Taking the path of most resistance... one step at a time...

Oh and Emma and Lauren are having a good time with their father... although Lauren says she has not eaten "enough" Irish breakfast and seemed pretty put out that people had the audacity to serve her cereal. Emma says "too much shopping" but fun!

So... since the girls are in Ireland
with their father...
who else can I focus on....

Bella...

I was worried about Bella this week since her sisters were not trapezing in and out and her days would be soooooooo long and lonely....

So I thought about it and created a barrier from the kitchen to the rest of the house using a baby gate... then placing the step stool, wine rack and vacuum (which she is terrified of) in front of that... day 1... I am in a panic at work wondering what she has done to the kitchen left to her own devices. .. as it turns out... I arrive home that evening and she did not even hear me enter the house... calling out to her... she sleepily emerges from her open crate... a day of figuring out how to empty her Kong of her "cookies" obviously mentally exhausting her....

At any rate... she has been allowed access to the kitchen every day for the last week and has done beautifully... earning herself Frosty Paws for her good behavior.... and of course Kongs filled with "cookies".

Over the weekend we brought her to Quigley's... an Irish pub and restaurant with an outdoor patio that allows dogs. I was a tense wreck... waiting for her to drag me across the patio in order to eat a "snack dog" or chastise a middle aged men (whom for some reason she has issues with)... but all in all she was pretty good...

Then of course she blew it by snarling at all those who dared think they could drink from the dog drinking fountain she was guarding by the river in downtown Naperville.... little snot!

What can I say... I adore her... in all her bitchy Rottie ways... Brad calls her "Tank"... which is really quite perfect...

The girls leave for Ireland on Friday for a little over two weeks. I know this will be the longest Lauren has been away from me. Emma, I think, spent 2 weeks at my mom's . It will be hard either way. They are very excited though. Being good Irish children they love their black and white pudding, rashers and sausage. The smoked salmon and good black tea with milk get their nods as well. The rainbows.

Nervous about them flying so far away from me, but can't wait to hear the stories and see the pictures when they return.

Bella will miss her "sisters". Particularly her Emma. I guess she will have to suffer me. And we will take some walks and curl up on the couch watching movies together. I will have to look for dog movies!! Or maybe just Animal Planet?

I have been bad. I should have written something about the trip last week. California was nice. Hot the first couple days (really hot) and then we had a nice mild breezy day for the bar-b-que. It was good to see my mother. The girls really enjoyed her pool. They were in it the 4 days more than they were out of it. Lauren made great strides and was amazingly fearless in the water as she is with all things.

Brianna is going to finish up her gym credits over the summer. I think at this point her decision to go to a junior college and get her feet wet is a good idea. I was so happy to see her. Miss her all the time and hope she can come home for even a small part of the summer. Wish I had gotten more pictures!

It was strange spending that much time in the car with Ross, and at my mothers for that matter. We really don't have much to talk about any more. It was actually nice the night of the party at my mom's house. He was tipsy enough that he was affectionate with the kids. Emma looked surprised like she didn't quite know what do do when he hugged her and told her how much he loved her. I know he cares. Just has a hard time demonstrating it at times with three daughters.

Mom's house looks great. She has done a lot of work and it shows.
She was pleased that we found a praying mantis in her garden
for two days in a row. It is a good sign of a well balanced garden.
He was a neat little fella, climbing all over us and posing for pictures.

Driving up to mom's on the first day, we drove though St. Helena in Napa County. Wineries, wineries and more wineries. I would like to go back and explore. Without kids (I don't think they would get the same kick out of the architecture and wine tasting that I would)! The little GPS I got before we left worked beautifully.


Coming home we had some time to spend in San Francisco. I got some amazing pictures of the girls and swans at the Exploratorium. The hydrangeas in bloom on Lombard. The murals in the Mission District. AND.

We snacked at the most incredible bakery called Tartine. We split a Croque Monsieur, which is an open face sandwich made with country bread, bechamel, gruyere, thyme and pepper, topped with smoked Niman Ranch ham. Emma and Lauren were in heaven. It was lovely. Then we tasted something even more incredible. A Fragipane Croissant with brandy and almonds. Oh my! Positively sinful. The Mission District where the bakery is located would be a great place to people watch. I would love to sit and drink coffee on a Sunday morning, share some yummy pastries with Brad and enjoy a California morning.

We also dashed through Chinatown. I would have a lot of fun looking through the shops. The girls and I got silk dragonfly slippers for $5.00. What a bargain. And I found grapefruit incense. I like it.

The flight home was a red eye and boy were we exhausted when we got home. The kids of course slept in the car on the way home from the airport. I was not so lucky. It was muggy and sticky! Brad came up for pizza and to give hugs. I missed him a great deal. It felt good to be in my space.

The kids leave for Ireland in 3 weeks with Ross. They are both very excited.