Dec 03 2009

Hey Everyone – I Have Been A Good Boy!

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 8:04 pm

I was speaking with a Russian man this week who was telling me how his son wanted an PlayStation 3 for Christmas. The son explained that he had behaved very well these last 12 months, and his school report had also been commendable. Given these conditions, he was hoping that Father Christmas might be able to stretch to a console this year. The father explained that Santa simply couldn’t afford to get a PS3 or similar expensive presents for every child in the world, and so to try and not be disappointed if he didn’t manage to get one for him.
The child’s response? (The parents split up a long time ago) I was hoping that Mummy’s Father Christmas could talk with your Father Christmas, and maybe get it as a joint present? A very pragmatic, cute and sensitive approach to an issue that can cause stress in other families when it comes to that time of year when you need to find Christmas presents, I thought.

edivvy

So, Why am I mentioning this here? If your Santa Clauses tend to have problems coordinating matters at this busy time of year, there is help at hand. If when you ask your nearest and dearest for Christmas gift ideas they then hint that they would really like something that is out of your price range, edivvy can help you. Put simply they sell items and accept payments from multiple people. This way the cost can be cut between Mum and Dad, brothers and sisters, or for something really special, perhaps the entire extended family and close friends?
One feature I thought was quite well implemented is should you set up an event with multiple presents for someone, you can assign each gift a priority level. Should the friends and family end up being $20 short of a $850 total bill (for example), you can make sure certain gift ideas for Christmas are purchased first, so the TV could be the first choice, with the Flip camcorder being second. Any money “left over” in the pot can be sent onto the intended gift recipient as a gift card. So, check out the links, see if anything grabs your attention, and try setting up an event today.

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Nov 17 2009

Happy Birthday Dad & Babushka

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 6:37 am

I am pretty sure he will not see this post in time (as Jan is taking him to Prague as a present), but happy 60th birthday Dad 🙂 We all hope you have a brilliant day, and know that you are in our thoughts over here.

Happy Birthday Dad And Babushka

As you may have guessed from this post’s title, it is also Babushka’s (Ira’s Dad’s Mum’s) birthday today. We aren’t 100% certain how old she is, as her birth certificate wasn’t created until a little while after she was born, but we hope you have a great day with the friends you have coming over, and that you’ll enjoy your birthday meal with your family this weekend.

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Nov 17 2009

Any1 else’s ADSL internet conn…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 12:46 am

Any1 else’s ADSL internet connectivity down in Kazakhstan or more specifically Astana? Was drafting posts on Dad’s and Babushka’s birthdays.

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Oct 11 2009

Winter Is Approaching

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 9:04 pm

At least that is the reason given given by my wife’s parents for attempting to persuade me to clear the tea time table of the potatoes and meat. Now if I was out working all day with my hands (stop guffawing those who know me), or I was perhaps all skinny and bony, I could empathise with their concern. However, apart from week time walks in the park with Anna, I don’t tend to use up a lot of energy really, so I’m sure this well intended attempt to feed me up is not 🙂 The vodka however is a different story – they bought back a bottle of Absolut vodka (which costs a silly amount over here in Kazakhstan) back from their holiday in Turkey. Even better, it was the raspberry flavoured variety – only pipped at the post by the (black?)currant variety. This bottle has magically been disappearing quite quickly over the weekend. Even Irina’s Dad (normally a brandy man) has been sampling it!

Absolut Raspberry Raspberri

There see, just add some fruit in the picture, et voilà, it looks so much healthier!

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Aug 19 2009

Eating Better Than Daddy Already

Category: Anna's Photos,Anna's VideosChrisM @ 2:50 pm

I’ll have to double check, but I think this video is the first we have of Anna eating (well chewing and sucking at least, not a lot seems to go down her throat, though the carpet and high chair do get fed well). Again shot on the 19th August, proving that a foot was no substitution for the real thing.

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Aug 11 2009

Father-in-law toasts mother-in-law

Category: Pictures,TweetsChrisM @ 8:28 pm

Father-in-law toasts mother-in-law on her ??th birthday. http://twitpic.com/di4ci

Irina's Dad Toasts Irina's Mum

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Jul 26 2009

Dedushka In The Kitchen

Category: Anna's PhotosChrisM @ 10:55 am

This photo was taken drawing close to the end of July (26th to be precise), meaning this blog is now a mere five weeks behind schedule re. the aim of live-ish photo posting. Dedushka (Ira’s Dad) is holding Anna in the kitchen, whilst Anna herself shows off her strong back muscles by sitting quite upright.

Dedushka And Anna Merriman

Dedushka And Anna Merriman

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Jul 24 2009

Tiring Walk Means Sleep Time

Category: Anna's PhotosChrisM @ 5:03 pm

Most weeks we try to take Anna for a walk in the evening (when it is a little cooler for her and Daddy 🙂 ), at least Monday to Friday, whilst we are near the park. Anyway, the 24th of July saw her sprawled out in her pushchair (she is now too big to be comfortable enough in her car seat the whole time), at the entrance to our flats. Once she wakes up, we go upstairs, have a bath, and get ready for bed.

Anna In Her Pushchair

Anna In Her Pushchair

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Jul 23 2009

Roll Your Own Way

Category: Anna's PhotosChrisM @ 9:55 am

Here we have a before (23rd July) and after (24th July) photo, so when Anna is older and needs more immunizations, we’ll be able to point out the post on the blog, and explain that even when she was a (comparatively) tiny baby, she coped with 5 lots of injections very well, and was still happy rolling on the floor.
Given virtually any size of safe, clean and soft area to play on, Anna will normally combine rolling on her side and crawling (backwards only still) until she is at the edge of the pre-ordained ‘nice’ area, and so able to play on the ‘normal’ carpet instead. It doesn’t matter how many times you reposition her, unless you have a Mummy or Daddy physically in the way, or some large sofa cushions arranged strategically (around the TV/DVD/Satellite/Xbox area for example), she will move with surprising speed back to where she thinks is best 🙂

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Jul 03 2009

Metaphorical Warts

Category: Anna's Photos,PersonalChrisM @ 2:23 am

The 3rd of July saw Anna transfixed by something on TV after her bath, and me either looking grumpy or tired. However, as there haven’t been a lot of photos of our beautiful daughter with her Dad, I wanted to put this one up – warts and all…

Anna and Chris On The Sofa After A Bath

Anna and Chris On The Sofa After A Bath

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