About the Name

I mean Ariel's name. As you can imagine when we introduce here to little girls they just go mental because she's got the same name as the little mermaid as popularized by Disney. That is a lovely side effect but we weren't thinking of that at all when we named her. Of course that character is from the Danish Hans Christian Andersen's story of the Little Mermaid so there is a tie-in to her Danish heritage.

Her Aunt Suzie suggested it based on some biblical meanings. It means "Lion of God" and it also refers to Jerusalem. The clincher was this scene from the movie Ariel by Aki Kaurismaki. The protagonists are leaving for a better life on a freighter named Ariel. T and I saw this movie together when we were so so young. For us it means HOPE.

Sleep - in

Here's another shot of the kids and I. They both have funny expressions here. You can see A's Felkai-style monobrow taking shape. It's an orange monobrow, poor kid. Lucky she's so cute. We're in the Shuswap cabin here having a lazy morning. They are both so wonderful. We're blessed. My sad days are starting to dissolve into sad moments. While T has time at home it's easier to get sleep so that helps.

The one that got away

I've been pretty busy here a la casa so I'm way behind on updating. The Shuswap weekend seems so long ago but I have to share this story before moving on.

The evening before we left, T took t fishing. Live bait is banned from the lake so they used salami. Well that didn't work. They tried again the next morning and after no results from salami t suggested they change to a lure. He even picked it out himself. Two casts and a struggle later a rainbow trout joined them on the dock. They decided to let the shiny guy go after snapping some photos. I was so impressed. I kind of wish we could have eaten him but I think they did the right thing.

A Horse Tale

Well we arrived late Tuesday evening and our house seems to have shrunk while we were gone. Two floors of 80's style with island kitchen has spoiled us for the Vancouver special life. After the desert the trees outside and the trails are blooming and lush. The salmon berries are starting to form as well. We feel a bit overwhelmed by our stuff. While away we were down to essentials and even that was too much. We are attacking the place with a purge mentality but with kids it's two steps forward and at least one step back.

I've got lots of material from the Shuswap weekend. I'll spread it out over a few entries.

Here's t on a horse. One of the guys working with T on the project was a homesteader in the area. He's just a bit older than we are and he and his family and friends built a community from nothing up in the hills north of the lake. They all have cabins and gardens. He keeps horses as well. His life is quite inspiring and amazing. I keep dreaming about homesteading. Not really sure we have the skills but nice dreams anyway.

Tor got on this horse for a bit. There was also a colt who bit him in the back. After being comforted, he decided to go make friends with him again. We were also treated to a buggy ride and a fine lunch.

A slept a long stretch at night for two nights in a row while we were there. Since we've been home she's up a couple of times again. It takes us both awhile to get back to sleep (thus the name of this blog). I know it'll pass for her. I pray it'll pass for me.

Hoping you are all well...

It's a wrap

This is our last full day in Kamloops. Tomorrow we pack up and leave our beautiful accommodations and head to Shuswap Lake for the weekend. We'll head home either Monday or Tuesday. It's been an intense 3 weeks. I came here still on an emotional roller coaster about A's 'syndrome'. I had a hard time being around other kids and seeing happy moms with new babies. I wasn't sleeping much and although things were much improved since the breastfeeding clicked, I wasn't my best with t either.

I'm not sure why T's only out of town gigs have happened just after the births of our children. Maybe it's because I'm a bit of an escapist and when I'm home I have lots of people and tasks to distract me. This way, I had to go straight through the bad stuff and come out the other side.

I think I'm on the other side. We all love this little girl so much and we're so grateful she's ok. I don't know what the future is going to be like for her and I'm still scared but I think I've convinced myself that everything will be ok and maybe even great.

That's her above expressing her opinion on my feeding tardiness. She communicates quite well.

Today, t went to drop-in gym class again. It's been a nice place to let him run off steam and I've learned something about the brain-body connection. Here he is being persuaded to try a front roll into the foam pit.



T's work is also done as of today. We don't know what's next but it'll be nice to have him home for a little while. He's been completely busy since the birth so hopefully we can enjoy some family time before we move on to the next adventure.

Kicking Horses

Just trying out video. Here are the kids kicking around. This was a few days ago.

9 weeks and 3 days

Here are some shots of Ariel and Tor from today. It's a lazy day today. I didn't get much sleep and Tor wants to stay in today so we're playing with toys and watching Mighty Machines videos from the library. Ariel has become accustomed to being carried in the baby bjorn most days because we usually go out. Today when I put her in her basket to sleep, she insisted on being carried for the day. Luckily, she does lie down at night.

New Camera for Mom

Hi all, now that I have my own camera, I can actually share news and shots of the kids. T and I have been sharing a camera for some time and he needs it at work. So, here we go.

This blog is for family and friends. Anyone else, read at peril of terrible boredom.

Yesterday, we headed west out of Kamloops to a grasslands park. We hiked up to a great view. Here are a couple of shots.

Things have been pretty manageable since A started feeding well (3 weeks ago). t is an amazing big brother. Very affectionate. Sleep has been fleeting for me but everyone else is doing well.