I passed! I passed!

Last Tuesday and Wednesday I left L crying at pre-school. It honestly just broke me. It's not like she did not want to go to preschool it was more that she was going to miss me.  Each day the teacher had to peel L off me.  The teacher was so nice and texted me each time that she was fine after 5 minutes. Thank goodness! I'm hoping this is just a temporary thing. I don't think I could handle this everyday. It breaks my heart!

Thursday I took my test for my Irish learners permit. I need to get my full license so that my car insurance will be cheaper. But you have to get your permit before your full license. As usual they will not honor my US license. I have been studying the questions for the last few weeks. They have 800 possible questions in the book and during the test you will get 40 of them and you are only allowed to miss 3.  Are you kidding me? So each night I was going thru the questions online. Most of them are just common sense but then of course there are the strange ones and there are many strange ones. Don't forget that they also use the metric system here so that is even more confusing. Here is a sample of a few:

What is a contra flow bus lane?


It is a bus lane that flows in the opposite direction to the traffic, used only by busses.

What do the rules of the road say about sounding your horn?


You should not sound your horn between the hours of 11:30pm and 7:00am except in an emergency.

What does a clearway sign mean?


Parking prohibited.

At a pelican crossing what does a flashing amber light mean?


Proceed with caution, giving way to pedestrians who may still be crossing.

Name four people in authority who have the right to stop you on the road ?


People in charge of animals, emergency services personnel, school wardens and road workers.

What is the minimum legal thread depth on a tyre?


 1.6 mil meters, 1mm for vintage cars

What is the rule about passing animals on the road? Slow down, give plenty of room, do not sound your horn or rev your engine. 

I checked in for my test at a permit testing facility. The waiting room was so quiet and only the person taking the test was allowed in the waiting room. After they check your details they send you into a classroom full of computers to take the test. There were at least 20 people in there. The room is dead silent and they have a monitor that walks up and down to make sure you are not cheating. Ohh and before I entered the room I had to put my coat, purse, etc all in a locker. This is just nuts. I started the test and the timer started to tick down from 30 minutes.  After I had gone thru all the questions I flagged 6 of them I was unsure of.  I had to at least get 3 of these right to pass! I think by this point I started sweating. Also I forgot to mention that I had to pay 35 Euro for this test so if I fail I have to pay 35 Euro again! At least in the US we get to take it for free! I guessed on a few of them and figured others out. Then I clicked on the button that I was done and hoped for the best. After that you walk back to the waiting room, get your belongings out of the locker, and wait for your name to get called again to find out your results. The man called my name and said I needed to sign this paper (he had no expression NOTHING). Did I pass or fail or what? I had to look at the paper to read PASS...I only missed 2 questions! PRAISE GOD!! I thought I was going to get my learners permit card...but no they just give you a certificate to take to the local tax office for your learners permit card. Are you kidding me? This is a crazy process. I just went thru the most stressful test I have had in years and I don't even get my permit. I just get a certificate saying I have passed. Ughh! I miss America! ;-)

That evening K had a scrimmage against a local team. K committed to the team so we had to sign some papers and she had to have her picture taken for her player pass id. We went to the Home Farm FC offices which are at the field and there is literally a  huge bar in one of the rooms with many televisions. Wow...is this normal in the european soccer clubs? Its like a clubhouse but not as nice as a clubhouse. If you know what I mean. 

Look who lost two teeth in one week

We had a good week but we are definitely counting the days until Joe arrives. The children are really missing him and me too!!

L loves hanging out in the front seat waiting for T to get out of school