Ups and downs

It's been a busy and challenging week. I still don't have Internet at home so I have had to find cafes that offer free wifi. You usually have to buy something to use the wifi. This wouldn't be such a big deal as sitting in a cafe and drinking lattes sounds pretty nice and European but add a bored screaming toddler to that picture and it's not as nice any more. Connor only had so much patience for sitting quietly in a cafe. I also don't have a cell phone as I am waiting until I start work since my work pays for it. But then I have no communication without the wifi. The Internet company has said that maybe we will get the modem.on Tuesday.

I met with my company's hr on Monday to find out the issue with my green card. The issue ended up being with the information my company sent on the employer's information, not my information but now they have to resubmit my entire application and change things as now I am in the country. Because of this error and resubmission my start date will most likely be later. No one knows when my start date will be or if it will have to go through the four weeks again. It is very frustrating and I feel very helpless about the entire situation. It was not something that I submitted wrong but I feel like I'm being penalized for it. Sure, people think well what's the problem, you don't have to work and have more time with Connor. The problem is we already booked Connor's crèche (daycare) for July 30 and cannot move the start date for him as they have a waiting list. So even if I dont start work, Connor is still starting daycare. It is an expensive daycare and we did budget for two incomes. Which leads me to another thing, how slow the bank is. We just received our ATM cards in the mail but still have not received our pins so we can't touch our Irish money and still have to pull money out of the US. You really need to save your money if you ever make a relocation like this. It had been a week and a half at least now. Things are just alot slower here.

I didn't intend for this post to be so negative but these things are starting to keep me up at night. I hope the green card does not delay me for another month. You only get paid once a month here too which was strange for me to hear.

Last week Michael started work and he likes it. I had Connor all to myself and realized that I had just been following Michael around the whole time and not really looking at roads since I got lost so many times. I am enjoying my time with Connor and definitely feel like we are a lot closer. I could see myself being a stay at home mom now because he's so interactive. I take him to the parks everyday.

Yesterday there was a fair in Merrion Square and they had toys everywhere for kids to play with. Connor had a blast and loved playing with a stand up door.

We also went to Howth, a seaside town north of Dublin. It was 15 minute train ride. We walked up the cliff and down next to the water. It was beautiful but a hard climb. Not going to lie, got a little grouchy close to the top, but the walk on the edge was gorgeous. A definite must see. There was also a castle there. Here are pics from the week. Here's hoping to a spectacular week next week.