Spring Sprung.

So I'm sitting here with the laptop on my lap (Duh) while my eldest makes a puppet theatre. Suddenly, I have something to write about! After how many months?

Anyways...

Spring is here. My birthday has come and past. (I'm not 40, yet. That's all I'll say about that!) The weather looks like it might stay in the "pleasant" range for good. (Well, at least until the Summer grossness kick in.) Time to start the serious business of spring cleaning. I've been working on the basement in bits and pieces for a few months now. (Long story-short: I started, I got sick, the kids got sick, the Mrs got sick, shift work.) Today was a "serious" work day, though. While the oldest was at school, the youngest went off to daycare so I was home alone (read: not distracted and uninterrupted.) So I got the patio furniture out to the backyard, moved some bookshelves over, swept up and then painted another good chunk of floor. Then, I ran out of paint. I knew this was likely to happen and I should have gone out this morning to buy more. The plan was to buy more today, but by the time I ran out, it was too late to go get more before I had to pick up from school. (The theatre is starting to look pretty good, by the way. I'll try to get a pic up for you when it's all done and the glue is dry.) So painting had to stop for today. I'll take the littlest monkey out tomorrow morning and try to get some more done while she's napping. Speaking of, we should pack up and go get her soon. Then it'll be time to cook dinner for the brood....
Back to spring stuff though...
Also on the major to-do list is the garage. I'm hoping to build a loft in there to get some (lots) of stuff off the floor and out of the basement. Also, it would be nice to have a proper place to store other "seasonal" stuff. (Packing the lawnmower, kids bike, lawn chairs and more into the outside playhouse for Winter really shouldn't cut it, you know?) We'll have to see how that goes. My very nice neighbour has offered to help me out. (He built his own, so he's not clueless!)
I'll let you know how all that goes.

J

"What do you use?"

Recently, a friend asked about a specific baby item on Facebook. She wanted people's feedback about strollers. What brand/style etc. When I posted my response, I realized that this might be info that you might like too. So here's my personal take on strollers. (We're on child #2 in this house, so we've got some experience.)

For the most part, I've always liked the Graco Travel Systems. I like that it's a one stop solution for carrying/moving an infant around. You put the base in the car and leave it there. The actual carrier can be lifted out of the car, put into the stroller, or just carried into the mall. (Or wherever you're going) All that without having to strap the baby in, then un-strap the baby, then strap, then...Well you get the idea. Put your little darling in the carrier once, and you're good for an entire outing. Now the drawback to the Graco is the size of the actual stroller. I'll admit it. It's a beast. If you drive a sub-compact car, it'll be a trick-and-a-half to get it in. Having said that, the stroller lasts a L-O-N-G time. Once baby grows out of the carrier (21lbs or so, I believe) you can still use the stroller normally. The seatback has an adjustable angle for sitting up or lying down, or somewhere in-between. The carry basket underneath gives you plenty of storage. (We get the diaper bag and the older kid's stuff all in there!) The handles are sturdy, if you'd like to hang a bag off them. Ours came with a tray that had 2 drink holders, a lidded tray and a small hard-case "pouch" for stuff. (Like my wallet at the zoo) The bigger wheels made it great in tougher terrain. I'm not talking about off-roading with the baby. (Although we've done that. Hiking with the "beast" is OK.) We get snow here. Sometimes lots. And we live in a new sub-division. Lots of un-finished sidewalks, paths. Means lots of mud. The Graco handles pretty well.

Sometimes, though, you don't need the big stroller. For example, when I go to get our oldest from school, I just plop the baby in a Peg Perego that's lasted us since the oldest was born. I'm not hauling a lot of stuff back and forth to school with us. Just the baby. (Well, sometimes I have to haul the oldest. ;) ) For those occasions, the "little" stroller works fine. If we lived downtown, I might recommend it for city sidewalks with less room. But it's really, for us anyways, the "back-up" stroller. When we go for a day-trip, we don't generally pack it in the mini-van. It doesn't hold enough for everyone. Between a diaper bag, a purse, coats (maybe), changes of clothes, snacks/lunch and whatever we might buy (Stuffed zoo toy, anyone?) we just need more space.

Ultimately, the choice should be yours, of course. Don't let anyone tell you what's best for your needs. Only you know how much effort it takes to move you all around. And only you can decide how much you want to spend on accessories. I will say this, though; Spend what you can. The brands might cost more, but they do last. As I said, ours are on their second go-around. But the final choice is up to you. Get what you think works best for your needs. I won't judge. (Wait, I take that back. I can't ever recommend those $10 umbrella strollers. Ever.)


Jeremy

Good grief! Jan 26th? That was the last time I posted anything?
Oh well, it's not like there's a whole lot of people reading me anyways. So far, I can only confirm that ONE person had read any of these.
I guess that means that there's no discussion about that link I posted in the PS last time.

The countdown is still on. 8 shifts left and then I'm off. Anyone have plans for Valentine's? We have no idea what we're doing because our "sitter" is sitting on the fence about taking the kids.

I should be doing something a little more productive here, but I seem to be lacking in focus right now. I'm hoping that a few minutes spent jotting down thoughts and ideas here, will translate into "work" a bit later. Of course, with my luck the baby will wake up from her nap and squash any chance of getting more work done. (Sigh. It's one of those days.)

Well, I see by the clock on the wall that it's time to vamoose. I've got to get some lunch ready for me and the baby. And it's looking like the Mrs might be cutting it close in regards to picking up the older one from school. I'd best keep that in my head too.

Until next time....

J

A party yesterday

Slow again on the updates, I see. I've got to get better at that. In my defence though, I work shifts and am on nights right now.

Anyways...

Took the kids to my niece's birthday party yesterday. They had it at one of those playground/arcade places. When I mentioned it to a co-worker he said he had thought about an opportunity to invest in one.

Well...

Having been there, let me tell you. If you EVER think that you'd like to have one, make sure you never have to be IN it! Or make sure you've got a wholesale account with Advil or Tylenol!

My God. I do not exagerate when I tell you that there were 400 kids in this place. Plus parents. PLUS the actual arcade noises. I couldn't hear a grown-up talking to me at face level, never mind my 4yr old talking from 3 feet below me.

Good grief. I was not expecting that at all. We've got a similar place in my town, but it's on a much smaller scale and only has a handful of arcade games in it. When I've been to ours, it's usually during the week so it's extra quiet. Even the few times we've gone on a week-end hadn't prepared me for the level of noise yesterday.

Well, at least the older one had fun. And the baby got held by grandmas and other mothers. We earned enough tickets in the games to get a nice little prize before we left too.

I'll say this too...The security is awesome. When you enter, they give your family a stamp that shows up under ultra-violet light. Turns out they're number stamps, not daily ones like a theme park. When you leave, you have to show your stamps. If you're number doesn't match the number on the kids' hands, YOU CAN'T LEAVE WITH THOSE KIDS. Pretty good idea! This is the kind of place, with it's size and sheer number of people, where kids could get scooped pretty easy. The staff, though are right on top of it though. I thought that was a pretty awesome idea. You might lose your kids IN the place for a few minutes, but at least they wouldn't be able to leave without you.

Well, I thought I'd share that.

See you all next time.

A new year

Well, the new year is underway. I hope everyone is doing well. I've been on the topic of pregnancy and kids a few times so far in this blog. I'd like to add to that...

A nice little site for pregnant couples (or singles) to check out seems to be www.thelaborbag.com

They've got a neat product and they look like they're going to offer lots of info too.

That's my two cents. ($1.50 with inflation.)

Well, looks like maybe I picked an off time to start typing. There's the door and....yes! I'm now looking at my eldest daughter's new "TINK" backpack. Time to go "Oooh and Ahhh!" for her. Then tuck her into bed.

Good night.

PS- I did get the Blackberry.

Thoughts from a Dad

So...
I'm a dad. I have two daughters. Aged 6mths and almost 4yrs. See how I did that? (Hint: There's two (2) things I "did" there.)

First off, I put the youngest first. This is to avoid the problem missing the second girl. If I had put them in chronological order, you would have had to read; 4yrs and 6mths. See the problem? Those two ages sort of come out as one. 41/2 Then you're asking, "Where's the second girl?" Then you have to go back and re-read to see what you missed. That's not fair.

Another "solve" for that issue is my second "did that". I'm one of those parents who stopped using months to describe my eldest at the point she hit 1year. 28mths? What's up with that. She's 2 and a quarter. Or two years and four months...None of this overloading of months.

Enough of that though, I titled this blog "Un-randomness." While what I've put in this post was done on purpose, I don't want to beat it to death either. On to the rest of my points.

My girls are great. (Most days) The eldest has started school. The youngest has started solid foods. Sometimes, though, my wife and I wonder just what were we thinking? I mean, we had wrapped up with diapers. Sleepless nights had become a thing of the past. Then we deliberately put it all back on the table.

Round two.

Don't get me wrong. We wouldn't trade it for anything. I think, though, that other parents of multiple kids know what I'm talking about. There are moments when you just look at your partner and say "Remind me why we thought this was a good idea..."

Hours, or days, later, you get the answer. On of them gives you that special smile when you come in. Or the hand you a special picture they drew. Or you get a random hug. Then, you look down, smile and give up. Nothing in life tops those moments.

I just wish, like countless others before me, that someone had a manual. Or even a user guide. I don't need full schematic, but....

Oh well. It's not like a guide would include a warranty anyway....


J