Saturday, May 24, 2003
Michelle tells me I should get back to relaying information about the babies. So here goes: the babies are fine. Right now they are feeding with their mother. They were very good this morning, allowing their mother to rejoin her yoga class for the first time in a number of months and her father to blog about an inconsequential subject. Here are some new cute photos of them wearing cute outfits:
Tante Linda was here last week all the way from Holland. Here's a nice shot of her with the two cuties that drew her across the ocean.
My mother also just finished a visit. Here's Oma and Nana with the twins:
OK, enough blogging for now, time to get back to real life...
And now for something completely different. Currency markets have been quite volatile in the last few weeks. The Canadian dollar has soared then plunged, the Euro has reached an all-time high, and the US buck is taking a beating. This is happening as talk grows in the US about the possibility (and actual occurence!) of deflation. It's not discussed much in the financial news, but this is a very strange combination of events. A falling currency is inflationary for the issuing country, not deflationary.
I've felt the US currency has behaved very strangely for some time. The US has an absolutely massive trade deficit and their money supply has surged in the last 10 years, yet in general the US dollar has remained strong. The only explanation I've come up with for this is that there are a hell of a lot of dollar-denominated assets being held by foreigners. This raises a bunch of further questions. Who? Why? How much? And what happens when they decide to cash in their chips?
I haven't had to much luck answering these questions, but I read a great article the other day that takes a stab at it. If you have any interest in this subject (and who doesn't :) ), take a look at it.
I've felt the US currency has behaved very strangely for some time. The US has an absolutely massive trade deficit and their money supply has surged in the last 10 years, yet in general the US dollar has remained strong. The only explanation I've come up with for this is that there are a hell of a lot of dollar-denominated assets being held by foreigners. This raises a bunch of further questions. Who? Why? How much? And what happens when they decide to cash in their chips?
I haven't had to much luck answering these questions, but I read a great article the other day that takes a stab at it. If you have any interest in this subject (and who doesn't :) ), take a look at it.
Sens can't do it. I'm not a big hockey fan, but for last night's game I was on my feet for entire the third period standing three feet in front of the TV. One of the reasons I was standing was that Talia would start wailing anytime I tried to sit down; but I was also in a state of restless excitement to see who would score the winning goal. Too bad it wasn't Ottawa, but the game was still fun to watch. When it was over, Talia allowed me to put her to bed.
Max must be a New Jersey fan, because he was quite cranky for the first period when the Sens were leading and calmed down only when the Devils took the lead in the second.
Max must be a New Jersey fan, because he was quite cranky for the first period when the Sens were leading and calmed down only when the Devils took the lead in the second.
Saturday, May 17, 2003
I've often thought that perhaps I'm not the best person to trust to update this blog. I think it's my gender that's the problem. Women seem to be able to talk about babies for hours and never run out of things to say. But for me, if you ask how the kids are doing all I can say is "They're doing well". What else is there to tell? "They're developing normally, they're cute, they eat, sleep, poop, and occasionally smile. How 'bout those Senators?"
It's not that I'm not absolutely fascinated and besotten by them, it's just that writing endlessly about that would seem a little silly. But - just for today - I'll try to give you an idea of our life with our little twosome. What happened yesterday:
Morning is always a little hectic. Max and Talia woke up hungry and with packed diapers. Mama and Papa woke up hungry and with need of showers, coffee or tea, and time to sit and read the paper. And Musette needed a walk. Dealing with all these things can take some time some days, but we were all done by 10:00.
Next came a period of trying to get a little work done around the house while preventing the babies from getting too miserable. We have two 'jiggle chairs' we sit them in to try to distract them. They're little vibrating hammocks that are very good at calming restless babies. They mostly worked yesterday, but there were occasions when we had to rock them in our arms to quiet them down. They really need a lot of attention.
After the 1:00 feed, we decided to take them into town to do a bit of shopping. We have a second-hand double stroller which is ideal for displaying our two cuties. As we walked about, Max and Talia took turns sleeping and looking around. They were very good. It wasn't until we got into a gift shop that Talia started crying. Michelle was in the far end of the store rummaging around, so I took Talia out of the stroller and rocked her to calm her down. In no time I had a small crowd of middle-aged women encircling me and talking baby-talk to my little girl. She even gave them a little smile.
Home for another feed, and then on to Marion and Pato's for dinner. They have three small children of their own, so there wasn't to much time for adult conversation. But fun was had nonetheless.
Home for 9:00 and another feed. Another feed at 10:00, then a surprisingly easy night. Keeping them busy during the day makes them sleep better? It's worth a try.
It's not that I'm not absolutely fascinated and besotten by them, it's just that writing endlessly about that would seem a little silly. But - just for today - I'll try to give you an idea of our life with our little twosome. What happened yesterday:
Morning is always a little hectic. Max and Talia woke up hungry and with packed diapers. Mama and Papa woke up hungry and with need of showers, coffee or tea, and time to sit and read the paper. And Musette needed a walk. Dealing with all these things can take some time some days, but we were all done by 10:00.
Next came a period of trying to get a little work done around the house while preventing the babies from getting too miserable. We have two 'jiggle chairs' we sit them in to try to distract them. They're little vibrating hammocks that are very good at calming restless babies. They mostly worked yesterday, but there were occasions when we had to rock them in our arms to quiet them down. They really need a lot of attention.
After the 1:00 feed, we decided to take them into town to do a bit of shopping. We have a second-hand double stroller which is ideal for displaying our two cuties. As we walked about, Max and Talia took turns sleeping and looking around. They were very good. It wasn't until we got into a gift shop that Talia started crying. Michelle was in the far end of the store rummaging around, so I took Talia out of the stroller and rocked her to calm her down. In no time I had a small crowd of middle-aged women encircling me and talking baby-talk to my little girl. She even gave them a little smile.
Home for another feed, and then on to Marion and Pato's for dinner. They have three small children of their own, so there wasn't to much time for adult conversation. But fun was had nonetheless.
Home for 9:00 and another feed. Another feed at 10:00, then a surprisingly easy night. Keeping them busy during the day makes them sleep better? It's worth a try.
Sunday, May 04, 2003
Many, many more photos have been added to the photo album (link on the left). I have been threatened with horrible things if I did not update this, so with these pictures I hope to save myself. I've added a date code to the beginning of the file names so you can spot which photos are most recent. If you want to download the photos to print, go to the 'photo view' browsing method and select 'download original' from the right menu.
The shots of Pato pulling a small army of kids around on his tractor are from his birthday party last night. Lots of fun was had by all!
The shots of Pato pulling a small army of kids around on his tractor are from his birthday party last night. Lots of fun was had by all!
Friday, May 02, 2003
So for the last couple of weeks, the first thing people saw when they checked out my blog was a stoopid picture of Saddam Hussein. I feel just awful about this, and will attempt to make things right with this post. Michelle's got the kids put down, I'm in the basement drinking a large Rusty Nail and listening to Herbie Mann, time to get busy...
First thing, I'm sure everyone is sick of looking at "Bobdam". You want to see our lovely children. So let's see what they look like today:
And if anyone is thinking of sending any more clothes, may I suggest mustard yellow as a colour? I sometimes feel it would make things much easier...
A couple of things I should point out that you probably know, but it seems that a few people don't: Michelle's and my email addresses have changed. You can click on the links near the top of the page to get the new ones. Clicking on the photos on this page will let you look at larger photos (click the 'back' button on your browser to return). And our home address no longer has the PO box. It is:
The last couple of weeks have been very hectic with Max and Talia. Michelle and I feel they've moved into a stage of development where they're alert and mentally active, but are uninterested in objects and each other. That means the all that keeps them from noisy frustration is us paying attention to them. It's very flattering and exciting to have them staring at us attentively as we prattle on about nothing, but quite exhausting too. The only other thing that interests them is this amazing mobile we have in their crib (thanks Marion and Pato!).
Ok, I should head up and get some sleep. I probably forgot some stuff I wanted to write. I'll get around to putting it up sometime...
First thing, I'm sure everyone is sick of looking at "Bobdam". You want to see our lovely children. So let's see what they look like today:
Yes, they're smiling. This is still somewhat of a rare event for these two, however. If a photo was snapped of them at a random time you would be much more likely to see them wailing as they wait for food. They've been quite voracious lately. During the day it's almost every two hours that they need their fix. Luckily, they do give us a break at night, requiring only one (or sometimes two) interruptions in an eight hour period.
Tanta Cleo was here... um... boy, it was almost two weeks ago - how time flies! Here's a couple of photos of her with her niece and nephew:
She was a great help around the house, changing the twins, mopping the floor, painting. Cleo, you can come back anytime. And you should - you missed a couple of spots.
Hey! I recieved the Nigerian Advance Fee email today. I feel so honoured. All I gotta do is forward these guys all my worldly posessions and they'll make me rich! Woohoo!
I just want to say again, thanks to everyone for your generousity. Strollers, highchairs, swings, playpens, clothes, toys - we've hardly had to pay for anything ourselves. I feel very lucky to have such wonderful family and friends. We've got all your cards covering our bookcase:
And if anyone is thinking of sending any more clothes, may I suggest mustard yellow as a colour? I sometimes feel it would make things much easier...
A couple of things I should point out that you probably know, but it seems that a few people don't: Michelle's and my email addresses have changed. You can click on the links near the top of the page to get the new ones. Clicking on the photos on this page will let you look at larger photos (click the 'back' button on your browser to return). And our home address no longer has the PO box. It is:
15 Chemin Drum
Chelsea, QC
J9B 1V8
The last couple of weeks have been very hectic with Max and Talia. Michelle and I feel they've moved into a stage of development where they're alert and mentally active, but are uninterested in objects and each other. That means the all that keeps them from noisy frustration is us paying attention to them. It's very flattering and exciting to have them staring at us attentively as we prattle on about nothing, but quite exhausting too. The only other thing that interests them is this amazing mobile we have in their crib (thanks Marion and Pato!).
Ok, I should head up and get some sleep. I probably forgot some stuff I wanted to write. I'll get around to putting it up sometime...
