My days with V..

I'm in serious need for some Vitameatavegamin. I have NO energy.  Chasing a kid around the house ALL the live long day is exhausting. Add a baby in the belly and you can imagine what I'm talking about. I wake up nauseated and immediately need to drink Sparkling water. It's the only thing that helps me. As soon as I make breakfast, I'm sneezing and blowing my nose for a good 10 minutes. By that time, V is done with breakfast and I go to the computer to catch up on news. (more importantly, Pinterest) V is running around and decides she wants to sit on my lap and stick her hand down my shirt while she watches TV. 

I haven't even finished my breakfast and it takes me forever to do so. By the time I'm done, it's been an hour since we got up. I've got the usual routine. Bed making, wash dishes, laundry, etc...

It's 9:51am now and I've managed to do the dishes, make the bed, start a load of laundry and was only interrupted twice for Bubbles. (this girl loves her some bubbles) During this time, I also tried to lay down for a few minutes but the sound of her banging toys on the coffee table where the TV is has me back on my feet. I still need to take a shower and put away the laundry that I moved from the couch to my bed. I'll have to wait until Teletubbies comes on to take a shower since Bo is already almost over. Otherwise, my shopping schedule is going to be completely out of whack.

On my way to the bedroom, I got asked to blow MORE bubbles. She got tired after a whole minute and left. I went to put some laundry away and I hear Teletubbies starting. She's in the playpen now and I'm going to finally have a shower..... at 10:05am.

As I'm getting up, V starts to get upset. She doesn't like it when the real kids are on Teletubbies. I grab a DVD (UP) and she smiles. I set it up to play in English... and I'm off to the shower... at 10:09.. ignoring the fit she's about to throw.

The laundry is done but it will have to wait until after I'm done getting dressed. Oh now, V sees me and wants to get out. She's laying in her playpen crying. I pick her up and we go into the kitchen to get our morning snack. We eat and watch UP. It's now 11am and we MUST leave now. We go to the ATM, get cash and I make a quick stop at Basketmania and check out their window display.... because I saw Mavs gear!!  I go to the store and V start crying because she sees the playground and she wants to go. I get my things and get in the CASH ONLY line. Of course there is a family who wants to pay with card and now have to take all of their stuff and go to another line.

It's 11:30 and I go back home to drop off our stuff and leave V in the stroller since we're walking back out the door. I have to get to the Butcher and dry cleaners before they close. I make it in time but there is a lady at the Butchers that is ordering the whole store. She takes forever. It's 12 noon and I'm still waiting to be served. Finally I get my 1kg (2.2 lbs) of hamburger meat and walk to the cleaners. It's 12:15 and they're still open. I get Carlo's pants and we walk home. V's asleep and I take my time walking home. 

It's 12:25 and I put my bags down, take of V's shoes and put her in her crib. She immediately wakes up crying. I walk out of the room to put my meat in the fridge, come back and pick her up. She realizes that her favorite cartoon is on and she's wide awake, but wants to cuddle. So, now I'm typing one handed while I cuddle with my monkey. 

I stuck her back in the crib so I could type faster and she's crying... I know she's tried. Hopefully I can get her to go back to bed. 12:45 pm and we haven't had lunch and my clothes are still in the washing machine waiting to be hung to dry. *SIGH*

I gave up at 13:05 (1:05 pm) pulled the blinds up and got V's shoes on. It's lunch time and we're both hungry. As I'm making lunch, I hand her a cracker. She's walking around saying "yummy" and then stops and has a serious look on her face.  Ugh... stinky poopy diaper change. I change her, wash my hands and now it's time to eat. We continue to watch UP and enjoy our lunch. She is loving Tuna Fish sandwich and Ritz crackers with cheese. She's done eating and I'm finishing what she didn't want. It's 13:54 and my laundry is still in the washing machine.

*QUICK NOTE*

I found V laying on the floor and I pull her up and ask her what she's doing. It sounded like she said, "None of your business." I laughed and she gave me a big kiss.

14.02 and lunch is over. 14.32- I finally got the laundry hung outside and a new load in the machine. I had to put V in the playpen so that I could do it. I've had a sharp pain in my back all day long. I'm going to attempt to put V to take a proper nap. 

This is where I just stopped. I rented Bridesmaids and tried to get her to sleep with no luck. Carlo came home from hiking and immediately took V to his mom's house. He told me to finish my movie, rest and he'd be back in an hour or so.  I finished the movie (the last 5 minutes), picked up the toys, hung out clothes, and started dinner. It was almost 19.00 (7pm) when they came back. I feed V and then left her to play in her room and then playpen while I made crepes for dessert. At 20.00 (8pm) I gave her a bath and rocked her to sleep. By 20.45 (8:45) she was OUT.

Then it was dinner time for me and Carlo. We had Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joe Sandwiches with fries and Crepes for dessert. I went to bed at 23.00 (11pm) with dishes in the sink and the table dirty with dinner items. Carlo told me the next day that I was snoring about 2 minutes after my head hit the pillow.

This is my day up until the Carlo homes home part. That's different every night. But until then, Monday- Friday and sometimes Saturdays... this is it. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. 

I will never forget...

I've been sitting here every night on my computer for the past week. Thinking. Typing. Deleting. No matter what I write, it doesn't seem right. For some reason, I can't properly express what I want to say. I have so many emotions going through me that I'm not sure which is the best. Where do I start? I guess... from the beginning.

10 years ago, it was a beautiful Texas morning. Not a cloud in the sky. I'm driving to work on I-20 East listening to Kid Kraddick. Jennifer Page is in studio. I don't like that song she sings, 'Crush'. I turn the station but every one of them is broadcasting news, not music. I leave it on 97.1 fm.  It is here that I learn about the first plane hitting the WTC. I look at the sky, and there is still not one cloud, as well as no airplane. I turn back to KKITM and still no mention of the WTC. I continue changing channels and leave it on KKITM. They finally mention the WTC. At this point, no one knows much. I arrive at work. In the time I got out of the car and entered the office, the 2nd plane hit. A few of the employees are already in the office. We don't have a TV in our waiting room so, we go across the hall to the OB/GYN and watch the coverage there.

This is the moment we realized something has gone terribly wrong. I think to myself, "Is this is? Is this the beginning of the end? Are we all going to die?" Since we were at work, we all needed to be professional and keep our composure. As the day started, patients came in and would brief us on what was happening. I was alone in the billing room when the Doctor came in. He said that if we need to go home because we are in shock then it was ok. I told him I was good to stay. I called my mom to see if she was watching TV. I called my brother when I heard that all federal offices were being evacuated. (He was working for the DA's office then).

Driving home was a bit strange. I was used to hearing noises and for some reason, everything seemed quiet. The entire evening, I stayed glued to the television. I wanted to watch everything. I was in disbelief. Shocked. The next few days I did mostly the same thing. Watch the news. I would watch the sky and think how crazy it was that there was not one plane in sight. Several weeks followed and people were still mourning. Our medical building had been receiving bomb threats so, we had to evacuate a lot. It was annoying. Then one day, we started living our life again. Things were started to get back to normal.

5 years later, I was in my bedroom watching 9/11 coverage and talking to my best friend Marc. I was tired of watching the same thing because it was getting depressing. I hadn't forgotten, in fact, I had been following 9/11 coverage most of the day. I was tired and I wanted happy news. I had gotten online and checked MySpace when some Italian guy sent me a message. (That Italian guy is now my hubby)

9 years later, we are at Imperia watching a regata. It's 9/11 and I spot an American flag. We stop to take pictures with the flag. It was our small way of saying that those affected were still in our thoughts and prayers.

10 years later, In the weeks leading up to today, I have been watching and reading anything that is on Yahoo! News. Videos, photos,  anything.

This morning, I woke up knowing that is wasn't going to be easy. I woke up late. I'm exhausted and nauseated which resulted in missing church. The baby and I had breakfast. She played while I tried to clean up a bit. The hubby went to do charity work. The day went on as usual. Snacks. Peppa Pig. Washing dishes. More Peppa Pig. As Carlo left to go for a run, I tried to put Valentina down for a nap. I was watching the news, waiting for live coverage from Ground Zero to begin. Valentina is asleep on me. It begins. I see people lined up. Bagpipes. The President and first lady. Former President Bush and his wife. Vice President Biden and his wife. The ceremony begins. The unfolding of the Stars and Stripes. Beaten and torn. Then, the choir sings. Never have the words, "Gave proof thru the night, that our flag was still there." meant so much as they do now. I am crying. I am not holding back. I hold my daughter in my arms and let my tears fall on her head. My country had been wounded and although it's been 10 years, those wounds are still fresh on our minds. At least... in my mind.

Carlo came home and I'm on the futon, with Valentina. Asking if I'm ok, I say yes. He sees what I'm watching and says, "It's ok. " I cry even more and manage to say that I'm still ok. I've been crying for about a week now. Given the fact that I'm also 4 months pregnant, my hormones are going crazy. The baby wakes up and it's back to business as usual. Peppa Pig. Lunch. Ground Zero coverage. More Peppa Pig. We go for a walk. I've told Valentina that today was very important. We were going to show our American pride because our people need our support. I dress her in a "Somebody in Texas loves me" onesie and blue jean skirt. Carlo is wearing a San Francisco t-shirt. I am in an American- July 4th t-shirt.

As we walk downtown, we head to the River Po. We hear Jazz music and walk over to find out what's going on. We see the Mayor of Torino along with other VIPs. It's a 9/11 ceremony. The Mayor mentions that Jazz is so "American" and that is why they chose to have the ceremony at the Jazz Club. I thought to myself how wonderful to pick the one thing that is universal and therapeutic - MUSIC.

As I end my day, I stand on the balcony and see the city. One of our landmarks is completely dark. The Mole Antonelliana is not lit. It is silent... in remembrance of "those who fell and those who carry on."

Flag of Heroes- Luxemburg Bookshop- Torino, Italy

Every day, I look at the sky. I have been since 9/11. I think about that day all of the time. When I fly, when I see a plane. When I know that someone I love is going to fly. It's forever in my mind. I pray for those who are serving our country, those who've lost someone in the attacks of that dreadful day and those who lost their lives fighting in war. I pray that our hearts will continue to heal and that we will one day have peace. I pray that God will continue to Bless America..... my home sweet home.

My little Boo!

I haven't been very successful in getting her to say "kitty" or "mike wazowski"

La Dolce Vita: Chocolate Heaven!

Here in Italy, we start our kids early on the importance of Chocolate. You will always hear about how everyone grew up eating Pane e Nutella (bread and Nutella) as an after school snack. We gave Valentina her first taste of chocolate the night before she turned 1yr. Now, we make sure to give her some chocolate almost every day. We lucky that Italian Nutella taste so much better than US Nutella!

Cravings with Baby #2

I'm at 15 weeks now and the cravings are really setting in now. Earlier this week, a friend posted a comment on Facebook about having a lot of ground beef and needing recipe ideas.  That's all it took and now I just want meat. I don't want hamburgers though. I want meat with a sauce but only that. So, I made a ragu alla bolognese. Instead of eating it with pasta, I just wanted a bowl of it and ate it with bread. 

At lunch, I made Valentina and I Grilled Cheese Sandwiches... with Ragu. It was more like Grilled Sloppy Joes with cheese and the were AWESOME! V ate an entire sandwich! She's never done that before. Tonight we had sliced baked potatoes... with ragu. 

After 2 days, I'm still craving meat. I think I'll make some chili and eat more Sliced Baked Potatoes!

5 weeks... and 5lbs later... (Part 5)

The final week of our US trip was filled with last minute visits and shopping. 

Sunday, we made a quick trip to Dallas to visit my Aunts (Dad's sisters). I love spending time with them; it always feels like home.. especially because they always have something to eat!

Valentina had her very first and last Chicken nuggets as well as a kids meal. She did great and ate most of it. She was mostly excited about the new book she got!

Our last long distance drive was to visit the Rodriguez Family. Bert was a co-worker of Carlo's and the last time we saw them was 2 years ago when they were in Italy.

A trip to Texas could not be complete without a night with my best gal Joni! She's one of the greatest friends ever and I am so happy we got to spend some time together.

My last night out was spent without Valentina. I met some of my old co-workers for dinner. I felt so frumpy next to them. They had gotten dressed up and I was sportin' the 'mom' look.

Sunday after church, we had some friends come over as well as Dulce and Jimmy. It was nice to spend some more quality time with them since we hadn't done much of it before their wedding.

Valentina's last night was spent just the way she liked it... Wet! While outside with her cousins, she thought she'd go ahead and have some fun with the water hose. She threw a fit when I brought her inside.. but got over it quickly.

And that... dear readers, concludes our 5 week trip to the States. It's taken a long time to finally catch up but as you can see, it was a very busy trip.