Day 21

0630 GMT - Early day today. I was woken up several times last night by various New Years Eve revelers and Connor crying, wanting to be fed. Now Eamon is up and about so I turn on the TV for him to watch some cartoons. I remain in a rotten mood. I have grown quite frustrated with Eamon's behavior and feel rather at a loss as to how to deal with it. I have decided to not be involved in discipline of Eamon for the rest of the trip. In my wandering fury I try to avoid Amy completely. As soon as she wakes up I put on my running clothes and head out for a run. Fortunately they have opened up St. Stephen's Green just as I arrive and I get to put in some laps. I am feeling quite out of shape, and running against the wind is quite tough. The sun is out but I do get hit by some drizzles. I head back to the apartment only to have to take a cold shower, we have yet to figure out the hot water.

1130 GMT - We are all dressed finally and ready to head outside for the day when a massive storm hits. The winds are VERY fast and it is raining as though this were a hurricane or a monsoon. We take off our coats and decide to do a little more waiting.

1330 GMT - The rain has mostly stopped so we go off in search of lunch. We wander through the shopping district right next to our apartment, but have very little luck. We try a number of places, but none really seem to be what any of us are looking for. Finally we head back to a Chinese restaurant because they have Dim Sum. Once inside, however, we learn that all the food except for a few dishes has MSG. Amy is frustrated by orders some food and overall it is OK. Eamon and I eat the Dim Sum, which really isn't very good, but the other food is not bad. Connor begins to get cranky...it is time for his nap so we head out for a walk so that he can nap in the stroller.

1730 GMT - We are not feeling much like doing anything at the moment, and Amy and I are still talking to each other only as much as is necessary. We order delivery food from a magazine left on the table. It is adequate. We watch some TV and finally get the kids into a warm bath and off to bed.

2030 GMT - Amy wants to get out and hear some music. The real Irish Pub nightlife doesn't begin until after 2100, and we have thus never gotten to experience it. There is a pub listed in her Dublin guide that is very close to our apartment and is supposed have great traditional music. I tell her to go out and she promises to let me go out the next night. I spend my time reading and am still up when she comes back. She has had a FABULOUS time. She got to the pub and was adopted by the locals. The band was a bunch of older traditional musicians. Her new buddy slowly works her closer and closer to the band until she is right up on stage. He has told them that she plays the guitar and one of the players passes her an instrument. She tells them that she plays, but has NO idea how to follow them. They laugh and continue on. One of the younger musicians tells her that he has been trying to learn by playing with them for months and still hasn't got it figured out. She tells me that I have to go out. We use her great mood as a ice breaker to have a VERY long discussion about Eamon and his behavior as well as the way that we are dealing with it. We come up with a new plan similar to what he does in school. He can be on RED or GREEN. When he is on red he loses all privileges. He cannot play with the computer, watch TV or play with a grown up. He will have time outs on the bathroom floor with the door open and the light out. He is very particular about having all the lights on, so this drills the point in. He is not in the dark, he just can't turn on the light in the bathroom itself. We agree to explain the new system to him in the morning. We will use markers on the white board at home, but here we will just place a red or a green object on the television.