You may recall my recent blog posts about Santa Claus and our attempts to "keep the faith" with our children. It certainly isn't easy, as the world we live in is not usually kind to people with a vivid imagination. Our kids are constantly being coerced into growing up faster than the previous generation, so belief in mystical characters like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy is certainly in jeopardy.

I like the idea of dressing up as Santa Claus, although I would prefer to wait until I actually look more like him. I don't think that an obvious fake does anything to boost the confidence in the real guy, even if you explain that he's just "Santa's helper". Easter is a whole other thing. I could easily see myself picking up one of those bunny costumes and strategically allowing myself to be seen one late Easter night, as I fill the kids' baskets with candies and assorted playful trinkets.  read more »

I can't believe it...I broke my own Christmas rule. You know the rule that says you're not supposed to do any shopping on Christmas Eve? I know what you're thinking. How novel. How naive. But my intentions were pure.  read more »

It looks like we'll be devoid of snow this Christmas. I don't mind. Honestly, after living in several areas of the country that receive lots of snow during the winter, I don't miss it - not even on Christmas. Instead, the weather was a little warmer than usual today, and we took the kids and dog for a walk downtown. We left late in the afternoon, when the sun was low in the sky, flooding the historic homes in town with bright yellow light.  read more »

I'm sorry to rub this in, but it is so nice that our kids are finally beyond that age when they stick everything in their mouths. I'm particularly reminded of this when we travel with relatives. Our upcoming holiday trip to Branson with my parents and grandmother would have frightened us a few years ago. Grandparents and the elderly, who are no longer accustomed to having small children around, routinely leave their medication lying around, within reach of curious toddlers. Even more frequently, a pill gets dropped accidentally and never recovered, until a child finds it.  read more »

Sorry, but you're just going to have to humor me for a while, as I'm on this Santa kick today. Here's my next thought...  read more »

I was recently talking to my wife about an idea that I came up with. It's a bit silly, a bit wacky, and 100% positive. Several weeks ago, we were shopping at Home Depot and there was a minivan parked in front of the store with a personalized license plate:

SANTA  read more »