Christmas 2023

Christmas has come and gone. I hope that you and your family had a wonderful holiday! We had a lot of fun moments, for sure. Here is my Christmas recap.

I want to start by saying that this had to be the least “Christmassy” Christmas in a very long time. Part of that could be that there was no snow on the ground and it was about 50 degrees. The sounds of the holidays were certainly there (musically), but it was very difficult to get into the Christmas “mood.”

That being said, I had Friday off and I needed to get a few last minute things for my sons. They had asked for a couple video games and I couldn’t find them. I could have ordered them, I suppose, but all the sites were saying that they would not arrive until January. So I improvised. I took Ella and Andrew with me and we went shopping. I found them some things (that I am sure they thought were not fun) that were more … adult.

Dante’ is 21 and Dimitri is 16 now. I got them things I knew that they could use or needed. It’s hard when you ask them what they want for Christmas in the fall and they have no clue. Or better yet, you find out that the thing they told you they wanted, they went out and bought for themselves with the money they made working. I didn’t want to do gift cards. That just seems easy, boring and requires no thought. I couldn’t help but remember when I started getting the more adult gifts….sigh. The Christmas magic fades too soon.

It was nice, however, to have all the kids together on the morning of Christmas Eve. I made a big breakfast and we had some good conversation. Dimitri had to work that day, so they weren’t at my house more than a few hours. It is a rare occurrence to have them all together in one place.

Christmas Eve night, we went to Sam’s folks for dinner. It was quite a spread: turkey, ham, meatballs, mac and cheese, baked bean, potatoes, and just about every dessert you can think of. Sam’s mom set up some cups on a table for the kids to toss cheese balls in to win prizes. Afterward, $200 in play money was handed to each person and gifts were auctioned off. I won the bid on a nice “evening in” bag – popcorn, candle, candy, hot cocoa and slipper socks. We also played a board game called “Something Fishy” or “Sounds Fishy” where you had to lie about a question that was asked. It was a fun night.

We left later than we expected and got home to get the kids in bed. Before we could do that, we had to leave out cookies and milk for Santa. One of our neighbors (the one who has the box to mail Santa letters – and answer them), messaged me to say that they had something special for Ella and Andrew. I went over Friday and they handed me a beautiful board for Santa’s milk and cookies.

Once the cookies and Egg Nog were in place (we were out of milk and I told them that Santa liked Egg Nog), the kids were off to bed. It was then that Santa began building toys! Ella asked for a Barbie Princess Castle and Andrew wanted a train table. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, as it only took me about 3 hours to put every thing together.

The dog started barking earlier than normal and I was up to let her out. Andrew was up first and he ran to get Ella because Santa had arrived. For one brief space of about an hour, we felt like it was Christmas. The magic of watching them walk out and seeing their toys ready for play! Wow, do I remember that feeling! It is one of the most powerful memories in my life. That initial walk out to the tree … pure magic!

They were so excited that they didn’t open another present for some time!

Ella got this HUGE Barbie. It is almost as big as her. She loves it!

Andrew loves to take pictures with our phones and his tablet. We found a cool camera that he had a lot of fun with.

Christmas day was nice because we just got to chill out at home. After we played a bit, we watched The Polar Express together. It is such a great movie. We napped because we were all up early, and then got ready for dinner. A Christmas Story was on and I had yet to see it this year, so I watched as we cooked up our ravioli dinner.

Sam’s folks stopped by to see they kids and what they got for Christmas. After they left, we ate and got ready to call it a night. Sam and Ella were in our room relaxing and I was out in the living room with Andrew. I was getting ready to turn off the TV, but he was engrossed in The Wizard of Oz. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. When the commercials came on, I told him we’d have to finish it another day and we went to bed.

I tried to be more in the moment this year. I neglected to take a lot of pictures. Playing with the kids, chasing them around the house, snuggling them in our bed….yeah, those were the moments! It was a Merry Christmas for us!

Oh, and as a Christmas bonus for guys like me who have been waiting a long time … The Detroit Lions clinched the division. Merry Christmas!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. I can’t wait to read about it!

Man’s Best Friend

The above text is how it started. My wife saw some puppies for sale and she texted me to ask if we could get one. Those of you who follow this blog know that not too long ago, we took in a dog on a temporary basis to see if she would be a good fit. She bit one of the kids and my sister in law took her in.

Both Sam and I said we’d wait until the kids got a little older before getting another dog. When she called to ask about puppies I told her that I would have to think about it. A few minutes later, Ella video chatted with me asking to get a puppy.

You already know what happened. We built the fence around the yard so the pup could run (and poop) around. The puppy (who Ella named Daisy) came to her new home on Friday. I’m not going to lie, I’m loving it.

We had dogs growing up and I forgot how fun they are, especially puppies. I also forgot how you really have to watch where you are walking, because there are plenty of accidents with puppies! However, we she jumps up on your lap and snoozes on you, it makes it all worth it.

The kids have plenty of toys that need to be picked up so that Daisy won’t chew on them. We have to make sure that the shoes are put away, too. Daisy loves to go into Ella’s room and grab her stuffed animals to play with. The other night she had been playing with one and then fell asleep. Picture perfect pose:

Tonight she went over to my in-laws house. They have a golden retriever. They hit it off pretty well.

All in all, she is a welcome addition to the family and I think she loves the kids as much as they love her!

Wednesday Randomness

The last few posts have been all about books, so I figured I would just toss out a bit of an update.

We Have Curbs

The road project is almost done! We have curbs! We should have a street soon and hopefully sidewalks and the rest of my driveway, too! This headache cannot be over fast enough!

I’m on the Google!

A good friend of mine is getting ready for a trip to Italy. He’s been learning a bit of Italian in preparation for the trip. Because he is my friend, and as weird as I am, he decided to Google whether or not the School House Rock songs from the 70’s were available in Italian! When he did his search … who popped up??

THIS is why we are friends (among other things)!

In over 5 years, I’ve never noticed!

Andrew will be two in less than a week, so Sam and I took the kids to get pictures. We also did some family photos.

In the 5 years we have been married, and all of the pictures we have had taken, we’ve never printed them out to hang them. Sure, we have some that we had done on the wall, but there are so many that need to be hung.

Sam told me how she wanted to redo a wall in the living room and we began to go through photos to see which ones we wanted to hang up. As we talked, she said we should probably patch the wall and maybe repaint. The following conversation took place:

Me: You know what we should do?

Sam: What?

Me: When we paint, we should make one wall a different color.

Sam stared at me like I was growing a third eyeball.

Me: What?

Sam points to the wall next to me and says, “THAT wall IS a different color!”

I turned and looked. I swear, it did not look different! The way the light hits it, I never noticed the two being different.

Me: No it’s not!

Sam: YES, it is!

So I get up and walk over to the corner where the two walls meet …

Me: Well, how about that!? It really is a different color!

Sam just stared at me in disbelief.

Yes, we have lived together for 6 years. I never noticed!

Wish Me Luck

I should know tomorrow what the results of all that ADHD testing shows. I’m hoping for some answers!

They are the sunshine of my life

I love the fall whether, even if it does feel more like summer. I just love spending time outside with the kids!

Nature is Amazing!

The kids and I had a neat experience the other morning. I went to take the garbage out to the road. When I went to grab the last can, I saw this amazing caterpillar on the rim. It was huge!

I rushed back into the house and had the kids come outside to see. They were captivated. I went and grabbed a stick so the caterpillar could climb onto it.

It was so cool to see their reactions! Andrew really loved it!

Ella said, “He’s got to find a tree so he can make a chrysalis and turn into a butterfly!”

She went with Andrew on a field trip to a local nature preserve and she remembered that caterpillars go into the chrysalis before turning into a butterfly. She is so smart!

Since we already had it on a stick, we walked over to our neighbors tree and it moved to the branch. Ella and Andrew were in awe watching it move from the stick to the tree.

We found out later after searching the net that this will turn into a Cecropia Moth. A friend even posted a photo on Facebook for us.

This was such a cool experience for me and the kids. I don’t think I’d ever seen a caterpillar that big outside of a zoo. Who knows, maybe it will come back to say hello when it makes it change…

Afternoon Delight

Every doctor appointment I go to starts this way:

Doctor: You still working midnights?

Me: Yes

Doctor: Yeah, we gotta get you off those!

Well, she will be happy when I come to the next appointment! I will finally be able to answer “no.”

A week or so ago, our interim manager called to ask if I might be interested in an afternoon position. Naturally, I had questions. She gave me more information and I told her I would have to discuss things with my wife.

Once I brought it up to Sam, she immediately said that I should do it. There were some things that we’d obviously have to adjust, but we could make it work.

For me, it will be a big change. One thing I am certainly looking forward to is actually being able to sleep with my wife next to me. Working opposite shifts has been tough.

Another thing I am looking forward to is having some meals together as a family on a more regular basis. Those family meals are very limited with our current schedules.

I will still be working with patients from time to time, but it will be a lot less than I do now. I will be more of a bridge between days and nights. I will be helping sort charts, assigning patients, and working with day staff.

It will certainly be a big change, and the positives outweigh the negatives. I think it’s going to make a huge difference in my life.

Besides, on a bright note (pun intended), I will see the sun a whole lot more!!

Father’s Day 2023

Father’s Day Morning

I found out at 3:40am that Mowgli, the new kitten, has quite a loud “meow!” I tried to go back to sleep, but for some reason, I was not able to. So I put on a pot of coffee and grabbed my book.

Sam got home from work and had the kids meet her out at the car, where she had my gift. They kids got me a #1 Dad shirt and a Super Dad baseball hat.

Ella had asked Sam to make sure I had a cake for Father’s Day. So she picked it up on her way home. When they handed it to her, there was no writing on it. She reminded the clerk that it was supposed to say “Happy Father’s Day” on it. The clerk, who obviously has NEVER written on a cake before, took it back and wrote on it.

Sam saw it, and before she could say anything the clerk said thank you and walked away. Sam took it to the register. The cashier looked at it and asked “Uh, did the bakery write that?!” Sam assured the cashier that they did, to which she said, “…and …. Are you SURE you still want it?!”

“Yes. Yes, I do,” Sam replied.

She must have known it would make my day. I laughed for like 30 minutes. I mean, look at it! Ella or Andrew could have written better! It’s almost like it was a joke – the mixture of upper and lower case letters, “Father” instead of “Father’s,” it is hilarious!! Let me say before moving on that the cake was delicious!

The rest of the day was pretty low key. I put Andrew down for his nap and Ella and I sat on the couch and (no surprise) I actually fell asleep as we watched TV.

I woke up startled and a bit freaked out because I was supposed to start dinner. Luckily, I finished up lasagna just in time for Sam to be able to take some to work.

My oldest son, Dante’, called Saturday to tell me he was working on Father’s Day, and wanted to know if we could get together Monday. We planned to meet at a park and have a pizza picnic.

I can’t even begin to tell you how awesome it was to spend time with all four of my kids. It was a joy to see Dante’and Dimitri running with Andrew and Ella! They played tag, went down the slides together and we all got to take a walk together.

Watching them all interact made my heart burst with love. It was like they saw each other all the time. They ran, sang and laughed together and it was the highlight of the weekend.

So many little moments made me smile: My 21 and 16 year old sons going down the slide made me chuckle. (I even went down once!).

Dante’ holding Andrew so that he could slide on the “zip line” thingy.

Ella running up to Dimitri and holding his hand as we walked.

Beaming with pride as I watched all four walking in front of me.

The last time they were all together was at Christmas time. I took advantage of having them together so I could get pictures.

I even bugged a lady to get one of me with all of them.

Knowing we were past nap time, we wrapped up our time together. Ella and Andrew both napped in the car on the way home and I just drove around so they could snooze.

It was a day of wonderful memories. It was also a day that reminded me just how lucky I am to be their dad (A loveable one, according to Ella and Andrew’s card…).

Thank you, Dante’, Dimitri, Ella and Andrew for making your dad feel so special! I love you guys more than you will ever know!!

Happy Father’s Day

Well, the kitten woke me up about 3:30 this morning. He’s an early bird apparently. So I decided to take advantage of the kids still sleeping and I made a pot of coffee. I figured I’d read a bit.

I then remembered that today is Father’s Day. So I wanted to take a moment to wish all the dads reading this “Happy Father’s Day! Cheers to you!

I am blessed to still have my dad around. We are closer now than ever. There are a few blogs I have written about him and I will post links here for new readers:

Birthday Tribute to “Fred”

My Biggest Musical Influence – Dad

Truth is, I could write a book about my dad (and one day I might!). I can always count on good conversations, memories and laughter when we chat. He sent me something recently that I am debating turning into a blog. He is an amazing father and I’m so lucky he is mine! Happy Father’s Day, Pop!

I also want to say Happy Father’s Day to my Father-in-law, Tony. I can’t begin to tell you how lucky I am that he is in my life. You have seen so many of the projects that I’ve completed here (the nook, grout and tile in the laundry room, building an entire new room for Ella, and countless others). I would have had to hire someone for all of those things without him. He’s another amazing dad.

I became a father 21 years ago. 5 years another son was born. 3 years ago, another blessing came with my first, and only, daughter. Finally, my third and final son arrived 20 months ago. Dante’, Dimitri, Ella and Andrew – four amazing kids – each with distinct and wonderful personalities. What an honor and privilege to be their father!

Parenting is the hardest job you will ever have. Throughout all the difficulties in life, this job is 24/7 and it is the most important! Rereading the following blog brought all of that home for me again:

They Call Me “Dad”

Dante’ works today, so we’re planning on getting together tomorrow. We’re going to meet at a park and have a pizza picnic. The last time all four of my kids were together was around Christmas. I hope that I am able to get them all to sit still for a picture.

I’m starting to ramble, so I apologize. Even though today is supposed to be all about “me” (as “dad”), I am pausing to remember all of the great men, fathers and father-like figures who played a role in preparing me for that role as “Father.” More importantly, I am thinking about the four special children who officially gave me that role!

Happy Father’s Day!

Much Needed Time

Yesterday I was supposed to work. When I woke up, I saw a text from work saying that we were down patients and it was my turn to stay home. There was a staff meeting that I had to call in and be a part of, but after that, it was all family time! The downside is that I lose hours. The upside is that I got some MUCH NEEDED time with the entire family.

The minute I hung up from our meeting, we piled the kids in the car and drove to the local ice cream place. It’s a few miles further than Dairy Queen, but worth it! On the way, Ella told us she wanted “pink” ice cream with sprinkles. We asked Andrew is he wanted blue ice cream and he said yes. When we asked about sprinkles, he said no.

We got there just before a bunch of people lined up behind us. Sam took the kids and grabbed a table for us to sit at. One by one, the worker passed me each of our items. Ella was happy as a clam eating her sprinkles. Andrew ate some of his Blue Moon ice cream, but eventually wanted to eat from mommy’s cone. This led to Ella wanting to “try” mine, and by the end of the visit, Sam and I lost our ice cream!

“I like mint ice cream, Daddy!” I do, too, kiddo!

I just love this picture of Sam and Andrew. He is a real “mama’s boy!” They have such a special bond.

After we were done, we went home and started the bedtime routine. It was already long after their normal bed time, and because they were outside a lot earlier in the day, they both fell asleep almost immediately.

Sam and I actually got to have some time to ourselves last night. Because of our work schedules, we don’t get much quality time with just the two of us. It was so nice to have that last night. As we sat in bed talking, Sam said she could go for Taco Bell. This made me chuckle, but it also reminded me of those nights before our kids arrived where this would be a very common thing to say. Without hesitation, I got out of pajamas, back into my clothes and drove to Taco Bell to grab us each a Nacho Bell Grande!

The two of us sat in bed for a while, each with our late night snack, laughing and talking. It was something that both of us really needed.

Our plans for today were altered a bit, but in a good way. Sam had a bunch of clothes she wanted to take to the resale shop. She was going to take the kids to her mom’s house so that I could paint the nook we build recently. At the last minute, I decided that I wanted to go with her. We dropped the kids off, and we drove up the resale shop about 30 minutes from us.

We had decided to have lunch together while they sorted through all the clothes. We were going to grab Panera, but Sam noticed a steakhouse across the street, so we went there instead. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch together and then went and walked around Target. We didn’t intend on buying anything, but we saw some cute stuff for the kids and ended up buying more than we needed to.

Once the resale shop called to tell us they were ready for us, we stopped there and loaded up the items that they didn’t take, and drove home. Sam dropped me off so I could nap before work and went to get the kids.

I was awakened by my daughter who was very excited to show me all the “prizes” we bought for her at the store. I could have used a few more minutes of sleep, but waking up to her smile was worth losing a few winks.

I may have to start scheduling days off. The last 24 hours really refilled my tank. It reminded me of what life should be like. It reminded me of just how important it is to share that special time with family. It reminded me of how important one on one time is with my wife. Those moments are few and far between and that needs to change!

Spring Scooter!

Ok, not THAT Scooter!

Sam went to the store today and saw that the had scooters on sale. These were the ones with two wheels in the front. She couldn’t pass up the deal and grabbed one for each kid.

I woke up a bit early this afternoon and it was such a nice day we all went outside and the kids showed me their new modes of transportation!

Ella, of course took right to it.

It took Andrew a little bit, but he learns fast!

Ella decided that she wanted to take a walk and for the first time in what seems like forever, the entire family got to stroll around the neighborhood before dinner. It was a beautiful day and it was some much needed family time.

Yesterday was nice, too. Sam and I have decided to get rid of the trampoline. We haven’t said anything to the kids yet, but I let them get on it yesterday for a sorta last hurrah. Watching them play on it, I am almost sad to get rid of it.

Speaking of trampolines – our local police Facebook page posted one of the funniest pictures I’ve seen in a while. This was tooling around Flint this morning ….

I am sure this is TOTALLY safe!!!

Happy Spring!

She’s a “Threenager”

Yesterday, Ella celebrated her 3rd birthday. It was a pretty busy day!

She woke up and had a breakfast picnic. Her choice of breakfast food? A grilled cheese sandwich!

After I got home from a dentist appointment (that I should have cancelled), we piled in the car and we took a trip up to the Mid-Michigan Children’s Museum in Saginaw. We have a membership there and the kids always have a blast!

They have a water area like the Sloan Museum, but its a bit smaller. The kids still love to play there. They also have slides, a fake doctor and dentist office, a barn, lots of fake cars, and other neat science-type stuff.

The thing behind Ella is a wall of marbles. Both kids love it.

Not sure Andrew knew what this mirror was all about.

One of many cars the kids can play on. One of them sits next to a bank drive thru teller!

These floating balls are always fun to watch.

We went home and Ella got to pick what she wanted for lunch. We got dinosaur chicken nuggets and French fries and again, had a picnic before nap time. I think she was too excited about her birthday to nap, so her and I played out in the living room.

She is all about Disney Princesses, so we decorated in that theme.

She even had a princess cake!

Big brother Dante’ came over to have dinner (Pizza) and cake with us. Dimitri was not feeling well, so he stayed home. We all sang “Happy Birthday” and she made her wish and blew out the candles.

One of her presents was nail polish. Each bottle had a different Disney princess on it. The color of the polish matched the dress color of the princess. Well, we just HAD to have a spa day …

Mommy got her nails painted all one color. Daddy, on the other hand, got a different color for each nail!!

Dante’ left before he had to sit in the chair!

It was certainly a fun day for her and for us!

You may recall that we had some 3rd birthday pictures done. They came out so good! Beth, our photographer, always seems to catch the best pictures, even when the subject (Ella) won’t sit still!

This is the dress that Ella picked out for her pictures. This is one of my favorites!

She wanted a picture in her “Belle” dress, which is the dress that she wore for Halloween when her and Andrew went out as Beauty and the Beast. She also had to have her Tiana stuffy that my brother sent her in the picture.

She LOVES these rain boots, and they really do go well with this dress. I love the look on her face in this picture. Probably our favorite picture from the session is just amazing. Beth asked Ella to jump up and down like she was splashing in puddles with her boots ….

This is PURE Ella! What a capture!!

While I still cannot believe she is three years old, I am glad to have a platform like this blog to write things down so that she can look back at them and read them in the future. She has provided us with three years of amazing memories!!

Happy Birthday, Ella!!!