Lost time.

So I’m sure some of you have been wondering where I’ve been and what’s up. Truth be told, I’m not sure myself. The last week or so has passed in a blur – fragmented chunks of sleep 45 – 50 mins long all nite will have that effect I guess.

We had a baby. I say that having come to the realization yesterday that I haven’t even had a chance to tell a bunch of you that – then when I tried mass email a photo, the dial-up just plain hung on me. My deepest apologies to those of you that feel jilted because you didn’t find out ’til now, or even worse, found out second hand. My intention was not to slight you. I’m just in. The. Weeds. Photos are up on the flickr page.

Turns out Olivia had some pretty severe Jaundice so Lyn’s been back and forth to the doctor with her all this week and for a day or two she was sleeping on a special light bed that had me convinced we were really caling the mothership to bring her home. She was sleeping on a box that emitted an eerie blue glow. It was strange. It looked like she was on a display case in a museum or something. We also had to feed her a ton in order to flush out the toxins that weren’t being removed naturally (this is what Jaundice is) so she was blowing through about 4-5 diapers every 2 hours. Nuts. Good news is she’s getting better now.

It’s weird ’cause it’s like Lyn and I reversed roles. She was into town with Olivia every day to the doctor and I’ve been home land-locked every day. We’ve been living together, but it seems we don’t see each other much. She has to feed Olivia every two hours on a tight schedule, so when she’s not doing that, she’s trying to catch up on sleep. As a result I’ve been on 100% Colin duty – which I suggest is the next fad diet, he doesn’t stop – since she’s always busy with Olivia. When we passed each other in the hall ‘at work’ the other day we joked – She feels bad cause it seems she never sees Colin anymore and I feel like after we left the hospital, I have a new baby that I haven’t seen since. Our house really isn’t that big, I swear.

The older girls are being really good and helping out, and surprisingly understanding of the limits on our time – given their age. They’re excited ’cause today we’re bringing Olivia to their respective classes for a visit – then, we’ve actually got to try and do the grocery.

That will be our first real outing with the whole Squad. Lyn used to comment when she went out pregnant before with the 3 – she was already getting stares from folks. People really don’t do families this big anymore. Going out now with the four may attract outright media attention. My concern is that people are always going to jump to the conclusion that were of some hardore religion (Mennonites, Mormons, MaryKay reps, etc). Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’ve just never been a big fan of the beards, bonnets, and I like my coffee to much. Call me a heathen, but I NEED the coffee right now.

Luckily to distract us, Lyn and I have 2 elections to follow on the telly – the US AND Canadian ones. Both are rife with sheer lunacy. I tell you one thing, I think it’s sad that the media in the States has shifted it’s attention from what was the greatness of Barack Obama to the freakshow that is Palin. I dunno ’bout anyone else, but McCain isn’t getting any younger, and the thought that she may somehow end up in office (they’re ahead in the polls, WTF?) really scares the bejesus out of me – and I don’t even live down there any more. Up here is a mess as well, The Conservatives seem to have forgotten the old adage ‘If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all’, The Liberals – well – unfortunately half the time you can’t really even UNDERSTAND what Dion is saying, and the NDP and the Greens, though presenting some good ideas, don’t seem to be taken too seriously under the weight (ineptitude?) of the other 2. Happy voting! I think I’ll be exercising my right to write in Cheech and Chong in both countries.

Well I better wrap this up – coffee cup’s running low – and my ‘window of Colin exclusivity’ is about to close. In a minute In the Night Garden will be over and he’ll turn his thoughts to normal little boy stuff – what in this room can I climb and eat?

I will try to post more often and update the pictures as well. I think that this will be the easiest vehicle for me to update you all vs. all the other mediums (phone, email, etc.) as it works on ‘kid time’.