Mommathon

Off to…

Liam and Sean are up there somewhere. Colm wasn’t tall enough and he was NOT happy.

The dolphin and beluga show was AWESOME! It wasn’t just animals, it was like a Vegas show only in Texas. I didn’t take a lot of pics because I was too busy watching with my mouth hanging open. We also sat in the “splash zone”. We didn’t get too wet, but the people behind us got SOAKED!

Another yummy dinner…thanks again for another great recommendation, Candy’s mom. 🙂

At the Alamo…we didn’t actually go in. The line went on forever. There is no way we could have stood in that line.

We had dinner at Mi Tierra (great advice from Candy and her mom.) It was SUPER yummy. Not only is it a restaurant, but it is a bakery, too. We got some baked goodies to take back to our hotel room.

Working off dinner at a park across from the restaurant.

This is where it all started. Last June, I saw this article in Parents magazine. We were going to go last summer, but decided that Texas in August was not a good idea.

We had a great flight. The only little “bubble” was that when we got there and checked in Colm was put on standby. Yep, just Colm. I explained to them why that wasn’t going to work and a very nice Sister gave up her seat so that Colm could fly with the rest of his family. 🙂

Once we got there we dropped off our stuff in our room and went to explore the Riverwalk. How beautiful it is! The only scary part is that there is NO BARRIER in between your wandering children and the water. They could just fall right in, so you better bet that I was in super Mother Hen mode.

Great hotel…I would stay there again in a heartbeat

Our Room

The kids loved the pool…it was heated, so he even though it was a little chilly the first couple of days we were there, that didn’t keep us out of the pool.

We ate at a yummy restaurant called the Zuni Grill then we strolled around soaking up the sights and sounds of the Riverwalk (while I had a death grip on Colm to make sure he didn’t fall in).

This is an insightful look into an era that is gone. In the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s if an unmarried woman/girl became pregnant they were often sent away to maternity homes where they stayed for the last few months/weeks of their pregnancy. They would then have the baby in a hospital with no one there to help them, hold their hand, etc. and without any education as to what to expect during childbirth. They were then expected to go back to their previous lives after having given up their babies for adoption without any choice in the matter. The stories of loss and betrayal are saddening. Even though the baby didn’t come home with them, the families are never the same and there are a lot of hard feelings that never go away.

When Colm gets mad, it is not uncommon for him to call names. HIs favorite used to be to call someone the opposite gender.

For example:

Colm: Mom, can I have ice cream for breakfast.

Me: No, but you can have some waffles or a cereal bar.

Colm: You’re a boy. (You really have to hear it with the tone he uses to get the full effect. He kind of draws out “boy” as if he is accusing me of something.)

He has a new one though. This one he does not save for when he is mad. He just likes to use it at random times with random people.

Example: Today I was talking with a woman who is the mother of a friend of mine from high school. This is someone who I rarely see so it was nice to see her and we stopped to chat for a few moments. The whole time I am talking to her Colm is saying, “You’re a knucklehead.” REPEATEDLY! We are both trying to ignore him, but he just keeps saying it. He isn’t saying it to be mean or to get a rise out of anyone. It’s kind of like when he calls me a boy. It doesn’t bother me and it’s not a bad word. It’s not particularly nice, but it could be worse. Colm is the type of kid that you have to ignore when he tries out a new word, too. If you react, he knows he has found a button. So, if Colm calls you a knucklehead, kindly ignore him or gently tell him that is not nice, but whatever you do, don’t let on that it bothers you! That would make you a knucklehead. 🙂

Sean and I watched this movie last weekend and it was so good. There are very few movies that I would watch again, but I would definitely watch this one again. It takes place in Dublin and is the story of a man and a woman who share a passion for music and might maybe just be falling for each other. I think my favorite part of the movie is the end. It has a little twist.

The other day Colm and I were at the park by our house and I saw this little girl walking her dog. The little girl looked like one of Liam’s classmates, but I figured it must be her little sister because it was a school day. I was wrong, it was Liam’s classmate. The girl’s mom came outside and was telling me that she had been sick the day before and she was fine today, but they were going on vacation the next day so they just decided to keep her at home. I don’t come from that school of thought. When I was little you could stay home from school if you were throwing up or had a temp. I am the same way with my kids. I follow the county guidelines that they pass out at school and they say about the same thing. Unless you have a temp or there is something coming out of your body that shouldn’t be, you should be in school. Life’s rough in the K house.