So far behind, I won't even try to catch up...Let's talk Paris instead!

A "Not so Happy" Valentine's Day

It's been pointed out to me by nanaw that I haven't blogged ''in forever.''

And to that I say, you're right!

I blog for several reasons:

• as a journal for myself and my kids. I try to ''keep it real". I want to be able to look back (or for my children to be able to look back) and see what we were doing, what things were like, where we went, how I handled it, how they behaved and what life was truly like. How we lived.
• as a way for our friends and family to keep up with what we're doing, how the kids are growing and what adventures we have gone on. We live FAR away from everyone and while Facebook is a great way to keep in touch, I can't write out silly stories or post details to each and every photo.
• to vent, to ramble, to ''let it go'' and to share my opinions on things people may or may not care about but I feel better talking about.

Lately we haven't really gone anywhere as we're planning, saving, and spending in advance for Paris. We've booked Disney and our apartment; our time to visit the tip-top of the Eiffel tower has been reserved and paid for. I have been using my crafty-frugal side to make shirts to wear at Disneyland that don't cost €25 each...

coming up with items for the kids' busy bags and little trinkets and surprises for them. I want this to be the trip of a lifetime, without costing even more than it has too. So I made little sketchbooks for them, ordered small stuffed Disney character plushes to surprise them with, got them each a small Mickey/Minnie drawstring backpack and I'm working on figuring out easy portable snacks that won't get crushed, spoil or be too heavy for them to carry. It's going to be a lot of fun, I have no doubt but if I can reduce the ''Can we go in the gift shop...PLEEEASE?" and the "I'm hungry!" instances, even better. 

For Valentine's day, I always make sure the kids get a little something from B and I. This year rather than chocolate or fun new placemats from Target, I ordered each of the kids a book that takes place or is about Paris. I want them them to be excited to see the city and not just Disney. So evenings are spent reading Madeline, Eloise goes to Paris, This is Paris and Everybody Bonjours! It's really neat to hear your seven year old say things like "That's Notre Dame Cathedral, we're going to go there and it's by the river" or have a certain four year old through a fit because he can't find his book ''with the Idle {Eiffel} Tower" in it. Some nights we let the kids eat dinner in the living room and we watch a Disney movie that they haven't seen or don't remember. Last night was The Princess and The Frog. The kids don't know it yet, but I heard a rumor that the Easter bunny will be bringing each kiddo a Disney movie as well. 

So yes, we did some amazingly cool things and saw neat sights with Nanaw and Papa back in August, and yes the kids are cute and they are doing things now. I simply cannot keep up with everything. If I continue to post about things that happened last August, I can't post about things that happened about last week. I start to feel overwhelmed. And as much as I enjoy blogging about life, I also enjoy living it. We're still here, we're still kicking and I'm pretty sure that 90% of the people who read this, keep in touch on Facebook as well where I frequently share pics {as my iPhone is usually glued to my hand throughout the day}. 

Nanaw and Papa Visit Italy {Flashback to August 2012}: Visiting Verona

Okay, so when I last left off, we had been in Nove. The day after our shopping spree at Nove, we went to the nearby town of Verona. It's about 45 minutes from our house and if it sounds familiar, it's because Verona is the town that Shakesphere used as the setting of Romeo and Juliet.

“Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.”

So Verona was a town that we had heard a lot about but hadn't yet visited. We knew before my parents even arrived that August was the busiest month for tourism in Italy. We were warned that places would be crazy packed. But up until Verona, nothing else had been very busy. Pisa is always busy, as is Venice, so we expected that. But Innsbruck, Garmisch, Bassano del Grappa, Lucca....those places weren't too bad. Lucca was hotter than hell that day but the crowds weren't horrible and it was Market day.

The same cannot be said for Verona.

Parking was a bitch. We drive a minivan so most spots here in Italy are a tight fit. We couldn't park on a side street, we couldn't fit into the spots all marked with a "P" and named (well we could have parked but we wouldn't have been able to open our doors). We finally found the underground parking garage and after several arguments between B and I, we parked there. (He swore we couldn't fit, I argued that we could because our friends who drive a Suburban park there as well). In the end, I was right.

So after ALL that mess and drama, we were ready to go inside the walls of Verona.

Verona, much like all of Italy, was once populated by the Romans. There is a Roman amphitheatre, the Arena, that remains today. It is the third largest in all of Italy. For a small fee, you can actually go inside the Arena. Well when we got to Verona the line was loooooong. We took a bunch of pictures outside of it and thought ''We might go in later''.

 

  

Now when I say "Verona was packed'' I mean...Verona. was. packed.

This road, is on the way to see Juliet's balcony. Verona's most popular site is the balcony, said to be Juliet's in Romeo and Juliet. The house said to be Juliet's house is in a courtyard. The road and the courtyard, were packed.

 

For a small fee, you can go inside the house and up to the balcony but again...it was crowded and there was a long line. We did however, rub Juliet's boob as it is suppose to be good luck to do so. There was a line for this as well, but it was pretty short.

In this courtyard is a rod iron gate and on the gate, couples have attached padlocks with their names written on them. It's suppose to symbolize and ''lock'' their love of one another. If anything, they sure were colorful!

So after Juliet's balcony, we moved on to Piazza dei Signori and found a spot for lunch. We ate while taking in the sites of the Lamberti Tower and the various building and monuments.

By this time, we were over Verona. It was so hot and humid and crowded and we started to walk back to the car.

Pretty sure this wasn't originally built for a Rolex shop.

Just as we had decided to ditch Verona, we noticed that the line to the Arena was gone. (Probably because everyone else had enough common sense to not go walking around a stone theater in the heat of the day). But nonetheless, we decided to go inside. B and Sissy waited outside in the shade as Sissy was napping and B was in a grumpy mood.

It was quite a sight!

The theater is still very much in use, for operas concerts and plays, from my understanding. They were setting up the stage for an Opera the day we were there. The show was that night.

Overall we left Verona hot, tired, cranky and needing personal space. I will say that I have been back to Verona since and we had an absolutely WONDERFUL time. (I'll blog about that trip later)....

SNOW DAY!!

Yesterday it snowed. And snowed and continued to snow all afternoon, evening and into this morning. The kids had an absolute blast playing outside in it! In fact, this was Sissy's first time ever playing in snow and probably the only snow Peanut remembers playing in. This much snow, isn't very common for Northern Italy.  Having said that, I was quite impressed at how quickly they cleared the roads, then salted/sanded them after (at least in our tiny town).

I was impressed, they lasted almost an hour and a half before they were too cold/hungry. We came inside, changed into warm fleece pajamas and enjoyed some hot cocoa and a movie.

28 Months old....

Sissy, you sure are getting big! Not much has changed since last month, you do seem taller and you're definitely talking more and I feel like everyday I think ''She is getting SO big.'' ♥

Right now you:

• weigh 23lbs and you are 35 inches tall. You were 33.5 at your 2 year check up. Half a pound and an inch and a half in height is just four months
• usually pick out your own clothes...I try to reason with you but some days you just need to wear purple boots with a pink and black dress, I guess.
• you are talking more and more and singing. You {attempt} to sing everything. ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Bringing home a baby bumblebee and then "We are Young" by Fun. (hey, I can't listen to kids' music all the time).
• are able to sit still for much longer. I can french braid your hair into two braids and you don't squirm all over anymore. 
• love to watch and help me cook/bake. You are my little helper!

I cannot wait for Spring Break 2013!!

If you think that sounds slightly like something I have said before, well you are right. Last year I was super excited and could not wait for Spring Break 2012. Last year we went to Tuscany with/at the same time as the Brocks. (I say ''with'' but with 6 people in each family we have to take separate cars, stay in separates places, etc).

We had a blast!

So shortly after last years Spring Break we started talking about where we wanted to go for this year. B and I knew we wanted to take the kids to Disneyland Paris but over the summer would be too crowded, Nanaw and Papa were coming to visit and we didn't yet have our tourist passports. We got to talking to the Brocks once again and they were also planning a Disneyland trip in the near future....one thing led to another and Spring Break 2.0 was born!

That's right ya'll for Spring Break we are headed to PARIS!! How freaking exciting is that? For this small town Kansas girl, I feel like I need pinched! We will be spending the first 4 days/3 nights at Disneyland. We have a family-room in a partner hotel nearby (Disney resorts didn't have a room big enough for all 6 of us, they wanted us to book two rooms..ugh!) and we have park passes to both parks for all four days. We can take our time and really have fun! The Brocks also booked Disney for those same dates! We will be there together but will probably split up quite a bit once in the parks because they have been to Disney parks before and we haven't yet navigated the park with kids. {Random factoid, B and I eloped in Las Vegas, then spent the day after our wedding at Disneyland California}. Our boys could.not.be.more.excited!

They are saving their money, they are planning on meeting Buzz Lightyear, they look forward to riding the the flying Dumbos and hopefully they are big enough to ride in Crush's Coaster because they are really excited about that. We also reserved a 'Breakfast with the Characters' meal so hopefully they will love it! Truth be told I am nervous since Logan was freaked out by the Sesame Street gang at Sea World.

So on the fourth day, we will leave Disneyland and head for the apartment that we will be renting, in the 6th Arrondissement. We found the apartment on VRBO.com which is rental website. Most people when traveling in Europe do not book a hotel; they are small and very expensive. Many people rent a property from a website such as homeaway.com, VRBO.com, or even vacation rentals from tripadvisior. It gets you a better deal, a bigger place at the cheaper price, usually right where you want to be and has the amenities of home: washer, dryer, bathtub, kitchen, etc. The hotel still had some appeal for me (indoor swimming pool if it rains, extra pillows/towels/etc a call away) but this will save time and money and immerse us into a neighborhood usually reserved for the locals.  Now the Brocks also found a place but I believe there apartment is in the 16th arrondissement. While we will be split up for this part of the trip, we hope to meet up for dinner at some point!

So, the apartment...I love it and we haven't even seen it. This is the one we rented. I have a friend who recently moved from Paris who helped us when narrowing down a 'district' to stay in and I am so glad for her help. We are in the district she thought would be perfect for us! A five minute walk from Notre Dame! A 15 minute walk from the Louvre, and a quick Subway ride to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe. It's 5 mins to the nearest metro station, which has a line right to the airport so when it's time to say goodbye, it should be fairly simple. Oh and literally right across the street is a Starbucks. Like 10 feet from the entrance to the apartment. Oh how I've missed thee! (I'm sure its a sin to drink Starbucks in Paris but I plan on doing it over and over...I gotta make up for a years worth of missed time!)

While we don't have a daily itinerary, we do have a list of ''Really, Really Want to See/Do". While traveling with young kids I realize a ''Must See" list is a bit of a pipe dream. Ideally we want to...

• Visit the Eiffel Tower, go up to the top!
• Ride in a double decker bus for a ''hop on, hop off'' tour of Paris. 
• Visit the Louvre, admire the art, see Mona Lisa's smile and take a forced perspective photo similar to this..

taken from google images...links to here:http://cookingaweighthelbs.blogspot.it/2012/09/our-trip-to-paris.html

• Climb the tours of Notre Dame (all 422 steps...)
• Eat a french baguette, buy and eat macarons (ideally from the famed Ladurée ..it is a 10 minute walk from the apartment we rented) and the boys want to eat French Fries and French Toast while in France. 
• See the Arc De Triomphe (the boys recognize it from the movie Cars 2)
• Visit the Jardin du Luxembourg, also less than 10 mins from our Apartment, and ride the carousel and perhaps rent a toy sailboat. 
• Visit the Orsay Museum and/or Musee de l'Orangerie (several of Monet's pieces are here, love love love Waterlilies) 

And just relax, if there is any time left! We will be there for one full week and it's ''moderate'' tourist season. We're planning on getting the Paris Pass so hopefully that will cut down on the long lines and expense of travel. Overall I'm just excited to go!