Weekend Family Fun

As usual, we're a bit behind in the blog, so let me get our faithful blog readers up to speed on what we've been doing.

Two weeks ago, we had a pretty standard weekend at home. Ben played his favorite game:

Can you spot the 18 month old hiding in this picture?

There he is!

There's been a big kite flying fad at the central park lately, so we took the suggestion and headed there ourselves. Ellie (with help from Daddy) even made her own kite! Sadly, it was a bit too heavy to fly so we ended up buying one at the park.

Ellie and her kite

Then, last weekend, we headed up to Kirirom, a resort sort of place in a national park two hours outside of Phnom Penh.

Nathan and the kids on the deck of our bungalow.

We took walks, swam, and had a campfire with the other embassy families there (Ellie and Ben both loved their first s'mores), but the big event was hiking to some nearby waterfalls.

The waterfalls were 4km from the start, and we knew that we wouldn't be able to carry the kids a total of 8km there and back, so our first task was to convince someone to go to a nearby village to find an oxcart and driver for us.

While we waited, Ben had a great time playing in the mud. Messy, yes, but probably an important part of any 18 month old's wilderness experience.

Our oxcart, which took us the first 2 km in and out. The other 2 km were narrower, rockier paths, and we had to go on foot with a guide.

As we got off the oxcart and carried the kids, gloppy with sunscreen, bug spray, and mud, through 4 km of forest, under vines, up the hill, and over rocky trails, we decided that we had evented a new sport: extreme parenting. However, it was all worthwhile, as we saw two beautiful waterfalls. In fact, out of all the embassy families that tried to make the trek, we were the only ones who made it to the last waterfall! (Thanks to both persistence and the Khmer language ability to get an oxcart and guide!) It was a tough test of Nathan's recovery since dengue, and he passed with flying colors.

Chambak waterfall

Nathan Update

There are several bits of good news relating to me. First of all, I had another blood test today, and the results were ALL within normal ranges. I had some lingering liver function issues, and then my hemoglobin was in bad shape after a few weeks of the virus attacking my bone marrow, but all is well now. I'’m still a bit more tired than normal, but part of that is just because of my lack of activity for the past few weeks. I'’ve had several longish walks recently and they seem to be getting easier, so I'’m thinking I'm recovering pretty well. Thanks to all of you for all the support!

The second bit of news from me is that I now have a job! I mentioned in the post on Ben'’s first week at school that I've been spending a lot of time hiding in the manager'’s office at the preschool. The school has been without a manager for a while, or has at least been in limbo. The previous manager is about 8 ½ months pregnant, and she leaves this weekend to go have her baby. The man who was hired to replace her had to unexpectedly leave the country since his wife's contract was cancelled, leaving them with no particular reason to be in Cambodia. I had been slated to take a seat on the board of directors, and had agreed to be the interim manager while we did a new job search for a permanent replacement. Then I got sick and had to back out also. One of the other board members stepped in and took care of everything, and in the processing of doing it he realized that we had been thinking of the job all wrong. It really is a job for a parent, rather than a job for somebody hoping to advance a career significantly. There are maybe 15 or so hours of work each week, and a lot of that is dealing with parents and minor maintenance issues and things.

So when I came back from Bangkok, he talked to me, and told me that he thought I'’d be a great person to take the job. After talking to him about the revised set of responsibilities, and the flexibility he imagined would be available, I agreed. Today I met with the former manager, and I'’m going to be starting for real on Monday. I'll be able to continue to do some of the work I'’ve been doing with the Embassy, either in the afternoons, or during the slow times at school. I'’ll be near the kids all week, I'’ll be getting a bit of money for doing it, I'’ll be helping out a great school, and I'’ll be getting to develop some new skills. I am, of course, a bit nervous about taking on these responsibilities with minimal previous experience, but I'’m thinking things will probably go well. In any event, I now have found a great way to have a job and still stay close to the kids.

Ben’s First Week of School

For those of you keeping score, you may know that this was Ben’s first week at school. For those of you who don’t have little kids now, school for Ben is a lot like what used to be called daycare. Mainly it involves many little kids playing near each other, singing songs, and just generally having a good time from 8am until 11:30am. No matter what you call it, though, Ben started going this week.

Day One was a bit rough. Jen and I brought the kids (this is the same school where Ellie is, Gecko and Garden) and stayed for a while with Ben. After half an hour or so, he seemed to be doing pretty well, and there was a bit of a natural break where we decided to make our exit. We said goodbye, and he started crying. A lot. One of the teachers took him and tried to focus his attention elsewhere while we departed, but wasn’t terribly successful. Anyway, we left him crying, but I think we both felt like he’d calm down in a few minutes and have a great time.

An hour later I got a call from the school, saying he was still (yes, not again, still) crying, and could I please come to calm him down. I went and spent the rest of the morning with him, the entire time wondering if I had made a terrible mistake starting him so young. Still having these thoughts, we began Day Two. This time I was on my own, as Jen had to get back to work after such a long time away. Again, after half an hour or so I departed, this time with not “goodbye” but a “I’m going to get coffee, I’ll be back in a while”. Perhaps this made it easier, but when I came back in 30 minutes or so, he was still happy, and after playing for a few minutes he let me leave again. I hung around school, hiding in the manager’s office, but he did great. Wednesday was a non-school day, and he and I went to playgroup and just had a good time together. Day Three (Thursday) started fine, but he had a rough time when I left. This time, however, he calmed down and just had periodic fits of “Dada! Dada! Daddiieeeee!” I was again hiding in the manager’s office (more on this in a different post) and heard most of this, but since he calmed down after a few minutes, I just stayed hidden. Day Four was more of the same, but less crying. I’m now confident that he’ll be fine, but it was a tough week for both him and me. After that long narrative you all need a break and a reward for sticking with me so here are some pictures of his first day.

Jen, Ellie and Ben in front of school

Ben enjoys the sandbox and toys

But he enjoys washing up even more

Saint Vanessa

Those of you who followed Nathan's hospitalization in Bangkok closely know that a friend of ours, Vanessa, put her own life in Phnom Penh on hold to come to Bangkok and help out with the kids. Vanessa was really amazing. She had so much energy and patience for the kids, and immediately dove right in to even the less exciting aspects of parenting, like diarrhea diapers, medicated diaper cream, getting toddlers to take medicine, and losing most of your sleep to toddlers who refuse to sleep! (Oddly enough, all of those refer to Ben. Ellie was mostly a little angel. We explained to her that daddy was sick and she needed to be especially good, and she really was. At least, she was until Nathan got out of the hospital. Then she seemed to figure that all bets were off and she could let out all the "naughty" behavior she'd been holding in for a week. We couldn't blame her too much.)

Anyway, here's a big cheer for Vanessa! Without her, it would have been impossible for us to be with Nathan in Bangkok. She stayed cool and collected in the face of unruly kids and a very stressed out mom, and was probably the sanest of the bunch.

Photos of the Fam

Well, the previous post probably satiated some with an appetite for photos, but not those who really want to see those Pleuss/Spande genes developing here in Cambodia. Here are some pictures of the fam...

Prince Ben seems to be a bit drunk on his own power.

Somany and Ben playing on Ellie's toddler bed.

The kids decided that both of them getting in to our one-seater stroller is a lot of fun. Their timing in discovering this was great, as this stroller was a major part of our strategy in one car-less adult dealing with two little kids in Bangkok. Vanessa and I did lots of pushing the kids up and down sidewalks (no curb cuts in Bangkok) and around parks, malls, and the hospital.

Ben at his most charming.

Here's a smiley photo of the three of us taken the day I left on my trip to the US.

Finally...Some Pictures!

OK, one thing we've learned about having a blog is that while most of our readers will at least skim over whatever text we put up, lots of people are mainly interested in photos. And given my travel to the US and Bangkok and Nathan's recent medevac, it's been a good six weeks since we posted any photos. So, for those photo-hungry immingpool fans, here are highlights of my time in the US...

Dan, Erica, and Anna in Houston
My first stop was to Houston, where I caught up with Dan, Erica, and Anna, who are expecting baby Chaikin #2 to come along anytime now. Erica has remarkable energy for any human, much less a 7 month pregnant stay at home mom chasing after a toddler. And, per usual Erica, despite having moved to a new house less than a year ago, she already has Anna and the new baby's bedrooms decked out in delightful hand-stenciled artwork. If only some of those art instincts had rubbed off on me during our visit...


Jon, Stephanie, Edith, and Natalie in Austin
From Houston I drove to Austin, where I saw Jon, Stephanie, Edith and Natalie. The last time I saw the girls was a few weeks after they had been born 16 weeks prematurely and their future was very uncertain. Back then, they looked like this:


So when I walked in to their new house in Austin and saw these two adorable, healthy, and happy toddlers, I cried.


We had a great visit. Jon is job-hunting (anyone in Austin looking to hire a mental health counselor?) and Stephanie has the summer off from her PhD program, so they are really enjoying a few months where they can put their parenting responsibilities first and enjoy summer with the girls.

Washington Friends
After a few days in Texas, I headed to my conference in Washington, where I caught up with dear friends in the evening. First was a great night with some friends from Dumbarton, who gave me the latest gossip about what's going on at church and updates on their lives.

Then I got to spend two nights (one very sleepy and focused on doing laundry, the second a bit more social and with some great food from Southside 815) with Scott and Michelle. Scott gets to go to lots of cool conferences and visit neat museum for his job as a museum consultant. Michelle impressed me with new stories of the ridiculous things that students, and especially parents, will do in their attempts to curry her favor or make lame excuses for poor performance in the English classes she teaches at George Washington U. More than anything, though, I was delighted to hear that Scott and Michelle consider DC home and would very much like to stay there after Michelle gets her DC home. Yeah to good friends who will likely be in DC when we return someday!

The dead speak

Well, ok, so I'm not dead, but there were times in the last two weeks when I wasn't so sure. As Jen's last post indicates, though, I have turned the corner and am well on the way to being my normal self. The current symptoms are just an incredibly frustrating exhaustion that is always with me. Playing with the kids can just wipe me out, even if it amounts to just sitting and coloring or reading. I've read that this will go away in a week or so more, but it is already starting to drive me nuts.

Now a few words for those of you who are reconsidering trips to Cambodia, or are particularly worried about the kids getting this nasty little bug. All I can give you is an anecdotal assessment of how common dengue is in Phnom Penh, but that's better than nothing. Don Coleman, who is the main economics officer in the pol/econ section, has been in Cambodia for 4 years or so now. In that time he has seen three other cases of dengue in the Embassy community. I made number four. That means that roughly one person in the Embassy can be expected to get dengue in an average year, and none of those cases have been the really nasty kind. So I think our chances of getting out of here with no more serious dengue problems are pretty good. Likewise, I don't know of any people who have visited and gotten dengue. Just bring some bug repellent and you should be fine.

In other news, I have no news. I've got some projects I'm working on for the Embassy, but no news on the job front. The kids are doing well, and Ellie started school again today. Ben will probably start next Monday, since he's had so little time to get used to being back here, and we don't want to dump another major transition on him this week. He and I are also going into the clinic on Friday to get shots and such, which isn't likely to make him a happy camper.

Ok, I think that's about all the energy I have at the moment. I'll keep you all posted, particularly on Friday afternoon or Saturday, when I should have the numbers from my Friday morning blood test back. I don't expect anything dramatic, but with luck my liver numbers should be back in the normal ranges, which will mean I'm normal again, at least from a blood perspective.

Nathan Getting Better...Finally Back Home

Wanted to share the good news with you that Nathan is getting better and we're all back at home in Phnom Penh! He was discharged from the hospital Friday night after his platelet and white blood cell count numbers improved. We had been hoping to head back to Cambodia on Friday, but the doctor didn't think it was safe for him to be so far from the hospital yet. So we spent a quiet weekend in Bangkok, Nathan went in to the hospital for some more bloodwork on Saturday and had yet more bloodwork done at the embassy health unit this morning (Monday morning), where he got the final OK to go home.

We are so happy to be back here in Phnom Penh and to have Nathan well on the road to recovery. (The doctor here in Cambodia had predicted we'd be in Bangkok for 3-5 days, but it ended up being 7 days in the hospital plus another 3 in a hotel.) He is still weak and tires easily but it is obvious that in a few weeks he'll be back to his old self.

Thank you all for your prayers, emails, and phone calls! This was a very scary experience that we don't hope to repeat, and your support made a real difference.

Nathan Hospitalized in Bangkok

Nathan has a bad case of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical virus, and has been medevac'ed from Cambodia to Bangkok. (The kids and I are here in Bangkok, too, along with Vanessa Hughes, a wonderful embassy friend who is helping out with the kids so I can spend some time with Nathan at the hospital.)

Dengue is usually very unpleasant but not particularly dangerous with good medical care. In Nathan's case, they're worried because he got sick very quickly and his platelet and white blood cell counts dropped very steeply and very early on in the illness. The low white blood cell numbers mean that he has essentially no ability to fight off other infections or illnesses, and the low platelet count could indicate that he is headed towards dengue hemorrhagic fever, a very scary and serious condition where you start bleeding from your gums, nose, eyes, and other soft tissues.

At this point, the doctor thinks that it is most likely that Nathan will plateau for a few days, or get slightly worse and then plateau, and then is likely to get better. However, there is a possibility that his condition could either progressively deteriorate or have a sudden drop, either of which would mean he'd need to be sent to the ICU. He's getting good medical care at Bumrungrad Hospital--probably the best hospital in Southeast Asia--and we would appreciate it if you could keep Nathan in your prayers.