My brother-in-law and his beautiful wife life in Japan, so you can imagine how crazy today has been for my husband's family. Thankfully they live on the southern most island, and while they felt the earthquake and saw the tsunami, they haven't been directly affected. They were both at work when it happened, which is apparently a good thing as their apartment building isn't as sturdy as some office blocks.
Anyway, they're safe and well, and they're going to call us tomorrow morning for an update.
Jeez, what a day for Japan.
Tina.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
9. I is for Idea
I have an idea: I should go to bed, instead of making up some drivel no-one wants to read.
Night night!
Tina.
Night night!
Tina.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
8. H is for Happy Times
I think I've touched upon Little O's recent developmental spurt but I haven't gone into too much detail. Well, it's all tremendously exciting and I think it's to do with him not wearing a cast for his scoliosis at the moment. Basically, I think he's been determined to try out some new tricks since Christmas but the cast he was wearing has prevented any new mobility. We took off the cast Friday 11th Feb, with the intention of letting his skin take a breather over the weekend and a new cast applied on Monday 14th Feb. Well that all went out the window when Little O got sick right after the cast was removed, and he started a round of hospitalisations and so on. The new cast was never put on.
It's so nice to see him catch up a bit. In the last three weeks he's learnt how to sit up by himself from being in a lying-down position on the floor, how to kneel, how to walk using a walker the physiotherapist lent us, and, most excitingly of all, how to pull himself to stand up using a large object such as a couch! Today he spent most of the day rolling around, sitting up, getting over to me, then using me or the couch to pull himself upright. I am absolutely thrilled to bits! Children figure out this upright thing before they're a year old, so my theory that Little O is developing at half the pace of other children is right on. I think he'll walk at about 27-30 months too. Right now it's about determination and figuring out what will motivate him best. He likes things he's not supposed to have, which usually means prying an XBOX controller out of his sticky little hands, so we bribe him with one to get him to walk, or crawl, or pull himself upright. Anything, really, to try and encourage him.
The cast will have to go back on in the next few weeks, which is very sad. But we are taking him to the Wisconsin Dells for his second birthday in May as they have the greatest water parks in the country and my son LOVES the water! He will have to be cast-free to go though, so at least we know we have that time to look forward to. I can't believe my baby will be two!
Tina.
It's so nice to see him catch up a bit. In the last three weeks he's learnt how to sit up by himself from being in a lying-down position on the floor, how to kneel, how to walk using a walker the physiotherapist lent us, and, most excitingly of all, how to pull himself to stand up using a large object such as a couch! Today he spent most of the day rolling around, sitting up, getting over to me, then using me or the couch to pull himself upright. I am absolutely thrilled to bits! Children figure out this upright thing before they're a year old, so my theory that Little O is developing at half the pace of other children is right on. I think he'll walk at about 27-30 months too. Right now it's about determination and figuring out what will motivate him best. He likes things he's not supposed to have, which usually means prying an XBOX controller out of his sticky little hands, so we bribe him with one to get him to walk, or crawl, or pull himself upright. Anything, really, to try and encourage him.
The cast will have to go back on in the next few weeks, which is very sad. But we are taking him to the Wisconsin Dells for his second birthday in May as they have the greatest water parks in the country and my son LOVES the water! He will have to be cast-free to go though, so at least we know we have that time to look forward to. I can't believe my baby will be two!
Tina.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
7. G is for Getting It Done
I apologise for not posting yesterday, but in all honesty I was out there getting shit done so that I would actually HAVE summat to blog about!
Little O and I spent yesterday and today getting up to and in to loads of stuff. First we went to a craniofacial appointment at CHOW on Monday morning, which is one of my least favourite clinics to visit because they have such appalling time-management. Once I was a there for nearly two hours, and saw the doc for about five or ten minutes of that. Yesterday was a little better though, and we were there for only about an hour or so, seeing the doc for about ten minutes. Doesn't mean I don't still hate them though.
After that went to see my friend up in Milwaukee for lunch, and she's lost loads of weight from having the stomach flu so she looked a bit gaunt. Still beautiful though. Then we went to buy Little O a new swimsuit and supplies for swimming in the afternoon. I LOVE buying clothes for my son, but shopping in Babies R Us is VERY dangerous. I seriously had to set myself a budget and only walk out of there with a new swimsuit and those fancy diapers that don't explode when your kid gets in the pool. I got so close, too! I walked out with diapers, swimsuit, and a new sheet for Little O's bed that cost $4.99. That's actually pretty amazing. His new shorts are rainbow-coloured and I bought a UV-protective t-shirt in orange to match. It says Beach Bum on it. It's awesome. :)
After that we went swimming! It was kinda rubbish, actually, because the pool was advertising that time as designated for special needs users only, but it was no different to any other time of day. It's a water park too, which meant there were loads of slides and cool shit for older children, but nothing that suitable for babies. Little O is trying to figure out to crawl, and when we were in the zero depth section he kept trying to put his face in the water and crawl into the deeper sections. I was terrified he'd inhale water and start drowning! I think if I go again I'll take my husband.
Today we've being doing chores, seeing therapists, and running errands. I even got something very special sent to Butterfly Charlie in the mail! (Shh... don't tell her...). My kitchen is finally tidy again, after a weekend of not doing any dishes AT ALL - I am disgusted at myself, but mature enough to blame my husband - and I am trying to get caught up on laundry. But, more importantly, I have been playing with my son. He is pulling himself to stand all the time now, and figuring out this crawling and walking malarky, and he's just so much FUN at the moment! It's been like having a 12-month-old in the house, when they learn all this new cool stuff suddenly, and I'm just enjoying it so much.
I'm also enjoying "An Idiot Abroad", which is currently airing over here. Sooo funny!
Happy 100th International Women's Day, everyone! May the next 100 years be even better than the last.
Tina.
Little O and I spent yesterday and today getting up to and in to loads of stuff. First we went to a craniofacial appointment at CHOW on Monday morning, which is one of my least favourite clinics to visit because they have such appalling time-management. Once I was a there for nearly two hours, and saw the doc for about five or ten minutes of that. Yesterday was a little better though, and we were there for only about an hour or so, seeing the doc for about ten minutes. Doesn't mean I don't still hate them though.
After that went to see my friend up in Milwaukee for lunch, and she's lost loads of weight from having the stomach flu so she looked a bit gaunt. Still beautiful though. Then we went to buy Little O a new swimsuit and supplies for swimming in the afternoon. I LOVE buying clothes for my son, but shopping in Babies R Us is VERY dangerous. I seriously had to set myself a budget and only walk out of there with a new swimsuit and those fancy diapers that don't explode when your kid gets in the pool. I got so close, too! I walked out with diapers, swimsuit, and a new sheet for Little O's bed that cost $4.99. That's actually pretty amazing. His new shorts are rainbow-coloured and I bought a UV-protective t-shirt in orange to match. It says Beach Bum on it. It's awesome. :)
After that we went swimming! It was kinda rubbish, actually, because the pool was advertising that time as designated for special needs users only, but it was no different to any other time of day. It's a water park too, which meant there were loads of slides and cool shit for older children, but nothing that suitable for babies. Little O is trying to figure out to crawl, and when we were in the zero depth section he kept trying to put his face in the water and crawl into the deeper sections. I was terrified he'd inhale water and start drowning! I think if I go again I'll take my husband.
Today we've being doing chores, seeing therapists, and running errands. I even got something very special sent to Butterfly Charlie in the mail! (Shh... don't tell her...). My kitchen is finally tidy again, after a weekend of not doing any dishes AT ALL - I am disgusted at myself, but mature enough to blame my husband - and I am trying to get caught up on laundry. But, more importantly, I have been playing with my son. He is pulling himself to stand all the time now, and figuring out this crawling and walking malarky, and he's just so much FUN at the moment! It's been like having a 12-month-old in the house, when they learn all this new cool stuff suddenly, and I'm just enjoying it so much.
I'm also enjoying "An Idiot Abroad", which is currently airing over here. Sooo funny!
Happy 100th International Women's Day, everyone! May the next 100 years be even better than the last.
Tina.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
6. F is for Frustration
My husband snores. It's an issue.
Have you ever slept next to a snorer on a regular basis? My God, it's awful. I am a person who needs a lot if sleep (between eight and ten hours a night usually does me right) and recently I've been getting around five or six. Between Little O being sick, having to get up early for work or therapists visiting the house, and my husband snoring his blasted head off ever night, it's driving me mental. I can't fix Little O and I can't stop the therapists coming over, but I CAN get my other half to do something about his nocturnal soundtrack.
The thing that drives me round the bend with snoring is that it's so inconsistent. At least with a ticking clock there's a definite pattern to it, and you can predict when the next sounds will come. With snoring, each person has their own cycle and variety of delightful nuances in tone and volume, and it's hard to fall asleep when you're laying there waiting for the next shuddering breath to make an appearance. It's so stupid to get so worked up about it, but night after night of trying to drop off for up to three hours is getting really annoying.
So, my husbands has been given an ultimatum. Either he does something about his snoring, or he sleeps in the guest room. It's perfectly fair, given that it's HIS problem, not mine, and it has already started to work. He has now been looking for snoring remedies online and in the shops, although he has yet to buy anything. Yes, I could use ear plugs, and yes, I have used them routinely for years and years since having to share houses with noisy housemates as a student, but it isn't treating the problem itself. Besides, why should I have to give myself ear infections and the like because HE'S snoring? It doesn't make any sense.
We had my brother-in-law stay with us last weekend, and we have guests staying next weekend too. The guest room is therefore unavailable, so my husband sleeps with me. It's no fun for either of us though, because I get so frustrated that I wake him up whenever he starts snoring just to let him know he's at it again. Then he gets mad and doesn't sleep, and I feel guilty but also satisfied I'm making a point, and then we're both not sleeping and get up cranky e next day.
We really need a better solution, but until we find one the guest room beckons...
Tina.
Have you ever slept next to a snorer on a regular basis? My God, it's awful. I am a person who needs a lot if sleep (between eight and ten hours a night usually does me right) and recently I've been getting around five or six. Between Little O being sick, having to get up early for work or therapists visiting the house, and my husband snoring his blasted head off ever night, it's driving me mental. I can't fix Little O and I can't stop the therapists coming over, but I CAN get my other half to do something about his nocturnal soundtrack.
The thing that drives me round the bend with snoring is that it's so inconsistent. At least with a ticking clock there's a definite pattern to it, and you can predict when the next sounds will come. With snoring, each person has their own cycle and variety of delightful nuances in tone and volume, and it's hard to fall asleep when you're laying there waiting for the next shuddering breath to make an appearance. It's so stupid to get so worked up about it, but night after night of trying to drop off for up to three hours is getting really annoying.
So, my husbands has been given an ultimatum. Either he does something about his snoring, or he sleeps in the guest room. It's perfectly fair, given that it's HIS problem, not mine, and it has already started to work. He has now been looking for snoring remedies online and in the shops, although he has yet to buy anything. Yes, I could use ear plugs, and yes, I have used them routinely for years and years since having to share houses with noisy housemates as a student, but it isn't treating the problem itself. Besides, why should I have to give myself ear infections and the like because HE'S snoring? It doesn't make any sense.
We had my brother-in-law stay with us last weekend, and we have guests staying next weekend too. The guest room is therefore unavailable, so my husband sleeps with me. It's no fun for either of us though, because I get so frustrated that I wake him up whenever he starts snoring just to let him know he's at it again. Then he gets mad and doesn't sleep, and I feel guilty but also satisfied I'm making a point, and then we're both not sleeping and get up cranky e next day.
We really need a better solution, but until we find one the guest room beckons...
Tina.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
5. E is for Electricity
Whoo hoo! The lights in the basement work!
Crap post, I know, but it's Saturday and I've been too busy with weekend stuff to write anything else of note.
Tina.
Crap post, I know, but it's Saturday and I've been too busy with weekend stuff to write anything else of note.
Tina.
Friday, March 4, 2011
4. D is for Drilling
We have the electricians in. Oh dear.
We only have ourselves to blame. We bought this house in 2009 knowing full well it needed A LOT of work doing to it, and knowing that we had neither the time nor the money to get it all done at once. So here we are, two years later, finally getting around to finishing off the "nice" side of the basement and changing it from a dumping ground for old baby junk and stuff we want to sell this summer in our first-ever Yard Sale (eek! I'm so American!), to a dumping ground for new baby junk and stuff my husband thinks is important. The idea is that all the video games, consoles, too-big-for-the-living-room TV and other assorted gear will now have a place to go, and the upstairs will be a nice place for entertaining guests. We're putting in a fourth bedroom too, although we can't technically call it a bedroom because the only window down there is too small and high up the wall for anyone to escape in an emergency, and another walk-in closet. Hopefully the closet will end up being large enough for future prospective buyers to imagine upgrading it to an en-suite bathroom, but we have neither the need nor the money to do that just yet.
The basement is split into two halves: the side to the left of the stairs houses our washing machine and dryer, all the electrical maintenance and plumbing stuff for the house, the sump pump (if you're British, don't ask), my husband's tools, and shelving for all the boxes of holiday decorations, baby clothes Little O grew out of, and some random carpet tiles my husband imagines he will get around to laying down one day. On the other side, to the right of the stairs, is where the action is happening. When we first moved in, it had rust-coloured carpet sitting on top of bare concrete (not stuck down, or over insulation... just sitting there), and the vilest dark-brown fake wood panelling covering every available inch of wall and ceiling. It was so dark and grim that for the last two years I've not even ventured into the gloom to investigate what's under the stairs. I swear Gollum lived there, muttering about some bloody ring and being generally creepy.
Anyway, in January my in-laws came to visit and drywalled the entire right side of the basement, covering up the wood panelling with clean, bright plasterboard, and ripping up the carpet ready for fresh flooring. It already looks so much nicer, and I'm excited to get down there and start finishing it up. We're having all the lighting re-done today so that the bedroom and closet actually HAVE lights, and getting recessed lights added overhead in the living space because the ceilings are so low. The people who owned the house before us obviously did a lot of this work themselves, because it's taken Sparky the entire morning just to get everything to a state where he can stop ripping out and start installing. There's noise, and dust, and drilling, but progress is good and I think it's going to look so much better when they're done.
Next step: the ceiling!
Oh, and if anyone does want to give us a few million dollars to help speed this process along, please feel free.
Tina.
We only have ourselves to blame. We bought this house in 2009 knowing full well it needed A LOT of work doing to it, and knowing that we had neither the time nor the money to get it all done at once. So here we are, two years later, finally getting around to finishing off the "nice" side of the basement and changing it from a dumping ground for old baby junk and stuff we want to sell this summer in our first-ever Yard Sale (eek! I'm so American!), to a dumping ground for new baby junk and stuff my husband thinks is important. The idea is that all the video games, consoles, too-big-for-the-living-room TV and other assorted gear will now have a place to go, and the upstairs will be a nice place for entertaining guests. We're putting in a fourth bedroom too, although we can't technically call it a bedroom because the only window down there is too small and high up the wall for anyone to escape in an emergency, and another walk-in closet. Hopefully the closet will end up being large enough for future prospective buyers to imagine upgrading it to an en-suite bathroom, but we have neither the need nor the money to do that just yet.
The basement is split into two halves: the side to the left of the stairs houses our washing machine and dryer, all the electrical maintenance and plumbing stuff for the house, the sump pump (if you're British, don't ask), my husband's tools, and shelving for all the boxes of holiday decorations, baby clothes Little O grew out of, and some random carpet tiles my husband imagines he will get around to laying down one day. On the other side, to the right of the stairs, is where the action is happening. When we first moved in, it had rust-coloured carpet sitting on top of bare concrete (not stuck down, or over insulation... just sitting there), and the vilest dark-brown fake wood panelling covering every available inch of wall and ceiling. It was so dark and grim that for the last two years I've not even ventured into the gloom to investigate what's under the stairs. I swear Gollum lived there, muttering about some bloody ring and being generally creepy.
Anyway, in January my in-laws came to visit and drywalled the entire right side of the basement, covering up the wood panelling with clean, bright plasterboard, and ripping up the carpet ready for fresh flooring. It already looks so much nicer, and I'm excited to get down there and start finishing it up. We're having all the lighting re-done today so that the bedroom and closet actually HAVE lights, and getting recessed lights added overhead in the living space because the ceilings are so low. The people who owned the house before us obviously did a lot of this work themselves, because it's taken Sparky the entire morning just to get everything to a state where he can stop ripping out and start installing. There's noise, and dust, and drilling, but progress is good and I think it's going to look so much better when they're done.
Next step: the ceiling!
Oh, and if anyone does want to give us a few million dollars to help speed this process along, please feel free.
Tina.
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