Where do they get this stuff?

Sometimes my kids say things and I am clueless as to where they heard it in the first place. Luca, especially, is like a parrot these days. He repeats everything and takes everything in.
We had to go to a funeral the other day and as we were sitting quietly in the pew, my 3 year old taps my leg and whispers "Mom, rub my back!" It was pretty cute, so I cracked a smile and started rubbing. I couldn't quite figure out how he even knew about back rubs! Radio, television, where??? I am about 98% sure he didn't hear it from me...I am not a back-rub kind of person. Don't get me wrong...I love getting massages, I just don't like giving back rubs.

This whole scenario, along with other words and comments he has been making, made me reflect on what exactly I am allowing his innocent ears to hear. What is on the radio when my kids are in the car with me? What is on television? What conversations are they present for? What terminology am I using? Our home gets even more complicated with a teenager's vocabulary in the house. Hailey's language is innocent, but she uses some slang words that I would rather my toddler not use.  Taking it a step further, I begin to evaluate what attitudes am I demonstrating to my children in everyday life as everyday situations present themselves. Am I dramatic? Is my voice raised? Am I rude or do I treat others with love and respect? Am I joyful or negative? It is a lot of pressure to be a parent...our children will react the same way they see their parents react.
I know there is so much in society that we can't prevent our children from being exposed to, but I also know that I have to take responsibility for those areas in which I do have control over.
Self reflection isn't a bad thing if the end result yields a better you!

Date Night

Alessandro and I got to go out last night by ourselves and it was glorious! He took me to a burger joint on the east side of town, which is about a 30 minute drive from where we live. He had eaten there once before with his boss and really wanted me to try it. We are "foodies" if you will, so finding a good hole in the wall is right up our alley! I ordered a cheeseburger with long green chili and Alessandro ordered a double cheeseburger. Burgers come with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions and then there are other toppings you can add. We also shared fries and we had to get the egg roll! Yes, I did say egg rolls. Frisco Burger is owned by an oriental woman, so on the back of the menu, there is a limited, but very good Chinese food selection.

I meant to take a picture of our order, but I was so hungry, I forgot to pull out my camera before we started eating! You will just have to go there yourself for proof.

Frisco Burger Inn has one of the very best burgers I have ever eaten! Everything was fresh and quality from the burgers to the fries to the egg rolls!  It is a small, diner-like atmosphere and when we left, every table was taken.
Whether you live in town or are just visiting...you should acquaint yourselves with Frisco Burger Inn.
Great atmosphere, great food and last night...I couldn't have asked for better company.

On a side note, while on the topic of dates with your spouse, date nights for married couples are so very important, especially for the wives. They help us to feel connected to our spouses, reminding us that we are a couple, not just parents, and helps us to recharge. This affects every aspect of our marriages. We are all too familiar with the financial excuse not to go out together, but we have come to realize that it isn't about what we do or how much we spend...it is simply about getting out of the house together for some connection time. I remember very clearly one of our first dates...we picked up slushies and walked around the park just spending time together talking and hanging out. One of my most precious memories of our courtship cost us all of about $1.50.
 I am so very blessed to have a husband who treasures our date nights, not really because he needs them, but because he knows that I do.

Parents respecting parents

Well, sometimes unfortunate circumstances will inspire a blog post such as this one.
As a parent of 2 small children, I work very hard at keeping them healthy. We take vitamins, get plenty of rest, practice good handwashing and I wipe down the grocery carts before my kids put their hands on them. Still, sometimes they become ill because of the spread of germs that are beyond our control from playgrounds, restaurants, airplanes, weather changes, you name it. Germs love to spread and every parent knows that a sick child in the home alters a person's lifestyle.  For example, housework gets put on the backburner because, let's face it, it is hard to vacuum, prepare meals, do laundry, pick up toys, etc when you have children who simply want you to hold them all day because they don't feel well and schedules have to be rearranged.
The one place I feel should be a safe place to take my kids for a couple of hours is my bible study. They have childcare and my kids enjoy playing with the other kids very much. I don't worry because I assume that the other parents practice the same etiquette that I do in regards to sick children. I recently missed 2 weeks of bible study because my kids had colds and I didn't think it would be fair for me to expose the other children when I knew that my kids had germs to spread. I wanted to be there, I really did, but how fair would that be?
This week, I didn't get to enjoy my bible study because within the first 45 minutes, I learned, by her own admission, that another parent brought her sick children into the nursery. She prayed, "I pray that my kids get well because I feel like I can't go anywhere, even though I'm here, and thank God that they haven't paged me from the nursery. I pray that the other children are protected and my children don't spread their germs to them." I hope they couldn't read the shock on my face! I believe in healing and God's protection, but I also believe in wisdom and respect. This was an optional bible study, not a job where putting food on the table depended upon it.

I tried to stay and just put it out of my mind, but I couldn't get past it. I kept thinking that the longer I left my children in there, the higher the chances were that my kids would pick up whatever her kids had. I had to get out of there and rescue my children! I know it sounds dramatic, but so is having to cancel our plans for the next week and a half because of illness, not to mention what my kids would have to go through physically. I quietly gathered my things and slipped out the door, retrieved my children, immediately taking them to the restroom to wash their hands and wipe down their sippy cups. How sad.

If you are a parent, from one mom to another...when you knowingly put your kids in a nursery/childcare setting when they are sick, it is selfish and disrespectful. Think about how your actions affect others....just because it's the right thing to do.

Arancini

One thing my husband takes seriously is food...especially when he's cooking it. To me, food is just something that keeps me from going hungry and gets rid of those hunger pangs. Don't get me wrong, sometimes I get a craving that I just have to satisfy, but for the most part, meals are something I have to partake in to survive. To my husband, a meal he gets to prepare could be likened to how an artist views a big, blank canvas. He doesn't care how much work or how much mess, as long as it tastes good.

 Alessandro is a very busy man, so the opportunity for his creative expression in the kitchen doesn't come around very often, but when it does...watch out! Today was one of those days. My husband's mom passed away several years before we got married, so I never did get the opportunity to meet her, but I hear she was amazing in many ways...especially when it came to her culinary skills! She would gather the entire family, sometimes 50 people, for food and fellowship. She and my father-in-law would cook Italian feasts. It has been said that she was happiest when she was cooking. Alessandro inherited some of those traits from her and has every intention of keeping her signature recipes alive and passed down.

Today, he made Arancini (his mom's recipe of course) and it took him about 5 hours to complete it! He took such pride in it that he wanted me to video tape some of it to post for his family to see, just so that they'd believe that he actually did it! After much preparation and many steps to the finished product, it turned out delicious!

Arancini are fried rice balls coated with breadcrumbs, said to have originated in Sicily in the 10th century. They are filled with a meat sauce and peas, along with some mozzarella cheese. My son, Luca, who is now 3 years old calls them "fry balls". Makes me laugh!

               (Before the frying: the oval ones have only cheese and the round ones have meat and peas)

 

I love the goofy side of my man's personality!

How I Have Missed You!

Ok, it is a new year and the blogging must begin again. We have been through a lot since I last posted because I felt that I needed to keep some things private for many reason, but the time has come to share what has been happening in our lives! Stay tuned...more to come soon!

Just a fun picture for your viewing pleasure...

My Baby is Seventeen!!!!

Seventeen years ago today, I gave birth to my firstborn daughter, Hailey. It doesn't seem like that long ago, but a birth certificate doesn't lie, I suppose. I remember clear as day being her age myself. How I regret not treasuring each and every moment of her childhood...getting too busy with life and things that I thought were important, when really, they were silly.
I have had the blessing of watching Hailey transform into a beautiful young lady. Yet, still, a teenager, with some of the typical teenager traits that drive a mom crazy! Smart, beautiful, determined...those, of course, are not the traits I speak of when referring to a teenager, but they are what I think of when I think of my little Hailey.

I know that there are many moms who have gone before me as their own children have changed almost overnight from a child who is being raised to a young woman who simply needs guidance before she ventures off to live the rest of her life. Still, it is difficult for me to put into words what I am feeling as her mom at this moment. Although I am proud of her, I feel a sort of tearing of my heart as it seems she needs me less and less...

                                                         Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

What it means to be Pro-life

Inspired by what my pastor preached about at church I just had to write this blog post....

"In the beginning God created....." Out of nothing, He created... That statement is so incredible and overwhelming when you think about it. God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..." (Gen 1:26). Every single person was created by God in His likeness.

He knew each one of us and has a plan for all of us. : "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:13-16)."

Many are faced with some very difficult choices, but I know without a doubt that abortion is the wrong choice. As created beings, we don't have the right to destroy helpless, unborn babies and take away their choice to live. We were created by God in His likeness and He loves each an every one of his creations. 

That being said, what qualifies a person to be pro-life? Is it standing in front of Planned Parenthood praying and holding signs? Is it voting for pro-life candidates only? Is it volunteering for a pro-life organization? The simple answer is maybe, it can mean those things, but those things alone do not make a person pro-life. If the same person who votes for a pro-life candidate doesn't help to feed, clothe and minister to the millions of children around the world who are dying from starvation or illness, then they are NOT pro-life. After all, God does not discriminate. God made every person in His likeness, no matter what color, socioeconomic status, gender or nationality that person is. We cannot stand by and save unborn babies, yet allow those already born to die because of inconvenience, greed or afterthought.

                                           
The message this past Sunday at my church was about the greatness of God, but walking out of service, I felt so challenged to get more involved in doing justice and teaching our children to do the same. Not only in the monetary sense, but in the physical sense. Not as a novel thing that we do at Thanksgiving time or Christmas, but as a way of life. Not once a year on a mission trip, but every day. Caring for those in need should be as routine for us as brushing our teeth. 


It is all centered around Christ and His love.