Mocha Friday

August 31, 2012 by Adam in Family

This week has been fairly uneventful.  I continue to be busy with house and kids while Joanna mends.  Duncan will call out "Adam!" in the middle of the night now, as I've tended to be the one to get him back to sleep.  Yesterday was a little rough - Jessica took them to the zoo in Portland and it didn't go particularly well.  Still, the little kids have generally been cheerful.  I look forward to Sam and Emma arriving tonight, as they've been at their mom's since Monday.

We continue to look for a nanny.  I think we've found a couple that are okay, and one more interview this Saturday.  I always get a little nervous getting so close to the wire, but I think it'll all sort out.

The weekend will likely be low-key, getting kids ready for school and letting Joanna continue to mend.  She's cut way back on painkillers and we see the surgeon today for follow-up.  I think the plan is for Joanna to show up to work in person next week, though perhaps with the occasional nap.

Wednesday Already

August 29, 2012 by Adam in Family

I've been crazy busy all week, and haven't had a chance to post for ages.

The weekend was good, and relatively uneventful.  Pizza and Mythbusters, library trips, and running around outside was typical.  Games were played.  Joanna continued to mend.  I'm getting Sam waking up at a normal time in preparation for school.

Joanna has been doing surprisingly well, sleeping less and cutting way back on painkillers.  Her goal is to be able to drive again, and is trying to go below pre-surgery levels today.  There are still a lot of sore parts, but I think those are temporary.  Her back seems much better than before, though with a new set of aches to sort out.

I've been doing kid watching and house care full-tilt these last few days.  I'm a little groggy from getting up in the middle of the night to get Duncan back to bed.  I'm also increasingly involved in the bedtime routine as it's challenging for Joanna still.  Over the weekend, Emma and I helped read stories to the kids, and then I'd do the three-kid circut, trying to get everyone to sleep.

Sam and I had a good time programming on Sunday, adding graphics to our dungeon generator program.  We also played through some more Arma II levels Sam designed, scavaging the wasteland for guns and working vehicles.  Good times.

We also continue to look for a nanny.  We Skype interviewed a college student yesterday that looked promising.  Joanna has her eyes on another upcoming interviewee, in part because she professes to cook well.

Home Mocha Friday

August 24, 2012 by Adam in Family

I'm at home, about ready to sign into work and check email.  A big mocha sits next to me, in a big pirate mug that Sam made me for my birthday.  Tasty.

Joanna continues to slowly recover, though the pain continues to be fairly insistent.  Her stomach continues to be swollen, though it theoretically gets better from here on out.  The general plan for the next few days is to take it easy.

My mom came over and brought us dinner last night, which was a hit with everyone.  I'll miss the help she and Yayoe have been these last few days.  Emma pitched in with reading to Duncan and Berry last night, much to their amusement.

Sam and I stayed up way too late working on a new computer program.  He wanted procedurally generated dungeons, so we were whipping up corridors and caverns before bedtime.  I got up in the middle of the night to get Duncan back to sleep, but afterward couldn't go to sleep myself.  All I could think about was generating dungeon maps.

Emma's social calendar is busy this morning.  First she's going to breakfast with my mom.  This afternoon Kate is coming over to play.  It looks like she won't be in the same class with Kate or Daniel next year, which is a little sad.  At least they'll have recess.

This upcoming week we need to start looking for a new nanny.  We'll miss Jessica terribly, though she promises to babysit in the evening, Fridays, and school holidays.

Back Home

August 23, 2012 by Adam in Family

We're finally home, which is pleasant and quiet.  I'm working and Joanna's playing games on her phone.  Both of us are a little less than 100% today.  I'm fighting a headache, something I've had for the last couple days.  Joanna was told that her stomach would reach peak swelling today, and it's been pretty sore all day.

Duncan and Berry really missed us, and have been their usual bouncy selves.  I really appreciate my mom and Yayoe lending a hand with things.  My mom dropped everything two nights in a row to stay over and watch the kids.  My apologies to the ladies in the book club.  Last night Yayoe brought us dinner, entertained children with fake moustaches, and helped read stories.  It was incredibly helpful.

Sam and Emma arrive this afternoon.  I'll continue working from home, and plan on returning to the office next week.  There have been a number of wacky work developments, such as partnering with another big healthcare organization.  Our department is getting renamed, and I think I'm getting volunteered to help.

I'm also mentally preparing for the end of summer and more changes at home.  Jessica, our super nanny, can't watch the kids after school due to her job changing.  We're going to have to start the search for a new one, which is sad.  Hopefully it'll all work out.  Pretty soon we'll have kids back in school, and mornings will get busy once again.

Slowly Getting There

August 21, 2012 by Adam in Family

I spent the night in Joanna's recovery room.  The plan had been to go home and get the kids to bed, but the reality is that she wasn't doing as well as everyone thought.  I called my wonderful mother in a pinch, and she got the kids to bed and spent the night before passing the torch to Jessica this morning.

Joanna's been in a fair amount of pain, strangely not in her back but instead in her stomach.  Yesterday involved a lot of throwing up too, we think because of the antibiotics.  Fortunately we got the last round taken off the list of meds, and she started to improve this morning.

She's been up and about on a short walk, ate a little breakfast, and is currently napping again.  Her surgeon came and it sounds like she'll need to spend tonight at the hospital as well.  As with yesterday, I'm playing things by ear.  I'd like to get home, see the kids, take a shower, and eat a bowl of cereal.  We'll see if that can happen somehow.

Surgery Day

August 20, 2012 by Adam in Family

I'm sitting in the waiting room.  Just got the call from the surgeon that everything went well and she'll be in her recovery room within the hour.  Joanna now has a bit of metal in her spine.  Her heroic disc can finally rest after doing its best for twenty years after the car accident.

I'll hopefully be able to wander up relatively soon and spend the day with her.  If she's up for it, I'll have Jessica take the kids over for a visit.  Tonight it'll just be the little kids and I.  We'll probably have a quick dinner together and all sit down to watch some Adventure Time on the big screen.

I'm surprised how relieved I am that it's finally over.  Time for the recovery process.

No Mocha Camping Friday

August 19, 2012 by Adam in Family

Emma and I left Thursday night for her first camping trip.  She was quite excited.  We packed up the car after work and drove out to Cascara campground at Fall Creek.  For a moment, I thought we couldn't find an empty site, but we found one and it dawned on me that it was the exact same site Sam and I had gone camping at long ago.

We made a camp fire and roasted veggie hot dogs.  The tent was set up.  Emma enjoyed the burning part, and we stayed up until dust.  Unfortunately our fellow campers weren't particularly interested in communing with nature, and they were playing loud music until ten and yelling until quite late.  Poor Emma had a hard time sleeping, as did I.

In the morning we perked up and made ourselves breakfast, eggs and sausages.  We cleaned up, packed up, and inflated the raft for a morning excursion on the lake.  It was beautiful and quiet, and we aimlessly floated around for awhile.  There was a ton of algae in the lake, so we opted not to go swimming and headed home.

I picked up Sam from Jamie's house, and the three of us puttered about.  There were sword fights and computer games.  Emma played pretend with Berry, as Sam and I couldn't quite manage to play house the way she wanted.

Yesterday we went to the mall so Joanna could get a pedicure.  I think she's trying to pretty herself up before her surgery on Monday.  I had the little kids for a library run afterwards, returning with lots of loot.  We managed some play time in the basement, including crazy attacks by Duncan and Berry with inflatable hammers and axes they got at the fair.  I went food shopping and cleaned the chicken coop.  Pizza was obtained for our traditional meal.

I'm hoping to get some solid play time today and prepare for tomorrow's activities.  My plan for Monday is to get Joanna off at the crack of dawn in a taxi, and then head to the waiting room once Jessica arrives.  I really hope all goes well and we can dance again.

Fencing and Camping

August 15, 2012 by Adam in Family

Just a quick mid-week update.  It's been crazy hot - I was sweating this morning just getting ready for work.

It looks like Emma and I are going to the Eugene Fencer's Club when school starts, along with her friend Kate.  I may pull rank and drag Sam to it as well, though he's skeptical.  I have fond memories of fencing from long ago, and think it would be fun to do with the kids.  It's good to have options when settling disputes.

Emma and I are going camping tomorrow, the first time for her.  I'm going to try hard to pack everything up tonight so we can hit the road and go.  I loaded up on relatively healthy camping food.  Hopefully we can find a way to make a fire and roast some veggie hot dogs, otherwise we're stuck with fruit and cereal.

Joanna and I are getting ready for her upcoming surgery.  We had the fun "what if you don't wake up" conversation in the car yesterday.  Mostly I'm doing things like picking up her special antibiotic skin cleanser and lining up kid assistance in the evenings.  I'm also going to work from hospital waiting rooms or home for the next week.  We'll see how it goes after that.

Breaking Out The Pool

August 13, 2012 by Adam in Family

We broke out the pool over the weekend.  Everyone loved it, and even Sam lept in, fully clothed as is the way of his people.  Berry and Duncan spent big parts of Saturday and Sunday playing with it, and Emma did a hundred laps (admittedly very short ones).

We were surprisingly busy this weekend, though I managed a bit of hang out time with everyone.  Duncan, Emma, and I played Terraria first thing in the morning, exploring the floating islands high above the ground.  After breakfast we gardened until Joanna went to get haircuts for Berry and Duncan.  I fed Sam breakfast and then we all went into the backyard to set up the pool.  They played with it as it was filling, and I spent the late afternoon food shopping and getting pizza for our Mythbusters-filled tradition.

Now we're sadly back at work.  I bought a new waterproof video camera to replace the one that broke over the weekend.  I want to get ready for my camping trip with Emma, who continues to be excited about it.

Mocha Friday

August 10, 2012 by Adam in Family

The week has zipped along.  Tuesday night Joanna and I went out to Soriah's for our hot date.  Duncan and I continued to play Terraria, with the boy begging Joanna for an extra ten minutes before bedtime to defeat Skeletron.  He'd been reading the Terraria wiki, learning about things he wanted to do.

Ducan went to the doctor's today for a checkup.  He's in the 85% for weight, off the scale for height - 60lbs and 4'4".  Jessica is taking the younger kids to Junction City for the Scandanavian Festival today.

Sam wants to watch a Russian post-apocalyptic movie with me this weekend.  I think we can carve out some time this weekend.  I enjoyed having Sam and Emma around last night - they were both very chatty.

Emma and I are trying hard to plan a camping trip next Thursday, likely the only time we could manage with Joanna's surgery coming up.  She set up a point system for eating healthy, and a day with daddy was her reward of choice.  She's quite excited to go and sleep in a tent. 

I'm also trying hard to get fencing set up.  Sam's being less than enthusiastic.  Emma wants to go, as does her friend Kate.  I think it would be fun for me as well.

As for the weekend, we have a family dinner on Sunday.  I'm going to beg people for assistance with dinner and kids the first few nights after Joanna's surgery.  I'm trying hard to have a low-key weekend before the madness hits, though we'll see how much I can manage.

Back from the Beach

August 07, 2012 by Adam in Family

Okay, it's actually my second day back from work.  We managed to escape the 104 degree temperatures over the weekend.  The weather was amazing for the beach, clear and warm all around.

Friday night was pizza and Mythbusters, and in the morning we headed out early to the coast  We ate at Nearly Normal's in Corvallis, then stopped by the beach to play in the sand.  Joanna built an epic sand castle, loosely modeled after the Lannister castle from Game of Thrones.  We flew Emma's kite, and watched a crazy guy surf with a massive kite attached to his board.

We rolled into my dad's house around four, unloaded, and Anna came over for dinner.  We ended up playing a really fun and funny game called Bubble Talk.  Either everyone let me win as it was my birthday present, or I'm actually a pretty funny guy.  I suspect the former.

Sunday we packed up, went to the Newport aquarium, and ate in this quirky, arty restaraunt.  I was a little worn out by the end, but Joanna did a fine job entertaining me with selected readings from her diary from 1992.

The summer continues to wrap up.  It's time to buy school supplies, think about after school activities, and get ready for Joanna's upcoming surgery.

Tonight Joanna and I have a hot date at Soriah's, the first in awhile.  Todd and Victoria across the street gave us a wedding gift of kid watching, and we're taking them up on the offer.

Mocha Friday

August 03, 2012 by Adam in Family

I just finished my Friday mocha, which is as delicious as always.

It's been a week of adjustments, with Duncan and Berry returning from Rochester.  I think they both missed the computer, and I got a good shot of Berry vegging out in the morning one day.  Duncan has been excited about the Minecraft update, and we've all been playing on the family server once again.

The week has been relatively uneventful.  Joanna's been working hard in the gardens.  We continue to slowly integrate our finances and insurance now that we've been married.  Berry watched an episode of Adventure Time on the plane, and Emma was excitedly talking to her about it as we left this morning.  There's also the exciting news of Jessica, our nanny, being pregnant.  She heard the heartbeat yesterday, and things seem to be going well.  Duncan and Berry continue taking swimming lessons, and have seemingly improved greatly.

This weekend we're heading to the coast for the night.  Hopefully we can beat the crazy 98 degree temperatures we're supposed to get tomorrow.  It'll be nice seeing dad and visiting the beach.

Summer is also winding down.  Emma wants to take fencing in the fall, and I'm seeing if I can get her, Sam, and I to all join the Eugene Fencing Club.  There's also after school drama and the Coyote Kids outdoor school.  We'll see how much we can manage.