The Laundry Saga

Noah taking off with some Avoca yarn.
It was all sorted in these toddler height bins
waiting for him.

Since laundry tends to be less than picturesque, I included some pictures from our trip to Glendalough.  Most are by my husband but a couple are from me.  His are the ones that don't look like phone snapshots.  :-)  He writes more about the trip here.

It is a fact of life with children that your laundry will be plentiful.  We rented a furnished house.  They tend to be quite common for rentals in Ireland and we also thought it would just be much simpler than trying to ship things here (as well as coming out quite a bit cheaper- shipping is crazy expensive).  We were very lucky to have some friendly work contacts before we moved here.  I was able to shop on-line (although not actually place an order) at the Dublin IKEA.  I made 3 lists- 1 list of things which I just couldn't fathom trying to manage to bring home across 2 bus switches, in the rain, with 3 children (i.e. 7 bed pillows); 1 list of things that IKEA indicated could be delivered but you had to actually buy them in the store (i.e. children's bed and crib- which they call a cot and gave me fits for a bit and circus tent-just essentials); 1 list of things that would make life a little easier if they were already here (linens, towels, a few toys).  Linda, being the very wonderful person she is, managed to go to IKEA the weekend before we arrived and managed to not only buy everything but get it ALL delivered to the house where our landlords were kind enough to accept delivery.

As an aside, assembling flat pack furniture on 4 hours of sleep after 16 hours or so of travel is just as fun as it sounds.

Just after mill tour and just prior to meltdown #2 :-)

So, when we got here we already had the pile of clothes that always accumulate within 24 hours as well as a household full of new towels, sheets, duvet covers, kitchen linen, etc, waiting to be washed.  With an American washer/dryer this is an intimidating but not insurmountable task.  With European washers and Irish weather, it is perhaps an exercise if not in futility then at least frustration.  My mother was here to help for the first week (thank heavens) and we couldn't figure out what we were doing wrong.  The washer was taking 2 hours or more to run a cycle.  We tried using less soap, making smaller loads and picking cooler cycles but they were still crazy long.  We had better luck with the quick wash cycle but that was still an hour or so and the clothes come out iffy.

The spin cycle is unreal in it's intensity even when I turn the rpms down.  To give an idea, the children regularly stand in the door of the wash shed and pretend to parachute out of a helicopter while the washer spins.

I finally did some research to try to figure out where I was making my mistake certain this couldn't possibly be right.  Imagine my surprise when I learned that a- this is totally normal for European washers and b- a source of considerable defensiveness on the part of European housewives.

The washers use about 30% of the water that a typical top load US washer uses.  They also heat the water within the washer so it actually gets to whatever temperature you set it to- a HOT cycle is 90 degrees celcius or almost boiling.  You can also pick the speed for the rinse cycle and your clothes can come out remarkably dry.  I will also say that these washers can really clean if given the opportunity.  Noah wears hand-me-downs from Charlie.  One of his shirts had some light staining from Charlie and those stains came out the other day.  I was shocked!

Glendalough gate

The one thing you don't get to indicate is the size of the load.  The washer automatically weighs the clothing and then runs the cycle accordingly.  The problem with that comes in the soap.  The washer rinses until it detects all the soap and whatnot is washed out.  But, I don't really have any idea how much soap to add.  The box does say but it's all based on how hard your water is and the weight of your load.  I have no idea how much a load of clothing weighs in pounds *or* kilograms.  Nor do I really know if we have hard water.  So, I've been guessing and hoping I'm not adding too much time to the length of the cycle with excessive detergent.

The other big thing I've noticed about cleaners in general here is that hard water:Irish cleaners::antibacterial:US cleaners  I actually had a really hard time finding a cleaner that indicated it would kill mildew which, in a damp climate, you would think would be easy to find.  But, it was really easy to find all manner of cleaners promising to defeat limescale.  You can buy straight bleach but it's in this thick cream formula which seems to work but I haven't been able to figure out if you can use it in washing machines.  Oxygen bleaches are easy to find but don't seem to have much power against mildew and the like.

Mountains around Glendalough

I checked on US front loaders to see if the Europeans have a point.  But, US washers manage to use significantly less water but still finish in a much more timely 30-45 minutes even when fully loaded on a regular cycle.  They also hold much larger loads- 3 children's bath towels, 3 pillowcases and a few washcloths completely fill our European washer's tub.  I can't say if US frontloaders would get clothes quite as clean or remove 4 year old stains but I think I would be willing to make some trade offs if it meant I could comfortably do laundry without it being a full day commitment.

Making all this more difficult is the combination of the European dryers and the frequent rain.  European dryers are designed to get clothing dry enough to finish either in the airing cupboard (indoor clothesline) or via iron.  To get them to completely dry a load, you are looking at a good 45 minute cycle on high- at least 1.5 hours on low- of course, you'll still be waiting on the next load to finish in the washer so...

Allen pulled out his camera to take a picture of the arch.
When Noah saw him, he gave a big smile saying
"cheese."  Who could resist that?

Finally, I can't believe the trouble I've had finding good clothespins!  This is country that prides itself on line drying.  The dryer is for Emergency Use Only.  Between the ocean winds and the constant damp, outdoor clothespins have to withstand a beating and I haven't been able to figure out which kind can actually do it- it's next on my to-ask list when I next corner a veteran housewife.

I've adapted reasonably well.  I try to do oodles of loads on reasonably dry days- 4-6 loads which catches us up for about 2 days.  On wet days, I run 1-2 loads- it depends on how full the drying rack is. I run the children's lights load at bedtime so it can get a full 2 hour cycle leaving their clothes quite clean but then I have to cross my fingers that the weather report was reasonably accurate and I'll be able to hang them out.  Nothing fills a drying rack quite as quickly as tiny underwear and socks!  We run into trouble when the stomach flu goes through the family and I have yet to figure out how I'll ever manage when Noah starts potty training but, there are worse things!

Young Children + International Plane Travel + Your Sanity

When Allen told me that we would be moving to Ireland for a year I was actually pretty relaxed about most of it.  The part that actually struck fear in my heart was the plane ride there.  Happily, it went pretty well.  Should you find yourself facing international plane travel with young children, here is my advice:

Flights from the US to Ireland are pretty much always night flights.  This could work to your advantage if your kids sleep easily all over.  That's not my kids.  :-)  The night before we left I spent 2.5 hours in a rocking chair holding a HOWLING Noah, trying to get him to sleep at my parent's house.  I had visions of just how much everyone on that plane would love us.  But, being well prepared is your first line of defense!  I was responsible for getting the children and myself ready to travel.  Allen and my mother were on their own. :-)

Clothing:

We were leaving the US when it was sunny, hot, and humid and landing in Ireland where it would be cool and rainy and digging around suitcases at what would be about 3am according to our bodies was not really an option.  So, layers were key!  In addition, clothes needed to be comfortable enough to sleep in while still being presentable enough to be out and about in.  I didn't want to have kids in pjs and then have to dig out street clothes as soon as we landed or got to the house.

Nursing friendly plane travel outfit

I wore Levi's 535s.  They are one step above pjs in comfort.  I was scared to wear jeggings jeans but they are really comfy, flattering, look like jeans rather than stretch pants and, the key factor, allowed me to wear flats to make security lines a little simpler.  Get the junior's version, though, and make sure the stitching is in a lighter thread color.  I tried the midnight wash and those looked awful- Zappos free returns are your friend!  Since we would be going through security which would be a hassle and a half to start with, I wanted to streamline wherever possible.  So, I really wanted to wear flats, otherwise, I probably would have worn yoga pants.  Noah was breastfeeding at bedtime and wake-up time so I also needed to accomidate that but was hoping he might forget in the hustle and bustle since he is almost 2 and positioning could be a little awkward.  Anyway, I wore a nursing tank with a poncho type sweater on top (mine wasn't this one but similar).  This allows for discretion without also trying to position a blanket or cover-up.  It also gave the option of removing the sweater if I got hot.  I used one of these hair pins to allow for easy, effortless style and made sure I had my big sunglasses and lip gloss on-hand.

The kids each wore sweatpants, t-shirts and hoodies.

We had one carry-on bag and we put all the rain jackets on the top of it to get at easily when we landed.  Shocker!  It was raining when we landed in Ireland and we were very glad of the raincoats once we got outside.

Everyone also had a backpack as their personal carry-on item and the kids had their lunchboxes attached.  Noah (20 months) and Megan (4) each had a full change of clothes and Noah had 1 extra shirt as well as 4 diapers and a pack of wipes.  Charlie (5) had an extra t-shirt and underwear.  The kids all had their toothbrush (but no paste due to the liquids rules) in their back pack.  I had wisp toothbrushes and facial wipes in my bag so I could feel a little more human.

Keeping them busy!

We brought 2 ipads loaded with a couple of the kid's favorite shows and a few apps.  All 3 kids like robot lab by toca boca and we also had a Dora alphabet app and a couple of kid cds burned.  We have a speck ipad cover on the family (read: kid's) ipad that is fantastic and we got them caliphone headphones which fit reasonably well.

The big kids got travel tangoes as going away gifts and they were a big hit as were wikkisticks.

All 3 children had fold-n-go organizers from 31 gifts and I tucked pens, twistable crayons, stickers, dollar spot calculators and dover mini books into those.  They all had a friend tucked into their backpack, favorite books and a magnadoodle.  In the front pocket, I tucked in travel size wipes and a few snacks.

I had extra mini books in my bag as well as plenty of lollipops and a few extra snacks- fruit leathers and granola bars.  I gave lollipops to the children for take off and landings to help with pressure changes.  The time they were most useful was the very long customs and immigration line when we arrived.  :-)

For those still in suspense as to if I wound up bribing all the surrounding passengers...

All 3 children were awake and pleasant for the brief flight from Regan to JFK.  We boarded our flight to Ireland around 8 pm EST.  Megan, having hardly slept for the week prior, was out by 8:45 and slept most of the way.  Charlie watched 1 show in the ipad, messed around for a bit longer and was out by 10.  Noah cried for maybe 10 minutes total through the 7 hour flight but only slept for about 4 broken hours (which meant I slept for about 3 broken hours...)  He watched the same 25 minute Little Bear episode for hours with brief forays into Curious George.  This isn't something I would usually support but desperate times call for desperate measures!

Dublin Castle and Dubh Linn Gardens

This weekend we went on a tour of Dublin Castle and visited the Dubh Linn Gardens.

First, of course, came a yummy snack.  On the tables, they had these lovely jars of sugar lumps and, by now, we all know of my fascination with sugar lumps!

Noah obviously made our guide a bit nervous- I could practically see visions of asking us to remove Noah from the draperies, couches, and other antiques running through her head.  But, the children all did quite well.  I spent rather a lot of time looking out windows commenting on waving flags, clouds, and passing tourists but I did get the gist of things.  (you weren't allowed to take pictures inside the castle)

Noah checking his shadow is keeping up

Daniel O'Connell was nursed back to health in the castle before being put to death (it was illegal to execute an injured or ill person).  So, they had a display of pictures of the 16 men who were executed for their part in instigating the Easter Rebellion.  Some of those men were so very young!

Megan and Noah about to hug 

even though it may look otherwise

In lighter news, we also got to see the room the girls would wait in before being presented to the nobility.  They had special angled mirrors under the benches so that the girls could check that their ankles and petticoats were hidden.  There was also a special needlework screen mounted on a pole that the girls could use to protect their faces from the warmth of the fire.  Makeup was waxed based so if their faces got too warm they would quite literally lose face.

Charlie

We then made our way down to the excavation area where you see the moat and back entrance to the castle.  Noah was very impressed with the great many rocks.

The children were delighted to have a bit of running around time on the Dubh Linn Gardens.  The name means dark pool.  The Gardens (really just the one garden) were built on top of the pool as it filled in over time.  The Vikings used it to hold their boats as it was easily reachable via the Liffey.  The pronunciation evolved into Dublin and provided the name for the city.

The Dubh Linn Gardens are right next to a large Garda station and the Castle is still used for official functions.  They are currently doing some updating so that they can host the EU Parliment starting in January.  So, of course they need a helipad and guess where it is...

picture source google earth

The tour guide said that there are 6 readily discernible landing sites within the traditional Celtic design.

The Dublin Diet

or

How to lose 14 pounds without really trying (I hope) and also some ships and snails since the pictures are cute but not really enough to do a whole post on.

In addition to changing countries, we also changed from must have a car living to no car at all.  In the US, we live in Blacksburg, VA which, in the way of many southern towns, doesn't really lend itself to carless living.  It is mountainous and closer to rural than suburban.  The mass transit system is effective for student use, making frequent stops at all the apartment complexes and townhome clusters but is woefully lacking for any other regular use.  The sidewalks outside the center of town can be sparse.  In fact, we live within theoretical walking distance of a park, full size grocery store, shopping center, restraunts, and post office as well as Allen's office.  But, there is a notable stretch of road lacking a sidewalk or even much in the way of a shoulder.  It's curvy and bordered with ditch and frequently enough traveled to make it quite undesirable to traverse with young children and/or a stroller.  So, minivan living it is.

 Dublin has monster snails (and slugs)

Dublin is quite the walkable city.  The city is broken into many quite small neighborhoods, each with their own play spaces, grocery stores, pharmacies, and assorted other shops.  We are about a mile walk (complete with sidewalks!) from essentials and a touch further from the embassy row playground (a slightly closer one features broken glass in the mulch and many under supervised children).  Most places more than 1.5 miles or so away are readily reachable by bus or train.  All this combined means that more often than not, we take a daily walk of about 2 miles.  When school starts, I will be walking about 2-3 miles a day for drop offs and pick-ups and then a bit more if we go anywhere else.

This snail will later appear on the wall above the dryer.

Mothers of several, may be asking how exactly I'm working the groceries thing.  If nothing else, my family goes through about 8-10 liters (2-3 gallons) of milk a week.  While the traditional thing would be to get a biweekly milk delivery and then trot off to the store every day or so, Dublin has gone all wild and has lovely grocery delivery servies.  For a mere 4 euros a week the nice grocery man goes hither and yon to get milk, yogurt, chicken breasts and what not and then brings it all to my house during a 2 hour slot of my choosing.  Lovely on a stick dipped in chocolate!  Even better, you don't risk any of those impulse buys.  You know how you write your grocery list and it's full of fresh produce and the sale pork chops and somehow you come home with a sleeve of cookies, a pound of bacon and snarf a candybar on the way home?  That doesn't happen when someone else is shopping for you.

Charlie as Christopher Columbus
at library program related to Tall Ships

So, surely to your shock, walking 2 miles a day and cutting out junkfood leads to you losing some weight.  The Dublin diet thus far seems far more pleasant than the "I have 2 children under 2, one of whom insists on being worn at all time, neither of whom sleep and I have no time to eat" while perhaps being less effective than my friend's "And twins make 5 under 7" diet (she has breastfed them for 2 years and counting!).  I have a goal to lose a stone (14 pounds) without too much effort or sacrifice.  So far, I'm down somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds- the scale was the cheapest on offer by Ikea and shows it.

Megan as Grace O'Malley

I have my fingers firmly crossed.  I would really like it if my BMI was a solid 22/23 rather than it's current high 24 on a good day.  I'm also an apple shape so I mostly gain belly fat.  That puts me at higher risk of diabetes and heart problems so a little weight loss will be good for my long term health as well.  I tend to do fairly well at maintaining my weight and if I lose a a full stone, I can even afford to gain a bit back and still be at a healthy BMI.

International Mothering

I consider Megan to be my easy baby. She had rather severe colic so she cried for about 4-5 hours every evening for her first 4 months of life. She was also my sleeper. She would sleep for a 2-3 hour stretch at least once a night and slept through the night by age 2. She also took at least 1 nap of 45 minutes to an hour at least once a day until she was about 2! Heaven!

Megan

There is a reason my babies are impossibly adorable. I am convinced it's an adaptive mutation.

Noah and Becky

The upside is that they all became enchanting toddlers and wonderful preschoolers. We apparently front load our early childhood struggles.  They also adore playing with one another.  My main mothering function at this point seems to be corralling the fun.  I never really thought I would find myself hollering "Stop hugging your brother!" but there we are.  It's not unlike having a tumbling mass of puppies underfoot at all time.

Charlie and Megan

As my children have gotten a touch older and I've started to sleep for 4-5 hours at a stretch and don't have a very small person attached to my body at all times, I've noticed my mothering is slowly improving.  My shoulders aren't quite so hunched.  My breath is a little easier.  I tend to be able to speak in complete sentences.

Blacksburg front yard Spring 2012

Then we came to Dublin.  Dublin 4 to be exact.  Dublin is broken into numbered areas and Dublin 4 is considered pretty posh.  When we were looking for places to live, we had friends who could check likely rentals out for us but we also needed to be reasonably sure that the "likelies" really were so said friends weren't always running hither and yon.  A number of other Dublin neighborhoods have nice sections and if you know Dublin well, you can find reasonable places to live all over.  But we didn't.  So, posh we went.

Allen hunted about for a playground and found one near Dublin's embassy row.  This is where the WASP standard of Never Yell In Public in was born.  I always came home from our outings feeling like the lowest of the low.  I holler.  I chastise.  I expect the children to give way on the sidewalk and not run in front of swings.  I don't call my children "darlings."

I finally stepped back for a minute.  A key issue was simply my accent.  An American accent rings out over the rumble of all the Dubliners for everyone BUT my children who, in the way of children, are excellent at tuning it out.  Dublin 4 is the land of the yummy mummy and Embassy Row has the yummiest.  Nannies, grannies, and dear aunt Frannies abound to help mothers care for the children.  Plus, there is something about "Darling, you were brilliant!" that somehow sounds like so much higher praise than the more American "Good job, sweetie!" that I tend to say (rather a lot, actually).

I also started trying to pay attention when we weren't in the land of the yummies, especially when I saw mothers with a toddler and 2 preschoolers in tow.  Those moms tended to sound a lot like me with a Dublin accent and a few cultural differences that I can learn from, or at least enjoy while we're here!

Dubliners tend to have a more relaxed attitude towards time.  This means that they tend to have more patience with the natural tendencies for children to wander all over the sidewalk (Dublin adults have the time to walk around them).  Dublin adults tend to enjoy taking a moment to smile at the children.  Construction workers will take a minute to let the children investigate their project.  People are more likely to help you with your stroller rather than sigh at the delay.

Dublin parents tend to put away the phone on the playground and play with the kids.  I saw parents playing tag and hide and seek and a lot fewer tantrums.

Dubliners seem to genuinely enjoy children.  They welcome their messes, noise, and chaos in a way that I rarely see in the US.  As I learn to adapt to this attitude, I am finding myself smiling more; relaxing a little and at some point, I might even see myself dropping a few "darlings."

Noah, Megan and Charlie at a Dublin playground

Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real

I've read Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real for ages.  Today I finally get to participate!

Pretty

After seeing lovely flowers growing in window boxes, on lintels, hanging baskets and in front gardens, I decided I simply had to get something pretty going in our yard.  So, it got off to a late start but here is my attempt at a window box.  I asked Charlie to smile and this is what I got.  :-)

And a close up of the fuscias

Funny

We went on a train day trip last weekend.  We saw a lovely old cemetery and church ruins as well as some breathtaking scenery.  We also got to visit Avoca (where Ballykissangle was filmed) and Woolen Mills where they do lovely hand weaving.  Megan fell apart after the mill tour so we hung out (read: Megan lost in in the grass while I made sure she didn't fall into the stream) while the boys toured Avoca.  I held hands during the ruins to avoid children leaving with sprained ankles.  Noah spent the train journey firmly ensconced in my lap.  But!  I did manage to get a picture during lunch!

Instead of sugar packets, the Mill cafe proffered individually wrapped sugar lumps- not cubes, mind you but actual LUMPS!

Fear not, I got a couple of other quick shots and Allen got tons which I have to pilfer so more pictures to come!

Happy

Wednesday was Noah's second birthday.  After we finished eating, Linda volunteered to read Little Bear.  Charlie was busy being a robot (or perhaps a plane?) but Megan and Noah were eager to listen.

Real

Laundry is the bane of my existence a constant exercise in futility my current exciting opportunity for personal growth!  When I finished hanging yet another load on the line (with 4 more yet to do and I do it just about every day- an Irish load is about 1/3-1/2 the size of an American one)

The sky looked like this:

Being new to the country, I'm never terribly clear if things are blowing in, out, or over.  About 15 minutes before I took this picture, it was bright with friendly puffs.  15 minutes later the clouds had built and jackets were donned.  15 minutes beyond that, we were back to clear blue.  

I've become accustomed to keeping a weather eye out the window; hanging up the laundry is one of those leaps of faith that with the weather report and radar both claiming that not a drop is falling for 100 miles so surely the laundry will be safe.  One would think that this would be good reason for the Irish to embrace dryers.

WRONG!

Irish Weather

In specific, Irish weather reports.

One of my favorite things to do at 7 am (and the competition is admittedly slim) is to check the weather report.  The Irish have a real flair for weather reports.  This is important as the climate here is actually fairly static.  Since we have been here nighttime lows have been around 8-10 and daytime highs no more than 18 with it generally being around 15-16.  In American, that's overnight lows in the mid-40s with highs in the 60s.  And, most days are gifted with some form of precipitation.

On the plus side, you know those dear little wicker hanging flower baskets that look so tempting in April but you know that you will have to water them once (or maybe twice) a day come late June?  This is what they look like in Ireland, in July, with no tending to speak of.

The American weather reports for Dublin make the weather sound stunningly dull as well as not giving any terribly useful information.  In short, it reports highs around 60 and rain.

I need to know if there is any point in hanging out the laundry; if we should make a go for the playground; if today (in early August) I should probably just turn on the heat for an hour or two.  To figure that out, I need Irish forecasting.

First, they offer a mid-day temperature rather than a high in their quick reports.  This is quite helpful when sunset is around 10 pm.  It isn't uncommon for us to hit the high as we are eating dinner or even after the children have gone to bed.  Second, the Irish know how to craft a wonderfully worded weather report.  The fact is that it will rain.  Some places may need 50 words for snow.  Ireland needs 50 words for precipitation, another 50 for air currents, and a final bunch for cloudy (the Irish Cloud Appreciation Society is here).  There are light rains, passing rains, locally thundery rains, wet starts clearing to showers, persistent rains, mists and (a personal favorite) "times when the showers merge to give longer spells of rain."  The winds are light, fresh, breezy, blustery, and strong.  The Irish are not under any illusions that meteorology is a science, firmly embracing it as an art.  Missing are the American percentages and formulated definitions.  Predictions are for around tea time, midday, early and late with no attempt to do an hourly forecast.  Bets are always hedged.  My husband tweeted (@mackenab):

Typical Dublin forecast: "There will be some bright spells for much of the afternoon but there will be occasional showers also, some heavy."

The end result is that you've read a forecast which somehow manages to tell you nothing definitive.  It is not uncommon to realize that the weather prediction boils down to cloudy but maybe sunny with light or maybe heavy rain, probably in the afternoon but maybe not.  Somehow, this still leaves you feeling reasonably informed and much more so that the more certain and scientific type. If the morning will be have a fresh wind followed by showers with some passing heavy bands, it's certainly worth going to the park and probably worth hanging the laundry as long they happen in the morning and much more helpful than partly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain.