Martino Madness

D!SNEY Birthday Vacation!

2012-01-19T22:38:00.000-08:00

For Rocco, Matteo and Giuliana’s birthday this year, we decided to go to what is widely known as the happiest place on Earth. Surely, this would help brighten and provide many fun distractions on what has become a truly difficult and bittersweet day since Matteo died two and a half years ago.

D.isney proved to be just what we needed… it was great. The kids loved it! They had so much fun and were literally on cloud 9 the entire time we were there! So happy, no fighting… seriously, just one bubble of constant happiness and cooperation! And, the bonus for us was that the lines were short or non-existent!! I can imagine there being plenty of opportunity for meltdowns on a day with long lines. So, we were very lucky!

Rides and characters are what made D.isney a memorable experience for this family! We of course spent all of our time trying rides and re-riding favorites. We spent very little time resting, eating and sleeping! The kids (including Dan), seriously had such a fantastic time trying out all the rides. And, we did indulge in one breakfast with Goofy. And, I choose the word “indulge” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters.

Dan said it best: “Disney is like a kid’s Vegas… you drop a hundy at every table!” And well… don’t be fooled, that’s pretty much the truth!

Gabby and Rocco became roller coaster enthusiasts and spent the majority of their time riding and re-riding coasters. Their two favorite rides? S.pace Mountain and Goofy’s Sky School Coaster! They would have been perfectly fine just riding those two rides, constantly for two days straight. Other favorite rides included Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Gadgets Go Coaster, Astro Orbitor, Alice in Wonderland, TeaCups, Jumpin’ Jellyfish, Buzz Lightyear, Little Mermaid, and Its a Small World.

Giuliana also LOVED D.isney! Her favorite rides were the TeaCups, the Carousel, It’s a Small World, Alice in Wonderland, Buzz Lightyear (believe it or not – she loved shooting the targets!), Flying Dumbo, Ladybugs, any train or boat ride, and any ride where she sat on an animal of some sort. I literally would have to peel her off the carousel each time promising we could come back and do it again.

We were able to meet and see LOTS of Disney characters, including Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, Snow White, Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. Oh and some big bear (pictured here w/Dan & kids). There are probably more that I am forgetting to mention. But, it didn’t seem difficult to “happen upon” characters in the park, which was nice.

Breakfast at Goofy’s Kitchen was great and indulgent. And, I choose the word “indulgent” not because the food was out of this world… but because of the price you pay to eat average food and be tempted by a buffet of yummy, bad for you food, all while being constantly visited by D.isney characters. The kids LOVED this. So, while it was expensive… seeing their faces light up every time a new character came by the table was totally worth it for us.

Then, to top off our D.isney experience… we also decided to indulge in the “Birthday Party with Mickey and Minnie”. Again, same rationale as above for choosing the word “indulge”. The party was actually better and more entertaining than I had anticipated. The party was not exclusive to our family. Rather, it’s a party hosted @ 3pm daily by D.isney for anyone who wants to do a little something extra special for a birthday. Mickey & Minnie attend the party, they dance and sing and take photos with you. And, everyone gets a personal cake to decorate with frosting and sprinkles. The party host is Pat-E-Cake and he does a great job moderating, keeping both the kids and adults entertained. And, Gabby really loved the magic that Pat-E-Cake did. She could not stop laughing and was in total awe of his magic tricks. I think she also liked the special attention! J Giuliana’s favorite part of the party was eating all of her frosting that she was supposed to decorate her cake with, and dancing with Mickey & Minnie during the birthday song. Rocco’s favorite part was the cake decorating, watching the magic Pat-E-Cake did with Gabby, and dancing/singing the birthday song with Mickey & Minnie.

Each of the kids got to choose one souvenir to bring home. Gabby chose a Rapunzel doll. Rocco chose a car that he had to build (sort of like B.uild-A-Bear) at a store in the Disney Downtown area. And, Giuilana chose a white tiger stuffed animal from R.ainforest Café. Go figure… silly girl!

I didn’t bother bringing my good camera… just the point & shoot. So, while the picture quality isn’t fabulous… I was able to take a lot of photos and capture some good memories for all of us.

If I could thank Walt, personally, for providing many fun distractions during birthday week…I would. D.isney proved to be just what this family needed over what is typically a very difficult time.

Date night with Gabby!

2011-12-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

There is another reason I love the holidays... and that's because it's a break from the normal routine. No school routine. No rushing to gymnastics class or swimming lessons. No crazy work requests. Everything just seems a bit quieter.

So, Dan & I usually take advantage of this time to go on a few dates. This year, we decided we'd take each child on a special date with us. For Gabby's date, she chose to go out and get pedicures and dinner. Although, she got a manicure AND a pedicure. And, some very cute flowers were painted on her big toes. Dan and I just got pedi's.

For dinner we went to a fun wine cafe. And, while the big people can have wine flights... the little people can enjoy milk flights. So, Gabby got to enjoy special milk flights served in fancy wine glasses. She tried strawberry, caramel, chocolate and white and I had to remind her to not drink them so fast or we'd be in the bathroom more than sitting at the table during dinner!

She also entertained us through dinner with funny stories from school and with her friends. She is such a fun little girl. She's always full of excitement, and willing to share stories and see what our thoughts are on certain scenarios with her friends, etc. I love listening to her stories and thoughts, and hearing all about her world that we aren't a part of during the school day. And, I'm so glad she shares stories with us. I imagine the day she stops sharing so much is not too far off!

We love you so much, Gabs! Thanks for the fun date night!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T22:59:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas holiday was nice. If you celebrate this holiday - we hope yours was also nice!

Christmas Eve Day was busy. We took our toy donation to Seattle Children's in the morning. After that, we went home and started prepping our Christmas Eve dinner... home made lasagna and bread. When Giuliana woke up from her nap we let the kids open family gifts... gifts from cousins, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends and Dan & I. Then, we raced out of the house at 4:30pm so we could hopefully still find seats for Christmas Eve mass. After church, we came home and ate dinner. (Well... some of us ate and some of us could not stop playing with our new toys. But, those of us who did eat ate enough for the little people who didn't!)

The kids had so much fun opening gifts. They each seemed truly thankful for every gift they opened... it was cute. Rocco started a routine of opening a gift, yelling out with huge excitement what it was, then yelling thank you, and then holding it next to his face saying "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeese" so I could snap a picture (even if I didn't have my camera ready) and then begging Dan to open it. Also, as Rocco would open gifts, Giuliana would be VERY interested in whatever it was he got (Batman, Spiderman, transformers, whatever...). So, Rocco ended up clearing a spot on the kitchen counter to "safely keep his gifts out of Giuliana's reach". And, after a new gift was opened, he would go throw the new gift up high onto his pile. It was hilarious! He was literally storing all his newly acquired gift stash! Of course, it didn't take long for Giuliana to figure out what was going on or where all of Rocco's cool gifts were... which meant lots of negotiating between an almost 4 and almost 2 year old. But, it was funny all the same. I think Rocco kept his *stash* piled in that spot on the counter for at least the next day and a half. Grabbing what he wanted, as it was needed. Tossing unused new toys back onto the pile. I was eventually able to talk him into allowing us to move the new gift stash to the play room and his bedroom.

Giuliana could have cared less about opening gifts on Christmas Eve. She was much more interested in taking what gifts were already opened that interested her from her brother and sister. This created a number or tantrums and meltdowns between her and Rocco on Christmas Eve, as she was very fast to put claim on Rocco's new Batman and Batman mobile. This girl is in LOVE with Batman!! I'd say she loves Batman just as much as Rocco does, if not more. Matter-of-fact, she had a 45 minute meltdown/tantrum before bed on Christmas Eve because SHE wanted to sleep with Rocco's new Batman. I felt so bad for Rocco because HE wanted to sleep with his new Batman. But, we were eventually able to convince Rocco to sleep with his new Buzz Lightyear toy and give Giuliana the Batman. JEEEEESH!! Anyway... Giuliana did show much more interest in actually opening gifts on Christmas morning. And, now as luck would have it, every day she is trying to sneak open her birthday gifts (which are sitting out with Rocco's). Every day, we find her stealing a birthday gift from the pile and when she's busted with it (about to open it, or in route to take it into hiding for her secret opening) she'll run from us holding the gift and we have to catch her and put it back into the pile. She's already opened two of her birthday gifts completely! This little girl keeps us on our toes!

Gabby got a lot of big girl gifts this year from both us and Santa. Even she recognized that she received less toys, and more "grown-up" gifts (or gift that are more useful). Things like new bed sheets and a new big-girl quilt for her room. Earrings, shoes, board games, crafty stuff, and clothing items she had been asking for. She loved everything and was very thankful for all of her gifts and I was glad to see that. And, she had a lot of fun helping the little kids try out their new toys. She's such a GREAT big sister!

Before bed, we read "T.was the night before Christmas". We tucked the kids in. (That sounds a lot easier than it was - because Giuliana's Batman tantrum made it horrible on xmas eve!!) And, then it was time to start the tricky stealth mission of getting the stockings filled and wrapped S.anta gifts downstairs by the Christmas tree. And of course, Dan still had to build stuff. Every year, he waits until Christmas Eve to do this... and then he'll be cursing and complaining in the next room, and he'll come over and complain to me that he doesn't have the right parts or whatever. And, every year, I suggest he starts this earlier... but no. He tells me it's his tradition. And, of course, he has all the parts... it's just he's probably numbed his stress too much with the b.ourbon to notice. Men... go figure!

Anyway, Santa was very generous this year. He surprised the kids with two family gifts. One was a big holiday train (that sings holiday music and has little elves pumping it along the tracks) that the kids LOVE. We'll pull this out each year at Christmas and have it be sort of another Christmas decoration in the house. The other family gift was another i.Pod Touch (to hopefully stop the iFights and provide sanity on our upcoming trips so each child has their own iSomething). Santa gave Giuliana a new baby doll, a wooden baby crib, changing table and high chair, a tea set and some M&D wood kitchen stuff. She was very happy (although I think she would have been just as happy with getting a B.atman doll!). Rocco got lots of transformers, an Optimus Prime transformer helmet and some more B.atman and S.piderman related stuff. He was in Heaven! Gabby got lots of H.ello Kitty stuff (per her request to Santa) including new H.K. wall stickers (to replace the princess wall stickers! wow - never thought this day would come!), a H.K. wallet, a H.K. i.Pod Touch case, a H.K. vanity/makeup mirror, and lots more H.K. stuff. She also got her very own speaker/docking station to put in her bedroom for her i.Pod, some sparkly hoop earrings (she was VERY excited about her hoop earrings!), and a new 2 wheeled R.azor scooter.

By the time Christmas Day hit... this momma was exhausted!! The culmination of all the errands, shopping, wrapping, getting projects done for work and Matteo's Dream Fund, being a taxi for the kids, having Dan gone traveling for business for 16 days in December, being pregnant, volunteering in Gabby's classroom, prepping/planning for 3 kids birthdays... ACK!! I think I spent November and December in a whirlwind of checking stuff off my lists for the past two months and it was as if my body finally said "I NEED A BREAK!". So, on Christmas Day, my feet hurt, my legs hurt and I felt like a semi-truck had run me over. From the moment I woke up, I knew I needed a day to just sit around and do nothing. And, I didn't need to talk anyone else into that (no surprises there!). So, that's what I did. Nothing. And, let me tell you... I can honestly not remember the last time I did this (I'm too Type A to just sit around. I like to be doing something.) But, it felt GREAT! Everyone should do this at least once a year! The kids had a grand time... they played with their toys all day, listened to music, we played the new board games and Dan helped them open toys and played games on his iPad.

Christmas Day was very quiet. But - it was exactly what we needed and we enjoyed it. We stayed in PJ's all day. We ate leftovers... and just chilled!

We hope you also found some time to just relax over the holiday break!

Toy donation... our new holiday tradition!

2011-12-28T22:35:00.000-08:00

We have a new family tradition...

It started last year when we made a big donation to Seattle Children's on behalf of Matteo's Dream Fund.

This year... we did it on behalf of our family because we got SO much out of the experience last year. After last year's donation event, we didn't even need to discuss that we would continue to do this every year moving forward.

It really makes for a fun, meaningful and great experience for both adults AND children. I highly recommend adding it to your list of holiday traditions as well.

We bring the kids to the toy stores... let them shop and pick out lots of toys, markers, crayons, coloring books, dolls, puzzles, games, etc. Dan and I picked out gift cards and iCovers. Then, we drive directly over to the children's hospital with the kids and gifts in tow... and let the kids bring all the bags in to the volunteer office where the toys are being collected for the holidays.

The kids ask a million questions... every "why, who, what, where and how" you can imagine. And, as we're leaving they comment on how they hope the toys and gifts will help make a bunch of sick kids smile and feel loved over the holidays. They talk about it for the rest of the day and it isn't hard to know that they feel really good about it and are more grateful for their own good health and all that they have.

And, it also is an easy way for us to do something good for so many other little kids... in memory of our little angel, Matteo.

'Twas the Season...

2011-12-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

Our holiday season sort of spans the time from Thanksgiving to New Year's. And, since I already posted about Thanksgiving... time to post more about Christmas.

We went and chopped down our tree at a local tree farm the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And, we had it up, lights on and decorated by the end of the day. That was a record for us! Usually, we get our tree home and lights on over Thanksgiving weekend... but the decorations don't get put on for a week or two later... mostly because we always get caught up in some sort of chaos.

The kids did a great job decorating it this year. They needed help getting decorations in the higher spots of course, but in general, they didn't bunch all the ornaments in one spot as they used to do. Both Rocco and Gabby were very involved with the decorating and really seemed to enjoy it. Giuliana sort of danced around and played with ornaments, broke ornaments, pulled some off the tree and put some on.

Some of the other *signs* of Christmas in our house were the swirl of colored lights going up our staircase; the baby J.esus in the manger scene; the cranberry, peppermint and holiday scented candles burning throughout the house; the beautiful holiday cards sent to us by so many friends and family; the darling Christmas tree place-card holders Gabby made for our Christmas dinner table; and then of course, the big signal to the kids that Christmas is right around the corner is seeing presents wrapped and under the tree.

And, as always... Matteo is in our constant thoughts. Holidays seem a little jaded ever since Matteo died... and I honestly think that helps keep us a bit more focused on the reason for the season, instead of getting carried away in the consumerism and crazy behavior that can devour people over the Christmas holiday. Gabby had a number of difficult moments that hit sporadically over the month of December. She broke down sobbing on one occasion... just missing her brother so much. It literally rips my heart out to see her hurt so much... and not be able to *fix* it. And, it takes everything in my power to not break down sobbing right along with her.

The first Christmas after Matteo died, a very dear friend of mine gifted us with a number of personalized ornaments with Matteo's photos. The kids always want to put those ornaments up first and they treat them with the utmost care. I included a couple photos of those ornaments here.

Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas cookies are a MUST every year for several reasons:
1. It's a great tradition to do every year with the kiddos
2. Who doesn't LOVE cookies... especially butter cut-out cookies!
3. It makes Dan absolutely crazy and stressed out (and I get so many laughs out of this - I love it!)

So, this year we decided to make the butter cut-out cookies, the colorful kaleidoscope cookies, and gingerbread cookies.

Well, I must be getting old... because we only got to baking the butter cut-out cookies on our first cookie night. The kids had a ball. Highlights included
* Giuls being covered in flour
* daddy getting stressed with kids getting flour everywhere
* daddy getting stressed with kids sneaking and eating the dough (Giuls was the worst, grabbing chunks of dough at every chance and stuffing them in her mouth!)
* Rocco taking the cookie decorating very seriously... and then at the end, he ended up dumping a pile of brown decorations all over one cookie
* Gabby spending more time eating the red-hot candies than decorating her tray of cookies (she was the last to finish)
* Giuliana really enjoyed putting sprinkles on the cookies and took to the task much faster than I expected her to. She too ended up dumping an entire bottle of sprinkles on one cookie though... but hers were different colored flour shapes.

The next night I made one batch of the kaleidoscope cookies (the green/mint), one batch of the white/almond and I ended up burning the red/peppermint batch. Good times. Then, when I started to melt the chocolate to frost all the cookies with, I think I overcooked the chocolate too.

I ended up throwing out the gingerbread cookie dough because we had mountains of cookies sitting around already... and well, I didn't want to food poison anyone (yes, I totally forgot I had left the dough out for an entire day because I kept getting distracted by kids and work and life in general). Great excuse to not create anymore temptations though!

Our au pair, Michalina, even made a batch of her grandma's butter cookies with a lemon/egg white/powdered sugar frosting. They were also delicious!

And now... it's time to lay OFF the cookies! :))

Penicillin Allergy

2011-12-23T21:37:00.000-08:00

Grrrrrreat! As luck would have it, we now apparently have two kiddos allergic to penicillin. It might not be totally evident in these photos because of the light... but Rocco has huge red patches all over his face (and his entire body). Oh, and he also has tomato soup lining his lips.

Rocco and Giuliana were both taking amoxicillin at the end of November. And, sure enough... before I was able to give Rocco his second dose on the last of his 10 day stretch of being on the medication, patches of red hives started appearing all over his poor little body.

I noticed a few suspect red spots on his face, and immediately lifted up his shirt to confirm my suspicions. Yup - he was having an allergic reaction to something and it had to be the drug.

This is probably the second of third time he's been on a penicillin-family drug. Our CA pedi never put the kids on penicillin drugs, based on the fact that Gabby has a penicillin allergy. But, our pedi here (whom I really like) comes from a different school of thought and has said sibling allergies to the same drugs are not as common as once thought (or something like that). Well... guess we proved that wrong with Rocco. :)

It's such an awful looking rash and literally moves in red patches all over their entire body over the course of 3-4 days. In my experiences... the second day looks like your child's body was overtaken by a red hive monster. And, it's a tad scary when you first recognize and realize they're having an allergic reaction just because I of course always fear the worst and think about anaphylactic shock. Luckily though, neither Gabby or Rocco had any difficulties breathing with their reaction. They just had the awful looking big red patches covering their entire body. And, Rocco seemed slightly bothered by it.... scratching every once in a while. I don't recall Gabby having scratched at her hives at all... but she was also under the age of 2. Whereas, Rocco is almost 4... so that may have something to do with it. I was able to give Rocco B.enadryl a few times, including right when I noticed he was having the reaction.

Hopefully, little Giuliana won't get the same allergy!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-21T22:47:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we had 2 very special people drive a long way to join us... Gammy and Papa. The kids were thrilled to be able to spend a week with their grandparents, and it was fun to have them here to celebrate the holiday with us.

We LOVE hosting holidays and we LOVE making lots of yummy food to share with family and friends. In addition to my parents, we were also joined by local friends of ours, Christina, Taylor and their two year old twins.

Gammy, our au pair, Michalina and Gabby made the cutest turkey place-cards for everyone (see photos). And, they really made the table look beautiful. This year, we had both an adult and children's table. Rocco, Giuliana, Rhys and Maia all sat at the kids table together... which we later realized was a huge mistake as none of them really ate any dinner, they just goofed around and then got bored, left the table and started playing. Oh well... more turkey for the adults!

Gammy and Papa picked out a huge 20lb turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner. Dan was in charge of cooking the turkey and stuffing... and I was in charge of all the other stuff. We started with some yummy appetizers... pesto/mozzarella/arugula crostinis and a a delicious assortment of cheeses. Our first course was my homemade butternut squash soup and sourdough bread. The turkey couldn't have turned out more perfect - Dan did an amazing job. We served the turkey with a homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, mushroom vegan gravy and our friends brought the most delicious homemade cranberries and brussel sprouts that are to die for. Dessert was homemade apple and pumpkin pie, also courtesy of our friends.

I think I ate enough for ten people. But, I had no regrets... it was all delicious! :)

Once again this year, we are thankful for the good health of our family, for the time we were able to share with and love Matteo, for having jobs, a beautiful home to raise our children, and being blessed with so many wonderful friends and family members in our lives. And, as I shared the news below... this year we were also thankful to be blessed with another little baby on the way.

We hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and that you too are able to recognize the good things and fortune in your lives, and share those in some way with the people you love.

Oh BOY! We're expecting baby #5!

2011-12-18T21:19:00.001-08:00

We've known for quite a while now... but sort of just *announced* our exciting news. We're expecting another baby in April 2012... a BOY!

We couldn't be more thrilled to add another little boy to the family. And, we're so happy Rocco will get to have another brother, only this one to live through this wild roller coaster ride of life.

The pregnancy has been going well. I'm over 21 weeks pregnant, and definitely still have my moments of extreme exhaustion. Mostly because I am probably doing WAY TOO MUCH these days. Not only am I mom to three kids, a wife, a taxi-service for my kids and working part time... but lately, I've been trying to check so many things off my to-do list for the non-profit organization we started, Matteo's Dream Fund. And, in addition to that... all the Christmas and birthday shopping has been on my shoulders and Dan's been traveling a LOT these days. I feel like every day I wake up to a to-do list 10 miles long and that the entire day is a rat race. I think I will be excited once January hits... :))

At the beginning of the pregnancy, I was extremely tired, experiencing nausea and frequent black-outs (almost fainting) until about 15 weeks. I happen to have a low blood pressure when I'm not pregnant... so when I'm pregnant, the black-out spells seem to happen quite a bit in the mornings. Less frequently as the day goes on.

I am still exercising 3-5 times a week... but really only able to still run for 1 mile at a time. So, now I mix that in with a long walk. I think not running is just around the corner... as I carry my babies like there is a basketball attached to the front of me, so it just gets incredibly uncomfortable to actually run. Not to mention... it puts a lot of pressure on the goods!

The kids are SO EXCITED about the baby! We surprised them at the end of September with the news by having them open a present with ultrasound photos in it! Rocco immediately said he wanted a baby brother. And, Gabby immediately said she hoped for another baby sister.

I found out on December 12th that it was a boy. So, on my way home from the appointment, I picked up lots of blue balloons and a "It's a Boy!" balloon. That's how Dan learned the sex. And, when the kids got home from school, I brought out the balloons and they started jumping with joy. It was super cute.

Gabby then proceeded to go into great detail on what we should name the little guy... and she happened to say the name of pretty much every boy in our class. It was hilarious!

Also, at my last appointment, they did all the important anatomy scans... and everything is looking great. So far, it looks like we're having a very healthy little man.

Obviously, I couldn't help but think that Matteo had a part in all of this.... the pregnancy, the gender... everything. I hope the little guy comes out looking exactly like his angel brother... chubby cheeks, golden-brown curls and all.

Gabby also asked the other day if we could name the baby Matteo... I had to tell her no. She asked why. She wanted to know if Matteo would be mad. I told her he wouldn't be mad. But, I told her that there will always only be one Matteo in our family, and he is in Heaven. I told her the baby's middle name would be Matteo. And, someday.... if she had a little boy, she could name him Matteo. She seemed to like that.

Everything in life remains bittersweet. It sure is a wild ride, isn't it?

Matteo's Dream Fund web site is LIVE!!

2011-12-15T21:51:00.000-08:00

After a lot of time, a lot of work, and the help of many fabulous people... we are thrilled to announce that MATTEO'S DREAM FUND web site is LIVE!!

Visit http://www.matteosdreamfund.com to learn more about Matteo's Dream Fund, our mission and Matteo's story. Tax deductible donations can now be made online via the web site, and our apparel selection is all displayed there too! And, if you like being a part of the social media world, you should also know we have a Facebook page. LIKE us to be included in our communications.

I have so many people to thank for help with everything related to Matteo's Dream Fund. So many of those items are encompassed in the web site, including the logo, the fact that we have filed with the IRS to be an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (and all the legal work involved with that). Not to mention the great apparel we have for sale or the fact that we even got the web site live!

So, I would formally like to thank our Board of Directors, including D. Martino, K. Hart, M. Desai, M.LaValle, and myself. I would also like to thank our pro-bono attorney consultant and college sorority sister, K. Austin, and her associates as well as another college sorority sister, J. Peterson, for getting the ball rolling on the pro-bono legal endeavor. I would like to thank our logo designer, A. Cambouris. And, our promotional materials consultant, John. And, obviously, I would like to thank each and every one of our supporters... people who have donated time or money to our charity. People who have sent kind words or helped us in one way or another, including businesses that have so kindly donated goods and services. This is all possible because of SO MANY people!! So - THANK YOU!

2011 Photo with Santa!!

2011-12-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Our 2011 Santa visit was fairly uneventful, compared to past years. That is mostly due to the fact that GABBY is no longer scared Santa! This was officially Gabby’s second time taking a HAPPY photo with Santa.

This was Giuliana’s first time taking a photo with Santa, and she was not a fan. As I was holding her and approaching Santa, Giuliana started to cry and put a strong grip on me. I tried putting her in Gabby's lap... but that was next to impossible, as she was screaming and holding on so tight. I just couldn't go through with the Santa-torture. So, I decided to sit down next to Santa and make Dan jump in the photo too! So, here is our family photo with Santa. This is a picture of the picture on the screen from Santa's Workshop. Yes... I'm too lazy to scan the photo. Maybe I'll do that in the coming days. And, had I known I’d be in the photo, I would have actually done something with my hair! Oh well… what you don’t do for your children!

So, of 4 children, only one has been totally un-phased by taking photos with Santa. Rocco has never been scared of Santa. Matteo was NOT a fan of Santa. At all! He acted almost as crazy as Gabby. This was our Santa photo from 2008… it still makes me laugh.

Also included there is Gabby's award-winner photo with Santa from 2006…hilarious!

BTW: The photos included here were all taken while we were waiting to see Santa, or visiting with Santa.

SIX!!!!!!

2011-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

Wow…it’s so crazy to think we have a six year old. I look at Gabby today and I can still visualize exactly what she looked like the day she was born.

She is such a sweet, sweet girl and we love her so much! She is truly so happy. So confident. She is always so proud of herself with each new accomplishment. She is incredibly loving and motherly to her siblings… and even to friends (even noted by her teacher at our parent/teacher conferences!). She is also so very smart and eager to learn! Everything Gabby does involves a bit of drama…and you will always know when she is excited about something because she’ll talk VERY loud.

Since starting all-day kindergarten, and having gymnastics two nights a week on school nights (each class lasting 2 hours), we see so much less of Gabby. But, I guess that is life. As long as she is happy and thriving, we are happy for her! She LOVES school SO much… all-day kindergarten was definitely the perfect fit for her. On the weekends, she often tells us she wishes it was a school day because she loves school so much. And, on Monday morning, she is reminding us how much she loves school and how excited she is to go to school again.

Gabby also really loves gymnastics. She has received the “hardest worker” award 3 times now, and has also been recognized as “gymnast of the week”. She can do splits two ways, backbends and just recently she learned to do a back kickover from the backbend position. I see back walkovers happening in our near future.

When Gabby isn’t at school or gymnastics, she seems to be doing school related activities… like making books, writing letters to people, asking how to spell things or practicing her reading. OR, she’s doing various tumbling moves or trying to play “coach” to Rocco and Giuliana. Last weekend, she used two beginning to read books she received from her friend Leah for her birthday as her “coaching manuals” and led Rocco and Giuliana through at least an hour of “play gymnastics” It was really cute and the little kids loved all the attention.

Gabby is also in swimming class once a week and was just moved up to the Intermediate class. And, at the end of October, she decided to quit her dance class. I think she just got bored with it. She really loved being the show last year… you know, the costumes, the makeup, being on stage and in the spotlight… but when it came down to the weekly class, she just no longer had interest for it. Selfish me is somewhat happy about her decision to quit dance – now WE get to spend time with her on Monday after school! Yay!

Gabby has made a number of new/good friends since we moved here. There are five kids in the neighborhood that she really enjoys playing with. She made 3 great friends through her gymnastics class, and there are also several new good girlfriends at school. It’s good to know she is not afraid to make new friends. And, it will be fun to see what friendships continue to develop and which fade due to interests, time, and other commitments.

We recently had our parent teacher conferences with Gabby’s teacher, Ms. T. We really enjoyed hearing the teacher’s perspective on our child and some of the kindergarten stories and things that happen in the classroom. Ms. T told us that Gabby is one of the top readers in her class and is well above average for reading skills and letter sounds/recognition. She said Gabby is a delight in the classroom and that everything she does comes with a bit of drama… whether it’s tying her shoes, asking to go to the bathroom, or presenting her letter projects to the class. Too funny! We were also told that Gabby has told her teacher to call her “Gabriella” for specific things… like before she presents to the class, or when she is going to do something special. So, it seems that Gabriella prefers her long name when she wants to be “fancy”. Ms T also told us that Gabby is very motherly to the other kids in her class, especially to the kids who are shorter than her. Apparently, Ms. T had to tell her that she’s trying to teach everyone in the class independence so nobody needs to be *mothered*. And, she gently reminds Gabby that the kids who are shorter than her are still the same age as her. Hahahaha!! We also understand that during recess, Gabby spends almost every minute playing on the monkey bars and apparently, she gets quite competitive with the boys on those bars… creating a bit of jealousy and upset from the boys.

Gabby has grown so much this past year. I still find it pretty difficult to shop for jeans/pants for her because she is very tall, but very lean. When jeans/pants finally fit her waist, they are too short on her length-wise! This can be frustrating… but we finally found some cute/stylish yoga pants that seem to work great for school, etc. She also continues to eat like a champ! She tries pretty much everything I make and I would say she has a pretty sophisticated palette and truly appreciates/likes good food! Avocadoes, salmon, steak, chicken dishes, thai food, Mexican food, indian food… you name it… this girl eats it!

Gabby’s growth stats are now:

Height: 47 inches

Weight: 45 pounds

Gabby loves to change her earrings before school every day. She loves trying on lip glosses and even putting makeup on if I’m putting some on (which is rare these days!). She loves dressing up in different outfits, and has a real love for shoes/boots. She LOVES singing to music… and will walk around the house with headphones, an iPod, singing at the top of her lungs. Mostly Taylor Swift and songs from T.angled (the R.apunzel movie). So, for her birthday, we decided to give her an i.Pod T.ouch. Now, she loves to sing to her music, check the weather, take photos and videos of everyone, play games, etc. And, Giuliana is ALWAYS wanting Gabby’s iTouch and honestly knows how to work it… now SHE goes around playing the music and dancing to it. Little sisters are HILARIOUS!

Gabby still carries some PTSD from Matteo’s death. For example, whenever Giuliana or Rocco get hurt and blood appears… depending on the severity or my/Dan’s reaction, Gabby will breakdown crying and asking if they will be ok, if they have to go to the doctor, what’s going to happen to them, etc. It breaks my heart. It breaks Dan’s heart. I wish with all my heart she would not know what she knows, or would not have seen what she has seen when it comes to life/death. Recently, Rocco broke out in a rash from a penicillin allergy, and Gabby broke down again because we had to take Rocco to the ER. She was sobbing… asking if Rocco would come home again, what was wrong with him. We’ve found that as long as we remain calm and reassure her that everything is ok and that this stuff happens all the time, it calms her. But, the sad thing is… she knows that abnormal, unexpected things DO happen… with serious consequences that can’t be reversed. She knows death. And, we’ll never be able to take that away from her… just pad it, and build understanding that not all things lead to death. I think it’s fair to say that her *motherly* tendencies stem from her understanding of life and death, and her experience with seeing her younger brother who she loved so much, dead.

Recently, at school, after the kids were journaling on a Monday morning, one of the kids told Ms. T. that he went to a funeral and saw a casket, etc. Apparently, Gabby then went on to tell the entire class that her brother died in his crib, that her mommy was crying and screaming, that her daddy tried to make Matteo come back to life, that the police and firemen came to our house, that we had a funeral and her brother was in a casket, etc. Ugh. I was glad Ms. T. told me about this. But, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to it kicking me in the ass and ripping out my heart and making me sad and angry and just feeling every emotion under the sun… and helpless that I can’t ever take away Gabby’s pain. I’m glad she has memories… but at the same time I HATE that she has memories. I’m still so angry and sad and frustrated and… well… you get it. Matteo shouldn’t have died. We don’t even know WHY he died. It wasn’t fair to him. It isn’t fair to his twin. It isn’t fair to his now 6 year old sister. And, it isn’t fair to Giuliana, who never got to meet him.

Life definitely has its ups and downs. I don’t blog a lot about all of my Matteo thoughts and emotions, fo many different reasons. But, it goes without saying that he is truly always on my mind. Always. ALWAYS. Not a minute goes by that I don’t think of him. I’m so thankful that Gabby and Rocco and Giuliana have made there still be a good reason to *live* life, while still dealing with a lot of grief. These little people are such precious little gifts… most people will never truly understand just how precious they are. Anyway, I digress…

Obviously, we are so proud and completely in love with our six year old! We love Gabby SO, SO very much. She is just beyond special and unique and important to us. She brings so much joy and happiness to our lives every single day. She is truly my little lady… sometimes even a little too eager to grow up. She is just a big hunk of love and sunshine and I feel so blessed to have her in our lives. We love you Gabby!! Happy 6^th Birthday!!

Photos to come!

Gabby's 6th Birthday Party

2011-11-25T11:32:00.000-08:00

Gabby wanted a B.uild-A-B.ear birthday party this year... so that's what we did!

We had the birthday party a week and a half before her birthday since her daddy was going to be on a trip with his pals in Colorado the weekend before her birthday. Gabby of course had no issue with the early party since it basically extended the span of her birthday celebration to two weeks.

Gabby invited the girls from her kindergarten class (5 other girls) and two boys. She also invited 3 friends who she met in gymnastics, two neighbor girls that she plays with a lot, and her two friends from the Bay Area who happened to move here two months before us. Add Rocco and Giuliana to that and it was a very nice sized party.

The kids all LOVED choosing and building their own bears at B.A.B! After the bears were built and put into their own personal boxes to bring home, we found an area outside B.A.B to light the candles on Gabby's Hello Kitty cake and sang Happy Birthday to Gabby. It's fun to watch Gabby grow-up and how she reacts differently each year as people sing Happy Birthday to her. She enjoyed her friends singing Happy Birthday to her, but seemed to be very embarrassed whenever WE would sing to her outside of a party setting.

I think the party was a total success... Gabby had a great time and from what I hear & see... her friends & siblings all continue to LOVE their bears! Gabby also got a neat B.A.B. party souvenir... a bear that was signed by everyone who attended the party. Very cute idea!

And... the next day, Gabby and Rocco attended ANOTHER party at B.A.B! So, we now have LOTS of bears in this house with some very cute outfits. Rocco's bears have S.piderman and B.uzz L.ightyear costumes. He also has a B.A.B. from Maria, our last au pair, that has a darling C.ars pajama outfit. And, Gabby's bears are all glammed up with super cute outfits...think lots of sparkles and pink!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-25T10:43:00.000-08:00

Halloween was great this year!

Gabby was a cute cowgirl, Rocco was Batman (again!) and Giuliana was Curious George the monkey.

In addition to hosting our annual pumpkin carving party with a few good friends of ours, Halloween day was a LOT of fun too. Even though it was a Monday, we went all out. (I seriously think Halloween should ALWAYS fall on a Saturday… this Monday Halloween business is wrong!) In the afternoon, I volunteered at Gabby’s school to help with her kindergarten Halloween party. I also got to see some of their Halloween parade through the school which was kind of cute. After school, Gabby & I rushed home to pick up Rocco, Giuliana and Michalina. We dropped Gabby off at her Halloween dance party, and then Michalina and I brought the little kids trick or treating to all the businesses in town. We had a TON of fun trick or treating in town… the weather was perfect, and there were SO MANY kids and families out trick or treating. I picked Gabby up after her dance class and then she joined us for more trick or treating in town. The kids LOVED seeing all the other costumes and their treat bags got filled up fast! All the businesses were so generous… some of the cafes even offered freshly made doughnuts with orange and black frosting, etc. After trick or treating in town, we went home and made dinner. Then, Dan and Michalina brought the kids trick or treating around our neighborhood. It got VERY chilly that night… so when they arrived home and I saw none of the kids had winter coats or hats on… I was not a happy momma! The kids had all just gotten over nasty cold viruses… so after an hour of walking around in the cold without being dressed properly, I knew we’d be hit with another round of colds/coughs . And sure enough. The coughs/colds hit two days later. Grrrrr. And, I think we’re now officially on round 3 of some crazy virus that has a nasty cough. Oh well…

Anyway, it was a great Halloween. The kids had an absolute BLAST. And, they still have treats left in their bags… thank goodness. I think Giuliana has eaten the most so far.

Dan’s 40!!

2011-11-24T23:08:00.001-08:00

Dan turned 40 years old in October!!

At his request, we didn’t do anything fancy or too spectacular to celebrate. We basically went out to dinner as a family and then went home to eat ice cream cake. The kids LOVE ice cream and cake… so put the two together, and it was basically crazyville here trying to get them from jumping onto and into the cake before we actually lit candles and sang Happy Birthday.

I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful, caring husband who is an unbelievably devoted and fun-loving father to our children. Dan Martino… you’re the bomb and I love you more and more every day. XOXOXOXO

Backbends & Splits!

2011-11-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

Gabby is getting so great at gymnastics! She really loves it.

She loves it so much that she recently decided to quit dance. I think doing dance on Mondays and then having gymnastics every Tuesday and Thursday night for two hours was getting to be a bit much.

A few months ago Gabby came home to show us she could do the splits. And, a few weeks ago, she came home to show us that she could do a backbend all by herself. Wow! So impressive! He most recent accomplishment is doing a bridge kick-over. Basically, she can kick over and up to standing position when starting in a backbend. I have yet to record the bridge kick-over - but will do that soon!

It's fun to watch Gabby do all her tricks... and it's really fun to watch Rocco and Giuliana join in on it, as they'll always start doing somersaults, and trying to do handstands, etc. too. Always very entertaining for everyone watching!

For now, I have two videos to share - one of Gabby doing the splits and the other where she's doing a backbend. And, of course when Gabby starts doing her gymnastics… then Rocco and Giuliana start doing somersaults too. They also try to do handstands and cartwheels and that’s always very entertaining for everyone watching.

Giuliana's 18-21 Month Update!

2011-10-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

I'm finally catching up on blog posts! Yay! Clearly, I procrastinated on Giuliana's 18 month update, as that happened in July. Now, she's approaching 22 months. So, we'll call this her 18-21 month update!

So far, this is and has been my favorite age range with all of my babies. When they hit 18 months, their personalities really start shining through. They're still snuggly and cuddly (although Rocco didn't GET cuddly or snuggly until about 21 months!), and they're busy and showing you what they like and want to do. They start to learn about independence and they're not really 'naughty' yet. Well, not on purpose, anyway. And anything that they DO do wrong... well, it's still kind of cute. And funny.

GIULIANA'S 18 MONTH GROWTH STATS:
She continues to be very long and lean. She's one inch shorter than the boys were at 18 months. And, a lighter than Gabby was at 18 months. My girls seem to create their own growth curve, as the doctors tell me. And the boys fell at the top of the growth curve.
HEIGHT: 32 inches (75%ile)
WEIGHT: 18lbs 13oz (5%ile)
HEAD: 18.5

FUNNY THINGS SHE'LL SAY:

Omay = Open
Batba on = B.atman on
Pwess pway = press play
Cocco = Rocco
Gobby = Gabby
Daggy or daddy = daddy
Mon, momma, mommy = mommy
Tweet or teet = treat
Popkle = popsicle
Buk = bug
Wa wa = water
Cook cook = cookie
Chipies = chips
Miw-kee = milky
Deego = D.iego

GIULIANA's SLEEP PATTERN:

Giuliana naps once daily, usually from 12 noon – 2pm. Sometimes as late as 3pm. Giuliana is sleep trained so before her nap and bedtime, we look out the window, say good night to about 15 animals and say the sounds they make. Then, we sing “T.winkle, T.winkle Little S.tar”. Then, we say good night to her and put her in her crib with her purple blankey, her twin babies and sometimes a few extra babies, a book, or a specific stuffed kitty. It all depends on what her requests are on the way to bed.

She goes to bed beautifully. Sometimes she’ll sing or talk for a little bit, but then she just falls asleep. And, then sometime between 11pm and 2am, we hear her say “Momma? Momma?” or “Daddy, hold me?” And then, I go over and pick her up out of her crib and bring her into bed with us. She sleeps like a rock. Sometimes she’ll snuggle me…sometimes Dan, and sometimes she sleeps soundly just enjoying her own space between us. I completely and freely admit to loving this. As long as she can put herself to sleep at night without any drama - I’ll totally take a baby visitor in our bed. I wish I would have let Matteo sleep with me. But, at the time…who would have thought I’d only have 18 months of life to enjoy and share with him. I deeply regret not ever sleeping and cuddling him throughout the night once.

GIULIANA'ISM'S... THE FUNNY THINGS THAT STICK OUT IN MY MIND ABOUT HER:

If she hears anyone say the word “GO”, then Giuliana wants to go somewhere… she’ll run from adult to adult saying “Go? Go?” and then she’ll go and get her coat and shoes. This tends to be a bit of a problem if we’re trying to sneak out of the house to take one of the big kids somewhere!

She constantly pretends to be a kitty cat. She’ll drop on all fours and start saying “Mew, mew, mew…” and then she’ll rub her head up against your leg. Sometimes, when you pick her up out of bed in the morning to hold her, she’ll start mewing… really loud… which makes us laugh. Not sure where the cat interest came from since Dan & I are both dog people. But, it’s cute.

Giuliana has a po oping place. We have noticed that in the past month, whenever she has to poop, she’ll go over to her little kitchen area in our TV room… pretend like she’s cooking… and then she’ll run out and say “mommy poo poo!” or “daddy poo poo!”. She’s always very proud to announce this and I LOVE that she’s already so aware of the fact that she’s pooping! Hoping for early/eager potty training with this one!

She’s been known on several occasions to wake up in the middle of the night asking for cook cook (cookie)or chipies (chips).

She’s discovered the word “mine”. She likes to declare things mine and is always sure to get the last “mine” in when there is a “mine” war between her and Rocco, or her and Gabby.

Gabby LOVES to snuggle Giuliana and wrap her like a baby, holding her in her lap. Giuliana has warmed to this in recent months and now lets Gabby baby her. It's pretty darn cute!

She often likes to blame Rocco for things. I’m noticing this is happening less and less as we move away from 18 months. But, for example, if she falls by her own doing and Rocco is standing by her, she’ll walk over to me or Dan and say “Cocco made me fall”. We also often hear “Cocco took my blankey or book”, etc.

It's impossible to take pictures of her... or artistic/fun ones of her because she moves so fast and has no patience for a mommy who likes to try and take cool photos!

Giuliana loves to take her pants off and run around the house in her diaper. And, then sometimes she'll even pull her diaper down so her butt crack is showing and then she runs and runs, and laughs while Rocco or Gabby chase after her laughing, and calling her the little naked girl.

Books: She LOVES, LOVES looking at books. She isn’t very good at letting you actually read to her… she prefers to flip the pages at her pace and look at all the pictures. But, she is most interested in books with animals and whenever she sees and animal she yells out the animal name with a “Awwww… kitty!” or “Awwwwww… doggy!”. And, sometimes that is followed by the sound that animal makes.

Favorite TV shows are “B.atman” and “D.iego”. I think the love of Batman is so odd… I mean, have you ever watched it? So boring! But, I think this has just become a thing with her and Rocco… and she knows how much Rocco loves Batman, so I think that’s partly why she loves it so much. She’ll say “Batba ON!” Or “Deego on”.

“Momma… pwess pway!” = Mommy, press play! Yes, she learned this from the big kids and knows when she should tell me to press play for the DVR or DVD player in the car.

The first words out of her mouth in the morning are either:

1. “Mew, mew” and her rubbing her face up against my or Dan’s face

2. “Batba On!”

3. Humming “twinkle, twinkle little star” or “silent night”

4. “Mommy, cookie!”

She often wears her purple blanket on her back like a cape. Dan calls this Giuliana’s “darth vader look”.

When she puts her purple blanket on her back like a cap, it is quite the process… she doesn’t just pick it up and put it behind her and grab with the other hand to pull up around her shoulders. Instead, she grabs two ends of it, puts it over her head, and then slowly works the blanket over her head until one side is sitting on her shoulder tops.

She is a GREAT eater… eats almost anything! Best eater of any of my kids… and my tiniest, go figure! Some of her loves include: hot dogs, corn dogs, K.raft m.ac & cheese, salmon, steak, avocado, peas, pizza, strawberries, bananas, blueberries, soup of any kind… even chili, potatoes done any way (mashed, baked, fries, potato salad).

Favorite snacks/treats include: chocolate kisses M.&M’s, popsicles and ice cream. They all put smiles on her face!

Favorite toys: baby dolls, baby stroller, and playing with Gabby’s dollhouse stuff

At bedtime, she likes to turn on Gabby and Rocco’s sound machines and help us tuck them in before she goes to bed. She’ll run back & forth between their rooms saying “night, night!”, giving out her bedtime love.

For Rocco being such a rough & tumble boy, he sure shows his sweet, sensitive side around Giuliana. Always looking out for her, getting her what she needs and sharing toys that he would fight with Gabby over. Or, yelling at us "MOM, GIULIANA NEEDS THIS (whatever that might be)!"

She likes to pick out her own pajamas and clothes and is VERY opinionated about what she will wear. Try putting something on this girl that she didn’t want to wear and it is MELTDOWN city! I have never been able to dress either of my girls as I wanted to from the time they are 18 months old! Jeesh! Oh well… glad we’re raising little ladies with independence!

She knows exactly where the treats and her treat basket are kept in our house. Thanks again to the big kids!

She likes to dig in drawers and cabinets.

She loves playing with all the goodies in mommy’s makeup bag. She actually plays in their more than mommy does! And, she loves putting lip gloss on.

She loves putting mommies shoes on, and also trying on any adult shoes that sit by the front door.

She loves playing with water, going down slides, swinging, and looking for bugs outside.

She loves long walks and wagon and stroller rides.

She loves picking and eating blackberries off the many blackberry bushes that live on our property. Not sure who eats more… my kids or the deer.

She LOVES when the deer visit our yard and will sit at the window screaming with excitement and pointing at the deer. I swear they hear her and always get a little scared.

She loves taking baths with her older siblings.

Giuliana is seriously just a GREAT kid! We love her SO MUCH! She’s so darn cute… and so funny. I think Dan and I really, truly just enjoy and love taking in all her funny little quirks and personality traits. Gabby and Rocco love her so much… which is completely evident every day as they constantly give in to her “mine” and share with her in ways that make me such a proud mommy. Giuilana is beautiful and a fun little handful… and we completely and absolutely ADORE her to bits!

Pumpkin Patch... success!

2011-10-24T21:27:00.000-07:00

We visited a pumpkin patch this past weekend and the kids really had a great time. It's a family farm and small amusement part, truly a hidden gem, and it's located real close to us. The best way to describe it to our NorCal friends and family would be a cross between a G.ilroy Gardens (for the rides and food), a farmers market (for the large variety of organic, fresh fruits and vegetables), a craft fair, and a H.alf M.oon B.ay pumpkin patch. And, it was just sort of autumn eye-candy. The trees are all starting to change colors... lots of reds, oranges and yellows... and the grounds were decorated with hundreds of super-cute scarecrows.

We walked around a huge field with lots of pumpkins first... the kids took their time picking and choosing. Rocco seemed mostly entertained by picking up huge mud balls and smashing them on things. Giuliana was mostly intrigued by all the ladybugs we were finding. And, Gabby was truly interested in finding the perfect pumpkin. Rocco also made sure to tell his daddy that he found a pumpkin for Matteo, which I of course loved... don't ever want our little Matt to be forgotten and I love it when he's front of mind in the kid's heads too.

After we picked our pumpkins, the kids did a hayride with daddy and our au pair, Michalina. And then we thought we'd check out the market, restaurant and amusement park. Wow... were we ever pleasently surprised! The kids wanted to do the rides but we couldn't because it was going to close in a half hour. But, we did explore the market and get some ice cream cones. And, we told them we could go back next weekend. I can see us visiting this place a LOT in the future.

We ended up coming home with 5 pumpkins to carve... 5 large pumpkins. Oh boy... looks like Dan & I just earned ourselves another BIG task. Something tells me these kids won't be gutting the pumpkins this weekend.

Girls Trip to Wine Country!

2011-10-22T15:45:00.001-07:00

At the end of September, I enjoyed a 4 day girls trip to Sonoma with some of my best girlfriends from college. Jess, Krysta and I did the same trip back in 2009... and we had such a great time and enjoyed the place we stayed at so much, that we decided to do it again! This time, another college girlfriend/sorority sister of ours, Tawny, was able to join us too.

We stayed at the F.airmont S.onoma M.ission Inn and Spa. It was DIVINE. LOVE that place! I could have stayed for an entire week. Each day, we had a spa treatment and indulged ourselves by partaking in the bathing ritual. We took advantage of time away from our families to work out and be lazy by the pool. We enjoyed delicious lunches and dinners out, and lots of time catching up.

Friday was our most productive day... we worked out in the morning, hit the spa, lunched out, and then hit one fabulous winery hard... I would highly recommend Bella to anyone visiting wine country. We got a private tour, we loved our wine dude, and we even got to indulge in extra tastings because we closed the place down... well, and we're SO MUCH FUN to hang with... well, and you can't really waste wine... just saying. After our visit to Bella, we spent some time doing some serious hooping on the Bella grounds. Krysta stole some delicious grapes from a vineyard that we devoured and then we hit two more tasting rooms before dinner that night. And, dinner was spectacular!

Saturday, we worked out, chilled by the pool, hit the spa and had a fabulous dinner out.

I think we overate at every meal... but it was totally worth it! It was such a great trip and so much fun to spend time with my girlfriends!

R-O-C-C-O...that spells ROCCO!

2011-10-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

Rocco has been very interested lately in learning to spell words and pretending to read. It's SO CUTE! He also is constantly running around the house either humming the theme songs to B.atman or T.ransformers... OR, he's running around singing "R - O - C - C - O... that spells Rocco!" This is improvement from last month when he'd sing "R-O-CCCCCCCCCCCCC-O...that spells Rocco!"

And, this week he also actually WROTE his name! Legibly! I was SO PROUD!

I can take full credit for him spelling his name. But, truth be told, we have to give thanks to our current au pair, Michalina, for Rocco actually writing his name. Michalina has done a great job working with Rocco on writing his name for the past several weeks. She does a great job with the kids and she really enjoys spending time with Rocco reviewing letters and numbers, etc.

First Sleepover!

2011-10-22T13:52:00.000-07:00

Gabby and Rocco were invited to their very first sleepover last Saturday night at their best friend's home (Sofia and Giovanni). They had SO much fun! I told them about it the day before, and by 8am on Saturday morning, they were both packed and ready to go!

It was comical to see what they packed... between the two of them, there were two heavy bags of toys packed that included cars, guns, swords, flashlights, photo books, dolls, dress-up jewelry, color crayons, etc. We basically had to remind them to pack their pajamas, clothes for the next day, toothbrushes and their sleeping bags.

We were slightly worried that we might get a call sometime before 11pm to come and pick them up because one of them was scared or just wanted the comforts of home. But, nope! They did GREAT!

After we dropped the kids off, Dan & I took Giuliana on a date with us. We had some great food and enjoyed the calm & peacefulness associated with only one child joining us for the evening. Giuliana got extra spoiled by her mommy and daddy.... LOTS of love and ice cream after dinner.

I guess it took Rocco a while to get settled/comfortable in sleeping on the floor in his sleeping bag. I was told Sofia and Giovanni fell asleep shortly after 10pm... and Gabby and Rocco finally fell asleep shortly after 11pm. Apparently Rocco was up every 10 mins to get water, which annoyed Gabby... but thankfully, the sleep fairy finally hit both of them. And, I guess all the kids were up by 7am to play again!

My kids are used to sleeping from 8 or 8:15 pm until 7 or 7:30am. So - they got a short night's sleep... which is to be expected with a sleepover, right?! My kids normally sleep HARD and long! Rocco never wakes up in the middle of the night... if he does it is extremely rare. Gabby wakes up from nightmares every once in a while still, but is easily put right back to bed. So, when they got home from the sleepover...they were both abnormally tired and a little fussy. So tired in fact that they next night we put them to bed at 7:40pm and they slept in until 8am!

The kids had SO MUCH FUN and are very excited to do another sleepover or host a sleepover at our house. They played, they read books, they colored, they watched movies and had a popcorn party, they built forts... and so much more.

A definite success!!

Pneumonia? Fevers? Coughs? Welcome back germ season.

2011-10-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Giuliana has finally fully recovered from pneumonia.

Rocco had brought home a bad cough from school at the end of September. He didn't have any other symptoms, but we brought him to the doctor anyway. She confirmed that nothing else was going on, and said it was just a cough. It took about 7 days for Giuliana to catch it. Then, that night she also came down with a nasty fever that started around 11pm and spiked up to 103.6 a little after midnight. I was able to control it by switching every 3 hours between i.buprofren and a.cetaminophen. But, she still had a fever the next day, which was a Friday, so I decided to take her in to the pedi before the weekend. Dr. C said her lungs sounded good, no ear infection, throat looked good. So, we assumed her body was just very busy fighting a virus.

Her fever continued over the weekend, although thankfully it never went over 102.5. But, I noticed her cough changed over the weekend. It went from being a dry cough to a wet cough... sounding like mucus was in her lungs. So, we went back to the doctor Monday morning. And, sure enough... our sweet little girl was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was prescribed a.zithromyacin and I knew it would be a battle getting her to take the medicine, but my plan was to give it to her in ice cream... because that's how I got her to take it back in July.

Well, as it turns out, my 21 month old child is so stubborn and willful that she can easily sniff out medicine and outsmart any medicine-giving strategies I come up with. i tried hiding it in ice cream - she flat out refused the ice cream, I tried giving her a straight shot of chocolate syrup (w/medicine in it), and she also refused it. I tried giving it to her in a syringe, a spoon, a cup and from a straw. So, then I had to try the tough method... so I pinned her down, and by the time I finished that method, there was more medicine in her hair, on her clothes, and on my clothes... and I'm not sure any of it actually made it into her mouth. She actually grabbed the syringe from me at one point and in the battle and pushed all the medicine out so fast that it went flying into the air and hit my face and hair, and her hair. I swear... if someone would have been watching this they probably would have thought we were both crazy! I had to call the pedi and tell them we wasted an entire bottle of medicine. And after telling them all the strategies I used, they told me we'd have to bring her in for shots. I was relieved to hear that though... at least we would KNOW she was getting the medicine.

So, we did 2 days of shots, and went in again on the third day to get 2 chest xrays so we could see if she needed another set of shots. Talk about stressful! I couldn't be in the xray room with her and she was screaming "momma, momma, hold me!!" at the top of her lungs. It was heart breaking! Then, when I got her back in my arms and calmed her down... she had to get a third set of shots...ugh! Poor baby! If only you could reason with a 21 month old and tell them "this is why you have to take your medicine!".

In addition to bringing Giuliana to the pedi 4 times last week, we also had to bring Rocco in again too. His cough was going on week #3 and with Giuliana being diagnosed with pneumonia, we were worried he might develop something worse too. Miraculously, our little dude's lungs are getting so much stronger! This is such a relief... when he was an infant, he would get bronchitis, pneumonia, or RSV at the drop of a hat. Over the past year, Rocco's lungs and immune system have finally gotten over the hump of succumbing to serious sickness within days of catching a simple cold. HOORAY!!!

Giuliana continued with a low-grade fever through Friday... poor little thing! Almost nine days of having a fever that lingered between 99.5 and 100.3. Sunday brought her a nasty cold... snot everywhere and lots of sneezing. By Monday, her cough was finally gone though. And, by Tuesday, my funny, silly, stubborn little girl was back to her normal antics, which was such a relief for me.

I know a fever is nothing a parent should stress over or fear. The fever itself is of course just a sign that the body is doing it's job and trying to fight a virus or infection. But, if you're THIS momma... a fever is stressful. I can't sleep, adrenaline rushes through my body, and I obsess over what is wrong with my child. It brings out my PTSD more than anything else... because Matteo died the night he went to bed with a high fever. He didn't have a seizure, pneumonia, swine flu, or any other known virus. He just had a fever. And, he died. The coroner told us that by all accounts, he looked like a perfectly healthy little 18 month old boy... all of his organs were beautiful. No sign of any issues. To this day, this makes me so angry and hurt... I will never know why he died. My little guy was just cheated out of life... and a fever is the only thing I knew to be wrong that night.

So, I'd like to tell germ season to suck it... leave my kids alone. That's all. Thanks!

Mommy, Where Do Burglars/Bad Guys Live?

2011-10-09T14:17:00.000-07:00

Lately, Dan and I are fielding so many questions from Rocco about bad guys and burglars. I think his interest in super heroes, Batman being his favorite, has peaked his interest in good guys and bad guys.

Typical questions heard many times throughout the day include:
1. What do bad guys do?
2. What do good guys do?
3. Why are bad guys bad?
4. What happens to bad guys?
5. What is a burglar?
6. Where do burglars live?
7. How do you catch a burglar?

One day when I was driving Rocco to school, he spent the entire drive questioning me about burglars, but he was particularly interested in where they lived. I told him they could live anywhere, to which he yelled "MOM! Burglars don't live ANYWHERE!" So, I asked him where they live and he started pointing to houses saying they lived there... and there... and there.

Dan and I find these bad guy/burglar conversations very amusing.

Rocco & His Swords, Guns & Glow Sticks

2011-10-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Rocco pretty much coasts through life happily... so long as he has his swords, N.erf guns and glow sticks.

Every night, he goes to bed with a gun and/or sword in hand, his blankey and his glow stick or a flashlight. Often times, the glow stick or the flash light is left on... and I turn it out when I check on him before I go to bed.

If he loses any of these items throughout the day, which he does approx 189 times a day... he sends anyone and everyone who is in the house on a wild goose chase to find his lost glow stick, gun or sword. It is annoying when he loses any of these items... not only because this happens a lot, but because you have to drop everything you're doing to find it right then & there... and also because if you don't, you have to listen to a 3 year old meltdown.

Lately, he's been carrying his Spiderman backpack everywhere, filled with guns, swords, glow stick, and tools (little kid hammers, plyers, etc.). There was an electrician here the other day, and Rocco started chatting up the electrician about all the tools he had in his backpack... I overheard him say from the other room "See, I have a hammer too! My hammer is blue!" To which of course, I am very sure the electrician was super impressed. :)

Also... another super-cute thing that I love seeing lately, is Rocco & Dan's wrestling matches. Rocco seriously and truly LIVES to wrestle with Dan. I think it is is favorite thing to do every day. And, when Dan is traveling, it's very evident that Rocco misses his daddy and their wrestling. Not only do they wrestle together... A LOT... but they play T.ransformers together... there is a theme song that Rocco hums/sings loudly and Rocco and Dan transform into bad or good transformers (directed by Rocco, of course) and then proceed to attack each other, run from each other and battle. It's really very odd and strange and manly, all at the same time.

Oh... and those two also spend a lot of time playing guns. They go through the house, hiding behind various pillars and walls... popping out and shooting windows and walls and stuffed animals. I'm told they're trying to shoot all the bad guys. It's pretty cute. And, I love watching this happen.

Of course, I always wonder where little Matteo would be in the mix of all this. I wonder if he'd be into the wrestling... or if he'd be more mellow and chill. There are so many moments throughout the day where I would give ANYTHING to have him here with us and see him playing guns or transformers or wrestling with Rocco.

Giuliana, Babies & Blankey

2011-10-09T13:50:00.001-07:00

Giuliana has her own little entourage. And, that consists of two babies and her purple blankey. These three things go everywhere with her. And, I mean EVERY.WHERE. If we go upstairs, downstairs, outside, nap... whatever it is... you get the call for "babies! blankey!"

The babies were actually a gift to Gabby from grandma Leo and grandpa Kenny when the twins were born. Now, they are 100% owned and managed by Giuliana.

I took this photo with my phone a few weeks ago. This is what she looks like every night when she falls asleep. So, so sweet. Hugging those sweet little babies of hers.

Dan's first half marathon

2011-10-09T12:58:00.000-07:00

After supporting me in running the San Francisco full marathon... Dan decided he would like to try doing a half marathon. I was of course VERY supportive of this... and found him a race to run within 10 minutes of his declaration! I also had a training plan whipped up for him 10 minutes later. :))

I can't speak for Dan, of course, but I think there were several reasons he wanted to sign up for a half marathon. First, he wanted a reason to HAVE to run/workout every day. He had been SO busy with work over the summer that he just wasn't taking time to exercise and he didn't like that. Second, he wanted to get back in shape. And, lastly, I think he wanted the challenge of having to run farther than he'd ever run before. And, seeing people of all ages run and finish the half and full marathon in San Francisco was inspiration.

The race I chose and he agreed to do was in 6 weeks. Yikes! Most people that have never run more than 4.5 miles would choose a race 12 weeks out... so they could get proper training in. But, we wanted to choose something in September when the weather would still hopefully be nice. And, I figured with the shorter training... he might not get bored with "running" before the race and stick to the plan.

The longest Dan had ever run before this training plan was 4.5 miles. And, he used to hate running. But, Dan finally got a taste of the runner's high... and after building up to a 10 mile run the week prior to the race, he declared he LOVED running and and his long runs on the weekends. I think I shed a little tear! Ha! Not only did he start to love running... but he also lost weight and got quite slim. Now, I usually get much leaner when training... but I also typically gain about 5 pounds. Granted, my clothes all become a little loose... I guess it's true that "muscle weighs more than fat". But, he got both lean AND lost weight. Men have it so easy - I swear!

Anway... race day arrived. We all woke up at 6:30am and left the house by 7am. His race started at 9:30am (what a great start time! I'm used to the awful 5:30-7am start times!), and we needed to arrive by 9am so he could pick up his race packet. Now, if it would have been me running the race, I would have noted the address where I was supposed to pick-up my race packet... but in typical Dan fashion, we arrived... and after spending 20 minutes of driving around trying to figure out where the starting line, etc. was, we found it. I was seriously nervous he was going to miss it. But, he pulled through! Whew!

We cheered Dan on from 100 meters after he crossed the starting line and about 50 meters before the finish line. Had we arrived earlier and gotten more acquainted with the course/town, I think we would have been able to cheer him on from a few more locations, but it all worked out and was fine. Also, it's not exactly easy to take 3 little kids with you on a race chase in a town you are not familiar with at all, by yourself! But, the kids REALLY LOVED seeing their daddy running a race and so did I!!

Dan did fantastic! Especially for this being his very first race, the longest he'd ever run, only six weeks of training and constant 25-45mph winds. Outside of the crazy winds... the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a half marathon... low 60's at the start. mid/high 60's at finish and cloudy.

Dan finished 13.1 miles in 2:06:09, which equaled a pace of 9:52 minutes per mile. I was SO PROUD of him! And, now he's looking for his next half marathon... and working on building his speed! YAY, DAN!!

CaLiFoRnIcATion!!

2011-10-04T19:30:00.001-07:00

We had a great trip to California at the end of July and beginning of August. The trip was planned around two major events... me running the San Francisco marathon and our first benefit for Matteo's Dream Fund.

We were gone for a total of 11 days, including travel time (since we drove). Yes, we are that crazy family. Financially, it made the most sense and was much smarter to drive. I couldn't believe how much it was going to cost us to rent a suburban sized vehicle... we couldn't find anything for under $1,800.00 for 8 days. Add air tickets for 3 adults and 2 children (we brought our au pair) and that added at least another $1,000.00... and then we still needed hotel rooms on top of that! Driving saved us oodles of money!! But seriously... what was with the sky-high car rental prices over the summer!?

Also, because we needed to drive... this was the perfect time to invest in a bigger family vehicle, which we have been in need of. I LOVED the mini-van... no really, I did! Sliding, touch-a-button-to-open-doors being my very favorite feature... closely followed by the low chassis for ease of loading kids, and ease of parking it! But... it just wouldn't cut it for this trip with 3 adults, 3 children, and luggage for all! So, we ended up getting a used 2008 black Yukon Denali XL. And, it's been fabulous and perfect - love it. Still miss the mini-van a tad bit, but can't imagine not having all the extra space now.

The only challenging part of driving meant that we wanted to do it over night... leaving home in the afternoon and Dan and I driving throughout the night. Both of us ended up being sleep deprived. The unfortunate extra challenge was Giuliana once again battling a fever on the drive down and us having to stop at the ER in Medford, OR, after being directed to do so by our pediatrician.

Gabby traveled really well in the car with very little complaining - would totally do this with her again. Rocco spent most of the drive down (when awake) asking if we were at the beach yet. He loves the beach! He slept pretty good... but on the drive down and back, he did have one wake-up where he started crying hard because he wanted to be stretched out in his bed. Poor 'lil guy! Giuliana did not travel very well at all! When sleeping, she would wake up every couple hours crying and frustrated that she was in her seat. On the way home, 3 hours into the drive, she had a major meltdown after spending 45 mins on repeat, saying "mamma! out! mamma! buckle! out!" So, we had to stop for a little while, get her some food, and we were able to distract her enough to get her buckled up again and driving. It was torture though hearing/seeing her so upset to be stuck in the car seat! UGH!

We arrived the day before the marathon. Giuliana was still battling a virus with a nasty fever, and I caught a 1.5 hour nap to prep for the marathon the next morning, while Dan and Maria took the kids over to Fisherman's Wharf. We spent the night in 2 hotel rooms located right on Fisherman's Wharf. We had a fantastic Italian dinner on Columbus Ave the night before the race, and played at the "new since I lived there park" at Washington Square Park in North Beach (my old 'hood!). Dan and I of course loved hanging out in our old neighborhood... reminiscing about how we'd go out to dinner almost every night... just walking to any one of hundreds of yummy restaurants. The nostalgia hit hard - that was such a great, carefree time in our lives!

The marathon was Sunday. My family and Maria all got up at 5am and walked two blocks north to cheer me on 1.5 miles into the course - what troopers! LOVE them! After the race, we went back to the hotel, kids napped, I cleaned up and then we went touring and grabbed some yummy food in the Marina (also an old haunt of ours). We took the kids and Maria to Lombard Street and the Golden Gate Bridge. Then, we bbq'd with Kathleen's family at our friend's Sara & Brad's beautiful home in Noe Valley. We spent the next 2 nights there... it was SO NICE of them to allow us to stay at their home while they were on vacation! Thanks again guys!!

On Monday, we drove up to Stinson Beach and spent the afternoon soaking up the sun, digging in the sand, jumping waves and just relaxing. We had a great lunch at a little cafe right off the beach. It was a perfect day!

On Tuesday, we went to a park for the kids, did a picnic lunch, and then hit Venice Beach in Half Moon Bay for more playing in the sand, water and soaking up the sunshine. Dinner was Mexican food in Pacifica.

On Wednesday we headed down to our hotel right on the main strip in Los Gatos. Wednesday night we went to our good friend's and old neighbor's home, Jody & Andy. It was super fun to catch up with them, and spend time with all the kids together. Dan worked on Wednesday and Thursday. And, I spent Wednesday and Thursday prepping for the Matteo's Dream Fund benefit... there was LOTS to be done so it was like a full time job! It was SO GREAT staying in downtown Los Gatos though... seriously, truly LOVE that town. And, loved walking around town each night and hitting different/favorite restaurants of ours. Maria watched the kids during the day and took them over to Oakmeadow Park on the train, carousel and all the play equipment. They also played in the fountain in Los Gatos's town square park.

Friday, we took the kids and Maria to Natural Bridges beach and Santa Cruz beach & boardwalk. Then, we went to Kathleen's house that night... her mountain neighborhood has a bbq every Friday night during the summer with great food and volleyball, boccie ball, parks for the kids, etc. It was a fun, relaxed night hanging with good friends.

Saturday was our event for Matteo's Dream Fund!! It was a total success and you can read more about that here.

Sunday, we spent the afternoon with our family.... Leo, Kenny, Trish, Todd and Courtney and it was fabulous! We've really missed them SO MUCH since we've lived in Washington. It's brought me to tears at times... I truly miss having them/family near us and being a part of the kid's lives. The kids have really missed them too, so it was such a great afternoon of quality time together. Trish made a super-delicious dinner (as always) and we caught up with everyone's lives. So fun!!

Monday, we headed home... we had to rent a small trailer to get us home because Leo & Kenny had been babysitting 5 of our very large plants ever since we moved! Also, we ended up having a lot of extra Matteo's Dream Fund "stuff" to bring home.

Oh... and on our way home, we unknowingly stole a gas pump line @ 4am from a gas station in Washington!! It was hilarious! Dan had been driving since we left at 2pm on Monday afternoon. We stopped at a gas station. I took Gabby in to go potty. Dan started pumping gas. Dan came in and browsed for snacks. Then, I browsed for snacks and told him I could drive. He agreed because he was exhausted and went out to the car. I paid, went out to the car, jumped in the drivers seat and took off. We were probably 4 or 5 miles on the Interstate and I saw something sparking in my side mirror... something was hanging off the side of the truck. What? So, I asked Dan if he noticed that earlier. I couldn't figure out what it was. Dan thought it was a chain from the trailer. No.... couldn't be.... not from where it was hanging. I looked closer in the mirror and realized it was the GAS PUMP LINE!! OMG!! Sparking EVERY time it hit the road!! I started laughing so hard as I realized what it was... Dan was SO upset and did not think it was funny one bit. I couldn't stop laughing and I started slowing down so we could pull over and remove it. I couldn't help but wonder what the couple cars who were now passing us thought of this.... total crazy white-trash people, right?! OMG... soooooo funny! Still can't believe this happened. Obviously, I never checked the gas pump before I got in the car. I guess I figured that since Dan started pumping the gas, he would finish it! Especially since he was in the store browsing for food! Slight communication problem there, eh?! That was the funniest story from our trip... will definitely remember this forever! HA!

Gabby started KINDERGARTEN!

2011-09-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

Gabby started all-day kindergarten recently - and she is in HEAVEN!

This child was beyond ready to start kindergarten... literally counting down the weeks and days since June. Every time she would talk about kindergarten... it would be followed with a very girly, high-pitched scream. So fun to see her so excited! She also picked out her new backpack, and jumped with joy the day it arrived.

There were many little steps leading up to the big day... we got our list of supplies that we needed to bring in, along with our date & time for her kindergarten assessment. At the assessment, they basically tested her reading skills, asked her to do some simple rhyming, asked her to identify her name, shapes and numbers and I think they also did a little writing. I think Gabby did really well and was able to read all the pages in the book the teacher went through with her with just a little help from the teacher on a few words.

Then, we had her orientation on the Thursday after Labor Day. (By that point... Gabby was ITCHING to be in school every day and was SO JEALOUS that Rocco had already started school.) Gabby really enjoyed the orientation... it allowed her to meet some new friends and hear more about rules, the routines and what her school day was going to be like. There are 18 boys in her class and 5 girls (including Gabby). I'd say the girls are a bit outnumbered!

Her first day of school was the next day - Friday. We drove her to school and picked her up on the first day... and let's just say she was NOT a fan of us picking her up. She really wanted to ride the bus that day. I was met with tears, instead of a hug... from a VERY, very tired and new little kindergartener. She had SUCH a great time at school though and was sad that she had to wait all weekend to go again. When Monday arrived, I walked her to the bus stop for her very first bus ride... and to say she was excited to ride the bus is an extreme understatement. As Gabby said "Mom, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE to ride the bus!!"

Gabby's all day kindergarten goes from 9:15-3:25. Her teacher, Ms. T, told us to expect our little ones to be very tired when they arrive home for the first two months. But, after that, they should be adjusted to the new schedule and stimulation. Gabby, by the way, LOVES her teacher. And, I really like her too! She has so much energy, has the kids doing neat learning projects and I love the constant communications from her via backpack mail and email.

In addition to adjusting to a new school schedule, Gabby also is involved in swimming, gymnastics and dance. Dance class started last Monday. She's in a tap & ballet class that she really enjoyed last year with the same instructor. Swimming class is on Sundays. And, she's in an invite-only developmental gymnastics class. The class is twice weekly, from 5-7pm, and they work those girls hard. Seriously. I watch them, and wish I was out there doing all the strength training, stretching and fun gymnastics moves with them. I hesitated a bit with the advanced gym class for several reasons... I was worried about Gabby adjusting to all day kindergarten, and thought a twice weekly, 2 hour class would be too much for her... and maybe for us too (with having to taxi her there & back), especially with having two other little ones at home. But, the Level I coaches started telling me that Gabby was getting bored in class and needed more of a challenge. They said strength-wise and skill-wise, she was more than capable of handling the invite class. So, I caved... and enrolled her in that class. Honestly though.... she is MUCH happier in this new, more difficult class and it so far hasn't been too difficult to juggle with everything else. It definitely messes up dinner on Tuesday nights, as Rocco's gym class starts when Gabby's does... it just ends an hour and 15 mins before Gabby's. But, I now send the kids off to they gym with PB&J sandwiches, milk and that seems to work fine. Then when they get home, they usually eat a second dinner.

Gabby is LOVING all of her activities. I would say it is a toss-up between dance & gymnastics for her favorite activity. Swimming is not really an option in our house... we feel strongly about the kids having to learn to swim for safety reasons. But, the other activities are up to the kids. As long as they are having fun, it isn't making them too tired or impacting school/homework (which is the top priority!), then we'll support them in whatever.

Gabby seems to have grown-up so much lately... in a kindergarten sort of way. And, I also had to go through her closet again recently - she's growing so fast! Very tall & lean (making it really hard to find pants that are long enough but not falling off of her). And, she happily does her homework each night and looks forward to our half hour of reading. She is also really starting to get confident with her own reading and will often attempt to read books to her brother and sister now. Super cute to see! We are SO proud of her... love her to bits!

Rocco Started Preschool!

2011-09-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

Rocco started preschool the day after Labor Day and he was SO excited!

Last winter, he was not looking forward to school one bit. We'd try talking to him about it and he would get mad and tell us he didn't want to go to school. We would tell him all the fun things he would do at school... and he would ignore us.

But, oddly enough, by the end of summer, he was full of anticipation for his first day of school. He would tell us all about what he was going to do at school and how he'd make his OWN friends (friends, that Gabby wouldn't have), etc. It's amazing how several months in the life of a 3 year old can make such a difference on their perspective and interest in something. It is also interesting how time changes their need for social interaction and their own friendships.

I imagine Rocco also developed a need/want for his own friends because he is much more aware of how Gabby has created friendships. And, he truly enjoys the friendships that him and Gabby have built with our neighborhood kids. The kids in the neighborhood are constantly playing together and going from house to house. It's really cute and sort of reminds me of my childhood neighborhood.

In addition to starting preschool, Rocco is now also enrolled in gymnastics and a swimming class that does not include a parent or his sister (both are once a week). He truly LOVES both classes!

I tried on several occasions to have him try gymnastics back in the spring, but he wouldn't even participate for 5 minutes. Now he really enjoys going to gymnastics and really looks forward to class. He even likes to show off and do somersaults at home and flips on the trampoline. He seems to do really well at the beginning of each class... he listens and follows instruction, doing exactly as the coach instructs. Then, I seem him start to get chatty with the coach, and other kids. And, by the end, I see him diving and jumping and rolling onto the mats like he's fighing some sort of superhero battle while he's waiting in line for his turn to do something. He's such a little clown! Last week, he was waiting in line, diving and doing somersaults. I saw his coach say something to him (her back was to me, so I don't know what she said) and then Rocco got up and I heard him say "I have another brother and his name is Matteo!", and then he dove back into another somersault. Ii was so strange... gave me chills and warmed my heart at the same time. Love that Matteo still lives within him.

Rocco and Gabby were in a private swim class together through the spring. Then, when July hit, I decided to enroll them in a different program, where they would each be in classes relevant to their level of swimming. This was Rocco's first class without a parent or his sister and I was expecting it to either be a complete disaster or something to build on. Well, in his first swim class he was frozen still and had his head down for the first 10 mins. But all of a sudden... it was like a switch went off, and he started having fun. He started talking and responding positively to the instructor, and when we went home, he was so proud to tell his sister and daddy all about his instructor and 2 new swim class friends.... even though they didn't really say a peep to each other. Last week... he talked the teacher's ear off and the teacher looked at Dan almost as if she was needing Dan to get him to stop talking. Silly Rocco... he's such a crack-up!

We're so proud of Rocco! Preschool, gymnastics and swimming classes... all by himself!

Funny things Rocco says...

2011-09-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Rocco is full of funny sound effects and comments. He is constantly making us laugh.

One of the common Rocco discussions in our house lately is "What do bad guys do?" And, "What do Batman and Robyn and Superman do?" I think we get these questions fielded to us at least once a day.

Gabby also knows exactly how to push Rocco's buttons. All she has to say is that something of his is pink, or that he likes pink, etc. This has created a complete pink-complex... and Rocco now must always only use blue spoons, blue bowls and blue plates. Try giving him pink, orange, green or purple... and you'll be lucky if you're only reprimanded with a scolding of "I DON'T like PINK! I'm NOT a girl... I'm a BOY!"

A few weeks ago, Gabby just commented to Rocco that his lips were pink. Rocco, of course, didn't want to hear his lips were pink and said "My lips are NOT pink". Gabby: "Yes, they are.... even my lips are pink. Everyone has pink lips. Your lips are pink too." Rocco: "GABBY... MY LIPS ARE NOT PINK!!!!" This went on for at least a good ten minutes. I couldn't get either of them to stop... they had to keep getting in the last word. Jeeeeesh!! I'm not ready for them to be teenagers yet!

Rocco really loves playing with his Nerf guns and swords. He's constantly wanting to have sword fights with whoever is in the room. He happily brings you a sword... and you'd best be ready to sword fight or a major 3 year old temper-tantrum ensues. After Rocco's third day of school, Dan went to pick him up. As they were walking out of the school, Rocco said "Daddy... can I get a REAL gun and a REAL sword?" Dan of course laughed (I'm sure he was probably proud in that manly sort of way too), and told Rocco that maybe when he grows up he could get a REAL gun and a REAL sword. But, they'd have to do some training together first. Let's hope we never approach this day and that this is just a phase! :)

Matteo's Dream Fund Benefit - SUCCESS!!

2011-09-17T22:13:00.000-07:00

We held our very first fund raising event for Matteo's Dream Fund on Saturday, August 6th in the Bay Area. The event consisted of a dinner and silent auction. Our goals were to have 75 people attend and raise $3,000.00 for Packard Children's Hospital. Packard Children's is where Matteo was born and also had tubes put in his ears. It consistently ranks as one of our nations top children's hospitals, is a home away from home for many sick and terminally ill children, and it has also been my employer since March 2005.

We are thrilled to announce the event was an absolute SUCCESS!! Our attendance hit 78, and together we raised a total of $4,495.00 for Packard Children's. After reviewing the many options for how to direct our funds to be used, we finally decided to have our donation result in something concrete... something the kids will visually see and be able make use of. Thanks to all the wonderful friends and family who attended our benefit, the in-hospital school will receive 2 Mac laptops, 1 projector, 1 triple beam scale, 2 digital scales and 3 microscopes. In addition, the Forever Young Zone & Dialysis Center will receive $550 for new toys, art supplies and books.

While I would do anything to turn back the clock and change everything that happened on July 4th 2009, I know i can't. I would much rather spend my time holding and playing with my sweet Matteo... but that isn't even an option. I guess in a way it sort of helps the hurt to know that Matteo's name and memory live on, and that because of him, so many people came together to do something really good to benefit a lot of kids who are sick and terminally ill. And, coming from a parent who lost a child... I know that donations like this also probably put big smiles on the parents of those children as well.

We have so many people to thank for the success of this event. Kathleen Hart was my partner in crime from the very start to the very end, providing constant assistance and advice. Marisa Desai and Todd Kleinheinz helped procure a number of fantastic silent auction items, and also made their own donations. Also assisting with procuring silent auction items were Julie & Ed Grabscheid, and Jody Rich. We were also so incredibly lucky to benefit from the many businesses and individuals who so generously donated everything from game tickets, to hula hoop lessons, wine, gift certificates, jewelry and art.

We are SO THANKFUL to everyone who joined us for this event... especially in what is undoubtedly a very difficult time in our nation's economic history. So - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

In addition to the above mentioned successes, we walked away with one HUGE WIN. I am thrilled to announce that Matteo's Dream Fund is in the process of becoming an official 501(c)(3) non-profit! HUGE THANKS to Julie Peterson for starting the discussion and Kate Austin for taking on and managing this pro-bono work with the help of some of her colleagues at Oppenheimer & Associates. Once again, we are acutely aware of how lucky we are to have built friendships with such wonderful people, and also how lucky we are to still have them in our lives supporting us and being so generous of their time.

In the next month or two, I will have more information about how everyone who donated items to our silent auction and/or attended our event can obtain the information needed to write-off your contributions to Matteo's Dream Fund. Please stay tuned!

Also, as a constant fund raiser for Matteo's Dream Fund, we are selling apparel! Our current inventory includes ladies t-shirts (very soft cotton, fitted... LOVE & wear mine all the time!), uni-sex t-shirts (Dan is modeling these), and fleece jackets (super-soft & thick!).

For each item sold, $10 will go directly to Matteo's Dream Fund. If you are interested in purchasing anything - please drop me a note so I can assist you: jodimartino2002@yahoo.com. Prices are as follows:
White Unisex T-shirt (Hanes Beefy T)
M, L & XL = $16.00
XXL = $17.00

Black Unisex T-shirt (Hanes Beefy T)
M, L, XL = $19
XXL = $20

Ladies Black T-shirt in M, L, XL = $25

Ladies White T-shirt in M, L, XL = $23

Unisex Black Fleece Jacket = $35

San Francisco Marathon 2011

2011-09-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

I ran the San Francisco Marathon with one of my very best friends on July 31, 2011. We trained separately for the 18 weeks prior… only she got to train in better weather conditions!

We have a history of running together. She’s my California running pal. We’ve run hundreds of miles together and have now run two marathons (San Francisco Marathon – July 2011, and the Nike Women’s San Francisco Marathon – October 2008) and two half marathons together (Los Gatos Jungle Run Half Marathon – July 2008, and the Santa Cruz Half Marathon - April 2009).

My training went really well, and qualifying for Boston was a serious goal of mine/ours. We need a time of 3:45 to qualify and it was definitely in the realm of possibilities with the training times I/we had been logging during our weekend long runs. Kathleen had actually qualified for Boston on the same course two years prior. I was pregnant at the time or I would have trained & run that with her. Unfortunately, it also happened to be 3 weeks after Matteo died. So, the timing would have been awful.

Unfortunately, Giuliana came down with an ear infection the weekend before the marathon. And, as luck would have it, two days later she came down with a virus that make her spike fevers of 103-104+ in the late afternoon and evening hours.

For all the obvious reasons, I have a really difficult time sleeping when my kids are sick. But, if anything brings out my PTSD, it’s having a child under the age of two fighting a fever that spikes above 104 every few hours throughout the night. It would be impossible to explain all the emotion, stress and worry that results and weighs on me in a situation like this. My adrenaline gets going and I find it incredibly difficult to sleep at night and I get very easily agitated during the day… because I can’t stop worrying/stressing about my sick baby with an unexplainable fever. Subsequently, it also exhausts me like nothing else.

Anyway, so for the 4 nights prior to the race I did not get more than two hours of sleep at a time. In addition to that, I still had to pack for 4 people, and finalize a lot of the details for our very first Matteo’s Dream Fund fund raiser and silent auction that we were planning to host in the Bay Area the following weekend.

We left for CA on a Friday afternoon. The drive started out really slow as we left later than we had hoped and battled awful rush hour traffic getting through WA. Then, around 1am, Giuliana spiked a 104.5 fever on the drive (1.5 hours after giving her acetaminophen). After paging our peds office and talking to a nurse, we ended up having to stop at the ER in Medford. We were hoping her ear infection was not responding to the meds. But, as it turns out, her body was just battling a virus and needed to keep fighting. Grrrrr…. This momma likes getting a diagnosis.

So, Dan & I basically drove through the night with one very sick baby. We arrived in San Francisco around 10:30am, went to get my race packet and then to the hotel. I was exhausted, but able to catch a one hour catnap at the hotel while Giuliana napped. Dan and the au pair took the kids over to Pier 29.

At this point, I knew I wasn’t going into this race as rested as I should have been or wanted to be. But, I still wanted to run it and was going to just try and do my very best, have fun with it… and qualifying for Boston was certainly still in the back of my mind.

Giuliana’s fever seemed to go away again that afternoon. She didn’t have a fever at all that night (thank God!). So, I got approx 6 hours of sleep the night of the race. It felt SO GOOD… it was more sleep than I had in days.

I woke up at 4:30 to prep for the race. I met Kathleen at 5:15 and the race officially started at 5:30am.

I am NOT a morning person. So, early morning races are really not my thing. But, since this race takes you over the Golden Gate Bridge, there is also a very early start time.

Surprisingly, I felt pretty good that morning. However, mentally, I clearly wasn’t where I usually am or should have been. I didn’t have the nerves that I normally get the night before the race. And, I definitely didn’t have the nerves or adrenaline rush that I normally get the morning of the race, especially when you arrive at the event and see all the other runners.

One thing that I was looking very forward to though, was seeing my cheer crew - the best cheer crew on the planet – at mile 1.5, 12.5, 17.5 and at the finish line. My cheer crew consisted of Dan, Gabby, Rocco, Giuliana, and our au pair Maria. They got up at 5am just to cheer us on … AND, they made special signs. LOVE them! My extended cheer crew consisted of Kathleen’s family, of course… Michael, Livi & Maddy. Seriously the best cheer crew on the planet!

We started out strong, getting splits of 8:15 and 8:20 for the first 4-5 miles. And, then the hills started hitting… and I started getting tired. I think we got a mile split of 7:45 when running back over the GG Bridge. And, I kept feeling more tired. Mentally, my mind wanted to stop running, find a spot alongside the road and go to sleep. Amazingly, I stayed on pace to qualify for Boston until approx. 14 miles into the race. But, at mile 11.5, I sort of waved goodbye to my running pal and encouraged her to keep going strong. I was TIRED. It took me about two miles to change my mental game from being a Boston qualifying time goal, to being a “just have fun and finish this race” goal.

Long story short (ok… this wasn’t so short!), I didn’t hit my goal time of 3:45. Nor did I get a new personal best for my marathon finishing time, which I WAS bummed about because I should have easily accomplished that! But, I finished with a pretty solid time, finishing in the top 18% of women in my age category. That’s not so bad.

Mentally – it was a good challenge for me to face. I trained hard, by myself and I really felt qualifying for Boston was within reach. So, when you work that hard and push yourself for 18 weeks… to give up on one goal and have to find another to pull you through to the finish is a bit of a set-back. A good life lesson... a lesson I feel like I learned and live with every day since Matteo died. You can plan how you want your life to be... but life is what it is, and so much of it ends up being how you respond to the unexpected changes in your plans.

However, it’s also definitely a sign that you could have, and probably should have, pushed yourself harder when your legs aren’t sore anymore 3 days post-race. Oh well. It was fun and I'm glad I did it.

I’m 99.9% sure that will be my last full marathon ever. Training for a marathon is SO time consuming! From now on, this lady will only be doing half-marathons only or less! I think I’ll have a lot more fun with that training, those fitness goals, and working on building more speed and the constant goal to hit new personal best times in the half. And, it will also allow me to spend time doing other things like pilates and yoga as well.

My overall race stats:

Overall: 1885 out of 5920
Women: 376 out of 1976
Females aged 35-39: 58 out of 279

SPLITS:
7.4 Miles: 1:03:11 - Pace: 8:33
Half (13.1 Miles): 1:53:31 - Pace: 8:40
20 Miles: 3:02:40 - Pace: 9:08

Official Finishing Result = 26.2 Miles in 4:04:23 (Pace = 9:20)

4th of July

2011-09-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

This year on the fourth of July – we decided to be social. We were invited to spend the afternoon and evening with our friends who also transplanted here from the Bay Area last summer. Their home is on Lake Washington, so the plan was to watch several different fireworks displays from their roof after dinner.

Since Matteo died sometime during the evening of July 4^th two years ago – I never look forward to this holiday anymore. It seems all too easy to replay every moment and wish we would have done everything different that day and night. But, I guess the thoughts of spending time with friends who were such a great support system to us after Matteo died seemed like a comfortable distraction for me/us.

The kids had so much fun playing together… the girls dressed up in a million different outfits, wrote notes to each other, colored, etc. The boys played with legos, planes, cars and built a very long train with all of Giovanni’s lego cars and airplanes. Dinner was great, and Dan & I always enjoy our conversations with friends. The sunset was beautiful, the fireworks were fantastic - we must have watched 3-4 different shows from the roof of their house. And, the kids really enjoyed getting cuddled up in their sleeping bags to watch fireworks with their friends.

I’m glad the kids were able to enjoy and celebrate the Fourth of July holiday this year. Gabby & Rocco even got to do sparklers for the first time – which they REALLY enjoyed. I often wonder if they’ll have mixed emotions about the holiday as they get older since it’s the anniversary of Matteo’s death.

As the sun was starting to set, creating a beautiful orange sky… Gabby noticed the moon (see photo) and told me she thought Matteo was sitting on it, waiting for the fireworks with us.

Yes, Gabby… he was… sitting right on that moon… waiting for the fireworks with us. Sigh...

Just wish I could have been hugging him tight too.

Special Visitors!

2011-08-25T23:58:00.000-07:00

My younger brother & his beautiful family visited us at the beginning of July from Alaska. It was so great to see them and meet their newest addition, who turned one year old just two weeks before they visited. Gabby had SO much fun playing with Ellie. And, Rocco spent lots of time trying to get the girl’s attention. Ellie has a very similar personality to Gabby, and their 1 year old, Maia, is an absolute doll and so easy going and mellow. The kids acted as if they had known each other forever which made it so fun watching them together. We did a lot of playing outside with the kids, catching up and roasted marshmallows at night. Gabby and Ellie tried to do a slumber party in Gabby’s room… which didn’t work out so well. (Of course, none of the parents were surprised by this).

They were only able to spend about 24 hours with us because they had lots of other people to visit and a lot more traveling to do while in the lower 48. The last time we saw them was August 2009, just a few weeks after Matteo died, and at that time I was still in a fog and not at all social. So, it was great to see them, catch up a bit and watching the cousins play together was priceless.

The ZOO!

2011-08-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo with very good friends of ours – Sofia, Giovanni and their mom & dad.

The kids had a great time running around and checking out all the various animals. They really enjoyed the cockatiel exhibit/experience which essentially allowed them to enter the “cage” of dozens of cockatiels and feed them from sticks and also hold them or allow the birds to land on them. Rocco was surprisingly really good at staying still and luring the birds to his food stick. Several times he had birds walk up his arm. It was so much fun to see him relaxed and connecting with the birds in such a calm way. He’s usually so loud and physicial – it was almost like watching a different child. Gabby was probably a bit too eager to get the birds to land on her, so she didn’t have as many land on her as she would have liked. I felt a little bad for her… but every child has to learn the lesson of patience, I guess. Giuliana also really enjoyed looking around at the birds… but she didn’t feed any. They also had a great dinosaur exhibit… you know, the only zoo in the country where they have dinosaurs.

The Easter Bunny visited...in April! Just catching up!

2011-08-25T23:09:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny Came….way back in April, of course! Sadly, I’m just now getting to the blog post.

In typical fashion, we colored eggs with the kids and our au pair on Easter eve. We colored eggs, painted eggs, dropped eggs and broke eggs. We put on bunny ears and took goofy pictures and just had a lot fun together.

The kids went to bed VERY excited to find out if the Easter Bunny would visit. Gabby told me she asked the Easter Bunny for a puppy… so I had to tell her that puppies and dogs sometimes “catch” bunnies. So, the Easter bunny might not bring a puppy because of the conflict of interest. Let’s hope that excuse keeps working for a few more years. Last thing we need to add to our already chaotic lives right now is a dog!

Easter Sunday was nice. The kids woke up and were of course very excited to search the house for their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny usually hides the baskets in funny spots throughout the house. And, this year, he hid a lot of eggs filled with candy outside in the yard… so we spent some time searching for those as well. The kids had so much fun with this and Gabby and Rocco raced around the yard trying to find eggs. We had to put Giuliana in front of a few eggs and point at them to get her interested. She was hooked after she opened one egg and found a jelly bean. Gotta love the power of sugar, right?!

Good friends joined us that afternoon for another egg hunt with all the kids (7 total). Everyone brought more eggs which resulted in a giant egg hunt in our yard. We must have hid 100 eggs and the kids spent a good 30 minutes running around the yard filling their baskets with eggs. It was a lot of fun to watching them run around with so much excitement. Then, we had a really nice typical Easter dinner… ham, scalloped potatoes, asparagus, salad, etc.

Matteo's Dream Fund, Bay Area Benefit - JOIN US!!

2011-07-08T23:44:00.001-07:00

Two years ago I swore that I would do something to pay tribute to Matteo's life and help other children who are sick.

Today, I am proud to announce that we have planned our very first benefit event. And, I am equally proud to unveil the most perfect, beautiful logo designed for Matteo's Dream Fund. Matteo's profile is used in the design, and it includes a balloon and the moon... both of which have significant meaning to our family and Matteo.

Here are our event details - please join us!!
WHAT: Matteo's Dream Fund - Bay Area Benefit, dinner & silent auction
DATE: Saturday, August 6, 2011
TIME: 6:30-9:30pm
WHERE: Pedro's Restaurant & Cantina in Los Gatos, CA
WHY: ALL proceeds from this event will be donated to Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, CA, where Matteo was born 3.5 years ago, and where he had ear tubes put in 27 months ago.
TICKET DETAILS: Tickets are $42.50 and include a 3 course dinner, unlimited non-alcoholic beverages, 1 raffle ticket, access to an exclusive selection of silent auction items, and a $15 donation to Packard Children's Hospital. Cash bar. Tickets can be purchased at the door - but please RSVP!
Two options to RSVP:
1. Send email indicating # of people to: jodimartino2002@yahoo.com
2. RSVP quickly & easily by visiting the Matteo's Dream Fund Benefit event page on Facebook

The donations we have received for the silent auction are amazing!! It is so wonderful and heart-warming when people unite together to do something GOOD! I am so very grateful to each and every person who has assisted us in soliciting for donations, and for each person and business who has so generously donated something, whether it was a personal donation, their time, services, or products for this cause. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul. THANK YOU!

SILENT AUCTION ITEM LIST (and it's still growing!):

1. Courtside Club of Los Gatos, family membership initiation fee ($2,300 value)

2. FOX Racing Shox mountain bike suspension fork ($650 value/retail price)

3. San Francisco 49ers Experience, includes two home game tickets, two pre-game sideline passes to watch warm-ups, pregame activities and maybe meet players, and a parking pass ($500 value)

4. San Francisco 49ers Autographed Football ($75 value)

5. Hula Hooping Party (& Instruction!) at Uforia Studios in Palo Alto, led by licensed Hoopgirl instructor, Julie Greicius, includes 3 hours & space for 10 people ($50/pp or $500 total value)

6. San Jose Sharks, includes four home game tickets and free parking pass for 2010-11 season ($332 value)

7. 4 tickets to Adele on August 14 at the Greek Theatre in San Francisco ($250 per ticket value)

8. 4 tickets to the San Francisco Giants vs. Diamondbacks on September 14 ($value per ticket tbd)

9. Palo Alto Oshman Family JCC, choice of pool or sports party package ($450 value)

10. Flight around the Bay Area in a Cessna 172 ($250 value)

11. Cameron Hughes Wine, 12 bottles of 2009 Cabernet ($152 value)

12. Cassie Green Photography, photography session ($150 value)

13. The Mountain Winery, includes 1 Mountain Winery Reserve Chardonnay, 1 Mountain Winery Reserve Cabernet, and 4 wine tasting coupons ($83 value)

14. Villa Montalvo Winery presents Christopher Cross with Jenn Grinets - two tickets ($120 value)

15. Adobe software ($ value tbd)

16. Stella & Dot Jewelry , donated by Danielle Rowe ($ 142)

17. Bay Area Discovery Museum – 2 family visit passes, each admitting 5 people ($110)

18. Great America, two tickets for one day admission ($ 109.98 value)

19. Handmade Quilt by Sondra Horn ($300 value)

20. The Tech Museum, four tickets ($75.96 value)

21. San Francisco 49ers Autographed Football ($75 value)

22. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom – 2 tickets ($74 value)

23. Dance Attack! Studios, includes 4 dance lessons ($68 value)

24. Classic Car Wash, includes four $17.99 coupons ($71.96 value)

25. April Martin Designs - Jewelry ($ value tbd)

26. Winchester Mystery House, two tickets ($60 value)

27. Ace Photography - framed print of McWay Falls in Big Sur ($100 value)

28. Airborne Gymnastics – one month free membership ($92 value)

29. Children’s Discovery Museum, family four-pack of tickets ($40)

30. Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad, Inc., includes 2 cards good for 10 rides on the train or carousel ($40 value)

31. Aquarium of the Bay, two tickets ($34 value)

32. Asian Art Museum, two tickets ($34 value)

33. Cucina Bambino gift certificate – one parent/child class gift certificate ($40 value, including 10% discount off any additional classes)

34. Lesson Pros, 20 gift certificates for various instruments online lessons ($ value per gc)

35. $30 Wooden Horse Toy Store gift certificate

36. $35 Gymboree gift card

37. $30 Wooden Horse Toy Store gift certificate

38. $25 Hobbes gift certificate

39. 2 tickets to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo ($24 value)

40. Sharks Ice at San Jose – 2 skate rentals and 2 admission passes ($24 value)

41. StudioKicks gift certificate ($ value tbd)

42. $20 Main Street Burger gift certificate

43. $25 Petroglyph gift certificate

MATTEO'S DREAM FUND APPAREL:
I am hoping to have Matteo's Dream Fund t-shirts, ladies tank tops, fleece jackets, hats and visors available for sale soon. All proceeds from apparel sales will be put towards the legal fees associated with us becoming an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This is a goal of ours we hope to reach by this time next year at the very latest.

More about Matteo's Dream Fund:
Matteo’s Dream Fund was founded in 2010, in memory of Matteo Tate Martino, who died in his sleep at 18 months of age. Matteo’s death was an unexpected, heart-breaking and overwhelming loss to his parents, big sister, twin brother, and unborn sister. In managing their grief, Matteo’s parents, Dan and Jodi, decided to establish a fund that would benefit sick and terminally ill children at children’s hospitals throughout the United States. While Matteo’s life was cut tragically short, the hope is that his story will forever impact the lives of others by encouraging people to remember just how precious the gift of life is and to reach out to those with less fortunate health.

Matteo’s Dream Fund will donate items, services and grant money to children’s hospitals and organizations that will provide recreational therapy, educational tools, and emotional support, assistance and services to sick children at children’s hospitals across the United States, as identified by the Board of Directors. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
• Purchase of new and unused books, toys, games, and art supplies for recreational therapy
• Purchase of new and unused educational materials and computers
• Purchase of materials and supplies for outdoor gardens, benches and/or play areas
• Working with local photographers to donate their time and services to capture photos of hospitalized children with their families and/or friends, and gifting them with photo CD’s and/or printed photos.
• Working with organizations that assist children’s hospitals in the development and construction of recreational therapy rooms (play rooms) within children’s hospitals where kids can play with toys, work on art projects and use computers.

Two years without Matteo...

2011-07-05T01:03:00.000-07:00

Two years without Matteo...

It still hits me like a ton of bricks every day. So many memories and the very fact that Matteo is dead still knocks the wind right out of me. I often find myself trying to catch my breath.

It doesn't get easier. Or it hasn't for me yet, anyway.

There is always a very unsettled feeling that is a big part of every day. Something (well, someone) is missing... and there is nothing I can do to fix it. Nothing.

I feel like I'm in a constant mode of trying to find a sense of security or understanding as to what happened to our sweet baby boy the night of July 4, 2009. But, the more time that passes... I feel I never will. Rather, life will continue on for everyone else normally, and this will just be a constant part of my/our lives.

I laid our sweet Giuliana down for bed tonight in the same crib and on the same mattress that I laid Tato down on exactly two years ago. She is the exact same age, older only by a few short hours, that he was the night he died. So many thoughts and emotions raced through my head. July 5, 2009 was a nightmare I am still wishing I would wake up from.

The feelings and memories from that morning are still so incredibly strong - it seems like yesterday. Yet, I feel like the first two months after Matt died are a complete fog.

We spent our afternoon and evening with dear friends today, watching the Seattle and Kirkland fireworks from the roof. They also moved here last year from the Bay Area. I think it was probably a good distraction for all of us. The view was beautiful... a perfect little moon sat perfectly in a clear blue sky with the Olympic Mountain range back-lit by a beautiful pink and orange sunset. Gabby asked if Matteo was sitting on the moon. I said yes. Then she told me he was the small little star in the sky above us. I agreed and told her it was a beautiful star.

We sure do miss you sweet Matteo. And, we love you more than words could ever explain. Your loss will always leave a gaping hole in our hearts, family and lives.

Nigh-night, sweet Tato-buns. I love you.

The 3 photos with this blog post include:
1. Last photo of me & Matteo on July 3, 2009
2. Last photo of Matt & daddy on July 4, 2009
3. Last photo of Tato, Rocco & Gabby together (after they spilled cereal all over the floor and they tried cleaning it up together) on July 4, 2009

Our little graduate!

2011-07-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

We attended our first graduation event for one of our children last weekend. Gabby graduated from pre-school and will start kindergarten in the fall.

The graduation ceremony was so nice. The kids were all wearing green caps and gowns, and they had a nice little processional in (& out) and all the kids had very big smiles. The kids sang and danced to three songs... Yellow Submarine, Tortillas (in Spanish) and The Adios Song. There was a really cute slide show that had a few funny photos of Gabby in it. Next, each child received their diploma and was asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. It was funny to see "trends" develop as the kids were asked this question. One kid would say something different... and if it got a good response from the audience, then the next two or three kids would latch onto that career choice. Gabby latched on to an interesting one... telling everyone that she wanted to be a horseback rider. This is the first time I've ever heard her say this, so it was pretty funny & cute.

So far, included on Gabby's list of what she wants to be when she is older are: horseback rider, stylist, teacher, doctor, scientist doctor, cowgirl, nurse.

Gabby is able to read all by herself now, and we're going to continue to work on this skill as kindergarten approaches. She does so well when she concentrates on it and believes in herself! She also wants to write everything... from her name to full letters to people. She is constantly writing words that she sounds out on her own and it's so fun to watch this interest and desire to communicate with writing develop in her.

She is SO EXCITED for kindergarten to start. She keeps reminding me that she wants to ride the school bus. To which I fret, of course... because how do you just put your kid on a bus and expect they'll be ok?! Freaky concept to me right now! What if she falls asleep, what if she gets off at the wrong stop, what if someone is mean to her... ugh! But, then, Gabby always quickly reminds me "Mom, I've waited my WHOLE LIFE for this!!"

A New Swing Set!

2011-07-04T11:03:00.001-07:00

We got a new swing set for the kids... at the beginning of April. Yes, that is how far behind I am on blogging!

I have been very busy with the kids, being a taxi drive, being a wife, doing part-time contract marketing work, training for a marathon, interviewing for new au pairs, organizing our first ever benefit for Matteo's Dream Fund, and living, breathing and trying to get sleep when I can. It's been BUSY here!!

So, here I am.... trying to catch-up!

The kids love the new swing set. We got it from Costco and had them build it so we didn't have to stress daddy out since he's been REALLY busy with work these days too.

The kids LOVE IT!! It has a double slide, swings, a climbing wall, a fort, and monkey bars. Gabby's favorite thing is the monkey bars, Rocco loves the slides and swings, and Giuliana likes the slides best too.

The big kids love to hold their baby sister down the slide. Gabby is literally like a monkey on the monkey bars... it amazes me how strong this girl is. And, Rocco just recently was able to go all the way across the monkey bars without any help - he was SO PROUD of himself, as he watches his big sister do this all the time and constantly tries to do what she's doing. Rocco still makes us push him on the swing (for some reason, refuses to pump his legs... lazy?), but is the biggest goofball on the slide going down headfirst on his tummy, climbing up the slides and just being his usual clown self. Giuliana watches the big kids and laughs and eagerly tries to do the things that they're doing.

The kids still also use the old clubhouse (Giuliana now uses this most, of course) and the trampoline. But the new swing set has sort of stolen the show in recent months! It's nice to have the space to have a big play area for the kids right in our yard.

Here are a few photos of the kids having fun!