Communicating

So here I am, a Mamma, a wife, a homemaker, and so much in between. I live in an environment  that I was not raised in, a world foreign to my ear, and sight. It took and is still taking time for me to go with the rhythm, and the speed of this country, to feel less of a "stranger" and more of an "Italian".
But my question is, what is an "Italian".
Someone who eats a lot of pasta? Who adores pizza? Are they loud? Do they love to hug and kiss and wave their arms about? Do they use hand gestures that look like they might me telling you to eff off?
yes. yes that is all so true. But there is so much more truth to all.
I am beyond grateful and blessed to be able to experience the full Italian life. Granted I live in the north,  and apparently there is a HUGE difference between north and south. I wont get started in that, trust me its confusing, I still don't get it.
Anyway Italy has so much to offer, and as much as I would love to move back to the States, living in Europe, truly has it's benefits.
So many people ask me (all the time) where would you rather live? Where is it better to live? I always give the same response. No place is better, just different. I love how in the States, you have so much space, the friendly neighborhoods, the ethnic foods (sorry I had to put that in… Italian food is amazing, but once in a while a nice pod thai…. )
In Italy for example, I use my bike ALL the time, as in, its my car. Marco and I have one car between us. By choice. We live walking distance from everything. Parks, stores, cafes, muddy puddles, dog poop (yes all the incredible joys to a toddler)… and whats so great is that everyone bikes everywhere. I love the atmosphere, the yelling of people who sound like they are pissed as hell, yet really they are just telling a neighbor about how cheap they bought a branzino at the fish market that day.
I could really go into detail about the positive and the negative aspects of both worlds, but I am not writing an essay, I just really truly believe you (well…I) am more happy and content when I see the positive in life.
I feel so fortunate to have an amazing husband who works hard, and is awesome at it too! I have a more than incredible son who lights up any day. A sweet (but little… which is fine… for now) apartment. And I have the most enjoyable, satisfying, gratifying, and challenging job ever. I would never chance it for the world. So basically what I am saying is that I truly could live anywhere (well, I think I might have to define anywhere, but you get what I mean) because I could not be happier with where my life led me now.
My Mom just left after a beautiful 10 days here. Being close to family after not seeing them for some time is beautiful, but at the same time you know the visit ends...
Luca now talks, yes, full sentences, clear, and so on point (sometimes even too much). The problem is he speaks 99.9% Italian. My mother gave me a hard time (not to rant her out or anything) but she did get me thinking. Why? And how? Since I am a stay home mom, I, well, am with Luca a lot. like 99.9% of the days. You get it. So when I am with him I speak english, he understand fully, but responds in Italian. If I tell him to repeat what he says in english I get jibberish or a repeat in Italian. I do admit, when I am in situation, like swim class or at the park, with friends, I speak Italian, cause I do not like to be that "rude biatch that wont even speak our language" plus lets me honest its just so damn easier…
Luca though sometimes while my Mom was here would find himself in a situation where he was not too familiar with. Why the heck does this woman not understand me?!
It sucks I know, but there are other things that suck way more in this world. I am not worried about it, hes not even two yet, and since we are in the States for more than a month each summer, hes gonna have to get his bum in gear and start talking english or else no one will give him what he wants. Hear that Luca! So here's to communication and positivity!

Welcoming differences and Obstacles

So many things to welcome. The sweet and the sour.
Example. My son is very particular in, well… Everything. I needs to have things a certain way. If he sees that the washer door is opened, he will stop whatever he is doing and shut it, than proceed to continue whatever is was that he was doing. If there is a piece of paper placed in a spot where papers clearly are not placed. He must put it in its right spot. Teeth brushing must be done in the same spot everyday, goodnights must be said to everyone animal in his room (that takes about 10 minutes), hands can never be dirty. Ever. SO… I sometimes think, WHAT have I created? The answer is unfortunately way to obvious. A little me.
The frustrating thing is  I know I have a really annoying problem, and I have been working on it since i can remember, but when I had Luca I made a promise to myself that He was NOT going to be OCD and I was not going to let my obsessiveness get in the way of him being a child and me being a mom. I go out of my comfort zone, and let me tell you its NOT easy, but I try not to let him see it. I want him to get dirty I want  him to make a mess. I try to make cleaning up a game. Well, I think I am accepting that I have to just welcome Luca for what he is. A little me, and make baby steps each day… Like yesterday I successfully got him to play with chalk. The key is, not to try too hard.
I am also welcoming so many culture differences (nice way of putting it). Just because Italian babies have to have hats on in 70 degrees weather, or have to have warm yogurt (god forbid I forget to take the yogurt out of the fridge 5 hours before his snack time and actually give it to him…COLD)
I have been living in this amazing country long enough to know its culture and its differences from where I am from and what I am used too. I tend to compare things to from what I know, and from my experiences, but why? There is no better, there is no greater. Each person/ country or whatever, has is traditions, hardships or wacky ways, and I love it. I know that I can weave both cultures together and make my own, with what makes sense now.
Again, I am welcoming its differences and say, thank you. This is what makes the world turn. Not judging, not anger, not frustration. Dont get me wrong I have plenty of those feelings too, I am again human, but it makes so much more sense to stop for a second breath and say is it really worth it?  Most of the time its not. Negative feelings are so nice to push away and kick in the bum!
This blog post may make absolutely no sense at all to anyone but myself, and for that I do apologize, maybe this is a little too close of a look in my head (now you know what its like to live in it)
I guess what I'm saying is that you can have your shitty days of course, but do you really have to flip out about little differences or tiny obstacles? I see so many Moms or Dads or whoever, freaking out at or with their kids over something as big as running too fast… At a park. Really?! First world problems at its finest.

I swear hes happy. He's got a stick to touch the mud

Venetian selfies

awesome new park near us. score.

pretending hes totally not sh*t and afraid to touch the hand made play dough

I will forever be in awe and in love with this face

playing with lentils is in LB's safety zone. No messy business and hands to wash. I swear i do not encourage his OCDness

walks with stick. Its a boy thing.

flirting in fancy hotels. Luca not my husband...

Our Little Bean after way too many chocolate eggs and Easter goodies. 

fresh baked cookies and playing in Nonno's garden. Life is sweet

you WILL look at the camera

Reality

I am writing this post as I watch (or pretend not to) my mother in law vacuum the house. Yes you read it right, she is cleaning my house. I am sick, like gross feverish coughy sick, and my house really needs to be vacuumed, that is for my standards, if it doesn't get done every week and half I have a very mild panic attic. It is not normal, it is not pleasant, but I really cannot do anything about it. So long story short yesterday I was basically in my jammies all day in bed. I needed to sleep, but I knew the house needed to be cleaned and the laundry done, but I was literally to weak to get out of bed. Marco had to work so Luca was over at his Nonno's for the day. In the evening, I managed to change the sheets on our bed, because gosh forbid I sleep in sick sheets. Did not fly very well by Marco. he told me if I even try to clean the house today (I had 100% full intention on doing so… very slowly, but surely) he would call a psychiatrist. problem was my mother in law was coming over in the morning to be with Luca, so she had the brilliant idea to clean the house for me! If she could she would make herself at home and cook, iron, clean and wash our bums. As much as I hated saying she could, the house needed to be cleaned. So here I am watching her clean while I try not to bite my fingernails off. Dear lawd WHAT is wring with me. Maybe Marco should call a psychiatrist.

 Sorry for the rant, I'm sure you all really couldn't give a rats behind, about my weird obsessive problems, but deal with it, so am I.

 Anyway on a sweeter note, lets talk about the bean. He repeats EVERYTHING, as in we REALLY have to be careful on what we say, especially potty mouth Marco. Luca now is putting words together and forming sentences too. They go something like this. "Luca vuole this". Or "uh oh, Luca boke it, Mamma fix it pease". Or "Guada, piccolino bug, sooooo cute". Oh bilingual problems, poor boy has no idea two languages are bombarding him at the same time. 

 Luca is an amazing sleeper. Yes thats rights, my son, who for the first year and a half of his life woke up on average 5 times per night, now sleeps a full 12 hours straight!!!!! I have no idea what we did differently, but now for some unknown reason, he LOVES his bed, I mean what isn't to love about a bed full of furry friends, and boogers!

 Oh and we found out that Luca suffers from motion sickness!! I blame my mother. She suffers from it, passed it onto me, and now LB has it. Nothing like a family bond. We recently went to the mountains for a long weekend ski trip and what would have taken 1 and a half hours took close to 3 because the poor boy kept on saying he had mal di pancia, which means a stomach ache. I feel him. I have been there, and done that, mountain car riding sucks big time! It was all good though the trip was great, Nonna came along so Marco and I could ski, it was so frickin good to be back on my board. Marco wasn't bad either, especially for basically never skiing. 

Luca thought it wasn't bad either. But what is up with Italians and cold weather. Its the devil to them, I swear. No windows opened in our 90 degree room! It's okay ill just sleep naked and sweat the whole night.

That was not complaining though. Just to make that clear:)

Happy Tuesday everyone, just because Tuesdays are so under appreciated!

Watching Cars on the ceiling in our room at the ski lodge

tongues out on the Venice lagoon

Such a brave knight. Not

Carnevale in Mestre

We have to stop at every one. Walking 30 feet takes about half an hour

button nose and all

He kissed a minion, and did not like it. Sorry Camilla

mountain top selfies… always required 

dont get me wrong I love being a housewife, I am definitely a freak when it comes to cleaning, but defrosting a freezer? Really? Oh what a hard life.

Yes, Marco is throwing a snowball in our faces. Thats how we roll

couldn't really care less

best friends, animals and spiderman

two boys in their element

he put the couch cushions up there so he could watch the trees being cut. With a lint roller in hand

Our Days

My week looks something like this.

  Monday mornings Nonno usually comes over and takes LB to the park or on a walk. I be a housewife (laundry dishes, dusting, picking legos out of the toilet etc) LB sometimes has lunch with Nonno at his house if Marco is around, and he naps there. I give English lessons down the street (I go by bike) to some business men for an hour and a half.

Come home pick up Luca (if hes at Nonnos) do some grocery shopping, and than in the evening we have play group. come home, cook (sometimes Marco even has dinner ready if he comes home early from work!)while Luca takes a bath, eat, play, camomile tea, story time, (which is usually with Papa' while I clean up the kitchen and, bed. the day starts around 9 and ends around.

  Tuesday we do our thing... whatever that might be, park, library, our neighborhood ludoteca (play center) shopping, playing in the yard with his toys, plying with is cars, or playing with his cars again, oh or playing with his cars! We have a calm day. We have lunch together, nap (usually from 2-4) and than my friend comes over with her daughter who is about Luca's age. They play and I give english lessons. cook. bath (luca) eat, play, camomile tea,  story time, and bed.

  Wednesday is more or less a repeat of Mondays. Except no play group.

  Thursdays our hour free day sometimes if we are lucky Marco is even home. We usually do something as family, or if its just me and Luca we do our thing. We might even pop over Nonna's or she might come over our house and we have lunch together. naps, and a new thing Luca likes is watching the bimbi, (which means kids), who are actually high school students play soccer at the field behind our house. I swear He can stay put on his little tricycle for a long time! Much longer than I care to watch high school soccer, so during this time, I usually talk to my elderly neighbors about fabric softener (ew) or Italian politics (ew). bath time, (ok so my son is not constantly dirty, but he LOVES bathtime. I only wash his hair Sundays. Just in case you were really interested.) cook… etc...

  Fridays We go to swim class, go home, play, eat lunch, nap, than Luca and I go to the kids I used to babysit for, before Luca was born and I help with their english homework and Luca plays, usually trying to stick his finger in the poor dogs nostril. I dont understand that child. go home, and Marco usually has dinner ready or I precook! bath,… ok ok you get it.

  Saturdays are another day we dedicate to family and friends. Day trips, lazy days, lunch dates, and sometimes Marco and I go out to dinner, while Nonna comes over, and when we come home Luca is asleep! Imagine that!
Sundays I usually get some laundry done, some cleaning, precooking, ya know, really exciting things, and Marco goes with Luca on a bike ride or takes him to the park or to the bakery to get pastine for desert after lunch, lets just say it's a homey day. Of course not all Sundays, or for that matter any other day is the same… things pop up and we go with the roll.

I want to find a toddler gymnastic class as well, I know L would love it. I know he will survive if I don't sign him up either. Maybe after he turns two. Dear lord the stuff I worry about.
  Every day I say thank you to the life I have, the love around me, and where I am now. Being a mother and having the possibility to be just that is something I have wanted and dreamt about for ages. It is even more magical than I could have ever imagined. With his child innocents, Luca teaches me, tests me, loves me and reminds me to be a better person each day. I do my best to do all that in return.
Marco and I tell each other each day how fortunate we are to have a little bean like Luca. 

At his Nonnina Bella's house. I love this picture. Pure bliss.

Had to post this picture. Luca and his cousin (well Marco's cousins son to be exact) Marco. Yes his name is Marco too. Anyway, Marco (piccolo) is just about 6 months older than Luca. Ha! Should I be worried?