Back in the US of A.....

Welcome to my new blog!!!! I can't believe it's been 7 weeks since we left Italy....some days I miss it some days I don't, but for sure I miss my friends & I know the children do too...

Adjusting to life in the fast lane of Washington D.C has been an experience that's for sure, at first we were in culture shock, overwhelmed, panicked, excited, scared all at the same time...We felt so much pressure to speed everything up when we were so used to the laid back "dopo domani" way of life...I still have those panicked days every once in a while but we're getting used to it here, we're trying to create a balance of relaxed Italian living & crazy over scheduled busy American living, no easy task but we're getting there.

The kids are all great, they are much tougher than their parents that's for sure! Cal & Maisie started school within a couple of weeks despite the  total incompetence   help of their school in Italy, they settled in fast & already have some good friends, that was our hope that they would find people close by to hang out with over the summer. Only 5 1/2 days of school left & then I will officially have a 5th grader & a  7th grade MIDDLE SCHOOLER!!!!! How the heck did that happen? Am I old?

Finn is wild as ever, stubborn, sassy, sweet, all at the same time usually...he's talking up a storm & has mastered the art of talking back already, you gotta love those terrific two's!!!! He is the master of all things sneaky & destructive as you can see from his recent adventure with waterproof eyeshadow & deodorant....

He's become an expert bird & squirrel spotter & has bird seed & peanuts at the ready at all times, evidently however the squirrels are not so much hungry as they are greedy & they have taken to burying the peanuts in our mulched borders around the garden so I foresee a frenzy of peanut searching in the colder months! Last night Cal & Maisie spotted fireflies or lightening bugs or whatever they are called, so their new mission is to catch one...they have mason jars at the ready & I'll have the camera on standby!

Rich & I are plodding along, getting used to his new unbelievably intense school schedule, trying to fit in nights out & family time along with his studying and laying out skeletons on our dining room table...I'm trying so hard to be respectful of the skeleton as I know it's a real human one and not take pictures, but it's hard especially when the kids have fondly named it Steve & it lives in a suitcase in my dining room!

I swear I'm going to be better at updating this blog than I was the old one, if you're new here the old one will be up a little while longer until I get around to having it printed into a book, so head over here to check it out. I'm going to try & include some of my culinary adventures here & once I get my stuff properly organized I'll share my crafty projects too...

So welcome, sit back and enjoy a peak into the craziness & destruction that most of my days involve and don't forget to leave comments, I love comments..