"Murphy was an optimist!"
From the mouths of babes December 21, 2007 6:43 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Amy, Christmas, Daily Life, Family, From the mouths of babes, Holiday, Of Being DadAmy, 5 years old and very excited: "There’s only 3 more boxes on my advent calender then it’s Christmas!"
Dad: *bleeehh nehhhhh*
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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! December 20, 2007 6:59 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, HolidayThis year looked like it would be the first Christmas in a long time that I wouldn’t be buying presents at the last minute. Everything would be done over the Internet and mailed well in advance. At least that was the plan. What happened?! One thing that has happened is angels have lighted upon us and helped alleviate some of the holiday stress! I feel a little bit like Charles Dickens is authoring my life. Now if only it would snow!
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My Secret Christmas Present December 13, 2007 12:33 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, HolidayDon’t tell my family, but they are ALL getting one of these for Christmas!
Special thanks to Duncan Riley where I first saw the video and who I’m not sure whether to thank or to curse for inviting me into Seesmic.
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We won’t have a tree for Christmas November 29, 2007 9:13 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, Evan, Holiday, Of Being DadSomeone should make rubber ornaments. Evan is going to have far too much fun smashing ornaments this year. We should be using popcorn, wooden blocks, and plastic disposable decorations.
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Christmas Eve Is Upon Us – Really? December 24, 2006 9:50 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, HolidayIt’s going to be a comfortable 13°C today. The sun is shining and there is no chance of a white Christmas this year. We will have rain! So perhaps if we can get this global warming thing under control we can return to having white Christmases!
Do you have the spirit? Seeing Santa last night was great! The children certainly are ready. I am excited and we have been blessed this year.
Our tree is a bit barren in comparison to years past at this time. We have only a few packages under the tree for fear of Evan opening them prematurely. So far, only one present has been opened. That was Molly’s doing. She was unhappy that we left her alone last night. The item isn’t damaged and the package was rewrapped unawares to the children.
Time to do some last minute tiddying up!
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Santa Lives in Westmoreland December 23, 2006 9:51 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, HolidaySo being a dad, I had the sudden urge to torment the children with a long drive home so that we could look at lights. I turn into Westmoreland and suddenly see Santa running up his driveway with candy canes in hand for each of the children! As he opened the door to the van Evan puckered up but quickly became contented as a candy cane was presented to him. I think Evan figures Santa is alright.
This guy was great! I look forward to one day being as creative and taking time to bring such magic to people’s lives. Thanks Santa!
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Santa Isn’t At the North Pole! December 17, 2006 4:36 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, Family, Health, Holiday, MentalSanta Claus actually lives in central London! Here’s sending out a special thank you to a special person across the pond who has spread a some extra Christmas cheer to our children at just the right time! Merry Christmas!
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Dinner date with a woman without children December 8, 2006 9:28 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Cathy, Christmas, Daily Life, FamilyWoohoo! Cathy and I have a date tonight! The grandparents are watching all the children. So what are our plans? Christmas shopping! (after using the gift certificate to P.F. Chang’s that I got for my birthday of course)
Update: I also thought that no restaurant in Knoxville took reservations. P.F. Chang’s will actually take reservations up to a month in advance! The wait was way too long so our evening started with dropping Sarah off for her Church party, shopping, snuck in a dinner at Mimi’s Cafe, more shopping, picking up Sarah, and returning home. It was a fantastic evening.
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Wanna watch me pull a rabbit from my hat? November 29, 2006 12:30 am
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, HolidaySo this past weekend we got the Christmas tree up and I actually got all the lights working instead of taking a month to light the tree and finishing on Christmas Eve as has become our tradition. Of course, I had hoped to really impress the wife and kids by getting the lights on the house too. Now last year I bought three extra strands when they went on sale so we could do twice as much of the roof as we did last year but I could not break those open until I found the old lights…you know, on a matter of principle. I tore the garage apart and much of the rest of the house only to find them when I wasn’t looking. Apparently for an entire year, the outside lights have been sitting beside my desk.
I don my headlamp, you know, because it is 10pm at night, and after sweeping the leaves off the front half of the roof, I proceed to string the outside of the house. Half way through I have to start reattaching the clips that I halfway took down last year. After the first 3 strands of lights (3×300=900 lights) are up, the house is looking pretty good but I am not satisfied. A glass of wine later and I am back on the roof.
Now, we live in a split rancher. What that means is that our house is built into a hillside. The front of the house is 1 story tall. The sides and back are two stories tall but the hill continues downward giving the illusion that from the roof you are about 9 meters above the ground. Of course I started taking down the gutters years ago so while we still have gutters on the front of the house, the back has no gutters so the dark roof just blends nicely with the blackness of the night. One big lesson of the night is that as you back up on a roof, even if you are sitting on it, you are not necessarily backing up in a straight line and that vast emptiness you feel under your toes isn’t roof.
Now, running the next 3 strands of lights is a little more heart pounding and shortly after getting over the peak of the roof I hear a disturbing noise as if I were sliding down the roof just before dropping into the great abyss. But I am not moving so I quickly turn my head to see what I might have knocked down the roof. My eyes are just in time to see this gray blur of fur leap from the roof, missing anything resembling a branch, and get absorbed into the blackness. Seconds later I hear a resounding thud and rustling of leaves as the thing hits the ground. Apparently I scared the holy sh*t out of one of the squirrels living in our attic. I have to admit, I almost laughed myself off the roof as I watched it propel itself into nothingness. I have seen squirrels fall from trees, shake their head and run off; I am sure this one will be back in the attic shortly.
Did I mention that I only swept leaves from the front half of the roof. Man leaves are slippery! Being on the roof at night was very enlightening. I was able to listen to something large and not domesticated tromp through our backyard. The crisp air was exhilirating!
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Half way done November 26, 2006 2:58 pm
Posted by Doug McCaughan in : Christmas, Daily Life, HolidayBah! The tree is lit!
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