"Murphy was an optimist!"
From the mouths of babes February 7, 2012 11:22 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Noah, Of Being DadMe: "It’s like VHS and Beta."
Noah, 15 years old: "I don’t think I know what VHS is."
Me: old as dirt.
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From the mouths of babes February 1, 2012 11:34 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babesCathy: "Get off the Internet! Clearly!"
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From the mouths of babes January 23, 2012 11:13 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, From the mouths of babesMe: "It’s time to wake up."
Evan, 6 years old, stumbles from bed, stomps down the hall: "Argh. Why does this happen every night‽"
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Memory flush January 17, 2012 11:07 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being DadIt’s never a good time to suddenly remember that you need to buy a new plunger.
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To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy January 6, 2012 4:14 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Deep Thoughts, Evan, Family, Of Being Dad, PhilosophyI slowly explained, with long sentences and great clarity, "To Live, To Love, To Learn, To Leave a Legacy
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Protected: Table Saw Meet Finger (Password: gross) November 14, 2011 11:12 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, FamilyWhile Cathy was away, the boys played! October 25, 2011 10:02 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Family, House, Of Being DadCathy went to visit Sarah in New York City. The grandparents basically had Amy and Evan for the entire trip and Noah for much of the trip. That left Tommy and me at the house alone. Tommy, like Freakzoid, gets sucked into the Internet so I basically had the house to myself for duration of her trip minus the time I spent for clients and the time I spent juggling at Boo at the Zoo. So what happened in that time? The yard had a major cleaning of the junk which had been accumulating for a decade. The house received a sweeping and mopping. Then there was this surprise for Cathy:
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Creating experiences for your child is parenting October 17, 2011 9:51 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Cathy, Daily Life, From the mouths of babes, Of Being Dadcathymccaughan Oct 16, 3:51pm via TweetDeck
Cat Stevens on the XM and 9-y-o chirps: "I remember this song from the big rally in DC. Let’s do that again." #colbert
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My roof will outlive me October 7, 2011 10:47 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, From the mouths of babesI spoke to one of my neighbors this morning. Or rather, I said a bunch of words and I think he managed to understand a couple of them.
Me: "I like your new metal roof."
Him: "It’s a poor man’s roof.”
Me: "I bet it sounds nice in the rain."
Him: "It’s got a 35 year warranty. I’m 98 years old."
Me: "And an optimist!"
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Dad Fail September 28, 2011 5:43 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Of Being DadCame home early to cook dinner and spend time with my kids. Now everyone is tense and in tears. Should have stayed at the client’s office.
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There are no girl Jedi! September 8, 2011 11:29 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babes, Of Being DadWhile having coffee one morning at Mojoe’s Trailside Coffeehouse, one of the customers mentions her girl will be attending Jedi camp. Oh! I have to get Evan into this and sure enough, he finds a slot just before the camp fills up. Camp is the last week of June 2011 and Evan had a blast!
Fast forward to today, September 8, 2011, and I’m having coffee in Mojoe’s and talking to the wonderful mother who turned me onto Jedi camp. In the grand scheme of Evan’s life, an enormous amount of time has passed between Jedi Camp and today. The mother says, "Your son is Evan right?" The gears start turning in my head as she continues, "Evan and my daughter had a fight." My heart sinks. The mother smiles, "Evan told my daughter that girls cannot be Jedi. And my daughter argued with him and told him about the women in the Clone Wars." After a chuckle, we talk about little minds, the funny things they produce, and amazement at the fact that the two are still talking about and remembering Jedi Camp. Good times!
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Weekend Project – Little Miss Playhouse update September 4, 2011 1:25 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Birthday, Daily Life, Family, Holiday, Of Being DadMy daughter received a pile of building materials for her 8th birthday with my words, "I can build this in a weekend." A year and 3 months later, we are nearing completion. The plans came from Woodmanor.net.
The project has been captured in timelapse videos posted on Qik and Flickr (front only).
What is left to do? This weekend is all about installing the flooring. Right now the western red cedar is drying from a sanding sealer. The quantity of debate which went into deciding on the flooring material was insane. We finally settled on 240 linear feet of western red cedar.
Cedar-Western Red Cedar: Another wood porch flooring material is cedar. It is noted for it’s beauty and durability. Colors range from mellow ambers, to reddish and sienna browns. Red cedar is naturally resistant to decay and insects due to inherent oils.
You need not treat red cedar unless it is in contact with the ground. It has less than half the swelling characteristics of other softwoods and tends to lie flat and stay straight. If maintained properly red cedar can last for many years and is ideal for porches in all exposures.
Cedar comes in four different varieties for flooring: Architect Clear for the discriminating porch floor enthusiast to Custom Knotty which is less expensive.
Next we will size and tongue and groove the planks. Then a vapor barrier will be installed followed by nailing the wood to the sub-floor. Some quarter inch molding will be installed to cover the expansion gap. The front door will be resized to accommodate the height of the flooring. The front door will be installed. The three vent windows will be built and installed. And finally the trim work will be touched up.
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From the mouths of babes August 28, 2011 9:55 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Daily Life, Evan, Family, From the mouths of babesEvan, 6 years old: "Can I go next door and go swimming?"
Mom: "Were you invited?"
Evan: "No, I’m going to ask."
Mom: "That would be inviting yourself and is wrong."
Evan: "So can I go see if they will invite me?"
Mom: "No. That would still be inviting yourself."
Evan, stomps off exasperated: "I’ll just go stick my head in the toilet!"
Evan, from the back of the house: "Quit laughing!"
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Happy Anniversary Cathy! August 25, 2011 5:14 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Anniversary, Cathy, Daily Life, Family, HolidayTen years ago today and after nearly two years of dating, Cathy and I were married at Gatlinburg’s Ye Ol’ Tyme Photo Boothe and its been one grand adventure since then!
This has the best decade of my life beyond any shadow of a doubt!
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It’s hard to be teen August 24, 2011 6:18 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Daily Life, Family, Noah, Of Being DadMy 15 year old now rides the city bus to school. I love the concept! He loves getting a seat to himself, having air conditioning, and getting to use wifi on the ride to school. I have to believe that after a cost analysis, the school system will find that the cost of the city wide bus pass is cheaper than contracting the big yellow buses.
There are hiccups of course. Today, I dropped him at his stop and received a phone call once I was on the interstate, "Dad, I forgot my wallet." I turned around and picked him up. We drove home and he ran into the house, returning with his wallet. He accompanies me to Mojoe’s Trailside Coffeehouse and enjoys a frozen mango something or other while I drink a red eye and the both of us explain the STEM academy to the owner. Eventually, I give Noah the option of hopping on the bus at a nearby stop or having me drop him off. He opts to be dropped off at the school.
Later I’m talking with my wife and she asks, "Did you know that Noah forgot his bus pass today?" Of course, I brought him home to get his wallet. She replies, "but his pass is still in yesterday’s pants…" Good thing I didn’t leave him at that second bus stop!
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