Life’s Little Moments

It seems like it’s been a while since I posted a non-music/personal blog. Believe me, it is not because of a lack of things going on! It seems like my wife and I have been on the go constantly with the craziness of every day life. So here is a brief update:

Happy Anniversary!

It certainly does not feel like it has been seven years, but who am I to question WordPress? Today marks 7 years of blogging on this platform for me.

This blog has been such an important part of my life the last 7 years. Those who have been with me from the beginning know that it started as my place to vent. Then I began sharing memories that I wanted to document before I couldn’t remember them anymore. Then I began to sprinkle in music, movies and entertainment themed pieces. Over time, I added features and that sort of brings us to where this blog is today.

This blog began shortly before I got remarried. The story of our courtship, proposal and wedding are chronicled here. The roads that led to the excitement and wonder of the birth of our two children are also well documented. Highlights from the last 7 years are here for future reference. The blogs here hold answers to questions my kids might have. These are for the future, just in case I am not around to share them.

I am so grateful to have this place in the Blog-o-verse/Blog-o-sphere to share things. I am happy to have connected with wonderful people – LIKE YOU – who interact with me, share your stories and offer encouragement. Thank you!

Kid Stuff

The entire country is experiencing the cold weather and many places are seeing snow for the first time in ages. I was surprised to see the snow on Pensacola Beach! There were plenty of snowy photos from my friends in the southern states on Facebook.

The cold temperatures canceled the entire week of school for my daughter. She loves school, so she was sad to miss. However, it did allow her and my son to join my wife and her mom at the local Children’s Museum. They had a blast spending the day there. She told me all about it when I got home.

They had a dress up area and a “carriage” that she got to ride in. All princesses need a carriage, right?

We have been waiting to get my son in for his CPAP sleep study. Our lab has been so busy that their first available appointment was in February. The problem is, we wanted it done before his appointment with the sleep neurologist next week. Thankfully, I heard that we had a couple cancellations this week. I called my wife and asked if she could come in that night with him. She was at Dance rehearsal with my daughter. So we made some arrangements and were able to get him in.

He wore CPAP for a short while when he was about 2 years old. He has since had adenoids removed and tonsils shaved. There is still apnea, so we thought it best to try the PAP route again.

Side Note: As a sleep technologist, I can tell you that there are plenty of adults who have trouble with CPAP. When people hear that my son (or any child) is on CPAP, they wonder how they do it! I think my son is a bit more prepared as I wear CPAP and my mask every night. He thinks he’s gonna be cool like dad with his mask.

This time around it was a bit more difficult for him. He was waking up WAY more than he did before. It was strange, because he has done it before. This time, however, he comes in with a diagnosis of Restless Leg Syndrome/Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. His arms and legs seem to move constantly!

Midway through the study, the tech asked my wife if this was what he did at home. In conversation, she happened to mention that his breathing looked shallow and wanted to know about any respiratory weakness. My wife said that he was working on core muscles in physical therapy. That was all the tech needed to know.

She returned to the tech room and adjusted the settings to ones we use for people with neuromuscular weakness. With a couple tweaks of the setting, my son settled and slept! Now all we have to do is wait for the doc to finalize the results. When finished, they will send over the script for the new machine. With that, my wife and I may actually sleep at night!

He was SO tired here!

Numb

You may recall that I have been suffering with numbness in my hands since the weekend after Christmas. At one point there was swelling, too. After a visit to my PCP, I was given a referral to another doctor in hopes of getting answers. This might include getting an EMG done.

I scheduled that appointment and it is finally happening next week. The problem I am having is that the numbness in my right hand is almost gone. Now there is just pain in the finger tips. My left had still has numbness mainly in the fingers. The pain and numbness is worse when I get up for the day. As much as I wish it would go away completely, I hope it is still there when I visit the doctor.

Favorite Childhood Book

I will begin posting the contributions from other bloggers for Share Your Nostalgia Part 2 the first week of February. It isn’t too late if you want to take part. The topic is to write about your favorite book from your childhood. It could be one your parents read you or the first book you checked out of the library. It could be one that you read to your children as they grew up. If interested, drop me a note at: nostalgicitalian@yahoo.com

Time Off – But Not For Fun

I am hoping to work ahead on the blog. At the end of February and early March I am taking time off work. My wife is having some surgery and I will need to be home with her. She’s not going to be able to do much, and I will have to play referee to the kids. She’ll be in a lot of pain, and so I need to be there with her. I’d appreciate if you would keep her in your thoughts.

I will try to post updates as I am able during that time.

Thanks so much for reading!

Click, Click, Click, Click, Click

100,000! No, I did not hit the lottery. However, I did get lucky to have YOU, my readers, help me hit another blogging milestone.

With every milestone, I become more grateful that you find my corner of the blogging universe worthy of reading. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to continue to bring you stuff worth reading.

Sending many thanks –

Keith (The Nostalgic Italian)

Hip Hip Horray! It’s Number 1K!

To say that I am speechless is an understatement. This is Blog #1000!

Off the top of my head, I’ve covered a lot of ground in 1000 blog posts. Sure there are plenty of fun blogs about music, movies, TV shows, and books. But there are also many serious blogs about my battle with depression and search for (and finding) happiness. There are also blogs about my divorce and remarriage, the birth of my two youngest children, my family, and many of my life long friends. Of course, there are also many posts from my sentimental side focusing on nostalgic things from my past.

What an amazing journey this has been. Perhaps one day, I will sort through all of them and turn them into a book?

For those of you who have been with me from the beginning, thank you for your support. For my newer followers, thank you for reading, too. I appreciate your comments and interaction. I follow most of you as well and enjoy my time reading your blogs, as well. Your stories, your poetry, your rants, and our shared love for music, entertainment, and good memories is a truly wonderful thing.

I read somewhere that “Blogging is not rocket science. It’s about being yourself and putting what you have into it.” There is a truth to this. It is not really that different from when I was working on the radio. “Be yourself” I was told. Share your stories. Share your thoughts. Share your life. Share a bit of yourself. THAT is what others connect with.

I hope to continue doing that.

Thank you again for sticking around. I really appreciate you reading.

Keith – The Nostalgic Italian

Morning Miscellaneous

The anecdotes in the blog today are a hodge podge of things that really wouldn’t work as a complete blog, so I thought I would just throw them together here in one. Please forgive the randomness …

Missed Milestone

Somewhere over the last couple weeks, I neglected to mark a milestone. I would have never guessed that I would post over 900 blogs when I started this site, but I have! Many of you have been here from the start and I thank you for reading. Thank you for reading about everything from diaper changes to my favorite movies and music. Thank you for listening to my many rants. Thank you for supporting the many changes my life has gone through and for your wonderful encouragement.

Maybe I have enough written to compile that book I have been meaning to write?

No More High Chair

Andrew has officially outgrown the high chair. I admit, it was nice to be able to put him in there and know that he would stay in one spot while he ate, however, it was time. So Sam and I brought out Ella’s table and now they can eat together. The above picture is in the middle of the living room temporarily while we rearranged the room.

We Got a Tonie

A funny thing happened this week. My wife was telling me, “I think I wanna get one of those Tonie Boxes.” I had no idea what she was talking about. She told me that it was like an Alexa for kids. You place this “Tonie” on the top and it reads books or plays stories. I had no idea what it looked like, but I pictured a small speaker with like a flash drive on it or something.

That same day – not 2 hours later – a box was out on the porch. My friend Margaret had sent the kids a birthday/Christmas present. I opened the box and I saw what looked like a package you might find a set of books in. Nope, it was a Tonie! My wife and I looked at each other in disbelief.

When I called Margaret so the kids could say thank you, I told her the story of our conversation and the arrival of her box. She couldn’t believe it. She told me that she saw it while walking through Meijer. She had no idea if the kids would even like it, and made sure to include the gift receipt in case we wanted to take it back. She included a few extra Tonie characters in the box and they kids love it!!

There are many Tonie characters you can get that tell stories and play music. You can even create your own content. If you have a little one, it is worth it!

Family Comedian

My daughter, Ella, is a constant source of laughter. Many times that comes at my expense. The following conversation took place this week:

Ella (with a hairbrush): Daddy, can I brush your hair?

Me: Baby, I don’t have any hair to brush

Ella: Yes you do!

I posted this picture on my Facebook and a friend commented, “Throw that brush away! She doesn’t want to catch the BALD!”

Parental Funny

I saw this posted on one of the Instagram pages I follow and got a good chuckle. ALL parents can relate to this!

Have a great weekend!

Blog Milestone

WordPress was kind enough to let me know that I had reached the 5 year blogiversary this week.

Wow! Five years of blogging. To my followers – THANK YOU! As many of you know, I started this blog as a way to put my thoughts to “paper” so to speak. I was and is therapy for me.

The fact that so many of you read my blogs and comment regularly means a lot to me. Many of you I have come to know as friends. I look forward to reading about your lives, reading your stories and poems, taking part in your blogathons, submitting thoughts on your features, and more.

In the past, I have written guest blogs for friends and been “interviewed” by others. I really enjoyed that. As a reader, you are familiar with the content I post and if you ever feel inclined to write a guest blog for me, please reach out and we can discuss that. Much like the days of radio where DJ’s cross-promoted each other, I am always glad to help promote other bloggers – especially those I follow.

Thank you again for reading. Here is to another 5 years (and more!)

Keith

Milestones

I was informed by WordPress that my blog is officially 4 years old this week. It’s hard to believe that I have been blogging consistently for that long … and that folks like you are still reading it. For that, I thank you!

In two weeks, we will celebrate another milestone, as our daughter Ella will celebrate her 2nd birthday. Wow!

It is interesting to note that I began this blog shortly before Sam and I were married. This blog is just a bit older than our marriage. I’ve been through a lot in 4 years, and I am so grateful to have been able to share the ups and downs of life with you.

Here is to many more years (and blogs) ahead …

Holy 500!

I was notified by Word Press that this blog hit a milestone!! Had I been paying attention, I would have made Blog #500 something a bit more special. Instead, my last blog (#500) was about how tired I am!

Reflecting

As I sat down to write Blog #501, I thought on how far this blog has come. I never started this blog to gain hundreds of followers, however, I have. Originally, I started the blog as a way to write down my feelings and thoughts as I went through some troubling times. Then I thought it would be a good place to write some memories down so my kids could look back and read them. It has evolved into a place where I can write about personal things, and not so personal things.

I am glad that the details of how my wife and I came to be together are here. I am also glad that I have detailed blogs about the the birth of my son and daughter. There are also many memories of my mom, so that my kids who never had the chance to meet her, will be able to read about her. I hope that they will be able to come here to read about the special people in my life – my wife, my kids, my parents, my grandparents, my teachers, my co-workers and mentors, and my friends.

It’s also fun to look back at the special “events” I took part in. Recently, I took part in a song draft, which allowed me to feature 10 great songs. There was a bit more pressure than just picking a song and writing about it. It was hard to pick just 10! Blogging about TV shows and movies as part of blogathons has been fun, as well. I’m looking forward to a TV show draft, similar to the song draft, coming soon.

What Have I Learned?

So, just what have I learned after 500 blogs?

1. It’s not easy!

I read somewhere that most people who start a blog quit writing after a month. I am glad that I have continued to write, although finding stuff to write about is not always easy. There are many days where I sit and have nothing to write about. In those moments, I turn to Daily Writing Prompts. Sometimes they will be helpful, but many of them are worthless.

Some days are easier than others. Many times a song will bring about a memory I can share. Other times a conversation will spawn something worth writing about. My kids are a constant source of writing material and funny stories and for that I am grateful. I love bragging about them.

The key for me is to just keep writing. I plan to do just that.

2. I’ve met some really cool friends

When I created my blog, I started to search for blogs about music and movies. I started following some of them and by doing so, found there many people who share similar likes with me. I began to comment on their posts and they commented on mine. By doing so, I have really gained some neat friendships with people I have never seen face to face. I’m thankful for each of them

3. I often wonder if I make a difference

I guess I hope that someone who goes through my blog will find an occasional “nugget” that they can use in their daily life. It’s not easy to put your life out on the internet for everyone to see, but if someone can learn something from the challenges I faced and the issues I worked through, I will be happy with that.

More recently, I have blogged a little bit more about my faith. I was always told to not discuss religion and politics. I follow a few blogs who share my beliefs and I appreciate them. I know that not everyone is going to share my beliefs and that is ok. That being said, I am also not going to be afraid to post more about it and am always happy to discuss it with others.

4. I really enjoy blogging

I’m not sure I could ever be a reporter or a writer where there were deadlines for articles. I enjoy sitting and writing about my passions, my experiences, my family, and my life. I love being able to write down things that I can go back and reread and relive those moments.

I have put quite a bit of time into this blog, and don’t make a dime off it (Although, I hear that there are many bloggers who DO make money off theirs)! It has never been about making money. It has never been about having a blog republished. It has never been about having millions of followers. This blog is my little spot on the internet to save my thoughts and share them.

How about your feedback?

What do you like best about this blog? What would you like to see more of? Would you ever consider being a guest blogger on my site? Tell me your thoughts. I appreciate you being here and reading my blog and hope to keep posting things you find interesting.

So what is next? 500+ plus blogs I hope and I am excited to continue sharing “me” with you!

Blogging Milestone!

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Wow! 200 Posts! And here I thought I wouldn’t have anything to write about!

In honor of my 200th post, I am going to ask you – my followers and my Facebook friends – for your suggestions on what you would like me to write about in the coming months.

I have enjoyed doing the “Question and Answer” blogs – where friends ask me questions and I answer them in a blog.
I have also enjoyed writing about movies and music. I have about 19 years worth or “favorite films” to finish up.
I have also enjoyed writing about favorite TV shows.
I think what I enjoy most is writing about my family and friends. Those blogs tend to get more “reads” than others, and that’s ok. Those are a bit more personal, so I can see them as being more serious and maybe even emotional.

So, is there anything specific you’d like to ask? Is there something you’d like to know more about (radio, sleep, etc)? Maybe you’d like to be a guest blogger – I’d love to hear YOU tell one of your favorite stories about us, or your favorite memory, etc…

No pressure. I just want to thank you for reading! Thank you for sharing! Thank you for being here – I appreciate you!

Keith