All Done Away With

It's over.

I'm done for another year.

Fred did everything.  He bought all of the presents and did all the wrapping.  I have no idea how much he spent and because I don't want to freak myself out, I will never ask.

He and my Mom said that they were only going to buy each kid a few things.    They must have said a few dozen things and I misheard.  Sadly, I am not exaggerating.

Fred ordered a new coffee pot which came before Christmas.  We pretended it was a Christmas present to ourselves.  But in fact, I wanted nothing and that's what I got.  I know that that sounds "off", but Nothing is exactly what I wanted.  I am happy.

And the children are happy too.  Although Claire exclaimed, last evening, that she was bored.  Sometimes it is boring sitting in a pile of  brand new toys.  Or so I hear.

I hope that you all had the best Christmas ever and got everything that you deserve.  I really mean that.

I'm taking a break and will see you sometime after New Year's Day.
Thank you all for stopping by this year.  Your Comments are the true Christmas presents that I receive each day.  Because when you boil it all down, it really is the thought that counts.  At least it is to me.
Your Friend, m.

Joy to the World!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Your Friend, m.

O Come O Come Emmanuel

Say what you want about Catholics. But one thing is for sure. We put on a show like nobody's business.
Enjoy the Spirit of the Holiday.
Your Friend, m.

So then at Three O'clock...

Brownies!

After seeing Santa on Sunday, we came back home and I sat down for some coffee for a whopping 15 minutes.  Note:  For all of you childless folks who are considering having children, please keep in mind that "IT NEVER STOPS!!!".  If you're okay with that, go for it!

After my coffee, I started rummaging through Claire's room to piece together her Brownie uniform.  She was tired, I was tired, we argued over shoes.  Hers, not mine!  So then at Three O'clock, we were out the door again.  The Brownies were caroling at a nursing home.  You know what, maybe it's called a Senior Care Facility.  My Sister is in a nursing home but this place wasn't like a hospital.  It was just filled with the elderly who seem to function okay, for the most part.

Anyway, we arrived and after being crammed into the small lobby for 30 minutes, they gave us access to the gathering room where the girls got busy going over their song list.

And then before we knew it, they were up and singing.  Now check out Claire's shoes.  I won by the way.  Alright, even though it's her outfit, I made it work!  And that's just one of the benefits of having a gay dad.

Most of the residents seem to have enjoyed the show.  I loved this lady because she was genuinely happy with seeing the girls.  She would clap all of the time.  And more importantly, at the right moment and without be prodded to do so by her caregiver.

These folks were pleased too.

It was a mixed bag with this group.  I don't think that one guy enjoyed me taking pictures of him.  I'm sure that he thought I was a Communist spy or something.  He probably went back to his room after wards and wrote a letter to Joseph McCarthy.

She still has her wedding bands on.  How long has her husband been gone?  I don't know.  But she's still married to him.  Don't you love it?

More pictures of Claire singing just because I know that you are dying to see them.

But it wasn't all singing. There were little skits and then a couple of girls did a ballet.  Not well but they did it and that's what counts, right?  Later on I took them aside and told them that if they wanted to be real ballerinas, they would each need to drop about 20 pounds.  Look, I'm just prepping them for the future.  And they can start by getting rid of that free lunch that they just swallowed.  Oh people, relax!  I'm just kidding.  That's horrible for laughing at that!

This was very nice.  The girls had made cards to hand out to the residents.  And my favorite Lady in Red was most appreciative.  She got two cards as you can see.  That Commi-hater got nothing!

I was really proud of the girls and they did a great job.  And my little Claire was rewarded at the end.  And when you're are a seven year old Brownie, this makes your whole day.

Every other Wednesday, the girls can wear their Uniforms to school because their Brownie meeting is after classes.  I asked Claire if they all walk around in a big Brownie group down the hallways shoving other girls out of their way into their lockers.  She said "NO Daddy!"  I just love it when she thinks that my questions are serious.

Okay, different story.  Are you all still with me?  Last year, yesterday, we finalized the adoption of Jacob and Joshua.  We love them very much and are so blessed to have them.  Even if Jacob is lazy and Joshua can't find his shoes even though they are in his feet.  It's still good.

To celebrate today, we officially submitted our paperwork to adopt again.  We've been talking about it all year but we are now ready.  Fred and I are leaving it up to "if it happens, it happens".  We are not going to rush it and if that "perfect" child is presented to us, then it's a go.  And if it never happens, we are quite fine with our four, most of the time.  And yes, I know that there is no "perfect" child.  I know this first hand.

Your Friend, m.

Santa in the Hood

Santa Claus came to town

Coming home from Church on Sunday, I saw signs posted that Santa would be making his rounds through the Neighborhood spreading Christmas cheer.  The sign at the end of our block indicated 1:30PM.  That's fine but it's right in the middle of downtime in our house so I wasn't too pleased with that.  But at 1:15, I gathered the children and told them to get ready to run up the street.  At 1:20PM, I heard the Firetruck off in the distance.  Our neighborhood is pretty quiet and in the Winter, it's practically dead.  So any noises, like a big ass Firetruck on our block really grabs my attention.  Once I heard that, I rushed the kids out of the house and we ran up the street.

Here is my neighbor's daughter giving Santa a little fist bump.  I just though that it was the cutest thing.  She was so happy to see Santa as only a three year old can be.  "Wonder Twins powers, activate!"

And Santa came bearing gifts too.  Pencils, candy canes, coloring books, etc...

Joshua waiting patiently for a candy cane.

And after getting it.

Claire just humoring Santa and pretending that she still believes in him.

Jacob still does although he knew that this one was a fake.  He asked me so on the way back home.  I said "yep".  I'm glad that he didn't ask me if Santa really exists.  I want the lie to continue for just one more year.  It's a magical lie.

Joshua giving me a photo op before Santa heads back to the North Pole/Fire Station on 6th Street.

Then Santa was off!

But the kids walked away happy.

Even John.  Oh!  Did I forget to mention that he was there too?  Yeah, he was.  If you are handing out free things, he's first in line.

Your Friend, m.

12.21.10

Your Friend, m.

Gran's Birthday

Today is my Gran's Birthday

She past away earlier this year.  Because she suffered with Alzheimer's and had a solid belief in God, I wasn't terribly upset when she passed.  Had she been in her right mind and knowing that her body was failing, I'm sure that she would be sad for leaving us all behind, but also looking forward to going Home.

Johnny took it the hardest but he's okay now.  She was a good woman and I am grateful that she was part of my life for 41 years.  I have tons of great memories of her.   And I'll be honest with you.  Because I believe that I will see her again one day, I am more sad that things had to change, and that my incredible childhood is gone, than with her passing.  I can still hear her voice.  And sometimes, out of nowhere, I'll get a scent of her perfume and that brings a happy smile to my face.

Read about her (here) and (here), if you want.

Ave Maria, the video that I took last year from Youtube with Andrea Bocelli had been edited and therefore, it isn't on my old Post.  So here is one from Celine Dion which is even better.

Cora's forever grandson, m.

12.19.10

Don't you just love her?

This little darling belongs to my new friend, Julie.  Claire and Julie's oldest daughter are in Class together.  They had a play date the other week and I hung out for a grown-up play date with Julie.  You need that sometimes, you know.

Mommy says that this little one can be, um, difficult at times.  But I was able to hold her and she was a complete doll baby for me.  Either Mommy is completely lying or this baby love the Gays.  Or both!

Your Friend, m.

I've been naughty

And not in the good way

Fred and I went out with the girls last night.  My Mom and Dad watched all four kids overnight.  She called me earlier on Friday to tell me to dress them properly since they were going to take them to a restaurant for dinner.  I dropped them off at 5:30 and met up with my gang at 6:15PM for dinner and fun.  Had a great time.  Here is my Friend Heidi from last night.

Anyway, my Mom called me this morning and asked if she could send home some decorations with the kids.  I said "no" because I hate Things.  We had some words and I was mean to her.  So I am here to publicly apologize to her.  The yard globe with Frosty did make its way home.

My Mom loves me to pieces and we both agree that I'm a Jerk at the same time.  This has been going on for 42 years now.  I'll call her tomorrow and we'll be right as rain again.  That's how it works with us.

Us, mid 80s.

Sorry Mom

Your Son, m.

Thank You!

My apologies if I am boring you with a photo that you have already seen.  And yes, A(even though you no longer want to comment on this site anymore), I guess I am sucking in my cheeks again.

I just want to take the time today to thank you all for wishing Fred a Happy Birthday.  And by the way people, I understood your French so watch it!  Ha!  I need to tell you that I think that I prefer people's hilarious comments over my own posts.  I get the biggest chuckle when I see someone take something that I have written and turn it around to make it funny.  Especially when I make obvious mistakes.   I need to laugh and you folks help me do that.

Once again, I do appreciate you all taking the time to wish Fred well.  I also appreciate the new folks stopping by and even the Anonymous(what's more than one Anonymous person?) contributing.

You all are a great bunch and you made me laugh out loud last night and this morning.  Yes, I actually LOL-ed.  Can you write LOL-ed?  I don't know.  Call me old fashioned but I prefer old-school Laughing Out Loud.  Even I do have to type a few more letters.

Thanks again!

I know, I went from from Merlot to Coors light in seconds.  That's me!   Penthouse to Trailer Trash in the blink of an eye.  So don't piss me off!  And no, I don't have a drinking problem.  It would only be a problem if I dropped the can.

Your Friend, m.
Fred commented on yesterday's post.

Fred's "crappy" Birthday

Fred taking a break from harvesting in the Family vineyards: Verzenay France, mid 80's.

I always love this picture of him and so I show it often.  Today is Fred's birthday and he directly asked me not to spend hours and days rummaging through boxes of photos to make a three minute video.  Making a video using digital images is way easier than scanning actual photos and filing them.  It takes a lot of time and energy and then sometimes, I become a tad "moody".  Just a tad though!  So I won't be making another video but I will be recycling last year's birthday video and, just because I want to, I'll add the one that I made for our 20th Anniversary which was back in April.

I am happy to report that Fred did make it to see this year's birthday.  He almost didn't after working my last gay nerve last night.  He called me yesterday to report that we were having plumbing problems.  So by the time that I got home, he was in the worst possible mood trying to resolve the situation.  Okay, I'll admit that I could have done more to help than to take pictures of him while he was stressing. 

But I was just trying to capture the moment.  Give me a break!

Actually, he wasn't mad at me for that at all.  He was just upset about the whole "sh*#;ty" situation.  Most of my time at home is spent telling the children "flush the toilet/wash your hands."  Well yesterday, I spent most of the evening telling the kids the opposite.  So guess what they did.  That's right, they flushed the toilet while Fred was working on the pipes.  They finally listened to me!  Fred wasn't very happy.  And now guess who he took it out on.  Right again!  You people are so smart.  He started to argue with me and then as I started to yell back, I got bored and decided to stop.  I mean, what's the point?  We both have our viewpoints and neither one of us ever gives in so why bother.  The plumber arrived this afternoon and took care of everything.  We're cool!

Fred's birthday present.

Okay, so once again.  Since Fred said not to spend time creating a new video of old photos, I am going to post both the video from last year's post(here) and the one from our 20th(here).  Please know that his birthday vid is a bit choppy but I was still learning at that time.  I did the best that I could.  I'll remake it at one point.

See, even though we fight, we really do love each other and have out lasted tons of real(wink wink) marriages all around us.  Alright, so here's more proof of my love for Fred.

So now I need a favor from you. I told you before that Fred barely looks at this Blog.  Which is a good thing because he would erase half of the content. Anyway, I will ask him to look at it tomorrow. Would you please take time to wish Fred a Happy Birthday? Also, if you happen to speak and can write in French, here is your chance to impress me. Unless of course, French is your native tongue. But don't worry, I'll still be impressed. I'm simple that way.

Your Friend, m.
Oh wait!  And if you want to add in how lucky Fred is to have me, that would be okay too.  m.
"I Love You Fred"

It's a Jewish thing. You wouldn't understand.

In fact, I had to look it up myself.

That's Johnny's hand by the way.  Yeah, I know his skin is dry.  You try to convince your 10 year old son to moisturize and let me know how it goes.  And if he says "Oh-My-God, I would totally love some moisturizer.!", then I would be worried .

Anyway, that little blue thing in Johnny's hand is a dreidel.  Here is the description of it from Wikipedia: A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top played with during the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah.

Remember when I told you that Johnny was in a different school.  Well, his new school, and our township has a big Jewish population.  So where the other three kids bring home Crucifixions, Johnny brings home things like this dreidel.  I don't know of any Jewish Families in our neighborhood but there are a lot near my office which is just about two miles away.  But there are also several Synagogues near my office as well.  I love seeing them walking to Temple on Jewish Holidays.  I actually like seeing anyone who celebrates religion with such passion but that's just me.  Here is a link to the Jewish Community in Harrisburg.

I really do enjoy being a Catholic and part of that is to teach the children to grow up in that faith.  But to tell you the truth, I don't really care what path in life my kids take.  They are their own human beings and they can make up their own minds.  I have a feeling that we are all going to end up in the same place anyway.  So in six years or so and Johnny brings home a girlfriend named Rebekah or Chava, I'm all in.  Hopefully I won't know her father from years gone by.  That would be embarrassing.  But quite possible!

Happy Hanukkah!
Did I miss it?

"I have a little dreidel
I made it out of clay
And when it's dry and ready
Then dreidel I shall play!"

Your Friend, m.