I need a new car...

Because a tiny little chevy aveo hatchback does not suit a family of 4:



Our other car is a hatchback too, but a little bit bigger (A Suzuki Aerio, which we intend to hold on to).:



The chevy is on lease until January (9 more payments). So I'm going to see about getting out of the lease early.

We're looking for something a little big bigger, but keeping the cost low (and good mileage). Will likely lease again, since we don't know what our family needs will be in another 4-5 years.

Right now, the leaders are the Mazda5:



the Kia Rondo:



and the Dodge Caravan (*ugh - I can't believe I'm considering a minivan* In fact, it doesn't even warrant a picture)

So we're going car shopping this weekend. Based on my internet research, the Rondo offers the most bang for the buck. But I won't know until I check it out for real. Any other suggestions?

Addendum: I popped the hood on the Chevy the other day, only to find that some little vermin had made a nest in my engine. I think it to be mice - as there is a nice chunk of material chewed into part of the liner.

GRRRRRRR! I can only guess how much the dealership is going to charge me when I turn the car in. Anybody have advice on how to keep critters from nesting under the hood of your car?

Answers to the kwiz

Well, you guys are just a bunch of lame-o's, aren't you?

Arkie (and Glow) take the lead by scoring a whopping 50%. And HD? I can't even express properly the level of my disappointment.

But I want to move on, and thus present here, the answers to my quiz:

1. DW and I were married for seven years when we found out we were having Meemette. We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary this year (and yes, I was a child-groom).

2. According to Wikipedia, I was born in the same year as Leonardo DiCaprio. That makes me one year older than Eva Longoria, two years older than Colin Farrell, and three years younger than Shaq.

3. I have recently adopted a new hairstyle (let it grow out a bit). This is the first time I've switched things up in about the last 8 years.

4. My undergraduate degree was in Communications and Political Science. I have a half-completed degree in Theology, and am currently working on my MEd.

5. I play guitar, sax and the penny-whistle. I can also hold my own on the drums, but don't consider myself a drummer.

6. I proposed to my wife in Switzerland. Nobody got this one right - as some of the other answers seemed much more plausible than the factual one.

So there you have it. Thanks for playing!

I'm back, with a test

Thanks for all the well-wishes over the past while.

Everybody is doing well. Sam will be one month old tomorrow (already), and his big sister still loves him. DW and I are sleepy, but happy.

Sorry I haven't been around much. I was off work for 3 weeks with the baby (and subsequently hardly ever online). I've been back to work this week, but have been swamped with lots of stuff going on.

Since I missed the test fad, I felt I would be remiss if I didn't include one here. So enjoy, and I'm gonna try and get around to a few blogs today.


Create your own Friend Test here

He's here

Well, little mister decided to drop by last night.

We went to the hospital last night around 5 p.m. for DW to get assessed (she was having strong, but not consistent contractions).

5 hours later, we were looking at this:


Mommy and baby Sam are doing well. I'm heading back to the hospital now, and the grandparents will be bringing Meemette over to see her little brother for the first time this afternoon.

He weighed in at 7 lbs 13 oz. and 19.2". He's got big hands, and was born while the Raptors were playing, so I think he is obviously destined to be a professional basketball player.

Anyways, I have to run back to chaos. I''ll try to be back soon.

A list for Boo and Kim

1. I have very few shows that I must see each week. In fact, I think other than LOST (and basketball), there's only The Office.

As much as Michael's character is getting tired for me, I absolutely love the Jim/Dwight saga. Comedy gold. I'm going to go to NBC.com and see if they'll ship a Dwight bobble-head to Canada for me.

2. Since #1 was about a TV show, that should clearly indicate that there is still no baby. Of course, DW is clearly more frustrated by this than I am - since she's carrying the baby and all.

3. Any thoughts on what I should do for my Master's thesis? Cuz I'm stumped. sigh. Only stipulation is that it has to have some tie to education. Best suggestion here wins.

4. I hate our cable company. They are a bunch of incompetent fools. Unfortunately, my only other options are the two satellite companies, both of who also suck. Maybe I should just cancel our TV service and let my kids grow up in media isolation.

5. I just found out my acting boss is leaving/retiring soon. That means that since I arrived here 3 years ago, everybody else on the team (four others) have left. I'm beginning to get a complex.

I think I'll leave the list at five. Have a great weekend!

If it's good enough for Swami...

... then it's good enough for me.

I've joined the dark side of the blog.

This kinda tastes like "new Coke" did. Not quite right.

My daughter has boyfriends...

Yes, that is plural. And she is not even two yet.

Today she has a birthday party for boyfriend #1 who goes to her daycare (along with boyfriend #2, who is slightly older). Tonight, she goes to birthday party for boyfriend #3. And frankly, none of these kids is up to her (or my) standards.

Sheesh.

I always said that if I killed the first one, word would get around - I just didn't realize it would start this soon :-)

Maybe we need a road trip to Boston so she can meet All-Stah, who I'm sure would leave all the other guys in the dust.

No baby... yet

A mish-mash of things:

Looks like we still might be about a week (or so) away from Baby Meemo's arrival.

Mrs. Meemo is doing well (she really hit the wall last week, but has since recovered and is hanging in there). She's a trooper.

I still haven't had a chance to use my snowblower. We've had snow, but there's been very little accumulation, and it's been spread over several days. I think I'm adhering to Augie's Law that since I bought the snowblower, we haven't had any snow. (that is Augie's Law, isn't it?).

I've heard that Glowie is saying nice things about me on her blog. I best go see.

I know she isn't a member of blogland (is she?) but YAY FOR BAWDY! Her ordeal is something that many of us have been following for a loooooooooong time. It's so wonderful to see the saga come to a close, and the start of a wonderful new chapter for them.

And on that note, I must go surfing the blogland. I have neglected many of you in recent days. I've recently come to the realization that I think I post (both in blogland and that other place) more often than I actually do. I'm always around (well, most days anyways), but tend to just lurk. Well, I've recognized the errors of my ways, and hope to contribute more than I have before.

Ah, who am I kidding. Don't get your hopes up :-)

I bought a snow blower yesterday

My parents gave us some cash this Christmas with the express intent of us purchasing a snow blower with it. It was a nice gesture, but I had never given thought to purchasing one. But alas, I granted their wish, and now I am the proud (first time owner) of a relatively small (5 hp), six-speed, gas-powered snow blower/thrower thingy.

We bought it used off of a guy who just bought it last year, but has since separated from his wife and moved into an apartment. Only used 5 times, and we got it for half of what he paid.

Now I'm trying to figure out what snow blower etiquette is. Do I do my neighours' sidewalks and driveways? If so, do I only do my immediate neighbours on either side, or do I cross the street? Or do I restrict myself to only doing my driveway and sidewalk? On the flip side, do I just go up and down the sidewalks for the entire street?

On another note, DW thought she was going into labour yesterday, and ended up at the doctor's office, but it was a false alarm. The doctor indicated she was starting to dilate though, so he figured we're no more than two weeks away (which would put us two weeks ahead of schedule). I guess this means we're on official baby watch now.

I think I have ADD

Not ADHD, because I'm certainly not hyperactive.

But I honestly cannot concentrate on my studies. My horrible procrastination caught up with me this past week, and I got stuck working on a paper (original due date: Nov. 29) when I was given a drop dead, do-or-die date by the prof. of yesterday (Thursday).

It wasn't a hard paper... only 8-10 pages. I took Wednesday evening to do the paper. And even with the pressure on, I was still interrupting my work that evening to: check my e-mail; log on to a couple of message boards; I had the live updates from the Raptors game on; getting something to eat; peeking in on my sleeping daughter.

I had 3.5 pages done when I started at 7 p.m. I didn't role into bed until I had e-mailed the paper to my prof. at 2:30 a.m. And I know that the paper was not up to snuff. If I was working efficiently, I could have been in bed by midnight (at a rate of 1 page per hour) with a quality paper. Instead, it took me 7.5 hours to hand in someting mediocre at best.

I've finally made an appointment to see somebody about this. But, being the self-diagnosing type, I'm going on record to say that I think I have Adult ADD, even though I have no idea what that entails.

Names, and links...

Well, we've settled on a name for the boy.

At least a first name:

Samuel.

Likely to end up Samuel Jameson, but that may change.

Other than that, DW has hit the pregancy wall. She is ready to be done with being pregnant. Five weeks to go!


On another note, you may notice my extensive list of blog links over there ----->

Many of you maintain a similar list. Some of you (where I visit regularly, and even post) do NOT have me on your list. I must say I am very slighted, hurt, and generally cry myself to sleep each night, wondering how I can get on Bob's list. At any rate, take this new point in the year to look at your list, and purge the old ones (I think only Nailbone and Wheezy are inactive on my list), and add any of your *new* favorites that you love to visit. *ahemMeemo'sblogahem*

And yes, I am a desperate attention whore.

Happy New Year!

Well, no official resolutions for me, although I did get up early, spent some time on the eliptical machine (which has been long neglected), ironed my shirt and pants, and still managed to arrive at work at the *official* proper time this morning (40 mins earlier than usual).

So yay for me. We'll see if that holds up tomorrow :-)

We had a good time over the holidays.

Took some time over the past week to get things prepped for the baby (due in 6 weeks!). Put the crib together and got the nursery straightened away. Also put together the new double stroller that we bought.

We're in the home stretch (*waves to Monstah*).

I'll likely post an updated name thread later this week.

Kim's Christmas challenge

So we were out last night as DD loves to look at Christmas lights. There is a particular cul de sac (circle street) here in town that is a city-wide known area for the lights.

The whole neighbourhood gets into it, and people come from miles around to see them. All that to say, I was somewhat disappointed this time around.

But here is a shot of one of the most lit-up houses there, as requested by Kim's blog challenge:

Baby names and such...

Not sure if anybody still pops by here, wondering if I am going to update. But here I am.

Getting ready for Christmas, which will then be followed by the arrival of our new baby boy in February.

The biggest problem we had with baby #1 was settling on a name. It literally came down to the week she was born before we settled on Madeleine.

So with this one being a boy, we're back to square one. Can I bounce a few off of you? Give me your unabashed opinions. Without divulging too much info, our last name is single syllable, kinda sucks (it's fairly harsh-sounding), and starts with a G. We are looking for something different, but not too "out there."

Some of the contenders are, in no particular order:

Parker
Truman
Jamison (or Jameson, or Jamieson)
Riley
Hunter
Lincoln

any other suggestions?

Home, sweet home...

Edited to remove photo

Life has been crazy. Moved last weekend. Getting unpacked and settled. All the while, work has been super busy, in addition to school and being a father and every other facet of life that keeps pulling at me.

But then I see the smiling face up there (points up), and it all seems worthwhile. The ladybug and I will be trick-or-treating tonight to collect some goodies, and introduce ourselves to all the new neighbours.

Happy Halloween everybody!

Music and stuff

I love music.

I just never realized how diverse my tastes were. In the matter of just a couple minutes, I was listening to a contemporary Christian song (with a killer guitar riff that I'm trying to learn); I then found myself humming "Red Flag" by Billy Talent (theyr're a punk, alterna-rock band from Canada), just prior before popping my new Jack Johnson CD (folksy guitar guy - he did the Curious George soundtrack) into my computer.

I would truly love to work in the music industry - preferably as a musician. Guess I best get practicing.

*makes note to keep an eye on announcements for the next Rock Star auditions* :-)

As for the stuff going on at the other place I don't even know where to begin - I'm not sure why I've never waded into the conversations about religion. I mean, I used to be a minister, I'm am still actively involved in church and a practicing Christian - but I NEVER wade into the deep end. I know that I have experiences and insight that might benefit the disucssions, but I don't. I suspect it's largely a time issue. By the time I get throught the thread, and think to post something (when I actually have time to do that), another 20 posts have been made making my point moot or off-topic.

If anyone wants my take on a particular issue, just let me know :-)

Well, it's a.....

.....boy!

We found out yesterday at DW's 20-week ultrasound. So the big lobbying effort by my wife for the name "Hawksley" officially started about 1 minute after we found out :-)

Gotta say, I'm pretty happy about it. And I honestly wasn't hoping one way or another. Since we were never expecting any children, let alone our beautiful daughter and now a baby boy on the way - so I would have gladly taken a boy or a girl. But having another male in the house to balance things out will be fun :-)

So given this revelation, I wonder if Monstah would ever consider arranged marriages for her kids?

I'm baaaaaack

Wow, that was a bit of a break, now wasn't it?

I sit here with time to write this because we have been dealing with a minor incident involving an anonymous veiled threat of a toxic substance that starts with "a" and ends with "nthrax."

Considering the school was swarmed by police, firefighters, public health workers, and a bunch of peeps in biohazard suits, it was a bit of a crazy day. Particularly when your job is to fight all the misinformation that leaks into the media within a matter of minutes. So here I sit at 6 p.m., finally eating my lunch, and taking some time to post on my blog.

But I digress. Weltek told me to update, so here I am.

The house is conditionally sold, so I'll be moving next month if everything goes according to plan. I suppose I best get packing (ugh!).

The rock concert we went to was awesome, and DW even got her picture taken with Hawksley Workman (while he had his arm wrapped around her). Needless to say, she now wants to name our unborn child after him.

We competed in a mini Amazing Race that was put on here last week. 16 teams of 4 participated. Teamo Meemo (including 5-month-pregnant DW)? First place, thankyouverymuch. This pretty much confirmed for me that I could run the real thing, and kick some serious ass.

So that's about it for now. We go for the ultrasound next week to find out the sex of the baby. I'll be sure to let you know. I also think I'll post a pic or two soon, assuming blogger lets me.

Labo(u)r Day... lives up to its name

No, DW didn't go into labour this weekend (that would be a bit early, wouldn't it?).

But I did spend the entire weekend working. Fixing up the house in order to sell it. Isn't that a bitch? This weekend involved much painting (for curb appeal) and baseboard fitting. And there's still more to do.

On the brightside, I'm taking Friday off too, so that means a three-day work week. Of course, I'm sure there will be another project for me to tackle then.

We've had lots of showings on the house, but no biters. In fairness, the price we were asking is a bit high, so we might consider lowering the price a bit to see if we can get some action going.

DW and I are going to a rock concert on Thursday night at a seedy place called "The Underground." Not sure what it will be like, but I have to try and come up with my best Rock Star wardrobe so that I don't look too refined or *gasp* yuppie-ish. *Note to self: leave pink phone at home.

For Sale...

Anybody want to buy my house? It's a lovely, 3-bedroom updated character home in the heart of the beautiful Niagara region. Only 5 minutes from the Welland Canal and Lake Ontario, 15 minutes to Niagara Falls and the U.S. border.

We've got an accepted offer on another house, but it's conditional on the sale of ours. So now, we wait for a buyer. And wait. And wait. Oh, and get everything cleaned up and fixed around the house so that it presents nicely.

I should probably talk to the neighbours as well, since we're a close knit community. It's likely a shock for them to see the sign on our lawn, but we've just out-grown this house.

Here's hoping things go quickly and smoothly.