What a Week...

Well technically it has been 8 hectic days, but that doesn't have the same ring to it.
C and I decided that I would bring T to the Doctor on Monday morning to have his rash checked out. Believe it or not, at the age of 6 and a half, this was the first time he has been to the Dr with any illness or ailment. He has been to hospital for an injury (his sister shut a door on his finger when he was 18 months and it had to be stitched back together!). He has been to the Dr for routine checks as a baby, but he has not been otherwise. Poor boy didn't know what to expect....he was great though. She said she thought it was a Staphylococcus skin infection. He was prescribed antibiotics...another first! But when the pharmacist saw him she had other ideas about what it might be. I tend to agree with her, but who am I to say. Either way the treatment was the same. However the antibiotic he was given, tasted so disgusting, that I had to use bribery, and all other powers available to me to get him to take it. We found orange juice was the best thing to mask it.
Because of this unplanned delay, packing for our journey was put back until after lunch. The kids went a bit wild as they ran about throwing things in their back-packs!
Then the door-bell rang, it was a lady from a mining company who had done a survey on our land, to say they had found an anomaly and wanted to investigate further...now that sounds very exciting, but I'm not getting excited, this is probably never going to amount to anything, ever...but the poor girl was hardly able to speak, with wild children packing for their holiday!
We tried to get everyone to bed early Monday for the 5am start the next day....needless to say, I didn't get to bed as early as I'd have liked.
Tuesday atarted at 5am and the 4 kids and I kissed Colm goodbye and hit the road at 5.20. I had to stop for fuel on the way, the only other people there were the bin-men! We reached the ferry terminal in Dublin at 7am, using the Port Tunnel to get there faster, well worth the money.
We sailed at 8am, spending 3 and a half hours the ferry. I had booked a cabin, with a TV and tea/coffee making facilities! Another expense, but a worthwhile one.
We drove to my sister from Holyhead, but poor T was terrribly car-sick, using a bag, then a lunch-box and eventually only having a towel to vomit into! Poor boy was green by the time we arrived.
We went to Attingham Park with my sister and her kids on the Wedneasday, and then The Scottish restaurant. I took a drive too...and found this oxbow (?) in the Severn.

Thursday morning we packed to come home and left my sisters house before 10am. Both the older kids were car-sick almost immediately, so we stopped at Rhug farm shop and get some popcorn, which seemed to help. We also picked up some Tyrells mixed root chips (crisps) for Colm.
We made it to the ferry in good time and sailed at about 2pm. When we went to collect our cabin keys, the guy behind the desk told me that they were upgrading us to a suite! The kids loved it!
We arrived back home at 7pm, Colm had dinner ready for us...it was so nice to be home.
I must say, I had the best travelling companions....ever. The children were soooo good. Not perfect, but just right. I would take them again tomorrow.

Friday started with a bang....Colm and I had to go sign some legal forms at 10.30am, nothing very important, but I had already made the appointment before I went away.
It was also the day of the general election here, to elect a new government, so we went to te polling station and cast our votes, then we rushed back home to check on a heifer (young cow) who we had left in labour! She was just fine and had delivered her first calf safely on her own. They were lying together, looking very happy! I never tire of that!
I then realised that Maeve needed a new swimsuit for swimming on Saturday...so off I went about making one. The fabric was one I had bought on Ebay and had sent to my sister's. I used the Sea-horse pattern from Ottobre summer 09. I made the straps elasticated.





Saturday we went to swimming lessons, and I watched on, dreading a wardrobe malfunction....thankfully it all went well. We went on to collect a friend of Maeve's on the way home, a sleep-over had been planned for a while. This girl has stayed over-night several times, so she knows the ropes here. However another person's child always does things differently.....I don't think my food is her favourite!! I managed to fall fast asleep before the sleep-over girlies! How bad is that!
Sunday we went for lunch in a local pizzeria, and dropped the extra child home afterwards. Colm and the older children, cleared out our poly-tunnel (plastic green-house) and planted some seeds. I think I will get some courgette and tomato seeds...they do so well in the tunnel. I used to plant loads, before the twins were born.
Monday, Maeve woke with a sore throat, I debated for ages , but in the end she went to school, but arrived home on the bus, absolutely exhausted. I was getting worried that she was getting the same thing as T had had. After a bit of paracetamol, she improved no end, and has continued to be fine.
They both headed off to school this morning, but Realtin started crying and holding the front of her nappy (diaper)....I feared a UTI, but after lots of drinks, whatever was bothering her seems to have passed.
I went to the yard after collecting the kids from the school bus...neither of them wanted to help me this evening..... I feed the calves morning and evening. Today the big kids sat in the car, but the little ones "helped" me. I found a calf chewing some twine he had found , and I put my hand in his mouth to get it out and the little sh*t bit my finger and drew blood! I managed to get the twine out after! My finger throbbed for ages.
Later this evening, just as Colm came in from milking the cows, I had sent T upstairs to do something, and we heard screaming, both of us ran upstairs to find him holding his bleeding nose....he had tripped on his floor rug, and fallen face-first against the leg of his bed...his nose is all swollen and bruised...poor, poor boy. I hope it is ok not too bad in the morning. I think it will be!
It is Colm's birthday soon (the 6th), so I am trying to finish his Colette Negroni shirt in time for that.
Also, today I decided to paint my kitchen ceiling......

Sorry for the long, long post...I hope all is well with all of you out there.