i'm an "aunt"!!!

congrats to kelly and kennie!! they became very proud parents to an 8lb 13oz baby girl today...sometime around 8pm. her name is riley addison (i think thats how they are spelling it!) i have yet to see pics, but when i do i will be posting some.

they went in to the hospital around 6am for a scheduled induction, kelly was 40 weeks and 5 days today, but this was also her original due date. they broke her water around 9am and she got her epidural around 11am. but by 8pm she realized the baby was just to big for her to do it on her own and she ended up with a c-section anyway. apparently riley just has a really big head!!

but my love and prayers go out to them, i know all to well how challenging the first few weeks of parenting can be and i can only imagine how much more difficult the recovery of a c-section is.

God bless and welcome to our world Riley...i cant wait to meet you!!

a hole in my heart....

so i had to drop kellie off at the airport this morning, 745am and even though we both got a little choked up while saying goodbye, we both did a pretty good job keeping it together. i even made it all the way home before it actually hit me (i think i must have been holding my breath) and then i burst, the tears came pouring. i walked in the house and frank was feeding the boys breakfast and he knew to not even ask. my feelings were all over my face. i couldnt think about her or talk about her at all today without my breath catching in my throat and turning into a faucet of tears. and everytime i started crying tuscan would put his arm around me and say "ok mom, no cry" and he would remind me that kellie had to go home and take care of her dog! that little boy is so amazing to me though, he hugged me so many times today, trying to make me feel better and ease my hurting heart.
its just so weird, this time last night she was sitting right here with me, now she is back in CO again 1500 miles away. it just doesnt seem right. her being here was so natural, the kids fell in love with her right away, she jumped right into our routine like she had been living it with us all along! it truly was an amazing week and i feel so blessed to have such an amazing friend in my life. anyone who is willing to devote a week to hanging out with me and my crazy life is truly someone i will keep around for life! kellie is and always has been one of those friends i could count on no matter what. i have always known i could call her at any time, day or night and i know that if she was living nearer to me, this past year would have never been so hard on us because she would have been here helping out whenever she could. she is my other significant other and nothing will ever replace that!!
thank you mommarita for sending kellie to me. you have no idea how much it meant to me and i had no idea how much i needed her until she was gone again.
phone calls and internet just arent the same when you share that kind of comfort with someone and for the first time i think i can finally say i understand (in my own way of course) how she feels with randy being gone all this year. i suddenly feel so empty and lost, so alone...like there is a piece of me missing. at first i thought i was crazy, but then she said she felt the same way too. her flood of emotions hit when the plane touched down in CO...
friends are a precious gift, but my friendship with kellie is even more than that. i think that if God had intended for me to have a sister, it would have been her...but instead He made us greater than friends! i thank the Lord for you everyday kellie and i will be counting the wake-ups until i see you again!!

mighty taco, mighty taco...(now updated!!)

so i know i have a ton to blog about this week...and i promise i will, for everyday that kellie has been here, but right now i just need to blog that it is 1053pm and frank just left on a mighty taco run!! kellie and i spent some time scrapping tonight and are one bottle of wine down, we are currently playing a game of rummy with frank, he is kicking our butt, so we sent him to mighty! nacho's delux, 3 cheese nacho burrito and cherry empanada's!! i know we probably wont be feeling very well in the morning, but we are living it up our last night together and making/bring back memories!
there will be much more this weekend i promise... and hopefully some pics of our mighty extravaganza!!

he is such a good husband...going out in 15 degree temps at 11pm to bring some silly buzzed on wine girls some mighty!

we ran out of wine...and the liquor store was already closed, so we were sipping on dr. pepper and bacardi half the calorie coconut rum in a frosty beer glass! drinking through straws - that brings back some shan 'n kel memories!! but by the end of the night we could still feel our teeth, i guess that means we are getting old and forgetting how to get drunk!

my empanada dripped on my shirt...i couldnt waste it!!

friday, part 1...

so there was a whole day lived friday before the might taco posting...so to back up a bit...

unfortunately today is kellie's last day, she leaves early tomorrow morning :( but we have had an amazing week! it went by far to quickly but i really think we have enjoyed every minute of it. the only real plan for the day was touching up her hair and lunch at mangia. it seemed silly to have her here for a week with us having eaten out at least once everyday and not bring her to franks resturant! he had to be to work early today, so a 1230 lunch date was set. momma beth met us there, with some very exciting and unexpected news!! i am going to be an aunt!! frank's older brother dave and his wife maureen are expecting their first baby in june!! we are so excited...frank of course cried when his brother told him! so our boys are finally going to have their first official cousin - super exciting! (congrats guys...we're so happy for you!! i know life sounds crazy on this blog some days, but parenting really is the most amazing experience in the world, aside from actually being pregnant of course!) so a celebratory lunch was in order - cheers to dave and enna!!

the fam at mangia!

tuscan and his dessert...it was a brownie with icing and m&m's!! (dont u wish u had one!)

cenzo, after enjoying my eggplant parm panini! he is so italian...

matteo devouring kellie's pasta...he is such a good eater since he turned one!! i think his mission is to be bigger than cenzo this year!

from lunch we headed to the mckinley mall...yes another mall...but kellie wanted to get a yankee's sweatshirt for randy while she was here and i wanted to get my 2009 chef calendar for the kitchen before they sold out. both missions were accomplished! we stopped at the liquor store on the way home to grab the bottle of wine we had been intending to drink all week and by the time we got home the kids were all ready for naps! so down they went and we pulled out our scrapbooking stuff, finally! it didnt last long because matteo decided that napping was not necessary...but we each did get a little done (we continued after bed time until we ran out of stickies)

and that was about it for the day... kellie's hair turned out much better the second time around. she was able to experience one more bath night with us before she left...and then frank came home and mighty taco happened...the rest is history!

such cute little nudies!

my little super heroes!! super cenzo and bat-toe

"dont worry mom, i got that dirty laundry under control for you. bat-toe saves the day!"

just hanging out...

finally today we were able to enjoy a much more laid back day. frank didnt have to work till 2, so we all packed up and headed to red robin for lunch to celebrate the twins bday with their free lunches!!

we made a few stops on the way home, one of which was to get some algae eaters for tuscan's fish tank - we'll see if they end up being good eaters or not!! then kellie and i headed home to get the kids down for naps and color our hair! mine turned out great, the red low lights are very deep and sutle...kellie's on the other hand is a little shocking, i think we will have to touch it up a bit tomorrow...the red just grabbed onto her blonde a little to brightly!

we were supposed to be heading up to syracuse today to visit kelly (& the baby) but she is still very pregnant (40 wks. 3cm. 75% effaced) and we just didnt know if it would be a good idea to haul everyone up there and drag her out of the house. i wasnt so sure my boys would enjoy an afternoon in the hospital if we ended up being responsible for sending her into labor!! so unfortunately, we opted out...in retrospect we should have headed up there monday and done the museum today...but we also didnt want to take a chance of giving kelly the cold that everyone was carrying around earlier in the week. so now i just have to plan a sunday or tuesday to head up there with frank and the kids once the baby is here!

we ended the evening hanging out in our jammies and jess came over and joined us. we made an attempt to take a cute pic of me, kellie and the boys, but the boys werent so interested! so i guess we will have to practice the sears poses and try again in august...yes, i said august!! frank and i are going to take our boys on their first "family" vacation (we took them this past august, but that was sponsored by our parents! this time its just us) we are going to head down to ft. riley kansas, where kellie and randy will be stationed next, and while there we are going to head the extra 7 hours to CO for a few days. frank and i have said for a long time now that we want colorado to be a part of our kids lives because it is so much a part of who we are as a couple! and when better to go than the summer of our 5 year anniversary! we are so excited, not only because i actually know when i get to see kellie again, but also because there are so many people in CO who we want to see again, to meet their kids and introduce ours...its going to be a blast! only 10 months to go!

tuscan's potty progress

today was definitely a mish mash kind of day...our first day without any real plans. so when all else fails, go shopping! we headed to the galleria mall today, a place i havent shopped at in a few years!! and believe it or not we got better deals today then we did at the outlet yesterday. when we pulled into the parking lot and elderly couple was getting into their car and offered us a coupon for macy's, $10 off $25 if used before 1pm...it was only 1153am, we had time!! we had some stinky diapers in the back seat that needed to be changed, so we made a bee line to the bathroom closest to macy's and changed the twins. in macy's we ended up buying 4 sweaters (me 3 and kellie 1) for a total of $27 after the coupon...an amazing deal i know! but while standing in line to pay, tuscan pointed out that he had peed through his diaper...he was soaked and we were shocked! he had only been in that diaper for just about 2 hours, which is why we never thought to check him while we changed the twins. he had been doing so good with using the potty in the mornings that it just didnt cross our minds. kellie took him to the bathroom so i could finish paying and not only had his jeans gotten wet, but his whole stroller seat was wet too, poor guy! kellie said he seemed so embarrased...so then we were headed straight to penny's to buy him a new pair of jeans to wear (macy's didnt have anything worth buying!) and he had to sit on his coat the rest of the day, i really felt so bad for him!

but in some strange way it ended being up ok because while we were eating lunch at jonny rockets tuscan told me that he had to pee...so after a moment of panic because we hadnt really thought about public bathrooms yet, i rushed him to the bathroom and he did it!! i was so proud of him and he was so proud to rush back out to tell aunt kellie!

and it gets better...the twins were feeling better, but getting stinkier by the diaper. i think we ended up changing someones diaper in almost every dressing room we were in! i must say though, with all that chaos in one day, the kids were amazing...they really did a good job tollerating the fact that their day was totally off schedule! my boys amaze me more and more everyday! and the really amazing part was that after that many poopy diapers, kellie still seems willing to stick around her last couple of days! that is a true BFF!

and the girls day out!

frank was off today, so kellie and i took full advantage and opted for a girls day out, accompanied by momma beth! i worked for a bit this morning, but when i got home it was showers and out the door...we started the day at the christmas tree shops!! it just opened on niagara falls blvd...but it is a store that i have loved for over a year now since kelly (syracuse) introduced me to the one near her. we got some good deals, i got a great storage basket for the twins closet, it was the perfect shade of green and only $5.99!! beth got a few things for around the house and a "piano" for tuscan...with a microphone! he loves it, plays it all day long and actually is willing to share it with his brothers. they have learned from him to put the microphone to their mouth and make noise! too cute..
tuscan, the one man traveling band!

from there we headed to kohls, of course found some more really great deals! cant waste coupons!! and we were off to the outlets! we met a friend of beth's at applebees where we ordered a round of pomegranate margarita's and to much fried food! kellie was excited to see that here in buffalo, applebees still serves her favorite chicken sandwich, so that made lunch all the more fulfilling!

we found some cute clothes for the kids, but not nearly the deals we were expecting, my deal of the day was two pairs of jeans at aero for $10 each...and i love them! the best part was, i actually have a butt in them...so of course i had to buy both! and i got a really cute pair of pants at the gap for $6. but i had gone in search of jeans for tuscan and sweaters for me...i didnt get either!

after the mall we picked up some wings and headed home for a homemade pizza party, per kellie's request! when frank and i lived in CO, we through a first annual new years day pizza party, to help everyone over come their hang overs...we made the dough and supplied the sauce and cheese and everyone brought their favorite toppings...well that party 4 years ago made kellie fall in love with franks homemade bbq chicken pizza!! and i must say it truly is delicious...he even made it with a whole wheat crust this time! and we had a philly cheesesteak pizza! maybe now that the house is ours this year we will carry on a tradition we had tried to start several years ago! (pizza party, our house, new years day!!)

kellie also bought wall-e for the kids today, tuscan snuggled up to watch it after dinner tonight...i think its his new fav!! thanks aunt "tellie"

a day with the boys...

i unfortunately had to work a few hours this morning, but was lucky enough that it didnt interfere with us being able to do anything...i was home by 915am!! so i showered and kellie and i got the kids ready and headed up to rochester for the day. lunch at the dinosaur bbq and a play day at the strong museum of play (much thanks to gramma rita - kellie's mom)

kellie and i enjoyed all the driving, it gave us wonderful opportunity to catch up on a year and a half apart! we may have the internet, which we use everyday...and we have the phone, but nothing compares to having your best friend right next to you, chatting, laughing or just being...

lunch was delicious! we had some amazingly tender bbq wings to start and yummy chicken sandwiches...tuscan and the boys shared a bowl of mac 'n cheese (which later turned into matteo's dinner...he ended up eating almost the whole bowl!) tuscan sadly had a belly ache at lunch and the twins were suffering from constipation all day, so it made things a little extra challenging for me and kellie, but together we made it through the day!

the boys were also getting a lot of attention while we were out to lunch, the hostess thought they were the cutest boys ever and kept telling me how blessed i am! so that was really nice to hear, i dont have many opportunities to go out with my kids, so i soak up the compliments when i can! and of course, all three of them were flirting with every girl that would look their way (mandy dont tell lucia and sofia!!)

and we all had a really good time at the strong museum. frank and i have been talking about heading up there for a while now but just havent had a chance...but we will for sure be heading back as soon as the twins start walking! the boys had so much fun and it was amazing to me how much there actually was for them to do. there were even exhibits that we didnt have time to see! there were small areas that were designed for the little guys and they sure did love a chance to get out of the stroller and crawl around!! matteo found a mirror that he enjoyed playing with and he kept crawling at it and bonking his head and then looking at us laughing!

tuscan's favorite part of the whole day was definitely elmo's world! he was in awe at the fact that elmo's world really exsisted...he jumped right on the bench to play the piano...and we had to drag him out of the taxi car...he had so much fun! and on our way out we stopped in the gift shop and silly tuscan, the only thing he really wanted was a ring pop!! i love that boy...a whole gift shop full of toys and he wanted the $.99 ring pop!

the car ride home was nice and relaxing, the babies were all asleep by the time we made it onto the thruway. we stopped for some caffine at the clarence rest stop and thankfully we did because once we got through the toll on the 90 we were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic from the monday night bills game.

kellie and i had great intentions to scrapbook when we got home, but once we got everyone in bed we ourselves were about ready to crash...so we hung out for a bit and called it a night, i had a few hours of work ahead of me again in the morning and then a long day of shopping! yeah!!

the birthday bash!!

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTEO AND VINCENZO.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"

today was the day that so many of us have been waiting for...the twins first birthday party! and it was a blast!! we had homemade white turkey chili and bbq'd pulled pork, pasta with ricotta and homemade red sauce, dill dip and bread, homemade apple cake with caramel buttercream frosting and homemade pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting!

the twins were so excited to have another opportunity to make a mess with their cupcakes, although once again it took matteo a few minutes to figure out the best plan of attack! so instead of getting his hands all dirty like vincenzo was, he decided it would be best to just stick his face right in! we all started laughing and then he looked around the room like "what? whats everyone laughing at?"

we were amazingly blessed with all the things on their birthday wish list! 6 boxes of diapers, wipes, baby food, gerber grads puffs! new jammies, snugly clothes and a few gift cards, an amazing radio flyer wagon (old school style) with all terrain wheels!! and above all, some wonderful friends and family to share the celebration with! this has been a very challenging year on frank and i as a couple and it has truly tested our patience as parents, so it really meant a lot to us to be able to share in our accomplishments with some of the people who mean the most to our family!

tuscan found the new wagon to be a very comfy place to snuggle up and watch some tv!

after the crowd died down, we spent some more quality time with our parents, jess and jake, and matt, bridget and chase... it was such a nice day!! kellie was amazing, getting most of the kitchen cleaned up while we spent some time with our guests. i dont know what i am going to do once she leaves, in just one day she has already kept up with so much upkeep in my kitchen!! (she has always had a thing for washing dishes, when we lived in CO she would come over for dinner and the deal was, frank would cook, she would clean up!! for some reason that always worked for her!)

once the house was empty and the kids were asleep in their beds, we sat down to watch a movie (forgetting sarah marshall) we made it about half way through and decided it was to stupid to continue so we headed to bed, i had to work in the morning anyway.

aunt kellie is here!!

so today was the day i have long since been waiting for!! kellie flew in today...my bff from CO!! and i am so excited...we havent seen each other in a year and a half, since she flew me and tuscan down to visit while she was living in OK in march of 2007!! so she hadnt met the twins yet and what better time to meet them then during their birthday weekend! and apparently they felt very comfortable with her (as they should!!) and matteo didnt think anything of sharing kellie's dinner with her at my parents house! homemade chicken soup hit the spot for everyone!

the evening was followed up with hair cuts, kellie, tuscan and momma beth...and then kellie and i headed home with one less child. tuscan spent the night at nonna and poppa's. the twins fell asleep in the car on the way home so we were able to put them right in their beds and spent the remainder of the evening chatting away!! at around 10:15 we decided bed might not be a bad idea, kellie had been up since 2am CO time and was feeling pretty tired...but i think another hour went by before we finally each crawled into our beds, hoarse from talking so much!

another exciting day on the way, church in the morning and then the big 1st birthday x's 2 party!!