Coffee and Why We Need It

This morning I stumbled into the kitchen to make breakfast for the kids. First though, I needed coffee. I got a mug, selected my K-cup, put it in, hit the large button, and started making breakfast. I'm not a super hot coffee drinker so I usually let the mug sit for 5-10 minutes to cool off.

Eventually I made my way back to the Keurig but no coffee was waiting on me. The cup was set to the side, empty. I knew I had pushed the button so I panicked but there wasn't a mess anywhere. I chalked it up to a pre-coffee brain. I put the cup under and pressed the button again.  It started pouring out an opaque liquid that resembled tea way more than coffee. So I went and got the coffee expert.  

Jenna had me track down a paper clip so she could "clean the needle." Then she took the Keurig apart and noticed the drip tray was full of coffee.  I mean full.  Sherlock Holmes was not needed to deduce I had run the Keuring without a mug underneath it and the drip tray shockingly holds an entire cup of coffee. Something tells me the clever engineer's focus groups said this was necessary for people like me. 

Jenna, of course, had a huge laugh at my pre-coffee brain and decided to go ahead with "cleaning the needle" since it was already disassembled.  She wrapped it up and (laughingly) told me she started a new cup for me.  I went back to the kitchen a few minutes later to a cup of water.  Not tea this time, but just plain, clear water.  I returned to the expert.

"Run another cup" was all the expert could say through her confused face. The confused face was there because she couldn't figure out how I screwed this cup up when I wasn't even in the room. So I returned to the scene of my morning confusion-still in my pre-coffee brain. At this point we were all almost ready to leave and I still had not had any caffeine. 

I went to the kitchen, opened the Keurig to confirm a pod was in the machine, and pressed large. Hot water started running out of the sides of the maker, pouring down the sides to the bottom, and falling like a wide waterfall into the cup instead of the usual drip. Crystal clear mind you.  95% of the water was making it into the cup so the mess was somewhat contained.   I reopened the top and realized there was no hole in the K-cup. Then I noticed a large plastic piece in the sink.  Mrs. Smarty Pants had forgotten to put the piece of plastic, that actually holds the Kcup, back into the maker before she started my coffee.  Water was just pouring over the closed cup, filling the area with water until it could hold no more, and then letting it all pour out of the Keurig's seams.

I informed the expert of her mistake and we shared a mutual laugh this time at the Thursday Morning Coffee Saga. So finally, I am able to press large and the dark brewed caffeine was pouring into my cup.  Sigh. Life was good. Now it was time to go.  I got the kids corralled and out the door with jackets and backpacks. We told mom goodbye and off we went to start our Thursday.

In the drop off line at 720AM I was feeling pretty good.  I love laughing at myself as much as anything in this world.  All I could think was that together, Jenna and I make a whole; UNLESS we haven't had coffee and then we might make one half.  I reached down for my cup to have my first drink of caffeine of the day.  I forgot the cup at home.

Ketchup

"three tomatoes are walking down the street- a poppa tomato, a momma tomato, and a little baby tomato. baby tomato starts lagging behind. poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato, and smooshes him... and says, catch up!" - Mia Wallace [Uma Thurman] em Pulp Fiction

Noah loves this joke.  One day when he's much older I'll sit him down and we'll watch Pulp Fiction together.  I bring it up here because I feel I can't catch up. We had a whirlwind December with family coming to town and a lot of milestones.  Noah got his black belt.  Cam had her first recital. Then the holidays and our typical 4 Christmas'. I feel so far behind now I don't even know what to post first and how. 

I asked Noah to write the post for achieving his black belt.  Still waiting.  I don't want to post Cam's recital because it feels like I'm skipping Noah's black belt. Don't want to post Christmas because it feels like the rest of December didn't happen. Ugh.

So I'm breaking the ice with this.  I will post them all soon and if they are out of order then so be it. To come full circle, I'll finish with one of Campbell's favorite jokes.

Know how to get Lady Gaga's attention?............Poker Face

One big hot mess

Jenna went to work the other day only to discover Campbell had her phone and was taking some self portraits.  Then she opened the video...

Friday night is the Croods night

Most animated movies are parent and grandparent fodder to take the kids to do something. Somehow The Crood's escaped my kids eyes until it came out on video.  So Friday night Jenna decided we were going to have movie night.  We got chocolate chip cookies to bake and laid out pillows and sleeping bags on the floor.  We were going to watch Epic but since I was the only one who hadn't seen it I suggested the Croods.  After watching the trailer, the kids were convinced and off to iTunes we went.

How this movie escaped mass market appeal like Shrek and Madagascar I'll never know.  It was really funny for kids.  Not quite as funny for adults as others, but still funny.  During intermission, the kids convinced Jenna to go on a caveman hunt (they run on 4 legs).  There was no way my knees were going to hold up to it so I was the videographer.  

John Mayer-Musician or Criminal Mastermind

I beat Jenna and the kids home tonight and was picking up the house.  I finally got to listen to John Mayer's new album.  I'd been waiting for a time I could listen at volumes I deem necessary to take in any anticipated music.​

Halfway through, I was enjoying the music quite a bit.  Then all of I sudden I heard...."Love is Verb..."  What?!?!?!?! I had to go to check iTunes and sure enough the title of the song is "Love is a Verb"​

Seriously?!?!?!​

Granted I stole the line from A Weekend to Remember but I'm 99% sure John Mayer is a regular reader of The Sullivan Adventure.  Possibly he heard a speech I gave to a cancer support group 3 years ago.  The title? Love is a Verb.​ Either way the evidence s pretty damning  

At least have the shame to include me as co-songwriter. ​

(Love the steel guitar on the album Mr. Mayer.  You truly are gifted. In more bad news, my buddy Kyle wants to talk to you about "Whisky Whisky Whisky Water Water Water Sleep.)​

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-is-a-verb/id516701586?i=516701814

johnmayer.jpg

Our proud mudskipper

When I was Noah's age I built forts to defend against the bad guys. He builds forts and pretends to be a mudskipper. After the 5th time Campbell tore it down and he got mad at her he brought the problem to me.

I explained the mudskipper's tunnels are flooded every time the tide changes and has to start over clearing out the tunnel of mud. So his sister is just playing the part of the endless cycle of nature and the constant shifting of the tides.

His eyes lit up like you wouldn't believe. He ran to the other room and proclaimed "Cam, that's awesome!"

I don't know if it's the amount of information available to kids the Internet provides today. Possibly it's the amazing videos of Planet Earth or Life. Maybe we just know how to be informative and entertaining. Whatever the reason, our children know more about the world we live in at 6 than I knew at 15. They are able to experience things we either read about in an encyclopedia or were at the mercy of whatever happened to be airing on TV on a Saturday morning. Now we can watch webcams of Eagle nests hatching and how the parents care for them-LIVE! Noah can hold my phone to the sky and it points out planets, constellations, and nebula. When a plane flies overhead an app can tell us where it came from, where it's headed, and what it's carrying.

Jenna was always scared of overexposing Noah to too much information when he was in preschool. She lives in the world of achievement and academics and she (rightfully) feels kids are beat over the head with curriculum from the moment they walk into a kindergarten classroom. She wanted him to just be a kid. The only problem is Noah CONSUMES information like it was his last meal. Maybe I just can't remember what it was like as a kid but what's available today can be overwhelming but our children are so remarkably adaptable they breathe it in and make it part of everyday.

When Noah asks me something I don't know he immediately says "let's look it up." He doesn't mean at some later point when it's possible. He means right now. I hold a button on my phone and ask it aloud for the tide schedule for western Australia (so we can check to see of the mudskipper is currently underwater). Then it tells me. Then he goes right back to playing having totally assimilated the information like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Teachable moment

I pride myself on being the type of Father that imparts wisdom to my kids. I know some mistakes have to be learned on your own but I think it's important to reveal my own mistakes to my children so they may learn valuable lessons without the humility of some wrong turns.


Today I was able to teach Campbell green food coloring and vanilla look the same from the back and you should take the extra time to prevent a Dr. Seuss inspired breakfast.


I'm not sure she sees the error though. Maybe she's doomed to repeat my failings.

 

Fresh air

On Sunday we had to take Finley back to her mom. We met in Clarksville and made the switch. Afterwards we stopped at McDonald's for lunch. There was a trail head we noticed so we decided to have an impromptu picnic. It really was a pretty day, so we decided to explore the paved part of the trail.

I'm sharing this story for two reasons. First I wanted to share this picture of Campbell with her 'walking stick' because it was pretty cute. Second was a pretty funny story crom the hime.

We are far from tree huggers but we've always told Noah not to kill bugs and such for no reason. All creatures great and small, yada yada yada. We leave animals in their habitat unless a spider is dumb enough to come in the house then it's survival of the fittest vs my size 13.

On this day, Noah yelled at his mom to stop in the middle of the walk. She complied and he rescued a grasshopper that somehow avoided the stroller and her feet. He was amazed the bug survived and he showed it to Campbell who dutifully bent over to inspect it. He shared with Cam his entire knowledge of grasshoppers and then told the little guy to "hop off the sidewalk before you get hurt." Right on cue Campbell swung her walking stick overhead with both hands and with truly amazing accuracy smashed the grasshopper into a dozen or so grisly pieces. It was the first time (I'm sure not the last) I had to restrain Noah from attacking his little sister.

Porcelain Serenade

Noah singing to his long lost Phenergan-

Sung to the tune of Lady Antebellum's "I Need You Now"-----

It's a quarter after four, I'm by the throne and I need you now
Said I was done but I can't go to bed and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without
I just need you now

Yes the stomach bug is running it's way through the household. Campbell on Tuesday. Ann and Weldon on Wednesday.  Noah on Thursday.  I feel like I'm walking around with a big bullseye on my back waiting for it to hit. My fingers are already starting to split from all the hand sanitizer.

What we learned this morning

Wow. We learned a couple of things this morning before we even left the house.  One kind of serious and one not so much.

Noah woke up early again (I despise falling 'back for DST) so he had to be sent back upstairs to get dressed while I got in the shower.  While the water was heating up, I came out into the living room to see Noah still in his pajamas AND in his shoes.  He was laying out his pants when I asked what he was doing.  After he simply explained he was getting dressed with those patented looks at me like I have 3 heads-I asked how he was going to get his pants on over his shoes. With the same - go away Dad look - he told me he'd be just fine.  We've had this conversation before and usually I insist he do it right but this time I decided to let him figure it out for himself.

I went ahead and got in the shower.  I've always known this but the interchange with Noah really crystalized it for me.  Parents can't teach their kids anything.  We can only guide them, but they have to figure out on their own what we already know.  Hopefully, we can control the lesson to be learned in a safe way.

In the shower, I thought of a scary moment in my life.  A friend of mine and I were coming home from ElDorado on a weekend night.  I was driving my mother's car and curfew was going to be a close thing.  I hit the Thrill Hills of S Jackson going way too fast.  I knew not to go that fast.  I'd been told not to go that fast, but until that moment when all 4 tires left the ground, I didn't believe I shouldn't go that fast.  Luckily we survived, but if chance had put a car in the oncoming lane we wouldn't have.  I never drove like that again and I can still get chills thinking about it. Kid's have to make their own mistakes-we can only pray they learn some of them going down a hill on a deserted road on their bike.

When I emerged clean and dressed Noah was completely ready for school.  I asked him how he got his pants over his shoes.  He sheepishly whispered, "I had to take them off to get my pants on."  I nodded to him and didn't say another word.  I guess we both learned something.

***Oh yeah, the kid's looked awfully cute this morning so I took their picture.  Noah wanted his stuffed penguin in the picture as well.  That's when we learned Campbell DOES NOT like penguins.

 

I blew it again dear!

It took me the better part of an hour, but I had to find this strip from Calvin and Hobbes because I just knew I had done a good thing and my little Noah just twisted it into...well I better start from the beginning.

About a week ago, Noah asked me why I was his Daddy.  I'm not the world's greatest orator but every now and then the gift of spinning words is mine. I told him what I believe.  God chose me to be his Daddy and years ago He brought Noah's mother into my life.  I told him all about our wedding and how much we loved each other and then I capped it all off with telling him how God picked us to have a special little boy and how he grew in his mother's belly and I wrapped it up telling him about the moment I met him and how he stopped crying and looked at me because he knew my voice.  

I know it sounds super sweet, and I can hear my older sister gagging now, but it was a really special moment because he listened to every word and gave me a big hug afterwards.

Flash forward to tonight.  Noah asked Jenna to lay down with him for a few minutes.  I went upstairs to say goodnight.  We said our prayers and then my wonderful little son said (as if on cue), "Dad, tell me the story about me again."  I knew what he wanted but Jenna didn't know this conversation had taken place already.  I started the story and when we got to the part about God picking us to be his parents, Noah jumped up and stood in the middle of the bed and proclaimed to his mother (I'm putting it in quotes but there is no way I'm quoting this 100% correct because the boy may have broken a speed talk record):

"Then God shot laser beams from his fingertips and I glowed everywhere and then I said BAM and God said 'You have a little boy now' and then he shot me again with laserbeams and then He gave me to you guys! Isn't that cool Mom?!?!?!?"

The copyright for this comic strip is held by Universal Press Syndicate.

Warehouse Mouse and hippies

Noah wanted to wear a new shirt of his this morning. A small, seemingly innocuous comment by me meant I spent my morning trying to explain what a 'hippie' is. He didn't like any of my answers even though I tried it all from simple to honest. I finally decided there are just some things a 4year old just isn't going to get. I may just drop him off at Gilmore's house this weekend and let him explain the 60s to him.

On another note-when I snapped this pic Noah was watching the Disney channel. I have my weekly schedule down so when 'Where is Warehouse Mouse?' came on I totally freaked out. This is a 5 minute short every morning that transitions to the 730 show. Hearing the theme music was basically an alarm that it is now 725.

Without even realizing it-this show has become the metric I use for how I'm doing on time. I drop off the kids each morning. It takes about 15 minutes. On days I start on the east side of town I need to be out the door at the end of Warehouse Mouse-BUT-on days I start on the west side I need to be out the door before the Imagination Movers start to look for their furry little friend.

So I yell, 'Noah-get to the car now!!!' I scoop up Campbell and start stuffing her in the carseat. He just stands there. We never have to rush like this so I can see his doubt. 'Now Noah!' he starts to walk slowly to the door but he has to ask why so he does. Not sure why but I yelled 'Because Warehouse Mouse said so!!!!'

Then as serious as you can possibly believe he looks at me and says 'Is he a hippie Dad?'

"...hurt and injured aren't the same thing..."

Noah's really gotten into baseball since they started playing kickball at school.  When I told him I used to play baseball he asked me to be his "teacher." Never mind it was 101 at 530PM yesterday.  My boy wanted to go play baseball so we did.

We had a lot of fun and he ran the bases like a champ.  He's getting a lot better at hitting the ball each time too.  

The best part was the conversation when we got home.  He scraped his elbow pretty good with a fair amount of blood.  When his Momma say it she asked him what happened.  He bravely replied "I got hurt.  Daddy said hurt and injured aren't the same thing so I had to keep playing baseball." She shot me a look and I found something really interesting on the ceiling to look at.

Here's a video of the young Joe Dimaggio.

The butterfly thinks Noah's sweet!

Too funny.  One of those moments that make you glad you have your camera handy.

The iNotintrouble

I had to take Campbell to the Dr. today with Noah in tow. He was a good boy the whole time. He was polite, a good listener, and during the long wait he quietly played a math game on my iPad.

It got me to musing at the times my Mom dragged me along with my sisters to all kinds of torturous and boring places. What I wouldn't have given for a device in my lap that would have played cartoons, read me books, and played video games.

There is absolutely no way to calculate how many spankings this thing is going to spare Noah from.