It's BABY TIME!

Forgive me Loyal Readers,
It has been one month and 9 days since my last Blog....

If you had been in my shoes the past 5 weeks, you would completely understand my delay in updating the masses on the happenings of our OH-SO spectacular life! Let me WALK you through what has been going on with us across the BIG-DRINK.

Mile Marker 1-6 Terrain: Moderate and inclusive of steps and hills

Josh, Mallory and I took our last vacation as "Tavola per tre" (Table for 3). We headed to Caorle Venice to a camping Village just outside of Venice. We stayed for 5 nights in what was basically a stationary mobile trailer with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, and a deck. We got an incredible deal on this vacation. We went the first week in September, and the price in August was 5X what we paid. I'm a bargain hunter what can I say! It was on a rather large camping resort complete with 4 swimming pools, restraunt, grocery store, entertainment and more. The walk to the beach was a bit longer than I anticipated, but all was well and I just added it up to be burning off our nightly gelato!

We spent quite a bit of our time at the beach, and even though our first few days there were a bit rainy and overcast, it didn't seem to bother Mallory as she built sandcastles with Daddy. I should have taken a picture of myself sitting on the beach with an umbrella...a rain umbrella, not a "shade me from the hot blazing sun" beach umbrella! Before the trip, we really psyched Mallory out for the beach. She was so excited to go everyday, and the water was so calm (on the nice days), she just walked back and forth along the shore in the water. At one point she face-planted in the sand, and came running to show me the aftermath with a huge smile! Thanks for the cute bathing suit Nana and Pappy!

We took our first trip to Venice, and lets just say Venice IS very romantic, but not with a fussy 2 1/2 year old...yikes! We did some very basic sightseeing and took the water taxis (vaporetto) for a better view. I wanted to see the Rialto Bridge and then make our way to the Rialto Market. By the time we made it to the bridge to look at our map to determine where the market was, I realized my tour book said it had closed an hour earlier...urgh. The Rialto bridge was bustling with people and really gives you a great view of the Grand Canal which is the major canal that runs through Venice. We logged quite a few miles roaming the streets and checking out the sights.

 on the Rialto Bridge overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice

On our way home after our Ferry ride from Venice to the mainland, we stopped at a fantastic restraunt, where Mallory made a new friend and I got a great compliment! The owners 2 year old grandson frequented our table during dinner and at one point accidentally pushed Mallory over! A few crocodile tears later and we ended up with 2 Free Lollipops. We have found it is quite common to be served a complimentary Limoncello after dinner, so when I went to the front to pay our bill, I was offered Limoncello, which I politely declined while pointing to my large belly that was hidden behind the counter. The owner had a shocked expression on his face, like he couldn't believe I was pregnant saying "complimento, complimento, Si?" or something that resembled that, which basically meant, that it was a huge compliment to me, because I looked so good, he couldn't tell I was pregnant. I'm pretty sure that's what he meant, and if not, I'll just continue to think that :) He then muttered something else in Italian, to which I replied "Non Capisco" or " I don't understand" He motioned for me to follow him to which he addressed Josh and asked Josh if he would like a limoncello, to which Josh of course accepted! See below... We really enjoyed our vacation, our sunburn, and the time together. It was exactly what we needed, when we really didn't feel like we had a summer at all. We spent most of the summer in a hotel, and it just kind of went by without our permission, or without us really making a summer of it. But sun, sand, and relaxation is just what the doctor ordered!

Josh's first official Limoncello!

Mile Marker 6-9! Terrain: Treacherous with Hills and Heat!

When we returned home from Vacation...it was GO TIME! Kota arrived the day after we got home and the very next day Alicia arrived. Picking up Kota didn't log any miles on the pedometer other than her multiple walks a day, but Alicia and her visit logged record breaking numbers for steps! In just a few days of travel, I logged over 25 miles! That is A LOT for a 8 1/2 month pregnant lady, let me tell you! Our tour of Italy kicked off with a 5k hiking wine tour! Yes, you heard me right! I surprised Alicia with this, and to be honest, I was contemplating up until the day before whether or not this was a good idea for me. I decided to brave the vineyards and I am so glad I did. We had a great time eating, drinking, hiking, and telling about 7 different people that we were in fact NOT sisters! Ok, let me clarify the drinking thing... Apparently it's no thang for a pregnant woman to be drinking wine in Italy. I'd go up to the wine table, for literally a taste, and I'd get a full glass. So I did what any best friend would do..took a sip and then handed off my glass to Alicia. She was drinking for TWO! The tour was really neat. We'd hike a little, have a stop with wine and a little bit of food, hike some more, stop for wine and a little bit of food...etc... The hikes inbetween stops weren't that bad except for one extra long hike with a very long hill to climb. I stopped midway to catch my breath, but from the looks of some others on the tour (most of which were well on their way to tipsy)..I thought I was faring pretty well! Just about everybody in our group commented on the crazy, courageous (is the word they used) pregnant lady on the wine tour! We really did enjoy ourselves, not to mention fending off the gracious compliments and advances on Alicia from the toothless Italian. He wanted to dance with her desperately, and Alicia was desperate NOT to!

Alicia and I before the wine tour in our cool tour hats!

Fitting in with the local and dancing on the table!

Random guy....cool picture, and better him than me on the ground!

Mile Marker 9-20 Terrain: Flat but LONG

Next stops on the Italian tour were the Duomo in Milan, Lake Como, and Bra!

Alicia and I took some time to head into Milan and check out the Duomo, do some window shopping and have dinner. In the meantime, my mom arrived from the states! Despite her jet-lag, she willingly watched Mallory on numerous occasions to make our sightseeing go a little smoother and faster. Thanks MOM!

We made Lake Como into a nice day trip. We drove up in the morning and happened upon a street market. This is the only place where you can buy a super cute trench coat and fresh olives all on the same street! After our little detour through the market we headed to have lunch along the lake and I had the finest risotto topped with fresh perch...YUM. After a leisurely lunch we headed just down thertoad to the funicular that takes you up the mountain to a town called Brunate, where you can overlook and see the lake around the town of Como. Unlike the other funicular futher up the lake that Josh and I had been to before, this one did not offer as good of a view, so it was a little dissapointing, but still a fun ride to the top!

Next Stop: International Cheese Festival!!! No trip to Italy would be complete without visiting Bra, Italy for "The Cheese." HOLY CHEESE BATMAN! This place was crawling with Cheese from around the world, and most of it was FREE. We only paid a little bit to go into the Great Hall of Cheese to do some wine tasting and cheese tasting, but further along our cheese trip, we came upon streets and streets lined with Cheese vendors..not necessarily selling cheese as their main priority, but rather letting us taste their precious cheese. It was yum, followed by yum! I only had one piece that tasted like stinky feet and I couldn't swallow it. The rest were just divine. We also stumbled upon some Sicilian Cannolis...OH MY STARS! I never was a big fan of the cannoli in the states, because they are SOOO sweet. But here in Italy they do them right. Just a touch of sweetness and a whole lot of deliciousness. We brought a few of those home and a big hunk of cheese we tried toward the end of our cheese meandering. While Alicia and I spent time posing for pictures in front of a giant blue snail, Josh spent some time in the beer tent sampling Italian and German Beers...and when I say sampling, I don't mean a shot glass size full of beer, they give you a whole cup!

Mmmm... Slimy

Say "Cheese!"





Mile Marker 20-30 Terrain: Mostly flat with occasional stairs, lots of standing

Our final excursion was off to Venice! Mom watched Mallory and Kota while we drove to Venice to navigate the canals once more! This time we got to see much more and really became pros at navigating the canals via water taxi. We made it to the Islands of Murano and Burano. The first of which is known for their hand blown glass, and the latter for its vibrant colored residences.

We spent the night in Venice, had a wonderful dinner along the grand canal and then I happily retreated to our hotel room where I was never so glad to see a bed in my life. We were pooped from all of our activity that day. The following day we made a stop at St. Marks Square (Famously known for pictures of people covered in dirty pigeons as well as the large basilica... ) It was incredibly packed with tourists and dirty birds, so it didn't make for an enjoyable tourist stop, for me at least.

While in  Venice sitting a nice little restraunt by the water...I had a vision...a vision of KATE GOSSELIN in Italy....

I don't follow the tabloid gossip from back at home, but if she wasn't vacationing in Italy...you had me fooled. Maybe it was a disguise..I mean she did revert to the old hairstyle and all, AND she took it one step further by going brunette! GASP! Perez Hilton and TMZ would love to get a hold of this one! I think you should try being a brunette for awhile Kate, it would look good on you, and I hear brunettes have more fun...or maybe just more kids in my case. I went brunette, and 2 months later I was pregnant with Mallory...and she turned out Blonde....weird huh?

Ok, so I digress. I guess what you really are looking for is some details on this baby that will be arriving on THURSDAY! EEK. We took a tour of the maternity ward where I will be after I have my c-section. It is nowhere near what you would find in the states. This is bare bones accomodations folks, no telephone for your room, no shower in your room, no wi-fi internet access, no cot or pull out chair for Josh to sleep on, no air conditioning Italian Television only AND 4 women to a room in most cases. Luckily we have private insurance so I SHOULD be in a room to myself with air conditioning, although officially Fall has arrived here in Milan, and the weather is crisp and delightful, so AC really isn't a huge issue anymore. I will have internet access in the room as long as we have good service through our internet key on our laptop, so I'll be sure to update Facebook, and maybe even a baby blog..I will apologize ahead of time for anything I say, as I will surely be on pain medication (let us hope they have the good stuff over here!)

My mom is here being mom/nurse of course! She is warning me that they should be checking my Blood Pressure regularly and my pulse to make sure I'm not bleeding internally...nice thought right? I assured her I would have them write down my BP so we could keep track of it to make sure it is stable. We are all a little on edge with the language barrier and delivering in a foreign country. All nerves are to be expected I suppose, but at this point I have given it up to God. I'm usually pretty calm about things on the outside, but freaking out inside, but I think I have come to a good balance of being fairly relaxed in both cases, because I know I am being watched over and prayed for. So thank you for your prayers. Josh is not allowed in the OR with me, and there is a slight chance (since we mentioned to the Dr, that mom was an OR nurse) that Mom will be allowed in with me. I hope she is, as I'd rather have someone there with me of course. Josh will be in the receiving room, where they take the baby to be weighed and have her apgar tests done, so he'll get to see her right away. Speaking of weight, I had a dream the baby was 8lbs 3 oz. I'm sure they will be giving us the baby's weight in Kilograms like those crazy Europeans do, so we'll have to do the conversion to see if my dream was correct, and I'll be sure to leave the converting up to Josh! If my dream prophecy is true, my new business venture wil be dressing like a gyspy and reading palms or something like that. It has been quite interesting to give my weight and height in Kilograms and centimeters. I must admit, it's a nice feeling saying you weigh about half of what you normally do...LOL We have nearly settled on a name for the baby, and the only one who might say something is Mallory...so if you get her by yourself or on Skype, she'd probably leak the name to you, so we've been keeping her sequestered and closely monitored especially on skype calls with family! I highly doubt we'll change the first name because it sounds so cute coming out of Mallory's mouth, and for all she knows, that IS her baby sister's name!

Mallory is doing well in pre-school. On delivery day, she'll be going to school and coming back home at 1pm. Her teacher from school who also babysits on the side (PRAISE GOD we just found that out) will be coming to watch Mallory for the afternoon and evening. Although I have to be at the hospital at 8am, I'm not scheduled for my C-Section until 3pm(Italy time). It will be a long day for all of us. These next few weeks are going to be difficult for us all as we transition. The biggest difficulty is going to be her accepting the fact, that I won't be able to pick her up, rock her before bed, etc...until Mommy's boo boo on her belly is all better. We can't wait to see her interact with her baby sister.

My Tastefully Simple Team and Business are alive and well! We added 1 new team member to our team in September and I have been consistently hitting my sales goal, and the team has been EXCEEDING our Team Sales Goal! GO TEAM! If you have Tastefully Simple Needs, please don't hesitate to e-mail me, or place your order directly online. This is a great month to stock up on products for easy entertaining and meals. Think Easy Halloween Party, Tailgaiting food, or a lickity split meal! Mallory is a die hard fan of Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup, and she always asks for more. All you do is add water and it is chunky and delicious. It is Perfect for those cool fall nights, and is ready in a snap!

I am opening up a Catalog party to celebrate the birth of the baby! No baby shower her, so why not a Tastefully Simple Shower?! Simply go to my website to place your order online and AT CHECKOUT, select Libby Hunking as the host. For everyone that places an order, you will be entered to win $20 in Free product PLUS any qualifying Host Credit! Could be $20, could be $100 or more.....just like that! The more who order, the bigger the pot! The winner will be announced in My November Tastefully Simple newsletter, and on Facebook by November 5th! So if you aren't connected to me through one of those than GET CONNECTED, by sending me your e-mail address or friending me on Facebook. And be sure to tell your friends who like to eat..... It's like the lottery...but your chances are REALLY GOOD! :)

*If you have a 20% discount coming to you for placing 3 orders, and you'd like to use it for this, no problem! Just e-mail me your order so I can apply the discount for you!

Visit my website TODAY to shop and browse the catalog and place your order TODAY or by October 31st for yourself, YOUR BOSS (Boss's day is observed Monday Oct 17th!), your sibling's birthday, or for one of your business clients! You'll thank yourself and they'll thank you!

Again, I appreciate your business, your prayers, and your support more than you know!

Keeping you posted, one blog at a time,

Libby

PS. Stay tuned for: Blog by Josh. He wanted to squeeze one in on this one, but it's dying to be posted and has waited long enough!

I'll have the Schnitzel...... no on second thought, maybe I'll try the Pork.

The week of August 15th, Josh had off work because his entire office was shut down for the week due to a random Italian Holiday....rough, I know. We planned a trip to Germany to visit my cousin Doug, his wife Sandy and their Daughter Tori.
It took us about 8 1/2 hours to get there, and Mallory barely made a peep up the whole way. She was very content with the iPad (what she calls the Big Movie) and the iTouch(the little movie). We hit traffic going through the many tunnels in Swtizerland, and at one point were stopped long enough to get out of the car, have a stretch and change a diaper. Potty training was out of the question during our time on the road!

We arrived at Doug and Sandy's in Frankfurt Germany and had an awesome German dinner at a local Biergarten. Schnitzel topped with this amazing mushroom sauce and hockey puck sized hashbrowns on the side.. YUM. If you don't know what Schnitzel is...you'll be fully schooled after this, I promise. Schnitzel is a pounded out piece of pork, breaded and fried. That's it. The going slogan in Germany is "How would you like your pork tonight?" Pork, Pork, Pork and more Pork. Funny though, we didn't see a single pig while we were there...hmmmm?

A Castle in the middle of the Rhine River

The name of a town, that gave me a chuckle.

The girls passed out after our Boat Ride Day!

We were able to do quite a bit of sightseeing while we were there. One day we took a boat tour along the Rhine River to see all the castles that lined the River. It was a gorgeous day and the girls had fun playing on the slide on board the boat!

Mallory and Tori on the boat!

We did downtown Frankfurt a little bit, walked around, ate some schnitzel, soft pretzels(something you surely cannot get in Italy) bought some delcious Streudel that shamelessly fell out of the paper and onto the street as I was getting into the car. 5 second rule right? I dusted that bad boy off and Josh and I ate it for breakfast for 3 days. It was SOOOO worth saving!

We took the girls to this kiddie park called Lochmuhler. It was the greatest place EVER. It was fairly cheap to get in, and Mallory was FREE. When we got there it was raining and we were decked out in Ponchos, but it soon stopped and left us with a fairly empty park. Mallory was able to get on and off rides lickity split and ride them 3....or 4 times if she wanted. It was complete with a petting zoo where we fed and pet multitudes of animals, goats, deer, sheep, cows, ducks, bunnies, and a donkey. Josh and I were standing next to the donkey and I couldn't help but think we looked like Mary and Joseph with me being nearly 8 months pregnant and all. There was this giant cow, that I let slobber all over my hand and arm for the sake of the girls enjoyment and Sandy's well.....disgust. Hahah. She later told me she is NOT an animal person and couldn't believe I was letting that cow gobble up my hand. It was gross, I'm not going to lie, but when you've gone to Delaware Valley College (an agricultural school) you can say without a doubt that your hands have been worse places than a cow's mouth :)
At one point the cow gave me a big nudge on my belly, and I couldn't help but wonder later whether it was sensing the baby in my belly or the big burger I ate the night before.














This park was no ordinary park you'd find in the States...believe me. Some of these rides wouldn't even get past the first planning stages in the states due to safety concerns. Let me enlighten you....One ride, lets call it the Death Plunge...was for one person at a time. It was this log ride type car that you get in. It pulls you up this track backwards tethered to a rope. Once you reach the top, the rope disengages so that your boat goes flying down the hill, over a ramp where you are literally flying through the air (not attached to a track) only to plunge and skid across the water. There were no attendants operating most of the rides or makings sure everyone was buckled in safely multiple times. Some rides were even self powered. There was this 8 seater Ferris-wheel that was powered by an adult pedaling a bike that was attached to it. It was very funny to watch some of the adults trying to make that ferris wheel move faster than a snails speed! There were large trampoline areas, where Mallory got the hang of bouncing, she'd get 3 jumps in and go flying and rolling all over the place. She'd get right back up, bounce again, flop down, and giggle uncontrollably.

INSERT FAILED AND IMPATIENT ATTEMPT AT UPLOADING VIDEO OF MALLORY JUMPING ON THE TRAMPOLINE

Here's another thing that kept me entertained throughout Germany...regular road signs. Every "EXIT" made me laugh. Ausfahrt ironically means "exit" That is even more funny to me.

Then we found this sign at Lochmuhler. Translated I imagine it to say "Goodbye, and a good fart to you for that hot dog with sauerkraut you ate while you were here." I'm sure that's not REALLY what it says...but you have to admit, pretty funny nonetheless!

From Virginia to Italy...

The Sea Freight Container has made it from Virginia to Italy!

Well, we are in our new house. Praise God! I was about to open a can of you know what on someone at the Hotel we were staying at. To share a bit of my frustration, not only was I irritated every day of tossing and turning all night and waking up with a sore back, but 90% of the staff at the hotel were morons. I know that isn't nice, but seriously....let me justify my name calling.
There was the toilet paper incident..... Fabio refused to give me a roll of toilet paper because the maid had neglected to leave us an extra roll that day. After making a call to his MANAGER (really, about a roll of toilet paper??) he informed us that toilet paper was not part of our rate and he would have to charge us for the toilet paper. Get. Out. Of. Town. I walked away in disbelief at the way I was treated over a lousy roll of toilet paper. The problem didn't persist as the maid always kept us stocked with toilet paper, even though she apparently isn't supposed to, but I'm guessing it was never communicated to her to stop giving us toilet paper. When we left, I snagged any toilet paper that was left and even contemplated taking it out of the lobby bathroom...but I didn't.
Then there was the check out incident...... Josh spoke to another person at the front desk, lets call him Antonio. Josh asked Antonio if it would be a problem to check out late on Monday with the possibility of extending our stay one more night in case moving in didn't go as quickly or as smoothly as we had planned. Antonio, said he would check with the Manager and call us if there was any problem with a late checkout. All day we received no call indicating that checking out late would be a problem. So when 5pm rolled around and we were on our way out to our new house, we were informed by none other than the infamous toilet paper Fabio that we would be charged a full days rate for checking out late. Josh tried to explain the situation saying he had spoken to Antonio earlier and that we should have received a call if there was going to be a charge associated with a late check out and that we didn't receive a call. FABIO, was insistent that checkout was at 12 and since we were late we would be charged the full rate. Keep in mind we had been residents of this hotel for almost 2 months and here was FABIO, trying to nickel and dime us for checking out late! He was going through some paperwork after he told us how much it would actually be and I couldn't take it anymore. I firmly expressed our confusion in being charged when we were told we would receive a call and that we didn't so we assumed we wouldn't be charged. Oh the wrath of a pregnant woman! He hurried off to call his manager and came back with his tail behind his legs, because the manger told him not to charge us. TAKE THAT! Like I said..Moron. His attitude was poor as he shook his head, rolled his eyes and banged on the keyboard. ARRIVEDERCI Fabio!

Our New Home!
So all of the hotel craziness aside, we are in our new house and I must say I have never been so glad to see my bed, and my couch! I literally gave my bed a big hug, and had I been alone, I might have shed a tear or two. The movers arrived at 8:30 am and Josh was there to meet them. I was back at the hotel until around 10 with Mallory and then I dropped her off at Josh's boss's house because his wife Joanna volunteered to watch Mallory while we moved in. I was SO nervous that Mallory would have a complete meltdown and freak out when I left, but she barely acknowledged me as I said goodbye. Mind you, I had been pshyching her up to go to Miss Joannas and play with all of the toys and see Miss Joanna's baby etc...Mallory stayed all morning and part of the afternoon without incident and only cried because I made her leave to go back to the hotel and take a nap.
The movers did an excellent job. I played traffic control as things came off the truck indicating whether they went up or down stairs. This was crucial to the move in, as we only have a spiral staircase to get things up and down inside the house, so everything had to go through the garage into the basement or through the front door to the first floor, or in some cases over the back balcony!

They worked two days. The first day was unloading the sea freight truck, into a smaller truck (pictured above), and then into the house, and the second day unpacking boxes. Each day included an hour and a half lunch break and quitting time at 5pm. This was in sharp contrast to the movers back in the states who worked from 9am-8pm with NO lunch break, and about a 30 minute pizza break for dinner each day.
We had them leave a handful of boxes unpacked, because we had so much stuff to put away, there was no place to put the things that would have come out of the boxes. We have plenty of storage space, which is nice, but my suspicions have been confirmed, we have too much crap!
It's starting to feel like home already. Especially the other night when I made Meatloaf, (probably the best meatloaf I have ever made thanks to Tastefully Simple's Sweet Bell Pepper Dip Mix), baked potatoes and zuchinni! It doesn't get more American than that ....unless I would have had an apple pie to wash it all down with. It is so nice to have my own pots and pans for cooking! I must say though, I've never read so many instruction manuals in depth before in my life. The ovens is completely different and of course it is in Celsius...so I totally guessed at what temperature to cook the meatloaf, but it came out perfect! We bought a microwave, and that too works a bit differently than your typical microwave at home. We are still without TV and internet at the house (other than the mobile internet key we bought about a month ago) and we are still without Italian cell Phones. Hopefully those things should be in place by the end of August. It's hard to get much of anything accomplished here in the month of August as most businesses completely shut down.

Corner of Living room and Patio

Mallory's room is all set up complete with a little toy area, and she has been enamored with her toys all week, some days barely coming out of her room, other than to bring me the occasional book to read to her. When I get a moment where Josh can occupy her, I am going to purge some of her toys and stuffed animals that are spilling out of her toy shelf. I'll just put them in the basement for now and swap them out again when she isn't looking. She was needless to say quite happy to see all of her books and toys!
It is a strange feeling, but the crib is all put together in the baby's room and filled with miscellaneous baby things, baby tub, baby bouncer, boppy, monitors etc. It is hard to believe that in just 2 short months, our new little girl will be arriving and that this is the house where she will spend her first year. We have such great memories of bringing Mallory home at our house in Virginia, and watching her grow and learn new things. We look forward to that same blissful experience here in Italy.
Church:
Last week we attended an English speaking Church in Milan. It was small, intimate, and was made up of mostly people from the Phillipines. It was nice to participate in worship and hear a message straight out of the Bible. Like attending any new church as we have found, I'm sure it is going to take some time for us to settle into it. It is held in a basement type of place, which helps to keep it cool, but the pastor mentioned to us, that only half of the congregation was in attendance due to people being on holiday, and that when it is full it gets quite hot. Although they offer child care, I think Mallory was the only child there, and was mostly well behaved. The pastor even commented on how good she was. She had fun showing off to the pastor and his wife (both Americans) and she certainly had fun clapping and dancing to the music. When asked how old she was, she put her finger on her cheek in thought and after a moment responded with "DUE" (pronounced 'doo-ay'). This means "2" in Italian. Even I was impressed that she answered in Italian, the correct number, without being prompted!
Vacation:
On Friday we leave for Germany to visit my cousin and his family! Italy shuts down for the week of Aug 15th, so Josh has off the whole week. Instead of heading to Germany, what we really should be doing is staying home putting the house together and potty training Mallory. Yeah well, she'll pee in the potty when she's ready, and those boxes aren't going anywhere right?
Side note (almost a whole week has passed since I originally wrote this and so I am having to go back and update things)
Speaking of Potty Training: We are in full swing potty training mode here! Mallory has been running around half naked (thank goodness for hardwood floors) she consistently pees in the potty and has now 2 days in a row done #2 on the potty, both times without being prompted or asked!! She is doing really well and we'll try to keep up our efforts even with all that we have going on. But it is a nice piece of mind knowing she is capable. I'll spare you all the graphic pitcure I sent to my immediate family of her first #2 in the potty. It is quite a hilarious picture and she has the cheesiest grin on her face. She was certainly very proud of herself.
Back to Germany....
We are excited to spend time with family, and I've already been prepping Mallory of how much fun she is going to have with her cousin Tori! I've never been to Germany before and the only things I can remember from my 3 months of German in middle school are "thank you, you're welcome, may I have a tissue, and may I use the pencil sharpener....and God Bless you" Not quite sure if all of these things will come in handy, but I'll give them a whirl and let you know how it goes.
On our way home from Germany we will be picking up our friend Luke in Milan and he'll be spending the weekend with us. We've already sent requests to him for tasty kakes..Reeses peanut butter cups, and cheetos...LOL. One night while laying in bed, Josh and I played a game.... We would go back and forth naming things that we missed from the states. Ok well truthfully, I played, and Josh half listened. His one and only contribution was the Peanut butter cups. Poor Luke is also getting a package from Amazon with lots of Italian adapters in it to lug over with him as well. I guess this is just fair warning that if you come to visit us, be prepared to leave a few of your things at home to make room for some special requests from us! :)

We have lots to look forward to over these next few months, a beach vacation near Venice, my best friend Alicia coming to visit, my mom coming to visit, and the arrival of our new baby girl Bertha. Yes, that is the name we have picked out, so please run out and monogram anything soft,cuddly and pink. Just make sure you keep the receipt :)
Until next time....

Thoughts from the Heart..

I often have moments of being completely overwhelmed by my blessings. I hold my beautiful child and breathe in her sweet scent, and I just want time to stand still if even for just a few minutes before she squirms away from me to carry on in her own unique toddler way. She speaks and I hear myself. She makes an expression, and I know she gets it from me. She brings so much joy to our lives and even to those of perfect strangers. I can't help but be overwhelmed with the job I've been given to love, nuture, cherish, teach, and raise this wondeful blessing we call Mallory. She is smarter than I ever was or will be, she gets THIS from her dad, and I suppose she looks a little like him too :) She is articulate and knows what she wants. She can recall the smallest details. She has the most infectious laugh and cracks herself up with a giggle that seems to rise from her toes.

Being a parent is exhausting. There isn't one who will tell you otherwise, I'm sure. Soon the exhaustion will hit a new level as I navigate the waters of having 2 children. The lack of sleep, crying, midnight feedings will return as all too familiar things. This time though with a 2 1/2 year old demanding attention, interaction and stimulation from the overjoyed AND exhausted parents. I have no doubt that mommy's little helper will be in full swing and that she will be completely enamored with her new baby sister. She is already practicing with her baby doll, carrying her ever so gently, tucking her into bed, talking to her softly. We'll just have to break the news to her, that her new baby sister can't sleep with her and that we don't feed our new baby sister blueberries...she does love to share! EEK!

I always want my children to know that I am proud of them, that I believe in them, and I pray for them. I will never let an opportunitiy pass to tell them one of these things. I will be supportive and encouraging in all of their endeavors from learning to swim, using the potty, remembering their address, learning their times tables, trying out for a sports team, joining the chess club,  to getting into College or deciding on an alternative to College, dyeing their hair green, traveling the world, to starting their own business, working their way up from the bottom, finding love, losing love, finding love again, moving far away from home, or even bunkin' in with mom and dad until they can figure things out.  God willing, I will always be there for my children.

I use the analogy of my heart growing like that of the Grinch in "How the Grinch stole Christmas" when Mallory was born. Not to say that I had a small shrunken, nearly non functional heart before she was born, but rather to say, I had NO IDEA about the amount of love that would fill my heart. Sounds cheesy I know, but it is true. I'd look at the dog and think, if I love my dog this much, surely I'll love my own flesh and blood more, but how? That sounds awfully cold, but it is what I thought, because I really had no idea of the love that was about to flood my heart, and I really, really loved my dog :) I certainly believe in love at first sight...

Side-story: I have to laugh, because now that I am thinking about Kota (the dog) it was love at first sight for us too! I bypassed multiple cute cuddly puppies to this gigantic full grown dog in crate. I knew at that moment I HAD to have that dog! :) She will always be my first 4 legged baby.

....because as soon as I saw Mallory, I was in love. I felt love like I have never experienced before. It hit me like a ton of bricks and I had two major realizations that I am reminded of daily.
1. You'll never quite grasp how much YOUR parents love you, until you have children of your own.
2. I know how much I love my child, and yet my Heavenly Father loves me MORE!
How 'bout them apples eh?

That's all for now...
I love you Mallory. And baby girl #2...I know it will be love at first sight for us too!

Yachts and Lamborghinis at Lake Como...sort of.

Our trip to Lake Como was a much needed beautiful get-away. I had been feeling a little couped up and needed to get out and see something that was breathtaking. Lake Como surely scratched my itch. Just about 40 miles away from us here in Milan is Lake Como. It was perfect for a day trip, but we spent the night at a charming little hotel called "Hotel Posta" We arrived and drove up the West Coast of Lake Como which is shaped like an upside down "Y." We drove through the town of Laglio which is where George Clooney owns his Villas. We didn't spot George, but since he is newly single, I'm sure he was out cruising for a new hot Italian girlfriend on his motorcylce.

The road that runs along the lake is literally a one lane road with no shoulder that does marginally give way to 2 cars, the occasional pedestrian walking, parked cars...really....and of course motorcylcles and mopeds. There are villas lining the lake side of the road and Villas and businesses lining the hill-side of the road. It was a very tight squeeze where you should drive slow to give way to other cars, but the urge to go super fast just creeps up on you :) We saw multiple lamborghini's making their mark on the roads going quite fast!

We had lunch lakeside at a Restraunt Called Aqua Dolce, where Josh accidentally ordered an entire bottle of wine (a small bottle, but still a whole bottle!) Normally, that wouldn't be an issue with two of us, but since I am "with child" I am tragically not partaking in any of the sweet nectar of the gods. Josh was a trooper and took one for the team and gobbled up the last drops.

We made our way to Argegno a town a little further north on the West coast to try out the Funiculare. We were going to drive, but the manager at the hotel informed us the road was closed to Argegno because of a rock slide that had taken out a large portion of the road. Instead we took the Ferry on which I encountered a not so patient Italian man who swore at me in Italian as I tried to purchase our Ferry tickets. Lovely. I purchased roundtrip tickets for us, not really having a good idea of when the last ferry headed back to our town of Moltrasio. I spent most of the Ferry ride stressing about how we were getting back and what time we needed to be back from the Funiculare to catch the last Ferry, INSTEAD of enjoying the beautiful scenery. I finally worked up the nerve, along with the help of my new Italian phrasebook to ask what time the last ferry departed. A nicer Italian man who spoke a little english understood my broken Italian and showed me the last times that the ferry departed. Phew! Back to enjoying the scenery. The lake was gorgeous and we did manage to see the rockslide which took out the road and what looked like to be an entire half of a villa!

We get off the Ferry in Argegno and have no clue where the Funiculare is located. My best guess was to head towards the mountain and we would find it. But knowing myself and how I hate to wander without a firm destination in mind especially with the heat AND being six months pregnant, I knew askings someone for directions and quickly, would be the best option. We made our way to a cute little gelato shop where I asked the girl behind the counter "Parla Inglese?" Translation "Do you speak English" to which she replied "Yes" AHHH, what a sweet sound to my ears, especially after my rude Italian man experience. She sweetly instructed us on how to get to the Funiculare. A short 10 minute walk and we were there! Here she is in all of her scary glory.

I really don't do heights that well, rollercoasters, or diving boards, so this was a bit of a stretch for me, especially knowing how old this cable car was. I half expected burly men to be hoisting us up the mountain with ropes. This was not the case of course. We got our tickets and up we went with the push of a button from an "engineer?" That's what I am going to call him just to make myself feel better, although I'm pretty sure he was probably just trained to push the green button and take our money. It was much easier going up than down I must say. I suppose the view distracted me from the thought of plummeting to my death on the way up. Once to the top, the threat of losing my life was not lost. Josh decided to follow some others a little further up the mountain toward a small area for some photos. I'm glad we did, because the pictures we got were great, but at the time, with me in my sandals, a little off balance from my growing belly and with an active 2 year old by my side...it was still a bit concerning. Once my nerves calmed down a bit though, I really did feel a little closer to Heaven up there. I couldn't help but take in God's beauty and the blessing I had, to be making such great memories with my family.

We hiked into the town of Pigra (the mountain top town) in search of gelato which we had promised Mallory. We saw one little ice cream shop, but they just had pre-wrapped freezer ice cream, no gelato. We decided we would head to a small playground and let Mallory toddle around. I went and took a peek at the town cemetary (sounds creepy as I write this..hahah) Unbeknownst to me, there was a Mass taking place at the church next to the cemetary. It dawned on me as as a beautiful song sung by the congregation came pouring out of the windows. The view combined with the sweet song coming out of the church made for a moment I won't soon forget. I even managed to snap this cool picture of a little lizard friend basking in the sun on the cemetary wall, he didn't have a rosary, but I imagined him paying his respects to those memorialized in the small graveyard.

Back down the Funiculare to Argengno for Gelato and then a much more enjoyable ride back to our hotel on the ferry. The ferry stop was right across the street from our hotel, so the location was great. A quick peak at the few restraunts within walking distance and we eventually settled on the restraunt at our hotel. How convenient! Dinner seemed to last forever with a 2 year old who hadn't had a nap, but eventually we made it through with the help of a generous portion of Tiramisu to calm my nerves and it was off to bed!

The next day we headed into the actual town of Como where we found a great waterfront park for Mallory. She had a blast playing, riding the kiddie train and the merry-go-round. We had lunch and then more gelato. I must say though, that this gelato was the best I have ever had. Maybe it was the combination of flavors I chose, but it was deeee-vine! And if there is one thing I know how to do in Italian....it is to order Gelato! I got Tiramisu and Coffee Gelato. It was the most creamy delicious concoction EVER! Are you salivating yet, cause I am! After our gelato stop it was a quick walk back through the park, a bathroom break that I paid 50 euro cents for, and a nice wave to the Volta Temple/museum (a museum built to honor Volta...the guy who invented the electric battery)

"Choo Choo"

 If you recall from a previous blog, I'm not one for museums. This concluded our first official Lake Como Trip. I'm sure there will be at least a few others, especially since it is so close. I'd love to see it in the winter time,  with the towns covered in snow. What piques my interest though, is how they get the snow off the streets, and how people manage to get anywhere when it snows?! Oh how romantic it would be to be snowed in at a luxuirous villa, with private chef, in house masseuse, maid, nanny..George...uh..I mean Josh....OK, I'll snap out of it and come back to reality....at least for now :)
Ciao!
 (Excuse any mispellings, I can't figure out spell check!)

The Fourth with Baby, House, and George Clooney

4th of July Let Down...
We hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebrating America's Freedom and Independence with your families and friends and enjoying fireworks, hot dogs, hamburgers and all the other delicious picnic foods that we didn't get to enjoy! For most here in Italy, July 4th, was just another day on the calendar and it pretty much was that way for us too. Secretly we were singing "Happy Birthday America" and wearing Red, white and blue from head to toe, but still nodbody seemed to notice. We did attempt to join some other fellow Americans at an annual Fourth of July shindig held in downtown Milan for Americans. I had a feeling there wouldn't be many kids there, and well I was right. If we were young(er) and single, it would have been the place to be. In its advertisement they said they would have an American buffet from 7:30-9:30. Some buffet that was! (Please insert drastic sarcasm here) I managed to get half of a cheeseburger and some pasta salad and that was about it. Each time they brought more food out, it was gone in a matter of seconds and there was a long period before they brought any more out. I did see some hotdogs meandering about on plates, but none of us managed to get our hands on one, not even for Mallory. And for being an "American" Event, there were lots of Italians there...hmmm? Needless to say, our 4th of July celebration was a little lack lustre and we certainly did miss being with friends and family.

Baby Update...
We had our first ultrsound here in Italy and I also had my first driving experience down VERY NARROW streets packed with cars in the center of Milan. I think I had my eyes closed more than open, just praying I wouldn't side swipe someone on a bike or a parked car. It was a tight squeeze! Josh dropped me off in what seemed to be a small alley where the doctors office was, so he could go find parking with Mallory. I'm sure Mallory was of great help scoping out a parking spot. I spoke to a guy in the lobby who only spoke Italian but managed to understand (probably by seeing my large belly) that I was there to see the "medics". He gestured in Italian to go up two flights of stairs and there would be a sign on the door. I hike up 2 flights of stairs and only saw a door that seemed to be that of a lawer. Instead of hiking up another flight of stairs just to be in the wrong place, I went back downstairs and tried to get it across, that I couldn't find the office. The Italian gestured to me the same thing he did the first time ,so back up the two flights of stairs I went (huffing and puffing) and THIS TIME, noticed a little door leading out onto a small garden patio. I tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. I was about to go BACK down the stairs when I noticed a little doorbell on the wall. ChaChing...I was in..finally. The doctors office has one patient room, a waiting room and a bathroom and a small closet that had been turned into the secretary's office.
The Dr who did the ultrasound spoke English fairly well and was able to walk me through all that we were seeing on the ultrasound. The whole thing probably took no longer than 20 minutes and Josh and Mallory missed the whole thing. Everything on the ultrasound looked fine. I got to see the baby and asked for a confirmation of the sex of the baby. She showed me and assured me it was a girl. I think I believe it now :) I got to see her face with chubby cheeks and a cute little nose, her hands with long fingers (5 fingers...I checked) To me, she looked just like Mallory did in the womb. Same chubby cheeks and little button nose. After the ultrasound it was time to pay for my services. With our insurance we pay for most everything up front and then submit for reimbursement. The secretary informed me it would be 180 Euro for my appointment, which equates to just under $270 US. My jaw almost hit the floor. I asked what type of payment they accepted and she said just cash. OH BOY! Luckily I happened to have exactly 180 Euro and handed it over feeling a little depleted and broke. The ultrasound Dr said something to the secretary in Italian, took 60 Euro and left saying "Ciao" Obviously you can tell this is very different than in the US. The ultrasound Dr is only in one day a week and she was dressed in plain street clothes. I am pretty sure I was the only patient for the day, because they closed up shop after I left. I was also sure to ask how much it would be for my next appointment with the OB doctor. Just call me money bags! I will have never used so much cash in my life! Anyway, for the next appointment, we will know to allow more time to get to the office so that we can find parking together so Josh and Mallory can be at the appointment. OH...and just for the record, Josh had just as hard of a time finding the office as I did. By the time he went up and down the stairs a few times with Mallory, a stroller, and his work bag in tow, he was a little out of sorts when he finally made it into the office. Poor guy!

House Update:
I think we have found the place we will be living! Our first choice offer fell through for multiple reasons, but we just took it as a sign it wasn't meant to be. What we found certainly isn't what we were looking for, but for some reason it just feels right. It doesn't have a yard (for Kota), and it doesn't have the number of bedrooms we needed(4). It does have 2 bedrooms though and a "jolly" room as they call it which is basically like a dining room. There is a sliding door to completely close off the dining room, so we decided we would make that our bedroom, and use the 2 other bedrooms for the kids. (gosh it sounds weird saying "kids") It has 2 bathrooms, plenty of storage space and closet-type space. It also has a washer AND a dryer which is hard to come by. It has 2 great screened in patios with sun shades. Kota will love laying out there in the winter, I just know it. It is a ground floor apartment so it has 2 levels. The only thing I am not crazy about is the very narrow spiral staircase that leads down to the large basement, which will become the guestbedroom/office/playroom. I know it will take some time for Kota to even think about attempting to go down those stairs, if she even does at all. It has a large garage and there are plenty of areas to walk Kota, so we will certainly be getting our excercise as will she with probably about 3 walks a day. Oh, did I mention it doesn't have air conditioning...LOL. As part of our proposal we asked that air conditioning be installed and they said yes, otherwise I'm pretty sure we'd still be looking for a place to live. It is being freshly painted as we speak, all of the appliances are practically brand new. The kitchen is adorable, and the fridge is much larger than any other place we have looked at. I am really excited about it despite not having the yard for Kota to run. I just can't wait to get in there and most likely realize how much crap we have and do some major purging of "stuff." Josh got an update on our sea shipment and it should be arriving mid July and then we need to allow 7-10 business days for it to go through customs. So we are right on target to move in on August 1st! I can hardly wait! I am most certainly looking forward to the arrival of my couch and my bed! The bed here at the hotel is like sleeping on a concrete slab, and well if you are pregnant, or even if you are not...it certainly is not comfortable and I really don't ever wake up feeling like a million bucks. Needless to say, my back has been killing me. I forgot to mention the apartment is under our budget! I guess this will help out with the cash flow I am going to need for doctor appts for baby girl #2!

Sorry I don't have any pictures to show this time. I meant to take some of the apartment, but left my camera in the car as I was more focused on dodging mosquitoes than I was on getting my bag out of the car. I suppose that is all for now. This week has gone by fast, and Josh has big plans this weekend of heading into Milan to try out the public transportation and possibly head to Bergamo which I think is up near Lake Como where George Clooney frequents the area. George here I come! Please have the guest bedroom on the yacht ready and stocked with bon bons, goldfish, and a Frosty machine from Wendy's. See you soon!

Houston, We have Goldfish!

Disclaimer: Lots of pictures and a little rambling/venting enclosed...


Dusty, Jackie, and Mallory



Yes, I know, this isn't a picture of Josh and I, nor is it a picture of perfect strangers we let hold our child in front of the Pantheon. No, these are our Heroes, Dusty and Jackie, friends of ours that we met up with in Rome while they were honeymooning! I call them our heroes, because shortly before their trip over, I sent Jackie a Facebook message requesting the immediate smuggling of Goldfish crackers into Italy for our little Rendevous in Rome! Mallory had still not gone a day without asking for them. Upon our meeting Jackie presented us with not one, but TWO bags of Goldfish which I tried to hide, but Mallory promptly sniffed out and insisted on having. Jackie got the best picture of Mallory holding her bag of goldfish in a loving embrace. I'm sure when she returns from Rome she will post it on Facebook and tag me for all to see. It was a great picture! Anyway, Mallory then ate Goldfish for lunch AND dinner and really not much of anything else! Despite our efforts to ration out the goldfish, we are down 1 bag already, but have yet to crack open the second bag! Thanks Jackie and Dusty!

Our first stop in Rome, was the Roman Forum. Let me start by saying,I can't say this was the most pleasant tourist experience I have had, but we are certainly all smiles for this picture aren't we!? We stood in a long line to get tickets, then stood in another line to get the audio tour guide. The couple next to us was told they were all out of audio guides while we were given 2 audio guides. They became very irate and then we hurried off with our audio guides. We get into the Roman Forum and Josh's audio guide is on the fritz, so he goes back to get another one while I wait and my scalp burns in the sun. It is making my blood pressure go up



Mallory posing with some Roman Ruins

just writing about this! A small confession to make...I do NOT enjoy museums and wandering around aimlessly without reason. The audio guide was of no help to me and a complete bore. So by the time I got through 3 different things and still not knowing where I was supposed to be or what I was looking at. I was about done. We will be going back, but most definitely with a tour guide who can keep my attention. We learned our lesson and made sure to the best of our ability that we had a guided tour with whatever we did. We wasted so much time standing in line at the Roman Forum we didn't get to use our double entrance ticket to go inside the Colosseum. I certainly didn't want to go and wander aimlessly once more! So we just decided we would come back and do them right the next time. We made the most of our short stay at the Roman Forum and got some pictures of Mallory. And after standing in the super hot sun for a little too long, it was time for a Gelato break!





Mallory hilariously sticking her finger up the horse's nose!

The Hunking Herald



Mallory too tired at breakfast to hold her own head up!



I thought I'd give a bit of an update on what has been going on over the last week. We switched Hotels to more of a Residence type hotel with two bedrooms, living area and kitchen. It has really been working out well and allowing Mallory and I to get out more during the day. There is a big pond to walk around and besides being eaten alive by mosquitoes, Mallory enjoys seeing the ducks, baby ducks and the turtles in the pond. Her other favorite  is GELATO, "the pink one." This is strawberry of course or in Italian "Fragola" I remember how to pronounce it by remembering one of my childhood favorite shows"Fraggle Rock" Anyway, she loves Gelato and has mastered eating it out of a cone!

I've been out an about quite a bit with an English Speaking Women's group who get together for things like book club, cooking classes, wine tasting, crafty type dates, and coffee/brunch. I won't be partaking in a hiking, eating, wine tour thing happening in September, since I'll be 8 months pregnant, but it certainly sounds like a BLAST!
Josh and I have been looking at houses and have it narrowed down for the most part. It is difficult to find a house that is big enough for our growing family, our gigantic dog, and visitors of course!

For Father's Day, we had big plans of going into the Center of Milan to see the Duomo, but the tour we wanted was full. Instead we had a relaxing day around our hotel filled with naps for everyone and a nice stroll to the playground where we almost avoided being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Here in Italy, mosquitoes are part of the culture. I know this because I have been bitten at all times of the day AND there is a commercial for a baby doll that gets mosquito bites. She comes complete with hydrocortisone cream, band-aids and a fly swatter! Strange, but definitely the norm around here! The mosquito problem is a little worse where we are since we are mostly surrounded by sweet corn fields and rice fields which hold standing water and well... increase the risk of west nile virus by about 1,000%! I don't know if that is the EXACT percentage or not, I'm really just taking a guess. :)

We also had our first trip to the laundromat. They are very small and cannot be found as easily as one would think. Maybe if you are a local, sure, but certainly not for a foreigner. We managed to fit 2 weeks of laundry in 2 loads. The dryers are pretty costly due to the fact that most Italians don't dry their clothes with a dryer, they hang dry their things. We put our clothes through quite a few 10 minute cylces and still had damp clothes to bring home to lay out on our patio. The way I think about stains on clothes has completely changed. Mallory always wears a Bib now, and as soon as I get back from somewhere I change out of my clothes into what I call "hotel clothes" in order to keep my more presentable clothes cleaner longer. Here is a picture of Mallory enjoying her time at the Laundromat!

We are headed to Rome on Thursday for a nice long weekend to celebrate our 5th Anniversary. Never in a millon years would I have guessed  I would be spending my 5 year anniversary in Rome! We will be meeting up with our friends Dusty and Jackie who are honeymooning there! I have requested they smuggle in a bag of goldfish for Mallory. She still asks for them daily and of course we can't find them over here! Abig thanks to my friend Susan and her husband Jamie for giving us a bit of a hotel hook-up while we are in Rome! Thanks guys!  

I had my first driving experience yesterday when I took Josh to work. It wasn't too bad, I can be a perfectly good defensive driver when I want to! Watch out for the mopeds though, they really do come out of nowhere. They have more roundabouts than New Jersey. Take New Jersey roundabouts and multiply by 1,000. Seriously they are every 1/2 mile here. Nothing really groudbreaking to share on this subject, obviously.

A Tastefully Simple Update: I have had quite a few people inquire if I am still selling Tastefully Simple and YES I AM! My website is completely open for business! www.tastefullysimple.com/web/lhunking Here you can view the online catalog or if you prefer to have a hard copy in hand e-mail me at Libby6423@yahoo.com and I will have my State-side assistant get one out to you immediately. I have not hit my leader sales requirement yet for the month, so if you have been thinking you need to stock up on your favorties like Beer Bread, Cool Drink Buckets, Seasoned Salt, Absolutely Almond Pound Cake or a perfect gift for an upcoming birthday or event or BY GOLLY...try these fantastic products for the very first time, NOW IS THE TIME! Be sure to tell your friends too! Just visit my website to place your order. I am currently running multiple specials while I am in Italy, I hope you'll participate in at least one!

1. Birthday Club: E-mail me with your birthday and you will receive Incentives and special gifts during your birthday month. If your birthday is this month, E-mail me NOW!

2. Catalog Competition: Each month, I will have a minimum of 2 hosts holding catalog parties where they collect orders online easily from friends, family, neigbors, and co-workers. The host with the most sales at the end of the month, will receive an extra $15 in Free products! I am still looking for Hosts for July, November, and December for 2011!  If you would like to earn free products while helping me to reach my monthly goal, please let me know immediately.

3. If you don't currently get my monthly newsletter, e-mail me a request to receive it when you e-mail me your birthday and I will add you right away. Along with my newsletter that goes out once a month, I sometimes send out SUPER SPECIALS you won't want to miss!

Thank you for your support, I appreciate you.

A big blog update to come next week when we return from ROME! Pray we don't melt in the heat or get robbed, and yes, for you Catholics.... I'll tell the Pope that you didn't mean it and you'll do better next time! :) 2 Hail Mary's and an Our Father for you!

Ciao!