I survived the boys' birthday party, and everyone had a great time, I think. :) Since their birthdays are only 1 month apart and they have all the same friends, we had one party to celebrate Dominic's 5th and Christian's 3rd birthdays. We had a simple backyard cookout with a few of our new friends. We made it a costume party so the kids could dress up. I had a blast decorating the boys' cakes and cupcakes for the guests. I'm glad they were a big hit. It really was fun to do!

The pinata was a lot of fun, too.

The boys were so tickled when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to them, and of course they loved all their gifts and had to play with ALL of them at once.

Here's to a fun birthday party, and hopefully many, many more to come!

Dominic is FIVE today!

Hard to believe that my baby is getting so big. I think he had a wonderful birthday. He received some wonderful gifts, like the remote control cars he has wanted for so long, birthday cards that play music and sounds, and a guinea pig, or "Skinny Pig" as Dominic calls it. He just adores his little pet and likes to snuggle him, sing him songs, and feed him spinach.

We made cupcakes last night for Dominic to take to school. He wanted a dog themed party, so I bought little plastic dogs to top each cupcake with. I heard they were a hit. We ended the day with a trip to Chuck E Cheese. It was a fun birthday...I'm glad Dominic enjoyed his special day.

Thursday, September 19th is
Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Have fun! Click here for tips on how to talk like a pirate!

Hershey & Chocolate World

I will add more pics & details ASAP! :)

Forgive me for getting all political on my mommy blog, but this story upset me so much that I had to vent somewhere, and you're my audience. It disgusts me to no end that people in our country still think it's OK to mistreat, violate, humiliate, and otherwise dehumanize a person because of their skin color. It is beyond my comprehension how ANYONE could treat another human being this way. I am absolutely disgusted. You can read the awful story here.

THIS is why I feel so strongly about the Peace School program I am teaching and helping to develop at my YMCA. If we can teach our children about love, peace, and respect, then we are laying the foundation for a better tomorrow. If you'd like to learn more about the Living Values project (and maybe encourage your local school to implement the program!) please click here.

Peace. Shalom. Pace. Paz. To you and yours.

WILDWOOD, NJ



Is there anything more fun than a day at the beach? This is my idea of heaven. I have been itching to get to the beach since we moved here and we finally made it. I haven't been to the beach since Okinawa (OK, we went to Galveston for Mardi Gras and visited the beach but I was wearing a winter coat so that doesn't count) and have really missed the sound of the waves, the gulls cries, and the sand squishing under my feet.

The boys headed straight for the water and were fearless. They loved being pushed by the waves and splashing in the surf. It's times like this that I really miss living on an island. If we were in Okinawa now the boys would have been at the beach several times a week over the summer. They would have loved it. They are both such water babies and delight in swimming and playing in the sand. We can't wait to return to the shore!

While we were there we checked out the boardwalk. Wow! I've never seen anything like that before. The crowds, the lights, the music and noise...it was overwhelming but exciting at the same time. We plan to return soon when we have more time (we only went for the day, and spent most of it on the beach) and more cash in our pockets (the boys wanted to ride the ferris wheel and play several of the arcade games). I'm sure it will become one of those things that we will miss after we have moved from this area in three years.

Blogger now has a new feature where I can add video clips to my entries, so I'm trying it out. I'm posting a clip of when we first got to the beach. If it works I'll add another clip of the boys after they've splased around a bit. Enjoy! :)

Wiggles & Cowboys...

We attended our third Wiggles concert last weekend. As always, we had a great time. Missed Greg, but Sam was great, too. We didn't get to meet any of the Wiggles this time, but Dominic held up the sign he decorated which got Sam to wave at him and prompted Anthony to say hi to him from the stage. That was exciting!

I'm also including some cowboy pics I took yesterday. My mother made these adorable little chaps which the boys had fun posing in.

This & that....

I have been so excited to read replies to my posts. I was starting to think I was all alone here. LOL! Susie, LOVE your responses. You crack me up! And yes, you are a leader. I overthink things, too. Like the fact that someone deleted their own reply. What did they write and why did they have to delete it? Who was it? Now I will be wondering about that all day. Reply deleter, whoever you are, you've really messed with my head!! LOL!

I keep forgetting to share some news here. First, for those who don't know it yet, my sister & Marc are engaged. Woo hoo! I'm thrilled for them!!! I can't wait for the pirate wedding! What will I wear?

Second piece of exciting news: there is an article about my brother's car in the CURRENT issue of High Performance Pontiac. I'm going to B&N tonight to pick up a copy for myself. Be sure to check it out when you're in the book store!!

Third bit of news: I got a job! I'll be teaching a class called "Peace Program for Preschoolers" four afternoons a week at the local YMCA. They boys will be in my class, and I'm very excited about it. The program sounds wonderful. It's all about teaching young children about respect, responsibilty, and problem solving. We'll be learning about many international cultures and hopefully fostering a sense of open mindedness in the children. In our crazy world today we can use more PEACE and UNDERSTANDING, and I'm happy that I can possibly play a small part in that process.

Now to sad news....please keep a friend of mine, Karen, in your prayers. She lost her husband and best friend yesterday to a heart attack. They have a 4 year old son, and my heart breaks that he has lost his father. Please pray for her to have strength in the difficult days ahead. And hold your loved ones close, as life is fragile. Carpe diem.

Here's what I have been "tagged" to do:1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they have been tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I really like big band music, like Louie Prima and Brian Setzer, and enjoy swing dancing when I get the chance. We used to dance every week in Houston, but now that we have kids we're limited to the rare night out. It's still fun.

2. I hate cheese. Really. Not sure why but the smell makes me sick. This is the worst thing that could ever happen to an Italian. Really.

3. I love to travel. I've been to Italy, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Mexico, Japan, China, Australia, Russia, and the Reublic of Georgia. My passport is so cool...it has stamps from all these places, plus two visas with typos (one from China and one from ROG that says I'm "Andrew") along with the corrected visas.

4. I believe that if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Which is probably why I wind up leading almost every group I join. LOL.

5. I really like the color pink. It may be because I live with three males and I'm overcompensating for the lack of femininity in my house, but I really think it's just that I like the color. It's pretty.

6. I was born in Italy and am trilingual (English, Italian, and Spanish). I'd like to learn more languages if I get the chance.

7. I enjoy doing crafts, even though I'm not great at them. I just purchased a craft table for myself in the hopes that I'll finally have the time to sit down and tackle the many projects that have been piling up.

8. I believe in "carpe diem". I try to make the most of every opportunity that is presented to me and to enjoy every moment as if it might be my last. I also dream of helping to make the world a better place, in whatever small way I can.

I don't know 8 people who blog, so I'm only "tagging" Susan, Sarah & Emily! :)

We're back online! After a move halfway across the US and a month without internet access we are back in cyberworld. :) The move went well, aside from Christian taking a nasty blow to the eye when he hit a coffee table. First night on the road, strange room, strange town...why not visit the local ER? It looked really bad, but, thankfully, nothing was broken. A month later he still has a black eye and a scar...that's how bad it was! He has such a wonderful spirit, though. When I had him look in the mirror, he LAUGHED at his reflection and said, "I only have one eye! I'm a pirate!" He thought it was cool! Here is a video clip that captures his attitude about the whole thing:
http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=157841&cdate=20070721&ctime=140209


Otherwise, the move went smoothly and the boys are enjoying their new home. They've handled the changes very well and have made several new friends in the neighborhood.


Here are some recent pics. One is of our wonderful but brief visit with the Baileys, friends from Okinawa. Another is to show that we brought our boots with us from Texas (that is all Christian will wear!). Then there's a pic from a recent visit by my brother, Johnny (can you guess which city we've moved to?). Finally some fun shots from our visit to the zoo.

We enjoyed a lazy weekend on Lake Texoma this past weekend. We stayed at a cabin on a military recreation facility there and had fun boating, pelting each other with "bombs", blowing bubbles, and just hanging out. I'm not sure whether I want to post pictures because the water was pretty ugly. It's rained recently so the water is brown and the "beaches" are full of wood, so they aren't the prettiest pictures. Still, it was fun. The boys loved driving the pontoon boat we rented, and they didn't mind swimming in the lake...they loved it! I will share this clip made on our first day there, though. Make sure you catch Dominic's reaction when he sees his Daddy. Dominic loves to watch this clip over and over and crack up about it. I thought it might give you a laugh, too. Enjoy!!

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=157841&cdate=20070525&ctime=115824

It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's sleeping PIRATE COWBOY KID! Christian loves to dress himself, and he always has a hat, sunglasses, boots, or some other accessory on that he has personally selected. He always knows exactly what he wants to wear.

The pics on the swing capture his sweetness and awesome smile.

Tonight was Dominic's soccer party, ending the spring season. He loves to play soccer, and he's a natural at the sport. It's flattering to receive comments from so many people telling us how good he is. I wish we could take credit, but it's nothing we've taught him! The best part about it, though, is that he really enjoys it and has made so many friends.

Happy Easter!

Today we spent the day with Thomas! I have to admit, I didn't really want to do this...it's so crowded and expensive. But once we got there and I saw how THRILLED the boys were to see Thomas and saw the excitement on their faces, well, I nearly cried. We had beautiful weather, so in addition to taking a ride on Thomas the boys got to blow bubbles, play in bounce houses, and, their favorite, peddle some "race" trains on a track by using their arms and their muscle.

More Ranch pictures:

Dixie Dude Ranch!

We just got back from a weekend in Bandera with the H gang. It was a wonderful time. I couldn't believe Dominic was considered big enough to ride the horse on the trails all by himself. He absolutely loved it and wasn't scared at all! Christian loved riding double with me. We had a great time hitting the trails twice a day, hanging out with family, roasting marshmallows, eating delicious home cooked meals, and enjoying the great outdoors. The only lowlight was that Andy was sick in bed the entire weekend and didn't get to enjoy any of the wonderful things the Dixie Dude Ranch offers. He'll have to wait till next year! Another highlight for me was having my family visit for the day and taking an advanced class with Johnny & Susan. The trot was a little scary but a lot of fun at the same time. We can't wait to return! Thanks, Dr. Dad & Nanay for the wonderful experience!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I wanted to post a cute picture of the boys dressed in red, but my camera died a few weeks ago and I am still shopping for a new one. I thought of posting some pics from last year, but our computer crashed this time last year and I lost all those pictures. Technology...can't live without it, but sometimes you wonder why we're so dependent on it! So I'm going waaaay back to 2005 to post a Valentine's day greeting to all our family and friends. :) Know that we are thinking of you and that you are loved!

PS...below is a Valentine that Christian made. The little happy face is so cute I had to share it! Dominic made a wonderful 3-D valentine with tissue paper, but it was too big to scan.

Christian is quite the little chatterbox, and I'm often tickled by the things he says. Sometimes I forget that he only recently turned two, because he speaks so well.

We were at the park the other day and he made a funny growling noise. I turned to Dominic and said, "What was that? Is there a monster here?" To which Christian replied, "No, I'm not a monster. I'm just pretending." I had to laugh!

Later that night we were reading our bedtime books, and he pointed at the letters on a car and asked, "What that writing say?" He will often point to signs, papers, calendars, etc. and ask what it says or what the number is. Dominic has been asking a lot about numbers and letters recently, and I think Christian is copying him. This is definitely one of the pluses to having a big brother!

Kids say the cutest things. Here's an exchange I had with Dominic in the car this weekend:

Me: "Aren't you lucky?"

Dominic: "I'm not a dog! I'm not Lucky! I'm Dominic!"

Christian (copying his brother): "I'm not Lucky! I'm Christian!"

Hee hee.

Never a dull moment!!

May you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year!!

Love from Morena, Andy, Dominic & Christian

Birthday boys!!!

Dominic turned 4 on September 20th, and Christian celebrated his second birthday on October 21st. Here are the boys' birthday portraits: