April 30, 2002
Good Friday
Good Friday, I had off. It was nice, in the afternoon I turned on the History Channel and took a nap while Lori and my in-laws took Maura to find a Bonnet. While they didn't find a bonnet, they found 3 new outfits.
My parents arrive today, and I think Morgan and Nora are coming for Easter tomorrow. Poor Morgan, I think he's getting up real early so Nora can go to church with Lori and the crew. While I'm not a regular church goer, I generally attend for Lori on Christmas and Easter. This year, I think I'm on egg-hiding duty and thats allright with me.
Last night my in-laws (N'laws?) babysat while Lori and I had a nice dinner with friends. Mmmmm. a couple of drinks and a nice steak. Very nice. Of course I miss my favorite local resteraunt (The Chart House). I don't know what it was, but it was a very comfortable resteraunt. These days, I get antsy after the meal and "just want to leave". The Black Goose Grill in Darien is close. The van der Vander's highly recommend it.
Posted by KnipSter at 09:09 PM | Comments (0)
April 26, 2002
Happy Birthday Maura!
Maura's first birthday. Small gathering of too many people. Beautiful Day on Saturday. Raining horribly on Sunday (in-laws got to spend another day), the "OS"es got stuck in Florida (after week long cruise). Given Maura's birthday, I was especially heartbroken to hear of Bob Cringely's child's death due to SIDS.
Posted by KnipSter at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)
April 23, 2002
Fruits of Electronic Filing
Fed Tax refund direct deposited yesterday! Yeah!
Posted by KnipSter at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)
Appreciating Moms
Nap time for Maura this morning. She got up early, played and is obviously tired. But really doesn't want her much needed nap. Hearing your child scream bloody murder is pretty hard. Stay-at-home Mom's don't get enough appreciation. It is mentally/emotionally taxing.
Its too bad that society views stay-at-home Mom's as lazy luxury for those fortunate enough to be able to afford it. One friend of mine argues that anyone can afford it, its just different people prioritize differently. Lori has "stayed home" since Maura was born, I think that it was a hard decision for her. She's well educated, capable, resourceful, & independent. Its ironic that choosing to devote her time to Maura and "managing" our home is often framed as "giving up" her career.
Why do we have careers? Is it for ourselves? for humanity? or for our families? I guess its a matter of perspective. Don't get me wrong, I'm still coming to terms with adjusting my own priorities. But I think that at this stage in our lives, we should be doing things for our families. I think that Lori's choice (our choice) is what's best for our family, especially Maura. Lori doesn't always know that I respect what she does for all of us. Her tasks/projects may not require a post-graduate degree, but they do require a well-balanced, capable, resourceful, creative & emotionally healthy person.
Lori's feedback doesn't come from Annual Reviews, Salary Increases, Stock Options or Holiday Bonuses. She has to pay closer attention to find the feedback (and I need to help). I love my family
Posted by KnipSter at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
April 22, 2002
Nuking Peeps
So, today was bring your kids in to look for easter eggs at my office today. Maura is too little to find eggs, but it was a nice excuse to see her and Lori. Of course snacks and decorations were put out and I had fun microwaving Marshmellow Peeps! It went slightly wrong when I put 2 peeps in a plastic egg and microwaved that. I have made a crack in the egg expecting the peeps to ooze out. Instead the eggs exploded apart and left a nasty marshmellow mess on the inside of the microwave. Of course I cleaned it up.
Posted by KnipSter at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2002
Resurrecting The Journal
Woof.. It almost died... Lori's baking a test cake for Maura's birthday. I've put together a toy shelf. Have you ever noticed that items make be smaller than they appear in the pages of a catalog? I know my Mom has. The toy shelf is also a bit smaller... Oh well...Lori's trying a new technique for arranging my chores. Place the appropriate tools near where the projects need to be done(e.g. Step ladders and light bulbs near the back door). Maura said "Dada" yesterday morning. I liked it! I think she even said "Hi Da!" when I came home last night. Its nice being the daddy.
Posted by KnipSter at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
April 07, 2002
Walking
Obviously this journal isn't a daily thing yet. But it will do, its lasted longer than I thought it would. Maura has been taking more and more steps (I think she is 10+ steps). She practically walked across our living room last night. Its very cool. I continue archiving some more pictures. We've been saving them on a CDR. Our system is pretty simple. Regular film -> developed to CD. All pictures get copied to the Master CD (including Digital Pictures). I have to admit the film camera (Canon Rebel 2000) takes very nice pictures, but the digital camera is just so easy (Canon S300). My first Master CD is beginning to fill up. Just in time for her 1st birthday. Well she's awake now. I'm gonna play.
Posted by KnipSter at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)