Holiday Cheer and Letters from Santa Claus

I haven't posted for awhile. Seems there is always something more important to occupy my time this time of the year. Still, it's time for another update on the grandbaby and his dad's effort to work from home.

The baby is growing like a little weed as little ones tend to do. He is so cute and we've been able to hear his giggles and squeals thru the wonder of cyberspace. But, nothing beats the real thing and so Mimi heads south for a visit this afternoon. Can hardly wait. Sadly, Papaw will remain behind as he has to work, but hopefully we both will get there soon.

Now, when it comes to helping out one of my kids, I'm not the least bit bashful and if your reading this you know Mike is trying several work at home options so that Aiden doesn't have to be in daycare. His blog is going, but slowly. However, he has added 2 features that you may find useful, especially with holiday shopping time here!

If you go to his blog - http://newbiedaddy.blogspot.com - you will see 2 new links. One is to Amazon, the other to "Letters from Santa." If you click on the Amazon link from Mike's blog and you purchase something from Amazon, Mike will get a small percentage of the sale. This is at no additional cost to you, so if you're an Amazon fan, as I am, please consider getting to Amazon thru newbiedaddy.

The newest link is to "Letters from Santa." Each year, local school children submit a holiday themed drawing and the Santa Claus, Indiana post office selects one as their Christmas postmark stamp. It's usually a large red stamp and, of course, it's postmarked Santa Claus. Pretty cool, huh? Well, "Letters from Santa Claus," will not only get that postmark on the child's letter, they will actually personalize a letter to your child. If you go to their link thru newbiedaddy, Mike will also get a percentage of the sale, again at no additional cost to you.

Check out this site as they also have several neat features and offer Letters from Cupid, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. This is truly a unique, personal gift that your child will treasure. One last thing you can do to help. This is going to be a chain reaction thing to be a success for Mike, so recommend his site to friends, family and co-workers who may be Amazon shoppers or in pursuit of a really fun Christmas item for their little one. It costs you nothing but a moment of your time! Thanks!

"The Problems with Grandparents!"

I just had an email from an old friend who is grandpa to a beautiful little Irish lass named, Erin. He was asking me if Mike had addressed "The Problems with Grandparents!" in his blog yet. Funny, this old friend:-) He said his son had problems with them. I asked what he meant and he said that his granddaughter's parents were having a problem with them doing too much for her in the form of gifts. My friend responded that they were the grandparents, live far away and that his son and his wife should accept their their gifts graciously.



Has anybody else run into this problem? So far, I think the only thing I'm guilty of is giving too much advice :-) I told them I'll keep giving it until they tell me to quit! But, they actually seem to use some of it. And I also told them use what they feel will help and ignore the rest.

Parent of a Parent

Being the parent of a new parent is a whole other ballgame! You think when you get your kids raised and out of school that you can sit back and relax a little bit (read "not worry so much!"). Oh, you do worry when their girlfriend breaks up with them or when they have troubles at work. You sympathize. You pray. But, it's not the same as when they were little.

Then they get married and now there's someone else to make sure they take care of themselves...you know, eat their vegetables, wear clean underwear, don't stay out too late, drive carefully. (Ok, people, it's a fantasy!) But you breathe a sigh of relief that they are finally settling down. They have a job, they buy a house. All is well.

Then they go and have a baby. Now you start all over again, only this time, you worry about your child and the child of your child. It's hard. All of a sudden all the things that you went through as a new parent you watch your own child have to deal with. And sometimes, it's much harder for them than it was for you. If you're keeping up with Mike's blog, you see that Aiden, while cute as a button, is not as easy a baby as his daddy was. (Mike was such a good baby, I wondered if he was the second coming :-) Well, not really, but he was ALMOST perfect. But don't tell him that!) In other words, you worry about your child worrying about his child. Good grief, what my own mother must be going through!!!

But, seriously, it's all worth it. Aiden is so precious and watching him change and grow and learn new things is so much fun. And I know that all the troubles the kids are having right now are just a moment in time. Before they know it, their little boy will be sleeping through the night and gobbling down anything he can get his hands on with no adverse effects. In a blink of an eye, he will be sleeping 'til noon and eating cold pizza for breakfast and they'll be complaining that he sleeps all the time and that he better stop stashing the pizza boxes under the bed. Ah, the circle of life!

Life in Santa Claus

It should come as no surprise for me to say that we get a lot of comments about living in Santa Claus, IN...but it's kind of fun...a definite conversation starter. I'll have to surf the net and find the charming story of how this little town got it's name and post the link.

The whole town revolves around the Santa Claus theme with Holiday World Theme Park as it's center. Smaller than some larger town theme parks, Holiday World still holds it's own with the big dogs, boasting some award winning roller coaster rides, cleanest theme park in the country and the Splashin' Safari Water Park. They also have free soft drinks and sunscreen all day long. What's not to love?

As for out town, along with Christmas Lake Village subdivision, where we own our home, we have one shopping center with a grocery store, (Holiday Foods) gas station, hardware store, car wash, pizza parlor, post office, a few restaurants and other small businesses. Santa's Lodge is a beautiful place to stay or, if you prefer, Lake Rudolph Campgrounds is excellent for the campers. A medical plaza, several churches and real estate offices pretty much make up the rest of the town. Close by are Heritage Hills Middle School and High School and the 3 elementaries are not far at all.

While we are a bit off the beaten path, it's only a short drive to other wonderful attractions like Lincoln City host of Lincoln's Boyhood Home, St. Meinraid Archabbey and Abbey Press Gift shop and Tell City, Jasper, Owensboro, Evansville and Louisville are pleasant rides for dining and night life.

I will be posting some links to some of these attractions, so check back later.

Like Son, Like Mother

Both my boys are into computers. They were the ones that taught me how to get online, surf the internet, chat with other people. They have created a monster :-) And now, my oldest Mike, has turned me onto blogging. You will see one of my favorite links is a site called Tales of a New Father. That's him! We are several hours apart, but if he keeps up this blogging stuff, I won't miss being caught up with my grandson. And my other son, Andy is already got ideas for his blog about Sean, our latest addition to the family.

My boys are far away, but through the wonder of cell phones, email, chat, blogs and webcams, Papaw and I hope to keep up with those precious grandboys.