baby magic johnson

[flickr video=6795728640 secret=9febc9e096 w=400 h=327]

big boy bed

A little more than a week ago Matteo started climbing out of his crib every morning. So last weekend we decided it was time to convert his crib into a bed. He helped me take apart the crib and reassemble it. And when we were done, I took him to Target where he picked out a new set sheets and his first pillow. Remember when I found his awesome comforter here? It was fun to finally get to use it.


bye bye sweet crib!


matteo is always such a good helper


he really likes tools - his grandpa john will be proud to see these!





This was a bittersweet milestone for me, and I was a little sadder than I expected I would be to pack up the crib parts for the attic. As thrilled as I was for him, this is one more (big!) step from baby to boy. At least our boy is a happy boy!

snowy days

We woke up to snow on the ground last week but by the weekend it was already gone. It was pretty while it lasted, though. Here's a shot of our street and the playground at Matteo's school.



I can't believe I'm saying this but I've actually missed having somewhat of a normal winter. Matteo has only been sledding once this year and that was a few weeks ago. It was really cold that day so he only lasted about a half an hour. He had so much fun! I hope we get at least one more trip to the sledding hill in before spring.

field trip

Matteo's class took a field trip to the Children's Museum last week.



While he refused to wear the mandatory blaze orange field trip vest, for some reason he willingly put on this parka from the coat rack of culturally diverse outerwear.

progress

It's been a few weeks since we ripped apart our basement and it's really starting to look good. The drywall is up and primed and the new windows are in. This weekend I'll be cleaning and painting so all that will be left is to install the new cabinetry, which has been ordered and should be here mid-March. And, of course, add furniture and toys. Duh.

To recap:

Here is what the basement looked like when we first moved in. Burlap stapled to the ceiling, old kitchen, and wood paneling on the walls. Creep city.



The first thing we did was take down the burlap and paint the ceiling and walls white. Which immediately made the space look a lot better.



But we still had the weird kitchen to deal with. We tried hiding it with curtains, but that looked strange. And even though it was painted, the wood paneling was in bad shape and the windows were old and falling apart. And, as you can see, the random furniture makes the room look like somewhere the kids from 'That 70's Show' would be hanging out. The whole room really needed an overhaul. So Operation Playroom 2012 was launched.

First, we (meaning Matt and Joe) tore out the old kitchen.





Then we had a contractor cover the old paneling with drywall and re-do the three windows in the room, one of which had been paneled over when the old kitchen was installed. This is how it looks today.



I forgot to post this picture when I posted about this project before, but when we were tearing out the old cabinets even Matteo helped. He had the very important job of restocking the beer fridge.



There are some things that we just can't change. Like the height of the ceilings, or the fact that to get to this room you have to walk through the unfinished part of our basement. But we can at least make the space a lot nicer than it was. Stay tuned!

paying the price of admission

Have you seen this? It's awesome. (Warning: adult language)

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ObrFwjesno&w=420&h=315]

month 21

Success at last! And yes, like the rest of the country, Matteo is suffering from Linsanity. He's also suffering from two-year molars and a bad cold, which is why half of his face is red.

monthly photo

You may be wondering why I haven't posted Matteo's monthly photo yet. Well...I've tried twice now and this is how it's gone so far.


take 1


take 2

I'm going to try again this weekend. Wish me luck.

working on his one-handed dunk

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how valentines day really went

We went out for pizza last night and hoo boy, date night is definitely different with a toddler in tow. We ordered the usual and then waited...and waited. Apparently people in this town really like their heart-shaped pizzas because the place was crazy busy.

The restaurant is kid-friendly, and even has its own little shelf of toys and books for impatient children, but that only worked for so long. Eventually, things like this started happening. Yes, that's a matchbox car in Matt's water glass.



After almost an hour and still no dinner, we gave up and asked to get our heart-shaped pizza to go. There was no way we'd be able to contain Matteo and enjoy it in the restaurant. So long pizza place.



Guess what? We got home, opened the box, and found this...a plain old round pizza that was missing the pepperoni we ordered. BOO!



Matteo didn't care. He gobbled up two pieces all by himself and then enjoyed a heart-shaped sugar cookie for dessert. And this morning I found him crouched on the floor on his hands and knees, farting and filling his diaper with more diarrhea than I've ever seen come out of one small boy.

Hope your Valentines Day was just as special!

happy valentines day

(taken while waiting for a flight in the nevis airport after one of our first vacations together - 2005)

Eight years ago tonight, Matt and I went out on our first official date to a French pizza restaurant. He gave me a card, which was unexpected and sweet (+), but then was too cheap to let me order my own pizza and made me share his (-). If you would have told either of us that night that eight years later we'd be married with a baby and living in Wisconsin, we'd have spit out our cocktails laughing so hard.

Since that first date, pizza seems to have become our Valentines Day tradition. Every February 14th we have dinner at the same neighborhood pizza place, which serves heart-shaped pizzas on Valentines Day. The order is always the same - red peppers, goat cheese, pepperoni and kalamata olives. The only thing that will be different this year is there will be three of us at the table. (Last year Matteo was here, but we had to have it delivered.)

I love you Matt. Happy Valentines Day!

cabin fever

It's getting to that point of the winter where cabin fever is starting to set in. While it was a productive weekend, and much cleaning and laundry and chili making got done, by Sunday I had reached the breaking point and had to get out of the house. We went to the mall and rented this little firetruck stroller for Matteo to drive around in. We ran errands, went out for lunch, and ended the trip with a milkshake. It doesn't take much these days to make me happy.

There is so much awesome stuff to do in this town, even in winter, and we get so stuck in our routines that we never take advantage of it. Matteo is easy to travel with and we love to go to new places. Why is it so hard to get motivated to leave the house?

sxm music

I love this video. The song is by a local band from St. Maarten I used to see play all the time. Happy Friday!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I15zIqAsUOY&w=560&h=315]

charlotte's birthday

Our niece Charlotte turned 11 this month!


birthday girl


heart cake


skyping with grandma


grandma and mom of the birthday girl


opening gifts


matteo enjoying charlotte's new boots

february updates

February is probably the busiest month in our house. Matt is still in season for basketball and pre-season lacrosse practices have started, so weekdays are a blur and weekends are never long enough to catch up on everything else. And currently, on top of our crazy schedules, our basement is under construction, we have all been fighting nasty colds, and Matteo and I both have pink eye. Fun!

I love coaching. It's something I take really seriously and is very important to me. I love taking a bunch of girls who have never played the game and turning them into good lacrosse players. I've been coaching this team for six years now and watching these girls grow up, gain more confidence and strength each year, and experience an awesome feeling of accomplishment every time they master something new is really fulfilling.

But it takes time away from Matteo and it's hard not to feel guilty about that. I try to tell myself that having things that I do for myself isn't selfish, it's essential, and ultimately makes me a better mother. But from February through May it's a big piece of the pie chart that is my waking life, which means the other pieces of pie get less of me. I'm not there for every bedtime, Roscoe gets fewer walks, the daily routine becomes a lot different.

It's a hectic pace, and some days it's easier to keep up with than others. But it makes me happy. And the time I have with Matteo may be less during these months, but it's quality. And he is happy. So I guess that's as much as I can hope for.

Sh*t Crunchy Mamas Say

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA-A0RqkhM&w=560&h=315]