Maybe This Is Cheesy, But It's A Lesson I Needed Today

God brings people into your life when you need them.  I've always understood that.  Tonight God reminded me that I am very blessed, and that even when I am in a funk and thinking that things are just so difficult, they really aren't.

My worries are about work.
Silly work.

But my husband loves me, my family is healthy and thriving, we have a safe home, food on the table, and loyal friends.  These are the things that are important.

I believe that we all make our lot in life using the blessings and challenges that God presents us with.  How we react to those blessings or challenges determines our path.  The beauty is that paths can always be changed, and God will always present us with new opportunities to change them.

Maybe my saying these things sounds superficial - I've never had a heartbreaking setback or a life changing moment.  Or maybe I have.  Either way, I am constantly watching the world around me and I know that those who have hope, and those that have purpose, have happiness.

A little glimmer of hope, with a whole lot of will and determination, can move mountains.

Especially when you are also surrounded by love.

Women In Construction Must Stick Together

Today is my bestie Morgan's birthday!  

I met Morgan when we were two of the seven girls in the Construction Management program at Arizona State University.  Since Morgan and I were both super cool, we hit it off right away.  Ha, not like we had a lot of other girls to choose from!

Luckily, Morgan and I are kindred spirits and over the years our friendship has blossomed.  I am in awe of what this beautiful lady can do.  Besides running multiple marathons, even in Arizona where it's 172 degrees outside, she can remodel her own bathroom, cut sugar out of her diet for months at a time just to prove she can do it, move from city to city without batting an eye, and keep the construction boys in line as she manages the finances for gigantic hospital projects.  And she never lets them see her sweat. 

I'm feeling pretty confident that God has good plans in store for my friend Morgan.  And I am so happy that she lets me come along for the ride.  I just wish she'd move back to Sacramento so I could spend more time with her.  What does San Diego have that Sacramento doesn't, anyway?  

Happy Birthday, Morgan! 

Around The Family Table

This year marked the fourth anniversary of Cousin's Night - where my cousins on my Dad's side of the family all get together and spend the night at our late great-grandmother's house in Sutter Creek.  As kids we spent a ton of time together, much of it in Sutter Creek with our Nonie. 

There are two age groups, the thirty somethings and the twenty somethings.  As the years have gone by age no longer seems an issue, especially as we add significant others with varying age ranges.  When we get together, suddenly we all act like twenty somethings. 

Cousin's Night is one of our favorite nights of the year.  The past years have brought some crazy memories complete with a gun filled with tequila, wheelchair races down a steep hill, games like Catch Phrase or Scattegories, teasing each other about every little thing, and plenty of food, wine and beer.  Our dinner is always our grandfather's recipe for Bacon Pasta, along with assorted appetizers and desserts. 

The cousins that can't make it are always missed, although this night is one that we all try to prioritize.

Each of us is very different, choosing different paths in life, sometimes ending up at the same destination - but sometimes not.  Yet no matter how different, or how distant we get during the year, we come together and sit around our family's extra large table, to eat and laugh. 

And laugh.  And laugh. 

Our Nonie is looking down on us from Heaven, holding up her glass of Carlo Rossi as we toast our family, and laughing right along with us. 

Pumpkin Pie Is A Perfectly Acceptable Breakfast

I realize I should have written my Thanksgiving post yesterday, but yesterday was one busy day.  I made two pumpkin pies, completely from scratch (crust and all), baked some turkey, and made sweet potato casserole - and I wasn't even hosting dinner! I also squeezed in a workout, a load of laundry, changed the sheets on our bed, and traded kids for a play date with our friends the Biavas.  We then spent the evening at my Aunt and Uncle's house, eating a fabulous Thanksgiving meal with our family, which seems to be growing larger every year.

So today is a day of rest.  A day to enjoy pumpkin pie for breakfast (I highly recommend it!).  And a day to reflect on all the things that we were too busy to think about yesterday.

I am so thankful for my husband and children.  I am thankful for cuddles in the morning, even if my babies have runny noses and wiggle too much.  I am thankful for the dirty boots my husband leaves in our bedroom because it means he has work that provides for our family.

I am so thankful for my parents, my siblings and my in-laws - not only because they are my family but because they are some of my closest friends in the world.

I am thankful every time our company lands a job, negotiates a deal and achieves a milestone.  I am thankful for the people that I work with, who fill me with so much gratitude that they value our company as much as I do, and put so much effort into making our firm great.

I am so thankful for my extended family, because although we are all so unique, we come together each year to catch up, support each other and enjoy each other's company.

I am thankful for my girlfriends, that I can be myself around them, that we are there for each other, that we can help each other through problems with husbands, families, children, teachers and life.  I am thankful for how we make each other laugh, which is the most important thing when times are difficult.

Mostly, I am thankful that God brings blessings into our lives - our health, our safety, our ability to provide for our families and put good food on our table.

Life does not always turn out the way we expect it.  But if we focus on the blessings in our life, love our family and friends unconditionally (even when they make us mad as hell) and live each day enjoying the sunshine, the leaves turning colors in the trees, and the beauty in the world around us, it is easy to be thankful on Thanksgiving and every day.

It's especially easy to be thankful when you have pumpkin pie for breakfast!

Finding The Dress

CJ and Lia in the cab to our first appointment.

My little sister is engaged, and this past weekend we went to San Francisco to look for THE DRESS.  Carla Jean, Carrie, Lia and I met first thing Saturday morning because Carla had four appointments booked for that day.  From one dress shop to the next, CJ tried on many different styles of gowns.  They all looked beautiful on her, but throughout the day we realized the fit that was especially gorgeous on her and matched her wedding style.
















We stopped for a few food breaks now and then, but otherwise we were on a mission!  Lia was an absolute trooper, telling not just Auntie Carla but all the brides that they looked beautiful, and giving her opinion on the dresses that Carla would try on.  Lia also made friends with the ladies who worked in the different boutiques, and tried on all the shoes, veils and jewelry she could get her hands on.

Coffee Break!

At the last shop of the day we thought we had found THE DRESS, but CJ wanted to sleep on it because she was exhausted from the day.  So we went to a little Italian Restaurant and had a wonderful dinner, two bottles of wine and the best conversation the three of us have had together in a long time.  Lia got to experience her first Shirley Temple (and is a HUGE fan), and after dinner she fell asleep on my lap while the rest of us continued our conversation for two more hours.

Grandma Carrie, taken by Lia using my iPhone.

Early Sunday morning we went back to the dress shop and CJ tried THE DRESS on again.  It looks amazing on her, totally matches her wedding style, and is so completely unique.  Refreshed from the night's sleep, CJ decided to say yes to the dress!

I'm sure you all want to know what it looks like, so here you go!

Beautiful, isn't it?!?

It meant the world to me that my sister asked me to go dress shopping with her and Carrie.  My heart is so full for CJ and Evan, and wedding planning is so much fun when I don't have to make the decisions or stress about what's next.  Carla has great taste and I have no doubt that their wedding is going to be amazing.

My sister will be one of the most beautiful brides in her most perfect wedding gown.  Unfortunately for you, you'll have to wait for the big day to see it!

If You Like Pumpkin, You Need This Recipe

There was a birthday in Ben's class the other day, so I asked him what treat he would like to take instead of the cupcakes the birthday girl was bringing.  Ben requested pumpkin cookies, something I didn't have a recipe for.  One Internet search later and I found these incredible pumpkin cookies.  The kids LOVED them, and then I tried them out on my bunco group, who all requested the recipe.  So. . . here you go.

Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon all-spice (or 1/2 tsp ground cloves)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice and salt.   Set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream together the butter and both sugars for three minutes.  Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and mix well until creamy.  Mix in dry ingredients until well blended.

Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoons.  With hands lightly floured, pat down the cookie to smooth and flatten.  Cookies will not spread, or level out - so you must shape them before baking.  Bake for around 15 minutes, until cookies are slightly firm when touched.  Do not over bake.  Let sit for three minutes then let cool on wire rack.  Once cooled, drizzle Cream Cheese Frosting over the top.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat ingredients together in mixer bowl until smooth and all lumps have disappeared.  Drizzle over cookies using frosting bags/tips.


These cookies actually taste like little muffin tops.  Do NOT store in an airtight container because there is so much moisture in these.

They really are a little piece of pumpkin heaven!

Sisters Of The Heart

November 17th is the birthday of my original bestie, Sarah.  Sarah was born one month after me, and we have been best friends ever since.  We have pictures of us in a crib together, along with pictures of every milestone after that.  Sarah and I both have sisters, but they were 10 years older or younger.  So growing up, we pretended to be twin sisters, and fooled people time and time again.

The only time we ever attended school together was in high school.  We always had our own separate friends, but when we'd get together (and that was often because our moms lived five minutes from each other), it was like we had never missed a beat.

Growing up, Sarah always had the self confidence that I lacked.  She is by far the most engaging, charismatic person I have ever met.  She is like a whirlwind that comes into my life, takes me for a crazy ride, then blows out of town before I knew what hit.  Her sense of humor never ceases to leave me in stitches.  Just thinking about her always makes me smile.









I always thought that Sarah and I would live near each other so our children could grow up together the way we did.  That hasn't worked out because she is a city mouse, and I am a country mouse.  While we love to visit each other, I can't imagine one or the other of us trading our way of life.  But I get absolute friend-envy when Sarah's other friends get to be near her so often.

Ultimately, I just love those moments when I get to hang out with my best friend.  There is no big to-do or fan fare.  When we see each other it is as if we had just seen each other the day before.  And I enjoy the whirlwind that my friend brings into my life with each visit.  

Sarah spoke at my wedding of a saying that she got from her Grandmother, Ila.  She said that we are not just friends, but rather, Sarah is my "sorella  della cuore" or "sister of the heart".  Someday, when we are very, very old, after our husbands have passed on or have just gotten senile, and other friends have grown tired of us, Sarah and I will be sitting in the nursing home together, chit-chatting our day away like we were two little girls who had never been apart.



I absolutely love this beautiful lady.

Happy Birthday, my dear friend!

A Gift For Nonno

Yesterday one of the kids at Daycare had a birthday, and brought treats for all the other kids.  Of course, my kids can't eat the M&M's, so this morning I asked Lia:  "Do you want to let Miss P keep these?".

Lia quickly responded:  "No, Mommy, I want you to take them to work and leave them on Nonno's desk, so when he gets back he will have a treat waiting for him.  You can give him the pencil, too."

Ben and Lia are missing their grandparents.  It's funny because we talk about them once in a while, but it always catches me off guard when, out of the blue, one of the kids will mention them or ask when Grandma and Nonno will be home. 

I'm so very happy that my parents are living their dream, but Lia isn't the only one wishing this year long trip would hurry up. 

Nonno, you have some M&M's and a blue pencil waiting for you on your desk when you get back. 

Three Wishes

Tonight we took my Mom out to dinner for her birthday.  Driving from our house to Silva's Sheldon Inn (one of our favorite restaurants) my Mom says "I've never been there before".  Frankly I was surprised - with how often we go there I can't believe Mom has never been with us.

Ben was surprised too, because he said "Mimi!!  That's like saying you've never been to TACO BELL!!"

Me:  "Ben, YOU have never been to Taco Bell."

Ben: "Yeah, that's a true story."

Where do kids pick up these sayings?!?

Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner.  Mom shared a cobbler with Lia for dessert and I got a little risky and let Ben have the pumpkin cheesecake - with the understanding that he could NOT eat the graham cracker crust (graham crackers are hard to find all natural, so there was no way I was going to assume that this one was).  I'll let you know tomorrow if the risk was worth it.  Or maybe Mrs. B (Ben's teacher) will let us know how his behavior is in school tomorrow.  Ouch.  I had the rice pudding with caramel sauce.  Yum!

Over dinner, we discussed what we would choose if we could have three wishes.

My Mom:
1. Excellent health for herself.
2. Excellent health for her family.
3. To be debt free with enough spending cash to buy presents for her grandkids.

Me:
1. Health and safety for our family.
2. More hours in the day so I could spend more time with my family.
3. Enough money to be rid of money stress forever.

Lia:
1. A rose that would never die.
2. That she would like all things.
3. That she could have all things that she wanted.

Ben:
1. That he could have an entire pirate treasure.
2. That we lived in Disneyland.
3. That he could have dessert every single day.

Incidentally, even without my three wishes coming true, I feel very blessed.  I am so glad that we got to celebrate my Mom's birthday dinner with her tonight.  Having my family around me (although some are a little too spread out across the miles right now) is truly the most important thing of all.

Birthday Girl

Today is my Mom's birthday!  My beautiful Mom, who has done so much for me throughout my life.  I am so grateful that she is such a big part of our lives.  And my kids love their Mimi with all their hearts.

Happy Birthday, Mimi!!

Lost Heritage

Ben's second grade class had a "Heritage Report" due today.  As part of their report they had to interview a family member, create a family tree, copy a family recipe and create a heritage doll.

Growing up with my maiden name of Vellutini, I was only 1/4 Italian, but claimed to be "mostly Italian".  Our extended family participated in the annual Italian Picnic up in Sutter Creek.  I took four years of the language in high school.  My best friend Sarah and I always said we'd marry good Italian boys so we'd always have an Italian last name.

I married a Kimble.  She married an Italian boy.

My great-grandmother, Dina Pera, came over from Italy in her 20's.  My grandfather was first generation Italian-American.  While my father was growing up, it was taboo to be anything but American, so he wasn't allowed to learn the Italian language from his father or grandmother.  (I think my grandma just didn't want to think they could talk behind her back without her understanding it!)   Over the past seventy years, our family has handed down our Italian culture through spaghetti sauce and bacon pasta, polpette (Cara, did I spell that correctly?), a strange love of Mob Hits and the Sopranos, and telling multiple people that our construction business has no ties to the mafia.

But here we were in my kitchen last night, my fourth generation Italian-American son, who is only 1/8 Italian, and I - and I realized that Ben's heritage is so completely mixed.  He's Italian, Irish, Sioux Indian, and many other mixes of culture.  I kicked myself when I realized he's never even heard of Italy.  And even though "Peppino the Mouse" is one of his favorite songs, he thinks the lyrics are Spanish.  There are certain traits that he does not realize come from his Italian heritage - like his adoration for anything in the pizza/pasta family.  But he was completely unaware of his Italian roots - or any other cultural roots for that matter.

Part of this realization made me very sad that a culture that was so much a part of my life growing up is now so diluted in my childrens' lives.  But part of me thought that this conglomeration of nationalities in my seven year old boy illustrate not a lack of culture - but a true depiction of what American really looks like.

I was very tempted to have Ben create a heritage doll that was purely American.

But the part of me that used to claim I was 100% Italian persuaded me to make that same claim for Ben.  That's why his heritage doll is holding an Italian flag, and one gigantic salami pizza.

Something Just Occurred To Me

Tonight I wanted to write about the parent-teacher conferences I attended yesterday.  But, as much as I think through it, there is really no good material to discuss.  Nothing dreadful, nothing embarrassing, nothing exciting.

The two parent-teacher conferences I attended were rather boring. 

Do you know how liberating that is?  Two years ago, before we changed our diet, attending a parent-teacher conference with Ben's Kindergarten teacher was absolutely painful.  I already endured the daily notes home about his behavior, but to have to sit face to face with the teacher and discuss it?  Talk about a heavy load on my shoulders.

Last year, with Ben in first grade and with a few months behind us on the Feingold Diet, I was so hopeful for good news that anything less than good was depressing.  Even though Ben had improved so much over Kindergarten, he still had behavior issues and certainly learning issues.  Of course, it wasn't until the end of first grade that we realized the impact that corn syrup had on Ben's behavior and focus, eliminating it from our diet as well.

But this year, driving to their school, I felt absolutely no anxiety.  I met first with Lia's teacher, who told me Lia is doing very well in Kindergarten, and although somewhat shy, got along very well with all the other Kindergartners.  Then I met with Ben's teacher, who discussed his A's, B's and two C's, assured me she wasn't worried about the two C's, and we formulated a plan to help him.

And then she was ready to conclude the conference - WITHOUT EVEN DISCUSSING BEHAVIOR!

Is this what normal feels like?

Because Our Kids Are Young Enough To Still Enjoy Family Vacations

Last year, the day after Halloween, Darrin and I made a promise to ourselves that we would not torture our kids with another year of trick-or-treating for candy they couldn't eat.  It just seemed cruel.  So for the past year we have discussed going to Disneyland for Halloween 2011.


It was the perfect trip.

Sunday we piled in my parents Escalade (because it has a DVD player, and they aren't using it while they sail around the east coast) in the wee hours of the morning, made it to The Grand Californian by eleven, checked into our hotel room (with bunk beds - the kids were in heaven), and were in Disneyland by noon.  That night, we had one of those magical Disney family moments that you see in the commercials and think "Riiiiiggghhht, like that ever happens."  We were riding on Thunder Mountain during the amazing Disney fireworks display.  As the train sped around the track, and we squealed with laughter, the brilliant, larger-than-life colors flashed over our heads.  It was spectacular.  When Tinkerbell flew over the crowd, Ben yelled out "MOM!!  I didn't know Tinkerbell was REAL!"

Monday morning we were the first ones in line at California Adventure, and our family was asked to announce the opening of the park.  We were let in before anyone else, and at the end of the countdown we yelled "HAVE A GRAND DAY!".  We did have a grand day, because there were so few people at the park that we stood in very few lines more than 5 minutes long.  My sister CJ joined us for the day, and the kids loved to announce at each ride who was going to ride with whom.  Lia dressed in her Rapunzel costume that day since it was Halloween, but Ben - well, he's getting too cool for Halloween costumes now that he's seven.  We convinced the kids to try Tower of Terror, which Ben enjoyed but Lia (making it VERY clear to us several times for the next two days) HATED!  While CJ, Darrin and Ben attempted more rides, Lia and I found a spot on the parade route to wait for the princess parade.  Lia was so excited that every single princess (except two - Snow White and Tinkerbell) waved directly or blew kisses to her.  Monday evening ended with the World of Color show, which is truly like nothing we've ever seen before.

Neither one of our kids liked Splash Mountain because of this drop.  I have to say it's one of my favorite rides!

The kids totally liked the Tarzan Tree House.  They wanted to go through it twice,
which means A LOT of steps up.  

This picture was taken Monday morning as we opened California Adventure.

On the giant ferris wheel, in a "swinging car" which made every one of us a little bit nauseous.

Tuesday was a little busier in the park, so we were quite offended whenever a line was more than ten minutes long.  But we were finally able to ride Space Mountain (which Ben loved and Lia decided she didn't like too much).  The kids totally enjoyed Star Tours, which we hadn't realized has been updated in a very good way.  We stood in line so that Lia could take pictures with the princesses.  And we rode our family's favorite rides multiple times:  The Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain, The Little Mermaid and Toy Story Mania.  We ended Tuesday with a shopping trip in Downtown Disney, because we had promised the kids one toy each at the end of our trip.

Lia loves carousels.  

But the boys . . . not so much. 

3D glasses for Toy Story Mania.  Darrin and CJ competed like there was a prize at the end.
But CJ, Darrin beat you!

Lia told me several times the order in which she favors the princesses:  Ariel, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty,
Cinderella, Belle, Tiana, Snow White.  In case you wanted to know.

How much does our family LOVE "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" - well, as Lia is showing you,
THIS MUCH!  

Ben didn't understand why Woody didn't remember him from the time we visited three years ago.  I told Ben it's
because he wasn't wearing his own Woody costume like he was when we were here last.  

Thunder Mountain was the kids' favorite ride out of both parks.  There was almost no line on Monday so we rode it four times.  And then again twice more on Tuesday.  They would have kept on this one all day if we let them. 

Wednesday morning we loaded back up in the Escalade and headed home to make-up homework, laundry, and hundreds of emails.  The best part - neither kid noticed that we had missed out on trick-or-treating, and we have a ton of wonderful memories of our family fun at Disneyland.

Ben was in total heaven at the Lego Store in Downtown Disney.