Decking the Villa

We put our tree up this week. It was an interesting venture to say the least. Grant definitely had more interest in the tree this year. His first Christmas he didn't even know a tree existed as he was only 22 days old on Christmas 2007.



Last year, Christmas 2008, he saw the tree but really didn't give it much thought or attention.



This year is a whole different story. He was excited the minute we lugged in the boxes of ornaments. It was a neat family experience. He helped put ornaments on the tree and got excited when we plugged in the lights.



The next day after the tree had been up for 24 hours is when the chaos began. Grant thinks that the glittered balls on the tree are balls that you throw. He also likes to re-decorate the tree by taking ornaments off and placing them in another spot...or by throwing them. So we have had a few causalities with a few of my favorite ornaments broken, but I guess I just have to realize that a decorated tree with glittery things on it is very exciting for a 2-year-old boy. As a result I have had to take some of the ornaments off the tree and move most of them up to higher, safer domains while leaving a few non-breakable ones down below for Grant to touch or "arrange" as he sees fit. So now it looks like our tree is only decorated on the top half. Oh well! I have to laugh because it is actually kind of funny. Life is never boring with an active toddler!

Grant is 2!!

We can hardly believe that our baby is 2-years-old now. No longer a baby but now a little boy! He had a good birthday with a party at our local bowling alley. Pictures will be posted later. For now I'll leave you with him sticking his tongue out (his newest trick) on Thanksgiving day.

So Proud of my Hubby

Jeff re-enlisted yesterday for the last time. It was his last time to re-enlist because he will have served his 20 years in the Navy as of 2012. Can't believe he has been in the Navy that long.

His command had a nice ceremony followed by a potluck for him. Grant and I came to the ceremony as were honored as well for being Jeff's supportive family. It was a great day! I'm so proud of my husband! Way to go Jeff!

Fine wines

One day when entering the dining room, this is what I saw. I guess Grant considers his sippy cup as delicious as a fine wine.

Traveling and Playing Hostess

Gosh, where does the time go? We have been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to blog.

So here's the catch up: About 2 weekends ago, Jeff, Grant, and I went to Cefalu with two other families for a weekend getaway. Cefalu is a BEAUTIFUL town on the northern coast of Sicily. We stayed at a really cute hotel that had its own little private beach. We also spent time at the pool as well as exploring the town of Cefalu. If you are ever in Sicily, I highly recommend checking out Cefalu.

After our trip, I had a good friend from high school come to visit. She and her daughter stayed for 6 fun-filled days. We took lots of road trips and spent a lot of time catching up. It was great.

This week we are in recovery mode. However, while resting up we are trying to decide where to go next! We have only a short amount of time left here in sunny Sicily and so much more to see! Here are some pictures from our trip to Cefalu.


This is a picture of Grant on the terrace of the hotel where we stayed.






This is our little beach bum. The beach in Cefalu was peeble-y instead of being sand.




This is the breath-taking view of the private beach connected to our hotel. The next photo is a side view of our hotel. There were quite a few steps down from the hotel to the beach. I think someone counted 98 steps!

Just breathe...

I was chatting with a friend today about missing the states and about getting excited about moving back to the states. (You know who you are E.E.!) I've recently been dealing with trying to not get worked up about moving back to the states, but every time I think about it my mind is off and running.

I am sure that I do this because I am such a planner. We don't even have orders in hand yet, but we are supposed to be moving back sometime in December or so. That the part the drives me crazy...the "or so" part. Some of you reading this may not be aware, but one of the first things Obama did when he became President was to cut military spending. (Thanks Pres! Not!) So lots of military families who are "supposed" to be moving back to the states are currently stuck. They can't move back to the states because the military has no money to move them home at the moment. "Supposedly" this will only be temporary as the new fiscal year begins in October. With that said, we could be stuck for a few months past December as the families who are currently stuck will moved first..OR...we will move as scheduled. We don't know ANYTHING yet, which is the hard part.

We think that we will have a good chance of moving back to Virginia, but again, we don't not know for sure yet. I would like to start looking at housing options, but really the only thing we can do for now is wait.

Getting back to the conversation with my friend today. She said it well. She said, "All I can think about is the states and the things we miss. And I don't hate it here!" I thought to myself, "That's EXACTLY how I feel!!" I really don't hate living in Sicily. In fact, it's quite nice. We have met some life-long friends here. I think the fact that we might be back in the states in six months is what makes things difficult. It's like you try to carry on with life as usual without trying to think about the fact that you, your family, and all your stuff will possibly be moving across the ocean in a mere six months. And why can't I get Starbuck coffee and all my other little favorite American places out of my head? It's the tease of going home soon. It has ruined me.

I guess everything that I have just described is the life of a Navy wife in a nutshell. You can only plan so far in advance. You must be flexible and roll with the punches. And, most importantly, you must just breathe.

My Little Guy is 18 months old!

I can't believe that Grant is now 18-months-old. He will be 2 in December!! I can't believe how much he has grown. He is no longer a baby, but actually a toddler and one really cool little boy!

Coffee Talk

One of the things that I enjoy here in Sicily is spending time with the ladies that I have gotten to know in the neighborhood. We get together on Mondays for Bible Study and sometimes just for coffee. Either way, it is always nice to chat with friends over coffee while the kiddos play. Good times!

Cooking with Basil

About two weeks ago I went to one of the local markets. I love going and stocking up on fresh fruits and veggies. This is one thing that I will definitely miss whenever we move back to the states. The last time I went to the market, I bought a basil plant. I have been putting basil on everything including a pot roast! Yum!

Summer is here!

Even though it is not officially summer, the temps here in Sicily are summer-like. The past couple of days have been a bit steamy with highs of 80s and even 90s. Whew! Don't know if I am ready for that yet!

A Day at the Park

After several days of rain, we finally had a beautiful sunny day. We decided to go to the park. We've taken Grant to the park a couple of times and boy, does he love it! He LOVES to swing. He has no fear even when the swing seems to be pretty high up. Here are a few pictures from our day!

Happy Easter!

Even though it was a rainy, cold, windy day in Sicily on Sunday, we had a great day as a family. We did skip the 7:30am outdoor sunrise service. We felt bad about that, but decided to have our own Easter celebration as a family at home.

In our sweatpants and jammies we talked about the Resurrection and watched "The Ten Commandments" on AFN . Grant opened his Easter basket and we dyed eyes. Fun was had by all. Well, actually Jeff and I dyed eggs. Grant THREW hard-boiled eggs in the little bowls of dye. It was actually quite humorous.

So even though Grant had a little suit to wear, it's okay. He can wear his suit next Sunday. He will look just as snazzy then as he would have on Easter Sunday. In the grand scheme of things, quality family time is a gift that we are thankful for as Jeff has a crazy work schedule. Good times!

Party time!

Grant went to one of his little friend's birthday party last Saturday. Everyone had a blast at the party. I love the picture of Grant eating his cupcake. Check it out!

Joshua's party

First Haircut

I got my hair cut today and decided to let Grant get a little trim as well. Jeff and I have been talking about cutting Grant hair for awhile. It is only long in the back and on the sides. The top is actually a little thin! So I guess it is good we evened it all out. Otherwise he would soon have a mullet!

Here's a few pictures of Grant getting a hair cut. I had to hold his head as he kept wanting to look at the stylist to see what she was doing. He seemed a little uneasy as he didn't know what was going on, but thankfully it was a super quick haircut!

Carnivale

At the end of February, before going to the states, Grant and I went to Carnivale with some friends. Unfortunately Jeff had to work.

Carvinale is a celebration that the Italians have before Lent starts. People dress up in costumes or masks. Everyone throws confetti at each other as well as sprays silly string. Floats roam the streets and yummy food stands are on every block.

We had a blast. Grant was a little scared at first, but was clapping his hands by the end. A friend let Grant borrow a dinosaur costume. He wouldn't put the entire costume on, but at least let me put it on his head. It was truly a one-of-a kind experience!

A Wedding and a Snowstorm

Grant and I made a quick trip home to the states last week because my mom was getting married. She got married on Saturday, February 28th. Grant and I came to participate in the celebration. It was a nice ceremony.

What we didn't expect was the 6 inches of snow that fell Sunday night. Check out the link to see snow that fell in Greensboro, NC (where my mom and sis live.) We are definitely NOT in Sicily anymore! Thank goodness we will be back in Sunny Sigonella at the end of the week!

Snow in Greensboro

Adventures with Food

Grant was been trying a a lot of new foods lately! It has been so exciting seeing him try new foods. Now he can pretty much eat whatever we are eating. A couple of months ago at his 12 month check-up, the doctor told us that he could eat pretty much whatever we were eating. Yes, he COULD, but it was more of a question of if he WOULD. One evening at dinner, Jeff and I were eating spaghetti. I cut up some pasta hoping that Grant would at least try this new food. After putting the small bite of spaghetti in his mouth, it was as if a light bulb went off in head...or in his taste buds. He made a noise that sounded like "Mmmmmm" or "Yummmm!" He proceeded to eat a hearty portion of spaghetti that night. Since that day, Grant has tried a little bit of everything. Above you can see him having an Apple Cinnamon Rice Cake for a snack and below a burrito for dinner. Also here's a video of him eating his Rice Cake. Please excuse my cheesy Mommy commentary.

Mom on a mission

Today my little buddy (as I fondly call Grant...which, coincidentally, he answers to both Grant and "buddy.") woke up sick. Even though his mother is a clean-freak, he still got sick. So instead of trying to figure out how or why he got sick, I decided it was time to move into operative mode. Operation Grant Get Well-Baby!

I went to the Exchange today and bought a humidifier and baby rub (similar to Vick's Vapor Rub, but only has mild ingredients such as lavender and eucalyptus). I already have infant Motrin and saline spray for "little noses". I was a mom on a mission. No sheep herds or Italian drivers were going to slow me down today. Although I did try to avert my eyes when I passed by the Italian guy peeing on the side of the road on the way to base. It will be so nice to get back to the states and not have to see men urinating on the side of the road every time I drive somewhere! (Sorry, slight digression.)

I knew Grant wasn't feeling well last night when his snoring over the monitor woke me up. Poor guy. Don't tell him I laughed. His snoring rivals that of his father's.

But on the bright side, Grant was still his usual cheerful and laughing self today even though it was evident he didn't feel well. He would pause between playing and come over to lay his head on mine or Jeff's legs. Over all though, he is such a trooper, a super-duper trooper in my book!

Cooking with Grant the Head Chef

Every good chef knows that the cook is supposed to taste the food while cooking! Checking the oven (Note: the oven was not on and I do not let him play with the oven for all you concerned-types out there! He just happened to plop himself there.I think he was actually pointing at his reflection that he saw in the glass.)

We have been trying to get as much fresh food as possible. On Friday, Grant and I went to the local market and stocked up on fresh fruit, veggies, and bread. I admit, this is one thing I will miss about Italy: getting fresh produce from the farmers at the local market. In honor of our successful shopping trip, Grant decided to cook for us. Okay, so he can't really cook, but he does a great impersonation of a Food Network chef. Check him out in action in the video below:

Busy as ever!

I'm trying to find time to do it all, but alas, of all the things I am doing (or rather all the balls I am trying to juggle), something has to drop. Lately it's been not updating my blog. So here are some updates...

Grant is a ever-growing toddler. He can say both Dada and Momma now. He is totally off of baby food and formula and eating table food. He is still not walking but is SO CLOSE! However he can crawl at the speed of lightning. He keeps me busy chasing him everyday.

We have been having some major rain storms in Sicily. They even sent everyone home one day because the rain was so bad and some of the local roads were flooding.

Jeff is working hard as usual. We both can't believe that our time here is almost up. How time flies!

I have been busy being Grant's Mom, being a wife, learning to cook more organic meals for my family, attending 2 Bible Studies (co-leading one), working out, having nursery duty at church, cooking meals for new moms, and, and, and....WHEW! But then again, I just described the life of any mom I know: Super Multitaskers!

Oh, yeah. There's also this little thing called Facebook that has caught my attention lately as well. It's my nap-time habit while Grant is sleeping.

So there you have it. I am going to try to be more faithful in my blogging, but I can't make any promises.