Dear So and So...

Dear Eircom,

When we got the phone line and broadband in with you, we thought you would provide us with acceptable service. You know Next Generation, national provider etc. Well, I am quite unhappy to say that we have felt terribly let down by you. Firstly, there is no such thing as Next Generation, never congested broadband if you live in the middle of the sticks. The only thing you can get is a measly 1GB broadband. But hey, considering you're the only one that can provide us with Internet access here, we went along with it. What we didn't expect was a broadband that is so temperamental that it drops 5 to 6 times a day for anything up to 5 hours at a time and only seems to be working in the middle of the night. I know us parents tend to be sleep deprived and be up in the middle of the night etc. But seriously, I don't want to have to set my alarm clock to 2 am to be able to use my computer and write a blog post without you dropping for god knows how long. So when your engineer came out back in October and fixed the problem, we thought that would be it. Cue buzzer sound. Wrong answer! A couple of months ago, the problem started again and had worsened causing SuperFoodie to done his supercape and fight with you. You sent somebody out to the house, who couldn't figure out what was wrong so you declared the problem fixed. It wasn't. So SuperFoodie had to come out of his slumber again to make you understand that it wasn't fixed. Eventually, you sent the same engineer back up. Maybe this time he did his job, maybe he just got lucky but anyway, the broadband has not dropped since yesterday, so maybe the problem is fixed. In the meantime, be warned SuperFoodie wants his money back.
A suffering from Internet withdrawal Foodie Mummy.

Dear mobile phone,
I have always looked after you. I fed you phone numbers and music and pictures and other things. So when you decided to crash on me back in November, I wasn't happy. I was even less happy when I realized that I couldn't retrieve any of those things especially my dates from your little chip. You have now been replaced by a lovely Smartphone and I don't miss you.
A struggling to use the touch screen thing Foodie Mummy.

Dear pregnancy test that tells you how long you're gone.

You obviously only work for the people who are eager to know as early as possible. I spent quite some money on you only to discover that you could only tell me that I was 3 weeks +. Thank you for nothing, I knew that already! I was hoping for a more accurate assessment.

Dear snow,
Why did you have to make time stand still for more than a month! If you hadn't come, maybe I would have remembered that my last period was that long ago, instead, I looked like an idiot when I went to the doctor's in February saying I thought I was pregnant but that I couldn't remember the date of my last period because of a crashed phone and you. I also looked like an idiot when I went to the hospital for the first time and the midwife thought I was 18 weeks gone instead of the 16 weeks we had settled for. I still do look like an idiot, when I tell people that I am between 19 and 21 weeks pregnant or that the baby is due sometimes between July and August. Hopefully, the upcoming scan will be able to help us narrow it down.
A halfway through pregnancy Foodie Mummy.

Dear peanut in my belly.
Sorry for not acknowledging your existence any earlier, but can you please stop making me pay for it now and lay off my sciatic nerve and bladder? Not being able to get up to go to the loo because I can't move my legs or even just sit on the toilet without feeling sharp pains is not Mummy's idea of fun, especially in the middle of the night. I promise that we will have lots of fun when you come out but in the meantime, please shift positions.
A struggling to move Foodie Mummy.

I should have kept my mouht shut

I knew it! I should have kept my big mouth shut! If I hadn't posted yesterday about how all that snow is starting to really annoy me now, it wouldn't have snowed again. I'm sure of it.

But, no. I had to go and open my mouth and say that I was kind of getting sick of it. And what happens? Well another good 5 to 10 cm fell overnight. Seriously, it is starting to get boring now! And I can't even do my grocery shopping online as the next delivery slot available is for Friday! Friday, we have time to die of starvation by then (although we won't because the freezer is well stocked) but I'm starting to run out of fresh stuff.

It took Mr Foodie 20 minutes to get out of the garden this morning to go to work. His tracks from yesterday afternoon had all disappeared. The snow is half way up the wheels of my own useless, dead car.

But what I find amazing is the fact that we keep being told that the worse is over, no more snow. Temperatures will go up by the week end and it will all start thawing. Yeah, right! I think the weather people are at this stage as believable as that stupid government. And what about after the week end, they don't seem to be as confident about what's going to happen then. More snow, colder temperatures? Or just a big thaw that will bring on some floods? Nobody knows.

I keep thinking about people in Nordic countries (Hi Heather!), they are well used to plummetting temperatures and snow and ice. So why can't we just get used to it? Why can't we just even be prepared for it? You know, snow chains and snow tyres? Life doesn't stop in those countries, schools don't have heating problems, or burst pipes. Life goes on. Even in the South of France, we are used to snow and ice and cold weather, they do sell snow chains and winter tyres. The year my brother was born (yes, Mr Foodie, the great cold of 84), temperatures in the South of France plumetted to -20. School was open, people went to work, roads were adequately treated. Shops sell snowsuits for as little as 20 euros. So why, can't we deal with it the same way here? Why can't we look at nordic countries, or Canada and take advice from them. See how they do things and learn from it? But no, we let it bring the country to a standstill and we keep using old methods such as salt and sand on the roads. By the way, did you know that salt is useless if temperatures fall beneath -8?

Argh, it's just so frustrating. One thing I know though, is that I will be hitting the French sales in January and I will be getting proper snowsuits and snowboots for the girls. Because I'm sure that this is not the end of it, I'm sure that before the end of this winter, we will have more snow and more ice. And we will be in the same predicament we are in at the moment. The difference is: I will be prepared.

Snow and Ice and all the things nice.

I thought I would ride out the whole Big Freeze thing but it looks inevitable now. I have to write about it because there is nothing else to talk about it seems (well at least until tomorrow, when the harshest budget of the history of the Republic of Ireland will knock us all out). 

I have been stuck in since last Monday. I ordered my shopping online for the first time ever and it was delivered on Tuesday, thankfully since a good 10 inches of snow fell on Tuesday evening, making the roads barely passable from Wednesday on. Still on Wednesday, Mr Foodie managed to go to work, just about, but he abdicated on Thursday and Friday and stayed home. School closed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

We had a great snowball fight on Tuesday evening with the neighbours. Wednesday, Marie went sleighing with the neighbours and some of their friends, in the field next to us. And Thursday, Mr Foodie and Marie went out to try and build a snowman. They just about made the body before giving up, it was too cold. The fire has been blazing everyday from early in the morning, the heating has been on a good while and I lived in fear that we would run out of oil as the weathermen and women announced temperatures of -13.

Our neighbour drove me to the Post Office in the landlord's agricultural Jeep so that I could collect my pittance since nothing had yet been put in place to accommodate people who were snowed in. We stayed in all week end, Mr Foodie only venturing out to get bread and milk. Cabin fever set in on Friday and I escaped for an hour or so to deliver some cinnamon rolls to the neighbour and get out a bit, albeit not far at all.

This morning, things were more or less back to normal, we still have about 10 to 15 cm of snow out, the roads are extremely icy, but Mr Foodie went to work, and Marie's school reopened. So we muffled up and walked down to school, since my car has refused to start since Thursday. I looked like I was doing some kind of cross country skiing rather than walking and people who had the courage to take the car were laughing at me, but it was a lot better than Tuesday when Noelie and myself nearly ended up in the ditch along the road a fair few times. I'll take ice over fresh snow any day now, when it comes to pushing the buggy. I didn't plan on repeating the experience until later on this afternoon but we received a text asking us to collect our children immediately as the heating was not working in the school. So much for being back to normality! And school will be closed again tomorrow although this was planned since September.

Noelie has been fascinated at the snow, spending hours on end looking outside when it was falling. We took her out walking in it and she thought it was great fun, although a bit cold for her liking. We have been baking, cooking, reading, watching TV, knitting everyday. The days have felt extremely long and we found ourselves in bed by 10h30 most nights. And it has been boring, I have to admit.

The snow doesn't seem to want to go anywhere and we now wake up to lovely frosty mornings. So much so that this morning I had to take out my ridiculously ridiculous camera (bring on Christmas so I can get my proper one!) and I had to take pictures. Hope you like them! I am now seriously running out of ideas on how to entertain the girls, there is only so much starring out the window we can do! If you have any ideas, please feel free to let me know!

PS: Sorry if this post seems a bit like random thoughts. It is exactly what it is. I have Noelie stuck to my leg looking for biscuits and Marie hovering about telling me that she's bored. Help!!!!

They have landed (not on the moon but close enough)

They're here!! My mum and dad have arrived for the week end. Well, nearly..They just landed.

And what a journey! The South of France was under heavy snow. Considering that they live 2 hours away from the airport, they decided to set off early and so did I. I was up at 6 this morning, just to be able to check the french news on the french channel. Heavy snow all night.. Right. No major announcement of airports being closed. Sigh of relief. First phone call at 6h41 to check with them, motorway seems OK, airport not open yet. Fine. They set off at about 8h00 to make sure they didn't get caught in traffic.

8h00: Checked Dublin airport website. Checked Ryan Air website. Checked french airport's website. Checked East Midlands airport website.. Yes East Midlands. the first flight that was due to land in Carcassonne left from there. Another sigh of relief, it had departed.

8h15: More Internet checks. Oh no, due to the weather conditions, Carcassonne airport will be closed this morning. All flights to and from will be cancelled this morning. Glimmer of hope, their flight doesn't leave until 1pm. Technically, it's the afternoon. Frantically, check the Dublin airport website for the flight due to leave for Carcassonne at 9h30. If that one is cancelled, they will not make it here today or this weekend even.

8h30: Check Ryan Air website. Due to weather conditions, we are sorry to announce that Carcassonne airport is closed (amongst others). Oh no....Please find below the list of flights that we regret to have to cancel.. Scroll down frantically... Wait, flights to and from Carcassonne do not show up as cancelled. Sigh of something (relief or hope, I don't really know).

9h00: Phone call. They are at the airport but it's closed. I update them from my end. Flight out does not show up as cancelled on either Ryan Air or Dublin Airport's websites.

9h15: Dublin airport's website will not load up for me.. I curse everybody under the sun, Dublin airport, Ryan Air, the weather... I get a phone call from Mr Foodie with his own weather update, it's snowing in Bray and working its way up. Please, please, please let Dublin airport be OK.

9h20: Update from their end, the flight from East Midlands has been rerouted to Perpignan airport, some 200 kms away from Carcassonne. Update from my end, flight out still doesn't show up as cancelled on either website.

9h30: Plane from Dublin due to take off now, website not updated.. Arrrgghhhh......

9h40: Update from their end, they are putting passengers due out of Carcassonne and travelling to East Midlands on buses so they can get the plane in Perpignan rather than Carcassonne. The airport will be closed until 2pm.

I couldn't move away from the computer for more than 5 minutes at a time, refreshing website after website, wishing that plane to take off. If it leaves, they will be over. If it's cancelled, they won't.

10h30: Update from their end. They're having lunch (great, I still haven't had breakfast and they're eating!!!!). They will keep me updated.

10h40: Update from their end: they are still having lunch but announcement was made that the airport will not open. The airport people are saying that they don't know if the flight from Dublin will be cancelled or not, Ryan Air is checking to see if they can get all their flights to land in Perpignan for the day.

10h45: Tried to explain to Marie what was going on. That Papi et Mamie were at the airport but that it is closed. That another plane landed in another airport instead of theirs and that maybe they will be able to get a plane from that airport instead. She replied in a very pragmatic way: 'Why don't they do that then!'. Tried to explain that it was not their choice but the airplane people's. Not sure if she got it.

11h00: No updates on websites. I thought they were supposed to be LIVE updates! Really need to get in the shower while Noelie is having her nap. But keep getting in and out of the bathroom, my head is up in the clouds (unlike that stupid plane!). Finally managed to get in the shower.

11h15: Website is updated!! It has departed. Frantic phone call to them, it's gone. They still haven't heard anything from their end. Frantic phone call to Mr Foodie. It doesn't matter that I am only wearing one sock, that my hair is soaking wet and that my jeans are not buttonned yet.

11h30: Finally get to have something to eat. Have a massive headache from all that trying to stay positive and wishing I was Superwoman and I could get that plane to take off just by thinking about it.

12h00: Update from their end: they are being shipped over to Perpignan by bus and will get their plane from there, it's official.

13h00: Feed Noelie (not for the first time today, I was worried but not completely unable to function), give her a bath, get her ready for her hospital appointment.

14h15: Nearly at the hospital. Phone call to check with my mum to see if they're at the other airport yet. Just getting there. Need to turn off my phone when in the hospital. Told her to give me a text when they board the plane. It's not over till the fat lady sings as they say!

15h30: Out of the hospital. Noelie's kidneys have not been affected by the infection.. Another sigh of relief (much bigger one than all the other ones today). Another call, they're in the plane about to take off.

18h00: They landed. Received a text: We're here (in french obviously). To which, Mr Foodie replies: 'Which airport?'.. 'Cork'...Only a joke...

18h45: They are now on the M50, on their way over.

Despite what a lot of people say, I have to take my hat off to Ryan Air this time. They found an alternative for their passengers and got them to their destination, even if 4 hours later than planned.

More bad weather is announced for the rest of the weekend, schools are closed until Thursday. Will they be able to leave on Monday morning? I don't care!!! They're here and it's all that matters!!! I just hope they don't brake a leg on the icy driveway!!

Let it snow.

I realized today that this year is the first in many years that I actually get to enjoy the snow.

When I was still living in France, I used to go skying pretty much every year. I was lucky enough in the sense that the mountains were only a couple of hours away. Now when I say mountains, I mean MOUNTAINS, big ones with 3 months of snow a year if not more, and skying slopes and peaks. When somebody mentioned the Dublin Mountains to me, I remember thinking 'mountains?! What mountains?! these are only hills.' Which is exactly what my parents said to me when I mentioned to them the ''mountains''.

When it snowed last year, I didn't get to enjoy it. It lengthened my journey home from work and still I was one of the lucky ones making the 5 miles journey in about 1h30 (taking into account that I used to finish work at 18h00, I didn't really appreciate to get home that late). I was 4 months pregnant at the time and the 2nd half of the journey was spent wishing I could go to the toilet. Once I managed to get out of the car, I was terrified that I would slip and fall. We also were living in an apartment which meant no garden for Marie to play in, an underground car park with frozen ramps and a non existent management company to grit either the ramps or the paths around the block. The only fun we had was watching the cars trying to get up the hill onto which the apartment block was located.

This year however it is all different. I find snow quite hypnotic. While cleaning the spare bedroom in preparation for my parents' arrival tomorrow (fingers crossed, as there is a severe weather warning in the south of France tonight), I regularly stopped, just to stare out the window for minutes at a time, watching the flakes falling and accumulating on the ground. I didn't get to do everything I wanted to do but I worked doubly hard today and made up for it.

I really enjoy the whole ritual that comes with preparing for going out for a walk in the snow. I love wrapping the kids up warm, making sure that their coats are zipped up and that their scarf is well wrapped, not too tight but not too loose, that their hats are on right and that their gloves or mittens are well paired. What I enjoyed the most today was strapping Noelie in her buggy and piling up the blankets on her, to make sure she was nice and toasty for our stroll down the shops.

I enjoy that first breath of cold, brisk and seemingly cleaner air, well wrapped in my big jacket with my hat, scarf and gloves. I love the sounds that shoes make on the snow, either screeching or crunching, when all other sounds seem to be muffled, when life seems calmer and quieter. I love the purity of the colour, when houses look like they have also wrapped up and put a white hat on. I love the footprints left in the snow, reminders that people walk those paths everyday yet leave no trace of it. I love feeling the cold biting my nose.

But most of all, I love coming back into the warmth of the house, lighting a nice fire, making a nice cup of hot chocolate or soup, and warming ourselves up. Looking at Marie and Noelie's rosy cheeks, feeling my ears burning when they warm up, and looking out the window to the flakes falling, or to the kids chasing each other, throwing snowballs, building snowmen.

I think that snow brings out the child in adults as they walk and playfully throw snowballs at each other. It slows the world down, as well as the cars. But it also has its downsides and I can't help thinking about people that it isolates, or people that suffer from the cold.

This year, however, I do get to enjoy it and it brings back memories, those of a time when snow was only a couple of hours away.

Mummy, it's snowing (AGAIN)

Wordless Wednesday.

This was taken on Sunday when we went for a stroll, and nearly broke a leg (or four).

And now there is even more!!

Wrap up warm everyone!!!