Day 4: Saturday

Today started off as a normal Saturday. Even though we are not here for vacation, we feel a particular need to go and explore whenever Andrew has time off from work. But there were just normal life things to get done today. Andrew had some work emails to attend to. I made French toast with Nutella, learned how to use the washing machine, and did a little cleaning, etc. It was raining but I still made the boys go run outside when it let up a little. They had so much fun. They would be fine if we just stayed here everyday and played outside. I always wondered if there would ever be a backyard big enough or interesting enough where I could just send them out for hours of entertainment. I guess I finally found their perfect backyard in the Tuscan countryside.

Our back door

Back door

Andrew and I took turns going for a run in the afternoon. The sun finally came out during my run and  the view was absolutely spectacular. I wished I had my camera, but then I was sort of glad that instead of going nuts taking pictures I could just enjoy it in the moment without trying to capture it (but I went back later to take pictures anyway). There were sheep in the field next to the road and the countryside was green and rolling as usual. I want to run along that road every day.

Later, we got in the car to do some grocery shopping and suddenly the car wouldn't start. We were getting a little frustrated and wondering what in the world we would do if our car was broken. But then Andrew found that one of the battery plugs was undone and was able to fix it. There seems to be a pattern emerging this vacation of highs and lows. One moment there is a scene of great beauty that takes our breath away and the next moment we are trying to start a dead car. For example, we drove around the city a little and found an awesome view of Siena with the sun just beginning to set. It was perfect. Then I took the boys to a park where one of them had an accident and peed his pants and Esme needed a diaper change where I discovered a terrible rash had emerged. So my kids were miserable and crying and I had to comfort them and get them home to recover. That is just how it goes.



Another important note is that some of my siblings arrived this evening. Erin, Michele, Jerry and Melanie all came to spend the week with us. Most of them work for Jet Blue and were able to get standby tickets. It will be fun to have them here.

Day 3: trip to San Gimignano

It may be a little ambitious to think I can post everyday. We will see.

Today was just a lazy morning (as most mornings are turning out to be). It was rainy so I let the boys watch some movies while I wrote the blog post for the day before. Andrew got home a little early (with flowers and groceries that sweet man!). He made some carbonara with pancetta and beschamel sauce. Then we took a little trip to San Gimignano which is about 30 minutes away. The boys don't like getting in the car. Sightseeing clearly isn't their idea of a good time. But they do have fun chasing birds in the piazza. And there are always birds and piazza's around.

We loved San Gimignano. On the way there, we told the boys the story of the warring families that competed against each other by building one tall tower after another. They like the stories, particularly when Andrew tells them. The towers make it easy to spot San Gimignano in the distance and the countryside is GORGEOUS.

We arrive and walk up the Main Street where there are some great shops to wander in and out of. There is artwork and all kinds of handicrafts. Andrew pops in his favorite tie store, "Andrew's Ties". It might be one of my favorite streets for window shopping. At the top there is an open piazza where, you guessed it, a lot of pigeon chasing takes place.

 It is in this place that I start to notice people staring at us. Maybe they are thinking about how adorable my kids are but I suspect by the look on their faces that they are wondering why in the world we decided to bring our kids to Italy with us. Of course, Andrew and I have already had our turn coming as a couple alone, so coming with our kids doesn't feel like a sacrifice. It feels like Christmas. It is fun to share it with them even if they don't totally appreciate it. There are moments where it feels so magical...and then one of them will have to go potty RIGHT NOW and the magic is postponed for reality. Such is the beauty of life.

It is also in this place that Luke decided to give some chocolate gelato another try and liked it. Victory! There was a sign on the gelateria that claimed to have award winning "best gelato". What a find!! But after we finished our very good gelato, we turned the corner to find yet another gelateria with signage claiming "Awarded best gelato in the WORLD!!". Apparently there are still wars going on in San Gimignano but they have replaced towers with gelato.

Day 2 in Italy

Benvenuti to my series of posts devoted to our stay in Siena, Italy. I'm hoping to write down some daily notes about our experiences so our family never forgets this trip. Normally, they won't be as long as this one.

Over a year ago, Andrew had the idea for a research project that would be a perfect fit for the international retinablastoma referral center in Siena, Italy. So he emailed them. Then he worked with his department at the University of Michigan to get funding and put the plans in motion. The rest of the family (myself and the kids) decided to join too, unfunded :(. I won't go into all the details but it wasn't as easy as I've made it sound. However, it was initially just a thought and with A LOT of time, effort, preparation, and certainly a stroke of providence, we are finally here for one month!

Today I woke up with the boys at the crack of dawn. I was initially reminded of all the conveniences that I am accustomed to in America that are not standard in other parts of the world. I was happy to find a toaster but it worked differently and took a few tries to get the toast just right. And I had to use it on the floor next to the front door because there is no outlet in the kitchen. Odd, but not a big deal. Luckily we brought a huge Costco-sized jar of peanut butter for Luke. But I can already tell at the rate he is requesting it, that we have not brought enough. Cam readily accepted toast with nutella instead. I can't believe we are in a country that produces some of the best food in the world, a place where people come JUST to find joy in eating, and Luke would rather starve. But that is a different blog post entirely.



We opened the windows, got dressed and the boys and I went outside to explore the olive tree grove and playground area that is in our backyard. Our apartment is attached to a bed and breakfast. We chose it for the grounds that give us an excellent view of the Tuscan countryside and for the rustic playground equipment. There is a little soccer field, swings, climbing ropes, a seesaw and a bocce court (there is also a pool but it is closed until summer). It is a large area, surrounded by gardens and the previously mentioned grove of olive trees. There is even a chicken coup!

Going outside, without coats, exploring with the boys was so much fun. Especially after the Alaska-like weather we have had in Michigan this winter.

The apartment itself is simple and rustic. I love the high ceilings and little architectural details. There are a few things I don't like about it. Sometimes I feel like I'm camping. But complaining at all sort of puts me in a category of people I don't want to be associated with. Like people who say Hawaii is too hot or New York City is too crowded. We are living in Tuscany! There is nothing to complain about. It is amazing.

After everyone was awake and ready to go, we drove around and oriented ourselves a little. Then we parked at the mall and ate some of Andrew's favorite food from his mission days, piadina. They are amazing. But even more than the food, I think Andrew loved talking with the store owner in Italian. Instant camaraderie. I know I've only been here a few days, but it seems like it is more common here to find people who know how to socialize and interact with strangers as if they are friends. I'm sure I will expand on that thought a little later.

piadina

From the mall there are a series of escalators that take you up to the entrance of the old city of Siena. We probably rode on at least 5 very long escalators. The boys loved it. Then we spent the afternoon dawdling and meandering around the narrow streets of the old city. At the Piazza del Campo the boys LOVED chasing the pigeons. When Andrew and I visited the Piazza del Campo alone years before, we thought Luke and Cam would love running around that place. We were right. So it felt a little dreamy to actually watch them laughing and chasing the pigeons while yelling "birdie! birdie!". I don't really like pigeons but now I see their value.

we have about a hundred pictures that look somewhat like this. it was too much fun to watch them.

little freaky

A large group of boys, probably young college kids, sat nearby and obviously liked the spectacle. They only spoke Italian but had this innocent gang-like quality about them. I can't quite put my finger on it. Think "West Side Story Jets" or "Sandlot" ...something like that. One of them had the Bieber quoff. They probably had as much fun watching my crazy boys chase pigeons as I had watching them burn time because they can.

see the band of boys to the left

Without any obvious explanation, a procession of middle school-aged children marched across the Piazza following one lucky boy proudly holding a contrada (neighborhood) flag. Is it a holiday? Are they showcasing their neighborhood pride? Does this happen everyday? Is this an after-school activity? We will never know.



We got some gelato. I think I may have built up gelato in Luke's mind a little too much. I thought it would be the one staple of Italian cuisine that he would like. But he didn't. I have to include that little detail because I'm sure one day he will realize how crazy that is. Perhaps the goal of this trip is for him to enjoy a cone of gelato like everyone else on the planet.

The rest of the day was spent getting groceries and preparing our first home-cooked meal. Kids were in bed well after 9. We must do better tomorrow.

Lots of snow.

My Mom is recovering from knee surgery and I haven't been able to send her the awesome care package that I have envisioned in my mind. Sorry Mom. If is is any consolation, I also have not been to the grocery store to buy food for my family in over a week :). Now that we are just about out of milk I will have to give in.  But I thought a post on the blog would be the least I could do in the meantime. So Mom, here is what we've been up to:

We brought some snow in the house when Cam was sick a few weeks ago. He was sad he couldn't go outside and I thought playing with snow in non-negative temperatures sounded amazing. I thought it would melt quickly but it didn't. It took about 30 minutes with the shower being turned on hot to melt it.  

A Luke Original Parking Garage

A Cam Original Parking Garage

This sort of gives you an idea how deep our snow is now but it just snowed about six more inches last night so it is even higher now!

A very long driveway sounded so quaint in the beginning (only half of it is pictured). I imagined the kids playing on it with their bikes. In reality, it has become my winter exercise. So much time spent shoveling!

And of course, there is no better way to spend a winter day than to take a million pictures of Esme

She is not quite sitting up by herself yet but she loves to try.

And she is starting to notice her feet

When she smiles, her eyes glow.

Cam picking his nose

Ez trying to repeat the noises I'm making

Cam usually refuses to take naps, but I knew he was SO tired. So I told him I needed a picture of him in bed for Grandma. 

It worked. He is currently taking a nap.

Luke is using his camera to take some pictures that he thinks you will like. I will post those later. It is fun to see the world from his perspective.

It just goes on and on and on. I'm running out of places to put snow. 

Now I have to go make waffles for dinner. Because that is what you make when you are too scared to take 3 kids to the grocery store. 

Quick Update

I am a bad blogger. I actually really enjoy blogging so I'm sad that I don't really have time right now. Normally I have so many thoughts running through my head and it drives me nuts until I can sit down and write them out. But now, I have no thoughts :). Not deep ones anyway. Sometimes it really seems that way. My thoughts are just consumed by what needs to get done next.

However, despite the busyness, we are doing really really well. I am so grateful to be healthy and able to take care of my kids. I'm so grateful for baby Esme. She is such a fun, beautiful girl. Every once in a while I will be staring at her perfect little face and this feeling will creep up and overwhelm me how incredibly blessed we are that she is alive and healthy. I don't know why it turned out so well, but I'm constantly reminded to be grateful.



The boys are so cute. I wish I had better words to describe them. Luke has such a wild imagination and is learning so quickly. Cameron always surprises me by the things that come out of his mouth...which are usually things he hears me say all the time. Yesterday he chided Luke in the car, "Luke, we ALREADY told you that we AREN'T stopping for pizza! We TOLD you already!". Oh dear, another Mommy in the house and he's only 3 years old.

When we got home from a long time in the car yesterday, they decided that we needed to play a game of water toss. Of course, I was feeling like being a fun Mom at that particular moment and decided it was a great idea. Luke filled up 12 ziploc bags with water (4 for each of us...good multiplication) and we had to take turns throwing them against the bathtub to see who could break one first (these are the games you come up with when it is -3 degrees outside). When the ziploc bags proved too strong for the challenge, water balloons quickly replaced them. That's when the game quickly escalated to something I had a reasonable amount of control over, to a very uncontrolled activity with water balloons flying everywhere and little boys trying to fill up water balloons themselves only to have them popping off the faucets and spraying water everywhere. This was the scene when we were supposed to be eating dinner. When will I learn. But boy do I LOVE them and I'm glad I get to referee their indoor water balloon fights during dinnertime.

I now need to return my attention to the playdate going on right now (which has allowed me a few minutes to update the good ole blog). I hear screaming, or maybe it's yelling. I haven't determined yet if it is all part of the play or about to be the source of someone's tears. So I'll sign off with some pictures we took in Utah with my family this year. I miss those guys already.

The oldest to youngest shot