In Deep End Without Floaties

Hey everyone, sorry for the mini vacation on blogging...okay here's a brief recap of what has happened in two days.

Yesterday was my last day of "freedom" before I started my design job. I spent most of it watching "American Idol" reruns on Youtube (my addiction). I know that sounds lame but I was trying to be lazy and it sounded fun. At 5:30 I took the boys to a stationary store to buy their school supplies. The shop is a hole in the wall run by this nice man named Mossimo. The store was so crowded with parents and kids that there was a line going outside. After waiting our turn we bought all the essentials we needed and headed home. Pat and Alberto planned to go bike riding for an hour so they entrusted dinner to me. I have cooked for the boys before and make my lunches but I wasn't really prepared to make dinner for the whole family especially when the menu was already set. Alberto told me to cook roast beef, zucchini and pasta with pesto. I was scared cause I've never cooked roast beef, but Alberto TOLD me to cook it for one hour. When they got back from their ride dinner was served...kind of. I made just enough pasta for the boys but they wanted more and were mad that I didn't fix more (Cinderella apologized), the zucchini shrank so there was only enough for Pat and Alberto and one small serving each, and turns out that the roast beef was only suppose to be cooked for 20 minutes not an hour!! But I still testify Alberto told me an hour...suprisingly enough the meat wasn't too tough just more than they prefer. I only ate a banana because I had planned to go running with Andrea. So my first experience with cooking for all of them was like swimming in the deep end without floaties for the first time; I didn't drown just a little water logged. While they ate I met Andrea and we went for a run through the park. This was amazing therapy because the cooking stressed me out so it was nice to run it off. We ran for thirty minutes (I know I was a little suprised myself) and then we walked for awhile to cool down. By the time I got back it was time to go to bed and get ready for my new job.

My first day of work was great. Even though I didn't do much design work it still felt good to be in a design studio (nothing like the smell of fabric samples in the morning....) I spent most of the day trying to get logged onto the server and am still not connected. I love my Mac but it makes it very hard because the rest of the world still uses Windows....but if they only knew how amazing Macs are...enough preaching....I was briefed on what projects are being worked on and what exactly I will be doing. I am excited beacuse I actually get to help design several projects as well as do all the finish work for an exisiting project, not to mention all the final drawings for a flat in London. I can tell that I am going to be very busy but I will get some great experience.

After work I took the boys to the park and sat with Nonna Deana and another Nonna. I love hanging out with them (even though I don't always understand them) because I feel like I am in a Woody Allen movie or something. They are your sterotypical Italian grandmothers; fast talking-hand waving-loud laughing women. I know that life is a race and we are all running after the prize but after today I learned that the pace of the marathon was turned up a notch. I am turning in early tonight so I can function tomorrow and finish the day with a decent lap time.

One Lump or Two?

On Saturday afternoon I went with Alberto to a friends house to watch New Zealand vs Italy Rugby match. Apparently NZ is the number one team in Rugby and man did it show. They killed Italy 76-14. Those of you who don't know (don't worry I just found out on Saturday) each goal is 5 points and a field goal is 2 so like in football you can make 7 points per score. So 76-14 was a really bad lose. This was the first time in my life I have watched a sporting event with guys where we drank tea and ate cookies during halftime. It was a little strange but the refreshments were good. For the rest of the day I just lounged around and went for a walk.

On Sunday Andrea came and picked me up at 9:30 and he took me to a lake in France. It was only about an hour by car and once we got there we hiked down to the shore and then back to the car. We went to a small village for lunch and ate in this amazing little restaraunt that looked like a swiss chalet. The food was out of this world and the company wasn't bad either. After lunch we went back to Italy and found another lake and took a small walk around, we were both very full from the meal so we took it slow. We decided to go to an abby on our way to Torino. The abby is still in working order and was built in 983-987. The amazing part of the building is that is was built on top of a mountain so you can see the mountain coming up out of the building. The complex was built as a form of pentence and must have been a horrible sin cause that thing was huge! We came back to Torino around 8 and decided to have an appertivo (happy hour...even though we just had coffee with chocolate). Pat and Alberto wanted to go the movies at 10:30 so I came home a little after 9 and stayed with the kids. There was a huge thunder storm last night. I am a very sound sleeper but about 12:40 there was a clap of thunder so loud I sat up straight in bed wide awake. I just knew I would hear little feet coming towards my room but no one woke up. I finally went back to sleep after I checked my pulse.

Overall the weekend was amazing and very relaxing at the same time. P.S. I have posted the pictures on my photo website so you can see the mountains and the Abby.

Duck Duck Goose

What a wild Friday night...I am still recovering and nursing a bad sugar hang over. Yesterday was Ruggie's birhtday party and I think I ate more sugar than I have in years. So needless to say today I am very dizzy and feeling the effects. But anyways...the party was a great success. Thirteen kids showed up and the party lasted from 4-8!! After everyone left one family (one of the four that went to America this summer with my family) stayed for dinner and we had take out pizza.

During the party the kids were getting restless so we brought them to the living room to play games. I taught them how to play duck duck goose and it was a BIG hit. They ran and screamed around the circle and even said "duck duck goose" in English. They also discovered M & M's, even though everyone calls them smarties. I don't know but it was hard for me to understand how no one knew about m&m's the candy that melts in your mouth and not in your hand. Ruggie got lots of new great toys that should keep him busy for a couple of weeks. This morning I got up and tried to repair the house. Alberto took the boys so that I could clean and put things back into place. This afternoon I am going with Alberto to a friends house to watch a rugby match Italy vs New Zealand. He thinks they will lose cause NZ is the number one team in the world. I don't really know anything about the game but thought it would be nice to watch a sporting event on tv since I really miss watching ESPN. I was thinking last night was a beautiful night for a high school football game. Well I will be back before the Super Bowl and March Madness so it will be okay.

Anyways hope everyone has a great weekend and I will let you know how the match goes

Dinner and a movie

Tomorrow (Friday) is Ruggero's birthday party (his birthday was Aug. 25th) so I needed to get him a gift. I called Balbina and we went downtown to one of my favorite toy stores. I loved the one in Madrid but the one here in Turin was very small and I was a little disappointed. I ended up getting him a tub of colored clay. I thought this would be nice for us to play together and doesn't smell as bad as playdough- I hate that stuff. After our trip to the center I picked Ruggie up from school and we spent the afternoon at home while Fil was at his grandmother's. I took Ruggie to meet Fil, Anna and Marta at 6 to watch Shrek Terzo (Shreck the Third). I watched the English version on the plane ride over so it was nice that I knew what was going on. The theater wan't that nice and the movie stopped in the middle so we thought it was broken but after 10 minutes or so it started again. There is no such thing as stadium seating here in Turin so it makes it difficult to see sometimes. But all in all I was glad to go to the theater. After the movie the girls went home and I took the boys to a pizzeria. I was kind of scared to take them by myself but it worked out fine and we had a nice time while Fil and I talked in English. I am so proud of him, his English is really getting good and the kid is so technically savvy it blows my mind. Ruggie behaved and played with his new cowboys and indians he got yesterday. This afternoon he set them up in the living room and the indians lived in the no mans land of vcr/tv while the cowboys lived in the plush (pun intended) land of the carpet. It was so cute to watch him play and listen to him in Italian. My date night was very nice and like all the other dates I have had, ended in no drama....enough said :-)

Pinocchio the Imposter

Yesterday was a pretty normal day without any big news. Ruggie went to school until noon and then Filippo went to his grandmother's for the afternoon. Ruggie and I stayed at home and played and he took a nap while I read my book. At five we went to the park and met Fil and nonna Deana. We got home at 7 and started to prepare dinner because Balbina, the girl from Houston, was coming over. She arrived at a little past 8 to a house of chaos. The boys were hungry and restless while music blarred in the background. Dinner was simple, pasta with bread crumbs and a plate of five different kind of cheeses and gelato, but very tasty. Balbina said she like my family and they seemed very interested in her.

Today went like Tueday until lunch because I had both boys for lunch. I fried chicken and made grilled cheeses (I know a weird combo). Fil asked me if I made the chicken and when I said yes he was suprised said, "Wow bravo che buono!!" I smiled....and they didn't think I could cook--well I didn't either. Fil went with a friend to the swimming pool and ruggie took a nap. At 5 we went to the park to play. After 30 mins or so a guy dressed in funny colorful clothes with fake nose and carrying a bag shaped like a large sneaker came parading through the park asking the kids to watch his spetacolo (come to find out it was an infomercial to get some birthday party gigs). So we sat down to watch this "clown" thinking we were in for a treat. I know I'm not a clown expert but I'm pretty sure this was the worst preformer I have ever seen. It was horrible. He took out a magic wand and was getting the kids to shout spells at it. I was expecting flowers to pop out the top but instead he pulled out a minature chair (for a doll house) and stuck it on the end of the wand and then pretended to balance the chair while singing. Give me a break!! But the finale came when he told the kids they could buy a suprise for 3 euros. The kids went begging for the money and when some were lucky enough to succeed all they received was a puzzle piece and a plastic disk that entitled them to a balloon animal (he could only make a dog and a sword). Some of the parents became outraged and luckily the police were in the park. I was with a grandmother when she called them over and told them what this man was doing. Later I saw two more parents giving the police an ear full. They couldn't really do anything to the guy but for a minute I thought things were really going to get interesting. The guy called himself Pinocchio but he didn't look like a real boy, just a clown school dropout.

When we got home we got ready for dinner and met Pat's two sisters, their husband and boyfriend, and Nonna Deana at a quaint little restaraunt tucked away in the hills of Torino. We had a great time talking and eating the amazing food. We were celebrating Louisa's and Ruggero's August birthdays so we topped the meal of with fabulous deserts.

Exciting news...I have a hot date for tomorrow!! I am going to take the boys to see a movie and then out for pizza :-) Sorry didn't mean to get your hopes up but it should be fun to take them somewhere in public where they can't kill each other. I will have all the wonderful details of my night out on the town so tune in tomorrow.

Slap Jack?

Oh first day back on the job as official babysitter. Honestly I was a little nervous about having both boys all day today but knew in my heart that it would all be okay. After breakfast I taught the boys how to play slap jack on the living room carpet. It was a big hit (pun not intended) and kept us all in high spirits. Then we got around for the day and got dressed. Pat asked me if I would organize Ruggies toys so I started the task after our daily teethbrushing exercise. Ruggie helped for awhile until he found some long lost toys that seemed more interesting. Filippo made all the labels for the plastic tubs and attached them after I was finished sorting them. The morning went very smooth and actually had a great time cleaning out his toy box (for those of you that don't know, I love organizing things-especially other people's things). After lunch the boys were starting to get stir crazy and began to pick each other apart. But luckily Pat had rented two dvds so I popped one in just before the blood started flowing. After the movie we went to the park and played for two hours. The park was packed full of childern and I talked with several mothers and grandmothers I hadn't seen since July. We took a short break from the slide and the monkey bars to eat some gelato. At half past 6 we came back home to find Pat interviewing a lady for the housekeeping job. From the long day and lack of naptime, Ruggie broke into a raging fit but I was quick to play the mom card (okay not to quick cause he slapped me in the face and bit me before I gave him over to his mother--nothing like a welcome home gift). Things settled down and we had a good dinner and a quiet evening at home. I guess Jack wasn't the only one getting some "personal" attention, but for the first day back with both boys I thought it went pretty good and looking forward to tomorrow.

Return of the Jedi

Well it's September and I'm back in Turin. I arrived on Thursday the 30 of August about 7:00 in the evening. The flights were long but good and I'm happy to report I still love airplane food. On the plane ride to Turin I met an Italian guy named Andrea and after talking with him for awhile he said I could call him Andy cause no one has ever called him that. We talked the whole way home and exchanged numbers and emails. Perhaps you will hear more about Andy in the future.

When I got home I was greeted by everyone but Filippo because he was at boy scout camp for the week. We went to a sushi restaraunt the was incredible and I heard the family's stories about America. Turns out that Alberto's favorite place in America is Denny's and Yellowstone. Pat was really missing Starbucks because she had two expresso shots every morning!! On Friday I slept until 11:30 and then had lunch with Pat and Ruggie. Friday evening we made dinner at home and I learned how to make a new sauce for penne pasta. Saturday Ruggie and I colored and spent 2 hours at the park close to our house. I had a really good time with him and was suprised at how much English he remembers. Saturday afternoon I met up with a girl from Houston who's mother is a friend of my Italian family (small world). I went to a store like a Walmart and really enjoyed it cause I didn't know Italy had such "modern conveniences" :-)

Today I got up and went to church and met the pastor, his wife, and several regular members. Even though I would probably not go to a church like this in the states, I really enjoy meeting the people and letting God show me just how wonderful his creation is. Even though we all come from different countries we are similar. After church I met up with Balbina (friend from Houston) and her aunt and cousin. We ate at McDonalds and then her family left for Germany (where they live). Balbina and I went to Parco Valentino--The Central Park of Turin. I loved it. It's right on the River Po and is huge. We walked around for awhile and then found a cozy spot where we put our blanket down and read our books for hours. We listened to a guy play the guitar and watched people pass. After several hours we decided to get some dinner and head home. We ate at Donner Kebab and ate it on a park bench. Sunday was very relaxing and the end (I fear) of lazyness. Tomorrow I will have both boys on my own!! So may the force be with this jedi.