Tag: Fatherhood

Sand Imperfections

On the way home from work today I stopped at Rona to get the rest of the supplies needed for the sandbox. I grabbed a few 2X6’s, and some landscaping fabric.

I built the framework I needed, and laid the fabric down. It is done as I can make it without filling it with sand.

Unfortunately some of the angles with the cement pad mad cutting the wood difficult. This has left a couple gaps in places. Turns out that I am more of a perfectionist than I thought. Right now the imperfections are bugging me, but time is running out. Also, I don’t have the tools, nor the know-how to fix these small imperfections.

I know that in a while it won’t matter, and I know the kids are going to have lots of fun in it, but I can’t help but be a little disappointed. I want it to be perfect for my kids.

Sick Appetite

My poor daughter has been sick this week. She is constantly tired, eats well, drinks well, is in pretty happy spirits, but is unfortunately battling diarrhea.

The other morning I got a little experience in this. Beet was eating her breakfast and pooped. It takes a lot to disgust me, but this had done it. The smell was overwhelming and I could feel myself starting to gag. I took her upstairs to clean her up, and quickly discovered the blowout (my shirt sleeve was wet).

I managed to get her clean and into a new diaper and clothes (and only used small mountain of wipes). Unfortunately for me though I had lost my appetite. First time that had happened too.

Weekend Assembled

What a weekend! The weather wasn’t supposed to be that great, but it all seemed to work out for us. On Friday I left work early to come home and watch watch/play with kids. This allowed my mom to head back to Nanaimo and beat the Friday rush.

Saturday the sun was out, but poor Beet was under the weather. A slight fever and very lethargic, but otherwise ok. We walked down to our swimming lessons which was wonderful. The kids snacked while we got there in record time. The lessons went fine and after getting showered and dried we headed home for lunch.

Next up was a Home Depot run. As usual I could have spent a lot of money there, but I refrained. I had a list and I mostly stuck to it. We got a new light fixture for the bathroom, a new shower head, and a new garbage can to house more of the earthquake kit that is partially assembled. This can is slated for dog and cat food.

Beet napped when we got home, Sox went for a run with Yoshi, and Sprout played in the dirt with some cars. I was a little bored, so I set to work digging and making a new flower bed at the front of the house. After I got cleaned up I headed over to a friends house for an evening of poker.

Today Beet was still lethargic but her fever was gone. First thing I did was break out the weedeater and clean up the back yard. Once that was done, we all took Yoshi for a walk at Colquitz park which was awesome. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful spring day. We even went to a restaurant for lunch which was a nice treat. Back home Beet and Sox did some grocery shopping while I finished the flower bed. Sprout started off playing with cars, but soon switched to his TV fix.

Tonight we had an easy dinner and got the kids in bed at a reasonable time so we can get ready for the upcoming week.

Lots of fun, and lots of work got done. Gotta like it!

Silly Weather

One of the great things about being a Dad is playing. I get to play again, and boy is that a lot of fun. Being silly, playing with cars, riding bikes.

Just the other day Sprout and I were enjoying the warm weather and were riding bikes in the back yard.

Yes it was lots of fun. Sprout had a blast too. We took turns on the scooter and the push bike. This last pic is pretty funny. No I didn’t actually kick him, but it sure looks close.


Fun Playing

What an awesome weekend. Lots of fun was had, and lots got done.

Friday night half the fam was feeling under the weather so we ordered pizza instead of cooking.

Saturday everyone was feeling better. Sprout had his first playedate ever. A boy from his old daycare came over for a little over an hour. Then Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner.

Today was a gorgeous day. Sunny and warm. We started off the morning with a trip to Beacon Hill Park and the petting zoo, followed by some time at the playground. We got home in time for Beet’s nap, and while that was happening I got out for a road ride. I couldn’t get over how many people were out doing stuff in the sun. Playing at playgrounds and parks, working in their yards, riding bikes, etc. It was neat to see that.

While Sox was out for a bit I played with Sprout, then did some work around the house. Finally after dinner and bath time I relaxed with a little TV watching.

Excellent weekend.

Here is the map of my ride. Not the greatest route, but it was good to get out for an hour.


Done Happened

The weekend is starting to wrap up and I am a little sad about that. It was a pretty awesome weekend actually.

Friday night was pretty quiet and Sox and I got to watch some TV we taped earlier in the week.

On Saturday I got quite a few things done on the list I made, including a bunch of recycling which needed to be done before we leave. I was able to install some more shelving downstairs in the basement, and put a away a few more things. We also got our car serviced in the morning. I then got to spend some time with my kids. We stayed home and played while Sox was at a movie (Christmas present to some family friends).

Today Sox and Sprout headed out for a bit while Beet and I played. She had a huge morning nap which allowed me to get some computing in. When Beet got up we headed to Serious Coffee for an outing. Back home Sox dropped off Sprout and headed out to walk Yoshi with KaptainK and Digger. Sprout watched a little TV while Beet had her second nap. This allowed me to make dinner and tidy a little bit.

When Sox got home we had a bit of family time, then did a quick errand. After dinner the kids went to bed without a fuss.

In retrospect nothing big nor earth-shattering happened, but it was very enjoyable. I feel like I got an excellent break from work. I feel like I got to spend some quality one on one time with each of my family members (except Yoshi). I feel like I got a lot done.

Concerned Pace

This is a sad story I came across a while ago. The gist of the story is that some parents are concerned that so many cars are speeding through school zones that they essentially have to deal with the problem themselves. They are going to drive pace cars through schools zones, and these pace cars will stick to the speed limit.

It is disheartening that it has to come to this. Why can’t people just chill a little bit. Speeding through a school zone is stupid, dangerous, and won’t save any noticeable time on the commute. Try waking up 10 minutes earlier. Try taking a different route. Try relaxing. It is up to the driver to get out the door on time if there is a place you need to be at a certain time.

I know that kids and other circumstances can throw a hige wrench in to your plans, and that sometimes being late is not an option, but a school zone is no place for dangerous driving.

I think pace cars are an an ingenious solution to a rather bad problem.

Unusual Work

Friday was an unusual day for me. Sue woke up feeling very under the weather. She had picked up whatever bug the kids had, so I needed to stay home from work and help with the kids.

Sprout and I ended up having a very enjoyable day together which was a great way to spend what should have been a work day.

We started off with a walk at Highrock Park with Yoshi. This park is close to our new house, and is an off leash park. There is also an amazing viewpoint looking out over all of Victoria. We could see downtown, the arena, the breakwater, Gorge Vale Golf Course, and the navy base. Sprout pointed and reminded me that last year we went to the base, got on a bus and did a tour of the Christmas lights. He even pointed to the correct parking lot we boarded the bus. That boy has an amazing memory.

Later in the day we played in the back yard for a bit. I got him a toy golf set a while ago, but we ended up playing hockey with it. We passed the ball to one another, and he had some pretty good accuracy. Every once in a while we had to get off the ice and go sit on the bench to watch the zambonie. Yes, he has a very active imagination.

Right before dinner Sprout then helped me fix his train table that got a little broken during the move. Some bracket screws got ripped out of the particle board. I was able to rig together a fix for it, and with Sprout supervising, we got the job done. He was quite happy to get the table back in action.

He was in such a fun mood all day, and I got to do all sorts of fun dad things with him.