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? 

Tis the Season to be Thankful and Jolly

  Hello 2015! Yet another year rolls by. Farewell 2014! Sweet, bitter, happy, sad, beautiful memories of a year to say farewell, but also to reminisce, breathe and be thankful for another four seasons to smile and give thanks for what I have. A year to look forward to. With each season comes new resolutions to make my world a better place for the innocent children on or coming to this earth.
  I can't wait to make memories with my family, to document the milestones of our sweet boy, to teach him to care, to love, to create, and to guide him in the right direction. I wont have to try too hard. Our Little Bean is right where he should be.
  The holidays have been a whirlwind of chaos, but so good to be with the family. Luca adjusted yet again wonderfully to different time zones, traveling and all the shananagans of the  Hinderberger/Eisenbise family.
  I am wishing you all Peace, Love, Joy and optimism for an especially sweet year!
P.S One of my resolutions for this year is weekly (ok, ok, roughly… more or less) updates on the blog… so keep an eye out!

Luca and his "Bimba". The dolly Mamma made when she was 13.

The lighting of the tree

What's a night of Christmas without nice recorder playing?

He did not need a demonstration

Pops and Nonno

And some Zio love

Luca trying to steal the non virgin eggnog.

The Bean and his beloved Zia

Carter is always in the mood for a deep conversation

cheeky snotty monkies

cats babies and smiles

baby bliss

crunk on food, Marco not Ada

hams

my brown eyes boy

I swear we did not have special brownies for desert. #notstoned

Ada probably wanting to get away

who wouldn't want this gift!

Happy 2015 Y'all!

Graditude

It's been a long time, I know, I just can't seem to put the time together and just write, I get distracted so easily, plus when LB is awake I am unplugged. It's a Ceccarello house rule. But enough of my OCDness and onto some more relevant and exciting updates...
Lawd, where the h*ll do I begin, see that's what I get for being such a sucky blogger, and letting my OCD kick in.
Well lets start off with Luca is now officially as of today 18 months, yes that means in 6 months he will be 2!!! WTH. So what's new with him? He is 100% off the boob. I have been getting shit from people (I wont name names) about nursing Luca...I never let it get to me, and I loved every moment, and so did Luca so basically I just silently told people to f* ck off and mind their own business, it felt right to me, and Luca was happy healthy and everything was just rainbows and butterflies... Until he would not go to sleep anymore... The only time I would nurse him was when he was very upset (and if homeopathic remedies did not do the trick... which was rare) and when I put him down for his afternoon nap, and at bedtime. It was all going well, but for some reason about a month ago he just would refuse to fall asleep. I'm talking an hour 1/2 of trying to but a toddler to bed is NOT fun. I tried everything,  and he would ONLY WANT ME!
So I decided it was time. No more boob. I was ready and I knew Luca was too.
The only mistake I did was I did not savor the last time i nursed Luca. I still tear up now, my sweet baby boy is growing up so ridiculously fast, and I didn't even take the time to cherish those sweet moments. Well anyway I get beat myself up about it or just move on. Which is what I did, and I am doing. Luca never asked for "num nums" again. That was the easy part. The hard part of "operation no boob" was the actual getting him to sleep part, which was why I weaned him in the first place! Well, we (Marco and I) set a new routine. Bath at 7, dinner at 7:30, playtime, Marco reads (while I clean up dinner) around 8:30 with Luca's chamomile tea (yes, just like an old man) than brush teeth. Luca says night night to Papa' and I take over. Light a candle, we (I) tell each other what we did that day, and what we are thankful for. We say night night to about everything in his room, blow out candle and I put him in his bed, he talks for about 5 minutes and I sing and rub his back. Hes out by 9. Score.
If he wakes up at night, which is rare, all I have to do is go into his room, and rub his back for a minute (and put the covers back over him, which is actually pointless, because after 2 seconds he out from under them... damn winter). Luca refuses to sleep with any stuffed animal, just his 2 blankies he snuggles with.
The transition has been amazing. Bittersweet, but amazing. I know I did the right thing, at the right time.
One problem. Getting Sick. Luca has never really gotten sick, just maybe a snotty nose, or a cough, but nothing that he has had to take anything for. Well after I totally weaned Luca he got a fever for 24 hours, than two weeks later a fever that lasted 4 days, than a runny nose, than a cough, than a fever... Well you get the point, this kid was not doing well. I couldn't understand why, yes maybe the absolute crap weather wasn't helping much, but why was he always getting sick? And if you know me I hate giving him medicine. I was doing everything the alternative way, until it got to the point where we had to give him a non homeopathic solution. It helped, but not really in the long. I was researching and than it totally occurred to me. While nursing Luca I was giving him all the nutrients he needed, and when I stopped his immune system totally went crazy, and therefor... Fevers, and coughs, and snots, oh my! Well that made me feel like the Mommy of the year. My fault my son gets sick. Gawd this Mamma thing. Its hard! But for the moment hes fine, happy healthy and a talking machine!! He is a human parakeet. His favorite activities include, any sort or car play, coloring, owls, putting toilet paper down the toilet, while saying nonono Duka. He is head over heals in love with our 9 year old neighbor Anna, and insists on seeing her every time he sees her door, which is all the time, since she lives right across the hall. The excuses I make up... you should hear them. "No Luca, Anna cannot play, she is going nanna. She is going cacca. She has a bobo", etc... He does not know what "Anna is at school means". All the other excuses seem totally legit to him. LB also loves going to our piazza's Ludoteca, which is basically a place where kids and parents can go to chat (parents) and drink coffee (parents) and play with toys (kids) and lick foreign objects (Luca). It's a win win solution on shitty days where we cant go to the park. Score.
We are in less than 3 weeks leaving for Baltimore, Luca, Marco, Franco and I will be stateside for more than a month. We are so excited. So excited.
I promise promise I will be posting more often, I just wrote a short book. Not okay. Ps my computer is really hating me, and has not been cooperating AT ALL, I apologize in advance for the crap pictures and the quality. We had a fierce battle, and my mac won. It really needs to get checked out.

morning reading

he only looks innocent  

LB playing with uncooked penne pasta. Sorry about the flash

My design, Marco and Franco's work. forward facing shelves. Luca LOVES them. So sweet

playing with Mamma's jewelry while Mamma folds cloths... over and over again

close up, the wood we used was left over oak from our floors, we had sitting in the basement

check out his owl hat. and his owl scarf

Marco thought that Luca's  Stokke placemat needed a facelift. Every week he puts new drawings in it... so LB can give food to everything on the mat... before himself. Meals in our house are not rushed

3 generations of Ceccarellos. 

with his beloved Nonna

cucù... ECCOMI!

checking out every rock

loves puzzles, terrible at it though...

in the mountains coloring on a cafés table

purple cabbage and potato risotto. This boy eats everything. Lets see how long it lasts...

The Ludoteca has great balls

Saturday morning cartoons... while mamma makes breakfast:)

Celebrating and Changes

I am so thankful for the memories and moments between Luca and my Grandpa

I post about a truly inspiring and incredible man, who left us recently. There really are not enough words and space to acknowledge his love for his family and friends, the earth, and his passion for building. He was a master of all things wood, he could create gorgeous furniture, bowls, and so much more. He was always ready to teach you, and answer any questions about making anything by scratch. He was always a hard worker, patient, and so informed about anything happing in the word. He was a professor a reader, and oh so much more. He lived to the fullest and went peacefully. He is being missed terribly, but I am so honored to have called him my Grandpa, and if I turn out to be half the person he was, I truly would be blessed.

Marco looks okay in mountain gear too, na?

I am missing my Grandpa, but also celebrating his life. And forever telling him thank you for being the incredible man he was. He was a gift to the world.
 We are also celebrating fall, yes fall. It is getting cooler, crispier (can I use that to describe fall?) But I am thankful for this weather, a reminder to thank each day as they come and go. Especially the ones that bring a warm sun, and leave a clear sky. Just fyi the colder and shorter the days get here in Venice, the more grey they get, and wet, and humid. But you know what? I am thankful fir those days too.

We have been lucky though, fall has been perfect, I mean we even went swimming in Croatia a week ago! Granted the next day the temperature dropped 10 degrees, but hey, cra weather?

LB thrives and grows each day, more words, more crumbs, more mess, more laughs, more moments of pure frustration, and of smiles, and of new hairdos! (yes, I cut his hair, it was time, and so many people might want to wallop me. Sorry, I had no more patients for screaming sessions… He wanted dreads! I was/am not ready for them… not yet… maybe when your 18) He now listens, when you talk (lawd knows what goes on in his head) but he truly understand! English and Italian. So many proud Mamma moments.  But when they (whoever they are) say babies grow before your eyes, it is 100% true. Every day he amazes us.

My next post will be more specific on his toddler progressions, but now all I want to say is thank you to  the goodness of this earth. A prayer that there will still be goodness in this earth when little ones become big, hoping I will be a positive teacher to the little ones, to keep the goodness on this earth. And now, wishing you a day of positivity and goodness. 

Water baby

Water boys

In his element

Pooped. Too much mountain air.

A swim on October 19th? Why not?

Hey you! Watchu doin?

Impromptu volley game, after an impromptu bbq

Probably pointing to an imaginary airplane.  For the 100th time. Camilla is so over it

And of course he found the dog poo

He wanted to take it home to Italy