This is a picture of Geography Jerry and I ...

May 31, 2004 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg


This is a picture of Geography Jerry and I at Essentials. Yay!

Anna and I are sitting on the bed, writing to friends via email and snail mail. Our friends Casey and Jess have movd into a studio apartment a block away, and the summer is shaping up with lots of collective cooking and general hanging out. I heard through Lindsey that our neighbor Tren is very worried that my tomatoes are crowding each other, something that I've heard several times from a few too many 'concerned' non-practicing gardeners. Harumph, is what I have to say to them. My tomatoes are doing great, and they'll get thinned out when they're good and ready.

Work is pretty mellow, although the new owner is coming in on Tuesday for her first day learning the ropes, which I expect will make Colette, the manager, crack the whip to make a precedence for perfectionism and discipline. Yay. No more casual chatting with regulars or, God forbid, standing idle while dust settles and books lay asunder from their proper alignment. Other than that threat, summer does everything and everyone good.



I decided to be productive this morning and s...

May 30, 2004 by Adam in Family

I decided to be productive this morning and spread a bunch of bark-o-mulch. Unfortunately Jamie's hearing must be improving after a week of plugged ears. I woke her up and the kids came with her.

I played a ton with Sam, getting my weekend's worth of playing in a couple hours. Then it was Emma's birthday party with the grandparents and a few other odds and ends. Sam departed with Jim and Judy for Portland, making it safe and sound. The house is pretty quiet without him.

Jamie, Emma, and I went shopping where I picked up some pyjamas, jeans, and tank tops. Then it was back home for a low-key evening. I'm hoping tomorrow is quiet as well, though I'll be heading to Jamie's birthday party for a little family entertainment.



It's the end of the work week, the morning's ...

May 28, 2004 by Adam in Adam

It's the end of the work week, the morning's coffee slowly fading. I'm looking forward to the weekend, as Sam's having an adventure to Portland with Jamie's parents. I'll miss him, of course. I'm also looking forward to having a more quiet household, at least for a couple days.

This was an odd week, with several long work days coming and going to Florence. It was fortunately quiet today, which I needed. I think I'm mostly caught up with things.



It was busy at work, trying to catch up after...

May 28, 2004 by Adam in Family

It was busy at work, trying to catch up after two days of meetings. I walked home for lunch, watching the kids while Jamie shopped, then trudged back to work again. It was my substitute work-out as I'd forgotten all of my gym clothes.

My mom came over for dinner, after which she and Jamie went over business while I entertained children. Emma got to have some ice cream after dinner as a birthday treat. She seemed to like it quite a bit.

I think we're doing a small birthday for Emma this Saturday, mostly just the grandparents to try to keep the chaos in our house to a minimum. Then Sam is whisked away by Jim and Judy until next Monday.



Thanks for the flu warning! Isa does seem to...

May 27, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

Thanks for the flu warning! Isa does seem to be doing better today. I'm finishing up painting, and will move on to other parts of the house today before laying the carpet upstairs. Does anyone know someone who is getting ride of a fridge? Our tenants want a full sized one, so I'll be out looking for something good, but used.



BEWARE

May 27, 2004 by Jamie in Family

BEWARE...it may not be just the heat. Stomach flu is making its rounds at the preschool...as we learned yesterday when I was working ;-) Get well soon, Isa!



Happy Birthday Emma

May 27, 2004 by Adam in Emma

Happy Birthday Emma. You're one year old today.



I'm sitting in my empty living room on a lawn...

May 26, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

I'm sitting in my empty living room on a lawn chair, with the computer propped on another lawn chair. I'm eating eggs on a paper plate and sipping my coffee. It is so quiet, and strangly nostalgic!
Robbie called from Portland last night worried because Isa was running a fever and had thrown up. He gave her some medicine and she was sleeping, but I think some of it was over-excitment and 80 degree weather.
Well, I'm of to Jerry's to get so last supplies before another work day! (Hey Adam! I'll go to the coast if you want to lay the carpet!)



Oops

May 26, 2004 by Adam in Family

Oops. Indiscreet. I knew it was one of those one-word things. Anyway, it was a great movie.

I had a weird work day today which has me a bit befuddled. It started off with frantically reading e-mail, then spending the morning coming up with a team mission statement. In the afternoon, we drove an hour to the coast to take a one-hour "team building" ride on the dunes. Then it was another drive back to eat a quick dinner and get the kids ready for bed.

Sam was bouncing around and drinking so much water from the bath that he threw up. Emma hardly napped at all, though she's started taking more little steps.

I'm beat, driving out to the coast again for more meetings, and looking forward to the weekend ahead.



We made it through our first night in Portlan...

May 25, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

We made it through our first night in Portland, and Isa marked her first full nights sleep in her own bunk bed! It was a little strange having neighors so close, as I went to sleep and woke up to the sounds of stange people moving above use.
I think we'll really enjoy our neighborhood the more time we spend there. Everyone will have to get up there to visit.
I'm now back in Eugene - already missing Robbie and Isa. The man across the street and I are going to do repair work on the road tonight, and I'll probably try to get the upstairs primed today. Fun - fun - fun!



It's Tuesday afternoon, and Seraph and I have...

May 25, 2004 by Sue in Wielesek

It's Tuesday afternoon, and Seraph and I have just arrived home after an overnight trip to Portland with tons o' stuff.
They have a small but very newly remodeled apartment in a great old neighborhood a block from a public rose garden which is a city block long and another block wide(and of course, all in bloom), and with a huge park with a community center two blocks in one direction and a branch library two blocks in another direction. What is even more important is a good coffee shop and also a good pizza place within walking distance.
I slept in the top bunk of Isa's new bunk bed - very comfy.
Although in the morning, Isa told me I snored.



Well, that shows how much Adam paid attention

May 25, 2004 by Jamie in Family

Well, that shows how much Adam paid attention...the movie was INDISCREET... he rented it ;-)



The weekend has come and gone in a blur, as i...

May 24, 2004 by Adam in Family

The weekend has come and gone in a blur, as is typical these days. The most notable thing I can remember is that Jamie and I managed to sit down and watch an old movie - Notorius with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. We had to get two babysitters and watch it in two parts, but it was a nice reminder of the way we used to spend time together. Sam did get pretty sandy playing in the back yard with Graham, the afternoon babysitter, though I think they had a great time getting that way.

Emma's creeping up on her first birthday later this week. I think we're going to be pretty low-key about it. The cold that we all have is still lingering. I've got some work-related travel in the middle of this week. Next weekend Sam's heading to Portland for a few days. Lots of excitement coming up.

This morning I helped out at Sam's preschool. The kids made paper and ran all over the place. Sam's graduating next week. It's hard to imagine that in a few more months he'll be going to kindergarden. Time goes fast.



We had a busy and exciting day yesterday! Is...

May 23, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

We had a busy and exciting day yesterday! Isa did a great job at her school celebration, and the rain even held out long enough for them to dance outside. In the evening we had dinner with our neighbors, not leaving until 11:15p.m.! It's amazing how we've lived across the street from them for three years and never spent an evening together - sigh...
To day we are back working on the house. Robbie is celebrating his first Sunday without Sunday school in over two years. We are about to head out to breakfast with Hanni before we get serious with the work.
Hanni is going over to Bend today for the graduation of her good friend Ann's daughter Becca. It's funny to think that Becca was this little skinny kid when Robbie and I met.
Robbie and I are having dinner with Dad and Yayoe tonight, and will hopfully head up to Portland some time tomorrow. I've promised Isa that she can sleep in her new bunk bed tomorrow night!



The workday is winding up, the caffiene still...

May 21, 2004 by Adam in Family

The workday is winding up, the caffiene still coursing through my veins this cloudy afternoon. Jamie whisked me away this morning while Sam was at school, taking me to tea. It was quite lovely and Emma had a good time dipping her Cheerios in jelly and clotted cream. I think Jamie's misses the days when we could hang out in coffee shops reading, watch old movies, and go for long walks. I miss them too.

I have no idea what I'm doing this weekend. There's a big pile of bark-o-mulch that's waiting to be spread about. Jamie's hoping for some recovery time to get over her ear infection and cold. I may end up renting some movies for Jamie and Sam, then see if I can get some things done during Emma's naps.



Morgan is here for the week, and Marshall, Mc...

May 21, 2004 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Morgan is here for the week, and Marshall, McKenna, and Kyle threaten to visit for the weekend. Anna is having a time in Trinidad, which sounds like an American resort with diffierent currency. But I only talked to her for a few minutes. Had my VISTA interview, felt like having a really intense elimadate with four people at the same time. I fell asleep for an hour afterwards and Morgan made me pancakes. Ah, nothing like good friends.



Today is a busy day for us

May 20, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

Today is a busy day for us. Isa has a dental appointment, then a last dance practice for Cinco de Mayo (her school is located between 18th and Jackson and 18th and Polk - there is a Duplex For Sale Sign in frount). After that we are heading over to see Destin's school play.
Robbie and I are then meeting Dad at his storage unit to hide away the rest of our stuff.
I spent yesterday cleaning out the attic room. I'm not yetdone, but I can feel that my body is not as young as it used to be.



We had an interesting night last night, headi...

May 20, 2004 by Adam in Family

We had an interesting night last night, heading out to Urgent Care for most of the evening. Jamie was feeling the beginnings of an ear infection and she needed some antibiotics. That was the beginning of a little adventure that took seemingly forever, though the kids had a good time looking at all the fish in the fish tanks. We finally got the antibiotics way past the kids' bedtime, so we headed home and quickly got them to bed.

We've all been feeling this cold, with Emma seeming the most miserable. When I came home, she had been crying nonstop for awhile. A warm bath calmed her down, but it took a number of tricks to keep her happy for the rest of the evening. Hopefully it'll pass soon.



I promised everyone I'd post where we're staying

May 19, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

I promised everyone I'd post where we're staying. We will be at Mom's for one more night, and then switch over to Hanni's for the rest of the week.
Robbie and I cleaned out the upstairs rooom yesterday. That is, we took out all of the remaining boxes. We sorted out what will go into storage and what last few things go to Portland. Today I tackle cleaning the oven and scrubbing down the upsairs room. Luckily, after getting all of the stuff out of it, things aren't as bad as I thought they'd be - repair wise.
Love to all.



Emma took her first wobbly step last night

May 19, 2004 by Adam in Emma

Emma took her first wobbly step last night. She was hanging on to the edge of the playroom table, then she turned to me, took a step forward, then grabbed on to me. Sam and I both said "Wow!" and ran up to tell Jamie.



Graduation weekend came and went, leaving me ...

May 18, 2004 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

Graduation weekend came and went, leaving me with a sore heart and fourteen potted plants. Somehow I didn't think it would be tough to see my friends skattered to the winds, because I didn't mind it much last year, but so many of my friends were a year younger and staying put anyway. I ache for Kelly and her tenderness and laughter, and Alexis, for her sass and intelectual companionship. Emily Jones, Anna's big sister, will be going to Germany next year, as will Megan Wells Jamieson. Anna is in Trinidad and I have the house alone for contemplation and plant sitting all week. Lovely Morgan Munro will decend anyday now, and then a bunch of old school buddies are crashing here for some Western Mass good times this weekend. I hope it will soften the pain of losing so many good people in one day, and remind me that a good friend is never really lost.

Anna Monas and I are going on a big adventure today, before her job at the Eric Carle Picture Book Museum begins. Springfield, here we come!



I did some favors for a friend of mine in Swe...

May 18, 2004 by Adam in Sam

I did some favors for a friend of mine in Sweden, helping ship him new batteries for his robot dog if you must know. In any case, he sent me a thank you note with $20 and a message to spend it on pizza or whatever Sam wants. I gave the bill to Sam and told him to give it to Jamie along with a message of what he wanted for dinner. He promptly ran upstairs and said to Jamie: "Cake."

In a few minutes, Emma and I went to Metropol to pick up some cake for Sam. Sure enough, that's what he ate for dinner.



My computer at work is not presently hitched ...

May 18, 2004 by Sue in Wielesek

My computer at work is not presently hitched up to e-mail, but in the category of "The Lord Giveth and The Lord Taketh Away," I finally figured out how to go on-line at home with my lap top. (Yeah, okay, sounds easy to you!)

I had an interesting weekend at the League of Women Voters State Convention at Salishan. I fear that organization will disappear as there are fewer and fewer smart women (or men)who don't work outside the home and have time and energy to contribute. They do an amazing job of putting out the Voters Guide, a non-partisan listing of candidates and ballot measures, register people to vote, and organize candidates' forums (okay, "fora" for you Latin purists).

I'm waiting for Seraph, Robbie and Isa; they are staying with me tonight.

I'm wishing I were a more sophisticated world traveler, as I have to get a visa to go to Russia in June, and I'm all atwitter over how to do it. Love to all, om

A quick ps - I loved the pix of the four older cousins on Mothers Day. It did occur to me that all we needed to throw in a convict or two and it would look like one of those United Colors of Benneton ad campaigns from a few years back.



Well, we got most everthing into our new plac...

May 17, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

Well, we got most everthing into our new place yesterday! I even got our clothes hung in the closet and Hanni and Cheikh got Isa's bunk bed together. I'm going to have to do some creative storage space shopping, but that's the fun part.



Our great accomplishment of Sunday was to fin...

May 17, 2004 by Adam in Family

Our great accomplishment of Sunday was to finish up Sam's bathroom. All the wainscotting and painting was finished by Seraph on Friday, but it took us awhile to put in the new outlet and switches, hang the medicine cabinet and shelf, and generally clean up. It looks very nice and hopefully Sam will keep it relatively intact over the next few years.

We also took care of more mundane things, such as going shopping. The kids and I played in the sandbox while Jamie visited with Angie. We made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert. It was all good.



Moving Day!!! AHHHHHH

May 16, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

Moving Day!!! AHHHHHH... I'm not sure that is the typical response, but it does feel a bit that way!
Our house is mostly empty, with a few things that we are keeping around for the next few weeks that we are back and forth between old and new places.
Isa is enjoying the extra running around space, curently wearing large winter mittens and calling out "you are the mistress of evil!" Robbie made an early exit to teach his last Sunday school, probably hoping for a few moments of peace and quiet before heading up the road.
We should be heading out around 11 am and after we unpack we will be driving back down tonight. Isa has her last two classes on Mon and Wed, then a dental apt on Thur. Her Cinco de Mayo in Sat and 1pm at her school (all invited!). Then we have Jenny's birthday party Sunday. After which we will head up to the new place.
We will be down for the next few weekends, and I will be down a lot getting the house fixed up (and probably trying to scrounge food off of everyone).
Thanks to Adam for his help moving yesterday, and to everyone else for their love and support!



What a day! It started with me taking Emma t...

May 16, 2004 by Adam in Family

What a day! It started with me taking Emma to Metropol, just like I used to take Sam when he was a baby. When I returned, I discovered we were out of coffee so I rushed off to pick up that and other critical items at the store. It was a wonderful breakfast full of scrumptious treats.

From ten to noon I helped Seraph and Robbie pack. It was a little sad, though I got their assurance that they'd be returning to Eugene once they were done with school. I got pretty exhausted towards noon and returned home hungry yet again.

After lunch I worked on replacing outlets in Sam's new bathroom, which took far longer than anyone thought. It wasn't until after dinner that I actually finished the job. Somewhere in the middle Emma got tired and Sam and I went to Hendrick's park to get out of the house.

We took a path that I'd never taken before and ended up in a part of the park that was far off the beaten path. After ten or so minutes, all we could see were trees and ferns all around us. After awhile, the trail vanished and we ended up trying to circle through the underbrush to make it back. It took far longer than we thought, Sam thinking it was a grand adventure the whole time. We finally made it home, exhausted and hungry yet again.



OK, Sue has saved the day for all of you and ...

May 15, 2004 by Jamie in Jamie

OK, Sue has saved the day for all of you and bought me a great Le Creuset spatula for Christmas. I'm glad she was able to read my mind and bought the rubber scraper type instead fo the pancake flipper type...does anyone know which of these is technically called "spatula"? I'm gearing up for Summer with two kids and no preschool, yikes! Lots of time will be spent in the backyard fun center and you are enthusiastically invited to drop by for some lemonade and "fish pie"



It's Mocha Friday, though I'm not quite yet t...

May 14, 2004 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday, though I'm not quite yet to work. Still waking up.

I had the kids again during lunch yesterday and we ran down to the duck pond to see the baby ducks and the nutria. Sam and Emma both seemed mesmerized by the rat-like creatures. It was a beautiful day and getting outside was quite nice.

Seraph has been slaving away upstairs this week, working on painting and wainscotting Sam's bathroom. A couple days ago they had terrible luck with a nailgun, as the air compressor kept tripping the breaker. She spent the day yesterday doing it the old fashion way which worked well enough. It'll be very nice when it's finished, which should be today.

I'm not sure what the weekend will bring. I'm helping Seraph and Robbie move on Saturday. There's lots of house chores I could do. Personally I'd like to have a little quiet time with my family, if such a thing is possible.



I've been playing Unreal Tournament 2004 off ...

May 13, 2004 by Adam in Adam's Games

I've been playing Unreal Tournament 2004 off and on. It's a fun little game, very well polished. The vehicles are loads of fun. Mostly Sam and I play Onslaught, fighting together against the computer to take over the various power nodes on the map. Sam likes it when we ride in a vehicle together - I drive and he shoots.

I challenged Josh to a one-on-one deathmatch and managed to beat him by a hair. It's nice to know that I've still got the reflexes to beat a teenage boy, though I suspect that won't last much longer.

It's E3 week, which is sort of like Christmas to the gaming world. All sorts of gameplay videos and announcements of new games are coming out. I'm quite interested in Dragon Age, Bioware's upcoming fantasy game. It looks like the next Neverwinter Nights, but with superior graphics and hopefully improved gameplay.



We're making our way through the week

May 13, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

We're making our way through the week. I've been working my way through Sam's bathroom at Adam and Jamie's, while Robbie is packing up the house. We have some potential renters. Three women, one works at a medical clinic and the other two work at Elephant's Trunk and are U of O students. They're all pretty mello and two of them are really into gardening, which is a plus in my book!



I had a really good afternoon yesterday, thou...

May 13, 2004 by Adam in Family

I had a really good afternoon yesterday, though I'm not sure why. When I arrived, I grabbed the kids and headed outside. We ended up in the sand box, burying each kid in turn to their waist. Even Emma thought it was great fun, giggling as she patted the sand on her toes. Afterwards, Sam wanted to be hosed off, but it was far too cold.

We piled in the bath, got relatively clean, then watched X-Men 2 and ate pizza that Jamie had ordered. Later, we got the kids ready for bed and I read Sam his Start Wars comic book until it was time for me to go.

It was quite the contrast to spending the day in a meeting with Microsoft reps, mostly folding my cough-drop papers into tiny airplanes.



I had the kids yesterday during lunch while J...

May 12, 2004 by Adam in Family

I had the kids yesterday during lunch while Jamie worked out. We hiked over to the EMU on campus and watched the fish in the indoor pond. Sam and Emma both thought it was pretty cool. I had to distract Emma with an orange in order to keep her from climbing in and swimming with the fishes herself.

My cold is getting a bit worse, I think, but not as bad as the ones over the winter. I'm sure I'll manage.



Well, it looks like we're all sick

May 11, 2004 by Adam in Family

Well, it looks like we're all sick. I feel pretty good other than a nagging cough. Sam's sniffly and was up quite a bit last night. Emma's a little grumpy and so far Jamie seems the only one untouched.

It was a fairly quiet night last night. Emma was very wiggly and kept wanting to crawl upstairs to Jamie. Sam mostly played on the computer while I was here. It's sometimes hard to get the energy up to entertain two children at once, especially when I'm not feeling so great. Hopefully this one will pass quickly.



Sam explained to me while he was brushing his...

May 10, 2004 by Adam in Sam

Sam explained to me while he was brushing his teeth that he only wanted to do four things: play pretend, watch t.v., eat, and play on the computer. Fortunately it was the same day we went for a walk by the river and he ran around until he was exhausted. There's hope for that boy yet.



After a bout with that wicked virus, I'm back...

May 10, 2004 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

After a bout with that wicked virus, I'm back online. The VISTA beotch is still up in the air, although I got a helpless email from one fellow saying the process was now out of his hands, so I've emailed another fellow who is now doing secondary and totally separate interviews- the 5-college administation likes to be in control of their own thing, I suppose. Whatever, yo. Anna's boxes are making me a little punchy and I've gotta go to work. But keep those cutie photos coming. my goodness!



Emma is an eating machine these days, though ...

May 10, 2004 by Adam in Emma

Emma is an eating machine these days, though her baby fat seems to be melting away at a rapid pace. She loves oranges and will happily devour an entire one if we let her. She's also a bread girl, scarfing down any carb-based food. She'll eat a few vegitables, such as carrots, but also seems to have Sam's distain for all things green.

Emma's sprouting up as she approaches her first birthday, getting stronger and more dextrous as the days go by. She wants to be up on her feet more and more. This morning she was pushing a chair about, a happy grin on her face. She'll be walking within the next few weeks to be sure.

Her vocabulary improves as well, with "What's that?" being the phrase of the month. There were some unfortunate consequences with her learning the word "eye". She managed to poke herself in the eye and it swelled up for an hour or so.



The cousins all had a great time running arou...

May 10, 2004 by Adam in Family

The cousins all had a great time running around together last night. It was a bit daunting trying to keep everyone safe as they tore around in my mom's back yard, but I think the broken bones were kept to a minimum. They all seemed to have a great time and Sam didn't particularly want to leave.

Seraph starts slaving away at our house for the week, doing some work in Sam's bathroom that Jamie's been wanting to do. Jamie's also "snack mom" at the preschool today and I might try biking over to help during her time of need.

It's the typical Monday morning, lots of things to fix and take care of here at work. Better start slaving away soon.



The weekend seems a blur and it's not even ov...

May 09, 2004 by Adam in Family

The weekend seems a blur and it's not even over yet. Friday night, my dad and Yayoe came over for a nice dinner. Saturday I watched the kids in the morning while Jamie did gardening, then we switched and I ran errands. One of the things I managed to do was get Jamie's computer hooked up to the Internet again. She sat down to check e-mail and was rewarded by endless spam for viagra and enlarging body parts.

Saturday night had Jamie's family over, enchiladas for everyone. Sunday morning we had my mom over for breakfast. After lunch we walked down by the river and enjoyed the cool weather. A lovely mother's day for all.



It's a rainy day, and not a garage sale shopp...

May 08, 2004 by Robbie in Cortez

It's a rainy day, and not a garage sale shopper in sight. Yesterday, we had a decent day and sold quite a bit. We're down to the small knick-knacks, that would make great white elephant gifts. I feel sorry for those who do come, and glance around quickly, and disappear into this air. They're all looking for the rare 17th century antique that will make them rich and famous. Sorry,no luck here in that department. Can I offer you a used blanket with all 28 NFL teams on it?
Next weekend is our big move to Portland, we're hoping to starting packing on Saturday, and move on Sunday morning. It would be great if any one could spare an hour or two and help us move the big furniture. Any one willing to help?
Got to go, car slowing down, might be someone to buy a used NFL blanket.



Ooooh, back to work after four days of The Sa...

May 07, 2004 by Sue in Wielesek

Ooooh, back to work after four days of The Same Thing Everyone Else Had. I'm still looking forward to Sunday, as I'm feeling much better. Hugs to all, om



It's Mocha Friday at work today, so I'm feeli...

May 07, 2004 by Adam in Family

It's Mocha Friday at work today, so I'm feeling fairly perky. We shuffled the kids off to bed early last night then watched the Friends finale like millions of other Americans. It was a bit nostalgic, mostly because Jamie and I started dating when it first began.

I spread bark-o-mulch last night while Emma played in the sandbox and Sam pretended I was a slave. The game was that we were trying to escape from some evil overlord. Basically he ran around finding hidden escape routes while I kept shoveling bark. The vegitable garden and area under the fence is covered, though there's plenty more to do. The fence is almost completely finished now, with only a small part needing to be stained. It's quite different from the giant laurels, but it's pretty in its own way.

We have lots of family visits this weekend, with my dad and Yayoe coming over tonight, then a bit mother's day event at my mom's on Sunday. Hopefully I can get Jamie's computer hooked up to the network and spread the rest of the bark. No rest for the weary!



The kids woke up earlier than usual, so I had...

May 06, 2004 by Adam in Family

The kids woke up earlier than usual, so I had to sneak up and say hello while I was getting ready for work. Emma glommed on to me immediately, wanting me to carry her about everywhere. Sam came down shortly after that and it quickly became very hard to go to work.

I finally pried myself away with promises that I'd see them soon. We have a plan where Jamie will leave the kids with me for lunch while she uses the gym. If it goes well, it may be a regular Tuesday/Thursday thing. Unfortunately it means giving up a couple workouts on my part, but there's simply not enough time to go around these days.



I'm not quite sure what happened to April! T...

May 05, 2004 by Seraph in Cortez

I'm not quite sure what happened to April! The floor at Mom's house is coming along and I should finish up the play room by the end of the week!
Our "plan" is coming in to focus. We will be having a garage sale next weekend. Friday 9-5 and Saterday 9-4. We will be moving the weekend of the 15th, although we will mostly remain in Eugene between the 15th and 22nd. (I'm not yet sure how we're going to pull this off with most of our gear moved away!)
Isa has her Cinco de Mayo celebration at Los Ninos on the 22nd. Everyone is invited to watch the kids dance and sing, hit around a pinata and eat cake!
We're doing a lot of "one day at a time" right now, and I think if we can just make it through the end of the month we'll feel more settled.



On a busy day off from work, I moved my morni...

May 04, 2004 by Sadie in Sadie & Greg

On a busy day off from work, I moved my morning glories and tomatoes outside, watched The Thin Man and After the Thin Man, went grocery shopping, cleaned the house, continued to compile my new journal, and enjoyed the perfect weather. Even Anna is feeling cheery about her finals. She's decided to play in an all-womyn's Northampton softball League this summer. The names of teams include "the resisters," "the red scare," "no nukes," "visionaries," and "womynrisers." It's been fun trying to pick a team to join, as each describes themselves as laid-back and supportive of all skill levels. Many describe their kids, dogs, and the food they go to afterward as a perk of the team. Sounds perfect for Anna... a real taste of Northampton.



I installed a new spam filter here at work an...

May 04, 2004 by Adam in Adam

I installed a new spam filter here at work and it's bliss. For the last six months or so, I've spent the first 15 minutes of work going through sometimes hundreds of spam e-mails. I went for SpamBayes, which is a free anti-spam tool that works with Microsoft Outlook. So far, so good. This morning I had one that it wasn't sure about, but all those Viagra and mortgage e-mails were moved away so I didn't have to deal with them at all.



Emma has turned into quite the strong-willed ...

May 04, 2004 by Adam in Emma

Emma has turned into quite the strong-willed little girl. She has very definite ideas about what she wants to play with and gets quite grumpy if you don't comply immediately. Everywhere she goes, she's saying "What's that?" and "What is it?". Now that she's got grownups telling her the names for everything, I can tell her vocabulary will be expanding by leaps and bounds.

Oh, and she likes eating olives as long as they're stuck on her fingers. She can't really chew or digest the skins, but she has a great time nibbling them off her finger.



Sam was really sweet the other night

May 03, 2004 by Adam in Sam

Sam was really sweet the other night. I explained how I had to go and brush my teeth and couldn't play just yet. After folding some clothes, I finally got there to find that he'd laid out my toothbrush and opened up the toothpaste for me.

I told him later that I thought it was really cool and he added, "I was going to put toothpaste on it too, but there was a horrible accident and I had to clean it up."



I think I can say for certain that Emma is ta...

May 03, 2004 by Adam in Emma

I think I can say for certain that Emma is talking. She says "What's that?" all the time now. Jamie's pretty certain that her first word that was completely understandable and used appropriately was "doggy", as she'd point to real and toy dogs and say "doggy" then go "ruff ruff". She's also got other words that I understand pretty well - "bug", "ow hot" (with hand pulling away gesture), "bird", "bee", "mama", and a few others. The pronunciation isn't quite there, but she's making good progress.



I've finished Far Cry, as has Sam

May 03, 2004 by Adam in Adam's Games

I've finished Far Cry, as has Sam. I kept pushing onward last night, unable to stop. Strangely, the last ten minutes of the game were so much harder than everything else that came before it, I ended up making myself invulnerable since the difficulty just wasn't that interesting. Still, it's one of the best first person shooters I've played in a long while. The graphics and vehicles were really well done.

I also picked up two copies of Unreal Tournament 2004 that should be arriving tomorrow. The price dropped so low that I could get two for the price of a normal game, allowing Sam and I to play together if we wanted. Great fun.



The weekend is coming to an end

May 03, 2004 by Adam in Family

The weekend is coming to an end. My skin is burned and scratched, but I'm strangely happy. It began with all of us piling into bed and giggling as the kids slowly woke up, then a trip to Metropol for sweets and bread. While the kids and I played with Legos, Jamie had her quiet breakfast-making time, then we scarfed down a hearty breakfast.

Sam and I played a fair bit, getting our Star Wars Lego activities in for the day, then we began getting ready to clear out the bushes Dave yanked out a couple weeks ago.

Yesterday, my task was to help the neighbors' oil the new fence that's going in. It's nearly finished and looks quite nice. I miss the huge laurels a little, but they were a huge amount of work to maintain and clean up the leaves.

Today, I hauled off lots of yard debris, returning with a pickup load of bark-o-mulch. It took well over two hours to get it all moved over and at the end of the day I was hot and sweaty. The solution, of course, was an impromptu water fight with Sam. We ended up getting drenched and laughing endlessly.

I relieved Jamie and played with both kids outside. Emma was doing her usual "What's that?" and waving at everyone who walked by. She's also standing much more and much longer. Walking is just around the corner.

As another beautiful day wound down, my mom took Sam out to ice cream. I played "drop the baby" on the bed, which Emma loves, and Jamie enjoyed the quiet for a little.



Its Saturday and I'm stuck at the office

May 01, 2004 by Betsy in Betsy

Its Saturday and I'm stuck at the office. I have taken on a ton of new management and am feeling extremely overwhelmed. The boys are with Mike this weekend and I am looking forward to some sleep tonight. Adam, I emailed some Florida pics, did they come through? Sue you probably emailed your Russian missives to patrick12398@sbcglobal. I no longer have that email address and am using the krgcampus@sbcglobal.net for everything now. The dial up service went from a local number to long distance and I couldn't afford it anymore. I also am probably going to disconnect the land line at the farm and go to just my cell phone as it isn't worth it to have both. My cell phone is 614-578-5890 and my company cell phone is 614-206-2110. I keep the 578 phone with me all the time. It just got that one day Will was sick and they tried me on my company cell phone which is always busy so I got the other cell phone so the kids could always get me.
We go to Pittsburgh Children's Hospital on June 14th for a second opinion on Will's legs. Present options don't really seem the greatest and I want him to be able to continue to walk. His peditircian knows someone there who is supposed to be very good.
Sam, I have your picture on my screen saver. The one of you marching down to the sea in your yellow rain slicker. I think that is a great picture. Looks like your challenging the Pacific!!
All my love to you all. P and the boys



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