We shall call her Pearl!

Those of you that have known us for many years know it took us along time to give our first born a name, and when we finally did, Ms. Rory Belle was not liked (her name) by several of my family members. Needless to say they changed their tune as soon as they met her!

I felt like we were entering the same kind of hell over naming this gorgeous pup, but thankfully, Rory herself has put a stop to it by naming 'her' dog!

"We already know a dog named Pearl and it could get confusing if they ever meet" was the argument the Chef presented a few days ago. "Let's call her 'Keris' after one of the characters in the book he is reading right now World Without End by Ken Follett.

Rory agreed to 'sleep on it' a practised custom in the Wise household and the next morning firmly announced that she was willing to take her chances that with the other Pearl living over 3,000 + mile away there was a good chance they may never meet! She would call her puppy 'Pearl' as intended because 'Daddy wants to call her 'chaos' and that is a silly name for a puppy!'

Shortly after she made her little 'name' announcement and made sure everyone knew this was the only option, she shared with us another revelation that she had just had!

"Mum, now there are 3 girls, and only 2 boys, so there are more girls than boys in our family''.

Be still my beating heart..................

For most mothers out there that have had the joy of giving birth (alas I am not one of you) I am sure you would have a joyous moment of pride knowing your child was truly the fruit of your loins.

I have to tell you - this girls all mine!! Not only (at the ripe old age of 5) was she brazen enough to take ownership of the naming situation, she decided it would be OK to rub their (the boys)noses in the fact that we (the girls) now have more seats in the house!

That's my girl!

That is all the WiseWords I have for today,

(loving the majority!)

WiseMóna

Baby oh Baby!

It was bound to happen sooner or later. We finally took the plunge and added a new member to our family! BabyWise (for now, as we are struggling with naming her) arrived late on Christmas Eve from Santa. The children, who had asked for bikes were 'needless to say' overjoyed at the fact that they have a new playmate and have barely noticed the bikes they got from Santa.

As this was our first Christmas in Ireland (since Dad passed away 9 years ago) I was really struggling with getting into the Christmas spirit. No matter where you are (in life) if a parent (or loved one) is buried on Christmas Eve - you just never get over it. You try to put it in the back of your mind, so you can celebrate with your children and partner, but it is always there, in the back of your mind.

This year, I had a horrible dose of the flu the week before Christmas followed by a nice round of bacterial laryngitis's.................things were not looking so great.

But, the great thing about being here at home, is dinner this year was at Mum's, so the pressure to entertain was not on our shoulders.

We ate a lovely dinner, then I did something I have never ever done before. I slept on the couch for the rest of the afternoon. It was pure heaven. We spent the night at Mum's and had a lovely FULL IRISH BREAKFAST to fill our tummies before returning back to Chez Wise on St. Stephens' Day. No shops open here in little Galway. (kind of nice).

The kids have not been seen since, playing with bikes, and tractors and cranes, and baby dolls etc. Rory commented on how glad she was to be in a 'real' home, now that it is filled with toys!

The Chef and I had made a decision to just ask for toys for the children this year. In the past I have always put my foot down and tried to steer everyone in the direction of educational toys or books. This year, I felt that all we had in the house was educational, puzzles or books and they just needed play toys! Thanks to all my family for delivering on that request.

I am wearing earplugs and am laying in wait for the batteries to run out!

A good Christmas was had by all,

That is all the WiseWords I have for now

(BabyWise is asleep on the laptop as I type carefully)

WiseMóna