Then I realize that quite a lot happened in January- lots of positive things and perhaps I should focus on those for a bit.

• Seeing Shion turn 1 {Definitely top of the list!}
• Family visit to the shrine  on New Year`s Day and enjoying new years break together as a family.
• Starting the SYL12 challenge- looking forward to simplifying further and determining goals.
• Finding more work and also some work to do from home {editing}
• Booking tickets to Australia
• Having it snow and watching Noah play in it and then Shion play in it a little bit a couple of days after.
• Birthday parties for 2 very good friends children.
• Getting some exercise in
• Noah`s speech and communication getting better {and adding a couple of Japanese words to his vocab as well as it has made Shun really happy! Ohayou, ooishii, hai, ne ne {for getting attention not as in sleep}}
• Storytime with the boys
• Getting a couple of things crossed off the to do list.
• Chiba Peanuts Multicultural Playgroup, play dates with friends {great for mama recharge and also for the kids!}, and a visit out to Fuchu to visit friends.
• Good coffee and good wine on a couple different occasions!
• Great chats with Shun.
• One night where Shion woke up only once overnight at about midnight then slept in his own bed til 7am. Best sleep for all in awhile!

2012 was going to be my year to get organized, spend my time better {my kids sleeping time I mean mostly}, exercise and just be better.

Do you think I am succeeding? Nope. Definitely not yet. Good thing there is another 11.25 months to go.

It is almost midnight and Shun is not home from work yet. I did think he would be late tonight because he took part of the morning off work to come with me for another follow up for Noah`s speech. Although that follow-up update will have to wait for another day because I still have to check with Shun that I was understanding what the lady was saying {and I am pretty sure I was…basically…if we want to put Noah on the waiting list for the speech communication group classes he could be eligible for then they would prefer we changed our home language to Japanese. This is not going to happen. At least not from me}

Sometimes it depresses me that Shun gets home so late although tonight is pretty late even for him {at least lately}. At least tomorrow is the weekend and it is supposed to be a pretty quiet one so that is a bonus. Most nights I don`t really notice he is not home- and the kids and I have our own routine down so while their may be the occasional yelling {ahem!} because Noah is refusing to come to the shower even though I am already undressed and so is Shion which means chasing him around trying to catch him while Shion is trying to climb into the shower…or up the little stool to see into the sink or cursing because I have stepped on more rice before managing to clean it off the floor- yes despite those things we still get everything done and the boys get into bed by 7:30pm at the latest most nights.

Last weekend {15th} marked seven years of us being together {Shun & I} and this May will mark six years of us living together. When I said to Shun on Sunday that it had been seven years he said “That is more than 1/4 of your life”…..hadn`t thought about it like that before!

I had a bunch of goals for this year….remember? Well I am tracking our money again- but no luck reducing our food bill. Yet. I am blogging a LITTLE bit more often than I was in December at least and I have already found extra work hours. Have 15 hours a month from next month although 2 hours of that will only be until April. Still the goal was 10 hours a month and I should be able to keep the new jobs I have picked up for awhile. One lot I received from a friend who is moving further away- 2 x 2 hour conversation classes with a bunch of retirees. The money for this is awesome and it is a 5-10 minute drive from my house- If I had a bike I could go by bike except it is up a big hill. I would walk it but since my in-laws will watch the boys it is best if I go and get back as soon as possible. Other goals {like exercise or lose weight} are definitely not happening at all yet {except for 2 random stints. Oh new year…I swear there are people all over the world who exercise more in the month of January than they do the rest of the year!}

I should be in bed. Also there is about 43 things I could of done tonight instead of watching the last couple episodes of good wife and checking facebook. Probably also shouldn`t of eaten another bowl of fried rice at 10pm…

Oh well, tomorrow is another day and soon it will be a new week! I can be motivated and good then right?

It is midnight now…Shun still not home…guess I will see him in the morning because I don`t think I can wait up much longer! Good thing I didn`t wait for him to eat dinner {haha, I never wait. I usually eat at like 5:30 with the kids!}…

Happy weekend all

I cooked Christmas Eve and had a couple friends over as well as MIL & FIL. I think the food went down well- most of us ate seconds. Plus I made my first ever baked cheesecake with hints from both Mel & Khea and it turned out great. Definitely something I will be making again! Having Sam and her family for Christmas Eve dinner was great and her son and our boys had fun playing together. I spent most of the 23rd and 24th in the kitchen but it was worth it!!!

Christmas Day was a quiet one- we opened presents with my mum on Skype then spent the day at home eating leftovers, listening to carols and playing with the things the boys got. Lovely and quiet family day. The boys got totally spoilt of course- all of their presents from Santa were joint presents then from us they got some things for just them as well as a bunch of stocking stuffers. Plus things from my brother, mum, some friends & my in-laws {although they got their Christmas presents from the in-laws early!}. It was all about the kids!!!

My computer is on its last legs I think and so while I uploaded some photos to facebook I haven`t uploaded them to flickr in order to put them up on here.

This past week since Christmas has been pretty quiet as well- lots of play at the park and with friends although I had a 24 hour bug or something a couple of days ago which knocked me around for a bit.

I also went to the movies today for the first time in 2.5 years. I was nearly 30 weeks pregnant with Noah last time I went to the cinema. Had a lovely lunch, walk around the shops, coffee and then watching the movie with a friend. Great day out!

Blogging has hit the back burner lately for me- I am reading less and less and commenting even LESS than that so for 2012 I will try to be a better blogger. Not only with writing but also reading and commenting. While I love blogging and the interaction it gives me with so many wonderful people I do not want it to become a chore. That said- I also do not want to give it up!

The first half of 2011 was a rough one- Shion coming early, living at the in-laws then back at the apartment and then the earthquake and tsunami. Also moving house. The second half was a lot calmer, for us at least, although I will be glad to see the start of 2012.

Resolutions? Well pretty sure one of my resolutions for 2011 was to be better with money and save a certain amount- almost definitely failed at that. Next year….lets see…
-Be a better blogger
- Lose 5kg {or at least try to exercise 3 times a week. Need to find something to do at home. Maybe once we are in the new house and have more space I will start hooping again! I lost a ton of weight after Shion was born and then more with the stress, breastfeeding and then earthquake but I have put it all back on…and a bit more}
- Be better with money {than I was in 2011} and decide on a certain amount to save each month and stick to it
- Try to reduce our food bill {Including nappies and formula it is about 90,000yen a month so there must be SOMEWAY to bring that down}
-Find at least 5 more hours of work a month {which would take me up to about 10 hours a month- luckily I look to be able to do this from February}
- Stop buying children`s books but continue to read 10 or more books with the boys each day
- Work on Shion`s scrapbook and get it up done up until he is 1 {so far behind with this}
- Take the boys to Disneyland.
- Have a three date nights with Shun

Finally, my main resolution is to be a better mother and strive to be the best mother I can be. I need to work on this more- I love my kids and while I am not a bad mother there are definitely areas that I can improve!

So, there you go, 10 resolutions for 2012! We have a trip planned to Australia in March and then hopefully again for Christmas if we can swing it {although it might not happen} plus we are moving into our BRAND NEW HOUSE so 2012 will be exciting one way or an other.

Maybe I will start another 101 things in 1001 days- will have to think about it.

What are your resolutions? Do you have any? Did you meet your 2011 resolutions?

Happy New Year everyone!

Noah is 23 months old & Shion is almost 11 months old. Bit of a hodgepodge couple of weeks but we did some fun stuff! So busy this time of year and with the boys birthdays coming up as well as Christmas and other commitments we have been out of the house a lot. Some of our activities this past couple of weeks were to do with my body and feelings.

Looking forward to starting some Christmas Tot School. Just finished putting together the advent calendar – there are little notes with some activities as well as some that say “book” because I wrapped up 12 Christmas themed books {mostly new, we only had 2 or 3 in our collection} and the boys can unwrap one every second day leading up to Christmas and on the other days we will bake cookies, watch Christmas dvds, do arts,crafts or stickers, learn some Christmas songs and more. I am slowly putting together some ideas for the next month – still a fair bit of prep to do but I have work this weekend so I have to finish my prep for that first.

Art & Craft

 
Hand prints {this is finger painting shot but we got some handprints as well. Realized I didn`t upload the photo though}

I really wanted to let Shion have a go as well and also to do feet prints but I would of needed an extra set of hands and our weekends have been so busy that we didn`t get to it. Maybe another time. Noah requests to do painting a lot recently so I know that our birthday present to him {an easel, new paints with chalk board on the other side} will be well received! He sits in Shion`s highchair to paint to keep things away from Shion but the easel should help with this as well.

Marble painting- This was a huge hit!

Self portrait- There was a mirror on the table but you can`t see it here. He thought it was funny that I put a mirror on the table.

Putting lids back on the markers is just as much fun as using them- look at the concentration.

We did a face collage- I found a printable sheet with eyes, mouths, ears etc {quite monteresque!} and cut them out- we did the first one together so I could show him what they were for and then I let him go with the glue and eyes, mouths etc galore. He loves any work where I let him use glue!!!

Stickers {can`t have a week without stickers!}

We even practiced some body parts by me telling Noah to put stickers on daddy`s cheeks, chin, feet etc! {Yes he is really asleep…and no he didn`t wake up!}

Another time he practiced on himself.

Lots of drawing as usual- here he is telling me to colour with him!

Practical Life & Fine Motor Skills

Looking through the photos I realized we didn`t do much practical life work- well nothing that I documented. I am encouraging Noah to try and undress himself and put his own shoes on, he loves to help sweep and he does a great job of helping to clean up his own toys. If he wants to request to do something else {that may be out of reach because of Shion} then he always cleans up and then points out what he wants as he knows I will usually say clean up first before getting down his play food and utensils or his crayons. I also let him choose what he wants to wear most days by giving him 2 choices- he will usually have some jeans or something out but I will hold up 2 or 3 jumpers or jackets and he will choose which he wants and he helps to clean up the bath toys and wipe down the bath when he is hopping out.

Some things we did do.

Fine motor skills work tracing lines {for his “F” sheets- F is for Foot from 1+1+1=1} – He understands this concept but is not there yet and just wants to try to colour the pictures so we trace together and then he colours.

We did some bean pouring

He had quite a few spills this time as he was in such a rush but he cleaned each time.

If Shion is napping then I can put out a couple of activities on our bottom step for Noah to choose- he knows to put them back if he wants to try something else. We don`t have the space to keep things out continuously but I try where we can.

We tried tonging again as well- this was a lot more successful than in the past. Noah used his hands as well but he really tried hard to get them with the tongs first.

Open & Close basket I made a couple of weeks ago made another appearance as well.

We also went on a family trip to the zoo over the weekend and the petting zoo was a good way to show Noah how to be gentle with animals. He loved the guinea pigs {he only wanted to pat them though, he did not want to try and hold them} but also wanted to pat all the other animals. He had no fear and would of climbed in to the monkey enclosure to pat them too if I had let him

Here he is being gentle to the goat {When I said be gentle he switched from a full flat palm to one finger!}

We will definitely be going back to this zoo sometime soon- quite cheap and only a 10 minute drive from our house. Also had a train that kids could ride with their parents and a park so Noah got out a lot of energy and had a great time. Due to the size as well he could walk freely as it wasn`t too busy or too big.

Math & Sensory

Colour sorting paddle pop sticks made another appearance after Noah caught sight of them in the cupboard and went to get his stacking cups to show me he wanted to do it again. Really this is too easy for him now but he really seems to like it.

We also did a fruit/veg colour sorting activity {I got the idea from The Activity Mom}

Noah also dressed a little man I made out of felt.

My felt skills are shocking! My cutting skills are worse!

This falls under language as well but we did some matching exercises with body parts. I got this print out online but I can`t remember where- if you have a link for it please let me know. Noah knows all of the body parts in these pictures and enjoyed matching them up! The book in the picture is a recent favourite as well.

Language

I am trying to focus a lot on language with both boys. If you have read other posts you would know that Noah is not a talker and this has been a big stress for me lately mainly because especially in recent months his inability to communicate makes him so frustrated and I want to help him. I know he understands {A lot!} but he can`t seem to form many words instead relying on signing and pointing and noises. I try to get him to say words when I know what he wants- like if something rolls under the sofa and he can`t reach it he just starts screaming and pointing and I say “Noah, what should you say if you want my help” and he says “mama” and then signs help. I tell him to say “mama, help” – He can`t do the help sign properly though and instead kind of does a cross between more and train {two signs he uses a lot!}. We encourage him to say a lot of different sounds and he loves his ABC book a lot and he can make the sound of over half of the letters when prompted {several he can do unprompted like the phonic sounds for the letters in his name as well as G, B, F and S}

Here he is doing an F sticker sheet I made and looking at his ABC picture book at the F page.

We also talked about feelings- he has several books that touch on this. He LOVED the Happy/Sad monster book with the masks {I think it is called Glad Sad monster?}- Here he is separating happy and sad pictures of babies and kids {I saw this idea on The Princess & The Tot} – He didn`t really get what I was asking him to do but he loved the pictures especially the ones that included him or his brother. We read Happy Sad first {you can see it in the edge of the picture}.

The F letter basket {with fishing game} was a hit and Shion enjoyed it as well. We did some worksheets later the same day from 1+1+1=1.

As usual we read a ton of books! We have story time before nap and bed but Noah will often bring others to read at different times. He definitely has clear favourites though!

Baby School

I was a bit lazy with organizing stuff for Shion the past couple of weeks. Here are some recent pictures of him though- he is finally getting more into books {instead of just trying to eat him. I really never had this problem with Noah.} and I have had quite a few deliveries lately so giving him a box to play with turned out well! He was learning about object permanence here because when I put things inside the box he knew to look for them and could climb in and then crawl backwards out!

He is also working on his pincer grip with finger food!

Gross motor skills are always getting a workout as well!

Linking up to

Shion has just started to get sick so I guess it could go on for awhile. I am really hoping we are all well by the weekend. It is exhausting looking after 2 sick kids when you are not 100% your self.

I have toyed with the idea of starting a new blog. Still keeping this one going too but one for my more education/parenting based posts- like Tot School for example. I like the idea of having it all in one place for the one category {as the organization freak in me would prefer it this way!} but I barely keep this one going most times so it might not be the best idea.

Plus this blog is self-hosted with a domain but I wouldn`t be able to do that with another blog {too expensive at the moment!}.

I know it is my blog and I can do what I like with it but still unsure.

You may have noticed my Some Days series has gone AWOL. I just couldn`t keep it up- I had good intentions to keep doing it but I have missed a couple of weeks now. I might bring it back sometime or it might just be a random post here and there- of course anyone can keep doing it if they wish.

Anyway I had meant to write in the last post that I appreciated all the comments on my “A million ways” post. Nice to know that I am not alone…

Some days I can`t wait for my kids to reach milestone, for Noah to speak sentences and for Shion to start walking but most days I want them to stop growing up and stop doing new things because time is going so fast!

Some days I am all prepared for Tot School- this week is one of those weeks with everything sorted, printed etc except apparently Noah is not in the mood. Luckily everything for this week was low key and didn`t take much time. Most days or weeks I have nothing prepared and make it up as I go along if we do it at all and most days Noah loves the activities and purposeful play we do together. Unfortunately now that Shion is on the move it makes some of what I want to do a bit hard!

Some days I set goals like apply for Shion`s Australian passport {He still only has an Emergency passport} before the end of the month. Most days I do nothing towards getting the goal done though- ie, still haven`t taken photos, still haven`t received the form from the embassy {I did ring and request it though!} and I am still waiting for the translation of the koseki but the person doing it is travelling right now and can`t do it until early October anyway. Oh well- lucky we have no plans to travel anytime soon- Should really get his Japanese passport sorted out too though {I do have the form for that!}

Ssme days I think about blogging a lot- think I could blog about this or that or something my kids did. Most days Lately though I seem to have lost my blogging mojo yet again.

Some days we decide what the outside of the new house will be like and the decisions came quickly with no problems. Most days I do nothing towards getting the house plans all decided but next week we have to decide on the inside colours/flooring/curtains and finalize the kitchen and bathroom plans. I am so glad that we are leaving the kids at home next week as this most recent meeting was a bit of a nightmare as it went on for 4 hours!!

Some days I think abut scanning in the house plans so everyone can have a look. Most days I can`t be bothered- plus our scanner is only A4 and the plans are bigger than that- Eventually!

Some days Shion is into food and wants to try everything and anything- Today he took a bite or a suck I suppose out of a nashi I was eating-whoops!. Other days not so much…and it is hard to get him to take bites of anything {except yogurt- he laps that up!}

Some days Shion sleeps shockingly- yesterday in total he napped for 90 minutes over 3 different naps. Most days luckily, at least at night, he might only wake up 2-3 times and sometimes he will take 2 longer naps of 1 hour or more. It is the other nights, the 6 or more times a night, that kill me…

Some Tuesdays my updates are more about Noah and some Tuesdays they are more about Shion. Most Tuesdays, either way, they are mainly about my kids!

Some days when shun gets up with the boys he will have washed up any plates in the sink {usually his dinner plates and my cup, his cup plus breakfast stuff} and started the washing and got the garbage ready to go out. Most days I can only hope he will have at least changed the kids nappies dressed the kids in their own clothes {ie, not different PJs or each others clothes}. At least he wakes up with them every second day though!

Some days I get to have nights out with some friends- Friday was fabulous! Lots of good food, company and lots of drinks!! We ate Vietnamese for dinner close to Shinjuku station {9 of us} and then went to Araku in Golden Gai for more drinks and more friends {about 10 others} met us there. Earlier in the night I was really worried about Shun & the kids but I spoke with him about 9pm and both were sleeping and okay so I relaxed even further chatting and drinking mojitos and mimosa`s with friends. Most days I don`t drink, or eat out but it doesn`t matter because it makes the times that I do so much more special! Plus with 2 kids under 2, one that is still breastfeeding almost all the time and waking up overnight as well, coming in at 1:30am a bit pissy then having to get up the next day is not an ideal lifestyle choice! Nice once in awhile though

Some days I think about scrapbooking or other crafty projects I should get stuck back into-haven`t really done anything crafty since before we moved. Most days I don`t even think about them let alone pull them out. So behind on the scrapbooking! Plus I have some projects I want to make for the boys {fabric numbers/ throw bean bags and some felt projects!}

Some days I think about finding some more work- most days I am too lazy!

Some days we go to the local “mall”- I have a Starbucks, do the food shopping {which is nice cos I drive and don`t have to carry it all home!} check out the Babies R Us and a couple of other stores and stock up on new wintery PJs for Noah and some clothes for the boys {poor Shion will have mainly hand me downs this Autumn/Winter though!} and some closed in shoes for Noah. Most days I don`t spend any money. I swear!

What is happening with you this Tuesday?

Some days

Something is off with me. Perhaps it really is just having two kids under two and taking care of them mostly by myself during the week. I have good days and I have very very bad days. I am not motivated to do much of anything really. This year has been a shocker- I had a baby 2 months early, he was in hospital while I was still trying to take care of my then 13 month old, he came out of the hospital, there was a giant earthquake, we decided to move, we moved and we are in the process of trying to design our own house. I am having a hard time distinguishing whether they way I feel has been caused by what has happened and things will just start to get better or if I really am spiraling down into a deeper depression.

I was starting to run low on medication which I bought back from Australia so I went to a psychiatrist- my first visit to a psychiatrist in any country although have had dealings with them in Australia before because of my dad. I think you can get anti-depressants from regular doctors here but I have never had much luck and figured since things were a bit off lately that it best to go see “someone” anyway. I could rant about that experience here but I won`t- It took me 2.5 hours, 45 minutes with a counsellor and 10 mins with the psychiatrist and a whole lot of waiting with Shion strapped to me in a hot and dingy waiting room but I got a script for a months medication and was told to come back in a month to get another prescription. My first gripe was the waiting, but guess it can`t be helped, second gripe was the condescending tone of dr who tried to tell me it was up to me to make myself “happy” and not up to the drugs, my third gripe is that I could only get a months prescription although this was to be expected I guess. Anyway- I got the prescription at least which is good. Although have to do it all again in a month.

I had never mentioned to my in-laws that I suffer from depression and neither had Shun but since I needed them to watch Noah while I went and knew it might take a little while I got Shun to explain to them while I was there so they could ask me questions if they wanted to. They didn`t have any. That was fine. MIL asked me if I managed to get the medication and I said yes and told her I wasn`t exactly pleased with doctor or process and she said she could help me look for another dr if need be.

Basically going to the psychiatrist to get medication stressed me out more than before I went but anyway. I have been worried that I might have post natal depression. I mentioned this to the counsellor and got nothing…

I found information on English counselling with native English speaker and decided to book a session or two after talking with Shun. I had my first recently via skype- this is why it appealed to me. No waiting around, could do it at night when boys are asleep, it could be in English. I am not sure what I expected would change though. It was/is expensive too- and while my health is important…especially my mental health I can`t keep shalling out 13,000yen per session. We spoke a bit, gave some history, i mentioned my concerns about possible PND but it is more likely that since I already had depression it is just the depression kicking in again. First step to up medication and see how things go…the fact I am breastfeeding Shion is a worry…will see how things go though- research shows very little goes through breast milk but the higher the dosage of course the higher that little amount is.

The thing is I really do not know what I expect. I yell at my kids because I am stressed out and over it. But that isn`t depression- that is just bad parenting. So maybe I am not depressed or what is depressing me is just that I am not the kind of mother I wanted to be…

The signs are there though…..difficulty making decisions, difficulty falling asleep, tired all the time, decreased energy, no desire to do anything, agitated/irritable, guilt, crying, stressed about going out, stressing when things change or don`t go to plan.

I go on and on about how I feel like I am a bad mother and I tell myself the night before I will try harder tomorrow, I will be better tomorrow, I will love my kids more tomorrow but then the new day comes and I am no better. I still yell, I still get upset, I still cry and I still count down the minutes until they go to bed and I am nothing like the mother I want to be or even the person I wish I was.

It is incredibly hot right now and we are still limited to the amount of electricity we can use so even when we do put the aircon on it is for short amounts of time and set at 27-29 degrees. Still better than the 34 plus temps outside but does make us a bit hot, bothered and sweaty.

We have a pool set up next door for Noah and he love playing with the water- even if he doesn`t necessarily like getting in the actual pool much. He is a bit of a strange child actually because I have offered him ice cream and home made ice blocks and he is not interested as they are too “cold” for him. Oh well, more for me!!

I always though Noah had my colouring but this summer is showing he is more like Shun as he has quite a nice tan coming on despite been slathered in suncream, a hat and sun protective clothing. I love his swim clothes in the pictures above- they were a present from my mum for his first Aussie Christmas last year. Matching rashie, boardies and sun hat.

The only problem with summer and playing outside, especially in this area, is the mosquitos. At last count Noah had about 34 bites on him- I guess in that respect he takes after me as mosquitoes love me too. On the advice of a friend I bought some mushi yoke wipes which are basically wet wipes with repellant in them which I can wipe over his skin and they seem to be more effective than the spray and seals on the clothes so hopefully he will stop getting so many now! I took him to the doctor because they started to look funny and I thought perhaps it might actually be chicken pox but turns out he is just a bit allergic to them- surprisingly he does not scratch at them much though which is good.

Saturday I spent most of the day out- had coffee and then lunch with Sarah & Miss Sakura. Shion came too but Noah stayed home with Shun. I even did some shopping after Sarah & Sakura left- mainly window shopping but it was still nice. I bought some shorts upon inspiration from Sarah who had a really cute pair on that day- I have not worn shorts in a long time but I wore them today and my god- so much cooler than longer pants in this heat. I want to get another pair!! It was great to catch up with the S`s- haven`t had much time on the weekends lately to do that because of house planning stuff and baito.

Today we went into the city to visit some showrooms for kitchen and bathroom makers as well as to a place that deals with “wood” goods like flooring, doors etc. So much out there and we hardly saw any of it- was nice to look around with the help of one of the salesmen from one of the house makers we are considering.

We have it narrowed down to two different makers now and will HOPEFULLY have a decision made by the end of the month- they have both given us their cost outlines and we have plans drawn up- the plans are still subject to change if we want them to and I think there are still a couple of things to work out there. Nooh asked recently how things were going with the house planning and I promise a proper post about this soon!

This week is Obon for us- Shun`s family celebrates a month early. Last year we didn`t come back for it- we just came the weekend after to pay respects. Wednesday night will be fun. Not. Trying to keep Noah from touching the fire or destroying the vegetable animals…. Shun will probably be home from work early on Wednesday and Friday nights because of it though.

This week is busy one- plans most days actually. That said, I have decided to try get back into Tot School with Noah- done up a bit of a plan for this week but think I will probably do it over two weeks as there is no rush and to be honest it is much better for Noah to play outside than be cooped up inside. I imagine we will be playing in the garden most days this week as well and the blow up pool. The theme for our tot school this week and probably next week too is the sea and summer.

I have no motivation for anything right now though- hence no blogging, or much commenting or even much reading. We were without net until Tuesday but even since it has been on I haven`t been online that much. Plus I have a really sore back at the moment- went to see the doctor this morning and based on previous problems it looks like a Hernia. This would need to be confirmed by an MRI but since I am young we will do rehabilitation first and see how things go. Pretty hard to “rest” with two kids but my in-laws are going to help out a bit. I guess the strain of moving everything etc did not help the existing condition.

Oh yeah, living next to the in-laws, so far, has only been a good thing. Seen them each day as I take Noah to play in the garden but so far so good. Grandma in law is a chatterbox and sometimes it is hard to get away from her but she means well. She helped me see the “good” doctor today at the hospital as she has some klout I guess.

I love brackets but Noah spilled coffee on my computer yesterday so now the left bracket doesn`s work. Kind of sucks. I need a new computer as the typing has been funny for awhile- basically at any given time the curser moves and it erases all I have typed.

I, surprisingly, actually have nothing to say. Will try to get back into blogging and commenting soon.