Since we were changing everythin (Home, Kristen's job, adding twins, new daycare, states, furniture, etc) I decided that now is a godo time for me change jobs. That not exactly what happened, but I am changing jobs. Two weeks ago, I went to a former co-worker's house to play some war/strategy games, have a few beers and catch up. The night ended with an agreement that I would come in and interview for a job with his startup. Within a week, I had a new job lined up.
Starting in mid-november, I'll be leaving Varolii where I have been for the last 7 years and moving into a software development position at Good Measures, LLC. It is a small startup (about 10 people) building an contextual nutrition application. I'm very excited about the product and the change of tools and skills required. The appliation is a website and iPhone application for tracking nutrition which is very tailored and targetted for the individual. Looking beyond calorie counting, it is going to help a lot of people meet weight goals, nutrition goals, exercise goals and lifestyles. I will be working from home, as I would have been with Varolii, however, the entire development tema for Good Measures is remote which I think will make being remote much easier.
Varolii has been very good for me. There, I have made the transition from being a pretty green software developer working on installed software to being a team lead and principal software engineer working on scalable web applications. I've learned a lot and gained a lot of confidence at Varolii, but after 7 years it is time for a fresh challenge.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Move Update
There hasn't been much activity here lately. I've had some pictures up on picasa and video's on YouTube, but for the most part, I haven't had a lot of free time in the last month. I've finally found a moment (on the road, 90 minutes east of Syracuse as my Mom drives) to catch up a little bit and get some more content up.
I've been selling junk on Craigslist (TV, Skiis, furniture, CD player, etc), packing as much as I could in advance, and sorting through our stuff to purge and prune the stuff we don't need. The process culminated yesterday when the packer came and today when the movers came and loaded the truck (my back hurt just from watching them work) and we left town.
I am currently driving withour van full of stuff, two cats and my mom across upstate New York on our way to Syracuse for the night. Tomorrow, we will head to outside of Indanapolis, then Thursday we need to be in St. Louis by 1:00 pm for our walkthrough and closing at 2. After that, we are staying in our new house and will have our furniture on Monday.
Kristen, two unborn 27 week old twins, her mom, Davis and no cats are flying down tomorrow morning. They will pick up our CRV from the car moving company and run errands and shop before we meet up on Thursday.
Davis has done very well with the move so far. Sometimes, I think he understand that we are moving and sometimes I'm not so sure. Yesterday, he adjusted very well to having our house packed up (there were lots of boxes) and today he said goodbye to his friends and providers at daycare. He had a few breakdowns, as did we, and we will greatly miss them. For the last 25 months, they have been a very important part of Davis' life; we hope we have found as great an environment for him in Missouri as he had in Arlington.
The cats are surviving the move so far. When we had to lock them on the back porch while we worked on another part of the house, they were very upset. Once they were moved into one of the bed rooms they generally settled down and relaxed slightly. Yesterday, it seemed as if they did not sleep and were constantly alert for th epacker trying to stuff them in a box. Today, Domino almost escaped out a window that was left cracked two inches, but other than a few howls, they did well. After a few hours in the car, they have settled down -- it seems that having it dark outside helps considerably. Tomorrow, they may travel with a blanket over their carriying case to help reduce the stimulation they receive.
Some things that have dissapeared from our checklists in the last month:
- Settle the contract for the new house
- Secure the loan
- Figure out a move plan
- Find a daycare / childcare for Davis until March, and possibly longer
- Pack / Clean / Purge / Repeat
- Insure the new house / cars in Missouri
- Find a doctor for Kristen in St. Louis
- Figure out where the heck we will have these babies
Whew! Its been a crazy month and we still have a wild few weeks to go. Hopefully after that, we'll settle back into a little more regular blogging routine; we've missed lots of great Davis stories and tidits as he grows, learns and talks more and more every day.
I've been selling junk on Craigslist (TV, Skiis, furniture, CD player, etc), packing as much as I could in advance, and sorting through our stuff to purge and prune the stuff we don't need. The process culminated yesterday when the packer came and today when the movers came and loaded the truck (my back hurt just from watching them work) and we left town.
I am currently driving withour van full of stuff, two cats and my mom across upstate New York on our way to Syracuse for the night. Tomorrow, we will head to outside of Indanapolis, then Thursday we need to be in St. Louis by 1:00 pm for our walkthrough and closing at 2. After that, we are staying in our new house and will have our furniture on Monday.
Kristen, two unborn 27 week old twins, her mom, Davis and no cats are flying down tomorrow morning. They will pick up our CRV from the car moving company and run errands and shop before we meet up on Thursday.
Davis has done very well with the move so far. Sometimes, I think he understand that we are moving and sometimes I'm not so sure. Yesterday, he adjusted very well to having our house packed up (there were lots of boxes) and today he said goodbye to his friends and providers at daycare. He had a few breakdowns, as did we, and we will greatly miss them. For the last 25 months, they have been a very important part of Davis' life; we hope we have found as great an environment for him in Missouri as he had in Arlington.
The cats are surviving the move so far. When we had to lock them on the back porch while we worked on another part of the house, they were very upset. Once they were moved into one of the bed rooms they generally settled down and relaxed slightly. Yesterday, it seemed as if they did not sleep and were constantly alert for th epacker trying to stuff them in a box. Today, Domino almost escaped out a window that was left cracked two inches, but other than a few howls, they did well. After a few hours in the car, they have settled down -- it seems that having it dark outside helps considerably. Tomorrow, they may travel with a blanket over their carriying case to help reduce the stimulation they receive.
Some things that have dissapeared from our checklists in the last month:
- Settle the contract for the new house
- Secure the loan
- Figure out a move plan
- Find a daycare / childcare for Davis until March, and possibly longer
- Pack / Clean / Purge / Repeat
- Insure the new house / cars in Missouri
- Find a doctor for Kristen in St. Louis
- Figure out where the heck we will have these babies
Whew! Its been a crazy month and we still have a wild few weeks to go. Hopefully after that, we'll settle back into a little more regular blogging routine; we've missed lots of great Davis stories and tidits as he grows, learns and talks more and more every day.
Transforming Davis
Earlier this month, Kristen and I noticed that Davis was echoing back at us a bad habbit: he was saying "yeah" for everything and it was starting to bother us. Kristen and I made a serious effort to say "yes" instead of "yeah" and within a few days, Davis had picked up on the change and now says "yes" instead. It was remarkable to see a change take place so fast. Kristen and I are still working on saying "yes", but we have changed as well.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
September Pictures
While Davis and Kristen are still sleeping, I'm catching up on posting pictures. These are all available on our picasa albums as well.
We had a great time peach and plum picking with his buddy Charley. Davis did a great job picking plums off this tree and then had a great time looking at the tractors and playing in the kids area.
On Thursday morning at the park, Davis spent 20+ minutes on the big boy swing. He had a lot of fun swinging while I took pictures. He can't make himself go yet.
Our neighbor gave us this small couch for Davis. Here is Davis practicing being a teenager (before texting) an Domino being a cat.
Apple picking a Shelburne Farms wasn't nearly as much fun without Charley. Davis enjoyed running around and even picked a few apples.
On the 18th, we went to Burlington Touch a Truck for the second time. Davis enjoyed getting his hands on some of the trucks and running around. It wasn't quite as much fun as last year, but he had a good time.
That is the end of pictures for September. Since then, we've been packing and getting ready for the move and I haven't had the camera out nearly as much. I do have a lot of videos on YouTube since I almost always have my phone/video camera/mobile computing platform with me.
Each Thursday and Friday morning, Davis goes into daycare at 9:00 instead of 8:00. This gives us enough time in the morning to head to the park when the weather is nice. I took the camera along a few times this month to capture a fun loving boy.
 |
| At the park on a Thursday morning |
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| See-Sawing. Looks like he needs a couple of brothers |
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| More Thursday morning park time with dad. |
We had a great time peach and plum picking with his buddy Charley. Davis did a great job picking plums off this tree and then had a great time looking at the tractors and playing in the kids area.
On Thursday morning at the park, Davis spent 20+ minutes on the big boy swing. He had a lot of fun swinging while I took pictures. He can't make himself go yet.
Our neighbor gave us this small couch for Davis. Here is Davis practicing being a teenager (before texting) an Domino being a cat.
On Friday, the 16th, the Town of Arlington had their annual town day celebration. They bring in some ponies, bouncy houses, a tractor-pulled train, food and a few fire trucks and end the night with a fireworks display. Davis spent a lot of time in the bouncy house and really liked his first fireworks show (watched from mom's lap).
Apple picking a Shelburne Farms wasn't nearly as much fun without Charley. Davis enjoyed running around and even picked a few apples.
On the 18th, we went to Burlington Touch a Truck for the second time. Davis enjoyed getting his hands on some of the trucks and running around. It wasn't quite as much fun as last year, but he had a good time.
That is the end of pictures for September. Since then, we've been packing and getting ready for the move and I haven't had the camera out nearly as much. I do have a lot of videos on YouTube since I almost always have my phone/video camera/mobile computing platform with me.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
New Pictures - Move update
We haven't had a lot of time for blogging lately. Kristen doesn't have a lot of energy in the evenings and I have been spending most nights packing or cleaning after getting Davis to bed. The move to Saint Louis is coming along well. I've managed to sell quite a few things on craigslist, and we now have about 35 boxes and bins packed. There is a lot that we won't pack and leave for the movers so we are in pretty good shape for the adventure. The packers come on the 17th, the truck is loaded on the 18th. My mom, the cats and I are driving out of town on the 18th and Kristen, her mom and Davis will fly out on the 19th and we will all meet up for the closing on the 20th.
We have a lot to do between now and then. Today, we dropped our CRV off at an auto-shipper so that it is in Saint Louis in time for Kristen and her mom's arrival. After the drop off, which was very very difficult for Davis, we headed to Edaville USA for a Day Out with Thomas (really, a couple of hours out with Thomas). Davis had a lot of fun and was very excited. Here a few pictures from the day.
We have a lot to do between now and then. Today, we dropped our CRV off at an auto-shipper so that it is in Saint Louis in time for Kristen and her mom's arrival. After the drop off, which was very very difficult for Davis, we headed to Edaville USA for a Day Out with Thomas (really, a couple of hours out with Thomas). Davis had a lot of fun and was very excited. Here a few pictures from the day.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
A day in the life of 2-year old Davis
Davis is growing very quickly in size and ability. I just wanted to capture a somewhat typical day in the life of Davis.
Morning:
Davis wakes up and calls for Mommy or Daddy and then whoever comes to the room he snuggles with for a little while while he wakes up. If it's a particularly rough morning, he'll ask for milk. We all get to eat breakfast together before heading our separate ways on weekdays. If Dad has left before Davis wakes up, we usually call him on the phone to say hi. On a weekend, Davis helps make pancakes or waffles. He likes chocolate chips in his pancakes, but not blueberries. He likes to put salt and pepper on his food and his favorite breakfast usually includes eggs. On a weekday we are off to Sarah's house and if it's raining he puts on his yellow puddle stompers, sometimes when it's not raining as well.
Afternoon:
I can't report much on what happens during the day at daycare, but recently we've been asking Davis what he did that day and the typical answer is "Trucks". Did you play with trucks all day long? "Yeah". Sometimes he'll also tell us who he played trucks with.
Evening:
If we are lucky, all of us will be home to enjoy a dinner together. On unlucky days, Davis will join me when I get home late to have a yogurt pop while I eat my dinner. Yogurt pops (yogurt sticks that have been frozen) are quite possibly the most coveted item in our household. Davis is a terrific eater of corn on the cob and we've had a bountiful corn year from the farm. He would choose to have chicken and yogurt every night for dinner if given the option, but is also quite fond of rice. He loves broccoli and watermelon as well. Pasta could go either way with Davis, one night it's fantastic, another it's not. He loves having bubble water with dinner (carbonated water) on ice. He takes after his dad and will crunch on his ice. In fact, John and I think the bottom drawer refrigerator we will get for the new house will be great in all respects but one, Davis will be able to get ice any time he wants it.
Nighttime:
A typical weeknight includes playing legos with Dad, play-doh with Mom, or building forts in his bedroom. About once a week we enjoy going to get ice cream, where Davis picks his ice cream based on color. Purple first, and if there's no purple ice cream, then yellow will do. Davis' favorite color is purple. We wind down the night with a BIG bubble bath. We asked him once what he meant by a BIG bubble bath and he said "Not a little one". He'll also tell us know that means the bubbles go really high, accompanied by appropriate hand and body gestures. Davis loves bath time and usually outlasts Mom or Dad in his entertainment. Next we brush teeth, first Davis and then Mommy or Daddy helps. Finally, we are dressed in pajamas and ready for milk and stories. His favorite bedtime stories change occasionally, but have included "100 Trucks", "Goodnight Moon", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and "Corduroy". Many nights it's a peaceful few minutes of tossing and turning before falling asleep. On restless nights like tonight, it apparently also involves changing the diaper on monkey several times, asking for his nails to be cut, and asking for several big hugs from Dad. Monkey, by the way, finally had to come and sleep in the living room.
Morning:
Davis wakes up and calls for Mommy or Daddy and then whoever comes to the room he snuggles with for a little while while he wakes up. If it's a particularly rough morning, he'll ask for milk. We all get to eat breakfast together before heading our separate ways on weekdays. If Dad has left before Davis wakes up, we usually call him on the phone to say hi. On a weekend, Davis helps make pancakes or waffles. He likes chocolate chips in his pancakes, but not blueberries. He likes to put salt and pepper on his food and his favorite breakfast usually includes eggs. On a weekday we are off to Sarah's house and if it's raining he puts on his yellow puddle stompers, sometimes when it's not raining as well.
Afternoon:
I can't report much on what happens during the day at daycare, but recently we've been asking Davis what he did that day and the typical answer is "Trucks". Did you play with trucks all day long? "Yeah". Sometimes he'll also tell us who he played trucks with.
Evening:
If we are lucky, all of us will be home to enjoy a dinner together. On unlucky days, Davis will join me when I get home late to have a yogurt pop while I eat my dinner. Yogurt pops (yogurt sticks that have been frozen) are quite possibly the most coveted item in our household. Davis is a terrific eater of corn on the cob and we've had a bountiful corn year from the farm. He would choose to have chicken and yogurt every night for dinner if given the option, but is also quite fond of rice. He loves broccoli and watermelon as well. Pasta could go either way with Davis, one night it's fantastic, another it's not. He loves having bubble water with dinner (carbonated water) on ice. He takes after his dad and will crunch on his ice. In fact, John and I think the bottom drawer refrigerator we will get for the new house will be great in all respects but one, Davis will be able to get ice any time he wants it.
Nighttime:
A typical weeknight includes playing legos with Dad, play-doh with Mom, or building forts in his bedroom. About once a week we enjoy going to get ice cream, where Davis picks his ice cream based on color. Purple first, and if there's no purple ice cream, then yellow will do. Davis' favorite color is purple. We wind down the night with a BIG bubble bath. We asked him once what he meant by a BIG bubble bath and he said "Not a little one". He'll also tell us know that means the bubbles go really high, accompanied by appropriate hand and body gestures. Davis loves bath time and usually outlasts Mom or Dad in his entertainment. Next we brush teeth, first Davis and then Mommy or Daddy helps. Finally, we are dressed in pajamas and ready for milk and stories. His favorite bedtime stories change occasionally, but have included "100 Trucks", "Goodnight Moon", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and "Corduroy". Many nights it's a peaceful few minutes of tossing and turning before falling asleep. On restless nights like tonight, it apparently also involves changing the diaper on monkey several times, asking for his nails to be cut, and asking for several big hugs from Dad. Monkey, by the way, finally had to come and sleep in the living room.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Update!!
The last couple of weeks have been a crazy wild time for us. We decided on August 10th that we would move to St. Louis for Kristen's job in October instead of March. We had talked about moving before the twins were born for a long time and thought we had decided against it. But, as we talked through it again and as the pregnancy progresses we decided that moving with the twins inside instead of out will be much easier.
We had a trip planned for August 16th to19th to meet with three real-estate agents, a nanny, several preschools and the architect for Kristen's lab space. We quickly re-oriented our trip to focus on finding a house. We choose from the 3 agents based on our interactions via email and spent the next few days seriously talking about what we wanted in a house and filtering through many listings on http://zillow.com/ and the MLS listings the agents were sending.
Over the course of 3 days we:
We had a trip planned for August 16th to19th to meet with three real-estate agents, a nanny, several preschools and the architect for Kristen's lab space. We quickly re-oriented our trip to focus on finding a house. We choose from the 3 agents based on our interactions via email and spent the next few days seriously talking about what we wanted in a house and filtering through many listings on http://zillow.com/ and the MLS listings the agents were sending.
Over the course of 3 days we:
- Saw about 25 houses in person
- Met with a loan officer at Midwest Bank Center
- Found 3 houses we liked and 1 we made an offer on
- Met with the Nanny and decided to HIRE HER NOW!
- Visited 2 preschools (we won't use them because of location, but they were great)
- Explored the neighborhood we are going to live in
- Met with the architect for Kristen's lab space
- Met with a nanny placement service
Since we have got back
- We have accepted the counter offer
- Have secured the loan (more or less)
- Have scheduled an inspection
- Have planned a trip to meet with more preschools / daycares for Davis until the nanny starts
- Have put together all the paperwork for the loan
- Worked out out to get our of our lease
- Have started making a lot of decisions about what we will move and not move
- Started talking to moving companies
The only thing missing has been sleep. Kristen and I both had nights in St. Louis where we were so wound up we couldn't sleep and since we got back I have been up late working each night.
Its been a crazy and exciting time!
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