la famiglia

Sofia stole my camera

2012-02-02T15:37:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's because I most always have my camera around and snapping pictures of them, but Sofia loves taking pictures too. At least once a day she will ask for my little point and shoot to take pictures. Here are some of my favorite from the many I have downloaded from just the past couple days.

Her feet. She loves walking around and snapping pictures of her feet.

Her little sister very seriously coloring a picture.

Another foot shot.

Olivia's mia and left foot. I adore that she loves the little details like her mama!

One of her favorite Christmas presents, My Little Pony doll from Zia Chaela.

And a favorite little stuffed animal of hers, Legopini. Or just Pini.

My 365 Project - 33

2012-02-02T14:43:00.000-05:00

Early morning readers.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I love most of this picture. Sofia's messy hair, Olivia playing with her toes, or just the simple fact that it was a quiet moment of the girls just reading a book together. Whatever it is, it's all cute and I'll take it.

Just washing the dishes...

2012-02-01T15:33:00.000-05:00

Not our dishes but her dishes in the play kitchen. Oh we'll get there believe me. I was washing dishes standing on a stool to reach the kitchen sink at 5 years old! Someone's birthday is coming up...she might just be getting a pair of kitchen gloves!

And what difference a couple of years makes...

My 365 Project - 32

2012-02-01T15:22:00.003-05:00

Countdown to Valentine's Day! Sofia's cutting is getting so much better every day. We now have four of these colorful hearts that she colored and cut out herself hanging in the kitchen for the holiday.

My 365 Project - 31

2012-01-31T15:02:00.001-05:00

Did I really just post for 31 days in a row?! Not entirely sure how that happened what with preschool, music class, laundry, cleaning, cooking, errand-running, family time, play-dates, weekends away, and just plain I-don't-wanna-do-anything-time. But I did. Yay.

One month down, eleven more to go. Double Yay.

Silliness

2012-01-30T20:55:00.000-05:00

The girls were extra revved up tonight and were being so silly at bedtime. I love it and it makes me smile but sometimes that means we're not going to sleep right away. Actually, most times it means they're going to be up for awhile longer talking and playing instead of going to sleep. Oh well, sleep is overrated anyway. For me it's overrated, for them they need it big time.

On another note, I just cut Olivia's hair for probably the second time in her life last week. She never really had much hair, it wasn't until 18 months or so that you could even tell she had hair.

Case in point, here she is at 21 months old:

See what I'm saying she really didn't even have much hair then and I had trimmed the bangs part so it wasn't falling into her eyes.

But here she is this evening and she would not stand still to get a good picture. Or maybe I just don't know how to use my camera when my child is moving around so fast. But believe it or not, that one haircut last week has completely turned her hair around. Now, it's still on the thinner side when compared to Sofia's hair but I think we're going to get there.

My 365 Project - 30

2012-01-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

Our day...library in the morning which make the girls faces light up like you would not believe and then a surprise to pick up Daddy from work to go to lunch in downtown Media. I don't have to tell you how their faces lit up when they saw our surprise lunch guest get in the car.

My 365 Project - 29

2012-01-29T17:59:00.000-05:00

I made a brunch today before mass and boy was it delicious! It was so good that I had to take a picture of my mountain of deliciousness - eggs, browned potatoes, bacon, shredded cheddar and sour cream. YUMMY!

Obviously, the girls do well with this kind of breakfast too...not so much the potatoes but definitely the bacon! They definitely take after their parents!

My 365 Project - 28

2012-01-28T20:23:00.000-05:00

My man. I love him so much.

A visit with Zia Rosina

2012-01-28T20:22:00.000-05:00

We took a two hour drive to North Jersey to visit Anthony's Zia Rosina today. A super sweet lady who the girls really take to and who I admire a lot. Such a good heart. She's not been doing too great the past few months and it's a shame to say that we haven't visited in awhile. But today we changed that around and went to spend some time together.

I didn't bring my camera and relied on my camera phone, which was soon taken out of my hands by Sofia mia. Little girl has learned to take pictures with the phone and she had a field day over there taking pictures of everything. I downloaded the ones of just us since the visit was just that...about us spending time with Zia.

Ok, I did take the phone back to take a picture of Sofia and Zia Rosina. And Mickey Mouse. And the necklace that Sofia made and took for Zia which she proudly put on the second she opened it up. Sofia was so proud!

I'm sorry that this picture came out blurry but I love it just the same.

A perfect rainy day...

2012-01-27T21:37:00.000-05:00

Puzzles, jumping in puddles and chocolate chip cookies...what more could you want?

My 365 Project - 27

2012-01-27T16:17:00.002-05:00

Raindrops on leaves

My 365 Project - 26a

2012-01-26T15:44:00.000-05:00

Of course I had to include a picture of Olivia "practicing" as well. No tiara though.

My 365 Project - 26

2012-01-26T15:37:00.000-05:00

tu-tu? check. tiara? check. piano practice? check.

My 365 Project - 25

2012-01-25T15:31:00.000-05:00

Snow white is brushing her teeth, peeking toes are too adorable...

burst of pink

2012-01-25T15:28:00.000-05:00

My 365 Project - 24

2012-01-24T15:29:00.000-05:00

Bursting, that is the word that comes to mind when looking at these flowers on my dining room table. I'm not sure what kind of flower they are, maybe some type of mum, but Anthony picked them up for me from the grocery store and I love them.

More from Fermo, Italia

2012-01-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Back to Italy pictures! After our afternoon with Leandro and Alessandra, we headed over to his family's house for pizza. Leandro made the pizza, about 30 to be exact. And it was hard to say which was my favorite since they were all so good. Everything was fresh and homemade...molto delizioso!

Chef at work

Girls playing while waiting for pizza, they are easily amused by flowers and leaves outside. Here they're playing with basil.

Leandro and his Nonna working the brick oven...which is really how every pizza should be made.

Buddies Anthony and Leandro

La Famiglia!

Gelato date for Sofia and Leandro...so cute!

My 365 Project - 23

2012-01-23T15:21:00.000-05:00

B is for Brownies. And it's also for bananas which is what I used instead of vegetable oil to bake these brownies. Supposed to be better for you but mine came out a little too banana-y. Still, brownies are brownies.

Daddy's girls

2012-01-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

My 365 Project - 22

2012-01-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

Rub a dub dub, Olivia's having fun in the tub

My 365 Project - 21

2012-01-21T22:40:00.000-05:00

Dinner and a movie with my favorite person...my husband. Tower of rings at Red Robin. Still not a fan of onion rings. Burger was delicious though. And movie, Mission Impossible 34, was very good too.

My 365 Project - 20

2012-01-20T19:22:00.000-05:00

Fermo

2012-01-19T15:47:00.000-05:00

A tree grows in Fermo

dodici - 12

Now about this picture...how do you open this door??

Fermo with friends

2012-01-19T15:33:00.000-05:00

During our 3-night stay in Alba, we headed up to the region of Le Marche to visit with very good friends Leandro and Alessandra. Incredible friends, we are lucky to have them in our life. Even though we only see them about once or twice a year, it feels as if we never miss a beat and just keep rolling with our lives together. The girls love them too and we know how much they love the girls. We visited with them at their gorgeous apartment in the quaint town of Fermo. The view from their windows in beyond spectacular.

Later we took the girls to a park for them to run around and have some fun in the beautiful weather.

Pictures to come....Leandro's delicious feast at his family's house. Can we say homemade, brick-oven pizza that was out of this world?!?!?

My 365 Project - 19

2012-01-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

Buddies. Yes, even the My Little Pony is a buddy of theirs. Olivia really is being silly, not crying under her hands. Love these girls!

Alba Adriatica

2012-01-18T16:00:00.000-05:00

Fun at the beach! Yes, I realize it was months ago, but I STILL haven't gotten through all my pictures from Italy. So much for getting them out by Christmas.

But while in Abruzzo visiting Anthony's side of the family, we spent 3 nights at the beach, Alba Adriatica to be exact. It was beyond awesome. The girls love the apartment and had free roam of the place. And the beauty of it is that they're always in earshot and they love being out on the balcony. So while at the apartment I would say we spent the majority of our time out there.

On our first night there, I put all our stuff away, set up the beds and then we headed out for some fun along the beach. A nice walk followed by some fun at the rides. The girls had a blast this past summer on any and all rides they went on. It was amazing seeing their little faces light up whenever they saw them and hearing their little voices "please can we go on the rides?" was too cute for words.

The next morning it was off to the beach...

later that same afternoon we had a crazy storm pass through the town which kept us indoors. Well, Anthony and the girls napped indoors as opposed to our original plan of napping on the beach, but I headed out anyway to take some pictures and grab a cappuccino. And for anyone who's not Italian...you get very weird looks when asking for a cappuccino at any time other than the morning. I know cappuccino is for mornings and un-Italian to ask for it at any other time of day, but I don't care. I like me some good cappuccino.

The next day found us on the beach again and having a blast in the sunny skies and gorgeous waves. Both girls are not very brave when it comes to the waves and at Alba you can't go out too far to begin with because the water turns deep very quickly and the tides are very strong. But they had a great time playing in the sand and just along the water's edge.

After lunch we visited with a friend of the family for lunch at her adorable apartment. She is a chef and her food is out of this world!

That night after dining at the apartment, we headed out for a ride on the riscio or rickshaw. I can not even begin to explain how much fun we had in the time we rented that little bike. The girls LOVED it. It was a chilly so we bundled them up with beach towels and we put them in charge of the horn. Not the best idea looking back now, but they had so much fun. Anthony and I did too!

More fun in the sun on our last morning in Alba. Sad to leave but happy to have had so much fun.

My 365 Project - 18

2012-01-18T15:30:00.001-05:00

Don't laugh. I honestly had to dust off my gym shoes. Ugh, this post is going to make Anthony smile, but it's time to get into shape. Now off to devour some more Italian goodies!

My 365 Project - 17

2012-01-17T14:52:00.000-05:00

Italian sweets - must mean by parents are back from Italy! Hip hip hooray!

nothing like my girls

2012-01-16T21:28:00.000-05:00

A little spa time this morning with the little ladies. They sit so still, it's incredible and they love showing off their pretty nails to daddy.

My 365 Project - 16

2012-01-16T14:47:00.000-05:00

blue mason jar and some white daisies

My 365 Project - 15

2012-01-15T20:05:00.001-05:00

Party Animals

My little girls were rock stars during a dinner we had at the house last night. Anthony's closest friends and their wives and girlfriends came over and we had the most incredible time. The girls had two little friends in the mix with them and all 4 girls were so great and played together so well. Of course cupcakes were involved.

These group of guys and their significant others and children are really the cream of the crop and we are lucky to call them friends. Food, drinks and good people (and very good kids) really made for a wonderful night!

pink and red

2012-01-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

some cupcakes for our dinner party tonight. add a little food coloring to boring white icing and a slice of strawberry on top. finito!

My 365 Project - 14

2012-01-14T15:00:00.000-05:00

Bonus Recipe!

Layered Dip Or the-easiest-appetizer-to-whip-up-in-5min

Ingredients:
Refried Beans
Taco Seasoning
Sour Cream
Salsa
Lettuce, Shredded
Cheese, Shredded
Black Olives, sliced

Directions:
Combine beans and taco seasoning in a bowl and mix together well. Scoop into a 9inch pie plate and smooth out to make your first layer. Layer remaining ingredients on top. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours before serving to hungry guests. With nacho chips preferably.

Easy and yummy.

Anthony doesn't like black olives, hence only layering half of the dip in them. You're welcome my love!

My 365 Project - 13

2012-01-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

Concentration at its best.

Feet at their cutest.

"Say Cheese Mama!" Olivia the photographer

2012-01-12T16:07:00.000-05:00

My 365 Project - 12

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

Hello water droplets on the grass and hello Mr. Worm.

Love

2012-01-12T12:58:00.000-05:00

Not able to get up from the couch to get the camera to capture a moment, but had to document anyway. Laptop on my lap, one girl on one side and the other girl on the other side, squishing so tightly against me watching a show. Leaning on either arm with little sighs of contentment escaping from all 3 of us sporadically. Love, Love, Love.

My 365 Project - 11

2012-01-11T15:59:00.001-05:00

Mommy and Olivia meet Elmo.

My 365 Project -10

2012-01-10T14:32:00.001-05:00

Fun with blocks!

My 365 Project - 9

2012-01-09T16:15:00.001-05:00

Fun with play-doh toys. Olivia is all business while Sofia enjoys her silly faces playing peek-a-boo.

one more...

2012-01-09T16:06:00.000-05:00

How could I have forgotten about this picture?!? Chase is getting so big and the girls love him so much!

A few more from Saturday morning...

2012-01-09T15:48:00.000-05:00

A gorgeous January morning and two girls who love to be outdoors...what more could you want for a sure-way to happy times!

Pointing out the plane to Sofia

My little ballerina skipping down the sidewalk

Dancing and singing on our walk

Love Olivia's squinty-eyed face, which should would be making regardless of whether the sun was in her face or not.

Playing with our shadows. Yes, I'm giving Olivia bunny ears. I'm very mature for my age.

Tired from our walk and just having heard a dog bark in the neighborhood, Olivia latched onto my hand. Love these types of moments.

Fun times at the park

2012-01-08T21:34:00.000-05:00

I had a quick trip to Maryland this weekend to spend time with my brothers and soaked up every minute of it. The girls loved seeing their zios and especially baby Chase, who Olivia now tells me each time we see him "he's my cousin." We spent some time outdoors since we had some unseasonably awesome weather for January and the girls and Chase had a lot of fun.

3 cugini on the swings

Chase loved holding onto some corn he took from the toys at the house and looked so cute crawling around with it in the grass.

I don't know what I love more about this picture...how Chase is digging his face into Scott's shoulder or how tightly he's holding onto his sweatshirt. So stinking cute either way.

My 365 Project - 8

2012-01-08T21:19:00.001-05:00

Ciao Christmas Tree, see you next year!

My 365 Project - 7

2012-01-07T21:24:00.001-05:00

Grazie Befana!

2012-01-07T21:17:00.000-05:00

My 365 Project - 6

2012-01-06T13:05:00.001-05:00

The progression of Bacio chocolate. Buonissimo!

And as a cute little plus, some light reading once you've opened your sweet. Mine today read "Love is like a butterfly: hold it too tight, it'll crush, hold it too loose, it'll fly." Corny, I know but that is one of the better ones I've seen. And because I like this chocolate A LOT, I've read a lot of them!

Happy Friday!

La Befana

2012-01-06T06:25:00.001-05:00

"La Befana vien di notte,
con le scarpe tutte rotte.

Con la vesta alla romana,
Viva, Viva La Befana!"

Happy Befana! Hope she brought you a little treat too!

My 365 Project - 5

2012-01-05T16:21:00.001-05:00

Tippy toes...gotta love them!

Sofia Mia

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

My cute little elf helping to start putting some Christmas decorations away. Tonight the Befana comes so this weekend my goal is to get as much stuff put away as possible. We always wait until after the Befana to get things tidied up around the house, gives us an extra week to enjoy the tree, the trimmings and the lights.

My 365 Project - 4

2012-01-04T16:13:00.001-05:00

Now all I need is a glass of milk.

My 365 Project - 3

2012-01-03T16:04:00.001-05:00

Coloring can be serious business with Olivia.

I say Potato

2012-01-03T16:01:00.000-05:00

Olivia loves the Potato Head Dolls. The girls received the Mrs. last year from friends and this year Santa brought Olivia the Mr. And does she love playing with both of them. Here is her creation from this morning while Sofia was at school. She was pretty pleased with herself. I'm not so sure about the tongue stuck out from the side of his head though.

My 365 Project - 2

2012-01-02T21:12:00.002-05:00

Puzzle Time!

If you give my girls a puzzle, they will have so much fun putting it back together.

Nonna and Nonno go to Italia!

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-05:00

My parents came up for part of the day today and the girls thought it was such a special treat. Some play, lunch together and more play and then it was off to the airport. In about 5 hours they will be touching down in Italy for a two week vacation. I'm just a little jealous. Boy am I going to miss talking to my parents whenever I feel like it, but I'm so happy they got to go away by themselves in what I hope is going to be a great time for them.

The 365 Project - 1

2012-01-01T22:28:00.001-05:00

I'm always amazed at others that are so dedicated to taking pictures, documenting life and while I try to do the same, it's definitely not at the same level. So, beginning today I'm going to try out this "little" project, The 365 Project. Traveling, hectic schedules and sometimes just pure laziness will be sure to seep in and my 365 project may just end up being a 23 project, but I'm going to give it a try. I'm always posting about our girls, some fun activities we get ourselves into and celebrations, but in addition to those posts, I'm going to attempt a post completely dedicated to photography and capturing a specific moment. This will also give me the opportunity to learn more about my camera, my lens and other styles of photography.

We'll see how it goes.

I thought it would be fitting to start the project off with a picture of my husband. Sometimes it's still funny to say "husband" and it's even funnier to write it out. Husband. 8 years now that I've had a husband and this one is a good egg. I know I'm blessed because of having him in my life.

He loves the piano and ever since Sofia's begun piano lessons, I think he's taken to it even more since he sees how much it interests her. The girls (myself included) love when he sits down and just begins to play either something fun from memory or trying out a new piece.

New Year's Eve!

2012-01-01T22:13:00.000-05:00

Can not believe it's 2012! A great New Year's Eve spent with family and friends AND we made it until midnight to celebrate. Just barely though.

Great friends of ours from Italy visit each year for New Year's and I'm loving the familiarity to the evening. Very low key. Playing with the girls, relaxing and cooking up a bunch of food and then enjoying said food and then more playing with the girls and relaxing. Once the girls go to bed, we put in a movie and chill out until 11:50pm when we begin watching New Year's Eve in New York City waiting for the ball to drop. Lots of fun!

Old friends.

The entertainment portion of the evening, Sofia being silly. And for the record, no, I do not normally let her stand and jump around on our chairs.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Funny face girls!

Yummy! Delicious dessert Leandro and Alessandra picked up for us for the evening.

Mary had a Little Lamb, piano by Sofia Vincenza

2011-12-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

Eliza Jane, sung by Olivia Maria

2011-12-30T16:26:00.000-05:00

I mean, come on now. Can she get any cuter?!? Eliza Jane, a favorite song sung at her music class. Dancing and singing and then distracted by a book. Too cute my Olivia bella.

Zio Antonio comes to babysit!

2011-12-30T15:04:00.000-05:00

Zio Antonio came up for the day/night this week to babysit for us so we could go to a Christmas dinner with Anthony's work group. The girls loved having him around, playing with their toys, reading books, coloring, watching a movie and eating their meals together. I don't think they could have been happier. Antonio seemed to have fun with them too.

When we dropped him off today to my mom, Sofia says to me "I wish they lived closer." She hears me say that a lot and even though I know she feels the same way, today she said it on her own and she really meant it. Mom, Dad - there are plenty of homes for sale in the neighborhood!!! Just a thought!

Disney on Ice with the princesses

2011-12-29T15:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning was an incredibly fun morning for us. Started as a normal morning with breakfast and play and then when it was time to get dressed the girls' smiles couldn't get any bigger. Who wouldn't want to wear an adorable princess dress for a little adventure?!? My little Snow White and Rapunzel had the best time at the ice show and I'm not going to lie...I did too!

The kids sitting together just as the show was about to begin...

First up was Princess and the Frog

And what's a princess show without Cinderella?

During intermission. Sofia was so excited and bopping up and down to the music during the show. She was so excited to wear the rapunzel dress.

Sofia and Nonno Mario

Back to the show with the final performance of Tangled, so awesome!

The three cugini right after the show finished! Very fun morning, left with smiles on our faces and great memories in our heart.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

Christmas morning we opened gifts at our house and after a small breakfast, we headed down to Maryland for Christmas with the Pitocco's!

Chase's First Christmas!!! He had so much fun crawling around the wrapping paper, bows and gifts and was so good all day long.

Normal family picture...

"Funny Faces!"

We are so thankful for very wonderful and giving families. The girls loved all of their gifts and I am sure are still in shock from all the great stuff they received. It's going to be a very long time (about 365 days) of them going through the books, games, puzzles, crafts, toys and videos and still loving them.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T20:01:00.000-05:00

Christmas has come and gone and it still feels like Halloween was just last week. I get so excited for the holidays and every year I say that I don't want to rush through them but it seems as if it's out of my hands and rushed through they are anyway.

A few pictures from Christmas Eve at Casa Palumbi after Mass:

Home to read 'The Night Before Christmas,' leave out our reindeer food on the lawn and Santa's snack near the tree.

'Twas the night before Christmas...

2011-12-24T22:30:00.001-05:00

His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry,
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry;
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Merry Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T06:43:00.005-05:00

A couple pictures of the girls last night dressed up and ready for a Christmas Party. They looked so cute in their coordinating outfits and while I was able to get one decent one of them smiling, I couldn't get by without a "funny face" picture too.

Happy Birthday to Anthony!

2011-12-23T16:34:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Anthony's birthday last night with his family and had a great time. Good food and good company made for a great evening. Happy 34th my love!

Jingle all the way...to Maryland

2011-12-22T16:04:00.001-05:00

We had a quick visit to Maryland earlier this week to spend some extra pre-Christmas time with the family. My mom loves the holidays, especially Christmas, and any time she has to share in the joy of it with her grandchildren, she loves. And the girls love it too! Sofia was upset that it was only one night, but when I explained to her that it was better than 0 nights, she stopped whining.

There was fun in the kitchen, listening to Christmas songs and playing under the tree and our annual trip to Lights on the Bay outside Annapolis. I forgot my camera when we went to see the lights. I know, I'm serious. I don't bring my camera to something...Wow! But my mom was happy to snap some pictures on her phone and share them with me. The girls loved the drive through Sandy Point State Park and taking in all the Christmas displays. Later we stopped in at my brother and sister-in-law's house for a visit with Chase.

There was more baking the following morning and then off to see some friends and their horses. First time meeting them (the horses, not our friends) and the girls were not impressed. Beautiful, gorgeous animals but I think the size of them really through them off. That and they snorted at them once and it was all over. As Sofia put it later "they're not small like my toy horses." Maybe they'll warm up to them.

More Christmas Bokeh

2011-12-19T06:34:00.000-05:00

Jolly Ol' Saint Nicholas

The reason for the season

I'm in total bokeh love these days with the twinkling Christmas lights around the house.

More Philly Fun!

2011-12-18T21:31:00.000-05:00

We took the girls into Philadelphia this evening to the new Comcast Building for the Holiday Spectacular. There is no fee for the show and if you're in town, you should try and stop in. Every hour, on the hour for a little Christmas cheer. The girls loved it, it "snowed" bubbles at the end which of course was their favorite part.

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

2011-12-18T21:01:00.000-05:00

I made 6 dozen of these cookies this weekend for an annual cookie exchange and I think for a first time, they came out pretty well. Super simple and fun too.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. softened butter
1/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
2 Tbsp. milk
1/3 c. white chocolate chips

sprinkles
Raspberry preserves (seedless)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugars, salt and vanilla until light and fluffy. Blend in flour and milk.

2. Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets.3. Make a small indentation with thumb in the top of each ball. Use a teaspoon to place a small amount of preserves in each indentation. Bake 9 to 10 minutes.
4. Once the cookies have cooled, melt the chips in microwave in 20 seconds increments stirring in between. One the chips are smooth, lightly drizzle over cookies and add sprinkles. Makes about 3 dozen.

A few of my favorite...

2011-12-18T20:31:00.001-05:00

Looking through the girls' first Christmas and wanted to share a few that I just love:

Sofia at my parent's house and their enormous Christmas tree:

I couldn't stop taking pictures of her in the santa hat her first Christmas, I'm surprised she didn't yank it off after a bit.

Olivia meets Santa at a friend's Christmas party, she sat there for a few minutes and seemed happy enough.

Olivia in front of my parent's tree on her first Christmas, I think it's a nice tradition to keep getting the kids in front of this tree given that it's 13 feet tall and my parents do such a nice job of decorating it every year.

Mamma's girl

Lights, Music, Food! Philly Style Fun!

2011-12-16T16:14:00.003-05:00

Fabulous morning in Philadelphia with my girls! We went into town to see the Christmas Light Show at the Wanamaker Bldg in Macy's and it was really cute. Every hour on the hour they have a 20 minute show of music and lights and it's perfect for a 4 and 2 year old. Even perfect for a 33 year old!

We went up to the second floor to get a look at the lights straight on and luckily it didn't take too much longer to start because Sofia wanted to go back down to sit with everyone else. My only complaint is that I brought the wrong size lens and so I couldn't get one photo of the whole wall at the same time. Just another reason to go back and take Anthony with us!

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Frosty the Snowman

The Nutcracker - I love the music from the Nutcracker!

Santa!

O Christmas Tree!

Next it was off to Reading Terminal Market for a walk through the many aisles to see what interesting things we could find and to get lunch. The girls loved all the people, the energy and in one particular section was an Italian Deli and Sofia says "it smells like Italy!" Love that girl!

Fascinated by the lobsters. I couldn't bear to tell her that they weren't there just for show.

Who likes chocolate and M&M covered pretzels - Olivia!

The train display is incredible at the market too and completely worth checking out especially if you have a fan of anything train in your family like we do. Olivia started shrieking when she spotted Thomas the Train.

Buttons all around the huge display allow you to start up a different section too. And what kid doesn't like to press buttons?!

Walking back to the parking garage we stopped off in a little plaza for a little rest from all our walking and to admire the pigeons.

I just like admiring these two little birds of mine.

Fun morning in the city of Brotherly Love. Or Sisterly love for that matter!

Sofia's Christmas Program

2011-12-15T21:05:00.001-05:00

Incredible morning at Sofia's preschool for their Christmas program. Nonna Lisa and Nonna Nicky surprised her at the house beforehand and I almost wished I had prepped her for their visit. But it was fine, just bounced off the wall for a few minutes while trying to get ready to leave for the show. Then we see her spot everyone in the crowd and her smile just blew me away. She was so excited to see Nonna Maria and Nonno Mario there too.

Then it was 30 minutes of singing, jingling bells and reciting lines. It was beyond adorable.

Olivia was great and had a good time watching the big kids. Next year will be her turn!

Then it was back to their classroom for refreshments. My big girl, so proud of her and happy that she had such a fun morning.

Sofia and Emmy, one of her sweet girlfriends.

Sofia and Mrs. Bell, her teacher from last year who is now the secondary teacher in her room this year. And Sofia LOVES her. We talk about her regularly in the house.

Sofia and Mrs. Koch, her primary teacher in the classroom and new to Sofia this year. And Sofia really took to her so well, she wants Mrs. Koch to not only teach her piano now that her piano teacher is retiring, but wants her to come to dinner at the house too. Obviously, Sofia loves her too! Couldn't ask for a better set of teachers who I feel really appreciate my little girl and are so good at what they do.

One very blessed little girl...Sofia had both set of grandparents at the show today and she couldn't have been happier. I'm so lucky my parents took the time to drive up for the morning to come to her program and spend some time together at the house. And I'm lucky my in-laws live so close that they can make time in their schedule for important things like this in our girl's life. An over-all perfect day for my family, can't ask for anything more.

Snowman Bokeh

2011-12-15T07:46:00.000-05:00

Sofia's Christmas Program is this morning and I can't wait. After last year's adorableness, it got me so excited for future things like this with the kids. Afterwards, we're coming home for hot chocolate and icing and sprinkled covered brownies that I made last night. AND there will be surprise guests for Sofia at her program too....stay tuned!

Cugini photo shoot

2011-12-14T15:58:00.000-05:00

Last week we got the 3 cugini together at my in-laws house to get a Christmas pajama picture taken. As is typical for me, I took about 200 pictures and I think there were 4 that my mother-in-law could use for her Christmas card. It was a pretty fun experience though and all three kids had a great time.

Here are some of the out-takes:

One of the better ones where all three were looking in the same direction. Who knew how hard it was to get 3 kids to do that! I think it's safe to say that the one thing I took away from this was that Olivia is such a ham. She was either playing with her feet, being silly with her hands or tackling the other two. It was too funny and you could tell she was having a great time!

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Rods

2011-12-13T06:58:00.007-05:00

Easiest treat to make.

What you'll need:
pretzel rods
chocolate chips
sprinkles

What you'll do:
Melt chocolate. Dip pretzels. Sprinkle away.

Easy peasy and you get some pretty bokeh too.

A crafty daddy

2011-12-12T15:38:00.000-05:00

Anthony tried his hand at crafting last night with the girls and I daresay all fingers were intact and there were smiles all around. Construction paper, scissors, punch-outs and a glue stick and some stamps and a crafty daddy was born!

RED!

2011-12-12T14:32:00.009-05:00

Our activity on the advent calendar for yesterday was to paint our toenails RED and so that's what we did. The girls have always loved getting their nails done and both sat so still while I did my thing and made their toenails a pretty red. Forever Yummy by Essie to be more exact. And because they are only 4 and 2, they have the tendency to not sit very still all the time and so we dry the fastest way we know and that's with the hair dryer. They love that part almost as much as me painting their nails.

Admiring mama's work...

sweet and pretty feet

New York City!

2011-12-11T21:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday marked mine and Anthony's 10th consecutive trip to the Big Apple at Christmastime. A couple years into our trips we started inviting Antonio, Scott and Chaela and it's become a Pitocco/Palumbi Family thing ever since. And I love it. Despite cold temps and crowded tourist spots, we always have a fantastic time. And Chase joined us this year, first trip to New York City. He was so good and I think really enjoyed himself too. And now with 3 kids in the group, there are strollers to take into account, diaper bags, change of clothes and snack bags too. So this was our first year having to take two cars. I may invest in a good pair of walkie-talkies for our trip next Christmas.

Once we park at our usual garage, we walk through Times Sqaure and Rockefeller Plaza to find a good spot for lunch. The last couple years with the kids coming we've lucked out on perfect places that are good, quick and lots for the kids to take in, meaning busy with lots of people bustling about. Then we're out for a walk to the tree, catch the decorations allover the avenues and then back to Times Square. This was our first year not going down to Little Italy and Canal Street, but nobody seemed to miss it. The day is packed from beginning to end and always leaves me with a smile.

Have I mentioned how good he is? Fell asleep for his mommy and daddy while we walked after lunch.

Bright eyed and ready to take in the sights after his nap.

We were more than prepared for the 44 degree weather we had yesterday. What's NYC at Christmastime without red noses and plenty of layers!?

Love this picture. Sofia was in the stroller and insisted on holding Zio Antonio's hand.

Can't believe he's 16 already...

I remember his first trip with us so clearly...

Traveling with kids whether it's a 2 hour drive or an 8 hour flight is always an adventure. There are going to be smiles, laughs and maybe some tears. All of it is part of the experience and what makes memories so special and unique. I love that I look forward to this trip so much and it's always sure to make me smile thinking back on it and looking forward to future trips.

Happy 3rd Birthday Simon!

2011-12-07T16:07:00.000-05:00

We celebrated with Simon, family and friends this past weekend his 3rd birthday! So crazy since it seems like just yesterday we got the call that he was born.

Yeah, about this picture...too cute.

Paola and Dan had his party at Bouncetown and the kids couldn't have had a better time. And when I say "kids" I do include Anthony into that mix.

Anthony and Zio Italo

The birthday boy having a great time

Seriously, her smile couldn't have gotten any bigger...

My baby girl acting all big and climbing over everything on her own.

Love these girls so much!

Crazy Uncle Anthony and Uncle Danny

My little climbers, they were so tired when we got home!

Happy Birthday Simon!

Cugini!

the most wonderful time of the year...

2011-12-06T15:50:00.001-05:00

decorating, coloring, and loving...oh my!

Meet Bert. He's our Santa's little helper Elf and the girls just love him. Mixed reviews out there about the Elf on the Shelf, but for two years now the girls have loved searching for him in the mornings and reading the story at night. I think we'll keep him...for now.

I made some gift tags last night at my crafting group and I think they came out ok for a first time run at making a bunch of different kinds. I'm trying to come up with a homemade gift and tag to go hand and hand...that is still to be determined though.

Little man Chase

2011-12-05T16:42:00.000-05:00

We were in Maryland part of the weekend for a friend's baby shower and Chase made an appearance with all the women. Love that little guy.

my girls

2011-12-01T07:07:00.006-05:00

By the fields near my parent's home in Maryland this past weekend, I took some more pictures of my gorgeous and funny little girls. A nearby park, cows to moo at and beautiful temps, can't ask for anything more. And I love the pictures I was able to capture - a very happy mama!

DIY Advent Calendar

2011-11-30T21:23:00.001-05:00

I just completed our advent calendar and while it's pretty simple, I love it and it looks adorable hanging in our kitchen. There are so many to choose from on the internet, but I went with things that I had on hand. The girls had gone to bed so I can't wait to see their reactions in the morning.

What you'll need:
Craft Tags
Christmas-themed scrapbook paper, I used two different patterns, but the more the merrier
marker
small clothespins
festive ribbon
double-sided tape
list of 25 activities typed up

All I did was fold the craft tags in half. Cut the scrapbook paper up into squares to fit on the front and the back of the tag and stuck them down - I used what I had which was photo mounting tape. I typed out the list of 25 activities and then cut those out and taped to the inside of the tag. Now once we open a tag and plan for our activity, I'll turn it inside out so the other side of the tag shows with the different scrapbook paper. I only did this because I ended up finding a very cute paper that had ornaments so in the end it will sort of look like we hung ornaments from the ribbon in the kitchen. You could totally skip the second piece of scrapbook paper and hang as usual with the number showing.

I had fun coming up with our list of activities too and almost got the girls involved, maybe next year. I had a feeling some of their requests might have been a little extravagant and this way it's a nice surprise for them also. Here's our list:

Open Christmas Pajamas
Decorate Christmas Tree
Bake cookies with their Nonna's (not at the same time)
Go to New York City! (a tradition of ours now for 9 years!)
Bake Christmas Cookies for our Friends
Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Have Hot Chocolate with Marshmallows Tea Party
Make Fudge
Bake a Christmas Cake
Sofia’s Christmas Program At School!
Decorate a Christmas Ornament
Color a Christmas Picture
Take a drive to see the lights in the neighborhood
Decorate a door in the house
Make Christmas Cards for our families
Paint our toenails RED - can't wait to see if Anthony joins us on this one
Bake Sugar Cookies with lots of SPRINKLES!
Make a donation to Purple Heart - the girls are going to help bag the things up for me
Go to the library & check out a new Christmas Book
Get Teachers' Christmas Presents together
First Day of Winter! Bundle up and take a walk in the cold!
Make peppermint bark
Dress up for a Christmas Party
Christmas Eve! Mass & then Dinner with Family!
Christmas Day! Family, food & fun!

Thanksgiving Numero Due

2011-11-28T15:57:00.000-05:00

Great, great 2nd Thanksgiving in Maryland with my family this past weekend. My parents watched Chase for a couple nights which meant I got some extra cuddle time with him. When Scott's around he just hogs him all the time! But he was a lot of fun and the girls loved showering him with attention.

He thinks Nonno Nicky is pretty funny too...

Olivia was serious about her coloring this past weekend too and made many masterpieces...

the three cugini were adorable together just doing their thing...

and Sofia had fun playing dress-up.

My mom's home cookin' was the best, I can't thank her enough for having to endure 2 Thanksgiving meals just so I could have a traditional meal at home too. Grazie mama!

What's Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie...

Or apple pie for that matter too?

Anthony and I set out to take a couple pictures of the girls for our Christmas cards...here's a little peek of the cuteness.

Proof that my dad does some work in the kitchen

Mr. Tim teaching Sofia the finer points of football...

and Olivia relaxing with Nonno Nicky while also watching the games.

Great company, awesome good, relaxing times...perfect!

M & M Cookies

2011-11-25T07:09:00.000-05:00

Not exactly a traditional Thanksgiving goodie, but they are the Harvest Color M&Ms so that should count for something. And who doesn't love M&M cookies no matter what time of year it is?!

The best little taste-testers...my cookie monsters! They approve

Thanksgiving Numero Uno

2011-11-24T19:49:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal today at La Locanda with my father-in-law and Anthony's uncle. The girls are definitely used to the place and loved all the focaccia at the start of the meal. They were very good and I came equipped with coloring books, stickers and our phones just in case. In Olivia's case, all were needed but both girls stuck it out and had a great time.

Sofia and Nonno Mario sharing a hug

Olivia showing Zio Italo how to play the games on the phone

Mommy and Nonno Mario share the dessert, poached pear on a bed of mascarpone drizzled with Vin Santo. Very good.

Olivia and Sofia both enjoyed a scoop of chocolate ice cream for their dessert

Girls with Zio Italo, of course I couldn't get them both in the picture with him at the same time, so this will have to do.

Father and son spend Thanksgiving Day together

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:35:00.004-05:00

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Christmas card outtakes

2011-11-23T17:23:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we took some pictures with Scott for our Christmas card. There are so many family pictures to choose from that I love but I loved these too. They just aren't going to make the cut. And I'm sure you can see why.

Only Anthony and I were loving hanging them upside down, I think we're going to re-try this one though...such a fun idea.

Trying to get a solo shot of Olivia was difficult since she was just attached to my legs. Still cute pictures but I'm going to take a single shot of her I think for the card.

Love seeing part of Sofia's face in this one. She loved being outside with her Zios getting our pictures taken.

And I absolutely love this one...if Olivia didn't look like she was falling asleep. I can't blame her, we went right at her nap time but I just thought this picture was so funny too.

These were funny too...we had to get a siblings picture. I am definitely not strong enough to hold up Antonio like Scott did...no little brothers were harmed in the taking of these pictures.

Princess Unicorn

2011-11-22T15:10:00.000-05:00

Sofia had her Thanksgiving Feast at school this morning and it was so adorable. Songs, drumming and snacks...oh my! Each of the kids were able to pick their own Indian name and I laughed out loud at Sofia's when I saw it - Princess Unicorn! Love it! Obviously, we're going through a unicorn phase at home.

Her teachers are fantastic, couldn't ask for a better class for my little girl. I can just tell she's really enjoying herself and loving her schoolmates and teachers.

Time to FEAST!

Eating and chatting with a schoolmate

Sofia and one of her good little buddies

Mrs. Koch's, one of Sofia's teachers that she just loves! Bummed I didn't take a picture with her other teacher too, there's always the Christmas Show next month!

crunchin' in the leaves

2011-11-21T18:09:00.000-05:00

Doesn't get any better than watching your girls playing in the leaves and having the best time.

Buon Giorno, Gran Sasso!

2011-11-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

I meant to post this picture with the ones from San Gabriele and Castelli since they were all taken the same morning, but I kind of like this one all on its own too. We were heading back home and went through a toll booth and just before trees and a curving road got this out of my sight, I had to snap a picture. Those mountains in the background are part of the Gran Sasso and it's really overwhelming to see them in person. I need to teach myself another tool in Photoshop to really make them stand out though, maybe I will experiment for another post.

But for now....Buona Domenica!! Happy Sunday! It's still the weekend and this week we're gearing up for Thanksgiving!!!

Castelli

2011-11-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

Once we've visited San Gabriele, we drive up the mountain to the quaint town of Castelli. Famous for it's gorgeous ceramics, Castelli is definitely one of my favorite places in Abruzzo. I'm sure it's also known for it's incredible views from the tiny street overlooking a very large drop and the views just within the town walls. One adorable alley street after another with always something worthy of photographing.

Love this house! I started taking pictures of this house a bunch of years back and a couple years ago I had the pleasure of taking a tour of the home when the owner saw me taking pictures. She was very welcoming and the home inside was as cute as it is on the outside.

And every year on our way out of Castelli, we stop into this ceramics shop where I just drool over the adorableness. The owners are a small family where the mother and daughter are the artists and make all the ceramics by hand. I wish I could bring it all back because each piece is so unique and beautiful. Can't you tell by the big smile on my face how happy I am to go inside the shop...alone?!? Girls stay in the car with daddy and have a snack while mommy shops all by herself. It's wonderful.

San Gabriele

2011-11-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

A trip to Abruzzo wouldn't be the same without our regular morning outing to San Gabriele. There was a mass when we visited so the girls needed to be extra quiet in the chiesa, but outside the enjoyed running around in the perfect weather.

Incredible Gran Sasso in the background.

Olivia takes a sip from the fountain, fresh mountain water. Doesn't get better than that!

Tshirt Scarf

2011-11-17T06:26:00.047-05:00

I have been wanting to do one of these ever since it showed up in Pinterest. So simple, took barely any time at all and all you need is a t-shirt and a good pair of scissors.

Step 1. Grab a t-shirt that you don't mind getting all cut up. Anthony was kind of enough to donate one of his to my project. Now lay the t-shirt flat and cut off bottom hem.

Step 2. Begin cutting 1 inch (give or take) strips. Give or take because it doesn't have to be so precise since there is still Step 3 to do.

Step 3. Gather strips in one hand (I had 13 strips) and stretch trying to make all the strips the same length. The strips will have a smooth rounded look to the edges now.

Step 4. You could probably be done at this point but I went ahead and did as Ette' Studios did and took one strip away from the group to use to bind them all together. I cut that strip in half and using only 1 of the pieces, I bound up one section of the scarf. I tucked one end of the strip into the loop and began winding around. I didn't want it to be bunched up so when winding the strip around, I tried to keep it as neat as possible. Then I just double-tied it to the original end that was tucked into the scarf and then hid it within the bound-up section. Simple enough.

FINITO!

I LOVE it and it looks cute wrapped just 1, 2 or 3 times. I may go browsing around the house for more t-shirts to transform.

That boot shaped country with lots of good food...

2011-11-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

that's right, Italia! Wow, has it been awhile since I last posted on Italy. Still so many pictures to go through from the second part of our trip - Abruzzo!

Here are a couple from our first morning at Anthony's family house in Garrano Basso. Anthony and Sofia took a walk to a neighbor's house while Olivia and I hung out with Nonna Linda. We played out on their balcony and I think Nonna might have been a little nervous at first seeing Olivia peek through the openings on the railing, is it called 'railing' if it's made out of concrete? But Olivia is too big to fit through the hole so Nonna's mind was put at ease and we enjoyed the nice weather and Olivia's fascination with the railing.

Welcome to Savannah!

2011-11-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

My friend Emily and I decided that after 7 years of not seeing one another, we needed to hang out. So Savannah it was and this past weekend it finally happened and I had such an amazing time. Great to see my friend and great to explore a new town together. I was in love with the parks there, which we came across just about every few blocks. Most were filled with live oaks with spanish moss hanging from them and they were so gorgeous. I got a little carried away with taking pictures of them!

Occupy Savannah consisted of 2 people and about 20 signs.

The colors we found throughout the town were incredible...of course, I had to take pictures of just about anything red.

Emily standing next to a pub with an awesome phone booth

Really charming street with one gorgeous house after another

Park near the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist

First Headquarters of the Girl Scouts, made me proud

Steamboat and that's our hotel in the distance

Our ride to and from downtown, a very loud but adorable ferry boat

There were stairs leading down to River Street that were incredibly steep, couldn't imagine walking up and down those every day

River Street

Talmadge Memorial Bridge

Back over on the historic side for dinner, looking over to our hotel. So beautiful!

Yummy! In one of the handful of candy shops we came across

Morning that we left and had to snap up another picture of the palm trees, they are so pretty!

Such a fun visit with my sweet friend!

Off for the weekend...

2011-11-11T06:04:00.028-05:00

I'm leaving on a jet plane... in just a few hours.

Headed to Savannah, Georgia for the weekend to meet up with a friend that I haven't seen in FOREVER! The above picture is from a million years ago in Fells Point, MD and the reason it's cut funny is because I have it in a circle frame. I had such trouble getting it to scan just so and this was the best I could do. See, I totally need a weekend away! I am so excited for the time away, but also a tad nervous to leave the girls AND Anthony as this will be the very first time leaving all three of them. It'll be good though, for me and for them. I'll come home to extra hugs and kisses!

Packing for a weekend trip isn't nearly as easy as it may sound. Sure, it's nice to only have one bag to carry one, plus a purse, but filling that bag with the essentials for a fun weekend is difficult. And for that I have Pinterest to thank...yet again! My girlfriend Emily is also on Pinterest and she forwarded me these very adorable collections that she found and they are totally helpful when putting together a few outfits. Love! Now packing won't seem so daunting when you have a template to kind of assist. Kind of like having a personal assistant...wonder if either Sofia or Olivia would be up for the job?

Red

2011-11-10T15:31:00.000-05:00