30 Things- Because they need to know...

I've been wanting to do this for sometime but life gets busy and things fall behind.

I'm trying really hard to get caught up on things. (ya know.. like laundry, dishes, etc..)

Sometimes, I just fee like staying up past my bedtime and trying to be productive and catch up on my blog. (instead of sleeping, reading or playing 4 Pics 1 word)

A while back, Jenn at Baby Making Machine started posting a series called '30 Things my kids should know about me'. (click on the link to read more!!) You might have seen it pinned a few times on Pinterest. Well, I've been following her blog for a while now so when she started this, I thought it was a great idea! I won't be doing this everyday like she has been, after all having 2 kids is easier than 3!

I will however, do it as I have time. I also want to post some super cool graphics OR make my own to jazz up the posts!

So, since it's 1am and Carlotta will probably wake up around 6:30 to eat, I'm gonna just post my little title pic for now so that I can get a good solid 5 hours of sleep!

LOVE how this picture describe what my day is like... most days.

Party for 2!

Since Carlotta was born 3 days after Betty's first birthday, I decided to wait until April and have Valentina's and Betty's party on the same day. It just made more sense that way. I tried to prepare in advance but I was just too tired and by the time the party was just a few weeks away, I was in a mad rush to get things planned out.

last minute menu planning

The week of the party, I hadn't even finalised the menu and I couldn't decide what I wanted to serve. I pulled out last year's menu and my trusty Better Homes and Garden cookbook. I knew I wanted to make things easy for me so, it was a lot of prepare ahead type of dishes. I just didn't know exactly what I wanted to make.

party invite

My mom had brought some cupcake plates and napkins and I found this wallpaper to use for the invites so, I went with cupcakes for this year's theme. (did I mention my parents were here for 70 DAYS!?!- that's another post)

We invited our usual company but this year, I wanted Valentina to have some friends over as well. We always invite her friend Agustin but we got an email saying he was going to miss most of it so, I wanted to make sure she had some friends to play with. Valentina is now at the age where she remembers things and I did not want her to be sad because she didn't have friends to play with at her party. Betty is still too young to even care but we'll make sure that she gets to invite her friends when she's 3.

The week of the party, I am usually busy cleaning and preparing the food the day before. In an attempt to get Valentina from fighting with Betty, I had her come help me with the Corn Dog Muffins. While we made them she said, "I'm so lucky!" I asked her why. She simply smiled and pointed at me. It was a wonderful mother-daughter moment. I replied back.. "no baby, I'm so lucky!"

corn dog muffins

As always, I'm trying to be all cool and super mom that I tried to make my own Edible Glitter. (aka colored sugar crystals). It sooo didn't work for me!!

colored sugar

The night before the party, I started decoration the house with our usual banner and balloons.

I even let Valentina have a preview of the cupcakes she would be eating during her party. It looked like a mini Boston Cream Pie. Instead of frosting the cupcake, I just slathered some Nutella on top. Oh man.. it was YUMMY!!

Super awesome Auntie Jilly came from France to attend the party. It was her first time to see Carlotta in person! (Jill was in town the weekend I was due and was on her way back to Paris when I delievered)

The Menu:

Cowboy Caviar

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Veggie tray w/homemade Blue Cheese & Ranch Dressing

Corn Dog Muffins

Fruit Salad

Cupcakes

Valentina was having a nice time until her friends from church arrived. Beatrice and Valentina are in Nursery together and Francesca is Bea's sister. These girls were beyond excited to see each other outside of church. The sheer cuteness was too much for me to handle and I wanted to cry because they were SO freakin' excited!! I'm talking.. almost peeing yourself excited!

I initially wanted to make cupcakes and then a super cool number 3 cake (from Pinterest of course) but then reality hit and I didn't want to make the extra effort. So I just make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes instead.

While, we had been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" for months now, when it came time to the live show, Betty was a bit freaked out. I managed to get her facing forward again and helped her blow out her candle.

Valentina got really shy and Carlo had to carry her. She didn't want any one to sing to her and covered her ears. (She also threw a tiny fit on Sunday because she didn't want to be sung to!)

In the end, the party was a hit! Everyone loved the food and the cupcakes.  We were really grateful to everyone that came. A few new friends were made and hopefully some new clients for Michelle too!

April Photo A Day

April is complete! I can't believe I've lasted this long doing a photo challenge. I am having so much fun doing this! I can't wait to start on May's challenge!

1. play- V and E playing together

2. blue- Smurfette aka Puffetta in Italian

3. something beginning with A- 'Aloha'.. wishing I was in Hawaii

4. this happened today- I made fagottini di ricotta e cioccolato

5. something good- the rain stopped so we went for a walk and ran into our friends

6. air- in the air and over the Alps {Switzerland/Italy}

7. dreamy- sunset in Hawaii

8. on your plate- prosciutto wrapped asparagus

9. tiny- Carlotta's tiny feet

10. a place- parco ruffini

11. detail- real turquoise and hand etched Navajo wedding vase. Given to me by my niece and nephew's grandmother.

12. in the middle- a bee

13. view from your bed- balcony facing west.. towards the Alps

14. water- Turet- these water fountains are all over the city

15. alone- the bathroom- the only place i can be alone, even if it's only for 2 minutes

16. your favourite colour- Purple but I do have a lot of pink accessories!

17. busy- preparing a birthday party

18. hello!- "howdy folks" is/was Big Tex's opening line

19. button- heart shaped buttons on C's outfit

20. on your mind- PARTY!!

21. fire- 2 attempts to get this shot!

22. blurry- flower

23. time- time for bed

24. i saw this person today- with his little boy at the playground

25. life is... an adventure!

26. childhood- Betty's always in the kitchen

27. earth- so much beauty on this earth

28. my sunday- relaxing.. since it's been raining all afternoon.

29. i wore this today- my boots match my umbrella! Thanks to Target!

30. glasses- In Italy, Nutella is also sold in glass cups. Usually in a set of 4 and different themes.

Want to join along? Go to Fat Mum Slim for details!

March 2013 Photo A Day

March photo a day proved to be a bit more challenging. I knew that I would be busier and that I might forget to take/post a photo since I now have an extra little one to take care of. So, what I did was look at the prompts ahead of time and then searched my archives for pictures and then move them over to my phone. I'd edit and save them so that I would just have to post them on Instagram. I'll have to do that for April as well because I'm going to be even busier!

1-L is for: Letto and Libro: Italian for bed and book which is where and how I spent my time at the hospital.

2-I made this: A wreath to hang outside of my hospital room.

3-Key: (pic 1) No key to lock up my belongings. (pic 2) Aqui mando yo! The word aqui is pronounced like a key! Playing with spanish!

4: Lucky- I'm a lucky girl. I have 3 beautiful healthy girls and a husband who loves me.

5: Under- under the blankets with Daddy.

6: Chair- The different chairs at the Cinema Museum in Turin.

7: Fear- I have a fear of drowning. I can't swim and I've almost drowned twice as a child.

8: Favorite- My favorite tradition is/was going to the State Fair of Texas!

9: Faceless Self-portrait- cuddling with the little one

10: I want... - a shower that lasts more than 5 minutes

11: Important - the warning label on toys not suitable for children under 3

12: In the distance- On a cloudy day, you could see Superga (a church on a hill) and the Turin Eye (a hot air balloon.

13: Sound- I love the sound of Betta's laugh

14: Tasty- penne pasta and a simple tomato sauce

15: Explore- You can explore Torino on a segway!

16: 9 o'clock- 9pm browsing Pinterest

17: Green- Pesto Sandwiches

18: Shoes- V and I wearing our rain/snow boots

19: a sign- I need a Texas sign in my house

20: clean- I love it when babies feed themselves! They're never clean!

21: working- A woman's work is never done.

22: about you- I love the Dallas Mavericks, I collect accessories and I am/was a Medical Assistant.

23: what you do for fun- Crafts, blog, cook/bake

24: up- Valentina wanted to watch 'UP'

25: in your drawer- teaching the girls early... you can never have too many shoes!

26: something you did- my nails! I don't get to paint them very often.

27: pair- my grandmother's earrings. I wore them on my wedding day

28: in the mirror- Betta's reflection

29: goodnight- my little piggies all ready for bed

30: relax- when I have time, I like to relax by reading a book in bed

31: stuff- stuff I had to do for the week.

I know I'm very late in posting this and I'll be working on April's Photo a day post later this week.. but better late than never. 

Photo a day hosted by Fat Mum Slim.

Photo Shoot: Carlotta Rose

One of the reasons I keep blogging is because I know there are people out there who want to know about Torino or simply want to see into other people's lives. I've meet some wonderful people through blogging. (Hi Jill!!)

I get to connect with other bloggers and swap stories (good and bad) about life abroad. (Hey Christy!) I get to learn about different things I'm interested in like photography... and that's how I met Michelle. We had been emailing back and forth for a while now and met briefly during the summer. I remember that day quite well. I had Valentina with me who, for the first time ever, wasn't shy and was being a menace! Elisabetta was around 2-3 months old and was still content in her stroller. 

After our meeting, it was difficult to schedule another one until after Carlotta was born. Michelle and I arranged for her to come over to the house and do a photo shoot after I got home from the hospital. I was so excited because I had really wanted to get professional shots done of the kids and I've seen Michelle's work. It's FABULOUS!! 

She came over with her equipment and set up in the bedroom. We got some great shots with Valentina but unfortunately, Betta was beyond tired and so we didn't get as many with her. It was a total of 4 hours and Carlotta was so great during the shoot. I took a couple of behind-the-scene pictures to remember the moment!

Once the photos were done, Michelle sent me a few to preview and I've gotta say... they are wonderful. I was so happy with them. I immediately forwarded them to my family and close friends and posted them on Facebook. Everyone loved them.. and I'm sure you will too! 

ps.. Once you're done looking at these, I recommend you going over to her site to see her work. You can also read her post about doing Carlotta's photos on her personal blog!

Michelle Bottalico Photography

Simply Italiana 

If you want to see more, then click here MORE PHOTOS to see the rest that were posted on Facebook.