Time to Relax

Our couch sure has paid off this week. We finally had time to spend on it. Been watching an addictive Netflix series - Lilyhammer. We will finish up the last of the first two seasons today, but the third doesn't come out for another month, so I guess it will be a forced break.

Naomi has been doing a great job of tackling the box closet upstairs. The space is pretty large, a little under 200 square feet maybe, and the ceiling is slanted and low, but there was only a 8 foot passageway that one could squeeze into - the rest was floor to ceiling tightly packed with stuff. Quite the project. Yesterday she brought away two carloads, and hopefully we can do the same tomorrow.

Tuesday I need to start working again, and these two weeks have really flown by. More like a working vacation as we had so much to do, but there was still some time for relaxation...

Practicing for Halloween!

Great Grandma sucked into baby-land. Nothing else exists.

Play time.

The Cottage

Where has time gone? We had so many plans for this week, and some of them got done I suppose. I have a two week vacation from school - one week for Fall Break and the second for some parent leave that I get. Amazing. We are spending most of it at the Cottage, but the first half is already pretty much gone! We have been really busy, but haven't gotten to enjoy being outside much and also haven't started on the box room which was meant to be the big project for the week.

Twins take up a lot of time! We did manage to clean things up, do some shopping and a few legal things, arrange and enjoy a Netflix subscription, and eat some really good food. The last couple nights the twins have actually made it through the night with one feeding instead of two! Our fingers are crossed that this continues because our lives would become even better. They were fed slightly after 9:30 last night, then we had to wake both of them up at 4 in the morning! Amélie woke up at 7 but Abigail lasted until 8. Great night.

I worked in a bit of the novel as well...

Amadou’s fame was known in the region; his greatness allowed him a large family. He had four wives and twenty-three children. He strongly believed monogamy was something reserved for the weak. There was no way for him to know that a monogamous relationship existed inside his body.

Some time ago, two small worms about one centimeter in length pledged their lives to each other when the female nestled herself into a long groove shaped just for her - the male clutching her tight for the rest of his long life. The two had joined together to become one.

The couple settled down within Amadou’s bladder and got busy with the family business of reproduction. Over the course of their lifetime the number of offspring they would produce would be uncountable, although the vast majority would die before reaching maturity. 

Test Week

It was a good week to give a bunch of tests because two of my classes were in Bath, England so I had time to grade them. I also made the tests from scratch this year which actually saves me a bit of time because I formatted them for grading efficiency. Unfortunately, the results were rather low. This problem will only get worse I imagine as the Google culture of having answers at your fingertips deepens. Students don't retain much information, and as Math builds, this is a big problem. Much of the test was review, but they don't remember how to do stuff from last year let alone primary school.

Things are going well at home. Two feedings per night and in between the babies are sleeping well. Naomi remembers being told they are meant to gain between 100 and 200 grams per week. We calculated it yesterday, and over the course of the past few weeks Abigail has averaged over 500 and Amélie around 300. They are outgrowing clothes quickly already!

We also tried out some Pacco wraps last night - they are a velcro-laden swaddling cloth and for the first stretch both of them slept for 6 hours! Hopefully they will continue to help, but they will keep the babies warm and prevent their arms from moving around. Naomi picked up a couple of bouncy chairs that the girls love; I am bouncing them in them as I write this...

Amélie.

Abigail.

What goes down...must come up?

A Full Week

This was the last one for awhile. It went well though...I didn't feel maxed out which is a surprise. Next week will be lighter as two of my eight classes are in Bath, England. After that I will be working Monday and then my parent leave starts. I wouldn't have know to ask for it if it had not been our friend Peter who gave us the tip. Thanks!

This means I will have a full week off from work, and we combined it with fall break, so in total I will have two whole weeks off! We will spend most of it at the cottage.

It was great to be there this weekend. We were undecided as to whether or not we would make the journey because Abigail has a cold. Lots of trouble breathing due to a stuffy nose. I guess I passed that one along to her...whoops. The weather was so nice on Friday that we couldn't stay here. Luckily it continued through Saturday. We went for a nice long walk and enjoyed the patio thoroughly. Even got a bit sunburnt!

On Wednesday I finally had a chance for a bit of writing again...

Eventually Jerry skidded to a halt under a shady grove of trees. Tim dizzily exited the car while Jack and Johanna decoupled themselves from the roll bar and gingerly hopped over the tailgate. The grove of trees was large, but they could already hear the rushing sound of flowing water. 

They grabbed everything they needed out of the cab that didn't lock and took the short walk under the strangely tall canopy. What opened up before them was nothing short of a tropical paradise...