Best name for a children's museum

We took the girls to the Please Touch Museum Saturday morning and like always, they had a great time. Nonna Maria was invited to come with us and I think she was very impressed with the place. It's an incredible space for children with just about everything you can think of that would bring a smile to your face. Unlike previous visits, it was jam-packed but that didn't deter us from playing in almost every area of the museum and watching the girls run from one thing to the other.

The grocery store is a favorite among the girls and I cringe when it's time to move on since there are most always some complaints from our little princesses. They were really good this time though and even helped us put away all the food. With smiles on their faces too! I love that in the "exhibits" are signs up that read "Part of Play is Putting Away." Promoting play AND good manners.

I'd like to title this picture "The Purple Ladies." Sofia's favorite color is purple and she owns a ton of purple pieces. And since I like to dress them in either the same or similar outfits (yes, I know they're not twins), Olivia has gotten used to the color too. Nonna Maria must have been on our same wavelength that morning and I just thought it was cute they were all in purple. It was snack time while watching the carousel go round and round. Neither of the girls wanted to go on that morning though, but we enjoyed watching others and taking a little break.

Check out Olivia's face and the look she's giving Sofia. Clearly, she is not happy about Sofia coming over to the baby pond and splashing it up. Oh Sofia. If you give the girl some water, she will splish, splash to her heart's content.

Finally, a place of her own to splash around happily.

Fun with Tupperware...sort of

The girls will spend some good time amusing them in my Tupperware cabinet in the kitchen. It's the easiest form of entertainment for me to have them engage in while I'm cooking or cleaning up and it makes them happy as clams. Usually anyway. As you can see in the series of pictures, Olivia gets very adamant about securely fitting the lids on and expresses herself accordingly when this does not happen. Luckily, she seems to move on pretty easily after conquering her objective and playing with another piece in the cabinet.

Vino!

I'm actually kind of glad I didn't rush through my Italy pictures from last summer and have taken my time sorting and posting them.  And I've reeeeeeally taken my time with them considering it's the end of February already, but I'm ok with it. Not that it was a conscious decision to take my time, I don't allow myself too much time messing around with them in the first place. But however it worked out this way, just brings back memories from a great visit and seeing them all is getting me excited for our next trip.

With this happening, it allows me to look through the pictures a little closer and cross-examine myself a bit. Laugh at the details I chose to focus on (pun intended) and think about other pictures I'd like to take in the future. Of course, taking so long to post them just means more time to be made for the computer because I'm still taking pictures everyday. So, in addition to making the time for Italy pictures, I still make the time for my everyday family pictures. There are not enough hours in a day.

X marks the spot

scene from a fishing town

Just another image from Porto Cesareo, Puglia. For most in this town, fishing is their way of life, their livelihood, all that they know.

two peas in a pod

Sofia and Olivia love watching their shows together and I love that their favorite spot is right next to the other. Most of the time you'll find them sitting basically on top of one another. Most of the time when they get a show, I'll have them take turns on what to watch but they like the same shows anyway it doesn't really matter. It's just fun to see Sofia try and con Olivia into watching a different show when it's Olivia's turn to pick. "Olivia, you really like Wonder Pets, let's watch that." If I had a nickle for every little "debate" Sofia tries to win.

Virginia is for friends

We took a quick trip with friends to Fredericksburg,Virgina this past weekend and had a great time. It was something we planned only a few weeks in advance and were lucky to have found availability at one of the area's many Bed and Breakfast's. We stayed at La Vista Plantation, located on 10 acres of farm, woods and pond. The owners were very sweet and made us a great homemade breakfast in the morning. Fresh farm eggs - delish!

We met our friends at Blue & Gray Brewing Co., about 30 minutes from the B&B, and started with a tasting and then a tour of the brewing company. Then we sat down to a great lunch of burgers and beer. After some goofing around by the train yard near the brew company, we set off to unpack our bags, scope out the B&B and start thinking about dinner. Why is it that our trips focus around our meals?! We did manage to check out a few shops in the historical district too.

The red bench swing out front was the perfect spot to take in all the grandness of the plantation. I thought it might be worth another trip in the Spring or Summer to appreciate all the plant life that this place seems to offer. And there's a pond for fishing too.

It was great to see our friends too and I was so glad they joined us on our weekend getaway. Katie and I have known one another since the 2nd grade and have gone through a lot together. We love her husband and hope to make this Romantic Weekend Getaway an annual thing with them. A little bummed that the picture of the four of us came out blurry but the sentiment is there still. Great friends, great times.

What is she looking at?

Oh yes, her very pretty shoes. Olivia is constantly getting into my shoes and is actually very good at walking in them. Up and down our houses just shuffling about.

I guess we'll have to deal with mixing these particular prints when she gets a little older.

Porto Cesareo

There are not enough good things to say about Porto Cesareo. Breathtaking beaches along the Ionian Sea that rival the hot spots of the Caribbean and a great evening atmosphere with fantastic restaurants, some of the best seafood you will have ever eaten, trendy boutiques and most importantly, delicious crepe cafes. Always a stop on our trips to Puglia and always a sure bet for a great time. The girls loved it there this past trip and it may be solely because of the gelato. But that's ok. Reason enough for me to return to a place too!

Whenever in Porto Cesareo, I'm constantly drawn to the water where the boats are docked to take picture after picture. There's just something calming about seeing the boats side-by-side with a slight sway of the gentle lapping waves. All tied to the dock, resting after what was sure to have been a busy day. Each a different color, different name, different owner to care for it. Some are clean, some are all sorts of messed up and some are just right. But I love checking out all of them and make the walk up and down the dock slowly to take them all in.

simply perfect

All you need is a comfortable chair, preferably near some natural light, maybe a blanket in case you get chilly and throw in a handful of your favorite books and you have the perfect reading spot. Olivia found her spot in the nursery and I do say, she looks quite comfortable.

my loves

This might be weird to say, especially out loud. Well, written anyway. But sometimes when I look at my girls I just can't believe how incredible they are and just how much I am in love with them. They are way too funny for their own good most of the time.

A quote to live by...

"Ain't no sense in worrying about things you have control over, because if you have control over them, ain't no sense worrying. And ain't no sense in worrying over things you don't have control over, because if you don't have control, ain't no sense worrying."  Mickey Rivers 

The year before we got married, Anthony emailed me this quote and I printed it out to keep in my wallet. My wallets have changed since, but this piece of paper still remains with me, now wrinkled and worn in the edges from unfolding and folding. I have no clue who Mickey Rivers is or why he said this, but it's a great quote. One that I need to have tattooed to my forearm. Don't worry Mom, I'm not really going to get this tattooed on me. 

This quote applies to so many areas of our life and is a constant reminder to me to just be...unworried. Is that a word?  Whatever, I'm not going to worry about it. But seriously...not to worry about things whether it be the mess on my kitchen floor, the laundry piling up in the corner or more importantly, things people say or do. I can control the amount of mess that collects in my house, but I can't control the emotions of others or the things that come out of their mouths. Of course, it's much easier said than done, especially coming from a control freak such as myself. A big thing to try and live by.

21 months old!

She was not interested in sitting next to the duck today to compare her size but I took some pictures anyway. She wanted to roll around the bed and be silly instead.

Hard to believe she's going to be 2 in just a few months. My little baby is getting so big.

Valentine's Day cont.

Just a few more images from our Valentine's Day yesterday. Sofia and I make a great cupcake baking and decorating team. She helped with the sprinkles and the adorable little toothpick signs we had and they came out very cute. And very yummy. We enjoyed them for dessert after our delicious mexican dinner. Anthony brought me tulips, love them because they remind me of Spring which is hopefully just around the corner, and he brought a gerber daisy each to the girls, which are also a favorite flower of mine and both of them loved it!

Hope everyone enjoyed their day!

Happy Love!

Sofia had a Valentine's Day party at school where she said she had lots of fun and then we picked up Chik-Fil-A on the way home to have a picnic in the sunny living room. The girls each received a red heart balloon and a personalized mailbox with a little car inside. We're going to ice the cupcakes when Olivia wakes up from her nap and then it's onto making dinner for the family. More Valentine's Day fun to be had!!!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Palumbi bambinas!

Valentine's Day in Maryland

We were in Maryland over the weekend for Chaela's baby shower given to her by her family and friends. I think it's safe to say that Baby Pitocco has everything and then some that he will ever need. 4 more weeks! I don't think I need to relay to you how excited I am for his arrival! With the baby shower festivities behind them and getting their house in order, Zio Scotty and Zia Chaela came over Sunday for lunch and bearing Valentine's gifts. The girls were in heaven when they opened their bags to find 2 of their favorite things - chocolate & stickers!

Here are the girls with Nonno Nicky in the background relaxing. Nonno Nicky and Zio Antonio babysat for me while my mom and I went to the shower. Stickers, munchkins and a new Care Bears movie. Oh and my dad & brother took them to watch the planes land at BWI, another favorite activity for them. Love when my family really pays attention to the girls and know what really makes them smile!

Grazie Nonno Nicky & Zio Antonio for babysitting!!

And Scott & Chaela got me a Valentine's Day gift too...Bugles and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!!! Delish!

Grottaglie

Why, yes, I do still have pictures to post from our trip to Italy last year? Procrastinate much? Don't mind if I do.

Just a few from our morning trip to Grottaglie, home of the beautiful ceramics of Puglia. Sofia loved walking around the centro storico of Grottaglie and checking it all out for her second time. Olivia was as snug as a bug in her stroller and barely made a peep. I've been meaning to take a picture of my collection of original Grottaglie pieces I have from over the years, they are gorgeous! I'll save that for another post.

Really. She is my little Italian diva. Those are her "movie star" sunglasses that she insisted upon wearing A LOT.

There is this simple, but breathtaking garden as you enter the one tower of the old city. Grape vines resting above you and beautiful stonework and ceramics on either side of you. Picture perfect. They were set up for a wedding ceremony, so we made our walk through brief. Obviously, we weren't the only ones who thought the place was perfect.

I love all of the old streets in Italy. The exposed walls, old arches and shrubbery growing right out of the stone. So much history and what's awesome is that you can almost see how it might have looked years ago. Many years ago.

Wall art, Grottaglie-style. Took me a second to make out the face. I should have taken pictures of all of them that we came across, different profiles all over the old city.

Sofia and one of her favorite things to see driving around...the Smart Car. Or, how Anthony and I like to call them "Lu Smart." But when you say it like we do, you must place great emphasis on the "lu." Sofia couldn't get enough of them and came up with this game that each time she saw one, she got 10 kisses. Since those cars are EVERYWHERE in Italy, she was getting A LOT of kisses. And yes, we do still play the game here in the US even when it's my father-in-law's Smart car we spot.