Procrastination

I've been procrastinating with this blog, for many reasons, but mainly because I don't really think that daily life is that interesting that you, my audience, would really want to hear about it. Gwyneth's no longer a baby, so there's not the pull of adorable sweet pudgy baby faces (although in my opinion, curly top's face has gotten even more adorable), the first smile, the first steps, the first words, etc. to keep my blog full of a mom's delight. But I don't want to give up. I want to keep plugging along.

I read blogs a lot, I'm ashamedly a bit addicted to a few. They always seem so happy, so full, so much content about complete contentedness. For the moment, I don't have a bunch of warm updates to make my blog a joyride of reading. Of course life is full of up and downs, and even the people that paint an idyllic life on their blogs have their ugly moments, but do they really want to share them. It appears not.

I'm considering breaking the mould of the blogosphere and posting some of the reality.

Moving to Northern Ireland, isn't as romantic as it sounds. There, I said it. It's true. Now to be fair to myself and my new country-mates, I never thought it would be. Sure it's green, and I've seen loads of rainbows...and rain, but there are no leprechauns or pots of gold for general merriment. It is an adventure, but one of navigating new supermarkets and trying to find sugar (by the tea of course, which, by the way is no where near the baking products), learning to use the National Health Service so Gwyneth can see a doctor in the ER after she dents her head on the sidewalk (I must give a plug for socialized medicine, bravo!), and trying to find a job (when apparently you're not even qualified to work at XTravision, a division of Blockbuster). It's hard. It's stressful. It's not romantic, at least in the midst of it. Maybe when I look back on it when I'm 80, I'll change my mind. It takes time though, it's all the hardship involved with total change. Northern Ireland is full of rich treasure. I know it. I just need to have the gumption to keep digging, keep a fresh perspective and I'll find it.

Now about Gwyneth.

The dear Lord knows we love her so, but wow, the terrible twos have come upon us early, and they are terrible. They are no joking matter. They are full of shrieks, screams, wails, and the like. Lets just say our patience is growing by leaps and bounds. It will unnerve the confidence of any good parent. It probably doesn't help that we've got a particularly strong-willed child on our hands. We still have a few magical moments with her from time to time, but the need to hire sitters for some time away is more desperate than it ever used to be. Oddly enough, when we have sitters we always get the report back of how she was an "angel" and a "wee dote" and "didn't cry once." It's time for her to get out, to socialize a bit, which is in the works. She will be going to a childminder or a day nursery twice a week. Maybe she can leak out all her frustration there and then we can come home and experience the angel in there.

I did find a job, which begins in January. I'm really quite excited about it. I will only be working 2 days a week, albeit, 2 very long days. I'll be able to get out of the house, have some adult conversation and do something useful for the general public. I think it will make life feel a bit more balanced. I sure hope so.

Will all of that, I have a headache and am on my way to take a nap. There, it's not all pretty, but it's real. Sometimes really good, and sometimes really bad, and everything in between. It's life.

Mommy Learns a Lesson

Everyday, it seems like Mommy is learning lessons from Gwyneth. She's quite frankly a good teacher. Luckily mommy is usually a good learner and pretty keen on keeping up with her studies. Yesterday mommy learned a good lesson, and surely it won't be one that's forgotten. (There would be pictures to accompany this post, but said mommy decided pictures of the incident would be in poor taste).

After putting Gwyneth down to bed, about 45 minutes later, I heard a bit of commotion and some squealing from Gwyneth's room. Because it had been a while since I put her to bed, I thought I'd better check on her. I approached the door to her room and noticed something odd, light coming from the crack under the door. First of all Gwyneth doesn't get out of bed until either Wes and I give her the go ahead and secondly, she wouldn't be able to reach the light switch. So, I knew that I must have left the light on and immediately thought, it's no wonder she's making noise. I creak open the door and take a peek and there is a proud naked little girl sitting on her bed saying, "potty." Unfortunately I noticed a stench, which really meant there was no need for a potty, the deed had already been done...luckily, it was still contained in the removed diaper, with a few dark smudges on the duvet under Gwyneth's rump. Even though it wasn't much fun to clean, I had just been thinking earlier that day about washing her bedding and also considered how much worse it would have been if Gwyneth was one of those uber-curious children who like to stick their fingers in brown stuff. I actually felt a little pride well up in my when I realized how smart Gwyneth was to be able to take off her pajamas...and how she was able to keep herself fairly clean given the circumstances. I couldn't help but smile.

Lesson learned: Turn out the light. Had I not forgotten to turn off the light, there would have been no chance of Gwyneth getting both her rather childproof pajamas and diaper off. Tonight I didn't forget this one last detail of putting Gwyneth to bed.

It Doesn't Get Much Better Than This

All parents are proud of their kids, and I'm admittedly one of them - here's why:





She's just all around amazing!

Little Sweetie

Kids are always making people laugh by what they say or do and Gwyneth is no exception. Today Gwyneth was captivated in the funniest way.

We were at Pizza Hut (yes, they do have them here, and they're actually quite nice and sometimes, you just need a little taste of home) and we were sitting next to a table of three that had just enjoyed their pizza and were on to the sweeter side, dessert. Pizza Huts here also have a sundae bar, and one of our neighbors came back with a parfait glass filled with soft serve, and topped with pink marshmallows. Gwyneth couldn't take her eyes off of it. It's probably the first time we've noticed her breaking the tenth commandment. We quietly snickered as she smacked her lips and was clearly salivating. She was wanting to experience the sweetness so much, she actually opened her mouth as her neighbor took another spoonful of icecream and lifted it to her lips, and as she put it in her mouth, Gwyneth closed hers as if to do her best to imagine the way it tasted and felt as it melted on the tongue. To our surprise, she didn't whine once.

Luckily a dessert on the menu had caught her mom's fancy and she got a few spoonfuls of her own treat.

As Promised

I did promise to upload photos of our new abode, so here they are.

Day Tripping

We went on a day trip this past weekend to Bush Mills, Portrush (fabulous beach, with, believe it or not, waves big enough to surf), and Giant's Causeway. The opportunities to get sun are few and far between, so when the day looked like it would be a good one, we decided to go for it. Here are a few photos.

Catching Up

Well, if you're reading this, it's a wonder that you ever check this site! In all my good intentions, it seems blogging gets last priority. Sometimes I'm amazed that people read this stuff...the everyday details (or in my case really, every month or so details) of what's going on in the Patterson family. I think that's part of the reason why I don't blog so much any more. Our life, at least to us, can be often times very mundane. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "what????, these guys just moved to Northern Ireland." It's true though. I think life anywhere in the world, no matter the destination can have a tendency to get mundane in the details. The grass is not always greener elsewhere...em, unless you come to Ireland, but the sky is not any bluer, that's for sure...

Here's a good example of mundane...I bleached 3 out of my 4 JCrew long sleeve t-shirts. Now these are the staples of my wardrobe, ruined! Not only are they ruined, but they're irreplaceable, at least until my next trip to The States, in which case, it will surely be a different season with different colors. Hmph! So that's the type of excitement that happens in the Patterson household, even though we happen to be living on an island a third of the way around the world (or somewhere thereabouts).

We've got a "whirlie" clothesline, you know those things that stick out of a post and then fold out with clothesline wrapped about it so you can get loads of clothes hung in a relatively small space, and then as the wind blows it spins it around a bit? Well, we've got one of those. It's one of the practical things that I really wanted to get as soon as we arrived here. Although I hate all other parts that involve laundry (the sorting, washing, folding, ironing, etc.), I just LOVE hanging laundry outside and then taking it in. It feels so organic, so healthy. Wes and I are having difficulty guessing when rain will arrive or not. Really it's for the most part cloudy here all the time. Certainly there are times when it's cloudier than others, but I don't ever remember seeing a completely clear blue sky. It for the most part looks like the clouds are threatening to release their moisture in a downpour at any moment, so hanging laundry outside is pretty risky business. We've had a few load of almost dry laundry get soaked, but we'll get better at it I'm sure.

Oh, and another organic feeling thing. We got a big 'ol compost bin for only five pounds! That's quite a deal, and it even came with a kitchen bucket with lid to store your day's worth of compost until you bring it to the bin! Sweet. I was so excited about this, and then calling the waste management facility in our area and purchasing it. It was a little victory in a place where sometimes getting the smallest thing accomplished seems to take quite a bit longer than I'm used to. So, in the end, we have a place that we can pitch our compost-worthy waste, other than the garbage. That in itself is a really good thing, because we can only fill one "wheelie" bin and it's collected every two weeks.

I'm trying to get all the existing beds of weeds cleared out so that come next spring, I can turn in all the compost and have a lovely fruit and veg. garden. It's a bit of a process, but I think it will be worth it in the end. I'm hoping that, we'll end up saving a bit of cash, and also enjoy the benefit of organic produce from our own labors. I can hardly wait until spring, but will have to use the winter to plan out the garden layout and determine when things need to be planted. This is really all new to me, but I've dreamed about this for a long time!

Other news about why we're really here:

The internship is going well. It's just started actually and will be a great experience for both Wes and I, especially as we gear up to church plant. To be able to see the intricate details of church workings, will be so helpful for us. Doing this sort of thing with a child is going to make it extra complicated, but we have no doubt that Gwyneth being here is all part of the grand plan.

We also wouldn't even be able to speak highly enough of our new church home, The Belfast City Vineyard. It's really an amazing church. We have felt so welcomed here by the people and are starting to recognize a number of familiar faces as we head into Sunday mornings. It's been a warm, inviting and comfortable place for us, and although we miss our dear Duluth Vineyard, I think where we're at is quickly feeling like home.

Late in September, I begin my pre-registration classes for becoming a registered childminder (daycare provider). I'm really excited to get started with that. Taking care of Gwyneth on a daily basis is wonderful, but I know that she would desperately like more interaction with other children, not just mom and dad (maybe she's already entering her 16 yr. old stage early when she thinks we're so boring). I'm also looking forward to taking on some kids and just loving them to bits and helping them grow and develop into their potential. I think about when I was working full time, how important it was for me to be able to leave my child in a place where I knew they were being loved and taught positive behaviors, not just kept safe, fed, and changed. I'm excited to help give parents peace of mind while they leave their child as they go to work. Please pray that God would bring the right children into our home.

Wes is looking for jobs currently. There seems to be opportunity out there, but he may run into difficulty proving that he has the credentials for what he applies to since the US system is a bit different than the British one (obviously). We're praying though that God would bless him with a job that will give him the type of hours and pay, to allow him to give a lot to this internship as well.

Really, that's about the news. Oh, and Gwyneth is doing well. She seems to be suffering through some of the Irish bugs here, especially after Sunday morning when she's around kids her own age. I wonder what type of American illnesses she's passing on to them. Apart from that though, she's just been lovely.

I'll have to put of pictures next time...after I charge the camera and then take the pictures. It's on my to-do list.

Cheerio!

Now That's a Summer Vacation!

We're now all in Belfast, as the majority of you already know. It's the end of a summer vacation to remember, packed with lots of important visits. Wes and I are both terrible and chronicling our lives with photos. I don't know about Wes, but to me, taking photos feels like a nuisance, so I put it off and then I realize I hardly have any. The ones we have, I figured I'd share. First, I'll give you our long-winded itinerary to prove this was a whopper of a trip!

Duluth, MN to New Ulm, MN to visit Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, Great Grandma Patterson and Auntie Dani
Approx. hours in car: 6
Highlights: The Minnesota Zoo, the froggy pool, Gwyneth being spoiled to her heart's content, eating at a drive in, just basking in our newfound freedom

New Ulm, MN to Morton, IL via Milwaukee, WI to visit More Nana and Granny and Grandpa Williams
Approx. hours en route with pit stop in Milwaukee: 12
Highlights: Eating Kopps ice cream with More Nana, BBQing with Granny and Grandpa, more swimming, July 4th fireworks, Eating corn on the cobb and watermelon in massive amounts, getting a date night and going to the Shakespeare Festival

Morton, IL to Chicago, IL to visit Auntie Lainey, Uncle Colin, Cousins Oliver and Lauren and Auntie AJ
Approx. hours in car: 3
Highlights: Playing with cousins Lauren and Oliver, celebrating Lauren's birthday, eating Giordano's deep dish pizza, swimming in the pond, seeing Auntie AJ. Stupidly, no photos taken of this fun.

Chicago, IL to Washington D.C. via Newark, NJ to see the sites of our nation's capitol (seems fitting when we're about to leave the country) and also to see our dear friends the Wiehle's
Approx. hours on plane: 3 Approx. hours in car: 3
Highlights: leaving Newark, NJ, seeing all the sites and free museums, spending time in Georgetown with our friends, Gwyneth getting kissed by the president (just kidding on that one)

Washington D.C. to Sound Beach, NY to see Auntie Charlotte and Uncle Lewis
Approx. hours in car: 6 for Lesley and Gwyneth 10 for Wes (he had to go back to the IHOP in NJ and pick up my wallet that I left behind...not a happy moment for anyone, especially Wes)
Highlights: Seeing the Atlantic, Gwyneth getting her toenails painted by Auntie Charlotte, Wes and I stealing away for a day to see all of New York City while Gwyneth was in the care of her Auntie and Uncle. Lesley was truly sad that she didn't see any movie stars. Again, stupidly, no photos taken.

Sound Beach, NY to Belfast, Northern Ireland
Approx hours in car: 6 Approx hours in plane: 6
Highlights: Unpacking our suitcases


Gwyneth with Great Grandma Patterson and her daddy


Gwyneth with Grandma and Grandpa Patterson who took great delight in spoiling her rotten


Gwyneth showing More Nana the wonders of her belly button


Granny and Grandpa Williams' Secret Garden


I had compassion on and "ugly" flower and took it's picture as well...turns out it was beautiful, even with its faults


Gwyneth finds her passion: watermelon


One picture passed on to us to help document Gwyneth's rafting at Colin and Elaine's lake place


Example of bad photography. This is what happens when you're hurriedly taking a photo of your child in front of the White House (see the White House? No not really? What about that lady's rump?...hmph, like I said bad photography)


We spent and afternoon in Georgetown with our wonderful friends Anthony and his wife Su Yun and Tai Yun.


Don't they look thrilled to be at the Washington Monument?


Gwyneth reflects upon the sidewalk at the Pool of Reflection. If you look closely, you can see Air Force One in the sky (again just kidding, although we were often looking up at the sky to see if the president's helicopter was flying over)

The Beginning of a New Blog

I just wanted to let you know that we've started another blog to chronicle our church-planting efforts. It's www.thepattersonplant.blogspot.com. Guaranteed excitement!

This one will be maintained as well, so don't worry!

It's Been a Long Time

So, it's been a long time, and we've been busy. Gosh, we've had a moving sale, packed up all our remaining belongings, cleaned our house, sold our house, said what seemed like a million goodbyes (just about all of the tear-jerkers), and now we're in limbo land visiting friends and family before we leave for Belfast on August 1st. Now I think that's a good excuse.

We've enjoyed our time thus far with Wes' family and now my family, and it's been filled with lots of activity. Who knew that vacation could wear us out this much.

In the midst of vacationing, I got a little bit ambitious (maybe too much) and have sewing AND knitting. By golly, I've got to get in my last minutes of time with any sewing machine available. I'm sure there will be one somewhere in N. Ireland, but it somehow seems more convenient to do it now when I've got my mom's sewing machine and advice readily available. So, thus far, I've made a top and a skirt and will make an additional top and skirt. I really like the final results, and maybe one day I'll post pictures, but not tonight.

I found this amazing yarn today at a farmer's market, that was handspun and dyed by a really nice lady and for a whole skein of it, it only cost $5. Now I don't know that much about knitting, but I know a bargain when I see one. I almost felt guilty for not offering more, but I only had $5 cash, unless she wanted a handful of pennies. So, while Gwyneth napped today, I madly knit up a cloche to bring over the sea with me, after all, it's so cold there that I could probably even put it to good use even in the summer!

Anyway, here's some random fun pictures, as well as a picture of the hat.

Gwyneth tries to get away on the neighbor kid's 3 wheeler



I just thought this was a cute photo



Family photo (this was as good as it was going to get...we got tired after setting up the timer and shooting about 15 different photos, which always seemed to have one screwed up face)



Voila - the hat! The photo just doesn't do the colors justice unfortunately

"Bed Training" Final Episode???

I think we may have victory. Of course children seem to be finicky things and one day something works perfectly for them and the next, you can do the same exact thing and it's filled with horror. Gwyneth spent the night in her bed, except for the two times she fell out of it and we found her sleeping on the floor beside it shortly after the "thuds." We were able to effortlessly put her back in bed. She did wake up at 3AM crying, but stayed in bed as she was calling out for "mommy." I went to cuddle her back to calm and didn't hear a peep from her until 8:17AM. I did find her out of her bed when I got up, paging through her favorite book, but she still had an imprint of her ear on her arm left from sleeping on it, so I knew that she hadn't been up for long.

Our little girl is growing up!

"Bed Training" Part Deux

It seems as we may have a success tonight as well! Here's to hoping. Gwyneth was put down at around 7:45PM. It's now 8:38PM. She's actually stayed in bed and under the covers (another 1st) this whole time, except just a couple times, where she actually hobbled over in her sleep sack to pick out her favorite book. I caved it and read it to her (shame on me) which cued another quick set of out of bed, back in beds. Now she's tucked in one more time and totally quiet. Bravo Gwyn!

We've been trying to get her really excited about this whole new sleeping arrangement and I think it's really worked. When Wes got home today, he looked at her new "bed" and told her how big she was getting, etc. She's been getting really good at putting all her stuffed animals to bed, Teddy, Bear-Bear, Red (another bear), Thing (an "ugly doll"), Ellie the Elephant, and Baby.

Maybe this is just the calm before the storm and I should be knocking on wood, but I didn't expect it to be so easy! We'll see what morning brings. She does the occasional stirring at 4 or 5AM and then goes back to sleep, but without boundaries, she may skip the going back to sleep part, which could present a nightmare...but for now, I'll be a proud mama! If we can do this, I think we may avoid problems in the future, as the early toddler will is not so strong as the advanced toddler will. I'd rather teach her "bed boundaries" during the early toddler stage.

"Bed Training"

Well, the Patterson household is facing many changes, all of them largely revolving around the move to Belfast. With a little one in the picture, keeping the balance is especially tricky. We're trying to figure out what the best way to approach such a move is - would it be better to continue nursing until after our arrival, or stop now, would it be better to potty train her now, or later, would it be better to get her used to sleeping in a bed now since she will soon be crib-less in 3 weeks and without a pack n' play shortly after, or do we wing it? Nothing seems easy about these transitions with a toddler in everyday life, but it all seems much more complicated when making a transatlantic move.

Today we decided to try giving up the crib and getting her used to the mattress on the floor, which means that she has a newfound freedom when she's supposed to be sleeping. Right before her nap, I took down her crib, vacuumed the floor, and set the mattress in the empty space. Gwyneth thought it was all exciting. She had no problem when I put her into her new boundary-less bed for her nap time. However, the problem was in keeping her there. We had a battle of the wills for the first 13 minutes. I'd listen for her movements outside the door, she'd crawl off the mattress and I'd jump the gate and silently, but sternly put her back in bed. At first she thought it was quite a fun game, then she started to comprehend that I meant business. After a few more test escapes, she flew her white flag and succummed. I sat outside her door and waited for a few minutes of no sound or movement, and by 12:20, she was fast asleep! Success! Now I'm not sure how sleeping through the night will go, but I'm sure we'll go through this again tonight...and here's to hoping. In the meantime, we're going to practice tucking in her stuffed animals, saying "nightie-night" and giving them the good-night kiss.

Oh, other news on the front. Gwyneth got her first blood-sucking parasite! Yesterday, I pulled off a fat, disgusting wood tick. I generally have a strong stomach and have no problem with the standard "gross out" situations or conversations, but I felt like I could easily throw up at the sight of the creature. Ick. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that this may not be the last experience of that type. Someday, she'll probably come home from school with head lice and infect us all!

Skirt #2

This morning Gwyneth and I had some special sewing time together. Gwyneth cheerfully sat on my lap, giving her full attention while I sewed up her skirt. I was excited, because I felt like I was passing on some special knowledge to her. I love it when I get to share the practical parts of life (such as sewing and cooking) with her looking on. We didn't have any plain matching shirts for her outfit, so I took a shirt of hers that had a little bunny on it and covered it up to make a matching set.

Gwyneth strutting her stuff on the runway, er, sidewalk


Look Mom, it's fluff


Gwyneth inspecting a flower, which happens to be her new word

Inspired

Okay, obviously, you guys can tell that I've been inspired. There's been silence for quite a while in my part of the blogosphere, but all of a sudden I've got lots to post! I've seriously fallen in love with sewing for Gwyneth! It's probably just a stage that I'll grow out of in a week, but for the time being I've been so excited about sewing that I've literally been losing sleep over it!

Anyway, here are the fabric and notions that I found yesterday to get started on some skirts for Gwyneth. Fun!



Here is my first attempt at the skirt with no instructions or pattern. It turned out well, and given that I figured it out on my own, I'm pretty proud of myself. I really like it, but I think the next one I do will make a bit wider so that when the waist is gathered up, it's fuller at the bottom. I loved this little retro print and the baubles remind me of the buses in Mexico. They would often have similar decorations hanging around the windshield, along with some form of the Virgin Mary.



Eventually two more skirts will follow. Those will get posted sometime.

More Smocking Fun!

Here's another smock with a pocket - a smocket if you will.



And our model trying to destroy the photo prop.



I've caught the sewing bug! I went to the fabric store and got enough fabric and notions to make three whimsical skirts for Gwyneth. (I must comment that sewing for little one is not only more affordable, but the projects whip up quite a bit faster than otherwise.) I can't wait to get started! I better get all the sewing in while I can, because this sewing machine will unfortunately not be crossing the ocean with us.

I'm sure on the next post, you'll see three of the cutest skirts ever (well hopefully).

Nifty Sewing

So yesterday was a terribly dreary, cold, rainy day. You know, the Minnesota spring type of day. Gwyneth and I spent the majority of the day as sulking shut-ins. Today on the other hand was a whole different story. It's a beautiful, mildly warm, sunny day, which is a tall order for Northern Minnesota.

Yesterday, in our shut-in state, I decided that Gwyneth was in desperate need of a long sleeved bib, or better yet two. Gwyneth's got her own, not so unique toddler style of eating, which means dredging even the pushed up sleeves through spaghetti sauce and the like. I found the perfect bibs online, however, they ran $17+ a piece, and then there was shipping in addition to that. For two of the such desired, it was about $40. In a desperate attempt to save money, I searched high and low for a sewing pattern that would create something similar. I couldn't find the perfect pattern for a bib, but instead found this hip vintage smock pattern for free, so I got sidetracked by a not so practical, but fashionable sewing project.

Since yesterday was gloomy and today was the opposite, one would think that during Gwyneth's afternoon nap time, I would be outside cleaning up the garden, or maybe reading a book in the sun, but I did what I should have been doing after clouds rolled in, in a day or two. I made Gwyneth a the smock! I was able to start and complete the smock with some fabric remnants I had on hand before Gwyneth woke up from her nap! Hopefully tomorrow's another sunny day, so I can make another smock with a different fabric combo during Gwyneth's rest.

Below Gwyneth's modeling her little number.

Potty Training 101

Well, now that I'm home for a while with Gwyneth, I've decide that it's time to introduce the potty to our little girl. I'm not sure the amount of success that we'll have, but I know after a little research that it is possible for a child at this young age to actually be potty trained. So we've begun to have diaper free times - for this I'm thankful that we have wood floors throughout much of our house. Right now we're working on a bodily awareness. It seems that with the absorbency of the modern diaper, Gwyneth rarely even realizes when she goes to the bathroom, when it streams down her legs when there is no diaper, she certainly notices that! Yes, we've had puddles, but we've also had some potty hits (both #1 and #2! - pretty good for a 15 month old). We'll take it one day at a time, but with any luck, we might have a potty trained child in a few months...we might not, but we won't win if we don't give it a try.

Now for an adorable picture or two:

Exhaustion

This is what happens when a child wakes up at 5:30AM and then you put them in their crib for a few minutes for your morning shower.