Reflections on Boxing Day.

Ambrose spent much of Christmas Eve making clay people. He's taken a new interest in making things. This is a snow man.

We have started a new Xmas Eve tradition: mashed potato bar. Ezra won "Most Toppings." Ambrose won for presentation. I won for being a fuckin' glutton. The boat bottom right is Beth's signature Thai peanut curry gravy. 

It wasn't MY idea to give a nine-year-old an iPod. However, I have enjoyed going through my library to find songs to fill it up with.

Along with sooty fingerprints on the mantel, two distinct sleigh bells were found lying in the cold ashes.

Each kid got a "big" present. Ambrose really needed a bike. Ezra did not need an iPod.

At our house, Santa Claus leaves Jack Links beef sticks in the stockings.

Santa only brought one present this year, everything else was from parents and grandparents. That present was a Wii. The adults vowed to use it for its fitness capabilities. This adult has ended up playing a lot of Lightsaber Duel.

Of the clay figurines, Ambrose made one specifically for me, a cute little devil. For some perverse reason this gift stood out as one of the most touching gestures of all the gifts given. It was a sign he really knows his dad's tastes, and doesn't realize how twisted they are.  Overheard: "No, he's not dead. He just lives in Hell."