Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parents. Show all posts

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy, happy, happy, happy birthday: Parents welcome quads on dad's birthday

It's every parent's ... dream?

A Texas couple welcomed not one, not two, not three, but four (!) healthy babies on Monday. That's in addition to Anna and Joshua Hall's two daughters, ages 2 and 4. The foursome's big debut came on dad's 36th birthday, a fact that he says will make future birthdays hard to top, CBS-Dallas reports.

The babies, three girls and a boy, were born prematurely and will have to stay in the neonatal intensive-care unit until they are deemed strong enough to go home with mom and dad.  Doctors think that may take about six weeks. Still, the newborns — Brooks, Elle, Sadie and Ivy — are breathing on their own and doing well.

Though the babies were born earlier than the standard nine months, they did stay in the womb for an impressive 32 weeks, which is two and a half weeks longer than the average set of quadruplets, according to NBCDFW.com.

Their parents say they think they know what they're in for when the quads come home.

"We've been hearing about 40 bottles a day and 80-plus diapers a day," Anna Hall said. "And, yeah. We'll have our hands full."

Hall said she and her husband were "going for No. 3" in an attempt to have a son when the quads were conceived. "We did get him," she said. "Just with three more sisters. So it was a blessing." 

 Follow Mike Krumboltz on Twitter (@mikekrumboltz).


View the original article here

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Apps help parents track Halloween trick or treaters

By Natasha Baker

TORONTO (Reuters) - Parents worried about letting their children go trick-or-treating at Halloween can download new apps that track kids and send alerts when they venture outside designated safe areas.

With the free iPhone app Track n Treat, children send a time-limited link of their location via a phone number or email. This then allows parents to track their whereabouts via a web browser for the next four hours.

"Kids are out and about and their parents want to know where they are, so Halloween is a great use of a temporary location-sharing technology," said Bryan Trussel, CEO of Seattle-based Glympse, which creates person-to-person location sharing technologies.

Another free app, Family GPS Tracker for iPhone and Android, not only lets parents see where their children are in real-time, but also sends alerts when a child strays outside of an set area.

"With the app you can always be aware of where your children are located, and can call them immediately if they venture outside of the safe zone," said Michal Ć tencl, the CEO of Sygic, which is based in Slovakia.

Life360, another free app for iPhone and Android, lets family members view each others' location on a map and keep in touch via group messaging.

"A twelve-year-old might be too young to go out completely on their own, but an app can give them more freedom," said Chris Hulls, CEO of Life360, which is based in San Francisco.

The app allows users to set up zones and notifications showing, for example, when a child arrives at school, or when a spouse leaves work or gets home.

"We're trying to build a family graph," Hulls said. "You have Facebook for your friends and LinkedIn for your work contacts, but what is the equivalent for your family life?"

(Editing by Patricia Reaney; Editing by David Brunnstrom)

(This story was refiled to fix typo in the headline)

Technology & ElectronicsSoftware

View the original article here

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Ex-NFLer to parents: Don't punish me for kids' bad behavior

This transcript is automatically generated

VERY BAD.

THEY TRASHED THE HOME OF A FORMER NFL STAR.

THE TEENAGERS BREAKING INTO FORMER RAIDERS AND PAT REITS PLAYER BRIAN HOLLOWAY'S UPSTATE NEW YORK VACATION HOME THROWING AN OUT OF CONTROL PARTY.

ALL CAUGHT ON CAMERA.

WHY IS THE FORMER FOOTBALL PLAYER FACING A POSSIBLE LEGAL BATTLE? BRIAN HOLLOWAY AND HIS SON JOIN US.

GOOD EVENING.

>> HELLO.

>> HOW'S IT GOING? >> VERY WELL.

I'M TEAM HOLLOWAY ON OH THIS.

ANYWAY, THE STORY IS EXTRAORDINARY.

FIRST TO YOU, SIR, BRIAN, SR.

WHAT HAPPENED? >> SO I WAS AT HOME IN FLORIDA AND BRIAN CALLED ME AND SAID THERE IS SOMETHING GOING DOWN.

HE SENT ME OVER A BUNCH OF TWEETS.

HE GOT WORD FROM A FRIEND WHO PICKED UP THE CHIRPING ON TWITTER THAT THERE WAS A PARTY AT THE HOUSE.

WE QUICKLY DISCOVERED 170 TWEETS OF PEOPLE AT THE PARTY DRINKING, WHATEVER.

SO WE WERE SHOCKED.

BLEW WAY PAST FURIOUS.

TOLD BRIAN TO CAPTURE ALL THE DIGITAL DATA AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

THEN I HAD TO FOCUS ON WHAT WAS MOST IMPORTANT.

EVERYTHING THAT WAS BROKEN CAN BE FIXED.

EVERYTHING THAT WAS STOLEN CAN BE RETURNED.

TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP SAVE THESE 300 LIVES.

THAT WAS THE BEST AND HEALTHIEST WAY FOR ME TO LOOK AT WHAT OCCURRED.

BECAUSE IT WAS OVERWHELMING IN MANY WAYS.

>> LET ME GO TO BRIAN, JR.

TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED, HOW THE PICTURES OF THE CULPRITS ENDED UP -- WHERE? >> PEOPLE WERE UPDATING THE STATUSES AND SITUATIONS THAT THEY WERE AT AND ALL THE FUN THEY WERE HAVING AND HOW THE CRAZY NIGHT, HOW THEY CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER IT.

IT WAS A BLUR AND THEY WILL NEVER FORGET THE FRIENDS THEY MADE, BUT THEY WILL FORGET THE PARTY.

A BUNCH OF -- A CLUSTER OF UNDER-THE-INFLUENCE ET TWEETS, I WOULD SAY, AND SO THAT WAS UNRAVELING IN FRONT OF US.

OF COURSE THE AFTERMATH OF SEEING HOW GREAT THE PARTY WAS.

WE LOOKED BEFOREHAND ON, I GUESS THERE WAS A LEAD--UP TO THE PARTY AS WELL.

>> AS I UNDERSTAND IT THERE IS $20,000 IN DAMAGE.

YOU HAVE NOW IDENTIFIED THE TEENAGERS WHO DID IT.

YOU HAVE THEIR PUBLIC PHOTOS BECAUSE THEY UPDATED AND TWEETED, TALKED ABOUT IT.

YOU THEN PUT IT ON A PARTICULAR WEBSITE.

IS THAT RIGHT? >> WHAT WE DID IS WE TOOK THE PICTURES THEY TWEETED ABOUT AND POSTED THEM ON HELPMESAVE300.

COM.

>> WHAT'S BEEN THE RESPONSE FROM THE TEENAGERS WHO ARE PART OF THE TRASHING AND THEIR FAMILIES? >> I THINK THEY WERE IN SHOCK.

ALL I DID WAS REVEAL STUFF THEY HAD ALREADY POSTED.

SO WHAT I DID WAS BRING TO SURFACE A CONVERSATION THAT WAS GOING TO ALLOW THE PARENTS AND THE COMMUNITY TO SAY, WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT THIS, HOW SHOULD WE BE ACCOUNTABLE, WHERE DID WE GET OFFING TRAB AND HOW DO WE FIND OUR WAY BACK? >> YOU ARE A LOT NICER PERSON THAN I AM.

YOU PUT THE PUBLIC PICTURES THE TEENS PUT ON A WEBSITE.

I MAY HAVE BEEN TEMPTED TO TRACK DOWN PICTURES OF THE PARENTS WHO LOST CONTROL OF THEIR CHILDREN OR HAVE EVEN RAISED CHILDREN WHO THINK IT IS OKAY TO BREAK INTO A HOUSE AND TRASH THE JOINT.

>> I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT.

I COULD SEE WHERE IF PUSH COMES TO SHOVE SOMEONE WOULD COME IN AND I COULD TAKE THAT A LONG WAY.

UH KNOW HOW TO DO IT.

>> BRIAN, JR., DO YOU KNOW THESE KIDS? >> I KNOW ABOUT A DOZEN OF THEM.

THEY WERE CLASSMATES OF MINE GROWING UP.

THE MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS THAT WERE THERE WERE GRADES UNDER ME.

SO I DIDN'T KNOW A MAJORITY OF THE STUDENTS THERE.

>> BRIAN, SR., LET ME EGO BACK TO YOU.

UH TAKE IT NOW THE PARENTS FLIPPED OUT BECAUSE YOU PUT THEIR HOODLUM VANDAL TEERNLS ON THIS WEBSITE.

HAVE UH THEY THREATENED YOU WITH A LAWSUIT? >> WELL, THERE WAS CHATTER ABOUT THAT.

I'M PREPARE ED FOR THAT IF IT SHOULD HAPPEN.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE WITH THAT.

IF IT UH DOES HAPPEN, YOU WILL KNOW.

I I WILL POST IT RIGHT ON THE SITE.

I WILL POST ALL THE DOCUMENTS.

AND THERE ARE MANY LEGAL PROFESSIONALS AROUND THE COUNTRY WHO SAID IF I NEED THEIR HELP IN ANY WAY THEY WILL STAND READY.

I'M NOT SURE HOW THAT MAKES SENSE WHERE YOU WILL PRESS CHARGES.

THEIR CHILD WAS IN MY HOME, STEAL ING, VANDALIZING, DOING DRUGS, DRINKING OR JUST BEING THERE.

AND YOU'RE MAD AT ME FOR POSTING A PICTURE THAT I GOT FROM YOUR CHILD'S OR THEIR FRIENDS' TWEETS.

I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND HOW THAT'S BREAKING THE LAW.

>> CAN I TELL YOU ONE THING THAT'S AMAZING? I UNDERSTAND YOU PUT OUT THAT YOU WANTED THE KIDS TO HELP CLEAN IT UP.

JUST BASICALLY TEACH SOME RESPONSIBILITY TO THEM.

ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED SHOWED UP.

THAT'S THE KID I WOULD WANT TO HIRE.

SOMEONE WHO MADE A MISTAKE AND HAS THE COURAGE TO STEP UP TO THE PLATE AND OFFER TO CLEAN IT UP.

>> THAT'S WHAT I SAID.

I SAID, NUMBER ONE, I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOU FOR THE COURAGE TO STEP FORWARD AND STAND ACCOUNTABLE.

I SAID, NUMBER TWO, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION -- YOU AND ME -- ABOUT WHAT OCCURRED.

THERE IS AN INJURY HERE THAT NEEDS TO BE RECONCILED.

NUMBER THREE, WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NOW IS GO TALK TO YOU ARE I DON'T FATHER BECAUSE OF OH WHAT YOU DID TO TOTALLY EMBARRASS AND DISREGARD EVERYTHING THAT FATHER TRIED TO PUT IN YOU.

I SAID, GET ON A WORK CREW AND CLEAN UP.

HE DID.

>> THAT'S THE KID WHO MAY HAVE DONE WRONG BUT STEPPED UP AND SHOWED SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY.

FOR SOME REASON THAT KID IS AMAZING TO ME.

THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH.

I HOPE YOUR HOUSE IS CLEANED UP AND I HOPE YOU DON'T GET SUED.

>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

>> NOW TO A GRUESOME MYSTERY UNFOLDING IN ALASKA.

AN ANONYMOUS NOTE LEADING POLICE


View the original article here

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Wealthy parents sue school, claim they were scammed into buying $50K finger painting

The Heinemanns attend the Prize4Life Gala, Sotheby's, New York City, June 24, 2013. (Owen Hoffmann/Patrick McM …

A pair of Manhattan socialites are suing a private school for nearly a half-million dollars after it allegedly tricked them into bidding $50,000 for a finger painting done by kindergarteners.

According to the lawsuit filed on Friday in New York State Supreme Court, Michelle-Marie and Jon Heinemann claim the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine sent them a bill for $50,000 after the March 1 silent auction.

“This is essentially a painting done by 5-year-olds,” a "source who knows the family" told the New York Post, which first reported the lawsuit.

The school scoffed at the Heinemanns' claims.

"These allegations are sad, false and without merit," a spokesman for the Upper West Side school said in a statement to Yahoo News. "The Cathedral School has a more than 100-year reputation of excellence in education and service to its students and demonstrates a profound respect for the dignity and equality of every child.”

The Heinemanns—whose 5-year-old son, Hudson, attended the school—were not present at the auction but instructed the school to bid on their behalf until they won the artwork. They claim the finger-painted piece should have sold for a maximum of $3,000, but a high-ranking school official made a first-grade teacher bid against the Heinemanns, resulting in the $50,000 price tag. And that was in addition to "$6,000 worth of designer clothing items" the Heinemanns bought and donated to the school specifically for the auction, the suit states.

From the lawsuit:

Additionally, Plaintiff Michelle-Marie Heinemann, a renowned artist whose works have sold for tens of thousands of dollars, donated significant amounts of her time to work with the children at the school on an art project to be included in the Auction.

The family subsequently pulled Hudson out of the $39,000-a-year school. According to the lawsuit, the employee who engineered the auction scam was terminated.

But the Heinemanns say their trouble with the K-8 day school began well before the auction. They say Hudson was "subjected to disparate and unfair treatment" during the 2012-2013 school year.

He "was consistently left out of School exhibits and films" and "was made to go last at nearly everything," the lawsuit claims:

On one occasion, Plaintiffs' five-year-old son was relegated to the role of "door-holder" and ordered to hold the door for all of the other students.

The Heinemanns say they tried to discuss the situation with school officials, but "were either ignored or otherwise met with resentment."

They say they "were forced to endure humiliation and emotional damages" as a result of the auction debacle. They're seeking $415,900 in damages, including the following:

a. Tuition to a new school- $20,000;
b. Forfeiting deposit paid to Defendant School for the following school year- $5,000;
c. Maintaining the employment of a family driver that is no longer needed due to the relocation- $60,000;
d. Continuing the employment of the family housekeeper that is no longer needed due to the relocation- $1,200 per week


View the original article here