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10 (x2)

28 Mar


Ten years ago today my life (and my belly button) changed forever.

I still can’t believe it was a decade ago that I was waiting in the operating room of a small rural Italian town, surrounded by 20 doctors, nurses (and what seemed just innocent bystanders) getting ready to meet “La Principessa” and “La Contessa”  for the first time.

And I still remember the awe I felt when they showed me those miniscule little babes for the first time.  Awe at how tiny they were.  Awe at how they looked and how completely different they were from one another (we hadn’t know whether they were identical or fraternal beforehand).  Awe at how much my life had changed from one second to another.

The last 10 years have gone by in a flash and have been so full of love, adventure and so many amazing times together as a family. I’m so excited  and curious to see what life brings Eva and Chloe in the future.  I’m pretty sure it’s going to be pretty amazing though.…

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Rally Party

26 Mar

This past week-end was a non-stop birthday celebration for two of the sweetest girls I know.

It started on Saturday afternoon with a  rally race with all of their friends.  There were 10 clues (for the 10 years of the girl’s life), 2 chauffeurs, some bright yellow team head scarves and a lot of enthusiasm.

The 10 clues (which were hidden around the area)

 

The first clue read ” Go where you took your first breath of air”.  So off we rushed to the little small-town hospital where they were born.  The rest of the afternoon was busy passing by all the girl’s favorite spots from the last 10 years.  They had to climb to the top of an old tree in the park, walk along a river in the woods, go the the bakery, the gelateria, the local cow farm and all of our previous homes.

Some locals looked at us like we were absolutely nuts.  Others really played along and helped the kids search for clues (like the one that the ice cream guy hid and it took us over half an hour to find!).

Trampoline break in the middle of rally

In the end it took us almost 3 hours to finish the rally and all of the kids were so so happy.  They were always so excited to find each clue and figure out together what it meant and where they had to go next.  Afterwards we headed home for some well deserved cake (and a little prosecco for the parents).

When I tucked my girls into bed on Saturday evening one of them pulled me close and said ” Mama, that was the best afternoon of my life so far”.  Then other one then said “Me too Mama”.  

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La Vecchia Polveriera

23 Mar

So much sickness in our house the last week!  I can feel it’s starting to get better but it has been a long haul.  All of us with various ailments…sore throats, fevers, stomach aches (and all that comes with that…), headache and lots of coughing.  You name it, we’ve had it.  But better now than in a  week when we leave to go to the other side of the world.  I may have even deliberately sneezed on a kid last week so that they’d get it sooner than later.

When my kids stay home sick I usually try to get them outside for some fresh air (it drives the locals nuts – I have been scolded by more than a few old ladies).  Yesterday my daughter and I went for a very long walk in the woods close to our house.  We made our way over to an old abandoned gunpowder factory which we’ve been visiting for years.  It’s an enormous property full of hundreds of old derelict buildings covered with 50 years worth of vegetation.  It’s really beautiful.  And pretty creepy as well.  Right now the leaves are just coming out so in about 2 weeks time it will be an absolute jungle.

In 1935 there was a big explosion that killed many local people.  It was and is one of the worst local tradgedies and it is still talked about today by a lot of the older townfolk who used to work there.

They are now slowly clearing the whole area and have plans to start building houses, apartments, stores etc.  It’s in times like this that I’m grateful for Italian bureacracy and the length of time they take to organise any such project (in other words, I’ll be long dead before any of it actually starts to happen).

Funny to think that I used to walk these same paths almost ten years ago with 2 weeny little babes in baby bjorns (one in front and one in back).  Now I can stroll along with them hand in hand and have philisophical conversations.

Oops.  We saw this on our way out…

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Cocova

18 Mar

Last year my twin 9 year old daughters started a little blog about their life.  We thought it would be a great way for them to practice writing English on a somewhat regular basis.  They are schooled mainly in Dutch and French.  On top of that they do Italian as a third language at school.  So in other words, although their “mother tongue” is English…their written English was pretty atrocious.

Amazingly enough since they started the blog their written English has really improved and more importantly they feel much more comfortable writing in English (mistakes and all). They’ve written/filmed some pretty neat posts about some of the creative things they do.  Here are a few of my favourite (here are the actual links as well as the videos from youtube).

http://cocova.wordpress.com/2011/11/19/fast-forward-drawing-the-chair/

http://cocova.wordpress.com/2011/11/30/piano/

http://cocova.wordpress.com/?s=paintings

If you have kids tell them to take a look at http://cocova.wordpress.com/ and make some comments!

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Lovely Lady Lunch

15 Mar

You know those lazy relaxed lunches you can only experience with close girlfriends?  Well I had one yesterday and it was absolutely lovely.  Lots of chatting, boasting, complaining, explaining, eating, drinking and (most importantly) laughing was done.  And there was the added bonus of warm enough weather to sit outdoors.  I left with a spring in my step, a smile on my face and renewed energy to face the rest of the week (oh and some pretty awesome chicken stickers).

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Attention catching

8 Mar

Some things that have caught my attention lately…

-This bizarre looking citrus plant that I came across at the local garden shop.  It scares me.

-How much 7 year old boys are impressed with swear words.  And considering the particular one that I know speaks 4 languages (more or less) the list of swear words is pretty long.  And his favourite thing to tell people now is the word for seal in French.  Go figure.

-My daughter telling me she can feel her heart beat in her knees sometimes.  Which reminds me that I have to google “is it normal to feel your heart beating in your knees?”.

-These old fridges in a mercatino usato.

-A man peeing on my front gate (right below my mailbox).  And not for the first time.  Let’s just say he got an earfull and the word “cretino” might have been uttered.

-M&M’s have come out with new designer coloured peanut m&m’s in dark chocolate.  Nice colours but not so tasty for this Belgian chocolate loving gal.

-This sign that I came across in Chinatown in Milan.  What in the world is a “cock fish ball”?

-My itchy watery eyes, sore throat and runny nose.  Yep…spring has arrived.  Crack open the box of antihistamines.

-My son’s new hip hop dance choreography.  While watching his class yesterday I noticed the dance starts out with all the kids pretending to light a cigarette, take a few deep drags and then throw it on the ground.  I think not.  The crotch grabbing I can (almost) handle but the fake smoking doesn’t stand a chance.

-The fact our neutered male cat has suddenly taken a liking to one of our beautiful knit blankets.  And by liking I mean loving.  And by loving I mean….well you get it.  Is this normal?

-And most importantly this video has caught my attention.  An amazing initiative that involves helping children.  Let’s all get involved.

Vintage Aprons

2 Mar

I had to pass by the mercatino usato to pick up my prized table that I purchased the other day and it just so happened that there was a pile of never-used, linen grembiule (aprons) from the 60’s.  They are so beautiful and so well made.  And the patterns and colours are so gorgeous. I fell in love with all of them so I ended up buying….all of them.  They will make perfect aprons for all my baking (and my new goal to look prettier in the kitchen) and I’m sure more than a few will be gifted to fellow bakers who I know will appreciate them.

I’d like some of these as pretty little dresses for the summer.  Hmmm…is it possible to turn an apron into a dress?  Maybe with a few material insert pieces in the back?  Or maybe I can sew two together?  Ideas ideas…

The cut of the aprons is so flattering and the palette of colours so reminiscent of the 60’s and 70’s.

Flowers and apples!  Is there anything cheery-er?

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Cookies from Cannes

29 Feb

I have a good friend who goes to France on a regular basis and she often brings back delicious little French food items.  She’s brought us wines, cheeses, oils, patés, duck gizzards (for the husband) and once even a paper bag full of purple potatoes to plant in my garden.  Last week she knew my mom was in town so she brought her a box of macarons from a special shop in Cannes.  And they were what you’d expect them to be.  Absolutely delicious.  Some of the flavours were pistachio, apricot, blueberry, lavender and mocha.  Such delicate hints of flavours in some (lavender) and bursting flavours in others (apricot). 

I took a macaron making course once and came to the conclusion that I’m happy to enjoy them when they’re made by someone else or bought.  A little too fussy and labour intensive for my liking (a bit like the petit fours I attempted not long ago).

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Tavolo

28 Feb

Another trip to a local mercatino usato (2nd hand shop).  I wanted to show my mom what they’re like here in Italy and she was amazed at all the great finds.  The shop was full of  antique dressers with marble tops and carved wood detailing (30euros), little matching wooden bedside cupboards (20euros), antique desks(70euros), pianos(500euros), tables, beds, closets and more.  So many great finds for such amazing prices. Most of these items would be found in high end Antique Shops in Canada with high price tags on them.  And strangely enough the high priced items are the exact ones I absolutely would never purchase (used IKEA furniture, horrible “bedroom sets”, pressed wood cupboards etc).

This time I came home with an amazing old solid wooden table with no woodworm in sight.  It’s perfect for my front entryway – a place to dump keys and cameras and papers. The underside of the table is full of old rusty hooks which I assume were used to hang pots and pans or tools.  Maybe even to dry fresh pasta dough? A good scrubbing and a fresh coat of paint was all that was needed.

Here it is in it’s new home. Not a bad table for 25 euro.

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La Gallina Brutta

27 Feb

I have a theory about chickens that I’ve come up with over the past years being a chicken owner.  Here it is.  The uglier the chicken is, the more beautiful it’s eggs are.  The photo above is of Poppy.  Poppy is a Marans chicken and has been with us for over a year and she lays the most beautiful bordeaux red eggs.  But let’s be honest, she is…..ugly.  Many people don’t realise that it’s possible to have a chicken with a nice looking face but it indeed is.  We once had a chicken named Delphinium and she had a very sweet face and a lovely disposition (I can hear you laughing).

Poppy is a wide chicken as well (read obese).  She can’t fly.  She’s missing quite a few feathers on her neck (thanks to her roommates). And she spends her days pecking at my kitchen window trying to get at the bowl of cat food inside.  But we don’t mind.  We love her just the same and appreciate her beautiful eggs every single day.

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