Slowly updating this page.

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 !! !!

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 !!!!

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 !!!!

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 !!!!!

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....

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 !!!!

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 !!!!!!

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 !!!

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 !!

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 !!!

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 !!!!

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 !!

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 !!!!

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.

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 !!!!!!