Life’s Little Moments

With 4 days left until Christmas, I thought I would share a little update.

Despite the many Christmas posts, I am not really feeling “Christmassy” this year. It seems like our family is focused on one event and once that is done, we’re on to the next one. Point A to Point B, then on to Point C. We haven’t had two minutes to really appreciate the season, even though we are decked out and have done some holiday activities.

Once Ella’s dance recital was over, the focus shifted to her surgery. She had an ear tube that was stuck. She also was set to have tonsils and adenoids taken out, if they needed to be. The surgery was on Thursday and she did really well! The tonsils got to stay, but the adenoids came out.

If you do “Elf on the Shelf,” you know the kids are not supposed to touch the elf. If they do, it loses its magic and cannot fly back to the North Pole. The morning of her surgery, there was a note from “Santa’ that said that he gave Twinkles (the elf) special powers for that day. She could hold her and take her to the hospital with her. She was thrilled!!

We arrived at 6am and were on our way home by 9:30! It’s crazy how they shove you out of there after surgery! When we got home, we all took a nap, and there was a special surprise that awaited.

You may remember this from last year. One of our neighbors puts out a mailbox for kids in the neighborhood to mail letters to Santa. Each child receives a response. The kids love to go there and drop the letter in the mailbox.

The neighbor messaged me on Facebook and asked if there was a good time to drop off a letter. I told her about the surgery and she said she would drop it off then. After our nap, we woke up and I told the kids, “You will never guess who just texted me!”

They asked who it was and I said “I’m not sure, but it says it is a North Pole number!” I said that there were photos attached. So I opened them in front of them.

Santa himself delivered their letter!!! When they saw the pictures, they both ran to the front door. I opened it and we looked around. He must have got back in the sleigh and went home! They wanted me to look in the mailbox and sure enough, there was his letter. Talk about two giddy kids!!

It looks like they both made the nice list and will be getting what they asked for this year. Thanks, Santa!!

Christmas Rock

This was too cool not to share. In Flint, MI, there is a big square rock. It has been there as long as I have lived in mid-Michigan. I’ve seen a lot of things on it. People have spray painted memorials to loved ones who have passed away. Sometimes it is in honor of the anniversary of their passing. There have been marriage proposals in it. There have been patriotic tributes for events like 9/11. There have been funny paintings and sad paintings.

For Christmas, a local mural artist named Johnny Fletcher did his part to get folks in the Christmas season. The first mural, which was featured on many websites, featured the mean one – the Grinch.

This mural became the talk of the town. A week or so later, he did yet another one. This time it was of a couple of misfits!

The quality of his work is truly amazing. It didn’t take long for folks to ask if they could buy a print of these. I hear he was selling them through his Facebook and personal site. Those would look pretty cool on a wall. However, they look downright amazing on this HUGE rock.

The countdown to Christmas continues … Have a great weekend.

Our Ballerina Girl

Ella has been in dance for a while now. Sam has been taking her to the classes because I work on the nights of class. Outside of her showing me a few things at home, I hadn’t had a chance to see her dance yet.

Friday night was the dress rehearsal and both Sam and I got to go watch. Seeing my little girl all dressed up in her costume and makeup was more emotional than I thought. Because of miscommunication, they were told that all dancers had to have eye liner, mascara, blush, lipstick and a variety of other products. When I looked at her face, she looked 16!

At rehearsal, the director said that girls 7 and older needed full makeup, and those under needed only blush and lipstick. That was nice to hear, but it would have saved us $100 in make up if they had been more clear. She still looked older with the blush and lipstick on.

Her class performed two songs. One was ballet and one was tap. When she hit the stage during rehearsal, I watched he dance and welled up with all the dad emotions. I can’t believe that it hit me as hard as it did.

Sam had been telling me how much she loved being in dance. I didn’t realize how much she loved it until I watched her on stage. She is entirely in her element there. She loves ballet more than tap, as she has told us that a few times.

The dress rehearsal lasted about 3 hours. There were plenty of other groups dancing, too. Almost all of the dancers are aged 3 to 18. There was also a group of special needs adults who danced, as well. The rehearsal was a complete run-through with stops for repeating parts or blocking out where dancers were to stand.

Yesterday was the day of the show. They did a 2pm performance and a 7pm performance. The show was 2 hours long, so it was a very long day for everyone, but especially Ella. Almost everyone was at the 2pm show. My dad, Sam’s parents, Aunt Margaret, and Aunt Shannon were all there.

At the end of her first performance, She received flowers from Aunt Margaret, my dad, her little brother Andrew and a bear from me. She was so excited. She posed for pictures with everyone before they left. Andrew went to Nana’s house so that we could grab dinner and get her back to the second show.

We went to Applebee’s where she ate and had a huge chocolate dessert for dancing so well. We made it back in time for her to change back into her costume and get ready for the evening show.

During the first show, Sam had volunteered to help with the kids in the back. She got to watch from the side backstage for that first show, however, was glad to be able to sit in the audience for the 7pm show. It was so nice to be sitting together and watching our baby girl shine.

Our friend, Miss Christa, came with her daughter and watched the night show. She brought Ella a book about a ballerina, which we had to read before bedtime last night.

For each show, she was on stage about a total of 6-7 minutes. It was a very long day, but those 12-14 minutes will forever stay with me. I am so proud of her and how wonderful she danced. I am already excited for the next recital!

Life’s Little Moments

The week was a busy one to start with. Add a holiday to that and it get’s crazy!

This week, Ella only had to go to school two days.

They made turkeys out of paper plates. They also asked each child what they were thankful for. (“I’m thankful for when mommy tucks me in at night.”) They also colored and feathered a turkey. I love that she is spelling her full name now.

Andrew and I worked on a project on Sunday. He helped me install the new toilet seat. This one has a kid potty seat built right into it. I couldn’t have done it with out him.

Friday was absolutely insane. We rushed around so much! As crazy as it was, we spent the morning as a family. Quality time was much needed. First, we went to our amazing photographer, Beth, and did Christmas pictures. As always, she got some fantastic shots.

The photo shoot is a “mini” session, so it is about 15 minutes long. That is perfect, because that’s about all that the kids can do without going nuts!

I see Ella every day. But it wasn’t until I saw last year’s pictures that I really see how much she has grown. The same with Andrew. They wind up looking like teenagers!

Look at that kid!

We got some great poses with the entire family, too. We’ll need to figure out which one goes on the Christmas card this year. I really like this one:

One thing I don’t feel like we get enough of is photos of Sam and me. So I had Beth snap a few for us.

Oh, how I love this woman!

After the photo session, we all went to breakfast. This is something that we rarely do, so it was a treat for all of us! We stopped by the local Cracker Barrel and enjoyed a delicious meal.

The kids were surprised that they could order whatever they wanted. Pancakes? Waffles? French Toast? Sausage? Bacon? Eggs? You name it, kid! You got it! Ella opted for blueberry pancakes with eggs and bacon. She’s a gal after my own heart.

Andrew ate his own meal (eggs, bacon, toast, and biscuits) and a bit of mom and dad’s, too! The thing he kept asking for was coffee! (That’s my boy!) He thought he was cool drinking from a big boy cup, too!

When I see this picture, I think of the future. I can see him sitting on the porch with me. We each have a coffee in our hands and we’re discussing how good life is…

Let’s slow down a bit, though, okay? Let’s not grow old too fast.

Life’s Little Moments

Superstar

It was an exciting thing this week to see how well Ella is doing in school. She brought home a “book” that they were working on with her. It is short words with the short “a” sound. She read the entire thing to us! “Max The Cat” was the book and she did such a great job. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I wish I could figure out how to post the video.

I Was Being Honest

It looks like Sam’s side of the family is doing Thanksgiving on the Friday after the holiday. I was at work one night this week and she texted me about it. That was followed by, “So what do you want to do on Thanksgiving?”

Me, being me, I replied with two photos:

and ….

I think she is gonna be just fine with that!

Speaking of the Lions…

I don’t want to get TOO excited about this and I certainly don’t want to jinx anything, but ….

That brought a tear to my eye. I truly hope that they continue to play well and win games. It has been an amazing year of firsts for my team and I am very happy for them, our state, and my fellow fans.

I have always watched them. Even the year they went 0-16! It hasn’t been pretty, but I have always been a fan. I found a T-Shirt that I need to get myself.

A photo for no reason at all…

One week from today is Thanksgiving. So I asked AI to make me in a turkey hat.

You’re welcome.

Chipmunks and Excavators Drive Me Crazy!

Parenting can be rough some days! This week, Sam had a doctor appointment, so I had to take Ella to school. Afterward, I had to drop Andrew off at Nana’s house so I could go to work.

Usually he is all about going to Nana’s. For whatever reason, he did not want to go. He was clinging on to Sam when it was time to leave. Eventually, I had to just scoop him up or Ella was going to be late.

This led to a non-stop meltdown. He fought to get buckled in his seat. He was kicking the back of my seat. He was screaming and crying.

The drive to the school is about 30 minutes, and then we have to wait a few minutes before we can go inside. I was not in the mood to listen to him scream for that long.

Normally, I can put on the kid music channel on Sirius XM and that works. He will settle down most of the time. That morning, however, he didn’t. Ella suggested playing his two favorite songs. After 10 minutes I was ready to try anything.

The first song is from the most annoying kid host EVER – Blippi. He has way too much energy and he just gets on my nerves. Andrew loves his music. So I searched for The Excavator Song. God help me…..

While the crying slowed down a little, it didn’t stop. So Ella suggested another song, Chipmunk At The Gas Pump. Yeah, you read that right.

The kids have a few sing-along Tonies. (A Tonie box has figures you can buy and set on top of it and it plays songs or stories.) One of them is from the Laurie Berkner Band. They do a lot of kid songs. Apparently, the Chipmunk song is on there. So I had Google find it and I played that next.

So the song is goofy enough, and then you see the video and it takes a whole new turn….

Anyway, the crying stops midway through this one. When it is over he says he wants the Blippi song again. When that is over, Ella wants the Chipmunk song again. And it goes on like this for the remainder of the trip.

After I drop him at Nana’s, I head into work. Almost four hours later, I am going through patient charts and for no reason at all I start singing, “Jump! Jump! Pump it up! Chipmunk at the gas pump…”

My coworkers looked at me like I was nuts. Rightfully so. The next day, I was shaving and that doggone Excavator Song wouldn’t get out of my head…. Urgh!!

Yeah, parenting is rough some days.

Friday Photo Flashback

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. My Facebook feed is full of friends posting their 30 Days of Thanks. Everyday they post something they are thankful for. Personally, I believe we can find something to be thankful for every day of the year.

I was transferring pictures from one hard drive to another this week and found a picture of Ella. She’s probably nine months old here.

That turkey hat was something I bought to wear when we hosted Thanksgiving. I remember putting it on her and snapping this picture. She has always been the perfect photo subject. She always seemed to know how to pose.

It is so hard to believe that she was ever this small. I love the rolled pants! That Gobble shirt/onesie was one of 3 or 4 that all had some sort of Thanksgiving phrase on it. Sam was always good about getting “holiday themed” outfits.

When I looked at this picture, I laughed because of the baby gate surrounding the Christmas tree. With the new kitty, we’ll need something like that to keep her away from the tree … And out of it!

Sam has already said that there will be no ornaments on the tree this year. There are too many important ornaments that might break. Instead, I have been instructed to go out and buy “a crap ton” (her words) of LED lights for it.

I’m sure my weekend will be filled with holiday decorating. Especially since she usually is in full blown Christmas mode on November 1st!

Life’s Little Moments

I’ve been having fun on the blog in the last week or so. However, we’ve experienced our share of rough stuff at home. Hopefully, we’re working our way towards the end of it.

Germs!

It started with Ella about three weeks ago. She went to urgent care with a fever. They said it was an ear infection and sinus infection and to follow up with her primary doc. They confirmed what urgent care said and we did a round of antibiotics. She missed a week of school and went back. She hung on to a deep cough, but she had no fever. The cough continued and we took her back to the doctor who told us it was due to drainage. When she spiked another high fever, we were back at the doc who gave us another antibiotic.

Saturday, she wasn’t really herself. My brother was in town and she was kind of clingy. On Sunday, my brother was supposed to come back over, however, plans changed. Ella woke up with a fever of 105.1. So it was off to the ER.

She was miserable. They swabbed her to check for Covid, Strep, and any other virus. They gave her Motrin and the fever started to break. They took her for x-rays to check for pneumonia, too. We were there from 8:30am until about 2pm. No pneumonia, urinalysis was fine, chest was clear, but she does have a form of Coronavirus that is not Covid. She came home and immediately fell asleep on the couch.

She slept for almost five hours. Sam stayed up with Andrew while I was at the ER. When we got home she laid down to nap, too. My brother didn’t know how long we’d be and figured it was best to let Ella rest. He ended up going home early. So it was just me and Andrew.

We went outside and raked leaves. He was pretty proud of the big pile we made, and he wanted a picture.

Andrew, Sam and me have all had a cough. Sam seems to have gotten what Ella has. Andrew and I are just coughing. I hope this goes away!

Kit Kat Club?

Sam ordered a cat tree for the kitten. She is extremely playful and loves to claw at things. The hope is that she will sharpen her claws on it, and use it to rest. I don’t think that is going to be an issue….

Keith – AI

I was scrolling Facebook this week and something popped up. It was some AI thing that Facebook has. It said to have it “imagine” something and it would create it. You can say, “Imagine pigs flying” and bingo – there is a picture. So I said, “Imagine me as a radio DJ.” Real creative, right?

The first thing it did was took a picture of me from the front, and both sides. It had me upload a picture or two of me to aid it in the creation. Next thing I know….

Not bad, I suppose. Something is obviously wrong with my right hand as it only has three fingers! I’m not sure about the headphone cords … something isn’t right there. On another note, if I was really this thin, I’d be extremely happy!!!

Naturally, I had to try another. That one was too easy. So I said, “Imagine me as Columbo.” I meant, of course, Peter Falk’s iconic character. I never clarified that at all and wanted to see what it came up with. I’m not going to lie, it is kind of impressive.

They got the raincoat and messy hair, although most of it is covered by a hat. I may have to make this my profile picture on Facebook. It’s too good!

Ewe Never Know What You Might Ram Into …

Our town has a Facebook page. It is used to talk about events, traffic issues, and so on. The past week has been a real hoot. It seems that someone’s ram got loose and ran away.

The page began to fill with ram sightings all over town.

This thing was everywhere and they couldn’t seem to catch it.

It became quite humorous as people were creating memes and other photoshopped pictures with it. Those were funny, but I though the real photos were funnier.

I mean, here is this ram just out enjoying the sights and sounds of our town!

I won’t lie, I was actually a bit disappointed when they posted that he was finally caught and returned home.

He was so popular, I may write him in as my candidate for President!

Life’s Little Moments

It seems like the last 7 days have been nonstop for our family, but in between doctor appointments, work, and school, we’ve managed to find time to enjoy some fun moments.

First Photo

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know that my children are no stranger to a camera! My daughter has had her share of photo sessions, too. However, this week, we received her first “official” school photo.

There is something poignant about getting this picture. It is the first of many that we will receive over the next 13 years. This one will go in a frame the kindergarten photo going on top of it next year, first grade the following year, etc… Each year, we’ll compare the older photos and stand in awe of how much she has grown and all of the little changes that take place. It is hard for me to comprehend this, even though I have been through it twice before with my older boys.

As if my daughter’s picture wasn’t enough, my youngest son went and had his third birthday photos taken. Our photographer always captures our kids in beautiful photos. Instead of a full session, we took advantage of her “Fall Mini Sessions”. It was 15 minutes and we got plenty of poses.

She had some fall scenes set up outside and my son just rolled with the flow. There were pictures by a teepee. There was a nice fall set up with hay, pumpkins, corn and a wagon. She has a big backyard with a pond and fountain, an area with a porch, and various photo “stations.” One of those is an old pick up truck. My son made himself at home and she caught photos that look like senior pictures!

Old Friends

On Friday I went into work early so that I could leave early. My buddy, and old DJ partner, turned 60 and had a little party just down the road from where I work. By the time I got there, the party was in full swing. He had some guys running karaoke and there was plenty of singing. I had forgotten how many people really think that they can sing. I had flashbacks while I was there. I recall those days when I was out with the gang and we were all drinking. You start out singing fine, but as the night goes on your words and singing become … pretty obnoxious.

Based on the responses that he got back from the invites, two of my oldest friends were supposed to be there. Joe, Steve K, and I all graduated together. We were kind of inseparable in school. We were all band nerds and we were like brothers. Steve M (the birthday boy) was also in band, and we all played together in alumni band.

Steve K had some medical issues awhile back, and he was unable to be there. But it was nice to get some time to hang out with Joe and Steve M. There were a couple other folks who graduated from our school there, too. It was a bit crazy though, especially after this picture was taken.

Joe and I are younger than Steve, but Steve looks younger than us! Our grey beards make us look like the older dudes.

Trunk or Treat

A lot of people complain about the Trunk or Treat stops. For whatever reason, they feel that it takes away from the trick or treaters on Halloween night. Personally, I wish they had had those when I was growing up, because a kid can never get enough free candy!

None of us really felt great over the weekend. Lots of sniffles and coughing. It is probably the weather change and allergies. So we’ve kind of been staying indoors. However, my daughter has been dying to wear her Halloween costume and the weather was perfect on Sunday. It was almost 80!

Sam’s parents called to tell us that their church was having a Trunk or Treat and that the cousins were going with them. My kids couldn’t wait to go!

There were about 50 cars there with plenty of treats. It didn’t take long to get through the line and afterward, the kids wanted to go play on the playground with the other kids.

Fall Fun

As soon as the trunk or treat was done, we came back home to rest. But it was still daylight and the kids wanted to ride on their scooters. So I let them go outside for a few. As the rode on their scooters, I raked up some of the leaves. That was all it took to get the kids’ attention.

They saw me making a pile on the front lawn and this became their obsession. They had to jump in the leaf pile! They were actually walking with handfuls of leaves over to the pile and adding them to it.

And once I told them to have fun, they were in the pile!

They must have asked me to re-rake the leaves about 25 times so they could jump in them again. They were tossing leaves in the air and laughing like crazy. It was exactly what all kids should be doing on a beautiful fall evening!

There is nothing better than flopping in a big pile of leaves! Ah, fall!

Of course, being outside just set all of our allergies off and there was plenty of nose blowing that night. It was worth it!

Life’s Little Moments

I took the day off on Friday to celebrate Andrew’s birthday. I worked a bit over Thursday night so they would be set for Friday and the weekend.

We got Andrew an indoor trampoline to help him build some upper core strength. I knew I’d be putting it together when I got home. That way, it would be ready for him when he woke up.

As I was in the front room, at 2am, I heard a noise from the kitchen. Apparently, he heard me come home and wanted to see me. Surprise ruined.

So he helped me build it! Of course, he wanted to stay up when it was done. So he jumped for a few minutes before we all headed back to bed.

When we woke up, I took him to get his birthday pictures done. They were all done outside and I can’t wait to see them. There should be some really great shots.

Afterwards, we drove to pick up his cake. He got to pick what was on it. Sam told me I would find it extremely funny. I had no idea what he could have chose, but was not surprised.

“It’s poop, Daddy!”

It sure is ….

The kids were still not feeling 100%, so we laid low for most of the day. We had a nice day with warm temps, so we decided to go to the local Homecoming parade, which happens less than a half mile from our house.

They were ready for candy with their Halloween buckets. And Andrew told everyone would listen that it was his birthday. It probably got him extra candy.

On the walk home he told us how awesome it was that somebody threw him a birthday parade!

Yesterday, our whole family met with our friend (and Andrew’s former speech therapist) Christa and her daughters and went to a pumpkin patch for the afternoon. The day was beautiful and we all had a blast.

They had so much to do and so many photo ops. The kids enjoyed feeding the many animals that were there. Sam and Christa kept trying to talk me into getting a goat!

They had a beautiful little Sunflower patch.

Pony rides for the kids

And a little barrel train ride.

It was a perfect day to check out all the sites, but after a while, someone got tired and needed a lift

They had these amazing apple cider slushies, fresh baked donuts, regular cider, kettle corn, and donut sundaes!

After we enjoyed our desserts, it was off to get a pumpkin. Ella found hers, Andrew picked one that was no bigger than a softball!

Knowing we couldn’t carve that, I grabbed another one for him. Sam found a huge white pumpkin and said she had to have it. After a great day, we sat outside and carved the pumpkins and they are out on the porch.

Having two days in a row with family is an absolute joy! There were plenty of smiles and many memories made!!

Life’s Little Moments

Last Saturday, my wife left for work and called me just a minute or two after she left. She reminded me that the city was doing their “Trunk or Treat” event that night. I asked the kids if they wanted to go and all they had to hear was “candy,” and they were in!

It was a bit chilly that night, but we walked over and got in line. There was a big turn out. If I had to guess, I’d say at least 600 kids were there. They had two of the pavilions wrapped up in black tarps and they had mini haunted houses there. It was fun to listen to the screams from people in there.

They also had cider and doughnuts from one of the local orchards and the kids loved that. They had the parking lot lined up with cars that were decorated for the event. It took us about 40 minutes in line before it was our turn to actually “trunk or treat.” The first vehicle was one of the local fire trucks. Boy, did Andrew and Ella luck out!

Andrew was dressed as a firefighter. When he walked up to one of our local guys, he placed a handful of candy in his bucket. Then he reached in and put another handful in because they were now “brothers!” Ella got two handfuls, too because she was with him.

As a bonus, they made sure to let him sit in the truck, too!

Along the way, they had lemonade or hot chocolate for the kids, and coffee for parents. This made me very happy!

Some of the cars were really done up nice. There was one that was done up in a Star Wars Theme. They had a mechanical Yoda, R2-D2, and some folks dressed up. Andrew was a bit scared of the Stormtroopers, but Ella had to have a picture with “the man with the green light sword!”

I have to wonder if that night led to the kids getting sick. They both had runny noses Sunday night. Ella had a fever on Monday, so she missed school. On Tuesday, she had a cough and it was obvious that she didn’t feel well. She missed school again. We took her to the doctor and she has an ear infection, a sinus infection, and (because she sniffles instead of blowing her nose) she has the start of pneumonia.

Andrew still has the runny nose, but has not had a fever. That doesn’t mean he isn’t feeling sick. I can always tell when they are sick because the little things make them cry. It has been a cryfest all week! We’ve been heading to bed early every night in hopes that they will get some rest. On Monday night, Andrew was holding on to Bitsy and they both fell asleep while he was listening to music on his tablet.

October Baseball

I’m happy to see my Detroit Tigers playing October baseball. Yesterday, they shut out Cleveland 3-0 and now lead the ALDS 2-1. It’s a best of 5 series and it would be sweet for them to eliminate the Guardians at home tonight. Game time is 6:08pm ET. Go get ’em Tigers!!!

Florida

I have family and friends in Florida. I cannot even imagine having to go through yet another hurricane so soon. Milton is a monster and I pray that those who opted to stay make it through safely. The hurricanes are bad enough, but to hear that almost 20 tornadoes touched down before Milton even hit land.

I also have many friends in the Carolinas, Kentucky and Tennessee. The flooding and devastation left behind by it is heart wrenching. The loss of homes, animals, human life and entire cities is unbelievable. Tears flowed from my eyes as I watched the reports and the many videos.

I continue to pray for all the people who were affected by these natural disasters. I pray for the safety of those who remain in their homes and those who have lost everything. I pray they find comfort and strength to get through all of this.