It's Mocha Friday and I'm in the lucky positi...

April 25, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday and I'm in the lucky position of having a nearly full cup o' joe sitting before me. I feel like I really need it this morning, as Jamie was chatting until late last night. It's always a treat to get to talk without children, but after ten o'clock rolled around, I groggily hinted that I needed some sleep and I don't remember much else.

My family reverted back to normal, generally good but occasionally impish. So much for robots and aliens. Last night I tried to keep the kids entertained, though I was struggling keeping my heart in the "play pretend" story they had going on. There was fort building, animal attacks, and escaping the hot desert sun. Ah, the things they don't tell you about parenthood.

I have the kids tonight and tomorrow night, with social butterfly Jamie being off and about. I'd love to go swimming tonight, but it might be a challenge getting them out of the house. Maybe Saturday we can do a movie night. I'm sure I'll think of something.

Something really odd has happened to my family

April 23, 2008 by Adam in Family

Something really odd has happened to my family.

Sam's been completing chores without being prompted, has finished all his homework, and generally plays well with Emma. Emma's been much more cheerful and loving compared to last week. Yesterday she decided that I was going to read her stories and put her to bed, which has never happened, though admittedly she switched to Jamie after she started getting drowsy. Even Jamie has gotten in on the act, writing welcome home messages in our driveway with chalk.

I suppose it's possible my family has been replaced by aliens or robots. If so, well, I guess the rest of you will just have to hide your envy the next time you're around me.

It's snowing at the moment and the backyard i...

April 20, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's snowing at the moment and the backyard is covered with a thin layer of snow. It's such a strange contrast from last weekend when it was 75 degrees out and everyone was in shorts. Maybe I'll take the kids on a walk in the snow if it sticks for any length of time.

The kids and I stayed inside for most of yesterday, as it was raining and hailing away. We did projects, played, watched movies, and generally did inside things. Jamie went off to hang out with Pat. Later in the day I attempted to make chocolate cake. I think the cake part turned out great, but the frosting was a little, er, unusual. The kids loved it, but Jamie decided to take a pass.

Update: Emma and I went out and made a snow person. It was loads of fun, especially going back inside to have cocoa and coffee.

I'm still a few minutes away from that delici...

April 18, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm still a few minutes away from that delicious Friday Mocha. Soon that sweet elixir will be mine.

Yesterday after work, the kids and I played in the backyard, enjoying the gorgeous weather. It started with Jamie informing me that Emma was being naughty and had things to clean up on the patio. I grabbed her, declared that my real daughter had been switched by goblins, and carried her outside. Only if things were cleaned up could she return to her human family again. I then proceeded to be the goblin guard, trying to keep her from cleaning up her mess. Worked like a charm.

Sam wanted to play a game he did last year, leaping off the wall of the planter bed and catching a Frisbee. He had a great time, though if it went badly, I was to call out "Wipeout" in a cool voice and Emma would run to administer first aid.

If you look closely at the picture of Emma, you'll see her short bangs, as well as the whiskers she drew on her face. What an impish girl.

As for tonight, we're going swimming, unlike last week. I shall ignore the cries of my children and haul them off for watery fun. The only other exciting thing on our agenda is to make a chocolate cake. I'm sure the kids will think that grand entertainment.

Our kids were amazingly polite last night, sa...

April 17, 2008 by Adam in Family

Our kids were amazingly polite last night, saying please with every request for more drink, food, or piece of chalk. Emma's grumpy mood seems to have completely vanished, probably due to finally getting lots of sleep.

Last night was date night for Jamie and I. We took a long walk over to our house with our favorite garden, which I stared at longingly. Perhaps some day I can win over Jamie and get a full garden put into our house. My mom watched the kids, taking them through the car wash which she markets as the "Tunnel of Doom".

Jamie's back and the week is halfway over

April 16, 2008 by Adam in Family

Jamie's back and the week is halfway over.

I think the first couple days of the week have been a little rough. Emma's been staying home, though I think her cold is finally over today. I think staying at home has made her a little stir-crazy, as she's been particularly wild. Jamie called me to express her exaspiration. "What did she do, cut her hair?" I asked. Sadly, it turns out she did. Fortunately it wasn't too bad, though I had fun calling her "Bald Emma" for an evening.

Sam went off to fencing last night, with Emma crying the entire way. Once we got there, as usual, she was happy and played games with me the whole time. Funny girl.

I'm exhausted

April 13, 2008 by Adam in Family

I'm exhausted. Sam's watching a quirky British fantasy television show based on a story from one of my favorite authors. "This is kinda weird," he just said.

Emma's running around naked in the playroom, trying on different clothes that used to be Natalie's. Whenever she gets a new bag of clothes, it's like Christmas, but with nudity.

Last night I was planning on going swimming, but decided instead to take it easy. Emma was very much under the weather and is still sniffly today. She was really missing Jamie, and spent much of bedtime drawing a picture of Jamie, along with Emma giving her a flower.

This morning, everyone seemed in much better spirits. I made crepes for breakfast and we played around until it was time for the library. Both complained heavily about going, and both had a good time once we were there. Afterwards, Sam didn't want to go to campus as I'd planned, and complained so much about wanting to stay home that I sent him off for a play date with his friend John.

Emma and I had lunch at Berry's on campus, and proceeded to play and explore until early afternoon. While down in the art store, we picked up Shrinky-Dinks and Sun Print paper for later. When we arrived home, we got a message from Clarissa that Savah wanted to play. Emma immediately put together a gift for her, went went over, and she immediately had a wonderful time. For about five minutes, I was without children, and reveled in the quiet.

Later I got Sam, picked up Emma, and made everyone sit and watch a movie. After that we played with the art supplies. The kids had never done Shrinky-Dinks, and they thought it was extremely cool. Later everyone ate a good dinner, Emma had a bath, and we're slowly winding our way towards bedtime. I'm eagerly awaiting blissful sleep.

Ah, Mocha Friday

April 11, 2008 by Adam in Family

Ah, Mocha Friday. The scent of coffee and chocolate has wafted away from my cubicle and that delicious elixir is sadly long gone. Work's been quirky as of late. I thought for once that things had quieted down, only to discover that all the phones at the new hospital have tiny web browsers in each one, and I'm going to be asked to make a web page for each of them. Ah, job security.

The kids played wonderfully together last night. They had this long and elaborate game where Emma befriended and tamed a wild creature (played by Sam). There were struggles and heartaches, with the eventual death of the creature, who perished defending Emma from wild animals. Fortunately Emma found another creature friend and was busy befriending it when I called them up for dinner.

The weather has also been nice as of late, and promises to be warm this weekend. When I came home from work, Sam was busy creating a weird potion on the patio. Emma was picking flowers from our clematis, making a huge basket of them and filling our house with their heady scent.

The week has been moving along

April 10, 2008 by Adam in Family

The week has been moving along. It's hard to believe it's already Thursday. Jamie's been talking about going off to the coast with her mom over the weekend, so it'll likely just be the kids and I. Like I tell Jamie, it makes for a non-restful weekend, but at the same time I usually have a good time hanging out with the kids. I'll probably stick to the routine of swimming, library, and exploring someplace or another. It might be fun to romp around campus. When they were little and I worked at the hospital, Jamie would drop them off to go to the gym and we'd wander through some of the neat buildings at the university.

Yesterday after work was fairly typical. The kids and I played hide-and-seek throughout the house. Later we played pretend, with me as the horrible child-eating Captain Hook. Good times.

My luxurious, three-day weekend is over

April 08, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a Mocha Thursday for me, today

April 03, 2008 by Adam in Family

It's a Mocha Thursday for me, today. I'm taking tomorrow off to theoretically spend time with Jamie. I think she's already planning the errands, which doesn't exactly jibe with the romantic gesture side of things.

Tuesday was full, heading straight home after work and taking Sam to fencing. Emma really didn't want to go, crying all the way, but she immediately perked up once we got there and played for an hour in the lobby outside his classroom. We played tag and red light, green light for ages.

That night I was completely exhausted, possibly because I really pushed myself on the treadmill that day. I went for speed, going a mile in 6:40. As a non-runner, I felt pretty good about it, but boy was I tired.

Yesterday I had the kids again while Jamie went to Pat's house for dinner. We played outside for a long while, enjoying the sunshine, then continued the playing inside. Even Emma enjoyed Radioactive Ball, which is Sam's current favorite inside game. Eventually we had dinner, baths, and book reading. As Emma was drifting off to sleep, Jamie returned to tuck her into bed.