I wrote about the big stuff I didn’t know about parenting, but now I’d like to share my list of some of the silly little things I’ve learned so far. Food off Mom’s plate tastes better than on kid plates. Food is much more alluring on my plate than my kids’ plates. If I put down little plate of… Read More The small stuff I didn’t know about becoming a parent
As my morning sickness is subsiding and I’m beginning to feel like a real person (as apposed to my previous irritable zombie self), I’ve started to venture out of the house again. It feels so nice after many weeks of only leaving out of necessity. I was beginning to see my house as a cage, associating it with… Read More Having kids close together
When you take that test and it’s positive after countless negatives, it’s thrilling! There’s jumping up and down and hugging and celebrating. And then the morning sickness sets in and changes the mood a little. Or in my case this time, a lot. A few weeks ago Marcello and I took the boys to the park… Read More Oh, morning sickness
Luca turned three a couple months ago, and Adriano’s second birthday is around the corner. It’s got me thinking about how dramatically our lives have changed over the past few years and how much Marcello and I have learned since. There were countless things I didn’t know before giving birth — like that I’d look 6 months… Read More The big stuff I didn’t know about becoming a parent
I wasn’t going to post this entry because I can’t say that it has a moral at the end or even uplifting reflection. But I felt God might be asking me to share. The boys were both fussing in their cribs during nap time, and I really couldn’t take much more at that moment. I… Read More Is parenting supposed to be this hard?
Oh the joy that lives in my heart! Adriano (almost 14 months) has decided he wants to go from two naps a day to one. This means he can now go to sleep at the same time as his older brother, Luca (2 years)! Let me tell you what this means to me, as I… Read More Capt. Mom retires from Sleep Police
I don’t want to spend the day reprimanding and wagging my finger at my my two and half year old. I don’t feel like myself, appearing irritated and saying “no” every other word. And I certainly don’t want my boys to see me as a grouchy, bossy, stiff. I’m actually a pretty good-humored gal, but… Read More Taking charge of my two year old — without yelling
During a family trip this summer, Luca’s love for his daddy became beautifully obnoxious. In our normal routine, Luca spends the day at home with me while Marcello works. On vacation, though, we were all together every day for two weeks. That time cemented a bond between them that makes me happy and primally jealous… Read More Daddy dearest. When kids play favorites.
Adriano is almost a year old, which means he’s getting into anything he can get his hands on. Fortunately, his mischievous older brother prepared us, and our house is pretty well baby proofed. Yes, all one year olds get into things, but it seems Luca was a special case. As Marcello says, there’s baby proofing… Read More Extreme babyproofing
Nothing brings out the best of my motherly love than getting smacked in nose by a big toy dump truck my son has flung across the room. I know he didn’t mean to hit me with it, but I still have to suppress my anger as I gently rub my assaulted nose. Along with many… Read More Parenthood is painful. Literally.
We have a small house with two bedrooms and two boys who need to successfully share one of them — and it’s not going well. Siblings have shared a room since the beginning of time. Of the centuries of coroomhabitation (I made that word up), it stops with us? We’re the only ones who can’t… Read More Baby and toddler room sharing
I cannot tell you with distinct clarity what to do with toddlers and babies when traveling long distances, but I can tell you from our experience what certainly didn’t work for us. Marcello and I took Luca (2 years) and Adriano (10 months) to visit their grandparents in Italy. The vacation itself was lovely, but… Read More Travel part 5: What NOT to do traveling overseas with a toddler