Update: The Henderlembckes

When I started this blog, I never intended it to be a few times a month kind of thing, but here it is almost February, and well, I have only posted twice in January. There are many times during the week that I think, wow, that's a good idea for a post, but then I am consumed with work, laundry, baby Jack, and sleep (not necessarily in that order) and I never make it to the computer. But we have eaten dinner, the little one is fast asleep, and there is an hour or so before the season premiere of Lost, so I thought I would (briefly) catch you up on the happenings of the Henderlembckes*.

When I posted on New Year's day, I wrote about the many changes that 2008 would bring for us. We've managed to accomplish most of what we've set out to do in 2008 so far. Jack started daycare without a hitch. He has a wonderful daycare provider a few blocks from our home who spoils him with love, hugs, and attention. Most of the time, Jack is the only child there. He shares Grandma Sherri with two four-year-olds on Mondays, two school-age kids come a few days a week, and every so often a 15-month old waddler joins the crew. Nick and I have arranged our schedules so that we each have every other Friday off, so we get some extra time with Jack and Sherri gets her Fridays off.

I love daycare!

I have joined the ranks of telecommuters and it is a bit trickier than one might think. I am not the biggest fan of getting ready to go to work in the morning, and it's even harder to make that happen when you aren't really "going" to work. Some days, I stay in my pajamas/lounge pants all day and forget to brush my teeth until after I eat lunch. It doesn't really affect my productivity, but it does affect my ego when I realize that I forgot to put on deodorant for the day (and no, it's not a smell that reminds me, smart aleck). I have found that overall the advantages to working at home outweigh the drawbacks, but it is definitely different than I expected. A recent story in the New York Times confirmed some of my feelings.

We have purchased a new car and, much to our surprise (and maybe yours), it is a minivan. I was shopping around for the best used car we could get for the money, and, lo and behold, stumbled across this Honda Odyssey. I know that some of you Kiwis are not familiar with the term minivan and may wonder what it looks like - I'll post a picture as soon as we get the salt washed off of it.

We are the proud aunt, uncle, and cousin to little Andy. We went to Madison to check him out in person last weekend and man, is he a sweetie. His parents, Grant and Anne, are hanging in there during the (most amazing and hardest) first weeks. Grandpa Roy is bursting with pride (well, as much as he "bursts") at the newest additions to the family. The minivan survived the road trip and its spaciousness allowed us to feed and diaper Jack without having to take him out in the cold.

Little Andy

And it has been cold. Yesterday was the coldest day of the season, with high temperatures well below zero and wind chills close to 30 degrees below (Fahrenheit). We are headed for a big warm-up this weekend - highs in the 20s. Gotta love winter in Minnesota.

Mom, I can't put my arms down!

I will post some more pictures of Jack and his cousin in the next few days, but now I have to run and watch the Lost: Past, Present, and Future show so my brain is ready to absorb the new episode scheduled for 8pm. This writer's strike (and that darn baby) have really put a cramp in our TV viewing this season. Gotta catch the new shows when we can!

*The Clever King came up with this nickname a few years ago for our dual last name family while playing The Sims and it has stuck.

Eyes on the Prize

Tonight, all eyes are on our neighbors to the south, those crazy Iowans. As they participate in the the Iowa caucuses, about 300,000 of the approximately 2 million eligible voters in the state will have an important hand in the decision of who the rest of us will eventually get to pick between for the president. Nick has spent the last several days watching the polls and telling those Iowans (via that handy two-way communication vehicle, the television set) that if they haven't made up their mind on who they are going to support by now, then they must have some of their famous corn between their ears instead of a brain. It's hard not to be jealous of all of the face time, as we sit here due north, nary a candidate in sight, and our primary still a month away. Today on MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) I heard that one Iowan woman had been discussing hot flashes with Hillary, sSounds like an advice column, "Hot Flashes with Hillary"), a topic of critical importance when selecting the next president.

It's an interesting state of affairs when my (formerly?) Republican uncle and I are supporting the same candidate in the primaries. I'm anxious to move onto the next president, after experiencing "W" for 7 of my 14 adult years. Nick is equipped for the event with his new calendar, the day by day "Out of Office Countdown," a Christmas present courtesy of his son. Each day has an "enlightening" Bush quote, January 1st's being, "You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on." Unfortunately, Nick will not become a citizen in time to vote in the 2008 presidential election, but that does not keep him from sharing his (many) opinions on the subject. Two political science majors under the same roof makes for some interesting conversation.

It seems like both yesterday and a decade ago when Howard Dean let out his (in)famous scream in the last presidential go-round. Weird.

Results are coming in...stay tuned.

What the New Year Brings

Happy 2008! I can't believe that "next year" is already here. For the last few weeks, our lives have continued on fast forward. We shoveled some snow, did lots of Christmas shopping, attended some Christmas parties, shoveled some more snow, travel to Madison to spend Christmas with my family, drove through some snow, watched Jack roll over a few times, and shoveled yet more snow. (I recently heard that we had more snow in December than we have for many of the winters that I have lived here. That doesn't surprise me.)

Here's a few pictures from those events...

Karla, Jack, and Katie at the Buckskin Christmas Gathering

The weather's gonna stay this way for how many months?

You mess with Tom, you mess with me

I am strangely drawn to this

Will Ferrell has some competition

And next year I want a Red Ryder gun, a pony, and a real live fire truck

2008 will bring us many changes. Tomorrow, Jack goes to his first day of daycare. Tomorrow is also my first day of my new (although somewhat? temporary) telecommuting schedule. We will soon be returning to our status as a two-car family (if all goes well), after a year or so as a single-car one. We will also soon become an aunt and uncle, as my brother and sister-in-law have a baby on the way. Hopefully, we will also be able to slow down a bit as 2008 begins. I will try and keep you posted about how each of these changes is going.

Hope you enjoyed the holidays. Here's wishing you all the best in 2008!