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Thursday already
November 30, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Thursday already. How the week has flown by.
I think my nasty illness is on the wane. With luck, Emma and Jamie will blissfully miss this one as it's been a rather unpleasant last couple days. Plus it was in the middle of my big go-live, so I forced myself to go into work, popping Advil like candy.
One of Jamie's Christmas presents arrived the other day - the Roomba from iRobot. Unfortunately Amazon shipped it in the original box, so the surprise was ruined. Jamie's a bit skeptical about a robot vaccuum cleaner, but the kids already adore it and I haven't even turned it on. Sam kept asking if it would do his homework and Emma thought it would make a fine robot friend. I kept joking about a "Destroy All Humans" button and made various robot impersonations. That alone was worth the cost.
My mom came over to watch the kids last night, leaving Jamie and I to watch a bit of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. We didn't quite manage to watch the whole 40 minutes as dinner and visitors kept interrupting. Still, it was sort of fun to go through a box of Jamie's things from high school that Dave and Kirsten brought over.
Eventually we wound down and Emma tried on some new PJs, looking very Christmasy.
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I woke up this morning, thinking it would be ...
November 28, 2006 by Adam in Family
 I woke up this morning, thinking it would be chilly but not too bad. I went to greet the kids as they woke up and realized that there was snow on the ground. I think it's mostly above freezing, but I may wait a bit until trying to go to work this morning. It wouldn't do for me to slip and break my neck the day of the big go-live.
The week is moving along. Sam's on the mend after being a bit sick for the last couple days. I fed him his first meal in 24 hours, asking him what he wanted. It turns out that "breakfast for dinner" was his choice, and we had waffles, sausages, and eggs. Not my choice to settle nausea, but he eagerly ate it all.
Update: I made it to work, safe and sound. Now to face the fury of this morning's go-live.
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There was a bit of excitement this morning
November 26, 2006 by Adam in Family
There was a bit of excitement this morning. Fire engines raced up the hill and the kids and I followed them up. The studio behind John Larson's house had evidently caught fire, though I don't know much more than that. There were three or four engines and a couple smaller vehicles. No ambulances, though, which is hopefully a good sign.
Sam is back from a night at John's house. He got sick this morning, probably from all the excitement, sleeping on a hard floor, and eating weird food. He's back again and we're trying really hard to take it easy today. Jamie's promised to try out the Wii, which I've got to get on video tape. Should be amusing.
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Sam's birthday is officially tomorrow, but he...
November 26, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Sam's birthday is officially tomorrow, but he's already opened all his presents and he's currently off at his second birthday party. He and his friend John are combining parties since they're a week apart, so he's sleeping over until tomorrow.
This morning we went over to my mom's house to celebrate with my side of the family. There was tons of goodies and the cousins had fun playing with each other. I chatted with my respective siblings and parents, having a wonderful time. Far too many cinnamon rolls were eaten.
The kids and I played for the rest of the day. Somehow I spent nearly an hour tying Sam up and he'd see if he could free himself. I suspect it will come back to haunt him in therapy. Later Emma and I made up knot-related magic tricks and worked on birthday cards for John and Natalie.
The house is quiet at the moment, which was blissfully wonderful. I snuck upstairs to play with the Wii, boxing away and working up a serious sweat. It's strange thinking that a video game can be such a workout.
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Sam got his present that Seraph stood in line...
November 24, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Sam got his present that Seraph stood in line for hours to get. It's a Wii, which is a new video game system. He and Emma had a great time playing with it yesterday. Before bed he kept talking about it, reading the manual for his new Zelda game, and will likely want to play it when he gets up.
It was also Thanksgiving yesterday, chalk full of family all around. It was especially nice to hang out with my sisters and parents over two hours of food and beverage filled conversation. The big news was that Seraph bought a new house, a fairly big one that folks can come and visit her at. My dad continues to pursue his electric boat hobby, having driven down to LA last week to watch people set battery packs on fire. Good times.
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It's a Mocha Wednesday today, in honor of the...
November 22, 2006 by Adam in Family
 It's a Mocha Wednesday today, in honor of the approaching Thanksgiving festivities. Tomorrow will be a nutty day, but it'll likely be a fun nutty day, filled with family and conversation.
The Oregon drizzle continues, though it wasn't quite the deluge of yesterday. Riding to work in this stuff is almost fun, and the weather goes well with a cup of tea by the fire. I guess you have to learn to love it if you live here.
The week is moving along nicely. I didn't get kicked out of bed by Emma last night, so it looks like we're making progress again. Last night everyone was in a bit of a bad mood, though there were some bright moments. Sam and I had fun pushing Emma back and forth in my office chair, playing an impromptu ping-pong game where the goal was to avoid the walls. Emma would help by pushing off with her feet. Good times.
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I swam to work today, which is kinda fun
November 21, 2006 by Adam in Family
I swam to work today, which is kinda fun. The rain was pouring down so hard that Jamie got out of bed to check the drain on the back stairwell. It has this bad habit of getting plugged with leaves and flooding our basement.
I'm horribly excited for this Thanksgiving holiday. Four days away from work seem blissful, the calm before the storm of a rather significant go-live here at work. Plus I want to just hang out with the family and play (especially with Sam's birthday presents).
I was remarking to Jamie last night that I hadn't slept in the guest bed for awhile. Sure enough, I awoke around midnight as Emma literally kicked me out of bed. Her tiny feet can sure pack a wallop.
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Seraph has officially won the Cool Sister of ...
November 19, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Seraph has officially won the Cool Sister of the Year award. She's currently waiting in line to buy Sam's birthday present. She's in third place and is waiting until midnight to make the purchase. Robbie brought dinner and she's fortified herself with crossword puzzles and the camaraderie of nerds. When I told Sam how cool Seraph was (without revealing what it was), he got an excited grin and kept trying to guess. I told him to be quiet and appreciate the moment.
That was a nice end to a pretty good day. Jamie spent some time with friends while I took the kids to the library and Humble Bagel as usual. It was nice to get back into the routine and I'm sure Emma appreciated the massive cookie she wheedled out of me. Towards the afternoon Jamie and Sam went on a really long walk while Emma and I took it easy.
Nothing much else is going on. We're having a new person over for dinner tomorrow, a friend of Emma's and her mom. Thanksgiving is slowly coming together, and I'm trying to get my bread-making responsibilities organized. Good times.
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Mocha Friday
November 17, 2006 by Adam in Family
Mocha Friday. Work is a bit slow at the moment, when it really shouldn't be. I have a ton of things to do, but I'm waiting for folks to make decisions before I go live with my big project in a bit over a week. I should just enjoy the moment while I can.
I got a taste of Jamie's life when I took care of Emma briefly at four this morning. She's been feeling sick and had an upset stomach. I carried her downstairs, gave her a cracker and some water, and sat by the fire for a little until it was time to go back to bed.
Unfortunately Emma's illness is coming out in some rather impish and evil ways. Yesterday Emma unraveled the scarf that Jamie's been knitting for the last couple weeks. She was extremely unhappy about that particular turn of events. She's also been more whiny than usual, which isn't much fun.
Sam, of course, is doing great. He hasn't been sick hardly at all this Winter. School is going well and he busies himself with various projects. It looks like he's going to do a combined birthday/sleepover with his friend John. They're a week apart in birthdays and he's excited to celebrate with his friend. He'll probably have family birthdays as well. I'm thinking I can take the kids over to my mom's house on Thanksgiving and do a mini party then. Maybe I should talk to her about it first, though.
I'm hoping we have a quiet weekend ahead of us. Things have been a bit busier than usual and I'd like to just take it easy. Jamie's got that pie to make, after all, and I'd like to sip tea and watch the rain come down.
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The week continues to chug along
November 15, 2006 by Adam in Family
The week continues to chug along. I stayed home a little late and snuck upstairs to give Emma a hug before I went to work. It was very nice.
Nothing terribly exciting has been going on, which is nice for a change. Sam's entire school went to the McDonald theater to watch Cars as they raised a lot of money in their fundraiser. Emma brought home a little crown with a pink feather. Jamie's taken up knitting again and offered to make a "blapple berry pie" this weekend (blueberry and apple).
Everyone's started to get excited for the upcoming Thanksgiving festivities. With Seraph's help, I think I have the means to give Sam the Best Birthday Ever™. Shucks, I'm nearly as excited as he'll be.
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Early this morning we got ready and headed ou...
November 12, 2006 by Adam in Family
Early this morning we got ready and headed out the door to OMSI. Even at 9:30 there was a line to get in, so we patiently waited twenty minutes or so before getting our tickets and heading in. The Star Wars Exhibit was sold out until noon, which ended up being perfect timing. We ran around with hordes of other kids. Sam was great with Emma, cheerfully exploring the Science Playground by her side.
We stopped by the cafe, where Sam had the best hot dog ever. We wandered upstairs and went into the Star Wars exhibit. After all that build-up, it was a bit of a let-down. The costumes and models were the best part, in my opinion. Emma was overwhelmed by the noise and we ended up going through pretty quick. They were both terribly excited to be greeted by a stormtrooper on the way out. We got a picture of him with the kids, much to their excitement.
In the end, we'd spent over three hours at OMSI, a new record. Emma slept on the way back and we've been taking it easy all afternoon. We're currently watching Monster House, which Emma is a little nervous about watching. Still, it's somewhat amusing and they just introduced the girl character. We'll see how it goes.
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Well, we made it to Portland safe and sound
November 10, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Well, we made it to Portland safe and sound. The morning started at 4:30 in the morning for me. Time to get up, I guess. I puttered around on my computer and was later greeted by Emma, who demanded I return to bed to have a family snuggle.
Once that was out of the way, we leisurely got ready to go. I picked up some goodies at Metropol, some books at the library, and packed the car. Then a secretly ecstatic Jamie wished us well as we left her to three days of blissful solitude. The drive up was dreary and wet, but the kids weren't too bad.
When we arrived, Judy had left a dress-up box for Emma and a Lego set for Sam. Sam ignored the Legos and went straight for the exercise ball. Emma, of course, couldn't resist the call of pink dresses and magical wands. Now to just wait a couple more hours for the grandparents to arrive.
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It's a Mocha Thursday for me as I'm out of wo...
November 09, 2006 by Adam in Family
 It's a Mocha Thursday for me as I'm out of work tomorrow, taking the kids to Portland. It looks like we're going to miss Seraph, Robbie, and Isa, passing them on the freeway as we switch places. A big happy birthday to Seraph as I don't think we'll connect.
Last night was Jamie and my date night, though sadly she was feeling sick. I ended up taking the kids out to dinner at the Glenwood, bringing my mom along. The kids were relatively good, though both got a little crazy with the foil-wrapped pats of butter. Sam was licking them and Emma used her bread as a delivery mechanism to get the butter into her mouth.
It's been a wet and dreary week. As I rode home, I noted that I was riding my bike downstream as well as downhill. I was pleasantly surprised by the elections, and hope the country is moving back on track again. The stock market sure seems to be rallying.
I'm looking forward to the weekend, taking the kids up to Portland. I think Emma is big enough so that I can get her to bed without Jamie. Sam's a seasoned traveler at this point. OMSI should make for a fun Saturday morning, especially as the Star Wars exhibit is running.
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It's Sunday morning, with rain drizzling down
November 05, 2006 by Adam in Family
It's Sunday morning, with rain drizzling down. It feels like Oregon weather once again. Our basement even flooded on Friday when the back stairwell plugged up. Poor Jamie was stuck dealing with that, along with a little girl who decided to draw on everything with a pen (fortunately washable).
A big congratulations to Seraph, who sounds like she's moving up in the world of international fashion. I'm looking forward to the day when she has her own line of clothes.
Yesterday was pretty quiet in the Miller-Mellor household. Sam and Emma played together really well, pretending to be at school. Eventually we took a "field trip" to the library and Humble Bagel, which was fun for everyone. The afternoon was mostly spent hanging out at the house, with a brief time playing outside with Emma. She happily got far too muddy and sandy.
As for today, I think Jamie's taking Sam to Flushed Away. Emma and I might do some shopping at Valley River or just putter around outside. I'm getting a little stir crazy being inside all the time, so getting out for only a bit sounds nice.
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Mocha Friday
November 03, 2006 by Adam in Family
Mocha Friday. I don't have a lot of time to post today. I'm jumping into interviews in a few minutes. Emma's sick and it looks like Jamie will be soon too. Sam and I are doing okay so far.
I'm hoping to do our normal swimming, library, Humble Bagel ritual starting tonight. Last weekend we were out and next weekend it looks like we'll be in Portland. Gotta do my little routines when I can.
Jamie was very sweet the other day, picking up a new shirt for me after I complained about my wardrobe during our date night. I'm wearing it right now, in fact. It's quite warm and comfortable.
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Halloween has come and gone
November 01, 2006 by Adam in Family
 Halloween has come and gone. The kids were pretty excited all day long. At dinner, they talked about what everyone dressed like at school. Afterwards, they donned their costumes and we walked to the neighbors' houses, returning with good loot. Until bedtime, they'd rush up every time someone came to the door, excited to see what people were dressed like. Sam in particular was leaping about and passing out candy. It was pretty busy, and we ended up running out of our stash of sugary treats.
I'm off to breakfast with mom this morning, braving the cold and frost to make my way to the Glenwood on campus. I'll probably fortify myself with far too many cups of coffee once I get there.
Work goes well these days, with things going fairly smoothly for my big project. There's always endless little details to work on, but testing should start today and hopefully there won't be too many change requests.
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