A blog by James D. Lainton
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New Years Eve – 2011
1 month ago
Well, the end of 2011 was upon us last night, Kendra and Kyra invited us out to bowling, where we were joined by my parents. We played just over an hour, nothing major but the kids seemed to have a blast doing it.
Full set of pictures here.
Highlights below
Christmas 2011
1 month ago
Christmas this year was a special one again, since we had our youngest Allie, celebrating her first Christmas. Couple with Sydney being old enough to actually understand the whole thing (as in she is getting presents!) and it was a recipe for being a great one.
We were lucky enough to have Santa stop by on the 24th to visit. Turned out really well.
In the end, the presents were great, the kids were thrilled, and everyone involved were spoiled, and fed very well.
The full set of pictures are available here.
A few highlights below.
Allie Lainton – Week 1
With the weekend upon us, week 1 of Allie being in our lives comes upon us. It seems it flew by, but that might be because she hasnt exactly been the worst kid in the world. She gets up about 1-2 times a night, and is quite content with things. Knock on wood it stays that way. I, personally, dont do well with decreased sleep. Jamie on the other hand is a pro. Incredible person, mother, and wife. I would surely not be able to do much without her. Through the last week, we have had some visitors, and big sister Sydney has warmed right up to her. I have one more week off work, so we can fine tune our schedules and get back into the swing of having a baby in the house. Here are some of the new pictures, and all of them from the start are here.
Big sister Sydney:
Auntie Kendra and Cousin Kyra:
Day 1 – Allie
Well today started unlike any other in my life. We were at the hospital this morning at just after 3am, and shortly thereafter welcomed our second child, Allie Rhea Lainton into the world. Mom was fantastic as usual, making childbirth look so easy. Allie came in just over 9 pounds, and very content right away. Throughout the day, Rhea got to meet her big sister Sydney for the first time, most of her aunts and uncles, as well as both grandma’s and grandpa. She even had a visit from Great Grandpa Mosley. If all goes well, mom and baby will be coming home tomorrow. More info, pics etc to come in the next few days. I am off work for a few weeks to help out around home, so in between naps and such, I hope to get some pictures edited and up. Full slideshow is here.
Making muffins
Jamie and her mom went for a day trip to Minot, so I decided that we should make some muffins. We had done some grocery shopping earlier in the day, and I picked up a ‘shaker’. Other names for it include ‘lazy mans muffins’ or ‘add milk’. Either way, it was an easy way to Sydney and I to do something together, and with any luck, something edible. They seemed to have turned out, no complaints.
More pictures:
Seriously? February?
1 year ago
Its seriously February? Holy.
Part of me is okay with that, as it means its closer to getting out of this winter. Do not understand this as bitching, as a lifetime Saskatchewan resident, it goes with the territory. But when we get up with -38 and a windchill on top of that, it gets old fast. -20 seems warm.
Another reason I am okay with it? Closer to a new addition to the family. We are going to have another baby at the end of March, and we cant wait. Jamie cant wait because she is in the uncomfortable stage of things, and I cant wait to have another addition to the family, its going to be great.
So, since I last made a post on here lots happened, let me get through some of it.
December. This month was unlike any December I have had for a long time. This year, I am not in the retail industry. Wow, what a difference that makes. The month seemed to fly by, not drag out. I had time after work to do the regular things, and fit in shopping and such. It was great. I spent the first full week in Vancouver on Kodak training. I was being trained on our Kodak Generation News CTP (Computer to plate) machines. We have two, and they cost just a bit of money (sarcasm!), so training was welcome. It was a great time. I had a chance to work directly with one of the engineers that designed the entire thing. It was quite the experience. It did not snow, but it sure rained a lot there. Their +5 weather is quite cold, due to the humidity. They can have it. I would rather a dry -20 day in Saskatchewan!
Our basement is completed to where we want it right now. The only remaining peices are the ceiling, and finishing up the bathroom. Our living room, spare bedroom (toy room) and my office are all completed. The living room is now nicely equiped with my projector. Its screen is 109inches of pure awesome. Its incredible. Full HD supported, with HD feeds of the new appletv, and Xbox 360. We did hook up standard satellite there, which works great, but we rarely use it, so have no plans to upgrade it to HD. Most of what we watch is the AppleTV. We have tons and tons of movies available to us, and we have started to use Netflix quite a bit now (as content becomes better and better). The xbox on the big screen is incredible, and makes my jaw drop still when I fire it up. mmmmm…1080p!
And then there is Christmas! What a wonderful time of year. I spent christmas eve at Jamie’s moms house, where we had her Aunt Penny (Muffin!), her two kids (Jamie’s cousin’s), Britney, Brock, and his wife Erin. I didnt work christmas eve at all or boxing day, so I had 3 days off in a row. It was very nice not to rush around, just had a chance to hang out and take things slow.
On Christmas day, we went out to my family’s farm, spent the day out there, played games, presents, ate too much, same old. It was great all around.
Boxing day we spent….doing nothing! It was very nice. We had an off day to play with toys, read books. Was a nice change to getting up, doing the retail thing.
I would also like to mention how people are so nice at Christmas. It amazes me. I have some good friends that I met while in retail, who always delivered baked goods during christmas. This christmas, they tracked me down to give me a tray of goodies again, and some amazing porkies (think bun with pork inside – cant go wrong!). Not only do they do that, but they also include a beautiful card, picture of them, and money. This is not the first time they have given us money, and we have put it in a bank account for our daughter for school. This is something I still cant get over. Simply amazing people. The world needs many, many more people like them. You know who you are!
So, then the new year came upon us. The month of January seemed to blink by. I renovated (with some help of a friend) another bedroom, for the new baby, and as of last night, it was being mudded and should be painted within a weeks time (I think). Then carpet, door, and finishing. Jamie has everything else taken care of (what would I do without her?).
With that, I will draw this post to a close. I have imported a bunch of pictures which I hope to get to editing this weekend, and get then up here. Christmas and random stuff since then.
Just a heads up, my photography site will come to life in the next bit, I actually had some time devoted to working on that, and a friend and I are cooking up something new as well. Stay tuned!
Is 2010 over yet?
1 year ago
First an apology for not getting anything up here since…well..May. Things are just crazy busy for us right now.
So, where did we leave off. This year certainly has been one for travel for me. I spent a week in Halifax in September, doing some quality control stuff with presses and newspapers. It was very interesting trip, nice place out there. Visited Peggy’s Cove, ate some fish, drank and ate well. Oh wait, I did a lot of work too. I was doing some work with a great guy from Vancouver, and a gal from the Toronto area. We spent the entire week together working, and then supper, and sight-seeing. All around – great trip.
In a few weeks I am off to Vancouver for some more work related stuff. Fly out on a Sunday, fly in on the following Saturday. I know it seems like it will be a quick trip, but due to the time change, I may not have the ability to talk with Jamie or Sydney before Sydney goes to bed. In Halifax and Toronto this year, I was still able to see them, wave etc. Its going to be a very long week if I cant do that. 
Otherwise, we have been working hard on finishing our basement. I have a good number of pictures to put up, but there are simply too many to go through, so you will have to wait a bit more. We finished the basement framing, got it spray-foamed, and gyproced. The carpet is being laid today, which is why I am home from work typing on my blog. Hoping to get baseboards and doors in by weekend-end, but we will see how we make out. I am excited. Soon, I will be able to turn my xbox back on and have a functioning projector downstairs! Its gonna be great!
Hrm…what else. My work is progressing, we started printing the Globe and Mail for the October 1st paper, and since then it has been levelling out somewhat. I am still working some late nights, and some longer days, but the paper is looking better and better. Its only going to go up from here. The best part of my job right now? Me NOT being in retail over the Christmas season. I have a brand-new outlook on Christmas. The hours, the work, the apprehension and hate for the season because you were right in the middle of it. Its great now. The people that I work with are great people. My boss is such a caring person, it makes everything worthwhile when she cares. The pressmen, sometimes crude, but great bunch of guys (when they are not harassing me 
)
So that said Christmas will be great this year, really looking forward to spending time with family, and Sydney being even more conscious of what is actually happening.
The last peice of news that I want to share with you is in regards to a new addition. I would like you to meet baby Lainton #2:
Our due date is March 26th, and everything is going great thus far. We did have a bumpy first few months, but they are behind us now, and all is good.
That said, I should get some stuff done while I have a day off. More to come soon!
Jamie
When I met Jamie, she was with someone else, and I was, how I put it to a friend, ‘Waiting for her’. Jamie and I finally started dating, and it was an instant match. It seemed everything was a perfect match. It was about 3 months after we started dating we looked at getting a house together, and moved in a few months after that. Since then the house has been in renovation mode, doing small things here and there, and then a big one a few years ago. In the end, she taught me commitment. When something works, it just plain works, and we work together.
Taking care of myself. When I met Jamie, I was working from 8:30AM till 6 or 7pm every night, sometimes without dinner, coming home, eating crap, and drinking coke until 1 or 2 in the morning. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I felt like crap. I was sick, unhappy, moody, just miserable. When Jamie and I met, and moved in, we started making meals together, going to bed at a decent time, and above all, eating right! My life changed almost entirely overnight (but generally a week). I had more energy, mornings where the worst thing in the world to deal with, and there was structure. It was great.
Clothes, Funny. Last night it was made mention that Jamie was a result of about 50% of what clothes I wear. She corrected my sibling to say it was probably closer to 75%. I have to agree, and I am happy about that. Jamie makes me want to look good, and feel good wearing better clothing. I have a ways to go, but she is supportive about the whole situation, and for that I say thanks.
Sydney. If you don’t know who Sydney is, your seriously coming to this blog for the first time (hint:scroll down). Jamie gave me the second best thing (in order of them happening, not importance) since we got married (the first being Jamie herself). A Baby. Sydney has changed our lives in so many ways (ALL of them good). We really don’t know where we would be without her. Why am I thanking Jamie? I am generally a selfish person (really, most people are), and the thought of kids scared the hell outta me. Having Jamie as a partner made me WANT kids with her. And when it happened, and you hold that girl in your hands, lay her down to sleep, or see her smile when you come home, makes it all worth it. Jamie did the hard part of whole situation, really, what do men do, rub their back, and then generally complain about it when they do it anyhow. The birth was quick, and the side effects don’t go away in a day, and for the entire process, I thank her.
I cant get Jamie anything to repay her for what she has given me, there is no sum of money, or object that I can give to repay the debt. This morning Jamie and I woke up to the day of our 2nd year anniversary. Some may laugh and say ‘big deal, its only 2 years’, but to me its the best two years that I have had in my life, and I look forward to the rest of my life with her.