Art
I love the way 4 year old Sibéal draws people.
I think its the Princess Leia hairstyles that strike a chord.
3 comments April 16th, 2008
Posts filed under 'personal'
Missing in Action
While I’m on about the Nintendo DS can Nintendo please please add as feature on the next DS release, some sort of homing device, beeper, flashing light or such like?
We are now missing the 6 year old’s DS for over 3 months and yep, have searched the house high and low.
Previous to this the 8 year old’s one has been lost and eventually found approximately 2 months later after much whinging, searching and giving out.
Add comment April 8th, 2008
Bridge for Nintendo DS
I’m off to bridge tonight for the first time in ages and am looking forward to it.
My mother taught me years ago when she played in Wicklow and I was in my early teens. I guess she wanted someone to practise with at home. Just the basics: how to count your points, knowing just to bid when you’d 12 or more points and how to play the cards. Alas we never got as far as the bidding conventions: of how to let your partner know exactly how many points you have and what sort of a hand. But even at that stage I must say I enjoyed the game.
A few years later in UCD the civil engineers started playing bridge amongst themselves one term mostly in the Kevin Barry room in Earlsfort Terrace. I was handy to rope in if they needed a fourth to make up numbers as knew the very basics. That phase didn’t last long though and within a couple of weeks things had moved on to poker which was more accessible and lasted alot longer.
When we moved to Bandon I decided to take Bridge up again and learn from the beginning. Luckily one of the clubs was starting lessons and so began my bridge playing here. Finally I have learnt the bidding conventions and my playing has improved. Its an ongoing project though and every week you learn something new.
Its not the wildest of nights out as the age profile of those playing tends to be older rather than younger. But its good fun. There are some characters there. Many of the ladies and gents play 5 or 6 nights a week as there are numerous bridge clubs in Bandon and nearby. It would be great if more younger people joined, it is a very sociable card game and the more playing the better as you get to move around the room and chat/play against many different players on a night.
To practice and for play I had purchased a PC Bridge playing game which I find great. This got me thinking yesterday that a more portable version would be excellent. I believe Nintendo have Bridge as part of their 42 All Time Classics but to be honest it doesn’t look great.
Hopefully the play is more attractive than it looks. I shall give it a go at the weekend when I can borrow the kids’ DS. Also there seems to be Ultimate Cards Game for Nintendo DS but only currently available in the US?
This appears also to contain a Bridge card game but I have not been able to discern whether it is better or worse than the 42 Classic Games version.
Surely there is definitely a market for a decent Bridge card game for Nintendo DS given the success of Brain Training, Brain age etc? If there was one, I know what I’d be getting my mother for Christmas!
UPDATE 10/04/2008
Purchased 42 All-Time Classics for the DS yesterday and most disappointingly the Bridge on it is rubbish. Beyond simplified, bidding rushed through and not shown properly, play just doesnt make sense most of the time and there appears to be no way to select different conventions or modify play/bidding in any way.
Its just driving me nuts playing it so gonna abandon it before it drives me to distraction. So I’m still on the lookout for a decent Bridge for Nintendo DS game.
6 comments April 8th, 2008
Birthday Celebrations
This time 10 years ago, we were married for 6 months or so and it was fast approaching Conor’s 30th birthday. At the time, I was working for TEAM Aer Lingus doing my aircraft engineer thang and had what must be one of the best work perks evah: flight concessions.
Zonal tickets were the business. Get yourself a couple of those and off you went, the choice of many airlines to whatever destination the outgoing plane which had seats free was going to. Competitions to see who could get the furthest leaving on a Friday and back for Monday morning. Good fun.
So for his 30th, I booked the concession tickets and we headed to New York for the weekend on Concorde. It was brilliant, we arrived in NY 2 hours before we left London hitting Mach 2 on the way. The Pierces came up from Virginia, we stayed in the World Trade Center Marriott and spent the weekend hitting the tourist spots. Definitely a weekend to remember.
A year later, I gave birth to our first son on my 30th birthday. He arrived 5 days early and it was a completely different but even more memorable celebration. Midwives singing “happy birthday” whilst I was in labour is something I will never forget.
photo credit: ginamig276
So now, 5 kids later and our 40s fast approaching, life has changed dramatically and celebrations take a bit more planning. Initially I had contemplated doing a F1 trip: someday it would be brilliant to attend the Monte Carlo Grand Prix. But for now, its too expensive and hardly child friendly. Then we thought of a ski trip en famille but again, it may be better to wait till the children are a bit older. Maybe just bring the older kids, nah, that didnt seem right either. We better make the most of them wanting to travel with us. Somehow I doubt it’ll be as easy when we’re hitting 50.
So today, at his request, I booked the final part of Conor’s 40th celebration and we’re all off to Legoland Windsor in May. It seems perfect and fitting that we celebrate this stage of our lives together with all our children. Time is passing so bloody quickly. Legoland should be fun.
4 comments March 19th, 2008
Blog Awards
Just getting back to normal here after last weekend’s trip to Dubelin to the Blog awards. The childer were dropped off at fab brother’s gaff and we high tailed it sans enfants to the city centre’s Alexander hotel.
It was a great evening and night. Managed to bump into and chat to so many people who previously I’d only known online. It was brilliant to put faces to the names, all were very friendly and it was great craic also to meet people from last year again. Good fun and a fine way to spend an evening which seemed to pass incredibly quickly.
Congrats to Damien on putting together and running the show. Looking forward to next year!
2 comments March 6th, 2008
First shoes
My youngest baby got her first pair of proper shoes today. Happy and chuffed for her, but sad that we won’t have any more crawling babies in the house.
She’s not sure what to make of them yet. Very funny watching her get accustomed to the weight of the shoes on her feet and stomping around the house. She did this for 15 minutes or so, then sat down and tugged at the shoes till she got them off her feet and then up she got, sans shoes and legged it.
4 comments February 8th, 2008
Running
Yep, another New Year’s Resolution, to get my lardy arse once more running. Its been a while, but so far so good: baby steps, baby steps.
Have started on the treadmill again which was probably one of the best purchases I ever made. Yep, it was expensive but it avoids me heading out on my lonesome, jogging at night in the dark or the hassle of joining a gym. We have it stationed in the playroom, so once the kids are in bed, I just plonk on the telly in front of it at loud volume, shut the door and start walking/jogging.
I hate dogs and so I don’t really like running outdoors unless I know its a place I’m very unlikely to meet dog walkers with their dogs unleashed. People who think its ok to let their mutt bound over to me as I’m jogging do my head in. No I don’t like your gawdawful pooch, I don’t think its cute, keep it the hell away from me.
Its been a long while since I’ve done any serious running though. At heart, I guess I’m lazy. I need motivation big time and usually I need to be goal driven. Two days after completing the Dublin marathon in 2004 I discovered I was pregnant and as usual, my energy plummeted as did any level of exercise and I lost all the fitness I had achieved through the previous months of training. I’d love to get that fit again. Since, I have been slimmer and weighed less but I haven’t been even remotely as fit. It felt brilliant. I always felt exhilarated returning from a decent run.
Unfortunately that doesn’t happen by magic and there’s the hard work between now and getting there. Still at least I’ve started. Last night 7km: 11mins run and 50 mins walking. Tonight hopefully I’ll do a couple more minutes of the total running and less walking.
It would be deadly to do another marathon, preferably a smidge faster than my last time. The training schedule is a big commitment, but the feeling on the day makes it worthwhile. Who knows, maybe I’ll make the Cork marathon in June or Dublin in October. We’ll see.
Add comment January 12th, 2008
Hailstones and games
Its lashing hailstones here today so not much hope of the kids getting out and about. So the 8 and 4 year old settled down to their first game of Monopoly, which the 4 year old won hands down. Her strategy of only buying “girl coloured streets” worked a treat!
Meanwhile the 2 year old decided to tackle a Peppa Pig jigsaw.
Here’s his completed version of it:
And who am I to argue its not perfect???
1 comment January 4th, 2008
Happy Christmas
This photo was taken three years ago on Christmas day in my mother’s old house. It started snowing and our kids were over the moon. It will always remind me of Christmas.
Hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, peaceful and fun Christmas and that Santa is good to you tonight!
Ho ho ho…..
1 comment December 24th, 2007
My Girls
Recently the baby has had her first birthday and Sibéal has just turned 4.
The year has flown, but paradoxically, it’s hard now to imagine life before Síofra.
Even at 1, she definitely has her own inimitable personality.
She’s a charmer. Her big wide toothy lopesided grin is flashed to get her own way, and she really likes getting her own way.
Like the rest of our children, she tends to be quite stubborn and its difficult to coherce her into doing anything she doesn’t want to do. She’s still crawling and cruising around, she hasn’t bothered doing any independent walking as yet but manages to keep up with the other 4. She loves being in the centre of the mayhem and messing with the others. Her only words to date are “Dad”, “that” and “shhh”.
Sibéal is quieter. Her kindness takes me aback at times as I don’t expect it from someone so young. She is always the first to share. She is very articulate and uses her hands expressively. Having 2 older and one younger brother, she can be a bit of a tomboy. But then also wants to be a ballerina and play with her dollhouse. She is an excellent big sister who loves having “girls only” days out with her baby sister and me.
Both look nothing like me. They are so beautiful with their big blue eyes and blond hair.
Happy birthdays to my darling cailiní.
Add comment November 19th, 2007
