Merry Christmas!

Here's hoping you've had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, or Joyous Kwanzaa! We certainly had a Merry Christmas here.

I apologize to the 3 regular readers of my blog for having not written for such a long time. There have been three extenuating circumstances:

1. I recently got freaked out by some of the traffic finding its way to my little slice of life of the web. I use sitemeter to see how many visitors end up visiting my blog. It gives some statistics on when people are coming and who referred them. Recently, some people (monsters) stumbled on my blog using a search engine to query terms that should never be written in close proximity to each other. I won't repeat them, but you can make some assumptions given that I post and discuss photographs, relive some of the potty training stories inherent with raising small children, and, of course, sing the praises of my (and others') children. More than ever, I feel the need to not use my children's names. So, when I find the time, energy, and know-how I am going to revamp everything. Any suggestions from fellow bloggers would be most appreciated. The sheer magnitude of such an undertaking has deterred me from blogging recently.

2. The inherent holiday hecticness. The holiday parties. Shopping. Wrapping. Etc.

3. I have been battling a cold, such that even when I do have the time I cannot muster the mental energy.

May you have a Happy and Peaceful New Year.

Town Parade

Our town parade was held this past Friday. We met with three other families and the kids got to hang out and enjoy the parade together. It was awesome, a bit short, but I think just the right length for the kids in the cold. Afterward, one of the families invited everyone over for hot chocolate and wine. I love when these impromptu gatherings just happen.

My Girl

Just a beautiful picture.

I won't stand for even the dolls becoming smarter than I

This must be nipped in the bud.

Practice squad called into action

Finally updated Thanksgiving post from Draft status to published. Click or scroll down to read.

File under: Funny things they say

Yesterday, I was trying to help my wife find an outfit for this holiday party to which we've been invited. I ended up on the Banana Republic website -- remember when BR was safari-inspired clothing? They've come so far around that their name and its connotation has little if anything to do with their apparel. I guess if ain't broke, don't fix it. Anyway, I digress, Lulu saw this image, pointed and said, "Mommy!"

Today, I was on my isp's portal page and they had an article about the House voting on the Intelligence bill. The image accompanying the article was an image of the Capitol Building. LuLu points at it and says, "Nonna's house." Sorry LuLu, Nonna and Pop-pop's house is nice, but certainly much, much, more modest.

The other day, Four, LuLu, and I were eating lunch together. We'd had a busy weekend and we were all visibly tired. I started talking about all of us taking naps after lunch. I was really making a great case for the benefits of naps, and thought I was making some real progress, when Four turns to me and says, "Dad, I'm not a big fan of sleeping."

One day this weekend, Four came into our room before sunrise. He starts cuddling in our bed, we start trying to talk him into going back to his bed, when he climbs up on M, gets right in her ear, and whispers, "Mommy, do you want to watch the sun come up with me?" Who can resist that. The two of them ended up at the window in the hall bath waiting for the sun.

Santa at the Lake!

Santa made his annual visit to our Lake for photos and receiving of lists. Four did well. I guess LuLu is getting coal, she wouldn't sit with the giant elf.

'Mr Mommy'

Today, at lunch, the boy child called me 'Mommy' by mistake. I replied, "Just don't call me Mr. Mom." Well, this was all my two progeny needed. Lunch erupted in a chorus of "Mister Mommy" and "Mitta Mom-mee". I pretended to be mad, and that my head was exploding. We were all belly laughing. It was fun.

I have plenty more content to post, especially from the busy Thanksgiving weekend (Happy Belated, btw) -- I've just been too busy or tired to write it down. Stay tuned.