Day 19: Fun Friday

After putting the kids to bed and blogging last night, I went downstairs to snuggle with my two sweethearts and watch a movie.

There were some cute baby faces:

Our netflix DVD was Crazy on the Outside, a movie with a really great (or at least super okay) cast. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Ray Liotta, the yellow M&M... but it was TERRIBLE.

I can't put my finger on exactly why it was awful, but it played like the pilot of a rejected sitcom. The dialogue sucked, the actors were phoning it in, and it was generally stupid. It is very rare that I ever pick up a movie and not finish it, but both Jen and I were done after 20 minutes. Wikipedia says that it was generally disliked, and it also says Kelsey Grammer was in it, but it was not enough to save it.

Instead, we re-picked up The Way with Martin Sheen, which was at least an interesting study, with more three-dimensional characters. Makes me want to go on more long hikes.

I volunteered to sleep under baby tonight and let Jen get some rest. It worked... okay. At 4:30, I brought Betty in for a feeding, crashed on the bed next to Jen, and woke up at 7:00 to the alarm in an empty bed.

Had a visit this morning from Ryan and Mallory, our kids' friends. They're each about a year older than Edgar and Sabrina, and we watched them most mornings last year and walked them to school. Today, they came over and played video games before school. We all walked to school together, and it was super fun.

...and more baby snuggles!

I left Jen at home (to have a productive morning) and Betty and I had some fun adventures-- we dropped off Edgar's forgotten lunch at school, dropped by the bookstore (they didn't have Jen's next book), the electronics store, the record store (quite a haul today!), and some stopping to catch pokemon along the way. She stayed in her bucket and was quite content unless I stopped the car and wasn't getting her out. She was oohed and ahhed over everywhere we went. I got home and she was asleep in her carseat, so one last trip, this time with Jen in tow, to the library where they had the book.

I took a too-short nap, then it was hi-bye to Edgar and Sabrina and time for my radio show. It's always fun to get that 2 hours every week dedicated to listening to (and sharing) music. At home, Jen and Betty snuggled at home. Here's a video (accompanied by some Jesus Lizard and Brainiac from my radio show)

Home, and some packing for our upcoming weekend adventures. I'd be dishonest if I didn't say that I did more screwing around on the computer than actual helping. I guess some days are like that. We watched an episode of Star Wars Rebels with the kids, then bedtime.

Jen and I had our ritual Taco-Bell-and-a-movie tradition. We discovered that there are a couple of PBS Mystery episodes based on the Tony Hillerman books that we've both been reading. We watched half the first one tonight, then crashed.

Adventure begins tomorrow!

Day 18: Kid Writing

 Aww, what a cutie. That's what we're doing this for, right? Right.



Okay. Had a better morning with the kids this morning. They actually got all the stuff done they needed to. They're good kids. I like them.

Once the kids were away at school, I did the grocery shopping. I sure feel like Mr. Mom puttering around the grocery store at 10 AM with blue hair. It's awesome.

 Got home and put the groceries away, and convinced my lady to play a board game with me. Then, we had some lunch and watched the final episode of Bosch. Then, we both fell asleep on different sides of the sectional (with Betty sleeping on Jen). That was lovely. I woke up after the kids were home and doing homework with Jen.

Jen has taken an active role with the kids and their homework. This is great, because I don't think I have the mental focus (nor the tutor's patience) to work through the kids' homework with them.

I do want to show you, however, how awesome they are.

(for those of you without kids, or older than I am, there's this new emphasis in the schools -- they get the kids just writing. They don't correct all the spelling errors-- those will fix themselves. Instead, they encourage the kids to expand their vocabulary and try their best to sound out stuff. I like it. It produces cute results.)

First, Edgar.

Translation: I can be a bucket-filler by talking to new people in school.  "Do you want to be my friend?"  (new person) ... (still new) "My name is..."

Actual text: "I can be a bucket filer by tacking to new qeal in shcool. "do you want to dy my frien." (new qrsin) ...(still new) "my name is"




Edgar's such a sweetheart. He's super literate, too. Just a few of those p vs q situations.


Sabrina, on the other hand, is on the verge of actually reading and writing. She sounds things out super well.

I found this on my desk this week. Apparently, they had a snack menu sometime when I wasn't around:

 
Translation:

Snacks:
Crackers
Crackers and Tuna Fish

Actual text:

SNAC
KRAKRS
KRAKRSAD
TONUFETH


This afternoon, Sabrina had us meet her stuffed animal "Princess Glamour", and handed out pictures to Jen and I, and then asked us to ask Princess Glamour to autograph them. She also asked us what our names were, but she was unsatisfied with our first few guesses. She settled on Rosalina and Steve. This is the result:

Mine:

Translation: "From Princess Glamour. Wrote this for Steve"

Actual text: "PRETSES GLEMR WROTE BIY SDIV. FRUM"


Jen's is the same, but in mirror image:

Translation: "Princess Glamour. For Rosalina"

Actual text: "PIY ROWZLINU. PRETS GLAMR"


Man, that's cute. One of these days, she's going to surprise us all and read a novel or two.

Ages ago, Jen picked up a book on kids learning to write, and it had all sorts of these backwards letters. Apparently, writing in mirror image is a very common way kids explore words and how to use them. Somewhere I have one of Jen's old drawings with a funny little self-portrait on them that says "Lenny" [Jenny]. I'm going to try to dig it up as it's one of our favorites. We actually have it framed.


Anyway, after our adventures with Princess Glamour, the kids played, and I managed to (while Jen was holding baby), simultaneously reheat dinner, talk on the phone to Glenn and give business advice, and install a new CD player in the living room. Yes, our old CD player kicked the bucket, and nobody listens to CDs anymore. Well, except us. We tried buying used, but apparently CD player lasers have a finite life, and I couldn't find anything that worked very well, so we bit the bullet and bought a new one. it's a good thing,.

Watched a few episodes of Star Wars Rebels with the kids, and then bedtime.And that's the end, at least for today.

Day 17: Tough Blood

Had another blow-up this morning. The kids refused to get up or get their habits and chores done before school, then somehow were surprised that it was time to leave already. I thought we discussed this last night. I guess we've got some work to do before Edgar and Sabrina are truly independent in the morning. They did so well the first week or so of school, but it must've been the newness and excitement of new school year and new baby that brought them through it.

Had a lazy morning with Jen, snuggling baby Betty and watching Bosch. Jen is really anxious about Sabrina's upcoming surgery. Have I mentioned the surgery? In a week, Sabrina will be getting her tonsils and adenoids removed. This should help her with her breathing at night and help her get better rest. She's currently the loudest snorer in our family. We've read all the literature, talked to the doctor, and this should be a pretty slam-dunk, routine tonsils-out operation, and it should be a pretty immediate, noticeable effect on her breathing. Jen's still worried, though. She's a good mom.

We took sabrina out of school an hour early today (we only needed her maybe 10 minutes early, but with how crazy the school parking lot gets in the afternoon, it's an hour early or nothing). So, with our extra hour, we headed to Dairy Queen.

Yes, I was just there yesterday. We even sat in the same booth.

What squinky eye?

This time, I ordered a Cotton Candy Blizzard, which matches my hair and is super duper yummy.

Jen left Betty with me while she and Sabrina went to the doctor's to have some blood drawn. (I hear Sabrina was super brave.) I Bjorn'd Betty up, and went to walk Edgar home from school. He was sure excited to see me, and we came home and talked, and played some video games together once Edgar's chores were done. I was super sleepy, but I think I held it together okay.

Sabrina and I both conked out on the couch while Edgar was battling in my pokemon game. Our lovely friend Becky brought dinner again, and it was super yummy. Yay for good friends and a good support system. We would've been in a lot worse shape if we didn't have the great loved ones and friends helping us. Having a newborn is hard in lots of unexpected ways, so the little helps are totally appreciated.

I put together my radio show for Friday, and snuggled Betty while Jen put the kids to bed. I guess Jen had some good heart-to-heart talks with both Edgar and Sabrina which may have put her mind at ease somewhat concerning Sabrina's surgery.

Settled downstairs and watched some more tv (exciting life, let me tell you.)

Day 16: Overwhelmed? Try Ice Cream.

Had some sort of miscommunication this morning... My alarm went off at 7. I heard both kids' voices from upstairs, so I didn't bother waking them, I just shuffled off to the shower and then did my morning chores. At about 8 AM, the kids stumbled downstairs, still in their PJs. I asked if they had any of their "habits-and-chores" done, and they said they didn't know they were allowed to be up yet. So, they had to hustle getting ready and ended up a bit late for school today. We had a sit-down at dinner and told them we expected them to be more independent and that they knew that they had morning habits (i.e. get dressed, brush your teeth, eat breakfast) that they didn't need a mom or a dad nagging at them to do. Let's hope this works. I like it that the kids are semi-autonomous in the morning, as I'm not much of a morning person, so I can't handle too much nagging or remembering anything myself before 8 AM.

Watched a bit of bosch this morning, but I was so tired, I ended up opting for an early nap with Betty on top of me. We snoozed until 12:30 or so and Jen made us a yummy lunch.

I went out this afternoon to visit our old friend Eric at his repair shop.  Shot the breeze for a while. Talked about getting Eric and his band on my radio show, and talked about getting together to finally mix our second record. It's been a long time since we released the first one.

Came home, did a bit of reading, then took Edgar to soccer practice. Yes, we were one of the first ones there, this time. For the first half of practice, Edgar was being his typical self-- goofing off, not listening, frustrating his coach. I called him over and gave him a (overly-?) stern talking-to about running his mouth and not listening to his coach. I guess it made him feel bad, because for the second half of practice, he was visibly agitated. They did a scrimmage, and he didn't remember which direction his team was supposed to go, or what position he was playing, and he realized that he hadn't been listening, just as I had accused him. All that pent-up anxiety came bubbling out, and he was clearly having trouble. The word he used was "overwhelmed." His coach (what a great coach!) patiently helped answer his questions, but mostly dragged him along and made sure he was still in the game and still playing. And, wonder of wonders-- Edgar ran! and tried hard! and was still really upset, but trying his best to actually chase the ball and play soccer. I was saddened and impressed all at the same time.

After soccer, we went to Dairy Queen, where we had dipped cones and a good talk.  I think we're okay now.

I might have finished my cone before Edgar, and I might have gotten a little bored.

...more than a little...

Edgar, clearly disgusted by my tribute in ketchup.

Meanwhile, while we were away, some cute snuggling was going on:

So Jen discovered a lump on baby... no... not that kind of a lump. Not THAT kind of a lump, either. A little wiggly lump just above her belly button. Some quick consulting with the midwives, and ... it's an umbilical hernia. It's apparently routine, and they usually go away without complications or surgery, but we're supposed to watch it.

... Jen and I were both singing it, so we had to educate the kids about hernias. If you don't know, you should learn, too.

Day 15: Pokewalk

I have discovered the worst thing about having blue hair. Imagine your worst morning hair -- bedhead-- whatever you want to call it. Now imagine it cotton candy blue. That's the worst thing about having blue hair.

 Got the kids ready to go this morning, did my morning chores, and settled in with baby for some snuggles and reading. I did a bunch of reading this morning. I finished my book.

I tried on Jen's new Ergo baby carrier, but it was nearly impossible to put together and might not even fit me (I'm a big guy). Besides, I am a big fan of the Baby Bjorn from my time with Edgar and Sabrina. Also, The Hangover made a bjorn a semi-fashionable item for men, right?

 Anyway, we loaded up and headed to the local park. Since we were there walking around, OF COURSE, we played some Pokemon go. We both incensed up and walked around the park. I caught a friggin' gigantic Snorlax! After our incense wore off (and Jen was DONE walking), some kind soul put out some lures, so we sat on a bench and caught more pokemon. The sun was beating down pretty hard, but it was cool in the shade. Too bad the only place to sit was in the sun. Ah well.

 

 

Got some yummy burgers and a Peanut Butter Malt for lunch-- to go, and sat at home and watched an episode or two of our show. Then it was nap time.

Puttered around the house this afternoon, and ended up watching more Bosch, then bedtime. Not the most productive day, but alright. I'm glad I got out this morning. As I said yesterday, I'm itching for some adventures.

Oh well-- the snuggles from Betty are worth it. She seems to be growing up a little every day. She spent long periods of time today awake and looking around. She seems to have a lot of control of her neck muscles now, so I hardly need to support her head anymore.

Greetings.

Oh-- were you looking at ME?

Day 14: Whooooaaaa, I'm still alive...

Two weeks old, huh? Wow.

Took Edgar to church this morning. Sabrina was feeling "a little sniffly" and stayed home with Jen and Betty.

I got some looks showing up in church with blue hair. Let 'em stare.

Doing music time with the kiddos was fun. I got some good energy out of them today. The point of today's activity was to help them get comfortable singing loud. I'm a fan of loudly singing kids, because when nerves kick in, everybody gets quiet. If you're used to being super loud, then when you get nervous, it only comes out sorta-loud, which is perfect.

Anyway, I'm not sure any of the other "adult supervision" in church appreciated me getting the kids all riled up. Oh well. I'm a volunteer, right?

Came home and took a super duper long nap, much longer than I planned. Apparently Sabrina set up a lemonade stand in the backyard while Jen and I were both asleep. She had a cardboard box, a lemon, and a tub of sugar. She told Jen she was disappointed because her only customers were her and Edgar. Funny how nobody stops by a lemonade stand in your back yard.

Had a good evening snuggling baby and reading. The kids were a bit crazy, so we sent them to bed a little early.

Jen and I watched Pearl Jam Twenty.  Watching rockumentaries really inspires Jen and I to create, so I hope we'll do something musical in the next few days. Pearl Jam is a band that I like and respect, but are not one of my favorites.

Anyway, that was today. Not much. I was reading my blog from when Sabrina was born, and for the first 2-3 weeks, it was mostly this: watching TV, snuggling, not doing much. The last 3-4 weeks were adventure>adventure>adventure>adventure, and they were awesome. I guess I'm ready for some adventure. Let's go.

Day 13: Never Say Die

Last night, I took a fussing Betty and played some video games one-handed and let her scream at me for a few minutes. After a while, she calmed down and went to sleep. It was cute. I got tired, so I flopped on the couch, with Betty on top of me, and that worked okay until we both woke up about 1 AM. It was good to let Jen have some uninterrupted sleep for a little bit at least.

This morning, we got Sabrina to her early, foggy, soccer game. She played great. I got tons of pictures. In fact, I apologize for all the soccer pictures-- this is two weeks' worth, and Jen missed last week and this morning, so these are partially for her, too.

Came home from the game, and Jen was up and around and offered to get everything ready and let me take a nap... so, take a nap I did. I love naps.

Woke up from the nap to a visit from Greta and Tom. They brought a used crib and a new high chair. Thanks, guys! I was still super sleepy and groggy during and after their visit, and it took us way too long to get Edgar ready and out the door, and all FIVE of us crammed into our little car. In fact, I accidentally left Sabrina's lunch box, which I had packed full of water bottles, on top of the car. Somehow it miraculously made it (plus one loose water bottle) all the way (maybe 5 miles?) from our house to the soccer fields. We were late AGAIN... Edgar has had two practices and two games, and he's been substantially late to all of them. Our fault. Slow parent failure.

Anyway, Edgar had a good game too. By the afternoon, the sun had come out, and was beating down on baby's head. Edgar mostly paid attention to the game, and had some pretty awesome moments.

I said "mostly" paid attention.

..."mostly"

Okay, there he goes.

...but he sure is a fine big brother.

After soccer, I went to the store and did some wild goose chasing shopping. Then, our friends Vince and Christi visited. Vince had never seen Goonies, and we've threatened so often, that we ended up having to educate him. [He's never seen Bill and Ted, either, but we couldn't find our VHS-- I think we may have loaned it to Vince years ago]

Anyway, one awesome 80s movie and a game of carcassone later, it's time for sleep again. Well, we get to do it all again tomorrow.

P.S. -- yesterday, I mentioned Sabrina wrote me a letter telling me how much Betty pooped while I was away. Here is the letter:

...and no, I can't translate/transcribe all of that. I can attempt: "From Sabrina to Dad"..."Baby pooped and pooped"... "I did it by myself", but some of the middle is a little fuzzy.

Day 12: Blue

Okay, story time.

So, about two years ago or so, I went and bleached my hair. For fun, of course. I'm not sure blondes have more fun, but it was fun to look different for a while. At the time, Sabrina (3) said "When I grow up, I want to have PURPLE hair, and a PINK BEARD!" (Someday, I'll have to break it to that girl.) At work, I can only have a naturally-occuring color, so bleaching was one of my few options. Anyway, I made a promise back then-- If we had another kid (IF), and if I got a lot of time off (again, IF), I'd let the kids choose my hair color.

So...

This is me

It's taken two days of morning snuggles and watching Bosch to get my hair the right shade-- the first bottle of color got me lightly blue. The kids picked the color, although the box made it look more of a bluish-green cyan or mint green. But I'm all blue. I look like a frosted cupcake. Not quite Katy Perry blue, but unmistakable.

with the goop in my hair.

after one round of coloring. The blue was a little weak.

So, yeah. That's fun.

Last night, I spelled off Jen, and slept all night in the chair with Betty on me, while Jen slept in our bed. Betty only woke up twice-- well, 3 AM and 6 AM to feed. The rest of the night, we snuggled together. Although it was a bit awkward waking up at 6 AM to Betty licking my shirt in the appropriate place hoping she's get some food out of my very non-functional nipples.

Had another hard time getting the kids out the door in time for school today. I think we're going to have to start making time-to-put-your-shoes-and-backpack-on earlier and earlier until they actually do it on time.

Today was pretty low-key, other than the hair coloring. I got TONS of Betty snuggles.

I was able to go to KMUZ and do my radio show, which was fun, as always.

Pictured: fun.

Had a low-key evening of eating pizza and watching Star Wars Rebels with the kids. Sabrina wrote me a letter (!) about how much Betty pooped while I was away. (!!!)

Sabrina really wants to wear Betty's outfit

Jen castigated me for not writing about the important update that we got at our neonatal appointment a few days ago: Betty is up over her birth weight, which means she is eating healthy and everything is great. Or, in the words of Jen, "It means I'm doing something right with my boobs!"

Day 11: The icon of domesticity

I am the luckiest guy in the world. I get snuggles every day from this cute thing.

Baby snuggles are the best.

Not much to report today. Got the kids off to school with the usual last minute drama. Settled in and watched a few episodes of Bosch with Jen, and got some baby snuggles. I spent a good portion of today doing laundry, washing bedding, etc. I am really getting good at this chore thing (=. Too bad the laundry I do today gets dirty tomorrow. Too bad I still don't like doing it. Oh well.

Put my show together for tomorrow's radio show, then took Sabrina to soccer practice. While she practiced, I walked around the track a little near her practice. It felt good to (literally) stretch some muscles that I haven't been using lately. Apparently, this is a sign that I need to start exercising. I wonder if you can get cellphone signal at Silver Falls-- I could hatch some pokemon, walking around my favorite 8 mile loop hike.

After dinner and putting the kids to bed, Jen and I played some Carcassone and listened to some of the songs I'm playing tomorrow on the radio. Wow, not much happened today.

...But I did get baby snuggles. LOTS of baby snuggles.

For what must be the thousandth time, I'm sure grateful that I get paid time to take care of my wife and newborn (and other kids). Not everybody gets that luxury. Watching and helping Jen and the rest of the family struggle through sleeplessness, diapers, nursing, and regular family life, I can't imagine how others do it without a support system-- a husband, parents, or somebody to help full-time.

Daddy leave is AWESOME.

Day 10: Traffic and Tantrums

 Another great day. Got up with the kids and got them to school.Edgar was being silly and threatening to not leave on time (or ever) but luckily we were able to kick them out the door. Jen and I snuggled and watched a coupla episodes of Bosch before I crashed.

Jen woke me up from my nap and told me it was time to get ready. Already? Awww man...

We packed up our stuff, I swung by the school to pick up the kids (a bit early, but not too much), then drove up to Andaluz in Tualatin for our neonatal appointment.

Everything is good, baby is healthy, and so is mom. Then, we plunged (at 4:45 PM) into rush hour traffic.

It took us hours to traverse the city of Portland to get to my folks' house in Vancouver. We were in traffic forever, which is not very fun in a stick-shift car, with THREE hungry kids jam-packed into the backseat. Edgar and Sabrina were super nice and loved sitting next to Baby Betty, letting her hold their finger, covering her with a blanket, etc, but it was TOO LONG for any sane person to sit in the car. Betty started screaming and wouldn't stop. Edgar and Sabrina were getting on our nerves, and each others, and it was generally time to get out of the car long before we actually could.

Spent the evening with my parents.

Love these guys.

So very much.

Betty was cute, and was loved by all. Dinner was wonderful, as per usual. After dinner, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and slipped off downstairs to take a nap.

My sister Dani and her husband Todd came over for a later dinner, and Dani got to hold Betty too:

I love this little girl. She's growing so big, learning to tolerate her siblings as they learn to tolerate them. Look, here's Sabrina being helpful and changing Betty's diaper all by herself:

Parenting WIN

Blue Steel? Are you crazy?

Finally got this family home by about 11 PM. Got the garbages out, and thought I'd try to repeat my last night's success by taking another trip to The Space. I asked Doug last night what time the show would end, as I suspected I wouldn't get back home until super late. He told me he thought the last band would start at 11. I showed up at 11:15 and the place was shuttered. Leave it to a Salem bar to close up early...

Anyways, since I was feeling daring and was out on my own, I went and conquered 3 pokemon gyms. Now, it's sleepy time.

Day 9: Venturing out

 This baby....


This baby is sleeping about 20 hours a day, it seems like. Waking up to get a diaper change, eat, get another diaper change, then go back to sleep. I've been feeling like this is unusual, and we're trapped in the house, but then I got to reading my blog from when Sabrina was this age, and Jen's blog from when Edgar was this age, and I'm remembering now how this is all completely normal and this too shall pass.

Betty is even growing up a little bit. She doesn't have that fragile newborn-ness that hangs on for the first few days. She's here to stay.

Had a pretty regular morning of getting up, making lunches, and getting the kids off to school, except Sabrina informed me that she wanted to walk to school with her big brother, and without daddy. (sniff) She's growing up. Actually, I'm pleased and proud that the kids walk together and have each others' backs, etcetera. I'm just a little disappointed that the half-kilometer that I was getting every morning for hatching pokemon eggs is going away. Maybe now I need to actually get out and start walking.

Yes, I'm hooked on Pokemon Go. Not even ashamed of it. More on that later.
(heh heh.. I said "moron.")

Once the kids were off to school, I dozed in the chair for a while. I think it helped my sickness. I hope (as of tonight) I'm over it, especially since we plan on visiting my parents tomorrow, and Dad's on some sort of medication that suppresses his immune system.. scary.

Jen and I (and Betty) picked up a new show (on Amazon, no less), Bosch. It's a pretty R-rated police procedural based on some books that Jen read a while back. I read one, too, but I have less of an appetite for crime novels than Jen does. We watched several episodes. By afternoon I was beginning to feel restless, which must mean I was also beginning to feel better.

This afternoon, Jen, Betty, and I left the house for the first time. This was a big deal. Our first trip was to the Book Bin, to pick up the next book in Jen's series (note to self: that's a perfect way to make sure Jen wants to leave the house), then to Walmart to pick up a few diapers.

Jen was exhausted by the time we got home. Betty was fussy, but that's not surprising. Both will probably need a day to recover.

Took Edgar to soccer practice, and he goofed around and didn't listen to his coach. He was pretending to be a zombie, pretending to be the ball, running off in the wrong direction, pulling up grass, and generally spacing off the entire time. I know that 30 years ago, I was the spacy kid on the soccer team, who was off in his own little world while everyone else was running around, but I honestly don't think I was that bad. I actually played soccer and actually tried, occasionally... you just get bored sometimes....

Anyway, I tried to have one of those father-son talks with Edgar after soccer. I told him how terribly disappointed with him I was. We got emotional. He promised to do better next time. We'll see.

Ran off after dinner to a show at The Space. This was my first time seeing a show at The Space's new digs (I had a private tour a few months back). Playing the show were Chris Bernstorf and Kevin Schlereth, among others. Kevin has played many many shows at the Possum House and is something of an old friend.

The Kevin Schlereth band: Kevin and Jay Costlow

It was good to get out of the house, and good to hang out and see live music. Afterwards, I found a nice place to park the car and played some Pokemon Go.

Yes, I sat in a parked car in a public park for an hour in the middle of the night playing video games on my phone. I am THAT guy. I managed a Pidgey Party where I evolved 51 pokemon (if you don't play, don't ask...), and got a new most powerful pokemon, a 1700-level Exeggutor (yay.) I also managed to replenish my supplies. I had used all my Poke Balls and was down to Ultra Balls this afternoon. Now I'm good.

It's amazing how an hour at a park in the dark could reset my whole frame of mind. I'm refreshed now. I'm ready for tomorrow. Bring it on.

Day 8: As close to nothing as I could

I'm sick, so my stated goal for today was to do as close to nothing as I could. I think I got as close as I could, without having my wife kill me.

I got up, got some laundry started, packed some lunches, and walked the kids to school. I wore my (as Jen described them) "man-yoga-pants", or as I described them, my "ain't-gonna-leave-the-house-pants"

Came home, played some video games and snoozed. I got a few chores done, but mostly sat around. I even got a long bath in.

That Betty is growing, although she spends most of her time asleep attached to someone in the rocking chair. For a while, I spelled Jen off.

kinda miserable dad, but cute baby.

After school, Edgar and Sabrina wanted to snuggle with the baby.

 So cute.

The kids asked when I was going to do the second round of bleaching my hair. So, I did it with Jen's help, while Edgar was doing his homework.

Bleach selfie,

We had some mixup where we got off a night on who and when folks from church were bringing in meals (THANKS to all of you), and so we had just finished dinner when another one arrived. Oh well, that's a meal for tomorrow.

Watched a few episodes of Star Wars Rebels with the kids downstairs in our new home theater. Then, a quick store run, and bedtime again. Again, not much happened today. I hope that I'm feeling better tomorrow so that I can be more helpful and justify my being around the house.

Day 7: Doktor vonCarmichael

Before I begin, here is another one of those family pictures we took last night:

Aww,,,

 Getting those pictures done allowed me to... umm... go a bit crazy. You see, when you don't have to go to work or generally impress anyone for 7 weeks, things get.... weird.

Weird, as in... goodbye beard.

That's right. I shaved my beard. I'm not sure I have a chin anymore.

Here is lots of new blue goo now.

 ..but wait...

Yep.

My kids weren't surprised (they helped me go to the store and pick out the bleach).

...but my kids in Primary sure were.

So, I got lots of good sleep last night (thanks Jen), and got up this morning and took Edgar and Sabrina to church. We sat in the back.

I teach singing to the kids in our ward. For the 3-7 year olds, and the 8-11 year olds, I made a grand entrance. Boy were they surprised.

Of course, it helps that I was dressed as Doktor VonCarmichael. I wish somebody had got a picture. I put on my old chemist's lab coat, put some tools from the garage in my pockets (a rubber mallet, drywall saw, and pliers never looked so ominous!), and loaded up Jen's stethoscope and blood pressure cuff in the pockets of my coat. I stood up my strange fluffy yellowy hair, and told the kids that their songs were "krank!" and they needed to take them to "gesangkrankhaus!". Then, we worked on memorizing some of the tougher songs they will be singing for their program this year. It was fun and totally hilarious. I may have scared some of the 3 year olds, and I definitely scared one of the leaders' 2 year olds who was on her lap.

(as a side note, I remember being 3 and my best friend's dad dressed up as a leprechaun and visited primary. I was scared out of my mind. It didn't matter that it was my best friend's dad, there was a 6 foot leprechaun in primary) -- nevertheless, I was totally down for scaring the next generation of kids.

I led some of the songs with the props I had in my pockets, and I had a vial of "medicine" (root beer) that I would squirt in the kids mouths if they wanted it. (I did this whole routine a year ago, sans crazy hair, and it was a success)

For the youngest kids (18 months - 3 years), I was a little gentler. I combed down my hair, said "Hi, I'm brother carmichael, your music leader. I lost my beard and turned my hair this silly color, but it's still me. Let's sing some songs together, and at the end, if you like, you can touch my silly hair." The kids were skeptical at first, but by the second or third song, they were down with it.

Anyway, church took a lot out of me (it always takes a lot out of me. I can't do this without an immediate nap afterwards), but this week seemed even more. After a 4 hour nap, I woke up feeling terrible. I snoozed a little in the living room with Betty on me while Jen got the freedom to move around. We listened to my friend's radio show, which is always good.

Had some dinner delivered by some friends (thanks!), and settled back down to read some. I'm apparently sick. Maybe it's the man flu. Anyway, I feel awful, thankyouverymuch.

Put the kids to bed, and Jen and I watched Zoolander 2. It was every bit as silly and funny as it needed to be. It's not a Great Movie-- neither is the original, but it was a great movie. It was super super funny, and I loved every moment of it. I mean, it started with Justin Bieber being killed-- what's not to love?

Now, Jen and baby are asleep in the chair in the living room. The stereo has been playing our Landing collection -- we have about 24 hours of music from them. They were friends of mine in college, but they are truly beautiful, experimental, trippy music. Baby and mom love it. We're on multiple repeats of this 24-hour playlist.