Changes to the kids rooms

Adding another little boy to the family.

PLUS

Gabby getting older and having more big-girl preferences.

PLUS

No more au pair, freeing up another bedroom.

  EQUALS

Lots of recent changes to the kids bedrooms!

To prepare Rocco's room for another little guy to join him at some point in the next few years, we purchased a bunk bed and a new dresser. His old dresser was the dresser/changing table that we purchased to match the twins cribs back in December 2007. It was sturdy and great material, but we needed a dresser that had more drawers and was more vertical, vs horizontal to allow more room for playing. Also, we never use the changing table. The bunk bed we chose has a full mattress on the bottom and twin on top. The thought process behind that was to allow another larger bed option for when we have visitors, and also a place for Dan or I to sleep in the room w/the boys so we can keep watch if one of them would be sick. It's already come in quite handy! Dan slept in there with Rocco when he had croup/asthma attacks in November. And again when he had the flu. And, a few times Dan's camped out in there when Rocco has come into our room telling us he had a bad dream. Love having the option to sleep in there if necessary!

In Gabby's room, the princess bedding made a departure when her new Hawaiian bedding from PBK arrived at Christmas 2011. The princess wall decals all came down too, being replaced by H.ello Kitty. Yes, the princess obsession is mostly a thing of the past. When Marco arrived, we added a small toddler bed to the room for Giuliana to sleep in. She did so well in that bed, Santa brought her a big-girl bed very similar to Gabby's. Gabby had a pink cushion headboard - her favorite color. Well, Santa gave Giuliana a purple cusion headboard - same bed style. Isn't it crazy how Santa knows exactly what type of bed to get to match Gabby's? Giuliana's new purple bed also sports the same Hawaiin bedding that Gabby's bed has and the girls both love it. The toddler bed is now out and Gabby could not be happier about that. She did not like having a toddler bed in "her" room, and she is excited to now be able to offer her friends their own twin bed to sleep in when she has sleepovers. Also added to Gabby's room (due to the space saved from changes in the next paragraph) was a cool white desk and pink chair which she is thrilled about. It is now her favorite spot to do her fashion design artwork, etc. 

Then, since we no longer have an au pair, we decided to give Giuliana her "own" bedroom, which she was very excited about. We moved all her clothes into the closet, moved the small dresser (with Giuliana's clothes) from Gabby's room into Giuliana's new room, as well as a princess toy shelf. And, Giuliana's room has a queen size bed with some shabby-chic'ish bedding from PBK. The room is a light lavendar. Giuliana could not be happier about this..."puwple is my favrite color!" Giuliana LOVES having her own room. She loves playing on her big bed... she'll often sit on it, brushing her ponies hair, or Barbies hair. And, now, Gabby and Giuilana are sleeping in this bed together every single night. It's SO SUPER CUTE to see them snuggling and sleeping in bed together. Sisters!

So - lots of changes to the kids rooms!

Marco's crib is in our room and I don't plan on moving that anytime soon. :)

C.hristmas 2012 was a bust!

Well, this was a C.hristmas for the memory books! 

I don't recall the 12 Days of C.hristmas song lyrics including "3 kids a puking", "2 parents getting their butts kicked" and "an 8 month old still awaaaaaake at 10pm"! 

Unfortunately, those were our lyrics this C.hristmas. 

That’s right. Our house got hit with a nasty stomach virus. It hit Rocco first. He was down and out hard for almost 2 days. It hit Gabby the next day, and she suffered through a tough 4 days. Giuliana started vomiting on the 3rd day. And, Dan was sick by day 4. 

Thankfully, Marco and I took a pass on it. Which also meant, I was a very busy momma! I must have L.ysol’d the entire house twice in one weekend. It’s no easy task taking care of 3 sick babies, while trying to keep the breastfeeding infant healthy and fed and happy. 

And, let’s face it, the stomach bug is just not meant for kids! Rocco has the best aim in the world when puking. He’ll even wakeup in the middle of the night and run to the toilet instead of just using the bowl by the bed. Gabby on the other hand… ugh! She somehow will be standing over the toilet and the puke goes everywhere. And, if she’s by a bowl, but not the toilet… she’ll run through the house to tell us she has to puke and then get there JUST in time to puke ALL over the bathroom. Let’s hope she grows out of this. Pronto! Giuliana on the other hand, I don’t know how she does it. But, my sweet little, delicate 2 year old never misses a bowl or the toilet.

Not only were our heads spinning with all the sickies, but I felt compelled to just sit with my babies and snuggle them on the sofa to help ease their misery and make them feel loved. Their tummies hurt, they didn’t want to eat anything, they needed extra love, and I just wanted it to take away all their pain and make them better.

Luckily, we were able to work in a number of the regular C.hristmas traditions before we got sick, and after. We got a beautiful C.hristmas tree. The E.lf on the Shelf arrived the day after Than.ksgiving. We spent a fun afternoon making gingerbread and butter cut-out cookies, and we visited Santa.  

Thankfully, by December 26th, the kids seemed to finally be feeling better, but just didn’t have their appetites back yet. So, we missed C.hristmas Eve mass, and we didn’t have our usual lasagna for Ch.ristmas Eve dinner. I think we had chicken noodle soup and soda crackers. We ventured out of the house finally on the 28th, and even then, Giuliana ended up getting sick while we were sitting down in Nor.dstrom’s. So, she subsequently got a very expensive replacement purple outfit that she adored and ended up wearing a lot. 

Good bye for now, au pairs!

We just said good bye to our 6th au pair. She came to our home in September and was scheduled to be with us for a year, but it wasn't working out.

I was not particularly happy with the childcare skills of #6. She seemed to have a very difficult time engaging and truly “playing” with the kids. Arts and crafts, playing make believe, doing fun stuff outside, etc., just seemed very unnatural. There was almost an awkwardness. She did a fine job with household tasks--like the kids laundry, making kids school lunches, etc. But, I prefer someone who can actually play and bond with the kids. There were also a few incidents that made me skeptical of her experience. The last straw was when I found her using her smart phone much too often... f.acebooking, texting, etc. I called her out on it and we decided together that it wasn't a good fit.

The timing was also right for us to say goodbye, as my contract work ended at the end of July. And, for the first time since Matteo died, I'm not in "panic" mode at night when I'm home alone with the kids. For the longest time, I always feared the worst at night – like another emergency was going to happen. This fear could almost consume me at times (and yes, I know it sounds crazy). But, the memories and experience of Matteo dying at night… ugh. It’s not something I will ever get past. I still have a great fear of sick kids. Fevers, being the worst of my fears. Especially fevers with itty bitty people. Anyway, since Dan travels a lot for business… having an au pair has always provided me with an extra sense of security. “If there is an emergency, I can rush to the ER with so and so, and the au pair will be there to take care of the other kids.” (Yes, I know…crrrrrrrrraaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzyyyyyy!)

This last experience was somewhat disappointing, as we were fresh off of two of the greatest au pairs ever. Our 4th and 5th au pairs became an extension of our families. We'll keep in touch with them forever, and hopefully see eachother again some day. I could always trust them with the kids. They knew how to get them involved in activities and really PLAY with them. They would spend hours reading and looking at books with the kids, going on walks, finding things in the forest, playing many various make-believe scenarios. And, it was so clear they truly loved the kids.

Our 3rd au pair was also amazing. And, I give her so much credit as she joined our family a mere month and a half after Matteo had died. Looking back... ugh. I almost feel sorry for her, as it was SUCH a dark time in our lives. She probably listened to more crying and saw more sadness than she'll ever hear/see again in her life. She must have thought I was the nuttiest, nut on the planet. She was a great person. She was amazing... never complained, always had a smile and positive attitude, and just came into our home and seemed to know exactly what we needed. Took great care of Gabby and Rocco, developed daily routines with Rocco while Gabby was at school, helped Gabby develop an interest in arts and crafts, etc. While we don't keep in touch with her as much as our 4th and 5th au pairs, I'll always have a great deal of respect for her and appreciate all she did for our family during that year after Matteo died.

Au pairs are a great childcare option if you're looking for flexible, affordable childcare. And, it's an absolute bargain if you have two or more children. I also liked the fact that I got to know the girls well, instead of just hiring some random person who you don't "really" know. The kids love having a sort of older sibling figure in the house and the cultural experience/exchange is fun for everyone.

I am reviewing applications for a replacement au pair... but I'm in no rush to find another. It was nice to have the extra help even when not "working". I got a lot of things checked off my personal to-do lists, and was able to spend so much 1:1 time with Marco that I wouldn't have been able to had we not had an au pair. But, since I am not currently working, or searching for more work... it was somewhat a luxury, and only partly a necessity, as it allowed me to taxi kids around w/o having to bring Marco who HATES driving in the car.

For now, I'm going to enjoy being mommy to the kids w/o a house guest. I am enjoying it right now. Yes, it's a definite juggling act sometimes. Yes, Marco unfortunately has to ride in the car more than he would like to. And, yes, I have to rely on the TV to babysit sometimes so I can nurse Marco in quiet and not worry about a 2 year old getting into mischeif. And, yes, I will lose my sanity in some moments of complete chaos that only 4 kids under the age of 7 can bring. But, it's ok. We're living life and I love being the playmate, the book reader, the best friend, the tooth brusher, helping to pick outfits in the morning and preparing all their little healthy meals.

I'll eventurally look for another job, and at that time we will absolutely need another au pair. But, right now, I'm just focused on being the best momma I can be to my little people. They're so awesome. I love them so much. And, I know everyone says "they grow up so fast"... but wow, do they ever. It's mind-blowing how fast time flies. 

Marco Crawling

Marco has been mobile on all 4's for a while now... but today, he officially started crawling forward on all 4's. And, oddly enough, I was lucky enough to capture the momentous occasion on my iPhon.e.

Now, he can get to whatever he sees and wants. Time to start re-baby proofing!

Back to Pre-Pregnancy/Goal Weight!

Well... it took just over 7 months, but I am back to my pre-pregnancy/goal weight.

"WooooooHooooooo!!!"

I would be the world's biggest liar if I said it was easy. After 4 pregnancies resulting in 5 children, holding down a full-time/part-time job through July, being full-time mommy, managing and keeping a house clean, and playing taxi service to the schedules of 3 active little people... it's definitely a challenge to find windows of time during the day for myself to brush my teeth, much less fit in a half hour or hour long workout.

But, this was something I had to do. Being in good shape physically is something I actually enjoy and take a lot of pride in. And, more importantly, I know how much it impacts my mood, my happiness, my patience, my energy level (honestly - makes me less tired even with 4 hours of sleep at night!), my overall physical and mental health, and my ability to be the best mom and wife I can be.

So, how did I lose the 40lbs of baby weight to get back to my pre-pregnancy/goal weight?

I exercised more.

Yup. It's that simple. I exercised more. Didn't change my eating habits at all... perhaps even began eating a bit more in recent weeks.

I worked my butt off (literally!)! I had been running 6-15 miles per week since the beginning of June. But, I hit a plateau with my weight loss and still needed to lose about 8 pounds. And, I hadn't yet been reunited with my love of running. So, in early September, I started running 20+ miles per week, faithfully. Every single week. By the third week, I was back to LOVING my runs, and experiencing those wonderful "runners high" moments. I found time slots here or there, ran in the rain, ran when I was tired... you name it. I made it my mission to hit 20 miles or more every week. I started out doing five 4 mile runs per week. Two weeks in, I started doing 6 miles every Sunday. My Sunday Six, as I like to call it. Every Sunday. No excuses. And, for the past 10 weeks, I've been running 24+ miles. By

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to run. Running and photography are my two personal hobbies aside from my family. Nothing beats a great run! I do my best thinking when I run. It's like my own personal therapy and brainstorming session. I'm able to connect with Matteo's spirit and just think about and remember him when I run. There is something spiritual about it... I'm sure other runners could relate. I love getting out and breathing the fresh air and always feel so recharged and ready to tackle any problem when I get home.

I feel great about myself again! I fit into my "skinny" clothes! I am more productive, happier, better wife, better mommy, and am once again crazy-addicted to my exercise habits.

Why am I blogging about this?

Because I feel like SO MANY people just need a little inspiration to push them in the direction to lose a few pounds to feel GREAT! I think most people can lose the weight they need to lose by making some simple, but often difficult, decisions.

Yes,  I know not everyone can run--don't run if you have physical limitations. I too have aches and pains from running (but that's an entirely different blog post!). If anything, I hope I've inspired anyone who wants to lose weight to set a health goal today, and stick to it! Whether it's going for a 30 minute walk 5 days a week, changing your portion sizes, choosing to eat more healthy foods that you prepare at home vs. eating out, eating more vegetables, lifting weights while watching TV, drink less alcohol... whatever... just do it!!

Also, I have to note that Dan has also lost about 20lbs in the past 3 months. While he also likes to run for exercise, the biggest factor in his weight loss was just changing his portion sizes, snacking less, and making healthier food choices (eating more greens/vegetables) while on business trips. He looks SO GREAT and I'm SO PROUD of him! He is now the skinniest he's ever been since I've known him, and now he's even lowered his goal weight. He looks younger than ever, he feels great, and is definitely a happier and more productive person. I could not be more proud of him.

Ok... now, if you've been contemplating losing weight... I hope these 2 success stories have inspired you!! Go for it and set your goals. And, don't kick yourself if you have a bad day or don't get your exercise in one day. Just tell yourself to re-focus on your goals the next day. You can do it too!!

Not to be difficult or anything...

"Not to be difficult or anything, but I would like to be referred to as "Gabby/Gabriella". Some days, please call me Gabby. Some days, I would prefer to be called Gabriella. I'll let you know which day I'd like to be called what."

Oy! Because teachers don't already have a challenging job... just add the child who signs her homework this way into the mix! HA!

Santa's joke on us... the train!

Last year, Santa left this nifty little "Holiday Express" train under our Christmas tree on Christmas morning. It's pretty cool, actually.

The train came with a remote control, a sturdy set of tracks and 6 cars. Little elves sit on all the cars and do different activities on most of the cars. The tracks aren't super long, maybe __ feet, but they have been able to withstand the hands of 3 little people who like to arrange, rearrange, and drive the train through its course.

Last January, we put the train away with all of the holiday decorations. We told the kids we'd pull it out again when we decorated for Christmas this year, so we did.

At first - it was pure excitement. Then, the excitement led to TOO much excitement and 3 little people all wanting to control/drive the train or manage where signs were put, or the order the cars were in, and so on.

I kid you not... this darn train must have been THE source of 582 arguments the day Dan set it up. And, 205 arguments the next day. As time passed... so did interest in the train of course. I think by the time Christmas arrived, that poor train was long forgotten and had not been touched in 2 weeks.

While I love the wonder and joy it brings to the house/kids when we first pull it out of storage, along with all the other Christmas decorations.... Dan would argue that the time spent taking it out of storage, managing the arguments on the first few days, and then disassembling and packing it back up for storage make it a torturous Santa gift!

Nana's Nastics on Mondays

Giuliana LOVES gymnastics. She's often heard saying "I got my nastics on Mondays!", as she goes about her day. She just finished her last mommy/parent & me class. In January, she'll start her first class without a parent involved in the class with her and she seems to be very excited about that.

I tried to tell her that her "nastics" might not be on Monday anymore. Rather, it might be on Tuesday or Thursday instead. She gave me a big "Noooooooooo! My nastics on Mondays momma!"

Holy Christmas Tree!

We picked out our Christmas tree on Sunday, December 2nd.

We got lucky, as it was a rain-free day, sandwiched between rainy and cold days. It seems that November and December are very rainy in this part of the country. For the record, I'm not a fan of November and December in the Pacific Northwest. :)

Gabby and Rocco were very excited to pick out the Christmas tree. Giuliana was indifferent. As was Marco.

The tree we chose, first spotted/chosen by Gabby, is enormous. And, I know I tend to exaggerate... but there is no exaggeration going on with the description of this tree. We must have been high on life when we decided to chop this tree down and bring it home because it is truly unreal.

Or, I guess one would also think to re-think the "chosen tree" when their husband tries to chop it down, and literally disappears under the tree, with only his legs sticking out. Or, when the tree takes forever to chop down? I think our eyes have been warped by living here... most trees you see in these parts of the country are SO BIG. Way bigger than trees in Minnesota. Similar to trees you'd see in the Redwood Forest in CA. This Christmas Tree just seemed kinda regular at the time and not obscenely large. :)

It is almost 8' wide, at the widest part (the base of all the branches). And, it measures 13' tall. It took three grown men to load it onto the truck. And then it took Dan another 3 hours to get it off the truck, go buy a bigger tree stand, and recruit a neighbor who then helped move it inside the house.

We couldn't stop laughing at how crazy big this tree is. And what the HECK were we thinking?! We're clearly nuts!

I can assure you we will never get another Christmas tree this big (it's just insane!), but it has definitely given us some good laughs. Oh, and all for the bargain price of $40! In California, I'm pretty sure buying a tree this size in Silicon Valley would have run us close to $300, if not more. I remember back in the day buying a 7' tree, and that costing us $160. Unbelievable!

The kids were itching to decorate the tree... and this year, we decided to just let them do their business on the tree. I did not hang one ornament. Dan hung under 10. And, our au pair probably hung about 10-15 ornaments. I actually think it's kind of cute and personal though, having the tree mostly decorated by little people. Sure, ornaments are clustered together, and hanging off the tree touching the ground in some spots. And, 90% of the ornaments sit well below 4'. But, I think it looks great - it's all about the lights!

Giuliana, our night owl

I love when children nap.

Unfortunately, I think Giuliana is outgrowing her naps. [deep sigh....]

The reason I know this is not because she refuses to nap every single day. Because she does still nap very happily 4 out of 7 days. But, rather... because on the days she DOES nap, she ends up staying up until Dan and I go to bed.

Giuliana has always been such a great napper. Consistently napping for 2-3 hours every day. And, until about 3 months ago, she would do her daily nap and then go to bed at night when Gabby and Rocco did. It made bedtime super easy-breezy to put all the big kids down at one time, together.

Then, almost three months ago, she started not falling asleep right away at night if she took a long nap. She would talk, and talk and talk, and sing, and tell us Gabby was the one talking (they share a room). This would make Gabby crazy, as she was tired and actually trying to fall asleep. But, her pesky little sister was singing at the top of her lungs in the same room making her angry, instead of tired. Ugh! Then if we went up there, Giuliana would say "Dabby being too loud. Dabby keep me awake!". (Insert parent giggles here... really, Giuliana?!)

It grew to be more of a problem putting Giuliana to bed at the same time as Gabby and Rocco. Instead, if Giuliana took a 3 hour nap, we'd put her to bed an hour or two after Gabby and Rocco. Then, she'd fall asleep right away.

Well, then Halloween season hit with all the spooky decorations and costumes, etc. I think the spook in Halloween spooked our girl, because she moved back into our bed as of early October.

Good. Times.

Now, Dan and I wake up with about 20 stuffed animals, in all shapes and sizes in our bed. Several purple blankets (aka, "purpul bankey"), sometimes a book or two, or a batman figure, or a few horse, cat or other small animals, a pillow pet here or there. It's really amazing, actually... I'm in awe sometimes when I wake up looking around me. I mean, how does all of that stuff and 4 people really fit in a king size bed. Amazing.

And, if that isn't entertaining enough. Now, when I'm getting ready for bed... Giuliana will be wandering around the playroom or whatever, running in and out of our bedroom. One night, I walked in on her in the girl's bathroom... and there she was polishing her toenails, and she had also put glitter on her face.

I have a feeling this little girl is going to keep us on our toes. For a LONG time. But GOSH... I'm SO IN LOVE with her! I must be crazy because I think she's cute even when she's naughty.

Gabby's 1st Gymnastics Meet

Gabby had her first gymnastics meet on Saturday, December 1st. It was an intra-squad meet, so they competed against their teammates - not another team. This was set-up to get them used to the structure of a meet, and having a real judge (which they did have) watch and judge and score them. Granted, the scores were never disclosed - which was fine and probably best. The next meets are set for January, February and March against other teams from throughout western Washington.

She practices twice weekly, for 3 hours each night. I think this is a little overkill - but she loves it. She's on pre-team. However, in January 2013, the US Gymnastics association will not classify her as pre-team anymore, rather she'll be called "USAG Level 2". Apparently, they are re-classifying all the levels, etc, with different names come 2013. And, her gym is one of those more serious gyms, so they stick to the guidelines and try to educate us parents about these changes via newsletters and emails.

I'm learning that some parents are REALLY in to all of these details, and that "meet buns" (how their hair is styled gym meets) are serious business. Ha! I tend to be one of the parents that knows my child will never be a professional gymnast, so I see no reason to push my kid beyond her limits. I love that Gabby is enjoying gymnastics so much. But, if ever there is a day she is not enjoying it, or if her school work suffers... then we know it would be best to pull her out. Her happiness and school/education is much more important. And, six hours a week for a 6/7 year old is a LOT. Life is short... and kids should be having FUN and enjoying life and the activities they are involved in at this age. 

Gabby was truly SO excited for the meet. She tends to be a perfectionist, so I was forced to help/watch her floor routine over and over for the 2 nights prior to the meet. We had been given the music CD, and a sheet of paper with the routine a month before, but we hadn't practiced at all. So, two nights prior to the meet, she became stressed that she would forget her routine. I told her it didn't matter if she forgot, to take her time, and that what was MOST important was that she did the very best she could do and that she was having FUN. But, she insisted on practicing... a LOT. Practicing over & over was painful at first (for me!), because Gabby's perfectionist was coming out. Then, it got fun when she started to relax, and it was cute because the little kids were watching and cheering for her. I did eventually have to tell her to stop practicing because she must have done that routine 100 times over & over.

We all went to watch Gabby at her meet. She did such a great job and we were so proud of her. It takes such courage and confidence to get out there and do the best job you can do in front of an audience. We couldn't help but be proud of not only Gabby, but each one of those girls! It was truly so fun to watch all of them perform.

Gabby's favorite apparatus is the bars, so I posted that video here. Her second is beam, and third is floor. Vault is her least favorite. She did a great job on all of her routines. She didn't forget them like she was worried she might. And, wow... it was just great fun to watch!