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!