Good morning

Everyone was out of bed before me. I feel very tired still. I need to go to bed earlier. Except for tonight. It's new year's eve! We'll see if Korbin can make it to midnight.

Boffa

I checked out our African destination on google maps this morning. It seems like such a small town. The whole country of guinea seems to be made up of small towns and enormous strip mining operations. I'm looking forward to the trip on the ground. I've already traced our probable route from google's satellite imagery. I will be taking pictures nonstop.

Name change

I'd been wondering when I should start encouraging Korbin to call me Dad. I realized that if he calls me by my first name I respond as if he is a friend instead of a son. I am less likely to make the necessary sacrifices for Korbin if I don't regard him as my son. So yesterday at church he comes running up calling out Daddy! And so begins the transition. I will remind him that I am daddy now instead of John. I think it's good for both of us.

Presents

I remember the best part of Christmas seemed to be showing off your new stuff amongst your friends the next day, or the next week. I still like that abundant feeling of having a grip of new stuff. All that newness distracts me for awhile. Like a mood enhancer. I can understand why some people are shopaholics just like some are alcoholics.

Christmas

We had a nice rowdy time at the family get together. The gift exchange was a hoot. I stole the twelve pack of Sam Adams from uncle John. Erika stole the nice wooden tea set from my wife. I hit her with a beer bottle. Just kidding. It was fun. Much more comfortable for me than last year when I didn't know anyone.

Party underwear

I am wearing my Christmas sweater. It came in the mail with several other items from American Eagle. There was one pair of pants that I like a lot, one that I hated a lot, a pea coat that is too large for me, and this sweater that fits ok. And a sweater for my wife that is too short for her torso. What a bust. I hope their return policy is not too hardcore.

Heat wave

It was 27 degrees when I left home this morning. Sure beats the super low temps over the weekend. Today is funeral day. I'm only working for 3 hours, then going home for the rest of the day. Much time with the in laws ahead.

Bath time

I left the dog outside for about an hour on accident. It started to snow while she was out there. When I finally let her in, all frozen and covered with snow, her soggy ear grazed one our mouse traps. The sudden snap scared her half to death. She went skittering across the laminate floor as fast as she could, dragging the trap with her into the kennel. I laughed. And I felt bad for her. The mouse trap had only caught a few hairs on her ear and didn't hurt her, but she sure had a good scare.

Cool

Aside from the negative temperatures this morning, I also discovered that my boss is pretty cool. I am a pall bearer for my wife's great grandmother tomorrow, and my boss is letting me be absent as long as I need. Without pay, of course, but i'm still pretty grateful.

Christmas #1

Down at the Vermeulen house for the first Christmas get-together of the season. It's such a homecoming when I walk in the door. Many good memories here. Many new ones to come

Friday slump

Making small headway on my project at work. Many people are gone today since we had two inches of sleet last night. What crappy stuff to try and shovel effectively. So i'm listening to the NPR all songs considered podcast and eating beer bread while I slowly code little buggy functions in my database.

Death of capital...ism

It's not fun being broke, or facing the prospect of being broke. Our family has a strangely suicidal relationship with our bank accounts. If we live to work, we die to spend our wages. It's not a sustainable lifestyle. Makes the whole house go haywire. We go and go and go without stopping to plan beyond the current week. Dumb!

Little guys

A while ago I went with Korbin to the coffee and comic shop. He bought a spider Man comic with his own money. Today he wants to go back and buy a quartet of small figurines that he saw a month ago. He ran around until he found his wallet and put his extra dollar in it. After his nap, we'll go get the toys.

Dead mouse

It's about time one of the snap traps worked. My wife called to tell me, she was as excited as I am now. The mice have had it pretty easy for the past month. Now it's time to go! There's still at least one or two others waiting to make a misstep. I'll be vigilant until they are all destroyed. Compassion for all forms of life... Still working on that one.

Snur

It's another cold day. Colder than it should be, I think. A bit of snow is falling. Small flakes wizzing down and across, coating the streets and sidewalks, but leaving the dead grass poking up through the thickening cover. I like to watch the snow fall. To see it slowly amass on the ground, despite it's fragile nature.

Pop

Work starts whether i'm there or not. I feel somewhat complacent about my duties of late. The same thing over and over. It wears thin of course. I don't feel like i'm moving forward at the moment. I guess this is a lesson in patience.

Set build

This afternoon finds us once again at church, building the set for our play. I am nervous that my wife, the director, will find fault with the layout and want to change it all when she arrives for practice in three hours. Ah well. I accept my obligations to criticism from time to time.

Play practice

After a long sabbatical, I think it's time to resume. We're practicing our church play this morning. Everyone is having trouble getting warmed up. I hope I don't get a crippling case of nerves on the day of the show. In my mind, I see the act as it should be. If it translates at all in real life, I'll be satisfied that we haven't wasted the past 6 weeks.

Bills

Everything costs a lot. I just spent about 400 dollars paying off our cell phone bill. That was only one month behind! Mother of pearl I need a life coach

Where is the sun?

Sleep?

Loud baby. He cried a lot last night. I'm dreading the first cold or flu. He'll be unhappy for a few days and I'll feel responsible.

aleman

My wife bought me some German beer yesterday. I like beer. German beer in particular disagrees with my bowels next day. If you've ever seen Moron Movies, you'll know that i'm not alone in my situation.

Solving all problems

I just had a great idea to save the company millions of dollars. It's probably the best idea ever. It would bring back the golden days when everyone thought their job was the best in the world. Mainly because they got paid a lot.

Moby

Tried the moby wrap this morning while I made breakfast and it worked really well. The baby was snug and I had both hands free to work with.

Move on

Sunday Sunday Sunday! Picking up stuff in my father in law's truck. And moving it the crappy shed behind our garage

Haircut day

Probably get my beard trimmed too. It's starting to Fray.

Surplus

Work upheaval today. 19 people have to leave by the end of the year. Hoping some of the old timers will choose to retire so no one gets let go. I got a lot of friends on the low end of the seniority list.

Appointments

Both boys went to the doctor today. Both are fine. Baby has gained about 9 oz in the past 4 days and big brother has no throat maladies although they gave us meds anyway. He did get a flu shot however and didn't much enjoy it.

Late night

Advice to parents: put your children to bed at their usual bedtime. The later it gets, the less pleasant they become. The same applies to myself.

It has rained a lot

The streets were soupy this morning. I am perpetually late to work. Just by a minute or two, but never early and seldom on time. I'm getting my mojo warmed up for a new project that will give me a chance to learn a new way of doing things. If I wasn't dreadfully tired, I might be excited about it. I'm also overloaded with caffeine. Trying to right myself without the proper supplies. Which means I need more sleep.

Moss on stone

I dreamt about my old house two nights in a row. It's usually not my actual house, but the same alternate house in the dreams. Last night my stove had been stolen. Ah well. I told my realtor to drop the price. Hoping for a bite. Anyone.

Back to it

Work resumed today. I spent the morning catching up on email. I've forgotten my voice mail password so I'll save those messages for later. My boss watered my plants, so I got that going for me. Looks like we're back to normal. I hope the wife is ok while I'm away. Depends on our sons' moods I guess.

Baby come back

We got the go ahead to bring our son home from the hospital this morning! He's sitting on the floor in his car seat because we don't know what to do with him yet.

Swim swam swum

The Illinois relatives are in town and we used the pool at their hotel this afternoon for a nice swim. Many family members were there and we had a nice time playing in the pool and the hot tub. Now it's nap time so we can all meet up again for dinner, well rested and happy.

Final day

This is my last day away from work. Tomorrow is the weekend and then I go back to the grind. It's been a nice break, but I'm not getting paid, so it has to end. Bummer.

perambulator

Opened the box containing the stroller and car seat today. It's fun to think about using them soon. Maybe tomorrow!

As a dog

The dog peed on the couch again yesterday. I took her to get groomed this afternoon so she would look nice when we returned her to her rightful owner. When it was time to go, she just lay in her kennel and didn't want to come with us. Her nose is warm and she's been whining a lot lately. I almost called the vet instead of taking her to the groomer. She should probably go tomorrow.

Motivated

The number of projects I have to complete has not been reduced one bit during my sabbatical. How does anyone raise a single child without letting the house fall apart? How about raising more than one child and working a full time job? I guess you learn to live with less sleep than you'd like.

Rain cloud

Spent the morning with elder son. He ran off to grandma's house without telling anyone. When he got back he had to go to his room. After that we went out for breakfast. It was fun. Then we watched some TV and I painted his toe nails for him. They're all red!

Underway

The new baby is steadily growing and becoming more self reliant. Elder brother is slowly learning to cope with the divided attention. Mom had some prescribed one on one time with him yesterday and it seemed to be the remedy he needed. Still figuring it all out, but he doesn't bear any grudges yet, so I guess we're making it work out.

Saturday

Debating whether to take some responsibility for the old house and go mow the lawn or just hang out at the hospital all day. I really feel like ignoring the old house from now on. Including mortgage payments. Probably not a great idea to shatter my credit score just as our newborn arrives. The economy is already well tanked and I would only be doing myself a short term favor by saving 700 bucks a month. It's a toss up.

Nappy

I need a rest more than our boy. When preschool gets out he really does'nt want to lay down. Haven't figured out how to break the news gently. He's so obviously tired and still getting over his cold, that rest is the best thing for him. But he is a fighter every step of the way. It will be good later, but I wish he'd just do what he's told right now.

Adjustment

The elder son is having a rough week. His schedule is off, plus I'm not going to work like I should. Also he's fighting a cold for the past several days and not sleeping well. Yesterday was a misbehavior showcase. We all got pretty frustrated with each other. He needs more mommy time. Still working out a balance between the kids. Probably for the next 18 years.

Suspense

After only two days at home, it feels like a waiting routine. My wife pumps and tries to rest in between. I go from one room to another, wondering if i'm being helpful or waiting for something to do.

...and there's a beard!

We stopped by church this evening and received many congratulations for being new parents. It was a good family feeling. They served chili and fruit cups. Plus chocolate cake, which I'd been craving for a few days.

Visits

We came home from the hospital last night. We were both tired, but I got the best sleep. My wife has to pump breast milk every 3 or 4 hours, so her sleep is pretty sporadic. Our 4 year old came with us at noon to visit the new baby. He had to wear a mask while we were in NICU because he has a cold.

Holding baby

Today was the second time we've been allowed to hold our son. We took turns sitting with him on our chests, skin to skin. It was nice. He's still so small i'm afraid to move him much or disturb his sleep. But he did wake up for us and looked us over real well to get acquainted. We leave the hospital tonight after his first bath, in 20 minutes.

Pit stop

Riding on two shots of espresso, i'm home to collect the items that would have been in our over night bag if we'd been prepared to give birth. Baby is doing pretty good. Just working on breathing and having strong lungs free of fluid. I'm off work for the time being. Nice to have a break but I sure wish we were taking our new son home with us.

It's a boy!

Last night we came to the hospital because my wife had started bleeding. Contractions were already under way and after a couple attempts to stop them, the doctors decided it would be better to just have the baby early. It's about 6 weeks early, and he required some respiratory help, but over all he is doing well. He weighs 5 pounds 3 ounces. His name is Asher.

Work day

Today we build the wicked shed. Hope it goes speedily.