Category: Sarah

Posted on by — 2 Comments

SuperDad

Tonight was the elementary school’s open house. It may have been only the kindergarten open house but the cub scout troop was meeting so there were enough cars at the school that a couple of people parked on the lower branches of some of the trees and a couple of SUVs managed to find some space on the roof. Cathy went early and helped sell year books. I caravaned the children around town as we picked up Sarah, Sarah’s friend, and Tommy from high school activities. We ended up at McDonald’s having dinner with some cub scout friends of ours. In due time, we dropped Molly and Tommy off at the house with hopes Tommy would do some chores and the rest of us deploy to the school. Look out! Chaos coming!

We had a wonderful time, saw some friends, had pleasant chats with teachers, Sarah fell chasing Evan and bled all over the new kindergarten rug, and Amy was able to show off her school. As we came to a close, I noticed the volunteer form horribly empty so I inquired and put our names down. In that time, already-over-volunteered-Cathy stared on in dread as I swiped another bit of time out of her life with a few strokes of a #2 pencil. While she was entranced with my unsanctioned scheduling, Sarah and Evan departed, followed shortly by Amy. As the ever confident Amy found herself alone in the hallway, she took it upon herself to walk out the front of the school, through the dark parking lot, and off to the playground. The parents got a frowny face tonight. Sarah and Evan took one hall of the school. Cathy raced to the gym. A couple of scout dads joined in the search with one commenting "my child is missing too…but he’s old enough to walk home!" The teacher joined the posse. Amy was found on the playground and as she was walked into the school, her name blared across the school intercom so that all visitors became away that the McCaughans lose their children.

Didn’t Noah go with us? Anyone seen Noah?

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Dad says NO…so what

Crystal the Corgi

We are dog sitting this weekend. No, let’s call it like it is. We traded 3 children for one Corgi. Granted, I think the children are more well behaved. This is still a welcomed change of pace for the holiday weekend.

We wake this morning and Crystal has mined the floor so I put Evan on the indoor slide and he watches from the safety of the loft as I clean. Crystal has a special diet so I lock her in Tommy’s room then feed Molly in the kitchen. This is my first moment to use the restroom. Yes, I leave the door open because I have to keep an eye on the pixie and you know the modeling thing.

Here’s a thought for you non-parents. How does toilet training begin? This will make your head reel. The word is modeling. Let me tell you! A dog growling at you during a special moment is nothing as disturbing as a toddler handing you toilet paper! [Source]

I see Evan place his hand on the doorknob to Tommy’s room. "No!" Evil grin. I repeat "No" and even get intellectual offering him an explanation. Click. Squeak. Slam! Ok. The door definitely opened while I looked down. Perhaps he peeked and closed it before Crystal escaped. Then I hear the jingling of her collar against Molly’s metal food bowl.

Does anyone listen to Dad’s lectures of no? The 14 year old went to her first after high school football party then spent the night at a friend’s house. Talk about nerve wrecking for Dad! Please think about Dad saying, "No!"

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Rough day for the bus

School Buses

Tommy is a senior this year. His whole school career he has either been driven to school or ridden "the short bus." A special needs bus with 7 to 13 students with a variety of handicaps and disabilities (along with no trained aid – soapbox issue) is far different from a full size bus with..oh, 40 to 60 students. Tommy is riding the regular bus for the first time in his life. So far it has been a good experience. This morning however, he miss his bus by 30 seconds. Ran up the street just in time to see it pulling away. That had to be frustrating to a person who is used to a bus pulling up in front of his house and honking the horn then patiently waiting while he rose from bed, dressed himself, grabbed a Poptart, and leisurely hobbled to the bus.

This day continues to be hard for Tommy bus-wise. Apparently a student got on the bus without a note authorizing that student to get be on that bus. The bus is returning to the school and a small riot is occurring on the bus. An irate Tommy called to complain to me. Obviously, he had joined in with the other students to raise voice and gripe. I think I talked him down from such a mistake. This is a difficult situation for an Aspie.

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Dear Sarah

I know you are a flighty teenager with boys on your mind and you know everything. Yes, parents are stupid. It is a miracle that we were able to figure out how to put tab A into slot B and produce a child whose intelligence far exceeds our own. I understand that we, as parents, somehow managed to live a very sheltered life and that in your mere 14 years you have accumulated far more life experiences and wisdom than we could ever hope for ourselves. Of course, we also went straight from our own mothers’ birth canals to adulthood so we in no way can relate to your teenage predilections (look it up). Now, I know it is a condition of our own ignorance that we lay such importance on silly, mundane things like putting clothes in the laundry instead of leaving them on the floor. Being organized helps our simple minds which is why we ride you so to live a clutter free and structured life. Do it for us! I can overlook the laziness of the clothing; however, please be sure to unplug your hair straightener. Being a dumb adult, I might grab the wrong end and burn myself. More importantly, being a toddler, with a decade left before he knows everything, Evan might burn himself. Oh, and since you already know everything and one day will be living on your own, certainly you can appreciate the fire hazard this tool presents. Wuv ya!

Posted on by — 10 Comments

Heading to Sicko tonight!

When Tommy declared, "There should be a law that you have to speak English in America." I ranted at him for half an hour. I didn’t force my view upon him rather made an effort to open his mind to another perspective. I used examples such as "if you went to Spain, you should have to speak Spanish" and he’d retort "but I am not living there" so we went through what-if scenario after scenario and using examples such as the nice people who work at CiCi’s pizza and do not speak a word of English yet they communicate with the patrons just fine. Eventually Tommy was begging to end the conversation and I released him content that maybe he’d heard something; more than likely, he will simply think twice before raising such issues in front of me again (which would be a shame).

MM Sicko

Since Tommy will vote for our next President, and since he gets plenty of far right opinion for other relatives, I felt it prudent that he and Sarah begin their political education. How fortunate that R. Neal of Knoxviews.com offered up some tickets to Michael Moore’s Sicko! I’m sure their grandfather will deprogram them afterwards. It is not the point-of-view that I want to impress upon the children as much as I want them to appreciate that there are multiple ways to see a subject, multiple solutions to a problem, and that they should try to see everything as if they were in that other person’s shoes. See you at the movie tonight!

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Happy Birthday Sarah!

It amazes me to see Sarah turn 14. The time has flown by so quickly. She has grown into a remarkable young lady. Her academics are impressive. She is athletic and social. She has great confidence and is very well rounded. I only wish she could learn to express feelings. She is a wonderful daughter and very good to her siblings. We are fortunate to have Sarah in our lives. Happy Birthday!

Posted on by — 2 Comments

Happy Birthday Evan!

Two weeks ago it was Cathy’s birthday. This past Thursday, Noah turned 11 years old. Today Evan turns two! Two very fast years. When Amy was born, I bought a book and started writing her a letter a day which became a letter a week, then none at all. When Evan was born, I bought a book and never put word one in it. Ah! Good intentions replaced by actual doings. The upcoming birthdays are Amy turning five on June 10 and Sarah turning 14 on June 24 then Tommy turns 17 on August 15.

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Children, left to their own…

So this morning had a plan. At 5:15am I would be on a video conference with London that would end at 6am. At 6am I would rouse Noah, make sure he was fed, clothed, etc and send him off at 6:54am to his last half day of the 5th grade. At 7am, I rouse Sarah, make sure she is fed, clothed, etc and instead of sending her to the bus at 7:34am I would drive her to make sure she was at school early (8am) so that she could participate in BNN’s filming the 8th grader’s last day.

Plans! Technical issues got the video conference off to a late start. I got Noah started then checked on him to find him staring blankly at our barren kitchen. He didn’t want cereal so I ran down options: oat meal, cream of wheat, eggs, … We hit on eggs! So I roll into EduDad and prompt Noah to get a frying pan while I get a bowl and crack two eggs into it. Noah looks in the closet where we keep glassware, then he looks in the drawer under the stove, and finally in the cabinet by the stove where pans are kept. He adds some milk to the eggs and we beat them well. The pan is oiled and cooking commences. I instruct him on when and how to stir the eggs and I return to my video conference. 20 minutes later I check on him and he is still stirring the most well-done eggs you’ve ever seen. I failed to tell him when to remove the eggs! "I was waiting for you to come upstairs so I could ask what to do." Why didn’t he come downstairs and ask for help?! Of course, I feel rotten. With one minute to spare, he slams down his burnt eggs and goes to his bus.

I rouse Sarah and return to my conference call. We wrapped at 7:46am which was still enough time to get Sarah to the school but she’s AWOL! And Noah left the stove on! I call Sarah’s phone, the one she left at her friend’s house, and leave a voice mail but I know what she’s done. In her desire to be an independent teen and trying to not interrupt my work, she has acted on her own. However, as a parent, I want her to always say goodbye! I want her to say good morning. I want her to sneak into her mother’s room and get her mom a peck on the cheek! AND we had a plan. I was supposed to drive her to school.

I find the choices they made this morning amusing and good for their growth and learning; however, I feel that I bungled being a dad this morning. I feel I let Sarah down.

Posted on by — 5 Comments

The New Phones Are Here

Motorola Razr v3xx

Our Motorola v400 phones were cutting edge when Cathy, Sarah and I got them. We have been holding out for the v600s because we wanted the ability to film video but the v600 was too troubled and we could not wait for its release. Good fortune shone on us for the v400s were great phones lasting longer than any of our previous cell phones! The v400s are notorious for slowly becoming harder to hear over time. The connection on the speaker corrodes. The mouths of babes who like to eat phones do not help. Additionally the microphone slowly dies.

I signed up with Bellsouth Mobility DCS in October or November of 1997 because I needed to take credit card numbers over the phone and DCS was the only digital option and dropped calls was the norm not the exception. I personally knew someone that took great pleasure in scanning analog phone signals and recording tidbits of spied information; digital was essential. There were parts of town I would avoid simply to not lose a call. At one point on Northshore I could tell my callers "I’ll be back in 30 feet" My original Motorola cellular phone was huge! The sim card was the size of a credit card and it claimed that I was one of the first 100 DCS customers (I don’t believe that).

So after extending the life of our v400 phones as far as I could, yes, I repaired them by removing the corrosion, they finally have met their end. Cingular, the new AT&T, had an awesome deal that ends tomorrow so Cathy, Sarah and I each ended up with the new Motorola RAZR v3xx phones. So far these have been wonderful! It is so nice to be able to hear people again. I had a Bluetooth headset years ago and I have missed it. I like my Bluetooth headset. These phones make videos and can send the video directly to Youtube! The camera is a 1.3 megapixel instead of a vga camera so the pictures sent to Flickr should look better.

The one BIG technical issue! I have a grandfathered feature with Cingular called Alternate Line Service. That means, I get a service that they do not sell anymore. It is a beautiful service and why they do not sell it is beyond me. I have to assume they lose money or too many cellular towers do not support the feature. I have 2 phone numbers each with their own voicemail box that come to one cell phone. Line 1 is my personal/private number that for the longest time I gave only to close friends and family. Line 2 is my business number 865-382-3080 which the world can have. ( for Google’s sake you might also see that as (865) 382-3080 or +18653823080 ) Line 1 rings The Pink Panther; line 2 rings Mission Impossible. The documentation for the Motorola RAZR v3xx mentions multiple lines so I know the phone supports it. Cingular technical support claims the account is setup correctly. Now it is up to be to figure out how to configure the phone. Right now I am at a loss and seriously considering reducing my phone down to a single line. One customer service rep went so far as to say that the next time I upgrade our phone plan that they will request I drop the alternate line service anyway. I’d like to get the alternate line service working for another month and over that month let people know which number I’ll be using.

I am really impressed with the v3xx phone!