The game

On Sunday, I went to the Saskatchewan Roughriders game with my brother-in-law. Let me tell you, this game was a joke. The riders had a 21-3 lead in the first half, but just died in the second half. The end result… well, I would rather not talk about it :)

The big city

Hi everyone,
I'm writing this blog from my brother-in-law's house in Regina, SK. After successfully finishing my class yesterday (I scored a 94% on the final exam!), we decided to celebrate by hanging out in the big city for the weekend. So far, it has been fairly uneventful but it's been enjoyable hanging out with the kids. It looks like we're going to do some shopping this afternoon for a dresser in the baby's room and to get some material for making diapers. We'll likely shop until we drop and then go to the movie theatre for a flick. It sure is a great feeling to be done my class and to actually have some time to spend with Tara.

My 5 year-old nephew just informed me that lunch is ready. I guess I better go.

See ya!

-Mike

31 weeks!

Hi everyone,
I just posted some new pics that we took after church today (see below). As of today, Tara is 31 weeks pregnant -- only 9 weeks to go!

This Wednesday is our last prenatal class and although the past two sessions have been informative, it can also be a little overwhelming. I guess you can never be fully prepared for something like this, but Tara and I have been studying several books and videos on the topic to help us be as prepared as possible. We’ve started working on some breathing techniques, and of course, Tara always wants me to practice the massage techniques on her :)

With only 6 days left in my class, I’m starting to feel some relief. It has been an incredibly busy 4 months for me, so as you can imagine, I’m looking forward to a much needed study break. I figure that I’ll probably take about 6 months off and just enjoy being a father.

Oh, it’s time for supper. Have a good night!

-Mike

31 weeks (2)

Mike and Tara

31 weeks (1)

It’s soft, it’s colourful… it’s a baby quilt!

Well, it’s hard to believe that in one week and countless hours, I cut, patched, sewed, and quilted my very first baby blanket. Since I couldn’t find any blankets in the store I liked and they all came with baby bumpers (which are a possible cause of SIDS), I decided to quilt my own.

Originally, I was going to make a star pattern with star material, but I couldn’t find the material. I then came across this baby chenille and minkee blanket kit. It was perfect! The quilt shop where I bought it also allows you to come in on Tuesday afternoons and use all their sewing/quilting equipment. They also provide free help to those (like me) who don’t know what they are doing. If it wasn’t for their help, I know that I would still be sewing away at home. I must say that this project wasn’t as easy as it sounds. I spent many frustrating moments with the seam ripper, taking apart squares and even strips of the blanket that were sewn together in the wrong order. Sometimes, I would seam rip the material apart, and then sew it together incorrectly again. That was the worst!!!

Not only did the blanket take its toll, my back did too. Mike took pity on me and gave me a few back rubs to help me make it through this project. I think I’ll take up another one just so I can get a few more massages :) Mike wanted me to add that our house took its toll as well. There was a lot of scrap material and thread floating around….on the couch, on the floor, on the table, on the sewing machine. Since I was a quilting machine, there were quite a few nights that the dishes didn’t get done too. Oh well, I still have 3 weeks before the in-laws come to visit.
Actually, I do have one more project to complete before that baby comes… I am going to do what many have done before, and many my age refuse to do….cloth diapers. I have 4 dozen to make in less than 10 weeks. I’ll keep you posted on how they are coming. Maybe I will have to start a cloth diaper bee. Actually, that sounds like a good idea.

Until next time,

Tara

A trip to Edmonton

As I write this journal, Tara and I are in our little green Toyota Echo driving back from Edmonton. We had a great weekend visiting with relatives at Tara’s family reunion on Saturday. Well, it was actually a 90th birthday celebration for her grandma, but just about everyone was there. I think my family is about 1/10th the size of Tara’s--there had to be about 40 people there… and that was only her dad’s side of the family.

I apologize for not keeping our blog updated. To be honest, it has been a very busy two weeks. I’m nearing the end of my class and have had to hit the books pretty hard. The good news is that in only 2 weeks, I’ll be done my studies until next spring/summer! I’ve decided to take some time off to enjoy being a father -- changing dippers and all of that fun stuff :) Jokes aside, Tara and I are getting more and more excited about baby T’s arrival. It’s hard to believe that in only 10 weeks (according to the doctor’s predictions), we’ll be holding our new baby boy or girl.

I think we’re getting very close to having all the main baby items purchased. We just purchased our stroller a few weeks ago (thanks to my mom and dad) and have also received a nice changing table and high chair (thanks to Tara’s mom and step-dad). It’s clear that the one item that Tara is most excited about right now is the quilt she just finished making. I won’t steal Tara’s thunder and will let her tell you all about that in the next blog.

Oh, it’s time for me to take over the wheel again. I’ll talk with you later!

-Mike (and Tara)