This weekend we shipped the boys out to Grandma's place as we needed to start getting the office ready to be turned into a Nursery. Kim's pregnant again, did I mention that? Well, yeah, its true.
The problem is our house was starting to feel a little cramped with us and the boys, the addition of another family member has us in an absolute tizzy. The office was where all our computer and scrapbooking stuff went, as well as misc storage. Where would it all go now?
Well, we bought some cheap shelving units from Ikea on Saturday and started working on purging the office of stuff that has degraded to crap and in the basement replacing the small TV entertainment centre with a wall unit capable of storing lots of stuff. The idea is that the computer and scrapbook desk will be moving downstairs as the office is converted.
Tight is not the right word. Cramped is more like it. But we'll survive.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Monday, September 21, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
A-Camping We Will GO!
Next weekend Kim and I plan to take the boys on their camping trip. We are going for three nights to Charleston Lake Provincial Park where I expect we will have some fun. Either that or be cold and miserable. Time will tell.
My biggest concern is sleeping as it can get cold at night this time of year and the boys will not be used to sleeping in a tent without their cribs! I suggested to kim we bring some Striaght jackets and sleeping pills but she threatened to call social services on me again. Ah well, don't say I didn't try!
My biggest concern is sleeping as it can get cold at night this time of year and the boys will not be used to sleeping in a tent without their cribs! I suggested to kim we bring some Striaght jackets and sleeping pills but she threatened to call social services on me again. Ah well, don't say I didn't try!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Camping
The temperature has dropped significantly over the past week to the point where both Kim and I agree that fall is in the air.
Yesterday morning when the boys got up their feet were cold to touch so Kim put socks on them for the first time in months. Both the boys were like "What the hell?" and immediately worked to remove them. Last night when we went for a walk the boys needed their zipper hoodies and we didn't put water in the water table because it was too chilly in the backyard.
Summer is gone almost as soon as it arrived it seems.
All of this leads to the camping we are going to do on Labour Day weekend. The tents have little insulation from dropping temperatures so we will have to work to keep warm at night. It will either be very fun or very miserable. Time will tell.
Yesterday morning when the boys got up their feet were cold to touch so Kim put socks on them for the first time in months. Both the boys were like "What the hell?" and immediately worked to remove them. Last night when we went for a walk the boys needed their zipper hoodies and we didn't put water in the water table because it was too chilly in the backyard.
Summer is gone almost as soon as it arrived it seems.
All of this leads to the camping we are going to do on Labour Day weekend. The tents have little insulation from dropping temperatures so we will have to work to keep warm at night. It will either be very fun or very miserable. Time will tell.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Sleep Is A Wonderful Thing
The boys have officially been declared "sleep trained". The last two nights when we put them down for bed at around 8 pm Lukas didn't even cry. He stood up to watch us leave the room but was silent and, we assume, soon snoozing peacefully.
The upshot of this new bedtime routine is that mommy and daddy are no longer part of the falling asleep routine, i.e. they don't need our warm body presence to slip into slumber. They now have a new routine which involves merely their crib and a blanket in Lukas' case and stuffed animal Blue in Sean's case. That means when they wake up in the middle of the night, they know how to fall back asleep without us. Unbroken nights of sleep are so underrated in society at large let me tell you.
There are also other advantages to this new routine. Naptime is a lot easier for Kim as she can put the boys down and they stay asleep for an hour or more usually and she is not tied to a chair rocking a baby. She can move around, check email, do housework, or simply slack off. Everyone needs a break.
The only downside is that there is not as much cuddling time with the boys anymore. When they are awake they want to be moving and exploring, not snuggling to us. Sometimes in the morning you might get a chance to cuddle with a just-awake baby but its not long before they are ready to rock and roll and pull all the books off the shelf again. They are getting more independent; they're growing up.
Next step, teaching them how to mow the lawn.
The upshot of this new bedtime routine is that mommy and daddy are no longer part of the falling asleep routine, i.e. they don't need our warm body presence to slip into slumber. They now have a new routine which involves merely their crib and a blanket in Lukas' case and stuffed animal Blue in Sean's case. That means when they wake up in the middle of the night, they know how to fall back asleep without us. Unbroken nights of sleep are so underrated in society at large let me tell you.
There are also other advantages to this new routine. Naptime is a lot easier for Kim as she can put the boys down and they stay asleep for an hour or more usually and she is not tied to a chair rocking a baby. She can move around, check email, do housework, or simply slack off. Everyone needs a break.
The only downside is that there is not as much cuddling time with the boys anymore. When they are awake they want to be moving and exploring, not snuggling to us. Sometimes in the morning you might get a chance to cuddle with a just-awake baby but its not long before they are ready to rock and roll and pull all the books off the shelf again. They are getting more independent; they're growing up.
Next step, teaching them how to mow the lawn.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Happy (Belated) Mother's Day
With Kim on the mend from her "pinched nerves" that was causing her extreme lower back pain last week, the weekend was spent with me doing most of the hefting of the Boys on Friday and on Saturday night. On Sunday Kim started to lift again as she is alone Monday and wanted to make sure she could handle it, and on Saturday day we visited the family in Seely's Bay.
The boys continue to express no interest in learning to walk. For Lukas it seems to be an attention span thing; he can try and stand up but he becomes too excited when we encourage him to walk over to us and goes down to a crawl to get us faster. For Sean it seems more like an apprehension of falling. Regardless, they are getting more steady on their feet all the time and I'm sure it will be a sudden event one day soon.
We started sleep training the boys this weekend. We decided that they were old enough to learn to comfort themselves to sleep as it was really starting to eat up a lot of time in the evenings getting them to bed, but more distressingly they were getting more agitated when waking up in their cribs and finding us not there.
The first night was with Lukas, putting him in his crib while still awake. I was ready for an hour or more of wailing but after 20 minutes silence. We did the same with Sean in the playpen in our room and he had 5 minutes or so of crying before settling down.
The next night we put them both down, together in their own cribs in the same room, while awake. Surprisingly the crying stopped after only ten minutes. On Sunday we did it for the morning and afternoon naps as well as bed time and found that the crying from Lukas ended very quickly all three times, and Sean was a little more upset for a couple minutes. To be fair, at one naptime they stopped crying fast but played in their cribs for about 5 minutes, chattering to themselves.
We are both surprised how well Lukas is taking to this project so far. Our working theory is that the presence of his brother has a comforting affect on him when getting ready to go to sleep; he knows he is not alone thus feels safer and not abandoned. We'll see if the trend continues but after three nights I think we are in a good position.
The boys continue to express no interest in learning to walk. For Lukas it seems to be an attention span thing; he can try and stand up but he becomes too excited when we encourage him to walk over to us and goes down to a crawl to get us faster. For Sean it seems more like an apprehension of falling. Regardless, they are getting more steady on their feet all the time and I'm sure it will be a sudden event one day soon.
We started sleep training the boys this weekend. We decided that they were old enough to learn to comfort themselves to sleep as it was really starting to eat up a lot of time in the evenings getting them to bed, but more distressingly they were getting more agitated when waking up in their cribs and finding us not there.
The first night was with Lukas, putting him in his crib while still awake. I was ready for an hour or more of wailing but after 20 minutes silence. We did the same with Sean in the playpen in our room and he had 5 minutes or so of crying before settling down.
The next night we put them both down, together in their own cribs in the same room, while awake. Surprisingly the crying stopped after only ten minutes. On Sunday we did it for the morning and afternoon naps as well as bed time and found that the crying from Lukas ended very quickly all three times, and Sean was a little more upset for a couple minutes. To be fair, at one naptime they stopped crying fast but played in their cribs for about 5 minutes, chattering to themselves.
We are both surprised how well Lukas is taking to this project so far. Our working theory is that the presence of his brother has a comforting affect on him when getting ready to go to sleep; he knows he is not alone thus feels safer and not abandoned. We'll see if the trend continues but after three nights I think we are in a good position.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Long Time, No Post
I've neglected this blog mainly because it seemed it was becoming a blog all about the Boys and I'm wasn't sure I was happy with that.
After a few weeks of considering I've decided to carry on with my one or two posts a week, usually detailing the trials and tribulations of raising the twins.
So, where were we? Last post was just after Easter, eh? Well, since then the boys had their first birthday including party and cake, they are progressing well in standing and crawling and are inching closer to toddling, and then last week came down with a new head cold that wasn't quite as severe as the one at the end of April but was still the cause of a couple restless nights.
Then, just as the weekend was arriving and the colds seemed to have run their course, Kim's lower back went wonky and she is in pain and has trouble lifting the boys. She is seeing the chiropractor today and my mom is up to help out with the twins, and Kim's mom will be up tomorrow if Kim does not stage a massive recovery. Since she was out of commission on the weekend, we never made that trip to town to get new shoes that we wanted to. I desperately need new shoes.
In other news, I got my second stripe for the purple belt so only 18 more classes until I get my third, then review all the material from white to purple for my brown belt test. I figure sometime in the fall that should happen. Then, a year of training for my Black Belt. Woot.
After a few weeks of considering I've decided to carry on with my one or two posts a week, usually detailing the trials and tribulations of raising the twins.
So, where were we? Last post was just after Easter, eh? Well, since then the boys had their first birthday including party and cake, they are progressing well in standing and crawling and are inching closer to toddling, and then last week came down with a new head cold that wasn't quite as severe as the one at the end of April but was still the cause of a couple restless nights.
Then, just as the weekend was arriving and the colds seemed to have run their course, Kim's lower back went wonky and she is in pain and has trouble lifting the boys. She is seeing the chiropractor today and my mom is up to help out with the twins, and Kim's mom will be up tomorrow if Kim does not stage a massive recovery. Since she was out of commission on the weekend, we never made that trip to town to get new shoes that we wanted to. I desperately need new shoes.
In other news, I got my second stripe for the purple belt so only 18 more classes until I get my third, then review all the material from white to purple for my brown belt test. I figure sometime in the fall that should happen. Then, a year of training for my Black Belt. Woot.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Suriviving
Last week I got hit with a nasty cold that is running its course, probably the same cold that knocked the boys out for a week and then hit Kim the week after. I made the mistake of stealing a sip from Kim's Coke on the tail end of her illness and I paid the price. It started with a tickle in the throat, bloomed into full blown fever and achy throat on Wednesday, mild exhaustion on the weekend, and yesterday and today we're out of the woods except for a hoarse throat.
The boys have been doing really well and celebrated their first birthday early with my extended family at Easter dinner on Saturday. Their real birthday is still a couple weeks away. They were quite take aback by all the people for the afternoon but warmed up after dinner and were a couple laughing playing hams by the end of the evening.
They are both crawling on hands and knees now and get all over the place, and even play together in a sort of manner. I can see that mom-mom and da-dad are going to be less needed as they get the hang of not hurting each other ("Lukas, stop pulling your brother's hair, that hurts!").
The boys have been doing really well and celebrated their first birthday early with my extended family at Easter dinner on Saturday. Their real birthday is still a couple weeks away. They were quite take aback by all the people for the afternoon but warmed up after dinner and were a couple laughing playing hams by the end of the evening.
They are both crawling on hands and knees now and get all over the place, and even play together in a sort of manner. I can see that mom-mom and da-dad are going to be less needed as they get the hang of not hurting each other ("Lukas, stop pulling your brother's hair, that hurts!").
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Builds Character, Rub Some Dirt On It, You'll Live
Last night we were in the kitchen giving Lukas some anti-biotics for his ear infection. When we were all done I was carrying him around the counter to head back to the living room when I bumped into Sean who had snuck into the room and was standing by the counter, checking out somethings he could reach.
When I say bump, I mean drove my knee into his face as I was walking, rolling him around 90 degrees before he plumped on his bum and flew backwards to smack his head on the floor. One fat lip and sore noggin later, I was still apologizing.
Poor kid.
When I say bump, I mean drove my knee into his face as I was walking, rolling him around 90 degrees before he plumped on his bum and flew backwards to smack his head on the floor. One fat lip and sore noggin later, I was still apologizing.
Poor kid.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Rough Week
Late last week Sean started to come down with a chest cold. Where he got it from is unknown; maybe a virus brought home by me that my stronger and more practised immune system could handle. Regardless, starting Thursday night onwards he was the picture of mildly miserable, especially at night.
With the exception of Friday night, he has been up in the middle of the night and in the process depriving both Kim and I of valuable sleep. One night wasn't so bad; two nights was getting rough; three nights and Kim looked dead and I was fried. Can't get sleep in the middle of the day, the boys just don't nap long enough.
Meanwhile, Lukas has been sleeping like a baby (with the exception of Friday night and even then it was a minor wake up) and he's been looking at us waking zombies and wondering what's going on.
Yesterday Kim was reaching the meltdown point so I offered to stay up with Sean and let her get as much solid sleep as possible. Last night around midnight poor clogged up Seany-boy woke up with his miserable "why is this happening to me?!?!" wail and I went and got him. We headed down to the couch and slept four hours down there. I was getting a stiff back and shoulders at that point so I decided to appeal to Kim's generousity and gave her a sleeping baby while I went back downstairs to sleep on the non-stiff side.
Of course Sean woke up after about 10 minutes or so. I felt bad, after all I promised Kim a restful night, so I went back up and retrieved my charge, back down to the couch where we cuddled again. Then at 5:30 I took him back up as I needed to get up for work soon and I wanted to see if I could catch an hour of peaceful shut eye.
Sigh, of course Lukas woke up at 6:00. Figuring that was the end of the night for me, I went and got him, changed him and took him into Kim. She took Sean over the crib to see if he would rest in there for a while, and I left to the shower with the latest round of baby musical beds almost over for the evening.
And that was a slow night!
With the exception of Friday night, he has been up in the middle of the night and in the process depriving both Kim and I of valuable sleep. One night wasn't so bad; two nights was getting rough; three nights and Kim looked dead and I was fried. Can't get sleep in the middle of the day, the boys just don't nap long enough.
Meanwhile, Lukas has been sleeping like a baby (with the exception of Friday night and even then it was a minor wake up) and he's been looking at us waking zombies and wondering what's going on.
Yesterday Kim was reaching the meltdown point so I offered to stay up with Sean and let her get as much solid sleep as possible. Last night around midnight poor clogged up Seany-boy woke up with his miserable "why is this happening to me?!?!" wail and I went and got him. We headed down to the couch and slept four hours down there. I was getting a stiff back and shoulders at that point so I decided to appeal to Kim's generousity and gave her a sleeping baby while I went back downstairs to sleep on the non-stiff side.
Of course Sean woke up after about 10 minutes or so. I felt bad, after all I promised Kim a restful night, so I went back up and retrieved my charge, back down to the couch where we cuddled again. Then at 5:30 I took him back up as I needed to get up for work soon and I wanted to see if I could catch an hour of peaceful shut eye.
Sigh, of course Lukas woke up at 6:00. Figuring that was the end of the night for me, I went and got him, changed him and took him into Kim. She took Sean over the crib to see if he would rest in there for a while, and I left to the shower with the latest round of baby musical beds almost over for the evening.
And that was a slow night!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Gnawing
I stayed home from work yesterday as Kim had a dentist appointment in the middle of the day and we didn't want to saddle my mother with a 3-4 babysitting job. I had some sick time to burn so it wasn't a big deal.
Lukas has been really teething lately, molars it looks like, and it has made him grumpy and clingy. "WHY DOES MY MOUTH HURT?" he seems to be screaming. Poor kid. Fortunately the Tylenol seems to take the edge off.
Part of this new phase means he likes to chew on stuff, including me and Kim. He gave me a couple inadvertent nips yesterday which caught me by surprise.
I'll be glad when this is over. Of course, as soon as Lukas is done, Sean's gums will be next. Sigh.
Lukas has been really teething lately, molars it looks like, and it has made him grumpy and clingy. "WHY DOES MY MOUTH HURT?" he seems to be screaming. Poor kid. Fortunately the Tylenol seems to take the edge off.
Part of this new phase means he likes to chew on stuff, including me and Kim. He gave me a couple inadvertent nips yesterday which caught me by surprise.
I'll be glad when this is over. Of course, as soon as Lukas is done, Sean's gums will be next. Sigh.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Mobility Increases
Damn, last posted on Feb 12th? Where did the time go!?
Well, two weekends ago we had Kim's sister, mother, and sister's roommate up for a visit and we played some Wii Mariokart and visited. Kim and I got out to a movie for my birthday as her mom watched the boys and we saw Push (mini review: 3/5 stars, felt like the second movie of a trilogy, or at least like there is a lot more to the story we don't know. Still, decent action and story).
Last week was a short week with lots of meetings and appointments, hence no blogging.
And last weekend Kim and I stayed close to home, having friends Andrew and Jennie out for a visit to see the boys and play some Wii as well, including a rousing game of Mario Party 8 in which everyone ganged up on me to prevent my domination from continuing. Curses!
As for the blog title, the past two weeks have seen a large increase in the capabilities of the boys in terms of getting around. Lukas has become an excellent army crawler getting around the whole main floor with speed and accuracy prompting this past Sunday to become gate-putting-up-day, while Sean is still not going forward but has improved his stability on two legs and has started pulling himself up on furniture. And then yesterday Lukas started the same thing.
So we figure the boys will definitely be walking by their birthday in April. In fact, exactly two months away today. Wow, time flies.
Well, two weekends ago we had Kim's sister, mother, and sister's roommate up for a visit and we played some Wii Mariokart and visited. Kim and I got out to a movie for my birthday as her mom watched the boys and we saw Push (mini review: 3/5 stars, felt like the second movie of a trilogy, or at least like there is a lot more to the story we don't know. Still, decent action and story).
Last week was a short week with lots of meetings and appointments, hence no blogging.
And last weekend Kim and I stayed close to home, having friends Andrew and Jennie out for a visit to see the boys and play some Wii as well, including a rousing game of Mario Party 8 in which everyone ganged up on me to prevent my domination from continuing. Curses!
As for the blog title, the past two weeks have seen a large increase in the capabilities of the boys in terms of getting around. Lukas has become an excellent army crawler getting around the whole main floor with speed and accuracy prompting this past Sunday to become gate-putting-up-day, while Sean is still not going forward but has improved his stability on two legs and has started pulling himself up on furniture. And then yesterday Lukas started the same thing.
So we figure the boys will definitely be walking by their birthday in April. In fact, exactly two months away today. Wow, time flies.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Happy Birthday To Me
Yesterday was my birthday and my parents and sister and aunt came for dinner... but really they were interested in the boys. ;)
"Yeah yeah, here's a card Bill.... OH HI Sean and Lukas! Kisses, hugs!"
Oh well, at least Kim still appreciates me. :)
We ordered from The Eating Place, had cake that Kim made for me, and visited until the boys bedtime.
Kim got me a guitar for Guitar Hero on the Wii, Iron Man Blu-Ray DVD, and two books: World War Z and Death From the Skies.
All in all a good day.
"Yeah yeah, here's a card Bill.... OH HI Sean and Lukas! Kisses, hugs!"
Oh well, at least Kim still appreciates me. :)
We ordered from The Eating Place, had cake that Kim made for me, and visited until the boys bedtime.
Kim got me a guitar for Guitar Hero on the Wii, Iron Man Blu-Ray DVD, and two books: World War Z and Death From the Skies.
All in all a good day.
Friday, February 06, 2009
Colds and Gears
Colds:
On Tuesday Lukas and Sean had come down with a head cold and Lukas spent Tuesday night and Wednesday early morning complaining vigorously about not being able to breathe through his nose. Neither Kim nor I got more than an hour of steady shuteye so we were quite exhausted Wednesday.
Fortunately, we were prepared with pillows under mattresses and vapourizer running to help the last two nights were we got full night's sleeps. The boys seem to be recovering alright and we look forward to a fun filled weekend.
Gears:
Lukas found first gear last night.
I was downstairs in the rec room with the boys on the floor and Lukas was playing with the monkey ball that rolls and makes noises on his stomach while Sean and I rolled balls back and forth (kind of).
Suddenly I realized that Lukas had started inching forward to reach the monkey ball when it rolled away fro him. Kim and I spent the next little while watching while he masters the hand-elbow pull and move himself ever so slowly in a forward direction consistently for the first time.
We were very excited. And nervous. Now, no where is safe! :)
On Tuesday Lukas and Sean had come down with a head cold and Lukas spent Tuesday night and Wednesday early morning complaining vigorously about not being able to breathe through his nose. Neither Kim nor I got more than an hour of steady shuteye so we were quite exhausted Wednesday.
Fortunately, we were prepared with pillows under mattresses and vapourizer running to help the last two nights were we got full night's sleeps. The boys seem to be recovering alright and we look forward to a fun filled weekend.
Gears:
Lukas found first gear last night.
I was downstairs in the rec room with the boys on the floor and Lukas was playing with the monkey ball that rolls and makes noises on his stomach while Sean and I rolled balls back and forth (kind of).
Suddenly I realized that Lukas had started inching forward to reach the monkey ball when it rolled away fro him. Kim and I spent the next little while watching while he masters the hand-elbow pull and move himself ever so slowly in a forward direction consistently for the first time.
We were very excited. And nervous. Now, no where is safe! :)
Thursday, January 08, 2009
Guitar Hero Surprisingly Fun
For Christmas I got Kim Guitar Hero III for the Wii.
I admit when the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band thing was taking off a while back I was skeptical of its enjoyment level. I mean, you're not really playing a guitar, you're not making the music. How can that be fun?
But it turns out it is fun, its a lot of fun. Once you get the hang of the finger movements and the beat, it actually feels like you are playing the song on an instrument. The classic rock songs we all know and love help get you into the space as well.
Right now Kim is better than I am, but with practice I think I can catch up.
I admit when the whole Guitar Hero / Rock Band thing was taking off a while back I was skeptical of its enjoyment level. I mean, you're not really playing a guitar, you're not making the music. How can that be fun?
But it turns out it is fun, its a lot of fun. Once you get the hang of the finger movements and the beat, it actually feels like you are playing the song on an instrument. The classic rock songs we all know and love help get you into the space as well.
Right now Kim is better than I am, but with practice I think I can catch up.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sigh
On Friday afternoon, driving back to work from lunch, I rear-ended a van that stopped unexpectedly in front of me.
I wasn't speeding. I wasn't talking to a passenger or on the phone. I didn't have the radio on. I wasn't checking out the scenery. We took started from a stop light and just past the intersection she slammed on her brakes and I did the same. Even though the weather had not been raining or snowing at all that day the roads were damp and the tires refused to grip the road. As I slid I had time to think "damn, I'm going to hit that van". Then bamn.
The damage looked devastating on Friday but yesterday we had the car towed to the house and the intervening time has eased some of the anguish I felt and the damage looks repairable. Whether or not its fiscally affordable to do so remains to be seen.
The worst part of all of this is not the cost of the accident or the inconvenience of having only one vehicle again (although those are considerable weights on my mind), no the worst part is the reputation of being the bad driver, knickname "Crash", for my incidents in the past and this one to only re-open the wounds.
I really thought I had gotten past that. Over 5 years with no accidents despite over 2000 km of driving every month (that time I slid into the ditch doesn't count, the car had no damage and the stretch of road was unexpectedly treacherous!) and I was feeling confident that I was a better driver now. How many times did I drive through snow storms, ice rain, deer herds, and crazy city traffic without incident on my way too and from work?
All down the drain. Back to the sincere "drive carefully" admonishments and reminders from my parents as they shake their head in disappointment and it makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Its not like I drive dangerously without your reminder people! Sigh.
In the end, this too will pass. If I must wear the "bad driver of the family" medallion, so be it. I certainly have earned it.
I wasn't speeding. I wasn't talking to a passenger or on the phone. I didn't have the radio on. I wasn't checking out the scenery. We took started from a stop light and just past the intersection she slammed on her brakes and I did the same. Even though the weather had not been raining or snowing at all that day the roads were damp and the tires refused to grip the road. As I slid I had time to think "damn, I'm going to hit that van". Then bamn.
The damage looked devastating on Friday but yesterday we had the car towed to the house and the intervening time has eased some of the anguish I felt and the damage looks repairable. Whether or not its fiscally affordable to do so remains to be seen.
The worst part of all of this is not the cost of the accident or the inconvenience of having only one vehicle again (although those are considerable weights on my mind), no the worst part is the reputation of being the bad driver, knickname "Crash", for my incidents in the past and this one to only re-open the wounds.
I really thought I had gotten past that. Over 5 years with no accidents despite over 2000 km of driving every month (that time I slid into the ditch doesn't count, the car had no damage and the stretch of road was unexpectedly treacherous!) and I was feeling confident that I was a better driver now. How many times did I drive through snow storms, ice rain, deer herds, and crazy city traffic without incident on my way too and from work?
All down the drain. Back to the sincere "drive carefully" admonishments and reminders from my parents as they shake their head in disappointment and it makes me want to bang my head against a wall. Its not like I drive dangerously without your reminder people! Sigh.
In the end, this too will pass. If I must wear the "bad driver of the family" medallion, so be it. I certainly have earned it.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
That Time Of Year Again
Christmas season officially starts in the Dullemond household when we go to Belleville for Kim's family dinner like we did this past weekend. The trip was uneventful despite some flurries, the boys either sleeping or entranced by the passing scenery.
We stayed over at a hotel in Trenton and in the morning enjoyed the indoor pool with the boys. They seemed to enjoy it enough although I'm sure they were confused: "why is the bathtub so big and water so cold? And why am I wearing this weird diaper?"
On the way home we stopped in my Grandparent's place in Seeley's Bay for dinner and a visit, and got home in time to be exhausted and drained.
This coming weekend is decorate time, with our tree to go up and house decorated. Our living room is already quite crowded so it will be interesting to see how we manage for the month the tree is there. I'm sure the boys will enjoy the lights.
We stayed over at a hotel in Trenton and in the morning enjoyed the indoor pool with the boys. They seemed to enjoy it enough although I'm sure they were confused: "why is the bathtub so big and water so cold? And why am I wearing this weird diaper?"
On the way home we stopped in my Grandparent's place in Seeley's Bay for dinner and a visit, and got home in time to be exhausted and drained.
This coming weekend is decorate time, with our tree to go up and house decorated. Our living room is already quite crowded so it will be interesting to see how we manage for the month the tree is there. I'm sure the boys will enjoy the lights.
Friday, December 05, 2008
Christmas Season Is Upon Us
Ah December, the month of madness.
This coming weekend we have Kim's Extended Family Christmas Dinner. In order to let everyone get together, they typically have it the first weekend in December and it kicks off the season for me.
Then we have two more weekends until Christmas itself is upon us. Egads. One of those weekends will be the decoration weekend where we put up our tree and stuff. Good thing the boys are not crawling yet, the tree should be safe this year.
And I still have to do gift shopping for Kim. Its going to be a wild month!
This coming weekend we have Kim's Extended Family Christmas Dinner. In order to let everyone get together, they typically have it the first weekend in December and it kicks off the season for me.
Then we have two more weekends until Christmas itself is upon us. Egads. One of those weekends will be the decoration weekend where we put up our tree and stuff. Good thing the boys are not crawling yet, the tree should be safe this year.
And I still have to do gift shopping for Kim. Its going to be a wild month!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Busy Busy Busy
Sorry for the lack of posts. Work has been busy. Here is a rundown of the major points of the past few days.
Friday:
I went for and got my Purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. Now I'm half a year away from brown belt, and then another year to Black Belt first degree. I'm very excited. The test went well and I felt very good at the end, like I could go for another hour. Which is good because the tests only get harder and longer.
Saturday:
Kim left for a Mother-Daughter weekend with her mom and aunts and I had my first 24 hour period alone with the boys. They were perfect for me, happy, napping, and eating just fine. There was a couple of times when it got a little boring in the afternoon and a walk would have spiced things up, but it was raining and we stayed in. They went to bed fairly easily (Sean seems to be learning the new routine very nicely) and I had a quiet evening on the computer.
Sunday:
Nothing exciting happened. Did some pumpkin pictures with the boys... they didn't like it.
Friday:
I went for and got my Purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. Now I'm half a year away from brown belt, and then another year to Black Belt first degree. I'm very excited. The test went well and I felt very good at the end, like I could go for another hour. Which is good because the tests only get harder and longer.
Saturday:
Kim left for a Mother-Daughter weekend with her mom and aunts and I had my first 24 hour period alone with the boys. They were perfect for me, happy, napping, and eating just fine. There was a couple of times when it got a little boring in the afternoon and a walk would have spiced things up, but it was raining and we stayed in. They went to bed fairly easily (Sean seems to be learning the new routine very nicely) and I had a quiet evening on the computer.
Sunday:
Nothing exciting happened. Did some pumpkin pictures with the boys... they didn't like it.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Pumpkin Season!
On Saturday Kim and I took the kids out car seat shopping since they are approaching 20 lbs which is the limit for the current infant carriers we have. We found a nice model with adjusting straps that we don't have to resize whenever they have thicker clothes.
Then it was off to the pumpkin patch where we searched for a pumpkin big enough to hollow out and sit the boys in for pictures. We succeeded and pictures should be forthcoming.
The weekend wasn't all fun and games though. Sean has been having trouble staying asleep last couple nights as we put him to bed and then waking up at 1am-2am in the morning crying. We think its teething pain but its hard to be sure since he can't talk or point to where it hurts. We're tempted to give him Childern's Tylenol at bed time (since he's mostly ok during the day) but we don't want to over-medicate the poor kid for our convenience.
Hopefully he'll pop a couple pearly whites soon like his brother and this current phase will pass into memory... until the next teeth get close to the surface. Sigh.
Then it was off to the pumpkin patch where we searched for a pumpkin big enough to hollow out and sit the boys in for pictures. We succeeded and pictures should be forthcoming.
The weekend wasn't all fun and games though. Sean has been having trouble staying asleep last couple nights as we put him to bed and then waking up at 1am-2am in the morning crying. We think its teething pain but its hard to be sure since he can't talk or point to where it hurts. We're tempted to give him Childern's Tylenol at bed time (since he's mostly ok during the day) but we don't want to over-medicate the poor kid for our convenience.
Hopefully he'll pop a couple pearly whites soon like his brother and this current phase will pass into memory... until the next teeth get close to the surface. Sigh.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Whole Tooth and Nothing But the Tooth
Last week Lukas had his first tooth on the bottom gum erupt to our surprise and joy. A couple days later a second tooth appeared adjacent to the first. While early at four and a half month, its not unheard of. He and his brother are growing so quickly its hard to believe.
This past weekend they had their first overnight stay without both Kim and I. It was hard as hell leaving them even with someone we trusted, but we managed. We then spent Saturday doing a lot of housework that had been avoided or not as thoroughly done as since the boys arrived.
We missed them like crazy and the house seemed extra empty. We were very glad to get them back on Sunday.
This past weekend they had their first overnight stay without both Kim and I. It was hard as hell leaving them even with someone we trusted, but we managed. We then spent Saturday doing a lot of housework that had been avoided or not as thoroughly done as since the boys arrived.
We missed them like crazy and the house seemed extra empty. We were very glad to get them back on Sunday.
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