Money factory...

Kids are definitely on to something...if they get good at this, I'll be quitting my day job.

Giuliana's 1st Gymnastics Class

Since Dan travels quite a bit for work, Giuliana often gets dragged to the twice weekly gymnastics classes for the big kids.

Lately, when Rocco & Gabby go out onto the floor... Giuliana attempts to follow them out there. Sometimes, I'll let her stand out on the floor, near where Rocco's class is starting their stretching and warmup activities. I let her stand there until I feel like the teachers might be annoyed by it.

Then, when I try to coax her into coming with me and playing on the iPad or running a quick errand, she'll say "No mommy... nana do nastics! C'mon mommy... nastics!"

It's so cute. And, I feel so bad for her because I know she really wants to be doing exactly what her big brother and sister are doing. Soooo... I decided to sign her up for a trial parent/tot class the other day.

Gabby started gymnastics at 18 months. Rocco started a few months after Matteo died... so probably closer to 21 months. And, the only real reasons I haven't signed Giuls up yet is because I already spend so much time at the gym, in CA the gym was 7 mins from our house (here it is 20 mins at least), and I feel like I'm already juggling so much lately I'm not sure how I fit it into the schedule! And, these reasons obviously make me feel like an awful mom... depriving the youngest child of a fun activity that SHE wants to participate in.

Anyway, Giuilana had a BLAST and seemed to really enjoy the class. Dan participated with her and I took photos from the side. Now... I just have to figure out where to fit in this new parent/tot class. Sadly, it's not offered at the same time as Gabby & Rocco's class.























Look what I got Daddy! Stamps & a paper to color for doing such a great job today!!

Three cutest pilots ever...

Arizona Girls Weekend

I was able to spend a few days in Tucson with these lovely ladies at the end of January. Two of us were very preggers at the time (27 and 29 weeks along), three of us were escaping the constant business of children, four of us were escaping the chaos of the daily work life, one of us was ditching out on classes for her MPH degree, and all of us were enjoying a little break from the fabulous men in our lives. So... quite literally... we spent a majority of our time together just relaxing and catching up. It was wonderful.

Lots of chit chat and stories being swapped. Lots of laughs. A whole lot of yummy food being consumed and fruity beverages, poolside (by the non-preggers people, of course).

I've known most of these ladies since grade school. They are a handful of my closest high school girlfriends. I have both heartfelt and hilarious memories with some of them dating back to the 1980's. This handful of ladies includes some of the people I like to call my best friends. We've been through thick and thin together. They've been there for me to support me through my darkest days and I would do the same for them. Each of us has traveled a different path through life, not always by choice, but we've somehow always kept connected through the tangled web life has spun for each of us.

The last time we ALL got together for a get-away was in January 2005 (six years ago!). They all flew to the Bay Area and we spent the weekend exploring San Francisco, and Carmel/Monterey.

On this trip, we definitely noticed how strange and old we're all getting, as conversation has turned from hitting life's big milestones to things like what we feed our kids, what we make for dinner at night, what types of exercise we prefer, if we're happy in our careers, etc. And, as Kelly was disinfecting our rooms upon arrival (which I would have done if she hadn't!), and me pulling out the soft soap for the bathrooms... we realized we're also very weird. We like to be clean. We like to be regular (yes - we happened upon many discussions discussing our bodies! ha!). We like *us* time, which seems so rare these days. We like to exercise. We love the conveniences the internet provides. We love Facebook. We love to read (well... when we have time to read!). And, we like good food!

I always think of this quote when I think of these girls: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, the other gold." - unknown

Wee hours of the night stories...

I was woken up numerous times throughout the night last night... the most urgent plea being @ 2:04am from the child who couldn't find his gun, light saber and flashlight.

So, I had to tell the cute little fellow that "Yes, mommy will help you find all of those items first thing in the morning! Right now... it's time to sleep."

He wasn't convinced... it's amazing what can cause a middle of the night emergency for a child.

I plan to share more of these stories here, as I'd love for the kids to some day be able to look back and read about how they entertained and tormented us.