Thanksgiving Weekend Update

Friday I headed to base with our company. It was nice to be childless for a little while. Tim didn't want to experience the day after Thanksgiving shopping extravaganza. I got a few Kitchenaid small appliances to replace what I had. They were 20% off plus no tax. Yay! I was going to wait on these until we move back next summer, but it was too good to pass up. I got some other things too but don't want Tim to know since they are his presents. Later in the day we all headed to Caltigerone and the mall. The weather was horrible and we go drenched. But at least they got to see some other parts of Sicily.

Yesterday we bid farewell to Amanda and Chris as they went back to the States. Actually, Amanda headed back to Texas and Chris went to visit his friend in Berlin. So, our house is quiet and lonely. I love to have visitors and it always such a let down after they leave. I am happy knowing that this summer will move us much closer to them. After a very early wake up call to the airport, the 3 of us went back home and went back to sleep for a few more hours. We headed back to the mall to pick up the best fake Christmas tree I have ever seen. After converting the 280cm to feet it comes in at a whopping 8.8ft! I know, it's GINORMOUS! And a steal at roughly $180. I'm not into the whole pre-lite tree thing, plus they always look scrawny and are way more $$$. Finally decided no more real trees. They are messy, are brown by Christmas and with Tim and Jacob's pollen allergies it just seemed like a better way to go. Just my opinion though.

Jacob is all in to Christmas this year. He looks at the tree and calls it his christmas tree. He asked Tim to make a Christmas house (we assume he meant decorate). He told me last night he wants his friends to come and see the tree. We haven't even put the lights and ornaments on it yet, wait till he sees that!

Tim has to work this evening so I am catching up on housework that got neglected over the past week. I did squeeze in a few minutes to briefly view our Rome pics. We got lots of good ones. So hopefully I can get those on here and Facebook tonight.

Thanks for Checking in.

Happy Thanksgiving

Note: This was intended to post on Thanksgiving, but one our many power outages throughout the day prevented this. Better late than never I suppose.

I am so excited to have family in town to celebrate Thanksgiving with. Which leads me to this post. What am I thankful for. . .



1. Husband - Tim is an excellent husband. We've known each other for 14years and he still manages to surprise me and sweep me off my feet :)



2. Jacob - How is it that such a little person can take over your whole life? Loving a child is so much different than a spouse. Maybe because I am a mom I feel this way. I am so thankful to be Jacob's mom and being able to watch and help him grow into a person with opinions, feelings, a sense of humor. . .it's not always easy and I have my moments (many) where I need to be more patient but I wouldn't change it for anything.



3. Extended Family- Even though my family is spread out, we are still good about calling and e-mailing on a regular basis. Being over here in Sicily I really miss them. But technology makes this a little easier to deal with.



4. Friends (Facebook has reestablished this) - I still keep in touch with Sara, my best friend of 26 years! And even though we have very different lives and don't get to talk that often (we are horrible pen-pals) we are able to pick up with out missing a beat when we do get together. I love those types of friendships. I was very worried about having military friends with the way we all move but after living here I have formed some life long friends. And someone said, "Friends are the family you Pick" (or something like that)



5. Health - Being a Nurse, I've seen it all from the delivery room to the morgue. It really make you appreciate the circle of life. Every year at this time I think of my tiniest patient that passed away in my arms and makes me realize how blessed I am to have a healthy family.



6. Travel - Over the past 2.5 years I have traveled to places I never dreamed I would see, let alone by the age of 30. (Paris, Munich, Rome . . .)



7. SAHM- That's "Stay-at-Home-Mom" Since living in Sicily this has been a reality. Hard at first but easier now. After listening to my Stateside mommy friends I am grateful for this experience.



8. For the opportunity to live where my ancestors came from. Yes, I am an Italian American ( aka Andrea Marie Gulino). Half Sicilian/Half Calabrian. So, to be able to actually live where my Great and Great Great Grandparents lived has given me a better understanding of some of the ways I grew up. I am also appreciative of them immigrating to the U.S.!



9. Education - I am thankful I was able to go to College and pursue the career path I always wanted . Especially in these economic times! I feel secure knowing when we go back to the States I can add to the family income.



10. Our Military - I appreciate the sacrifices our military members and military spouses make to keep our nation safe from harm. Long hours, single-parenthood, deployments, etc. It's not an easy job and at times thankless. I really wish everyone in the States could see some of the "news" we receive here about the good our Soldiers and Sailors do all over the world. I believe the news media has done a great disservice in this area. So, the next time you come across a military member, please thank them for all they do.

We're Baaaaaack!

Just wanted to let you know we returned from Rome LATE last night. Our flight was delayed so instead of getting in around 9:30pm, we landed around 10:30pm and until we got the luggage (airport was on the ball for once with that!), found the car, got to the house, etc. didn't get to bed until almost 1am. We all slepted in this morning, which was much needed. So great to see Amanda and Chris. Jacob has taken an immediate liking to Aunt Amanda and must know where she is at all times. It's really cute. Rome was great! Jacob did amazingly well yesterday at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica the Church itself and the tombs of the Popes. It's as if he knew why he had to be quite. We also saw the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum and some other places. I'll post pics next week when we get back to normal.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I know we have much to be thankful for this year!

Off to Rome and some other random updates.

First, an update on the TMJ situation. I now have about half of my jaw mobility back. So, I guess that is better than nothing. I really don't want to go in to the dentist tomorrow because that will just mean more meds. The Motrin is working just fine. I took 1 Flexeril and that knocked me out for half a day. To potent for little me.

As for my vacation. We leave on Saturday and return on Tuesday night. I am so excited to go to Rome because it also means seeing my sister and her husband, who I have not seen since their wedding in July 2007. I am also excited to see how Jacob does with them. That is the biggest thing I regret living overseas, all the family he is missing out on. I grew up like that, and I never wanted the same for my kids. Oh well, I guess I can relate. When we get back on Tuesday we will spend the rest of the week showing them around, Mt. Etna, Catania Market, mall (my sister will enjoy that), and Taoromina (my favorite place!).

I have a long list of places to see in the short amount of time we are in Rome. We might have to sprint from sight to sight. LOL! Seriously, there are the tourist spots to see and just the fact I am getting off this Island. After awhile it feels like living in a fishbowl. Can you tell I am over it?

We still have no orders. Humph! Seeing how we are suppossed to leave in June, we should be finding out soon. I really want to start looking for a house. I miss owning our own home. I love painting the rooms and decorating it. All in good time I suppose.

That's what's happening in my corner of the world. I'll check in again for Thanksgiving!

Hope your morning was better than mine. . .

I woke up this morning to find that I could barely open my mouth. Very scary. The left side of my jaw felt like a tight rubber band. So, of course I started to get scared, then Jacob was being fussy and I could hardly talk to him. I tried to ever so carefully and slowly open my mouth but that's when the popping and pain started. Greeeeat, TMJ. I've had occassional random popping before on the left side but it lasted seconds. I called the dentist and luckily they could see me.

My next issue was finding what to do with Jacob. My neighbor moved, my other friends with little ones had already left for their Tuesday activities, the CDC was booked solid. I called Tim and luckily after 45 minutes he called back and came home.

The dentist was very nice. Of course I was thinking the worst, would they have to do surgery, manually pop my jaw back? (I have a dental phobia going back to my childhood of orthodontic work). Luckily, some stretches, Motrin, Flexerall, and a soft diet are all that are needed to hopefully regain normal use of my jaw. The dentist asked if I am having any stress. Lets see, I just finished a crazy week, havn't slept right in a few days, have company coming and a trip to Rome and 3 year old boy. Yeah, I have some stress! I can only comfortably open my mouth enough to fit in a toothbrush or spoon. Gotta love ball and socket joints! Luckily for my family this also means they don't have to listen to me LOL! So, right now I am enjoying some vanilla yogurt and waiting for the motrin to kick in.

I'll keep you updated on the situation!

Jacob Turns 3!

11/14/2007
2 Years














11/14/05













11/14/06
1st Birthday

November 14th was Jacob's 3rd birthday. Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. . .Here is a look back at Jacob on his birthdays, my he has grown!

Yes, I am still alive. . .

Hello everyone! Sorry I have neglected to post yet again. Very busy around here. To quickly recap, last Saturday we had Jacob's Kid 3rd Birthday party. We kept it small with just the few families we met from the beginning of our time in Sicily. I originally wasn't going to do a kid party this year but after we got invited to several Jacob wanted one.

Sunday I co-hosted a farewell party with 2 other ladies for my very dear friend Rose. We have been neighbors from the beginning of our time here, moved in 1 month apart, and have become the best of friends. We really lucked out to have such awesome neighbors and friends! Definately one of those rare friends that you know you won't lose contact with. Very hard to say good-bye, but hopefully we will get to move near them in the summer (should have an update on that later in the week!)

Monday I had lunch with Rose, did some Christmas shopping, and held night 1 of Stamp Club.

Tuesday was spent in Caltigerone with 2 friends. Nothing else scheduled.

Wednesday and Thursday were the other 2 Stamp Clubs.

Friday was Jacobs's actual birthday. My little boy is 3. . .where does time go? I also got ready for my 2nd craft fair of the season. Stayed up waaaay to late preparing, but that's what us procrastinators do.

Which brings us to today, Saturday. The craft fair was VERY successful. I got home ate lunch and took a much needed 3 hour nap. Thanks to my great hubby for getting Jacob so I could catch my beauty rest ;) By the way, if you missed out I still have some things.

Tomorrow I am hosting my annual Christmas Stamp-a-Stack. I am pleased with what I came up with. I only wish I wasn't limited to coming up with 5 designs. Oh well.

Yes, I am nuts and have been dubbed the "Craft Nazi" by one of my friends. LOL! And yes, the maddness is catching up with me. My poor family hasn't had much of my attention . Thank goodness we are taking a much needed family vacation next weekend and I have nothing scheduled this week.

I will post some pics of the past week hopefully on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Halloween Pics

As promised here are the pics from Halloween, just a week late! But, better late then never right?