Anyone taking bets on how long it will take Doug to fix the lights on the tree should read the archives from last Christmas. 

Evan is sick and Molly is hurt. Doug is at the vet with Molly now. Update - Molly has ununited anconeal process and we are treating her with glucosamine while we wait for the orthopedic consult.

The Christmas stockings are finished! 

Holiday light hints -

• The manger goes on the ground and the Santa goes on the roof. Santa should not be standing beside Mary.
• Using only red lights is creepy.

Tommy's daily job is to empty the dishwasher. Since the children take turns loading the dishwasher and rinsing abilities vary greatly, we frequently have dishes that aren't clean after they have gone through the dishwasher. To reduce dirty dishes mixed in with the clean (it ALWAYS happens when we have visitors), I asked Tommy to put anything not clean back in the sink. I know you are already there, but I'm slow and I just realized that the amount of dishes being put back in the sink is growing too rapidly and anything that is difficult to put away is never making it to its' storage spot. Sooooo, how do I solve this problem? If I tell him he must rinse instead of tossing them in the sink, we'll have dirty dishes being put away again.

You know it's gonna be a Monday when . . . You start the day by picking boogies off your nipples.

Holiday Giving Cards

Evan visited the Great-Grandmother for whom he is named on Thanksgiving. 

There is a cute new shop on Northshore for pampered pets called "River Dog Bakery". Take your dog there and let her pick out her own snack. Be sure to pet the shop's official taster, a fuzzy young Golden Retriever.

We didn't participate in Black Friday but we did start putting up Christmas decorations.

What are YOU thankful for? 

Cathy is thankful for - I am thankful for life. It is precious and fleeting and too valuable not to make the best of every moment. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for Tommy and if someone offered me a magic pill to cure his Autism I would have to say no, for Tommy is perfect just as he is now. I am thankful for Sarah and her compassion and love for her family. I am thankful for Noah and his sweet, generous heart. I am thankful for Amy and her energy and strength. I am thankful for Evan who can always make me smile and whose presence has made our family complete and whole. I am thankful for Doug and the way he makes me feel when he holds my hand or looks in my eyes. I am thankful for Molly and her love and loyalty. I am thankful for friends who know when to pick me up and when to kick me in the pants. I am thankful to have a place to sleep and food to eat. I am thankful to have more reasons to laugh than to cry. I am thankful to have refuge from the cold of winter and heat of summer. I am thankful for the thousands of miracles every day that I should never take for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Because I haven't posted a story in a long time - When I was about Sarah's age, my grandmother took me to Miss Daisy's Tea Room in Jackson, TN. I was less than pleased with the absence of burgers and fries on the menu, so my grandmother was thrilled when I finally found something on the menu that I enjoyed. I enjoyed it so much that my grandmother asked the waitress, who then asked the restaurant owner if I could have the recipe. It was so simple that it became a family tradition for me to prepare this dish every Christmas. Regretfully, Sarah doesn't like it but I have my fingers crossed that Amy will take over the family tradition. Frozen Cherry Salad 1 can cherry pie filling 1 can crushed pineapple (drained) 1 large container of Cool Whip 1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk Mix and freeze. Thaw to serve. The restaurant served it like scoop of ice cream on a piece of lettuce but we just skip the formalities.

Sarah is thankful for - "I'm thankful for family, friends, my computer, my cell phone, student council and everything except the stuff I don't like." Mom is thankful that adolescence is a temporary state of being.

Sigmund, Carl & Alfred have written a series of posts about going home for the holidays. Holidays should be a time of togetherness and happiness. This is going to be one of those rare Christmas visits when both of my brothers and their families are going to be at my parents' with my family. My brothers and I are very different creatures but when we all get together it doesn't matter. Nights are spent with people sleeping on every sofa and available floor space and the days are spent just being together in my parents' home. We laugh, eat, stay up late and talk, talk, talk. No eggshells, no walls and no forbidden topics. It's loud and messy and we all love it.

Busy, busy, busy but it all stops tonight for LOST.

When it rains, it pours.

I am working on my Thanksgiving post and finding it difficult to write. I know it shouldn't, but it bothers me that it keeps looking like the bottom level of Maslow's hierarchy. I want to be positive and funny but sometimes I feel like I (and a few people I really care about) need to go dance naked around a bonfire and shake off these lousy feelings that I don't want or need. How dare I feel unhappy when I have so much. Why am I afraid that listing the good things would be tempting fate?

Doug is thankful for - I am not writing what he is thankful for, but it's a frequent topic in his blog. Let's just say he's glad to be male.

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Originally uploaded by cathymccaughan.

The topic of their conversation was "Why we shouldn't act out Holy Grail scenes in church."

He must be a Tennessee fan. 

Noah is thankful for "My family, trees that let us breathe, meat, ketchup and entertainment. You know, like juggling."

Tommy is thankful for "My family, food and my computer."

Evan is thankful for - Although he gets excited about bodily functions, I think Evan is especially thankful for hand control and mobility.

Every time I watch a Harry Potter movie I have found parallels to the rise of Hitler with bits of McCarthyism here and there. This morning I read Dr. Sanity's comparison between Voldemort's death eaters and terrorists. I enjoyed the movie on a pure escapism level, but watching it for sociological analogies was reaaally fun. Instead of making Sarah wait to see the movie with her Aunt and Uncle next weekend, I think she should go with her Mom. I really don't think the movie was too scary for ages 8 and up with the exception of the underwater scene. That scene creeped me out but probably because I have a strong fear of drowning.

Amy is thankful for - "I'm thankful for my Dad letting me watch Little Einstein. and Noah. but not Tommy or Sarah. I'm thankful for Evan. And that's all."

I'm taking a crowd of 20 (mostly Girl Scouts) to see Harry Potter tomorrow and Evan will be staying with his grandparents for the very first time. Will I be incredibly relaxed or a nervous wreck? Oh, our marine biologist returns home tomorrow night.

Dear Evan, You are a wonderful baby, but Mommy is not a cow. If you continue to treat me like one, I will make you wear mittens when you eat. Love, Mommy

Molly loves the crisp, fall weather.

Can you tell we're related?

What are the consequences when your child changes the settings or downloads things on your computer? Loss of privileges? What if it is your spouse who changes the settings and downloads things?

Our family marine biologist reports that she is cold.

Sarah was not worried about being away from home or family, but she was very concerned about missing an episode of LOST. She asked me to text message her any important clues. I told her no. 

I wish some entrepreneur would market "diaper try-it packs". It would be great to pay a few dollars to get one of each brand/style of diaper in a particular size. No more buying an entire package of diapers that are about as effective as paper towels. No more wasted diapers because your baby is too long or too chunky for a certain brand. We need try-it packages!

Why do some people speed up when someone else tries to merge or turn into a different lane? It is not a race. Everyone is just trying to reach their destination safely. Hostile and self-absorbed drivers are a hazard to themselves and everyone else on the road. Courtesy and respect for other drivers is the best chance we all have to survive on the road.

The day I decide to make a crock pot full of spaghetti sauce the weather turns out sunny and 80 degrees. Having to turn on the air conditioner in mid-November is still better than living up north.

Sarah is finally on her way to Dauphin Island, Alabama. Since Knox County schools has dissolved the TAG program to cut costs, this will be the last year that a small group of students and teachers get to spend a week at an active weather station.

Doug's camera is down today, so I'm going to run around without my pants, singing a SpongeBob song.

The first episode of The Boondocks was more interesting than funny. Last night's episode was funny AND interesting. I can't deny that I feel uncomfortable with a specific racial slur that the cartoon uses, a lot. I love my father with all my heart but he is quite racist (and sexist, but that's a story for another day). As a child, I never contradicted my parents. As a teen, I started expressing opinions and (because I was a know-it-all teen) trying to logically explain why my opinions were right. I treaded very lightly with my father since he was an old-fashioned parent who believed in not sparing the rod. Nevertheless, I have vivid memories of trying to explain to my father why he shouldn't use a particularly nasty racial slur. To this day, I can remember his bizarre argument explaining that it was not a racial slur since "not all black people are <insert word here>". It was a ridiculous and pointless conversation. I think the word should never be used, but that's just me. I understand that people try to take the power away from words by using them differently than their original intent but I think I would vomit if my children ever used that word.

I want pie. Or Phish Food. 

Mothering a young teen daughter is like some bizarre Freudian therapy. Mother, watch thy daughter acting like you and try to avoid repeating history. Daughter, try to avoid becoming thy mother.

Sarah is still angry with me. She wrote some ugly notes to express her anger. Should be a fun weekend.

I feel like everything I did today was undone ten-fold by Amy. I am completely frustrated. I can't have a tantrum in front of the children so I may just hide in the bathroom and cry. Maybe I should just raid the Halloween leftovers.

I want coordinating Christmas stockings for our family. This weekend I am going to find 7 different fabrics and next week I will cut them out while Amy is at school. I just can't decide if I should machine stitch them on the inside or serge them on the outside with a contrasting thread color. Update - I found six fabrics (picture at flickr) but Miss Hormonal didn't like any color I suggested for hers. Turquoise? No. Purple? No. Do you want the bright pink? No. What do you want? I want fur instead of fleece. No. Then I want a print. No. Aaaargh! Latest Update - Sarah is getting turquoise. She can be as cranky and contrary as she chooses but she can't rain on my parade.

Are they seriously suggesting that the next time Amy skins her knee, I should squirt some milk on her injury?

More LOST questions - Did Boone have an 80s haircut on purpose? Why did Ana say the others took a lot of "things" instead of people? Since Sayid said he would never leave Shannon, will he die next? Do the others hate children or are they using them as miners? Why haven't they gone back and searched the Black Rock? Why doesn't Jack investigate the meds that are in the bunker?

No, I don't blame guns for the local school tragedy this week. When I was in high school there were quite a few trucks in the school parking lot and they had at least a rifle in the window gun rack. Anyone at the school could have used those guns. The students got angry and irrational like many teens do but the worst thing that happened involved eggs, toilet paper or crickets (in the school's air ducts). I grew up in a house with guns. Regardless of where my parents hid their guns, if I or any of my classmates had wanted to, we could have used the guns. We didn't.

Yesterday it was 80 degrees out but, this morning I am wrapped up in a blanket like an old Eddie Murphy joke (is it cold in here?).

I am turning off the catch-all on my e-mail accounts. Waaaay too much spam.

Since Tuesday was a school holiday for Knox County students, Sarah had two friends spend the night. At the same time that we insisted they quiet down and curl up in front of a movie, a group of high schoolers who had been celebrating the school holiday wrecked their cars in almost the exact spot where Noah gets off the bus every school day. When the girls finally awoke on Tuesday, I talked to them about the car accident, drinking and the parents who lost their only son. Just a few short hours later I had to talk to Sarah again. This time it was about a shooting at a nearby school. I feel like I spent the entire day trying to get a few simple points across to Sarah. Unfortunately, I think Sarah felt like she was lectured all day. To make matters worse, while replaying the day's events last night, I recognized that my school shooting talk was nearly identical to my suicide talk and pretty close to my drunk driving talk. While Sarah probably had the listening devices in her head turned off because of my monotonously boring talk, all I wanted her to hear was that she can come to me with ANY problem. The parents of the teenagers driving drunk would have happily driven their children home. The families affected by the school shooting would have listened to the angry and unhappy teen shooter before he picked up the gun. Those teens didn't call out for help. Will my children ask for help?

Does Dominos back Higglytown Heroes? "It's the pizza guy!"

Tonight! Even American Dad watches LOST. 

My father called me from his cell phone this morning and asked me to locate something online. "They don't make that any more but I'll try to find a place to order it online." "I'm almost to Nashville. Find a store there that sells it." "Dad, if Knoxville doesn't have it, why would Nashville have it?" "Because, Nashville is a big city." If my father starts talking about "goin' to town" I'm putting him in a retirement home in Atlanta.

Today's Goals Me - laundry, dishes, buy 20 tix to HP and exchange yarn for a different color Doug - weave straw into gold Tommy - play video games and eat Sarah - talk to friends and avoid doing schoolwork Noah - play with toys that create maximum mess (lego, bionicle, k-nex) Amy - destroy as many rooms as possible Evan - eat, poop, avoid sleep and throw toys on the floor

I need a do-over for the entire day.

What's the modern version of bridge and valium? Bunco and Vicodan?

Pull "I Love You, Alice B. Toklas" out of your movie collection and pop it in the VHS (sorry, it's not available on DVD). Now, fast forward to the scene in which Harold (Peter Sellers) tries to take a bath. You probably won't want the children around as you fast forward through scenes of 60s counter-culture activities. Find the bath scene yet? Good. Notice how Harold's face contorts as people join him in the bathtub uninvited? See his veins bulging as a small crowd crams into the tiny room? Can you feel his stress and frustration? THAT is exactly what it is like to take a bath over here. No, it's not usually anyone other than family but we make up for that by having a dog in the room who likes to drop her toys into the bath. Fun, fun, fun!

"I go down to Speaker's Corner I'm thunderstruck They got free speech, tourists, police in trucks Two men say they're Jesus, one of them must be wrong There's a protest singer singing a protest song - he says They wanna have a war to keep their factories They wanna have a war to keep us on our knees They wanna have a war to stop us buying Japanese They wanna have a war to stop Industrial Disease"

I held Evan in my lap so that I could get my annual (yes, once a year) haircut this evening. I should be in a fabulous mood, but the hair stylist commented on my hair texture and suggested I get my thyroid checked. Since I can't afford to do anything about it, I think I was better off not knowing.

:) 

What do bloggers do for November sweeps? I already posted a naked picture of myself (Easter post). I would like to be a television celebrity and get a free vacation to blog about but I'd be just as happy with a night in a hotel. Truth be told, I'd settle for a meal in a restaurant that doesn't have toys with their meals. In reality, it will just be more diaper talk and cartoons for November on this blog.

gender stereotypes, emotions and blogging Men are generally seen as stoic and limited in their emotional range. You rarely hear them weep or talk about their stress and anxiety. I worked in mental health and rarely heard men discuss their feelings. The females in the snack room would be huddled together discussing their personal emotional state of being while the men casually talked about camping or sports. Since I started blogging I have read men discussing their feelings, worries and hopes more than I ever heard from male relatives, friends or coworkers. Why? Are men just more willing to blog about things than talk about them? Are men who blog more introspective? Is it the blogging or the blogger?

This is my favorite season. 

Blogging Baby has an article for large families. Hop over there and give them your ideas and suggestions.

Doug and I have finished watching the Firefly DVDs. I totally get all the characters, especially the schizophrenic River. BUT, what is the deal with Book?

Crisp mornings make crock pot cooking appealing. I hope Santa puts one of the big, oval-shaped crocks under our tree.

Isn't it just precious when preschoolers say one line over and over in that sing-song tone? Isn't it just adorable when preschoolers make an honest observation about something adults don't choose to discuss. Isn't it just the sweetest thing ever when preschoolers talk loud enough for all the world to listen? Don't you think Doug should take Amy potty and experience all this extra special embarrassment for himself.

I am closed-minded AND judgemental. Home-based businesses DO become a major part of your lifestyle. Selling Tupperware or Avon is NOT the same as selling adult entertainment products. If you sell adult entertainment items you work in the adult industry. I don't want my children around that lifestyle. Also, I don't care if he WAS a comic genius. He is a major creep who has no ethics.

It's November so, bring on the television sweeps stunts. Dazzle me.

Candy! 

Halloween fun

Evan's first Halloween