Well, after not being able to update the website for two months, I’m happy to say that it’s now updated. We were out of disk space so I was unable to put anymore pictures up, but now that our new 80 gig drive has been installed (thanks Ed for putting it in), we have plenty of disk space which should last us a while.

Suzie’s first birthday was a big success, and her party went very well — we even practiced blowing out the candle! Charlie’s gearing up for her fourth birthday, and Mom’s gearing up for the party (I’ve got over 20 kids coming so far!!!). Well, it’s sure to be an interesting day ;-)
We’re all doing well and plodding along in our lives. Trying to keep busy (as the pictures and movies will show).

Please enjoy looking at them — Ed and I put a lot of time into this website for our friends and family to utelize. We hope you like it!

Well, it’s January 2004! Another year is upon us. Ed’s been working feverishly and helping out at home in his ‘spare time’. Charlie’s started pre-school — many of you know that it was something Ed and I had been milling over for some time. She’s adjusting quite well, and after one week of class, seems to have made a new friend (actually, after the first day of school they wanted to have a ‘sleepover’). Charlene is growing nicely, with one or two minor hiccoughs from time to time, but that’s to be expected with an almost 4 year old…

Suzie is up and walking; and her toothless grin is disappearing with the addition of teeth. She’s got two on the bottom and I think another four coming out (two on the top & two bottom). She’s got quite a personality already! She knows what she wants, and doesn’t want — and she has no qualms about letting you know.

As for me, I’m trying to get used to the idea of three hours, three times a week, without Charlie. It’s nice to have only Suzie for a while, but it’s also strange not having Charlie around. I’m still in a ‘newbie’ state, where I’m not quite sure what to do with the time (other than the usual errands, cleaning, laundry, sorting, etc).

We’re starting to plan for Suzanne’s first and Charlene’s fourth birthdays next month. We’re having parties for both of them this year. It’s going to be hard doing two parties in such short succession, but I guess I’m going to have to get used to it! I’ll be doing it every year for a while!

So, that’s it for my first blog entry of 2004. Hope it was a bit newsy, at least!

Well, for those of you who have been involved with our little attempts at getting Charlie onto the toilet, you will be able to appreciate this headline! For the rest of you, allow me to illuminate you!

Several months ago, whilst shopping at BJ’s, we spotted a plush-covered hippity hop (this is a bouncy ball for kids to sit on, with a handle on it). The plush on the bouncy ball, in this case, was in the shape of a kangaroo with a joey in it’s pouch. Well, Charlie fell in love at first sight. I agreed to purchase it for her, if she would go to the toilet all day. She, of course, said yes, and didn’t make it through the day.

For the last few months, the Hippity-hop has been sitting in our dining room closet, waiting for the day that Charlie would stay dry (and clean) from the time she woke in the morning, to bedtime…

Yesterday (29th September 2003) was that day!!!!

Now, I know that all you experienced moms, etc. are saying, “Yeah, that’s just one day — she’s not toilet trained yet…” And, of course, we realize that. But it is, undeniably, a most notable day in our little family’s life!

So, on that happy and enthuastic note, I will leave you with the knowledge (or just the thought) that, you can make someone increadibly happy, just by going to the toilet!!! Isn’t life grand???!!!

Well, it’s almost the end of July — Suzie will be 6 months old on the 1st of August — I can’t believe it! Charlie’s been in a “summer camp” two mornings a week for the last few weeks (basically for July and August). Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-1pm. She seems to have fun there, but whenever we leave home to go to “school” she cries that she doesn’t want to go “… because the teacher will tell me what to do!!!” To which I usually reply that that’s part of the reason why she needs to go to school — to learn how to listen to people when they ask her to do things (something we still battle with at home, sometimes). On the whole, the kids are doing well, although Suzie’s still not sleeping through the night. Oh, well — it can’t go on forever, right? Anyway, that’s about it for my little update. Don’t forget to register at www.shiobara.com if you haven’t done so already — we’re going to be adding new features (hopefully soon!). Take care, all!

Ed doesn’t like “Chuck E. Cheese” but Charlie loves it. While I do agree that “Kidz Cafe” is really nice too, it’s just a bit further of a drive, and it doesn’t have as many games for Charlie to play, and most of the games it has take 2 tokens (whereas “Chuck E. Cheese” only needs 1 for ALL games & rides). Also, you have to PAY to get into “Kidz Cafe” and entry to “Chuck E. Cheese” is FREE!!! Plus, the security at “Chuck E. Cheese” is exponentially better than either “Funtime Junction” or “Kidz Cafe” — they actually check you on your way out at “Chuck E. Cheese”!!!

BOTTOM LINE: “Kidz Cafe” is nice for it’s play-area, but “Chuck E. Cheese” still RULES for security, games and fun (especially since Charlie’s big enough to climb their playground now).