Easter wrap-up, PART IV

And, finally... Easter Sunday!

Gabby and I colored some more eggs with her Princess egg coloring kit while the babies took their morning naps. Then, when the babies woke up... they helped us finishe up the egg coloring. And then we remembered that the Easter bunny probably came the night before so we started the Easter egg and basket hunt which was lots of fun and lasted less than 5 minutes.

Cinderella bath doll, a Belle doll, a Cinderella head with hair to style, new PJ's, Teddy Grahams, Tootsie Pops, a chocolate bunny... wow! The boys both got baseball gloves and baseballs, HotWheels cars, new sweaters, new t-shirts, chocolate bunnies and Teddy Grahams. What a bunch of lucky kids!

Another big surprise was that this year we were also visited by a German Easter Bunny who left lots of gifts and eggs out in the back yard! How fun for us that Julia could participate in such a miraculous visit from the German Easter Bunny! =) The kids loved EVERYTHING the German Easter Bunny brought... a mini football, soccer ball & basketball, a remote control dog, and other fun little toys that the kids just LOVED! The German Easter Bunny sure is fabulous! We love her lots because she's SO good and loves our kiddos!

Then, we went over to Scallan's house so we could enjoy Easter brunch with grandma Leo & grandpa Kenny, Trish, Todd, Courtney and Tori. It was so much fun! Grandma and grandpa helped all the kids hunt for eggs outside and ring the wind chimes. The boys just loved wandering around the beautiful outdoors with Leo and Kenny. They played with aunt Trish and cousins Courtney & Tori... and tried to show off all their new tricks. Matteo of course showed off his improved walking skills (he's now walking 90% of the time).

Trish and Todd also live up in the mountains... so again.... breathtaking views from their backyard. And the weather couldn't have been more perfect to enjoy the outdoors.

Grandma Leo surprised the kids with darling wrapped Easter baskets filled with jelly beans and chocolates, as well as cute stuffed animals. Gabby just loved the candy filled baskets and dug in right away. The babies however, preferred the stuffed animals... especially the yellow chick... even fighting over it!

Brunch was DELISH! Trish made some yummy steaks and potatoes. And, we all brought yummy food to share and it made for the perfect Easter holiday!

Easter wrap-up, PART III

We went to our good friend's (the Hart's) home on Saturday night for an Easter Egg hunt and dinner.

Kathleen had an Easter basket for every child with real grass growing in them... they were SO CUTE! Eggs were everywhere in their yard and the kids all had a blast. They live up in the mountains... so the view from their backyard is breathtaking (see photos below)!

Kathleen is a great cook... she made a delicious lamb and everyone brought something savory to share. The kids all had a great time and got to eat dinner together at a combined two tables. Then, because they finish dinner in approx 5 minutes... we were able to move all the kids into the TV room to watch Nemo so the adults could eat, drink and converse with minimal interruptions.

Here's a shot of the kids at their dinner tables and then at the start of the movie (note that Rocco is not sitting & watching the movie):

So, while everyone else's kids pretty much sat and watched the movie or played nicely in the TV room... Dan & I were busy chasing down Rocco, and then also Matteo (little copy-cat).

It was a GREAT night though. LOTS of fun!

Easter wrap-up, PART II

We attended our first ever egg coloring party at the Keene's this year. It was so much fun!

The kids had a blast, as did Dan & I! We really enjoy our Nevada Ave friends.

Gabby really enjoyed coloring the eggs and spending time with Sophie and Trent. Rocco and Matteo had great fun watching the bigger kids play. Rocco started grabbing balls and trying to throw them with the big boys. And, Matteo started was busy chasing the balls and climbing on the play structure with Rocco.

Below are some photos from the fun (& very chilly!) night.

Easter wrap-up, PART I

Ahhhh... Easter! Celebrating miracles and the fact that spring is just around the corner! We had LOTS of Easter festivities we participated in this year, including:

1. Annual LG Community Easter Egg Hunt

2. Egg Coloring party at the Keene's

3. Annual Easter Holiday Egg Hunt and Dinner at the Hart's

4. Easter Bunny's arrival at our house!

5. Easter brunch at Scallan's

I don't much recall much of last year's Easter celebrations. Partly due to the fact that we had two 2 month olds and one 2 year old. And, partly due to the fact that all of them were under the weather. I think Matteo had his first ear infection around the Easter holiday and Gabby had a fever all weekend, followed by an ear infection diagnosis on Monday and then a ruptured ear on Friday.

Well... this year was different... the kids all got sick AFTER the Easter holiday!

Below are some photos from the LG Community Easter Egg Hunt. Gabby was thrilled that we were able to meet up with two of her very best friends from school (Sofia and Giovanni). They all scrambled to get eggs and partook in the joys of eating lots of candy that morning. And, it was also superfun to have the boys experience the LG Egg Hunt for the first time.

Rocco thought it was great and kept running out into the egg hunt area before he was technically allowed to. He also really enjoyed picking up eggs and putting them in the basket. He was wandering all around the grounds and required one adult at all times. Matteo could have cared less. I think he was more focused on why he wasn't getting his nap during his nap hour. Poor baby! But, he did seem to enjoy the people watching.

BUSY BOYS!

Just a TINY peak into our world... these boys are BUSY!

Constantly looking for ways to climb furniture, counters, etc. The latest & greatest is how Rocco will find laundry baskets, empty them, flip them over so he can use them as a stepstool. Matteo then tries to copy Rox.

Enjoy!

Meal-A-Thon Sundays

So... most people know that I participate in the occasional half marathon or full marathon or whatever. What most people DON'T know... is that I now participate in a weekly Meal-A-Thon... usually on Sundays.

Yes... that's right. A MEAL-A-THON.

What is a MEAL-A-THON, you ask?

Well... it's where I spend 1-3 hours making 2 healthy meals that can feed the kids numerous meals (lunch and/or dinner) over the course of the next 5-7 days. I've found that it's much easier to add variety to their lives and feed them healthy foods if it's already made and accessible.

Typically, I try to make one pasta (rigatoni or small bow-tie pasta) with a tomato meat sauce becuase the boys LOVE that. And, then I've also been making one chicken casserole of some sort... trying a new one each week. Some casseroles go over well. Some have not.

Anyway - this would be a mom tip for any of you mom's out there. Try it!

The little princess paints!

Some really cute photos of the little princess painting.

DANGER: Princess store ahead!

This isn't news. Gabby is OBSESSED with everything princess-related. P.rincess this... C.inderella that. Every day is filled with lots of p.rincess and C.inderella related talk.

Gabby brings C.inderella everywhere... to bed, the grocery store, to play in the backyard, etc. C.inderella also came to Mexico with us and was in her hands during the duration of all flights. We even took special photos of C.inderella on the beach. See photo.

This little C.inderella figurine never strays far from Gabby's hand. IF she does... it's because Gabby is at school, gymnastics, swimming lessons or a playdate. Or, if she asks Dan, Julia or I to change the outfit Cinderella is wearing, then she happily allows someone else to hold C.inderella. This task btw, is of course the most impossible task for adult hands to accomplish in the time a 3 year old wants it completed in.

Anyway... you get the point.

Well... the other night, I had to run an errand at the mall and brought Gabby with me. We had to walk by the D.isney store and BAM! It was over. Gabby dragged me into the store and was immediately "OHHHHHHing" and "AHHHHHHing". She kept telling me how this was her "most favorite store ever" and "how beautiful this store" was.

And then & there. I knew we wouldn't be able to leave without someone crying. Possibly me. Possibly her.

I ended up buying two pairs of flip flops... one C.inderella and one L.ittle M.ermaid. Wouldn't you know you could buy two for $8, but one pair would cost you $6.50. Anyway, I couldn't get myself to buy two pairs of C.inderella... even though Gabby had a near meltdown that I didn't get two pairs of C.inderella.

I was able to fight off the request for the C.inderella PJ's, bath doll, swim towel, a P.rincess swimsuit (included C.inderella, S.leeping B.eauty and B.elle), and a million other things. But ONLY becuase I told her the E.aster Bunny is coming this weekend... and that maybe... just maybe he'll bring her some of these things. I'm sure the E.aster Bunny is now freaking out a bit to make sure he *delivers*.

But, yes... we DID in fact leave the store crying very hard. They really should put "DANGER: P.rincess store ahead!" signs up in the malls to help parents out a little!

Scotch Tape Mania

Lately... scotch tape can be found almost anywhere in the house and I've got one special little lady to thank for it.

I've found tape on windows, blankets, in beds, on baby dolls, on her brothers, the floor, on B.arbie related stuff, on princess-related stuff, on the floors, stuck to socks (thanks to the floor tape), on paper art projects, etc. The list goes on and on.

I think the scotch tape obsession started with wanting to fix a page in a book that her little brother's ripped out. Somehow... that translated to tape fixing EVERYTHING. Now, whenever something breaks... Gabby suggests "Let's get the tape! Then we can fix it!".

I think the obsession has reached the point of going to far. I'm not sure how many more random tape sightings I can handle.

While I've made the effort to hide the tape dispenser in the past... somehow, it's always found. I may REALLY have to hide it once and for all!

Surgeries... complete!

Rocco and Matteo's surgeries went very well on Monday. No complications! Hooray!

This was our schedule:
* 5:30am: Leave home
* 6am: Check-in
* 7am: Pre-surgery exam, vitals & anesthesia consult
* 7:45am: Matteo anesthesia
* 8am: Matt surgery
* 8:10am: Rocco nebulizer
* 8:20am: Rocco anesthesia
* 8:30am: Matt in recovery
* 8:45am: Rocco surgery
* 9am: Matt wakes up... angry... VERY angry.
* 9:15am: Rocco in recovery
* 9:45am: Rocco wakes up. Confused. Still drugged. Fussy.
* 10:55: Swing by my office to say hello to my coworkers and show them how big the boys have gotten
* 11:30am: Leave for home
* 12noon: Arrive home

Dr. C said that both surgeries went very well. They found that Matteo had a lot of fluid build-up in both ears... which probably would have led to another double ear infection. Sadly, the little guy has been on meds since last week for another ear infection anyway. Then, he said they found Rocco to have an active double ear infection (argh!)... which we didn't know about prior to the surgery. Definitely explains his moodyness on Monday and Sunday. It's almost as if the boys had gotten so used to being sick with ear infections that they didn't really know life differently. Pain = normal. Poor little guys!

I wasn't nervous during the surgeries. Probably because I was busy juggling between the two boys. I didn't really have time to think about complications or issues. I was a bit anxious about the anesthesia. But overall... my goal was to just make it through the morning without my kids a) going crazy because they were hungry or b) destroying every room we entered. They LOVE to push buttons, pull cords, etc. It's NOT easy having two very busy boys in high-tech hospital rooms!

Both boys received a valium-like drug to relax them. It was meant to help keep them calm when they were taken from mommy and brought into the OR to get their general anesthesia. Matteo was taken back before I got to see him impacted too much by the valium-like medication. He just got real cuddly and was perfectly fine when they took him from me. VERY unlike Matt. He's a bit of a momma's boy and would otherwise have screamed his head off. Rocco, on the other hand... wow... I got to see him very *valiumized*... and he was truly FUNNY! He was high-fiving people left and right, playing with his nebulizer, flirting with all the female nurses... smiling SO BIG for them and being the ultimate charmer. He had a hard time even sitting up straight so I mostly held him. He was just plain goofy and funny.

Recovery was the most difficult part of the entire process. Matteo was really upset when he was trying to wake up from the anesthesia. The nurses warned us that this would happen and was normal. But he was so upset that I couldn't calm him down and couldn't hold him because he was literally trying to jump out of my arms. Rocco had a much easier time in recovery. He was definitely confused, abnormally fussy and very off-balance.

The worst part of the entire experience was when poor little Rox threw up ALL OVER himself and the car seat on the way home. I'm sure it was a combination of the ear infections, anesthesia and the car ride. I felt so bad for the little man. Sniff... sniff.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera (can you believe it?!) along with us on this adventure. So, the quality of the photos isn't that great since they were taken with my Blackberry. But... I thought my little guys looked darling in their hospital outfits!