Dallas: Babies Part 3 or 4 (who can remember?)

While our trip to Dallas was for a very sad reason, it was still really great to be home with family, friends, and all of their newborn babies that I've been missing :)

We spent a great deal of time with our families, but I still managed to squeeze in a couple of happy hours with my best pals and a fun wedding (which I have no pictures of)!

This post is basically a collection of cuties that I love.  So sue me.

Nell's little Walkman (Walker), sleeping on my chest!  I wanted to cry when I first met him.

Uncle Drew with Walkman, at The Lot.

Beautiful [skinny] mama and Walkman!  Cute cute cuties.

Smoochies with a cutie!

Toooooo cute.
(How many times can I say "cute" in this post?)

Now THIS (below) is a little nugget that you're gonna wanna get to know.  This is Tyce, cutie patootie extraodinaire, son of Drew's cousins Zach and Melissa, who got the best features of both of his parents (his cuteness has been discussed at length by Drew and I), who Susan happily watches every Monday, who is responsible for Susan laying off the baby comments to Drew and I, except for when she said "You know, you could make the whole family feel better this week if you announced you were pregnant."  Awesome.

Cutie. Nugget. Baby face.  

Me and my love!

Then we had happy hour at Mi Cocina cause I was in desperate need of a Mambo Taxi or two.  And Walkman was there along with Lil' Peanut, who I met in December!  She's grown so big and has the cutest little tongue/mouth action you've ever seen!

Smoochies with Peanut.

Walkman's making all of us giggle.

My b-fri Moll, tag teaming these babes with me.

Sillies.

And this guy isn't technically a baby but he's MY baby whom I love and adore so I took a picture of him when he was sitting by my chair at the dinner table.

Love.

THEN, the most exciting news of all...was that John and Lauren brought my bebe Annie to Dallas to see us!  Drew and I were thrilled because we only see her via Skype and this was a chance to solidify our bond.  And spend time with her.  And love her and kiss her and play with her and go on and on about her forever.

We took her to Kyle Warren Park!  She's playing on the mini-merry-go-round here.

Her sun hat that she REFUSED to wear!

Here's Gigi (my mother), hogging the baby as usual.  I guess I should be thrilled that my mom's granddaughter adores her so much but mostly I was just annoyed.  Sorry not sorry, Mom.
Annie's still cute though.  

Mommy and bebe playing the piano!
(Lauren is an accomplished pianist and will teach Annie how to read music one day soon.)

Me and my love!

THEN we got to take Bebe to the park, all by ourselves!  Annie and Uncle Drew are swinging and playing.

Kisses!

Fun on the slide!
I can't stop using exclamation points!

This is Bebe blowing air out through her lips, a favorite past time.

"I love my Aunt Lauren!  She makes me laugh!"
Never mind that her parents were behind the camera or that John was probably doing the Running Man, which thrills her.

Heheheeeee giggles.

Here's all of us together, after the park, before a lengthy but fun cocktail hour that lasted into the evening.
I love my fam.

This may be boring to readers that don't know our families that well (are there even any of you out there?) but these bebes have my heart.  So happy I got to spend time with them, and with our families.

We're back in Dublin now, adjusted from jet lag due to us staying up ALL DAY on Monday (which was hellacious), and back in the swing of things.  It's hard coming back from a week filled with loved ones but we're making it work.  I still have to post about Budapest and that will hopefully come tomorrow!

Mimi

We just arrived in Dublin after a very quick, unexpected, hectic, bittersweet, whirlwind trip to Dallas.

Because Drew's beloved Mimi passed away on Saturday night.

She's had some health issues on and off for awhile now, but she always bounced back.  And we just assumed she'd do so this time.  I still don't think the reality has set in for either one of us that she's actually gone.

We scrambled around late on Saturday and early on Sunday to get a flight out as soon as we could on Monday, where we were then whisked off to Plano to be with the family.  It was a very sad reason to be home, but...it was really, really wonderful to be home.  Especially during a time when you need the family the most.  And because I'm on the tail end of a winter "funk" and needed some sunshine and familiarity in my life.

On Monday before we got there, the entire family sat around with the Rabbi to plan the service and to talk about Mimi and what she meant to each of them.  It sounded very emotional but cathartic for everyone involved and I really wish we could have been there.

If we'd been there, Drew would have talked about how she was there for all of her grandkids and they mattered more to her than anyone.  She came to so many of his basketball games, his graduations; she made hot dog sandwiches for him and always had ice cream bars in her freezer; she always remembered Drew's friends and their names and asked about them.  He would have said that every time we tried to call her, she'd wrap up the conversation as quickly as possible because she never wanted to bother us or bore us - even though WE had called to talk to HER.  He would have talked about how his mom always called Mimi the "baby whisperer" and had a calming ability to sooth any baby.  And how we'd hoped she would sooth our own baby one day.

If I was there, I would have talked about how welcoming and loving Mimi was, right from the start.  I think she hugged me the first time she met me.  She bought me a necklace for Christmas the following year because she'd "seen it and thought of [me]" - and she hardly knew me!  I would have talked about Mimi always telling me how happy she was that Drew and I were together.  She'd say "I love it because you don't just LOVE each other, you actually LIKE each other!  You're such good friends and you make each other laugh.  That's so important that you're such good friends like that."  I also would have talked about the love and adoration she had for her family.  Nothing made her happier.  Mimi was like a mama bear with her cubs, and when you messed with one of her cubs, you messed with HER.  If Mimi ain't happy, ain't NOOOOBODY happy.  And you do NOT wanna see that.  I think that kind of fierce loyalty and devotion reminds me of myself a little bit (in that I will CUT YOU if you mess with one of my people) and that always made me love Meems even more.

Here are some pics of us with Meems over the past couple of years.

Drew and Meems and Papa about to walk down the aisle at our wedding.

Cruisin' USA with Bethie!

Hangin out at Aunt Sissy's with Meems and Amanda.

More wedding classiness.

Mimi and I at Race for the Cure!  Did I mention she's a breast cancer survivor?  28 years, breast cancer free!!

The service on Tuesday was beautiful and spending time with family and friends who loved her was very special.  She's a popular, well-loved cutie.  I just don't think either of us can seriously wrap our heads around the fact that she's gone...which will take some time, I guess.  As most of these things do.

I'll have more updates on the rest of our time in Dallas (and Budapest!) but for now, I just wanted to reflect about Mimi and the special lady she was in our lives.  Her husband, sister, three adoring children, eight awesome grandkids, three adopted grandkids (me), and one precious great-grandbaby are going to miss her more than anyone realizes.

Frazzled

Mother Nature keeps teasing us with bright blue sky and brilliant sunshine, luring you out of the house under false pretenses, only to be hit in the face with 30° winds!  I'm so over this cold.  It's around this time that Meredith warned me about Dallas folks posting pictures in their shorts and trips to the lake and beers on the patio while we're still bundled up like a bunch of fools.  I need to go somewhere with warm weather STAT.  I'm not cut out for this.

Spring?  Sure looks like it.  But don't be fooled.

I have a lot to write about, like our amazing trip to Budapest, but...I've been feeling uninspired again.  I think 20 posts in a row about "we did this, and we went here, and we saw this with these particular people" gets a little old for me, and probably you few readers as well.  So today I'm just choosing to write about us.  Me.  Etc.

If I'm being real, I'm having a hard time adjusting to this working thing.  Which is silly because if I was in the States I'd be working full time, no problem.  I'd be a functioning full time working woman and I'd still be able to work out, see my friends, cook dinner, get my shit done, and hang out with my husband. But...it just feels different over here and I feel like I'm losing my grasp on the life I'd built for myself.

In fact, during the typing of this blog post, my mom got online at 10pm Dublin time and asked if I wanted to Skype, as I was also telling my brother how frazzled and upset I am about the current state of my mental health right now.  And then she asked that and then I started sobbing and had a mental breakdown and then yelled at Drew about how I need help around the house and how he never does the dishes after I spend hours cooking and then I sobbed harder.

Did I mention that my job wants me to move to full time?  And I accepted?  I guess I wanted to move to full time at some point but I didn't anticipate it happening this soon and I knew I really didn't have a choice.  This job definitely has its ups and downs.  Some days are great and I feel productive and in sync with the team and the job.  Other days, most days, I feel frazzled, annoyed with a passive-aggressive coworker who constantly tells me how he feels about the job I'm doing, and upset with myself that I've gotten into yet another job that doesn't technically require a college degree.

My beloved classes are coming to an end, the classes that made me feel happy and fulfilled and like my brain was functioning again, and I'm not able to take them anymore.  Volunteering has gone out the window.  So has working out, seeing any of my friends ever, eating dinner before 9pm, doing laundry on a regular basis, sleeping much, reading anything, having lengthy discussions with my brother about history, praying, and spending time with my husband because busy season is evidently still in full f-ing swing and I'm over it.  I feel like I'm 22 again and I just graduated college and just got a new job and am navigating how the hell I'm supposed to carry on with my life while accommodating a full time job.  Or maybe it's the other way around.

I'm sorry to complain so much.  I'm remembering that other positive post about my job a few months ago and now laughing at myself about all the terrible shit I'm saying.  I know how I sound.  Everyone works and I would be too if I were in the States and I had a wonderful "break" and now it's time to get back to it.  I'm just having a hard time right now, I guess.  It's like I don't know myself that well anymore and I never have time to just sit, and relax, and think, and...be who I was.  But as my bro said, living abroad is "full of these kinds of soul searching moments and ups and downs.  It's part of the experience, for better or for worse."

Sigh.  Anyway.

Drew's doing good - doing really well at work and working a lot of hours but dominating as per usual.  We had a great time in Budapest, which I'm looking forward to posting about, and we just booked a bunch of new trips for the upcoming months this week which makes him super happy.  (Oktoberfest!  The British Open!  Belgium!  Amsterdam!  Woohooo)  He's the best.  Even though he doesn't do dishes ever.

Alright, I'm going to put ice cubes on my eyes to try to shrink the puffiness and get a good night's sleep, and hopefully not dream about the lunches I need to order for the guys on my team every day (like last night).  More positive things to come soon.

G'night!

Castle Leslie

Lindsay and Kathleen's Visit, continued:

We took it easy last Monday and slept in a bit to recover from our St. Paddy's Day beer fest.  We're not 22 anymore, I'm afraid.  Dangit.

We hopped on a train and rode out to Howth to show L&K the cute seaside town.  We ate at Deep and got amazing seafood and then played with the seals in the water and sat on the seawall and lounged.  It was glorious.  We stopped by Temple Bar later for a beer before our Afternoon Tea at the Shelbourne! I unfortunately don't have any pictures of that fun occasion.  Shoot!

We had toyed with the idea of taking a short 48-hour trip somewhere while the girls were here, be it to London or somewhere in Ireland, and Kathleen and I finally decided on a quaint little castle in County Monaghan (smack dab in the middle of Ireland) that one of my friends had recommended.  Oh, and Paul McCartney and Heather Mills got married there!  So I guess it wasn't too shabby.  This also meant that one of us had to gather our courage and DRIVE on the opposite side of the road and car to get there and back without killing the other two.  This caused immense anxiety (on my part) and after much discussion between Kathleen and I, it was decided (mostly by Drew, I think) that I would drive.  I...think I did...ok.  Mostly cause Kathleen and Lindsay were on one side of the car telling me every other minute that I was about to side swipe another car, curb, shrub, tree, wall, etc.  Regardless, I'm glad I have that experience under my belt and besides a stressful bout of driving in the city centre of Dublin, I'd say I'm not so intimidated.

Anyway, on to Castle Leslie!

In the car plotting our course.  And hopefully not our deaths.

Look!  I'm driving on the opposite side of the road.

This was the Hunting Lodge of the old estate (where we stayed) - it's been turned into part of the hotel experience.

Our beautiful room for 3.

A fun little wet room with boots for all to enjoy.

The Equestrian Center 

Side note about the Equestrian Center: Kathleen and I made a booking for what we thought was an easy horseback ride for an hour.  I was so pumped and we went down there, got our horses names, put on our riding boots and helmets, and the instructor lady came to take us to our horses.  She gave us a once over and immediately said she'd be switching our horses and condescendingly asked if we had any experience with trotting, if we rode "Western" or "English", and put me on my horse and made me demonstrate how much/little I knew about riding a horse.  She looked at me like I was a dumbass and basically told me to get off the horse and we needed to sign up for a different tour.  I clearly don't have much riding experience but I was told this ride was going to be EASY when I signed up for it and she was so rude and made me/us feel so STUPID that we canceled the whole thing and went inside for wine instead.  I then sent them an earful via email about our terrible experience there.  Bitches.

ANYWAY!  Back to the pics:

This is the ACTUAL Castle Leslie.  It only has about 8 rooms to stay in (that were full for the weekend) but we were fine with that as we heard it's haunted.  And we proceeded to scare ourselves all weekend talking about haunted things.

The haunted front door that looked completely deserted aside from this nasty cat.

The (presumably) haunted dining room.

Winston Churchill's baby dress?

The gardens/grounds.

Linds and KP standing on the front porch of the castle.

The haunted lake.

A haunted boat house.

Kathleen walking down the muddy lane from the castle.

A haunted gazebo where we really ran with the haunted stories.

Hey look!  A weirdo!

A hidden living room in the back of the castle where we had a couple glasses of wine.

A drawing room turned bar.

Lindsay stoking some flames at the bar after a delicious 3-course meal!

It was a very relaxing trip to the Irish countryside and I think the girls had a good time.  We got back that next night, ate a yummy meal at The Schoolhouse Hotel, and got in bed early in anticipation of their early flight the next morning.  

I think their work here is done.

We had a great time with these gals and had a lot of laughs and did a lot of silly things.  Thanks for coming to visit me Lindsay and Kathleen!!

Drew and I always get sad and down after fun guests leave and this was no exception.  Thursday and Friday sucked.  And then I got sick with a cold/cough so I literally didn't leave the house all weekend OR change out of my pajamas.  Whooooops.  However, the next week improved just in time to go to Budapest for Easter, which I'll post about tonight!  Yay!

Happy Thursday!