So

Weird when I skip a day of posting. It is also weird to be in a technology training session for seven hours! That was my day yesterday and it iwll be my day today. I leave you with funny things J has said in the last 48 hours:

to V=  I know how you feel. I did the most I could to defend you (against A)
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in the park as he put on his bathing suit for the sprinklers: Did you bring my sun shirt? I do not want to show my privates to the park.
Me- Boys do not have privates on the top part of their body
J- What do you call these (pointing to nipples)?
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Firstable... (rhymes with vegetable but means first of all)

Bad Mamma

So while I good at sharing A's rolling and other acrobatic skills, I am apparently weak on the supervision front. Knowing how fast and feisty she is, I left her on he couch, on a Boppy (c- shaped pillow) next to her little brother. I walked away a few feet to the sink and heard a thump. Crap, she is the third baby to fall (only the second on my watch, abuela let J fall of a high high bed at five months). V is the only fall free baby now. I am sure she is fine, but what the hell is my problem? Poor A, her teary face, full of disbelief, made me feel like a bad Mamma indeed. AleVit is currently napping as J and I watch He-Man ( from 1983!) and M continues her bucolic life with a nicer family. Metro north is totally shut down today due to flooding so F has to drive there after work to pick her up!

WWF Baby Smack Down

I wish you could see the scene on my bed. AleVit is literally wrestling each other, fighting for over ten minutes now, for a baby hair brush. V is stronger but A is way faster. He tries to roll over her to steal the brush but she ninja rolls away. Her moves in the last 24 hours are crazy. She gets on all fours and rocks, takes a crawl or two. That part is normal. Another variation that I think makes her strange (remember that she cannot even sit up unassisted) is that she will get on all fours and 1) do a downward dog like motion where she is on her hands and tippy toes or 2) go from all fours to sitting while holding herself up with one hand to 3) this one was crazy and only happened once but I have a witness: going from downward dog to sitting with a double foot hop (you know how in yoga they say walk or hop you feet to your hands? She chose the latter more advanced option that I steer away from) or 4) She straight out tried to stand from her all fours position but had no balance or real ability to do so. A future gymnast? A is currently biting V's butt.

Champion Sleepers!

I officially declare AleVit sleep trained. I am printing their certificates as I write. V did 12 and A 13 hours straight! Sure there may be some more hiccups along the way, but I know that these babies can go all night long as Lionel says. Some upcoming challenges that could jostle this glorious sleeping include explaining spooning to AleVit (they currently sleep side by side perpendicular to the natural direction a baby sleeps in a crib but they are getting too tall for that), as well as V's tooth coming in and A's crawling (oh the terror of mobility!) Off to watch F & J bake bread, it is a long process, perfect for this soggy day (it has been rising for the last 20 hours).

J J J

Just now..
J- You should brush V's teeth, they smell bad (he doesn't have any, unless you count some teeeny daggers coming up)
Me- He does not have any teeth, I do not think they smell bad.
J- He does and they do.
Me- No he does not.
J- Then how do you get the guy clean?
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Yesterday in our pre-hurricane Harlem Meer walk..
This is not a short cut, it's a long cut.
I am not walking anymore. I am going backwards.

Oh Come On Already!

SICK of hearing about this hurricane. Hope it is over soon. Media coverage and hysteria absurd. Off to bed!

Alcohol & MoJo

Every time I serve myself a beer M asks me if I am an alcoholic. I tell her that is not a term to use lightly but she insists that if I drink alcohol, I must be one.
----
When I put j to bed tonight, I told him what a good big and little brother he is (he pulls a chair up to the crib and adjusts chupetes when babies cry while saying "what's wrong puppolone/a?"). I asked him if he knew who else was a little brother and told him that F was. J really does not get family relations ever, but this time he looked at me perplexed and inquired: how can a little brother drink beer?

Earthquakes, and Hurricanes, and Kids, Oh My!

First the tremor, then the four kids, wait those came first. I do not want anyone to get hurt or anything but Hurricane Irene is a pain in my ever expanding ass. Did I mention that I had half a sleeve of chocolinas and two waffles with Nutella and dulce de leche (not at the same time,I am an equal opportunity fatty so I alternated)for dinner? I really hope Irene comes and goes just like a big, overhyped storm. Stores will have cashed in on the hysteria, the media will have had their fun, and we van all go on with our weekend. I am down one kid as M is in the country, but if I am trapped with three kids and no electricity for more than two hours... Okay I am a spoiled brat. Of course I can survive without tv, phone, computer, or even worse, no cold food, but I rather not. Here's to an uneventful weekend and a ban on highly caloric spreads.

Three Times The Charm?

Why didn't I move them out before? Babies went ALL NIGHT again. There was some crying (brief) from one and then the other 4amish but with one or two visits from F they went back. I have not slept so much in ages. The ironic thing is that now I feel even more tired and crave naps. I guess it is like when you are hungry, have some snacks, and only further whet your appetite. A is napping. V is rolling around on my bed as I fold laundry, MoJo is watching a movie downstairs. I feel lazy. I am not sure that we will do anything before I need to take M to Grand Central for her three (!) night sleepover in the country for her best friend's birthday. When talking about this sleepover M said: I cannot wait for the sleepover i think it is good to have a break.. m (e's mom) is way calmer than you, not like an insult but she is calmer than you.
When I asked her if she wanted a time out today as she was rude to me.. she snapped "No, I want a better life."
I cannot wait for her to be a teenager (just kidding).

Uncle G Reports That at The Yankee Game...

G- "Does (your) mom let you drink soda?"
6 year old niece: "No, but I think we can make an exception."
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4 year old nephew 5 innings into the game as Yanks are losing: "They aren't even playing! When are they going to play? They just stand there and do nothing! This is so boring!" 


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I have to agree with J on that one. Baseball- no me gusta!


Thank you tía D and tío G for taking the midgets to their first game. They will surely remember it. They ate dinner too! J told me about "Just Jeter"- not sure where he got that name.

Team for Kids Fundraising Time!

As you might know by now, I have a few things that I am passionate about. This year, I am walking the NYC marathon with my mother, bringing together my love for this incredible event, my inability to run it (double back surgery will do that to you), my interest in children, charities, and my mother:) That is right, I am walking it with her. This woman has not exercised a day in her life, making this resolution, to walk for TFK, an even more insane one. Many of you have already donated and I thank you. If you have not, I implore you to give, even $5, so that I can reach the minimum goal of $2,620. $100 per mile is sort of ambitious, but with your help I know that I can do it. Without your help, I will personally have to shell it out as well as live with the humiliation of my mother raising more mula. So donate NOW. PLEASE. THANK YOU. Use this link to support me with any amount donation. I only have 1.5 months to collect $2,620!
http://www.runwithtfk.org/Member/PublicPage/3992

Take III

AleVit slept solidly through the night for the second night in a row! Still not convinced it will last, but...Off to CPR training.

J Today

Why do girls have different bodies than boys? (As he walked in on my shower)
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I am going to work at Delonghi when I am older.
me- Papi does not work there any more.
Well then I am going to work at Moleskine. Will papi still be there?
___
I am not going to JK, or to high school, I am just going to be a grown up.

SSHHH

Both babies slept all night. Too good to be true so let's pretend I did not just write that. MoJo came home at 10:30pm in their pjs, asleep in C and E's arms and babies still did not make a peep. I do not want to claim any victory because who knows what tomorrow will bring. Had I not stayed up until 1am watching Chopped- addictive cooking show I recommend, I might have even slept well. Today is a long day with 4 bambini and no help or activities planned. Let's see how it goes.

Floor Shaking II

The pseudo ersatz Ispica earthquake did not suffice for the summer. Today, as I sat on the toilet to pee, I experienced a real tremor. I thought it was a plumbing problem as the toilet was swaying. WEIRD. L was downstairs with babies freaked out because the shutters were shaking. When I got outside and saw all of Harlem on the sidewalk, I knew it had not been my imagination. Earth tremors. Something new to worry about. Waiting for MoJo to return from Philly (their plans changed 1000 times today) and for A to stop crying so she can start the night. We are trying sleep music tonight. Walked 9 miles in the park post yoga and post tremor. Hoping ferberizing II goes better tonight. Just to make sure I remember how she feels, my mother told me that letting A cry was psychologically damaging to her. Never spares her comments.

Ferberizing Night I

Son of  gun. They guy who always wakes up and eats all night long made it through the WHOLE night (one tiny wake up at 11:45pm). His sis, Ms A. woke up at 3:15 am and cried until 5:45am. Sad, soft crying that she revved up to angry loud crying whenever F went into the room to reassure her. I had told myself that no matter what, after 5/5:30am I would pick them up for feeding. This plan did not work since A had already been crying for two hours by then and I did not want her to think that that is what she has to do in order to get out of the crib. Oy! At 5:45 she fell asleep and woke up happy as a clam at 8:30am. I took a nap 6:30-7:30am but have otherwise also been awake. We went back to yoga today! I had two classes left on the card. What a difference from a few months ago! V would not stop talking and rolling and A almost crawled! I was able to do most of the class, although they got increasingly cranky and tired. V was even a teacher's helper as I fed A, the teacher used him for all of her demonstrations. Off to walk in the park, L has arrived for the bebés and there is training to be done!

Did I Mention Two Bedrooms?

Damn, the crib looks BAD in MoJo's room. I am not sure what I was thinking but now that my room looks normal again, theirs is like a storage room and my babies are in it. I have been waiting to get them out of my room so they can learn to sleep through the night, so I can sleep through the night.. But like all other growth steps, they are hard and I am sad. I am trying brace myself for the night when they wake up, V especially, and I do not go to him, do not feed him, do not take him out. Give me strength!
PS The rest of today was lovely, nap with babies, museum with D, walk in the park. Tomorrow I may revisit yoga!

Monday

Weird day. MoJo on their way to Philly for an overnight complete with Sesame Place tomorrow. Nice break. For all of us. Our first separation of this nature. We be very attached. Left them a few times for a night or two for surgery or to give birth. Went to Paris once for 3.5 days. That is it, only times we have been apart. Did errands in the am while L stayed with bebés. She adores them and they her and she is really sad that they will be starting day care. Did not accomplish much in my morning off but it was good to be free. PT was more like acupressure and other alternative Eastern practices, as my guy is out on paternity leave and I had a Japanese woman. Rather than do exercises and make me work she pressed and stretched and touched. Weird. Hopefully will feel okay tomorrow. Off to do laundry. More later.

M On Sleepovers

When I first sleep at a place for the first time I do not feel safe because I have not been there before, like when I will go to the country (upcoming sleepover at her bf's country house next weekend). When I go to Philly I will feel like of protected and kind of not because I have known C my whole life, but I just met E.

Rolling Rolling Rolling

AleVit's increased rolling and squirming and grabbing makes for a hard bedtime. They wrestle each other, take out their own chupetes, throw lovies at me and get all agitated. I guess I should be grateful that they cannot sit or pull up yet, because then I need to push them into horizontal mode as well to convince them to sleep. Tomorrow is the big day. Their crib will be moved out of our room and they will have to rough it out all night long as F ferberizes them (ie lets them cry and not get out to eat or play during the night). MoJo will get the brunt of it as their room will officially become a dormitory. I will bury my head under a pillow and try to resist the urge to punch F and take them out of the crib to feed. Let the good times roll!

When Objects Do Not Collaborate

I am on the bus. It is, like a miracle that I made it on with MoJo, only twenty minutes late for J's play date. We left the house, loaded down with bags, as usual, in sweltering heat and when we got to the bus stop I realized I did not have my wallet. Curses. The three blocks became nine as we had to trek back home so I could dismantle the stroller and find my wallet. Get on the bus and the unlimited card that I was so proud of borrowing (nothing gets me going like wasting money on the MTA - major transit assholes) was expired. So, I put my bags down and get another card that only has $1.70 on it and I only have two dimes. I owe 35 cents and I refuse to pay another full fare. Their system is so cool, if I dipped another card, it would take out the whole amount again. Some kind strangers offer to exchange a dollar for me (that too was a process because the first woman who offered did not want to part with any of her special quarters and kept giving them to me and taking them away, dropping coins, you get the picture) and I got on. I am now on another bus. We dropped J off and went to buy a drink. But when I went to pay I did not have any money (why would I? I took out $300 a few days ago), so we had to leave the items and go get cash). All items in the universe are against me. Today, it is money related items, other days it is the category of technology or electronics that gang up against me. When we hopped on the subway to go do errands, the metro card would not of course, give me a transfer. So I decided to go all in and buy a damn unlimited. The transit check
credit card was rejected twice before the machine sucked it in, charged me the $29, and here we are. I wonder what else can go wrong in the 45 minutes I have left before getting J. S little time, so much money and spent, so little accomplished.

Happy Birthday MV!

May this year be full of health and love and all things cinema-related. Hope to see you soon!

XO

Feliz Cumple VH!

Que los cumplas feliz. Que descanses de tu viaje. Muchos besos. Love you mucho. See you soon!

NO SLEEP

Horrible night. Each baby woke up 7 or 8 times I think. Every time I looked at my watch less than an hour had gone by. Then I fall asleep while feeding. Or they fall asleep and I am scared to move them. So babies collect on the bed. Then J inevitably comes to get a drink or to cuddle. Before you know it, I am at the foot of my bed like a dog. Once I fell asleep for more than two seconds the police woke us up. Banging on everyone's door and ringing doorbells (at 4am!). Did we hear the shooting? WTF? I live on the inside and cannot hear shit. Also, what kind of a person opens the door to a stranger (if I were a bad guy I would pretend to be the police) and chit chats in the middle of the night? So, I just got V down for a nap and wrestled A for an hour. In the mean time, V woke up, MoJo fought incessantly even though they were each set up with an activity (Ipad, reading) and now I am entertaining A with the mobile and V with the post nap feeding. It is raining. It is only 9:50 am and I honestly feel kind of done for the day. Lucky for me, I have no sitter or activity for the day so I am sure the time will fly by until 7 or 8pm when F comes back.

M At Bedtime

I wish I had met your grandfather. Were you pregnant with me when your grandfather died?
No. He died after I got married. That was the last time I saw him.
Well at least it is a nice memory.

M's Deep Bedtime Thoughts

Sometimes I feel like I am not as happy as I could be.
---
You always want what you do not have and if you had it then you would want what you had.
Me-like what?
Like if you had a kangaroo in your house then you would not want it. It is a good thing all wishes do not come true.

6 Month Check Up

AleVit has grown! They each grew 1. 5 inches since their 4 month visit (wish I could get taller) and V is 16 lbs 12.5 oz and A 14 lbs 4 oz. Not bad. I need to sleep train these babies soon. This requires going to IKEA to buy a tall piece of furniture to replace the various short crappy ones in MoJo's room to make room for the crib, that F has to disassemble to get out of our room. You get the picture as to why we have been procrastinating. At this point the babies should be able to sleep 10 hours in a row. But they don't. I am thinking that if they cannot see, smell, and hear me two inches from their face, this will help. Summer is coming to a roaring halt and there is so much to do still! AleVit is being catapulted into BT life on Sept 7. I am sure I will be able to be at work and transitioning them into daycare at exactly the same time. WTF? Everything always overlaps. I will be coordinating childcare for MoJo and AleVit for a whole other month it looks like. Hope they do not cry too much when F rubs their shot spots. Pobrecitos.

Philly in Torrential Rain

We set out to have lunch with C and E today and this meant that we would go on a road trip and get to see the house as well. Well, the two hour trip took over four on the way there and just under three on the way back. Yes, we were in the car for seven hours and there for 1.5. MoJo was ecstatic (they already have a stash of toys there), AleVit thrilled to get out of their damn car seats (where they spent most of their Italian vacation), and we, adults, were happy to see the new abode. Now I can imagine where my sister is when I miss her. As in always.

J to V- Viewing Commentary

We are watching Spiderman dude.
It's okay, no need to be afraid, Spiderman will win this.
The real Spiderman will win this. He wins every game.

Missing A Baby

When she/he is asleep is a strange phenomenon. It is illogical since a great part of the day is wrestling them to sleep, but it always happens. A slept from 4pm to 12:30 am!, ate and kept sleeping until 5am. I guess it was the right thing to let her sleep. I never believed in waking up a baby. When they sleep, when I win and get them down... I miss them. It makes no sense. I am almost sad that they gave up. J and AleVit are sitting on my bed (propped on pillows) watching Spiderman on the ipad. I am sure they should not watch TV but J has his arm around V and they are all so engaged.. it is too cute.

So..

I sweat for 1.5 hours to get the babies to sleep this pm. V lasted 45 minutes. A is 4 hours in. I guess she thinks it's nighttime. I cannot wake her up. I hope she lets me sleep a little. I LOVE jetlag. She already took a 2 hour nap this am and another 45 min one in the pm. So she is clearly exhausted. I am pretty sure my night sleep will end 2ish when she is up for the beach in Italy. Hope I am wrong. MoJo exhausted. Fell asleep in 2 seconds.

Brotherly Love

J to V: If you want to learn how to walk to places. I will teach you. (Walks). There you go. Easy.
V to A while she cried her brains out... caressed her arm (mimito) across the crib and held out his chupete for her to take (she did not).
Priceless.

MoJo Musings III

M- You are going to be an aunt to my cousin...if I ever get one.
--
M talking about her sleepover at a country house: If you came to the country you would need someone to replace you, and I think that would be hard for papi for two days, because it is hard for just one day.
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Me to J- You fell because you were running.
J- I was not running. I was galloping.
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When I told J to order his lunch like a  big boy: I am four, that is not a lot. I am not ready.
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In the middle of lunch at a diner today, M yelled out with food in her mouth: Where's papi? (he had left 5 hours earlier for work).
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When J did not say hi to a classmate we saw on the street I asked him why.
J- I do not like girls.
Me- What about me?
J- I like you a little.
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J recently told us that he wants to work at Delonghi and get a dot tattoo to be like papi. Just a dot because a drawing would hurt too much. Too many needles.

Home Sweet Home

I will be brief because it took us 20 hours door to door and I am wiped. It is 4am for me (10pm in NYC) and I vow to never fly to Europe and then back for an ALL DAY flight any time in the near future. Highlights included a near fistfight with the cutting Italians in Palermo, as well as waiting FOREVER for our luggage. More tomorrow. Happy to sleep in my bed. When you take 4 kids and put them to bed at 11pm and then make them wake up before 6am and make them travel for 20 hours and put them to bed at 8pm (that feels like 2am to them) do they sleep a lot? My guess is no. But we will find out!

Happy Birthday A!

From the hot Sicilian beaches to the muggy Big Apple... Happy Birthday to You! We will celebrate upon our return. Lots of love... V & co.

Beach Highs & Lows

Highs:
J dancing on the boardwalk looking at his reflection in the mirror. I told him he was good and should put a hat out and he did the next day. He was very offended that he did not any money.
Aqua gym for a few minutes a few times. C and I or just I trying to exercise in the water with Italian sexy ladies and old ladies.
Dinner at sunset on the beach. Beautiful place. okay food. At one point J said "let's get out of here, it smells like dog poop."
The one walk/jog I did on the beach with F. Not far or fast but nice to exercise on the beach.
Lows:
Never sunbathing for more than three minutes.
Never swimming alone.
Not having a single bathing suit I like or feel comfortable in.
Eating too much crap on the beach.
Playing Kadima only once.

More Musings

J- You are getting a lot more white hair. Soon you will be an old lady. We do not want an old lady for our parent.
----
As I tried to explain what the word unbearable means, I told J "it would be unbearable for me to be without you for many days."
J- you could adopt another child.
----
M's new expression... I do not mean to break your brian but (request arrives)
---
Her new phrases while melting down include... I wish this were a dream/my life is a nightmare/my life is like a glob of poop.
---
When talking about babies who have formula, M called it "recipe"
--
When worrying about her potential sleepover at nonna's house, M said "I am worried I will have a reaction."

MoJo Musings II

J- when you are forty you will be divorced.
Me- I doubt it.
J- well, one of you mightbbe dead.
----
M- can brothers and sisters get married?
Me- no, it is illegal.
M- why does Bloomberg care?
Me- it is not nAtural and your kids can come out strange.
M- like hunchbacks? They should just write you a ticket you do not need to go to jail for that.

6 Months Baby!

It was six months ago today, that AleVit came out to' play. KA-RAY-ZEE that half a year has gone by. These puppies are big, and cute, and heavy. Nobody has teeth yet. Nobody knows how to sleep all night (although A comes close at times). Both are working on sitting. Lots of good grabbing from both. V's signature move is to take the chupete out of A's mouth and pop it into his own. Both babies can suck their feet, a trait which provides lots of entertainment. Both like to suck on brioches or bread. Both smile and laugh (ands of course cry like babies). V can talk up a storm and A is quieter. I have a feeling this will change as time goes by. Next week they are going in for their six month visit and I will have more hard facts to share. Happy six months AleVit, you have made our lives so sweet!
PS time stamp is wrong on this device, it is August 8th!

MoJo Musings

M asked me how you get a boyfriend today. Ugh
J told C - When I am five and V is four, we will be best friends.
M spent a long time rolling up her bathing suit top to make a bikini. When I told her that she should take advantage of being able to the topless and that I would buy her a bikini hen she had breasts, she asked - Can it be golden? (yes). With peace signs? (yes) and Hannah Montana?

Old School Twin

Yesterday we met a friendly man in his sixties on the beach. V was lunging for him, he took him in his arms, making him the first and only italian man to have held a baby. It turns out this man is a twin and he told us how he was born at home, his mother unaware that she had two babies in her. He and his brother weighed under three pounds each, and the midwife made an incubator out of a bedwarmer and towels. Who knows how long they stayed in there, but it reminded me how powerful nature and humans were, long before Dr. C and all that jazz.

Planking

In addition to all of the cool planking pics, we had the chance to literally walk the plank every time we went to the bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere. Did I mnention that the floor imploded in the middle of they hallway so that it was impossible to go anywhere without stepping on the raised tiles, or after the eighty year old worker came, the planks? We left the worker here in the am and came back seven hours later and he had not finished. I goes without saying that he must have gone home to nap right after we left and come back to look busy right before we cam back from the beach. We could see the dus and grime from the crap Jo he did from the sidewalk. The stairs up to the apartment were filthy as well. In conclusion, the senior brick layer came to pick up his planks on his way to his beach day. He felt no need to check his work (crap) or to clean anything up. Viva l'italia!

Some Odd and Some Charming

Things that have happened that we have seen in the last few days...
1. The restaurant on the water in Siracusa had a bucket on a rope with which they lowered meals to boats -- naval take out. Too bad the food wasn't good.
2. C was changing A's diaper and saw a hair. Given that I shed everywhere this is not interesting. The more she pulled, the more she realized that it was actually IN A. She had swallowed a long hair and C had to gently pull it out of her butt.
3. Only old people seem to live in the building of our rented dilapidated apartment. There is someone above us who also uses to bucket technique to lower his garbage. There are about six different garbage days here, very detailed recycling, and I look to his bucket of trash to see what I need to throw out on a given day. I snuck down and added our "regular garbage" to his, just two minutes before the truck came by. It was delightfully satisfying timing. As I hung out our clothes on the balcony,today, I saw the plastic recycling truck go by, but I thought it might be too aggressive to throw my plastic goods off the balcony.
4. As I got out of the sea holding two babies yesterday, a little Italian girl came up to me and asked to hold A. She could not have been more than six. I was struggling to not trip or drop a greasy baby, and this girl would not let up. She was pulling A and I was looking for her grown up. I proposed bending down so she could hug A, thinking this would appease then little monster. Well, as soon as I bent down, the little shit was trying to pry A out of my arms. I said, we are in the water and you are a little girl and I do not know you and you cannot hold a baby in the water. I basically ha to flee from her. A man came over, who I hoped was her father, but he was just a guy who wanted to make sure that I did not drop two babies as I was assaulted by a midget kidnapper.
Off to get J, who hd a solo sleep over at his nonna's house!

Outeating a Large Man

Yesterday my sister in law's boyfriend, one of the largest men I know, told me that he could not believe how much food I consumed in such a short time. He witnessed one of my eating attacks right before dinner as I ate cheese and bread faster than he could cut it.I am pleasantly surprised that I have been just nursing (no bottles, fruit for lunch and dinner) for the first time since the babies were born. I guess I could take his comment as an insult, but coming from a 250lb man, I think it is a compliment. I can eat him under a table. Is that the expression with drinking?off to bed, I ate too much!

And Then The Floor Opened Up

As we were getting redy for dinner. F and I were in the hallway and there was a rumblimg... a crackling... And tiles are buckling upwards. Weird stuff. I thought it was an earthquake. F thought the house was collapsing... We evacuated. Cut to the next scene. C and I on the sidewalk barefoot. Each with a baby. One is naked. J is barefoot and shirtless. M is with shirt and naked on the bottom (not sure why she was doing her workbook half nude). I grabbed a towel with one of the babies so she put that on as a skirt. We looked weird and more out of place than usual. I am sure the two babies added a surreal touch. We wondered if F would join us or just crash down with the building. Cut to next scene... A muratore, wall guy? Comes over to tell us that it happens in sicily, it's the heat. Oh, of course. Ps we have a great pic of what the floor looks like now but I am unable to add from here. Email me a personal request for the image or wait until we get back to a regular computer.

Tanti Auguri a Te!

Happy birthday C! I hope you do not regret spending the big three oh here in Sicilia with the crazies. You are the best sister and aunt a gal could ask for. Que los cumplas feliz! TQM!,,

No Food For You!

Yesterday we had lunchby the beach at an outdoor place that promised to be fast-ish and yummy.
We went with Nonno G and several very hungry hippos. C ordered the pasta of the day, orechiette with sausage an broccoli. The pasta came and it had red sauce but no sign of anything else. We inquired and the waiter agreed that it the wrong dish. In the meeting time, we all started eating. He came back, confirmed that it was the right pasta. C asked for cheese. By then, most of us had finished our food. We concluded that the pasta was cold, an imposter, not the special of the day, and F told the waiter to bring the real pasta of the day. My meal, a salad, left a lot to be desired, so I ordered some fries. Many many minutes later, we were all done. We called the waiter over and asked, "wtf?". Nonchalantly, he replied, "oh, they didn't tell you? The pasta is not coming." I asked about my fries. "oh, they didn't tell you? The kitchen is closed. There is no more food coming." good technique, blame it on the bad (invisible) cop. Needless to say, I did not need fries, but I think C had earned her lunch.

There We Go

Babies woke up three or four times each and I went to bed super late and woke up super early. C and I drank a 1.5 liter bottle of bubbly supermarket wine before doing that but I am happy to say that I have zero hangover. Off to tend to laundry on the balcony.

August Is Here!

We spent most of the day at the beach. Instead of eating at the buffet expensive place we ate at the bar out back and had a better and way cheaper meal.C and I did a few minutes of water aerobics but it was ending and we also played some Kadima- I am so sporty. The girls went clamming so to speak in the afternoon. The pseudo clamming involves digging in the sand in a competitive fashion, while trying to find mini clam like creatures called telline. M cannot wait to cook them and eat them with pasta tomorrow. We went to visit some family friends in the evening. I sometimes forget how we, in the USA tend to use filters and be more PC. As I got out of the car, the father of the family commented jokingly on my grey hair and said he ws happy that time passed for me as well. A friend of theirs then asked if C was my child too. they were all very nice and we were there forever. The cultural differences are always gh though- like when the same woman asked me if V could eat pineapple, to which I responded no, to which she responded by giving it to him anyway. People were smoking everywhere...you know just like Americans do around small children. Let me stop rambling to share some comments made by the midgets in the last couple of days. In the car ride back, J asked out of the blue - Who is G-d? When I asked him earlier, as I read email, if he wanted a play date with a friend from school, he responded with attitude- I think I am too far away for a play date. Do you want me to take a plane? He also asked me today: Are there ice cream trucks (looks around) in this kind of world? I need to sign off now. More tomorrow! PS M has pink eye too and there are good odds for the babies too.