Archive | home sweet home

how we spend our days {Part 2 of 2}

November 19, 2013 at 2:24 pm

(If you’d like to see Part 1 of this little series, click here. Just for fun — and for myself in the years to come — I’m documenting a day with my family in our home in Sicily. The day also happened to be my 27th birthday!)

When I left off yesterday, it was about 11am on November 14, and Gil was still napping. Lena and I moved out to the balcony to hang our bedroom sheets from the railing; they billowed and retracted with the breeze. I asked Lena to take the dry cloth diapers off the rack for me, and she stacked them while I “stuffed” the diapers with absorbent inserts. She’s a good helper!

She found a millipede, one of many in our house.

Diapers are stuffed and stacked… and ready to be snapped back onto Mr. Gil whenever he needs them. Lena reached through the balcony to touch the dark blue sheets as they dried.

Back into the kitchen. I gave Lena a snack of frozen berries mixed with organic vanilla yogurt. We can’t get very many berries locally here in Sicily (besides picking wild blackberries in season, that is!), so I try to feed Lena mixes of various berries. She ate her snack while I washed the dishes and put them up to dry in our over-the-sink drying cupboard (an Italian kitchen feature that I love). When she was almost done, she brought me her bowl. “Can you get one more bite for me, Mama?” I scraped her bowl and found three more bites.

It’s 12pm and someone’s awake! Lena runs to him first, saying, “Gil! Aww, Gil! You got up so early, Gil!” I love how she repeats whatever she hears me say… well, most of the time I like to hear her repeat it.

On the left, this is where Gil is whenever I come into the room after his nap: pressing his head into the mesh and waiting eagerly for us to come racing in, scoop him up, snuggle him. Right now Gil is sleeping in a pack ‘n’ play in the guest room while Lena still sleeps in her crib in her room. I thought we’d transition them to the same bedroom with Gil in the crib and Lena in a regular bed after Gil was a few months old. However, it’s made more sense to keep them separated because we usually have two bedrooms at our disposal and they sleep/nap much better apart. Also, Lena still can’t get out of her crib by herself… and I am not going to encourage any escapism around here!

I quickly dress my children and pack a picnic lunch, and then strap them into the back of our Honda Civic. Two kiddos are excited for “da playgroun’ an’ yunch wiff Daddy!”

In 10 minutes we’re parking, and I text Elliott to come meet us. I love to see him walking towards us, stretching his legs after a long morning in the vet clinic and so happy to see his family! It’s a beautiful day on base, and we let Lena run around for awhile before sitting down to eat. Unfortunately, I’m learning that Lena rarely eats a full meal when there’s a playground nearby, so I’ll probably have to feed her something else by the time we get home. Oh well, it’s worth it to see her joy… so much so that we’ve made this a weekly tradition.

After the meal, I had a few errands to run in the commissary (grocery store) and NEX (military version of Target). The kid are troopers, but they were tuckered out by the time I finished! (Lena is faking, Gil is not.) Time to head home for naps. I strapped them into the car, and by the time I parked in front of our house, Gil was fast asleep. I carried his car seat to his room, slipped him out, nursed him, and laid him down, and then Lena and I read a couple of stories together before I tucked her in with a song and a prayer.

On most days, I usually get an hour or hour-and-a-half to myself in the afternoon. Precious, precious time! Some days I use this whole time to blog, other days I curl up hungrily with a book or knitting project I’ve been itching to enjoy all day. Today I needed to get various things done around the house, so off I went…

I gathered my supplies for my knitting class that night. It was the last one in a series of four classes, and I was excited to help my students finish up the hat and handwarmers they had started. I teach classes through MWR (community activities organization) on base; this was the second class I’ve taught, and I’m teaching an advanced class in December. They’re a lot of fun!

I also folded and delivered some laundry…

… and put the clean, dry sheets on our bed. It won’t be long before I’ll need to change out the light blanket for our toasty-warm feather duvet for the winter months. Our house has no central air and electricity is prohibitively expensive in Italy, so it gets cold in the wintertime!

I walked back into the kitchen just as the sun lit up the valley below Mt Etna. I love this enormous kitchen window; it’s like having a painting on our wall that magically transforms with the changes in weather and seasons.

I frosted cupcakes for dessert that night… and might have treated myself to an extra one!

And finally I prepared dinner, because I wanted to have everything ready by 5pm so we could eat before I left for my knitting class at 6:15. I put the final touches on this delicious recipe, made baked potatoes according to this great tutorial…

… and made my favorite salad: greens with dried cranberries, chopped walnuts, and goat cheese, and usually finished with a blush wine viniagrette.

And then the kids were up and Elliott was home! How did I only take two pictures of Elliott all day?! But there he is, handsome stranger.

We opened presents and cards before dinner, where there were many fun surprises. I was so excited to get this sweater from my parents, which I’ve been eyeing for awhile. There were other gifts and gift cards from sweet family members, including these books and immersion blender (thank you, Elliott… soups all winter!!!):

And then we feasted, and then we ate cupcakes! I couldn’t find a birthday candle for me (and Lena) to blow out, but my family did sing me “Happy Birthday,” Lena with a gigantic smile spreading across her face as she realized we were singing one of her favorite songs for a real birthday, not just for fun. I love them so.

And that is where I forgot to keep taking pictures… oh well. After dessert we dashed around in a flurry as Elliott bathed the kids and I put food away, and then I put Gil to bed and raced out the door. The knitting class was so much fun, as was coming home to find my hubby had once again cleaned the kitchen. Elliott and I spent a quiet evening together, reading and talking as we always do, thankful for this peaceful time at the end of the day.

I know I’ll look back on these days and probably be amazed by the simplicity of our lives. I will remember being bored at times, overwhelmed at others, and often numbed to the joys because of the endless needs of my young family. But I hope I also remember that I knew I was richly blessed, and that I was very happy, and that I was so well loved.

9 :: in a picture an hour, Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom Series, family, home sweet home, life lately

how we spend our days {Part 1 of 2}

November 18, 2013 at 3:58 pm

Right before Gil was born, I did a two-part blog series documenting a regular day at home with Lena. I knew those days were precious, and I wanted to capture the whole day in images as best I could (mostly for my own sake!). Little did I know that Gil would be born the next day. That really was the very last day in that stage of our lives.

Just like last January, change is on the horizon for us now. We will only be in Sicily for another 8 months, and after that I don’t know where we’ll be or what my everyday life will look like. I could very well go back to work, and/or my children might be in school or daycare. Who knows?

There is also change in the weather here, as the autumn winds begin to whistle around our house on the cliff and the fields below us once again turn lush and green with the winter rains.

And there is change in our children. They are not the same from day to day or even moment to moment. When I took these pictures last week, Gil preferred to scoot everywhere, hoisting himself forward on his two arms and dragging his legs behind him. Now, just four days later, he’s marching around on all fours with military precision. Lena has probably learned 10 new words. How can I keep up with all this change?

Of course the answer is that I can’t keep up with it. I can only enjoy these fleeting days filled with growth and development and constant newness. So, in order to capture a little bit of these days for my memory, I grabbed my camera on the morning of November 14th — my 27th birthday. It was a special day in some ways (hot breakfast and cupcakes and presents, oh my!), but in others it was just the same as most others, because sameness — rhythm, routine — is necessary with young ones.

How we spend our days is, after all, how we spend our lives. (Annie Dillard)

So here is a day in our lives.

On that morning, Elliott let me sleep in… which was blissful! We’re terrible at going to bed on time, and so we end up getting 6-7 hours of sleep most nights. It just isn’t enough for either one of us, but we are starved for time to work on projects and spend time together after the kids are in bed, so I doubt our bedtime will change anytime soon. To cope with this, we’ve started helping each other sleep in, which makes a monumental difference in our attitudes.

As soon as I stepped into the living room, Lena ran towards me holding a birthday card, her face lit up like the sunrise and words bubbling out of her with excitement. She showed me the balloons, heart, and letters she and Elliott had drawn together, and then she opened up the card to show me five globs of scribble, which she pointed to in turn and described as, “A blue lion… and a red lion… and a yellow lion… and a green lion… and a… a pink lion!” Except “lion” was more like “yion.” You could have cleaned me up off the floor with a sponge; I totally melted into a little puddle of love.

I scooped her up and took her back to bed with me for some snuggles while Elliott disappeared into the kitchen…

… and returned a short while later with breakfast on a tray! Hot coffee, bacon, an egg, and two pancakes (one with syrup and one with Nutella and banana, just the way I like them). He then took Lena and left me to eat and read quietly in bed. For some reason, this seemed like the very height of luxury to me right then. I didn’t have to jump up to grab anything, and I didn’t have to feed anyone but myself. And I could read! “Honey, that was wonderful,” I told Elliott, “We have got to treat each other to it more often!”

Elliott had to run out the door to work, so I took over duty in the kitchen. He gave us each a kiss and dashed out the door as we made plans to see him later for a picnic on the playground.

Out the kitchen window, I drank in the view of Etna, the volcano that dominates the eastern Sicilian skyline. On winter mornings there’s barely a cloud in the sky. Breathtaking!

My little ones were finishing their breakfast. They are both huge fans of pancakes and eggs, a treat in our house!

Lena and Gil love to “snuggle” in Gil’s bed, where they play with toys, roll, and tumble. Lena particularly enjoys this because it’s the only time she gets to have a pacifier (Gil’s, of course), which she still misses very much. Sometimes she seems so mature, and sometimes I see glimpses of the little girl that was Gil’s age… wasn’t it just last week?!

Since they were safe and happily playing in Gil’s bed, started a load of laundry in our tiny Italian washing machine. Afterwards I moved them to my bed for more snuggles as I got ready for the day.

Gil’s gets busier by the day. Drawers, cupboards, and doors are his favorite things, and he loves to open and close them and see what’s on the other side.

Caught ya!

I moved into the bathroom, and they followed me… and disemboweled my toiletry bag. Lena found something for her lips…

I caught Lena jumping on the bed — a forbidden but also an irresistible temptation for her! — and moved the group to the living room rug, where we keep a rotation of toys. Gil pounded one of the cat’s toys onto a vintage Fisher Price xylophone, which I was stoked to find at a ~~junk~~ antique fair last week.

Lena asked me to help her make a “choo-choo train,” which is a line of blocks that she can then roll her cars over.

Gil found an actual choo-choo train.

Siena, our constant companion. I have been so grateful for her tolerance and even fascination with my children as they’ve grown. She lets Gil almost smother her before she disentangles herself, and she has always been gentle but firm in letting the kids know her limits. She’s eager to be right on the periphery of our activity, a quiet shadow following us around the house.

After this, it was about 10am and Gil was ready for his morning nap. I changed his diaper, zipped him up in a sleep sack, and then nursed him on the guest room bed. Lena — who is not very good at amusing herself — quietly slipped into the room and snuggled up next to us, doing her best not to talk. After a few minutes I laid a drowsy Gil down in his bed, and Lena and I tiptoed out of the room.

In the kitchen, clouds obscured Mt Etna already.

Lena read a library book while I gathered ingredients for carrot cupcakes. I had to teach a knitting class at 6:30 tonight, and we like to eat and put Gil to bed before I go. Because of this, I needed to have dinner ready by 5pm. I wanted to make it special — it was my b’day! — and fun for my family. I’ll cash in on my birthday reward of a husband-cooked meal some other time!

As the cupcakes baked, I mixed spices to marinate the meat for this incredible recipe…

… and chopped onions, tomatoes, and peppers as part of the criolla salsa to accompany the meat.

That’s about half of the photos from that day. I’ll pick up tomorrow with some cloth diaper-folding, a visit to base, my task list during the kids’ nap time, and a birthday dinner!

6 :: in a picture an hour, Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom Series, family, home sweet home, life lately, Mt Etna

bits + pieces from Virginia

July 3, 2013 at 3:51 pm

Lena, Gil, and I have been having so much fun here in Virginia with our extended family. Visits to the farmers market, lunches with friends, mornings spent running through the sprinkler, and Mama getting to sleep in… mmhmm, life is good. We have two more weeks here before we’re reunited with hard-working Elliott in Sicily. Despite all the fun, we are very eager to be back together as a family again.

In the meantime, here are a few photos from our recent adventures. The first photo is of my dear friend Abi, who was my college roommate, one of my bridesmaids, I was one of her bridesmaids… and then our babies were born 3 weeks apart! Isn’t her daughter Lucie the sweetest?! Those cheeks! Those ankles! Gil was nonchalant, but… I know he was just playin’ it cool.

Here those two are, “playing” like 5-month-olds do.

She’ll stay on the toilet forever if Gil is there to talk to &
matchy-matchy with “Auntie Ema.”

Blowing bubbles with Aunt Leslie.

A blurry picture of Gil’s first meal. He ate about 3 tablespoons! Hungry, much? He’s wearing a bib that I wore as a baby.

Sipping cider at the farmers market.

Gil Garber. Nuff said.

And finally, below is the poor creature that Lena spotted and identified as “Monster.”

5 :: in family, friends, home sweet home, life lately, Virginia

we have a castle in our front yard

May 21, 2013 at 1:34 pm

When people in my little Sicilian town ask me where I live, I love my answer: “Io vivo vicino al castello.” I live near the castle.

They raise their eyebrows and smile appreciatively. Not many Americans would ever choose my neighborhood, which was originally built in the Middle Ages and boasts narrow cobblestone streets barely wide enough to fit our Honda Civic.

“You live near the castle?” they repeat, smiling. “The Campinole neighborhood?”

I nod, thinking of the green-and-gold neighborhood pride. “And I love it,” I reply sincerely.

And I do. Living in our neighborhood isn’t always easy. Our car has lost a lot of paint as we have learned how to drive and park on streets meant for horses and ox carts. We’ve shivered through the winters in a house without any heating system. We often feel out of place and isolated in a neighborhood that is entirely Sicilian (and mostly elderly). Many evenings our dinnertime conversation is almost drown out by drumbeats outside our front door as the neighborhood’s musicians practice for the annual Medieval festival.

But for all its quirks, this neighborhood is impossible not to love. The faded buildings and cobblestone streets are so quintessentially Italy. The old women with their shawls smile from the windows, the old men pause to greet Lena (“ciao, bella!”) on their walks to the piazza. There is a closeness, a real spirit of the neighborhood, which comes from its endless preparation and hosting of the Medieval festival every summer. All year round the youths practice their baton twirling, their dances, their drum routines, their flag throwing. For a week every August the whole island of Sicily knows about Motta Sant’Anastasia, and the best performances of all happen just outside our house in the piazza in front of the castle.

Last week Lena, Gil, and I went on a walk on a windy afternoon and ended up inside the castle itself. I only visit the castle every 6 months or so, even though I look at it every single day outside my front door. In the photo on the left above, our house is the yellow one, and the photo was taken from the castle’s window.

The castle was built in Motta when the Normans invaded Sicily, and the costumes and artifacts inside the castle are from that time period. I love watching the informational video with our visitors because it reminds me of the generations that have lived on the edge of the cliff for centuries before my little American family took up residence here. In the castle there’s even a dungeon (above right) with a true story of a rightful duke who was thrown into it!

Stairs (and stairs and stairs) lead up two more levels to the top of the castle, where there are beautiful views of Etna over the valley (above right).

And finally, more mannequins in Medieval garb and more beautiful views from windows. What an amazing privilege to live in such a place, where we have gelato in the piazza, a volcano across the valley, and a castle right outside our front door!

11 :: in home sweet home, Italy, Sicily, Uncategorized

savoring life with my littles… I think

May 9, 2013 at 3:51 pm

“And what’s your plan for the day?” Elliott asked me this morning as he poured coffee into his travel mug.

“Absolutely… nothing… planned,” I replied, sorting through my schedule and coming up empty. “Maybe we’ll take a walk?”

“Sounds nice,” he sighed wistfully. “Taking a walk, reading books, all with your kids….” With that he kissed us all goodbye and walked out the door for another day in the vet clinic.

He’s so right, I realized as I sat down on the rug a few minutes later to play with Lena and Gil. It has been good for my soul to be at home with our children these past two years in Sicily. I know that Elliott, too, would trade places with me in heartbeat. And yet for this season of life it’s been my privilege to be the one who gets to be at home.

In an act of thankfulness, I picked up my camera and took some pictures of our morning.

And then I read this article today entitled Don’t Savor Every Moment and have since struggled over posting these pictures. The author of the article challenged the tendency today for young mothers “to take in all of life and to feel the constant beauty of motherhood. We are a generation that puts an incredible premium on happiness.” Her conclusion is that we should learn in every situation to be content (Philippians 4:11) and to let go of the burden of savoring and capturing every moment.

I know that this article was written just for people like me. I know the pressure of wanting to capture these years with my children; I know the desire to edit my life along with my pictures. I often let my motherhood become my identity instead of finding my roots in the renewing work of Christ within me, as the author so aptly put it.

In the end, I am a mother for this season here on earth, at home with two beautiful children, shouldering the weight of parenthood and adult responsibility with a compassionate husband. Yet this is not my ultimate identity, or my final identity. It is like a spark, here and gone, in the grand scheme of my life and in the far broader swath of eternity. But I love this spark, these moments, and so I savor them for as long as they are given to me.

And so here are the pictures from this morning, already a moment here and gone.

^ Lena read books in bed while I put Gil to bed. She’s proudly showing me the horse she found.

^ I don’t know about you, but I’ve given up on dust covers on children’s books. A stack of them waits to be used again… never?

^ When Gil wakes up, they seem to be saying to each other, “Why… hello there!”

What about you? Do you feel like you meticulously, even frantically, capture and savor every moment? Or do you feel like you’re still waiting for your life to start? Or have you found a balance that gives you roots in a greater story?