Isle of Wight Christmas

Thats it, it's all booked - we are all off to the Isle of Wight this Christmas. Clarah, me, the three kids and parents are all off for a holiday on the island. We are going to a holiday resort called Gurnard Pines. Gurnard is just outside Cowes and only about 10mins away by car from the ferry port. We'll be staying in a 3 bedroom bungalow but there are lots of different types of accommodation. The facilites look great and there's lots to do and to keep the kids entertained.

• Play areas for the kids


• A creche


• Indoor swimming pool


• Outdoor swimming pool


• Tennis courts


• A bar (Very important, especially when you have two Irish men around)


• Woodland all around the resort

It's going to be the first time Clarah's been able to bring Ben away on a holiday. Tiernan won't really know whats going on, but by then he should be crawling. I wouldn't be suprised if he can say a few word by then, like "More turkey" lol. Its going to be such a special Christmas with our baby, the kids and my parents flying over from Ireland.

Heres a google map of the are showing the resort of Gurnard Pines (circled in red), the large ferry port to the right and the beach above.

Here's a You Tube video of Gurnard Pines. We are all really looking forward to it.

Back Blogging

I'm back again after another spell away from blogging. I'm now working for an ever expanding company called Web on High. They are based in Newbury and specialise in creating web sites that make money. We create sites that rank well in Google and thus bring in revenue. I've been working there for over a year now, and have got to work on some pretty big sites.

The even bigger news is, I am now a father. Tiernan Joseph Patrick Carton was born on the 14th of July and weighed 6 pounds 8 ounces. Yes he has my surname, as Clarah wanted it that way, seeing as we plan to marry one of these days.

Tiernan has changed our lives big time, it's been stressful at times but mostly it's been great. Clarah and I have become so strong as a couple and I feel like there's nothing we couldn't handle together. Tiernan's been sleeping well most nights and we both get enough sleep, me more than Clarah I must add. He'll be 16 weeks old on Tuesday and he's full of babble. I could swear at times I can hear him say "hello" or "thank you".

Ben and Beth just love him, and entertain him any way they can. Ben reads him stories from his Ben 10 books. Tiernan loves been spoken too and Beth even makes an attempt at singing.

He's getting big now and able to hold his head up. We've got him one of those Bumbos. They are great and when he's not too tired he sits up in it. I was a bit worried that it wouldn't support him properly, but its great, it has a back to it and the whole seat is moulded perfectly to hold him. We managed to pick ours up from Mothercare.

We had a look at the Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo while we were there and were impressed. We tried Tiernan out in it and thought it was great. He'll be able to bounce in it and play with lots of different interactive toys all around the swivelling seat. I think that's got to be his Christmas present from us as he's so active and we know he'll love it.

Engaged

Its been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened since then. Everything has been amazing between Clarah and I. I can't believe how lucky I am to have found her, she's to put it simply my soul mate. I feel closer to her with each passing day. On one such great day in March Clarah suddenly became all serious and looked me in the eye and asked me to marry her, I think she was growing impatient :). I of course said yes. A few weeks later I went out and bought a ring and then returned the favour by proposing to her on the 30th of March just three days after my birthday. It was an amazing day, the sun was blazing and we'd been having a little lunch and wine out in the back garden. I thought it was a perfect time to ask her. The kids had just come back from their grandparents and were happily playing at the bottom of the garden. Clarah was overwhelmed and said yes while jumping up and down like the Tigger she is. Since then everything has been perfect and we feel so much more secure and have been smiling ever since.



Most recently the whole family has just gotten back from Ireland. Clarah and I spent some time looking into venues and churches for the wedding. First of all we had a look at the Royal Hotel in Bray and we were given a great tour around the hotel by the wedding co-ordinator Nessa. She and her assistant Philip treated Clarah, Beth and myself very well and were very friendly and accommodating. We really liked the facilities provided for the guests, which included a pub, smoking area and a great play room for the children (of all ages...) including a Playstation, air hockey table and pool table. The function room we seen was very impressive and large enough to easily host all our guests comfortably. We were over in Ireland from the 21st to 28th of May and really enjoyed every moment of it. We looked at our church, met our vicar and the process of getting married is slowly starting to happen... All this to a man who never thought he would be getting married is, at times, a bit bewildering, but it feels amazing because I know it's right. OK, soppy stuff over now.

I've been working as a temp for a while now, and I just really want to get my career back on track. I've had various interviews, but due to various reasons, they haven't happened. I have a call back for a second interview during the next week, so we'll see how it goes. I really miss working in design and am aching to get back to it again.