Rain, Rain, and More Rain

I've been slacking, a week since I last posted! This week was pretty low-key. It rained and rained and rained. I feel like Noah and the ark ... eventually we are just going to float away. But today we woke up to sunshine!

Baby group this week was just Michelle and Dana and I. And of course, the kids. We caravaned out to Nove in search of Christmas presents. Maybe we were a little insane to bring toddlers to ceramic factories, but Vivian and Lem were angels. (JJ isn't walking so he wasn't a worry.) Nothing got broken. At the second place they played in the pouring rain for a little while, then came into the factory. There they found a HUGE roll of bubble wrap on a stand. And guess what! It SPUN. You have no idea how much fun that was for them. There was lots of yelling, laughing, beating on the spinning roll, and running in circles. Afterwards we went to Michelle's for lunch and a less breakable play area.

It was still raining this weekend, so Win and I opened our Christmas present early. We went out and bought a Nintendo Wii. It is SO much fun. It's an interactive game console. We have wireless controllers, and it came with some sports games. So we have to stand up and physically move to make our players on screen move. Win's favorites are baseball and tennis, I like the boxing and golf. Lem thought it was hugely entertaining as well.

And to entertain Lem yesterday, I built a little playground in his room. I took his mattress and leaned up against the futon, making a slide. Then I padded the ground with pillows and let him go at it. There was lots of jumping and tumbling and laughing.

So that was our super-fun week. Hopefully the rain will hold off for a couple days so things can dry out.

Whew!

Well, I finally finished Anna Karenina. It only took four months, but I'm really glad I stuck with it. It really is a good book, but incredibly dense at some points. I can see why it is considered one of the greatest novels ever, but I don't know if I understand why people say Anna is one of the most loved heroines. Her story is very tragic. I preferred the story of Levin much better, probably because I didn't agree with any of the choices Anna made. But maybe that is what Tolstoy wanted the reader to feel. I don't know. I think I will go read the forward in the book. Maybe that will help me better understand the book.

But either way, I'm glad I'm finished! I love the feeling when you finish a really good book, and also the feeling of knowing you have a stack of good books waiting to be read.

Sinterklaas

This morning Lem woke up to find that Sinterklaas had come! We put his wooden shoes out last night, under the tree, and Sinterklaas left him some presents. He got a children's Bible, a Christmas pillow, a toy tractor, and some tennis balls. Lem liked them all and got to practice his present-unwrapping skills.

In Holland, the feast day of St. Nicholas is celebrated with the coming of Sinterklaas (St. Nicholas). He arrives in Holland from Spain on a boat, and rides a white horse. He has a helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). The children put out their shoes at night, and if they are good, Sinterklaas comes at night and leaves presents in their shoes. He is the basis for our Santa Claus.

We put our shoes out for St. Nick when I was a kid, and I am going to continue the tradition with Lem. Here are a couple links if you want to read more.

http://www.thehollandring.com/sinterklaas.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

At least it's non-toxic

Lem put a crayon in the toaster.

I didn't know until this morning when I pulled out a green waffle that smelled of burnt wax.

P.S. Happy birthday to Win!

Play group

Yesterday, Michelle and I took the babies to the New Parent Support Group play group. They have it every Wednesday on post. Both Vivian and Lem loved the free play in the gym. Lem ran around exploring everything and only looked for me once or twice. I think it was good for him to play with kids who are a little bigger than him -- there were some bullies in the group, but Lem was fine.

At the end, Santa came to visit. This was Lem's first experience with Santa, and as you can see, he wasn't too thrilled. It was pretty funny, about half the kids screamed and cried. I hope Santa didn't take it personally.


Michelle's post about the play date reminded me of the funniest part (well, at least for me). After Santa torture, it was snack time. Lem had never had a juice box before, and the first thing he did was squeeze it and squirt juice in his eye. Poor guy, he was traumatized by the guy in the red suit, and then juice in the eye. I couldn't stop laughing. But he took it like a man, and after I helped him, he sucked it right down.

Baby Blogger

We now have murals in the hallway.

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Lem wanted to share a story.

Oh, and I've added pictures to the posts from Holland.

Home again

We're back in Italy. It was snowing when we left Amsterdam. We took the train from Utrecht and it goes straight to the trains station. Our flight was uneventful. Lem was good -- still doesn't like having to sit on my lap during takeoff and landing, but we sat by the window so he could see out. He was going nuts over all the planes at Schipol. On the flight he and Win shared headphones and rocked out to Win's iPod.

We flew Transavia.com, a budget airlines. They fly into Treviso, the alternate airport for Venice. I'd been there once before, to pick up my parents 2 1/2 years ago. Then it looked more like a worn down bus station than an airport. There wasn't even a waiting area at the arrivals -- I had to wait outside. Anyway, they've completely remodeled it, and it is really nice now. Clean and new, and not crowded at all. On Wednesday when we flew, I think we were the only flight that evening. Today, we were the only flight coming in at that time. So it took about a total of 15 minutes from touchdown to walking out the front door. The car was parked 200 m. away, so it was all super easy.

So now we're back home. Lem's in bed, and Win is watching football. I think I'm going to go read my book. I really need to finish it -- this is the longest I've ever taken to finish a book. I started it in the beginning of August!

Thank you, Toos!

The Rondaaval

Today we left the city and went to spend the day at the Rondaaval, the house where Toos stays in the summer. It is a round house (that's why it's called a rondaaval), and it has a thatched-roof. We first went to Garderen, the village nearby for some errands. First we stopped at the windmill to pick up some flour. It is still a working windmill that grinds flour. Then a stop at the grocery store, and then to the farm store to get Lem a pair of wooden shoes. Lem was more interested in the toy tractors and the Harley Davidson store across the street than the wooden shoes, but I am happy that he has a pair.

We made pannekoeken for lunch. They are large pancakes, and you can add whatever you like to them. We made ones with bacon and cheese, and also with apple. We went for a walk in the woods afterwards, but Lem was pretty unhappy so it ended up being about a 15 minute walk. He was pretty unhappy most of the day; I think his teeth are still hurting. But after he warmed up and had a snack and found the toys he was happier. He really liked climbing the stairs to the upstairs bedroom.

We had take away Chinese food for dinner, then had a coffee, cleaned up, and headed back to Utrecht. It was a really nice day.

Utrecht

Yesterday after Lem woke up, we went out and about in Utrecht. We walked to the railroad museum, and both Lem and Win had a blast climbing on all the old trains. It was a really nice museum, which is located at the old train station. Most of the trains were located in a large building, so we were out of the cold. They had a simulator where you could try to drive a train. Win and Lem tried but had a hard time following the Dutch directions. There was also a little playground outside, and if you wanted to could take a train from the museum to the modern train station.

We decided to skip that part and instead walked to the city center. We stopped for a beer and bitterballen. They are deep fried balls of curry-flavored dough. They were delicious. The place we stopped used to be the old courthouse.

We walked to the Dom Tower, the church tower, and then headed back home. After a coffee, we walked across the park to a nice little restaurant and had a delicious meal. It was a little long for Lem, but he was pretty good. He liked the French fries and the music.

Amsterdam

Yesterday Win and I went into Amsterdam for the afternoon. Lem and Toos stayed home. We went to the Heineken Brewery. It was a really cool tour -- it's all interactive and very high tech. I got to stir the mash and Win got a lesson in pulling the perfect beer. We also got to bottle our own beer with our names on it. During the tour we got two beers to drink.

We were also going to go to the Van Gogh museum but I called Toos as were entering, and she told me Lem was pretty upset. So we turned around and headed home. She told me that they had had a good day, but Lem didn't sleep at all and by then was so tired he was furious. Then, about 10 minutes into our bus ride back to the train station, she called to tell me he had finally fallen asleep. So we stopped and got delicious kebabs before we got on the train.

When we go home, Toos told us all about their day. They went to a petting zoo in the park, took a bath, played piano, unloaded the dishwasher, etc. I think we were just gone too long, and Lem wasn't totally familiar with Toos yet. But this morning all was forgotten, and he was happy as a clam.

We've had a quiet morning. Win slept in, and we went grocery shopping, then came home and had brunch. Lem was grabbing slices of ham from the plate and shoving it in his mouth. I think we need to work more on table manners. After naptime we are headed to the railroad museum and then the center of Utrecht, then out to dinner.

Blogging from Utrecht

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are spending the long weekend in the Netherlands with Toos, my grandmother. We flew in last night. Lem was very excited about the airplane but didn't like be strapped down during takeoff and landing.

Right now Win and Lem are playing the piano. We are going to Amsterdam today to see the Heineken brewery and the Van Gogh museum. I think Lem is going to stay here with Toos. He seemed to know her right from the beginning. I think he will be speaking Dutch by the end of the weekend.

We miss everyone but we are excited to be coming home for Christmas!

Love,
Susan, Win and Lem

"Oh my good, this is God!"

Well, Win's opinion of the food may have been lost in translation, but we had a wonderful Sunday dinner in Verona with Venusja's family. They invited us over, along with Nigel and Alessandra, friends of Venusja and Alex. (Alex and Venusja moved to Florida this summer. He was in the Army, and she is Italian.)

Venusja's mom, Lydia, made a delicious meal. We had lasagna, then roast pork with rosemary-roasted potatoes. (The pork received Win's comment.) Then for desert she had made a tirimisu. It was gorgeous and so delicious. She had done a modified version by using Pandoro, the Christmas cake that is so popular here. We finished off the meal with grappa, coffee, and later limoncello.

Venusja's father, Angelo, is the only one of the family that speaks any English, so Nigel and Alessandra were our translators. Venusja's mom, Lydia, is learning English, so she tried out some phrases on us. I tried to speak some Italian, too. It's gotten rusty, though, since Alex and Venusja moved. I think I've learned the most Italian just by listening to Venusja talk to Alex in Italian, and he to her in English.

Anyway, we had a really good time. We left with gifts of Pandoro, new olive oil from Sicily, and a Foosball table for Lem. They also told us if we ever need anything, to just call, and we are welcome anytime. It's so nice to know that we have "family" here in Italy.

Snow!

We woke up this morning, and it was snowing! It never snows in Italy! Poor Win, he had to run in it this morning, but he then he got to come home early. So we had a nice snow day together at home.

Right after breakfast, I bundled up Lem and headed outside. I think Lem was warm enough. This is what he wore: two pairs of socks, two pairs of pants, turtleneck, sweater, winter coat, hat, gloves, and rain boots. He was so bundled up his arms stuck straight out. It was snowing pretty hard when we went out, and Lem didn't seem to care one way or another. He mostly just stood and stared. We walked down the street a bit and were back inside in about 30 minutes.

It stopped snowing this afternoon and blue sky started peeping. The snow began melting almost immediately. After naptime all three of us went out. Lem had more fun this time, probably because Win showed him how to throw snowballs, and there were puddles to jump in.

Apple Pie!

Here is my beautiful apple pie! Win has been asking for apple pie for a while now, and I finally got around to making it. I was pretty proud of it. I think it's georgous, and it was delicious. I have to admit though, I didn't make the crust. It was store bought. But I did slice all the apples and make the little slits on the top.

P.S. I always take pictures of pretty things I cook.

My Cloth Experience

This weekend, as a result of his cold-dunking or eating too many oranges, Lem developed a fairly bad case of monkey butt. It was the worst I'd seen on him. For those of you who have military spouses, I'm sure you've heard the term "monkey butt" before. For those of you who haven't, well, I think it's pretty self-explanatory: big red bottom, chafing, diaper rash.

So I consulted the owner's manual and followed all the suggestions for ridding my little boy of his monkey butt. I stopped using wipes and used a wet washcloth. I slathered him with butt cream. He went bare-arsed for most of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. And I swaddled him in soft white cloth diapers.

There are endless discussions on the cloth vs. disposable debate. Both Vivian and Hannah sport cloth diapers. Lem's cousin, Christopher, wears them. But I decided to go with disposables, mainly for the convienence. If I had a nice diaper service, I think then I'd try them.

But anyway, I thought cloth diapers would be a nice change for his little bottom, and they were. All I had were the Gerber cloth diapers that I've used for burp cloths. No plastic covers or anything. Win brought home tiny safety pins. But I pinned them on, and they were adorable. They were so adorable that I even started to consider the cloth diaper option again. Even a wet one didn't lower the cute factor.

But then, and I'm sure you all knew this was coming, then came the poopy one. And that was it. I remembered why I didn't want to do cloth. I really like my Diaper Genie that makes everything disappear. I already have enough laundry to do without cleaning dirty diapers as well.

So that was the last cloth diaper for Lem. His monkey butt is pretty much healed now anyway. I won't rule out the temporary cloth diaper in the future to give his bottom a break, but unless I can have a diaper service I won't be using them on a regular basis. I know I'm contributing to landfill build up, but at least I'm saving water.

Lago di Garda

Yesterday was beautiful, so we took a drive up to Lake Garda. It is just northwest of Verona, and it's one of the largest lakes in Italy. In the summer it's a huge tourist attraction. It really is an amazing place, because it has the climate of the southern Italian coast, even in the winter. It has something to do with the lake and the mountains, I think. There were oranges on all the trees and flowers were blooming. In some places it was easy to imagine we were on the Italian Riviera. Well, except for the snow-topped mountains in the background.

Our trip ended up being a bust, though, partly because I didn't realize how long it would take to get there. It only takes about an hour to get to the southern tip, but I wanted to drive up the west side of the lake. However, driving 61 kilometers at about 40 kms an hour takes a LONG time. So we finally stopped at a small town about a third of the way up.

The other reason our trip was a bust was that Lem fell in the lake about five minutes after we got out of the car. Well, he didn't so much fall in, rather, he charged straight into the water. Luckily, it was shallow where we were throwing rocks, and he floats. Win had to wade in to get him. The water was pretty cold, but I had brought some extra clothes for him. I didn't bring any extra shoes for Win, though.

So after we got Lem warm and dry, we walked around for a bit, found a spot to throw some more rocks, had coffee (for Win and I) and a brioche (for Lem), and then headed home. In all, we took a four-hour round trip for a two-hour visit. Oh, well. It was a beautiful day and I took some great pictures.

The picture above is Win and Lem minutes before the dunking. Below, the two of them at rock-throwing site no. 2. I brought extra clothes for Lem but not shoes.

P.S. I've started another blog. This one is just for "artistic" or scenic photos I've taken. It's listed on My Blog List as "Travels." Or you can go directly to it with the web address: http://www.susanmarietravels.blogspot.com/.

Puddles and cornfields

It's been a fairly un-eventful week. It rained a lot, and that was about it. Baby group this week was on Wednesday. We went to the Play Park in Torri, which is basically an indoor playground. The babies loved it -- they ran all over the place and wore themselves out. There was a trampoline and we let the babies try it, and ever since Lem has been testing the bouncibility of his bed, the couch, the futon, etc. Dana posted some pictures on her blog. It's on my Blog List and is titled, "Here comes the sun." I forgot my camera.

Earlier this week the rain and fog cleared up in the afternoon, and Lem and I went off exploring. He insisted on wearing his boots, and I guess he had a plan because there were lots of puddles and lots of mud. Once we were out of town, I let him out of the stroller so he could explore. (It's a very quiet road.)

He loved this ditch. He could have thrown rocks in it for hours.

This is at the dairy farm we pass on our walks.

And chasing the chickens ...

I'd say he got his fill of "farm" time.

Spa day

Today we finally celebrated Michelle's birthday (a month late) by spending a girls-only day at a spa. There were only three of us -- Michelle, Gretchen and me. We went to a spa in Abano Terme, an area near Padova that is known for its thermal waters. It's about a half hour from us.

It was wonderful. The pool area was beautiful, with inside/outside thermal pools and a sauna with a frigidarium (So you could pour cold water over yourself after coming out of the hot sauna.) The spa also offered mud baths with mud straight from the earth just outside next to the parking lot.

We each got a facial and a massage. It was so relaxing, I loved it! We also had a wonderful four-course lunch, which was even more delicious because there were no babies to distract us.

And so while we were off relaxing and being pampered, the dads were home taking care of the kids. For Win and Lem, this was the first time they had really spent time with me totally gone. They did great -- Win kept Lem very busy. They went to post, got Beemy washed, came home and cooked lunch, then walked around town and looked at the tractors. They also went to Carlo's, where Win got a cafe doppio and Lem played the slots. I think it was good bonding time for them.

So it was a good day all around. Lem was exhausted and is already asleep. It's 7:40 p.m. He sleeps with five bears, his giraffe pillow, his elephant blanket and his fish mobile. He loves his animals.

Here is a lovely picture of my in my obligatory swimming cap.

You say it's your birthday

I had a good day today, despite Lem waking me up at 5:50. We went to baby group -- lunch at Britney's house. Michelle baked me a delicious chocolate cake and the babies played. Lem was a bit of a bully, he kept pushing the girls and making them cry. Isn't there a nursery rhyme like that?

Here's Vivian and Lem eating lunch together.


Win got me flowers and chocolates and two pretty vases. He bbq-ed steaks, and we had a quiet evening at home.



Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

Love,
Susan

The fastest way to an Italian's heart ...

After nearly four years of living on our little street in Italy, I've finally realized what it takes to make our Italian neighbors talk to me. All I had to do was have a baby. Nothing softens the stern looks from the WWII generation quicker than a little boy.

Lem and I have started taking little walks around the neighborhood. No stroller, so they are short, very slow walks. On Monday it took us 45 minutes to walk around the block. We stop, look at leaves, trees, dogs, cars, anything that grabs his attention. Since it's been raining, he's been wearing his yellow rain boots and raincoat, and he splashes in all the puddles.

Today it stopped raining long enough for a little walk. Everyone else was out and about, too. Going to get food for lunch, taking out the trash, etc. Well, everyone has to stop and talk to Lem. He's very shy and rarely waves or smiles, but that doesn't deter anyone. The old ladies say, "Que bello!" and "Bravo!" and "Complimenti!" The old men stop and say things I can't understand, but they all are so happy to see Lem out and about. They all ask his name, his age, and today they all said something about the rain and the water he was splashing in.

Of course, they all know we are Americans and where we live. It's a very small neighborhood. But after four years, it's so nice to finally really feel like a member of this neighborhood. Even though we have had this amazing opportunity to live in another country, I still sometimes feel that we haven't taken full advantage of it. The Army provides everything we need -- all American products, food, medical/dental care, mail. We don't even have to take our car to an Italian mechanic if we don't want to. Post easily becomes a safe bubble from everything foreign.

So while I am so happy to have all that (and I'm not complaining), part of me wishes that I had been forced to go out and buy my food at the Orta-Fruta, become fluent in Italian and meet my neighbors. If I hadn't had that bubble, things would be quite different now.

There are at least 3 other babies on the street that are within a couple months of Lem. The moms all wave to us and we wave back, but that's about it. The language barrier and the fact that I already have my group of English-speaking friends makes it a non-necessity.

I love my little street and all the people on it. (Well, except for the ones directly across the street.) I will be sad when we go and I know this neighborhood will always have a special place in my heart.

Comment, please!

Hey Everyone,

I'm not sure who all is reading this, but I'd love some comments! It's fun for me to get some feedback. Just click on the word "comments" at the end of the post.

Thanks!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! As you can see, Lem was a bear. It pretty much went without saying, seeing how his favorite animal is the bear. He growls, too. He was the cutest bear ever, and he loved his costume.

We weren't sure if we would make it out trick-or-treating because it rained all day. By 5 o'clock, though, it had stopped. We went to Villagio, where everyone was dressed up and no cars were allowed. Lem went to a couple houses with Win, but in the end he was more interested in running around in his rain boots and looking for puddles. He kept looking at puddles and saying, "wa-wer."

We missed Vivian (she was Little Red Riding Hood), but we saw Anamaria and Will with their girls, Bianca and Maria. Bianca was a princess and Maria was a bee.

IKEA!

Baby group today ... we piled up all the babies and herded them through IKEA. They did remarkably well, considering it was pretty crowded. We were a big group today -- Michelle and Vivian, Chasitity and Ian, Patricia and Semaya, Patricia's friend Valencia and her son Jarius, and Britney and Isabella. The babies got to play a little bit in the Kids department, and then we all had a delicious lunch of hot dogs.

Michelle took these pictures. On the top one, clockwise from me: Vivian, Chastitiy, Ian, Britney, Isabella and Lem. As for the second picture ... Lem and Vivian are always getting into trouble together.

Win and I are getting a date night tonight! Michelle is going to watch Lem while we go see Tropic Thunder. Lem and Vivian love each other -- he always gets excited when I tell him he's going to see Vivian. He calls her DeeDee.

That's all for now ... It is beautiful today, cool but clear. All the trees seem to have changed overnight.

Here comes the rain

What to do when it's a rainy day ...
Lem experimented with finger painting. He's already painted in the bathtub, but this was a first at the table. He kept wanting me to put more paint down for him.

After nap time, it stopped raining for a bit so we ventured outside. Lem wore his raincoat and rain boots for the first time. The boots are two sizes too big, but he did pretty well. We walked up and down our street, and Lem splashed in all the puddles.

Win's been getting off early this week, which has been really nice. More time to hang out together. We just watched Run, Fatboy, Run. A really sweet father/son story with that lovely British humor. I quite liked it.

Roger?

First of all, my computer is fixed and up and running! I will start putting pictures on here soon. I'm so happy to finally have it fixed. The guy was able to save all my pictures and music, too. Yay!

We've realized that we are raising a meathead. Lem has started doing push ups. He watched Win do some, and now he does them, too. And now, every morning he drags me to the floor and wants me to do push ups as well. So we alternate sets, he does one, then climbs on my back while I do mine. He thinks it's hilarious and I'm getting some muscles.
The other meathead thing he's doing is saying, "Roger." Win started saying it around here sarcastically, and then I picked it up. Now Lem is saying it. When I say, "No banging on the glass. Roger?", he says, "Ro-her." It's pretty freakin' cute.

We had another quiet weekend here, Win was sick and Lem and I both still have colds. So we laid low and watched lots of movies and football. We started Daylight Savings here on Sunday and Lem was up at 5:40 that morning. Today is such a blah day, it is really fall here now. And fall in Italy means fog, rain and general all-around dampness. Sometimes it clears up in the afternoon but it's still as dark as it was at 7 a.m.

Oh, another little story. After about nine months of watching our redneck neighbors across the street (It's an apartment building that's filled with guys (not American) whose favorite thing to do is sit on their balconies, drink beer and stare at us.), I finally met one of them. Lem and I were walking down to look at the tractors at the football (soccer) stadium, and we met him walking. He was very nice, and all about Lem. He is Romanian. Speaking in broken Italian and a little English we talked about "football americano" and soccer. I think he also said he has children back in Romania. I think they are here to work and make money for their families. So anyway, even though Jenn (my neighbor) and I were very suspicious of them at first, I think they are pretty harmless. They really like Lem; when it was warmer he would stand out on the balcony and wave to them. As for the staring ... it's a European thing.

Ciao!

Camisano Vicentino

Yesterday was baby group. We went to Camisano and walked around a bit. Our new friend, Chastity, just moved from Alaska and is living there. We took the babies to a nice little park, and they had a blast. They were all over the place, climbing and going down the slides. All in all a good day, very low key, but it wore Lem out.