Looking for some clothes for the girl as Xmas presents. According to the children's clothing industry, she has made the leap from the "isn't she cute" to the "who lets their kids dress that way" demographic.
BTW buddy, you're late 60's/early 70's and I don't think you're going to "grow into" anything anymore. Get a belt that fits; you're tripping people walking around you.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, December 01, 2007
US: Look [the boy], what do you see in this [newspaper] picture? What are you going to see tomorrow?
BOY: Dinosaurs? Dinosaurs scary. I don't want see dinosaurs!
US: No, these aren't scary. They're not real dinosaurs. See? What's in this picture?
BOY: More Dinosaurs.
US: That's right [the boy].
BOY: Look! Mommy. Daddy. More dinosaurs. Nudder dinosaur picture!
US: No, that's Neil Young. You're not seeing him tomorrow.
BOY: Dinosaurs? Dinosaurs scary. I don't want see dinosaurs!
US: No, these aren't scary. They're not real dinosaurs. See? What's in this picture?
BOY: More Dinosaurs.
US: That's right [the boy].
BOY: Look! Mommy. Daddy. More dinosaurs. Nudder dinosaur picture!
US: No, that's Neil Young. You're not seeing him tomorrow.
2nd last class of this swimming session was the last chance for coaches to test and evaluate the kids. Here now are my predictions.
[The girl] is a very strong swimmer for her age. She is able to perform all the necessary skills at her current level and many in the next. She needs to focus on her style as that will allow her to swim with less effort. Her strengths are her sideways glide and forward crawl. [The girl] is very attentive and considerate of all other swimmers and is a joy to have in the class. We recommend she proceed to the next level.
[The boy] has the potential to be a very good swimmer and would benefit mostly from paying more attention to the instruction being given. He has made tremndous progress in this class and now has the buoyancy of a rock or similarly non-porous object. We would encourage [the boy] to repeat the same level of instruction(1). However, as he is currently a danger to himself and other swimmers, we cannot allow him to do so at this facility. Please contact our front office for recommendations that we feel would be suitable for [the boy]. Our fine city is blessed with both natural waters as well as significant pot-holes that are easily filled with fluids. Good luck with that.
(1) At this time we cannot estimate the number of repetitions required to progress to the next level. Please keep in mind that we are not committing to, nor legally bound to guarantee, his ability to progress to the next level.
[The girl] is a very strong swimmer for her age. She is able to perform all the necessary skills at her current level and many in the next. She needs to focus on her style as that will allow her to swim with less effort. Her strengths are her sideways glide and forward crawl. [The girl] is very attentive and considerate of all other swimmers and is a joy to have in the class. We recommend she proceed to the next level.
[The boy] has the potential to be a very good swimmer and would benefit mostly from paying more attention to the instruction being given. He has made tremndous progress in this class and now has the buoyancy of a rock or similarly non-porous object. We would encourage [the boy] to repeat the same level of instruction(1). However, as he is currently a danger to himself and other swimmers, we cannot allow him to do so at this facility. Please contact our front office for recommendations that we feel would be suitable for [the boy]. Our fine city is blessed with both natural waters as well as significant pot-holes that are easily filled with fluids. Good luck with that.
(1) At this time we cannot estimate the number of repetitions required to progress to the next level. Please keep in mind that we are not committing to, nor legally bound to guarantee, his ability to progress to the next level.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Not so easy
We didn't have quite the moment of inspiration as the architect (1) in coming up with costumes this year.
(1) See - http://formwork.blogspot.com/2007/10/james-and-driver.html
(1) See - http://formwork.blogspot.com/2007/10/james-and-driver.html
So close!
I think a few more hours and we could have convinced the boy that this was the ticket to candyland!
We even went the Innovation route
... with no so great results.
We called this "Homeless, Not Quite Teenage Mutant Ninja Honey Bee".
We called this "Homeless, Not Quite Teenage Mutant Ninja Honey Bee".
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
We have to save Neo!
Who do you think the boy looks like?
So, we're finally done with the 12 days of the girl's birthday. What's a good technique to convince her that her new birthdate should be Feb 29th?
We suffered our first physical Wii injury over the weekend. The girl was celebrating a nice play/shot (I can't remember which, I was sulking at being nicely played/shot at) ... and was she on the rug like I told her? No ... hardwood slippery.
We also suffered our first and second emotional Wii injury. Early weekend Wii fitness test rated me as 50 years old. Yesterday, I had "achieved" 55 years old. 60, it's the new 30.
I'm expecting the 3rd emotional injury when the kids realize what "we're just borrowing it" really means.
Me and the boy. I'm the 55 year old on the left...
Who do you think the boy looks like?
So, we're finally done with the 12 days of the girl's birthday. What's a good technique to convince her that her new birthdate should be Feb 29th?
We suffered our first physical Wii injury over the weekend. The girl was celebrating a nice play/shot (I can't remember which, I was sulking at being nicely played/shot at) ... and was she on the rug like I told her? No ... hardwood slippery.
We also suffered our first and second emotional Wii injury. Early weekend Wii fitness test rated me as 50 years old. Yesterday, I had "achieved" 55 years old. 60, it's the new 30.
I'm expecting the 3rd emotional injury when the kids realize what "we're just borrowing it" really means.
Me and the boy. I'm the 55 year old on the left...
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Accck
Off to school they go. Boy actually likes pre-school - to the point where he cries because he doesn't want to go to daycare. (Couldn't be that easy.)
And in all the mayhem .... I completely missed this ...
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/seriously_westcoast/index.html
And in all the mayhem .... I completely missed this ...
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/seriously_westcoast/index.html
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Visitors
We had a nice extended weekend with visitors from out East. Thanks for taking the time to come in and visit!
What is it about these cars?
They don't go that fast, and they don't really get to steer (like on the jalopy ride). But this is the first ride they always run to.
3 - 2 - 1
Sure, it's all fun and games until ...
... about 10 seconds after this, the boy got a time-out for soaking everyone.
... about 10 seconds after this, the boy got a time-out for soaking everyone.
Feed bag
Had a great visit with the Aunt/Uncle/cousins/2nd cousins ...
Very nice dinner. Forgot how good toasted marshmallow's are. Kids got face painted by cousin-D (thanks!). And cousin-N showed us the ropes on their Wii.
Place your bets on how long before we get one.
Very nice dinner. Forgot how good toasted marshmallow's are. Kids got face painted by cousin-D (thanks!). And cousin-N showed us the ropes on their Wii.
Place your bets on how long before we get one.
L Mol
Had a picnic at the sculpture garden. The kids were all over the bears. Good thing ye-ye/gong-gong and nai-nai/puo-puo's pieces aren't climable.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
You think this is disturbing?
I just found out that "irregardless" is acknowledged by both Webster and Oxford.
Incidentally, I also found out that, when a highlighter is left uncapped, while it does dry out, the powder that gets left behind does not lose any of it's pigmenting capabilities.
Incidentally, I also found out that, when a highlighter is left uncapped, while it does dry out, the powder that gets left behind does not lose any of it's pigmenting capabilities.
Monday, July 09, 2007
OOOO, AAAA
Currently featuring ...
- Billy Joel
- Fatboy Slim
- Grand Funk Railroad
- Green Day
- House of Pain
- The Fratellis
- The Housemartins
- The Jackson 5
- The La's
- Steriogram
... and many, many more!
Looking fwd to flash-based Sudoku
Currently featuring ...
- Billy Joel
- Fatboy Slim
- Grand Funk Railroad
- Green Day
- House of Pain
- The Fratellis
- The Housemartins
- The Jackson 5
- The La's
- Steriogram
... and many, many more!
Looking fwd to flash-based Sudoku
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Nothing better ...
... than hanging out in the back yard on a nice day. The girl continues her streak of fearlessness-recklessness, all leading to new things. Earlier last week, she graduated from the grrr-animals swimming levels and she's into real numbers. Last weekend, I was showing her how to dribble a basketball (secret is pushing the ball; not slapping at it ... architect). Later in the week, I picked her up from school and she was dribbling with both hands and between her legs (albeit, using those exaggerated, Monty Python, silly walk leg steps - but still).
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now put down the camera and catch me already.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now put down the camera and catch me already.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Even Steven
Took a bit, but finally got a chance to spend the day with the girl - after having spend a day with the boy a few months back. Regardless, the day always starts with breakfast at Cora's.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
... her easiest decision of the weekend was whether to go for the topping, the creamy center or an all-in-one.
Harder decisions were choosing between the ferris wheel, the Monster Swings or something called "Wipeout".
These are the swings - she ended up riding that only once. That's "Wipeout" in the lower-left of the photo - you ride in buckets and it whips around forwards and backwards and while tilting, shifting it's axis and varying speed between fast, crazy fast and "no loose change allowed." No other pics, because that was a "two-handed" ride.
Happy Mother's Day.
Harder decisions were choosing between the ferris wheel, the Monster Swings or something called "Wipeout".
These are the swings - she ended up riding that only once. That's "Wipeout" in the lower-left of the photo - you ride in buckets and it whips around forwards and backwards and while tilting, shifting it's axis and varying speed between fast, crazy fast and "no loose change allowed." No other pics, because that was a "two-handed" ride.
Happy Mother's Day.
Wild weekend
... at the local community center carnival. This was the hit ride for the boy this year ... a step up from the cars/boats/aircrafts that just go in a circle - these faux-Nemo characters would actually go up and down.
Monday, April 30, 2007
If I wanted any poop outta you ...
Boy's pretty well trained ... if you doubt my veracity, ask yourself if I would thusly tempt ... whomever it is you tempt by declaring your child's feat only to have it inexplicably disappear from his/her repertoire.
He's even making it through most nights without incident - even to the point of getting out of bed a few times to go potty.
Good thing, they're not making Thomas trains at sufficient pace to supply the reward system we were using.
Here's my poop story for this week ...
Before bath time, he's started jumping on the potty and forcing something out so that he doesn't have to get out mid-bath. Tonight, he did his business, got into the tub, then immediately proclaimed he had to get out and go potty again. Going twice in a row usually means serious business. (For the "sitting" crowd - guys don't have the ability to stop part-way through ... then continue later when it's more convenient.) Anyways, he gets back on the potty and after some serious effort - triumph. After round two - he gets back in the water and after another 10 seconds, decides he's not done. This time, takes more patience and he embellishes his coaxing technique by putting both hands on his head and pressing ... but once again, success. He gets back in the water and decides he wants to give it another go. Again, shows good patience, but eventually tries the squeezing technique - this time to no avail. He gives up and bath concludes with no further incident. But now we'll have to see if it's a thing.
That's my story for this week.
My story for last week was ... I've spent about 90 minutes so far this Spring picking up rabbit cr*p from our back-yard. Apparently, all the people complaining about the rabbits feeding on their garden and flowers and all the home remedies they've attempted, have only succeeded in driving the city's rabbit population into my yard post meal.
He's even making it through most nights without incident - even to the point of getting out of bed a few times to go potty.
Good thing, they're not making Thomas trains at sufficient pace to supply the reward system we were using.
Here's my poop story for this week ...
Before bath time, he's started jumping on the potty and forcing something out so that he doesn't have to get out mid-bath. Tonight, he did his business, got into the tub, then immediately proclaimed he had to get out and go potty again. Going twice in a row usually means serious business. (For the "sitting" crowd - guys don't have the ability to stop part-way through ... then continue later when it's more convenient.) Anyways, he gets back on the potty and after some serious effort - triumph. After round two - he gets back in the water and after another 10 seconds, decides he's not done. This time, takes more patience and he embellishes his coaxing technique by putting both hands on his head and pressing ... but once again, success. He gets back in the water and decides he wants to give it another go. Again, shows good patience, but eventually tries the squeezing technique - this time to no avail. He gives up and bath concludes with no further incident. But now we'll have to see if it's a thing.
That's my story for this week.
My story for last week was ... I've spent about 90 minutes so far this Spring picking up rabbit cr*p from our back-yard. Apparently, all the people complaining about the rabbits feeding on their garden and flowers and all the home remedies they've attempted, have only succeeded in driving the city's rabbit population into my yard post meal.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Nothing happens when you click on this icon...
At a conference on the West coast this past week, we were treated to a motivational talk by Benjamin Zander. If you get the opportunity to hear him speak - grab that opportunity. If you find yourself with the ability to see him in person - don't let that pass you by. In his talk, he referred to a recording of his interpretation of one of Beethoven's movements "as it was originally intended" ... since I'm not a refined listener of classical music, I can best translate that as "even faster than you're used to hearing it." I'll have to track it down and let you know.
Oh yeah, Disneyland was cool too.
At a conference on the West coast this past week, we were treated to a motivational talk by Benjamin Zander. If you get the opportunity to hear him speak - grab that opportunity. If you find yourself with the ability to see him in person - don't let that pass you by. In his talk, he referred to a recording of his interpretation of one of Beethoven's movements "as it was originally intended" ... since I'm not a refined listener of classical music, I can best translate that as "even faster than you're used to hearing it." I'll have to track it down and let you know.
Oh yeah, Disneyland was cool too.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
The following occurs between 10:10.17 and 10:10.19 ...
Jeez, in the manner of spontaneous combustion, I almost fell/slid off my chair at work just now.
In other news, the boy has stayed dry for over 48 hours (I can feel a relapse even as I type). Our method has been to "make him" go to the bathroom (or at least sit for a while) every hour, then every 90 minutes ... and now he's asking to go on occassion.
Jeez, in the manner of spontaneous combustion, I almost fell/slid off my chair at work just now.
In other news, the boy has stayed dry for over 48 hours (I can feel a relapse even as I type). Our method has been to "make him" go to the bathroom (or at least sit for a while) every hour, then every 90 minutes ... and now he's asking to go on occassion.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
The Art of Deep Slumber
Note the maximum air intake potential.
Protective colouring in the cheek area that warns potential interlopers of pending danger of abrupt awakening.
The slightly damp fur is a known barometer of rest efficiency, measured to the 5th decile.
Slight abrasion around the frontal lobe is a marking found in nature showing the aggressive, predatory nature.
Note the maximum air intake potential.
Protective colouring in the cheek area that warns potential interlopers of pending danger of abrupt awakening.
The slightly damp fur is a known barometer of rest efficiency, measured to the 5th decile.
Slight abrasion around the frontal lobe is a marking found in nature showing the aggressive, predatory nature.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Here I sit, broken software ... no, that's not how it goes ...
As I sit waiting for Movie Maker to recover from a crash (nice that it recovers itself from temp files; not so nice that it crashed in the 1st place) ... it dawns on me that "big sis" e-mailed me earlier from a Blackberry; Nai-Nai has a better camera than me; and yet, I type this an a PC that's at least 2-generations old.
Good thing that Casio, is not available yet online.
As I sit waiting for Movie Maker to recover from a crash (nice that it recovers itself from temp files; not so nice that it crashed in the 1st place) ... it dawns on me that "big sis" e-mailed me earlier from a Blackberry; Nai-Nai has a better camera than me; and yet, I type this an a PC that's at least 2-generations old.
Good thing that Casio, is not available yet online.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Career choices
Just in case jazz-hands don't work out for the girl, she could always fall-back to ... falling back.
Looking for a new digital video recorder. Tried and tossed this ... (terrible video - everything looked like blair witch)
Upgraded and tried out this ... but it's gone back too. (No tripod mount. Poor battery life. Video quality not good enough for $'s.)
Waiting for this to show up within catch and release distance. It claims to support new MPEG4 part 10 compression for better quality while still using less memory space than my current digital camera. 7x optical zoom, usable in video mode too. Just have to get over ... it's a Casio?
For now, it's back to the Canon S2 IS and video life 8 minutes at a time (or low res). And really, is that so bad? (Check back later for my response.)
Upgraded and tried out this ... but it's gone back too. (No tripod mount. Poor battery life. Video quality not good enough for $'s.)
Waiting for this to show up within catch and release distance. It claims to support new MPEG4 part 10 compression for better quality while still using less memory space than my current digital camera. 7x optical zoom, usable in video mode too. Just have to get over ... it's a Casio?
For now, it's back to the Canon S2 IS and video life 8 minutes at a time (or low res). And really, is that so bad? (Check back later for my response.)
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Saturday, March 03, 2007
So, I've set up shop on blip.tv (see link on sidebar) ... we'll see how that works out. Using YT was ok, pretty easy to set up and upload clips, but too much noise and it got embarrassing to have my video's always classified next to ... well y'know ... you're gonna make me say it aren't you? Ok, I don't want my kids hanging out on YouTube watching - swimming! There should be some controls ... it's all there for the curious (and amphibious). Backstroke, dog-paddle, treading water ... and you divers aren't much better either.
Oh yeah, I finally moved to new blogger as well. To celebrate, I picked a more generic and drabber (drabberly?) theme.
Anyways, hope to have new pics of kids and other happenings ... it's just been too cold for my camera. With the freezing shutter, everything and everyone looks like LeMans ... (that would be "Daytona" for any Merickens that happen by here).
Oh yeah, I finally moved to new blogger as well. To celebrate, I picked a more generic and drabber (drabberly?) theme.
Anyways, hope to have new pics of kids and other happenings ... it's just been too cold for my camera. With the freezing shutter, everything and everyone looks like LeMans ... (that would be "Daytona" for any Merickens that happen by here).
Friday, January 26, 2007
This was the conversation yesterday morning with the boy (TB) ...
(TB) Daddy! I see a bus!
(Me) Yes, a school bus.
(TB) No!. Not school bus.
(Me) Yes. That's a school bus.
(TB) NO! NOT school bus!
(Me) Yes. School buses are orange.
(TB) NOOOOO! NOT SCHOOL BUS!
(Me), what colour is that bus?
(TB) Orange.
(Me) And what colour is a school bus?
(TB) Orange ...
(TB) That school bus?
(TB) Daddy! I see a bus!
(Me) Yes, a school bus.
(TB) No!. Not school bus.
(Me) Yes. That's a school bus.
(TB) NO! NOT school bus!
(Me) Yes. School buses are orange.
(TB) NOOOOO! NOT SCHOOL BUS!
(Me)
(TB) Orange.
(Me) And what colour is a school bus?
(TB) Orange ...
(TB) That school bus?
Friday, January 12, 2007
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