Man I miss our high speed! I'm mean, dialup is great because I can do a blog entry while I wait for a page to load. I thought that we had ADSL, but we had a bit of a misunderstanding, in which we had a connection, but no account. This is because the account was cancelled, and therefore the account was not transferred. At least we still have the same phone number or I would be eXtremely ticked.
Rini is now up to date on her 4.5 months shots. However, she got them this week. Two weeks after she turned 6 months old. Yeah. No trouble though. We just need to take her in for her six month shots in November, and she'll be eight months old by then. Oie. I'm a responsible parent! Really!
In terms of providing for the family, I had another interview/assessment, this time for Dell. And much like all the last responses I've had, I was turned down. The instant I read that, I went and talked with Ron, who had offered me a position as Assistant Manager at his store, and told him that I was on board for the job. There is some training, lessons, online modules, and heck there's even an essay to write! Should be fun.
I would post some picture of the trailer load of cardboard that I took to get recycled, but since we're on dial up, I'm not up for sitting in front of the computer for hours on end to get it to load. Once we get high speed back up, I'll post a couple photos albums on Facebook. Love that bike trailer!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Well deserved vacation
I have to tell you, taking some time off and heading off to the mountains had to tbe one of the greatest ideas yet! It's been three years since I was able to stay in Banff for a whole week, and it's been absolutely wonderful. The best part is that I had some vacation days saved up from work, so I'm litterally being paid to be here! HEE HEE!
I haven't tackled any mountains, and I'm doubtful that I will. First off, I don't have my bike, so no singletrack stuff. Second, I have a six-month old daughter, and she hasn't learned to walk, let alone crawl. However, she has been swimming with mommy and daddy pretty much every day! She's also doing her darnest to sit up. She's really strong in the neck, we just need to work on the abs. Then she'll be up and about, and running, and getting into stuff... Hmmm... Maybe I should enjoy the time that we have right now when she's still learning. I would think.
I'm using the public library computer right now, so I can't post any pictures. I'll do that once I get back. I got some nice shots of the mountains from our room's balcony. It's so nice to be away from the city and not have to worry about getting up on time or getting to work. Hmmm... I'll probably be pretty bored in a bit. And then we'll go home, and if luck has it be, we'll visit Jess, Chris, Ben and the new Orr! I'm still waiting for that email though.
I haven't tackled any mountains, and I'm doubtful that I will. First off, I don't have my bike, so no singletrack stuff. Second, I have a six-month old daughter, and she hasn't learned to walk, let alone crawl. However, she has been swimming with mommy and daddy pretty much every day! She's also doing her darnest to sit up. She's really strong in the neck, we just need to work on the abs. Then she'll be up and about, and running, and getting into stuff... Hmmm... Maybe I should enjoy the time that we have right now when she's still learning. I would think.
I'm using the public library computer right now, so I can't post any pictures. I'll do that once I get back. I got some nice shots of the mountains from our room's balcony. It's so nice to be away from the city and not have to worry about getting up on time or getting to work. Hmmm... I'll probably be pretty bored in a bit. And then we'll go home, and if luck has it be, we'll visit Jess, Chris, Ben and the new Orr! I'm still waiting for that email though.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Awk
Funny that's how I felt coming out of my interview a few minutes ago, and it was also the name of the programming language that I was working with, PLUS it was apt that I used that language since I could get my script to work! Though the bird's name is spelt with a "u" not a "w". I did my best, and if that's not the best, well... Suffice it to say, the reason they do the testing with that language is so they can see how well the candidate responds to a new environment, since they have yet to have a candidate familiar with the language!
It was a challenge, but I felt I was close to getting something together, if only I had a bit more time to figure out the workings of the language. An hour isn't very long, and it gets shorter if you panic. I was doing my best not to go crazy, especially once I crashed the command prompt, then couldn't remember how to change directories in the prompt to get to the folder that had the runtime command for awk scripts! Yeah. That was fun.
I need to get going if I want to get a new seat post bolt for my bike. Some... twat stole the bolt for my seat post, and unless I get a new one, I can't ride my bike very comfortably or very far. I've had this happen before, and I've even had the entire seat stolen. Riding without a seat bolt is odd, without a seat is a trial! Funny how something so small is so important to the operation of something greater.
Kinda like Rini! :) Only no one stole her, and we didn't forget her in the apartment when I locked the key inside yesterday. Hmmm... still need to drop off those mail keys at the old apartment, and we finally found them today.
It was a challenge, but I felt I was close to getting something together, if only I had a bit more time to figure out the workings of the language. An hour isn't very long, and it gets shorter if you panic. I was doing my best not to go crazy, especially once I crashed the command prompt, then couldn't remember how to change directories in the prompt to get to the folder that had the runtime command for awk scripts! Yeah. That was fun.
I need to get going if I want to get a new seat post bolt for my bike. Some... twat stole the bolt for my seat post, and unless I get a new one, I can't ride my bike very comfortably or very far. I've had this happen before, and I've even had the entire seat stolen. Riding without a seat bolt is odd, without a seat is a trial! Funny how something so small is so important to the operation of something greater.
Kinda like Rini! :) Only no one stole her, and we didn't forget her in the apartment when I locked the key inside yesterday. Hmmm... still need to drop off those mail keys at the old apartment, and we finally found them today.
Getting settled
We still have a mountain of boxes to work through, but things are on the up and up for Rini. She's starting to support herself sitting up now, but I still have to hold onto her legs if she's sitting on my knee. Notwithstanding, she can support herself if I hold her by the hips. I'll take small victories where I can find them, like sleeping through the night.
Recently, I got the flu, then Caitlin got it. I don't know if Rini caught it (as I didn't throw it, and I've tried not to cough directly at her), but she had a bit of trouble settling last week. There were two nights in a row (3 and 4 August 2007) that we had to give her some infants Tylenol in order to help her sleep. We thought that she was coming down with the same thing we have, and she might have. But she seems okay now, and she doesn't fuss much when we set her down.
The other explaination is that she's going through a growth spurt, and it's going to hurt no matter what we do, or she does. Oh boy.
Recently, I got the flu, then Caitlin got it. I don't know if Rini caught it (as I didn't throw it, and I've tried not to cough directly at her), but she had a bit of trouble settling last week. There were two nights in a row (3 and 4 August 2007) that we had to give her some infants Tylenol in order to help her sleep. We thought that she was coming down with the same thing we have, and she might have. But she seems okay now, and she doesn't fuss much when we set her down.
The other explaination is that she's going through a growth spurt, and it's going to hurt no matter what we do, or she does. Oh boy.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Moving House
Our current place was great because it was close to downtown, reasonable rent, and it was close to the LRT which made it great for getting to U of A. But now we're moving to Millwoods, and some say that's a push in the wrong direction, but I would disagree. This building has seriously gone awry, and Caitlin has been badgering me for quite some time to move. The biggest thing keeping us here was the fact that it was convient to get to campus. Now, I'm done school. Not much reason to stay here anymore.
Especially since I heard about the stoned hookers sleeping in the stairwells, and people climbing the balconies to get into our neighbours place, and... it's time to move. This place is no longer the family-friendly building that we once thought. Sure it was great because we were able to have room for Rini, and possibly another child, and that was another thing we were waiting for. We'll take things a step at a time.
I've discovered that our new ward, Knottwood, has some familiar faces, namely a friend that I knew back when I was living in St. Albert. Caitlin also has a friend from her Woodvale days in the new ward. We're also going to be switching stakes, so that's going to be fun. Of course in Utah, if you moved more than five blocks away, you'd be moving out of the stake.
Is a basement suite the answer for our family? I hope so. Mind you, when I find the right job, the housing market might be in a crash cycle, and getting a house will be simple.
Then again, that housing storm might be like the rain we had today. It was bad for a few minutes, and then it was fine.
BIG MOVE TOMORROW!
Especially since I heard about the stoned hookers sleeping in the stairwells, and people climbing the balconies to get into our neighbours place, and... it's time to move. This place is no longer the family-friendly building that we once thought. Sure it was great because we were able to have room for Rini, and possibly another child, and that was another thing we were waiting for. We'll take things a step at a time.
I've discovered that our new ward, Knottwood, has some familiar faces, namely a friend that I knew back when I was living in St. Albert. Caitlin also has a friend from her Woodvale days in the new ward. We're also going to be switching stakes, so that's going to be fun. Of course in Utah, if you moved more than five blocks away, you'd be moving out of the stake.
Is a basement suite the answer for our family? I hope so. Mind you, when I find the right job, the housing market might be in a crash cycle, and getting a house will be simple.
Then again, that housing storm might be like the rain we had today. It was bad for a few minutes, and then it was fine.
BIG MOVE TOMORROW!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Nearing five months
Funny how time flies. Yesterday, my brother-in-law set off to Utah in order to prepare himself further to be a missionary in the Rosario, Argentina Mission. Won't see him for two years, and knowing my luck we won't get any mail from him for two months.
Mind you, the fact that our address is going to change doesn't help much. It wouldn't be a problem if we were going to relocate to the Tolley home, which we were toying with for some time, but something inside me screamed that living with your in-laws is the worst thing you can do for the health of your family. Emergency conditions aside, it is best to have your own homes. So as of 1 August, 2007, the Clarks will be in Millwoods. I don't know if we are going to move everything in one day, but we do get to take possesion of our basement suite that day. I really hope that we get more time, because I'm going to be streched thin with my new job as it is.
Oh, another thing I've been quiet about! My job oppurtunity with Telus! I had the interview yesterday, and they were checking references today. My application has not been completely processed, but I have been informed that the training will start July 31, 2007, and continue for 10 days. Or maybe it was eight. All I know is that I get the long weekend off. I really hope that this works out because I put in my two weeks notice at work yesterday. Hence, upon condition that I get this job, I will be working on the day we will be moving. I sense trouble. Why do this to myself you ask? Because I don't know exactly when the next hiring will take place for the position I applied. Possibly September or October, but I want to get on board now. I am putting a lot on the line here, because I also put in my two weeks notice already.
On a happier note, and more in tone with the subject of the blog, Rini has started eating solids. She has taken a liking to squash, proving that you can never know what your children are going to be like. Starting small, she only takes four or five spoonfuls at a time. She does like it though, and by "like" I mean she hasn't spit it out! Some of it winds up on her lips, due to the fact that she has yet to master the finesse of using your tongue to swallow, rather than lick stuff, like daddy's head.
That's a story for another day though. Mommy and daddy need sleepy time.
Mind you, the fact that our address is going to change doesn't help much. It wouldn't be a problem if we were going to relocate to the Tolley home, which we were toying with for some time, but something inside me screamed that living with your in-laws is the worst thing you can do for the health of your family. Emergency conditions aside, it is best to have your own homes. So as of 1 August, 2007, the Clarks will be in Millwoods. I don't know if we are going to move everything in one day, but we do get to take possesion of our basement suite that day. I really hope that we get more time, because I'm going to be streched thin with my new job as it is.
Oh, another thing I've been quiet about! My job oppurtunity with Telus! I had the interview yesterday, and they were checking references today. My application has not been completely processed, but I have been informed that the training will start July 31, 2007, and continue for 10 days. Or maybe it was eight. All I know is that I get the long weekend off. I really hope that this works out because I put in my two weeks notice at work yesterday. Hence, upon condition that I get this job, I will be working on the day we will be moving. I sense trouble. Why do this to myself you ask? Because I don't know exactly when the next hiring will take place for the position I applied. Possibly September or October, but I want to get on board now. I am putting a lot on the line here, because I also put in my two weeks notice already.
On a happier note, and more in tone with the subject of the blog, Rini has started eating solids. She has taken a liking to squash, proving that you can never know what your children are going to be like. Starting small, she only takes four or five spoonfuls at a time. She does like it though, and by "like" I mean she hasn't spit it out! Some of it winds up on her lips, due to the fact that she has yet to master the finesse of using your tongue to swallow, rather than lick stuff, like daddy's head.
That's a story for another day though. Mommy and daddy need sleepy time.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Baby's first summer
Last night, we had one of the hottest nights this year, and this was Rini's first exposure to a Canadian summer. Normally this only last for a couple of days, so I don't think we need to worry about it too much. Still, at 1 am last night, it was 33C in our apartment! I know this because of the keychain temp gauge I got at MEC. Handy little gadget.
The way that Caitlin finally figured out how to get Rini to sleep was to:
1. Strip her down to her diaper.
2. Dip her head and feet in a bathtub of cold water (The tub of water helped cool down the apartment a bit too).
3. Get a fan blowing directly at her crib on the highest speed.
4. Put a tray of ice cubes in front of said fan.
5. Dip a soother in the melted tray of ice cubes, and place in her mouth.
6. Stand beside the crib until she nooded off.
I was beyond tired, or else I would have helped.
The things you think of when you're a parent!
The way that Caitlin finally figured out how to get Rini to sleep was to:
1. Strip her down to her diaper.
2. Dip her head and feet in a bathtub of cold water (The tub of water helped cool down the apartment a bit too).
3. Get a fan blowing directly at her crib on the highest speed.
4. Put a tray of ice cubes in front of said fan.
5. Dip a soother in the melted tray of ice cubes, and place in her mouth.
6. Stand beside the crib until she nooded off.
I was beyond tired, or else I would have helped.
The things you think of when you're a parent!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Our munchkin is growing so quickly!
It's amazing how quickly time flies. It seems like only last week we got home from the hospital with Erini in our arms, and now she's rolling over! It's crazy to think that she's four months old now.
And from the sound of things, not very happy right now...
Excuse me...
And from the sound of things, not very happy right now...
Excuse me...
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Water Girl
Rini had her first swim today at the Grant MacEwan Centre for Sports and Wellness. At first I wasn't sure how well this would work, but that was due to a lot of things. First, wearing a swim diaper and a swim suit. Not something she was used to, and we also put the suit on backwards. Oops! That led to a bit of crying, and she was a little uneasy about going into a big pool. After a bit though she was kicking around like crazy! We even spent a little time over at the hot tub. We just dipped her in, we're not that irresponsible to leave our daughter to cook in 40C water. Just a taste, in and out, but mostly on the steps.
I knew that swimming tuckered you out, but I had no idea what it would do for Rini. After she had her fuss getting changed, we put her in the stroller and she promptly slept for the next four hours!
In the mean time, I need to get to sleep, or I am going to be in attrocious shape for work tomorrow.
I knew that swimming tuckered you out, but I had no idea what it would do for Rini. After she had her fuss getting changed, we put her in the stroller and she promptly slept for the next four hours!
In the mean time, I need to get to sleep, or I am going to be in attrocious shape for work tomorrow.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Father's Day
This is my first official father's day, and it's given me a moment to think about the previous twenty-seven to which I gave hommage to my dad. I'm still going to give him a call and talk to him, it is his day after all, buy now I have something to celebrate with him. I'm not the most experienced parent at this point, as my wife would be quick to second, but in the past four months my daughter and I have worked at establishing a bond. It's comforting to know that the emotional bond we have is reinforced by the sealing bond that my wife and I have to each other, our daughter, and any other children that will be born to us in the future.
The great irony to this is the thought that our screaming, squalling, and messy daughter will be with us for eternity. But with that we also have our cute, adorable, and peaceful daughter. Gotta take the good with the bad, and I suppose in the long run, it's all good.
It's odd that you develop a greater appreciation for your parents once you become a parent yourself, but that is probably one of the greatest things of God's plan for his children. Great joy is born from great sorrow, as is portrayed in the scriptures countless times, and is a contributing factor as to why a baby's cry is one of the most irritating and heartbreaking things to the human ear. Although Erini has not started talking yet, I'm sure my heart will melt the first time I hear her say, "Daddy" or "Dada" or whatever babbling I'll convince myself is speech that seems to resemble one of the many titles for a father. Just so long as she doesn't refer to me as a personal ATM, I'll be fine.
Or I might be like my father-in-law, who when his daughter got married, dressed up in a King Henry costume and recited the poem, "A Father's Lament," which he wrote himself, hence I couldn't find it on the net. I'll see if I can convince him to dig it up, but in summary, he goes to great length describing what he went through raising his beloved daughter, and how he never complained, until August 2, 2003, when his little girl got married.
The great irony to this is the thought that our screaming, squalling, and messy daughter will be with us for eternity. But with that we also have our cute, adorable, and peaceful daughter. Gotta take the good with the bad, and I suppose in the long run, it's all good.
It's odd that you develop a greater appreciation for your parents once you become a parent yourself, but that is probably one of the greatest things of God's plan for his children. Great joy is born from great sorrow, as is portrayed in the scriptures countless times, and is a contributing factor as to why a baby's cry is one of the most irritating and heartbreaking things to the human ear. Although Erini has not started talking yet, I'm sure my heart will melt the first time I hear her say, "Daddy" or "Dada" or whatever babbling I'll convince myself is speech that seems to resemble one of the many titles for a father. Just so long as she doesn't refer to me as a personal ATM, I'll be fine.
Or I might be like my father-in-law, who when his daughter got married, dressed up in a King Henry costume and recited the poem, "A Father's Lament," which he wrote himself, hence I couldn't find it on the net. I'll see if I can convince him to dig it up, but in summary, he goes to great length describing what he went through raising his beloved daughter, and how he never complained, until August 2, 2003, when his little girl got married.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Mood swings
It's amazing how this little girl, who is growing like a weed, can go from fussy...
to asleep in 10 minutes flat! Mind you, we have started to figure out the tired fuss from the hungry fuss.
to asleep in 10 minutes flat! Mind you, we have started to figure out the tired fuss from the hungry fuss.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Doing well, despite the lack of updates
Things get a little crazy when you move, but we didn't techincally move. We're just housesitting. It's just a little weird living in two places. I was getting used to living with a baby, but then we have a dog to look after, who likes to lick my hand or arm, whatever is hanging out of the bed at 6:30am.
On the plus side, we have no neighbours beneath us to get irritated when I play DDR. And I also don't need to worry about waking up Rini, since the PS2 is set up in the basement, and she sleeps on the top floor. No worries! She sleeps like a rock though.
Hard to believe that the little girl is now three months old! She's almost exactly 24" and she weighs 11 lbs 9 oz (5.26 kg). I need to get some new pics, so I can display her hair that is starting to turn a very cute shade of red! I was pleased as punch that her eyes were blue, but I didn't think much about the hair colour. Probably because mine is falling out!
We're going to Rini's second dance tonight, but I don't think she'll see as much action on the dance floor. She can hold her head up, but she's not crawling, let alone sitting up by herself.
On the plus side, we have no neighbours beneath us to get irritated when I play DDR. And I also don't need to worry about waking up Rini, since the PS2 is set up in the basement, and she sleeps on the top floor. No worries! She sleeps like a rock though.
Hard to believe that the little girl is now three months old! She's almost exactly 24" and she weighs 11 lbs 9 oz (5.26 kg). I need to get some new pics, so I can display her hair that is starting to turn a very cute shade of red! I was pleased as punch that her eyes were blue, but I didn't think much about the hair colour. Probably because mine is falling out!
We're going to Rini's second dance tonight, but I don't think she'll see as much action on the dance floor. She can hold her head up, but she's not crawling, let alone sitting up by herself.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Two months and getting chubby!
We discovered some interesting things about our daughter when we went to get her two month innoculations. First, she doesn't like shots. Or rather she doesn't like being held down and given a needle. I know what that's like, and I don't mean getting baby shots, but I could definitely understand her discontent when she started wailing! I held her before, during, and after the shots, so Caitlin was very grateful that I was able to do a split shift and be there for the shots. Made for a long day, but it worked out in the end.
This picture I took a couple of minutes before she was pumped up with dead viruses. She is not our exactly our teeny-weeny-Rini any more, but she's still small on the average scale. For her age, she's in the tenth percentile for weight with a bulk of 10lbs 3oz or 4.61kg. Also she measures 21.5" or 55cm long, which puts her in the fifteenth percentile for length. Oddly enough, her overall size was just under the fiftieth percentile. Yeah, I don't get it either. The plots kind of had a logarithm look to them, but other than that, I don't know when the chart was made or where the data was gathered from.
I almost thought that they gave her a tranquilizer since she dropped off so fast, but babies don't get tranqued and the nurse gave her a DPTP (diptheria-tetanus-pertussis(whooping cough)-polio) shot, menigingococcal shot and pneumococal shot. That last one stung but good.
Little did I know she was just checking her eyelids for holes. There wasn't any fussing, and the only time she seemed to have any reaction was when she was screaming after the shots, and her whole body was red. I think the vein on her forehead was standing out too, so the nurse didn't consider it an allergic reaction.
In case you're wondering, yes, the smiley face has devil tips on the ends of his smile. The caption is "Lead me not to temptation, I can find it myself." There is a reason the company that makes the shirt is called Walking Time Bomb. :P
This picture I took a couple of minutes before she was pumped up with dead viruses. She is not our exactly our teeny-weeny-Rini any more, but she's still small on the average scale. For her age, she's in the tenth percentile for weight with a bulk of 10lbs 3oz or 4.61kg. Also she measures 21.5" or 55cm long, which puts her in the fifteenth percentile for length. Oddly enough, her overall size was just under the fiftieth percentile. Yeah, I don't get it either. The plots kind of had a logarithm look to them, but other than that, I don't know when the chart was made or where the data was gathered from. 
I almost thought that they gave her a tranquilizer since she dropped off so fast, but babies don't get tranqued and the nurse gave her a DPTP (diptheria-tetanus-pertussis(whooping cough)-polio) shot, menigingococcal shot and pneumococal shot. That last one stung but good. 
Little did I know she was just checking her eyelids for holes. There wasn't any fussing, and the only time she seemed to have any reaction was when she was screaming after the shots, and her whole body was red. I think the vein on her forehead was standing out too, so the nurse didn't consider it an allergic reaction.
In case you're wondering, yes, the smiley face has devil tips on the ends of his smile. The caption is "Lead me not to temptation, I can find it myself." There is a reason the company that makes the shirt is called Walking Time Bomb. :P
Monday, April 16, 2007
Generation growth
Jess and Chris came by and brought their 10.5 month old toddler. Ok, Ben's just big for his age, but still!
This is where Ben gets his size from. I don't think I'll ever get used to how big Chris is, because I think his son may very well out grow him!
Even though Jess and I are about the same height, our children aren't! Then again, Ben has nine months on Rini.
A few things Caitlin and I realized about our daughter. First off, is the fact that she gets a lot of gas. Oddly enough, I've been using the term "Riding the fuss bus" whenever she acts fussy. Riding the fuss bus to snoozetown, or foodsville, or just until it runs out of gas are the usual destinations for our daughter.
We also inadvertently discovered a calming technique. Walking around with her in our arms. Most all babies enjoy movement, but we figured it was because Caitlin was working up until a week before Rini was born, and at her job, Caitlin did a lot of walking.
Could just be coincidence.
This is where Ben gets his size from. I don't think I'll ever get used to how big Chris is, because I think his son may very well out grow him!
Even though Jess and I are about the same height, our children aren't! Then again, Ben has nine months on Rini. A few things Caitlin and I realized about our daughter. First off, is the fact that she gets a lot of gas. Oddly enough, I've been using the term "Riding the fuss bus" whenever she acts fussy. Riding the fuss bus to snoozetown, or foodsville, or just until it runs out of gas are the usual destinations for our daughter.
We also inadvertently discovered a calming technique. Walking around with her in our arms. Most all babies enjoy movement, but we figured it was because Caitlin was working up until a week before Rini was born, and at her job, Caitlin did a lot of walking.
Could just be coincidence.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Digital Cuteness
Some pics to show how cute, and big, Erini is right now! She weighs approximately 9lbs as of Sunday. We weighed Caitlin first, then Caitlin held Rini, and we subtracted off Caitlin's weight. Not the most accurate thing in the world, but we don't have a baby scale on hand.
And now you're thinking, who the heck is that bald weirdo cuddling up with the cute baby? Well, that would be me. I shaved my head, rather Caitlin shaved my head at my request, because we were done with the play, and I have been looking for an excuse to shave my head for months now. I thought that we were going to do it for the play, but instead we just dyed it. I'm thinking about keeping it short for the summer, and then growing it back over the winter. We'll see though.
I'm so lucky to have a couple of beautiful babes to greet me when I get home. :)
And now you're thinking, who the heck is that bald weirdo cuddling up with the cute baby? Well, that would be me. I shaved my head, rather Caitlin shaved my head at my request, because we were done with the play, and I have been looking for an excuse to shave my head for months now. I thought that we were going to do it for the play, but instead we just dyed it. I'm thinking about keeping it short for the summer, and then growing it back over the winter. We'll see though.
I'm so lucky to have a couple of beautiful babes to greet me when I get home. :)
Friday, March 30, 2007
Happy days
As for the move, I think we're going to hold off until May, if we're going to move at all. Erini has been gaining a lot of weight, and last time doctor weighed her, she is now up to 7lbs 3oz, a full pound higher than her original birth weight! She's getting a lot more active, and at four weeks five days, she's trying very hard to hold her head up.
I like to say that she's like her mother in that respect. She likes to hold her head up high, as any princess would. The baby shower presents have been a great help to our patience and effectiveness as parents, I like to think. The Snuggli carrier has been invaluable, especially during the Mikado run at the Winspear, and in Leduc. Caitlin was able to wear our little girl, and help out with everyone else. It was also easy to carry her home, since we live walking distance from the Winspear theatre. The little bed/rocking chair has been great for rocking her to sleep. I still need to get batteries for the "soothing vibrations" motor.
We might not be moving for a while yet, because there is the possiblity that I could get on with Colt Engineering. Their main office is on the south side, but it's still doable as a bicyle commute. Might take 45 minutes or so, but I think that it would be worth the ride. This is of course assuming that I get hired. I put in an application with Halliburton too, but they are located in Nisku. If I get on there, then I would think that living in Beaumont would be easier for travel. April will tell all, and hence moving in April would be a little premature.
Goes to show, it takes two women to raise a man: his mother and his wife.
I like to say that she's like her mother in that respect. She likes to hold her head up high, as any princess would. The baby shower presents have been a great help to our patience and effectiveness as parents, I like to think. The Snuggli carrier has been invaluable, especially during the Mikado run at the Winspear, and in Leduc. Caitlin was able to wear our little girl, and help out with everyone else. It was also easy to carry her home, since we live walking distance from the Winspear theatre. The little bed/rocking chair has been great for rocking her to sleep. I still need to get batteries for the "soothing vibrations" motor.
We might not be moving for a while yet, because there is the possiblity that I could get on with Colt Engineering. Their main office is on the south side, but it's still doable as a bicyle commute. Might take 45 minutes or so, but I think that it would be worth the ride. This is of course assuming that I get hired. I put in an application with Halliburton too, but they are located in Nisku. If I get on there, then I would think that living in Beaumont would be easier for travel. April will tell all, and hence moving in April would be a little premature.
Goes to show, it takes two women to raise a man: his mother and his wife.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Crazy Month
I knew that March was going to be a crazy month. I have said so on numerous occasions, especially in February. I had no idea what was in store for myself and my family.
First.... I don't know where to begin. The fact that there has been a change of management at work, the fact that rent is going up at the end of the month, or just the whole fun of Erini spitting up on us.
Erini should come first, because contrary to some belief, we were not having the most perfect start to our family. Rini was getting thin, she had lost 9oz, and was down to 5lbs 8oz. At that point we had to supplement. We could not afford to have our child lose much of the little weight that she already has. We didn't want to, Caitlin had the idea of getting Rini to breastfeed from the start. Even before we were pregnant, that was the plan that Caitlin had. Plans go astray, but she's eating pretty much whatever we put in that bottle, whether it be formula, or breast milk.
Caitlin has been able to express on average 6oz of breast milk a day. Sometimes more, sometimes not. But the formula is a supplement to her breast milk diet. At first I thought that we were going to path of least resistance, and this was going to go from bad to worse. Now, I can see that it was a smart decision, and pretty much the only thing we could do at the time. Rini is back up to 6lbs 1oz, as of 13 March 2007, the last time we went to the doctor.
I feel bad that I haven't done any updates for sometime. Between work, The Mikado, and being a daddy, I haven't taken much time to record my thoughts on the whole ordeal. I know that some people consider this to be a main source of information in regards to my little family's status, especially since I haven't put minutes on my cell phone yet.
There is reason behind that. This is because of the new cell phone that I obtained, and with which I've been able to post pictures of my little girl. I was planning to transfer the number on March 14, but when the day came, I had another idea.
Caitlin and I have been discussing ways that I can contribute more to our family income. One way, of course, is to attain employment with an engineering firm. Preferably downtown. Barring that, the best place would be Nisku or Leduc. Even when I went in for an interview with Finning, they mentioned that they were planning on moving their operation to Nisku in 2008. Other than consultation positions, which are for Professional Engineers, not EITs, working downtown is not the biggest option. I had some high hopes for a position with Intuit, but those hopes were dashed when I received an email on Thursday telling me that the positions where filled. I did get a phone interview, so that was more than most people get! I just need to keep sending out applications, and hope for the best.
However, with the job market, it's more of who you know rather than what you know. Getting networked is the key to it all. People need to know your name, know who you are, and what you can do for them. At the moment, I've been sending out applications online, and keeping a close watch on job websites. However, there are still jobs out there, and I keep reading in the paper there is going to be a staffing shortage in the near future.
In order to free things up, Caitlin and I have decided we need to make some drastic changes. Very drastic. First, I need a different job. Source is nice, but on a good paycheck, I make $10.50/hr. I could make twice that as a supermarket meat cutter! Heck, I know one of my friends, after his start-up business went into the ground, he worked at a shoe factory until he found his current engineering job.
Also, we need to cut expenses. Rent is going up at the end of the month, and it's probably going to increase again in six months. Our apartment is alright, and it was great while I was going to school. Nevertheless, I don't want to raise our child in a downtown apartment. When I put in the rent check for April, I'm also going to submit a notice of departure. As of 1 May 2007, Caitlin and I are going to be residing in Beaumont.
I know that this will lengthen my commute to work, hence I'm going to be leaving Source on 14 April 2007. This will allow for time to move, and also search for a new job.
Is this drastic? Oh yeah. Is it necessary? We think so. Is this the best option? Under the circumstances, I would say so, and Caitlin agrees. Ideally, I'd like to get a job downtown, and commute by bike all year long! The odds of that seem pretty slim though. But anything is possible, and I haven't given notice to anyone save Source, and to make it official, I need to put it in writing.
First.... I don't know where to begin. The fact that there has been a change of management at work, the fact that rent is going up at the end of the month, or just the whole fun of Erini spitting up on us.
Erini should come first, because contrary to some belief, we were not having the most perfect start to our family. Rini was getting thin, she had lost 9oz, and was down to 5lbs 8oz. At that point we had to supplement. We could not afford to have our child lose much of the little weight that she already has. We didn't want to, Caitlin had the idea of getting Rini to breastfeed from the start. Even before we were pregnant, that was the plan that Caitlin had. Plans go astray, but she's eating pretty much whatever we put in that bottle, whether it be formula, or breast milk.
Caitlin has been able to express on average 6oz of breast milk a day. Sometimes more, sometimes not. But the formula is a supplement to her breast milk diet. At first I thought that we were going to path of least resistance, and this was going to go from bad to worse. Now, I can see that it was a smart decision, and pretty much the only thing we could do at the time. Rini is back up to 6lbs 1oz, as of 13 March 2007, the last time we went to the doctor.
I feel bad that I haven't done any updates for sometime. Between work, The Mikado, and being a daddy, I haven't taken much time to record my thoughts on the whole ordeal. I know that some people consider this to be a main source of information in regards to my little family's status, especially since I haven't put minutes on my cell phone yet.
There is reason behind that. This is because of the new cell phone that I obtained, and with which I've been able to post pictures of my little girl. I was planning to transfer the number on March 14, but when the day came, I had another idea.
Caitlin and I have been discussing ways that I can contribute more to our family income. One way, of course, is to attain employment with an engineering firm. Preferably downtown. Barring that, the best place would be Nisku or Leduc. Even when I went in for an interview with Finning, they mentioned that they were planning on moving their operation to Nisku in 2008. Other than consultation positions, which are for Professional Engineers, not EITs, working downtown is not the biggest option. I had some high hopes for a position with Intuit, but those hopes were dashed when I received an email on Thursday telling me that the positions where filled. I did get a phone interview, so that was more than most people get! I just need to keep sending out applications, and hope for the best.
However, with the job market, it's more of who you know rather than what you know. Getting networked is the key to it all. People need to know your name, know who you are, and what you can do for them. At the moment, I've been sending out applications online, and keeping a close watch on job websites. However, there are still jobs out there, and I keep reading in the paper there is going to be a staffing shortage in the near future.
In order to free things up, Caitlin and I have decided we need to make some drastic changes. Very drastic. First, I need a different job. Source is nice, but on a good paycheck, I make $10.50/hr. I could make twice that as a supermarket meat cutter! Heck, I know one of my friends, after his start-up business went into the ground, he worked at a shoe factory until he found his current engineering job.
Also, we need to cut expenses. Rent is going up at the end of the month, and it's probably going to increase again in six months. Our apartment is alright, and it was great while I was going to school. Nevertheless, I don't want to raise our child in a downtown apartment. When I put in the rent check for April, I'm also going to submit a notice of departure. As of 1 May 2007, Caitlin and I are going to be residing in Beaumont.
I know that this will lengthen my commute to work, hence I'm going to be leaving Source on 14 April 2007. This will allow for time to move, and also search for a new job.
Is this drastic? Oh yeah. Is it necessary? We think so. Is this the best option? Under the circumstances, I would say so, and Caitlin agrees. Ideally, I'd like to get a job downtown, and commute by bike all year long! The odds of that seem pretty slim though. But anything is possible, and I haven't given notice to anyone save Source, and to make it official, I need to put it in writing.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Left too early
Caitlin, Erini and I are back from the hospital for the second time now. Woof, what an adventure. When the nurse from the "Healthy Beginnings" program came to see Caitlin on Wednesday 28 Feb, she wondered if there was any trouble with feeding, how many diapers Erini was going through, etc. Our answers surprised the nurse, and we kind of surprised ourselves in telling them. She had only gone through about 2 diapers that day, and one of them wasn't messy at all. If it was 3am, that would be that bad, but it was 11am, and in the past 24 hours, she had only gone through 4 diapers. By this time, she should have had 8 or so.
After a blood sample delivered to a lab via courier and analysed, it was determined that Erini's Biliruben count was too high.
We were to take her back immediately to RAH so she could undergo photo-therapy in order to bring the level down. I went back to the hospital after work instead of to home.
Unlike the days following Erini's birth, when Caitlin was an admitted patient, had a private room, and I was able to sleep in the same single bed with her (that was a throw back to the newlyweds days), the only room that was available for us was the nursery chairs, or the waiting lounge where I could make a bed out of chairs. They had border beds, but they were all taken. Besides, I would not have been allowed there, and it was quite the distance from the nursery where Erini was under the photo-therapy lights.
I thought that I could tough it out in the nursery chairs, but at 4am, when there were 11 babies in the nursery, including our own, I thought I would give the lounge a try. Foolish me, I waited too long, and there were no longer enough chairs to put together a make-shift bed. So I took a blanket, laid it on the floor, made a pillow with my gloves and toque, and got a moderately decent sleep for four hours. At 8am, I tried doing the chair bed thing, and that wasn't nearly as sucessful, but at 10am, I found that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. It was day time, and I had to join the rest of the world.
On the plus side, yesterday was the first day of the new fiscal year. That is the time when they reset the vacation days. Now I know I dropped the ball on applying for parental leave, yet if I do get some vacation days, and I might qualify for 8 days, I could take that pretty quick here to help out with Caitlin and Erini. I could have applied for Parental leave, yes, but I have to do it at least 2 months in advance. Hmmm... Let's do some math. If my parental leave started on 24 Feb 2007, the day Erini was born, then my last day to apply would have been Christmas Eve 2006. I HAD A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND AT THE TIME. I think. Or I could have put the application to start on March 6. Then I could have put the application in by the new year.
I think, at this point, it's vacation days or nothing.
After a blood sample delivered to a lab via courier and analysed, it was determined that Erini's Biliruben count was too high.
We were to take her back immediately to RAH so she could undergo photo-therapy in order to bring the level down. I went back to the hospital after work instead of to home. 
Unlike the days following Erini's birth, when Caitlin was an admitted patient, had a private room, and I was able to sleep in the same single bed with her (that was a throw back to the newlyweds days), the only room that was available for us was the nursery chairs, or the waiting lounge where I could make a bed out of chairs. They had border beds, but they were all taken. Besides, I would not have been allowed there, and it was quite the distance from the nursery where Erini was under the photo-therapy lights. 
I thought that I could tough it out in the nursery chairs, but at 4am, when there were 11 babies in the nursery, including our own, I thought I would give the lounge a try. Foolish me, I waited too long, and there were no longer enough chairs to put together a make-shift bed. So I took a blanket, laid it on the floor, made a pillow with my gloves and toque, and got a moderately decent sleep for four hours. At 8am, I tried doing the chair bed thing, and that wasn't nearly as sucessful, but at 10am, I found that I wasn't going to be able to sleep anymore. It was day time, and I had to join the rest of the world. On the plus side, yesterday was the first day of the new fiscal year. That is the time when they reset the vacation days. Now I know I dropped the ball on applying for parental leave, yet if I do get some vacation days, and I might qualify for 8 days, I could take that pretty quick here to help out with Caitlin and Erini. I could have applied for Parental leave, yes, but I have to do it at least 2 months in advance. Hmmm... Let's do some math. If my parental leave started on 24 Feb 2007, the day Erini was born, then my last day to apply would have been Christmas Eve 2006. I HAD A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND AT THE TIME. I think. Or I could have put the application to start on March 6. Then I could have put the application in by the new year.
I think, at this point, it's vacation days or nothing.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
The Great Day Has Come At Last
7:45am - Mom Tolley just woke me up via phone wondering if I was going to make it to rehearsal. I told her that I had not heard from Caitlin yet, and I wasn't going anywhere until she called. In retrospect it was similiar to a scene in School of Rock, where Jack Black's character gets an abrupt waking from his roommate, demanding rent money. His response, "Aw man, you woke me up for that? You know I don't have it." My response to mom Tolley's question, "You woke me up for that? You know I'm not coming."
8:00am - Just got a call from Caitlin. They're putting her on the IV drip now. Time for me to get out of bed I think.
9:20am - After a breakfast of Shreddies and Cheerios, I went off to catch the bus. When I got to Staidium station, I didn't go out to the stop immediately. When it's cold out, you tend to prefer to look at the schedule that is located indoors. A quick check at the posted Saturday schedule told me that I had a fifteen minute wait ahead of me. Thirty seconds later, I saw the bus leave. Oops. I started walking because I didn't want to wait half an hour!
10:00am - Caitlin told me about a dream she had last night. This is the second time she's dreamt about a black kitten with blue eyes.
10:30am - Nurse came and dropped off some presents, if you call a full IV bag and some medication presents. One of then was Ranitidine, something to keep the level of stomach acid down. The other is some odourless, colourless liquid that they're going to give her right before she goes in for the Caeserean. I'm pretty sure it's not iocaine powder.
11:10am - The iocaine powder, or whatever it is, is down the hatch. Caitlin has been summoned to appear in the theatre. This is really happening!
11:20am - Turns out the "iocaine powder" was sodium citrate. Something they give to everyone before they go in for a C-section. Not deadly, but it's good for mommy, since it semi-neutralizes stomach fluids.
12:00pm - Now it's my turn. I had to change into some scrubs and put on a mask. I thought the mask was the biggest pain, until I learned I could clamp the metal bit over my nose so that my glasses didn't fog up. I was sitting next to Caitlin, holding her hand, and making small talk with the anesthesiologist. Partially as something to do, and also to keep myself, and Caitlin, calm. I tried to get a view of what was going on, and I kept hoping that it wasn't going to be something truly grotesque like I've heard described by others. At one point I saw the surgeons poking about with some leads that we causing smoke to arise for my wife's abdomen. I later found out that was cauterization. At the time, I was content to sit back and trust these folks knew what they were doing. Especially after I got a glimpse of the doctor tucking his hand into the incision. I just sat behind the blue veil, even when the anesthesiologist got up and gave us a play by play of what was coming out. "One foot, two feet..." and then everyone in the OR announced...
12:20pm - IT'S A GIRL! We got a quick view of baby before she was taken over to get inspected by the ICU personnel on hand. Dr. Litchfield will probably come by some time this evening to put his stamp of approval on Erini. I was about ready to take her out to see Grammie and Grandpa, but she hadn't been weighed yet!
12:40pm - In the nursery. Erini is quite the tough baby. She didn't fuss much, even when she got her Vitamin K shot. She complained when she was pushed and prodded as she had her first bath, but she calmed down as I talked to her explaining how my mind is like a sieve, and the definition of a sieve. I just kept talking, trying to soothe her, calm her, and help her get used to my voice. The nurse said she was listening to everything I was saying. I don't doubt it.
8:00am - Just got a call from Caitlin. They're putting her on the IV drip now. Time for me to get out of bed I think.
9:20am - After a breakfast of Shreddies and Cheerios, I went off to catch the bus. When I got to Staidium station, I didn't go out to the stop immediately. When it's cold out, you tend to prefer to look at the schedule that is located indoors. A quick check at the posted Saturday schedule told me that I had a fifteen minute wait ahead of me. Thirty seconds later, I saw the bus leave. Oops. I started walking because I didn't want to wait half an hour!
10:00am - Caitlin told me about a dream she had last night. This is the second time she's dreamt about a black kitten with blue eyes.
10:30am - Nurse came and dropped off some presents, if you call a full IV bag and some medication presents. One of then was Ranitidine, something to keep the level of stomach acid down. The other is some odourless, colourless liquid that they're going to give her right before she goes in for the Caeserean. I'm pretty sure it's not iocaine powder. 11:10am - The iocaine powder, or whatever it is, is down the hatch. Caitlin has been summoned to appear in the theatre. This is really happening!
11:20am - Turns out the "iocaine powder" was sodium citrate. Something they give to everyone before they go in for a C-section. Not deadly, but it's good for mommy, since it semi-neutralizes stomach fluids.
12:00pm - Now it's my turn. I had to change into some scrubs and put on a mask. I thought the mask was the biggest pain, until I learned I could clamp the metal bit over my nose so that my glasses didn't fog up. I was sitting next to Caitlin, holding her hand, and making small talk with the anesthesiologist. Partially as something to do, and also to keep myself, and Caitlin, calm. I tried to get a view of what was going on, and I kept hoping that it wasn't going to be something truly grotesque like I've heard described by others. At one point I saw the surgeons poking about with some leads that we causing smoke to arise for my wife's abdomen. I later found out that was cauterization. At the time, I was content to sit back and trust these folks knew what they were doing. Especially after I got a glimpse of the doctor tucking his hand into the incision. I just sat behind the blue veil, even when the anesthesiologist got up and gave us a play by play of what was coming out. "One foot, two feet..." and then everyone in the OR announced...
12:20pm - IT'S A GIRL! We got a quick view of baby before she was taken over to get inspected by the ICU personnel on hand. Dr. Litchfield will probably come by some time this evening to put his stamp of approval on Erini. I was about ready to take her out to see Grammie and Grandpa, but she hadn't been weighed yet!
12:40pm - In the nursery. Erini is quite the tough baby. She didn't fuss much, even when she got her Vitamin K shot. She complained when she was pushed and prodded as she had her first bath, but she calmed down as I talked to her explaining how my mind is like a sieve, and the definition of a sieve. I just kept talking, trying to soothe her, calm her, and help her get used to my voice. The nurse said she was listening to everything I was saying. I don't doubt it.
Friday, February 23, 2007
End of Days
I can't help but think that I'm approaching the end of my manhood. Although, this is not a bad thing, for it marks the beginning of something else. Fatherhood. Exciting and terrifying all at once.
I received word that Caitlin was being prepped for c -section around 3 o'clock. I was still at work, but Jon understood the importance of being with my wife at this critical time. Sometimes I hate being short staffed. The added sales are nice, but you wind up doing a lot more. For instance, I'm going to miss the Oscars, because I have to help with inventory. Massive suckitude, but there are only 4 people on staff right now, and everyone will be needed for inventory count.
At first, I was a little surprised at myself for thinking of the birth of my first child as a time of death. That's the thing. I don't view death as an end. It's merely a transition from one state of existence to another.
I still worry about what kind of parent I'll be. "Hey baby! Guess what! Your daddy is a psycho!" That's my number one worry, that I'll have another episode. Then there's the issue of being an adequate breadwinner for my family. Do your best, apply for everything, and get yourself known. Is it enough though?
Time will tell.
At the moment, I lie alone at home waiting for a call from Caitlin to let me know what and when things will happen. The operation won't be until the morning at the earliest, so I should get some sleep. I hope that Caitlin is okay by herself at the hospital. I would be there right now, but I was kicked out at 9pm, when visiting hours ended.
I don't know if I'll get to rehearsal tomorrow, but we'll play it by ear.
I received word that Caitlin was being prepped for c -section around 3 o'clock. I was still at work, but Jon understood the importance of being with my wife at this critical time. Sometimes I hate being short staffed. The added sales are nice, but you wind up doing a lot more. For instance, I'm going to miss the Oscars, because I have to help with inventory. Massive suckitude, but there are only 4 people on staff right now, and everyone will be needed for inventory count.
At first, I was a little surprised at myself for thinking of the birth of my first child as a time of death. That's the thing. I don't view death as an end. It's merely a transition from one state of existence to another.
I still worry about what kind of parent I'll be. "Hey baby! Guess what! Your daddy is a psycho!" That's my number one worry, that I'll have another episode. Then there's the issue of being an adequate breadwinner for my family. Do your best, apply for everything, and get yourself known. Is it enough though?
Time will tell.
At the moment, I lie alone at home waiting for a call from Caitlin to let me know what and when things will happen. The operation won't be until the morning at the earliest, so I should get some sleep. I hope that Caitlin is okay by herself at the hospital. I would be there right now, but I was kicked out at 9pm, when visiting hours ended.
I don't know if I'll get to rehearsal tomorrow, but we'll play it by ear.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
38 Weeks Precisely
Any day now I could be a daddy. This is starting to really freak me out. Caitlin just had a bit of a labour pain, but in retrospect it probably had something to do with the fact that she had just gone up some stairs to get to our apartment. Plus there was the delayed stress reaction to most everyone's attitude towards the costumes at rehearsal. On the same note, added stress can trigger labour. We can be grateful that the placenta didn't seperate, or else we would be in the ER right now.
As you may have noticed, the picture of Caitlin is not in the kitchen, or the family room. This is because I won a Nokia 5300 phone at work, and it has a 1.3 Megapixel camera/videocamera embedded in it! When I found out that I had won, I thought, I hope I get that phone before baby comes! Now that I have the phone, I'd like to think that we're ready for baby now. We have diapers, Pampers Swaddlers, and the crib is near ready to go. Plus we got a baby change table from mom and dad Tolley. That was a heap of fun to put together. We had everything assembled, and the last thing was to put the drawer in. That's when I realized I had put them on backwards. Good thing we have that drill. It took about 5 minutes to fix the drawers. If it had been by hand, probably would have been half an hour. I'll post some pictures of baby's room once we get the crib sheets put on. Basically once it's presentable.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Fake out
The most pivotal moment of our lives has been postponed. Baby did not turn today, therefore Caitlin was not induced. Reason being, there was not enough amniotic fluid for Erini to swim around and reorient herself.
From here on in, until I get word otherwise, I'm going to follow my wife's intuition that we are having a girl. The ultrasound Caitlin had today also seemed to lean in that direction. Knowing the sex of the baby is one thing, but the big thing we're looking forward to is finding our her eye colour. Hoping for blue, but will be just as pleased if they are brown.
Back to the matters of the day, Caitlin is still pregnant, Erini is still breached, and there was another appointment made for next Friday at 2pm. At that time we are going to see whether there is sufficient fluid to move our daughter into position. Also at this point in time, we are going to have weekly appointments with our doctor to monitor baby's progress.
In other news, my name was drawn as the winner of the Nokia 5300 contest at work. Some time next week I'll receive my new phone, which is very handy, because not only is it a phone, but it also has picture and video capability. Alright, so we don't have a camcorder, but a video phone is a sight better than nothing! Plus, the phone is small enough that I can film and still make eye contact with baby. I've heard that it's not the best idea to film baby at birth, because to baby it would be a bit disorienting.
Can't you see it? "This is mommy. She has bright eyes, a wonderful smile, gorgeous hair, and a splendid complexion. Everyone says I look like her. I can live with that. And this is... daddy? I see a hand waving at me, but there's this huge dark... thing coming out of his neck! Now it's talking to me. 'Look at the camera! Look at daddy!' A camera. Okay. So, my daddy is a camera? At least I have a normal mommy."
I found out about the lack of delivery when I was heading to the hospital. At that point I thought that I should go back to work, but then I realized I need to spend some time with my wife. So the decision was set in my mind. I'll head home, and if Jon needs me to come in to close, I'll do it. When I got home, I laid down on the bed beside my resting wife, and I didn't want to get up. I really didn't. All my energy left me, and I don't think I had the strength to even desire to think.
And to think, baby's not even here yet.
From here on in, until I get word otherwise, I'm going to follow my wife's intuition that we are having a girl. The ultrasound Caitlin had today also seemed to lean in that direction. Knowing the sex of the baby is one thing, but the big thing we're looking forward to is finding our her eye colour. Hoping for blue, but will be just as pleased if they are brown.
Back to the matters of the day, Caitlin is still pregnant, Erini is still breached, and there was another appointment made for next Friday at 2pm. At that time we are going to see whether there is sufficient fluid to move our daughter into position. Also at this point in time, we are going to have weekly appointments with our doctor to monitor baby's progress.
In other news, my name was drawn as the winner of the Nokia 5300 contest at work. Some time next week I'll receive my new phone, which is very handy, because not only is it a phone, but it also has picture and video capability. Alright, so we don't have a camcorder, but a video phone is a sight better than nothing! Plus, the phone is small enough that I can film and still make eye contact with baby. I've heard that it's not the best idea to film baby at birth, because to baby it would be a bit disorienting.
Can't you see it? "This is mommy. She has bright eyes, a wonderful smile, gorgeous hair, and a splendid complexion. Everyone says I look like her. I can live with that. And this is... daddy? I see a hand waving at me, but there's this huge dark... thing coming out of his neck! Now it's talking to me. 'Look at the camera! Look at daddy!' A camera. Okay. So, my daddy is a camera? At least I have a normal mommy."
I found out about the lack of delivery when I was heading to the hospital. At that point I thought that I should go back to work, but then I realized I need to spend some time with my wife. So the decision was set in my mind. I'll head home, and if Jon needs me to come in to close, I'll do it. When I got home, I laid down on the bed beside my resting wife, and I didn't want to get up. I really didn't. All my energy left me, and I don't think I had the strength to even desire to think.
And to think, baby's not even here yet.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine Presents
Lots of pictures today. Partly because I have to head out to rehearsal pretty quick, and I have to get back to making phone calls. As you might have guessed, that necklace Caitlin is wearing was her Valentine's Day gift from me, and I worked two weeks on that. Chewed a lot of gum, and every one of my coworkers a piece of Trident, and I even went next door and offer gum to the people who worked there! I didn't count how many I have in the end, but I think it was somewhere in the vicinity of 32. Not enough to make a necklace that could be worn without a clasp, I motored over to Fabricland on a break, and picked up some barrel clasps. They were easier to attach than I thought! And since the necklace is so light, there's not a lot of worry of the clasp breaking under stress. Aside from the wonderful gift, and cuteness that excudes from it (I mean Caitlin, not the necklace :P), I realized that it could also be something for baby to play with. It's made of paper and thread, so if baby sucks on it, there won't be any detrimental damage to baby.
I'm going to be glad when baby is born, and I can refer to him/her by their name. And on that note, I might get that chance tomorrow!
When we went to the doctor's today, we found that baby was breech. Not exactly news, because that's how baby has been sitting for the past three months. I know that the head is supposed to be in the pelvis, but I guess baby has other ideas. Nevertheless, this has qualified us to participate in a medical study at the Royal Alexandria Hospital to try and reposition baby to the birthing position. If the procedure is sucessful, whatever it may be, Caitlin will be immediately induced. Or at least that's what our doctor told us. Forget deer in the headlights, it was like a frying pan to the face.
My mind was reeling. I texted my manager, told him the circumstances, and we changed my shift to 9:30a-2p, so that I would be able to be there later on in the day.
We then went to my bi-polar clinic and told them my circumstances. Thankfully they didn't think that I needed anything more than the Epival that I've been taking for months. Nevertheless, we made another appointment for March 15 just to make sure that everything is moving along.
Then we went and got a crib mattress, completely oblivious that Caitlin's boss had offered to give us one that she had. Oops. Ah well, we have one that fits well, and now we just need to worry about diapers. And formula (aka backup). And a stroller, preferablely a Chariot because you can also use it as a bike trailer. I know I'm forgetting something, or another. But right now I'm still in shock that as of tomorrow I could be a daddy.
We're going to be okay. At least I hope so!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Deadline looming
Today was a bit of a charge for me. When I got to rehearsal tonight, I was informed that Caitlin thought she was going into labour. However, since she has no previous experience with what this feels like, she contacted the person most versed in it that she felt comfortable speaking to about it. Her mother. I was a little surprised, yet at the same time I was a little spooked. It could happen at any moment now. Any moment. To make myself seems more incompetent, I haven't thought about how we're going to get her to the hospital. I haven't contacted anyone who could help us out at a moment's notice to get Caitlin to the hospital. I don't know how long we'll have once labour starts. Plus, we don't have a stroller, or a car seat, or a bassinet, or a crib mattress, or diapers!
Saturday we are going to devote to adding a bit of sanity to our mental health. Baby is coming, and Caitlin can't wait for it. Yes it will be wonderful to have another member to our family, but more importantly, baby will be able to annoy me and not just mommy, as the situation is right now.
Some other things we need is a vacuum. The Electrolux we have right now is over 30 years old. It's seen it's days, and they were many. The time has come to retire it, and find another to take its place. I did some price comparison, and taken the advise of some people too. I've heard that Sears has some exceptional cleaners, and for a very affordable price too. I was hoping to pay no more than $200, and some of the Kenmore vacuums are $165. We'll have to look into it on Saturday.
Saturday we are going to devote to adding a bit of sanity to our mental health. Baby is coming, and Caitlin can't wait for it. Yes it will be wonderful to have another member to our family, but more importantly, baby will be able to annoy me and not just mommy, as the situation is right now.
Some other things we need is a vacuum. The Electrolux we have right now is over 30 years old. It's seen it's days, and they were many. The time has come to retire it, and find another to take its place. I did some price comparison, and taken the advise of some people too. I've heard that Sears has some exceptional cleaners, and for a very affordable price too. I was hoping to pay no more than $200, and some of the Kenmore vacuums are $165. We'll have to look into it on Saturday.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Cha-cha-changes
I don't know how often people change their minds about baby names, but after I read an article in the Edmonton Journal on Tuesday (30 Jan 2007) about the most popular baby names in Edmonton, I talked with Caitlin about our name choices. It said that for a boy, the trend is heading away from harsher, more masucline names like Chuck or Rick, and going for names that end in "n" because they have a softer, more feminine tone to them. Ethan was the #1 choice, and Nathan was in the top ten. I believe Brandon was in there as well, but I'm not so sure. For girls, coincidentally enough, the stronger names ending in "a" are all the rage. Diana, Ava, and Olivia are some of the top choices. Abigail was another popular choice, and in 2006 there was 21 different spellings of the name! Abbygail, Abygale, and Abbiegayle are a few of the variations. Maybe people read my post awhile back and took it to heart. It's the idea that people are trying to imagine a name for a judge or a lawyer, instead of a cheerleader. Debbie, Susie, and Patti are peppy, zippy names that tend to be shunned these days. I'm still holding for Erini, and so is Caitlin, but we've been pondering using Bronwyn.
But wait! That's a Welsh name, and my roots are Scottish! Um... so? Erini is a Greek word, and I chose that name because that's where I served my mission. I don't think that you need to name your child something that has direct connections to your family roots in the past four Generations. Yet I contradict myself with the names we have selected for a boy, Joseph Brandon. The name Joseph is because, a) that's my mother's grandfather's name, and b) my middle name is Joseph, and that's keeping with the tradition of giving the son his father's middle name. My dad's name is Larry Steven, and my Grandfather's name is Lester... Hmmm. Don't remember his middle name, but I'm not sure if it was Lawrence or not. I'm banking on not, and if I'm right that would mean this is a second gen tradition. Ah well, getting married in the temple is a second gen tradition that I plan to carry on, why not the naming as well? As for the name Brandon? Caitlin likes it. She was considering Robin, after her brother, but she's a bit more partial to Brandon. For all I know, we'll change our minds the minute baby is born.
Another change we have is the size of baby!
Baby is filling out mommy's tummy, and quite frankly, Caitlin is running out of room. I used to hear the complaints about how baby is punching kindeys and stomach. Now, it's ribs and bladder.
One thing you might notice in the picture is the background. It's actually clean! Grandma-to-be (Caitlin's mom) came by and helped us (ie. Caitlin, I've either been at work, or at rehersal) organize our apartment. I knew we had a lot of room, but I never quite realized how much junk we have! I wish that I could have done before and after shots.
Then again, no I don't. Those who have seen the disaster area we call home will be able to judge for themselves and recognize some of the changes that we've made. One of them being the new dining room table. (Thanks again mom!) The reason we didn't set it up sooner is because we had too much junk on the old table! It will also be a treat to have people over, and we won't have to clear chairs for people to sit on. I told our hometeacher that he's not going to recongize the apartment when comes to visit next time! I say next time, because we met up with him today at the temple. We hadn't gone for so long, Caitlin said it was sometime around August '06 last time we went. Woof. 
Don't know how many oppurtunities we'll have to go to the temple in the future, but Dustin goes every week, Friday or Saturday, and he invited us to come along. I had rented a car today, so we didn't need a ride, but he wouldn't have any problems giving us a lift in the future. Caitlin only has a couple more weeks until her Materity Leave kicks in, and then we don't need to worry as much about having the time off. Her last offical day of work is Valentine's Day, 14 Feb 2007. I say this because I have Saturday's off until "The Mikado" is done, but Caitlin does not. I'm going to try to get the temple every weekend, because once baby comes, schedule is going to be in upheval.
Another tradition I would like to continue is blood donation. That is kind of a tradition, because both my dad and my grandpa have donated blood. Grandpa can't donate anymore, but dad is approaching his 75th whole blood phlebotomy. One of the reasons I wanted to donate was because dad donates. (The other was that I got to skip class since the clinic was at my high school.) They took my 37th pint today, and I surprised quite a few people with that. Mind you, some of the older donors are a little jealous, because I have it easy to catch up and get more donations. Back in the day, the waiting period was 150 days or something, then it was 120, then 90, and then I think it went to 60 days before it was set to the current period of 56 days (8 weeks). Today, you can potentially donate six times a year, whereas in years previous you could do three pints annually. Max. And yet, not many people donate. The stat is in the neighbourhood of 3% of the Canadian population. Hopefully, baby will decide to add to that percentage of Canadians who do. Hmmm.... If I keep up a good donation schedule, I might get my 100th donation by the time baby is of age to donate, maybe sooner. If I keep at a max schedule of six per year, I could get 50 by March 2009, and 100 by July 2017. Doable.
But wait! That's a Welsh name, and my roots are Scottish! Um... so? Erini is a Greek word, and I chose that name because that's where I served my mission. I don't think that you need to name your child something that has direct connections to your family roots in the past four Generations. Yet I contradict myself with the names we have selected for a boy, Joseph Brandon. The name Joseph is because, a) that's my mother's grandfather's name, and b) my middle name is Joseph, and that's keeping with the tradition of giving the son his father's middle name. My dad's name is Larry Steven, and my Grandfather's name is Lester... Hmmm. Don't remember his middle name, but I'm not sure if it was Lawrence or not. I'm banking on not, and if I'm right that would mean this is a second gen tradition. Ah well, getting married in the temple is a second gen tradition that I plan to carry on, why not the naming as well? As for the name Brandon? Caitlin likes it. She was considering Robin, after her brother, but she's a bit more partial to Brandon. For all I know, we'll change our minds the minute baby is born.
Another change we have is the size of baby!
Baby is filling out mommy's tummy, and quite frankly, Caitlin is running out of room. I used to hear the complaints about how baby is punching kindeys and stomach. Now, it's ribs and bladder. One thing you might notice in the picture is the background. It's actually clean! Grandma-to-be (Caitlin's mom) came by and helped us (ie. Caitlin, I've either been at work, or at rehersal) organize our apartment. I knew we had a lot of room, but I never quite realized how much junk we have! I wish that I could have done before and after shots.
Then again, no I don't. Those who have seen the disaster area we call home will be able to judge for themselves and recognize some of the changes that we've made. One of them being the new dining room table. (Thanks again mom!) The reason we didn't set it up sooner is because we had too much junk on the old table! It will also be a treat to have people over, and we won't have to clear chairs for people to sit on. I told our hometeacher that he's not going to recongize the apartment when comes to visit next time! I say next time, because we met up with him today at the temple. We hadn't gone for so long, Caitlin said it was sometime around August '06 last time we went. Woof. 
Don't know how many oppurtunities we'll have to go to the temple in the future, but Dustin goes every week, Friday or Saturday, and he invited us to come along. I had rented a car today, so we didn't need a ride, but he wouldn't have any problems giving us a lift in the future. Caitlin only has a couple more weeks until her Materity Leave kicks in, and then we don't need to worry as much about having the time off. Her last offical day of work is Valentine's Day, 14 Feb 2007. I say this because I have Saturday's off until "The Mikado" is done, but Caitlin does not. I'm going to try to get the temple every weekend, because once baby comes, schedule is going to be in upheval. Another tradition I would like to continue is blood donation. That is kind of a tradition, because both my dad and my grandpa have donated blood. Grandpa can't donate anymore, but dad is approaching his 75th whole blood phlebotomy. One of the reasons I wanted to donate was because dad donates. (The other was that I got to skip class since the clinic was at my high school.) They took my 37th pint today, and I surprised quite a few people with that. Mind you, some of the older donors are a little jealous, because I have it easy to catch up and get more donations. Back in the day, the waiting period was 150 days or something, then it was 120, then 90, and then I think it went to 60 days before it was set to the current period of 56 days (8 weeks). Today, you can potentially donate six times a year, whereas in years previous you could do three pints annually. Max. And yet, not many people donate. The stat is in the neighbourhood of 3% of the Canadian population. Hopefully, baby will decide to add to that percentage of Canadians who do. Hmmm.... If I keep up a good donation schedule, I might get my 100th donation by the time baby is of age to donate, maybe sooner. If I keep at a max schedule of six per year, I could get 50 by March 2009, and 100 by July 2017. Doable.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
On and off
It would be a bit trite to say Caitlin has her good days and her not-so-good days, but that's the best way to put it. There is no way to predict when a good day will be, or if the good day will last the whole day! You would think I would be used to this by now since we are fast approaching the ninth month of pregnancy, but I'm not. Sometimes I miss going out, which is weird, since Caitlin was the one who would tell me that we need to go out and do something.
Miracle upon miracle though, Tuesday was a good day, and we decided to do something rather spur of the moment. Rather, I was flip-flopping on whether to go or not, but Caitlin suggested that we go when the LRT that was going to the Jubilee Auditorium arrived before the train that would take us home.
I am so glad we decided to go! This performance the first (technically second, the first show was the night before) of its kind in Canada, and Caitlin and I got exceptional seats seeing we got our tickets an hour before the show. We were at the back of the theatre, centre, which was directly in front of the sound mixers! Couldn't get much better sound wise for the performance of Video Games Live, a symphonic performance of video game music. It was an amazing show, and there were even some people from Microsoft and Sony giving out swag such as stickers and lanyards. There were also some T-shirts, which were "prizes" for making a fool of yourself by singing PlayStation2 Karaoke. Since the only cost was to wait in line, and I don't mind singing in public, I opted into this ordeal. Caitlin was going to participate in this affront to pop culture with me, up until it was our turn. She then realized that standing in line for 20 mintues made her uncomfortable to the point that she couldn't do it, and I was on my own. After a performance of "Rocket Man" that could have been outdone by a bag of cats in a dryer, I was rewarded with a PlayStation shirt. I'm not sure if you could call it a PlayStation shirt, because the PSX logo on was about the size of a postage stamp. The shirt is a little big for me, but perfect for Caitlin, and it was free to boot. Besides, I have a feeling we are going to need a few shirts that we don't mind getting stained. This will be one of them.
It's amazing how much video games have permeated modern society, and not as the waste of time and effort as some people think. Interactive entertainment has become the pastime of choice for the 21st Century. Also with the arrival of higher quality media for games, better sound came too. Oddly enough, classical compositions have a more powerful impact than pop music, and games are gravitating towards that genre for gameplay. For Christmas, my brother-in-law got a soundtrack for "Alice". I haven't played the game, but apparently the music is really good.
I mention this, because this night out for Caitlin and I was an educational experience as parents-to-be. Caitlin told me throughout the performance that during very strong numbers - such as Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Advent Rising, and Final Fantasy - baby was very still. Almost as if she was listening very intently. I'm very glad we picked up the soundtrack for Advent Rising, because those numbers were some of the most powerful numbers we heard. It's not quite like the "Mozart for Mothers-to-be", but it does have an energetic yet calming tone to it.
Games are starting to develop into interactive movies almost, with the scope of storylines they are taking and the quality of the music. With Blu-ray and HD DVD coming to the market, the potential for this will only grow. Nevertheless, I'm still going to monitor what my children play. For instance, I'm never going to let them play Grand Theft Auto. That was brilliantly innovative in terms of gameplay and concept, but on the other hand, I don't think they need to have the experience of beating a police officer with a baseball bat, and getting away with it.
I actually had a brief discussion with my manager today about censorship. This was brought up because I noticed that a DVD player that I sold someone had a TV guardian built in. Had I known we carried that player I probably would have bought it, since a) it was less than $60, and b) the player had an optical output, which would feed into our home theater. I mentioned that we have a TV Guardian for our VCR, and I enjoy it when we watch videos. My AM thinks that it's an ignorant thing to do, because the world isn't like that, and there's no reason to shield children from reality. Maybe so, but I don't "Survivor" or "American Idol" either, and I don't feel I'm missing anything.
On a comic note, I have a feeling this will be me in a couple of months.
Miracle upon miracle though, Tuesday was a good day, and we decided to do something rather spur of the moment. Rather, I was flip-flopping on whether to go or not, but Caitlin suggested that we go when the LRT that was going to the Jubilee Auditorium arrived before the train that would take us home.
I am so glad we decided to go! This performance the first (technically second, the first show was the night before) of its kind in Canada, and Caitlin and I got exceptional seats seeing we got our tickets an hour before the show. We were at the back of the theatre, centre, which was directly in front of the sound mixers! Couldn't get much better sound wise for the performance of Video Games Live, a symphonic performance of video game music. It was an amazing show, and there were even some people from Microsoft and Sony giving out swag such as stickers and lanyards. There were also some T-shirts, which were "prizes" for making a fool of yourself by singing PlayStation2 Karaoke. Since the only cost was to wait in line, and I don't mind singing in public, I opted into this ordeal. Caitlin was going to participate in this affront to pop culture with me, up until it was our turn. She then realized that standing in line for 20 mintues made her uncomfortable to the point that she couldn't do it, and I was on my own. After a performance of "Rocket Man" that could have been outdone by a bag of cats in a dryer, I was rewarded with a PlayStation shirt. I'm not sure if you could call it a PlayStation shirt, because the PSX logo on was about the size of a postage stamp. The shirt is a little big for me, but perfect for Caitlin, and it was free to boot. Besides, I have a feeling we are going to need a few shirts that we don't mind getting stained. This will be one of them.It's amazing how much video games have permeated modern society, and not as the waste of time and effort as some people think. Interactive entertainment has become the pastime of choice for the 21st Century. Also with the arrival of higher quality media for games, better sound came too. Oddly enough, classical compositions have a more powerful impact than pop music, and games are gravitating towards that genre for gameplay. For Christmas, my brother-in-law got a soundtrack for "Alice". I haven't played the game, but apparently the music is really good.
I mention this, because this night out for Caitlin and I was an educational experience as parents-to-be. Caitlin told me throughout the performance that during very strong numbers - such as Metal Gear Solid, God of War, Advent Rising, and Final Fantasy - baby was very still. Almost as if she was listening very intently. I'm very glad we picked up the soundtrack for Advent Rising, because those numbers were some of the most powerful numbers we heard. It's not quite like the "Mozart for Mothers-to-be", but it does have an energetic yet calming tone to it.
Games are starting to develop into interactive movies almost, with the scope of storylines they are taking and the quality of the music. With Blu-ray and HD DVD coming to the market, the potential for this will only grow. Nevertheless, I'm still going to monitor what my children play. For instance, I'm never going to let them play Grand Theft Auto. That was brilliantly innovative in terms of gameplay and concept, but on the other hand, I don't think they need to have the experience of beating a police officer with a baseball bat, and getting away with it.
I actually had a brief discussion with my manager today about censorship. This was brought up because I noticed that a DVD player that I sold someone had a TV guardian built in. Had I known we carried that player I probably would have bought it, since a) it was less than $60, and b) the player had an optical output, which would feed into our home theater. I mentioned that we have a TV Guardian for our VCR, and I enjoy it when we watch videos. My AM thinks that it's an ignorant thing to do, because the world isn't like that, and there's no reason to shield children from reality. Maybe so, but I don't "Survivor" or "American Idol" either, and I don't feel I'm missing anything.
On a comic note, I have a feeling this will be me in a couple of months.
Monday, January 01, 2007
First Christmas with baby, sort of
I'd like to say that this is baby's first Christmas, but seeing that baby isn't born yet, and we don't know if baby is a boy of a girl, I don't think it counts. Nevertheless, we (i.e. Caitlin) have had kicks and punches at odd times. A number of the gifts we got for Christmas were for baby, but mostly for us to prepare ourselves for baby. A new set of pots, a good container for a 72-hour emergency kit, and family friendly DVDs were some of the gifts we got from the Tolleys. From my family, my parents gave us a big bag full of baby stuff, and we (i.e. Caitlin and myself) haven't gone through the bag completely. There's some good stuff though, such as "The Baby Whisperer", "Fatherhood" by Bill Cosby, and Barbara Colorasso. Excellent stuff! There were also a few videos, which makes me grateful that we still have that VCR, and that I hung onto that remote when my old VCR died. Who'd of thought that we'd come across another GE VCR?
Even though it was nice when I was able to dig out that remote, I've discovered that you don't need to hang onto everything that comes your way. Namely flyers, receipts, and papers that are so faded you don't even remember when or why you got it in the first place! Goodness, I threw out so much trash today!
My parents came a little earlier than I expected, and so I didn't manage to clean the apartment to the level I wanted. Felt kind of bad, but Caitlin felt worse since she was laid out with a wave of weariness. This pregnancy has really taken the mickey out of her! It's all good, because even though I was cleaning house, she was feeding baby, and helping baby grow. I would guess that Caitlin helped baby grow at least 2000 new cells today.
As much work as there was, I am done school now, and dad told me a while back that when I was done my degree he'd give me his PlayStation2. He was waiting until I was done because he correctly assumed that I didn't need any more distractions. The question I have now is what I have to do in order to get the controllers. I'm thinking that he forgot to pack them, but I did find it a little odd that the console was there, along with the connecting cable and the power cord, and a few games, but the controllers and the memory card was missing. It's not really a big thing, because I was planning to get Dance Dance Revolution and a dance pad controller to go with it. Still, I was looking forward to playing "Enter the Matrix". Eh. I've waited this long.
I would have to say that today, I did my first act of baby proofing our home.
It's not much, but for the first time, I made a concious decision to hide something that a toddler could easily grab and use to cause physical injury. It doesn't look like much, but when I was cleaning up the stuff in the main room, I came across the HMV dongle that tends to get lost from time to time. I decided to hang it on one of the dials on the stereo receiver so that we wouldn't lose it, and so it would be ready for easy access for anyone, even a child. It's a big plastic gizmo, never hurts anyone, and it would be very difficult for baby to swallow. But then I remembered...
It's perfectly safe so long as you don't cut yourself on the razor blade inside! I haven't cut myself with it, and I would think that it would be quite the feat if you did, and I've heard that children are quite adept at acheiving the improbably when it comes to hurting yourself. So I moved it to the junk drawer, where I'm sure our child won't dig it out and cut a gash in their finger, or the carpet, or a towel until they're much older.
Call me overprotective. Call me paranoid. But I think the proper term is a parent.
Heh. How witty. Guess I'm not that tired after all. Actually, yes I am. Night.
Even though it was nice when I was able to dig out that remote, I've discovered that you don't need to hang onto everything that comes your way. Namely flyers, receipts, and papers that are so faded you don't even remember when or why you got it in the first place! Goodness, I threw out so much trash today!
My parents came a little earlier than I expected, and so I didn't manage to clean the apartment to the level I wanted. Felt kind of bad, but Caitlin felt worse since she was laid out with a wave of weariness. This pregnancy has really taken the mickey out of her! It's all good, because even though I was cleaning house, she was feeding baby, and helping baby grow. I would guess that Caitlin helped baby grow at least 2000 new cells today.
As much work as there was, I am done school now, and dad told me a while back that when I was done my degree he'd give me his PlayStation2. He was waiting until I was done because he correctly assumed that I didn't need any more distractions. The question I have now is what I have to do in order to get the controllers. I'm thinking that he forgot to pack them, but I did find it a little odd that the console was there, along with the connecting cable and the power cord, and a few games, but the controllers and the memory card was missing. It's not really a big thing, because I was planning to get Dance Dance Revolution and a dance pad controller to go with it. Still, I was looking forward to playing "Enter the Matrix". Eh. I've waited this long.
I would have to say that today, I did my first act of baby proofing our home.
It's not much, but for the first time, I made a concious decision to hide something that a toddler could easily grab and use to cause physical injury. It doesn't look like much, but when I was cleaning up the stuff in the main room, I came across the HMV dongle that tends to get lost from time to time. I decided to hang it on one of the dials on the stereo receiver so that we wouldn't lose it, and so it would be ready for easy access for anyone, even a child. It's a big plastic gizmo, never hurts anyone, and it would be very difficult for baby to swallow. But then I remembered...
It's perfectly safe so long as you don't cut yourself on the razor blade inside! I haven't cut myself with it, and I would think that it would be quite the feat if you did, and I've heard that children are quite adept at acheiving the improbably when it comes to hurting yourself. So I moved it to the junk drawer, where I'm sure our child won't dig it out and cut a gash in their finger, or the carpet, or a towel until they're much older. Call me overprotective. Call me paranoid. But I think the proper term is a parent.
Heh. How witty. Guess I'm not that tired after all. Actually, yes I am. Night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)