resourceful?!?! .....i should say so!

i must say, i have been pretty impressed with my own levels of creativity the last week or so...

it all started when i asked kelly if i could help plan her baby shower and since then i have come up with so many ideas for things, many of which are re-using things that i already have. for instance...we decided to use empty baby food jars for the favors, we are going to fill them with junior mints and put fabric on the tops with a ribbon around them and a tag with a cute little saying. the lids from the jars we are going to use in the future to make magnets with our kids faces in them to give as thank you's for presents or maybe even to make christmas ornaments out of...i came up with a nift little poem for her invites today to encourage people to only shop from her registry...it goes like this
"not knowing what we're having, may it be a boy or a girl, it may be hard to shop for, it could send you on a whirl. so as our way of simplifying, we've set up registries. there are plenty of things to choose from at...(the names of the stores)"

not bad for something off the top of my head!

but anyway...its been a few days so i guess i should do a recap to let you all know what we have been up to. saturday i worked and then beth and i took the kids to a bridal shower with us, where tuscan had an absolute ball running around in someone elses backyard for hours!! it was fun...he decided he has a passion for photography and stole the disposable camera off the table and start snapping away. hopefully he took some pics that were worth developing!

sunday frank and i packed up the kids and got on the road a little after 8am and headed up to syracuse to meet kelly and kennie at the zoo. we stopped at kelly's parents for a little bit and then had a relaxing afternoon at their house. they bought tuscan a new tent for his birthday and it came with a blow up chair, a sleeping bag, a flashlight (whos batteries have already died) and a compass. so he is all set for his first camping adventure...which will probably only happen in the family room but its all fun and exciting for him! its his new favorite place to sit and watch his movies and read his bedtime story!

monday was back to work for both of us, nothing really documentary to write about.

yesterday i had my dress fitting for my cousin sarah's wedding and can i tell you the dress is amazing. to back things up a bit, i ordered the dress in january, over the phone, without being measured. the designer of the dress was the same designer as the dress i wore in my parents wedding last year, so i knew their size chart already and having just had the twins about a month earlier i knew it wouldnt really matter what my measurement was at that time anyway...so i picked a number and went with it, i ordered a size bigger than what i had originally ordered for my parents wedding (that was a 6 that they were amazing at altering into a 7 month pregnant with twins maternity dress) but anyway, the dress fit like it was made just for me. the only alteration i need is the hem! so i was super excited about that!

after the fitting we went to the members only picnic at the zoo. we weren't able to make it last year so we didnt really know what to expect. but it was pretty nice. they were serving hotdogs and chips and pop for dinner. there were samples of the new fizzy go-gurts (they were kinda weird) but most of the animals were hiding out inside sleeping, the picnic was from 6-830. but it was cool to be there after hours and see how differenly the animals behaved. tuscan spent most of the time in the gravel pit digging for dinosaur bones, but he did manage to sneak in a ride on the merri go round with me and the train with frank. and the twins have recently discovered how to sit themselves up right in their stroller and highchairs to reach for things they want...when in their stroller, the thing they are most interested in is each others hair!! its fun for the baby that is doing the pulling, but not so great for the one being pulled!!

which explains the severe look of concern on vincenzo's face!

today was just another day...one of the not so great days. not for any real reason...just one of those days where tuscan wanted to do things he knew he wasnt supposed to, no one wanted to nap at the same time so there was always some one who needed to be entertained...

my resourcefulness kicked in at dinner time today though, which is always a blessing for me! i decided to create my own pizza out of a cheese pizza i had in the freezer. i used up leftover chicken breast and some veggies that were in the fridge that all needed to be used up and made our own version of supreme style pizza...and it was super good!! if only i could come up with dinner in a snap like that every night!

and now im off to hopefully spend some relaxing time with my husband, something we seem to be forgetting to do lately, and trust me - its getting kind of ugly around here. frank and i dont seem to mesh well together when we dont spend much time together...we bug each other when we finally are together...so tonight and tomorrow morning we are going to try and get past that before another crazy weekend begins!

babes on the move...

so its official...we have witnessed matteo do the army crawl across the living room floor!! frank and i got all excited, started cheering him on and clapping...and he looked at us like we were nuts!! i could see the word bubble pop up from his head, saying "what, i just crawled over to get this toy, whats all the fuss about??" crazy parents..." it was super exciting though...vincenzo i think will be following in his footsteps in just a few days, he has the whole up on his knees rocking back and forth thing down pat.
tuscan is sleeping over nonna and poppa's again tonight...so im hoping to get a few things done around here. we have been lacking in time a lot lately and there is so much to get caught up on. i feel like there is just stuff everywhere!
i made a huge accomplishment last night and got all of my pictures organized in my scrapbooking world and even completed a few pages...it was so nice to be able to sit down for a while and do something i totally enjoy...i havent been able to do that in a while!
today's major accomplishment was venturing out with the twins by myself...something i havent done until today! we stopped by my moms work, ran to target for the never ending need of diapers and baby food, ran into starbucks and then went to my friend sheri's house for a co-workers going away party...i felt like a real person again, going out into public, socializing...it was really nice!
but im home now, the kids are in bed and i need to use my time wisely to get a few things done. i have another busy weekend ahead of me...bridal shower tomorrow and syracuse on sunday!!
gods love and graciousness to all...and my love!

im proud to be an american...

i watched a movie with frank last night (finished it this afternoon). it was called "grace is gone" i had never heard of it but saw it on the shelf at blockbuster, john cusack was in it so i thought it had to be a good one. i read the discription, it sounded great, but little did i know what door in my heart it would open by the time it was over. it was about a mother and father with two daughters, the mother was serving in iraq and the father (john) has to figure out the best way to tell his young girls that their mother wont be coming back.
more often then not, i catch myself thinking about all the men and women who are working everyday in iraq, to make the world a better place to live in (so cliche, but so true) but it takes a true moment of thought and focus to bring myself home again and think about all the families that have to continue on with everyday life, with someone they love more than anything very far away. i cant even begin to imagine what that feels like, as i have hard enough time when frank is at work for 12 hours a day and misses the daily milestones with the kids, or the rare occasion when i have to go to bed before he comes home. not having him next to me one night and i have a hard time falling asleep! i cant even imagine....
as most of you know, my best friend kellie's husband, randy, is proudly serving the country we live in, fighting for our freedom everyday overseas in iraq. they have been apart since december, he spent 3 months away training before he actually deployed in march. he has been in iraq now for over 100 days and since watching that movie all of my thoughts and feelings and emotions of gratefulness, pride in my friends for what they are willing to give up for me and the future of my children...all those feelings have been spread out further today.
kellie and randy are in my thoughts every single day, sometimes its just because i miss having them as a part of my everyday life, i regret the fact that my children will never know them the way that i know them, even though they will always remain uncle randy ("unka andy") and aunt kellie, it will be a love and relationship that develops over once a year visits, pictures and phone calls.. (and emailing, something tuscan has been fond of since he was about 6 months old!)
sometimes when i mention that frank and i are going to watch a movie or whatever, i think about kellie and it makes me sad that she cant say the same. i am so in aww by her everyday, the way that she has embraced this challenge in her life, this fork in her road. if only there was a way for more wives to be as proud and devoted to their husbands, its something to admire...
but anyway, what i am trying to get to here is that the 4th of july is coming, a holiday that most americans get very excited about. the bbq's, the parades, the beautiful fireworks, red white and blue everywhere you look. and all i am asking is that on this 4th of july you remember the real name of the holiday, independence day...the 4th is just the date, the independence is what we are celebrating. so as you eat your hot dog and watermelon and graciously wave your flag, say a little prayer not only for the soliders who are so proudly fighting for our independence, but also for their families who wish for nothing more then the opportunity to be sharing that day with them once again.
and dont forget, you cant always believe what you see on the tv. there are good things happening overseas, good things that they dont bother to mention on tv or in the papers. pray for our soliders, pray for their families and charish everyday. we americans have a lot to be thankful for!

is it over yet??

the day that is? it started off as any other monday, way to early, followed by severe allergy symptoms, which i forgot to take medicine for before i left for work...and then as the morning progressed i started getting this terrible stomach ache, and its still here. i really havent been able to eat all day, partly because i dont have an appetite but mostly because whatever i eat just goes right through me (TMI - i know, but i have to say im a little scared about it) frank is at work all night, its just me and the kids and im afraid i wont have the energy to make it till the end of the night. i took a nap hoping it would make the stomach pain go away, it did while i slept, but came back as soon as i got up. tuscan has been sleeping since before frank left, thank god, so my day with the kids has been pretty easy so far...but i just really dont feel well...im lightheaded and my head is pounding, im clammy and warm and i just want to sleep until next week. i've been getting these crazy stomach pains every few days for a little over a week now, ever since i ate beef two days in a row (something we dont do very often over here) so i think maybe my body just needs a little detox...no more beef for me for a while, no more pop and i think i need to stay away from soy (so sad, its my new fav when im at work) hopefully it will be an early bedtime kind of night, which is why i am posting so early today!
i think it will be safe to say that me posting over the weekend...not gonna happen! so monday will be recap day!
saturday was great, i worked in the morning, came home and napped while the babies were napping and then we headed over to my parents for dinner and the marilla parade. it was fun, the first parade for the twins, who surprisingly barely reacted to the load horns of the fire engines...tuscan slept through the whole first half, which was most of the loud firetrucks!! goes to show you that sleepovers at nonna's are exhausting for all those involved!! (beth was feeling pretty worn out the next day too!) tuscan got tons of candy and had a blast, made friends with the people sitting behind us and took it upon himself to uninvitedly sit on their blanket!
fathers day was ok too...frank went golfing in the morning, which took many more hours than anyone anticipated...i took a nap when he got home, then we had some dinner and took the kids miniture golfing...that sounded like a lot more fun than it really was....tuscan is clearly not ready to learn that one yet!! it was sort of dangerous for any and all bystanders! then we shared a nice family outing over coffee and chocolate milk at starbucks. came home, everyone took their baths, kids went to bed and we actually got to finish a movie!! simple yet enjoyable!
so please say an extra prayer that i kick whatever this is quickly...jokingly i made a comment at work today about how it would be my luck to need some crazy sort of emergency surgery during this 3 month time span that i dont have insurance...i can only pray that it remains a joke!!

yuck, yuck, yuck...

that is about all i can say about how hot and still the air is here today. there was no breeze all day, we had a tremendous storm for about a half hour, but even that didnt really cool things down. i should just turn the AC on but im still holding onto the idea that it might cool down before bed! (its already 915pm) tuscan is having a sleepover at nonna and poppa's house tonight, so i got to spend some one on one time with my little babies...its always so nice to spend time with a smaller amount of children! both the twins are starting to get themselves into crawling position this week. they get themselves up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth...its the cutest thing!! and when u try to encourage them to move forward they get these ear to ear grins on their faces! its only a matter of time...then i should really start sheding the pounds because i'll be running in so many different directions all day! it will be fun though, something new for them to entertain themselves with - they are starting to lose interest in their swings, pretty quickly lately.
we also decided today that we are going to enroll tuscan in swimming lessons for the summer. its 6 weeks, 12 lessons - frank is going to do it with him because i have a horrible fear of water that i would never want to instill on tuscan. but i think he is really going to accel at it...he is such a little athlete as it is, and he is constantly looking out his bedroom window into our neighbors pool saying "me, me"...he was in their pool once last summer but apparently it was enough for him to know it was something he really enjoyed. besides that, its a good opportunity for frank and tuscan to spend some true father/son time together...and it give me time at home with just the twins. so as soon as that starts ill be sure to keep everyone updated and hopefully have a few pics to send through out the course.
but im off for the night...going to settle down with frank for a little while, watch a movie - or at least part of one, and off to bed to rest up for another early morning.
sweet dreams and God's love to all!

easy night...or so i thought...

so i thought tonight was going to be a night where i actually had some time to myself...had all intentions of scrapbooking for a little while, but i never made it to the table. the twins went to bed a little after 7...but matteo decided that tonight was his mommy night, so he came back downstairs to watch curious george with me and tuscan...once i got him to sleep tuscan and i shared some really great time together snuggled on the couch. when his show was over we tickeld each other and giggled for a few minutes. he is such a goofy kid! then it was upstairs to brush teeth and hit the hay. he went to bed without a problem tonight, i heard him call my name a few times about a half hour later but i think he must have just heard the neighbors outside his window. matteo still wasnt sleeping though...so we snuggled for a little bit until i realized it was after 9, then his little butt went back to bed...no sooner is he sound asleep, cenzo wakes up...tried to let him whine it out, that didnt work so i went upstairs to get him, he spit up all over my arm (darn teeth - oh and i recently bought gentle naturals homeopathing teething drops, really seems to work!) so i tried to cuddle him and rock him, he wanted nothing to do with it...all he wanted was another bottle, so thats what he got. 10 minutes later he was back in bed and now its 1030 and frank is on his way home, im exhausted and still havent washed the dishes from dinner yet! but i think they will just wait until tomorrow (hopefully no one will break into my house while i am sleeping, it could be embarrassing if they tried to rob my kitchen! - 2 pans on the stove and bottles in the sink, the table needs some windex) oh well - tomorrow is another day, today i need some sleep!

there was some exciting news for tuscan today...he and frank were outside washing our cars together and when they came in tuscan was soaked head to toe (he was in charge of the hose) so after frank took his clothes and diaper off he went running through the living room and when i stopped him, he grabbed himself and said "pee" so i hurried him over to him potty seat, he sat down and within a minute he was peeing on his potty!!! it was so exciting...frank and i were cheering him on and he was so excited about it! after he flushed it down the toilet he looked at us and said "more" indicating that he wanted to do it again!! we tried again later, but nothing...he sure enjoyed all the attention though and the fact that he got a piece of candy for being such a big boy!

he'll kill me for this one in about 15 years...but ill always think its adorable!

i also started doing my pilates workout again tonight...its been awhile, considering i have pretty much been pregnant for the last 3 years straight! but it felt great, getting into that dress for the wedding last week has been a good motivation for me to find the energy to get myself in shape. but its been another long day and i cant wait to close my eyes, bedtime is always nicer when i know i dont have to set my alarm to get up in the morning!

fudgesicle face...

ok, so i have to start off today by saying i feel as though my level of geniousness is extremely high...not only did i finally figure out how to get pictures from my phone onto the internet, but then i also figured out how to get them from the verizon website onto my computer so that i could upload it on this page!! i know, for many of you that is probably old news, but im not the most technologically inclined person!
so anyway...today tuscan and i shared our first front step fudgesicles of the summer... fortunately we sat outside because not only was it all over his face, but it was dripping everywhere else too!! tomorrows endevour...fresh juicy watermelon!
doesnt the chocolate bring out the deep, chocolate brown in his eyes!! i love my boys...everyday someone does something to make me smile...tonights moment to remember happened while i was rocking matteo, feeding him the rest of his bottle...vincenzo had just fallen asleep in his bed and all of s sudden i heard him laugh in his sleep...twice!! it was the cutest thing ever!
matteo is getting ready to start crawling too i think, he has the whole frog look down and he rocks back and forth on his knees!
something new everyday!

sidenote...

i was told i need to give myself a little more credit in regards to the dress i wore to that wedding saturday night.. i know i have shared this excitement with many of you...but the dress i was wearing was actually the dress i wore to my homecoming in 10th grade...it was one of my most favorites so i have hung onto it all these years and to my astonishment, it fit this year!! 10 years and 3 babies later, i could still fit into a size 3 gown from 5-7-9!! i was amazed and honestly...it felt really good!! and the fact that people were commenting on how gorgeous it was only heightened my excitement!! (sorry i just had to brag a little about that...i did just have twins 7 months ago for crying out loud!)

hot and tired...

its been another one of those days...starting at 413am when the alarm went off.
after a nice and relaxing evening on the couch with frank last night, we actually watched a whole entire movie!! (that hasnt happened in a while, usually someone falls asleep!) i had a good night sleep last night with the breeze blowing in the window, but of course morning came very quickly. (1125pm-413am....clearly not enough sleep time!) did the work thing, came home and transplanted a few more flowers...maybe before summer is over we'll have everything where we want it to be!! frank left for work and the chaos began. tuscan took a good nap, which always makes the day a little easier, vincenzo took a decent nap too, but matteo had no interest in sleeping today whatsoever. even when it came time to go to bed, he still had no interest!! i know its hot, we're all crabby, they are teething more and more everyday. but somedays i just wish there was someone here to help me get everyone to bed calmly. i hate having to let the babies cry, but with three of them going to bed around the same time, i can only spend so much time rocking them! fortunately tuscan was just amazing today and we got to spend some much needed "mommy and me" time on the couch before he went up to bed. and it was the cutest thing, he grabbed my hand and started singing "me and mom, me and mom" and sort of bounced up and down on my lap!! i just love that kid! but i think i am off to bed...frank will be later than usual...he wants to make a detour on the way home to jump in a friends pool to cool off...lucky duck! i had to take another shower tonight, but not because i wanted to cool off, but because i had already changed my clothes 3 times because the babies kept spitting up on me...i couldnt handle the smell anymore!! damn teeth, i wish they would just all come in at the same time so we only had to go through this once (x's 2). but sooner than later life will calm down...it might be a few years, but i know it will happen!
good night, sleep tight...

so sorry...so busy!!

i know i know...its been like a week, and a crazy week at that!! i dont even know where to begin on filling you in! tuesday we took the twins to get their 6 month pics taken...they are adorable! ill post some pics when i pick them up...wednesday i got my hair cut, thursday i made 10 batches of purple rice krispie treats for my dear friend jess, a small effort towards a big cause...they were one of the desserts at her wedding that we went to saturday night! yes, i made enough krispie treats to feed 200 people!! i was so grateful to have been asked to make the dessert that did not need to be baked...(its been like 85-90 here, high humidity)

the wedding was absolutely gorgeous!! the first dry wedding i have ever been to and honestly it was really nice, something i think more people should do. it was nice to see that people can have a good time without having a drink to get to that point...but jess was a beautiful bride and i am so happy for her and jake!

the starbucks crew with the new bride and groom!! what a happy "family"!!

me, becky, matt, megan, jake, jess, todd, smooches, nikki, val, dan, eric, sarah and donna...

yesterday morning we also had tuscan helping with some of the daily chores, like emptying the dishwasher...he decided to put the silverware away, and believe it or not, he put it all in the right spots...big forks with big forks, little spoons with little spoons... it was so impressive i had to get a picture! he never ceases to amaze me...its something new with him everyday, he is just growing up so quickly!

today was a day of hard sun scorching labor though...we went to church this morning, which was hot muggy but worth every minute...our sermon was about addiction and our pastor just had so many things to say that made so much sense and were so easy to relate to...god works in such wonderful ways...we havent been to church in a few weeks and when we left there today we knew there was a true reason why we had put the effort into the family outting today...it was also much more enjoyable because tuscan decided to escort himself to the nursery as soon as we walked in the door. church is always more enjoyable and fulfilling when we only have 2 babies to worry about.

after church we made the biweekly trip to target to stock up on diapers and baby food..anytime they have their buy 2 boxes get a $5 g.c deal we always stock up...so $111.11 later we were walking out with 4 boxes of diapers, 20 jars of baby food, natural teething ointment and a fan for tuscans room. we also ran into a friend of mine whom i havent seen in about a year...and funny thing was i just had a thought about him this morning - weird how god puts things in life at times when u least expect it! i wish i could run into other friends i dont see very often (kellie, kelly, mandy...) every time i have a random thought about them!! but its always a nice surprise none the less...

when we got home the hard work began... i started weeding the gardens, frank started painting the trim and closet doors for the babies room and then we started transplanting some of the plants in our gardens. we have an area of grass in the front yard between the driveway and the neighbors fence that is just impossible to cut so we decided to dig it up and plant a taller, green and flowering plant that spreads like wildfire...as soon as the project is finished and it comes back to life ill be sure to post a pic. it will definitely look really great when its done, its just going to be a lot of manual labor to get there!! so we sweat our butts off and got a little sun (frank more than others!) but it was a great day and now we are going to get the kids to bed and hopefully watch a movie before the chaos of another week begins...

may god bless you all in the coming week that will probably be just as busy as ours!