babies' first birthday!

man those little critters are great

posting sort of out of an obligation, but also wanting to put out some ruminations.

obligation: it's been close to two weeks since my last, and my current task for site dev is "focus on posting" which, i haven't been doing. lately i've been faltering on that resolution to 'post moar'. oh well! it's been a busy week! c'mon gimme a break.

i started out with a half-day of telework last friday to give my wife a chance to take care of some errands. monday i was going to telework as well, but that turned into taking most of the day off when she had to go to the doctor, and then the ER. she spent two nights in the hospital, meaning i had to take tuesday off too, before finally being able to come home on wednesday. just in time for the twins' birthday!! it's the small blessings.

but that isn't without a wrinkle: my mother is in town! a kind, loving, but sometimes frustrating woman, she is staying with us through the weekend for the babies' first birthday party. that happens tomorrow. in the meantime we've been using the last 72 hours since her flight landed to catch up (at the worst hours of the night), tote the kids around town to various thrift stores, and prep the house in one way or another for hosting upwards of a dozen people. it's a lot of work to make this place presentable, but i do think we've managed it. i was already planning on taking this time off work, so no surprises there. just wish that the duration of this break had been due to better circumstances.

these kids are amazing; this week has given their mother and i a chance to look through the past year and see how far they've come since they first entered this world. they've both quintupled their birth weights, just about. they've sprung up like weeds, they eat like athletes, and they're probably a month and change away from walking without any assistance. then we will truly have toddlers on our hands. nothing else excites me like that prospect.

now for the rumination part: despite making some sort of resolution within myself to waste less time on my phone, and despite taking steps to do so (like uninstalling most social media, blocking short-form video feeds, etc.) i still find myself opening it and looking for something, anything, in the way of visual stimulation. it would appear my brain is broken and i don't know what to do about it. i have the self awareness to notice when i'm doing it, but not to stop it before it happens. bluh. i'm hoping that once this week is over and things calm down, and we get back into a routine, maybe i'll have some self control. who could say.

anyway, i am really looking forward to this party tomorrow!! signing off.

-grady c