Final stop, San Vito Lo Capo

Finally the final stop. I am sorry it has taken me about a month to finish posting our trip to the North Coast. It has been crazy busy around here since school started back. I will post soon on the latest on the boys. I have some good news on Seb.


Our final stop on our trip was the north west tip of Sicily call San Vito Lo Capo. I have been here once before on an ITT trip while I was pregnant with Marcello and Ralph was in Africa.



This is a photo of Seb the first time we came here in 2006.











A photo on the same trip in 2006 of Seb and his buddy Jack.





I fell in Love with this little quiet beach town. I always wanted to come back and show Ralph. It's a clean sandy beach and the water is clear blue and green. You can walk everywhere, which makes it nice when you have kids. They have a Hugh wide boardwalk, sidewalk along the beach filled with shops and bars to eat at. We got lucky and booked a room beachfront. All we had to do was walk outside and cross the boardwalk and we were on the beach. We did have a mix up on our booking, but I wont go into that. I really wanted to book 2 nights here since its so relaxing and what Kim was looking for. But this time of year it was booked, we verily got one night. But one night is better than none and its worth it.


Finally we got things cleared up, and settled in our new room. We threw on our swimsuits and headed to the beach. After all this is what we came here to do. We knew today would be the only day we could enjoy it, since we had to pack up and drive home in the morning. It was great, just what we were looking for. A nice relaxing day at the beach. The kids got to swim and play in the sand, and Kim and I got to lounge in the chairs provided by our Hotel. I think Seb stayed in the water almost the entire time, and Marcello played quietly at the shore line with his bucket and shovel.




A photo of Seb swimming, he loves the water.
















Marcello playing in the sand. Look how cute he is.
















Yes, Marcello eats beach sand, well he eats everything. I have to keep a watchful eye on him, everything goes into the mouth.




I start to realize how blessed I truly am. Both my boys are good little men, and I got to relax and not chase them all over the beach. After sitting there for a while, I notice one of the many beach peddlers walking up and down selling floats. I saw the one Marcello went crazy over the last time I took him to the beach with my girlfriends. I stop him and asked how much. It was a little pricey, but what is the price you pay knowing it will make your childs day. Besides I am on a mini vacation.



Marcello loved his float so much, I think he stayed in it the rest of the day at the beach. LOL


Kim took the boys swimming for me, since I don't like getting into the water. And being pregnant makes it harder on me.



The boys had so much fun that day. Marcello loves being in the water also.






This mini vacation is just what my boys and I needed. A nice relaxing time before the busy school year starts.

Marcello and Potty training.......

Yes, it's true we decided to start potty training Marcello. It all started right before Ralph went to Germany. We both talked about getting a potty and introducing it to him. We didn't want to rush into it, but at least take baby step to showing him. I didn't start the introduction to Seb until he was around 2. But while Ralph was gone, Marcello started to show a few signs he might be ready. Whenever he was wet he would try and take off his diaper. We also would ask him if he needed a new diaper, and he would go upstairs to the changing table. The main sign we saw that pushed us to start now was when he started to pull his diaper down in the front and pee on the tile. He did this a few times, that's when I thought maybe we should buy one now and start.

When Ralph got home, we went to the store and got him a potty. We do not have a selection like you guys have back home. And we didn't want to wait on one in the mail. We brought it home and Marcello was excited. We first started out just having him sit on it with his clothes on. Wanted to see if he would, and you don't want to push your child. He loved it, so each time one of us went to the potty Marcello would follow and we would ask him it sit on his. And he did, we also would sing a song. Yeah I know you are laughing, but I'm sure you did it too.

Marcello has shown great interest in the potty and would sit on it, so we decided to go to the next step. I started to buy pull ups and having him sit on the potty naked. Of course what little boy doesn't like to be naked. I was surprised that he looked like he knew what to do. So now when I went to the potty I would get Marcello undressed and have him sit on his. Of course nothing happened, but at least I have him sitting on it. That's the first step, and sometimes the hardest to get a child comfortable enough to sit. Now each time he goes into the bathroom, he sits on his potty. I now keep supplies near his potty so I change him in there.

Last week, Marcello has gotten to where he wants to move his potty in front of the TV and sit. At first I wouldn't let him, because we have a rug and I didn't want him peeing on it. So I would just let him sit it on the tile and watch TV. Hey whatever might work right. Well, on Sept 25th, he surprised both of us. I undressed him after running errons all day and sat him on his potty in front of the TV. When he got up I was surprised to see he peed in the potty. I wasn't prepared, and didn't know how to praise him. I was so excited he did it. And I am not sure he realized he did it either, lol.

Of course he hasn't done it since. But at least I feel we are on the right track. Soon after I get better organized, I will set a timer and have him sit on the potty every 15 Min's. He still is young for starting, so I'm not in a big rush. I am just proud he has taken interest and we are on the right track.

Proud of my boys....

Well, I gotta say I am very proud of both my boys. Sebastian has started the second grade this year. And Marcello is growing into his own little man, Amazing us everyday. I will be blogging soon on Marcello and Potty training.

Sebastian has come along way. I am so very proud of his progress in school. He started out strong in Kindergarten, but some how lost his way and started to have difficulties. He struggled through most of kindergarten and the first half of 1st grade. I honesty think the teacher he had in 1st grade helped in many ways. I started to see an improvement in him throughout the school year. He still is not up to speed on his reading, but I also feel to blame on that one. I spend as much time as I can with him on it, but I also feel I can do so much better. I also need to learn more patience with reading with him. I know he can do it, and just plays around at reading time. And that's when I give up for that day. But this year he has already shown great improvements in many areas. He has been doing most of his homework without help and correctly. I think its all coming together for him. He also struggled in the past with spelling, which is my weakness. But this year so far has made 100 on all spelling test. I am just beaming with how proud I am with him. I am hoping he will continue improving with all areas he is weak in and get up to speed with other kids his age on reading.


Here is a photo of the proud big brother with Marcello. Seb is 5 almost 6 and Marcello is almost 3 weeks old.





Here is one of my favorite photos of me with my 2 boys. I have this one framed on our wall. We are in Taormina and Seb is 5 almost 6 and Marcello is a little over a month old. You can see how little he was. And how much Seb has grown.



Marcello also has come along ways. He was born a preemie and we were told he would be delayed in motor skills and other areas. And they were right. He was late on everything from rolling over to crawling. Marcello was so small and was having difficulties gaining weight at the beginning. It made things more difficult on me during Ralph's deployment. Marcello was only 3 months old when Ralph left for Iraq.


A photo of Ralph with Marcello in Taormina. Marcello was 2 months old and this was taken about a month before Ralph left.



This was taken of Marcello about a week before Ralph left on Deployment. You can see the love in his eyes for his daddy. They did make a special bond before he left.





Marcello and Ralph about a week before he left. Marcello was finally becoming our little chunky monkey.












Marcello and I before Ralph Left. You can see how sad I was knowing he was leaving soon.






When Ralph left I was told by his doctor to do my own physical therapy with him. We did a lot of tummy and floor time and I worked with him for 2 hours almost everyday. I did this while Seb was at school so I could have one on one time with him. It was painful listening to other parents talk about how there kids were progressing and Marcello wasn't. I kept my faith and told myself he would catch up, and not to be too concerned unless he didn't meet certain milestones by age one and others by age 2. Marcello has been a very happy, giggly and content baby. He hardly cried and loved to be cuddled. His giggle and smile got me through all the bad times. One look at Marcello and all your sadness melted away. And I gotta admit, while Ralph was gone I babied him and cuddled him a lot. With Marcello being such a good baby, it helped me in other ways. I could take him anywhere and not be concerned about him. He seemed to love to be on the move at a young age. Already an world traveler.



A photo of Ralph, Marcello and I. Ralph just stepped off the plane from deployment. Welcome home babe, we missed you.


When Ralph came home from Deployment, Marcello was 9 months. He was just learning to crawl, more like belly scooting backwards. He could pull himself up to standing since 5 months, but wouldn't take steps. When daddy came home I saw Marcello eyes light up and something magical happened. It was almost like he was also sad while daddy was gone, and now the light bulb went off and he bloomed. He started to really come out of his shell and become more mobile. Before long he was crawling normally and started to take steps. It was almost like he was waiting for daddy. My heart just started to melt with joy with watching the love of a father and son. They made an instant bond, and it has grown stronger every day. Ralph got to see his first steps and him overcome other challenges. Marcello amazes us everyday. I thank God everyday that Ralph has been home to help out. I truly believe Ralph being home has helped Marcello to become the little man he is today.

A crazy week....

Sorry I still have not posted the final stop on my trip to the North Coast. We have been very busy around here. Last week I had an appt. every day, so I was out of the house. I also have been busy trying to finish up the boys rooms. I almost have them finished. So far I am very pleased with them. Sebastians room finally looks like a youth bedroom. And I can not wait to post photos of how cute Marcello's and Finns room will be. This week Seb starts Cub Scouts. We are very excited. We also have started potty training Marcello. I will post a blog on it later on how it is going. Sorry I do not have more to say right now. But soon I will post better updates on what the boys have been up too.

The story of Marcello

Here is the story of Marcello. I know some of you do not know the whole story of what happened, so I will post what I can remember.

Ralph came home from deployment Mon March 5th. And on March 6th I went to the ER because I was not feeling well and had a fever. I have been sick almost the entire pregnancy. And the doctors didn't seem too concerned. After 24 hours at the Sigonella Hospital, they told me they were sending me to the Catania birthing Center. They did not know what was causing my fever and it was making me go into labor. I was also told I had high liver enzymes and it was failing. I was only 35 weeks, almost 36. Sigonella doesn't have proper equipment for preemies, so they had to send me out into town.

The Italians tried to control my fever and stop the contractions, but I have allergies to some medications and they didn't know what they could give me. They couldn't keep my fever down, so at midnight they woke me to tell me they were taking the baby. It was a very tragic event, they do everything different than in the states. I was so scared, we didn't know what would happen and if the baby was OK. I will not go into details on how the Italians do things, but I will say it was very traumatic. I remember closing my eyes and praying to God that he would be OK. I also told God that I refuse to take another breath until I know my son takes his first.

So at 1:30 am on March 8th I had Marcello by C- section. I have attached the video from the Italian Dr that delivered my son. He took the photos and made the video and gave it to us on a CD. Our son was almost 6 pounds and was healthy, didn't need extra care. But he was born with a fever. He was breathing on his own, and was only under the heat lamp for a few hours. We were able to bring him home Sat when I was released. I am sooooooooo grateful my husband was there with me through it all. It was very stressful, but we made it through it. Ralph was wonderful helping me with everything and is such a proud father. I don't know how I would have done it without him.
THANK YOU BABE.

Here is the video that was given to us when I was released.





Dear Marcello,

You are a gift from God, a true angel. Each and every day you bring us more and more joy with your smile, and wonderful giggle. You are such a loving child, and you are one of the main reasons I was able to make it though Ralph's second deployment on this island. Each time I was sad, your giggle brought me hope. You kept both Sebastian's and my spirts up during the difficult times. We all love you so very much, even your big brother Sebastian. We have enjoyed watching you grow into your own little man. Each day an new adventure. And soon you will become a big brother.

We all love you,

Mom, Dad, & Sebastian.

A day at the Tidal Pools in Cefalu

I'm sorry it has taken so long for me to finish posting our trip. We have been super busy around here. I am only going to post the photos and talk a little about it.


Enjoy.......

We decided to take the boys to the tidal pools along the rocky shoreline near the hotel instead of walking all the way to the beach. We thought it would be best so Seb could climb and play on the rocks while Marcello splashed in the shallow pools.


We soon discovered when we got down there it wasn't what we thought it was. LOL. It was harder than we thought to walk on the rocks. And we found out what we thought was sand in the tidal pools was slim on the rocks. But we decided to make the best of it anyways.





A photo of Marcello checking out the water, he's a little unsure.










The boys playing in the pool. Marcello finally warms up to the idea and gets into the water.
























Seb is having fun jumping from rock to rock.














My girlfriend took these photos and I changed them to black and white. I have the one of myself and both boys framed.


































Marcello finally gets into the water and begins to really play.




















This is one of the rare photos you will see of Seb. He is actually smiling and nowadays he just doesn't like his photo taken.












Sorry it was short, just do not have time to sit and blog.

Soon I promise I will post one of Marcello and another one of what he is up to lately. And we are almost finished with the boys rooms, and I will post photos when they are complete.

It's ALL coming together... FINALLY.

Finally after 2 1/2 years on the island, I finally feel its all coming together. And I am living in Peace and Harmony.

Ralph and I have been busy bees getting things done that have been put off too long. We work great as a team. The first step was getting me healthier. I gotta say I am spoiled when he is home with the meals he cooks for us. And he helps a lot around the house and with the kids. I have been extremely sick, and this past month has been the first time I have felt good. I actually have energy to start and finish a project. Thank You everyone for all your prayers.

I also have been reading a lot on how to organize your life. I think I finally found a method that works for me. In case you don't know, I am the most unorganized person you will meet. I struggle with it daily, and it runs in my family. My sister and I had a really nice talk a few weeks ago, and one of the things we talked about is how we can't seem to get the house put together and keep it that way. It gets frustrating at times. I also owe A LOT of credit to my girlfriend Kim on when she was here. She helped me get started and into the grove of getting the house the way it should be. THANK YOU KIM. What also helped me out was hiring a cleaning lady to do a deep clean on the house before Ralph got back. Sometimes you just have to do it. And boy it helps me get back on track.

Now that I felt things were heading in the right directions, it was time to tackle the large projects. Reorganizing the kitchen and dinning room. And then switching the boys rooms. The kitchen was getting clustered with stuff that didn't need to be in there, and the cabinets were over filled. I got tired of seeing everything overflowing with cook and bake ware. Our problem was too many of some items and not enough of others. We have enough plates to have 20+ people over for dinner and more coffee mugs than a coffee shop, LOL. And I asked him when is the next time we will have another Hugh dinner party. It's time to weed things down.

It felt really great for us to do this together. It was something I have been trying to GET TO since we got here. But just like other things that are low on your list, it got put off. We worked on one cabinet at a time until we made our way around the room. We took all the bake ware off the butcher block and told him we need to put away the items we don't use weekly.

Now the kitchen feels and looks better. It flows and functions the way it should. We have proper counter space to work on, the mixer is now out so we can use it more, and no junk on the counters. We recycled Tupperware, and donated other items to nearly new. My Buffet was the same way. We cleaned it all out and replaced what should be in there. Now I feel its being utilized for what it should be.

When it was all done, I breathed a sign of relieve. It's all coming together the way we always wanted it. Both Ralph and I are very happy with it.

OOO I forgot to mention my wonderful husband bought me a new laptop, and set up the dinning room with wireless internet and the printer now can print with wireless also. No more wires for little grabby hands to tug on. Thank You babe.

NEXT......
The boys rooms. I will post a separate blog on it and post photos when its all done. I am sooooooo excited, Marcello's new Special bed is here. Not going to say what it is, if you don't already know, then you will just have to wait and see the photos.

Our New Car......

I'm so excited about it that I am unsure if I can sit still to write. I feel like a child on Christmas morning. We finally got our 2009 XC90 Volvo. Ralph decided to get the V8, hope it was a good choice with gas, and of course all wheel drive. We needed to get a reliable car that was safe, not a TOTAL gas hog, and we now needed 7 seats. With 3 kids, and all being boys, we needed extra space for others to ride and put all the upcoming sporting events gear. I soooo love this car, I haven't driven it yet, but I will today. We also decided to go ahead and get the rear seats entertainment for the boys. I think Seb is excited about that.

Ralph drove the car home from Catania last night and he loves it also. I think we will be very happy about our choice. We did so much research on which car we will purchase before we left the island. And with the surprise 3rd child on the way he had to redirect our choices. After two and half years of dealing with broken down, unreliable cars, I finally feel at peace. All I ever wanted on this island was a reliable car with AC to drive the kids around and do trips around the island. And now I have it. I think Ralph feels better now knowing his family is better taken care of. Poor Marcello is a hot potato and would be beat red riding in the back and sometimes covered in sweat. Poor baby, and I get very cranky when I am hot.

Well I gotta go....
I will be posting blogs soon on the rest of my girlfriends visit, one on Marcello to get you up to date with all he has been up too, and one on all of us. And we think we have orders......

Schmitz family update

Sorry I have not finished our mini trip across the island. When I started this blog page I had a few minutes in the morning and a few in the evening to write my post. Now that Ralph is home from Germany, school has started back and we are in the mist of purging our house and De-cluttering our lives. I have not had the time to write. It feels good to be back into a routine and be busy again.

Sebastian has started the second grade and so far is doing so good. I am so proud of him and how far he has come. I didn't sign him up for soccer this year, and I think that is helping us out some. I did sign him up for Cub Scouts and we are all excited about it.

This week has been crazy so far, and I don't think it will calm until the weekend. I have so many things to do and not enough time in the day to do it all. On top of that my AC has completely gone out of my car, so It limits how much I drive right now. Monday we got an email that our new car has arrived and we need to finish up paperwork so we can bring it home. Yeah, just in time. So I let Ralph know, and we go together to see what all needs to be done. We do all we can for that day and are told to make an Appt with MVRO and come back. Of course we cant get in until Wed., and I am told I can not do it, My husband has to do it all. The way things are ran here are so frustrating. You have to go through 5 steps or more to get a car registered, and the spouse can not do most of it. It's not like in the states where you sit and are able to take care of it all in one sitting and drive off with your car. Its hard on us because Ralph works and can not always get away to do all of this. But its out of my control, I am told I can not do it.

Tuesday comes, and today is a busy day. Since I couldn't run all my Arron's Monday, I am going to try and squeeze them in today. Tuesday was also the kickoff for the bible study group I started to go to last year. Then I had to grab a quick bite for Marcello and I to eat. Had to then rush over to drop Marcello off to CDC so I could go for my Dr appt to check on baby Finn. The Dr. Appt goes good, and Baby Finn and I are healthy. I feel so rushed and I still have things on my to do list and Seb gets out of school soon. uggg, does it ever end. I end up skipping my to do list and getting Seb, decided to to one thing on the list and go home. Its hot, Marcello is cranky and I am tired. Remember I do not have AC in the car and its very HOT out. NO AC makes Ali very Crabby.

Wednesday comes, I wake up tired but I have the whole day to get things done today. SO I think.....
I start off the day having my coffee, and decided to go ahead and order the final piece I want for my new stroller. I just got it in and I am excited about it. I am not having luck and website are frustrating me, ugg. I finally find what I want and order it. Also this morning has been one of those toddler capture days. I have not hardly talked about Marcello, I will catch you up on him on another blog. We are changing his morning routine also, and today I decided to cook his breakfast. While I was getting it ready he got out a pan and ran into the living room in front of the TV. He then shows up and get a spachaler and runs back to the living room. I am like, what is he up to today. I have to investigate. I find him with both items and it looks like he is cooking, its so cute. He acts like he is stirring something in the pan then licks the spachaler. And what would any mother do, I go and find my camera.
















After Marcello was done cooking his pretend breakfast , I feed him his real one. I decided now is a good time to start one of my projects to get it done. I don't get very far before Marcello start to get tired. Another thing we are trying to change is his nap schedule. He like to nap early, and I am trying to prolong it and have him nap after lunch. But so far we are not successful. He likes his routine he is in right now. I take him to bed and he starts to sing himself to sleep, it another thing he does from time to time and its so cute.

I decided to sit for a min to refocus on what needs to be done, and the phone rings. It's Ralph, he is at MVRO and he forgot to bring the euro I got for him for the appt. Uggg, Marcello just fell asleep and I have not showered yet. I throw clothes on and get Marcello and meet him there. But they have good news, they are able to take care of everything that day, no making another appt. I decided to stay for the rest of the appt to find out what all needs to be done so we can get our car. Can you tell I'm itching to get it home. Uggg.

I finally make it back home and put poor Marcello back to bed and I crash. I must have been really tired because I sleep until 2:45 and realized I need to go to the bus stop to get Seb. What a day. This is how most of our days go. Crazy huh. And the day is not over yet. I still need to help Seb with homework and prep dinner. I am also getting us prepared so when Ralph gets home we can get our new car.

Time ticks on, its getting closer to 5pm and I told the dealer we would be there at 5:15. I never call Ralph at work, But his cell will not work while he is there. So I break down and call to see whats going on. He is stuck in a meeting and still has to prep for a dive he has to do tomorrow. So I have to call the dealer back and let him know we will not make it today. I am sooo bummed. Because I know tomorrow he will be soooo busy and might not make it either. And I cant go get it since its a half day at school and will have to bring both kids. Plus he left all the tags and paperwork at work. So we will just wait and pray we will get it by Friday.

Santo Stefano Di Camastra

We finally get on the road to one of favorite little towns on the North Coast. Seb and I came here on an ITT trip when we first got on the island. It rained that day we went, but it was a beautiful town. Great view of the Tyrrhenian Sea with ceramics and cafes. I always said I would come back. This town is one of the leading Sicilian centres for the production of ceramics. These are different than what you can get anywhere else on the island. More colorful and some more detailed. The drive is only about 30 Min's East of Cefalu. Our plan was to drive here before the shops close, grab lunch and then head back to take the kids to the beach in Cefalu.


Seb in front of a Hugh vase. This was taken in June 2006. Look how little he is. You can also see the different types of ceramics in the back ground.

























Seb with the view of the Tyrrhenian Sea in the background.










A photo of Marcello at the same place 2 years later.





















Marcello had fun running around in this park area. He kept running back to the rides. They were not plugged up and no place for us to plug them in either. He would not get off of them, lol.











It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed strolling down the street popping in and out of the stores lined up and down both sides. We had fun looking at all the different pieces in the stores. And had a hard time deciding on which ones to get. Kim really wanted to get a plate she could hang on her wall. She found one she liked last time she was here in Sicily, but never got it. She came across a few others while shopping here, but they were all a couple hundred euro, yikes.

We came across a few very unique shops, I wanted to buy my sister a gift in one of them, but couldn't decide on which one I wanted. I also saw a very cool tea pot with a face painted on it. You see I collect teapots from all over the world. But I walked out instead of getting it. We then started to look for a bar that was open to get a bite to eat. Either places were closed or didn't have anything left in the window to get. We were bummed. The waiter said its that time of year and most places are closed.

So we decided to get on the road and pack sandwiches and head to the beach. I am so happy I brought peanut butter and bread with us on the trip, lol.

A rough night

We get back at the Hotel room and try to get settled for bed. For whatever reason I can not get comfortable and the pillow is rock hard. Marcello will not lay down in his pack and play also, it seems we are all restless. I so need my rest being pregnant and since I have to do all the driving. I finally break down and put Marcello in between Seb and I. He still will not settle down, he keeps jumping on his brothers head and rolling all over the bed. I can't help but giggle, but we need sleep. Finally I think I get him settled. But I still cant sleep. I finally doze off and awake to Marcello blood grueling scream. It scared me for several reasons. One he hardy ever crys and two this is the kind that your child is in pain. I feel his tummy and its hard. He has to have gas or he ate something when I wasn't looking. I feel so helpless, I try to comfort him but nothing works, so I fill his cup with straight apple juice hoping to flush it out. He will not take it, another sign that is not like him. I take him to the bathroom to help calm him away from everyone and give him some Tylenol. He starts to pass gas, that's when I know its his tummy. It just breaks my heart I cant do anything to make him feel better. And I feel bad my girlfriend has to listen to him cry, nobody is getting sleep. What a great way to start our trip.

Finally he settles down and drinks his juice, I just hold him rocking him while sitting on the bathroom floor. After he calms down , I carry him to bed with me and cuddle him.

Morning comes quickly. We sleep in some, but we need to get downstairs for the free breakfast and get on the road to one of my favorite towns on the North Coast to go shopping. We are not impressed with the breakfast. Either we came down to late, or they just dont offer much at this place. So our morning is not going well so far. We decide to grab some snacks and get on the road to get gas and go shopping before the stores close.

Cefalu Part 2

So we go back to our room to decide what we are going to do for the rest of the day. It starts to sprinkle some, so we just hang out a little bit and let the kids run around on the deck outside our room and we relax. We go over the book I have on Sicily and read about Cefalu again to see what is all here to do and see. It doesn't say much, but I have seen photos and talked to other people who have been here. Everyone says they enjoyed going here. We are trying to figure out how to get up high to view the city from above.

We decide to risk it and drive a little to see where things are while theres no traffic, especially the gas station. We drive a little and find what we need, and take the car back to the hotel. We then decide to walk and watch the sunset and find a place to eat dinner. It ended up being a very scenic walk, with the rocky shoreline and the light house.



A photo of the lighthouse and












one of the rocky shore line leading up to the town of Cefalu















We finally reach the town itself and follow the signs to the Piazza Duomo. That is where the medieval Cathedral of Cefalu is located. We walk around the square and look into the little shops and decide to get some Italian lemon ice. We just sit on one of the benches and enjoy our lemon ice. Its so peaceful and we just people watch.



We then decide to take a walk around the town some and look at shops and find our way down to the beach. We also want to try and find a restaurant that will open soon so we can have dinner. Its a nice little town, with some interesting shops. We stop into a few to look around. I found one with antiques and I had to go inside. They had so many interesting pieces, I want to come back one day and maybe get something else. I found one I liked and my Friend found a gift for her husband. Wish I took a photo of the shop so you could see all the different things they had.

We continue our walk down to the shoreline, where one of the beaches are. We discover its not much of a beach on this side. But we enjoy our walk down and say we will bring the kids back to play in the water the next day.



The photo of the beach











Photo of Seb on the wall near the beach










Its getting late and we start to walk back to the Hotel to find a restaurant, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We are having a hard time finding anything open other than bar food. I want a real meal and maybe a glass of wine. We decided to stop at this one that was on the water above the rocks with a great view. We order white wine and pasta. Its one of the best wines I have had. So Kim asks the name of the house wine and where we can get it.



After dinner we walk across the street to a little shop that sells local olive oil, wine and other items. I find a few items, and Kim is able to get gifts for family back home. We start to walk back to the hotel, its not as bad as a walk as we thought. Like I said the view is nice on the way back. We also notice the lighthouse is working. We laugh and say neither of us have ever seen one working.

Cefalu..

We finally arrive in Cefalu. We are hungry, tired and just want to relax. I was hoping to break up the drive better with the stop in Patti, but we had to keep on moving. When we arrive in the town of Cefalu, we are a little confused about where our hotel is. The GPS is a little off. So I walk up to the bar that we pulled into to ask, when I looked up and saw the sign for our hotel. So I walk in to go ahead and check us in. After I walked back to the car I asked Kim about which hotel we chose, because I though we booked one with a pool. She said she thought we did too, but we decided on this one because it was closer to the beach walking wise, to limit driving around. So I guess we goofed on that. No big deal we had a nice view from our room, it was clean and roomy for all 4 of us. After we unload what we need from the car we walk down to the bar that is connected to our hotel. Hoping to find something decent to eat. It is hours before restaurants open for dinner, and we are hungry. I also ask where to get gas since we never found one before we got to the hotel. The guy explained to me that they are closed on Sunday and are only a few km down the road. So we are wondering what we are going to do tonight. Our hotel ended up not in the town itself of Cefalu, but on the other side near the Marina and the lighthouse. Only a 10 min walk or less to the town, and it had a wide sidewalk we could walk on with the stroller with the view of the water.





The view from our Hotel room.

Our road trip of the North coast of Sicily.

We load up the car with all we feel we need, Beach supplies, cooler of drinks, and snacks since its hard to get a bite to eat while driving. And we are off on our first adventure.

We decided to first drive to Patti and go Ceramic shopping. This is the place you go and get Caleca pottery that is dishwasher safe, and you can buy a whole matching place setting, and other ceramic items made by them. I wanted to get a few more pieces and see the new designs. Ralph liked the ones I bought last time and I wanted to get a complete set. But when we got there they were closed, I didn't know they closed early on a Sunday. We missed it by 30 mins. So we decide to drive into the little town to go and get a bite to eat. Usually you get a small bite to eat at a bar. The Italian bars are not like what you think of in the states. They serve sandwiches, ice cream, and of course this is where you can get your coffee. But we couldn't find one open, the town was dead, no one on the streets, everything closed. So we just grab snacks and a drink from the cooler and get back on the road. We are only about an hour or so from the next town where we will stay 2 nights in. We decided to do the scenic route instead of the autostrada. It was beautiful driving the coast line and since it was a Sunday during reposal, there was no traffic. So we took our time enjoying the view.

That is when we discovered our first mistake. I was getting low on gas, not too bad, but I was at the mark where I do not like to go below. We have not seen any gas stations for a while. When we finally found one, of course it was one of the smaller ones and it was closed. Just a word to the wise, if you decide to do this trip. Stop in Messinia and fill up, no matter what your gas level is. I started to tell Kim I had enough to make it to Cefalu where we were staying and there should be one there.

Kim arrives in Italy.

Kim Arrives in Italy, Yeah.....

Just in time, because I am a mess. Ever since I found out I was pregnant again, I have been extremely sick. And was having sharp pain to where the Dr. put me on bed rest. I so didn't want to go through another complicated pregnancy on this island, my stress level was high. At least this time Ralph was home off and on more and was helping A LOT around the house. I felt bad not being able to take care of somethings around the house and projects were piling up.

Just a few days before she arrives I start to feel better, this is the first time I have energy and no sharp pains. Seb and I start to prep the house for her to stay with us. I got to say, Seb has grown up a lot and has been a big help off and on to me. He helps clean up his brothers mess, puts laundry away, and a few other things around the house. I also was busy trying to plan and research where we should go. We thought about driving up to Venice and staying over night in Tuscany. Since I can no longer go In November like I have originally planned. That is when Baby Finn is due. And we talked about touring the islands around Sicily. So I keep looking around. The problem is its August still and that's the time Europe goes on Vac. So its hard to find good deals, and places to stay. Also it all depended on my car and how I felt, like you read earlier I was having car issues again and ended up breaking down.

So the first few days we hung out at the house and planned where to go. We both needed R & R anyways. It was great having someone around to talk to and help with a few things. I just received Marcellos and Baby Finns new bedding and room decor a few days before she got here. So she helped me start to organized the boys room and put a few things together. I will post another blog on the boys room with photos when it is all done.

We finally sat down and did some researching and seeing what was available for us to do. We decided to drive up to the north coast and stop at different towns and shop and enjoy the views. We also only had a few days since school was about to start. She wanted to see some of the beaches and just relax. So we went to go shopping for supplies we needed for the road trip and packed a cooler.

Girlfriends....

Well, as some of you know, I have hit some rough spots living over here. So what do I do, I call my girlfriend back In San Diego. You know you have a great friend when you tell her all that is going on and how sick you are feeling and your Husband is gone again. And she packs a bag and buys a plane ticket to fly out to see you. It's great knowing I do have a true friend out there I can count on. She has been here once before while both our husbands were deployed, right after Marcello was born.

Last time she was here I did my first real driving here in Italy, it helps to have a friend to go places with to help get familiarized with your surroundings. And I just bought a GPS. On her first visit we decided to go to the mainland. We took the ferry to Naples and then drove to Rome, Pompeii, and some of the Amalfi Coast. I will not do that again. Next time I will drive straight there and do the ferry from Messinia. And we learned the hard way It was the worst time of the year to do traveling, but we survived. We had fun getting lost together, laughing, and trying to find parking. I remember it being soo HOT and we walked everywhere dragging poor Sebastian with us and pushing Marcello in the stroller. While she was here, we went over the photos and laughing about the last time she was here visiting. Here are a few photos from that visit.





Marcello and I at the Fontana di Trevi





My boys and I at St Peter's





Seb at the fountain at Piazza Navona











This is a photo of the B & B we stayed at in Rome. I am thinking of booking it again when Ralph's parents visit in January. It was in a great location, walking distance from everything. And they had one of the best spreads of breakfast we have had. Fresh local juice, pastries, and the owner went to the store and bought special cereal for Seb.





This is one of my favorite photos. I have this one framed on my wall. My boys and I are at Pompeii.





This is a photo of Marcello and I at the town before Amalfi, on the famous Amalfi coast. I loved this place so much I did more research on it and went back during Spring Break.




We also did a few day trips while Seb was at camp, or at a friends house. I wanted to show her around the island some. So we went to Caltagirone so I could show her the famous stairs and go ceramic shopping. Took her shopping in Taormina and to show her the great views. Can't visit Sicily without seeing the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento. And since our ITT trip to the Islands north of Sicily was cancelled due to weather, we went to the Gambino Winery for some wine.



Another one of my favorite photos I have framed on my wall. I am in front of the stairs that was once a road. Along your walk up are several shops with colorful ceramic's.