My girls in black and white

Aren't all kids just black and white? Yes, mine are exceptionally colorful but really when it comes down to it, it's very simple. They're either happy or sad, they want this or that, yes or no. They make it so easy for us and we're the ones that make it challenging.

A little reflection on my girls as they both soon will undergo a big change in our household. Sofia went through this at the very young age of 2 and now they will both go through it together at 6 and 4. Excuse me, 6 and a half and 4 and a half. That half means a lot to them both!

Love that I'm their mama and get to witness their black and white each day.

A few more scenes from Porto Cesareo

A day of Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving and I love that it's here already. Seems like this year has just flown by and feels like we were just celebrating Thanksgiving 2012. Thankful for so much everyday of my life but especially feeling the thanks today surrounded by my family. And feeling this baby move ALL the time.

Grateful for a wonderful husband and two incredible daughters that I thank God everyday for their existence. My family that is so loving and supportive and my friends whom are always there for me.

Off to sit and try to be some help while 36 weeks pregnant and enjoying the smells and sounds of the day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

a laid back Saturday morning

This past weekend while I was making breakfast, Anthony stole into the room to see the girls like this watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving and reading from a Fairy Tales book. Multi-tasking, that's what I like to see. And them getting along and looking oh so adorable together!

Seriously, how comfortable do they look?

Porto Cesareo

I love visiting the coast town of Porto Cesareo when we're in Puglia. It's so beautiful day or night but we definitely try to make an evening out of it just walking near the boats, strolling the shops and indulging in some special treat.

Girls love it too and love being near the water and seeing all the boats.

Love this picture of Zio Antonio and the girls.

When you think they can't possibly get any cuter...my little girlfriends.

Taking a walk with Nonna Lisa.

Yay! Mommy makes it into a picture! Proof that I was in Italy this past summer. We get a picture of the three of us in Porto Cesareo every year and I love the tradition.

Our special treat this year was a delicious and warm nutella crepe which Olivia LOVED! I wonder whom she gets her sweet tooth for crepes from???

Beautiful evening in Porto Cesareo yet again. Blessed to visit this town as often as we do.

Olivia the Pilgrim

Olivia's class had a little Thanksgiving celebration yesterday with some songs, prayers and good eats. She was the most adorable little Pilgrim, I guess I'm biased though. Love that I was able to be there to see it. Sofia was disappointed that in 1st grade they don't do anything like that for Thanksgiving anymore. Poor kid, growing up has its disadvantages I guess. 

Castagne!

Tis the season for castagne! Yummy chestnuts roasted in my oven and devoured in seconds while still warm. I did try to save some for later but there was not much. They are THAT good!

What to do:

Set oven to 400 degrees. Place foil in a shallow baking pan and cut little "x's" into one side of each chestnut. Place in oven for 15 minutes and then shake them around making sure cut side is still facing up. Place inside for another 15 or so minutes. You can check to see if they're ready by carefully opening one. To do this the easy way and not burn your fingers, place chestnut inside a towel and crackle a bit to make the peeling part easier. If it removes easily from the shell, they're ready to be peeled and enjoyed. If not place in oven for a few more minutes.
Peel chestnuts when warm, much easier than once they've cooled. Eat to your heart's content or once they are cracked opened and completely cooled, put them in a sealed bag or container.

Delizioso!

A Baby Sprinkle Tea Party

My girlfriend and I held a simple and sweet tea party baby sprinkle this past weekend for a dear friend of ours. It was so fun planning and even more fun celebrating with some very special ladies. Our friend knows she's having a boy after already having two adorable little girls, so it was fun to mix in as much blue as we could and spoil the baby before he arrives.

I did not get any pictures of the food but quiche, tea sandwiches, scones, tea cookies and fresh fruit were all around. Blue hydrangeas, a baby boy banner and clothesline filled with baby boy clothes were part of the decor.  And of course Prosecco and tea! What's a tea party with no tea?  Fun to use my wedding china and my array of cloth napkins, which I am addicted to finding on clearance racks and mix and matching.

Such a fun time leading up to a very fun afternoon with the ladies!

Babies to be!

My girlfriend Erin and I are pregnant together again and just due with our thirds just weeks apart from one another. Actually, she's due with a Thanksgiving baby and I'm due with a Christmas baby which is kind of cool. Her first and my second are just a day apart too!
I have been very bad about documenting this pregnancy so figured I would get a picture of my very pregnant belly on the blog before this baby comes along...in 5 more weeks!!!!!!!

My little picasso

Olivia and I began a little project this past week and she was so excited to find out it involved painting. My girls LOVE to paint. They don't care about getting messy, getting their fingers covered in paint, actually the messier, the happier when it comes to painting with them.

I love this picture. Love that sweet little face.

Stay tuned for part due of our project that will involve Sofia. Who was very bummed to miss the first part. School, shmool!

The after-baptism party at the fire pit

After all the guests had left, Nonno Nicky started up their firepit in the backyard for the kids to sit around. But before Sofia and Olivia joined the group we were able to snap some pictures of just Nonno and Chase. Too cute!

Would love to know what they were talking about.

Adorable!

Meanwhile...back inside with Uncle and Mason...

God Bless Mason Robert!

We celebrated Mason's baptism this past weekend and we had so much fun being with everyone. Such a special day for a very special little boy. And it was extra special for Anthony and I too as we are very honored to be his god-parents.

My dad, like with the rest of his grandkids, performed the baptism and it was very sweet. He does a couple of really cute things during his baptism like a separate father's and mother's blessing as well as a blessing over the water with the kids in attendance at mass involved. I've always loved that part and it's great to see that as he gets more grandkids, there are more kids to "help" him bless the water.

Parents and godparents!

Mason with his great-grandparents.

The Hoffman Family

The Pitocco family

Mason and Nonno Nicky

Famiglia Palumbi with Mason. He is always smiling!

Love this picture so much!

At the house afterwards to eat and eat and eat.

Mason and his cake!

Tired little cuginis watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving after everyone had left

She's so tired from such a fun-filled day she sat down to watch college football

Fun in Zio Scott's moon bounce!

Love me some Mason time!

Autumn

Some more word love found on Pinterest. Say what you will about Pinterest groupies, but it's perfect. Feeds my need for organization AND I come across great finds like this quote about Autumn, one of my most favorite times of year.
Pinterest - my Google search engine as Anthony likes to call it.

Christmas Photo Session

I had the pleasure of spending time with my good friend and her adorable family this past weekend getting some shots for their Christmas card. To say that they could have stepped out of a JCrew catalog is a major understatement. I took their picture last year as well and they're just so easy to work with and honestly coming up with a few good pictures to choose from isn't hard at all since they're all so photogenic.
Something I'd definitely like to do more of in the future...maybe baby Palumbi will get to tag along next year!

M&Ms galore!

With having just celebrated Halloween, it's only natural that with two trick-or-treaters we have an over abundance of candy in the house. Chocolate, we all like and will go through, but the hard, sticky, chewy stuff isn't for us so off to the donation bin at the girls' school it went. Now we can enjoy the rest of the yummy chocolate-y goodness that are Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (my favorite), Snickers (daddy's favorite) and Kit Kat bars and Hershey Bars (the girl's favorites). AND m&ms. Goodness did we receive a ton of m&ms this year!

So Olivia and I did what any good baker would do and use up every last m&m in those tiny little bags and made homemade delicious m&m sugar cookies! Delish!

Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
m&ms, we used about 1 1/2 cups worth from the little bags

What to do:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In large bowl, cream sugars and butter together until completely combined. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Begin blending flour mixture into butter mix adding egg and vanilla one at a time and mixing well in between.
4. Stir in m&ms and mix well.
5. Drop by tablespoon-fulls onto parchment paper lined baking sheet.
6. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
Enjoy the smiles your family will give you once they bite into one!