Oh yeah, the blog

With all of you on facebook, it can be hard to remember to update this forum. Used to do it almost daily, now I'm busy with Chronicles and Kim doesn't really update this, does she. Neither do Eliza and Morgan for that matter, oh well.

"Eh-ri-ja," as she calls herself is growing up fast, but still a touch on the little side. She talks a lot now, having words for most things. She likes to tell us her food is hot when it is not and still chases Cleo around the house shouting "Mowe!" Although Cleo now often stops, rolls over and gets some nice attention from the little hands chasing her. She and Morgan can now occupy each other's attentions and play quietly together, mostly in Morgan's room.

Morgan is still in preschool and seems to like it very much. She tells us about all her friends and activities and has come home with new vocabulary and songs to sing. She's big enough to handle some household chores like letting Cleo in and out the back slider and clearing her own place when excused from the table. She just now instructed me that if she's still hungry after her cereal "You can make me a waffle if you want me to be fed more."

Love her logic sometimes.

Her manners are almost top notch. Eliza too. She says "ank ooo" when you give her somethign she wanted and we're working on please.

In a scene right out of It's a Wonderful Life, Morgan said "excuse me" half a dozen times in the paint isle of the Lowe's yesterday before I asked what she wanted and she says, decently loudly, "I farted."

Of course the dinner table conversation was about being inappropriate. Sometimes you are not wrong, but inappropriate. Great table talk, indeed.

Kim's knitting continues to impress, after the Christmas hats, she's making a sweater for herself now. Of course this prompts many a trip to the yarn store for this needle or that thing. She loves it, so what ever she needs.


We finished our taxes last night and will be getting a refund. We're with holding all we can, but the rate is still too much and the Gov got another no interest loan from us.

The premiere of the reality show I'm in is February 12th at 5 PM pacific on emsmedia.tv or at chroniclesofems.com

Hopefully I can update this blog before then, but Morgan just finished her cereal and is carrying her princesses about and by the sound of the spoon on he bowl, Eliza has finished as well.

See you soon.

The Sickleys

Yeah, we're all feeling sick.

Morgan, Eliza and kim all had sniffles and sneezes before Christmas, then Morgan developed a nasty case of Croup. The kind of nasty case that makes her Paramedic father seek help at the local ER.
For months we were told Morgan has a touch of bronchitis, asthma or some other quick shot diagnosis, but when I finally got the ER Doc's attention and made her understand the albuterol treatment didn't work a bit, even though they gave her an adult dose, she prescribed a steroid and diagnosed a severe croup cough.

Often caused by a bacteria, this Doc thinks there could be other irritants causing it, but the steroid will figure that out for us. If it helps, no big deal, if not, we need to start finding the real cause.

Got the scripts filled after they gave her some Tylenol 3 and finally fell asleep after close to 5 hours of non stop coughing and an exhausted day.

Back at the pediatricians office 2 days later we learn the dosage for the steroid was misread by the pharmacy and the dose of steroid was 1/3 rd what she should have been getting. That explains the last 2 nights of her being up every 30 minutes unable to breath coughing uncontrollably. The first night I got up with her at 4 AM and dosed her into unconsciousness, the next morning Kim tried the same thing.
The new steroid, properly dosed, seems to have done the trick and the once too common cough is now almost unheard of.

Kim and I are dragging ourselves around today, might have done better just to stay in bed and know we got nothing accomplished than to have tried so hard and done nothing. I was able to get a few of the Christmas boxes packed up and away and we did finally sell the entertainment center yesterday, it now lives in wine country with another young family who appreciates mission and craftsman style furniture.

Life is picking up in speed for us this year. I've got the Chronicles Show, Eliza turns 2, Mexico in May...busy busy busy.

That's all I can think of right now, the girls just went to bed and my nose hurts so I'll leave it at that for now with my usual empty promise to update more often.

Overheard at Carriage House

"Daddy, when I get older I'm going to get married."

"Is that so? To who?"

"My prince Aiden of course!"

"And who is going to pay for this wedding?"

"It's OK Daddy, I'll wear my princess dress!"

Christmas in November

The holiday season snuck up on me this year, what with my England adventures and all. Last I had a minute to relax, it was Halloween, now our Christmas tree is already up and the boxes of decor are down and now empty.
Morgan has taken to dancing to the Christmas music and we officially welcomed the season with Christmas Vacation last night, then finishing this morning.

Eliza is a little unsure of the tree, but luckily has taken to her new BFF, Cleo. Cleo will seek refuge in Eliza's room, it being the warmest in the house, and Eliza will find her, no matter the obstacles.

"Mowe!" Cries Eliza from any part of the house. "Mowe!" and Cleo will go running. Eliza will give chase, all the while reaching out and crying to Cleo, "Mowe! mowe!"
But the funniest thing is that when Eliza successfully finds a stopped Cleo, the cat stretches into Eliza's clumsy scritches and begins to purr.

Kim is exhausted after my week away, at least I have jet lag to explain crawling into bed at just past 9.

Pictures will be up soon, just wanted to give a quick update since I'm on break from the other blog for a little bit.

Halloween 2009

The princesses were in rare form this evening, with Cinderella in the lead most of the evening, tiara or no. And no slippers, just boots.

Sleeping Beauty was often at the end of the greeting party, but did push past Cinderella to knock on a door midway through the evening, then shy away when someone opened it.
The graveyard infront of the house was little appreciated again this year, mainly on account of our street being mostly empty. Only us and the folks across the street even had lights on, let alone decorations and they go all out. Fog machine, lights, scary music. I just write silly things on foam.
This morning we went to a retirement community to trick or treat, and some of them had candy. Morgan needed most of that time to warm up to the idea of geriatrics with treats, Eliza took it in stride and if she was bothered, never showed it.
Morgan was also hands on with the pumpkin this year, reaching in before I had a chance to get spooning.

The house was quiet tonight, maybe 20 kids in total, the last groups clearly driven over, as indicated by the awaiting SUV in the street. we walked the girls up the block and didn't see a single house giving out candy, just one woman running out to hand both girls a full size snickers. It was delicious.
We loaded the girls in the car and went to another neighborhood to let them do the knocking on doors. Kind of a bummer/blessing the block is so quiet.

Don't forget the clocks and the smoke detector batteries!

Going home

I'm sitting in the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on my way home from Albuquerque and missing my girls. I got to see them twice over the web camera built into the new laptop, but nothing beats a jumping hug from Morgan...

...a wet, misplaced kiss from Eliza...

...and a warm, welcoming smile from Kim.

So I sit and wait for the plane to arrive to take me back to them, all the while knowing I'll be doing this again in 3 weeks on my way back from England.

It's easy to leave, but hard to stay away.

Come on plane!

Time passes...

It has been awhile since I've updated, I apologize.

Morgan and Eliza are growing like I could never have imagined. Morgan asks thoughtful questions that I have to actually think about before I answer. Things like, "Daddy, why do those people look so unhappy?" at the store, or "Where should this go Daddy, it doesn't belong here," when we're cleaning up the hose. She smiles and my heart explodes.

She does, however have trouble with silly games. in the car driving back from Oregon I was mixing up the girls' names and we were all having a laugh looking at Eliza and calling her Morgan, then at Kim and calling her Morgan when Morgan begins to tear up and convince me that I was getting the names wrong. Then she broke down crying. I have yet to learn her threshold for silliness.

The England project is on for November, which means we'll be blocking the family blog again. i'm not sure if the passwords from before will work again, but if they don't just follow the instructions and your request will be sent to me and I'll let you in. You can also follow along on Facebook if you aren't already.

It's all to protect the girls from any looky loos who want to know more about where I am and what I do.

Back from Oregon

The amount of relaxation that comes with a visit to Oregon is quickly erased by a screaming 14 month old on a 7 hour drive.

We snuck north for a few days to beautiful Grant's Pass, Oregon for a few days of relaxation and free babysitting.
First morning had Morgan and Eliza out in the park, swinging their little hearts out. We enjoyed some deliscious meals and entertaining nights of cards and cocktails while mom and dad awoke early to tend to the little noise makers.

The drive can indeed be peaceful, until Eliza gets frustrated and decides to scream.

In the end we got home and gave the girls a bath after finding the back yard sprinklers on and a slightly flooded back yard. Looks like a bad valve in the dark, I'll take a closer look tomorrow.

It's nice to be home.

Escape

Kim and I, thanks to Linda's visit, were able to escape for a day and a night a little bit ago. We pointed the Prius south and towards Half Moon Bay. We had a great time.

The little B&B we chose was a converted house dating from 1898, complete with photo of original owners hanging in the front room. The place was great wit hthe old floors, nice furniture, beautiful garden and hot AM breakfast.
This was our room, the "Rosemary," which was on the ground floor with those big windows opening out to the side and back yard gardens, water fountains trickling. We got in around 3 and had planned to walk the town, but the quite room had us asleep within minutes only to awaken to the wine and cheese being served. After that we went up the coast to a restaurant recommended for their patio, but not their food.
The patio there faces the ocean and has benches, chairs and blankets to keep warm watching the sun go down. That was nice. Then after the sun goes down, they lit up fire pits to sit near and keep warm. The drinks were so-so and expensive and we avoided the food since we had another place in mind.

Dinner was back towards the hotel, but still on the water and the food was great. Kim had the fish of the moment and I enjoyed the paella. We shared a bottle of wine and soon found ourselves the last ones in the dining room. When I heard a faint car alarm outside and went to investigate, the waiter commented, "Process of elimination, I'd say that's you." It was and I saw two employees nearby smoking.

So I went back inside and ordered dessert. Mr Waiter, It is your job to serve me and I even get to give you EXTRA money for bringing me food, so stop dropping hints, you go home when I'm ready. I don't go home early, so neither do you. Besides, I'm tipping you on a bottle of wine. Relax, it's worth the extr 15 minutes you get to sit at the bar waiting for us.

Ahem.

After dinner we went back to the B&B and had an almost peaceful night. Kim has been feeling a bit under the weather and this night was no different. I slept like a baby rock log.

The morning found us enjoying breakfast with the other couples lodged there, all the others grown with grown children who were from all over. London, Canada, Michigan...everywhere. Then we wandered the shops for a bit and decided to head home slowly, enjoying the ride.

Just when you think you can meander, fate jumps in. The phone rings and it's Grandma Anne calling, she's nearby and would love to meet up with us in the City. It figures, the one time it is a logistical nightmare to get the girls into the City, Grandma comes to visit. Plus, if we decide to detour to meet them we run the risk of getting caught up in afternoon traffic. Sod it! we made a run for Fisherman's Wharf and caught Anne and her friends just as they were getting ready to leave and return to their time share in Santa Cruz.

We darted home in time to play a bit with the girls before dinner time. They had fun with their Grand and we were glad to be back home.

Not the Laytonville Clarkes...

While working yesterday on the ambulance my partner and I began discussing the history of the City. The topic wandered to the Clarkes sitting on a bench at the 1915 Exposition, coming all the way in from Laytonville.

"Not the Clarkes of the Clarke Ranch out there were they?" He asked, suddenly stopping the ambulance.

"Yeah, my Grandmother met my Grandfather on that ranch, why?" I ask, curious if we're long lost cousins.

"My family has been hunting turkey there for years, it's the best little plot of land anywhere around. Really? That was in your family?" He is as floored as me.

"Yeah, we were just up there 2 years ago November, it's beautiful. Got to stay in the little house with a lot of family and hear old stories." I said, trying to avoid the real reason we were there.

"I'd love to hear more about them." He said and pulled over in a bus stop.

So I told what I knew, about the Mormon trip and skipping Utah for California, about the paintings in Grandma's house growing up and the sheep. He soaked up every word and told me he and his family always respected that that area is so beautiful and has a sense of family, with both houses still in working order.

It was then I told him about the pictures of my great great grandfather building the little house and he just shook his head.
"That is so cool." he said staring out the window.

"I think so too."
http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/memorial/clarke.htm

It appears I am not at work

I've (Justin here) been working a lot lately, banking trades and picking up overtime when I can. In the last few weeks that meant 2 24 hour overtimes and today I grabbed a 10 hour ambulance overtime. It was awkward at first after a crappy night at work, but my partner for the day was on my wavelength so it worked out nicely. And being home at night to sleep in my own bed has it's advantages. Mainly there are no voices waking me at all hours to tell me where the sick people are.

So, for now at least, it appears I am not at work.

The girls are all experiencing some level of sickness, Kim included, and the house is a symphony of coughs sniffles and sneezes. I had my own musical show last week, but seem to have out lasted it. Again I credit the voices waking me at all hours. I think the flu gave up and went to sleep.

The work blog has been picking up steam not only with the England trip in November but that it has been picked up to be included in a new project combining a number of successful blogs in the field and grouped together, kind of like a digital reader's digest of similar information. The concept is the first of it's kind and has some really neat features I'm excited about, I'll post a link sometime in early October when it gets off the ground.

Eliza is beginning to branch out speech wise with the introduction of what sounds like "baby." She has "ball" down like no one's business and points to the picture of a baby on her yogurt container and says "Bah...Bee." I'll take it, since the next words will likely be "Can I borrow the car tonight?"

Are you catching up on Madmen or were you hiding this from us the whole time? We love the series and are DVRing (that's a word, yes?) season three while Netflixing (I'm making them up as I go people) season two. Gotta love the early 60s. Or at least the interpretation of the early 60s. Either way, great show. If you're not watching, give it a shot.

The Prius got it's first check engine light awhile ago, 80,400 miles and one check engine light. And it had nothing to do with the electric motor. Figures it's the gas motor parts that are failing first. We have a vapor leak in the area between the fuel bladder and the fuel tank. Long story short our gas tank has a hole in it, but on the inside. The tank needs to be replaced and is covered under the 80,000 gas motor warranty, if we were in that window, but will cost a decent amount to get installed. The guy at the dealership is overnighting (again with the new words) one that should arrive first thing tomorrow morning and Kim can head over there and work while it gets fixed.

The labor is 3 times the cost of the part.

Hence all the overtimage (Sorry, last one).

Again with the teeth?

Yes, again with the teeth.

I am recently home from the Endodontist with a sore nose, not tooth. Figure that one out. I know the facial nerves are close to one another, but my runny nose feels like it weighs 30 pounds.

This had to be the most positive dental experience I have ever had. Getting the wisdom teeth pulled was OK, but hurt like Hades the following night. This extensive drilling and removal of part of my being (tooth pulp) went swimmingly. Amazingly enough I was able to watch along in the reflection of the scope he used. It was relieving to see what he was doing as he did it instead of staring at the ceiling. When I mentioned they needed TVs up there, he laughed and told me he takes donations.

When we had discussed the procedure he told me it was unlikely we would encounter the resorbtion section, but as he was drilling he could see it. So the decision was made to go in and repair it as best he could, extending the time window for braces.

So here I sit, scotch at the ready for pain control and only my runny nose is bothering me.

Luckily I came home to Eliza whispering "Da-Da", Morgan smiling and Kim cuddling. That's all the recovery supply I need.

Labor Day

Labor Day.

Brought to you by the AFL-CIO. The same folks that brought you the 8 hour work day and the weekend bring you a day off of work so you can BBQ while belittling union wages and working conditions. The same conditions that make your employer remain competitive.

Where have I heard an argument like that before.

Political whining aside, this was a VERY busy weekend for Carriage House as we went mobile to the 144th annual Highland Games and Clan Gathering in Pleasanton. A couple of readers of this blog are familiar with the Pleasanton fairgrounds of old, but when those grounds are covered in bagpipers, it looks quite different.

We've been going to this event for years, usually for just a couple of hours and always feel like we missed something. This year we planned ahead and hit both days all day. You might think that would be tough with these 2 girls in tow, but planning ahead made it all work out swimmingly.

Morgan enjoyed watching the Scottish Folk dancers with Mommy and liked seeing the real live princesses in the Living History section. For those of you not aware, the Living History section is an area of the grounds set aside for re-enactments from various centuries of the past. This leads to impromptu viking fights, knights in armor wandering aimlessly and the occasion procession for Mary, Queen of Scots. Her entire court, guards and all make a daily procession. While the Queen is out, her throne tent is occupied by the Baroness, who you can also visit and talk to, unless of course you are a terrified 3 year old.

The girls were given small favors from the Baroness, kind of an old school badge of allegiance. Morgan seemed more interested in the little girl in the snow white costume than the fully dressed midevil princess right in front of her. The next few years will see that change, I'm sure.

Kim and I got to visit all the booths and take in all the music and art we could handle. It truly is magical to see so many other people with similar interests in tradition and history.

Wicked Tinkers is a band we like that can only be described by the following video.


They were the finishing touch to two full days of adventure.

For years now, we've both been eying certain crafts at these fairs and decided this year we could combine our 8th wedding Anniversary and the games to gift one another those things we have been looking at.

That's how I got my kilt. For years I have wanted a dress kilt, in our newly established family tartan, but the occasions to wear a dress kilt fall under wedding, funeral and highland games.
Enter the Utilikilt. This is not your grandfather's kilt, mainly because I don't think your grandfather had one. It is cotton, so I can wash it, and the pleats are sewn in, so the shape will hold. Plus it has pockets. Higher end versions have all the pockets you can imagine, as well as a hammer sling. That's a bit much for me, so I chose the standard version.

It is far more comfortable than you might imagine.
And the salesman was brilliant. He measures your waist and pulls one down, unsnaps it and places it around your waist. Then, facing you closely tells you to "drop 'em," and down go your shorts. Standing there wearing the new kilt amongst others considering it, you feel silly at first, what with your pants around your ankles, but then the comfort sets in. You suddenly realize how hot those shorts were and how cool the kilt is.
When he asks what you think and you respond in the affirmative, he says, "Great, give me your shorts and I'll ring you up, you can just wear it out."

Got me. Kim was around the corner with the girls watching the 5 on 5 soccer tournament and I didn't want to pull the trigger all by my lonesome, so I sheepishly made an excuse and had him set it aside. 15 minutes later I was back to get it and wore it out. Kilts are nice. the snaps in the front mimic a sporran, or the little pouch worn with a traditional kilt. This keeps the front down as you move, or in a breeze, for reasons of modesty.

When asked by Kim when I would wear it, aside from the games, I thought of a number of places this flat black garment would go just fine. Perhaps even in Mexico next summer, so much easier to get changed into swim trunks.


Kim has been interested in wheat weaving creations similar to this one for years and after not seeing them on the first day, we made a point to find them on the second.
That was one of the great things about going both days. After day one we discussed what we missed and wanted to see the next day.

That and packing your own Guinness into the fairgrounds can save you a lot of money when they're charging $8 a beer. We grabbed an 8 pack of Guinness for just a little more than they wanted for 1 and just brought our own plastic cups. Stack them in the little cooler with the girls' snacks and bury that in the stroller and no one is the wiser. Saved us almost $50 in beer alone. Not that we'd spend that much, but it's savings all the same.

So now Monday Labor Day will be a house cleaning day, getting back on track, or at least as close as we can before the week catches up with us.

Enjoy your free day off while it lasts, and try a kilt!

Overheard at Carriage House

One fine saturday Kim and the girls ventured out to the local farmer's market. When they arrived, Kim noticed she only had $2 or $3 and could only get corn.

Later that week, gold.

Kim: "Oh, remind me I want to goto the farmer's market this saturday."
Morgan from the back seat: "Mommy, don't forget to bring some money!"

Brace yourselves

I'm back from the specialist with surprising news. Not only has he never seen a resorbtion like this, they're not sure how fast it is moving. There will certainly be a root canal, soon, and a technique to follow that could likely save my tooth. The problem with the resorbtion, and I'm expanding on his kindergarten answer of "little guys eating other little guys in your blood", is that the cells responsible for breaking down bone cells, called osteoclasts (not to be confused with osteoBlasts, which build cells), have been activated in that region of my tooth/bone (See Mom, I retained my education). The reason for them activating is most usually trauma, but with the absence of a provoking factor and the apparent speed with which my tooth is being deconstructed by my own cells, we seem to need to move swiftly.

Without going into too much gory detail, the original solution was going to be cuttin back my gums to expose the hole and filling it after the root canal. But, the periodontist told me, the gum may never fully heal, leaving a giant gash in my smile. That would suck.

This specialist wondered what an orthodontist might think about moving the tooth down to fix it, then putting it back. He not only moved with urgency but called the orthodontist next door, who I had seen previously to discuss braces, about the idea.

She thinks it will work, but there is no guarantee it will stop the resorbtion process, meaning in the end they may have to pull the tooth anyway. however, I was needing to get the braces anyways and she is willing to include this treatment in the original quote and plan we worked u pa few months back. So, I will be getting braces soon after returning from England, most likely, to not only fix a glitch with my teeth, but hopefully save the tooth and my smile. Plus, if they want to pull the tooth now, they advise against orthodontics until all the roots are where we want them to be.

Now it's just looking forward to the root canal. Yeah.

My Toof!

Groan. I got me a bad tooth. Not a bad tooth, actually, but an over-reactive protective lining between the tooth and the bone, a phenomenon called external resorbtion. This is a fancy term to explain that my body is reclaiming this tooth slowly.

At the dentist yesterday I mentioned, when asked if there was anything else going on, a slight discomfort if I pushed on a part of my gum above the tooth. The dentist then took a closer look at the xrays, tinkering with settings until he got a sudden glimpse of something that made him sit up straight and stop moving. Never a good sign. Physiologically it is a minor form of psychogenic shock, when the brain is overloaded to the point of hindering normal proprioception. In other words, something freaked him out and he needed a minute to collect his thoughts.

He explained what he thought was happening and decided to probe the tooth with a sharp hook. Found a hole just below the gum line, hence the pain. then to see if the nerve was intact he froze my good tooth, which hurt like hell, then froze the bad tooth, which also hurt like hell. "Good," he says, it means the nerve is in tact.

Then off to the periodontist (peri meaning around, dontist meaning pain) for more probing with a sharp hook and another explanation that what is occurring to my toothe is not seen very often, if at all.

After getting home and doing some research, the bad news is setting in.

Since there is no way to treat the hole that has appeared, or find out what is causing it, there is only one treatment: extraction. They want to take my front tooth.
This kind of thing is more often seen coming from the inside out, but rarely from the outside in.

So here I sit, just 45 minutes from my appointment with the root canal specialist, since my regular dentist said he wasn't comfortable doing it. That makes me feel awesome.

I've had great teeth and checkups until now so this is really a bummer.

More to follow.

Easy Rider

A few nights back we decided to take our evening walk down at the marina. Morgan wanted to take her bike, which sounded nice. The afternoon was warm, borderline hot, but down by the water felt nice. The area, for those who have been there, has really been trimmed back and cleaned up nice.

Morgan climbed onto the little pedal trike and could barely move, her knees hitting the handle bars.

She outgrew her bike.

So the decision was made to look into a bigger actual bike for her, training wheels and all. The syndicate has their own brand of bicycle, costing $20 more for the honor of riding around with your favorite syndicate princess. Too bad that one was "too big for Morgan, maybe next time." Phew, dodged that one by inches.

So we got the bike and all 3 of us put it together the other afternoon with Eliza helping and Morgan constantly wanting to try it out at each stage of construction.

When she climbed on to test the seat, well...
...away she went. Big girl goes to school, too.

Is ... there... coffee...*shuffle* *shuffle*

The sky is no longer dark, I should get up before Morgan does and let Kim sleep. Shuffling to the bathroom I grab my robe. Shuffling is the only safe mode of travel early in the morning with toys all over the house.

Morgan is on the couch, slurping milk from a sippy cup, watching one of her shows. It seems Kim got up when Morgan did, got her settled and quiet, then retreated back to bed.

She doesn't even look my way when I shuffle into the hallway, still somewhat asleep.

The coffee maker is prepped and started, at least 5 minutes until I can sneak a cup. The internet comes to life on the laptop and I check my morning news and messages, slowly waking and Morgan smiles and giggles. She knows when I'm just staring at the machine and she thinks it's hilarious.

By the time I can get my first cup of coffee poured, Eliza is beginning to wake with her signature groans and cries of "MAMA!"

Sending Morgan in to quiet the child is always good for at least 2 minutes of quiet usually followed by laughing, giggling, then screaming by one or both of them. The timing is key there.

With Eliza changed and on the floor walking away I take a moment to peek at the clock. Not as bad as I thought at all.

Back in the family room under the watchful eye of a curious monkey the girls are sharing frosted mini wheats and chugging their cold cups of milk. I lift my coffee to my lips...

...ahhhh

And my day can officially begin.

2 hours later, here they are sharing a coloring book with Morgan choosing shades of green and blue for a fairy while Eliza is experimenting with the different flavors of different colors. Since the sip of coffee the train set has been out set up and cleaned up twice, both times the peaceful town was attacked by a giant purple toddler stumbling through town and sitting on the main switch track. The lego blocks have made "the highest tower in the whole world ever!" and the aforementioned purple terror brought it to the ground.

So now, still in my robe, Morgan is dancing through the room in her purple tutu and Eliza is half crawling half walking through the lego rubble while Daddy is half typing, half sleeping in the corner.

May, and updates to walking issues

May is shaping up to be an exciting month. Kim and I will be taking a trip to Mexico with friends, just over a week in a house on the beach. No kids, no internet, no worries. Wait...no internet?

We have been turned on to the idea of SCUBA diving while there and have started looking into classes here and dive boats there. It tuens out the world's second largest reef, visible from space even, will be ,ess than 200m off the beach of our vacation house. hehe, cool.

Some others in the group are wanting to do it and this sounds like a great opportunity to see some great sea life up close and personal before global warming burns it all.




The girls are growing more and more everyday. Morgan loves going to school twice a week and comes home singing new songs and telling me new stories. She is still completely infatuated with anything princess. I seriously ask any family planning gifts or anything to please refrain from anything princess for the time being. She is in princess overload mode telling us how princesses have to wear "dresses down to their feet" and that "princesses don't eat dinner" ...for that one I was honestly waiting for some explanation about them being skinny. She never did explain why they don't eat, just that they don't.

Eliza has taken walking to the next level, taking as many steps as she likes, I counted 38 the other night, and doing very well balance wise. On our nightly walk yesterday she walked 6 houses - uphill - before I picked her up. She's got some speed, too. She still walks with her arms high over her head like a marionette, but if she can hold your hand, she can match a casual walking speed without losing her balance.
Eliza is also off of baby food. I don't recall when it happened exactly, but I recall with Morgan she had these little toddler meals instead of our food for awhile. Since menus are mildly bland to suit Morgan's likes, we jsut spoon some over to the high chair and away she goes.


The Sequoia House gave us a headache this month, with plumbing and insect issues, not to mention a temperamental sprinkler timer. But we got a call soon after a dip in the pool over at the Reinhold's from the property manager telling me about the plumbing issue and that he had already had a look and called a plumber and that the plumber was already there. Without our manager I would have had to leave the pool party, drive 15 minutes past the house, drop off the family, grab my tools and drive the 15 minutes back, only to have to call a plumber and pay through the nose. I love having a property manager.

We also got the tenants to renew their lease for another year *phew* and are looking to replace the carpet in the living room. ell, that carpet needed to be replaced when we moved in years ago.

and that is the Word from Carriage house.

She Can Walk!!!

Eliza was taking 2-3 steps pretty consistantly this afternoon. We managed to get a little of it on video. I have been wanting her to walk for so long, but now that's she's doing it (a bit, at least) I can't believe she's growing up so fast.