How To Blog

This hasn't been quite the literary torrent that I was hoping for. I had expected there to be more output - circulation I'm not bothered about since it's supposed to be a record and a learning experience. I'm guessing that only family and maybe close friends ever come here.

I kept a diary from when I was fourteen to about nineteen. Today, it's interesting to re-visit it and see what I was thinking then, but always a very raw experience. I remember showing it to a girlfriend as we were in the process of breaking up and I don't think I should have; I was still a proto-man with half-formed ideas of what the world was like and my place in it. Still am, but not to quite the same extent. I think she got an insight into me and a closeness that was never shared in the relationship. Anyway, I'm surprised that I've talked about that.

The point of this post is that work introduced internal blogs about two weeks after I started this one, and blogging about my work is, in an intensely selfish way, much more stimluating in some regards than this. With work, I have lots of ideas that I've been thinking about for a long period of time that I want to express and get feedback on. Blogging at work is a very good medium for that. By contrast, what I say on this forum is a lot more immediate and hasn't gone through the same editorial process. When I'm writing code, I feel that I'm a third-draft man, once I've refactored. Something I share with Martin Amis! But here it tends to be much more of a stream of consciousness affair. I might re-read it prior to posting, but I try not to edit the entries after they've gone, since the intent when I began this was to recapture that exicted emotional state for my family to understand. And Al, I promise to try not to reference writing code again on here!

MB

Potty!!!

The Bash started using his potty today. He's been sitting on it for the last couple of months, but not really done anything with it. Then this morning Al told me he'd been on it, and he did the same again before I put him in the bath. I don't know why I'm so excited that my boy felt the need to pee into a plastic pot rather than have a nice warm feeling around his loins, but I guess that's kids for you!

Downtime

Just got back (well, last week anyway) from a relaxing break up north. We managed to show off the little ones to both sets of grandparents and the extended clan up there too. Really needed that; it's been a while since I had a decent break and I managed to almost stop thinking about work, long enough to start learning some new things anyway!

We really are lucky with our boys. They are so adaptable in terms of travelling up, sleeping in strange places and playing with different sets of grandparents / relatives. Such a delight to watch them.

Really overindulged in terms of food. Those familiar with my mother will be sympathetically holding their bellies right now. In fact, I ate so much I wasn't even able to take advantage of one of the finest pubs in the country being on my doorstep.

Next time, less food, more ale.

Never try to tackle straight on

A good lesson in rugby, and also in changing nappies. Connor had done his usual two forceful squirts, so Al went to do the business. She was standing right in front of him when a third pulse came along and out shot a jet of warm poo. Nice!

Al's recovery

The wife's recovering well from the op, and she now boasts the desirable figure 34 in her vital statistics. Hubba hubba, know what I'm saying, boys?

In fact, probably not. That's her waist at this moment in time, and I discovered this when I found her wearing my new favourite trousers. Now before the hairy-legged dungaree wearers get all bent out of shape and start labelling me an unfeeling misogynistic bastard who doesn't appreciate the ordeal of pregnancy and labour, let me point out two things:

1. Irony
2. I love her and I know she's going to be reading this. She'll easily lose the weight if and when she wants, and I'll be supporting her however I can. Plus I'm going to change the locks if it's not in six months time.
   

Birthdays

We had the Basher's birthday recently. I often feel somewhat guilty that it tends to eclipse my Mother's birthday; it being the same day. But she professes not to feel that way.

We took him on a steam train - I think he's still a little young to really enjoy it, but he seemed fascinated enough by the engine and was too scared to go in the driver's cabin. My boy - the great big jessie! I'll take that as a positive thing, in that he doesn't appear to be overly enamoured with trains to the point of obsessiveness. That way lies trainspotting...

It gets less painful the more you do it.

So I was saying to a friend the other day that it seemed a lot easier this time round - not as much a shock to the system. That was about half an hour before I fell asleep at what...8:30? Yes, much easier this time! So my blogging has been somewhat curtailed due to trying to get some kip.

2005-06-02 Callum's perspective

The Basher has been very cute about the new competition for Mummy and Daddy's affection. He got very excited when I showed him the photos of Connor and Al. I was surprised that he seemed to make the association between the baby in Mummy's tummy that he's been kissing and the little person in her arms. We'll see how the first meeting goes later.

He actually did quite well, no jealous fits and planted a very tender wet kiss on his little brother's head. Joy.

2005-06-01 First take on the new arrival

It's a little unfortunate that Total Recall was on the night Al went into labour, but I first looked at Connor and thought "Hello, Kuato". I'm sure he'll look a lot better after we're allowed to wash the blood off him.

2005-05-31 Connor joins us

Connor was born today. Not the birth we had hoped for; Al had a long labour and eventually had an emergency c-section, so thanks to all at the hospital. It was also a little surreal; when they had her in theatre, the anaethetist asked if we would like some music and whacked on a 80's compilation CD. So our new son entered the world to the sounds of Frankie's Two Tribes.