Life is Good in Sicily !!!!!

Slowly updating this page.

2009-06-11T01:45:00.000-07:00

Soon you will see new post on whats been going on with The Schmitz family in Sicily. Keep checking back. New blogs coming soon on our latest adventures !!!

No Time to post my BLOGS !! !!

2009-05-22T01:53:00.000-07:00

I am sorry about not keeping up on my blog page, just been really busy. I still need to post Marcello B-day photos, Easter, update on Seb and Finnegan. I am also going away this weekend and will post photos from that. I will post on my facebook once I update this with new blogs. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful weekend !!!!!

Update on projects !!!!

2009-04-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Well things were going great until I hurt my foot. I was getting into a great routine for me and the boys, getting old projects done, and started new ones. I finally had energy to take care of things I have put off for 3 years. I also finally started back at the gym. Slowly I will work out an gym routine that works for me. I am so out of shape. My cardo is next to nothing and I need to rebuild muscle.

My projects are going ok, just very slow. The up stairs closet is almost complete. I bought new storage containers that I LOVE and hope this method of storing some of our clothes will work out. Only time will tell. I will post before and after photos when it is finally complete. I also redid our book shelf that had all Ralph's cook books on. It was looking cluttered and I didn't like how we had the books arranged. So I tried a new method I have seen in magazines.

Here is a photo of the book shelf in the dinning room. I am very pleased with the out come. On the top shelf are signed bottles of wine we have collected along with a photo of Ralph and I. The other shelfs are Ralphs books grouped all together and I also placed a few items we have collected from around the world. The large framed picture on the wall is of all the ruins here in Sicily and I can say I have been to ALL of them. on the floor in those boxes is some of our wine. I am hoping to stack the nice wooden boxes together and make a nice table out of it. Once we get a good wine rack I can finally remove the eye sore of the boxes all over my dinning room floor.

I also starting working hard on my front and back yard. So far I have achieved a lush green front yard. It is almost weedless. The clovers are the hardest to get ride of. I also have been buying plants and new pot to plant them in. This year I want a nice looking front yard. The back yard needs more help. I was digging up the weeds when I hurt my foot. So it was put on hold. I am debating on putting more seed outback or not. Our back is not in great shape, but we do have some grass out there for the boys to play on. I also bought some bamboo and private shield to help block the sun off our back porch. Ralph put some of it up over the weekend. And once we see where the sun shines the most, we will place our roll down shades to block that. It gets extremely HOT here in the summer and I want a cool place to sit while the boys play outside. We also purchased a fire pit, I am excited about sitting out back at night now and burning ALL the stuff we need to shred. ( I killed our shredder). It's all coming together nicely.

I think once I clean our outdoor furniture and finish putting it all out back it will be really nice. Ralph and I are looking forward to enjoying our back yard together this season.

A week with a Broken Foot, and 3 little monkeys !!!!

2009-04-06T00:59:00.000-07:00

Well I was going to write about my week after I broke my foot. But I just don't have time to post anything right now. I do have to say I had some awesome people step up and offer help when I needed it. Another thank you to Petra, Nicole Boos, Alica, Willow, K'ray, Alison G., Erin Eves and my neighbors. Each one of these people helped me out either by driving me around, cooking my family a dinner, or just came over and helped with my boys. I got to say it was greatly appreciated. For those who know me well, know its hard for me to admit or ask for help. But there are times, you just need to ask for assistance and not try and suck it up and deal with it all alone.

This week was a very long week for me and I got to say I was in A LOT of pain. For the first time I actually took my pain pills daily. I got hardly any sleep and had to take care of 3 boys. All my home projects were put on holt and the house chores pushed to the side. Marcello was the hardest to take care of. He is a very active 2 year OLD. I was so thankful when my husband came home to help out around the house and with the boys.

Update on my foot:

When I went to the Dr they told me it was only fractured, and that I didn't need a cast. YAY !!. I was so relieved. Thank You guy for all you prayers. I just don't know what I would have done if I needed a cast. They said I don't need the boot any more, just wear it for comfort. Since my foot still hurt, I wanted to wear it a few more days. They also gave me another shoe to wear, but it ended up too small. So after a few days I was able to wear my tennis shoes with an ankle support brace on. I am walking ok, but need to go back for another X-ray to see how it is healing. I am hoping it will be healed enough for me to wear heals for my Birthday coming up and also the weekend away with the ladies.

Please keep praying my foot heals correctly.

And then I go and Break my FOOT !!!!!

2009-03-27T23:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, and this week has been BUSY. I am starting to finally get into a good routine, keeping up with the house, and finishing up projects that I have ignored for 3 years.

Today's plan was to go back to the store and get more storage container and finish the upstairs closet. Well that didn't happen. The first thing that happened was I forgot today was a Water Outage Day. So when I finally got the kids settled and was going to shower, I realized we had no water. So I had to think of how I would entertain the kids and find myself another project to work on.

I came up with a great idea, why not enjoy this beautiful, warm weather and clean up the back yard. I opened the back door and Marcello and I went out to dig up weeds. We were having a great time and I had a HUGH pile of weeds I dug up. When it happened !!!!

I found Marcello inside the house near Finn with one of my dirty gardening shovels. So I went to bring him back outside. I was carrying him out the back door when I stepped wrong and I heard a crack and a pop. I carefully put him down to take off my shoe. Yeah I did something to my foot. It hurt SO BAD !!! I went into the house to try and think of what I was going to do when the phone rang. It was Petra, we had a play date planned for the boys today. I told her what happened and that I might need to go to the Hospital. I was in denial that I broke my foot. I kept walking around the house taking care of what needed to be done while waiting for her to come over.

Well I decided I did need to go ahead and go to the hospital, but I wanted to shower first. Hence the Strong willed women I am. Didnt care I had a broken foot. I still went up stairs and took a shower (The water finally came back on). I packed a bag calmly and had my neighbor watch Marcello for me. I had to take Finn with me since I only had enough formula for 2 bottles, and I am still nursing.

So off to the ER we go. Petra had to drive my Volvo with her son in Marcello's car seat. She was a trooper. I feel God had her call at the right time to be there for me. We are there several hours waiting, getting X Rays and waiting again. Finally they tell me I broke my foot and gave me an air cast boot to wear. Then they say to call Tuesday to see the Dr and they will make the decision if I need a cast or not.

I got to say Perta Rocks, she remained calm, helped me with my boys, even got Seb from school for me. Thank You Petra !!!!!

Family Update....

2009-03-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone !!!!!!

Just thought I would post a short family update about us and how I am doing with my projects.

Seb was doing great on his new routine, but now I think I might need to change a few things. He seems to be able to only go 7 days. Then he is back to his old tricks. UGGG. If any of you reading this have a child with ADHD, please pass useful info my way. I am ALWAYS looking for something new to try. I also signed him up for baseball. If he doesn't keep up his part of the bargain, then I will not let him play.

Marcello has been a little stinker !!!! Lets see what all he has destroyed lately. HMM He has put 2 Yes 2 wireless mouses in my drink cups. So I guess I need to buy my THIRD !! He has been getting into EVERYTHING around the house. He also has broken a few random things. He loves his new freedom to the dinning room and pushes a chair to get things up on shelves now. His vocabulary is growing a little. I love hearing him say "HI MOM" it's usually after he did something he wasn't suppose to do. And he now says "Thank YOu" after you give him something. It's so cute. We are working on potty training off and on. I need to get aggressive with it. But he does Put his diapers in the trash can after I change him. He also puts Finns into the trash for me.Since the weather has been nice, I have been opening the back door and let him run around out back and play with his outdoor toys. He is just one BUSY boy.......

Baby Finn is growing like a weed. He is almost 15 pounds now and 4 months old. I took him to the Dr last week and he said he has eczema. SO I have to keep him lathered in cream. I also been working on stopping nursing. So far its going well. He takes a bottle from me now even with formula in it. WOO HOO. I even left him with a sitter for the first time so I could go out to dinner without the boys. He is such a sweet baby, I am so blessed.

Well I guess I can say I am feeling AWESOME. I love this new energy I have and freedom here and there. I am taking Marcello to CDC twice a week and been going to the gym. I am trying to get into a better routine and go more often and longer. The house is coming together nicely , but slow. I want to do it correctly this time. So far the downstairs is almost complete. I am keeping the clutter under control. I bought new baskets, ect to help with a few items. I still need to purge a few things. So I just started to adventure upstairs. I started on the hall closet AKA " THE SCARY ONE" I will blog on it when I am done and explain why I call it that. LOL. I also LOVE my new shopping list I print out and post on my refrigerator. I t is so helpful when I need to go to the store. I LOVE IT.

Well I need to get off the computer and straighten up the house. Need to get my day started with the 2 little ones. My goal today is to finish the closet, I need to get a few more containers from the store. I am praying they still have the ones I LOVE.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

LIFE IS GOOD !!!!!!!

And the ANTS come Marching IN !!!!

2009-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Each blog will be about a project I will be tackling. I will be applying different methods I have read in various books and on line. One is doing one room at a time. So I decided to start with the simplest room first and make my way around the house. So far I have master the Kitchen, Living room, laundry/bathroom and hall closet and the Hall itself. And I am keeping it UNDER CONTROL. The living room clutter is under control, but I am not happy with the way things are arrange. (that will be another project). The dinning room is on its way. I am almost there, but I am keeping the table cleared of clutter. It feels so good to walk around my downstairs now and not see crap everywhere.

YESTERDAYS PROJECT:

Well, I guess Marcello and the ANTs chose which project I would tackle yesterday during Nap time. I already have done the kitchen with getting things re organized because I am now pumping and bottle feeding. So once again I needed to rearrange where I kept a few items. I also completely cleared off the island, it was becoming another clutter collector. My fruit bowl was becoming Ralph's catch all bowl. (We removed his off the hall table because Marcello was getting into it now.)

MARCELLO, MARCELLO, MARCELLO !!!!!!!!

Marcello started to climb over the love-seat to the dinning room and was terrorizing my kitchen. So I was forced to put a gate at the other kitchen door way and decided to finally open up the dinning to the living room.

Here are photos of why I did it.

This one is when he got a hold of my bread crumbs and was playing in it like it was sand.

This one he got a hold of the Oats to make oatmeal. He was eating it. I guess he was hungry. And this is where I found the last mess that forced me to take action on my pantry.

I spent most of my day vacuuming 3-5 times and putting items he drug out from the kitchen instead of doing other items around the house. So the rest of the house was getting out of control.

Yesterday I left the gate down to the Kitchen and Marcello found his NESQUICK Strawberry powder. And of course he poured it out on the floor. I scooped him up and took him to the bath. By the time I came back to clean up the mess I found Ants ALL over it. So here are before and after photos of my pantry.

Before and After photos.

I know you cant tell from the photos the change, but its hugh. I pulled everything out and vacuumed and put groups items back. I found expired items, and others I have several of. Now I can see what I have and will keep from buying others that I have plenty of.

My new list will also keep from this happening again.

Getting Organized !!!!!!

2009-03-22T01:00:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't take the CLUTTER any more. I want more time to spend with my boys instead of chasing my tail doing the same chores over and over and not seeing results.

It took me DAYS to get my organization , Organized. LOL. And this is what I have done so far...

The first thing I did was type up a daily Schedule for my oldest Seb. It's an hour by hour routine for him. From the time he wakes up to when he goes to bed. Children with ADHD need Repetition !!! Now he knows what he HAS to do everyday. It even shows when he can play with friends and family time. So NO more nagging questions about those 2 items. I printed it out and it is taped on his bathroom door. He marks each one off after he does it.

The second thing I did was type up a chore chart for him with the amount he gets for each one. At the end of the week he gets his allowance. This helps me in many ways of staying organized. He now is in charge of duties around the house, and now I have more time to focus on other areas of the house and the other 2 boys.

The third item I did was use my iCal on my Apple. I type in each appt, Gym Classes, and anything else I need to keep up with. I printed it out, and it is on a clipboard I keep in my dinning room along with Seb's chore chart.

The forth and my Favorite thing I did was Type up a Commissary list with all the items we buy on a regular basis in order by the layout of the store. I used Excel to do this. The list is in a single line with space beside each item if I need to write details beside it. I tried this out the other day, and it was WONDERFUL. Now when we run out of an item I just put a check next to it on the list. The list is kept on the refrigerator. No more trying to find my note pad and writing items down as we need them, because items always get left off and I forget them. I LOVE IT !!!!

The other items I will be working on is getting myself and Marcello into a daily routine. This one is my MAJOR Challenge. I just started placing him in the CDC or with a sitter. And it has been the best thing EVER. Now I can focus on what I need to do and have ME time. I am also working on doing an weekly menu for us. That will also help with the shopping list.

I am working on a few blogs right now about getting my home organized. I will be posting before and after photos. I will also be posting trips we take and other events in our life.

LIFE IS GOOD IN THE SCHMITZ'S HOME !!!!

Please leave comments on what you do to stay Organized !! How do YOU keep the clutter under control. I am always looking for more ideas.

A New Beginning !!!

2009-03-21T22:19:00.001-07:00

Welcome to my new blog on my journey to self healing from the inside out. I am on a mission to a clutter free, new routines and ORDER in my home.

Last year I was part of a GREAT bible study. The study and book was called Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. This study spoke to me VERY LOUDLY. Another great book to read along with it is Boundaries When to Say YES When to Say NO To Take Control of Your Life by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend. I also picked up a few good magazines that talked about living a clutter free life, How to organize your life, ect, ect. You get the idea. I also found some great websites that have been helpful. http://orgjunkie.com/about

This one is a girlfriends blog http://ayearofbalance.blogspot.com/

I wrote a few blog last year about this also. But this year, I finally have the energy and drive to go through with it and Sticking to it.

My mission started last year and never got finished. I was on a roll of cutting the fat out of our home. I even got Ralph helping me on a few projects. We re-orangized the kitchen and dinning room. Then I was on a mission of a new living room. It is finally all coming together. It's a very slow process, since I was prego when I started and limited on what I could do. Then getting used to a new born in the house made the whole project come to a halt.

But now I have woken from my slumber, and I am energetic and determined to get my life, my boys, and my house in ORDER.

I am on my way to finding the perfect Balance for me.

A new year with MANY new changes !!! 2009 is going to shine !!

2009-03-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

I know I have not updated my blog in months. Since the year began, I have been swamped with getting the boys and I into a new routine.

I am now a mother of 3 boys !!! so I have been busy Nursing a new born, chasing a toddler, and helping my ADHD 7 year old.

And now I need ORDER and a daily routine for all of us to make our home function smoother.

The FIRST THING I did was awaken from a 3 year slumber. I finally had an A Ha moment in my life, and moving into a positive direction. Now My mind is clearer, and I can now focus on what is important to myself and my family. I started to say NO to some things, and stop trying to HELP everyone. I am the one that needs HELP !!!!

Because I was in a Deep Slumber for 3 years, I let a lot of things I normally care about go. I stopped taking care of my looks, my health, my house and other hobbies I enjoy. I even stopped doing things I enjoyed with the boys because of how I felt. I also made the mistake of allowing other peoples option about me and others affect my quality of life here in Sicily.

So you ask what did I do to start turning things around ????

1. One of the first things I did was stop living in FEAR.

2. I started an Ab Fab party get together for women only to help me get to know people again.

3. Someone I know invited me to join them to a night out. ( Latin Night with the girls)

4. Someone I know ACTUALLY listened to me and understood Exactly how I was feeling.

5. I realized I was taking on too much and needed to cut things out. ( I resigned from the FRG)

6. I was invited to a party and I allowed myself to get to know people.

7. Because I went, I started to get invited to do more things with a GREAT group of people.

8. I found people I am comfortable with, and can be myself and laugh and enjoy life again.

9. I finally asked my neighbors for help with my boys. THANK YOU !!!!

10. After a rough week. I took a risk and drove to the west coast with all 3 boys by myself and had a blast.

And thats where my new name of the blog comes from

LIFE IS GOOD IN SICILY !!! I started to live life again. And I am now enjoying it to the fullest.

I am finally living the life I always envisioned I would be living here, and therefore.

LIFE IS VERY GOOD HERE IN SICILY !!!!

I thank God daily for all he has provided for me, and now I can see, and my ears are open to listen. I am truly blessed in so many ways.

Now I am on the right path to get my life back in ORDER !!!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE BEEN HELPING ME !!!

Making changes to my Blog !!!

2009-03-21T08:32:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of redoing my blog page with a new Name, look, and updated info. Be on the look out for new blogs coming soon. Right now I am working on getting ORDER in my house. The boys, me, and daily clutter under control. I am taking one room at a time and totally redoing them and cutting the fat out of it. So far I have done 2 rooms and it feels so good to have them under control. My next assignment will be time management for me and the house with a daily routine.

Well I am off to tackle another spot in the house.

Marcello's 2nd Birthday, FIRE TRUCKS !!!!

2009-03-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

Is this an Awesome cake or WHAT !!!!!

I got to say Marcello had a GREAT 2ND Birthday !!!! I worked really hard to make this years party special for our little guy. And I feel what really made the party was those who attended. Thanks everyone for coming and helping celebrate Marcello's Birthday with us and ALL the fabulous gifts !!!!

Here are the photos from the party Enjoy !!!! Sorry it took a few month to post this !!!!

A photo of Marcello in my Friends blow up ball Fire truck. She brought this to the party.

Marcello trying to break the Pinata !!! I think Ralph hung it too high !!!

He is so excited about his cake !!!!

HMMMM CAKE !!!!!!!!!

After everyone went home from the party, Marcello opened all his gifts. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT PRESENTS !!!!

Marcello LOVES The Toy Story. So his Grandpa and Mary Ann got him a Woody doll. He loves it.

Our friend got him a REAL digital Camera !!!!

Another friend got him a remote control truck. After he opened this, he didn't want to open any more gifts !!!

Another photo of the cake !!!

A weekend in Sciacca with my boys !!

2009-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the photo's from our weekend.

After a FULL day at Carnvale, we drove to the house to relax. Here are photo of the boys at the beach near the house.

Marcello playing with the rocks, pushing them into the sand.

Sebastian was throwing rocks, his all time favorite.

My boys are ALL BOY !!!!

Marcello found a rock he wants to keep !!!!

He saw his brother throwing them, so he got closer to the water to throw his in !!!

Monkey see. Monkey DO !!!!

You can see our beach house behind us. Ours had the best view.

The boys had so much fun on the beach. They didn't want to leave.

Well every good time must come to an end. So back to our beach house.

This is my Favorite photo. I am going to have it framed on our wall.

My final sunset at the beach house !!!! Good Night.

Carnevale In Sciacca with the boys !!!!

2009-02-22T22:23:00.000-08:00

This year I decided to take the boys on a weekend get away. I was under a great deal of stress with everything that was going on around me. And I needed to get away to clear my head. I just had my 3rd boy, Ralph just agreed on orders, and I volunteered as the Treasure of the EOD MU8 FRG. It was just too much for me.

So I emailed Ralph and told him I was thinking of driving to the West Coast to Sciacca for their Carnevale and rent a house on the beach. No Computer, No TV, Just my boys & I. I was Nervous and Excited. This would be my First road trip with the boys by myself.

We arrived just before sunset and all I wanted to do is relax. This is a photo from our beach house. Lots of room for the boys to run around. The beach was just a few steps away, and behind us were beautiful fields. I loved it.

After we all got settled, we loaded up and drove to the Carnevale. The house was only a 10 min drive away. We found parking and reliezed we just missed the parade. So we just walked around and got a bite to eat.

Here are photos of the boys from that night.

The next day I promised Seb we would walk down to the beach and play. Here are a few photos of the property around the house.

Seb standing in the field.

The boys walking back to the house.

After we got back from our walk, we loaded up again to catch the parade. Here are a few photos of the floats.

The floats are HUGH and are pulled down the street by tractors.

It was such a BEAUTIFUL day. The sun was out, the sky was clear and very BLUE. And it was warm for this time of year. I could not have asked GOD for a better day to spend with my boys.

Seb saw this mask the night before and asked if he could get it.

Seb had so much fun running around and driving the bumper cars.

Doesn't this look good. You see booths like this at every Festival they have here in sicily.

Isn't he a CUTIE !!! Finnegan is such a good baby. I am truly blessed with ALL my boys.

OK I just HAD to post a silly photo of me with 2 "Women" from the parade.

We had a very FULL day that day. We all enjoyed ourselves very much. Seb ran around with silly string, I went shopping for more of my favorite ceramics that are only found there. And Finnegan loved looking at all the bright colors and the fresh air.

This blog ended up to be longer than expected so I will post a second one with the photos of when we went to the beach at the house in Sciacca.

LIFE IS GOOD IN SICILY !!!!

VALENTINE'S DAY: Picking Sicilian Blood Oranges.

2009-02-14T23:01:00.000-08:00

Today we did something I have been wanting to do since we arrived.

We went to go and Pick Blood Oranges.

Ralph, Sebastian, Marcello, Finnegan and I joined a group of people to go on a beautiful (but Chilly) day to a locals farm. Emilio and Mariska are locals that allowed us to pick their oranges and enjoy an typical Sicilian lunch with them. They are also the ones I buy my local fresh pressed olive oil from.

Marcello was a little crabby while picking Oranges. Here is a photo of Marcello and Ralph.

Seb had a great time running around picking the Oranges off the trees with Friends.

Another Photo of Marcello and Ralph.

After we filled our bag of Oranges, we followed them up the road to an open field for the kids to run wild. This is a great place to have an picnic with the kids on a warm sunny day. Lots of room to run and cool caves for them to explore.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A VERY HAPPY VALENTINES DAY !!!!!!

COMING SOON.....

2009-02-05T04:38:00.000-08:00

I Have not had time to update my Blogpage, I have extremely busy. But I hope soon I can sit and post the ones of the trips we took while Ralphs family was in town.

Keep checking back !!!!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!!

2008-12-25T02:06:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

This is the best photo I could get of Marcello on Santa's lap at our command Children's Christmas Party. Seb didn't want anything to do with Santa this year, so no photo of him. And baby Finn was fast asleep, so I didn't want to disturb him.

This year we wanted to keep Christmas small. We didn't buy much for the boys or for each other. I also didn't take very many photos on Christmas morning. I have found myself in a fog lately. I am blaming it on having 3 boys. Ralph promised to take me shopping in Rome when his parents arrive, so I am excited about that.

So here are the few photos I did take Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. ENJOY

Sebastian and I making gingerbread men for Santa.

His cookies, I let him do it all this year. Time for them to bake now.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Grrr Finnegan is wondering what Santa brought him. He looks so cute in his Christmas PJ's.

Marcello got a new bike. It's a European one without peddles. it teaches Kids balance. We wanted to get the original one from Germany that are made of wood, but they were too pricey. We also saw these on Sesame Street, LOL

Marcello opening his gifts in his new chair.

Like I said Ralph and I didnt get each other much. He got me the entire Season Collection of Absolutely Fabulous. Some nutcracker Christmas Tree oroments, and a few other small items. Seb got me a new Coffee pot. (With the help of daddy).

I'm sure you noticed no photos of Seb Christmas morning, like I said I just wasn't organized this year. But I do feel Seb had a great Christmas this year. Ralph & I also broke down and bought a Wii. We needed a family game system. I am glad we did and now Seb, Ralph and I can play games together as a family. We all miss family game night. We used to pick one night a week to play a board game. But now with all the sports and homework Seb has, we haven't done it. We also got Seb a Digital camera, ( well we really won it at Ralph's command X-mas party). He had one, but it broke, and we were debating on getting him one for X-mas anyways.

Hope everyone Had a Very Merry Christmas

When is my life NOT CRaZy !!!!!!!!!

2008-12-20T00:47:00.000-08:00

It's the week before Christmas and the Schmitz house goes CRaZy. This week has been busy with colds, stomach viruses, Singing Knights concerts, last minute shopping, and preparing for our Holiday Cocktail Party here at the house. My lay out for the week went out the window starting Monday and it snowballed as the week went on.

All week I was fighting a cold and I missed my bible study Christmas party. And Marcello has been showing signs of being sick or teething. I have been trying to get the house cleaned and ready for the Holiday Party we were hosting here. And Ralph ended up with a bad Virus and got Marcello and Seb sick. Poor Seb missed his singing Knight Concert because of it. I was heart broken because he has been going to practices for months now. I was Thankful he only got sick the one time and was well enough to go the next day to sing for the entire school. I was still under the weather, so I sent Ralph to the school to video it.

The weekend finally comes and the house is all decorated for Christmas. Ralph works hard on making treats for our guests, and I made my grandmothers punch and homemade Eggnog. Our guests show and I believe everyone had a good Holiday Cheer. I only wish I took photos from the party, but I found myself managing the kids upstairs instead of enjoying good conversation with friends.

Now it's off to prepare for the Jolly Ole guy himself to visit.

THE SCHMITZ FAMILY WISHES EVERYONE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!

Here are some random Photos of the boys. ENJOY.

Here is a photo of Marcello with the pasta strainer over his face, he loves to run around the house with random cook ware.

Here is a photo of Finn at a Month old. He is wearing the outfit that marcello wore when he was 3 months old. That shows the size difference between the two boys.

Here is a photo of Ralph holding Marcello when he was 3 months old, same outfit. This photo was taken right before Ralph left for Iraq.

PHOTOS OF BABY FINN..

2008-12-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

My friend Lindsay Powell came over last Friday and took some photos of baby Finn for me. We have been trying to get together since the day he was born. She had strep when I had him, then her kids got sick and her husband was on travel. And well you know how life goes, we both have busy schedules with the kids etc.. And its the Holidays with all its activities. Finally she sends me a message saying she can come over, and has to bring her girls. Which I have no problem with except, our power went out at 2 Am and its still not up. Ugggg.

So we brainstorm and say lets give it a shot anyways. I get good natural light through my back glass doors. And here are a few sample shots she emailed me.

This is a photo of Finn with a Hugh Blue bow I found in my house. We had some issues with it, the kids got a hold of it and it fell apart and I tried to fix it, then it kept falling over. lol. But look how cute he is with all that hair. Ralph got a little upset when he saw it. He just thought it was wrong to do this to a boy. Sorry Babe.

This is a cute photo, look at those eyes. Right now they are deep gray. We are still wondering what color they are going to be.

Here is a photo of Finnegan in Ralph's chair. It was his mothers, so it is special to him. Finnegan is wrapped in the blanket I bought in Ireland for him while I was pregnant. Isn't this cute.

Well these are the only sneak peeks of the photos she took for me. Soon I will have the rest. I can't wait to see them.

COMING SOON.....

2008-12-14T22:30:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have not been posting anything, just been swamped. I am still waiting on the photos we had done when I was prego and with the boys. I have not heard back from the photographer. I also just had some photos done of baby Finn, and I should have those soon. I just had a sneak peek at them. They are sooo cute.

I just have been busy trying to get the house ready for the Holidays and a Party we are having here at the house. We didn't have power or HEAT for 2 days, so I am behind on the house. We also attended Ralphs command Christmas party Friday night. Plus Seb has his Singing concert this week. So we have been running around crazy. This week is not much better.

Here is the photo of Ralph and I at the party Friday. Hope everyone had a Great weekend.

SUPER BUSY

2008-12-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry for not posting updates lately. We have been super busy around here.

This week I am soo busy I don't know if I can get everything done. On top of that Ralph is gone for 3 days, so I am home with the boys on my own. HELP.....

Tuesday I went to bible study and finally made a hair appt.. We have a command Christmas party Friday and this is the first one Ralph and I will attend together.

Wednesday Lindsay is coming over to take photos of Baby Finn for me, and Seb has singing knights until 4. I might try and get my eyebrows done today also.

Thursday I get my hair done, Seb has a half day at school, and Housing is coming over to look at our water damage.

On Top of all this I am trying to organize, plan a Holiday party here at the house, finish my X-Mas shopping and putting up my Decor. ( It's just sitting in boxes downstairs) Ralph finally put up the tree. And get the house ready for Ralph's parents to come in Jan. So much to do.

I just don't have time to sit and post right now. And I know all of you want to see new photos of us. I promise soon I will post some.

Hope everyone is having a better week than I am.

Day 2 & 3 Boy I need to get organized....

2008-12-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

TUESDAY

The second day of Ralph back to work. Seb is better now so we sent him to school. And I am home with Marcello and Finn. Normally I go to Bible Study today, But I can't seem to get the boys settled so I can shower and get ready. So I feel its best I stay home and take care of the house since I was on base all day yesterday.

The day ends up going by pretty fast, and I don't feel I got enough done. I never do. But at least I am energetic and feeling like my old self again. As I am running around trying to find something to make for dinner, it dawns on me that Ralph told me he has duty tonight. Well that's good news and bad news for me. Good news, I can just make chicken fingers and mac N cheese for dinner for the boys. Bad news, means I have to get up @ 6 AM and get Seb ready for school, while wrangling the other 2 boys.

The boys are cracking me up tonight. I love how they get along. And yes I know it will change, but we are enjoying it while it last. I love how they run around chasing each other giggling and wrestling. After I let the boys burn some energy, I sent them to bed. First Seb, then I tell Marcello and he crawls up the stairs and runs into his room and jumps into bed. OK I would like to know how long that will last. We are so blessed with Marcello. But we also see the TWO's are coming.

After the boys are in bed I just curl up on the couch with my latest addition. DEXTER. Sorry Ralph I started watching the next episodes without you.

GOODNIGHT EVERYONE

I HAVE A BUSY DAY TOMORROW.

WEDNESDAY

Wow my first day alone with the boys wasn't that bad. I woke up feeling energetic and got Seb up, dressed, made his breakfast, lunch and organize everything downstairs for Marcello. This is the first time I have had to do this in months. Ralph has been taking care of it for me. I am so thankful he has been home helping me. Now I am taking over everything slowly.

Today I am also having lunch with a girlfriend. So it's going to be nice to get out of the house. Also I am going to take both boys shopping by myself for the first time. I don't know how mothers do it with 2 little ones.

Well I got to go and get ready.

First Day alone with the boys.........

2008-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

Today Ralph had to go back to work. And of course Seb is sick and I have to take him to the Dr. He has had a cough, runny nose, and fever since he woke up Thursday. So I kept him home from school today and tried to get all 3 of my monkeys dressed and out the door. Boy is that a challenge. I tried to call the Hospital to get an Appt., but they said they had no openings today and to take him to the ER. UGGGG, I don't want to drop him off to school if he is contagious. But at least now I can show up when I get ready instead of rushing.

Seb is upset about not being able to go to school today. You see he had to make an Mohawk longhouse this weekend, and they are sharing with the classroom today. Man now I feel like a bad parent, I kept telling Ralph I wanted to take photos of it in stages of them building it and a final one when it was all dry. And of course I forgot. With all the nursing and keeping an eye on Marcello I didn't do it. I wanted to post it on here for you to see it. It turned out really cool. And they had fun doing it together.

Boy, today was a long day. We didn't get home until almost 3 after going to the Dr, getting med.'s, dropping off Seb's house at school, and picking up a few things at the store. I am beat. And I still have to take care of the house and cook dinner.

After I got the boys settled, I pulled out my cook book to find something to make. I haven't made a good meal for my family in months. Ralph has been doing most of the cooking. And when I did cook it was a basic meal. I was planning on making a soup out of the turkey, but now I don't have enough time. I will try tomorrow to make it. After looking around the house, all I found was Chicken, so I tried to find a good recipe to make tonight.

It feels so good to be back to my old self. I haven't been able to take care of my family for months, and it was hard on me. Now I have energy to take care of everything. Slowly I am taking over the household duties here. Over the Holiday weekend, the Nurse told me I was over doing it and to hold off another week. So I had to take it easy another few more days. But now I am feeling better again and ready to get this house back into shape.

SO LETS GET COOKING.

The recipe I found was Curry Chicken Thighs. And here it is:

8 ck thighs
2 Tbsp cooking oil ( I used garlic olive oil I got here on the island)
1 cup sliced mushroom ( which we were out of )
1 Med onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 - 4 tsp curry powder ( I only used 2 because of the kids )
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 med. apple, cored and chopped ( we used a pear, out of apples)
1 cup half-and-half, light cream, milk ( I used half-and-half )
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Rinse chicken, pat dry. In 10 inch skillet cook ck in hot oil over med. heat about 10 min. until golden brown. Remove ck and place to the side.
Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to hot oil in skillet. Cook until Veg. are tender. Add curry, salt, and cinnamon. Cook & stir for about 1 min. Add Ck broth and apple. Mix together. Then add Chicken back to the skillet. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 min. or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
Transfer Chicken to platter and set aside again. Stir half-and-half into the flour. Stir into pan juices. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 min.

SERVE OVER RICE (I USED COUSCOUS) Place Rice first, then chicken and cover with the sauce.

I cooked Roasted Garlic & olive oil Couscous instead of Rice. Next time I will make 2 boxes, because I felt one was not enough for all of us. We all enjoyed it, and I am not a curry fan at all. I took a risk and cooked it anyways knowing Ralph would like it. And Marcello eats just about everything we put in front of him. He ate it up. Seb wasn't sure about it, but Ralph and I loved it.

HOPE EVERYONE IS DOING WELL, CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S DECEMBER ALREADY.

Let me know if you try this out.

REMEMBER DAD YOU CAN PRINT THIS OUT SO YOU CAN COOK IT FOR YOU AND MARY ANN ONE NIGHT.

The Boys Room.......

2008-11-29T01:37:00.000-08:00

Here is what the Theme looks like and the colors of the room.

I know, I know, I know. I should have posted this months ago. Well for those who know me well know that I have a hard time finishing a project. What was taking so long was I needed Ralph to move things around and put the heavy items back on the self in the closet. Since I am unable to lift for at least another week. I also was hoping I could get a girlfriend to come over to help with the final decor and help me decide on how to arrange the items on the wall. As you can see I still have not done that. I am going to get wooden letters of each boys name and hang them above each bed. And I also have photos and shelves to hang up to put Marcello's items from his last room on.

This is the view from the doorway. So you can see both beds. They have matching bedding.

Another view of the room so you can see the Boat Bed. As you can see they have lots of room to play.

Here is a closer look at the Boat bed. Marcello loves this bed. And one day it will be Finn's.

A closer look at the Quilt. We also bought the matching Twin Quilt for when Marcello gets bigger so they still share a room and Seb can keep a room to himself.

Hope you like the room, please leave comments about it. Once I do complete it I will post new photos.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING...

2008-11-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We just hung out at home and cooked an early dinner. Ralph got up with the boys and started the bird in the oven, and I prepared the casseroles. We had a small dinner since it was just us this year. Seb helped me make the sweet potato casserole and boy was it good. I really wanted to bake a few item the night before, but we didn't get organized to do it. We just ended up just chillin at home.

Wednesday we ate lunch with Seb in his classroom. They made a Thanksgiving dinner for the parents. And the kids did such a great job. It was very good. Seb made the Pumpkin Pie and it was very tasty. So we asked him if he would help make ours, he ended up not wanting to when we got around to making it. This year Ralph made the pie crust, and boy it does make a difference in making your own instead of store bought. I was always to lazy to make my own.

Here I am with Marcello and Finn, we didn't have anyone over so I don't have makeup on.

Well, I gotta say this was the quietest Thanksgiving I think I ever had. The past 2 years I went back to the states to visit family while Ralph was gone. And the first year we were married we had around 10 single sailors over for dinner. I guess you can say I am used to being surrounded by family and friends for the holidays. And in some ways I am very home sick when it comes to the gatherings. I really wanted company this year since I was feeling good after I had the baby, but everyone already had plans. I really think Ralph is missing family also. He tried to call and talk to everyone, but with time difference he couldn't get anyone. I know Ralph is really looking forward for his father coming to visit in January.

Here is a photo of Finn 1 week 6 days. He has grown an inch and now weighs 7 pounds and 4 oz. One Oz from his birth weight. He eats all the time.

Here is a photo of Mr sour Puss. He was sooooooo sad he didn't have anyone to play with today. It seems all he cares about lately is playing with friends.

I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I am now getting the house ready for Christmas and for Ralph's parents to visit.

Random Photos of the boys......

2008-11-24T04:29:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to post a few photos of the boys chillin at home over the past few months.

I guess you can tell the boys love each other. Marcello fell asleep cuddling with Seb.

Seb and Marcello watching a movie.

MARCELLO IN A BOX.

This is the box from Finnegans car seat. It became Marcello play house for a while. He loved hiding in it.

This is how we found Marcello in his room during nap time. He crawled into his chair instead of his bed. We just let him nap there that day.

Geez I wonder where he gets this face from. Hmmm and WHO does he look like in this picture.

Sorry its fuzzy I tried to zoom in, but I took this photo at a very low resolution. So the quality is not that great.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS OF THE BOYS. I WILL BE TAKING PHOTOS OF ALL THREE TOGETHER SOON.

The first week home.

2008-11-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

FINNEGAN LIAM ONE WEEK OLD

Wow what a long week it has been. Finnegan is now a week old, and I am very spoiled having Ralph home with me. Just to let everyone know, I am healing fine. This time around I am able to get up and move around without complications and am feeling good. I think this is the best I have felt after a birth. The first few day of course I was sore and week, and very sleep deprived. I wasn't able to get hardly any sleep in the hospital at all. The staff came in almost every hour to run test and check on baby Finn. And I sent Ralph home late each night to take care of Marcello. So the first night home was very rough. But it got better each day. We also have had PWOC (my bible study group) bring us meals every other night to help us out. It has been great having that. I wish we had it when I had Marcello.

Finn is feeding well and I am able to get sleep each night. We had the visiting nurse come by to check on us and he lost some weight. They said if he doesn't gain on the next visit in 2 days, then I will have to start him on bottles. We went through this with Marcello so I wasn't too worried. Ralph fed Marcello bottles in between nursing and we were able to get his weight up. And after he gained I didn't have any problems going back to nursing again. I ended up nursing Marcello until he was one. So on her next visit which was Friday, she weighed him and it showed he gained back to the weight he was released from the hospital. So I was relieved.

So far things are going very well. He is very alert and vocal when he wants something. It just amazes me seeing the difference in Finn and Marcello. It has been too long for me to really remember how Seb was as a newborn. Marcello slept a lot and hardly made a peep. We had to wake him to feed and change him. He was also a cuddle bug while Ralph was gone. To this day Marcello is still a very loving child, he loves to give hugs and cuddle up with you. Finn came out a lot stronger in areas. He is very feisty, and already holds his head up and looks around, just like a normal newborn. He seems to get really mad sometimes. I hope he doesn't get my temper, LOL.

The past few days Ralph and I have been working hard on the house, getting things back in order. It is all coming together. Our house is finally starting to feel like a home. We finally hung up most of the pictures from our vacations that I have had framed. And have been cleaning out the closets. We filled 3 trash bag with clothes, jackets, and other stuff to donate to the thrift shop here on base. It is just coming to that time to update every ones wardrobe.

Ralph is trying to help me get into a good routine with all the boys before he has to go back to work. He has been the one getting Seb up for school and taking care of Marcello and I. So now I am feeling better I can start to take over the household duty's again. I am actually looking forward to living a normal life again. (Well as normal as you can get living on this island.) Getting up with the boys, being able to play with Marcello again, and run errands when and where I want too. FREEDOM.

Well, not much more has been going on with us. I have just been trying to get the house in order for the Holidays. I am hoping to have company for Thanksgiving. I am disappointed I waited to long to get decor items for the Holiday. I wanted to get a new table cloth and a few new items. I haven't been home for Thanksgiving in a few years, and I never hosted a dinner before.

HOPE EVERYONE HAS A HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Welcome to this world...The newest Schmitz

2008-11-18T01:33:00.000-08:00

WELCOME TO THIS WORLD FINNEGAN LIAM SCHMITZ

I just wanted to post a quick update on our latest addition to our family. I went in Friday November 14, 2008 for a schedule C-section to have our baby. Everything went fine for me, but poor Finnegan had a little rough start. He was born around 9 am and weighted 7 pounds 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. And as you can see has a head full of black hair.

Finn was having difficult breathing. I could hear him crying non stop, but he was very pale and was turning blue. They put him in the oxygen tent to bring up his oxygen level. He was hooked up to a few machines and was under the warmer to keep him warm. They ran several test to make sure everything was OK. Ralph got to see him and be by his side while I had to wait in my room recouping. They also took X-rays and came and told us he had a broken collar bone. And if any of the test come back with any issues he was going to have to go to the hospital in Catania. It's what no parent wants to hear.

Finally after more test and the Doctors monitoring him, he came around and was fine. His Oxygen level rose to normal and was taken out of the tent. He was brought to me finally at 6 pm with an IV in his arm and one monitor to watch his O2 levels and heart rate. I finally got to hold my baby. Poor little guy, they had a splint on his arm to hold the IV in his arm to keep him from pulling it out.

Here is a photo of the poor little guy, he had to stay naked with just several blankets wrapped around him and you can see the splint on his arm. I had his IV machine on one side of the bed and mine on the other. It was a rough first night, but I had great help at the hospital. Ralph went home late so he and Marcello could sleep in there beds.

They took another X-ray the next morning and told us they were wrong about the broken Collar bone and still waiting on the blood results to come back. But so far he was fine and was breathing normal. We were relieved. They finally took him off the IV and the other monitor. So by Sunday morning they said we were cleared to go home. Everything came back normal and he is healthy and fine.

I am so thankful to have another healthy baby boy, he is doing well. He is very alert and feeding good. Seb is a very proud older brother, he can't keep his eyes off the baby and says how cute he is. Marcello seems to be doing well with the new baby also, he smiles at him. If he hears him cry he walks over the the bed and peaks in and looks at the baby.

A photo of Marcello and Finnegan, he loves his new baby brother.

Coming soon.....

2008-11-13T10:45:00.001-08:00

I forgot to mention, We did a family photo shoot and I did some Prego shots. Once I get them I will be posting them on here. I am hoping to post the one of all of us as my new main photo.

Hope to talk to you guys soon and post photos of our new baby boy.

A quick post....

2008-11-12T21:45:00.000-08:00

I am sorry I have not been updating much. I like to finish projects before I post them. I am going to try and finish up the boys room today. I was hoping a girlfriend would have come over to help with the final touches. All I have to do is hang stuff on the wall and reorganize the dresser so Finn has his own for clothes. Marcello is sleeping in his new bed and plays in the room, so that also has been keeping me from finishing a few things. Hard to do things with him in there either napping for playing with his toys. I might just clean up the room to take photos so everyone can see the theme, then take more when I finish the room. I know some of you keep asking to see photos.

Well there goes that idea, LOL. I was able to but all the clothes away finally in the room and finish packing all our bags. I started to clean things up, but Marcello ended up in his room today. So toys are everywhere. I napped most of the day, knowing after today naps will be hard to come by. So I guess you can say the room is not done. After I heal I will get in there and finish. It's frustrating, I really would like to finish things.

Well, for those that do not know, I go in tomorrow morning for my C-section. I have felt fine, I don't even think the baby has dropped. I am 39 weeks today. I am getting nervous about it of course. But at the same time cannot wait to hold him in my arms. I have not seen a clear photo of him yet, so we have no idea who he will look like.

Please keep us in your prayers. All we want is a healthy baby and no complications during the C-section.

I will post photos of Finnegan Liam Schmitz after I get home from the hospital.

I am now off to finish final things, and then to bed for the final full night sleep for a while.

Halloween Spoiled......

2008-11-01T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year and we were all looking forward to it this year. Ralph is home for the first time, Seb is old enough to go with friends and Marcello is at that cute age to walk up to the houses. We bought pumpkin's to carve and candy to hand out to other kids that might come by. This year I didn't put up any decor, just too tired and had other things I needed to take care of inside the house. And I knew I wasn't going to dress up this year being 37 weeks prego.

This year things were planned out different. Seb was invited to a Halloween party and they were going to go Trick-or-Treating together. And we also have every year the Autumn Fest, which they have carnival rides, booths of food, Trick-or-Treating for the kids and lots more. I have had fun the past two years going. But this year the kids night at Autumn Fest fell the same night our housing was having Trick-or-Treating for the kids. Which I thought they should have changed it to the night before like the other housing was doing. So we decided to not go to the first night of Autumn Fest and let Seb go with friends and we take Marcello.

The first thing I feel that spoiled Halloween was I tried to get Ralph to carve the Pumpkin with Seb as a Father and Son project. Of course I could have done it, but he needs to spend more time with him. Seb needs one on one time with Ralph. I am finding him spending most of his time with Marcello and not enough with Seb. It actually upsets me when he does this. For the past two weeks I have tried to get them to carve the pumpkins, and something seems to come up. Last weekend we had something everyday that took most of our time up, and Ralph has been busy doing other things around the house. But sometimes you just have to put things off and spend a few mins with the kids.

HALLOWEEN DAY

Well the day started out slow and I woke up a zombie, kinda funny saying that since its Halloween. I have not been sleeping well at all. And when Ralph woke me I was finally in a good sleep, I so didn't want to get up. I just wasn't feeling well. He said he should get off early, so I was excited to get things ready for the day and hope they would have enough time to carve the pumpkin before dark. I was just in one of those Blah moods, after a phone call I felt better. Seb was being so good and just sitting at the table painting waiting for it to be time to see if friends could play. Finally I let him out of the house to find Friends. He shows back up with a friend and they go up and play in his room, the day is going well. Then another friend comes over to join them. They all play great together and having a good time. I am trying to get Marcello to play in his room so I can shower and get ready for the day. Also Housing is suppose to show up sometime today, so I cant go anywhere.

The day is going fine, but I am not feeling well. Seb's friends had to leave and I let him continue playing his game on the TV since Marcello is still napping. Ralph calls to let me know he is still at work and doesn't know when he can get off. I start to get a little upset, because I don't want to take Marcello Trick-or-Treating alone. Then Seb does the one thing that is unacceptable. And I put my foot down and told him if it happens ONE more time, he will eat dinner and go to bed, no going to the party. So what happens, when its time to start getting the boys ready, he does it again. I will not go into what he has been doing, just that he is 7 and he knows better, and I am not going to tolerate it any more.

So I just break down, and send Ralph a message that Seb is eating dinner at home and is in bed. Not only is his behaviour keeping him from going out, but its punishing both Marcello and I. It is now 5 PM and I have to call the parent of Seb's friend and let them know he will not make it. Ralph calls and says he is still stuck at work and it doesn't look like he is getting off any time soon. I start to get really sad because I really want to dress Marcello up and take him out. I also really need to get out of the house, I have been cooped up too much lately with me being at the tail end of my pregnancy. People can think I am a bad parent all they want, but there comes a time where you have to put your foot down. This is nothing new to Seb, he knows what he did, and everything else has not worked. So maybe him missing this will help it sink in that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

So I just curl up on the couch, and wait for Ralph to come home. He finally makes it home at 730 PM. Marcello is already in bed so he cant take him, and our pumpkin is still sitting on the table out front not carved. This is my life story, something always has to go wrong. Normally I brush it off and move on, but lately, I am just giving up.

Marcello sad he didn't get to go.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE

Family update....

2008-10-28T23:39:00.000-07:00

Well I felt it was time to update everyone about what we have been up too.

The past couple of weeks have been crazy. Seb has been doing good in school, homework time and reading is still a struggle. He also has been enjoying going to his Singing Knights Rehearsals on Wed after school. Boy Scouts meeting were postponed this past month due to the Scout leader having an family emergency. They start back up this week, I think. Marcello had an stomach virus that caused him to have a really bad rash for several days and an upset tummy. I am thankful I didn't get it. So for a week I had to stay home and moderator him. I get bad cabin fever if I stay at home too much. And Ralph has been busy with work and helping me try and keep the house under control. My pregnancy has been going good, no problems so far. I am now a day off from 37 weeks. My next appt. is Monday and I am already schedule for my C-Section Nov. 14th. OOO I forgot to mention We had a family photo shoot done and my Prego photos done. Once I get them I will post them on here. I need a new main photo for my Blog page.

I cant get over how time fly, its almost Halloween. The rest of the week for us is going to be busy. Seb has: singing until 4pm today: Cub Scouts tomorrow night: Friday is going to be a crazy day, housing Appt. and Seb was invited to a trick or treating party: Sat is the festival on base: and Sunday my Friends and I are trying to go to Taominia for lunch. This is a typical week for us, very busy. On top of that I go to a bible study group on Tuesdays , so I'm gone most of that day and Marcello goes to there daycare. My days are very busy, and I never feel like I get enough done. I really do need to learn a new healthy routine.

Lately I have had slow starts due to me feeling very tired. I am still working on a few projects around the house, trying to get things organized. Once I finish each one, they stay that way and it feels good to have things in order. Seb has been working very hard on keeping his room in order. I am proud of him, he puts his clothes away, and now keeps his toys the way I separated them, he makes his bed every morning before school also. Seb also helps me clean up Marcello's toys downstairs before he goes to bed. He has grown so much, but is still very stubborn in some areas. There are days its impossible to get him to do anything, but he is 7. I am trying to learn new ways to help him control his ADD and to focus better on tasks. We really want to take him off his medications and help him control it. It's very mentally draining working with him on some days.

I really do need to give Ralph more credit lately. He gets up every morning at 6 am, wakes Seb and gets him ready for school, makes his breakfast and lunch. Then runs upstairs and gets himself ready for work. If Marcello wakes up, he gets him and changes his diaper, brings him downstairs and makes him a snack. Then he comes into our room kisses me to get me up and says he needs to leave. I come down and take over and get Seb on his way to the bus stop. I no longer walk him to the bus stop, We have put trust in him to go on his own this year. Ralph then calls me when he is on his way from work and checks to see if he needs to pick anything up for us, knowing some days I cant get out and we might need something for the boys. When he walks into the house he is bulldozed by the boys jumping all over him and the house goes crazy. He then comes into the kitchen and either finishes dinner that I have started or makes us dinner. We sit down as a family for dinner and Marcello sits next to his daddy and he feeds him, well helps him. After dinner he takes Marcello upstairs and gives him a bath, since its hard for me to lean over the tub and bath him and also gets Seb ready for bed. I start to clean up after dinner, then he comes down and finishes while I rest on the couch. I have been finding myself very blessed. Here he is busting his Ass at work all day and then comes home and takes care of us. I feel so guilty when I do whine about how I need him to do a project for me, and look at all he does around here. He does a lot more, and I am very lucky to have a wonderful man in my life. And I need to thank him more for all he does for me and our family.

THANK YOU BABE FOR ALL YOU DO

WE ALL LOVE YOU VERY MUCH

An update on Sebastian.

2008-10-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

Well I have been talking a little about what he has been up too, but I guess I need to post an full update. I cannot believe how much he has grown, where has the time gone. He started the second grade this year, his 3rd school year on this island. And he has come along ways. I am very proud of him.

We decided this year not to sign him up for soccer, which I was a little sad not to do. I know how much he enjoys it and is pretty good too. But when it rolled around and his friends were going to practice, he didn't seem upset. I think him not doing soccer this season has helped all of us, its nice not to be so busy with sports. I'm not so rushed and we have been getting better family time at home. Plus Ralph is home this season, so we are in an different routine.

We did decide to sign him up this year for Cub Scouts, which this year he is a Wolf. I am very excited about this and hoping this will give him good father and son time with Ralph. Ralph is excited also, and we are hoping this will help teach Sebastian good core values.

We also received a letter from school asking for Sebastian to be part of the "Singing Knights". It's an honor to be asked to be part of this singing group, Especially since its for 3rd graders and up. He has gone to two practices so far after school and is enjoying it. I always have heard him hum and sing around the house, but never really paid attention. He came home one day and asked to sing for me. I was so moved by his little voice. We are looking forward to the concerts he will be in at school.

Sorry I haven't posted photos of Marcello's and Finns room. I have been waiting for Ralph to put a fresh coat of paint in the room. I now am giving up on it. It was Sebs room, so the walls are marked up from him. I am almost 36 weeks and I want to finish the room. All I really need to do is hang the wall decor. Cant wait to show all of you of how cute it is.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Keeping cool over the HOT Summer Months.......

2008-10-09T07:56:00.001-07:00

Just thought I would post a few photos of the boys keeping cool over the summer.

ENJOY.....

Marcello loves to play with water......

My girlfriends organized a day at the beach for the kids. Here are some photos from that day.

I could not stop him from eating beach sand.

The boys digging a hole, Marcello so wants to help.

Marcello watching and helping his big brother dig.

It's gets VERY HOT in the summer here. And I cannot always take the boys to the pool on base. So we buy a fun one for the back yard for water play days to help keep them cool. Here are some photos of the boys keeping cool. Marcello loved this pool I got him.

Here is a photo of the boys passed out after a long day.

This is how we found Marcello after Ralph took him to the pool on base.

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS AND HAD A GREAT SUMMER. WE ARE ENJOYING THE FALL DAYS HERE ON THE ISLAND.

San Vito Lo Capo ...Part 2...

2008-10-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

Since the last post seemed long with a lot of photos, I thought I would break it up some and post the rest on another blog. So here are the rest of the photos from that trip. Like I have said this is my favorite place. I so want to go back again. I know Ralph would really enjoy the peacefulness of it and us letting the kids run down the beach.

Hope you enjoy.

Sunset photos.

A photo of Marcello and I at sunset going to dinner.

After a long day of driving and playing at the beach, we went back to our room and got cleaned up. I wanted to drive tonight to another small town near by to have dinner and walk around. Last time we were here the driver took us to a town near by and it had a lot of little shops and restaurants. I remember the town having nice restaurants and the food being really good. So Kim and I set out to try and find it. We never did, LOL. I couldn't understand why, I knew it was only 15 min drive. So we just drove until we finally decided to just stop at the next place we saw to eat. We finally came across a place that looked open, but kept driving up the mountain a little more. After driving a few more Min's, we turned around and decided to go back to that one and eat. We didn't want to kids up too late and they were hungry. Parking always scares me in Sicily. Most places do not have parking spots or a lot, so you have to park on the side of the road. And the roads here are verily wide enough for 2 cars to pass each other. I always feel I will come back to my car and it will be missing a mirror or smashed up.

We unload the kids and walk to the Restaurant. It's a nice night so we decide to eat outside. It also looks like they are setting up for a party. We look over the menu and can not make it out. Normally I can read half the menu when I go out, and I break out my cheat sheet to help. But I couldn't on this one. We did our best and ordered. We started to crack up when the waiter brought our wine and dinner. Kim ordered white wine and it came out in a local ceramic , hand painted pitcher. And she doesn't like seafood and her pasta had clams or something smilier in it. I do not remember what mine was, but it wasn't that great either. During dinner the party started next to us. There was a man playing the piano and we all got a great giggle. Marcello apparently likes classical music, he starts to dance in his chair to the music. Seb is almost passed out next to me on some pillows. This is typical when we go out to dinner since places don't open until around 8PM. Even though the food wasn't that great, the wine and entertainment was.

Final stop, San Vito Lo Capo

2008-09-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

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.......

2008-09-28T21:31:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-09-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-09-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-19T06:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

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......

2008-09-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-03T09:43:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-02T22:12:00.001-07:00

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..

2008-09-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

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....

2008-09-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Crazy Busy.

2008-08-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have just been crazy busy. I just have not had the time to post some things. I wanted to post one blog on Seb's first day of school. Update you on Marcello. And post the news about the new baby. I also have a girlfriend in town visiting and I will post our road trips and adventures. I already posted about us breaking down, lol.

Well I gotta go for now. We are out the door to dinner in Motta.

Cars and me PART 2

2008-08-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, like I was saying I just have bad luck on cars. I take my car in for routine maintaines and it comes home with something broken, uggg. I have gone thru 3 summers without AC, had one person put oil in my transmission, and my car ALWAYS breaks down while Ralph is gone. This time I took my car in to just have the AC serviced before the summer began, it came back not working as well. So I just blow it off and say I will take it back in later. Well, when I did they broke my fan and tell me I have a leak. Which I did not have before I took it in, and also my heat doesn't work now. I sooooo can not wait for my new car to get here. I just don't know how much more of broken down cars I can take.

Today I drove my girlfriend to Taormina. We went there to go shopping while Seb was at school and Marcello was at CDC. On our way home my car over heats 20 km from home. I pull over at the toll areas and let my car cool down. Nothing works. I then had to make phone calls for people to get my kids for me while I arrange what I needed to do about us on the side of the road. After an hour passes, I break down and call the command to send help, the car is not cooling down, its holding water. I am told by the Italians that helped me to drive slowly to the next exit with my hazards on. While the command is trying to find someone to help me. I attempt to drive the car slowly down the autostrada trying to find the next exit. The needle is not coming down, it spikes back up and the car is smoking. I try to find a safe place to pull over again. The command advises me that they have sent someone to help me out. I feel alittle relieved, but start to panic because I feel like I am going to get hit by some crazy driver even though I am way off the road. So I move the car again so I can read road signs to know where I am. At this time another Italian pulls over and looks at my car and sees the needle has dropped enough and tells me to move my car off the autostrada. I try again and drive a few more Km and it spikes again, but I drove it slowly anyways to the next exit. I am praying the whole time I am driving, looking for a safe spot to pull over for the person to find me. I finally find a spot and it also has a shade. We sit there until help arrives. By this time its around 4 pm. I first pulled over at 1:45 pm. I start to get worried about getting someone to pick Marcello up from CDC, I have his car seat in my car with me. I finally find someone to get him. THANK GOD. That's one less thing I can worry about now. Now we need to do is get us home.

Finally help arrives, he looks at my car and finds the problem. I have a hole in one of my hoses. He walks over the the elder Italian that's tinkering in his work area and asks to borrows tools. This guy fixes my car right there on the side of the road. I can not stop thanking him, I owe him so much. My car is fixed and I am able to drive it home. I really want to command to recognized what these two guys did for me. Not only did they help an stranded pregnant wife with her husband out of the country. But come to find out it was an liberty day, the command gave everyone a 4 day weekend. They came in to help me on their day off. That my Friend is what the military community is all about. Another sailor helping someones pregnant wife and friend broken down on the side of the road even on a liberty day. I am so thankful to be an American. And I am proud of my self for remaining calm during the whole thing. I think not having the kids with me helped me remain calm. When you have them asking 1001 questions, or saying they are hot, hungry, etc, it adds to your stress level.

Well that's my story, I am thankful it didn't happen while we were driving to the north side of the island, or on another overnight trip. We had more trips planned while my girlfriend is in town. We cancelled everything and have just been hanging low and relaxing.

Cars and ME, why does this happen to me.

2008-08-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

OK the story of me and cars. Why do I have all the bad luck. If you knew me before I came here, you know I am just cursed when it comes to cars. Ok here we go, and I will be venting ALOT about this. Ok, before we came here, Ralph and I decided to sell both vehicles. I finally had a nice brand new car that was great. It was the first new car I have had in about 10 years. We knew we needed to sell his truck, it was diesel, not 4X4, and 7 ft bed. So our plan was to buy an island car while here, and shop around for what kind of new car we will take with us when we leave the island. We were told by many people Ralph already knew on the island, to not bring a new car. There reasoning were: Insurance could cost up to 3000 a year, it will get damaged while driving here, and depends on the size, hard to drive on the small roads. So that's why we sold my car, we didn't want to pay high insurance and risk damaging the car.
Well, our first car was a rental, which of course a standard. I never have driven a standard. So Ralph had to do all the driving at first. After driving around on the roads here with him, I was starting to get nervous about learning to drive a stick. You see most of the roads do not look wide enough for 2 cars to drive pass on, no line down the middle, and are kinda like country roads. When you are in the towns, they are like alley ways and steep inclines. So you can see why I was freaking out about driving. But after being stuck at home with no car and not able to just drive and do what I wanted, I knew it was time to learn. We found a road that had no traffic and my lesson began. I wouldn't recommend you having your husband teach you to drive a stick, especially in an foreign country. Changing the gears was not my problem, it was stopping then going. If I was having problems on a flat road, at a stop sign, I would hate to see what would happen on an incline. So what do you do, you suck it up and do your best right. I am not going to sit at home and whine about not being able to drive, and the bus was hard to do with Seb all the time. I didn't mind using the bus, but there are times you just need your own car.
Well after refusing to drive the rental anymore, because of my episode at the NAS1 front gate, Ralph finally bought us a car. Surprise, surprise its an standard. But he told me this will be both of our car for now, and we will keep looking or an automatic to buy for me. Well of course about a week after he bough the car he told me he had to go stateside for about an month. And that I needed to call the seller and have him fix the few things he promised to fix. I post the rest of the story later........

Living out of a suitcase.......

2008-08-16T02:06:00.001-07:00

Wow, driving through Motta yesterday really bought back memories of when we first got on the island. I remember when we first arrived we stayed at what is called an TLA. Knowing we will be leaving the island really has me reflecting back on everything we have done while here. And made me realized time really does pass you by. And you need to take advantage of today, because you don't know what tomorrow brings. I remember taking Seb into the town of Motta to just walk around and see what kind of stores they had. Did they have clothing stores where I might find something I liked, toys for Seb, or where to get a good cappuccino. I wanted to get out and explore my new surroundings and get a feel of where we will be living for 3 years. I was nervous and excited. After adventuring out a few times, I got the feel of where things were in Motta. It's a small town, not much there to see or do. But we enjoyed our walks while Ralph was getting checked into work. It took a while to get used to when things were open, and setting a new schedule for us. Seb was still taking naps, and I liked the down time so I could take care of things I needed to do. Ralph and I found a few places we liked to go to. One where we can get fresh baked bread, one to get deli meats, cheeses and a few other items. And also a place to get Italian pastries. You really don't realize what all you have all around you until you know you will be leaving. Sometimes you get all caught up in daily things and then you wake up and it's 2 years later. And you go, I never got to go there, or do that.

When we first got here, we didn't know much about Sicily. Ralph spoke to a few people at work to find places to take us, and I went to the Library to find out what I could. We stayed at the TLA for about a month. So on the weekends, Ralph and I would look at the map and try to decide where we wanted to drive to. Almost every weekend we picked a new place to go to. Our first adventures were a little stressful. Learning how to get around, trying to read road signs, and the way the Locals drove. Driving and finding parking can be a blog on its own, LOL.

One of the first photos of when we got here. My camera ended up dying, so we didn't take very many on our first trips.

Reflecting back....

2008-08-15T13:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess you need to bare with me. This blog page is all new. I should have started this when we first got here. I guess I am going to reflect back on a few things on when we got on the island before I post the latest and greatest on our family over here in Italy. And along the way I will post other flash back to get you up to date about what is going on. Maybe you will get a better idea of the daily challenges we have faced while living overseas. And hopefully a better understanding of why I get so frustrated.

Like I said this is all new to me. Lets see, like I was saying we arrived in 2006. Seb was 4 going on 5 and Ralph and I have only been married for 5 months. Seb was going through a few things before we left. He didn't understand the move and why he had to leave his school, family and friends. Seb and I also had a great family connection and support from my church that I attended since I was in the 3rd grade. I was also going through some family issue and heartache. You see my brother passed away unexpectedly about a month before we moved. I guess I was the closest to him. I took it pretty hard because I just saw him a few days before he passed. And I felt guilty on not asking anyone to pick him up to bring him to my wedding. So on top of trying to pack for our move, fill out and get all documents we needed to move over seas, I had to plan a funeral. So now you can see all the pressure and stress I was experiencing before we moved to the island.

A photo of Seb at Ralph's graduation before we moved.

Living In Sicily

2008-08-13T23:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it has been two years on the island. Where has the time gone? We are in the process of looking into orders of when and where we will go next. I will post another blog on that later. Lately I have been spending my time at home with the boys, going over photos of the past two years. I have several photo albums and slide shows that are not finished. One day I will sit down and finish them, LOL. Looking back and seeing how much Seb has grown from an 4 year old to an 7 year old going into the second grade. The saying is true, you blink and they are grown. I am so very proud of my oldest, he has over come many challenges living over here. I have work very hard with him, and I feel now all the hard work is paying off. I just need to work harder and spend more time on his reading. Seb and I have been through a lot over the past couple of years, and I feel we waded the storms OK. We came to the island in March 2006. I was so excited about coming to Italy, I wanted to submerge myself into the culture and learn all I could from the Italians lifestyles. I bought the Cd's to learn the language and books to read. I came here with great ambitions and wanted to be here. I had goals of what I wanted to accomplish while living overseas, and expose my family to another culture. Even though I was nervous about getting our family set up over here, knowing I would be alone for most of it. I also felt the timing was good for us. The company I was working for decided to venture out on their own and I saw cut back coming. What great timing for me to turn in my notice. Seb was also in an educational Pre-K school, that had a long waiting list. I finally got him in and he only spent a few months there. But I saw a big difference and was sad he had to leave. But before we did, I sat down with his teacher and asked what I can do at home to prep him for kindergarten. So Seb and I went shopping for all kinds of home school type of items. I didn't realize how much they push onto the kids in kindergarten now a days. So we started right away, and he loved it. He was so cute, I would try and set up a few hours a day for us to sit down and work on different things. I would say, " Sebastian, you want to work on your workbook." And he would go and get it and a pencil and we would begin. In the beginning, he did great, no problems with anything we went over. His writing was neat and his letters were correct. I was proud as a parent on helping him get ready for school. I had no idea that when he would start school that he would have so many challenges. He didn't show any signs at home, I even showed his workbook to his teacher before school started on what he was working on and how well he was doing. She was impressed and didn't foresee any issues either. I will blog later on Seb's school experience. I will also post our first adventures on the island.