The other day, we received our catalog from “Oriental Trading”, a company from which Andrea has ordered candy and other little gifts for the boys to bring in to school for their friends for different holidays. Benjamin and Matthew love looking through it and picking out what they want to […]
Just before Christmas, Matthew and I were walking out of daycare with him holding candy canes. He explained to me that he had three candy canes, “One for me, one for Benjamin and one for you, daddy.” He then proceeded to accidentally drop one of the candy canes, breaking it. […]
I loved Christmas specials on television growing up. I can still remember the excitement as the colorful “Special Presentation” (or whatever it said) words would spin in a multi-colored kaleidoscope on to the screen, announcing that a Christmas show was about to come on. While I still enjoy many of them, my […]
Growing up in a large family, one of the more exciting parts of the Christmas season was Pollyanna where we would pick each others names out of a hat and secretly leave little gifts or candy for the person we picked. With the boys as young as they are, we […]
I’ve said it before…I love Christmas. It was always magical to me as a kid, but that magic was lost for a while. Now, as new magic is created through my children, I always think back to my own childhood (and after) memories. I wrote the below a few years […]
Last night, Benjamin and Matthew decided to make Christmas presents for Andrea and I. They disappeared into the office and proceeded to discuss and create the perfect gifts (with some arguing and lots of giggling). At one point, as I passed the office door, I heard papers quickly get shuffled […]
It’s the Christmas season, obviously, and the boys are beyond excited. They are up at least an hour earlier than normal, they run around like chickens without heads and the most popular question (it accounts for at least 50% of their questions) is “How many days until Christmas?” They ask, […]
About a year or two ago, we were visiting with friends of ours who own a house up in the Poconos. As I was walking out with Ben, I turned to my friend and asked, “Do you have any B-E-A-R-S here?” (I spelled “bears” in case that wasn’t clear.) Within […]
This past weekend was my 20th high school reunion, as well as Andrea and I’s 12th wedding anniversary. Needless to say, the weekend was dripping with sentimentality, nostalgia, flashbacks and, of course, alcohol. A lot of it (not the alcohol, thankfully) continues to stick with me. While the boys hung out […]
Within minutes of giving Matthew a donut last night, he came into the kitchen holding a small bag of Skittles and asked if he could have it for his snack. I said to him, “I just gave you a donut!” To which he replied, “Donuts have grains in them, so […]
It's The Papa 