You know, every now and again, it’s great to spend time at home, just chillin’. We’re sitting here watching a movie called “The Proposal” with Sandra Bullock; Arthur is fast asleep upstairs, the twins and fast asleep down here. Absolute bliss. I’m sure someone will wake up soon, and all hell will break loose again, but for now it’s just awesome to be watching something in peace and quiet.

I’m enjoying the movie, but the first few scenes make you wonder why some companies don’t have better employee screening. Ah well, it is a romcom after all.

Well, looking after the babies is pretty much a full time job, which means more time with the family and less time to blog; though I do get the time every now and again to spin one off (just like this one). I am getting better and better at typing with one hand though. I’ve also put my weight loss regime on a back burner; though I am watching what I eat, and am still managing to pop to the gym every now and again.

It’s a full time job and I have no idea how Camille copes during the day. But we’re hoping it gets better; the first six months are bound to be the worst. I dread to thing what’s going to happen once they start crawling, but we’ll deal with that once we get there

We’re sitting here at home and we’re actually managing to watch TV. Arthur is in bed, and the twins are miraculously both sleeping at the same time. There’s FlashForward on TV (we have an old CRT at the moment, not a flash bell tv) and Camille and I both have our feet up.

It’s a rare moment, and one that we’re savouring. The twins have been a handful, not because they are naughty or difficult to deal with; but it’s just the fact that there are 2 of them and they both deserve attention. Up to this point, they used to sleep most of the time, so it was easy to put one to sleep and pick up the other one. Now they’re sleeping less and are awake more, so their waking moment intersect more often. They’re not old enough to entertain themselves yet, so it’s all hands to the pumps. Must be really hard for Camille during the day though.

But it’s all fun! That’s what we keep telling ourselves

Have you ever stopped to wonder how much technology we have around the house. I’m not talking about computers, TVs, DVD players and everywhere else you expect to find technology. But there are things we tend to rely on in other parts of the house. There are visible ones like dishwashers and washing machines; and other less visible ones, like a boiler and or a water softener.

And the amount of technology will only rise in the future. Things like automation around the house, monitoring power usage and intelligent devices will just get more and more prevalent. I guess the question is, will Google be the one behind it?

Well, it’s been a quiet evening .. was expecting at least a couple of trick or treaters. It’s Halloween night, or Hop Tu Naa, as the traditional Celtic feast is called here in the Isle of Man. I haven’t seen kids in costume, or parents ferrying them around or even anybody in safety vests; pretty quiet all around.

We had a couple of decorations around the house and did some “scary” stuff; but with two one-month old babies, the options are a bit limited. We do have a Halloween party tomorrow, so there may be a bit of fun there. Costume anyone?

I know it feels like only a few days have passed, but I woke up today to find that the twins are a full month old. They’re growing fast and although they’re hard work, they’re both lots of fun. We went out for a pizza tonight to celebrate, though the twins slept through the whole meal (funny how they don’t seem to sleep at home)

Anyway, we’ve decided we probably going to Malta for Christmas, and just need to sort out our travel arrangements. One things we won’t have to sort out will be our travel insurance. We didn’t go for a cheap insurance policy, but instead opted for a combined one for our house that covers all family members travel insurance too. I just need to confirm that they know about the kids. Should be fun.

One interesting thing about all the people I know online is that they all seem to live in different parts of the world. And it’s interesting when you start speaking to people how they have different perspectives on life, love and everything. One interesting point for example is health services. Here in the UK we have the NHS, which, although lots of people moan about it, providers universal healthcare for all. Things are very different in the US, where health insurance covers medical assistance, and if you don’t have any, well, you’re in trouble. It’s not that we don’t need low cost health insurance here in the UK; after all, there are private services like BUPA, but it’s an optional extra here, not something that’s mandatory.

In Malta again, there’s a universal health care system, which I guess is modelled on the UK one. I guess it does mean that I would have to do some homework if ever we had to move to the US; not that there’s any plans for that to happen anytime soon.

I forgot to blog about it, but last week, Camille organised a surprise birthday party for me. A number of friends came along, which was great, though it was strange seeing people from different contexts all in one place. I did get some great gifts (though luckily no wrinkle cream), but just the fact that people turned up was a great gift in itself. Here are a couple of quick snaps from the party:

A surprise is always nice

There’s nothing better than a little recession to make you think twice about how much you put away every month and how that nest egg is growing. Interestingly I found out recently that in Asia it’s normal to put away at least 10% of one’s earnings (and sometimes as high as 25%); which is a completely different mindset to what goes on in the West. We all know the dealer who will sell motorhome after motorhome, but never has a cent to show for it. There’s also a difference between sexes on this. I think I read somewhere that women have a higher propensity to save than men do, though I wonder whether that’s still the case.

I try to put a bit away every month; sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t. But I guess the fact that I’m paying into a pension plan sort of counts as saving. What do you normally save?