The other day I was going through some old sites, reviewing old accounts and I came across my NaBloPoMo account. I looked over the message board and thought maybe it would be fun to do again. My first thought was to keep it slow, try to post every weekday in October then go for the gusto in November. Then the other day I thought, why wait. What’s the point? Either I do it or I don’t but way wait a month to find out. So without fan fair on the first of the month I submitted my blog to the Blogroll and started.
On the weekend I was inspired to add the badge to my site (See sidebar) and as soon as I did I got blocked. I had a lot of trouble getting out my next three posts. I had planned on saving the post about what I was doing until I was a third or half of the way through the month, but today I figured why not announce it. Let people know what I’m doing. Let’s not fail in Silence, lets fail in front of everyone. Of course I might not fail. Only time will tell.
Family traditions is something Melissa and I feel strongly about. One we would like to start is the Family dinner. Of course wanting to and doing can sometimes be completely different matter. Though we try to eat together every night, it doesn’t work out as often as we’d like. Between my working and other evening events it doesn’t always workout. So tonight we had ourselves a nice Sunday dinner. Tonight it was a nice Roast beef with mashed potatoes and Corn. Next week we’re debating either a pork roast or some nice ribs. I’m hoping that we can make it a weekly thing. Of course in 4 short months when Melissa goes back to work it will be harder to find a Sunday where the family can gather for a meal. But we plan on trying.
Tonight after I got home and had dinner, I decided that I would take some time to play with Jacob. I had an idea, could we run his train set tracks from his table to his floor. It was ambitious and kinda silly, but it was something that Jacob got into. HE help pick out track pieces, Choosing track and running his trains down it. It’s amazing to see how good he’s gotten at putting the pieces of his track together. He still gets frustrated when a turn goes the wrong way, but it’s a fair cry from how he was with it when I first set it up last Christmas. Now I just need to get him a few more track sets so that we can have the train go off the table and back on again. I’ll try to get some pictures of the crazy track that we built tonight.
It was nice to spend some time with Jacob just playing. with all the different things that I need to do each night, I sometimes thing I don’t get to spend enough time with him, just playing. I’m hoping that it’s something I can work into my schedule better in the coming months.
Today marks the first day of the fall swim classes for our kids. That’s right both Jacob and Violet start their lessons today. Our goal was to do an evening class, so that I could meet Melissa and the kids there after work. Unfortunately we couldn’t find both Jacobs Preschool 3 and Violets Guardian swim at a timed worked. So after looking at all our options, we determined that our best choice was Thursday mornings. So today I take the morning off from work and head off to swimming with the family.
This will be Jacob’s second swimming session in a class with other kids, and he’s very excited. He was asking me last night about how many kids would be in his class and who would be going with him. It’s hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm. I just hope that he can focus in the class. When he gets to excited he has a tendency not to listen, of course he’s only 3 so I guess that is to be expected.
Our second little swimmer, because of the city workers strike and the cool weather this summer, has only been in a pool once this summer. For her it will be an adjustment, I wasn’t there when Jacob took his first Guardian class so I’m not sure how Violet will react. Of course after our family day at the pool (See photos from yesterdays post). I’m pretty sure she’ll be alright. I am glad that the whole family will be there for her first lesson, though I’m not sure how well Jacob will do just watching.
Of course I’m posting this before leaving for swimming so I can’t say how the day went, but as this is just the first week, I’m sure I’ll find time in the coming weeks to talk about our adventures at swim class.
At the beginning of the month I picked up a copy of EA’s Wii Active. Wii Active is an fitness ‘game’ for the Wii. The idea is to have fun while you get in shape from your own living room. Wii Active comes with a leg strap and resistance bands allowing for a wide range of exercises. This is the second fitness product I’ve got for my Wii, the first was the Wii Fit. I liked the Wii fit, but I didn’t keep it up. After a couple of weeks I stopped working out. I’d come back to it ever few months but it didn’t stick.
I’m hoping that the tracking features will inspire me to work out everyday. Well almost everyday, the 30 Day Challenge has a rest day after every 2 days, so the 30 day challenge is actual 20 works in 30 days. Yesterday marked the half way mark of my first 30 Day Challenge. So far I’ve managed not to keep on schedule.
My plan is to do 3 consecutive 30 Day Challenges, one at each level of difficulty. I’m not sure if I will keep to the 2 days workout, 1 day off schedule. I’m leaning towards moving to a 4 or 5 days working out then one day off. These will make the 30 day challenge down to 24 or 25 day. I’m hoping to do regular posts on my progress. So stay tuned
Today I’m taking the time to write you a letter. I’ve been wanting to do this for some time, but never seemed to find the right words. Today I hope I have found them. You are growing up so fast. It’s hard to believe that next fall you will be starting kindergarten. School is still a year away and though I have a lot of things I want to say to you about it , that will have to wait for another letter.
Today I’m writing to you about the classes you are just about to start. Thursday you begin your fall session of swimming. You will be in a class with other children so it’s important that you listen to the teacher. You also need to try new things like jumping into the pool on your own. These classes are for you to learn and to have fun.
In October you begin your second year of skating with Papa, I really hope that you remember how well you were doing in the spring. I remember how tough it was when you started skating last year, but by the end of it you were doing really well and you seemed to enjoy the time Papa and you spent on the ice. I hope you will enjoy it as much this year.
Even though the weather starts to get cold, this fall will filled with lots of fun family adventures, we are planning trips to a Pumpkin Patch, an Apple Farm, The Zoo, and even a trip on Santa’s Train. Of course that doesn’t even mention Halloween, this will be the fourth year you are dressing up, though I don’t think you remember being either a Pumpkin or a Lion. It beings a smile to my face when I think about how excited you are to be dressing up as a pirate this year.
Most of all Jacob I want you to remember that I’ll always be here for you.
In two days you will be 8 months old, where has the time gone. In honour of that I thought today I would write you a letter. I’ve wanted to write you letters before but I never managed to find the words. It’s just something your mom is better at doing then me but today I thought I would try again.
My little Cupcake, you are going through some big changes right now. You’ve almost got that crawling thing down, just keep at it and try not to get frustrated. Remember going forwards is easier to get places, I know that you are doing pretty well going backwards but I think you’ll find it gets easier going the other way.
I know that your teeth are hurting as they come in, but it’s worth it. Soon you will get to try lots of new foods that you need those teeth for. So hang in there, it gets easier.
In 2 weeks you will be starting your first swimming class. It may be hard at first but I think you will really like it and you don’t have to worry I’ll be there with you. It took Jacob a while before he liked our weekly trips to the pool. Now they are a highlight of his week.
I just want you to remember that I’ll always be here for you.
