This week is mid-term break for all students in Ireland. Like Spring Break for our North American friends, we enjoy a week off in Autumn with nothing to do but kill time until school starts up again. I'm only half joking, but it's true. I'm that mom who loves when school is in session. When it's out and we're all home and under the same room all week/christmas/summer, I go a little stir crazy and the kids go a little wild. There are many wii games, toy fights and time outs. And that's not even counting all the shenanigans the kids get up to. :)

So in honour of mid-term break, and to find something not-screen-based to do, Matt and I are planning a wee day trip for this week. When we remember how small Ireland is (just over two hours drive from Dublin to Galway; a little over 5 hours from Cork to Derry), we're amazed when comparing it to the days long road trips we enjoy (endure) in the US. Some of the most amazing natural wonders are within a half day's drive from our doorstep. That's pretty impressive, and overwhelming. How do we even decide where to go?

Our highly specific criteria?

• Must not require getting up and/or leaving early.
• Must involve playground or other such free-kid-friendly activity.
• Must be home within an hour of proper bedtime.
• Must enjoy only one meal out; bring food and snacks for any other meals.
• Must make memories.

Apart from that, anything goes. We load up on water, books, rain coats and wellies (you never know) and hit the road. And here's just a peek into some of the destinations we've already discovered:

1) Cliffs of Moher. This is kinda the proto-typical tourist destination of Ireland. We hit the Cliffs during our first go-round here, and though the weather was manic and the kids were more interested in the cows than the landscape, the clouds parted and a rainbow appeared just as we arrived. Though we could make this a day trip, there are fantastic B&Bs and other gorgeous sights to see. Including...



2) The Burren. Not far from the cliffs is this amazing moon-like landscape where the rock replaces soil and wild flowers grow from deep beneath the stoney cracks. For a family of rock scramblers, this region is the best. Wild and strange and beautiful. There are also several old ring forts and ancient tomb-like things to explore.



3) Avoca. The village of Avoca is found just within the Wicklow Mountains to the south of Dublin and is where the original workshop of the Avoca Handweavers is found. It is absolutely breathtaking in the autumn, with trees turning and the meeting of the waters and a great little village to go exploring in. Plus, any time you can enjoy tea and scones at an Avoca Cafe, you simply have to take advantage of it.



4) Belfast. When we first lived here, we were just an hour and a half from Belfast City. We would venture up north for outlet shopping, seaside arcade towns, and the aforementioned Chili's in Victoria Square. The city centre is easily walkable and I've heard it currently boasts a fantastic Titanic exhibit.



5) Lough Key. Tree bridges, lake and castle facade thingy. This was our last day trip before moving back to the US and it is where we're headed today. Can't wait!



Hope this inspires you to explore the natural wonders that may be just beyond your doorstep!

Five Dublin-area destinations

During our previous Irish-incarnation, we lived in a tiny village in Meath, just over the Dublin county line. It was at least a 40 minute trek into Dublin City - on a good day by car; longer by train - and though we loved our town, we often felt isolated and longed for a bit of city-life.

Today we are less than a 20 minute commute into city centre and we love exploring the city's highlights. Although our destinations are narrowed to what is cost-effective (read: free) and child-friendly (read: survival is likely), we never feel limited with the ocean, the mountains and the city all within a half hour's drive.

To entice you to come visit us (or give international travel a go), and in lieue of the usual Five Friday Favourites, here are our five go-to spots for a quick excursion:

1) PHOENIX PARK



We live so close to Phoenix Park that it's a crime not to patronize it more frequently. Home to a herd of Fallow Deer, the Papal Cross, and the Dublin Zoo, it is the largest enclosed park in Europe. One of the best parts of the Irish park is that there is often a tea room within, and this particular one is blessedly close to the playground. Our kids love to chase after deer and we love to wind through it's hills and walk under it's changing leaves.



Also, the Irish presidential residence AND the American ambassador's residence are held within. Sadly, they don't accept the pop-in.

2) MALAHIDE CASTLE, ESTUARY & SEAFRONT

Malahide is a posh suburb on the northside of Dublin, boasting a spectacular harbor, coastal walk and castle grounds. I use to come up with excuses all the time to take the train down to Malahide, with only a notebook and headphones. Everytime we crossed the estuary, I held my breath taking in all the shades of greens and blues. Many improvements have been made to the Demesne, including a new playground, visitor centre, shops and tea rooms. We don't get back there as much as we would like, but when we do, the wild landscape and medieval walls never disappoint.

And in the autumn, when the trees lining the village roads are golden and leaves cover the footpaths, decorating the bright storefronts... perfection!

3) DUN LAOGHAIRE, PIER & PEOPLE'S PARK

We stayed in Dun Laoghaire (pronounced dun-leary) - the port town just south of Dublin city centre - when we returned to Ireland last winter. Our apartment overlooked an old church and we could view the sea all day... or at least until the sky turned dark at 4:30pm. We were within walking distance of The People's Park (where we fell in love with all the foodie goodness at the Sunday food market) and the East Pier (where we often chase after a kid who has a death wish near water).

The view of Dun Laoghaire from the furthest edge of the pier is gorgeous, with blue-grey mountains rising behind church steeples and colourful boats bobbing in the harbour. Several coffeeshops, an ice cream parlour and a McDonalds (!) are close at hand, as well. Win-win-win.

4) ARDGILLAN CASTLE & PLAYGROUND

There is really no matching the beauty of this manor, gardens and playground. Up near our old stomping grounds, on a clear day the Mourne Mountains in the North (Northern Ireland) distantly frame the old house. We took our first picnic here in January. Despite the winter wind rendering food consumption near-impossible, it was worth the effort having the entirety of the playground to ourselves and drinking in the smell of the Irish Sea.



This is where Ella mastered her running, where Jack would "sell ice cream" from his fake booth, where we took Asher right after he was born. It's always our first stop when visitors fly in. Oh, and it has a zipline!

5) DUBLIN/WICKLOW MOUNTAINS

On one of our last afternoons before school started again, we grabbed the gang and a few water bottles and headed into the mountains. I had anticipated this long, tiring trek, but within a half hour we were surrounded on all sides by dark, earthy slopes. Matt's been doing some volunteering in the mountains, so knew of a hidden lake.



Even with newly potty trained Ash, Ella in shorts, and under the gloomy threat of rain, we made the kids hike down into a valley, up a gorse-filled trail (that prickly, bright yellow plant seemingly found anywhere and everywhere in Ireland), and into the lake's clearing. They are fantastic adventurers and I will remember those two hours (yes, total!) for years to come. I imagine we'll have a repeat performance before Autumn turns bitter.

BONUS... TEMPLE BAR & OLD CITY

Temple Bar is a bonus destination as it can be neither cost-effective, nor child-friendly. We could get lost on these cobblestone streets and lose a fair amount of cash to vintage clothes, artisan crafts and books. And troopers though they are, my children aren't as keen on the culture scene, independent shops and long Georgian shadows. Still, we drag them here about once a year, if only for the open arts studios weekend or other such city festival. Plus, this area has ice cream, gellato and other sweet confections galore. We are clearly not above bribing. 

The other downside: Temple Bar is a tourist and wild young person's haven. If you edge a bit west into Old City, where the Smock Alley Theatre and Gutter Bookshop welcome you into an artistic enclave, you'll think the diversion worth it.

***

Is there a place in your town that you drop everything for, take visitors to, or can't get enough photos of? Tell me about it!

Wordless wednesday (sprechen sie deutsch)

Dear Sister {While you were out}

From Jessica:

I just asked Asher "are you crazy?" and he said, "I'm crazy about you, baby!" Love.

Ella is trading kisses for goldfish cracker for Asher. It's a concerning trend.

I showed Asher your picture. He said, "awwww." I told him what it said [we miss you!] and he said (somewhat indignantly) "I know that!"

Asher would only eat after mom named the halves of the quesadilla after Power Rangers characters.

This is how Asher insisted on eating lunch today... weirdo...

"We don't put things in our underwear."

Ella and mom had an awesome time out last night! They took a taxi home and last night when I was tucking E in, she kept saying how cool the taxi and the driver were. She wanted me to pray that she would get to ride in a taxi again. :)

This was pre-naptime -- it may have been a hint.

Asher just skulked out of the kitchen (because I wouldn't give him dessert because he refused to eat his dinner). When I got to the front room (where he had skulked to), he was halfway out the window. Soooo...

***

From Jack:

Hey mum, thank you for talking to us tonight. I love you! Goodnight mum! I miss you!!!!!!!!

***

I write letters to my sisters, and sometimes they write to me. So thankful for a little sister time (and aunt time and granny time) on this side of the ocean. And thankful they can put up with all the stuff I had to edit out. :)

Wordless Wednesday (out west)

Five Friday (and/or Saturday) Favourites

A day late, but here are the goods:

1) yankee BAKER :: Our friend Sheryl is running a fabulous little bakery business out of her home in Dublin. For our anniversary, we enjoyed her amazing cinnamon rolls and I'm sure we'll be frequent customers (and weight gainers). If you're local, please visit her page and order some tasty treats!

2) Loop Head :: One of the perks to our job is we can frequently "take our kids to work," especially when we are visiting other members of our organization. So this week we grabbed the fam and visited a coworker on the west side of Ireland. She was so gracious to show us around and let our kids explore a bit this beautiful area. At one point it felt like we had reached the edge of the earth. So remote, so beautiful, up high on the edge of the sea. Thankful for moments like this that keep us refreshed.



3) The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society :: After five years of this sitting on my shelf, I finally read this quick, enchanting novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the characters were so rich, funny and endearing, and the unfolding history of this literary society was surprisingly profound. Especially after visiting Loop Head this week, I could so envision the Channel Islands and the community of Guernsey. I want to go to there.

4) This video mashup of The Lumineers' Ho Hey and Will Ferrel's impersonation of Harry Caray.

5) Compassion on Instagram :: Celebrating their 2nd anniversary on Instagram, Compassion International is sponsoring a Photo Scavenger Hunt. Through the end of July, you can participate by capturing an image of one of several items including - but not limited to - a baby scale (representing their Child Survival Program), a flag of one of the nations where Compassion works, a goat or cow (representing the livelihood of the developing world), a stethescope, and many more. I've just joined Instagram for android and am already bummed I missed so many cow picture opportunities on our trip out west. :) For more image ideas and how to enter, visit Compassion's Blog. And don't forget to use the hashtag #compassionhunt. And if you're not on Instagram, no worries! You can also join in on Pinterest, Facebook, Google+ or Twitter. Oh, and did I mention there are prizes...?

Ok, so what are you up to this week? Any favourites?

wordless wednesday {french photodump}

A slightly wordy disclaimer: forgive the blah photos. Our canon digital is very old and acting weird, and our cameraphones leave a lot to be desired. So until we can fix, upgrade or we are bequeathed with an iphone, my sad Samsung Mini Galaxy 2 will have to do the job.

The view from down here, en Français

I was in my preteens maybe, post middle school crushes but pre high school angst. My best friend-psuedo-big-sister-babysitter-slash-confidante was back from a whirl around England and we settled her homesickness with a film. A Room With a View. Period piece and James Ivory loveliness, bucolic and naive and romantic. And sexy, without the sex. Those university-aged lads playing in a pond sans trou? Mmm-hmm. It was enough for me, at the time, to realize this was where it was at. Europe. Boys. Story. Life.

This week I went to France, and my room with a view was an ancient roof looking upon an ancient wall with a square little paint chipped window. It wasn't much of a view actually, and the gray clouds and rainy days kept it that way, no matter what window you looked through. But still, as I walked the halls and peered through each one, I let my gaze linger. I am in France, I thought, and I can only see it through these windows.

We did go to Paris for an evening. And I fell before we even left. Skinned my hands and knees so bad I was sure I'd need surgery and would beat my mother to the knee replacement prize. My coworkers/new friends picked me up and dusted me off and played sweet mothers and brothers to me. We had two hours in Paris, where it rained, where Notre Dame was closed, where we paid an obscene amount for tea. My knees hurt and my pride hung low and we maybe spent more time on trains than on any Parisian cobblestone streets. But the view, the lamps in the rain, the people staring at the face of Jesus without even realizing... it was something to behold, actually.

I fell again, on the last day. Good news: all my coworkers who missed the first fall were there to witness the second. I said, "I want to swear," and someone behind me said, "I would." Someone else suggested I wear shoes next time and a third person advised him I was likely to hit him for that. I sat on that last stair and said it, loud and good and so humiliated. Shit. I was in France, and the view looked not so great from where I had just landed.

***

Back with Lisa-Jo and her challenge to write, just write, for five minutes. Join us here. Hope your view is just as lovely, minus the bruising.

Dear Sister {Jet-lag}

Dear Sister,

I am so tired. 

You know how we thought, "Here we go on this great adventure," thankful for the resilience and joy our kiddos showed despite the uprooting and the leaving and the goodbyes? Well, they're resilient all right. So resilient that they don't need sleep or food for fuel, they need only a random assortment of videos and suddenly they're running rabid through the intersections of an old port town. They need cold peas at three in the morning. They need to push all the buttons on the under-the-sink washing machine. They need pillow fights and rice krispies under foot and maybe a black eye or two.

But what they do not need is sleep.

Me? I need sleep. Before midnight, preferably. It would be good to get out of bed before noon, too. And maybe three square meals a day. Do I ask too much, five days after moving overseas? Is a 10pm bedtime and breakfast before 11am unrealistic?

Pray for me. Think of those chubby, ruddy cheeks on the darling faces of my children and pray, "Sleep, you little monsters. Sleep!" 

I miss you.

Love,
Me.



First in a new series of posts entitled Dear Sister. I have four of them, each one unique, each brought to me in a different way. I thought I'd write to them here... it'll save me a stamp. Plus, I get to make another button!

Matters too difficult for me

I kept a journal in Israel... but now I can't find it. 14 years is a long time to hold on to sea-stained paper. I'm sure it was in a box, somewhere, before the moves and the floods. I remember writing in it on the bumpy road to Caesarea. At the time, a doomsday prophet talked about the end of the world. Sometime in May '98, he said. I wrote it down in Israel and I prayed, Not yet, Lord. I'm not ready, yet. Though of all places, the hills of Israel would not be a terrible place to spend the last day on earth.

Bombs rain down today and I watch the news on the couch, slippered feet stretched out, coffee in hand and children all around. I don't know a lot about diplomacy, am not particularly well-versed in foreign policy, and don't want to claim to know or feel the nuances of a dark and violent and ages-old conflict. But Israel and her people - Jews or Palestinians, atheists or orthodox - I love them. I love them all.

It could all die down tomorrow; tentative, sensitive peace again.

But I wish I could find and touch and read that journal again, even if just to see the messy handwriting from a bus on the bumpy road.

O Lord my heart is not lifted up
My eyes are not raised too high for Thee
I do not think on things too great or marvelous
or matters too difficult for me 

But I have calmed and quieted my soul
Like a weaned child is my soul within me
But I have calmed and quieted my soul
Like a weaned child with it's mother is my soul 

O Israel
Trust in the Lord
From this time forth, and forevermore 

O Israel
Trust in the Lord
From this time forth, and forevermore 

Psalm 131 (Waterdeep does it best)

Of cocoa puffs and cobblestone streets :: 31 days of messy parenting {day 24}

I like to think that my children lead a very glamorous life.

Airplanes and oceans and languages... strollers on cobblestone streets and nursing baby across from the opera house and stamps filling up the passport. These are fantastic memories, and when I load my children into the minivan at 6am in the morning for a 10 hour drive from our apartment to Granny's stoop, I close my eyes and remember.

Fresh, cold wind on red cheeks.

Our life seems not so glamorous now. A catastrophic cocoa puff spill. Pulling of hair and calling of names. Carefully weighing the risk asessment of boredom versus the dvd player. Sitting shotgun, in reverse on both knees, pointing and yelling and throwing paper towels and putting out friendly-fires. At 75 mph on the interstate.



But this is what we do. We get in the van (or the plane), and we go. We travel, we seek, we wait. We wake up early and get dressed and pack our sippy cups for the next mission.

"Mom, remember when you woke me up at 4 in the morning to fly to another country? The sun was up then, not dark like today."

Well, the sun is always up at 4 in the morning in Ireland in August. And he remembers... the 4am wake-up call in 2008 to catch a flight to Hungary.

Yes, these are fantastic memories for burgeoning adventurers.



[a repost from February 2012]

What adventure are you writing with your family these days?