My Life as an Irish American Girl

For the past four years, we started a new Christmas tradition. Every year on Christmas Day, at my house, me, my parents, brother Bren, my mom's three sister's, my grandma, uncle Brian, Uncle Leonard, my four cousins Henry, William, Lily, Renae, my brother Ryan and my soon to be sister in law Victoria all celebrate Christmas.

The four cousins, my brothers and I do secret santa where we each get a cousin to buy for. My mom and her sisters also do a secret santa with each other.

Of course every year my brothers and I exchange gifts with each other. However I do have a budget
🌝

Before our family Christmas party, my brother Bren and I will take turns this year opening gifts from each other and our parents. Usually we have my brother Ryan with us, but since he lives in PA, we are going to do his gift exchange when he comes later.

After opening our gifts from our parents, my mom makes french toast for brunch and I make delicious Irish tea to tag along with it.

For dinner we have a buffet of assorted foods like baked turkey breasts, ham, baked ziti, egg plant, italian bread and much more.

Before dessert, we gather in the living room by the tree. We each take turns opening a gift from our secret santa.

Finally we have tea and dessert. My grandma makes a homemade cheese cake, my dad buys Hagandaz icecream and my brother Bren makes Cow Boy Cookies. (I don't understand why they call it that but anyway!)

My favorite part about Christmas is giving gifts to my family and friends. Seeing their reactions also makes me smile.

Merry Christmas to those that celebrate it!
Happy Hannukah to those who celebrate it!
Happy Almost 2018! 

Hey Guys,

I've known Hope and her family for as long as I can remember. We were in the same HomeSchool group. She is kind and loves Jesus.

She has a youtube channel called Having Hope. Also she and her sister Sarah posted this video yesterday. They are both going on a missions trip to Europe for three weeks.

Also if you want to watch her youtube videos its Having Hope ! Click on the link to see her amazing videos.

They need six thousand dollars by February. If you would like to donate to help them reach their goal, click on the link. continuetogive.com/hopeandsarah

You can even share this blog post with your freinds and family to help spread the word around. Or even better share the donation link to help donations spread.

God bless you all!

Chloe

On Wednesday December 6th,while we listened to Christmas music, my friend Abby and I baked two different kinds of cookies.

 First we decided to bake what we thought would be the hardest cookies ever, turned out to be the easiest. We made these Candy Cane Blossom cookies. As we followed the recipe, we decided to use green food coloring to make the cookies green for Christmas. The recipe does say you can use the food coloring to make colored sugar, but that would require work the day before. Plus in my opinion, I think the cookies tasted amazing without the colored sugar on top. To mak things even more funny, I couldn't find the candy cane flavored hershey kisses, so I just bought a big bag of regular kisses. Hey it all worked out.

Next we made Sugar Cookies. If you never made these before, then you are missing out on a lot of fun. These are really easy to make. Plus they don't take that long to bake. With all the different cookie cutters, it makes the cookies look even better. I specifically bought Christmas cookie cutters at Dollar Tree.

While the sugar cookies were cooling down, Abby and I went upstairs into my room and put the lights on my Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. She made my tree look amazing.

Once the cookies were cool, we put vanilla and chocolate frosting on them. Made them look even yummier then they were before. Once they were frosted, I placed the cookies in the fridge for a good thirty minutes. That way the frosting would harden and make it less messy to eat.

All in all I can say it was a great day. Thankful God gave me Abby in my life. She's so much fun to bake with.

RECIPES 
Candy Cane Blossom Cookies 
Ingredients
1 bag of Hershey kisses (Regular of Candy Cane flavored)
1/2 cup of better, softened
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of Vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoons of baking soda
2 tablespoons of milk (May need to add more)
Red or Green food coloring
Parchment Paper

1. Preheat oven to 350° Get two trays and place one sheet of parchment paper onto the trays.
2. In a large bowl mix together butter, sugar, vanilla, milk and a egg until well blended. In a seprate bowl add flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly combind the mixture with flour, baking soda and salt with the first mixture. 
3. Add red on green food coloring to the bowl with the dough Mix well until the dough is the color you chose. 
4. Using your hands, roll dough into one inch balls. Place balls on trays,
5. Place trays in the oven for ten minutes. 
6. While the cookies are cooking, unwrap the Hershey Kisses into a bowl. 
7. When cookies are done in the over, place the hershey kisses on top of the hot cookies. Let cookies cool down afterwards. 
8. Place cookies in the fridge for twenty minutes to let the cookies harden a bit. (Tastes better) 

On December 21st, 1960, in a hospital in Drodgeda, Ireland, my granny gave birth to a big baby named James Christopher Noel Mullen who weighed ten pounds fourteen ouces. He lived in Dundalk till He was three. Then he moved to Corby, England. His earliest memory is jumping off the arm of the sofa with his freinds. One of his friends gave him a push which made him fall right into the glass cabinet. To this day, He has a scar in different areas of his face. At the age of ten, one of his favorite memories was when he got to visit the U.S Airforce Base in Laken Heath. He got to see the concord that flew twice the speed of sound. Along with military planes and helicoptors.

It was tough leaving all his friends and family behind in Ireland. He only planned on staying in America for a year then move to Austrailia. When he first entered America, He was very homesick. Back 1986, it was dollar-fifty a minute to call Ireland. His parents didn't have a phone so he had to call the Jonny Byres a corner store. His mom had to run up to the store to talk to him. He used to write letters. His first job was was working in Harlem at apartment buildings.

Back in Christmas 1986, his sister Lorraine came to visit from Ireland. He started working there back in August 1986 at the Racket Club a Tennis Cluob in Brooklyn, New York. In January 1987, at the Racket Club in Brooklyn, New York. That's when He met Leisa O'louglin my mom. 

He always ponders what life would be like if he had stayed in Ireland. He likes to think he would be living in a house in the Point Road of Dundalk, Ireland. He has no regrets and loves to visit his family every opportunity he gets.

On Saturday August 19th, my mom and I babysat my two little cousins Henry (4) and William(2). It was an extremely hot day outside but luckily they had a pool. We spent two hours swimming and just basically having fun as we used our imagination.

After we got out of the pool and changed, the boys sat on their couch and watched one of their favorite TV shows called BLAZE! I will watch BLAZE all day everday if I had the option between that or Bubble Guppies.

As they watched TV, my mom and I made raviolis that we bought at the store. Since we love to spoil Henry and William, we let them sit at the dining table as they watched BLAZE. William is always a hungry child. He ended up eating four BIG raviolis. Henry who isn't that hungry like his brother, only ate two BIG raviolis.

Of course after we finished eating and cleaning up, the boys were eager to go to the park. So we kept our promise and took them to the park. It was only five short blocks away from their house so we walked.

The first thing the boys love to do the most is go on the swings. Henry can now pump is legs in and out to keep himself swinging. But William needs help because he still sits in the baby swing. After the swings Henry used his imagination on the slides and I played along. Of course the main fun was pretending the sand was snow by jumping in it and pretending to make "snow" angels.

Despite the boys being all sandy, I believe they had a great time. We gave them a nice bath and then let them watch one movie before bedtime. Henry chose Finding Dory. As they watched the movie, I gave out little bowls filled with potato chips and chocolate milk. Henry wasn't hungry so I gave William extra chips.

Before bedtime we read five books. I forget which ones I read. But they must have been good ones because William fell asleep on me. My mom gently lifted him off me and into his bed. Henry went to bed without a problem. After all this guy is getting to be a big boy.

If I could sum up my day with one word I'd say it was AWESOME!

On Friday afternoon, my parents, brother Brendan, his best friend Sammy and I drove all the way up to Palmyra Pennsylvania. My brother Ryan and his fiancé Victoria, met us at her mom's house. Her mom threw an engagement party to celebrate the engagment of the love birds. There were alot of people at the party but very friendly family and friends. We had smoked pork loin, chips, salad, different cheese and a chocolate foutain. I met a lot of Victoria's family who like me which makes me happy. The lovebirds opened their gifts. I gave them three pictures that I drew myself on paint on my laptop. They actually loved it which made me feel awesome.

The next day, my parents, Sammy, brother Ryan, Victoria, her dad, step mom and I went to Lake Tobias which is thirty minutes North of Harrisburg. It's a safari where you can ride on this bus while you pet and feed the animals. Also on the ground of Lake Tobias, you can see different reptiles and go inside the petting zoo while you pet different animals. That was a lot of fun. We saw so many animals from buffalos, monkeys, deers a lot more. Defiantly would recommend it to anyone.

The last two groomsmen standing on the right are my brothers

Back in the year 1999 my mom, two brothers and I attended Neighborhood Church in New York City. My brothers Brendan who was four years old and Ryan who was only three years old met Mattie and Sammy when they went to Sunday school. Mrs Vanderswag taught sunday school. Their father Mr Vanderswag was and still is the pastor at the church.

Eighteen years later, my brothers had the special honor of being the groomsmen in Mattie's wedding. My family along with Ryan's fiancè Victoria were honored to be at his wedding.

On Saturday July 29th 2017, Mattie Vanderswag got married to his beloved fiancè Heidi. We later went to his Uncle's house in his backyard where the reception was held. Beef Brisket and the Pulled Pork were my favorite out of all the food choices. We also played corn hall were you try to get the beanbag in the hole. Trust me it's harder than it looks.

Congratulations Mattie and Heidi Vanderswag in getting married. I pray your future in Scotland and your future together is filled with a lot of new memories.

On June 22, I turned 26. For the first time ever on my birthday, I felt like I was having a relaxing day. Basically I slept in till eleven in the morning, then I made myself french toast. Took two tries to get it to look perfect. But it did taste delicous. As I ate my birthday brunch, I watched two episodes of Switched At Birth on Netflix. I'm really hooked to that show. You should watch it if you have netflix.

As I was making my birthday brunch, my brother brought in a vase filled with flowers. Apparently my Aunt sent them to me. I love flowers. They are very pretty.
Anway, my parents and my brother Brendan and I went out for dinner. One of my favorite resturants is Applebees. Which is where we ate for my birthday. I got the chicken tenders platter with french fries. For my appetizer, I ordered a chocolate milkshake. Usually I'd get the pretzels with the beer dip, but I was really craving a shake.

The funny part at Applebees was seeing my dad take the miniture tomatoes off his plate. He hates tomatoes. There must of been at least twenty little ones sitting on his grilled chicken and hiding in his mountain of french fries.

After dinner, we drove to Carvel to pick up my personalized icecream cake. It had yellow frosting covering the square shape with green frosting outlining around the top, and the words "Happy 26th Birthday" was in green. I did it that way because I love the Green Bay Packers. And basically that's their colors.

When we got home, I opened my gifts from my parents. I got a box of cadbury chooclate which came all the way from England, a Green Bay Packers spinner and cash. My brother says he has a gift for me but it hasn't arrived yet. So I'm just waiting patiently thinking about what it could be.

My grandma came over for cake. We sang happy birthday and chatted. She didn't really understand how the new spinners can be so entertaining. I don't think she'll ever grasp an understanding.

The cake was delicous, my gifts were amazing. I'm ready to write chapter 26 of my life. Pretty much 25 was really good to me. Let's see how 26 goes.

After it stopped raining, my mom and I decided to take William and Henry to their local park near their house. It was only five or six blocks away so we walked. The park was connected to the beach which is very cool. Lots of nice three story houses near the water. Sounds like a great idea until you get a massive storm, then it doesn't seem so nice anymore.

Henry and William love going on the swings. The swings are very enjoyable. Also William and I went on the slides. I was trying to teach him how to be creative. He ended up walking down and up the slide once then sliding down it normally. Being two years old your brain bounces with ideas.

Henry on the other hand pretended that the park was a big boat and we were on water swaying back and forth really fast. Being four can make you be very creative. I like the way that kid thinks. I was the same way when I was little.

Last December, my dad's feet were so itchy that he decided to put cream on his feet. But he decided to take a nap first. When he woke up from his nap, He applied the cream to his feet. Without thinking about what he just did, dad took his first step down the stairs and fell on his butt all the way to the bottom. We heard a big bang. Victoria was upstairs in the bathroom at the time. We thought it was her that fell. But turned out to be silly dad. My mom and I had to bite our tongue from laughing. Ryan went to check on him. He left a big hole in the wall from the tumble. We were grateful it wasn't Victoria. To this day we still laugh about it.

Many years ago back in 2003, my dad took my two brothers and I to Camel Beach. Camel Beach is one of the biggest water parks in Pennsylvania. It was really hot that day, the weather man predicted thunderstorms. The four of us decided to walk all the way up this big hill to the Family Ride. A water slide where you sit in this big tube and go down the slide. It's a lot of fun. But my brother Ryan started to feel dizzy and very sweaty. That's when he took a piece of gum off the garbage can and almost put it in his mouth. My dad was madder than a hornet. He ended up taking Ryan back down to the bottom to get him some water. As soon as my brother Brendan and I were up next, the ride closed because of thunderstorms. It was a pity because we walked up this big hill in the heat just to walk back down again. More importantly, my brother Ryan ended up being okay after he got hydrated.

When my brothers and I were little kids, we decided to build a spaceship that would take us to the moon. Each night we would go into the basement and plan our trip as well as work on the cardboard spaceship. As young kids, we really thought we were going to the moon. It felt so real to us that we told our mom about it. Who questioned our imagination. My brother Brendan used real tools to put it together. Sadly we did not make it to the moon but we had a great time using our imagination. The funny part in that story was that as kids we really thought our adventure was going to actually happen.

When my brother Brendan was five, he decided to do something stupid. I guess we have to credit him for being five with no brain. Anyway he got this crazy idea that he could jump from the rocking chair all the way to the piano chair. Yeah folks, he really jumped and ended up cracking his head opened. My dad and our Uncle Lou had to put a kitchen towel over his head and rush him to the hospital. He needed a LOT of stitches. Folks don't be stupid, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME EVER!

When my brother Ryan was nine years old, his friends and him, got this crazy idea. Which was to stand on a folded table and dance. Ryan danced and then the table folded with him on top. He ended up getting a gash in his lower leg. We had to rush him to the nearest hospital in Manhattan. Ryan needed stitches and was told not to do that again. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME EVER!

I was only ten years old when I was playing outside my Aunt Bug's house. As I was having fun, a bumble bee crawled up my sleeve. It stung me in the middle of my arm. I screamed so loud that I think all the neighbors heard me. Oh my gosh it hurt so bad. I had to keep putting a wet paper towel on my arm to keep it from swelling up. If your near a bee, moral of the story is remain calm.

On Saturday June 10th, my mom and I went to my Aunt Amy's house. Aunt Amy through a birthday party to celebrate Henry and William's birthdays. Actually Henry was born on May 30th and William was born on April 3rd. Every year my their mom throws them a big pool party. Some of their relatives and friends attend.

Beleieve it or not, two years ago at the party, Their Uncle Michael bought the boys a goat. Yes a real goat. But unfortunatly they couldn't keep it. So they donated it to a local zoo. The following year the same Uncle bought them baby ducks. This year He bought the boys two parakeets. I'm not sure if my Aunt is going to keep them or not.

It was 83 degrees and sunny. Perfect weather for the birthday celebration. Since they live near the water, there was a nice breeze. I sat in the outdoor lounge chair on my aunt's patio and watched the kids have fun in the pool.

Every year my aunt has a waitress come and cater food. Which is always delicous. This year she had chicken tenders, three different types of pastas, egg plant, chicken covered in gravy and rolls. Aunt Amy is really the best party hostest ever. Her parties never dissappoint.

Besides a pool, there was also a bouncy house. Im not sure what show its from or if it's a character from a show. But it was a square shaped house with a dalmation dog on the front. Really cute. After all it was a firefighter themed party.

Henry loves anything that has to do about trucks or cars. He also loves Paw Patrol. William loves cars too and the show Blaze. Even though they are two years apart, they still love each other and get along very well.

For dessert the boys had a firefighter themed cake and cupcakes. Wasn't icecream flavored though but what matters the most is that the birthday boys liked it.

The sun was starting to set as the party came to an end. Most of the people left, as others stayed for a little while longer.

What a fun filled Satuday with my two favorite boys. If I could do change anything, to be honest I wouldn't.

Did you know that the background of my blog is a picture of Dundalk way up high on a hill? I know it's pretty awesome. A lot of you are probably wondering what Dundalk is like and where it's located on the map. I figured you would be so that's why I decided to write this post. To help you understand where I go when I visit Ireland and what it's like.

Dundalk is located on the North Eastern side of Ireland. Three miles from the border which separates Ireland from Northern Ireland. It is town in County Louth. The capital is an hour from Dundalk.

There are lots of shopping centers in the town itself. You can take a bus, drive or even walk to the town in Dundalk. They actually have this really big mall called the Marshes. The Marshes has lots of small stores and food places as well. There's another mall called the Long Walk. The Long Walk is still opened to the public, but a lot of stores closed down.

If you ever want a delicous breakfast, lunch or dinner, this Resturant is worth every penny. It's call the Copper Kettle. The Copper Kettle has been around since I was a little girl. They have the best Chips and gravy. The Irish love their gravy as much as they love their beer. There's also something new on the menu everyday. There's also this bakery called Home Bakery. They have the best rolls in my opinion. But they also have lots of sweet treats.

They recently opened up this new store called Dealz. Dealz is a shopping center that sells grocery, sweets, crisps, soft drinks, chocolate, pet supplies, gardening, art and party supplies for a lot less. Similar to Dollar Tree in America only Dealz isn't all a dollar but defiantly cheap. One of my favorite stores actually.

Besides shops, malls, pubs and resturants Dundalk has a whole lot more to offer. You can drive, take the bus or even walk to the Navy Bank. The Navy Bank is a board walk that lets you see this amazing view of the Irish Sea and the mountains while you enjoy the fresh air.

Unfortuantly there aren't any books on Dundalk yet. But one day someone will write one. Who knows who will be the author or when it will happen. But I can say there has to be one. For now we have google. Which is helpful in certain ways. I still think a book would be a lot more helpful. It would attract more tourists.

Now that you got an idea what Dundalk looks like, close your eyes and use your imagination

For the first time after seeing pictures of Cooper and Sasha, I was FINALLY able to meet the both of them when I went to Ireland in February.

My cousin Neil and his fiancè have this really cute, loveable Border Collie named Cooper. You may be wondering what makes Cooper so special than any other Border Collie. Neil and Rachel trained Him so well that He can even give you hugs. All I have to do is kneel on the floor and say, "Cooper give me a hug!" Then He jumps on top of me with his paws on my shoulders. Sometimes He gives me slobbery kisses on the cheek. He's the sweetest dog ever.

My Aunt Lorriane, Cousin Eimear, Uncle David and my granny have this cute little dog named Sasha. I'm not sure what breed she is. Sasha is still a puppy getting trained. But I can assure you that she wins an award for the loudest barker EVER! Loves to cuddle. Actually one day she fell asleep on my lap while I was sitting on a lounge chair. She is a darling puppy that's for sure.

Back in 2013 I went to Ireland to visit my dad's side of the family for a month. But for four years I decided to take a break from flying. One of the reasons why I hate flying is because my ears get clogged and remain clogged for a couple of days after the flight. After talking to my therapist and saving up my money, I decided to go back to Ireland but for only two weeks. I really haven't seen my Irish family in a really long time plus I wanted to have a better relationship with my little cousin Eimear. She's going to be twelve in October. On February 23rd, 2017, I took the six hour plane trip with my dad to Ireland.

Early Friday morning at the crack of dawn, I landed in Dublin Internation Airport. My family lives an hour from the airport in a little town called Dundalk. Keep in mind the time difference between New York and Ireland is five hours. They're five hours ahead of us. While we waited for my Aunt Lorraine to pick us up, I got a packet of Cadbury Chocolate Buttons at the shop. My ears were still clogged at the time. Finally when I got "home" to my Aunt's house, I was introduced to my cousin's dog Sasha. She's a barker but really cuddley. I took a much needed nap after meeting Sasha. After my nap, I went for a walk down with Sasha, my dad and Eimear.

At noon my dad, Eimear, Granny and I drove up to town to have lunch at this restaurant called the Cooper Kettle. While we were there I got to see my Aunt Blonde. She’s a sweetheart as always. As we left my granny with Blonde, the three of us went for a walk. We went to this store called Deals. Great prices for snacks and other things. We also exchanged our money.

Me, Granny and Eimear

Eimear and I

Eimear, Sasha and I

Me eating toast on the Irish Ferry

Uncle Philip and I

Gareth and I at the pub

Neil, Cooper and I

Tower Bridge

The Big Ben

A church in London

British and Welsh Flags

What the London Eye looks like from up high

Dad on the London Eye