Short Update....

We are all feeling a little better here, relative to my post earlier in the week. The girls and Connor are mostly over their illness thanks to daily nebulizer treatments. I was also given an inhaler by the nurse at work this week so I’m also feeling a little better, although this nasty bug is lingering. Unfortunately, however, both Lynne and Brooke also now have symptoms which is not altogether surprising.

Other than this, no real substantive news update. We had Randy and Lorraine over for a dinner of wild caught Alaskan Keta Salmon last night and as a special treat for us all, Kay, their long-time friend from Chicago was visiting and also came over. I know she reads this blog so it would be rude not to give her a mention. Great to see you Kay, it was a pleasure as always. The pictures below are from this weekend, the girls had a fun time outside in the snow with Lynne yesterday. They built a Snowoman named Alice. Other than this, nothing major planned for this week other than the usual drill and a continued longing for Spring…..have a good one all!

I almost forgot to mention how chuffed I was to watch that little rugby game that happened yesterday.....for those of you who don't follow, it was the annual Ireland vs England clash in the Rugby Union Six Nations Championship.  Ireland came out on top this year, just about that is!

 

 

 

Photo Update!

Thought I’d share a few recent photos of Connor. He is growing so quickly, I sometimes feel that each day when I come home from work he has gained another pound. The reality is that he probably gains a small but consistent amount each week; he is well over 13lbs now. Lynne’s take would be; it’s not really that surprising since he feeds constantly. Taking photos is pretty tricky since he’s still very floppy. I do my best.

 

 

 

 

Sick Kids and Daddy's In DC

In my last post I alluded to the fact that the girls had a nasty cough. Well, they still have it, it has progressively gotten worse and Connor and I also now have it. It’s a barking cough, sore throat, sinus pressure; tight chest type of ailment and it appears to be hanging around forever. Obviously it’s no fun for all but Connor is our main concern right now given his age. Lynne took Isabel to the doctor this morning and she has prescribed steroids for her (she is definitely the worst affected) and has indicated that all three kids should be using an albuterol nebulizer (Isabel will have to use for the remainder of the winter). This will hopefully help them clear any liquid build-up in their lungs and hopefully to avoid a secondary infection. No fun at all right now, particularly since I’m in Washington DC.

Randy and Lorraine were willing (as always) to come over this evening and tomorrow to help Lynne out. Thanks once again to you both.

Run Around the Capitol

This evening I did something almost certainly for the first time in my life. As soon as I checked into my hotel in Washington DC, the Georgetown area, instead of rushing to locate the nearest bar and/or steak restaurant, I decided to grab my running shoes instead. I braved the rain, 35F temperatures, slush and headed out for a tourist run around the capitol. Although the conditions were awful, I thoroughly enjoyed my run. I ran through Georgetown past the University, down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House and the Treasury Dept., over to the Mall past the Washington Memorial and up to Capitol Hill and the Congress. I would have dropped in to try knocking some sense into those folks but I decided I’d be wasting my time. I then headed back past all the museums, the national archive, the FBI building, the Smithsonian, all the way up to the World War II and Vietnam memorials and the Lincoln Memorial. I was pretty tired at that point. I headed back for a long hot shower to warm up feeling pretty pleased with my 7 mile run and having seen the sights!!

I then treated myself to a very tasty Ethiopian dinner and a bottle of beer from the Meta Abo Brewery in Addis-Ababa.

Mummy's Boy?

I would post a little more often if I had anything interesting to add. The girls have had a nasty cough this week which has slowed them down (just a little though). Connor is very well, growing quickly, feeding well and sleeping (sporadically). Generally though, we are all very well.

Still snowed in here. I was actually supposed to travel to Washington DC this last week but my presentation got cancelled (at the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine). I'll probably have to travel now the week after next.

I do have one exciting note to add, I recently upgraded our TV service to include BBC America which meant that got to see the England v Wales game last week and although I was very excited to see the Irish playing the French this weekend, the result obviously left me a little deflated. Now there is only the Ireland v England game to really look forward to. An additional advantage of this new TV package is getting to see some quirky British TV and some premier league games too. Enjoy the week everybody!

I took this photo about an hour ago!