A Day To Celebrate the Kids

Today is National Son’s and Daughter’s Day, so be sure to celebrate yours today!!

I am lucky to be the father of three boys and one girl. I became a father in 2002 when my oldest son, Dante’, was born. My second son, Dimitri, was born 5 years later.

Dante’ (on the right above) had some developmental issues as a baby and was eventually diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. We got him into loads of therapy and he began to thrive. He has Asperger’s Syndrome, but it hasn’t stopped him from anything!

He is a hard worker who loves his job. He has a core group of friends who all love hanging out together. He grew up to be much more than we expected when he was first diagnosed and I couldn’t be more proud of him.

Dimitri (on the left above) is about to enter his senior year of high school. As a student, he’s a bit like I was in school. I really only focused on the classes I liked. By doing that, I barely got by some of those classes! Senioritis is real, so I hope he is able to stay on track this year.

He loves to read and, of course, play his video games. Recently he was telling me that he discovered old radio shows. It was an instant bonding moment. I started to tell him about ones that I loved and he couldn’t wait to listen to them.

The divorce was hard on him. He struggled a lot and still does. I don’t get to see him as often as I want to, but I love when we do. It’s a weird thing for a teenager to start asking serious questions of their parents, so I do my best to always answer and offer advice. The last few years have been tough for him, but he continues to move forward. I’m proud of him, too.

13 years later, I was to be a father again with the birth of my first (and only) daughter, Ella. The chances of me having another baby was about 4% according to an urologist, so Ella is our Miracle baby.

She is an amazing gift from God. Those things I didn’t get to do with my boys, I get to do with her – daddy daughter dances for example.

Raising a girl is a whole new thing for me and I will forever be learning. She keeps me on my toes, for sure. She’s smart as a whip! I see wonderful things ahead for her.

Her smile makes my heart want to explode. Her laughter has gotten more boisterous and I love to hear it. Reading books to her, snuggling with her, or just singing songs together are just some of my favorite things to do with her. She’s ready for preschool this year. Where did the time go!?

Andrew made his appearance in 2021. He’s certainly kept us on our toes. It seems like from day 1 we’ve been at doctors for one thing or another.

Much like with Dante’, early intervention was key. His speech is about where it needs to be. He’s sleeping better, but still not great. OT/PT and other services have brought him to the place he is today.

He’s a happy, helpful two-year old. He loves tools, being outside, playing in the pool, and running around in general. He’s a bundle of energy and he thinks like an engineer! This kid is going places!!

My four children could not be more different from each other, but in many ways share many similarities. I love them all dearly and am so happy to be their dad.

Happy Son’s and Daughter’s Day, kids!! I love you all forever!!

A Look Back at 2023

Perhaps this year I will plan a bit better. I hoped to post this year-end recap on January 1, 2024, but life had other plans. If I made New Year’s Resolutions, planning ahead just might be one of mine. Better late than never …

2023 was a year of ups and downs, but that’s what makes life interesting, right? As I looked back at the year in preparation for this blog, I was surprised at what a decent year it was. I found myself smiling at so many of the memories. I truly believe that there was more good memories than bad last year.

2023 was a year of accomplishments for me:

I read more books last year than I have in a very long time. There were so many good ones (many of them I reviewed here)!
I completed a full semester of my Bible classes and am ready to start the 5th semester (of 9).
Then there were the projects my father-in-law and I completed. We turned a closet into a nook, put in an entire new deck on the porch, and built a fence for the puppy.
I also completed a course on Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
I participated in 12 installments of Turntable Talk for Dave Ruch’s A Sound Day site
I contributed a few songs to my friend Nancy’s The Rhythm Section site
I taught a couple classes on Sleep Medicine at a local college
I wrote my 1000th blog

There were a lot of new things in 2023 for me:

Sam and I both got new vehicles
I got a new schedule at work when I switched to afternoons
We got a new driveway and sidewalks because of that construction mess on our street
We added to our family with our new puppy, Daisy
A new diagnosis of ADHD and long term depression for me. This brings many challenges.

There were so many wonderful times with family and friends:

Ella celebrated birthday #3
Andrew celebrated birthday #2
Dante turned 21
Dimitri turned 16 (and I golfed with him for his birthday)
I celebrated my birthday with a princess party theme (picked out by Ella) and wore a tiara!
Our family enjoyed a nice day at the beach in Caseville
We enjoyed a great day on the Halloween Train with Aunt Margaret and Uncle Walt
My brother and I got to spend some time together thanks to his visits up to Michigan (He even contributed a nice guest blog)
Sam and I enjoyed a night out with a nice dinner and then seeing a Golden Girls play
My radio buddy, Cam, who I hadn’t seen in decades, came up and we had a great time reminiscing over coffee
My Goddaughter, Marissa, got married
The family enjoyed a night at the Detroit Zoo enjoying their Christmas Lights display
I had all my kids over on Christmas Eve and it was nice to have them all together. It may sound crazy, but we all sat on the couch and watch the Christmas episode of Shaun the Sheep and laughed like crazy together.
I also got to enjoy my first ever Daddy Daughter Dance with Ella.

Andrew certainly kept us busy this year. He’s been through the ringer. This year he’s had an MRI, an EEG, a few Sleep Studies, throat surgery, a swallow study, received a diagnosis of mild cerebral palsy and is now wearing braces on his legs. Between doctor appointments, he’s been doing speech therapy, and physical and occupational therapy. We spent a lot of time in the car this year. Thankfully, we continue to work on things and his prognosis is looking great.

I was finally able to hold the amazing portrait of Ella and Andrew in my hands this year. My friend Belita sent me many photos as the portrait progressed and my excitement built with each one. It is so beautiful. I need to get a frame for it, so I can hang it up on the wall.

As a bonus, the Detroit Lions have given me the best season I have been able to witness in forever!.

In 2023 I wrote 274 blog posts and this site had almost 31,000 views. As I looked back at the most popular posts, I was surprised to see that there was a new “Most Viewed” blog. The 6th blog I ever wrote for this site somehow always was the most viewed blog every year. It was a blog I wrote with some of Red Buttons’ funniest lines:

“Never Got a Dinner”!

That blog came in at the third most viewed this year (Over 700 views). The second most viewed blog was a holiday themed blog about one of my favorite Christmas specials:

The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)

The Year Without a Santa Claus blog just beat the Never Got a Dinner blog (750 views) The new champion, and most viewed blog this year was also holiday themed and got an amazing 4841 views!

My Top 20 Favorite Christmas Characters

I have to wonder why it got so many views. I do think it is cool, though.

As a loyal reader and visitor to this blog, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you for reading and commenting on my posts. Thank you for making 2023 something to remember.

As we continue in the new year, I pray it is a good one for you and me. That being said, I’m going to do something that I really have never done before on here.

My faith is something that you are aware of. I am always open to a good conversation about my faith. I make it no secret that I believe the Bible and am a Christian. I understand that you may not be. That is your choice and I am not in the position to judge anyone for what you believe. That being said, I watched a message from a pastor friend that really was powerful. I’m going to post the video here on this blog. Feel free to watch if you wish. If you don’t want to watch it, that’s ok. Consider this the end of this blog post.

If you do want to watch, let me set it up for you:

In the 1990’s, William Strauss and Neil Howe wrote a book about the historical cycles in America. It was called The Fourth Turning.

It is really a fascinating read! Bryan Ross taught a message about the New Year and if the cycles of history continue to follow the pattern, 2024 could bring some issues. His message was full of information and really helped me to be at peace and ready for what history might cycle back our way.

Keep in mind that the book itself is not a biblical book about prophecy or anything like that. It looks at the cycles of history. Pastor Ross presents this info honestly and then answers the question of how we should prepare for it.

Thanks for reading.

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!

Our Yearly Christmas Tradition

Today’s blog is part of the Comfy Cozy Christmas, hosted by Lisa and Erin. Their blogs/websites can be found in the above graphic. By going to their sites, you will be able to read Christmas themed blogs by other participants.

I have probably mentioned in past blogs about this tradition, but have never devoted an entire blog to it. At the encouragement of one of our hosts, I am doing that now.

If you were to do a search on ‘things to do when visiting Michigan,” it is often recommended that you stop by Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. The world’s largest Christmas store.

It truly is an amazing place. You could easily spend a few hours there finding the perfect Christmas ornament. We are lucky that we don’t live very far from there.

Our tradition was actually started by Sam before we were even dating. She and I do the same work (sleep technologist) and that’s how we met. When she graduated from the program, she bought an ornament for her tree. There are no real “sleep tech” ornaments, so she went with one that had scrubs on it.

The idea was that she wanted to have an ornament on the tree that was a reminder of the “big event” of that year. The following year was the year that she bought the home we currently live in.

Sam and I were just friends when she bought her house. Soon after, we began dating and fell in love. She changed my life and I couldn’t imagine life without her. I proposed Sweetest Day weekend while in a horse drawn carriage in Frankenmuth. She said yes less than a mile or so from Bronner’s! That year’s “event” was our engagement.

It goes without saying that when we were married a few months later, that was to be the big event of that year. There were plenty of wedding themed ornaments, but we liked this one best.

The bigger bulbs like that make it so easy for them to personalize.

Our first year of marriage brought about our first fur baby. A cat that sadly is no longer with us named Moe.

We’ve talked about getting some sort of ornament with the other pets, but each year after had bigger events. At some point I suppose we’ll get around to it…

In 2019, Sam was expecting. She was 7 months pregnant at Christmas. One of my favorite pictures is of her standing in front of the tree showing her baby bump. I just loved the “You, Me and Then Baby Makes Three” ornament.

The year 2020 brought COVID to the world. The world shut down and almost every Christmas tree had some sort of ornament that had surgical masks or toilet paper on it! For us, however, we welcomed our first child together, our daughter Ella.

I loved this ornament because they were able to put her name, birthday, weight, etc.. on it. One Christmas later, when Andrew was born, we went back and got the same ornament… In blue.

We try to go before Thanksgiving to get our yearly ornament. After that, it tends to be extremely busy at Bronner’s. When we went last year, there really hadn’t been any “big event.” We decided to get a plaque to hang on the main entry door.

After our trip to Bronner’s, tragedy struck as Sam’s sister Grace passed away. Her presence is missed daily. I decided that I wanted to do something for Sam and her parents. So I went to Bronner’s on my own and had a memorial ornament personalized with Grace’s name for both of them. Ours hangs near the top of the tree.

We’re a bit behind this year. We’ve had so many medical appointments and such with Andrew that we have yet to go to Bronner’s. I suppose the big event is getting our puppy, Daisy. I would imagine that they have some sort of ornament that will fit that event.

Sam and I will probably take our tradition and change it up a bit next year. I’d guess we’ll continue to get that one “event” ornament, but we think next year, we’ll have each kid pick out an ornament for themselves to hang on the tree. I have a feeling that will be something they will always remember.

I’d love to hear about your annual traditions!

Conference, Clubs, and Croup

Conference

Many readers know I work in Sleep Medicine. Every year there is a sleep conference in Detroit that we try to go to to earn our Continuing Education Units to keep our registry. That conference was last week.

Sam and I drove down to Detroit early Thursday afternoon. (The kids got a sleepover at Nana’s house.) The conference took place at one of the casinos. When we checked in, they asked if we wanted an upper or lower floor (we chose upper) and whether we wanted a city or river view (we chose river). It was a nice view!

After speakers were done on the first night, Sam and I went to a small mixer where guests could have a drink together. We hung out with a couple of my coworkers and folks who graduated from the same sleep program. They had raffles while we were there and Sam won a Tim Hortons gift card. My coworker won a $100 Amazon card.

We went up to our room and we were exhausted, but hungry. We decided to order room service ($$$$$). She ordered nachos and I got a burger. When it arrived, it was apparent that we should have just shared the nachos because it was HUGE!!

After the conference on Friday, we had hoped to go out to a nice dinner. Because room service was SO expensive, we decided to get something on the way home. After getting the kids from Nana’s, we ordered pizza and brought it home.

Just a side note: As parents, you can’t wait to get a night or two alone and away from the kids. Of course, when you do, you can’t stop thinking about them and are overjoyed when you see them again!

Clubs

My son, Dimitri, turned 16 on Sunday. I told him I wanted to take him out golfing. It’s something he and I have never done together and I knew it would be a good time for us to connect and chat. We decided to go Saturday morning, and the weather was perfect.

I haven’t been on a course in at least 3-4 years. I knew I was gonna really golf badly. He hasn’t been out in at least a year, since leaving the golf club at school. Thank goodness it was a slow day in the course.

I hate when you’ve always got someone waiting for you to tee off or shoot. I realize it’s part of the game, but I always feel rushed and often just want to hit so we can go. Dimitri and I were far from professionals out there, so it did take us a bit longer than usual. We finally let the twosome behind us play through.

He is like me in that he has his favorite clubs. He rarely uses his driver, but he can crush a ball with his 5 wood. I have a 7 wood that I used to hit well, but topped it every time Saturday. I had a few good drives, just enough to keep me coming back.

We bent the rules a little bit, and had plenty of mulligans (redos), and impost probably a dozen balls in the woods and water. Despite all of that, it was a great time together. He, naturally, beat me by two strokes. I can’t wait to do it again.

Croup

Sam called me while I was out golfing and said that both kids sounded sick. Both had low grade fevers and a cough. By the time I got home, Ella was sounding better after taking some allergy meds. Andrew’s fever was gone but still had a cough and that raspy voice.

Sam wondered if we should take him to urgent care or ER. Everyone we talked to said wait to see how he was in the morning.

That night at bedtime he cried a lot. He wound up in our bed. He woke us up with a nasty cough and wheezing about 3am. He fell right back to sleep, but it was enough to freak us out a bit.

At 6am he woke up sounding worse, so we rushed him to ER. Nana met us there and brought Ella back to her house. We planned to be there a while and Sam packed loads of snacks just in case.

They got us right back and he was seen almost immediately. We weren’t sure what to expect because we were there right at shift change. However, once we were in our room, the nurse came in, followed by the doc. Once the examination was done, she told us it was croup and she gave him a steroid and told us he should be back to normal in a couple days.

How fast were they? Well, we had finished with the nurse and the doctor AND the meds were administered all before the registration gal came to our room! We actually had to wait to get registered before we could leave! Total ER time – about 70 minutes.

Ella decided she wanted to have a sleepover again at Nana’s, so when Sam left for work last night it was just me and Andrew. He really improved throughout the day. Before bed, we stood on the porch and watched the thunderstorm together.

Andrew is still sleeping and Ella should be home later today. The house should return to it’s normal chaotic state shortly after her arrival.

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!

The Cat’s Meow

On the old Soupy Sales show, one of the easiest way to set up a joke was to have someone come banging on his door. One of my favorite lines (that no one else finds funny) goes like this:

(Door Knocking)

(Soupy opens the door) “Yes?”

(Man at door) “Well, I guess you don’t like cats!”

(Soupy) “I don’t like cats? That’d ridiculous! Dizzy Gillespie is a good friend of mine!”

I wasn’t always a cat person. My brother and I always had dogs growing up. When I moved to Ludington in 1991, I was living alone and someone suggested I get a kitten to keep me company. From that moment on, it seems I have always had a cat around the house.

When I was living in Flint, there were stray cats galore in our neighborhood. Each neighbor had a different name for the same cat. Ralphie for us, was Boots for our next door neighbor, or Stanley for our neighbor across the street.

Larry was my cat from Ludington. My dad disliked cats, so when I moved home, he went to stay with my brother. Over the years there was Callie, Frankie, Tigger, Moe, and Lorenzo (who still lives with my older sons.)

Maizey has lived with us for about 3 or 4 years. Originally, she was supposed to be my wife’s cat, but I think she stays by me more. When I go to bed, she jumps up and wants me to pet her. She will often jump up on my lap on mornings I get up before the kids. I will have a cup of coffee next to me, a book or my phone, and Maizey purring away.

So why all this talk about felines? Recently, Sam said she felt like Maizey needed a friend. She felt like she was lonely. She said that she doesn’t really come out as much as she used to. I reminded her that it was probably because Ella and Andrew tend to chase her around or try to grab her tail!

So for a little over a month now, Sam will occasionally show me pictures of kittens that Facebook friends are selling or giving away. I did not think that she was serious about getting Maizey a friend, but I was obviously wrong. Today, we welcomed a new kitty to the house.

Say hello to Mowgli! Sam wanted to name him Bear, because she says he reminded her of a bear. When Sam asked Ella what we should name him – Mowgli came out of nowhere. I can’t tell you the last time she watched Jungle Book, listened to the story or read the book, so I don’t know what made her think of it. She seems pretty sure that Mowgli was the name – so it is. I suggested to Sam that maybe Bear could be his middle name!

Another year passes …

Today I finished my 53rd trip around the sun. Birthdays stopped being special to me a long time ago. They are just another day. However, I will tell you that today was a birthday I won’t soon forget. Let me tell you why …

Ella has been talking about my birthday for months. She’s known that mine was coming up and eventually the “next” one. So she told Sam that she was going to get all the stuff for my “party.”

So her and Sam went to the store to order my cake. She told the woman that she was positive that I loved princesses, so this was the cake they brought home:

Ella sang Happy Birthday loud and proud and both kids helped me blow out my candles.

Yes, I did wear the tiara and hold the scepter after cutting the cake.

Sam and the kids got me the coolest card and a book I have had on my Amazon wishlist for some time. Once I get through the library books I have, I will be diving into this one.

They also got me an amazing shirt. The card and shirt go together as they are both from Bluey, the cartoon I just love! Perhaps mom was trying for a Bluey theme, but the princess won out!

We even had princess plates!!

If you are wondering about the tiara and scepter – don’t worry, there is a princess at our house making good use of them!

I also heard from my dad first thing this morning. He got a chuckle out of my cake. My oldest son called me this morning too. My middle son texted on his way home from the bus stop to send birthday wishes. There were countless text messages and birthday wishes on Facebook, too.

As much as I hate counting the years (and still claim to be 39 every year like Jack Benny) it is nice to know that so many folks will take a brief moment out of their day to send a birthday greeting. It’s almost overwhelming, but it is a reminder of just how blessed I am.

Easter Weekend Recap

I hope your Easter weekend was as good as mine. It seemed like we were constantly on the go, but it was filled with many wonderful moments.

I worked Friday night, so I came home and went right to sleep. Sam’s mom and dad were hosting Easter dinner on Saturday afternoon. I grabbed a few hours of sleep and got up to get ready for the day.

When we got there, many of the family were already there. Ella is always excited when she gets to be with her cousins. It didn’t take long for them to head outside for the Easter egg hunt.

The weather was perfect! Loads of sunshine and decent temperatures. It had rained a day or two earlier and the back yard was a little muddy, so the hunt was done in the front yard. Parents were out making sure that each kid got their fair share of eggs!

The kids sure did have a blast looking for eggs.

Sam’s mom changed it up a bit this year and we had a Mexican feast for dinner. Tacos, Nachos, and a TON of desserts. It was nice and easy, and somethings the kids all enjoyed eating.

There was a lot of outside play after dinner. They had sidewalk chalk, Barbie dolls, bikes, and more. My nieces are in gymnastics. One of them said to me, “Want to see something impressive?” So I said, “sure.” She did a one handed cartwheel and some move where she flipped over backwards or something. I told her that was awesome and asked if she wanted to see me do something impressive. She said yes. So I sat down on the grass and then got up. I said, “Your 52 year old uncle just got up from the ground without any help! That is really impressive!” My mother in law chuckled out loud at that, but my niece looked at me like I was nuts!

Before my brother in law left, the kids thought it was cool to sit on his motorcycle.

Both kids fell asleep on the way home. All that outside running around must have really tuckered them out. It was still sort of early and we want to color eggs when we got home. This was “fun.”

We took an old comforter, grabbed some of the shirts that were to small for Dimitri and let Ella and Andrew wear them. My Facebook status read: “Colored some eggs tonight. Coincidentally, we also colored the blanket, the kitchen floor, Ella’s legs, and Sam and Andrew’s hands.”

When the kids went to bed, Sam gathered up the stuff for their Easter baskets and I started making footprints. Yeah, Sam bought a bunny footprint stencil. You put it on the floor and sprinkle baking soda on it and it makes footprints. So I had footprints going from the door to their baskets. Andrew walked out and immediately started spreading the baking soda all over the place! Ella thought it was cute.

This year we bought them new baskets. Really cool ones we saw at a local boutique. They were loaded with candy and prizes.

Sam’s dad came over later in the afternoon and helped me finish up the wall of the nook we are building. For the most part, the hard stuff is done. We need to sand the end of the bench and then paint. I will post pictures when that is finished.

The weather today was nicer, too. Warmer! It was a no brainer to get outside today. The kids spent lots of time in the sandbox…

…being silly ….

… and despite the look on her face in the above picture, she actually asked to push her brother on the swings…

It was a weekend full of many happy memories. I have to remind myself to enjoy every second because time moves so quickly. Tomorrow my son, Dante’ will be 21! I have no concept of how that happened so fast!! I can tell you this, though, the more children you have, the quicker time seems to fly ….

My Personal Space

Today’s blog stems from a Daily Writing Prompt and something my oldest son told me over the weekend. My sons and my ex are moving into a new place. It has a basement and my son was excited because he and his brother were told that they could make it into their very own man cave. The prompt that was in my email today reads, “If money were not an object, and you could build your own man cave, what would it contain?”

Oh, The Possibilities!

As I contemplated this, my first thought was, “I’m gonna need a big space!” I’ve read articles on the internet about “Great Man Caves” and also seen some of those home improvement shows where the builders give the guy a man cave. I admit some of my ideas are stolen from those, but many are just things that I would love to have.

A Good Sound System

This is a MUST! It would be something that I where could incorporate audio and video. I’d want to be able to play vinyl records, CD’s, cassettes, reel to real and digital audio through it. With the video aspect, I’d want to be able to watch stuff on live TV, streaming, and of course DVD/Blue Ray.

I love the idea of a home theater with comfy chairs, maybe recliners, and stadium-type seating.

While I don’t do a whole lot of drinking anymore, the above photo suggests that a bar with bar stools would certainly look cool.

I’ve always loved playing pool, even though I was never very good at it. I think a nice pool table would have to be a part of the design. One photo I stumbled on also had a golf simulator in it! This would be excellent! I don’t get out on the course enough, and during the Michigan winters, I could just tee off in the man cave!

Speaking of golf, the only golfing I am doing lately is on the Xbox. I usually shoot a round before I turn in for the night. That being said, having a gaming area would be neat to have. If money was not an object, I could buy every system and people could play whatever system they wanted to.

I’d also like a way to be able to switch whatever system I am playing onto the main TV and sound through the sound system!

If I had my own man cave, I’d have to invite the gang over to play pinochle or poker. I’d want to have a good card table to do that.

I’d have to have something on the walls – maybe some framed Detroit sports jerseys?

Or some movie posters?

Or maybe a display of various action figures?

Pinball games or arcade games are also a possibility

Now that I think about it, if I have the space, having a bowling alley in my man cave would be pretty cool too!

Speaking of bowling, there was something else we used to do at the bowling alley. After we were done for the day, we would all head into the bar area and play shuffle board. I was never any good at it, but it was certainly a lot of fun to play. A shuffle board game would also be great to add.

The above picture has another cool idea – a train that runs above the space! That Railroad Crossing sign is pretty sweet, too!

Somewhere in the man cave, I would like to have three private areas – first a restroom. It’s important to have one of those readily available. I’m sure it would have a theme – classic movies, classic comedy, or just something “manly”

Second, I would like an office area. It could be somewhere I could work, read or just relax.

Finally, I would love to have a private recording studio. With it I could do voice over work. I’d still love to do commercials, or maybe narrate an audio book, do a podcast, and it has always been a dream to have a home studio.

A personal space – a man cave – is nice to think about. Perhaps one day ….