Marco... the artist!

I don't know how they do it...

The second you are not looking, they manage to find the ONE marker in your house, that of course is not washable, from a billion yrs ago that you either bought pre-children or someone who doesn't have *active* kids gifted you with.

This is Marco showing off his latest art skills.

Yup. He colored red, non-washable red marker all over the WHITE window trim. And, he also colored the window.

He spent most of the morning watching the people working on the pool and landscaping in the backyard. I had even scooted the bench over to the window so he could get a better view (unknowingly, also a better angle for his new art project).

He looks half guilty in this photo... and half *look what I just did mom - isn't it cool*?

Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!

I often bring Marco to W.hole F.oods with me to pickup the delicious, thin wood fired crust pizzas. 

He KNOWS the pizza boxes. Right when he sees them, he’ll start yelling “Pizza, Pizza, Pizza!” 

I’ll tell him he can have pizza as soon as we get it home and sometimes this calms/distracts him a bit. Other times, he keeps yelling “Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!”, so I’ll end up caving and give him a little slice of pizza when we get to the car so he can enjoy it on the ride home. 

Such a funny little rascal! And, he does this same pizza chant for Dan too!

Today's Breakfast Consumption

Sometimes it is important to note crazy little facts like this. Important only because I hope to someday look back and laugh about things like this... and for my kids to look back and maybe appreciate me/us and all we had done for them.

Our Saturday breakfast consumption today was as follows:
* 2 packs of bacon
*12 eggs
* 4 pieces of toast
* 1 waffle
* 2 bowls cereal
* 2 apples

This was all consumed in less than 10 minutes.

I predicted that one of my little people would come up to me 45 minutes later and tell me they were STARVING. My prediction was correct. Right after you clean up a meal. You just start on the next snack or meal. Having 4 young growing children is exhausting sometimes. I spend 90% of my day in the kitchen when they are all home from school.

No joke. .

This house is ALL wrong!

Giuliana keeps telling me she does not like our new house. She says the play room is supposed to be upstairs and the kitchen is supposed to be downstairs (like our house in WA).

I have to remind myself that she has lived most of her life in our WA house, even though she was born in CA, and now we're back. So crazy!

So, while she seems to love being back in CA... this new house is still ALL WRONG.

Skiing Fun!

I took the kids skiing in the Sierra Mountains on Friday.

They each brought a friend from school, and Rocco's buddy's mom joined us as well. Her name is Kelly and we get along great, have similar interests and have gone running a few times together.

We put the kids in an all day private lesson. But, we ended up joining them around 2pm and kept skiing the green's with them. It was a really great day and we all had a blast. Gabby and Rocco are getting to be great little skiers.

Rocco has no fear, great balance, and just races down the mountain. The coach kept telling me he's a natural and that she just had to remind him to not bullet down the hill... but work on some S turns. I tried to tell him to not go so fast...and he said "MOM... I LIKE going fast!" I really loved skiing with him and he could have kept skiing into the night.

Gabby really enjoys skiing. But, sometimes her perfectionism gets the best of her. Her coach and I both reminded her a few times that she's not going to be perfect and she has to let herself make some mistakes. A full day of coached skiing for her might have been a bit much... but it seemed like she relaxed and had a lot more fun, and did better, when we were all hanging out together skiing the greens. I also think she may have been a little competitive with her friend.

The only bummer about the ski day was that there were dismal amounts of snow in the mountains. Check out some of these photos... I can't recall ever seeing so much of the rock and terrain of the ground while skiing in the Sierra's. Mountain tops that would normally be blanketed in snow didn't have any... and some had patches. The resort we were skiing at had more runs closed than open. And, the snow by the end of the day was awful... ice patches, slush... it was crazy. I felt like we were skiing in April vs. January. No snow. Fifty-five degrees at 1pm. Crazy stuff.

California could REALLY use some storms. Our area is in a drought and in desperate need of rain. And, the mountains are lacking so much snow... it could really impact our water supplies come springtime if we don't get rain soon.

Chef Dan

While Dan's been home for the past two weeks... he decided to put on his chef hat for the holiday meals. (Lucky me, right?!)

He hasn't done this in a long time... because of the move, temporary apartment living, traveling a LOT for work, and then getting moved and settled into this house, in addition to a loaded end of year biz travel schedule.

Oh, and Rocco made the GIGANTIC white place cards for each of our holiday meals using 8.5x5.5 paper and a yellow marker (see photo). In the past, I've had the kids make Christmas tree w/green paper and glitter... but that got tossed aside this year. :)



A little sampling of the meals he's made:
Christmas Eve: Our traditional home made Italian lasagna (not an American version w/cottage cheese)








Christmas Day dinner: Turkey; roasted pine nut, red pepper & spicy sausage stuffing; brussel sprouts w/prosciutto; mashed potatoes












 
 
New Year's Eve: seared tuna w/a soy ginger sauce and chives & brussel sprouts

 

I think I like you already 2014...

For a very long time I haven't been able to say Happy New Year.

For a very long time... I have been held down by the thought of "what's so happy about another fricking year... " because my heart remains heavy with sadness. I miss my little Matteo.

But this year, I decided I am going to say Happy New Year.

It doesn't change the fact that part of me is still grieving...sometimes more than others. But, for me right now... I have decided that no matter what sh*$ you are dealt in life... you get to a point where you have to stop and actually realize what you should and need to be thankful for. You need to recognize that even though you were dealt a sh*% card, you also have been fortunate in other ways.

Often times... it is easy for us to look at others and think "wow... their life is PERFECT" or "they have THE best life"... when in reality, every single one of us faces our own challenges and battles. Some may be worse than others. Some may perceive theirs to be worse than others. Perception is everything and nothing. We all have things we need/should be thankful for. We all have our daily challenges or sh*% cards. It's called life.

So, I am thankful...

2013 moved us back to CA... where I feel closer to what Matteo knew in life. We're closer to family. We're closer to deep-rooted friendships. We're closer to our professional networks. We're closer to fun in every direction.

My husband cooked me an amazing dinner on NYE. He made delicious seared tuna steaks, with a ginger soy chive sauce, and the world's best brussel sprouts. He stayed up with me... just so he could kiss me as the clock turned to12:00am, even though I know he could have easily fallen asleep at 10pm. I am a super lucky wife. He's a good husband. A great dad. He loves me. I love him. We are fortunate.

I woke up to 4 of my beautiful children bouncing in and out of my bedroom and bed the next morning. Sounds of giggles and squeals and laughter... and noise. Hugs and wet, slobbery kisses galore. We might be missing one baby boy... and his loss is so deep I'll never crawl out of the hole. But, we are fortunate. Very fortunate.

I had a big, wonderful breakfast with my family. My healthy family. My healthy, happy family. In our new home in CA. We are fortunate.

My husband has a job. A good job. With great benefits. We are fortunate.

I went for a 8.6 mile run. On a gorgeous, warm and sunny day. I felt the sun kissing my skin. The run was challenging but it felt great. I can run. I can run with minimal pain. I am fortunate.

We invited friends over to join us for champagne and food. It was a fun afternoon of conversation, kids, food and a Vintage 2008 bottle of Dom Perignon champagne. We have amazing friendships... near and far, old and new. Friends that are like family and who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of life. We are incredibly fortunate.

My parents called and left a happy new year message. Yup... we are so, deeply, incredibly fortunate.

I think I like you already 2014.

Out with the Old is Energizing!

Some people like to relax when they have time off from the normal schedule and routines of life.

Not the Martino family!

Dan's company is basically shutdown the last 2 weeks of the year. Well... kind of. Outside of the random conference call or email response, he was pretty much truly *off*. Which was wonderful... because he has been working and traveling a lot. So, Dan had a few goals to accomplish over the break... including clearing junk and extra stuff from the garage that sort of moved with us because we didn't have the time to really go through it properly before the move. And, by go through it... I mean decide whether it was something we wanted to keep, toss or donate to goodwill.

I get SO excited when Dan is home with us for a full week. And, I get even more excited when he gets motivated to do something like this around the house. So, I couldn't just stand by and watch. I decided I was going to clean out and purge toys from the play room and kids' bedrooms, and my closet.

We did really well!

I started in the playroom and ended up gathering 4 garbage bags full of toys to donate to goodwill, and 1 garbage bag full of garbage (broken toys, toy parts, junk, etc.). Then, I was able to pull 3 garbage bags full of clothing from my closet to bring to goodwill.

Dan & I then sorted through all the stuff in the garage.

All in... we donated 3 truckloads full of stuff to goodwill (that includes the toys and clothes).

The garage is now organized! The playroom feels so clean! The kids didn't even realize anything was missing (obviously, I purged toys when Dan brought them on an errand!). And, my closet looks so much more organized and fresh. Love it!!

I don't know why... but I truly LOVE removing the clutter from my home! Dan thinks I'm crazy.

I think it energizes me too... because in addition to doing all this organizing and purging... I logged 43 miles of running for the week. I haven't done one week of dedicated running training this entire year... it's just been a crazy, unpredictable year for us as a family with so much change. So, to actually log 40 miles and end the year strong felt GREAT!

Dear S.anta...

All I want for Christmas is....

Gabby:
* pet guinea pig
* fake glasses
* crutches
* new bike
* messenger bag
* American G.irl doll

Rocco: (See photo)
He spent an afternoon thinking about and writing a very extensive list of wants, including a...
*B52 bomber plane
* pet dog
* pet cat
* army jet
* pet guinea pig
* helicopter
* nerf gun
* toy motorboat
* rainbow loom case
* fake elf stuffed
* ipad
* star wars something rather
*megatron
* motor boat



Giuliana (she is seriously the sweetest, most easy going kid on the planet! love her! last year ALL she wanted from Santa was a purple monkey!!):
* pony
* dog

Marco:
I think he just wants any cool weapons that Rocco has. Seriously... he's such a funny little boy. Went straight from infant toys to 5 year old boy toys. :)) I know Santa has some appropriate gifts for the little man though!

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas!

While the holidays are always a little bit of a rough spot for us since having lost Matteo, we still somehow find a way to muster up the strength to keep the traditions and festive celebrations in the forefront of our children's minds and memories this time of year. However, our hearts go out to all of those who have lost someone near and dear this year... we can relate to your sadness and/or struggles.

May your hearts and homes be forever full of love and joy and peace.

xoxo

A Plan to Capture S.anta

The kids devised a plan to capture S.anta Claus...

Dan and I found them all huddled together in a room, talking loudly with lots of excitement. When we asked what they were doing (we knew they were up to something)... they told us they had come up with a great plan to capture Santa.

How awesome is that?!

A couple days later... Giuliana drew the plan out on paper for us.

Annual Santa photo

Annual S.anta photo.

It would not be a Martino family tradition if at least one child was not crying. Marco did well in keeping with tradition this year.

Stepstools & Ladders

There it goes again... the sound of a small children's chair being pushed, slowly but surely, across the wood floor. It lasts about 45 seconds until it reaches the final destination. Then, little Marco slowly but surely climbs up onto the chair and reaches up to open the cabinet and pull out his goldfish crackers.

Not even 5 mintues later, he is pushing the chair over from the cabinet to the kitchen island where I am making sandwiches for the kids. He's reaching up onto the couter trying to grab at anything and everything possible and I'm telling him "no"... to which he replies back "NO!"

The smallest child has discovered the usefulness of a stepstool.

Oy!

We had a few contractors in and out last week, and they had ladders with them. Do I even need to write about how we found Marco attempting to climb the ladders on more than one occasion. He was enthralled by them.

Fast forward one week, and he's constantly dragging or pushing the little kiddie chairs around the main level of our home to get access to all the things he can't reach without the chair.

When I was cooking dinner, he was watching me turn on one of the ovens that is elevated and mounted in the wall. Not even 5 minutes later... the child has the chair sitting there and he's flipping the dials. Never mind the fact that he already flips all the dials on the ovens and stove that sit at his reach level just a few feet away. 

His daddy is going to go nuts when he sees him dragging and pushing those little chairs across the wood floors. I have tried to tell Marco not to do it. I've carried the chairs back to the table hundreds of times now, only resulting in a crying Marco and him running right over to the chairs to drag it back to the destination of choice. But honestly, when Dan is gone... I literally don't have time to fight this battle.

Such a little rascal!

Hopefully... when Dan arrives back home, he'll want to fight this battle and train Marco not to do this anymore.

Snowfreakingflakes

My two oldest children learned to make snowflakes in school over the past two weeks. For some unknown reason, they decided to teach the third oldest child how to make snowflakes over the weekend, while my husband was in Las Vegas for work (riiiiiiiiiight!).

I kid you not... I had three children making snowflakes faster than Buddy the Elf. There were paper scraps everywhere. EVERY WHERE.

EVERY. FREAKING. WHERE.

Paper scraps covered the table, the countertop, the floor under the table, the floor under the counter... they migrated over to the sofa.... there was a trail from the sofa to the table to the counter. Paper scraps were falling out of blankets, out of play kitchen toys... I even found them in kitchen drawers.

It is AMAZING what can happen when you try to give your toddler a quiet bath and leave the older kids to keep themselves entertained.

Sweet Moses.

I guess I should be thankful they were making snowflakes instead of pulling each other's hair out.

But, by the time I got them in bed and looked around (exhausted... and after a very long weekend w/daddy being gone)... I wanted to cry paper scraps!!

But nope... I just picked them all up.

Only to wake up Monday morning and find that child #2 has already been awake for 45 minutes and was on snowflake #52.

ARGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Paper scraps EVERY WHERE... AGAIN!!!

Is it awful that I was bursting with joy to drop them off at school Monday morning?!

House No Longer DREAMY

Marco tried climbing the girls' B.arbie D.reamhouse. You know... the giant 3 story house that clearly looks like something a 19 month old should try and scale like a superhero.

Well... this expedition did not end well for Marco or the D.reamhouse. Barbie's house is no longer dreamy. And, Marco got 3 nice little scrapes and bumps on his head. Ouch!

Poor little guy!

Giuliana was not pleased with what looked like a tornado hit the D.reamhouse.

I tried explaining to her that perhaps B.arbie should have invested in natural disaster insurance.

That didn't go over so well.

Gabby Makes USAG L3 Compulsory Team

Gabby had just been told she was promoted to move up to the USAG L3 compulsory team approximately one month before our move to CA. I knew how excited she was about this, and how important gymnastics was to her, so I started the scramble to find a gym that had a competitive program like the gym she was enrolled at in Washington. There were a few options, and we let her try a class at each gym with the level 3’s so she could tell me which gym she felt was the best fit. The bummer about transferring to CA from WA, is that in California, the competition season for L3’s begins at the end of August and ends in November. In Washington, the L3’s compete December - February. So, all the CA girls had been practicing the L3 skills and routines for months. There was not way she’d be able to transfer right onto the team here. She would have to tryout in December at open tryouts.

Gabby was obviously devastated to learn that she wouldn’t be able to compete this year, and it broke my heart to hear her cry. But, I tried to spin it to her that this would just allow her the time to perfect her skills and blow everyone away when she would tryout in December.

So, it was a bit of a rough start, as we had to initially sign her up in CA for a recreational gymnastics class. She was used to doing gymnastics 6 hours a week. So, attending one 1.5 hour class a week just wasn’t going to cut it for her. She was insistent on signing up for several back to back classes, which basically put her up to 6 hours of practice a week.

And, in all honesty, knowing that the L3’s practice 9 hours a week… I selfishly wasn’t ready to have her at the gym for that long each week. And, I felt that having just moved and starting at a new school, 9 hours or practice a week would be a bit much with all the transition and change. 

She did get a little bored with the recreational classes, and she definitely missed the camaraderie of her teammates and being on a team in general. But, she also agreed that she was going to do great come December’s tryouts.

Tryouts for L3 were the first week of December, and my baby girl nailed each and every skill. I was very proud FOR her and of her. She was ecstatic and new she did well at the tryouts, so it was no surprise when she was extended the L3 invitation. 

She started practicing 9 hrs/week with her new teammates the first week of January, and she was thrilled.

SNOW!

Last night around 11:15pm, I looked out the window anticipating the *big snow storm* that had been forecasted for our area. Sure enough... it was snowing!

It's unusual for it to snow where we live right now. I guess the last time it snowed was 5 years ago.

It was so exciting, I actually entertained the idea of waking up Rocco and Gabby to let them watch the big flakes falling from the sky. But, I didn't... I feared them not going back to bed and wanting to just watch it snow as long as their little eyes would allow them.

My kids were SO excited when they woke up and saw snow on the ground! There wasn't a lot... but, there were random patches of snow that looked to be almost 2 inches deep in some spots. Apparently, it was not enough to warrant the "Mom/Dad, can we go out and play in the snow?" question... as not even one child asked. And, it was gone by the end of the day. But, it was very exciting nonetheless.

Last winter, it snowed a few times where we lived in WA. But, the snow only piled up and stayed on the ground for 8 hours on one of those days. Other than that, we had to drive to the mountains to see and play in the snow.

The winter before that, we had several big snow storms... one that resulted in about 6-8 inches of snow that stuck around for approximately 10 days. The other winter storms that year brought about 2-4 inches of snow, forcing us to do a bit of shoveling and allowing the kids to play, but it usually disappeared within 24-48 hours. 

Snow is always VERY exciting to my kids! And, I love to watch it fall and pile up. But, in all honesty, I prefer the option to *visit* snow when I choose, versus dealing with it on an every day basis. :))

COOOOOLD in Califo.rnia!

I was at the grocery store tonight and it seemed sort of busy for a Tuesday night. I mentioned it in light conversation to the young lady checking me out. (She was probably 18 years old or so.) This mention of weather suddenly got her animated and all fired up. She explained to me how the weather forecast for the next week was SUPER cold, hence the busy grocery store. She said people were stocking up on everything because they wouldn't want to leave their homes for a few days.

This REALLY gave me an internal chuckle! Externally, I couldn't help but agree with her... "Right! It is SO cold outside." I didn't want to seem rude. Then, I walked outside and felt the 48 degree chill in the air. Brrrr... cold. Right?!

I grew up in Minnesota. In the Midwest, it's no secret that temperatures hit below zero during the winter months. Sometimes, for multiple days in a row. It's the kind of weather where you walk outside and your eyelashes freeze together. It can hurt to breathe. You don't dare where mascara, because the second you walk indoors, your eyelashes thaw and mascara runs down your cheeks making you look like a clown. Now THAT, my friends... is COLD WEATHER!

Meanwhile... even in those frigid temps, the kids will be out building forts in the snow, or going to school. Moms will be running their errands and bringing kids to activities. Life just doesn't stop.

But, here in the area of CA where the weather is 80 degrees or more for 8 months of the year, and in the high 90's or 100's for 4 -5 of those months... 48 is COLD, *don't go to the grocery store if you can help it* weather. I find this highly entertaining, having MN roots.

In all honesty though... while I do get laughs from this. I CAN relate on some level. When we moved back to CA, it was 100+ every day for the first month. By the time the daily high was in the low 80's or 70's during October, we were all sort of bundling up in sweatshirts and U.ggs. Giuliana actually started going everywhere in a sweater and U.ggs during the month of October. You'd never guess she lived in WA for the past 2.75 years.

It's actually pretty incredible how quickly the body acclimates to your climate, whether it's hot or cold. And, having lived in various climates, it can definitely result in some pretty funny weather related observations and discussions.

Writing her teacher a letter...

Giuliana told me she needed paper. She was going to write a letter to her teacher.

So, I got her some paper, markers and crayons. She seemed very serious about this mission and I was excited that she was attempting to write her teacher a letter.

I decided to ask her "What are you going to write to your teacher about?"

And, in her very serious, matter-of-fact voice... she proceeds to tell me "I am going to tell her that she has boy hair."

What? Are you kidding me?!

After my silent internal giggle... I of course went into parenting mode to remind her both girls and boys can have short hair OR long hair. And, we know lots of girls and ladies with short hair. And, we know some boys with long hair.

She seemed to be quite skeptical of the discussion. :))

Marco & Choo Choos

Marco LOVES choo choo trains! I think his two favorite things might just be Rocco and choo choo trains.

He loves yelling "All ABOARD!".

So much in fact... that whenever he gets excited about something he'll yell "ALL ABOARD!!"

It's pretty funny.

This train excitement started with the show "D.inosaur Train". He loves the first 3 minutes of the show... then just wants you to rewind to the beginning again so he can hear the dinosaur train conductor yell "All Aboard!".

So, while we were in our old neighborhood for Thanksgiving... we decided to take him on our favorite train ride at the local park. He LOVED it. We practically had to rip him off the train when our ride was over. Needless to say... we rode it several times while their for the holiday. :)

Still here! We've been busy!

***UPDATE: I am slowly catching up on my blog post to do list. I will link the items below as I create and publish the blog posts.***

--------
I am SO GUILTY of neglecting the blog!!

I haven't written a blog post in months. Seven months to be exact.

I would love to say the reason is because I have just been lazy. Honestly, I would LOVE to be lazy. LOVE. LAZY!

However, the reason is the absolute opposite.

Since that last blog post in April, so much has happened. We have...
* put our house up for sale ourselves; sold it two months later
* had my parents visit for a few days
* Marco's extreme love of the vacuum
* watched Rocco play Little League baseball
* celebrated Marco turning ONE!
* celebrated me turning 38 (crazy!)
* my mom began her battle with breast cancer
* I achieved a new half marathon PR (1:47:03) at my first race since having Marco, and placed 4th for my age division, 44th overall. All with no formal training plan.
* Giuliana went on her very first sleepover
* Gabby said goodbye to so many good friends at her last day of school in WA.
* Rocco graduated from pre-K
* Gabby started doing round-off back handsprings
* I had the wind knocked out of me when another mother, who had also lost one of her twin sons during his sleep (so similar to how we lost Matteo), contacted me. We have since corresponded countless times and will obviously have a lifelong connection.
* I got bit by a dog on my butt while finishing an 11 mile run w/a neighbor/friend.
* vacationed to MN and saw lots of family and friends
* crossed the 4th anniversary of Matteo's death
* Celebrated 11 years of marriage by taking the kids to a theme park for the day. It was exhausting. I would not recommend this for an anniversary celebration.
* Gabby attended some very cool summer camps.
* I cracked a tooth in July (and didn't get it fixed until mid-September!) while dealing w/the stress of packing.
* Said goodbye to some very, very special friends in WA who we will miss dearly, but will forever be a part of our lives.
* In 2 weeks we moved our family of 6 out of a house, drove 800 miles, spent 11 nights in 6 different hotels, had 2 kids with croup & 1 w/ear infection, 1 midnight ER visit, toured new school, started new activities, and moved into a temp apartment while house is being completed. Exhausted yet? I was & am still recovering I think!!
* Spent a magical night and day in Canon Beach, OR on our road trip to CA.
* I attended my 20 year high school reunion in MN.
* Gabby and Rocco started school in CA.
* Gabby started gymnastics at a new gym, hip hop dance, and swimming.
* Giuliana started tap and ballet, gymnastics, and swimming.
* Rocco started Karate and swimming.
* We hit Tahoe for a weekend of playing on the beach, swimming, and paddle boarding.
* Vacationed in Santa Cruz and Los Gatos over Labor Day weekend.
* Rocco, Gabby and I ran in a school sponsored race. They ran their very first 1 mile race, and did SO great! I ran the 6K and placed 5th overall and 2nd for my age division.
* We moved into our new home!
* I ran the Lake Tahoe half marathon and placed 3rd in my age division, 38th overall and made the Top 25 Women's list.
* Giuliana started preschool.
* Rocco busted for eating double lunches at school
* Celebrated Halloween with a devil, pirate, lion, and a monkey.
* Marco and Giuliana's 1st college football game
* Marco turned 18 months
* Giuliana's 1st hair cut
* Signed up for the Malibu half marathon and didn't get to run it. Lucky me... I spent the day before the race in bed with a nasty tummy bug.
* Gabby turned 8 years old

So yeah.... we've been a little busy. However, I'm finally starting to get caught up on some aspects of life. Photos and blogging have been on the back burner for a long time... slowly and surely, I'll get caught up. Hoping to post about each of the above items soon and I'll link as I complete them. 

I am a nut for archiving our family's milestones, funny stories/memories, and life events. I guess because of Matteo. After he died, I was SO THANKFUL I had taken the time to journal so much of his life, because now in a way that is all I have left of him... the memories.

So... stay tuned! Updates coming! And, hopefully I will soon get back on track with my once weekly blog post, if not more frequently. 

Also... I am contemplating going private with this blog. Still undecided for the moment.