It's almost Thanksgiving and that means that Christmas is just around the corner. I'm looking forward to trying to snag some good deals again on Black Friday/Cyber Monday, although I probably won't end up buying anything. I've already started seeing houses with lights up and I think that it's a tad bit early. I think on or after Thanksgiving day is the right time. I'm also keeping an eye out for the giving tree thingy to start at Walmart again this year. It probably won't start for another week or two, though. As far as presents for Laura, I think I've got them picked out. I just need to order them. We're going to do another Yamamoto Christmas at home before we leave for Tulsa. There are going to be so many people this year, it's going to be crazy. Hopefully, Connor will be able to get out of the house once or twice each day. I was thinking about it and, usually, no one leaves the house during the holidays, which I think would make Connor crazy even if there are plenty of things to see around the house.
A couple of days ago it snowed for the first time this year (I can't remember if it snowed earlier in the year, but oh well). It didn't snow much. Barely, really. A few piles here and there. It was just really cold. Connor played in it and he seemed to have fun. He had his snow pants and stuff. We do need to get him good gloves, though, but I'm not sure, at this point, that would be a good investment. The weather is supposed to get warmer throughout the week, so that's good. It's hard for Connor and me to go to the park and stuff when it's so cold. I'm sure we could go, but I'd just be shivering all the time. I also need to start looking for a good coat. We tried sewing the zipper on my old Nike jacket, but it was such a pain, I said quits.
Nothing new otherwise. Connor is, again, starting to say more and more. Still only a couple, maybe three, word sentences, but he's saying words a little clearer now.
We're leaving Wednesday this week for Tulsa and back on Sunday. We were going to get our piano from Dawn, but I don't think that's going to be happening. Whenever we do that, it's going to be a big pain, though. We already have a place to put it, which is good.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Okay, a day late, but I'm here. Connor's taking a nap, so let's do it!
I don't believe anything big happened in June or July...or August for that matter. I really can't remember. September, however, was our big Colorado trip. We went there mainly for Lisa's wedding in Keystone, as Connor was the ringbearer, but we decided to stay there longer than we needed and make a vacation out of it. Overall it went great. I hate traveling by plane, with or without luggage or Connor, but it went fine. Connor did great on the plane. On the way there, we didn't even have to get the tablet out. We had some new toys and stuff and that kept him busy. On the way back, though, we did use it for a while.
While there, we visited Ellen and Matt for a couple of days and stayed at there house near Denver. It was fun there and Connor really liked their dogs and things to play with/things to watch. He liked the turtle as well. The one thing that sucked was that when we arrived at DIA, one of our luggage wasn't there. The smaller suitcase of the two, although, we didn't have all of our stuff in one suitcase thanks to Laura's packing. It was still annoying. At any rate, the people at DIA were pretty helpful and they scheduled to drive it out ot Ellen's house once they found it, which was nice. They did find it within a few hours and they had it driven to the house around 6pm or so. I'm not sure where exactly it was, but I think it was just forgotten at OKC or something.
The two days went by real quick and we headed up to Keystone with my Mom, since she helped us out by watching Connor one night. It was cold there, but the weather was great. Connor did well in the ceremony, sucking on a dum-dum, but failed to take a photo with Lisa. I understand, though. There were so many people there that he didn't know and he was really getting his attention. He played a lot with Veronica and even got a kiss, too!
After Keystone for a couple of days, we went to Chris and Alicia's house for a couple of days to visit them as well as Reiko and my Mom. That was okay, as well. By this time, though, Connor was getting tired, I think. Tired of the different environment, naps weren't that great, too many new people, etc. Laura took Connor to Boulder one day with my Mom and Reiko. Apparently he loved Reiko and played with her a bunch. Chris and I went to the driving range one day and that's about it. We saw Ellen one last time for lunch the day before we left. We ate at Cinzzettis which wasn't that great this time. Oh well. I think the novelty is wearing off.
The flight home, as I said, was fine. We got in at like 6:30 or something, though, so we were racing to get home and get Connor down. He never really got used to the time change, which sucks because daylight saving time is this weekend. It was really just nice to be home, though. There's nothing like being back home with all the amenities that you're used to.
That was basically the highlight for September. Most of October wasn't that interesting. It's mostly been dealing with Connor and his growing up. He's learning so many new words per week, it's kind of fun to teach him words. We've started the transition to 1 nap per day and that's going, okay, I suppose. It could be worse and it could be better. The thing is we have no choice since if we try a 2-nap day, he usually doesn't take the second nap, which means he's up from 10:30 in the morning until bedtime and that sucks because by 4pm or so, he's starting to lose it. So, anyway, right now I'm putting him down between 12:00 and 12:30 and letting him go as long as he would sleep, but he's usually up by 2:30 or 3:00.
We're also working on his temper tantrums and frustration management, as well. Trying to at least. When he gets mad he hits his head on the walls and floors and, lately, he's been making these super high pitched screams that hurts our ears. Hopefully, this will pass soon.
Really, though, most days aren't too bad. He's just been tired-ish each day, so it's a delicate balance of playing and trying to relax, although he just runs around all day and ends up tired anyway. We still need to figure out Gymboree and/or Mother's Day Out stuff...maybe for the Spring.
The other big news over the last year is the fantasy book that I've been writing. As you know, I've had a rough outline for months and months now, but really only started writing in the Spring, I think. I'll have to check my revision dates. Anyway, I finally finished it last week, err, maybe 2 weeks ago. Then, I went through the story a couple of times, editing, revising, and adding stuff. I finished with that last week, printed that out this past weekend and gave it to Laura. She just finished it last night and she tells me that she liked it. Hopefully, she is telling me the truth. I definitely think that it could have been better, though, but I was both wanting to finish it and losing motivation to write it. Maybe I will keep it shelved for a while and come back to add to it, and maybe publish it later or something. I need to write out all the suggestions she had on paper and go back to it once I have a clear mind again. I do have some of the sequel in my head, though.
Looking back, I did enjoy it, I suppose. I learned that writing is pretty hard and the hardest part was getting what was in my mind onto paper in a way that I liked it and making sure that the reader would be reading it the way I had the story in my head, which, I guess is the core of book writing.
I can't believe it's already the end of October. The holiday season is just around the corner. I already got a gift for Laura. One of it, anyway. Before we know it, it's going to be Connor's 2-year birthday...crazy! Laura and I both have a dentist's appointment in a couple of weeks. I'm going to get my crown re-done in the back, which has been a long time coming, but wasn't anything that was urgent to do. I just hope that I didn't get any cavities since a year ago.
Connor is starting to cry, as he usually does, about mid-way into his 1 nap. He hasn't gotten much today, which will suck later. It's a fine line on how long to let him go and when to get him. Sigh.
I will try to be back soon.
I think maybe, just maybe, I'll try a blog-everyday project in 2014....we'll see...
I don't believe anything big happened in June or July...or August for that matter. I really can't remember. September, however, was our big Colorado trip. We went there mainly for Lisa's wedding in Keystone, as Connor was the ringbearer, but we decided to stay there longer than we needed and make a vacation out of it. Overall it went great. I hate traveling by plane, with or without luggage or Connor, but it went fine. Connor did great on the plane. On the way there, we didn't even have to get the tablet out. We had some new toys and stuff and that kept him busy. On the way back, though, we did use it for a while.
While there, we visited Ellen and Matt for a couple of days and stayed at there house near Denver. It was fun there and Connor really liked their dogs and things to play with/things to watch. He liked the turtle as well. The one thing that sucked was that when we arrived at DIA, one of our luggage wasn't there. The smaller suitcase of the two, although, we didn't have all of our stuff in one suitcase thanks to Laura's packing. It was still annoying. At any rate, the people at DIA were pretty helpful and they scheduled to drive it out ot Ellen's house once they found it, which was nice. They did find it within a few hours and they had it driven to the house around 6pm or so. I'm not sure where exactly it was, but I think it was just forgotten at OKC or something.
The two days went by real quick and we headed up to Keystone with my Mom, since she helped us out by watching Connor one night. It was cold there, but the weather was great. Connor did well in the ceremony, sucking on a dum-dum, but failed to take a photo with Lisa. I understand, though. There were so many people there that he didn't know and he was really getting his attention. He played a lot with Veronica and even got a kiss, too!
After Keystone for a couple of days, we went to Chris and Alicia's house for a couple of days to visit them as well as Reiko and my Mom. That was okay, as well. By this time, though, Connor was getting tired, I think. Tired of the different environment, naps weren't that great, too many new people, etc. Laura took Connor to Boulder one day with my Mom and Reiko. Apparently he loved Reiko and played with her a bunch. Chris and I went to the driving range one day and that's about it. We saw Ellen one last time for lunch the day before we left. We ate at Cinzzettis which wasn't that great this time. Oh well. I think the novelty is wearing off.
The flight home, as I said, was fine. We got in at like 6:30 or something, though, so we were racing to get home and get Connor down. He never really got used to the time change, which sucks because daylight saving time is this weekend. It was really just nice to be home, though. There's nothing like being back home with all the amenities that you're used to.
That was basically the highlight for September. Most of October wasn't that interesting. It's mostly been dealing with Connor and his growing up. He's learning so many new words per week, it's kind of fun to teach him words. We've started the transition to 1 nap per day and that's going, okay, I suppose. It could be worse and it could be better. The thing is we have no choice since if we try a 2-nap day, he usually doesn't take the second nap, which means he's up from 10:30 in the morning until bedtime and that sucks because by 4pm or so, he's starting to lose it. So, anyway, right now I'm putting him down between 12:00 and 12:30 and letting him go as long as he would sleep, but he's usually up by 2:30 or 3:00.
We're also working on his temper tantrums and frustration management, as well. Trying to at least. When he gets mad he hits his head on the walls and floors and, lately, he's been making these super high pitched screams that hurts our ears. Hopefully, this will pass soon.
Really, though, most days aren't too bad. He's just been tired-ish each day, so it's a delicate balance of playing and trying to relax, although he just runs around all day and ends up tired anyway. We still need to figure out Gymboree and/or Mother's Day Out stuff...maybe for the Spring.
The other big news over the last year is the fantasy book that I've been writing. As you know, I've had a rough outline for months and months now, but really only started writing in the Spring, I think. I'll have to check my revision dates. Anyway, I finally finished it last week, err, maybe 2 weeks ago. Then, I went through the story a couple of times, editing, revising, and adding stuff. I finished with that last week, printed that out this past weekend and gave it to Laura. She just finished it last night and she tells me that she liked it. Hopefully, she is telling me the truth. I definitely think that it could have been better, though, but I was both wanting to finish it and losing motivation to write it. Maybe I will keep it shelved for a while and come back to add to it, and maybe publish it later or something. I need to write out all the suggestions she had on paper and go back to it once I have a clear mind again. I do have some of the sequel in my head, though.
Looking back, I did enjoy it, I suppose. I learned that writing is pretty hard and the hardest part was getting what was in my mind onto paper in a way that I liked it and making sure that the reader would be reading it the way I had the story in my head, which, I guess is the core of book writing.
I can't believe it's already the end of October. The holiday season is just around the corner. I already got a gift for Laura. One of it, anyway. Before we know it, it's going to be Connor's 2-year birthday...crazy! Laura and I both have a dentist's appointment in a couple of weeks. I'm going to get my crown re-done in the back, which has been a long time coming, but wasn't anything that was urgent to do. I just hope that I didn't get any cavities since a year ago.
Connor is starting to cry, as he usually does, about mid-way into his 1 nap. He hasn't gotten much today, which will suck later. It's a fine line on how long to let him go and when to get him. Sigh.
I will try to be back soon.
I think maybe, just maybe, I'll try a blog-everyday project in 2014....we'll see...
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
I can't believe that it's almost halfway through the year. Things are still kicking along. I got the crockpot recipe that Laura found going around 11:30a or something and it's currently set for 4.5 hours. Looks good, though. Not a very soupy recipe, so we'll see how it looks.
Another couple of storms again this week. Oh, I guess the last time I wrote was just before the big tornado that hit Moore, OK. Anywho, the 19th was when it all started. This storm went right over us and a tornado landed a few miles from our house, to the East. We were in the bathroom and all that. Connor actually kinda had fun because it was something new to hang out in the bathroom for a little while with piles of blankets, pillows and both dogs. It wan't a long time, so that was good. He was starting to get antsy. We went in and out a couple of times, though.
The next day, the 20th, was another big day of storms/tornados. Unfortunately, it was a devastating one that hit Moore, OK, about 20 miles South of us. About $2 billion in damages I guess. Anywho, it luckily missed us, but it could have easily been us, I guess. I think Edmond is in a "favorable" location or something because storms and such always seems to miss above or below us. Knock on wood.
A storm shelter would be a great fall back, but they're pretty expensive and it's a rental. Who knows how long we will be in OK.
I've been super tired lately. More than normal, like more than usual fatigue. It's sort of like last Summer when I was super tired and I may have had mono. Feels like that. Hopefully, it passes.
Back to my fantasy story. I've written a little more outline, but I'm doing a lot more details in my head regarding the story, i.e. getting more in-depth. I just need to get it down on paper! I dunno why, but it's hard to get my ideas onto paper. I just need to write it even if it's all scattered so I at least have it down and go back later to flesh it out.
This weekend we're going to head to Bartlesville to go to Sunfest, which is something that Laura used to go to I guess. Hopefully Connor isn't crabby! He's still at like 8 teeth or something, although I don't know how Laura counts those. He rarely lets you look at his mouth.
He's napping right now and I'm just watching the news about the storms/tornado possibility South of us. And North, too. Got lucky again!
Another couple of storms again this week. Oh, I guess the last time I wrote was just before the big tornado that hit Moore, OK. Anywho, the 19th was when it all started. This storm went right over us and a tornado landed a few miles from our house, to the East. We were in the bathroom and all that. Connor actually kinda had fun because it was something new to hang out in the bathroom for a little while with piles of blankets, pillows and both dogs. It wan't a long time, so that was good. He was starting to get antsy. We went in and out a couple of times, though.
The next day, the 20th, was another big day of storms/tornados. Unfortunately, it was a devastating one that hit Moore, OK, about 20 miles South of us. About $2 billion in damages I guess. Anywho, it luckily missed us, but it could have easily been us, I guess. I think Edmond is in a "favorable" location or something because storms and such always seems to miss above or below us. Knock on wood.
A storm shelter would be a great fall back, but they're pretty expensive and it's a rental. Who knows how long we will be in OK.
I've been super tired lately. More than normal, like more than usual fatigue. It's sort of like last Summer when I was super tired and I may have had mono. Feels like that. Hopefully, it passes.
Back to my fantasy story. I've written a little more outline, but I'm doing a lot more details in my head regarding the story, i.e. getting more in-depth. I just need to get it down on paper! I dunno why, but it's hard to get my ideas onto paper. I just need to write it even if it's all scattered so I at least have it down and go back later to flesh it out.
This weekend we're going to head to Bartlesville to go to Sunfest, which is something that Laura used to go to I guess. Hopefully Connor isn't crabby! He's still at like 8 teeth or something, although I don't know how Laura counts those. He rarely lets you look at his mouth.
He's napping right now and I'm just watching the news about the storms/tornado possibility South of us. And North, too. Got lucky again!
Monday, May 20, 2013
I have a little time before I head to bed. I guess I just need to do a recap of the first few months of 2013.
Laura and my birthdays weren't too overdone, I don't think. Honestly, I can't remember much from a few months back anymore...not sure why, but it's definitely because of Connor. I'm sure I can remember if I sat down and thought about it hard, but not quick recollections.
We did travel to Colorado in February with Connor. That was a pretty stressful ordeal, but we learned a lot from it. It went generally okay. I think there were just things that we would do differently the next time around. Of course, the next time around would be totally different as Connor would be much older. The next one will probably be in August or September (or both?) and he'll be a year and a half. hopefully we won't need to take the car seat, but then again, I don't think he'll sit for an hour or so quietly. You never know, I guess. It's just that the car seat was so big and heavy. We did okay, though, for the most part. We enjoyed our time in Colorado and caught up with friends/family.
At this point, Connor was still only taking a few steps, but by his first birthday, he was walking like it was nothing. They develop and grow up so fast.
Next up with Connor's first birthday. We had it in Tulsa and had close family/friends. He got a lot of gifts and I think he had fun. He ate a good amount of the cake that Laura had made for him. She also worked on a lot of the cake toppers for him and they turned out great.
April was still on the cold side for this year and it's only recently been starting to warm up. Laura had applied to the Portland VA, but the two openings was cut to one and, in short, it looks like we're staying here for the time being. We'll keep trying, though, whether it be Portland, Denver, etc. It's really not bad here, but the past couple of days and dealing with tornadoes could change that outlook.
We had a big Mother's Day/grandparent's anniversary two weeks ago. It went well, as usual, though I think at times it was a little stressful due to weird, unforeseen events.
At any rate, that's where we are now.
I haven't been playing WoW since May 1st or something like that. I've started to work on my fantasy book a little more now, but still "stuck" in a sense. I need to just get over the first few pages and just write. I have a weird tendency to make each page write perfect as I write it so that when I'm done writing, the book is done. However, after reading some techniques on writing and outlining, I decided I'm going to try a general outline first and then fill in the details later. I just need motivation to finish out the story, but for that I still need to come up with a good resolution. I think I need to also accept the fact that the first draft is going to suck a lot. It'll take a long time of reworking it to make it even acceptable. I hope to have Laura read it first and give some critiques.
That's really it. Connor has been talking more and more and having more personality. He's sort of starting to get an attitude. I think he's trying to learn to speak more clearly, I've noticed. Some words come out more and more pronounced, relatively speaking. He does understand a lot more though. I think he's bored during the days. I do try and go out and do interesting things, but I dunno what to do. I dunno about Gymboree yet. :P He loves to play outside, though. He wakes up about 6a, still takes a couple of naps, one around 9a and then around 2p and goes to bed around 7p. Not sure when to transition to one nap, I know we need to soon, but he's not ready for it, I don't think. He does get tired a lot and sleeps the two naps for an hour and a half or more each, plus he usually sleeps through the night, so, at the moment, it seems that he does need it. He'd be pretty cranky with one 2-hour-ish nap, I think.
I still need to go to the doctor, too. And the dentist. I just keep pushing it off. Story of my life!
Well, this week was tornado week here. One landed a few miles from here while we did our precautions in the bathroom in the middle of the house. Today was another threat, but it missed South of us. Demolished Moore, OK. Could be time to move, regardless of jobs!
Well, I should head to bed. I was going to get more writing done tonight, but alas, didn't get to it again. I just need a laptop with no internet connection or something. I get distracted too easily.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Wow, really, another month gone by RIGHT AFTER I said I'll write soon...sheesh.
I think I'll try to write this week. I've been itching to work on my fantasy story...still thinking about the best way to go about this plot every night while trying to go to sleep. I just can't come up with a cool storyline/resolution.
Hopefully, it'll hit me soon.
I think I'll try to write this week. I've been itching to work on my fantasy story...still thinking about the best way to go about this plot every night while trying to go to sleep. I just can't come up with a cool storyline/resolution.
Hopefully, it'll hit me soon.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Sunday, January 06, 2013
Okay, let's get on with the 2012 review!
Certainly a huge year for me and Laura. The first months leading up to Connor's birth was hectic. We had a lot going on in terms of figuring out work (the biggest issue I think), getting his room ready, getting all the stuff we needed to get him home, and basically just getting ready to have him! The first months went quick, if I remember correctly.
Connor Kazuaki Yamamoto was born 3/30/2012 at 2-something in the morning! 2:44 or something. I can't remember. It was a quite the grueling battle, mainly for Laura. I was just tired. She was tired and in pain. I guess an 18-hour labor will do that. We went in around 8 in the morning and I think we both were expecting maybe a couple of hours of labor at the worst. Issues with the pitocin led to a longer-than-needed labor. Oh well - everything well smoothly in the end and everyone was okay. That was the important part. After the long day, the next few days were spent keeping him fed and getting used to it all. I had taken a week and a half off from work when he was born. Laura was able to take about 6 weeks of full-time leave, which was nice. Oh yeah, the leave situation was another thing that was very annoying. That aside, there was then a 2 week part-time leave that Laura took to ease me into parenthood full-time. I told my work about this whole stay-at-home thing, oh, I think in early February or so. I quit April 20-something.
The first few weeks were hard getting used to, of course. I was at work, though, so it was all Laura for a month and a half. I really can't remember how much he slept in the beginning. I think 30 minutes or an hour after being up like an hour. Man, it's embarrassing, but you really do forget things during first time parenthood. There is so much going on. Luckily, Laura's Mom helped for about a week after he was born. I'm sure Laura appreciated that.
Skip forward a few weeks. I think my Mom came down to visit/help as well. Then after that, one Connor was settling down and his "schedule" more consistent, Chris and Alicia. Skipping forward a couple of more months, he was finally starting to interact but he still couldn't move. A couple of MORE months and he was finally crawling. Time was going so fast for us, it literally went like the last couple of sentences I wrote. All the little things in between have been forgotten, at least in my mind. It's like, birth, first poop, first bottle feeding, first roll over, first-[insert event here].
He's just over 9 months now and I can't believe he's that old already. He starting to babble, eat solids pretty well, eating out at restaurants. I suppose the next thing is walking! He's starting to try now. Sort of dangerous, actually, if you're not watching.
Come to think of it, a lot of the 2nd half of the year was me getting used to taking care of Connor and getting into the groove of things. Laura took a job here in OKC, obviously, so we're here until about June, at which point we need to decide whether or not we're going to stay here or move. It seems for now we're going to be here since Laura should probably work a year or more before moving on.
It snowed a little during this Christmas, which was a nice change since the last few years. We do miss the snow. Although it snowed, nothing really stuck, so it wasn't THAT great.
The big present for me this year was a banjo! I had watched a banjo documentary on Netflix a few months back and I got really interested in. I always liked the sound of a banjo, though, but the documentary kicked it into high gear. This was a DIY kit, so I had to stain the parts and put it together. It took a couple of nights, but now it's put together and tuned and everything. Getting used to playing it and fingers don't hurt since the first few nights! I remember I was "decent" with the guitar, so hopefully I can pick up the banjo fairly quickly - a few months before I can start playing some decent tunes.
And so, 2012 has passed. A big year for sure, probably the biggest year in terms of lifestyle change for us. Connor is great, but he is also tough to take care of and work what we liked to do around. We've seen a couple of movies in theaters thanks to Laura's parents watching him, etc. I've gone to a few doctor's appointments taking him with me. Sometimes he does extremely well, sometimes he cries the whole time. Makes me nervous, for sure. My driver license is actually expiring at the end of this month, so I need to go to the DMV. Of course, it'll probably take an hour or two of waiting, so I can't really take Connor. Laura's Mom is coming out next week and she's going to watch for a while while I go. Hoping it goes smoothly/fast. I first have to go to the DMV then to the tag agency to get my actual license. Stupid.
This year will probably be another big year, not because we're having another child, but because Connor will be walking, talking, and all that it brings. I'll probably need to step out of my comfort zone more and take him to events and stuff...dreading that!
We have a few trips out of state planned for this year as well. We're juggling going to CO next month. This will be his first time flying! I'm nervous about that as well. Thankfully, the flight is pretty short, maybe a little over an hour, so it shouldn't be too bad. Besides, people aren't flying to be in a quiet environment, right? Oh well.
Anyway, gonna go take a bath now I think. Laura is watching the season premiere of Poopton Abbey.
Certainly a huge year for me and Laura. The first months leading up to Connor's birth was hectic. We had a lot going on in terms of figuring out work (the biggest issue I think), getting his room ready, getting all the stuff we needed to get him home, and basically just getting ready to have him! The first months went quick, if I remember correctly.
Connor Kazuaki Yamamoto was born 3/30/2012 at 2-something in the morning! 2:44 or something. I can't remember. It was a quite the grueling battle, mainly for Laura. I was just tired. She was tired and in pain. I guess an 18-hour labor will do that. We went in around 8 in the morning and I think we both were expecting maybe a couple of hours of labor at the worst. Issues with the pitocin led to a longer-than-needed labor. Oh well - everything well smoothly in the end and everyone was okay. That was the important part. After the long day, the next few days were spent keeping him fed and getting used to it all. I had taken a week and a half off from work when he was born. Laura was able to take about 6 weeks of full-time leave, which was nice. Oh yeah, the leave situation was another thing that was very annoying. That aside, there was then a 2 week part-time leave that Laura took to ease me into parenthood full-time. I told my work about this whole stay-at-home thing, oh, I think in early February or so. I quit April 20-something.
The first few weeks were hard getting used to, of course. I was at work, though, so it was all Laura for a month and a half. I really can't remember how much he slept in the beginning. I think 30 minutes or an hour after being up like an hour. Man, it's embarrassing, but you really do forget things during first time parenthood. There is so much going on. Luckily, Laura's Mom helped for about a week after he was born. I'm sure Laura appreciated that.
Skip forward a few weeks. I think my Mom came down to visit/help as well. Then after that, one Connor was settling down and his "schedule" more consistent, Chris and Alicia. Skipping forward a couple of more months, he was finally starting to interact but he still couldn't move. A couple of MORE months and he was finally crawling. Time was going so fast for us, it literally went like the last couple of sentences I wrote. All the little things in between have been forgotten, at least in my mind. It's like, birth, first poop, first bottle feeding, first roll over, first-[insert event here].
He's just over 9 months now and I can't believe he's that old already. He starting to babble, eat solids pretty well, eating out at restaurants. I suppose the next thing is walking! He's starting to try now. Sort of dangerous, actually, if you're not watching.
Come to think of it, a lot of the 2nd half of the year was me getting used to taking care of Connor and getting into the groove of things. Laura took a job here in OKC, obviously, so we're here until about June, at which point we need to decide whether or not we're going to stay here or move. It seems for now we're going to be here since Laura should probably work a year or more before moving on.
It snowed a little during this Christmas, which was a nice change since the last few years. We do miss the snow. Although it snowed, nothing really stuck, so it wasn't THAT great.
The big present for me this year was a banjo! I had watched a banjo documentary on Netflix a few months back and I got really interested in. I always liked the sound of a banjo, though, but the documentary kicked it into high gear. This was a DIY kit, so I had to stain the parts and put it together. It took a couple of nights, but now it's put together and tuned and everything. Getting used to playing it and fingers don't hurt since the first few nights! I remember I was "decent" with the guitar, so hopefully I can pick up the banjo fairly quickly - a few months before I can start playing some decent tunes.
And so, 2012 has passed. A big year for sure, probably the biggest year in terms of lifestyle change for us. Connor is great, but he is also tough to take care of and work what we liked to do around. We've seen a couple of movies in theaters thanks to Laura's parents watching him, etc. I've gone to a few doctor's appointments taking him with me. Sometimes he does extremely well, sometimes he cries the whole time. Makes me nervous, for sure. My driver license is actually expiring at the end of this month, so I need to go to the DMV. Of course, it'll probably take an hour or two of waiting, so I can't really take Connor. Laura's Mom is coming out next week and she's going to watch for a while while I go. Hoping it goes smoothly/fast. I first have to go to the DMV then to the tag agency to get my actual license. Stupid.
This year will probably be another big year, not because we're having another child, but because Connor will be walking, talking, and all that it brings. I'll probably need to step out of my comfort zone more and take him to events and stuff...dreading that!
We have a few trips out of state planned for this year as well. We're juggling going to CO next month. This will be his first time flying! I'm nervous about that as well. Thankfully, the flight is pretty short, maybe a little over an hour, so it shouldn't be too bad. Besides, people aren't flying to be in a quiet environment, right? Oh well.
Anyway, gonna go take a bath now I think. Laura is watching the season premiere of Poopton Abbey.
Thursday, January 03, 2013
It's the third, THE THIRD, of the new year and I haven't even done my usual year-end recap. I will promise to do that this weekend after Connor's down and I can think for an extended period of time. I do have a couple of goals for myself this year, however. We'll see if these get done:
- Matt said he would draw the pictures to a storybook that I wanted to make for Connor so I need to come up with a draft. I had an idea in mind. Just need to flesh it out.
- I want to get a lot done, if not finish, on my fantasy story. I got a "how to write a fantasy/sci-fi" book for Christmas so hopefully that'll help. I just don't have the time to sit down on a regular basis to write. I'd like to get a schedule going, like a couple of times a night set aside an hour or two or something. The thing is, I'm the type to want to set aside several to work on something. It takes like an hour for me to get into the rhythm. Plus, I still do need to tweak my story. There are some things that I need to change to make it work.
- Start taking more photos again. I was going to do the photo-a-day thing, but I'm already 2 days late. Poop.
That's it for now. We'll see how it goes.
Friday, December 14, 2012
I've been wanting to write more in my fantasy story lately...just need to find time and creativity, I guess!
Connor is sleeping a LONG time right now (and today, in general). Hopefully this doesn't screw up his nighttime sleeping.
It's Friday, though! Not sure what we're going to be doing this weekend. I know we're going to try and head to Walmart to do some giving tree shopping for a kid or two, but nothing else planned. Laura's parents are coming up this weekend as well.
Among good news, looks like my super cool gift to Laura should turn out good - 4/4 items should be received in time! I just need to sit down and think of a good presentation for it.
What else. The weather is getting quite cold. Well, actually, it's been cold for a couple of weeks now. It's only in the 50s usually, but a few 30s and 40s scattered. This would be warm in Laramie, but now that we're used to the hot weather, it's quite chilly. It's pretty windy and overcast now, too.
We've been dealing with the stupid squirrel problem lately as well. Dumb roofers took out the barrier that they put up last year and didn't put it back so they got in again. Traps are out right now. They already caught one. I think this time there was only one or two, so hopefully it's a quick solve.
That's about it. Next week is prep for Christmas, I guess. We're going to Tulsa for a few days as usual. I'll try and write out my year-end summary again. This year was quite the big change for us, obviously!
Connor is sleeping a LONG time right now (and today, in general). Hopefully this doesn't screw up his nighttime sleeping.
It's Friday, though! Not sure what we're going to be doing this weekend. I know we're going to try and head to Walmart to do some giving tree shopping for a kid or two, but nothing else planned. Laura's parents are coming up this weekend as well.
Among good news, looks like my super cool gift to Laura should turn out good - 4/4 items should be received in time! I just need to sit down and think of a good presentation for it.
What else. The weather is getting quite cold. Well, actually, it's been cold for a couple of weeks now. It's only in the 50s usually, but a few 30s and 40s scattered. This would be warm in Laramie, but now that we're used to the hot weather, it's quite chilly. It's pretty windy and overcast now, too.
We've been dealing with the stupid squirrel problem lately as well. Dumb roofers took out the barrier that they put up last year and didn't put it back so they got in again. Traps are out right now. They already caught one. I think this time there was only one or two, so hopefully it's a quick solve.
That's about it. Next week is prep for Christmas, I guess. We're going to Tulsa for a few days as usual. I'll try and write out my year-end summary again. This year was quite the big change for us, obviously!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Whoa, already a month? I am severely forgetting about this blog thing.
Let's see. Let's talk about golfing. So, we all went golfing in Tulsa like I mentioned on the 27th of Oct. It was very cold in the morning, but by mid-round, things were warmer and it was actually quite enjoyable. I was teamed with Laura's Dad against family friends. Bill was pretty good and consistent. Ron I think it usually only okay, but he played pretty good I think that day. Hence, we lost. I can't remember by how much but it wasn't too bad. We could have played better, but it was good overall. Dave had some nice shots and saves for our team. My short game sucked, as always. The course was pretty interesting as well, with canyons and creeks and such. There was one hole, where the tee was like a couple of hundred feet (maybe less) higher than the green. After we shot, we proceeded to drive our carts down the path. There were lots of signs that said "slow" because it was quite steep. Dave and I went down first. Dave was sort of going kind of fast at the beginning and I was beginning to worry a little. At one of the of hairpin turns, Dave realized that right before the turn, he was going too fast, so he had to slam the brakes. Of course, that just made us spin almost. The cart began to tilt but Dave got his leg out and I think that helped to keep us from not tilting over. Anyway, after that he still seemed to go faster than suggested, but oh well. It was fun overall and I'd like to do it again when the weather is nicer. I sort of miss playing a lot of golf, but yeah.
Since then, I've had more health exams and blood tests and everything seems to be fine. I gotta get my mind to believe that now. Poop.
Thanksgiving was last week and Connor had a fun time I think. He interacted with a lot of new people and strangers, so kudos to him. He ate most of what we ate as well.
Now, the thing that sucks is that he's teething pretty badly, so his sleep at night, we assume, have been crap. Utterly crap. I'm usually up sometime between 2 and 4am in the morning for the rest of the day. That doesn't sit well for me. By mid-morning, I'm exhausted and by later afternoon, I'm dozing off to sleep.
My Mom came over as well for a few days during Thanksgiving. She had fun, but as always, I was stressed out by the end. I took her to the airport today and she's now back in CO.
The big news over the weekend - oh, wait, Connor got baptized this past weekend as well. That's big news. He did great. No crying at all during any of it. It was pretty short and simple and I didn't have to do anything real weird or something that would make me uncomfortable.
The day before the baptism, however. Man. We were on our way home from Tulsa and as we got off the turnpike, we were about 5 minutes from home, literally. We stopped at the light and once it was ready to go again, I hit the gas and something clanked and the car just wouldn't go anywhere. We think it's the transmission since the car just revved. Anyway, we started to panic because it was a fairly busy intersection and crowded because of some people coming home from Thanksgiving, I imagine. I was like, what are we going to do! AMAZINGLY, a state trooper in his SUV was right behind us. The odds of this happening are like, so small, I can't even begin to fathom. He walked up and told us he was going to push our car to the nearest parking lot, passed the lights and to the left. He just pushed us with his car. I really don't know what we would have done. We would have blocked one lane and it would have been horrible. Plus, I was in my pajamas and dress shoes still... embarrassing to be standing outside in that.
Anyway, after we were in the parking lot, Laura called AAA and got it towed to a AAA-approved service shop. Ryan came to pick us up and take us home before this. Laura waited for the tow truck. Luckily, everything happened very quickly, within 15-20 minutes probably. The next day, I called Hyundai to go about trying to get it fixed under the warranty.
It's currently at the shop. I called today for an update and they were supposed to call me back, but no go. Hopefully, they call back tomorrow or I'll have to call again. I hate doing that.
So, the last couple of days, we've been down to one car and it's sort of annoying because I have to take Laura home and pick her up from work so that I have a car while at home. It's about 2 hours of driving a day. She wants to get a rental. I think we might if we don't get an estimate on when we'll have our car back. I don't think the dealer will pay for one even though she thinks they will. Anyway, I'm gonna wait another day or two to find out more details. Hopefully, it's covered under the warranty and if so, the fix is quick.
Well, last night was a crappy night for me, so I'm going to head to bed early tonight. Probably 8:30p.
See ya.
Let's see. Let's talk about golfing. So, we all went golfing in Tulsa like I mentioned on the 27th of Oct. It was very cold in the morning, but by mid-round, things were warmer and it was actually quite enjoyable. I was teamed with Laura's Dad against family friends. Bill was pretty good and consistent. Ron I think it usually only okay, but he played pretty good I think that day. Hence, we lost. I can't remember by how much but it wasn't too bad. We could have played better, but it was good overall. Dave had some nice shots and saves for our team. My short game sucked, as always. The course was pretty interesting as well, with canyons and creeks and such. There was one hole, where the tee was like a couple of hundred feet (maybe less) higher than the green. After we shot, we proceeded to drive our carts down the path. There were lots of signs that said "slow" because it was quite steep. Dave and I went down first. Dave was sort of going kind of fast at the beginning and I was beginning to worry a little. At one of the of hairpin turns, Dave realized that right before the turn, he was going too fast, so he had to slam the brakes. Of course, that just made us spin almost. The cart began to tilt but Dave got his leg out and I think that helped to keep us from not tilting over. Anyway, after that he still seemed to go faster than suggested, but oh well. It was fun overall and I'd like to do it again when the weather is nicer. I sort of miss playing a lot of golf, but yeah.
Since then, I've had more health exams and blood tests and everything seems to be fine. I gotta get my mind to believe that now. Poop.
Thanksgiving was last week and Connor had a fun time I think. He interacted with a lot of new people and strangers, so kudos to him. He ate most of what we ate as well.
Now, the thing that sucks is that he's teething pretty badly, so his sleep at night, we assume, have been crap. Utterly crap. I'm usually up sometime between 2 and 4am in the morning for the rest of the day. That doesn't sit well for me. By mid-morning, I'm exhausted and by later afternoon, I'm dozing off to sleep.
My Mom came over as well for a few days during Thanksgiving. She had fun, but as always, I was stressed out by the end. I took her to the airport today and she's now back in CO.
The big news over the weekend - oh, wait, Connor got baptized this past weekend as well. That's big news. He did great. No crying at all during any of it. It was pretty short and simple and I didn't have to do anything real weird or something that would make me uncomfortable.
The day before the baptism, however. Man. We were on our way home from Tulsa and as we got off the turnpike, we were about 5 minutes from home, literally. We stopped at the light and once it was ready to go again, I hit the gas and something clanked and the car just wouldn't go anywhere. We think it's the transmission since the car just revved. Anyway, we started to panic because it was a fairly busy intersection and crowded because of some people coming home from Thanksgiving, I imagine. I was like, what are we going to do! AMAZINGLY, a state trooper in his SUV was right behind us. The odds of this happening are like, so small, I can't even begin to fathom. He walked up and told us he was going to push our car to the nearest parking lot, passed the lights and to the left. He just pushed us with his car. I really don't know what we would have done. We would have blocked one lane and it would have been horrible. Plus, I was in my pajamas and dress shoes still... embarrassing to be standing outside in that.
Anyway, after we were in the parking lot, Laura called AAA and got it towed to a AAA-approved service shop. Ryan came to pick us up and take us home before this. Laura waited for the tow truck. Luckily, everything happened very quickly, within 15-20 minutes probably. The next day, I called Hyundai to go about trying to get it fixed under the warranty.
It's currently at the shop. I called today for an update and they were supposed to call me back, but no go. Hopefully, they call back tomorrow or I'll have to call again. I hate doing that.
So, the last couple of days, we've been down to one car and it's sort of annoying because I have to take Laura home and pick her up from work so that I have a car while at home. It's about 2 hours of driving a day. She wants to get a rental. I think we might if we don't get an estimate on when we'll have our car back. I don't think the dealer will pay for one even though she thinks they will. Anyway, I'm gonna wait another day or two to find out more details. Hopefully, it's covered under the warranty and if so, the fix is quick.
Well, last night was a crappy night for me, so I'm going to head to bed early tonight. Probably 8:30p.
See ya.
Monday, October 15, 2012
It's almost been 2 months, sheesh.
There's been a lot going on, so lots to summarize.
Still going to the library lots. We've basically been reading a new book every day, so that's cool.
Connor's naps took a nose dive in the last two months, but it's slowly getting better. His nights were the worst, though, waking up like every 2 hours to feed. It's down to like 2, maybe 3, and we're trying to get rid of that last feeding around 3-4am. The thing is, he's not doing a good job staying asleep after getting him settled down...which means I've been waking up at like 3-4a every other day and maybe 5a every other day. It's getting old. I need sleep.
Other than that, he's growing, man. He's 18lbs 13oz and he's crawling everywhere and sitting up by himself pretty well. I swear I can't remember how the transition from not being able to sit up by himself to being able to sit up well came from. One day he was just sitting up and we noticed it. Goes by fast.
I did take my trip to Colorado last week! It was a nice break, but it was only for 2 days, really, so there wasn't much that I could do. I stayed at Chris' and saw my Mom and sister for lunch. We played golf and bet $1/hole. Chris talked quite a bit of crap but, alas, there was a reason he was in junior varsity. I beat him 15 of the 18 holes. I was playing at or better than what I used to in high school on the front nine, even. But then, I choked big time on the back nine (still beat Chris though). I shot decent overall. Chris' Dad also came to play. He beat Chris...that's 'nuff said. It was pretty cold when I arrived there, in the 30s and 40s I think. We went to the driving range on Sat and it was cold and snowing, but the next day the sun came out and although the first couple hours were chilly, it warmed up nicely. I still like how the only time I visit, it was the coldest weather this year...
I was going to meet up with Deni, but that day she was in the mountains looking at venues for her wedding, which isn't going to be in Puerto Rico anymore obviously, so she couldn't meet. I headed down to Denver on Sunday and met with Ellen and Matt to see their place. It was a nice place, although located in a slightly sketchy area of Denver, I thought. The dogs were fun too. The black one bit me the first time she saw me, but then was fine after. Got some good pictures too.
Now, back in OK, the Autumn weather is definitely noticeable and some of the trees are starting to change colors.
In 2 weeks, I am golfing with Dave, Ron and Bill. I felt like playing, so after I heard they like golf, I challenged them to a 2v2 scramble. It should be fun. Went to the driving range this past weekend as well. Hit pretty good. I'm not sure why I'm playing so well...I haven't played in literally 3 years. I've only played 3 times in those 3 years and before that was like 2002 or something ridiculous. If I practiced regularly, I bet I could do pretty well in tournaments and such!
Anywho, what else...I'm starting to get a little back into photography again. I think the Fall colors will be a big boost, that is, if I can find a good place for the colors.
Whelp, he's crying now from his nap. I better go...I don't have too much spare time these days...can't even take a nap because I usually spend the majority of his naps trying to keep him asleep...sigh.
There's been a lot going on, so lots to summarize.
Still going to the library lots. We've basically been reading a new book every day, so that's cool.
Connor's naps took a nose dive in the last two months, but it's slowly getting better. His nights were the worst, though, waking up like every 2 hours to feed. It's down to like 2, maybe 3, and we're trying to get rid of that last feeding around 3-4am. The thing is, he's not doing a good job staying asleep after getting him settled down...which means I've been waking up at like 3-4a every other day and maybe 5a every other day. It's getting old. I need sleep.
Other than that, he's growing, man. He's 18lbs 13oz and he's crawling everywhere and sitting up by himself pretty well. I swear I can't remember how the transition from not being able to sit up by himself to being able to sit up well came from. One day he was just sitting up and we noticed it. Goes by fast.
I did take my trip to Colorado last week! It was a nice break, but it was only for 2 days, really, so there wasn't much that I could do. I stayed at Chris' and saw my Mom and sister for lunch. We played golf and bet $1/hole. Chris talked quite a bit of crap but, alas, there was a reason he was in junior varsity. I beat him 15 of the 18 holes. I was playing at or better than what I used to in high school on the front nine, even. But then, I choked big time on the back nine (still beat Chris though). I shot decent overall. Chris' Dad also came to play. He beat Chris...that's 'nuff said. It was pretty cold when I arrived there, in the 30s and 40s I think. We went to the driving range on Sat and it was cold and snowing, but the next day the sun came out and although the first couple hours were chilly, it warmed up nicely. I still like how the only time I visit, it was the coldest weather this year...
I was going to meet up with Deni, but that day she was in the mountains looking at venues for her wedding, which isn't going to be in Puerto Rico anymore obviously, so she couldn't meet. I headed down to Denver on Sunday and met with Ellen and Matt to see their place. It was a nice place, although located in a slightly sketchy area of Denver, I thought. The dogs were fun too. The black one bit me the first time she saw me, but then was fine after. Got some good pictures too.
Now, back in OK, the Autumn weather is definitely noticeable and some of the trees are starting to change colors.
In 2 weeks, I am golfing with Dave, Ron and Bill. I felt like playing, so after I heard they like golf, I challenged them to a 2v2 scramble. It should be fun. Went to the driving range this past weekend as well. Hit pretty good. I'm not sure why I'm playing so well...I haven't played in literally 3 years. I've only played 3 times in those 3 years and before that was like 2002 or something ridiculous. If I practiced regularly, I bet I could do pretty well in tournaments and such!
Anywho, what else...I'm starting to get a little back into photography again. I think the Fall colors will be a big boost, that is, if I can find a good place for the colors.
Whelp, he's crying now from his nap. I better go...I don't have too much spare time these days...can't even take a nap because I usually spend the majority of his naps trying to keep him asleep...sigh.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Well, the Olympics are finally over. I'm not that big of a fan, just a few sports. And, before I continue, I want to say that trampoline should not be an Olympic sport...seriously.
My Mom is flying in, like I mentioned, in a couple of days. She's only going to be here for the weekend, though. I'm not sure what we're going to be doing. I know we're going to try and watch this sushi documentary we've been wanting to see. I think my Mom will like it.
The weather's been tolerable the last week or so. We've had a couple of thunderstorms and much needed rain. This past weekend, we were able to hit the driving range for the first time in years! It was a little rough at first, but once I got the rhythm going and remembering how to swing again, I started to do decent. I need to start practicing because I want to ask Laura's Dad and see if he wants to challenge another two family friends on a round of golf. I think we'll do pretty good. Anyway, it was fun. We took Connor and he had fun. Laura tried to hit a few balls, but I think she was frustrated at the difficulty. It does take practice. I think golf is really only fun if you're decent at it. Even I get mad when I don't play well and it's generally better than most of the general population.
What else. Connor is still well. I'm doing good during the weekdays. I'm not sure if it's easier than before, but his naps are getting better, so that in turn makes my job a little easier.
Recently, we discovered the library as a source of books...who knew??? I want to start going every week or two and get books for myself, as well as Connor. I do like getting books for cheap at Half Price Books for Connor, but since we go through a book a night pretty much, we might as well start borrowing because there's a limitless number at the library. I was even able to decide that I didn't want a couple of books I put on my Amazon to-buy list because it didn't look good.
So, it seems like Autumn is just around the corner. Weather getting "cooler", for the time being. I can't wait for the leaves to change color. I really want to head out somewhere and get some good shots this year. Last year I was very lazy and didn't get anything.
Oh, one big thing is that we're going to be staying in OKC for another year or so. We had a chance to move to Portland again, but it would just have been a nightmare to pull off in the time we had. It would have involved packing and storing everything but bare essentials within a month, finding a decent place, apartment or hotel, to say for a month that would take dogs/isn't crappy and having to look around in Portland (not sure how) for a place to move to, all with Connor. I think we chose the right thing. There will be more opportunities in the future. On the bright side, now we don't have to fly and travel for the holidays. :P
That's all for now.
My Mom is flying in, like I mentioned, in a couple of days. She's only going to be here for the weekend, though. I'm not sure what we're going to be doing. I know we're going to try and watch this sushi documentary we've been wanting to see. I think my Mom will like it.
The weather's been tolerable the last week or so. We've had a couple of thunderstorms and much needed rain. This past weekend, we were able to hit the driving range for the first time in years! It was a little rough at first, but once I got the rhythm going and remembering how to swing again, I started to do decent. I need to start practicing because I want to ask Laura's Dad and see if he wants to challenge another two family friends on a round of golf. I think we'll do pretty good. Anyway, it was fun. We took Connor and he had fun. Laura tried to hit a few balls, but I think she was frustrated at the difficulty. It does take practice. I think golf is really only fun if you're decent at it. Even I get mad when I don't play well and it's generally better than most of the general population.
What else. Connor is still well. I'm doing good during the weekdays. I'm not sure if it's easier than before, but his naps are getting better, so that in turn makes my job a little easier.
Recently, we discovered the library as a source of books...who knew??? I want to start going every week or two and get books for myself, as well as Connor. I do like getting books for cheap at Half Price Books for Connor, but since we go through a book a night pretty much, we might as well start borrowing because there's a limitless number at the library. I was even able to decide that I didn't want a couple of books I put on my Amazon to-buy list because it didn't look good.
So, it seems like Autumn is just around the corner. Weather getting "cooler", for the time being. I can't wait for the leaves to change color. I really want to head out somewhere and get some good shots this year. Last year I was very lazy and didn't get anything.
Oh, one big thing is that we're going to be staying in OKC for another year or so. We had a chance to move to Portland again, but it would just have been a nightmare to pull off in the time we had. It would have involved packing and storing everything but bare essentials within a month, finding a decent place, apartment or hotel, to say for a month that would take dogs/isn't crappy and having to look around in Portland (not sure how) for a place to move to, all with Connor. I think we chose the right thing. There will be more opportunities in the future. On the bright side, now we don't have to fly and travel for the holidays. :P
That's all for now.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
It's been a few weeks - the last couple of weeks have been a rough patch for Connor and his napping, so it's taking a toll on Laura and I. He seems to be getting better, but we're not through it yet. This coming Wednesday, Connor has his 2nd appointment for his shots. Hopefully, it goes well...and I'm going to try and not get the rotavirus (assuming that's what I had a for a few days).
I finally went to the doctor for my weird lymph node swelling. Did some blood tests and she said they looked fine, but it looks like I may have had mono several weeks ago. That could explain some of my symptoms, but we'll see. Next week I need to schedule another follow-up appointment to make sure that my levels for whatever signifies mono is getting better. I'm also going to ask a little more about the lymph node thing. Still feels swollen. It's weird because I usually start out fine in the morning and it gets progressively worse through the day.
Chris and Alicia visited a couple of weeks ago as well. They seemed to have fun. It was super hot outside, so we couldn't do much there, and with Connor, we can't really "do stuff", so...oh well. It was good to see them.
My Mom decided not to move out to Vegas to take care of Ken's baby. That was probably a good idea. She's coming again to visit the last week of August for a few days.
We're currently in Tulsa, visiting for Laura's parents' birthdays. Connor had a horrible night last night because the day leading up to his bedtime was horrible. Not much sleep. He didn't get much sleep today, either. It usually is the case when we come here since he doesn't really sleep on the way here and the environment here isn't what he's used to. The crib bounces, the floor creaks, the light is bright, etc. It's also annoying because we need to go up and down to his room every time he starts fussing. The day we get home isn't great either, because it's another 1.5 hour drive and he is fussy when he gets home. Then he takes a day or two to catch up.
They are watching the Olympics right now. I'm not a big fan of the Olympics. It's not that exciting to me. The only sports worth watching to me are probably the track and field stuff.
Well, that's all for now.
I finally went to the doctor for my weird lymph node swelling. Did some blood tests and she said they looked fine, but it looks like I may have had mono several weeks ago. That could explain some of my symptoms, but we'll see. Next week I need to schedule another follow-up appointment to make sure that my levels for whatever signifies mono is getting better. I'm also going to ask a little more about the lymph node thing. Still feels swollen. It's weird because I usually start out fine in the morning and it gets progressively worse through the day.
Chris and Alicia visited a couple of weeks ago as well. They seemed to have fun. It was super hot outside, so we couldn't do much there, and with Connor, we can't really "do stuff", so...oh well. It was good to see them.
My Mom decided not to move out to Vegas to take care of Ken's baby. That was probably a good idea. She's coming again to visit the last week of August for a few days.
We're currently in Tulsa, visiting for Laura's parents' birthdays. Connor had a horrible night last night because the day leading up to his bedtime was horrible. Not much sleep. He didn't get much sleep today, either. It usually is the case when we come here since he doesn't really sleep on the way here and the environment here isn't what he's used to. The crib bounces, the floor creaks, the light is bright, etc. It's also annoying because we need to go up and down to his room every time he starts fussing. The day we get home isn't great either, because it's another 1.5 hour drive and he is fussy when he gets home. Then he takes a day or two to catch up.
They are watching the Olympics right now. I'm not a big fan of the Olympics. It's not that exciting to me. The only sports worth watching to me are probably the track and field stuff.
Well, that's all for now.
Friday, July 06, 2012
Well, got the American Mensa results back yesterday. Bad news. I didn't make it in. I thought I probably wouldn't, but anyway. The worst part wasn't even that I didn't get in. So, the test consists of two tests, the Wonderlic and the Mensa Admissions Test. The Wonderlic is some old test from the 30s that they use for various thing, most notably for pro football players, for some reason. It's a 50-question test with a time limit of 12 minutes and you have to answer as many as you can correctly. I can't remember if there's a penalty for wrong answers. I think there was. Anyway, I got a 29 on that test and that put me at the 83rd percentile, not even close to the 98th percentile required.
The Mensa Admissions test was a longer test consisting of probably 150 or so questions total spanning 7 sections of various topics. I got a 92 on that test...do you know what percentile that put me in? 97th...97th!
So close, but, not good enough. Oh well. It was something I wanted to do and now I know. You can take other standardized tests to see if you can get in, but I'm pretty sure you can't take the Mensa test again. I think they use the same test over and over again.
It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I really need to go to the doctor to get checked on my lymph nodes and tiredness and stuff. Could be allergies again, but I don't think so this time. I just gotta get the motivation to make and appointment. I don't want to take Connor, sigh.
The Mensa Admissions test was a longer test consisting of probably 150 or so questions total spanning 7 sections of various topics. I got a 92 on that test...do you know what percentile that put me in? 97th...97th!
So close, but, not good enough. Oh well. It was something I wanted to do and now I know. You can take other standardized tests to see if you can get in, but I'm pretty sure you can't take the Mensa test again. I think they use the same test over and over again.
It's Friday, and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I really need to go to the doctor to get checked on my lymph nodes and tiredness and stuff. Could be allergies again, but I don't think so this time. I just gotta get the motivation to make and appointment. I don't want to take Connor, sigh.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sucker's starting to get hot here! I can't stand it already and it's only like 94-95.
Things are still good. Pretty much into the weekday routine and schedule. Sometimes he gets cranky at night, but that's only 1 or 2 times a week, if that, and that's probably expected anyway. I wish that he would sleep through the night though, from when we put him down at 8pm-ish to 5am or so. We can only hope.
Not much news to report. My upset stomach has finally passed (as have my swollen lymph nodes). I guess I had a longer case of mild rotavirus (suspected) than I had planned for. I'm still not sure if it was the rotavirus, but, I think it was. Connor's poops have been normal the last couple of days too, so I think it was a simultaneous thing.
Tomorrow Laura's parents and Kelly and Ryan are coming over in the morning to eat breakfast. I'm going to make the fluffy waffles that we had again. Going to double the vanilla extract to give it just a bit more flavor and it should be good. We bought some bacon too, which we haven't in a long time.
What else. We're in the process of figuring out moving and what jobs to accept and all that for Laura's next step. We'd like to move to Portland, but there aren't any jobs and the one interview that she's waiting for from OHSU still hasn't contacted her. On top of all that, our lease (that we don't have a signed copy of...) is running out in like a month or two or something like that, so we have to start worrying about that too.
The next month is going to be stressful!
Things are still good. Pretty much into the weekday routine and schedule. Sometimes he gets cranky at night, but that's only 1 or 2 times a week, if that, and that's probably expected anyway. I wish that he would sleep through the night though, from when we put him down at 8pm-ish to 5am or so. We can only hope.
Not much news to report. My upset stomach has finally passed (as have my swollen lymph nodes). I guess I had a longer case of mild rotavirus (suspected) than I had planned for. I'm still not sure if it was the rotavirus, but, I think it was. Connor's poops have been normal the last couple of days too, so I think it was a simultaneous thing.
Tomorrow Laura's parents and Kelly and Ryan are coming over in the morning to eat breakfast. I'm going to make the fluffy waffles that we had again. Going to double the vanilla extract to give it just a bit more flavor and it should be good. We bought some bacon too, which we haven't in a long time.
What else. We're in the process of figuring out moving and what jobs to accept and all that for Laura's next step. We'd like to move to Portland, but there aren't any jobs and the one interview that she's waiting for from OHSU still hasn't contacted her. On top of all that, our lease (that we don't have a signed copy of...) is running out in like a month or two or something like that, so we have to start worrying about that too.
The next month is going to be stressful!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
I'm still alive!
Glad it's Friday tomorrow. Today was exhausting, for some reason. Connor had good naps, but for some reason I was super tired. I put Connor down at 4:45p, right before Laura got home, and I just fell asleep on the floor for almost 2 hours! Laura was sad that she couldn't see Connor much tonight, though.
Not sure what's going on this weekend for Father's Day and stuff. I think Laura's parents are coming up or something.
As I see I have some time, I'm going to work on Connor's face timelapse!
Glad it's Friday tomorrow. Today was exhausting, for some reason. Connor had good naps, but for some reason I was super tired. I put Connor down at 4:45p, right before Laura got home, and I just fell asleep on the floor for almost 2 hours! Laura was sad that she couldn't see Connor much tonight, though.
Not sure what's going on this weekend for Father's Day and stuff. I think Laura's parents are coming up or something.
As I see I have some time, I'm going to work on Connor's face timelapse!