Okay, got some time while they are sleeping. Here we go:
Closing on the house and moving
So, we closed on the 29th of May. We had our final inspection the day before and all seemed well. They mentioned a leak near the fireplace, but they said they would take a look at it, etc, etc, but at this point, I was pretty sure that they weren't going to do anything. Which was right. It's leaking near the flashing I think and nothing has come about, so we're going to have to fix it soon.
Anyway, we go and signed all the paperwork, we met the homeowners at the signing and we got our keys. We went straight to the house for a little bit because Laura's parents were watching the kids during this time. We got some stuff ready and they came over. We thought we had the entire next month to move and paint and get everything done, right? Nope. Time goes by faster in these cases. We got like 2 rooms painted and moved so little, ha. Most of it went to the garage, as well, so we still had to rummage through and bring them in one by one. Fast forward 2 months and we're still unpacking. We don't have too much left, I suspect we'll be done, hopefully, in the next month. There's probably like 20 or so boxes in the garage and a lot of that is random garage stuff once I get my desk put back together in the garage. The best decision about this move, though, was paying for 3 (4?) hours of moving help. We had them do all the furniture and heavy stuff...namely the armoire. That armoire, man. Anyway, I think not moving all those heavy things helped. It was about $200 and I think that was a bit much for the time, but, you pay for convenience, I guess.
So, again, we're slowly getting everything in its place. We need to get a few more big items like the new couch, some bookshelves, etc.
Backpacking with Chris
This took place a couple of weeks after we got the house, so it really cut into moving time even though I literally went for a weekend. Anyway, I flew out Thursday real late and the next morning we set off for the campsite. We were planning on going to our usual spot but once we got there, we found out that all the May rains flooded that area, so we had to choose a campsite a couple of miles farther. I was already on the fence about backpacking because I'm not in shape by any means and I didn't really exercise for this trip but choosing the farther camp made me worry for real in my head. It was about 6-7 miles I think and it might have been fine if it was our usual trail as well, but we had to use a different trail that was much more difficult than the other. the elevation gain was like 4000 feet versus about 1000, so.
We decided to get a couple last minute things at the market and headed up there. We put on our packs, which weighed 28 lbs for me and 30 for him - not proportionately correct, but whatever. He kept insisting that it's the same weight, so it's equal. Right. After the pack was on, I was already feeling it after the first few hundred feet. This was just past the trail head and we were actually trying to find the trail because it wasn't marked, but judging from being on the trail on the walk back, I think we were just blind somehow. So, we were already going pretty slow in the first 10 minutes and it started off with a huge climb. The climb took maybe 30-45 minutes. Wasn't long but it felt so tiring. Then we descended probably more than we climbed, which we said was going to be a bitch on the way back. At the bottom of this ridge was a river. So far it was like 1.5 hours. We then started up another ridge, then down again. Another hour, hour and a half go by. At this point, I was feeling all right. I took a lot of rests, basically stopped for a minute or two every 15 minutes? I had to keep my legs rested because this was a lot more climbing that I imagined. Still, I was surprised I was doing well. Chris was even saying it was hard for him. I think we were on par with each other and I was at an altitude disadvantage.
We took a longer rest after the 2nd ridge and then started on the 3rd. This was the longest and took like 2 hours to get to the top. I was looking at the GPS on the tablet here and there and tracking how far we had left to go. The map said the camp site was close, but it was off by a little bit, so it was demoralizing. After another hour, we finally find the camp site after having to cross a river without shoes. I tried to make a bridge, but that didn't work. The water was freezing too. We chose our site and of course there was no one at either of the 2 sites. We got some water, got the fire going, and ate. I was pretty tired. We talked a bit about random stuff and discussed whether to head back the next day or not because we were already bored and we didn't know what we would be doing all day the next day. We decided to head back the next day. Through the night it was fine. The weather was getting cold as the evening approached and I remember seeing the low to be like 30s, so I was prepared. It was really weird, though, because halfway through, I was sweating, so I took my jacket off. In the morning, it was REALLY warm outside, like, warmer than the night before. Strange because the morning is supposed to be the coldest time. We didn't even make a fire because it was already warm, almost hot even. We ate breakfast, which was pretty good. I was looking forward to the Mountain House meals, but it wasn't as satisfying as when Laura and I went with them. Dunno why.
Anyway, we left around 9 and got back around 1p to the car, I think. It was maybe an hour faster on the way back and I was feeling really good the first hour or two then I started to get tired. That super descent at the very start, which now became a straight-up climb was definitely the hardest part of the walk. We never saw anyone except when we first started on the first day. They passed us at the start and went another route. The weather was perfect as well. No rain or anything until just before we reached the car on the way back. Dunno if I'll do that trail again, but it was good to know that I was able to do it.
We ate at McDonald's in Estes Park and went home. We took it easy that day. The next day I was pretty sore and now I was worrying that I wouldn't be able to help move the coming weekend. It all went fine, though. I was pretty much back to normal by then.
Colorado Trip
I was dreading this the moment we decided to go and at the time we hadn't decided whether or not we would be flying or driving. In retrospect, I'm not sure which would have been worse. I think flying would have been easier, I guess. The only thing different would have been the drive there, which we did over 2 days both times. I guess we would have been paying way more, but...oh well. The drive wasn't really that bad. A couple of times the kids were just sick of being in the car and had some fits, but overall, it was fine. The stay at the hotels were fine, too. A couple of times we all stayed in the same room and that went surprisingly well.
Connor wore the kilt during the wedding and it was a big hit. He danced A LOT during the wedding reception as well. He even met and danced with another little girl. It was cute. The wedding went fine and I got some good shots, but I was just tired of watching the kids by the end of the entire trip. We hung out with Chris and Alicia for a couple of days and met my sister and Mom as well.
Seems like I wrote very little on the Colorado trip...dunno why. Maybe I'm tired of writing or something. The kids are about to wake up as well. Really, there wasn't much to report except watching the kids and Laura doing wedding stuff.
I did have a really awkward time at the rehearsal dinner because I sat at the table with some Japanese friends of Matt's and I sometimes talked in Japanese and sometimes in English, and most of the time, everyone was just quiet. Just really awkward. I wish Laura had been there, but she was watching the kids. I was going to sit at other tables but it got full. I think Laura there would have had a better time overall. The slideshow was easy to set up and I just took a few pictures, which Laura could have done. Oh well.
Well, I better mentally prepare myself for them waking up. She has been HORRIBLE with any type of sleeping the last few weeks. The last couple of days, though, she has been doing pretty good if I just put her down and let her cry it out. By 10-15 minutes, she's sleeping. She wakes up a couple of times during the nap, but goes back down again. I wish we could do that during the night, but Laura insists on keeping her in our room. Connor was in his own room by this age, I'm pretty sure. I don't remember going to get him to feed once a night and putting him back, but then again, I don't remember much from his early months.
Okay, I'm off. Laura's parents are coming down tomorrow so they can watch the kids on Friday so we can go get dinner and possibly a movie for our anniversary. We haven't gone to dinner just us since our last anniversary, I think! Maybe not that far back, but pretty sure. We have to get the house ready, as well.
See ya.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
Almost 3 months. This is getting out of hand.
I'm way past my bedtime and have been exhausted to no end the last few weeks. I just got here to write down a few topics that I need to write about since May:
Closing on the house and moving
Backpacking trip with Chris
Ellen's wedding trip
Lots of stuff...
I'm way past my bedtime and have been exhausted to no end the last few weeks. I just got here to write down a few topics that I need to write about since May:
Closing on the house and moving
Backpacking trip with Chris
Ellen's wedding trip
Lots of stuff...
Friday, May 08, 2015
2 months. Man.
Anywho, this is just a quick update without looking at what I had written in March. The last couple of months have been super stressful and hard. Not sure why - I think just lots of stuff going on every week and weekend, Connor being very difficult for some reason (more than normal), and Emmeline's sleep being quite horrible. I'm just tired every day and the constant need of having to do something all the time sucks. The hour and a half or so of break I get when both are asleep goes by quick, too. A few times, though, I have been trying to take naps at the same time in Emmeline's room and that has helped a bit to catch up on sleep, but it just gets exhausted the next day. Plus, I just hate to lose that free time, but, what can you do.
Emmeline's baptism is tomorrow. Hopefully, the Deacon has remembered it. He is the flakiest person so we'll see. Tornado threats have been higher the last week or two. So far, we've been lucky to have just high winds and rain. Not even hail. All the bad stuff has been several miles south of us as usual.
Which brings me to a big update. We bought a house! We're pretty excited and I think we both can't wait to move in and start to make it our own place. It's in a great neighborhood with a park literally a minute or two away, so Connor will like that. The yard is nice and the inside as well. Finally got a 4th bedroom for guests or whatever as well. It was a good segue because the house has a storm shelter. Thank god. At least we'll be safer now. The last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about a workshop area and what I can build a lot. Laura has been looking at paint colors. I think I've finally boiled it down to getting a beginner (i.e. cheap) table saw with at least a good blade (looking around, it'd be around $50-$60 - almost half the cost of the table saw, haha) and that should cover being able to make whatever we'd need. I've been thinking about benches for the backyard, end tables, and perhaps a wall-to-wall shelving system for the garage. We'll see. I'm not sure how much it would all be, but it would be however much 2x4s are. I don't think they're too expensive. Nope, it looks like they're about $3 each. That's awesome. Can't wait to start making useful things. I'll need to stock up on things in the beginning like screws, stains, etc, but that shouldn't be too much. There are other workshop tools that I'd like, but that would be farther down the line. Eventually, I'd like to get some pin nailers for little projects and trim and stuff, a miter saw for convenience (not really necessary), a router, and that's really about it.
In just about a month, I have a 2-day backpacking trip planned in RMNP with Chris. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also worried that I won't be able to do it because I'm quite out of shape. It's to the same place that we all 4 made a trip to back in 2008 or 2009 or something like that. Even back then I was dying. Hopefully, I don't just crap out halfway there on the first day. The usual 2-3 hour hike is going to be 4-5 for sure, haha. The other thing is that the time SHOULD be a time to relax and get a break from the kids, but I think I'm just going to get overtired when I get back. One big reason is that I'm flying back in on Sunday at like 11pm and I have to drive back home...that's going to suck, especially the next day.
Anywho, I'll write more as we get closer, but I should head to sleep. Way past bedtime and because of Emmeline's waking up multiple times in the middle of the night, we've all had zero good sleep the last week or two. Sigh.
Anywho, this is just a quick update without looking at what I had written in March. The last couple of months have been super stressful and hard. Not sure why - I think just lots of stuff going on every week and weekend, Connor being very difficult for some reason (more than normal), and Emmeline's sleep being quite horrible. I'm just tired every day and the constant need of having to do something all the time sucks. The hour and a half or so of break I get when both are asleep goes by quick, too. A few times, though, I have been trying to take naps at the same time in Emmeline's room and that has helped a bit to catch up on sleep, but it just gets exhausted the next day. Plus, I just hate to lose that free time, but, what can you do.
Emmeline's baptism is tomorrow. Hopefully, the Deacon has remembered it. He is the flakiest person so we'll see. Tornado threats have been higher the last week or two. So far, we've been lucky to have just high winds and rain. Not even hail. All the bad stuff has been several miles south of us as usual.
Which brings me to a big update. We bought a house! We're pretty excited and I think we both can't wait to move in and start to make it our own place. It's in a great neighborhood with a park literally a minute or two away, so Connor will like that. The yard is nice and the inside as well. Finally got a 4th bedroom for guests or whatever as well. It was a good segue because the house has a storm shelter. Thank god. At least we'll be safer now. The last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about a workshop area and what I can build a lot. Laura has been looking at paint colors. I think I've finally boiled it down to getting a beginner (i.e. cheap) table saw with at least a good blade (looking around, it'd be around $50-$60 - almost half the cost of the table saw, haha) and that should cover being able to make whatever we'd need. I've been thinking about benches for the backyard, end tables, and perhaps a wall-to-wall shelving system for the garage. We'll see. I'm not sure how much it would all be, but it would be however much 2x4s are. I don't think they're too expensive. Nope, it looks like they're about $3 each. That's awesome. Can't wait to start making useful things. I'll need to stock up on things in the beginning like screws, stains, etc, but that shouldn't be too much. There are other workshop tools that I'd like, but that would be farther down the line. Eventually, I'd like to get some pin nailers for little projects and trim and stuff, a miter saw for convenience (not really necessary), a router, and that's really about it.
In just about a month, I have a 2-day backpacking trip planned in RMNP with Chris. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm also worried that I won't be able to do it because I'm quite out of shape. It's to the same place that we all 4 made a trip to back in 2008 or 2009 or something like that. Even back then I was dying. Hopefully, I don't just crap out halfway there on the first day. The usual 2-3 hour hike is going to be 4-5 for sure, haha. The other thing is that the time SHOULD be a time to relax and get a break from the kids, but I think I'm just going to get overtired when I get back. One big reason is that I'm flying back in on Sunday at like 11pm and I have to drive back home...that's going to suck, especially the next day.
Anywho, I'll write more as we get closer, but I should head to sleep. Way past bedtime and because of Emmeline's waking up multiple times in the middle of the night, we've all had zero good sleep the last week or two. Sigh.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
I say I will be back tomorrow and it somehow becomes a month! I dunno what it is these days but I cannot seem to keep up with blogging anymore. I used to do it so often when I first started. Maybe I had less to do? I dunno. It takes just a few minutes to write something, but I just don't have the motivation to do it.
Anyway, now would be better than any other to do a quick 2014 summary.
It was a big year, again. Biggest news I guess would be Emmeline being born, but let's go through earlier in the year. Connor turned 2 and, boy, I can't even remember what type of birthday it was. I think it was a Thomas-themed one since he was so into it back then. He's not as much now (thank goodness we paid so much to get all these Thomas things for him). I had to read my earlier blogs (my whopping one a month) to see what was going on. Looks like he had just started soccer class in the Spring and into the Summer. I can't believe that was a year ago already. Then, apparently we went to Colorado! I don't even remember that. I don't know why we went, but I guess we did. Wow. I don't think anything big happened during the Summer. I do remember I was surprised that we had 0 tornado warnings last year. Yeah, jinxed myself for this season, ugh. Then it was the start of Connor's first days of school. He was great the first day, then the next few times were a little rough as he knew what was going to happen. Then he finally started enjoying it. We had a couple of incidents of bad behavior like throwing rocks and toy-taking but overall he's been great and the teachers love him. He seems to get along with the other kids in the class as well.
Then, it was Emmeline's time to be born! The pregnancy was good for Laura up until the last couple of weeks when she seemed to get tired of it. This time, though, she did not have to endure an 18-hour labor but the exact opposite. We definitely left a little too late and she ended up having her minutes after we got there. Probably turned out for the better though since we probably wouldn't have wanted to wait around for epidurals and such. She's doing great and already has a personality of her own, but man, does she look like Connor!
Then, we had the holiday season, which went fine if I remember right. Nothing big to report. That's about it!
Already into March, we are in full get-a-house mode. Now that we turned down Portland and subsequently a Denver job that didn't pan out, we need to find a house either this month or the next because we need to tell our landlord if we're going to renew by the end of April. I'm hoping something good comes up. I'm tired of this place and paying rent. Lately, I've been watching this wood working channel on Youtube and I really want to get a small workshop set up with some proper tools to make things around the house and yard.
We are also in the process of deciding what to get Connor into for this Spring/Summer. There is soccer, swimming, and gymnastics so far. Connor went to a birthday party for a kid in his class and he seemed to love gymnastics, so maybe that. I'm not sure. I just don't want to have to do all this by myself.
I'm currently trying to plan a backpacking trip for me and Chris for mid-June, but I'm just hesitant in putting anything in stone. I always do this. I don't do it until it's too late. It would just be for a few days and I would literally fly in, go to the trailhead, hike, camp a couple of days, maybe swing by Chris' house and then fly out. I'm thinking Thur-Sun or even Fri-Sun. Very short. Prices are reasonable I guess right now hovering around $226. I wish it was more like $170 and then I wouldn't think so much. I should check Southwest real quick as I've only used Kayak until now.
Well that's all. I don't want to waste my entire free time writing this. That reminds me. I need to write more of my book. Sigh.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Laura took the kids to Tulsa this Valentine's weekend as I opted to stay home and unwind a little bit. The last couple of weeks have been CRAZY stressful. Something is up with Connor, man. That or if this is what 3 years old is, I don't know why they call it the terrible 2s. It's nothing compared to this.
Anyway, I got to this a little late as I was watching some TV while playing on the tablet. Tomorrow I intend to get a lot done around the house as it's a HORRIBLE mess right now. I'm just so busy/tired during the day that I couldn't keep up the last few days - not that I do much better when I do keep up. I want to really organize this living room. There are just toys everywhere. One reason, though, is because the layout just sucks and there is not a place to put any shelving and stuff. I'll need to browse around the internet for ideas and take a stroll through Home Depot.
So, yeah, I'll be back tomorrow night to finally do my year end summary nearly 2 months late. I hope the kids are nice to Laura this weekend, although she will have help. I really just needed a break from them. Silence was sorely missed.
Anyway, I got to this a little late as I was watching some TV while playing on the tablet. Tomorrow I intend to get a lot done around the house as it's a HORRIBLE mess right now. I'm just so busy/tired during the day that I couldn't keep up the last few days - not that I do much better when I do keep up. I want to really organize this living room. There are just toys everywhere. One reason, though, is because the layout just sucks and there is not a place to put any shelving and stuff. I'll need to browse around the internet for ideas and take a stroll through Home Depot.
So, yeah, I'll be back tomorrow night to finally do my year end summary nearly 2 months late. I hope the kids are nice to Laura this weekend, although she will have help. I really just needed a break from them. Silence was sorely missed.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Gah, the longer I wait, the more it's looking like the 2014 summary isn't going to happen, but don't worry, it will...I'll make sure of it.
Emmeline rolled from her stomach to her back yesterday - a week faster than even Connor, who was really early at around 2 months and 17 days or so. We make crazy babies! Hopefully, she doesn't walk at like 8 months.
Anyway, we're still deciding on some pretty important stuff through today and once that's decided, I'll post here. I dunno why I just shouldn't because no one reads this blog or knows about it unless they know the address and that's basically Laura. I don't think you can find it via search, either, so it's pretty safe. Yup, I just checked now and, at first glance, couldn't find this blog. Anyway.
Connor's about to wake up. Be back soon.
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Bleh, already a day missed. I've just been tired the last couple of days...and then Monday is going to be hard because Laura goes back to work and then it's just me and the two kids. Yikes.
I still am planning on my 2014 overview. I just need to find a quiet time - maybe during both kids' naps or something. Not sure how I'm going to do Connor's school either. The time in between is just enough for me to get home, do all the feeding/nap, and then back out to pick up Connor again. Very busy Tue/Thur for sure.
I'm making more headway on my second book. I've got some names, more of the plot, now I'm trying to do the entire story's outline. I've been consulting with Laura on names this time around too, so I've changed some stuff so far. This one is going to be bigger and more complex than my first book, so it'll probably take longer, although, after writing that first book, this one might come easier. I dunno. I could be wrong.
Anywho, time to cut my hair. Been wanting to for a long time.
I still am planning on my 2014 overview. I just need to find a quiet time - maybe during both kids' naps or something. Not sure how I'm going to do Connor's school either. The time in between is just enough for me to get home, do all the feeding/nap, and then back out to pick up Connor again. Very busy Tue/Thur for sure.
I'm making more headway on my second book. I've got some names, more of the plot, now I'm trying to do the entire story's outline. I've been consulting with Laura on names this time around too, so I've changed some stuff so far. This one is going to be bigger and more complex than my first book, so it'll probably take longer, although, after writing that first book, this one might come easier. I dunno. I could be wrong.
Anywho, time to cut my hair. Been wanting to for a long time.
Thursday, January 01, 2015
Hate to be cliche but another year has passed. I think I've said that the last few years...I dunno, I can't remember. Anyway, it's already late now, so I won't write a lot (probably write more tomorrow), but I do need to write my summary sometime. 2014 was a big year, obviously with the arrival of Emmeline, Connor starting school, etc. I have a feeling that 2015 will also be a big year in other aspects.
Once again, I will try and write every day in this blog, at the least to sort of reflect on my days with Connor, Emmeline and Laura. I have written less and less on Connor's blog. I need a new system or way of doing things. I guess I need a new approach to WHY I'm writing in a blog. Something cool or interesting doesn't happen every day, so that's probably why I don't write it in every day. Laura suggested that I write what I'm thankful for each day, which is a step towards writing regularly. I also have started on a little more of my 2nd book that I want to write for Laura, so that's another motivation. Free time is getting less and less, however, with Laura going back to work in a few days...yikes. We'll see how I adjust to that. Connor will need to be more independent, I'm sure and I need to brush up on how I did bottles, feedings, and naps for babies. I don't remember anything from Connor. I dunno how I got into the groove with Connor too. I think Laura did a lot of the research on how much they should eat and sleep and when and such. I just know one thing...it's going to be hard!
Anywho, I'll just leave it at that and come back tomorrow (will give me an excuse to write tomorrow). I do plan on trying to write 30 minutes on my book every day. The most important tip that I read everywhere is to write, write, write. No matter what it is, when it is, how it is, just write. I'm forming the story a little bit in my mind when I sleep, so I need to put that on paper.
Okay, off to bed. I think we're going to finally get a Sam's membership tomorrow...if the weather isn't bad. Supposed to be bad the next day or two.
Once again, I will try and write every day in this blog, at the least to sort of reflect on my days with Connor, Emmeline and Laura. I have written less and less on Connor's blog. I need a new system or way of doing things. I guess I need a new approach to WHY I'm writing in a blog. Something cool or interesting doesn't happen every day, so that's probably why I don't write it in every day. Laura suggested that I write what I'm thankful for each day, which is a step towards writing regularly. I also have started on a little more of my 2nd book that I want to write for Laura, so that's another motivation. Free time is getting less and less, however, with Laura going back to work in a few days...yikes. We'll see how I adjust to that. Connor will need to be more independent, I'm sure and I need to brush up on how I did bottles, feedings, and naps for babies. I don't remember anything from Connor. I dunno how I got into the groove with Connor too. I think Laura did a lot of the research on how much they should eat and sleep and when and such. I just know one thing...it's going to be hard!
Anywho, I'll just leave it at that and come back tomorrow (will give me an excuse to write tomorrow). I do plan on trying to write 30 minutes on my book every day. The most important tip that I read everywhere is to write, write, write. No matter what it is, when it is, how it is, just write. I'm forming the story a little bit in my mind when I sleep, so I need to put that on paper.
Okay, off to bed. I think we're going to finally get a Sam's membership tomorrow...if the weather isn't bad. Supposed to be bad the next day or two.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
It's already almost been a week since Emmeline was born. Wow! Time perception is crazy. Honestly, the days and nights have been very tiring and long that I wonder how it's already Friday. Well, midnight, anyway.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to write a complete summary, but here goes. The day started out like any other day on Saturday, except for the fact that Laura was just under a week overdue. She had a stress test in the morning she went to and they said that there were contractions, but they were probably nothing. Ha. The rest of the day went okay. If I remember right, she felt contractions here and there throughout the day but it was erratic and thought that it stemmed from back pain, etc. Fast forward to the afternoon. Things seemed to get a little more uncomfortable for Laura in the later afternoon. I think I had made some dinner and ate at our normal time. Laura was increasingly not feeling good and by the time dinner was over, she was definitely feeling contractions. We had prepared a little bit in terms of packing earlier in the day...or was it the day before. I really can't remember. Anyway, the contractions were getting quite strong, but the timing was pretty bad because it was about 5:45 to 6:00pm and we wanted everything to happen AFTER we had our bedtime routine with Connor and put him down for the night so we didn't have to worry about logistics. Well, Laura did wait it out all right. She was having contractions pretty regularly every few minutes by the time Connor and I got into/out of the shower. During all this, she had been dancing with Connor, reading to Connor in our bed as well as his bed. All the while having contractions, telling Connor to hold on one section whenever she had a contraction. Connor seemed to get noticeably irritated/worried about this and he was getting impatient, not wanting to wait, not wanting listen, etc. He probably knew something was weird, but just didn't understand what was going on.
Anyway, Laura had called Kelly probably while Connor and I were in the shower because she had arrived while Laura was in Connor's room. After Laura put Connor to put, we grabbed all the necessary stuff and put it in the car. During all this prep, Laura was having contractions that were much stronger and I could tell that it was pretty painful. Kelly called the hospital to let them know that we were on our way.
On the car ride there, Laura had contractions every few minutes. The ride there felt like an eternity! I was speeding, but not super speeding. People were in front of me, though, and I was getting pretty annoyed. They were going way below the speed limit even. Anyway, I was getting more and more nervous because the contractions seemed to be getting stronger and I'm sure it was uncomfortable sitting in the car. We finally got there, I drove up to the front area and got the birthing ball and a bag or two, I can't remember, and then headed inside. We had to stop at the front desk to let them know what was going on, etc. I don't think they comprehended the urgency because they were asking Laura, while she was getting contractions, to fill out forms, give them insurance cards, ID, etc. I was thinking in my head, wtf, just take us to a room and we'll do this later. They finally brought over a wheelchair and took Laura to a room. Before I could follow her, the front desk lady asked me to fill out some sign-in sheet or consent form or whatever it was. I was like, do I need to do this now or can I do it later? She was dumb. I filled out everything pretty illegibly and went to the room. By the time I got in, the nurses were trying to get Laura into a gown, and they seemed a little panicked. Laura got on the bed and the contractions were strong and she was ready to push within a couple of minutes, but the nurses were trying to put on the vital sign thingies on Laura, trying to call the on-call doctor, etc. They were trying to stall as much as they could, but within a couple more minutes, it was decided that they would need to deliver the baby. I don't think they were planning on this or had the idea that it was this urgent, but they delivered it safely, thank god. There were like 5-6 people in the room, I think.
During this entire time, I felt like I just stood there, resting my hand on Laura's shoulder, whispering stuff like "you're doing good", "almost there", etc. I wasn't watching the baby or anything, so I didn't know the progress, but everything was said and done in about 10-15 minutes tops. The nurses took the baby and cleaned her up and stuff in the back of the room while the nurses looked after Laura. A few minutes later, the on-call doctor came in and did her thing. Everything was over so quickly, it was like night and day compared to Connor's birth. After we had texted people about the birth, I think at like 8:20 or something, Kelly had texted back saying that Connor was still awake at 7:43pm when Emmeline was born. Crazy.
That night we had decided that we wouldn't have any visitors. The night went pretty well, I think. Emmeline immediately ate, and for a long time. We sent her to the nursery a coupe of times I think so we could get our sleep. The next morning, everyone came to see her. That's about it.
Fast forward to today, Monday (I wrote this blog in pieces). She's in her punkin seat right now sleeping still. I'm not sure why I'm up still. I should be sleeping through all this. I didn't feel tired, I guess. Laura is, hopefully, getting a good bit of sleep right now. She's been sleeping since at least 10pm, I think, so that's good. I'll take Emmeline in the room when she wakes up, whenever that may be. I really don't want to wake her if she doesn't feel hungry, even though they say every 2-3 hours. She seems to snack a lot, so I think it'll be okay.
We had her second bath today and she didn't cry once this time. She liked it, just like Connor. She's back up and past her birth weight already, so that's good. She had her doctor's appointment today and Connor came with us. He kept worrying that the doctor was going to see him, but we kept telling him that it was just for Emmeline. He got a lollipop out of it.
Overall, she's been good, though. She is very gassy, though, each day and that it affecting her night sleeping. We're constantly trying to make her burp or make her poop/fart. I don't remember Connor being this gassy.
Anywho, I'll finish this up. Connor has school tomorrow, so that's good. I think he's been pretty bored, even though he's handling Emmeline well. He's been very clingy to Laura, that's for sure. He's pretty sweet to the baby, though.
Well, here's to a better night schedule for Emmeline!
I'm not sure if I'll be able to write a complete summary, but here goes. The day started out like any other day on Saturday, except for the fact that Laura was just under a week overdue. She had a stress test in the morning she went to and they said that there were contractions, but they were probably nothing. Ha. The rest of the day went okay. If I remember right, she felt contractions here and there throughout the day but it was erratic and thought that it stemmed from back pain, etc. Fast forward to the afternoon. Things seemed to get a little more uncomfortable for Laura in the later afternoon. I think I had made some dinner and ate at our normal time. Laura was increasingly not feeling good and by the time dinner was over, she was definitely feeling contractions. We had prepared a little bit in terms of packing earlier in the day...or was it the day before. I really can't remember. Anyway, the contractions were getting quite strong, but the timing was pretty bad because it was about 5:45 to 6:00pm and we wanted everything to happen AFTER we had our bedtime routine with Connor and put him down for the night so we didn't have to worry about logistics. Well, Laura did wait it out all right. She was having contractions pretty regularly every few minutes by the time Connor and I got into/out of the shower. During all this, she had been dancing with Connor, reading to Connor in our bed as well as his bed. All the while having contractions, telling Connor to hold on one section whenever she had a contraction. Connor seemed to get noticeably irritated/worried about this and he was getting impatient, not wanting to wait, not wanting listen, etc. He probably knew something was weird, but just didn't understand what was going on.
Anyway, Laura had called Kelly probably while Connor and I were in the shower because she had arrived while Laura was in Connor's room. After Laura put Connor to put, we grabbed all the necessary stuff and put it in the car. During all this prep, Laura was having contractions that were much stronger and I could tell that it was pretty painful. Kelly called the hospital to let them know that we were on our way.
On the car ride there, Laura had contractions every few minutes. The ride there felt like an eternity! I was speeding, but not super speeding. People were in front of me, though, and I was getting pretty annoyed. They were going way below the speed limit even. Anyway, I was getting more and more nervous because the contractions seemed to be getting stronger and I'm sure it was uncomfortable sitting in the car. We finally got there, I drove up to the front area and got the birthing ball and a bag or two, I can't remember, and then headed inside. We had to stop at the front desk to let them know what was going on, etc. I don't think they comprehended the urgency because they were asking Laura, while she was getting contractions, to fill out forms, give them insurance cards, ID, etc. I was thinking in my head, wtf, just take us to a room and we'll do this later. They finally brought over a wheelchair and took Laura to a room. Before I could follow her, the front desk lady asked me to fill out some sign-in sheet or consent form or whatever it was. I was like, do I need to do this now or can I do it later? She was dumb. I filled out everything pretty illegibly and went to the room. By the time I got in, the nurses were trying to get Laura into a gown, and they seemed a little panicked. Laura got on the bed and the contractions were strong and she was ready to push within a couple of minutes, but the nurses were trying to put on the vital sign thingies on Laura, trying to call the on-call doctor, etc. They were trying to stall as much as they could, but within a couple more minutes, it was decided that they would need to deliver the baby. I don't think they were planning on this or had the idea that it was this urgent, but they delivered it safely, thank god. There were like 5-6 people in the room, I think.
During this entire time, I felt like I just stood there, resting my hand on Laura's shoulder, whispering stuff like "you're doing good", "almost there", etc. I wasn't watching the baby or anything, so I didn't know the progress, but everything was said and done in about 10-15 minutes tops. The nurses took the baby and cleaned her up and stuff in the back of the room while the nurses looked after Laura. A few minutes later, the on-call doctor came in and did her thing. Everything was over so quickly, it was like night and day compared to Connor's birth. After we had texted people about the birth, I think at like 8:20 or something, Kelly had texted back saying that Connor was still awake at 7:43pm when Emmeline was born. Crazy.
That night we had decided that we wouldn't have any visitors. The night went pretty well, I think. Emmeline immediately ate, and for a long time. We sent her to the nursery a coupe of times I think so we could get our sleep. The next morning, everyone came to see her. That's about it.
Fast forward to today, Monday (I wrote this blog in pieces). She's in her punkin seat right now sleeping still. I'm not sure why I'm up still. I should be sleeping through all this. I didn't feel tired, I guess. Laura is, hopefully, getting a good bit of sleep right now. She's been sleeping since at least 10pm, I think, so that's good. I'll take Emmeline in the room when she wakes up, whenever that may be. I really don't want to wake her if she doesn't feel hungry, even though they say every 2-3 hours. She seems to snack a lot, so I think it'll be okay.
We had her second bath today and she didn't cry once this time. She liked it, just like Connor. She's back up and past her birth weight already, so that's good. She had her doctor's appointment today and Connor came with us. He kept worrying that the doctor was going to see him, but we kept telling him that it was just for Emmeline. He got a lollipop out of it.
Overall, she's been good, though. She is very gassy, though, each day and that it affecting her night sleeping. We're constantly trying to make her burp or make her poop/fart. I don't remember Connor being this gassy.
Anywho, I'll finish this up. Connor has school tomorrow, so that's good. I think he's been pretty bored, even though he's handling Emmeline well. He's been very clingy to Laura, that's for sure. He's pretty sweet to the baby, though.
Well, here's to a better night schedule for Emmeline!
Sunday, November 02, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Well, it's almost the end of September. That means that the baby is going to be here within a month. I think we're "ready" as can be, but Laura doesn't think so and thinks we have a lot to do. We probably do, but I dunno what else we can do. Laura has gotten her nursery mostly ready. Just need a little cleaning up. We need to organize some of the baby stuff into the kitchen like the bottles and such. Oh man, I'm not looking forward to keeping track of all the milk, keeping it cold, warming it up, cleaning the bottles. etc. I don't think we have that much room in the freezer either. I'm sure we'll make room, though.
We still do not have a name, yet. Well, we have it narrowed down to a handful, but they're all pretty equally good. Oh well, I'm sure we'll decide soon. Usually, there's some kind of epiphany that hits us that tells us a certain name is the one.
So, I'm sitting here, a few hours left until Laura and Connor come back from Tulsa from their weekend there, giving me a valuable time off from him before the baby comes. I'm not quite sure what I got done this weekend, though. I always think that I want to be productive while they're gone, but I end up doing nothing. This time was even worse because I had caught a cold, no doubt from Connor, around Thursday. Saturday was the worst and I moseyed around all day, doing nothing and being on my computer. I got some grocery shopping done and I did make the 2 baked zitis for when the baby comes, but that's about it. Sucks that my weekend was spent resting. Other than that, I dunno, it seems like I'm more productive when they're here and about. Something to do with pressure, I suppose. Let's hope both of our colds are gone by Tuesday when Connor goes back to school.
I always feel bored and sad when Laura and Connor are gone, even though I always think that it'll be nice to relax all day. It's weird because I do miss the constant talking, albeit just a little bit, when they're gone, but I don't when they are here. Strange.
I have more to write, but I don't feel like it write now. Starting to feel fatigued again as it's early afternoon. I always have this super tired, super sleepy feeling around this time and it's the worse when I'm watching Connor because I can't just go lay down or something. Sometimes I do fall asleep or doze off for like 15 minutes when I'm extremely exhausted, but, yeah. I do have some clean-up to do before they come back. I'm guessing they'll be back around the same time we usually do, around 5 pm, so maybe I'll get dinner or something ready for that.
We still do not have a name, yet. Well, we have it narrowed down to a handful, but they're all pretty equally good. Oh well, I'm sure we'll decide soon. Usually, there's some kind of epiphany that hits us that tells us a certain name is the one.
So, I'm sitting here, a few hours left until Laura and Connor come back from Tulsa from their weekend there, giving me a valuable time off from him before the baby comes. I'm not quite sure what I got done this weekend, though. I always think that I want to be productive while they're gone, but I end up doing nothing. This time was even worse because I had caught a cold, no doubt from Connor, around Thursday. Saturday was the worst and I moseyed around all day, doing nothing and being on my computer. I got some grocery shopping done and I did make the 2 baked zitis for when the baby comes, but that's about it. Sucks that my weekend was spent resting. Other than that, I dunno, it seems like I'm more productive when they're here and about. Something to do with pressure, I suppose. Let's hope both of our colds are gone by Tuesday when Connor goes back to school.
I always feel bored and sad when Laura and Connor are gone, even though I always think that it'll be nice to relax all day. It's weird because I do miss the constant talking, albeit just a little bit, when they're gone, but I don't when they are here. Strange.
I have more to write, but I don't feel like it write now. Starting to feel fatigued again as it's early afternoon. I always have this super tired, super sleepy feeling around this time and it's the worse when I'm watching Connor because I can't just go lay down or something. Sometimes I do fall asleep or doze off for like 15 minutes when I'm extremely exhausted, but, yeah. I do have some clean-up to do before they come back. I'm guessing they'll be back around the same time we usually do, around 5 pm, so maybe I'll get dinner or something ready for that.
Tuesday, September 02, 2014
What a difference a week makes.
I'll just get the difficult part over with quick and say that we had to put down Callie around midnight this past Thursday. The tick disease wasn't the cause of all the problems that she was having. It was cancer in her intestines and liver and a couple more places that I can't remember that Laura mentioned. The more serious condition may have given a false positive for the tick disease diagnosis.
It was Tuesday, if I remember right, that our vet told us that we need to take her to the veterinary clinic in Stillwater, about an hour away. I took Connor to soccer like every Tuesday, but Laura decided to take Callie to Stillwater. After some nervous moments and times of waiting, Callie had some emergency stabilization done and she stayed there overnight. The next day , they then told us that she needed to undergo surgery to see what was causing this and to attempt to remove it. They first thought it was an ulcer in her duodenum, but even after some scoping, ultrasounds, etc. they weren't sure until they were in.
Anyway, all this was during the day Wednesday and I think she went into surgery Wednesday night and all went well. I guess Thursday morning she was peppier than before, but I really can't remember much of this, actually. Laura decided to go visit Callie Thursday evening just as Connor was getting ready for bed. The visit seemed to go well, but just before she came home, around 9:30pm - 10:00pm, the surgeon had called her and said that things were starting to get really bad and that it would be best to put her down. It was a difficult few moments, but we decided to drive back while Kelly watched Connor for us. We arrived there around 11:30pm or something like that and Laura was brave enough to go in and observe it and say her last goodbyes. I stayed in the car because I don't think I could have done it. Watching her while they put her down was not something that I wanted to experience. Laura came back out after a short while and we just sat in the car for a little bit to think about what just happened. In the end, what we did was the best thing to do because it was just going to get worse.
In hindsight, I wish we knew what was wrong with her and how severe it was when we had her at the vet in OKC because, probably, we would have considered putting her down then before doing all the stabilization and surgery. We felt bad that Callie had to go through all that just to find out it wasn't enough. It also sucked that she had to spent the last few days at the clinic instead of at home or something. It just came so quickly, but, I guess there's nothing we could have done.
The next couple of days were hard for us because just doing everyday things, we would think about every now and then because she was part of routines and such. The difficult part the next morning was when Connor was asking for Callie when they were letting Kip back in the house and feeding them and stuff. He seems to have forgotten about it in the last couple of days, but at the same time, I think we're trying to avoid mentioning anything that involves Callie too. I haven't asked him to get Kip any treats because I think that he would ask about Callie. We picked up Callie's food bowl as well. We're thinking about donating the urinary food to the vet because it's basically a brand new bag.
All in all, this event was hard for all of us. I still tear up thinking about certain situations and memories, but it's getting better. Now we have to plan for a huge expense that we weren't foreseeing as well. Yikes.
Some weird guy also just came up to me right now at the library saying how he studied Chinese and wants to go to Japan, etc. VERY weirdly social guy. I thought he was special or something. Anyway, he then continues to say that he's Christian and if I wanted to hear the gospel. 1) I don't want to hear the gospel 2) I don't even know what "hearing the gospel" means 3) Don't take up my time being nice to start but then trying to tell me about religion. I just told Laura that we need to leave OK. I've been approached by religious people more times here than all other places I've been combined. If I wanted to seek religion, I would do it myself. I don't need guidance or whatever you're offering. Anyway, end of my rant there.
EDIT: I just wanted to add that this guy asked if I was Chinese. Not very smart for getting a bachelor's in Chinese and living in Beijing for 4 months, is it? Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if his entire spiel was made up to segue into converting people. Asian people, at that...
I thought Connor was going to not cry when I left him this morning, but he did start to a little as I left. 6th day now...I would have thought he would know by now. The long weekend probably didn't help, either.
Okay, I'm going to surf now. I have a Dr.'s appointment this coming Thursday to get my throat checked. It's been uncomfortable for a couple of months now, so. Hopefully it's
I'll just get the difficult part over with quick and say that we had to put down Callie around midnight this past Thursday. The tick disease wasn't the cause of all the problems that she was having. It was cancer in her intestines and liver and a couple more places that I can't remember that Laura mentioned. The more serious condition may have given a false positive for the tick disease diagnosis.
It was Tuesday, if I remember right, that our vet told us that we need to take her to the veterinary clinic in Stillwater, about an hour away. I took Connor to soccer like every Tuesday, but Laura decided to take Callie to Stillwater. After some nervous moments and times of waiting, Callie had some emergency stabilization done and she stayed there overnight. The next day , they then told us that she needed to undergo surgery to see what was causing this and to attempt to remove it. They first thought it was an ulcer in her duodenum, but even after some scoping, ultrasounds, etc. they weren't sure until they were in.
Anyway, all this was during the day Wednesday and I think she went into surgery Wednesday night and all went well. I guess Thursday morning she was peppier than before, but I really can't remember much of this, actually. Laura decided to go visit Callie Thursday evening just as Connor was getting ready for bed. The visit seemed to go well, but just before she came home, around 9:30pm - 10:00pm, the surgeon had called her and said that things were starting to get really bad and that it would be best to put her down. It was a difficult few moments, but we decided to drive back while Kelly watched Connor for us. We arrived there around 11:30pm or something like that and Laura was brave enough to go in and observe it and say her last goodbyes. I stayed in the car because I don't think I could have done it. Watching her while they put her down was not something that I wanted to experience. Laura came back out after a short while and we just sat in the car for a little bit to think about what just happened. In the end, what we did was the best thing to do because it was just going to get worse.
In hindsight, I wish we knew what was wrong with her and how severe it was when we had her at the vet in OKC because, probably, we would have considered putting her down then before doing all the stabilization and surgery. We felt bad that Callie had to go through all that just to find out it wasn't enough. It also sucked that she had to spent the last few days at the clinic instead of at home or something. It just came so quickly, but, I guess there's nothing we could have done.
The next couple of days were hard for us because just doing everyday things, we would think about every now and then because she was part of routines and such. The difficult part the next morning was when Connor was asking for Callie when they were letting Kip back in the house and feeding them and stuff. He seems to have forgotten about it in the last couple of days, but at the same time, I think we're trying to avoid mentioning anything that involves Callie too. I haven't asked him to get Kip any treats because I think that he would ask about Callie. We picked up Callie's food bowl as well. We're thinking about donating the urinary food to the vet because it's basically a brand new bag.
All in all, this event was hard for all of us. I still tear up thinking about certain situations and memories, but it's getting better. Now we have to plan for a huge expense that we weren't foreseeing as well. Yikes.
Some weird guy also just came up to me right now at the library saying how he studied Chinese and wants to go to Japan, etc. VERY weirdly social guy. I thought he was special or something. Anyway, he then continues to say that he's Christian and if I wanted to hear the gospel. 1) I don't want to hear the gospel 2) I don't even know what "hearing the gospel" means 3) Don't take up my time being nice to start but then trying to tell me about religion. I just told Laura that we need to leave OK. I've been approached by religious people more times here than all other places I've been combined. If I wanted to seek religion, I would do it myself. I don't need guidance or whatever you're offering. Anyway, end of my rant there.
EDIT: I just wanted to add that this guy asked if I was Chinese. Not very smart for getting a bachelor's in Chinese and living in Beijing for 4 months, is it? Actually, I'm beginning to wonder if his entire spiel was made up to segue into converting people. Asian people, at that...
I thought Connor was going to not cry when I left him this morning, but he did start to a little as I left. 6th day now...I would have thought he would know by now. The long weekend probably didn't help, either.
Okay, I'm going to surf now. I have a Dr.'s appointment this coming Thursday to get my throat checked. It's been uncomfortable for a couple of months now, so. Hopefully it's
Thursday, August 21, 2014
This week is becoming quite a week! I'm pretty stressed this week, I can tell you that.
Let's start with Connor's 2nd day at school. He knew what was going to happen that day, but he only really started to realize after we got into the classroom and I started telling him that I would be back to pick him up. He started to cry, but he didn't. However, just before I left, he started to but, of course, I couldn't come back in. I heard him crying while I was walking out of the hallway. After I came back to pick him up, though, he was off and on throughout the day as he realized where he was and I wasn't there, but that he did good.
Today was another different story. Halfway through the drive to the school, he started to say things that was pretty obvious that he didn't want to go to school. He was saying things like "Connor will go to the store and do errands", "Connor AND Daddy go to the store", etc. This is because I told him I had to go to the store the first 2 days. Probably a bad idea to keep saying that, so I'll have to come up with another excuse. As we were waiting outside for the doors to open, he started showing signs of concern again. I mentioned that when I picked him up, I would bring him a special treat of a donut, after which he calmed down. I was also telling him that we could check to see if we could see the gym, because he was interested in that, but the door was closed. Right as we walked into the classroom, he started to cry. I calmed him as much as I could, but off and on he was crying. Finally, I decided to leave when the crying wasn't as bad, even though he was crying. It's so hard to leave during it, but I do think it's best to leave earlier than staying too long, as the teachers suggest. I haven't gotten a call or anything, so I figure he has calmed down.
What else. Oh, Callie. So, after a week or so of not eating pretty much anything, we decided to take her to the vet a 2nd time. The week of not eating anything started just before we left for our Colorado vacation and while she stayed at Laura's parent's house. Anyway, after giving her meds everyday and dealing with bright yellow throw up a lot of the times, we took her in for more examinations. X-rays showed nothing, which was good, but the blood work came in (just this morning) positive for tick disease. I don't really know what that means, but obviously does what we're seeing in Callie. No eating, feeling tired, etc. Anyway, after another $400 bill, she is on antibiotics and the vet said that she should start feeling better by the weekend. She's started to eat treats here and there, so we'll see how fast she gets better.
On top of that, Laura's Mom is just had surgery yesterday and will be staying the night tonight in our bed (they also stayed Tuesday, to my surprise), so we will be in the study. This week has just been very tiring for me and stressful. I just want a week of nothing happening, but of course, the school thing is going to be every week. Really hoping that gets better soon. Makes me feel bad because he's the only one that's crying when I leave. I told Laura that I take that as him missing the parents more than the other kids missing their parents, which obviously means they're used to it from babysitters or something or that they don't like their parents. :P
Let's start with Connor's 2nd day at school. He knew what was going to happen that day, but he only really started to realize after we got into the classroom and I started telling him that I would be back to pick him up. He started to cry, but he didn't. However, just before I left, he started to but, of course, I couldn't come back in. I heard him crying while I was walking out of the hallway. After I came back to pick him up, though, he was off and on throughout the day as he realized where he was and I wasn't there, but that he did good.
Today was another different story. Halfway through the drive to the school, he started to say things that was pretty obvious that he didn't want to go to school. He was saying things like "Connor will go to the store and do errands", "Connor AND Daddy go to the store", etc. This is because I told him I had to go to the store the first 2 days. Probably a bad idea to keep saying that, so I'll have to come up with another excuse. As we were waiting outside for the doors to open, he started showing signs of concern again. I mentioned that when I picked him up, I would bring him a special treat of a donut, after which he calmed down. I was also telling him that we could check to see if we could see the gym, because he was interested in that, but the door was closed. Right as we walked into the classroom, he started to cry. I calmed him as much as I could, but off and on he was crying. Finally, I decided to leave when the crying wasn't as bad, even though he was crying. It's so hard to leave during it, but I do think it's best to leave earlier than staying too long, as the teachers suggest. I haven't gotten a call or anything, so I figure he has calmed down.
What else. Oh, Callie. So, after a week or so of not eating pretty much anything, we decided to take her to the vet a 2nd time. The week of not eating anything started just before we left for our Colorado vacation and while she stayed at Laura's parent's house. Anyway, after giving her meds everyday and dealing with bright yellow throw up a lot of the times, we took her in for more examinations. X-rays showed nothing, which was good, but the blood work came in (just this morning) positive for tick disease. I don't really know what that means, but obviously does what we're seeing in Callie. No eating, feeling tired, etc. Anyway, after another $400 bill, she is on antibiotics and the vet said that she should start feeling better by the weekend. She's started to eat treats here and there, so we'll see how fast she gets better.
On top of that, Laura's Mom is just had surgery yesterday and will be staying the night tonight in our bed (they also stayed Tuesday, to my surprise), so we will be in the study. This week has just been very tiring for me and stressful. I just want a week of nothing happening, but of course, the school thing is going to be every week. Really hoping that gets better soon. Makes me feel bad because he's the only one that's crying when I leave. I told Laura that I take that as him missing the parents more than the other kids missing their parents, which obviously means they're used to it from babysitters or something or that they don't like their parents. :P
Saturday, August 16, 2014
It's crazy how much stuff can happen in a few week's span, while other times nothing can happen in a span of several months. Anyway, on with the show.
Colorado Trip:
Overall, the trip went well. The plane ride there was fine and Connor did very good. We did give him the tablet to watch videos and stuff, but it was also nice that since our last time travelling, they allow tablets to be on throughout the entire ride. Of course, travelling in itself is always still stressful for me. I had to carry the stroller onto the plane, etc., etc. I hate Southwest and their stupid boarding policies. They don't have family boarding in the beginning, but between A and B boarding...which doesn't make any sense. Anyway, we go there and we got all our baggage this time and then rented our car and headed over to Chris' house. They were doing fine, but it did seem to me that they were definitely learning the baby thing still. I only saw Chris change the baby's diaper twice, I think. He really didn't do much and looked like Alicia was doing a lot of the work. Of course, I don't know what goes on during the evenings/nights.
We had a good time with Ellen and Matt. We stayed at their house for the entirety of the trip. Their basement was cold, but we got used to it. Colorado was quite hot this time around, so it was a strange change. Connor did pretty good sleeping on normal beds, but we did have to use pool noodles to make sure he didn't fall over. We visited my Mom and sister/cousins for part of the time and Connor liked that as well. We were able to see Ellen's venue for her wedding too. We saw Laura's friends and Connor, I think, had fun with Veronica.
On our anniversary night, we went and ate at Panzano's again. It was quite expensive, but oh well. It was pretty good. We ordered some weird soup that wasn't worth $18 for both of us, but that was the only downside.
The flight back was a little more stressful. For some strange reason, our ears were popping a lot, much more than normal on our descent and Connor was not taking it well. We tried to get him to drink liquids but refused. Finally, we had to take him out so Laura could hold him. I don't think he drank once.
Then, to make things extra worse, after we get to the car, or, rather, just before we got to the car, I thought it was strange that the car wasn't unlocking from even a short distance away. When we actually got to the car, I dreaded that the car ran out of battery somehow. Once I confirmed the keyless couldn't open the door, I manually opened the door and tried to start the car...nothing. Not even a struggle. At that point, I knew the battery was dead. We figured Connor had pushed one of the overhead lights and that, over a few days, drained the battery. Laura was grateful enough to go get security and he was finally able to jump the car after a few tries because, I think, the battery was so dead that he had to do some weird wiring with the jumper. I really want to get a portable jumper now. That would save a lot of hassle. Even if we had cables, in this situation, it would have helped because the closest a car could get was probably 20 feet or more, so a standard cable wouldn't have even reached. Anyway, we got the car running and went home, tired. We didn't even unpack for a few days.
Overall, it was fun, but I think every time that the fun is leveled out by the stress and since I tend to remember the bad things, it just feels like a really long, stressful weekend or something and not a vacation. Maybe it will get better as the kids get older. I don't know.
Connor's First Day at School:
So, I didn't realize that as soon as we got back from the vacation, Laura had to go to a parent's meeting or something for his school starting in just two days. During those two days, we reiterated to him a lot that we would leave him at the school and that we would be back to pick him up. Still, we were pretty nervous. I was the one to drop him off that day and, up until about 30 minutes prior to dropping him off, I was pretty relaxed about it. For some reason I started to get really nervous before I dropped him off. Thankfully, there was a little train set they set up on the rug which caught Connor's eye immediately and he went to play with it. I couldn't even get him to put his backpack in his cubby. Anyway, I told him bye, gave him a hug and a kiss and I left without any issues. I think if the trains weren't there, it would have been a different story. I really hope the trains are out every time or at least until Connor gets used to the new routine. I ended up just trying to kill time until 11:30 and went back to pick him up.
The parents were let in a little early so we could see them sitting on the rug for storytime. Everyone but Connor, of course. I was like, oh man, what's going on, because he was sitting by himself at a table on the other side of the classroom. After the door opened to let all the parents in, he started crying. I went over to him and hugged him and he eventually stopped. They told me that he did great except for the last few minutes or something. I think it was starting to get to him or something. Anyway, I felt bad, but I think he had fun. He was able to say bye to both teachers and said that he would be back again, so we'll see.
On the way home, I did tear up a little bit after he kept saying that I came back to pick him up and that he missed me. I guess at that age, being left with a bunch of strangers and kids is a weird experience. It would be a weird experience for me even now. We were both proud of him that day. He even took a shorter nap and then went to soccer for make-up day and he did great.
Here's to more good days like that!
Now that I have about 2 hours of free time twice a week, I may set up a doctor's appointment to get my weird throat issue checked out. Hopefully, it's nothing serious.
Colorado Trip:
Overall, the trip went well. The plane ride there was fine and Connor did very good. We did give him the tablet to watch videos and stuff, but it was also nice that since our last time travelling, they allow tablets to be on throughout the entire ride. Of course, travelling in itself is always still stressful for me. I had to carry the stroller onto the plane, etc., etc. I hate Southwest and their stupid boarding policies. They don't have family boarding in the beginning, but between A and B boarding...which doesn't make any sense. Anyway, we go there and we got all our baggage this time and then rented our car and headed over to Chris' house. They were doing fine, but it did seem to me that they were definitely learning the baby thing still. I only saw Chris change the baby's diaper twice, I think. He really didn't do much and looked like Alicia was doing a lot of the work. Of course, I don't know what goes on during the evenings/nights.
We had a good time with Ellen and Matt. We stayed at their house for the entirety of the trip. Their basement was cold, but we got used to it. Colorado was quite hot this time around, so it was a strange change. Connor did pretty good sleeping on normal beds, but we did have to use pool noodles to make sure he didn't fall over. We visited my Mom and sister/cousins for part of the time and Connor liked that as well. We were able to see Ellen's venue for her wedding too. We saw Laura's friends and Connor, I think, had fun with Veronica.
On our anniversary night, we went and ate at Panzano's again. It was quite expensive, but oh well. It was pretty good. We ordered some weird soup that wasn't worth $18 for both of us, but that was the only downside.
The flight back was a little more stressful. For some strange reason, our ears were popping a lot, much more than normal on our descent and Connor was not taking it well. We tried to get him to drink liquids but refused. Finally, we had to take him out so Laura could hold him. I don't think he drank once.
Then, to make things extra worse, after we get to the car, or, rather, just before we got to the car, I thought it was strange that the car wasn't unlocking from even a short distance away. When we actually got to the car, I dreaded that the car ran out of battery somehow. Once I confirmed the keyless couldn't open the door, I manually opened the door and tried to start the car...nothing. Not even a struggle. At that point, I knew the battery was dead. We figured Connor had pushed one of the overhead lights and that, over a few days, drained the battery. Laura was grateful enough to go get security and he was finally able to jump the car after a few tries because, I think, the battery was so dead that he had to do some weird wiring with the jumper. I really want to get a portable jumper now. That would save a lot of hassle. Even if we had cables, in this situation, it would have helped because the closest a car could get was probably 20 feet or more, so a standard cable wouldn't have even reached. Anyway, we got the car running and went home, tired. We didn't even unpack for a few days.
Overall, it was fun, but I think every time that the fun is leveled out by the stress and since I tend to remember the bad things, it just feels like a really long, stressful weekend or something and not a vacation. Maybe it will get better as the kids get older. I don't know.
Connor's First Day at School:
So, I didn't realize that as soon as we got back from the vacation, Laura had to go to a parent's meeting or something for his school starting in just two days. During those two days, we reiterated to him a lot that we would leave him at the school and that we would be back to pick him up. Still, we were pretty nervous. I was the one to drop him off that day and, up until about 30 minutes prior to dropping him off, I was pretty relaxed about it. For some reason I started to get really nervous before I dropped him off. Thankfully, there was a little train set they set up on the rug which caught Connor's eye immediately and he went to play with it. I couldn't even get him to put his backpack in his cubby. Anyway, I told him bye, gave him a hug and a kiss and I left without any issues. I think if the trains weren't there, it would have been a different story. I really hope the trains are out every time or at least until Connor gets used to the new routine. I ended up just trying to kill time until 11:30 and went back to pick him up.
The parents were let in a little early so we could see them sitting on the rug for storytime. Everyone but Connor, of course. I was like, oh man, what's going on, because he was sitting by himself at a table on the other side of the classroom. After the door opened to let all the parents in, he started crying. I went over to him and hugged him and he eventually stopped. They told me that he did great except for the last few minutes or something. I think it was starting to get to him or something. Anyway, I felt bad, but I think he had fun. He was able to say bye to both teachers and said that he would be back again, so we'll see.
On the way home, I did tear up a little bit after he kept saying that I came back to pick him up and that he missed me. I guess at that age, being left with a bunch of strangers and kids is a weird experience. It would be a weird experience for me even now. We were both proud of him that day. He even took a shorter nap and then went to soccer for make-up day and he did great.
Here's to more good days like that!
Now that I have about 2 hours of free time twice a week, I may set up a doctor's appointment to get my weird throat issue checked out. Hopefully, it's nothing serious.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Just under 2 weeks before our Colorado trip. It's coming up fast and we haven't done any preparation. I guess we don't need any prep at the moment. We're taking the same stuff as usual, but this time no pack and play, so that will be good. I don't even want to start thinking about lugging the car seat around, but whatever.
Yesterday, Chris did a video chat with us and we tried to get Connor to say hi to him, but he freaked out and started crying. We'll see how that will pan out when we go to their house to visit. They still haven't had the baby. it's about a week overdue, but they have an appointment on Tuesday for induction.
Connor is still giving me trouble getting into the car seat. That is what always makes the day bad for me. It's hot in the garage, it's starting to get hotter, and I just don't have the patience to sit there while he fiddles around before sitting in the car seat. Most of the time, he tries to get into the front seat area and I do not want him doing that.
That's about it really for updates. We really haven't narrowed down a name yet. 2-3 possibilities, but it will be hard to pick one. We haven't really considered middle names yet either. 2 more months!
At the library right now while Laura takes Connor to go shopping with Kelly. I'm watching him in the afternoon. It would have been better if it were flipped around because I was hoping to play some WoW or something, but there's maintenance going on right now, oh well.
I did start to brainstorm my next book. Just a few bullet points of what I was thinking for the story. I think it will be good once I figure out the details as right now I just have the VERY big picture.
Going to head to Kirkland's or perhaps Half-Price Books after this to browse around a bit.
Yesterday, Chris did a video chat with us and we tried to get Connor to say hi to him, but he freaked out and started crying. We'll see how that will pan out when we go to their house to visit. They still haven't had the baby. it's about a week overdue, but they have an appointment on Tuesday for induction.
Connor is still giving me trouble getting into the car seat. That is what always makes the day bad for me. It's hot in the garage, it's starting to get hotter, and I just don't have the patience to sit there while he fiddles around before sitting in the car seat. Most of the time, he tries to get into the front seat area and I do not want him doing that.
That's about it really for updates. We really haven't narrowed down a name yet. 2-3 possibilities, but it will be hard to pick one. We haven't really considered middle names yet either. 2 more months!
At the library right now while Laura takes Connor to go shopping with Kelly. I'm watching him in the afternoon. It would have been better if it were flipped around because I was hoping to play some WoW or something, but there's maintenance going on right now, oh well.
I did start to brainstorm my next book. Just a few bullet points of what I was thinking for the story. I think it will be good once I figure out the details as right now I just have the VERY big picture.
Going to head to Kirkland's or perhaps Half-Price Books after this to browse around a bit.
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Well, it's already the 5th, shoot.
The 4th was pretty uneventful, at least, during the actual time fireworks go off. In the morning we headed to a small town by Tulsa where they were having some sort of festival thing. Connor had fun briefly bouncing around one of those bouncy playground thingies. Then he ate a few watermelons that he loved and then got his face painted, along with some tattoos. We left after lunch since it was getting close to his nap time. He's been pretty tired this entire trip, which is no surprise, really. He never sleeps well here. I'm really not much of a fireworks person, but Laura and her Mom drove out to see some fireworks while her Dad was on the roof watching it.
The weather's been sort of hot, but not blistering the last few days. It's actually been quite cool in the mornings. I just booked our car rental reservations for our Colorado trip. It was about $225, which isn't too bad, I guess, for 4 days. I hope we don't have any issues getting the car and all that. Traveling stresses me out.
Lastly, last night before bed, I had to write an e-mail regarding working on the church website. I'm just getting really tired of the one way fricken conversations. They don't keep in touch regularly and they ONLY e-mail me when something's wrong or something needs to be done. None of my e-mails get responded to. I've told Laura already, but I'm just done with this nonsense. They can find someone else to take advantage of for all I care. I don't get jack out of doing this. I don't even feel good when I help out. In the beginning, I felt good that I was helping out, but now I just don't give a crap. And one thing I cannot stand is being used. After our baby gets baptized, that's going to be it for me. I just won't have the time or patience to deal with these people.
I think there's a party this afternoon with some guests. I've just been tired lately. We've been talking about maybe seeing the new X-Men movie tonight, but we'll see about that since the only time we can really go to is a 7p showing. That'll mean Laura's parents will need to put Connor down and stuff. I'm sure everything would be okay, but that's just another stress factor to deal with.
The 4th was pretty uneventful, at least, during the actual time fireworks go off. In the morning we headed to a small town by Tulsa where they were having some sort of festival thing. Connor had fun briefly bouncing around one of those bouncy playground thingies. Then he ate a few watermelons that he loved and then got his face painted, along with some tattoos. We left after lunch since it was getting close to his nap time. He's been pretty tired this entire trip, which is no surprise, really. He never sleeps well here. I'm really not much of a fireworks person, but Laura and her Mom drove out to see some fireworks while her Dad was on the roof watching it.
The weather's been sort of hot, but not blistering the last few days. It's actually been quite cool in the mornings. I just booked our car rental reservations for our Colorado trip. It was about $225, which isn't too bad, I guess, for 4 days. I hope we don't have any issues getting the car and all that. Traveling stresses me out.
Lastly, last night before bed, I had to write an e-mail regarding working on the church website. I'm just getting really tired of the one way fricken conversations. They don't keep in touch regularly and they ONLY e-mail me when something's wrong or something needs to be done. None of my e-mails get responded to. I've told Laura already, but I'm just done with this nonsense. They can find someone else to take advantage of for all I care. I don't get jack out of doing this. I don't even feel good when I help out. In the beginning, I felt good that I was helping out, but now I just don't give a crap. And one thing I cannot stand is being used. After our baby gets baptized, that's going to be it for me. I just won't have the time or patience to deal with these people.
I think there's a party this afternoon with some guests. I've just been tired lately. We've been talking about maybe seeing the new X-Men movie tonight, but we'll see about that since the only time we can really go to is a 7p showing. That'll mean Laura's parents will need to put Connor down and stuff. I'm sure everything would be okay, but that's just another stress factor to deal with.
Tuesday, July 01, 2014
Okay, so Laura mentioned that I hadn't blogged since April. I thought it was May but apparently it was April. That's quite a long time and I'm determined to write a whole month SOMETIME this year...I think since it is the 1st of July today, I will start today and blog every day for this month...or, at least try to.
There is a lot of updating to do on this blog. Where to begin.
Connor's first soccer session of a month and a half finished up a couple of weeks ago and Laura decided to enroll him in another month and a half session. Today will be the 3rd of his lessons, but this time around, we were surprised to find out that he was the only one signed up for the 5pm time slot. So, he's getting some good 1 on 1 attention and we gotta say, he does SO much better. There is another boy that's in a class one higher than him, but he's the only one signed up for that time slot as well, so sometimes they combine the class together. Connor still does well, though, but being alone is still the best. On the first lesson, I was surprised how well he listened.
[Short break, I realized that I wanted to mow the lawn before it rained and while it was cool]
Okay, back from mowing. Anyway, since he's been the only one or one of two kids in his class, he's been a delight to take to soccer. The past month, I didn't really want to take him because he was just so disobedient. Hopefully, he doesn't go that route again as the lessons continue. He seemed to start to lose interest near the end of the lessons, probably because he was getting tired of the same old stuff every week. I would too.
Come to think of it, the rest of life has really been the same old, same old. Well, I guess there is one other big news. We found out that our baby is going to be a GIRL! That's pretty exciting news for both of us. We've still only told close friends and family. I'm close to posting it on Facebook, though. Anyway, yeah, we've already got a few sets of girls pajamas, clothes, and the like. Currently, we are trying to hammer down a few names to choose from. It's pretty hard, though.
So, sadly, that's about the extent of the news despite not updating for a couple of months.
I'll be back tomorrow for the day's update!
There is a lot of updating to do on this blog. Where to begin.
Connor's first soccer session of a month and a half finished up a couple of weeks ago and Laura decided to enroll him in another month and a half session. Today will be the 3rd of his lessons, but this time around, we were surprised to find out that he was the only one signed up for the 5pm time slot. So, he's getting some good 1 on 1 attention and we gotta say, he does SO much better. There is another boy that's in a class one higher than him, but he's the only one signed up for that time slot as well, so sometimes they combine the class together. Connor still does well, though, but being alone is still the best. On the first lesson, I was surprised how well he listened.
[Short break, I realized that I wanted to mow the lawn before it rained and while it was cool]
Okay, back from mowing. Anyway, since he's been the only one or one of two kids in his class, he's been a delight to take to soccer. The past month, I didn't really want to take him because he was just so disobedient. Hopefully, he doesn't go that route again as the lessons continue. He seemed to start to lose interest near the end of the lessons, probably because he was getting tired of the same old stuff every week. I would too.
Come to think of it, the rest of life has really been the same old, same old. Well, I guess there is one other big news. We found out that our baby is going to be a GIRL! That's pretty exciting news for both of us. We've still only told close friends and family. I'm close to posting it on Facebook, though. Anyway, yeah, we've already got a few sets of girls pajamas, clothes, and the like. Currently, we are trying to hammer down a few names to choose from. It's pretty hard, though.
So, sadly, that's about the extent of the news despite not updating for a couple of months.
I'll be back tomorrow for the day's update!
Friday, April 18, 2014
Yikes, it has already been a month since my last post? Seriously, time is flying by this year. My Mom's stay was mostly good - near the end, I had reached the end of my tolerance level, so to speak, so I was in a pretty grumpy mood. 8 days is too much, fyi. My Mom asked me why I was in a bad mood and if I was mad at her afterwards, but I just said that it was mostly because Connor was being difficult and I was tired. Oh well. It's over now.
Connor is still talking, talking, talking! One day, I swear he talked continuously for like an hour. I finally told him to play quietly for a few minutes, but of course he did not. I've been so tired lately. I don't know why. It's not like I go to sleep REALLY late...maybe I do. I tend to get into bed around 9:30 or so, but end up watching TV or on the tablet until like 11. It does feel like when I supposedly had mono last...two years ago? Just really tired even after a good night's sleep. I hope it passes or something. I do need to go see the doctor, though. Just for a yearly check-up and to see if my blood work is still okay and stuff.
We've been taking Connor to soccer practice the last couple of weeks and he's surprisingly having a lot of fun. The first day he warmed up after about 20 minutes and the 2nd time he was fine, but cranky because he was tired. Next time, I'm going to try and make sure that he's well rested because he runs around a lot during soccer. He plays with hula hoops, kicks some goals, plays green light, red light, and other stuff. Our class has around 4-5 kids, so it's nice that it's so small. Otherwise, it might get a little hectic. The coach is nice too and Connor seems to like him now. He talks about soccer a lot during the day.
Anyway, we're here in Tulsa this weekend for Easter and stuff. Sunday was have to go to Mass and tomorrow is Wesley's b-day party. Ellen flew in today and Laura picked her up. She finally got engaged to Matt a couple of days ago. The wedding planning craziness has already started. It sort of reminds me of our engagement, but not really in terms of planning because I really had nothing to do with it.
Here's to trying to get back on track...I know, I keep saying that every time and it keeps getting worse...
Connor is still talking, talking, talking! One day, I swear he talked continuously for like an hour. I finally told him to play quietly for a few minutes, but of course he did not. I've been so tired lately. I don't know why. It's not like I go to sleep REALLY late...maybe I do. I tend to get into bed around 9:30 or so, but end up watching TV or on the tablet until like 11. It does feel like when I supposedly had mono last...two years ago? Just really tired even after a good night's sleep. I hope it passes or something. I do need to go see the doctor, though. Just for a yearly check-up and to see if my blood work is still okay and stuff.
We've been taking Connor to soccer practice the last couple of weeks and he's surprisingly having a lot of fun. The first day he warmed up after about 20 minutes and the 2nd time he was fine, but cranky because he was tired. Next time, I'm going to try and make sure that he's well rested because he runs around a lot during soccer. He plays with hula hoops, kicks some goals, plays green light, red light, and other stuff. Our class has around 4-5 kids, so it's nice that it's so small. Otherwise, it might get a little hectic. The coach is nice too and Connor seems to like him now. He talks about soccer a lot during the day.
Anyway, we're here in Tulsa this weekend for Easter and stuff. Sunday was have to go to Mass and tomorrow is Wesley's b-day party. Ellen flew in today and Laura picked her up. She finally got engaged to Matt a couple of days ago. The wedding planning craziness has already started. It sort of reminds me of our engagement, but not really in terms of planning because I really had nothing to do with it.
Here's to trying to get back on track...I know, I keep saying that every time and it keeps getting worse...
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Ugh, just shy of 2 weeks. I'm not sure why I can't even get myself to write weekly anymore. On a quick side note, that last post was my 600th blog. That's pretty good - or pretty bad if you think the vast majority of that was written in the first few years I've had this.
I've been playing a little too much WoW lately since I subscribed a little over a month ago. I can tell. It was after a 9-month break, everything was new, Chris was playing, etc. I know that's not an excuse for moderately playing the game, but I am going to try and cut myself down after this week. Really, the only reason I got it was to play with Chris a couple of times a day. We decided on Thursday, so I'm going to try my best to keep night-playing down to Thursday and perhaps just one other night. I can play other times during Connor's naps during the day so I don't cut time out with Laura. I really am going to do it. Even I can see that this is getting ridiculous! I'm tired each day because I somehow get to bed at 10:30 or later. The thing is, even if it wasn't WoW, that seems to be the case. The other culprit is late night TV. I dunno. I just can't sleep at night or feel like I should use the free time without Connor for playing games or TV-watching. I need to re-evaluate, I think.
As I write this, it's already 11:30 and I'm going to be kicking myself tomorrow when tiredness hits. It usually does around 8-9 in the morning and then again at like 2-3 in the after noon, which are RIGHT when Connor is the most active.
My Mom came in fine yesterday, though the plane was delayed due to strong winds. Today was a tough day. Connor's sleep was bad, he was needy, cranky, tired, and everything in between. That and dealing with company just gets to me. Hopefully, this coming weekend, which is Connor's birthday party weekend, along with Kelly's, will ease the stress a little. We are playing golf Saturday morning, which may or may not be good. It's going to be cold, though I hope not a lot but if I play bad, I get frustrated at myself. I hate playing bad. I know that I shouldn't play well considering the last time I played was with Chris in the Fall I think. I tend to do well under these situations, but we'll see.
Well, I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed now.
I've been playing a little too much WoW lately since I subscribed a little over a month ago. I can tell. It was after a 9-month break, everything was new, Chris was playing, etc. I know that's not an excuse for moderately playing the game, but I am going to try and cut myself down after this week. Really, the only reason I got it was to play with Chris a couple of times a day. We decided on Thursday, so I'm going to try my best to keep night-playing down to Thursday and perhaps just one other night. I can play other times during Connor's naps during the day so I don't cut time out with Laura. I really am going to do it. Even I can see that this is getting ridiculous! I'm tired each day because I somehow get to bed at 10:30 or later. The thing is, even if it wasn't WoW, that seems to be the case. The other culprit is late night TV. I dunno. I just can't sleep at night or feel like I should use the free time without Connor for playing games or TV-watching. I need to re-evaluate, I think.
As I write this, it's already 11:30 and I'm going to be kicking myself tomorrow when tiredness hits. It usually does around 8-9 in the morning and then again at like 2-3 in the after noon, which are RIGHT when Connor is the most active.
My Mom came in fine yesterday, though the plane was delayed due to strong winds. Today was a tough day. Connor's sleep was bad, he was needy, cranky, tired, and everything in between. That and dealing with company just gets to me. Hopefully, this coming weekend, which is Connor's birthday party weekend, along with Kelly's, will ease the stress a little. We are playing golf Saturday morning, which may or may not be good. It's going to be cold, though I hope not a lot but if I play bad, I get frustrated at myself. I hate playing bad. I know that I shouldn't play well considering the last time I played was with Chris in the Fall I think. I tend to do well under these situations, but we'll see.
Well, I'm going to brush my teeth and go to bed now.
Thursday, March 06, 2014
Well, my weekly blog thing is done with...almost a month since my last. Oh well. Connor's sleeping at the moment, I think. I heard him just before I got in the shower. He's going to get up soon. He's pretty on the dot at waking up at two hours.
I'm not sure too much happened in the last month. February went quick. In a couple of weeks, my Mom is coming to visit again, this time for Connor's Thomas-themed birthday. I can't believe he's turning 2! We're having it in Tulsa, combining it with Kelly's birthday, which is actually the day we're having Connor's, which is like a week and a half later. We got a bunch of Thomas trains and a track set, so he will be very happy about that. He's been Thomas-everything the last few weeks. Dunno why. Maybe he's bored. The weather's been pretty crappy the last few weeks and cold, so we haven't been able to go anywhere outside, really. It looks like the next week should be a lot warmer, but it might rain. Might be time to use his boots more.
March already. This year is going faster than last year, I think!
We're throwing ideas around for a Summer trip...maybe St. Louis, maybe Dallas, maybe Santa Fe. We're still not sure, but it sounds like St. Louis might be good, since we can stay at Laura's grandparents' house to save some money and TJ probably would drive out to meet us there. It's about a 7 hour car ride, according to Google for us and about 4 hours for TJ, so he definitely would I think if he's not busy or anything. I'm not sure how Connor will like being in the car for 7 hours, but I don't think that's anything a couple of movies can't fix.
We borrowed a whole bunch of Thomas DVDs at the library today, so I need to rip those tonight. Maybe it'll come in handy for the future.
Anyway, not much else to say this time. I gotta get a package that came yesterday...probably all wet from staying out there overnight. Hope not since it's Connor's birthday party supplies.
I'm not sure too much happened in the last month. February went quick. In a couple of weeks, my Mom is coming to visit again, this time for Connor's Thomas-themed birthday. I can't believe he's turning 2! We're having it in Tulsa, combining it with Kelly's birthday, which is actually the day we're having Connor's, which is like a week and a half later. We got a bunch of Thomas trains and a track set, so he will be very happy about that. He's been Thomas-everything the last few weeks. Dunno why. Maybe he's bored. The weather's been pretty crappy the last few weeks and cold, so we haven't been able to go anywhere outside, really. It looks like the next week should be a lot warmer, but it might rain. Might be time to use his boots more.
March already. This year is going faster than last year, I think!
We're throwing ideas around for a Summer trip...maybe St. Louis, maybe Dallas, maybe Santa Fe. We're still not sure, but it sounds like St. Louis might be good, since we can stay at Laura's grandparents' house to save some money and TJ probably would drive out to meet us there. It's about a 7 hour car ride, according to Google for us and about 4 hours for TJ, so he definitely would I think if he's not busy or anything. I'm not sure how Connor will like being in the car for 7 hours, but I don't think that's anything a couple of movies can't fix.
We borrowed a whole bunch of Thomas DVDs at the library today, so I need to rip those tonight. Maybe it'll come in handy for the future.
Anyway, not much else to say this time. I gotta get a package that came yesterday...probably all wet from staying out there overnight. Hope not since it's Connor's birthday party supplies.