Kimler Adventure Pages (http://randsco.com)

Rachel is well past her first mid-terms and is wrapping up a term-paper that's due next week. It's been a tough go for everyone, trying to adjust and give Rachel the time she needs to study, read, prepare & write. Her first mid-term, in Medical Micro-Biology went swimmingly and we began to think that this 'University' stuff wouldn't be too difficult. Unfortunately, her 2nd mid-term, in her double-unit Nursing course, didn't go as well as she had thought. Without too much time for remorse or speculation, she had to get motivated to complete a term-paper in that same course ... and then, not too far from now - finals. Unlike regular employment, a student's "job", never really ends (as one can always 'study more'). Rachel has the difficult task of riding that fine line between balancing school & family life, something that most of her younger classmates are not struggling with.

School and child-care, along with a dark, cold winter (and geez, it's only the middle of November), have put a great deal of stress on the household. We can't lie. It's been tough and this is the "light term" (only two courses). Next term will involve a clinical placement (Two 8-hour shifts per week) and THREE courses! Neither of us feels we get enough time to do "our things" and though we love Alex to death, her needs are constant (when she is awake). Fortunately, she naps from about 10 AM to 11:30 AM daily and again from 3 PM to 5 PM (most days). Sometimes it's earlier, sometimes later ... and rarely, she'll skip an afternoon or morning nap entirely. Still, those become the times that we have for chores (like showering, answering emails, doing laundry) and aren't necessarily long enough to accomplish other tasks.

Scott cares for Alex when Rachel is at school (Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, all-day Wednesday & Thursday afternoon) - there is no other option. He takes her at other times too, so that Rachel has time to study, but he too, needs time - time on the computer, time in the shop, etc. Because Alex goes to bed at 8 PM, there is some relief, but often we're too tired to want to start work or study in the evening. The dark doesn't help, with the feeble sun setting around 4:30 or 5:00 PM. The time that suffers most, however, is "our time", where we take time for ourselves and our relationship and do things together, without Alex. That's become almost non-existent & is taking it's toll.

Fortunately, we do communicate about these things, but it's generally not until after some big argument or misunderstanding. We're doing our best to find something that works for everyone, but it hasn't been easy and we're not close to figuring it all out. It takes a toll on our psyche & we've both been blue lately, as a result.

A caveat - as much of a drain on our personal resources as Alex has been, she's also been a source of humor, love & comfort. She truly is a blessing, but we can completely understand the stress that comes from introducing a little one into the family.

Oop Tracks: Bundled in a new snowsuit (thanks Gran!) we ventured out. Alex made tracks back to the house. Too cold!

Scott's parents returned home just in time. The night before they left, on Oct 16th, it began to snow. In the morning, we awoke to discover that half of our electricity was out, including the central heater, oven, stove & several outlets - all the IMPORTANT stuff (one of the two feeds into the house had shorted in a neighbors tree)! If Scott's parents hadn't already made plane reservations, we might have accused them of timing their departure and wimping out because of snow. Shortly before noon, we made the blizzardy drive to the airport to bid farewell to Tom & Marilyn. Thank God for the All-Wheel & anti-lock brakes on the mini-van. We returned home to discover that the local utility company had fixed the power problem (wow - that was quick) and we were relieved to have heat again! We figured that in Edmonton, when you report not having heat, it's a pretty important call-out!

It snowed for several days, with varying degrees of intensity. Unprepared, Scott shoveled snow with a variety of garden implements, trying to find something that worked and vowing to purchase a snow shovel the first chance he had. (We weren't the only ones caught unprepared, as most stores we visited were sold out of whatever snow shovel stock they had, so we just muddled along using brooms, rakes & a square shovel until a couple of weeks after this, our first major winter storm). The cat, decidedly hydrophobic, ventured out only when necessary, moving through the snow, tentatively placing his paws in inches of the white stuff, shaking each paw after lifting it up out of the snow. As you can imagine, his morning constitution is consummated quickly & shortly, we hear pitiful & plaintive mewing at the rear door. "Let me IN!" We took the Oop out into the snow, all bundled up in her new snowsuit (a timely birthday gift) and watched her make tracks across the front lawn, heading straight to the porch. (If you should ever come across such unusual tracks in the wild, there'll be no mistaking them for a pre-biped infant.) The snow abated after a few days, though temperatures remained below freezing most days. We watched, as the snow slowly melted off of our roof, creating ever-changing icicles. The largest, just outside of our living room picture window, we dubbed "The Tentacle". We watched it grow and bifurcate, wondering if it would reach the ground and become a column of ice. Though it never did, it was the last icicle to melt & provided much discussion and amusement.

Temperatures have been warmer lately (as high as 9°C during the day, or 48°F). There is still snow from that first storm on the ground, but much of it has melted away, making for dirty cars & muddy lanes. Only recently, with the melting of snow, has the desire to resume outdoor activities returned. Yesterday, Scott raked leaves off the front lawn (the back is still too snow-covered). Today, we took the Oop out for a walk, stopping at the park to give her a push on the swing & repeated runs down the 5-foot slide. She loved both, but with a reindeer-red nose and cheeks, we figured we ought to head back indoors, for a cookie and (eventually) a nap. There's no question that we'll be having a WHITE Christmas this year!

The New Shop: Only Monday Night Football fans, Tim 'The Toolman' Taylor & Dad would appreciate this photo. Grunt, ugh! Happiness is having a workshop.

We're still settling into our new home & Scott has been dying to get the garage organized. (It's been a junk pile ever since we have arrived, boxes strewn everywhere & hardly any room to walk around). Now that the Honda is in Edmonton, we're planning on storing it in the garage & it's become a priority to free up some space. So Scott has been working on designing and building a set of shelving units that we can break down, move and use in ANY living situation (we're finally getting wise to the ways of moving, having made six moves in the last two years!) As weather permits, he's been out measuring, cutting, hammering & applying polyurethane to the six 4-foot, stackable shelving units. One day last week, shelves completed, we moved EVERYTHING out of the garage & onto the lawn, installed the shelves and moved EVERYTHING back in. WHEW ... what a day! He's since added florescent lights, but there is more work to be done - organizing, insulating, installing electrical outlets ... BUT he's really glad to have a place to work & play 'tool man'!

No, she's not a nurse yet, but she's well into her first semester at the University of Alberta. She's taking "Medical Mike" (aka Medical Micro-Biology, which Scott refers to as, "Medical Bob"). It's her most interesting course. The other course is (in the parlance of University-speak) "Nursing 306", which is a 6-credit course "Nursing & Health Assessment". It's kind of like an Intro to Nursing course, which has a lab associated with it. She brought home an infant blood pressure cuff and has been practicing on Alex. Scott is a little worried that they're going to learn about giving injections & drawing blood.

It has been difficult to adjust and carve out a new schedule. We've been sharing cooking duties a lot more and have instituted a weekly menu plan (needed when you have two cooks in the kitchen). We shop once a week - mostly it's still Rachel that shops, as Scott detests shopping. But he did go last week (what a zoo! You really got to pick your times to go to avoid a crowd.) Rachel went back to work when Alex was just two months old, so he's used to being Mr. Mom, but now, as a student, when Rachel returns home, she has homework to do & he's used to relinquishing childcare duties when she pops in the door. Finding the time to study is something that Rachel is finding difficult. The Oop goes to bed at 8 PM, so that's a logical time, but often we're tired and ready to veg out then. Gradually, we're coming up with a new dance, one that has Alex taken care of & allows both parents their needed time. Now all we have to do is carve out some "us" time! (Our 3-year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, by the way).

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Little Helper? Alex likes to be in the middle of things. Leaf-raking is an every-other-day chore, but she has fun!

We weren't the only ones that freaked out when it snowed on September 9th, as most of our neighbors said such an early snow was highly unusual. Fortunately, it hasn't snowed since then, but we have had a killing frost (recently, there was a particularly cold night that got down to 25°F). Days have been very pleasant lately - sunny & in the mid 60's to low 70's. The leaves are falling & it seems that every other day, Scott is out raking leaves with Alex (who loves to "help"). The leaves are bagged, then left our for the garbage people. Ultimately, they're composted and the resulting compost is sold to local farmers & anyone who wants it.

The Edmonton Waste Facility had an open house, one weekend in early September and we decided to drive out and have a look. Wow! Edmonton has the largest composting facility of it's type in the World. It's 8 football-fields in size, cost $100MM, and combines 200,000 tons of residential solid waste with 22,500 dry-tons of biosolids (poop) into 80,000 tons of compost each year. That's a lot of compost. We got to go inside this huge facility (it stinks), but is really amazing. There is also a Material Recovery Facility (recycle plant) that processes 40,000 tons of recycled materials, collected from residents, each year. Who knew that as far as waste goes, Edmonton is a World leader? Take an online tour here.

With winter right around the corner, we've been working at doing all of those things needed before the snow & cold come. One of those tasks, was to install a block heater in our mini-van. California-boy (Scott) is very apprehensive about a winter so far north that one needs to install a heater so that the engine block doesn't freeze and CRACK! (That's too COLD for him). He's been dragging his feet about installing the block heater, thinking that denial is the best way to ward off the upcoming weather. Well, when he finally got around to purchasing one and when he went to install it, received a pleasant surprise - the van ALREADY has one (the cord was just buried in the engine compartment). Apparently, ALL Canadian-manufactured autos have one. Good deal!