Tag: Family

A cornucopia of things

Seattle
We are in Seattle (Lake City) at least until mid-July. We fled Texas to escape the heat. Jen found us a housesitting job.

Weather in Seattle is wonderful! It’s cold in the morning (60s) and warms up into the 70s during the day. There are no mosquitoes. The doors and windows of the house are open all day (and night). I can be out in the sun for hours and not get burnt. I burn in less than 40 minutes of Texas sun.

Honda Odyssey
We drove our new minivan up to Seattle. It is a 2004 Honda Odyssey. We got it last month with 26,000 miles. It is like new. It is so anti-Jetta. The Jetta is small, the Odyssey is not. The Jetta is frugal (35mph), the Odyssey is not (24). The Jetta begs to race down the backside of mountains at 120mph, the Odyssey says, “grow up, speed racer.” The Jetta is cute, the Odyssey is…is…practical. 534

The Jetta: Let’s DRIVE!
Odyssey: Let’s ride.

The Jetta: Go, Go, Go! Faster, faster, I can do it!
Odyssey: Hey, look at the pretty mountains and the cool morning air that I have conditioned to exactly 72° for your riding comfort. Would you like a massage with your soft cushy seats?

After driving 400 miles:
The Jetta: Stop? Why? I can go for 200 more miles on this tank!
Odyssey: I’m thirsty. Don’t you have to pee or something?

After looking at the pile of stuff to take for 6 weeks:
The Jetta: Where?
Odyssey: Is that it?

Things that would not have fit in the Jetta: 20″ iMac, crate full of rock climbing and camping gear, portable office (phones, routers, power adapters, etc), a really big bag of Kayla toys. It really was quite dramatic. We filled up the Odyssey with everything we wanted to bring and was still below the bottom of the windows.

Contrast that with our two weeks in Michigan over new years. The Jetta was packed to the gills with the roof rack on top and not an inch to spare anywhere.

Junior 2.0
We had Junior’s big ultrasound yesterday. Junior appears to be very healthy. In fact, Junior is quite vigorous, refusing to hold still for the ultrasound technician. She claimed never to have seen such an active fetus. There were a couple images she simply could not get because Junior refused to hold still. After 15 minutes trying to get a particular shot, in frustration she held the probe still and said, “Look at this, I’m holding this still and he is just going and going!”

Junior’s mommy was not the least bit surprised. Kayla was an active baby and we had nicknamed her “Dances in Womb.” Junior is hyperactive and seldom pauses. Junior is more like “Spastic Bounces Off Walls.” His activity level is almost constant. Many things about this pregnancy are different than the last, but of course, every pregnancy is different. The nausea that abated in the second trimester last time has not. Other little things are different. We had our suspicions.

As the technician probed, daddy and Kayla watched. I asked, “Did I just see what I thought I saw?” The technician slid a knowing grin and continued. She paused, and froze the screen. There it was again, and this time she caught it before Junior swam away. Junior is sporting the goods.

Workin’ for the man
The day after we arrived in Seattle, I got the phones set up and then they rang. A certain mega-sized monopolistic computer software corporation (MSMCSC) based in Redmond, Washington wanted my assistance. Oddly, they had no idea I was only a few miles away. So, I am finishing up a one week consulting project with, guess who?

Mother’s Day

Today we celebrate the most wonderful of humans. Mothers often make great sacrifices in personal comfort and many other personal ambitions for the sake of doing their very best to provide for another human. There are few mothers I have met that would not give everything they had and often more for the precious little charges in their custody.

I am thankful for my lovely wife and the love and affection she has for our children. After all the hours spent reading books and articles on caring for babies, the many hours spent hugging the porcelain throne, midnight and early morning awakenings to feed her, and all them diapers; after all that, she still loves the little thing. It is amazing, and it just makes her that much more lovable.

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To all you mothers, I salute you. To Jennifer: I salute and adore you. You were wonderful when I met you, and you are even more so now.

Not April Foolin’

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I can certainly understand why some of you were reluctant to believe a post I’d make on April 1st. That fact was part of the reason to make the announcment on April 1. “Is he serious?” would certainly be a valid question. In February the “all day” nausea settled in and there was strong suspicion. It didn’t take long to confirm.

Junior 2.0 is for real.

Kayla’s little sibling is on his way. The 10 week ultrasound was on March 24 so Junior is due in late October. The gag order has been lifted so I can shout it from the rooftops. We do not know the sex. As with last time, I’d prefer not to know, but I got my surprise. It is Jen’s turn and she hasn’t decided yet if we will find out.

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It also seems a post with a Kayla photo is past due. She has passed the 10 month mark and is now inch-worming across the floor, which she uses out of necessity. She is just starting to crawl but doesn’t care for it at all. Instead, she scoots over to something, nearly anything, and uses it to pick herself up. Once standing, she’ll follow any wall to anywhere in the house.

She is well past the, “she’s right where I left her” stage. She eats just about anything, particularly so if she watches daddy eating it.

The shirt off my back.

Yesterday, a cold front settled across Texas. Unlike more tolerable climates, a cold front here means that it dropped into the 70s. There is now hope for the masses who come innocently looking for a Kayla photo and are subjected to the spectacle of my shyly clad body.

What you can’t see from so far away is just how hot it has been here. Until yesterday, it was in the 90’s, and frequently above 100, every single day. The weather people say this was the hottest September on record. I’ll take their word for it. We’ve survived by setting the thermostat down to 81°F, and wearing very little.

This has practical consequences, like fewer publishable photos. Another is that our electricity bill for the last month was “only” $280. While that is a 700% increase over our summer electric bill in Michigan, it would have been more if we cooled down to a pleasant 78°. This is (tongue in cheek) offset by doing less laundry. I talked to a couple home efficiency experts here and have been told that is normal and it will decrease significantly when winter finally arrives.

A few of you asked about Kayla’s exercise plan. She was a bit jealous that I would go to a gym to work out instead of spending every possible minute with her. We struck a compromise that lets me go to the gym on school mornings (Tu,Th) while she is still sleeping. Every other day we stretch together.

Pregnancy Update

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a “how Junior affects Jen and Matt” update.

It’s been a while since we’ve posted a “how Junior affects Jen and Matt” update. In contrast to the first trimester (which was bordering on abject misery for Jen), the second trimester is pretty smooth sailing. Based on all the books and web sites we had studied, we expected this and planned our trips to Costa Rica and the Virgin Islands accordingly.

What we have learned in this second trimester is that Jen conceals the evidence quite well. While traveling, I had to point out that Jen was pregnant or people wouldn’t have known. Most challenged the pronouncement, looking first at the belly, and then to mommy’s face to verify. At 24 weeks, Jen is finally beginning to show, but the bulge is really only evident when she’s au naturale. Naturally, that limits the audience.

I’d expect that more than a few ladies read that nugget in envy. I’m also certain that nearly every proud papa out there knows my disappointment. After all, I’ve been waiting for that belly to “pop” out and make it’s self-evident proclamation. How else can I walk around with that silly “Yup, I did that” grin on my face? My day is coming, it’s just a matter of time.

I’ve noticed a few role reversals happening lately. For starters, I’m no longer the appetite that drives the eating habits of our home. Before the pregnancy, Jen was the driving force behind meal planning. She based a significant portion of her creativity on trying to select foods I’d like. In the first trimester, that shifted radically with her eating the few things she could keep down (or that tasted fine coming back up) and I fended for myself.

Now that we’re in the second trimester and Jen can eat again, I find our eating habits have reverted to their original patterns, except we’ve reversed roles. I’ve been shedding a few pounds so my intake is considerably moderated from my mountain climbing days. Jen has taken over my role as primary eater and for the first time, I find myself defending my food.

I have been advised to expect many more role reversals during this transition from happy dual income couple with no kids to the brave new land of parenthood. The best book I’ve read on this subject is Babyhood by Paul Reiser. Instead of boring (or frightening) you with all the details, he presents his own transition in the same comedic fashion that has made Mad About You such a popular television show. It’s a very enjoyable read.

Anniversary Day!

I have a most wonderful husband! Look at these beautiful flowers I received today expressing his love. I do love my laughing bouncing nutty lovable huggable Tigger!

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Thank you for being you.