Merry Christmas!

Or "Buon Natale" as we say in our neck of the woods. This is our second Christmas in Italy and well, that just seems crazy! I can't believe we've been here that long. Last year we celebrated Christmas living in a hotel and then headed to Venice the next day. I was seriously considering making it a tradition and going back to Venice on the 26th this year but B has to work. And now the forecast calls for rain so it's a no go. The kids and I will probably have a pajama day and just play with new toys.

We had a very nice, quiet Christmas at home this year. We went to our good friends house yesterday for "Christmas Dinner'' and it was really nice. Getting a few families together (most with 3 or 4 kids each) it was loud but in a good way. Today we woke up and signed into Skype so that Nanaw and Papa could virtually join us. The kids opened stockings and presents, we set up toys and Leappad's, we ate a late breakfast and napped. We played with toys, watched Christmas movies and just lounged around...all day. We never left the house.

This is our third Christmas without family (yes, I'm counting) and it's hard. I'm not gonna lie. At first it was ''Hey this is nice...no stress, no rush, no hurry" but now it's just kinda...boring. I miss the chaos. The disagreements. The squealing over who was gonna pass out presents or who was sitting where. All ''us woman'' in grandma's kitchen arguing about where the good gravy boat is. The homesickness is hitting hard this year. I think it's even harder because the kids are older and expressing that they miss opening presents with their cousin Isabelle (Bubba). Or they say things like ''I want to move back to America''. (Pooks' words). My brother and my sister in law had a baby in October...I'm an Aunt to the CUTEST little guy and I haven't even met him. It's hard...really hard. I'm quite literally, a small town Kansas girl who never lived more than 2 hours away from my family and now I'm 1/2 way around the world. Italy is amazing, and the things that I've been able to do/see/eat/drink/visit and people I have met have been more than amazing, but I really did want to be ''home for the holidays''.

But, we did make the best of it. Like I said we spent Christmas Eve with our nearest and dearest friends. We woke up this morning and the kids were VERY excited to see that Santa found us!

 

It was a morning well spent and the kids loved their gifts. So thank you to everyone who sent them here, I know it isn't easy nor cheap, but we appreciate it. Pooks said it best before bed ''It's not about the getting...it's about the people'' and this year, we were really missing some important ones. ♥

26 months...

Well Sissy you are now 26 months.  While I never really thought about when I would stop doing these monthly updates, it seems crazy that I've now done 26 of them! I think once you hit 3 I will stop. I feel like right now (and up until now) you are learning and doing so much, so quickly and it's going to be nice to look back and remember when you started to do certain things. You change in looks a little bit each month and I think it's neat to see those changes little changes add up to the years...

 I really feel like what a child looks like at three is pretty much what they're going to look like their whole life, so I have decided for now, to keep going. So at 26 months you are:

• COMPLETELY POTTY TRAINED! WooHoo!! You were hands down the easiest kid to train as I didn't train you. You've had a potty a the house for months, which you occasional sat on. At daycare, once you turn 2 they start taking you to the potty before your diaper change. You saw your 3 year old friend use the potty and wanted to be a 'Big Girl' like D....so you did. You started holding it all night, peeing on the potty first thing when you woke up and then using it all day, staying dry. During naps, overnight, while out in public...you stay dry. You will tell me, Daddy, the daycare teachers ''I go pee pee in potty" and you can hold it for awhile until we get to the nearest one. This started the Tuesday the Sunday the 25th and I'll calling it today, "You are potty trained'' when you pooped in the real potty for the first time. It's crazy to think I don't need to buy diapers anymore. You never went through a whole package of pull ups (though I will probably use out the pack and keep one on you at night just in case). 
•  infatuated with babies. Dolls, real babies, babies in catalogs, pictures of babies. You love them.
• weighing 22.5lbs, wearing mostly 2T stuff (pants I have to roll the waist or take in the seam), and size 6 shoes.
• love wearing dresses and bows. Sit mostly still while I do your hair (usually in pig tails).
• are talking more often and clearer than you were even a month ago. You're turning in to quite the little parrot!
• still happily sleeping in your crib. All of your brothers were in toddler beds or a twin bed by this age but you love your crib. You have never once tried to climb out. You wake in the morning and yell ''Mommy? I uppy!" and we get you out.

And that's what you're up to at 26 months!

Are you Curious to see who turned 4??

So Peanut is my easy-going child, I've said that before. But when the kid decided back in May to have a Curious George Birthday party, I loved him for it. I was able to get all the plates/cups/napkins on clearance. I had MONTHS to think about the little things. Now granted, while the party turned out just how I wanted it to (well, minus helium balloons) I didn't have a chance to take the all the photos that I wanted. Not that it matters, my little man had a BLAST and that's all that matters :)

First, we sent the above invites. I designed them myself ( gotta love free) and after talking to Peanut we decided we wanted to try a breakfast/pajama party. I was tired of the hamburger/hotdog/pizza parties and he loved the idea of pajamas and a movie. Plus having a party where the guests are gone by 1pm and all people involved still have 1/2 the day to do whatever they want...score!

Tables set up in living room and playroom.

 Food table and book display in kitchen. The kids helped me find props to match the books (Curious George and the Aquarium= Penguin, Curious George Rides a Train= the thomas train, etc) This isn't even 1/2 the food as some was still in the oven. All together there was: cinnamon rolls, cereal, bacon, blueberry pancakes, yogurt parfait bar, an egg and ham bake (in crockpot), bananas, baked french toast, Sunny D, Yoohoo for the kids' drinks, Coffee k-cups and Milk (in glass bottles) for the adults.

 We watched the Curious George movie for a bit but the kids didn't want to sit still for very long. We ended up turning on the Xbox Kinect and they all LOVED that. It was a crowded living room but they were all jumping around. We settled down an ate, then opened presents.

 Then it was time for cupcakes and pinata!

 

 Peanut had so much fun with his friends. His friends seemed have all had a great time and the parents all thought the idea of a pajama/breakfast party was great. It really was easy to pull off, fun and to be honest...cheaper! Eggs, pancake mix, texas toast...all easy peasy on the grocery bill!

Gah! Talk about a blogging hiatus...

So I kinda took an unintentional month long break from blogging there...I was busy living life, instead of just sharing and telling about it.

We had Halloween parties and B leaving for a couple weeks for work. One mama with four kids, in the middle of cold and flu season left us with some pretty rough days. We had ear infections and sinus infections, antibiotics, vaporizers and doctor appointments. Add in a puppy who I'm trying to house train and who is also on antibiotics, a torrential amount of rainfall and flooding, 6 days of no school due to parent teacher conferences and Veteran's day, then the day to day chores and lastly Mom catching the stomach flu and whew...a whole month flew by since my last post!

I could say ''Oh it wasn't all bad" but honestly, it was rough. I'm used to B working overtime or going TDY for a bit here and there but this time he got to return stateside while I stayed back dealing with everything in Italy. That was a tough pill to swallow. He got to see my family, his family, he got to meet my new baby nephew, he was able to catch up with friends and cousins and shop at Walmart/Target. He went to the casino, ate Mexican food and shop at ''real'' Malls. He got to sleep in on weekends and stay out as late as he wanted. Yes, he attended a course for work while home, but he also got to have a lot of fun. And he got to see Kansas in the Fall. I love the colors and the crisp air that Autumn brings. Needless to say, I was (and I still am) uber-jealous.

And I don't mean to sound like a Debbie Downer...we tried to have fun too! We did see ''Wreck it Ralph", we went to our favorite garden store and saw their Christmas display. We went to the park and playground, we took photos for our Christmas cards (not once...not twice...but THREE trips to the park in order to get a decent picture). We made pizza, we had our lazy pajama/movie/xbox days too. We played outside, we played with the doggies...heck we even taught Lucca how to fetch!

Bubba and Pooks each had their parent teacher conferences. Both are doing outstanding!

According to his teacher, Pooks is a well rounded student. He is on track socially and developmentally. He scored mostly "CD"s on his report card with a few "P"s as well. (P= progressing, CD= consistently displayed). He is doing very well in his Language Arts as well as reading and letter recognition. He went into kindergarten recognizing all letters of the alphabet, upper and lowercase, but now he knows almost all of the phonics as well. He's recognizing numbers, patterns and shapes. Socially, he's on track. He's a good listener  he works well with other students....I could go on and on, but he's doing great! Mrs. T even joked about putting in a request now, to have Peanut in her class later.

Bubba is doing just as well. Mrs O said that he was an ''ideal student'' and she wished her own kids had been so well behaved and eager to learn. She thinks that Bubba consistently displays a desire and a true interest in learning. He's a good listener, he follows instructions, he is one of the students in class that doesn't need reminded to stand still in line or to get his snack, etc. He remembers to do his homework and does it well. He is reading at a level "I" which is right where he's suppose to be. Mrs. O said that his listening comprehension skills are good and his spelling is too. Each week they have a spelling test of 12 words and Bubba has never missed more than one word (and correct capitalization counts for/against as well). He loves art, he's great at drawing pictures for his stories and he is just right where he should be.

As a mom, I left those conferences BEAMING with pride. When you have two kids so close in age, it's kinda nerve-wracking  I'll be honest, I knew Bubba was doing well at school. He takes him homework sheet very importantly, he's constantly reading (for fun), he's never been in trouble and I've always heard good things about him from any/all of his previous teachers. But, I was slightly nervous about Pooks. He's in kindergarten, it's all new to him. He isn't as slow and methodical as Bubba. He rushes through his homework to get it done (and while it's often done hurriedly, it is correct). He gets antsy and things sometimes come easy to him which means free-time, which means he gets bored. So hearing that they're both excelling, made me proud. They got to pick out a book from the book fair and go out to lunch with mommy to our most favorite Italian restaurant while their little siblings were in hourly care/preschool.

And those little siblings? They're doing well too! Peanut will be four (FOUR!!) on Monday. He's been going to a preschool program on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-1:30 and while he's there, I've been putting Sissy in the toddler class for the same time. This gives me a break *yay* as well as time to volunteer in the older boys' classrooms (Bubba's class on Tuesday, Pooks class on Thursdays). He absolutely loves Miss Barbara, he has his little friends, he likes the lunch that he gets to eat and he naps there...he won't nap at home anymore. He has learned to write and spell his name, he knows all of his colors and shapes, he can count to at least 20. He has begun spelling small words (fun, me, go, no, yes...etc). He is always very excited to tell me what they did that day, what he got to eat and what friends he played with.

Sissy is still just a spitfire. She sweet and cuddly and lovey one minute and rough and tumble the next. She has been in the toddler class since she turned two and she also thoroughly enjoys going to ''school'' as she calls it. She has recently shown a huge interest in using the potty and has been going on the potty at school and staying dry the whole time she is there. Home is a bit different...she does sit on the potty but her success rate isn't as high. She constantly asks for a ''school potty'' which is impossible since it's a real toilet  just miniature in size. She is petite for her age (22lbs and wearing mostly 18mos clothing) so the "big potty" truly is BIG. She's staying dry at night, she can pull her pants up and down. Once we conquer the fear of the falling in, she'll do great. She is also learning her colors and loves to tell you when something is "purple'' or ''green'' (her favorite colors to say).

Overall, things are great. This month definitely had it's ''hiccups''. But this week is Thanksgiving! We're hosting which should be fun. Then Peanut's party will be on Saturday (a Curious George themed breakfast party). Pretty soon it'll be Christmas which means we will have lived in Italy for an entire year. That seems crazy!

Meet Lucca!

B and I have been talking about getting another dog since the spring. We really felt like as chaotic as our life can be, that we were missing out. Rascal had Tito for years and has been alone for awhile...we didn't like that and he seemed to be turning into a "grumpy old man" of a dog. He has always done well with the kids. Never a nip or bite, but he isn't exactly playful. He never has been. Tito had a "baby" that squeaked everywhere he went. He wanted to play tug of war and he liked you getting down on the floor and playing with him.

Rascal is the opposite. He has no toys, as he doesn't play with them. He doesn't do tricks or play fetch. He's great to snuggle on the couch with, he's protective and he's a great little vacuum. He likes to look out the window and late in the evenings he loves to be petted. But he seemed lonely. Lots of naps in his days!

So we had been casually keeping an eye out for a dog. Originally I thought we'd be able to adopt a dog from another US family that would be moving. Pets can be expensive especially when traveling and unfortunately over here several get "pushed aside" so to speak. Well our issue was we needed a dog that we knew Bubba would do okay with. While he is "allergic" to dogs, he's never had a problem with Rascal. It's long-haired dogs and heavy shedders that he has a problem with. So we couldn't adopt just any dog, it needed to be a min pin, a Yorkie, a Maltese or mini dauschaund... A breed that we knew he would tolerate.

So we looked for puppies...yeah for €800 no thank you. So I watched the shelters but again, mostly big dogs. Finally I found an ad online for a litter of 3 dogs, the ad said they were Maltese/Miniature Pinscher mix. Sweet! Maltese are hypoallergenic and we know Bubba does fine with min pins! I talked to our Italian friend Manuela who graciously agreed to help us out. She called the seller, made arrangements for us to come meet the dogs and then went with us to translate. Long story short, we got a puppy. He is two months old and we named him Lucca:

We have had him a week now and in that time he has learned his name, gotten so used to his kennel that he willingly rests in it, and seems to really understand the while house training thing. He hasn't peed in the house in two days, but poop is another story. We're working on it though. Once today and as soon as I said "Lucca No!" He stopped and headed toward the door.

While Lucca and Rascal aren't sharing a kennel and curling up together just yet, they do get along well. They share a food dish and lay near each other. Rascal hasn't nipped or barked at Lucca...he tolerates him well.
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