I am a rock, I am an island

Today I am here by myself with the kids while mom heads in to the city with cousin Lynn and Nana to visit the farmers' market and see the city a bit. So far so good. They woke up separately for their feeding which was very considerate of them, and then went back down for a nap without too much resistance. The worst part about having two kids and one parent is not being able to go to the bathroom. You have to decide if they will be ok and not start crying too much if you want to go before the feeding because once they start it could be 30 to 60 minutes of sitting until you have your next chance. I am not sure how Erin manages when they feed so much, but so far I have opted for holding out until the feeding is done. I haven't posted in a few days, but they have been full of action. I took the bus in to work on both Tuesday and Thursday, then worked from home on Friday. I was hoping to get caught up, but it seems like that is not going to be possible any time soon. The positive reasons for taking the bus are the following:

• It gets me in to work about 45 minutes before other people generally show up, which gives me some quality time to get stuff done.
• It costs about half of driving across the Golden Gate bridge and then paying for parking and gas. This didn't matter so much when both the wife & I were working in the city and commuting together, but now it seems like saving around $1700 a year in commuting expenses plus the environmental benefits makes a lot of sense. When the kids get a couple months older or so, I plan to try and bike home from work once or more a week. It is about 12 or 13 miles and somewhat hilly, so it should both save $3.50 a trip and get me back in to shape.
• It bookends the day nicely so that I don't go so engrossed in work that I forget to go home (yes, that tends to happen to me, it is both a blessing and a curse to love your job). I generally hop back online and work some more at night, but at least i can get home to see the family and get some quality time in.

There are also a few some minor negatives:

• Australian non-stop talking about junk the whole trip both directions guy on the bus. I know every public transportation line has this guy (or girl). Fortunately they can be tuned out with an iPod and a book.
• Lack of flexibility when at work. I can't leave early unless I want to take a $30 (?, not sure of the cost) cab or a $9 ferry home. Plus, if I ever did need to work late (or even go out after work in the city), the last ferry is around 9PM. After that it is cab territory.
• Commute time goes from 20 minutes to 45. Since I am able to surf the 'net or read a book, this is not a big deal, really.

The biggest thing to happen while I was at work was the kids' first baths. Judging by the picture below, it looks like my wife was selling tickets:


Regardless of the process, it was nice to come home to fresh smelling and happily clean babies after work.

Finally, I would like to make a point to new dads that you should make sure to clear the couch of kids (or at least be aware of their presence) before sitting down. This morning I wasn't quite awake yet when and I went to sit on the couch I tried to brush away a pillow as I was sitting only to find out it was a kid sleeping. I don't think I would have actually sat on Matthew as I realized it was a really heavy pillow I was moving, but Erin decided to scream at me as additional insurance. Next time it will be coffee first, sit second. Lesson learned.