I’ve been meaning to write a little recap of post-Christmas happenings, and I just haven’t had a second to do it. So here are just a few highlights.
The boys and me. That Three Stooges poster behind us was a complete coincidence.
My boys and I got together the weekend after Christmas. The Christmas holiday was spent with their mom, so we got together for lunch.
They are now both living together in an apartment and sharing the responsibilities. I hadn’t seen their new place yet, so I met them there. It’s really a nice place. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms as well as plenty of room to entertain guests. After the tour of their place and some time in conversation, we decided to go to lunch.
There is a place right down the road from them. Nice place with a nice atmosphere and good food. They both grabbed boneless wings and an order of garlic parmesan French fries (delicious), while I grabbed a good burger. It was fun to just sit and laugh with them. They aren’t little boys anymore and it was surreal to be having adult conversation with them. We’re hoping to make it a point to get together more.
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New Year’s Eve was pretty quiet. Ella stayed at Sam’s mom’s house, so it was Sam, Andrew and me at home. How did we celebrate the new year? Andrew decided to have a date night with us and chose to get some Mexican food.
What was left of my chimichangas!
Then we made a trip to Meijer! Yeah, we really hooped it up! We stopped to pick up a prescription and then walked up and down the toy aisle with Andrew. Now, instead of having us take pictures of toys to add to his Christmas list, we add them to his birthday list!
Selfie in the toy aisle at Meijer
We were in bed and asleep long before the new year arrived.
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My dad made the drive up to give the kids their Christmas gifts this past Saturday. I had taken the kids to Home Depot that morning to do the kids workshop. They built a tow truck. My dad was already in the driveway when we got back home.
Due to schedules and such, we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like. The kids really were happy to see him. They both got remote control cars and watches that have games on them. Both of the kids had to show him what Santa brought and they talked his ear off. At one point, Ella just crawled up on the couch and started snuggling with him. It was so cute.
Ella and Papa discussing the Glinda doll he brought her.
I was so glad to get time with him.
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On Sunday, Ella had a play date with a friend. So Andrew and I spent the day together while Sam slept before work. We went to the Barnes and Noble because he wanted to look at books. We spent a good chunk of time there and had a about an hour to kill before going to pick up Ella. Knowing how much he loves tools, we made a stop at Harbor Freight.
I don’t think there was one thing that didn’t fascinate him. He thought vices were cool. He marveled at the many types of drills on display. His eyes were wide when he saw the amount of flashlights on the wall. Cement mixers, generators, hammers, crowbars, and even a bicycle pump all had his attention.
At one point, his love for the Three Stooges came out as he showed me what “Moe hit Larry with”…
That’s a big wrench! I was waiting for him to say, “Spread out!”
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Sunday night was a challenge. They had to be back in bed at their normal time because they had to be back to school. They were not too happy (or awake) when I woke them up. Honestly, I wasn’t happy or awake either!
I had meant to post this photo last Friday, but posted a Christmas recap instead. I know that we are into the new year, but it is too cute not to share.
This is Ella in 2020. She’d be 9 months old here. I remember that I bought a Santa hat that read “My First Christmas” for her. However, by this time, it had gotten too small for her.
This was during Covid and it was a very weird Christmas. I love that reindeer shirt she is wearing. It is cropped out of the picture pretty much, but the big plastic thing behind her was the indoor swing we bought for her. She spent so much time in there.
It’s funny to see the Christmas tree in the corner. I don’t remember but one or two years that it was there. Most of the time it is in front of the big living room window. We must have been very trusting here because the gate that we had put up to keep Ella and the cats away from the tree is not up. Maybe we took it down to get to presents? I really don’t know.
It is amazing to look at her baby face. You can see little features that she still has today and features that have sadly faded away with growth. I miss her being this tiny.
*This is a reworking of a blog I originally wrote in 2018
For as long as I can remember, Christmas Eve was always spent with Grandma and Grandpa P. when we were kids. I don’t necessarily know that there was any particular reason for this, I only know that from a very young age, this was the tradition. (2025 – Over the past few years, I have discovered that many Italian families have their big celebration on Christmas Eve rather than Christmas Day.)
I also remember that dreaming of a White Christmas was hardly ever necessary. If my memory serves me right, as a kid, there was maybe one or two Christmases that were we didn’t have snow. It seems that there was a stretch of a few years recently where we were lucky to get a White Christmas. That never seemed to be an issue as a kid.
The excitement for Christmas Eve was a bit different from Christmas Day. Grandma and Grandpa always seemed to ask for our Christmas list early …. like July early! She obviously planned ahead and shopped throughout the year, which must have saved her a ton of hassles finding things. We usually were dressed and ready to go to Grandma’s house by 2 or 3pm. We would arrive knowing at least one thing we could expect to receive – a winter coat. She got us one every year (which we hated, because she’d take us out shopping for it as early as October!).
How about that 8-Track tape case, huh?!
Christmas Eve dinner was always the same with very little variance. Ravioli was the main dish. There would be a feast that included breaded steak, sausage or meatballs, dinner rolls, and just about every other things you could imagine. Grandma prided herself on being able to make dinner that could feed an army! She always made her Ammoglio (pronounced Ah-Moy-Gyoo) sauce to go on top of the steak. This was made up of olive oil, tomatoes, some seasonings and a WHOLE LOT of garlic! I never ate it as a kid, but as an adult – I love it! Everyone who ate it smelled like garlic for like a week!
Dad with the ammoglio sauce and bread. No doubt he was going to be dipping!
There was always a dish with olives (green and black), sweet pickles, and veggies. You would also find a big bowl with pistachios, and another one filled with nuts of all kinds. The nuts were still in the shells, so you had to crack them open with the old silver nutcracker that was probably older than my grandma! I can’t remember, but I think there was also a bowl or two of M&M’s and Hershey’s Kisses out to snack on, too.
For dessert – there were ALWAYS cannoli! Early on I think she made them from scratch (I may have her recipe somewhere), but I really remember her getting them from the Italian bakery. There were also always plenty of cookies! Grandma spent days baking them and by the time she was done, I think she had like 400 dozen! She used to store them in these big tin cans that Better Made Potato Chips used to come it. She always made chocolate chip for me, oatmeal for my brother, cut out sugar cookies and these little ice box cookies that none of us ate … well, I can’t say that … we fed them to the dogs and they seemed to like them a lot!
I recall the year that my grandmother bought my brother and I every Star Wars Figure that was available. There were one or two that were very difficult to find, but she found them. We each got a set! Then there was the year she bought us the Atari 2600! This was long before the fantastic graphics of Play Station or X-Box. The games on this thing were very primitive as far as graphics went! Oh, the hours I spent playing Sea Hunt, Pac-Man, and Pitfall!! Even after all of the gifts were open, there was always an envelope for us. For many years there would be a crisp $100 bill in it. $100 was a LOT of money and I was always amazed at how new the bill was – it was almost like she had printed it herself!
My brother and grandma with Star Wars figures
One Christmas Eve I remember particularly well. Unlike previous years, when we came in the house, we were ushered immediately downstairs. Usually, we went into the sun porch off the back of her house, where tables would be set for dinner and food would be out. This year, dinner was in the basement. We hardly EVER went in the basement, so I wasn’t sure what was happening. In the middle of dinner, we heard a noise from upstairs. Someone was walking (actually stomping, I think) around upstairs. I think she had my great Uncle Ralph come in and do it. My grandma said that Santa was probably up there leaving presents. It was well before midnight, and you know how kids are – we knew that Santa came at midnight and we questioned it. Grandma said she had called and “made special arrangements with Santa”. Looking back on it now, I can totally see Grandma like Don Corleone of the Godfather making “special arrangements” with Santa! At any rate, soon after the noise was gone, we were allowed to go upstairs and into the porch. I am sure I am over exaggerating when I say that the porch looked like Toys R Us! It was loaded with presents and a bike for both my bother and me. I don’t even know how we got the presents home!
Usually after dinner and presents, my brother and I would go watch movies, play the video games, or play with our toys, while the adults went back into the porch to smoke and play cards. Pinochle was what they usually played, although I seem to remember one year they also played gin rummy. Depending on the people who were present, sometimes dad will play his guitar, Uncle Sam would play his accordion, or grandma would sit on the old Hammond organ and sing songs and play. Grandma played by ear and had no sense of tempo (or time signature for you musical folks), so she was either hitting wrong notes or playing ahead or behind everyone else. From a child’s perspective, the music wasn’t very good, so my brother and I would go to another room.
My dad playing guitar after a few alcoholic beverages
When I had finally learned how to play pinochle, I was a welcome addition to the card table. My dad played, but he was usually done after a few games, so I gradually took his place as a “regular” at the table. I LOVED this! We could play forever! Grandpa and mom were always partners. He would often over bid my mom because he thought he had a good hand, then they would lose the hand. They would get so mad at each other. I can still hear my grandpa saying, “I had a good hand!”
Mom and Grandpa. I may have been mom’s partner for this game because Grandpa is next to her.
I remember before I started playing, they would play cards until well after midnight. My brother and I would be struggling to stay awake, our job was to remind mom and dad of how late it was getting – God forbid Santa not come because we weren’t home and in bed! Dad would constantly remind us that he paid for Santa to bring toys, and Santa would “circle the house” until we were home and in bed before delivering the toys.
When I began working in radio, it seemed that I was always on the air on Christmas Eve. One of the “on air” traditions that I started was to call grandma and ask her how the preparations for dinner were coming. She would go into detail about what was on the menu and what time dinner was. She would often razz me on the air and warned me not to be late. She was an instant hit. It was amazing how many people would call and ask if I was gonna check in with Grandma!
I can hear her laugh in this picture.
Over the years, the faces of Christmas Eve changed. Some years there were more relatives than others. Aunt Rose became a staple after Uncle Sam passed away. After Grandpa passed away, friends of the family often came by and the pinochle games continued. As the years passed, there seemed to be more reflecting on Christmas Eves of the past with laughter and sadness.
Over the last few years, Christmas and Christmas Eve has undergone many more changes. While many of the voices of Christmas Eve have been silenced, those wonderful memories warm my heart. I look back at the memories fondly, and I also look forward to the new memories that will be made.
This year (2018), my two amazing sons will be with us Christmas Eve morning to open presents with us. They are older, but still full of excitement. When they saw the gifts under the tree their reactions were typical for their age. Dimitri, 11, saw the big box and said “Whoa, is that for us?”, while Dante’, 16, said “Is this all of the presents, or will there be more?” (2025 – Dante’ is now 23 and Dimitri 18)
I sit writing this as everyone in the house is still asleep. Sam and I have joked around at what is in the big box under the tree more than once. The camera is ready to capture the moments from this Christmas Eve, ready to provide them both with memories to look back on themselves in years to come. I hope that someday, they will look back at Christmas Eve as one of their favorite holidays, just like I do.
One of many Christmas Eves at Grandma’s house. This was when we actually dressed up for holidays!
With the arrival of Ella in 2020, Christmas Eve with my boys continued. They would be with us until later afternoon and then they would return to their mom to prepare for Christmas day.
After that year, it sort of became a “What day can we all get together?” kind of thing. Dante’ was working and was spending more time with his friends. Dimitri didn’t come over much after Dante’ turned 18. When that happened, I began to look forward to the days that all of my kids were together with me.
2022 – My dad and Rose also came over that year.
We are still trying to work everything out for this year. I’m hoping that they can come Christmas Eve. My brother will be coming up that day and will be around for the last part of Christmas Eve and the early part of Christmas Day. I’m not sure when the last time the boys saw him. Fingers crossed for a wonderful Christmas Eve 2025!
As I mentioned in a past blog, the family didn’t get family holiday photos this year. Our schedules and budget did not allow for that. So when my coworker said her husband was playing Santa and that her friend was a photographer, I had to take advantage of this.
As the kids and I parked outside the photo studio, they both asked where the sleigh and reindeer were! I think I said they were on a coffee break. Lol
We were greeted by a large elf. He showed around and then we got photos done. Ella had drawn a picture for him. He was thrilled to get it. My coworker said he brought it home
I loved watching this. Andrew seemed a little unsure at first, but wound up having quite a conversation with him.
Ella never has a problem chatting with people. She talked about her Barbies, the new puppy, and whatever else came into head.
They both really had fun. The photographer got a couple solo shots, too
Santa was a giant compared to those two.
It wasn’t so noticable when he was sitting.
Of course, my kids told Santa that dad probably needed to be on the Naughty List .
Because they told on me, I had to plead my case.
I guess I will find out if my begging worked on Christmas Day!
When my wife decided that we were going to do the Elf on the Shelf thing, I wondered just how difficult it would be. When you see those funny videos of a mom or dad shooting up in bed at 5am saying “The Elf!” and then running to move it, that is not a joke.
There have been plenty of times this year where our Elf, Twinkles, is in the same spot as the day before. The puppy is a good excuse, “She must have been afraid to move because she thought the puppy would get her.” That only works a couple times. I knew I had to do something that would make up for those days of no movement.
So, last week, I told the kids I couldn’t find my phone. I had them looking around for it too. I finally “found” it by my work bag. Before I left for work, I texted the following to my wife’s phone:
“Hey guys. It’s Twinkles. I have your dad’s phone. I didn’t want you to worry about where I was, so I wanted to let you know. It’s our little secret.”
That text came with this:
When they called me before bed, I told them that something weird was happening. My phone kept moving all over the office. Throughout the night I planned on sending pictures one by one. However, it was a busy night, so I sent them all at one time in the morning.
Twinkles sure did have some fun …
Hanging out on the IV pole with my equipment Napping in one of the empty patient roomsMaking a mess in the shredderTrying to steal my co-worker Amy’s popMaking one of the front desk staff’s stocking her ownChilling in the employee freezerProbably my favorite of the night. Copying her butt on the copier!
These pictures were popping up in text messages as my wife and I were talking on the phone. Ella was in the car waiting to go into school. With each picture she would crack up . She was loving every minute of it. When my wife picked up Andrew from school, she showed him. He came in to wake me up for work and said, “Dad! Did you know Twinkles was at your work!?’
What was really funny was that two of my co-workers said, “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have brought mine in from home too! They could have had a real party. Maybe next year…
*The majority of this blog was written in 2019 and has been updated with additional photos and stories.
(2025) The kids were watching some Mickey Mouse holiday special on Disney+ recently. I cannot recall the name of the song, but some of the lyrics are a perfect lead in to this blog:
“Every time I see a Christmas tree Something lights up inside of me My heart is filled with electricity There’s reason to cheer Christmas is nearly herе“
Radio stations across the country will often begin playing all Christmas music after Thanksgiving. The adult contemporary station I worked at always did. Of course, Sirius XM’s Christmas music channels also start popping up around the same time or earlier.
(2019) One song always really sticks out to me each Christmas, mainly because it really isn’t a Christmas song – Linus & Lucy (AKA the Charlie Brown theme) from the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fun song that immediately makes be think of Charlie Brown and the gang, but it is a song that is used in basically every Charlie Brown special. Personally, the soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas special is one of my favorites.
O Tannenbaum is the instrumental that kicks off the album. Many know the song as simply “Oh Christmas Tree”. (In case you were wondering, a tannenbaum is a fir tree). It’s one of my favorite versions of the song. I had the chance to hear it over the weekend and it got me to thinking about the Christmas Tree. I recently had the chance to go through a bunch of family pictures and I was surprised at how many of them included the Christmas tree. This blog is sort of a “pictorial” blog featuring some of those pictures.
As I looked through the pictures, it was fun to see the various decorations and the toys under the tree. Bear with me, as some of the years I am guessing on …
The above picture is of my dad in 1951. He would be 5 here. As I look at this picture, I see a little of me, my brother, and my oldest son in my dad.
The above picture is my mom. Just a guess, but this is probably from 1953 or 1954, as she looks 5-6 years old here. I think it is cute that she seems to be in pajamas and wearing dress shoes. Tinsel seemed to be really big in the 50’s! There’s quite a bit on this tree. I wonder what that “Little Painter” set is worth today….
The above picture is my dad, home on leave from Vietnam. The date is 1967. I really have no idea what that tree is made of. Eventually, my grandma had a ceramic tree that my mom made that stood about as high as the one in the photo. That would sit proudly in the same spot in the front window. This one looks … fluffy, and seems to have a strand of lights on it. Anyway, there are other pictures of my dad with both his mom and his dad next to this tree, too.
My folks told me that the local paper used to put names and addresses of servicemen who were overseas in the paper for people to send letters. Both of my parents were from the same city and my mom sent my dad letters. That is basically how they met and eventually marry. With those letters, occasional pictures were sent back and forth.
I think the above picture is one my mom sent to my dad. I am not 100% sure. I am not sure because I don’t know where this was taken. It would seem to me that this would be a picture that she would send to my dad overseas. There are some things that really jump out at me in the picture. Note the “sunbust” clock on the wall – I know my grandma had one of those. Also, note the cool Hi-Fi with the ceramic cat on it. This was a record player and radio. It probably also played 8 track tapes and stored records. I know my dad, and my grandpa each had one of them.
I know for a fact that this was taken at my grandma’s house. I know this because of the fireplace and the huge wooden fork and spoon on the wall behind the TV. In my lifetime, I don’t recall my grandparents ever putting a tree on the TV, so I am guessing this is before I came around.
One thing that really caught my eye is the “paper rack” between the fireplace and the TV. It seems like everyone in my family had one. After you finished reading the newspaper, you’d put it in the rack. Magazines would sometimes go there, too. When it got too full, they’d pull out a paper grocery bag and put everything in it to go out to the garbage.
I was born in May of 1970. I was 7 months old for my first Christmas. I am thankful that my folks took lots of pictures. A few of my favorites all come from 1970, all for different reasons.
The above picture is my and my great-grandpa. He passed away shortly after this. It is the only picture I have of him and I.
I am not 100%, but I believe this picture was taken in my mom and dad’s apartment. My dad can correct me if I am wrong. I remember that stuffed Bugs Bunny to my right very well.
I am pretty sure that this is at my grandma and grandpa’s house. What I love about this picture is a little foreshadowing. One of my favorite sports to participate in is bowling. I love that I am propped up next to a balling ball bag in this picture.
This is absolutely one of my favorite pictures of my mom and me. It was taken at my grandparents house, probably Christmas Eve. I love this picture so much, because it reminds me of another … which I will share in a few pictures.
The above is obviously from the same year. This time, I am with mom and dad. My grandma always kept her house hot, so mom took off her vest. Dad, who is ALWAYS hot, must not have felt it was too warm, because his is still on here.
One more from the same year (and you won’t have to look at that brown bowling ball bag anymore!), here is my and my grandpa. I always loved this picture of us. I was his first grandchild, and you can see just how happy he is here.
These are my mom’s parents – Grandma and Grandpa D. The date on the picture says 1970, but another scan from my brother says 1967. Not really sure. It could easily be 1970, though. It is one of my favorites of them. The tree is in the corner where my grandpa’s recliner used to always be.
The date on the above picture is October of 72, which means I am 1 here. This is at Grandma D’s house. That is my Aunt Jodi holding the bear. She is 5 years older than me. Note in the background, another Hi-Fi. My grandpa used to have big band records that I used to listen to with headphones.
The above picture was taken at our old house on Brandywine. I am about 4 here and my brother is probably just 2. The thing that stands out in this picture is the ornaments on the tree. See those diamond crocheted things? Yeah, my mom made them. She had many hobbies and this particular year, she was crocheting everything! I remember a maroon vest that she made for me. At any rate, those ornaments were two squares, with a piece of an egg carton in the middle, and a tail hanging down. I am sure she made these for many people. I remember seeing them on other family members Christmas trees.
A year later, same house, and same ornaments! You can see them a little better in this picture. I am probably 5 here, while my brother is 3. This would be the last Christmas at this house, as we moved the following year. A couple things (besides the ornaments) stand out in the picture. First, there is the organ I used to play, and mentioned in a past blog about my music lessons. Next, I remember those Ernie and Big Bird stuffed animals! Then there is that picture above the organ – it’s two horses. I think everyone in my family had that picture. Maybe a family member painted it? Finally, and this should get my wife’s OCD going, note that I am wearing the pants from one pair of PJs and the shirt from another in this picture! Good Lord!!!
The picture above has to be from 1977. My grandma bought us each a set of Star Wars figures that year. I think there were like 20 issued the first year. I remember my grandma having trouble finding the Jawa figures. This picture would have been Christmas morning, and we had gotten the figures the night before at grandma’s. If I remember right, we had the big Han Solo and Jawa dolls (pictured here) and Boba Fett and Princess Leia.
What I love most about this picture is that my mom is in it wearing this yellow robe. I have written about her yellow robe in previous blogs. She wore this thing SO much that it was stained and had tears and holes in it. She loved this robe. Eventually we bought her a new one for Christmas one year and she wore that. We assumed that she threw this one away, but after she passed away, we found it in the back of the closet! I have a “memory bear” made out of this robe.
The above has to be from 1978. If you can look past my brother’s golf pants and my wacky shirt, you will see a Tie Fighter and X-Wing Fighter. You can see the tree set up on the TV, but cannot really see the amazing display on my grandma’s mantel. Every year, she put up angels, Santa, reindeer, trees, snow and more. There was one piece that always stood out – a little mouse that was in a flower arrangement that I sent her when she was in the hospital. She put that up every year!
It obviously took my folks awhile to develop film! This is from Christmas of 78, and was not developed until August of 79! First, I love how skinny I am in this picture! Second, I remember having the sliding wooden doors that covered the doorwall. I have to chuckle because of the bowling trophy and chalice sitting on top of the door frame.
I also remember the bad paneling in the living room! I can see the Polaroid camera on the TV, the candy jar, and the glass candle sticks that my mom had. I wish I could make out more of the presents under the tree, but I remember really wanting this game. I also remember that star on the tree. It was made of hard plastic and the ends were very sharp! So sharp in fact, that it could probably be used as a weapon.
The above picture is of my dad’s folks, my Grandma and Grandpa P. This was in 1979 – I remember that was the year that everyone was taking Polaroids! At family gatherings, everyone took pictures and wrote their last name on the bottom, so they knew what pictures belonged to what family! A couple things I notice right away: The tree topper, I never understood just what the hell it was! It wasn’t a star, it was just this spaceship shaped thing that lit up! I remember the musical angels on the wall. They moved from room to room as I recall.
Then there is my Grandma’s beehive hair. She wore it this way for SO long! I also notice the pack of cigarettes in my grandpa’s pocket – you could bet they were either Lucky Strikes or Pall Malls. It looks like he is wearing a bracelet in this picture. I don’t remember him wearing one, but he did here. Just love this picture!!
The above is from 1980. This is my brother and me, with my cousins Arin and Melissa. This is at my Grandma and Grandpa D’s. A couple thoughts on this one – I am holding the very cool Coleco Head to Head Baseball game which I loved. I do not remember that bear I am holding! This is probably the year that my grandpa bought me my cribbage board, too! What is sad about this picture, is knowing that my grandpa would pass away in less than a year after this picture was taken.
Jumping many years ahead now for the above picture. Remember the picture of my mom and me by the tree from earlier? It reminds me of this picture. This is my mom and my oldest son, Dante’. This may not have been her last Christmas, I think Dante is 2 here. She loved him so much and I see the same joy in her smile here as I do in the picture of her holding me.
The above picture is about a year or so before my divorce. It’s my sons, Dante’ and Dimitri. I just love this picture because these two guys (no matter how much they may fight) really love each other. This was such a spontaneous picture and it remains one of my favorites of the boys!
The above picture is from Christmas Eve (2018) morning. Christmas Eve was always bigger than Christmas on my dad’s side of the family. The fact that I get the boys every Christmas Eve Morning to open up gifts is so special to me. I cannot wait until they can celebrate it with their sister (which would happen in February of 2020). They are going to be such great brothers to her.
The above picture is from 2018 (on the right) and 2017 (on the left). When we first got Moe (left) he got up in the tree! When Maizey came along in 2018, the fact that she was almost in the same exact spot as Moe the year before made me laugh. So I put together this comparison picture. It still makes me laugh!!
This picture (along with the song I mentioned earlier) was the reason for this blog. As I mentioned, so many favorite pictures involve the Christmas tree. I took this picture of Sam just the other night. It was her idea. The silhouette of her baby bump against the lights of the Christmas tree is just beautiful!! I posted it on Facebook (she did, too) and I mention how I cannot stop looking at it!
The reason is that it brings about so many feelings: Feelings of love for my beautiful wife. Feelings of joy and nostalgia – because it is Christmastime and the Christmas Tree. Feelings of excitement and anticipation – because the baby will be here soon. Feelings of happiness – because the picture brings a smile to my face every time I see it.
In the years ahead, I hope that more and more wonderful pictures will be captured near the Christmas tree … so I can reflect on them, too!
(2025)
Above are the boys in 2019. Dante’ would be graduating in June. Ella would be making her debut in about 2 months. I can see the ornament we got that year from Bronners. It is the cup of Hot chocolate with 5 marshmallows. Each marshmallow has our names on it – for the 5th one, it says “Baby P.”
Christmas in 2020 was strange because we were still technically in the middle of the pandemic. I was glad that everyone was well enough to be together on Christmas Eve. Ella’s first Christmas was extra special to me because with her being so young, it brought back a renewed love and excitement for the Christmas magic experienced by her.
Christmas of 2021 was fun because Ella was finally at a point where she was aware or presents and wanted to open them. It was Andrew’s first Christmas, and he was just a little over 2 months old. What I love about the above photo is her reaction to the presents under the tree. It has that “How did all these presents get here?” feel to it.
My wife almost always has the tree up Thanksgiving weekend. In 2022, Andrew was a little over a year old and he was curious about everything. Both kids were helping me that year. I was sure to give Andrew the honor of placing the tree topper that year.
I’m pretty sure that the kids had us up super early on Christmas morning of 2023. They both were excited that morning. The Barbie Castle and train table were huge hits. This photo reminds me of having to put them together into the wee hours of the morning. I just love their matching pajamas. I have to chuckle about the “cage” around the bottom of the tree to keep them and the cat away from the tree.
Last year, Christmas Eve. I love that Andrew and Ella are wearing Bluey pajamas. Bluey was a big show for them. Andrew was happy that they finally got to hold Twinkles, their elf, before he went back to the North Pole.
The boys were over earlier in the day. We always tried to get a picture in front of the tree every year. By last year, they’d grown so much that you can barely see the tree in the back. You can, however, see the snowman’s hat from the top of the tree – it makes Dante’ look like he is wearing it.
Surprisingly, I haven’t taken any picture of the kids by the tree this year. I’ll have to be sure to make that happen. I know we are trying to figure out when the boys will be able to get us all together.
The Christmas tree. It will forever be connected to warm feelings and memories for me. So that lyric I quoted earlier … it really expresses the truth:
“Every time I see a Christmas tree Something lights up inside of me My heart is filled with electricity There’s reason to cheer Christmas is nearly herе“
The entire family was home Friday night. We took advantage of a mild Halloween night and went trick or treating.
Andrew was a SWAT team member, while Ella was a unicorn fairy. She wore a hat, so the unicorn horn stayed home.
We walked the entire neighborhood (a little over a mile) and had a nice night. It’s always great running into other neighbors and their kids out and about.
One thing I noticed was that neighbors were giving kids a choice this year. “You can take two pieces from each bowl,” or “We have potato chips, popsicles, or candy. Pick one.” Well, wait just one cotton picking minute….
We never got a choice as a kid! We took what they handed to us. Then we’d go home and create a “keep” pile, a “garbage” pile and a “mom or dad” pile. None of my kids like Almond Joy. I always had a ton of them after Halloween. This year, they picked their favorites, so zero for me this year.
By the end of the night, they were pooped. But both were in awe of our neighbor’s huge pumpkin, so they had to get a picture in front of it.
Yesterday was a lazy day. We stayed home and I took down the Halloween stuff. I probably should have taken advantage of the mild weather and put up the outdoor Christmas stuff, but I didn’t.
Instead, I began to rake the leaves. I wound up with a big pile, but no leaf bags. I apparently used them earlier in the year. The kids didn’t mind at all.
We had Parent-Teacher conferences last week. We are thrilled that both kids are doing well. We found out things that Andrew was doing in school that we didn’t know he could do. We both felt kind of bad when we were done. “Gee, how dumb did we look when she said he could spell his name?” (Up to this point all we’ve seen him write is an “A.”
We’ve got some pretty color on the trees this year. Slowly but surely, the leaves are tumbling to the ground. It is still too early to start raking, however, I knew the kids would enjoy jumping in the big pile.
Ella’s hair in that one picture cracks me up. She had a blast!
She got to go on a playdate with a friend this weekend. It was about 25 minutes from us in Holly. They do a Dickens Festival every year where everyone dresses up in period costumes and they sing Christmas carols. I’ve never been to it, but really hope to go this year.
Since Andrew was with me, we decided to find something to do while Ella played. First we found an old railway station. It still stands, but most of the windows are boarded up. He thought it was cool. He walked around it and looked in to see the inside when he could. Then we walked the railroad tracks for a bit hoping to find a railroad spike or two (no luck).
After we got back in the car, I found that there was a cider mill not too far away. So we drove over there to get cider and donuts.
He loved checking out the old trucks that were there and running in the hay maze. There was a wooden train that he played on, too. There was a guy under a tent playing gospel songs on his guitar and we sat and ate donuts while we listened.
We thought about getting pumpkins, but decided it was best to wait and go when all of us could be there. We certainly enjoyed our “guy time” together. We got a little bit more yesterday when Ella went to the doctor. Andrew and I sat in my bedroom and I watched him play my Forza Horizon game. He loves busting up fences and, as seen in the next photo, loves chasing animals.
We’re closing in on Halloween and I know the kids are excited. How about you?
This past Friday I was up early and off to the state capitol. One of the bigger sleep conferences was being held at the Kellogg Center on the campus of Michigan State University. I had no idea how bad traffic was going to be so I was on the road by 5:30am. I arrived about 6:45am and had plenty of time to check in.
The conference was one of the best I have been to. There were some great sessions that talked about dreams and their connection with trauma, another one about “sleepwalking’ crimes, and a discussion about later school start times. The speakers were good, so it was easy to stay engaged.
The highlight for me was running into one of the gals who was in the sleep program with me. She has moved up in the world and is now working for one of the companies that does home sleep studies. She noticed me first and called my name. When I turned to see who it was, there were hugs all around.
We had to do presentations in class on a certain sleep disorder. She totally went out and bought one of the “old man” hats I always wore, got some felt and made herself a mustache and goatee and presented as me. It was hilarious! There was so much to catch up on. We’re hoping to get the families together to catch up more soon.
On Saturday, the kids had a birthday party that they were invited to. It was held at a bowling alley. Ella has only been bowling once and this was Andrew’s first time. They started out using the ramps to roll the ball…
It didn’t take long for them to just start throwing them without the ramp. Andrew somehow managed to throw the ball and get it stuck between the gutter and the bumpers. Ella was just happy to get the ball to knock down pins. Andrew decided to relax as the ball rolled down the alley.
My brother came up from Ohio this weekend. He had asked me if we were going to be around and that was before I knew about the birthday party. So after the birthday party we went to Frankenmuth where the Scarecrow Festival was going on.
They had pumpkin bowling, bounce houses, pumpkin launching and more. Many of the little shops had their own pumpkin scarecrows outside. Guests could vote for the best one on their phones. The kids liked seeing many of them.
The weather was mild, so it was nice enough to walk around without jackets. We walked around the Riverplace shops and also went to the Castle Shops and visited the bakery. Cookies all around!
Whether we were just too busy catching up or chasing the kids, my brother and I only got to grab one picture while we were there.
Around 6 all the fun stuff outdoors shut down. We were all hungry, so we decided to go to this little Italian place just outside of town. Neither of us had ever been there. It was delicious. I had lasagna which reminded me of a place my folks use to eat at all the time. Ella opted for spaghetti (which is noodles with butter and no sauce for her.) I usually cut it up for her, but she decided to eat it right from the bowl. I love this picture of her …
Andrew, who loves spaghetti, threw me for a loop when he asked for a grilled cheese and French fries. How do you make that Italian? If you look closely at his plate, you will see that he has put parmesan cheese all over his food.
When we left to go home, it poured rain. It was monsoon rain. There was thunder and lightening, which Andrew thought was really cool to see at night.
My brother and Stacey stopped over Sunday and hung out most of the day. They brought the kids Happy Meals and some gifts. Ella got a Barbie and Ken doll – both were decked out for soccer. Andrew got some monster trucks and this cool thing that you toss up in the air and it floats around. You control it with your hands. It was pretty cool.
Our visit was cut short because I had to give the kids baths and get them in bed for school the next day. They are always glad to see them. One day I hope to be able to make the drive down to Ohio with the kids to see them.
I’ll wrap up with something I just thought was cool. I love high school football. One thing I’ve noticed as years have gone by is the increase of the presence of law enforcement at games. At one high school the policemen really got into things. They were cheering for the home team and telling folks they had better, too.
Check out these two law officers being held up by the cheerleaders. I love the sign: Cheer or go to jail!
I love seeing stuff like this! Kudos to these officers – and the cheer team!
After an almost 5 hour rain delay, my Tigers dropped game 3 of the ALDS. The Mariners beat them 8-4 yesterday. If they lose this afternoon, they are done. If they win, they still have to take game 5. I am still hopeful for them to advance to the ALCS. I doesn’t look good, though.
The stats are in Seattle’s favor. In all best-of-five postseason series tied 1-1, the Game 3 winner has advanced 47 out of 66 times (71.2%). Moreover, in Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams playing Game 4 on the road with a 2-1 lead have advanced 23 out of 34 times (67.7%), closing the series in Game 4 on 19 of those occasions.
On Saturday, my daughter was out on the soccer field again. I had a talk with her beforehand. I told her that if the coach wanted her out on the field, she couldn’t say “I need a break” and not play. That being said, she played a lot this week.
She was so proud of herself. She scored two goals this week. Of course, she was very generous in that one of those goals was for the other team.
I felt so bad for her. They had her in goalie during one period. When they scored on her, she dropped to her knees and cried. She felt so bad that she let the ball get by her. The coach had to kneel down next to her and tell her it was ok. After holding up the game for about 5 minutes, she was up again and playing.
I love that Andrew’s school posts pictures on their app. I will often ask what he did at school and he’ll say, “I don’t remember.” Having the occasional picture helps to see what they are working on.
They are working on the letter A this week. He came home and had to practice on the white board.
The A on the top right is what we drew as a guide. He’s getting it.
Last week was my first week back on midnights. I did better than I thought. I didn’t feel tired until the last couple hours of my last night. This is week 2 and I hope it goes as well as last week.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 