The Belfast Zoo, for those of you that have never been, is set on 55 acres of what is essentially a huge hill. We were walking at a near 90 degree angle in some points- talk about a butt workout! I allowed myself a little chocolate Easter egg because of the workout. Most of the animals were out enjoying the sun and the influx of people- they must make all of their money on Easter Monday because there were probably 1-2 thousand people in there throughout the day. Liam enjoyed the penguins and sea lions. He also loved the lion and lionesses and the monkeys of course. We got him a cute red panda and a zoo cutlery and plate set.

We then flew up to the house for a quick change and then onto Annie's house for Easter Monday dinner. Ollie's Aunt Margaret and Uncle Pat are in town from Pennsylvania. It was there first time meeting little Liam and he was, for the most part, very well behaved. He enjoyed the cooked lamb and I tried not to gag at the smell (I think the smell of lamb is so gross).

I worked a bit on the garden and planted a few new flowers in pots at the front of the house. We still need to finish the fence and erect a shed and make my organic veg planters, but we have this weekend and next for that. I took a few extra days off to run about and hit the gym (burning off the few Easter chocolates I allowed myself).

Liam's routine was a little thrown off and the sugar rushes from the chocolate made for difficult naps and evening bed routines. He slept much better last night and hopefully will sleep okay today at daycare.

Springtime

I realise it has been a while since my last post. My Internet connection at home is painfully slow at the minute. Not much has been going on round the Reynolds household. We're starting to do some spring cleaning and planning what we will be doing with the garden. I'm thinking decking and some raised beds for organic vegetables. I need to get started on that over Easter break. We're also starting to fill in the settlement cracks around the house and repaint. I'm going to try and do one room at a time rather than do bits here and there and never fully finish a room.

Here's Liam looking cute in some of his left over US clothes. I went a little crazy last Autumn and bought like mad. He's in 18-24 US and some 2 Ts and 24ms. I'm going to have to stock up on 2-3 years during our trip back home in June. We had our 15 month check up last week and his MMR shot. He was a very brave boy, but not at all impressed with the shots. I had to give him extra hugs and kisses. Next time, I'm sending Ollie to do it. It just breaks my heart to see him upset. He weighed in at a healthy 11.9kg (26.25lbs- 75th percentile) and a long 83 cms (32.6 ins-90th percentile)
His vocabulary is coming along really well and I notice a new word each week. He's saying around 18-20 words and is able to say a few phrases (all gone, all done, the ball). He's very active and would rather walk and run about than be pushed in the buggy (stroller). He's still sleeping very well for us- 7pm - 7/7:30 am with a 1-2 1/2 hour nap in the afternoon. His appetite is as ferocious as ever and he loves to try new foods. His favourite is sausages, mashed potatoes and peas.
The Phillies hoodie that Jake and Lora sent over is still a little long in the arms, but he loves it. How cute and curly is his hair! It's a lovely light to medium brown at the minute. He's so cute.

I just thought he looked cute in these pictures. It's so hard to get a photo of him these days- he's no longer a ham for the camera like his mommy.

My basil plant is thriving in the background of this photo. I also have a coriander plant (cilantro), but it's not doing as well. I normally kill off my plants, so I'm happy to see at least one surviving.

We headed to the park this weekend for a playdate with Jacqui's wee girl, Isabella.

Can you believe that she is only 27 months!!!! She is in 3-4 year clothing and could easily pass for a 4 year old. I'm not sure what she's feeding her, but she's certainly changed from the 5lb premature little baby that came home with Jacqui in 2007!

Liam looking adorable.

And another big smile for mommy. He loves the swings and the slides. I'll have to put pictures up of my lovely mother's day present (mother's day in the UK is in March). I had a wonderful day full of flowers and homemade dinner (Ollie made a great meal for us all) and a cute mug and pictures and a card Liam made a daycare. Very cute.

My 10 Answers

This is the famous "Ten Questions" as popularized by James Lipton on "Inside the Actor's Studio," originated by French television personality Bernard Pivot, after the Proust Questionnaire..

1. What is your favourite word? Onomatopoeia- it’s fun to say. I also like Albuquerque, probably because it was the first word that I used a cognitive technique to memorise the spelling of- I am normally a terrible speller.
2. What is your least favourite word? Scab- it used to be moist, but I love baking and moist is always a positive word in the world of baking/cooking. I used to really hate the phrase moist scab. Eeww.
3. What turns you on? Humour, wit, passion, humility, chivalry
4. What turns you off? Pretentiousness, dullness, close-mindedness and ignorance
5. What sound do you love? I cannot lie and I don't care if it's cliche... my favourite truly is the sound of Liam’s laugh. Sometimes I will tickle him until my fingertips are sore just to hear him giggle. It is utterly infectious and totally heart melting. I also love the sound of the tide coming in gently over the stones and rocks on the seashore, but I am so infrequently by the sea that it exists merely as a memory these days.
6. What sound do you hate? 5 Sports live- I have begun to loathe sports because I have a sport obsessed husband who watches sports, reads about sports on our satellite TV, listens to sports and sports talk every second he gets. Who cares what Bob the Builder from Coventry thinks about Alex Ferguson’s comments on the Chelsea match?!?! Not me. Every Tom, Dick and Harry has something to stand up on their soap box and comment about- it’s just noise to me, annoying never-ending noise.
7. What is your favourite curse word? I wouldn’t say I have a ‘favourite’ curse word, but I do use the f word way too much. I need to curb that habit before Liam’s next word is a nasty one!
8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? I would love to be a luxury holiday television presenter/ travel journalist. Exotic locations, sumptuous suites… now that’s what I call work!
9. What profession would you not like to do? A podiatrist or chiropodist, anything with feet really. I don’t mind mine or Liam’s, but the rest of you have gross feet with the toe jam and the hard skin and the weird looking pinky toe… barf!
10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gate? I would love to hear God say “excellent, the entertainment is here,” but I fear he will say “I think we both know you got the wrong bus” and I’ll say “ Oh sorry, I’m always getting my 6s and my 9s mixed up, but since I’m already here…”
    
    Did I tell you that for my friend’s Halloween hen night (bachelorette party) I dressed up as a pregnant nun (I was 36 weeks pregnant)? I think I booked my ticket then and there.

Cute pics

A few cute pictures from the past few days. My friend Kerry at work got Liam a super cute little outfit from Next. He looks like a train conductor. We don't have him in overalls very often- he's usually a little too long, but these fit him perfectly and he looks so cute! I took a ton of pictures at granny's house, but I just couldn't resist.Ollie and I took a little sneaky break up to Donegal yesterday. Susan minded Liam for the night and we stayed in a lovely 4 star hotel. We had a beautiful dinner, lovely wine and a gorgeous breakfast this morning. It was restful, relaxing and allowed us some well deserved time alone together. We headed back home to pick Liam up from daycare a little early. The weather was cold, but dry so we went quickly to the park. Liam is all about the slide. He gets miffed if we even suggest another apparatus.After watching the Ireland 6 nations Rugby match on TV with his daddy 2 weeks ago, Liam has enjoyed cheering whenever he gets excited. He scrunches his fists up and shakes his whole body. It's super cute.