Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Danger!


Ultra cuteness warning...

Stop now if you don't want

weak knees,

the shakes,

maybe even heart palpitations.

Quite possibly your eyeballs

could become paralyzed

by the sugary sweetness

of too much cuteness.

*****************************
What? Are you still here?

Ok then, don't say I didn't warn you!

Are you ready?

Ta da!

Luca is not kidding around either! It is his very first Valentines' Day Ever, and he would like to know if You LOVE him!

Happy Valentines Day!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

Only Chalk, Re-Visited

Well yes, here I am up this late... with the wee one, and ha! I have the temerity to think I can write a semi-coherent post. We will see...
I actually feel great, since I got to sleep for more than three hours in a row without interruptions last night. I hope this continues. He seems to sleep better at night if I keep close physical contact with him in the hours leading up to bed time. (Read pack him around while cooking, and eating dinner, and letting him have unlimited nursing time). It is worth it, my sleep is precious to me!-and for that reason I will be a human pacifier if I have to.
Funny story: Remember I blogged recently about my boys playing with sidewalk chalk? Yesterday Matthew was outside drawing in front of our casa on the sidewalk because the rain had washed away their previous art. An elderly lady (a stranger, not a neighbor) came by and was very unhappy with Matthew for drawing on the sidewalk. I keep telling him to not speak with strangers, but he did, and boy, was he stubborn.
The part of the conversation I heard was her telling him that he was making the sidewalk dirty. (That is funny to me, because here in Torino one of the things I find frustrating is that most dog owners refuse to pick up the poo their dogs make all over the sidewalks. You must walk with attention. And there is worse, much worse to be found on the sidewalks even in the nicest of neighborhoods, but I won't name them as this is a family blog; suffice it to say I had to tell my boys that they are NOT balloons, and to never ever touch them. That is the shame of Torino, not little sidewalk chalk drawings by children). Where was I? Oh, yes. The old lady was telling Matthew that he was making the sidewalk dirty, and he was insisting that he was drawing art. He tried to reassure her by telling her that it was only chalk and would wash off with water. She told him she guessed he would be the one cleaning it up with a mop. He told her again that he was only playing, and that it was ok to use the chalk, that kids in America use sidewalk chalk to play often. She insisted he was making the sidewalk dirty, and told him he was not a kid, and what did he know of American kids. He told her he was an American kid, and so she grilled him about where he was born (America)! She wouldn't believe he was anything other than an Italian teenager, when he is only ten and a half. She told him even so since he was in Italy, all he was doing with the chalk was making the sidewalk dirty, not making art. He insisted he was a kid, and an American one, and that he was making art... he persisted (I told you he was stubborn)... she finally went away. But not before she mystified him by pointing to a jet overhead and proclaiming that it was an airplane going through Italian air, over Torino Italy. Poor boy. What do you think? Should I teach him "When in Rome do as the Romans do" and for heavens sake don't play with chalk like American kids do? It is pathetic and funny all at once and all I could do yesterday was laugh.

Today we went to the center for a little walk.

Because as you can see, the sun was shining!

Gratuitous photo of baby:

And another, because he makes me smile!


See what I mean?

Thursday, January 31, 2008

Moment Of Realization

In two years I will be mothering two teenagers and one two year old. Oh. My.

Monday, January 28, 2008

E' Solo Gesso



Recently the grandparents sent some sidewalk chalk to the boys. Because of our neighbors I was a little apprehensive about actually letting them use it. Matthew wanted to play with it right away. I asked him to ask M who being Italian and all, would know if it would be acceptable. Matthew explained "We can draw with it all over the sidewalks, and it won't last long, and it will be cleaned up as soon as it rains." M seemed rather hesitant, and said it would probably bother our neighbors (who don't like seeing or hearing children play). So I told Matthew to hold onto it and we would play with it on our next visit to the U.S.
Then Gabriel was trying to convince M, and since he was speaking Italian, M realized that it was only chalk, solo gesso, so he let the boys go outside our house and draw all over the sidewalk.
I wonder what our neighbors will think?
So far I have heard nothing from them. Personally I like the non fumare sign the boys made, but maybe the big PACE and PEACE speak loudest of all...


In other news, in fact the latest and greatest most up to the minute Baby News, Luca just shy of 8 weeks old, rolled over today from his tummy to his back. I happened to have the camera ready!

Doesn't he look mystified?

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Splish! Splash!

I was takin' a bath!


When all of a sudden, this thing came out of nowhere and got my face all wet! It felt weird.

Mamma mia!, I didn't know what to think!

But that's okay, the rest of the bath was fun fun fun! I got to kick and kick.

And after all that, we had a nice cuddle.

Monday, December 31, 2007

New Year!

Aaah! This last year has been a great one, and the one to come I am sure will be full of exciting and wonderful things.
I love the new year. Every year I make fantastical resolutions; not just one, but many. I have always loved the idea of wiping the slate clean and starting fresh.
So today I have a new idea. I am inviting you, my readers to ask me questions about myself or anything else you are curious about that I will later post the answers to. Feel free to ask your questions in the comment section or e mail them to me.
This post is rather short. Have you ever tried typing while holding a warm snuggle bug?


Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve

It is cold outside, and inside the house not only is it warm, but scented with the fragrance of homemade cookies that my mom and boys have been making this afternoon. A perfect smell to wake up to on Christmas Eve I thought, as the baby and I woke up from our nap. They are freezing some cookies for me to eat in some weeks, as even though it is Christmas I must abstain from anything that has sugar or flour in it. I am on a special yeast fighting diet! Yes... sadly the baby and I developed thrush, (yeast). He first got it in his mouth, and then I got it in my breasts. This is the reason for my long absence from my blog, all energy has gone to the management of this thing. I successfully was able to breastfeed my two elder sons, each for a year. I never thought that I would have any trouble with this one. What a surprise, and oh, what pain! I understand and have such empathy now for the women who choose not to or can't breastfeed their little ones. In a moment of desperation I attempted to give my little one a bottle. He refused it.

In the past few days things have slowly started to get better, meaning I am not gritting my teeth and crying during feedings anymore. My little one is gaining weight rapidly, as the amount of milk is not the problem.

At the advice of someone from the La Leche League we found a pediatrician that works at a hospital in Moncalieri, and she told M what to do for a quick "not quite legitimate" meeting with her. We registered with the Pronto Soccorso, the emergency room, and then when they told us to go to a certain doctor at the pediatric unit on floor two, we were very furbo and went up to floor six to meet with our doctor who was working in the nido, the nursery. While waiting I was joking with M that they would come find us when we never showed up on floor two. I was feeling a little strange, like we would get in trouble for not following directions. He smiled and said, "Yes, but we are in Italy. Here we "arrange" things." I liked that. I liked the doctor very much too, she was very kind to fit us in her busy schedule. She has Luca and I on the strongest anti-yeast medication, so that the breastfeeding can continue.

Through all this drama, my mother has been an absolute life saver. I don't know how we would have managed without her care and strength and support. I am very lucky to have her here now... I know it.
So, now that I have explained why I have been absent from this blog for so long, I can finally tell you:

Merry Christmas!

I wish all my friends, family, and fellow blogging buddies a wonderful time with their loved ones this holiday season!

Friday, December 7, 2007

He's here!!

Yes he is born, Tuesday december 4 at 9:50 pm Italian time.

In the picture on the right you can see the three brothers together; in the center: Luca Nicholas.

Some statistics: his weight was 2.66Kg - 5lbs and 14oz (quite small); his length was 47 cm - 18.5in his head circumference was 32cm - 12.6in.

He was born in our house, as we wanted, in a inflatable birth pool, set ... in the kitchen.

Ou family is very happy and Amber is restoring fast. In the next days she will surely blog more giving you more information.

Bye

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Thursday, November 29, 2007

...still waiting

My midwives came to our house today, to do their weekly exam of my tummy. They said that the little guy is still in a perfect birthing position, head down and facing toward my spine... this may not mean a lot to people, but to me it is wonderful news that means posterior/back labor will be something I don't have to worry about. Unless at the last minute he decides to flip-flop.
We went through the birth supply checklist, to make sure that we haven't missed a thing. Ice in the freezer? check. Birth pool ready? check. Midwives phone numbers in an easy to see location? check. Hot water bottle? check. Towels, sheets, plastic? check. Baby's first clothes, diapers, etc? check. Scale to weigh baby? check.
It was fun for my mom to see this informal and friendly appointment, although since it was in Italian I needed to translate. I feel that I am so very fortunate that although here in Italy, I know who my birth attendants will be. That definitely is not the norm here, usually you show up at the hospital, and you get who you get. Instead, I have gotten to know my three midwives over the past nine months, and they know us, and our birth preferences. They will be the ones here with me at the big moment. They are open minded and even culturally sensitive, something that I definitely am not taking for granted. I feel lucky that I found them.
I showed the midwives the lovely baby bunting that my grandmother crocheted for the baby, and two beautiful wool blankets that were made in Oregon, designed by Native Americans and brought to me by my mother.
We are as prepared as we can get, and all is ready... the waiting kind of feels like Christmas, except at least you know what day Christmas lands on!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Notice of Eviction

Dear Sir:

In approximately ten days our contract will expire, and so this is your official eviction notice. Management has kept a close eye on you during the time of our contract, and has noticed that although your space was fully sufficient for much of the term, you are clearly now outgrowing the spatial capacity of your home. This is a major part of the reason you must vacate the premises, not only because the contractual time is nearly over. This contract is non-negotiable. You cannot appeal. If you try to stay longer you will be expelled.

Sincerely,
the Management

P.S. Your mother and father and older brothers are anxiously awaiting your arrival. The move will entail many benefits to you such as free rent for at least 18 years, a college education, free snacks and three meals a day each day, lots of hugs and kisses, and a lifetime of new experiences. In light of this we the Management are strongly encouraging you to make the move on the date the contract is over, if not before. Thank you.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Feeling thankful


This time of year I find myself reminded by the holiday "Thanksgiving" to examine my life and feel grateful for my blessings. In no apparent order they manifest themselves, and in quality and quantity I have to say, I am blessed.

Have you ever had a kitty cat climb on your tummy and begin to knead with its paws? I haven't held a cat in this way for years, but in the last week I have felt this sensation daily. While lying on my back I can feel my unborn son, moving to a rhythm of his own, in weight it feels like a cat on my tummy, he moves slow and strong, the kneading movements are within me. The first morning I felt this sensation I was half in a dream surrounded by purring and contentment sure that I held a cat. How strange to wake to silence, and instead of a cat, a belly full of baby. This baby, a new part of me, and someone whose face I have yet to see. What a blessing.

My mother is here now, as she has been by my side during my previous births. This is a blessing.

Gabriel with his chocolate brown eyes, and deep sweet soul, my firstborn son... my forever love. This is a blessing.

Matthew my baby, who knows he will always be my baby no matter how old he is, and no matter that there will be a new one soon. This is a blessing.

My grandmother who birthed ten children naturally; who set a great example in every way. This is a blessing.

Learning that with another child, love never is divided, but miraculously it multiplies... this is a blessing.

Cold wet doggy kisses in the mornings, the utterly undeserved adoration in her eyes, the wagging tail... this is a blessing.

New friends and old, the chance to share our souls and minds and hearts... this is a blessing.

Being loved, and loving in return... the greatest blessing.

Thank you God, for all the ways you bless me.