Marco is 2.5 yrs old & skiing!!

Marco is quite the amazing little skier!

Today was his first day hitting the slopes up in the Sierra Mountains. He loved it! He watched his older siblings snap their skis on and he didn't fight it one bit...just wanted to keep up with the rest of the crew and do exactly what they were doing.


This, of course, normally being the case with this little guy.

Marco did SO great and really took to skiing much faster than I had imagined. Every time he'd get to the bottom of the hill, he'd throw both hands in the air as if he just crossed a finish line. So stink in' cute. This child wins me over constantly. Every time I think he can't get cuter, he goes and does something hilarious and charming like this.

It's safe to say he really liked it. By mid-day, the 'lil fella was even going up the chair lifts. He thought that was pretty cool too. Dan also said he heard Marco yell "rocket fast" several times when he was skiing down the hill.

This was also his first experience in the snow. I believe he has seen snow before--when we lived in WA. But, he was so little at the time that I never took him out to play in it before it had melted.

Here are two fun videos of Marco skiing:

Giuliana Skiing Video

Giuliana really loved skiing and was going up the chair lift to go down longer runs after only a half day of lessons. She took to it really fast and had no fear.













Here's a cute video of her skiing:

Qualified for Boston!!

Hot Diggity Dog!!

I qualified for the Boston Marathon on December 7th at the 2014 California International Marathon with a time of 3:35:43. This was a new PR (personal record) for me in the 26.2 mile distance.

It was an incredible experience. I felt so strong, both physically and mentally the entire race. The result of both a lot of running preparation and a solid race day plan (the later being something totally new for me). 

This was my 5th full marathon, and my 2nd true attempt at qualifying for Boston. This was also my second full marathon this year--separate post to come regarding the San Francisco Marathon 2014. 

I hadn't planned to run two full marathons in 2014. But, when I didn't qualify at San Francisco in July, I couldn't put to rest the fact I should have qualified. And, I was arguably in the best running condition I have ever been in. Not trying again felt like I was tossing out all of the hard work.  I had to prove to myself it was achievable. And, it was a dream.

The race start time was 7am. I had my alarm set for 4am so I could eat eggs, toast, and drink a few espressos approx 2 hours before the start. The alarm sounded WAY too early because I think I last looked at the clock at 1:13am. I maybe slept for 2-3 hrs--clearly too much nervous energy. It's normal to not sleep well on race nights - but this was the worst I've experienced to date. Definitely need to learn how to manage that better! 

In addition to not sleeping, there was one other issue. We had planned for Dan to drop me off near the start line. We got the kids up and piled into the car at 6:20am. It was chilly (low 50's - but perfect running weather)--so I wasn't looking forward to the drop-off. Well, on our way to the start line area... the police had a blockade up. I saw other runners hopping out of cars. Wait...what?! We must have been over a mile from the start line?? CRAP! So, I yelled out my window and asked the cop if he could let us through to get to the start line. Nope. Nobody was allowed through. He said it was 2 miles from the start and it was the closest we were going to get. Sweet freaking Moses!! I looked at my Garmin--it read 6:38am. The race was starting in 22 mins. I jumped out of the car so fast, didn't even think about the chill in the air... and started my unplanned, nice and easy run to the starting line in the dark. Dang! For someone who normally doesn't do a race warmup, I sure got mine! 

I arrived at the starting line area just as they were finishing the National Anthem and the gun sounded. I wasn't able to start the race with my pace group. This could have been a mental barrier - but it wasn't. I felt confident and strong and knew I trained well. So, oddly enough... no sleep, arriving late... nothing was going to phase me. 

My main goal for the race was to finish in 3:40. If I wanted to qualify for Boston 2016 (Boston 2015 was already filled), I had to finish in 3:45, or a 8:28 minute per mile pace. 

My other goals for this race were to not start too fast, and be super conscious of how I "felt". I wanted to run strong, feel good, and not get tired early. I have a tendency to start too fast, pacing 7:30/mile (6:40-7:30 in half marathons). I'm simply not good enough to sustain that speed for 26.2 miles. So I had to control the adrenaline.

In stealing an occasional glance at my Garmin, I realized I was clipping out a steady stream of 7:35-7:55 per mile pace for the first 4-6 miles. So, I tried to turn down the adrenaline a bit and keep it in the upper 7's or low 8's. I didn't want to go over 8:05. I wanted to have some room (time) if I needed wiggle room at the end of the race. See... this is what I'm talking about with a "plan". I had never had a true race plan before. This time, I had it strategized in my head the night before. (Likely the cause of only 2-3 hrs sleep!)

I knew at 13.1 miles I was going to finish in 3:45 or less. I mean, unless something majorly wrong happened. I felt amazing. I wasn't tired at all; rather, holding back a bit to keep an energy reserve. I had even caught up with the 3:35 pacing group back at mile 4 or 5'sh  I knew at this point finishing in 3:35 was a very real possibility. Shocking as it seemed. And, I also knew I could slow to a pace in the high 8's for the remainder of the race and still qualify for Boston. Mentally, I think this also gave me an edge/adrenaline. I felt very "in charge" of the race I wanted to run.

I didn't listen music at all the entire race. I normally DO listen to music during full marathons once i'm a good 8-10 miles in--just to distract the brain. But, this race was different. I felt like I was kept busy calculating and strategizing and enjoying the crowd. I have to say... it was awesome to not rely on music for a mental distraction! 

This race was also different for me in that I only sipped small amounts of water at each of the water stations (5 or 6?) until the 13.1 mile mark. And, as for GU, I downed a quarter GU at the half (13.1 miles), and then again at miles 15, 17 , 19 and 21. It past full marathons - I've consumed 3-4 entire GU shots. I didn't want to overdue it based on my awful intestinal experience in San Francisco. Oy! So, this worked perfectly for me. And, in training I never take GU shots. Just water. Even on the 20 mile runs.

So, it's true what the say--don't try anything new on race day. Do what you train your body to do. 

I held my mile past stats between 7:45 - 8:08 until mile 18. I continued to feel really strong until mile 21. Then, I started feeling a little fatigue in the legs. I knew I was lacking salt and calories, but I didn't want to deal with any intestinal issues. So, I sipped a bit of NUUN before I'd sip a bit of water at the remaining water stations. 

Mile 20 = 8:06
Mile 21 = 8:11
Mile 22 = 8:30

Mile 22 is usually my mental tough spot in full marathons. When I physically crossed the 22 mile mark, I noted it mentally. But, I wasn't crashing mentally at all. 

Mile 23 = 8:21
Mile 24 = 8:40

My legs got real tired at mile 24. I could feel the burn and some fatigue setting in. Only two miles left though. I sent Dan a text letting him know. And, I sent him another at mile 25. 

Mile 25 = 8:45
Mile 26 = 9:00

Then, I saw Dan and the kids right as I rounded the corner to the finish. I tried to pick it up to the finish line and just give it whatever ounce of energy I had left. 

I could not believe I finished in 3:35:43!  WOOT! I had 9+ minutes to spare in qualifying for Boston. 

I finished in the top 14% of ladies age 35-39, and in top 12% of all female runners. And, I finished in the top 25% of all runners (male and female). Not so shabby for a 39 year old!

Hard work DOES pay off. Never give up on your dreams!

This was a super fun race! Fast course. Perfect running weather--54* at the start and 59/60*'ish when I finished.  Awesome crowds! I earned a few new blisters. Finished off another pair of running shoes. The legs were stiff walking to the car and definitely sore the next day. 

Oh... and check out the lady in the finishing photo with me at the top--I did! She is 53 and her official finish time was maybe 1 second behind me. Ummm... can we all say A-MAZING?!? Dang! I want to be her in 13 years - that is just unreal to me! I mean... this was NOT a walk in the park for me... I can't imagine being 13 years older and finishing in this same time range. What an inspiration!

Momma Get Rah-Rah, Nana, Gabba?

It's great to have the kids back in school. 

The house has moments of quiet. I can leave the kitchen for longer than 2 minutes. I'm not chasing after multiple children requesting they pick up after themselves. I'm not breaking up arguments or asking them to play nice together. I don't spend every waking moment prepping and serving food, followed by the cleanup. 

The only sad thing about the kids being back in school is that I have a VERY sad little almost 2.5 year old. 

Poor little Marco seems to be a bit lost without his older siblings around and it's breaking my heart. 

I think he would prefer the noise and chaos associated with all of his siblings being home.

This morning, Marco came to me with Rocco's sweatshirt in hand. He grabbed my hand, walked me to the garage door and said "Momma go get Rah-Rah, Nana, Gabba?". 

To say this broke my heart is...well... just a huge understatement.

Ciao, Italy!

Dan and I went to Italy for 10 days. Just us. No kids.

That's right... NO KIDS!!

Since this was our first solo vacation in a really long time, we sort of played the honeymoon card and booked first class tickets there and back. 

As much as it pains me to admit it--it was totally worth it. Hands down the most relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable flights I've ever been on. 

Granted, THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME ALONE WITHOUT KIDS (for longer than like... 4 hours) IN A VERY LONG TIME!

Did I just scream that? :))

Yes. I did. It was R E L A X I N G!

(doesn't mean I didn't miss my little rascals)

It was a long trip. San Francisco to Seattle, to London Heathrow, and finally landing in Rome. We spent 4 full days and three nights in Rome, then traveled south by train to Naples. In Naples, we hired a private driver to show us the Amalfi Coast and drop us off in beautiful Positano. After two nights in Positano, we took a train north from Naples to Tuscany where we spent three days in Florence. I wish we would have had more time to explore and enjoy Tuscany. Next time! After Florence, we took a train to Venice. We spent two nights in Venice. In hindsight, we would have spent one less day in Rome and one additional day in Venice. We loved everything about Venice. We ended the trip with a train ride from Venice to Milan and flew out very early the next morning.

We both preferred northern Italy over southern Italy. Oddly enough, there is a noticeable difference, between the north and the south. Southern Italy being more relaxed--the people and culture all revolve around family, food and religion. Whereas in the north, the general feel is much busier and business-like. More money = less gypsies. The people in the north also seem to have a general hustle and bustle about them while working their way through the streets. 

Rome was amazing. The history, the ruins, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the cathedrals, Vatican City, the culture, the food (ohmygosh - the FOOD!!), etc. We spent 4 nights and 3 full days there. It gave us plenty of time to see everything we wanted to see, and eat as much as we could. Did I mention we ate a lot? As in, Dan set a record at one restaurant for most entrees ordered. Five. It was insane. We did feel a tiny bit guilty. In a solid effort to alleviate the guilt, we also ran a lot, allowing us  see even more of the city. 

The Amalfi Coast is beautiful - the views from the cliffs, the seaside communities, the people, the food, the culture in general... just fantastic and really fun to explore. It was exactly as it looks in pictures, but more beautiful in person. It seemed to have a hint of the touristy experience if you went to "those places". And "those places" gave you what you'd expect... average food, lots of tourists. Dan and I tend to prefer a more local experience, less touristy... so we find the hole in the wall restaurants. Ask locals what to see & do. We also took an 8 mile run as far up the mountain as we could w/in Positano. We saw how the locals farmed on these steep hillsides, the homes people lived in, visited the local butchers, got caught in a parade of tiny cars going to church on Sunday. Such simple living in Positano. All about family, food and religion. A beautiful life, right?

Florence was incredible. Things that stick out in my mind... it's a college town, El Duomo (ummm... quite literally the most amazing structure I have ever seen), The David (enormous, and so incredible in person), more upper-class dining/restaurants, gelato and pastry shops everywhere, aristocrats, artists, academics, you name it. One of our favorite experiences in Florence was dining at a restaurant that our good friend Marco recommended. He grew up outside Venice and this was one of his favorites. No menu. One of the staff sat with us to explain each of the courses and our options, followed by the proper wine recommendations. This was my first experience at a restaurant that served “brain” as a delicacy. We didn’t partake in eating brain, but everything we did eat was melt-in-your-mouth, wish-you-could-freeze-time, write-home-about goodness. Yeah. Everything was amazing. I was certain my stomach was going to explode.

Venice. Love! If I was given the right opportunity, and had to choose a place to live other than the USA, I would choose Venice. So beautiful, fun, busy…the food, the people, the culture. I felt like we didn’t have enough time in Venice. We ran 6 miles through the city—it’s super easy to get lost with all the bridges over the canals and narrow pathways, etc. All the buildings and homes are eye candy--unique and fun to look at. We enjoyed lattes, cappuccinos and dessert at the famous Cafe Florian in San Marco Square. We hired a gondolier for a ride on his gondola—another great way to see the city. We must have ate 5 meals a day since we couldn’t pass up anything that caught our eye food-wise. SO many amazing cafes and bakeries in Venice. My mouth still waters when I think about this “special toast” we enjoyed at a dive bar. Cheese, mushrooms, the most perfect tomatoes, prosciutto, and I don’t know what else. Special doesn’t begin to describe it though. Wish I could recreate that! Taking a taxi boat through the Grand Canal is really quite an experience in and of itself too. Pretty awesome.

It was such a great trip! Dan and I need to try and make time for just the two of us more often.

It’s just really tricky with 4 kids.

The journey home was long. Milan to London to Philly to San Francisco. It was exhausting. We woke up at 5am in Italy, and arrived home at 3am PT.

The second I walked in the house I had to go look at my babies and give them kisses on their sweet little foreheads. I could NOT wait to wrap my arms around then when they woke up.

Childcare while in Italy

Dan & I had the wonderful opportunity to get away on a child-free vacation recently. This was our very first child-free, overnight vacation in more than 8 years. 

Yes, you read that right. And, yes, we are officially crazy. 

In all honesty, it’s not that we never wanted to have a night away, together, without children. The reason was more or less that we never had the opportunity, due to breastfeeding babies, attachment/colic issues with child #1, then twins (3 kids under age 3!), then my own separation anxiety/night issues after Matteo died, which left me feeling the need to check on the kids often throughout the night to make sure they were still breathing. (Yes, crazy again. I know.) And most recently… we just truly needed someone who could take care of our army of children, as well as manage a very busy school/activity schedule. Four kids is a lot. Add taxi, constant meal service, and medical emergencies (because of course there's always 1 when mom & dad are away!)... and well, I imagine it could push a weak soldier over the edge.

Until now, the children always vacationed WITH us… Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, California, Oregon, etc. We did have one vacation in March 2009 to Mexico where we just took Gabby. My parents and our au pair at the time stayed with the twins in CA. It was relaxing to get away with just one child. But still, at age 3, she kept us quite busy. 

So - finally! A kid free vacation! We were excited...

We recruited and enlisted the help of my parents, as well as one of our favorite former au pairs from Germany, Maria. Maria and my parents know each other well, which made us even more comfortable. The kids were SO EXCITED to hear that we had bought tickets for Maria to come visit us again. They asked every day for a month “when will Maria be here?”. And, having gammy and papa visit at the same time would be the icing on the cake. I figured Maria would be like the team captain of child duty and play, my mom was designated as chief homework, story reader, medicine dispenser, and snuggler (needed her to refrain from heavy lifting & vigorous activity). And, my dad was named chief chauffeur (and probably errand/grocery/drug store runner). 

We learned quickly about the only real emergency while we were gone. Rocco had an awful asthma attack that landed gammy & papa at the emergency room from 11:30pm-3am. This also required frequent checks throughout the night the following 2 nights to make sure he wasn’t having any trouble breathing, etc. Add this asthma drama to a topical allergic reaction he was having to all the pollen in the air, and toss in Marco’s twice daily Rx administration (not easy with this kid!) for his ear infection… it was like the perfect little storm to keep everyone on their toes. Needless to say, my parents were exhausted 3 days into our trip (and probably wishing they hadn’t committed to this! Oy!). Hopefully, the gifts we shipped and brought back with us will make up for all the drama and sleep deprivation. 

The only other real issue was that we had planned for Marco to sleep with gammy and papa. But, he quickly decided he wanted nothing to do with that. Instead, he preferred sleeping with Maria (or, “Ria”, as he calls her). So, poor Maria got the mommy treatment… little feet kicking her in the face and chest during the night, and a few snuggles too, while we were away. Dan and I joked this was GREAT birth control for Maria! Sorry Maria!

We are beyond thankful for these special people in our lives! Clearly, we could not have been more confident with anyone on the planet taking care of our children when we are not there. So HUGE, GIGANTIC thank you to gammy, papa and our favorite Maria! We love you and are so thankful to have you in our lives, and for allowing us to get away together and relax.

Marco & Medicine Tricks

In my opinion, these are the big milestones that make things a bit easier for moms and dads everywhere. They include:

* sitting up

* child puts self to sleep

* walking 

* talking

* getting dressed by themselves

* toilet trained

* buckling themselves into a car seat

* taking medicine without issue

* the day you can start to reason with your child, or convince them to do something because it is good for them, even if they don’t like it. (keyword = start… because I know this is a lifelong issue!)

Well, Marco just crossed (sort of) another of these milestones… but he had to do it HIS way. I finally found a trick to giving him medicine without having to waste an entire bottle of medicine!

I would rank him *third worst medicine-taker* of my children. 

Giuliana was the worst. Matteo was the second worst medicine-taker. 

I literally had to try everything in the book with Giuliana. I even sought sneaky technique advice from my friends on F.acebook. We tried letting her do it in her own time, holding her down, sneaking it in while on the changing table, putting it in food, ice cream, chocolate syrup, sip it from a straw, take it from a spoon, etc. You name it - I tried it. The worst was when we wasted an entire bottle of medicine trying to get 4 mls in her mouth. The thick syrup was instead all over the floor, counter, in her hair, in my hair, it had painted our clothing and was disbursed across various desserts and beverages and yogurts. She would successfully spit every last drop out of her mouth. It was awful. Even the nurses tried to help. They agreed. She was a little H.oudini. Somehow we eventually tricked her into thinking medicine could be fun to take. And, never a problem since then. 

Matteo wasn’t nearly as bad a Giuliana. But, we did have a few instances where it seemed like medicine was everywhere BUT in his little mouth.  

Marco is a lot like Matteo was. But, he’s gotten smarter and better at spitting the medicine out… and he wont’ stop spitting until it is all out. Every last drop. 

He’s been on an antibiotic every month since January due to ear infections. In February, the medicine delivery had reached the point where I dreaded having to give it to him. I would be stressed he wasn’t getting a full dose, wondering how much he actually did consume, and already fearing the day’s second dose. Finally, I decided to just try and reason with him about his medicine, and also bribe him with a treat. 

Marco still doesn’t talk a whole lot. But, I do know that he understands most of what we are saying. I can tell him to go do something - and he will. Or, if I talk about someone or something, he will look around for them/it. 

So, one day I just sat him in my lap and told him it was medicine time and how important it was he takes his medicine so we could get rid of all the yucky sick germs that were making his ears hurt. I told him I would give him a treat if he took his medicine nice. Then, I put him down and filled up the medicine syringe and got a little caramel treat. I followed him around telling him it was time for him to take his medicine (5 minutes maybe), and all of a sudden, he opened his mouth up big and drank the medicine without any protest or spitting. I was so excited I started cheering and jumping and telling him what a good boy he was. He was SO PROUD of himself. And, he really enjoyed the caramel treat. Every day we did the same thing and it worked like a charm after that. 

Well, of course he got another ear infection right before our trip to Italy. And, of course it was a different antibiotic - one with a worse taste. He hated it. Back to the spitting. Again, I tried reasoning with him. It didn’t work. I tried hiding it in chocolate syrup. I tried bribing. A few times, I had to lay him down and try to stick it in the back corner of his mouth and hope he would swallow most of the dose. That wasn’t working so great. 

Finally, we decided to try making it a party. This worked great because we had the entire family home, as well as and my mom & dad and Maria (one of our wonderful au pairs, from Germany). I scooped Marco into my arms and told him it was medicine time. I put the medicine in a spoon dropper. We also started clapping our hands and singing, very rhythmically, “med-i-cine, med-i-cine…Marco’s gonna take his MED-I-CINE!” and we repeated that mantra over & over. He had a big smile on his face, he drank up his medicine in one go, and every single one of us high-rived him after that. He thought this was the coolest thing in the world and LOVED all the singing and attention. 

It was hilarious and fun and he TOOK HIS MEDICINE! YAY!

Now, let’s hope I’m not alone the next time he needs medicine. Because I’m quite certain I am much less of a party than a group of 9 people. :))

Marco skipped straight to the big boy toys

It seems my little baby is skipping straight to big boy toys. 

Sigh…

I thought surely the little guy would make use of the remaining baby and infant toys that one or more of his older siblings had used. But, it seems that when he hit 18 months… all that went out the window.

 He is MUCH more interested in whatever Rocco and Giuliana are playing with. So, now the little guy is obsessed with N.erf guns, transformers, hot wheel cars, legos and Giuliana’s little ponies. 

He’s also now frequently taking a toy to bed with him at night (which we remove once we know he’s down for the night). These toys often include N.erf guns, legos built into towers or guns, sometimes a sword, or a car or truck (or two!). 

When he wakes up, he’s been known to say “gun, gun gun??”, first thing. So, we’ll scoop him up and bring him on a journey to find his favorite toy gun. 

He sure is a funny little guy. All too eager to grown up! 

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