Biding time

Until the weekend(s) and/or until “part time”

Last week, since we had no ECFE class, we went to a “play date” with other ECFE class members. It was during Quinn's nap time, but she managed to stay alert through most of it. Or at least until the pizza arrived, allowing us to eat in the peace and quiet of the other playful children.

Since on the subject of Quinn sleeping, and since I uploaded some new photos, here is one of her sleeping:

And the other new photos are of her playing the piano, and her sitting in a toy duck.

So even though we managed some fun during the week, the real fun always happens on the weekend. We were originally going to bring Quinn out to the Cedar Cultural Center to see the Klezmatics. However, we all know what they say about the best laid plans. So instead, we went to see Sister Faith doing her dance thing. Quinn may have enjoyed that more than the Klezmatics since she so easily gets hypnotized by dancing.

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And of course, since we're already uploading videos, here is another of Quinn's pastimes:

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So that was last weekend, this weekend Quinn and your author (David) will be parting ways for a while so that I can do my time at the Stupor Bowl X. That is, of course, assuming I ever hear back from the volunteer coordinator.

Then, in a few weeks, I will supposedly be going part time. As Homer once said: “woo hoo, 4 day weekend!” Or in my case, many 4 day weekends. That means days like today, where I get off work, go to the dentist, and then bring Quinn to the Red Balloon for a “story time” will be a lot easier to stay awake for.

You know Jack?

Surprise Surprise; more baby pictures. This time however, they aren't of Quinn. Instead, they are of Quinn's new cousin, Jack. That's right. Not only are we mom and dad, we are now aunt and uncle. Brother John and sister Kelly had young one of their own on Thursday. Read more here, and see more here.

John and I (David) did a little comparing of notes of the whole delivery process. I had neglected to inform him of a couple of crucial things to remember during the process. But in hindsight, and for the benefit of future expectant fathers, here are those details: One, remember to pack a beer. Hospitals don't have vending machines for this sort of thing, and if you forget one, it can be a long time before you get the chance to have one. Second, remember to eat. Even short labors like Heather's can be a long, energy-draining period of time. If you find that you have a few seconds in that time in which to stuff a handful of mixed nuts into your face, your body will thank you for it. While you're at it, wash it down with a beer.

Although brother John doesn't have the good fortune of a 12 week paid paternity leave like I did, he does work from home. So he will be enjoying all of the same delights I had in those first few months of Jack's babyness. Having been back at work for many months now (Quinn just turned 9 months yesterday), Heather and I have been feeling the effects of our limited-day-care lifestyle for way too long. Despite a couple of setbacks in the job search for something that is more enjoyable and pays better, it looks like my ancient request to reduce hours at work is finally going to be established soon. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be enjoying my time at home like I did with my days off mentioned in the last post. Quinn and I had a blast that week, despite our illnesses. It was a great break from our usual days where I try to bide our time in between naps.

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Bike news: Yeah it has been a while since anything bike related has appeared on this blog. And even though I haven't been biking, I have a couple things to report. First is that we purchased a modern bike seat for one of my bikes. Unlike the vintage British child's seat or the car-seat-fastened-to-the-bike-trailer, this one has Heather's seal of approval. So once the weather also meets her approval, we'll be off and riding. Second, Stupor Bowl 10, also known as SBX, is just around the corner. I've been hounding Tim to get me on board as a volunteer (at a cushy location), but details haven't been finalized yet. The next month is shaping up to be a fun one, and some actual biking will be taking place.

Illnesses

An annoying little bug has invaded the Skelton household this week causing runny noses all around. More of an annoyance than anything, this cold has made its rounds starting with Quinn earlier in the week and hitting us just in time for the weekend. Why is it that many a weekend has been ruined by an illness? Why can't these little bugs invade our bodies during the week so we have an excuse to get out of work?

On top of Quinn's runny nose, she has been teething for the last couple of weeks too. Poor child! It's just one blow after another. What's next? A first ear infection?

Despite the illnesses, a few good things have happened this week. Faith passed her driver's test! Congratulations! Also, a former high school classmate and I also reconnected. She and I have found out that we have been living parallel lives. The amount of things that we have in common is uncanny!

Next week David is off for a few days. He's planning to take advantage of this by finding some new activities to enjoy with Quinn. Perhaps a puppet show at the Central Library, storytime at the Red Balloon, or perhaps a trip to MOA to see Underwater World.

Technology, baby toy, and mullet spotting

We heard from high authorities that if we, as parents, were to ever come across the LittleTikes garden toy thing, we should buy it. They don't make the product anymore, and for infants who are learning to stand and/or walk, it is the equivalent to a tickle-me-elmo. We have witnessed this first hand in our ECFE class. In fact, the value of this device was proven to such an extent to one of our classmates that she paid well over $50 for one on eBay and then drove to Chicago to pick it up.

So when we accidentally came across one for $25 while window shopping a used goods store, we bought it. Although Quinn genuinely seems appreciative, her towering height over the normal learning-to-stand aged children make the toy a bit of a hazard seeing as the walls designed to support are at waist height and could cause her to topple overboard. Still, we can always consider the purchase an investment. Perhaps we can sell it to someone from Montana for $80.

I (David) have been enjoying the new cell phone since I got is some time ago. The above photo was taken with it. Unfortunately it doesn't always produce that high of a quality photo. As was the case when I tried to capture the image of this Mullet in Cub Foods:

The video quality is okay, but the view is often small. But for those interested in the content, it can still come in handy for blogging purposes.

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An apology to our readers

Apparently somewhere around last March, we had made it so that comments had to be moderated. It wasn't until this weekend that we discovered that there was some work to be done on our part to ensure that comments actually appeared. For a while we simply suspected that we were not loved. We have overwhelmingly been proven wrong. So all of those backlogged comments have finally been posted. We would go back and respond, but they go so far back that the efforts would likely be futile. Nevertheless, we would like to thank everyone for all the congratulations on the birth of our baby daughter. Her name is Quinn, for those who asked. And to Tim, and all his comments on the various race car drivers he had been a fan of last year, yeah, we know they all sucked.

We'll be looking into making the comments here more user friendly.