Baby Cinema

I love that we are able to take Boy to the pictures again. I used to take him to monthly mother and baby cinema mornings (Eye Scream) when he was tiny but as soon as he was on the move it became less of a treat and more of a tortuous workout. I remember the last film we took him to see, one of the Narnia films - maybe Prince Caspian? Who knows. I didn't get to see any of it. I spent the first half hour feeding him chocolate buttons in an attempt to get him to sit quietly, and the next hour chasing him relay style up and down the steps. I learned two important lessons that day: 1)chocolate, toddlers and quiet places don't mix, and 2)my cinema days were over.

Feel free to mock my priorities, but I purposely chose Wednesdays as a crèche day for Boy so that when Girl can along I could indulge in Eye Scream mornings again. Right enough, we went together a few times but missed the last few months for one reason or another.

When we decided to give the Saturday morning 'Kids' Club' cinema screenings a shot at the local Omniplex neither B nor I held out much hope. So we were totally thrilled when Boy sat mesmerised through the whole of "Puss in Boots". Hurray! We have been twice now with the same result. Although we are limited to kids' films (Eye Scream is geared towards parents with tiny babies and shows adult oriented films - though not necessarily quality features) it is a lovely restful way to spend a rainy Saturday. And at only €2.50 a ticket it's a total bargain too.

We splashed out today (on the full early bird price) to see the Muppets film at the Eye, but both kids were snoring from about halfway through. B was roaring with laughter - at fart shoes, really - and I wondered briefly how many children I actually have.

It is with more than a little regret that I must admit that Girl is almost at the stage when I won't be able to bring her any more. Don't tell the weaning police but breastfeeding is a pure godsend when you want a bit of peace to ogle, sneer, laugh or cry uninterrupted at whoever is on the big screen. (Recently Sean Penn, Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, and George Clooney, respectively). At least this time I can take a year off knowing we will be able to return in the not too distant future, hopefully without needing to flash everyone while juggling two babies and a large Pepsi Max.

Kinvara and Home Cinema

We've been planning a visit to Dunguaire Castle for months and finally got around to taking the kids there today along with one of Boy's wee girlfriends and her mammy. If only we had checked the opening times, we would have known that the castle is closed October-March.

In the end we had a great morning anyway. We took a stroll around the castle, stopping to pick up a geocache halfway round. The lower walk was easy enough for the toddlers to manage but not obvious enough to entice the throngs of tourists jamming their noses and camera lenses through the locked castle gates. It also offered a good view across the water's edge to the pretty village of Kinvara, about half a mile from the castle itself. On reflection, the babies probably had a better time scrambling over the grass and rocks than they would have if we had gone straight in to the castle.

Afterwards we took another walk around Kinvara itself and Boy and his pal had a merry old time chasing each other, blowing bubbles, and picking daisies to stick in their woolly hats (Girl was forcibly adorned too).

After deciding we needed a coffee to warm up we soon discovered that the castle is not the only part of Kinvara that closes for winter. Our favourite spot, Burren Beo was closed, as was my friend's cafe of choice. In the end we stopped into Keogh's pub. Their staff were mighty understanding about the two mischief makers - as were their other customers who happened to be friends, thank goodness for the small small world of County Galway.

On the drive home I reflected how much more fun Boy appears to have when there is another child his age to share it with. I'm hoping when Girl gets on her feet they can provide that company to each other.

This evening we tried watching a proper video all together for the first time. B lit a fire, we all got into PJs and I made popcorn and hot dogs for dinner with bottles of water (that's all the food groups, right?). We decided to shun the more predictable Disney cartoon classics for my favourite childhood film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Sorry Johnny Depp, you're cute and all that but no one could ever replace Gene Wilder in the role of Mr Wonka. That actor is one of a kind. Moreover, Oompa Loompas should not all look exactly alike - terribly racist, or at least xenophobic towards Loompaland. But enough of social politics for the insane...

We hoped at least to get to Augustus Gloop's downfall and the first Oompa Loompa chorus before one of the babies lost interest, puked, or otherwise halted the proceedings. In the end we somehow, wonderfully, managed to watch the whole thing. Girl fell asleep somewhere around Violet, you're turning violet, Violet! and Boy was utterly enraptured by the whole film. From the rippling chocolate backdrop of the opening credits he was glued to the screen. He smiled, giggled, danced and didn't seem at all bothered by the scary bits (like that freaky boat ride, anyone?) His only protest came when Mammy overquoted certain bits of the film, and sang along with a little too much gusto but to be fair, Daddy was about ready to throw his popcorn at me too. By the end Boy was happily exhausted and went down to bed with no fuss and a look of sleepy content only matched by yours truly.

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams...