Holiday Spirit

Getting ready for Christmas has never been so much fun! Charlotte especially thinks so! Enjoy her holiday spirit - you may need to adjust your computer's volume...

Fish Tank - Up and Running, Finally

I've been working on a 55 gallon freshwater, planted tank for about 3 weeks. After tons of research, I planted it with some nice little freshwater plants and started a "fishless cycle". This involved adding pure ammonia until enough bacteria multiply and can convert the ammonia to nitrite. Then... I had to wait until there were enough bacteria to convert the nitrite to nitrAte. A few weeks, lots of water chemistry tests, and a little dose of patience later it was ready. It is pretty amazing that there are enough bacteria to completely neutralize a tablespoon of ammonia in about 8 hours. I went to Petsmart this weekend, for lack of a better local fish store, and bought 35 fish. There is an amazing pet/fish store near where I grew up called Denn'y Pet World, but it is just too far to go. I added the following fish:

- 6 Zebra Danios

- 6 Buenas Aires Tetras

- 3 Honey Gouramis

- 3 Clown Loaches

- 4 Cardinal Tetras

- 10 Neon Tetras

- 3 Green Corys

So far, after 24 hours, I have had 4 casualties (3 Zebras Danios and 1 Cardinal Tetra). The beauty of doing a fishless cycle and waiting is that the tank was ready for a large fish load all at once. There are no "sacrificial" fish that are used to get it going - they usually die and it is a waste of money and cruel. Tonight, everyone seems happy, and helpfully I won't have too many more fatalities. Charlotte and Elise really enjoy sitting and watching the fish - I'm glad because I want them to enjoy it!

From Pete Darragh

Charlotte and Elise - Almost 6 months!

Our beautiful girls are almost 6 months old! This Friday we'll celebrate the big day with their first servings of rice cereal and lots of hugs. Stephanie and I enjoy each and every moment that we spend with them - the blessings continue to grow each day. Both girls have made it through their first colds, are doing wonderfully at daycare (They call them the "Happy Twins"!), are purposefully playing and watching us, and laughing a bunch of cute baby laughs! I'll be posting something special on Friday. In the mean time, here are the honey o'bunnies in a bunch of cute photos!

A Visit from...

Grandpa and Grandma Wurscher are coming all the way from Billings, Montana to visit this weekend!

A clear, dark night

Last night from 11:15 PM - 1:45 AM you could've found me in the backyard with the telescope. It was the darkest, clearest, most steady night I have ever seen. Stars were pinpoints - no flickering, and there was no Moon to washout everything. I took the opportunity to go through one of my star guide books (Turn Left at Orion), page by page, trying to find each object. Many of the objects are too dim to see on anything but the darkest night, especially because there is light pollution from the Bremerton Shipyard, Tacoma, and Seattle.

Here is the list of objects I observed:

• M13, The Great Globular Cluster (This is obvious most cloudless nights of the year, very bright, very big)
• Albireo, Double Star system in Cygnus. (All other doubles are compared to this spectacular blue and yellow pair).
• *NGC 6826, The Blinking Planetary Nebula (This seems to disappear when directly looked at, then reappears when you look away).
• M27, The Dumbbell Nebula
• *M71, Globular Cluster (?) (Astronomers aren't sure exactly what this is because it doesn't have the same type of stars as other clusters).
• Gamma Delphini, A Double Star (Crisp double system of a light blue and orange star).
• M17, The Swan Nebula (A huge cloud of hydrogen and helium, 40 light years across, that sort of looks like a swimming swam)
• M11, Wild Ducks Open Cluster
• *M15, Globular Cluster (A ball of a few hundred-thousand stars with a bright center)
• *M2, Globular Cluster
• M31, Andromeda Galaxy (I was able to see this with no aid, the sky was so dark. Through the telescope the disk was visible with the bright nucleus in the middle. It is the most distant object the naked eye can see without a telescope, at about 2.5 million light years.)
• Almach, a Double Star (Obvious colors of yellow and blue, and very crisp under high power).
• *M33, The Triangulum Galaxy (This was the toughest object of the night. It is very large with its brightness spread over a large area. I could just barely make it out. I have searched for it before, but last night was the first time I could make anything out).
• *Mesarthim, a Double Star (These look like two shining diamonds, evenly matched in brightness and color).
• *Iota Cassiopeiae, A Triple Star (This one was tough. One of the stars is much dimmer, and one is very close to the primary. I could make them out under the highest power.)
• M34, an Open Cluster
• NGC 869 & NGC 884, the Perseus Double Cluster ( I could make out this smudge with no equipment, but they were stunning through the telescope. Like God has thrown diamonds across the sky.)
• Jupiter and the four biggest moons
• Pleiades cluster
• 3 very bright meteors
• Numerous satellites crossing the field of view

*First Observation

It was a very productive evening! Between the stargazing and feeding the girls I got around 5 hours of sleep, so today should be interesting!

Early Morning Moon

If you happened to be awake at 4:30 AM like me, you might have noticed this beautiful sight. The Moon is almost new, and Venus is shining very brightly. During the next few nights the moon will be absent from the night sky, there will be clear weather, and I will be out late with my telescope.

From Blogger Pictures

Summer Beauty

We can complain about the heat or the rain, but I think summer is just beautiful in Western Washington.

Summer Beauty

5 Years Later

Last week Stephanie and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It has been a wonderful 5 years, and we could've never anticipated the changes that have taken place. A few things were planned such as buying a house and getting our masters degrees. We planning on starting a family, but were blessed with the two wonderful girls right away! On our anniversary we went back to the chapel where we were married, on Fox Island, to take some photos. It was a beautiful day, similar to the day we were married.

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

A few days later my mom came to our house and watched Charlotte and Elise while Stephanie had a little getaway! We went to Bainbridge Island and stayed at the Eagle Harbor Inn in Winslow. We had great fish-n-chips at the Harbor Public House along with some good beer. I tried pear cider, and was impressed with the flavor - it was light and sweet, but not too much. Desert was fresh ice cream from Mora Creamery - my choice was coconut and raspberry on a waffle cone. Delicious. We had a wonderful evening and took our time coming home the next day. Walking through our front door and hugging our girls was the best part though!

From Blogger Pictures

ISS Sighting

From Pete Darragh

July 17th, 10:33 PM

15 second exposure from our backyard. See the Big Dipper on the left? The ISS path ends just above Polaris.

Thanks Dad for alerting me!

Our Forester Comes Home

After a few repairs at the dealership, we have our new vehicle. Very nice.

From Pete Darragh

Becoming part of the Subie Family

Stephanie and I have been making due with our Accord since the girls were born. We knew we would need a larger vehicle soon. Their stroller takes up the entire trunk! On a recent trip to Costco we forgot to take the stroller out and it was like a jigsaw puzzle fitting all the stuff in. Not fun. We wanted a vehicle that is a bit higher, has more cargo room, has leather seats, is dependable, looks cool, and fits into our price range. We found an 04 Forester XS at Auburn Volkswagon and went to go look at it yesterday. After a test drive and price negotiations we signed the papers! As part of the deal the dealership is going to replace the rear differential, so we didn't bring it home. Hopefully we will have it early next week. We're happy with our purchase and are excited to go on some drives before school starts up again!

99% Monozygotic

When Elise and Charlotte were born, we did not know if they were identical or fraternal twins. It was tough to tell at first because they differed in their size, and they just look like cute babies! We wanted to find out - for curiosity, and some practical reasons. We ordered a DNA test kit from a company and sent in cheek swabs from both of them. About 10 days later we got the news! 99% probability that they are monozygotic (identical) twins! Here are some facts about identical twins:

• They share the same nuclear DNA, but may differ in their mitochondrial DNA.
• Identical twins do not "run in the family". This makes sense for us because ours are the first twins!
• Fraternal twins are twice as common as identical twins.
• The odds of identical twins is about 3/1000.
• Their fingerprints are different because fingerprints are a function of phenotype, not genotype.
• Since they are a genetic match, they can give blood or organs to each other, should the need arise.
• My twin girls, Elise and Charlotte, are the most beautiful identical twins in the world.

Happy Independence Day!

From 2009_07_04

Leisure Time

Although Stephanie are kept quite busy by the girls (and we love it), I have found some time for some lazy summer activities in between feeding, diaper blow-outs, bottle washings, and general household chores. The time is in 20-60 minutes increments, and can be interrupted at any point. So far I have:

- Beat the new Ghost Busters video game for wii. Talk about a good implementation of the wii-mote and game play! It was really entertaining blasting ghosts with the proton beam and reliving the humor of Dan Ackroyd and Bill Murray.

- Read The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. It won deservingly won the Newbury award last year. Nobody Owens is the main character who is the sole survivor of his family, all of whom are murdered in the first chapter. Nobody toddles into a graveyard and is adopted by the ghosts. The story is a great variation of Kipling's Jungle Books.

- Read Life as We Knew It. In this story an asteroid knocks the Moon into a closer orbit. Tides are disrupted, weather patterns screwed up, coastal areas are swept away by Tsunamies, and volcanos cause climatic upheaval. It is the story of a high school girl and her family's struggle for survival after all infrastructure is destroyed. A good but scary read. It makes me want to make sure we have supplies in case of an earthquake, especially with the girls.

- Maintained the flower bed I put in right before Elise and Charlotte were born. I buried a "soaker hose" to keep the plants irrigated and it has worked very well.

From New Flower Bed

- Tiger Woods Golf 10 for Wii with the motion-plus controller. This game is tough! The motion + controller makes it very sensitive to your swing motion. One fun aspect is that it has a disc-golf game built in. It is amazing how well the game reflects your real hand motions. It is very fun.

From Pete Darragh

There are several house projects I need to do before summer is over. I would like to re-read Love and Logic for the classroom (I need to refresh my classroom management skills), and I need to journal for Charlotte and Elise. I started a journal to give to them on their birth day, but haven't picked it back up. There is so much to write and I am overwhelmed by it for some reason. The weather is so gorgeous outside I wish I could take more advantage of it, but nothing is as great as the time I am privileged to have at home with my daughters.

Family Visit

On Sunday my Uncle Rick, Aunt Jodi, and my grandma (the girls' great-grandma!) came over to visit. It was their first visit with Charlotte and Elise, and they loved every minute. Rick recently returned from a fishing trip to Alaska, and brought salmon and halibut to grill. It was delicious. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time catching up and passing the babies around!

Two months old today!

Elise and Charlotte are two months old today! It seems like an eternity ago that I wrote the last post. Life has changed in so many wonderful ways in the last 8 weeks. I love my girls - being a dad is the best! I'll be writing more now that school is out and I have more time.

From Charlotte & Elise 5/9 - 5/18

Allow Delivery in 6-8 Weeks

Whenever I subscribe to a magazine, they say it will begin to arrive in 6-8 weeks. This always feels like an eternity, but when it finally comes, it doesn't actually seem like it was very long.

Well, we're expecting our girls in 6-8 weeks! I know it is not very long at all.

I am starting to feel a little nervous, well, I guess just plain nervous. We have all the "stuff", like crib and car seats. Now, I just feel completely unprepared personally. It's not like I can go into training for sleep deprivation and diapers!

I am reading a book called "The Happiest Baby on the Block". It is all about soothing a crying baby. Lots of tips and how-to info. In the first part though, the author writes that the primary and most important job of any parent is to love their child (I knew that anyway!). I can certainly do that. In 6-8 weeks I'll begin to figure out the rest.

Madelyn

My brother Nick and his wife had their second baby last Tuesday - Madelyn. She was born a bit early, but is doing really well. We were finally able to go see them on Saturday evening. Madelyn is beautiful and perfect.

Some new stuff

In the spirit of getting ready for 2 babies, it was time to buy some stuff. Call it the "Darragh Economic Stimulus Package".

First, a stroller. I am one for quality, and refuse to buy garbage. Garbage is a waste of money, and eventually I buy the good one anyone. So, after much research, hands-on-testing, and deliberation, we settled on a stroller:

From new stuff

The seats are highly configurable. Both forward, back, or facing each other. They recline and the foot rests adjust. It is pretty maneuverable, and even has cup holders. This should last 2+ years.

The next purchase, new windows for the drafty house. Our house is over 50 years old and has terrible insulation. The old windows has a negative R factor I think. New windows, from Port Orchard Glass, really make a difference. Hopefully, the heating bill will show this too.

From new stuff

From new stuff

Life must be documented, right? We had a little point-and-shoot digital camera. Even before kids I was frustrated with it. So, a new camera was in the works. A Canon SX10 is. Not quite SLR, but not far off. It has great reviews, and I've enjoyed using it so far. Image stabilization, 20x optical zoom, and a complete set of manual settings, plus a great auto setting made this an easy choice.



Finally, the crib. Stephanie's dad, Rick, does amazing work. He made our bedroom set, dining room table, a cedar chest... just beautiful We now have an equally beautiful crib awaiting our precious daughters. Mom and grandma are so proud! Putting this in the room really brought it home. Tomorrow, Steph will be 24 weeks. In 3 months or less our little crib will have some long awaited occupants! I'll take their picture, we'll go for a walk, and enjoy the draft-free, cozy bedroom. I can't wait.

From new stuff

From new stuff

Creating Special Times

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was spending time with just one of my parents - just me time. One particular memory is from 4th grade when my dad took me to breakfast at Denny's and gave me a Cub Scout pocket knife. These little, special memories are very important to me. Recently, watching Jon & Kate plus 8, we noticed they do a special day for each one of their kids. So, before I forget, here are some things I am looking forward to doing with my two girls.

- Dinner with dad at McDonalds (Happy Meal on me)
- Looking under rocks during low tide (maybe too yucky?).
- Something special, based on their interest - zoo, boat ride... we'll just have to see!
- Pancake breakfast, before mom gets up on a Saturday.
- Friday night movie night.
- "Camping" in the backyard
- "Camping" in the house
- Cooking together

Anyway, just a start. I guess after all the diapers and sleepless days/nights, eventually this stuff will start happening. I want to make sure I don't forget some of the things I've been thinking about.

Baby Stuff

Stephanie and I spent several hours at the oh-most-magnificent-and-venerable Babies 'R' Us in Tacoma today. It is time to start making that amazing baby registry list. We spent several hours there, and I actually learned quite a bit. I pinched my finger in a stroller pretty good trying to close the darn thing, but I eventually got it. Bottles, bibs, car seats, high chairs, play-pens (cages?), there is a lot. I looked at Steph at one point and said, "It is like we're climbing Mt. Everest in a couple of months, and we have to get a list of supplies, without really knowing what we need." Yeah, something like that. Anyway, we made a pretty comprehensive list by the time we left. When we got home, I ordered a great double stroller online, and expect it soon.

In the past week I have been able to feel the babies move on the outside. Mom has been able to feel them move for quite sometime, and it is really special for me to finally feel the two girls do flips and flops. Sometimes it is like a little dance party in there! Tonight, Stephanie actually saw someone move - their hand or elbow went right across her tummy! Wow! It is just amazing how quickly things are moving along.

Doublemint gum anyone?

Today we went in for a very thorough ultrasound at the UW Medical Center. It was for some follow up, just to make sure everything is progressing well with the babies. I am starting to understand to worry of being a parent - it just never seems to go totally away. The ultrasound went great and everyone is doing really well. The biggest piece of news is that we are expecting two girls, who will most likely be identical twins! I never, ever thought I would be a dad of twins. It really never crossed my mind, and now identical! The odds are about 1/285.

It is interesting to think about the future. Some twins develop their own language... that would be cool, to a point. I wonder how their relationship will be different than sisters who aren't twins? No one has twins in either family, so many questions will be answered in due time.

The ultrasound pictures are amazing this time. They look more and more like little people every time.

A True Blessing

In a few months my life will change forever, and I couldn't be more excited. I haven't written much, but feel that I need to start documenting our experience.

In early September, Stephanie surprised me with a small card. I had just come home from work and suspected something was up. She was busy in the office printing and cutting... making something crafty. A few minutes later she emerged with a goofy smile and handed me the small card. I had a hunch, and asked, "Are you pregnant?" "Open the card!" She says! I sat down, opened the card, and sure enough - it was wonderful news!

That whole evening was quite a roller coaster of emotions for me. Can I be a dad? Am I really prepared and responsible enough? Will I have enough patience? How will this affect our marriage.... On and on, my mind was reeling with questions and doubts... But at the foundation of it all is the faith Stephanie and I share, and our strong marriage. By the time I went to bed I was on cloud 9.

It wasn't long before we had our first ultrasound in Silverdale. This was in preparation for the first of many OB appointments. It took a little while, but soon the little bean appeared on the monitor. The tech pointed our little baby out, then got real quiet. I thought I saw something more on there, and just that moment he labeled the first bean "A", and then moved the cursor and labeled another little bean "B"! I asked, "Is there more than one?" He replied, "Congratulations, you're expecting twins!"

There was also a student in the room from the local college. I think this was the first time he'd seen this happen. I was standing up, and everyone asked me to sit down, I think I looked a little white!

That moment was probably the most surprising, shocking, and best moment of my life. Steph and I walked out, hand in hand to the parking lot. We just looked at each other with tears of happiness in our eyes. I said, "We can do this." From that moment on, I've known that it is going to be great. We can do it, it will be wonderful!

I called my mom, asked her to sit down, and told her the news. She didn't believe me at first! It took a few times repeating the news for it to sink in. She was thrilled. My dad was in Portland, and when I told him he was very excited! He is very proud will be a great grandpa for our babies.

Babies A and B have been growing steadily and mom is doing great. We are expecting them this spring, and I know time will pass very quickly. More to come!