We had our first big snow over the weekend. It’s always fun to watch how a puppy who has never seen snow will react to it.
It was early, like 4am early, and Mabel made it clear that she had to go outside. As I opened the door, I could see that there were about 4-5 inches of snow on the ground. Mabel stood on the porch while I walked out onto the driveway calling her. She wasn’t sure what to do. She finally ventured down the step and stared at me.
She eventually did her business (on the driveway) and flew back up to the porch. All she wanted was to go inside.
As the day progressed, she would go outside and go further into the yard. It helped that the kids went outside with her.
It has now become a chore to get her to come back in the house! There has been more than one occasion when I’ve had to chase her around the yard. I’m sure that she finds it humorous to make me run around after her.
She has had no problem adjusting to her new home. She even loves taking rides in the car. She loves taking a trip up to the school to pick up Ella at the end of the day.
In the short time she has been with us, she has become one of the family. She is growing fast, too. It won’t be long before she is as big as me.
Wednesday night into Thursday, we got hit with some decent snow. Travel was treacherous and they were telling folks to stay home. Naturally, people with a sleep study scheduled, still showed up! Urgh!
I loved playing in the snow as a kid. We made snow forts and such and would be frostbitten when it was time to come inside.
I have yet to make a good snow fort with my kids. That’s not to say that we didn’t have some fun in the snow, because we did. We did a lot of sledding and just snow silliness.
This was one of my favorite pictures. My two older boys and I sledding down the street from our first house. The hill wasn’t too big, but it was fun for them.
They really loved just playing in the snow. Just like my two younger kids.
I have always loved the look on Ella’s face in this one. All I was doing was pulling her around the yard. She loved it.
Andrew is all about going outside no matter what the weather! He’s a snowballer. He loves to throw snow balls.
I’m sure I have plenty of other snowy shots, but for now, these warm my heart on a cold Michigan day.
It snowed this week. It was a bit more than flurries and we received about an inch. It was just enough to make driving a bit treacherous and the yard beautiful.
With just over two weeks until Christmas, I do hope the snow remains on the ground. I am partial to a white Christmas.
There is something extra special to me about falling snow. I get caught up in the silence of it, and marvel at it.
I don’t remember where I first saw this, but it really made me think. I wanted to share this piece by Ruth Adams with you.
A Snowflake Falls – by Ruth Adams
One night I saw a snowflake fall. Past memories it did recall.
And as the snow fell to the ground, So quietly without a sound,
I watched until a blanket made, To glistening white – brown earth did fade.
An untouched cover until the dawn. The sun arose; it was soon gone.
I thought of friendships in the past. Seemed perfect though they did not last.
And family ties once meant so much, Now rarely do we keep in touch.
So quickly life can take a turn, Yet slowly we do seem to learn.
So many things in life can change And suddenly be rearranged.
In our slumber while we do sleep, For granted blessings thought to keep,
For same as night does turn to morn, An untouched blanket can get torn,
The things that we have overlooked, Ignored, rejected or mistook,
As melted snow does turn to slush, Relationships can turn to dust.
So this year for the holiday, Praise God for blessings given today.
Don’t take for granted they’ll remain, That life forever will be the same.
Let’s be the most that we can be, For all our friends and family.
Unlike the snowflake on the ground, Let’s keep in touch and stay around.
When people ask me if I watch certain shows on television, I have to remind them that I have toddlers at home. The shows I watch are the ones the kids watch: Bluey, Miss Rachel, Work It Out Wombats, Fireman Sam, and my daughter’s favorite, Gabby’s Dollhouse.
On the show, the main character is played by a gal named Laila Lockhart Kraner. She wears some magic ears on her head that allows her to shrink down and interact with the various cats in her dollhouse.
My wife sent me a thing last week that said that Laila is coming to some furniture store near us. You could sign up to win VIP meet and greets, which I did. I also reserved a spot to go to the event this Sunday. I know there will be games, snacks, face painting and “Gabby” herself. When I told Ella about it, she was SO excited! She keeps asking how many more “sleeps” till we meet her.
My co-worker asked me tonight if I had plans for the weekend. I wish I could describe the look on his face when I told him I was going to meet Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse! LOL! All I know is that I hope my daughter has a great time!
“He is into everything!”
My youngest son, Andrew, is someone that you need to watch every second of the day. He is just so fast. The other day, I was loading the dishwasher. He walked up to me and wanted to help. When I looked at him, I asked him what was in his hair. It looked like maybe he poured water on it. Nope. In the 5 minutes I turned my back, he got into my wife’s shampoo and kept putting it in his hair. He had enough shampoo in his hair to wash his, Ella’s, the dog, and you!
Tonight, while Sam was loading the dishwasher, he went into the laundry room and opened up the washer. It had completed its cycle and our sheets were waiting in there to be put in the dryer. What did Andrew do? He saw our container of Oxiclean.
He sees us add this to certain loads of laundry BEFORE we wash them. So, he felt that it was totally ok to add some (i.e. A LOT) to the sheets that were in there. Sam had to rewash the sheets and hope that too much Oxiclean was not going to be a problem.
Recently, my father-in-law was over and he needed a saw to cut something. I went and got mine out of the garage. Because it was raining, I set it up on the shelf by the washer and dryer. I figured it would be out of the way and I would put it back when I got a second. Well, guess who found it and tried it on his finger? Yep. Andrew!
But wait! There’s more!
Sam took the dog outside to go to the bathroom. In the 3-4 minutes that she was outside, Andrew was at it again. When she walked in, she saw him on a kitchen chair pushed up to the counter. On the counter, he had taken the piece that holds a coffee filter out and put a filter in it. He then scooped a tremendous amount of coffee into the filter. He had actually turned the pot on to brew. Thankfully, there was no water in it, so he didn’t brew any. Of course, we will be sweeping up coffee grounds from the counter, the floor, and a few other places for the next week!
(That’s NOT Andrew, but you get the idea!)
Highlight of the Week
Despite the snow we got this week, the temperatures have been on the mild side. It was nice for all of us to get out and walk the neighborhood. We still bundled up as it was breezy, but it was great to get out and show Daisy the neighborhood.
Michigan got hit with it’s first real winter storm this weekend. It was no joke. It started Friday afternoon after I got to work. In the short couple hours I was there, the snow accumulated quickly. It didn’t take long for patients to start cancelling their appointments for that evening.
Believe it or not, despite the 6-8 inches of snow that had already fallen, there were still a couple patients who were going to drive in. The problem was that our techs were having trouble getting in. We ended up having to cancel everyone for that night. This was probably a good thing, because I got to go home early.
My wife didn’t want me driving in the storm, but I certainly didn’t want to sleep at work. So I ventured out and my normal hour and ten minute drive wound up being about 3 hours. The drive was treacherous. There were cars flipped in ditches, semi-trucks jackknifed, flares surrounding cars that had stalled, and many freeway closures. It was a white knuckle drive and I was glad to finally be home.
Saturday, the kids and I took advantage of the snow and tried out their new sled.
I pulled them all over the yard and up and down the street. It didn’t take long before my copy cat (Andrew) wanted to pull his sister in the sled. I really didn’t think he’d be able to, but he did!
Daisy was having a blast in the snow and kept trying to bite the cord we were pulling the sled with. Naturally, Ella had to pull Andrew as well.
It was very cold out, so I had to really beg them to come inside. They didn’t want to, but I promised hot cocoa, so they came in.
Sam was supposed to work Saturday, but all the patients had cancelled. So we enjoyed an evening at home. Ella decided that she would give us a spa day.
Sam got her nails done first. As I chuckled about how hard it was going to be to get that polish off, Ella informed me that I was next!
I still have nail polish in my cuticles!
Before bed, we made an obstacle course in the living room for them to burn off all their extra energy.
Sam was teaching Ella how to tuck and roll. She stood on the foam nugget (above), touched her toes, tucked her head, and they rolled over. She wanted me to try it. Three times I did it and failed miserably each time. My wonderful and loving wife took video and posted on Facebook for all to see. It is not my proudest moment and I look like hell! I will NOT be sharing here.
All the running out in the snow did tucker Daisy out. I had to laugh as I sat on the couch next to her and I looked over and saw this:
My brother and his friend had tickets to see the Madonna show in Detroit last night. He drove up on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel. He stopped by Sunday and hung out with the kids. They were so excited to see their Uncles. At one point, Andrew kept bringing books to my brother to read. He’d read it right the first time and then (when asked to read it again) would alter the story with humorous comments.
Any time I get to see my brother is treasured. We need to take a trip down to see him in Ohio this summer.
Sunday Night, the Detroit Lions beat the LA Rams in their first playoff win sin 32 years. I wrote about this in the previous blog, but had to share this. Coincidentally, the Detroit Free Press posted a picture of the temperature in the little town of Hell, MI on Sunday night.
We woke up today to about an inch and a half of snow. There is more on the way before the week is done. It’s been fun to see how Daisy reacts to the snow.
She is not quite sure what to do with it. She sniffs it. She rolls in it. She eats it. It’s quite a scene.
When she is out by herself it was fun to watch. When the kids came outside, it was even more fun. The kids could not wait to get outside.
They were making snow angels, throwing snow up in the air, and running around like crazy. The puppy was loving every minute of it.
The puppy was hilarious. I would grab a bunch of snow and make a snowball. The pup would see it and get excited. I would throw it and it would explode as soon as it hit the ground. The pup would run to where it landed and would look around for it. If a snowball remained a snowball after it hit the ground, she’d go to pick it up with her mouth. Naturally, it would crumble immediately.
The more I threw snowballs for her, the funnier I found it. Sam came outside and I said, “Hey, watch this dumb dog!” I threw a snowball and she’d run after it it and go crazy when she couldn’t find it. She’s be digging around the snow. I was cracking up.
I did this for quite a while and karma came back to get me. I reached down to grab some snow for a snowball only to see that I had also scooped up with it a semi-fresh bit of dog poop! It was all over my gloves. No more snowballs for me.
Ok, Karma, I won’t make fun of the puppy anymore. I got your crappy message – literally!
In Michigan you never know what Trick or Treating will be like. Most of the time, it is cold or rainy. I can only remember one or two times where it was mild. Yesterday was just crazy!
Sam realized that the kids hadn’t carved pumpkins that afternoon. So we sat on the kitchen floor cleaning out the pumpkin guts. That was pretty much when both kids said, “I’m done!” Ella said, “Daddy, make mine a cat!” I had no stencil or anything, so I did my best. She was happy with this terrible carving….
Andrew wanted a “Monster Pumpkin.” This was a better effort from me … still ridiculous.
We ventured out with our neighbor and their two little ones. It was chilly, but not freezing. The kids wore their winter coats under their costumes and Sam and I had on hats and coats. It was a good thing we were dressed that way! After 30 minutes in the neighborhood, the wind kicked up in an instant and the snow was blowing hard. Suddenly, it was bitterly cold and wet!
We were halfway through the neighborhood, so we had no choice but to finish. I felt bad for our neighbor, as her little girl looked like she was frozen. Ella was like a mail carrier – snow wasn’t going to stop her from nabbing candy!! Andrew was kind of done when the snow kicked up. I wound up putting him up on my shoulders for the last few minutes.
Ella was struggling a bit because her dress was a bit long. She kept tripping on it. So Sam and I took turns holding up the “hoop” so that she could walk from house to house. Bending down to hold that up and out of the way led to some back pain for both of us!
We were all soaked when we got back home. Sam made the kids hot chocolate and we ordered out for dinner. The snow fell for quite awhile and we got a decent coat. It wasn’t a solid coating, but still pretty as the sun rose this morning.
Why was I watching the sun rise? Well, the puppy decided that she had to go outside. Of course, she’d never seen snow before and it took her forever to finally go out onto the grass!
We realized this morning that we were so busy holding dresses, waiting for the neighbors to catch up to us, and carrying kids, that we didn’t get one picture of them outside that night!! I’m glad that we got those professional pictures done. At least we have some in their costumes!
The past week has been fairly typical. Nothing too out of the ordinary for me. There have been some nice highlights, however.
Sunday, we got a little snow. Sam promised the kids that we could go out and play in it. So we all bundled up and went outside as the snow fell.
Andrew LOVES being outside in the snow. He is a lot like his sister at that age. He tends to just be in awe of the snow.
Ella wanted to build a snow “castle.” We grabbed one of her sandbox toys thinking we could make bricks, but the results weren’t so good, despite the fact that the snow was a bit wet.
We attempted to build a snowman, but Andrew kept tackling it or picking up the snowballs to throw. Ella was in the middle of the yard and said, “Let’s take a walk, daddy!” So we did.
Andrew held my hand for most of the walk, but occasionally wanted to run up to Ella. She was happy to see her puppy friend, Louie. He was out on the porch (waiting to be let back inside!). She was yelling, “Hello, Louie! Merry Christmas!” It really was a nice little walk.
On Tuesday morning, Ella had her third birthday pictures taken. She won’t be three until the 10th of next month, but we got her in at our photographer friend. Sam and Ella went out looking for a dress and she actually picked out the one she wanted pictures in.
Sam asked her if she wanted to take her Elsa dress that she got for Christmas for an outfit change. She said she wanted to wear the Belle dress that she wore for Halloween. We may have gotten more pictures in that dress. Urgh!
The area got hit with a good snow that started Tuesday Night and continued through the day on Wednesday. Sam had a physical on Wednesday morning. She had to drive in the snow there and I was driving home from work in it. I met her at the doctor and picked up the kids so they weren’t running around during her appointment.
When we got off the expressway, we were passing the row of restaurants and Ella says, “Daddy? I would like chicken nuggets and French fries. I chuckled and said, “Baby, it is 8:30 in the morning. I don’t think they have any made this early.” She paused for a minute and then blurted out, “Are you serious!? Are you kidding me?” It was hilarious.
Having to stay indoors can be boring for the kids. So we took the “nugget” (which you can see on the floor to Ella’s right in the picture above) and built a mountain for them to climb and play on. I tried to get some pictures of them playing on it and I snapped a cool one of Andrew.
I wish it wasn’t so blurry, but I love him jumping up on there!
They have been at each other’s throats all week. The sibling arguments have been plenty. My wife shared a fantastic photo of them, today. Proof that they really do love each other!
I finished The Word is Murder this week. I really enjoyed it. I timed it perfect as the library emailed me to let me know that the author’s Sherlock Holmes story, The House of Silk, was there for me to pick up.
I just started that tonight. I will let you know how it is.
Later today, I have a follow up with my doctor. Blood pressure check/Medication check/Weight check. I’ve tried to be careful, but I know I have gone over my points more than enough times. I know I have put back on some weight since the holidays. I really need to get back on track.
I hope you are having a great week! The weekend is almost here!
It is hard to believe that we are just 4 days away from Christmas. Someone observed that time moves a whole lot faster in December if you are an adult. This is so true! As a kid, it seemed to crawl by as we waited for Christmas.
SNOW!
This weekend kept us pretty busy. We got about an inch of snow on Saturday night and when Ella woke up she saw the ground was covered. So after breakfast, the kids and I suited up in snow gear and went out to play in the yard.
It was fun to see Andrew all bundled up. He looked so funny trying to walk in his boots and snow pants. The snow wasn’t “snowman” ready, so we really couldn’t build one. But we did get to run around and throw snow at each other. He really had fun once he got over the “awe” of it. Ella? Well, she just loves to run and jump in the snow.
Cookie Time!
Our Elf on the Shelf, Twinkles, had the idea to decorate cookies this weekend.
She is obviously a Sam’s Club member!
The kids had a blast decorating them.
Ella had her “Bucket O Princesses” with her as she decorated hers. Andrew was eating them as fast as he decorated his …
Picnic
Yesterday, Ella wanted to have a picnic. So we put a blanket down in the living room, I whipped up some grilled cheese sandwiches, and they had a picnic.
Note the “Bucket O Princesses” are with her at lunch, too! LOL!
I probably should have thought about giving them applesauce pouches. That blanket needed a good wash after the picnic was over.
Say “Ahhhh”
This morning, when Sam got home, we had to take the kids to the dentist. Ella did ok, but there are things that she won’t let them do. Sam went back with her and I guess she started to freak out about getting an X-Ray. We will probably need to see a pediatric dentist who may be able to get her calm enough to get them. Andrew had no issues at all, He was a champ.
After our visit to the dentist, it was time for a visit to Santa. Ella was so excited to go see him. More on that in my next blog!
One Final Story
Last year my dad got us an Amazon Echo. You have to link it to an Amazon account, so I linked it to mine.
Sam and I decided that we were not getting each other anything for Christmas this year. I decided to get her something from the kids. So I took $20 I won on an instant lottery ticket and put it in the account I used for my DJ business (so she wouldn’t know) and ordered her something on Amazon.
She was standing by the fireplace yesterday where the Echo is yesterday. She see’s something that pops up on the screen.
She asks me, “What did you order from Amazon?”
“Nothing,” I said.
“According to the Alexa, you have something arriving Thursday that YOU ordered,” she says.
“Don’t worry about it!” I told her, hoping she would drop the subject.
She didn’t drop it and says, “We don’t have the money to spend. Did you put this on your credit card?”
“No. It’s not anything big. It’s something from the kids to you.” and I explained that it was from the lottery ticket money.
She finally drops the subject, until today.
“By the way, I know what you have coming from Amazon,” she slyly says.
I look at her flustered. “Every time I try to get you something as a surprise, something spoils it!”
She then says, “What made you think to get that?”
I don’t say anything. I told her to just act surprised when she unwraps in.
Then she laughs and says, “Yeah, I don’t know what it is. But I was hoping you would tell me by telling you I knew what it was!”
“Wife Trickery” at its finest!! Man, I almost told her what it was! Somehow I think she knows what it is anyway, but we’ll see.
I saw a thing on Facebook that made me laugh. It said, “It only snows in November because people decorate early for Christmas.” Blame me if you wish, but we needed to brighten things up over this way!
There has been a lot going on in my life, some of which I have shared and some I have kept to myself. We’re all processing a variety of emotions. With the passing of my sister-in-law, there is an extra bit of sadness. Like the song says, “We need a little Christmas!” So we decided to put up the Christmas tree this weekend.
The older the kids get, the more fun this becomes. Andrew was just a couple months old last year, so he was especially excited to see the tree and the lights. He and Ella both “helped” handing me lights. They were both extra giddy.
I had the lights plugged in as I walked around the tree with them. That way I could make sure they were placed evenly and all areas has the proper amount of lights.
Andrew, as you know, is everywhere. He gets into everything! So we debated waiting until closer to Christmas to put ornaments on the tree. We also debated not putting any on at all. We did decide to put the tree topper on, and Andrew was the perfect helper!
My dad commented on a picture of the tree on Facebook. He said he was taking bets on who was going to know the tree down – Ella, Andrew, or the cat! For the record, the cat has yet to get near the tree, which is really odd.
We brought up the baby gate and set it around the tree. It’s the “look, but don’t touch” gate. The kids can still touch it, but the probability of the tree coming down is a lot less.
I decided that certain ornaments had to go up on the tree. As ridiculous as it looks, all the ornaments are on the tree from about a foot higher than the top of the baby gate and up to the top. In total, there are maybe 12-20 ornaments on there.
Every year, we got to Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth to get an ornament that represents a big even from the year. We got one for our engagement, or marriage, the birth of both kids, etc. We went early this year and at the time, didn’t really have an “event” to get an ornament for. We opted instead for a plaque for the door with a snowman family on it.
When my sister-in-law, Grace, passed away I decided I was going to get Sam and her folks a memorial ornament for the tree. I had seen a few designs in the Bronner’s catalog, and chose this one.
I had hoped to save it until closer to Christmas to give it to Sam, but I can’t control my face. Let me explain.
I took the kids with me to Bronner’s on a day Sam was home sleeping. I kept the ornaments in my car so she wouldn’t see them. Then a day or two later, she was getting ready for work and said, “I was thinking about getting a Christmas ornament with Grace’s name on it for my mom.”
I must have stood there dumbfounded. My face obviously giving away that I had already done it. Instead of just saying, “That’s a great idea. We should do that.” I knew that she would just go and do it. So I walked out to the car and brought inside.
I’m glad it’s inside and I’m glad it is on the tree. Grace already has a special place in our hearts, and now she will have a special place on our tree every year.
If my tree being up brings snow your way, I’m sorry. We needed something help brighten the season, even if it is early.
Another thing I saw on Facebook this week said, “Don’t you just love it when the Christmas tree is the only light in the room?”
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 