Alder's Tone

Security issue at home

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:59:50 +0000

Due to a security issue at home I have had to change all the passwords for external access. That includes:

The cameras
The two online photo albums

I'm not even going to try and remember who has access to them, so if you come a cropper logging in just email me for the new details.

[2] Scores on the doors

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:44:40 +0000

The votes are counted, the lines are closed. Please do not call now as you may still be charged but your vote will not be counted.

82% say it's a girl, 18% a boy, and funnily enough only I think it could be a puppy. Results coming soon...

Some things he gets, others he doesn't

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:00:00 +0000

With the Focus shifting... right, I can't finish the sentence that was going through my head now that I typed an upper case F there! As I was trying to say, with the focus shifting from number 1 to number 2 quite a lot recently, we can't forget what our little boy has been taking in. And while I started out saying "with the Focus shifting" obviously meaning the car, I got muddled. but they are linked, honestly! Time to straighten my mind out...

[2] Deadlines passing

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:19:57 +0000

We've had a couple of dealines pass us by recently, with hardly a second thought on them from me. MOTS, on the other hand, has given them some cranium time. And those are:

School year: No longer will number 2 start school in 2014, the cut-off passed a few days ago. Will now be a 2015 starter for certain.
Birthday: As her birthday looms, will she be x or will she be x+1? Well, that now x+1 too.

x: Random number between old and really old.

Not mines!

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:26:52 +0000

Boy wonder is saying "not mines" when he's seen something that isn't his. And tonight, when looking in the Cow & Gate envelope MOTS got from them after registering with their website and finding the soft C&G cow he said "not mines". That's baby's. And went over to MOTS and put the cow on her tummy.

The family wagon rolls into town (not yet...)

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:00:00 +0000

Finally, after months of trying not to make any rash decisions like we usually do with buying cars, we have our new family wagon on order. Delivery is a few weeks away yet, and while I wait for a confirmed date I'm thinking about the other unconfirmed date that is also looming. I just hope the first delivery is as smooth as the second delivery should be.

Anyway, more details to follow when our new Sunderland built truck actually exists in a form more substantial than the few pieces of paper in which it currently does.

Like a sad old and dated song from 1986

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:40:29 +0000

I was horrified when I saw the year - that's almost a quarter of a century ago! Not the point though, the point is like Europe's hit, from 1986, which went to number 1 in 25 countries, it's the Final Countdown.

It's MOTS' last day at work today, so good luck to her trying to avoid blubbering too much over lunch. As we discussed this morning - when I say "discussed" I mean me pointing it out and MOTS trying everyting to avoid accepting my proposition - today marks the last major event before number 2 arrives. So, if you haven't voted yet, DO IT NOW before MOTS is officially full term (on Friday).

Off to bed then?

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Number 2 arrives sometime in the next 5 weeks or so, we have an absolute deadline but it could be any time before then. With the time since Christmas this has been a bit long for Wrinklies to go without a fix on first grandchild, so we've invited them up for a visit to squeeze only last one in as "grandparents of one".

Baby's first…Homework

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:00:00 +0000

Boy wonder got his first homework from school the weekend before last. And like this post, it was late.

The world's most ridiculous question

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:19:17 +0000

I was being quizzed yesterday over MOTS' due date. "Is that a definite?"

It's definitely due then, sure. Whether it arrives then is a whole other question. And this from a father of 2!

[2] VBAC

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 21:31:35 +0000

All pregnancies are different, so we can't answer that. Sorry, what was the question?

That is the standard response to any question we ask of the health service. As we approach the business end of MOTS' pregnancy we're understandably nervous about the same happening again, and don't want a repeat of it. So when MOTS was asked to go and speak to the VBAC midwife I expected propaganda to be rammed down her throat.

And that is why I went along too. But, as I found out, this could not have been further from the truth.

Baby's first...Cinema trip.

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 21:18:55 +0000

For only the second time since junior arrived, MOTS and I are going to
the cinema. Johnny Depp was the last person we went to see before
junior arrived, and was also the first we went to see after he arrived
(in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean instalments). And
some 3 years later we're going to the cinema again. The stars this time
will be Scrat, Sid, Diego.... And, as the wee fella describes their
rather large friend, "elephant in the snow". Ice Age 3, here we come...

[2] Finish line in sight - but we haven't started yet

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:51:12 +0000

We're getting closer, yet still haven't started preparing for the inevitable arrival. I remember going through our Y2K project at work, it was the only project we have ever done that would be implemented to a fixed deadline and to the second at that. Mandatory changes are often "by xx at the latest" which means they can be in earlier, discretionary projects can slip. So which do we fit?

Having a giraffe!

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 20:18:50 +0000

Well, the car dealers I have spoken to over the course of the last week are all having a giraffe. As expected, all well below valuation on the Focus, all expecting too much on the replacement. But with no willingness to budge on any price, I've given up. So I'm trying it the hard way instead. Advert on Auto Trader for the Focus, and I'm willing to give Autoebid a try for the replacement. Worth a shot to not get stung by slimy dealers.

[2] MOTS has started nesting

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:38:31 +0000

Sssshhhh! Don't say anything to her, she goes into denial if you mention it - but the nesting HAS started!

Hospital bag has been started, bottles are in the dishwasher, steriliser is out of the box, car seat is altogether in the garage, and she's sweeping the kitchen floor. 9 weeks to go and she's nesting!