First, let's all say a little thank you that today's post isn't "day titled". Unfortunately today's title comes from the amazing fact I just haven't had the time or brain power to sit down and write. When I first began this blog I thought I would sit down at night after tucking the boys into bed and write. But wow, brain damage sets in around 7:30 and I'm too tired. So I thought I would write in the morning, but by the time I consume two cups of coffee to reverse the previous night's brain damage I've got too much to do to take time to write. This is harder than I thought.
In my last entry I stated we were off to the Commissary, but that was delayed due to weather. Strange, I know. It started to really rain just as we were walking out the door and knowing that we had to leave the house the next day for art class I decided to cancel our outing and do it Thursday. The boys were much happier with this decision and we all settled in to game of Monopoly Jr.. Thursday's art class was interesting. The project was to paint a flower using finger paints and your feet. Both of my boys apparently have texture issues and refused to take off their shoes and have their feet covered in paint. Such weird kids. They'll cover themselves head to toe with mud or sand, but paint? NO. They opted to use their hands instead -still cute.
On Saturday we did a bit of local exploring. We hopped in the family mini-van and just drove around to see what we could find. It's nice to do this on the weekends because the traffic isn't so bad. I'm always amazed at the ancient ruins "just around the corner". We're driving along and boom - a Roman Amphitheater I didn't even know was here. That night we watched a video rented from the library about Sicily. I was surprised to see all the Greek ruins still intact on Sicily. We're looking forward to our trip and seeing a few of these. The boys are looking forward to playing in the snow on Mt. Etna.
Thankfully my dishwasher was repaired today. And you want to know the kicker? The repairman told me the circuit board was shorting out due to - wait for it- water infiltration. huh? Now, I hate to be the voice of reason here, but a dishwasher by its' very nature has to get wet!!! He told me I needed to make sure that water from the draining board of my sink didn't leak down into the top control panel. I looked, taking in the layout of my kitchen and said "Impossible!" put an accent on the last "e" and it's Italian for- impossible. The sink and the dish drain area are directly above the dishwasher. His suggestion? Put a dishtowel on the edge to soak up any run away water. Good grief. Needless to say Paul heard this explanation and said "We'll put a bead of caulk around the exposed areas and no more water". Smart man I married, I think I'll keep him. I'm 100% positive that water infiltration is not the problem but I'll wait until it stops working again to learn how to say "I told you so" in Italian.
And now I'm off to do some reading and go to bed. I'm currently reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom and I love it!
I made this http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/brisket_baby/ two weeks ago and it is fantastic - I suggest you try it. We ate it as sandwiches on fresh bakery rolls with sweet potato fries - yummmy!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Wednesday again!
I hope all my entries don't have day titles, how boring. But, it's Wednesday again and here I am posting and I couldn't think of anything else to call it.
I'm glad I didn't promise daily updates (did I?) because it's harder than you think to post things daily about your daily life. Life can be pretty boring and routine and I'm sure you don't want to read anything boring or routine - in that case you may want to look for another blog to read.
1st- the good news - both of my boys still have all of their teeth (despite their efforts to lose them in crazy accidents). 2nd - the bad news - maybe not for long. William took a tumble while using the potty and fell in! No, I am not kidding. The stool he was standing on slipped out from under him causing him to lurch forward - he tried to catch himself but missed so one of his arms went into the toilet. The poor little boy hit his mouth on the toilet seat and busted his lips up pretty good and knocked one of his front teeth out of position. It wasn't wiggly so we didn't rush to the dentist. But, one of our dentists attends our church and took a look at his tooth and thinks he should come in to be examined further. It has turned very grey and the concern of course is that the tooth is dead and needs to come out. We're going in next Tuesday to have it examined. Lewis, not to be outdone by his baby brother, took a tumble in the playroom the other day and whacked his mouth on the train table! Big fat busted lip, but no signs of tooth damage. Why are they doing this to me? Boys.
I'm busy planning trips for our last year here in Italy. As I said before, we're heading down to Sicily with Paul February 4-13. He has a training exercise for work and we're going to tag along. In April I think we'll go to Umbria for a week and tour all the cute little towns like Assisi, Orvieto, Puglia, Deruta. It was much easier to convince Paul to do this as opposed to a cruise, imagine that. Anyone want to join us?
Today we're off for an exciting adventure at the Commissary, I can't wait. This is the good/bad side of homeschooling. I love having my kids with me all day, but I don't love having them with me for all of the things I need to do in a day. Luckily the bakery sells pretzels so we get two of those and that keeps them busy and quiet for at least three aisles. You don't want to know what the rest of the shopping trip is like.
Oh, my dishwasher is still broken. Did I tell you my dishwasher has been broken since August? uggghhh. and secretly I blame it all on my sister-in-law Gretchen who had the audacity to open the door! What was she thinking opening the door? She was here visiting in July and opened the door! Then it started acting funny and in August quit working all together. oh, wait, you're supposed to open the door? Well then, I guess it's not Gretchen's fault after all. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they screwed the decorative face plate on with non-coated screws that are rusting and that said screw is very close to the place where the electronics would be that make the stupid thing work? Anyhoo, it's been a long process. It was broken, then mysteriously started working again and then mysteriously stopped working again. The technician was due to come on Monday or Tuesday of this week. And what day is it? ugghhhhhh.
Time to get moving this morning - two cups of coffee and I'm starting to feel somewhat human.
Have a great day!
I'm glad I didn't promise daily updates (did I?) because it's harder than you think to post things daily about your daily life. Life can be pretty boring and routine and I'm sure you don't want to read anything boring or routine - in that case you may want to look for another blog to read.
1st- the good news - both of my boys still have all of their teeth (despite their efforts to lose them in crazy accidents). 2nd - the bad news - maybe not for long. William took a tumble while using the potty and fell in! No, I am not kidding. The stool he was standing on slipped out from under him causing him to lurch forward - he tried to catch himself but missed so one of his arms went into the toilet. The poor little boy hit his mouth on the toilet seat and busted his lips up pretty good and knocked one of his front teeth out of position. It wasn't wiggly so we didn't rush to the dentist. But, one of our dentists attends our church and took a look at his tooth and thinks he should come in to be examined further. It has turned very grey and the concern of course is that the tooth is dead and needs to come out. We're going in next Tuesday to have it examined. Lewis, not to be outdone by his baby brother, took a tumble in the playroom the other day and whacked his mouth on the train table! Big fat busted lip, but no signs of tooth damage. Why are they doing this to me? Boys.
I'm busy planning trips for our last year here in Italy. As I said before, we're heading down to Sicily with Paul February 4-13. He has a training exercise for work and we're going to tag along. In April I think we'll go to Umbria for a week and tour all the cute little towns like Assisi, Orvieto, Puglia, Deruta. It was much easier to convince Paul to do this as opposed to a cruise, imagine that. Anyone want to join us?
Today we're off for an exciting adventure at the Commissary, I can't wait. This is the good/bad side of homeschooling. I love having my kids with me all day, but I don't love having them with me for all of the things I need to do in a day. Luckily the bakery sells pretzels so we get two of those and that keeps them busy and quiet for at least three aisles. You don't want to know what the rest of the shopping trip is like.
Oh, my dishwasher is still broken. Did I tell you my dishwasher has been broken since August? uggghhh. and secretly I blame it all on my sister-in-law Gretchen who had the audacity to open the door! What was she thinking opening the door? She was here visiting in July and opened the door! Then it started acting funny and in August quit working all together. oh, wait, you're supposed to open the door? Well then, I guess it's not Gretchen's fault after all. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that they screwed the decorative face plate on with non-coated screws that are rusting and that said screw is very close to the place where the electronics would be that make the stupid thing work? Anyhoo, it's been a long process. It was broken, then mysteriously started working again and then mysteriously stopped working again. The technician was due to come on Monday or Tuesday of this week. And what day is it? ugghhhhhh.
Time to get moving this morning - two cups of coffee and I'm starting to feel somewhat human.
Have a great day!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sundays.
ahhhhhh Sunday. I think it's my favorite day of the week. We've just returned from church, eaten lunch and now we're relaxing. Well, I'm writing and boys (all three of them) are playing Wii. We love our Wii, it's so much fun! Though I have to admit my Mii is really, really bad at tennis - but, she's good at Mario Cart - driving in Italy prepared me for the crazy driving in that game.
We are thinking hard about what trips we want to take this year and trying to plan those. We'll be tagging along on one of Paul's work trips in February and heading to Sicily again. We've made a list and prioritized what we want to do before we leave here (hopefully next Dec.) I'm trying to convince Paul to go on a cruise in April for my birthday, round trip from Venice visiting Greek islands. Convincing a Navy man to voluntarily go on a boat for a week is tough. I've tried explaining it will be different, but he's not buying it. We're thinkin of another trip in June - possibly back to Tunisia, Africa or another cruise (assuming I convince him to go on the first one and he likes it). Then in August we're thinking we'll take the boys to LegoLand in Germany - hot here, mild there - good plan. And in October a trip to the Umbria region to see Assisi, Deruta, Orvieto, etc. And that should do us. In some ways I can't believe we only have another year here and I think we need to stay and travel and in some ways I'm so ready to go. Naples can be oh so challenging. So, if anyone is thinking they want to come visit us you had better start planning now - time is running out!
Great week of school for Lewis, he's a good student when he wants to be but mostly he wants to play. William is good and Praise God I think he's growing out of this terrible phase he's been in for the last year.
Here's a soup recipe I must share - make it, you will be glad you did. I've recently discovered Pioneer Woman - she writes a blog about life on a ranch in Oklahoma and recently published a cook book. Great recipes! On her web page she has new recipes to try through the week, everything I've made has been fantastic - check her out!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/italian-meatball-soup/
Sorry I don't have more to write, slow week. Buona Domenica! Happy Sunday!
We are thinking hard about what trips we want to take this year and trying to plan those. We'll be tagging along on one of Paul's work trips in February and heading to Sicily again. We've made a list and prioritized what we want to do before we leave here (hopefully next Dec.) I'm trying to convince Paul to go on a cruise in April for my birthday, round trip from Venice visiting Greek islands. Convincing a Navy man to voluntarily go on a boat for a week is tough. I've tried explaining it will be different, but he's not buying it. We're thinkin of another trip in June - possibly back to Tunisia, Africa or another cruise (assuming I convince him to go on the first one and he likes it). Then in August we're thinking we'll take the boys to LegoLand in Germany - hot here, mild there - good plan. And in October a trip to the Umbria region to see Assisi, Deruta, Orvieto, etc. And that should do us. In some ways I can't believe we only have another year here and I think we need to stay and travel and in some ways I'm so ready to go. Naples can be oh so challenging. So, if anyone is thinking they want to come visit us you had better start planning now - time is running out!
Great week of school for Lewis, he's a good student when he wants to be but mostly he wants to play. William is good and Praise God I think he's growing out of this terrible phase he's been in for the last year.
Here's a soup recipe I must share - make it, you will be glad you did. I've recently discovered Pioneer Woman - she writes a blog about life on a ranch in Oklahoma and recently published a cook book. Great recipes! On her web page she has new recipes to try through the week, everything I've made has been fantastic - check her out!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/italian-meatball-soup/
Sorry I don't have more to write, slow week. Buona Domenica! Happy Sunday!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wednesday
Don't ya just love a good Wednesday? That feeling of, well I've made it to Wednesday and Friday is just around the corner.
The boys and I had a great day today, though the days feel very long when we can't spend a lot of it outside. Truth be told, we're getting a little bored. Our dear friends the Sierleja family moved just before Christmas so we don't have anyone to "playdate" with. All the rest of our little friends attend regular school of some sort and it seems all of the local homeschoolers are older and really into their homeschooling. I've signed the boys up for an art class on Thursdays - something to get us out. I don't see that we'll be learning any real art skills but it's OK. Last week they cut snowflakes out of paper. Seriously? Even I'm that creative. But, it gave William a good chance to practice his scissor skills and Lewis loved the glitter pens. We're taking our schooling very lightly, meaning it's not very structured and we're not really following a curriculum. I did order a curriculum for Lewis to use and I do like it, but for our needs right now it's not a good fit. We'll use it next year for 1st grade when his ability to focus matures a bit. We work daily on math - he's very good at addition and pretty good at subtraction. We're working on time and face clocks and we pratice with flash cards - he's almost perfect at +0, +1, and +2. We're also working on his handwriting by practicing sight words that help him read better. Recently I've added word-find puzzles to his day and he really likes those. He can read, but gets a bit frustrated if the book is too long. William doesn't want to do school, but every now and then interrupts us to make sure we know he's still in the room. He's absorbing a lot and often has the right answer to Lewis' questions but getting him to focus is a real problem. He's still very young yet so I'm not the slightest bit concerned. Our biggest accomplishment in school so far is teaching the boys their home country. A few months ago I asked Lewis "what country do you live in?" "Italy". good. "What is your home country?" "South America" not good. That let to a bit of a geography lesson and now we're all clear on being Americans (we're practicing the Pledge of Allegiance just to make sure). And on good days both boys can find Tennessee, Washington and Maryland on a map. I think they're brilliant.
Today I'm really missing home. There are many, many, many things I do not miss about the States - but quite a few I do. Like cheeseburgers. Do not take these beautiful, decidedly American delicacies for granted. You simply cannot get a good burger here. Well, I did get one very good burger in London but once in three years just isn't enough.
We'll soon begin the painful process of finding a new job for Paul. Please pray for us,specifically that Paul will be able to find a great job where he can actually make a difference and enjoy his work - that he won't have to go to sea or war - a location where we can all be happy. Thank you. We'll keep you updated. He has not yet contacted the detailer (the person in charge of jobs) as there wasn't anything on January's job list that looked good.
Off to clean the kitchen and start dinner. Tonight is Bunco night with the ladies!
The boys and I had a great day today, though the days feel very long when we can't spend a lot of it outside. Truth be told, we're getting a little bored. Our dear friends the Sierleja family moved just before Christmas so we don't have anyone to "playdate" with. All the rest of our little friends attend regular school of some sort and it seems all of the local homeschoolers are older and really into their homeschooling. I've signed the boys up for an art class on Thursdays - something to get us out. I don't see that we'll be learning any real art skills but it's OK. Last week they cut snowflakes out of paper. Seriously? Even I'm that creative. But, it gave William a good chance to practice his scissor skills and Lewis loved the glitter pens. We're taking our schooling very lightly, meaning it's not very structured and we're not really following a curriculum. I did order a curriculum for Lewis to use and I do like it, but for our needs right now it's not a good fit. We'll use it next year for 1st grade when his ability to focus matures a bit. We work daily on math - he's very good at addition and pretty good at subtraction. We're working on time and face clocks and we pratice with flash cards - he's almost perfect at +0, +1, and +2. We're also working on his handwriting by practicing sight words that help him read better. Recently I've added word-find puzzles to his day and he really likes those. He can read, but gets a bit frustrated if the book is too long. William doesn't want to do school, but every now and then interrupts us to make sure we know he's still in the room. He's absorbing a lot and often has the right answer to Lewis' questions but getting him to focus is a real problem. He's still very young yet so I'm not the slightest bit concerned. Our biggest accomplishment in school so far is teaching the boys their home country. A few months ago I asked Lewis "what country do you live in?" "Italy". good. "What is your home country?" "South America" not good. That let to a bit of a geography lesson and now we're all clear on being Americans (we're practicing the Pledge of Allegiance just to make sure). And on good days both boys can find Tennessee, Washington and Maryland on a map. I think they're brilliant.
Today I'm really missing home. There are many, many, many things I do not miss about the States - but quite a few I do. Like cheeseburgers. Do not take these beautiful, decidedly American delicacies for granted. You simply cannot get a good burger here. Well, I did get one very good burger in London but once in three years just isn't enough.
We'll soon begin the painful process of finding a new job for Paul. Please pray for us,specifically that Paul will be able to find a great job where he can actually make a difference and enjoy his work - that he won't have to go to sea or war - a location where we can all be happy. Thank you. We'll keep you updated. He has not yet contacted the detailer (the person in charge of jobs) as there wasn't anything on January's job list that looked good.
Off to clean the kitchen and start dinner. Tonight is Bunco night with the ladies!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
In the beginning.........
Hello all! Here it is - the first post. I know, I know, it's terribly exciting! OK, it's not but it's a beginning anyway.
This blog is intended to be a way to share our daily lives with our friends and family (I'm hoping to post daily, please don't hold me to that). Living in Italy means we don't have the opportunity to be with the ones we love often enough and I hope this helps remedy the question "what are you guys up to?".
I'll start by introducing us - I'm Sabrina. I'm married to Paul. We have two boys Lewis (5) and William (4). My husband is a pilot in the Navy and we have the distinct pleasure of being stationed overseas in Naples, Italy. We have been here two years and have one more to go. We are having a lot of fun travelling around Europe and showing the world to our boys. We are a homeschooling family. We are a Christian family.
I'll try to post at night to give you a recap of our day. I can't promise this will be interesting, I can't promise it will be good - I won't promise anything actually. It's just an attempt to share.
I guess that's enough for a start?
This blog is intended to be a way to share our daily lives with our friends and family (I'm hoping to post daily, please don't hold me to that). Living in Italy means we don't have the opportunity to be with the ones we love often enough and I hope this helps remedy the question "what are you guys up to?".
I'll start by introducing us - I'm Sabrina. I'm married to Paul. We have two boys Lewis (5) and William (4). My husband is a pilot in the Navy and we have the distinct pleasure of being stationed overseas in Naples, Italy. We have been here two years and have one more to go. We are having a lot of fun travelling around Europe and showing the world to our boys. We are a homeschooling family. We are a Christian family.
I'll try to post at night to give you a recap of our day. I can't promise this will be interesting, I can't promise it will be good - I won't promise anything actually. It's just an attempt to share.
I guess that's enough for a start?
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