Six things not commonly known to most...

Man, I am pretty much a "what you see is what you get" type of person, so I will have to get super creative for this one...Thanks Lara for tagging me!!!! Whoever of my fellow blogger friends that read this... you are officially tagged!

1. As Joel loves to point out that I have fingers for toes... I do. They are super long and GORGEOUS!! J/K. But on occasions where I am holding Allegra and need to get something off the ground, I just grab it with my toes and kick my leg back and grab it. It works well. I know, kind of freakish!

2. My Idaho friends and family probably know this but it is true, I am a RED NECK at heart! I had a mullet in kindergarten (see attached picture), I road dirt bikes and 4-wheelers, I love country music (although I have branched out a great deal), and I did have a sweet pair of cowboy boots and wranglers that I would wear to all of the country concerts I went to w/ my friends and family!

3. I have always wanted to be a counselor of some sort because I love to help people and listen to them. I don't know when this will ever happen because I to scared to take the G-Met (don't even know how to spell it!) because I hate math so much!

4. I can speak Spanish fairly well. I don't like to, but I can. I think my family thinks I don't know what's going on when Joel and his family speak Spanish, but I do. I took 2 year of it in high school and three years in college. I just think I sound dumb, so I don't use that skill is often as I should. Actually I feel more comfortable talking to complete strangers in Spanish than I do Joel's family. I have no idea why. Yo Puedo hablar en Espanol People!!!

5. I used to really want to be a back up dance for some hip hop singer. Kind of like the fly girls on "In Living Color". Unfortunately, having children has made me completely loose my groove. I used to be one of the first ones on the dance floor, and now I feel like I have two left feet. I guess I should just take up drinking in order to dance again. Actually, I dance pretty good for myself in the bathroom mirror... doors locked! J/K!

6. I LOVE to cook!!! I guess I got my inspiration from my father-in-law, Norberto. He is an amazing cook and even owned his own restaurant. I love being creative and making up my own recipes. I love making gourmet meals and lots of Italian foods. My favorite shows for inspiration are "Take Home Chef" and "Everyday Italian". What I don't love about cooking is having two little ones hanging on me while I'm doing it. I also hate cleaning up the mess!!!



I'm sorry family, this incriminates you too! But it's all I had. I am the youngest one. Like the bowl-cut mullet look I'm sporting! This is child abuse! I was what... 4 or 5? I had no say in this look!

Thanksgiving Montage

Here are the rest of the pictures from our eventful trip back to Idaho and Utah. Heidi and Brandon's wedding was beautiful! They are a neat couple with a lot to offer! Congratulations you guys! We are so happy we could make it! It was a lot of fun to see the family as well. Joel hadn't been back for two years! The older nephews (Brandon, Cody, Tyson, and Zach) have grown so much and even Brandon is taller than Joel! It gave Joel the opportunity to be a boy again and play lots of video games! We also got sick. Joel and Allegra both got strep throat... Thanks Ra Ra! Allegra was also getting in her molars, so lets just say that sleeping was pretty much non-existent. She got used to sleeping with us too, and now she doesn't want to sleep in her crib. I don't know what to do about these kids and their sleep problems! Gianluca... I rarely saw him. He had a blast with all of his cousins and now that we are home, he is bored out of his mind! I am not as much fun as them... go figure. We had a blast seeing all of you! We love and miss you very much!
P.S. Make sure to click the pause button on "my music" down on the right hand side before you watch the montage.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Part of Heidi's Wedding...

I'll be posting more, but here are some of Heidi's wedding when we were at the temple. Of course the dude just decided to defile the Holy Temple grounds and pee!!!

My Baby is Walking!!!

 

I wasn't expecting my sweet girl to start walking today, but she just decided to. It's so cute. She looks like a little old lady that needs a walker. Her legs are wide apart and she walks really slow, but she's doing it! At 16 months, but I am so happy for her! Now she can start to keep up with her friends. She is also talking up a storm. She tries to repeat what you say and it is adorable. She says: hi, bye bye, daddy, ma ma, ba ba, more, no, it's hot, what's this, this, that, bankey (blankey),ball, kick, yummy. She just is figuring things out this week! We are proud parents! When I get a chance, I'll put a video up of her walking.

Circus Circus!

 

Well, last Monday I took the kids to the Circus while Joel was out of town. It was fun and interesting. When we got there Gianluca got to ride a little pony. He loved it, but of course wanted to ride the Elephant and Camel when he saw them. Unfortunately for him, good for me, that we didn't have the money to let him. We had already spent it on popcorn and cotton candy. He and Allegra loved it for the most part. They really loved all of the animals. It was pretty amazing all of the tricks that they could do. I still wonder what attracts people to want to be in a circus. But it was a good show and most of the people in it were not from the U.S. So all in all, I'm glad we went, but I'm not going to be running back any time soon!

The Bane of My Existence!!!!

Okay, we all know that I hate... HATE mosquitoes! I am like a magnet for those blood suckers who love to feast on my sweet Idahoan blood! If there are 100 people around me, they will sniff me out and hunt me down. There is no running, no hiding from these angry beasts of prey! I also learned an interesting side note from Gianluca's "All About Bugs" book by Dr. Seuss, that only female mosquitoes bite. I don't know if it's true, but I don't doubt it. That is something a woman on a mission would do!!!! I always joke that my new favorite perfume since moving to Texas is "Off" bug spray. I put it on practically year round, every time I go outside. Just ask my girlfriends at the park, I never leave home without my bug spray!!! It is November-- NOVEMBER PEOPLE!!!! And I am still getting bit by these nasty low lives! So now I have another insect to add to my list of things that get under my skin... LITERALLY!!! FIRE ANTS.

Gianluca has been bit by these nasty things a trillion bazillion times. Last year he stuck his hand in one of their piles and got bit over 25 times on one hand. Of course his hand blimped up three times the side of the other hand and I had to dose him up w/ benadryl and cortizone cream. Well about a month ago, it happened again. I swear these things just draw him in w/ their mesmerizing ways. He loves to watch them crawl around and also try to kill them. He and a friend were running around at the park and ran into a giant ant hill covered up by pine needles. There were tons of these ants all over his little ankles just attacking him. His shoes were covered by these ants! I ran over and tossed off the shoes and socks and soaked his feet in the doggy water thingy. He was up for two nights because he couldn't sleep. He had over 46 bites on his poor little feet!!

So this week I felt his pain. We went to the circus, and I knelt down to talk to Gianluca (it was dark) and knelt on a bunch of ants. I got about 11 ant bites on my knees. They are still bothering me to this day. It is a burning itching feeling that just drives you bonkers! Even I had to get up and go take Benadryl so I could sleep. I can't imagine the poor dude with his 46 bites! He's a tough dude! So this week was my week of "attack of the killer insects" I had 11 ant bites, 5 mosquito bites, and three spider bites all on my legs. These are the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE!!!!


Here is a pic of Gianluca's hand. The ant bites form little blisters all over.


My camera has been really blury, but here is a pic of his legs. Poor Dude!

The Many Alter-Ego's of Joel

This is white trash, redneck, mullet-loving Joel. This is a very aggressive backwoods type of fellow you want to avoid! He will eat all of your Kentucky Fried chicken if you leave it unattended! Do not mess with the mullet! He has a very high MPSI (mulitude per square inch). After all he has the calm before the storm, or as some like to say "Buisness in the front, party in the back" DON'T MESS WITH THE MULLET! Actually this was Joel for Halloween last year. He found a facination w/ mullets while living in Idaho and Utah and of course seeing my kindergarten pictures w/ my sweet mullet. He will never let me live it down. I think he studied mulletsgalore.com for a year while we lived out west.



Meet Matt Foley, motivational speaker who "Lives in a van down by the river!!!" This was Joel's work costume this year. He even used Gianluca's pillow for the gut piece! (For those of you who don't know Matt Foley, it's a skit on Saturday Night Live).



Last but not least, here is a picture of Dr. Evil and Frou Fabrissima in the last Austin Power's movie "Goldmember". This is taken from the jail scene when Frou visited Dr. Evil. I guess a few people actually thought I was The Nanny, Fran Drecher. This was from a party we went to on Saturday night at our good friend's Eddie and Samantha (pictured below). I think we were the only one not drinking. We had our own special punch bowl. No one else was drinking out of it! It was a blast!

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEN!!!

AAAHHH another year of trick-or-treating has come and gone! This year was a lot of fun as Gianluca is really getting into it. He loved helping me with the decorations and hanging our ghosts up in our tree. I loved it too as it has always been one of my favorite holidays. (P.S. Mom, I'm still a little sad you gave all of the Halloween decorations away while I was not living at home to have any say in it!!! I'm getting over it). We started the night off by going to the Panther Creek shopping center where all of the stores give out candy. My friends Betsy and Kristin and all of their kids went too. It was fun and CRAZY!!! Kristin and I decided to get take and bake pizzas, and waited for what seemed like an eternity to get them. So I was finally making my way back to my sexy mini-van w/ Allegra in my arms, the pizza, all of the candy. I put the pizza on the hood of the car while I load up my crying baby who is very cranky and buckle the kids in their car seats. I was just happy to be going home and pulling out of my parking spot when I realized "What did I do w/ the pizza?" It wasn't in the car, OR on the hood of the car. I jumped out of the car and can't find it anywhere. I was really mad, because I thought someone must have picked it up and I just paid $8 bucks for that thing! All the while Allegra is screaming and the Dude is tearing through his candy. Finally I turned around and there it was smashed and run over in the middle of the road! So I took my crying baby, my hyper 3-year-old, and my smashed pizza into the pizza place (Nick and Willey's) where the owner was nice enough to make me a new one! Thank you!!! That pizza was amazing! Next up we got home ate the pizza and then went out trick-or-treating w/ Nicole, Sean, and Elijah and Issac (1 years old). We went clear around our circle and by the end Gianluca could barely haul his candy around so we stuck it in the stroller. He then entertained himself w/ Elijah's cool flash light. When we got to my house, all of the trick-or-treaters were dwindling off, so I was hurrying to get the rest of my candy out to a big group of kids. I thought Gianluca was right behind me. I knew he was mad because I made him give Elijah his flash light back. Well, he wasn't behind me. I was calling out his name (Joel was at the church) and asking people if they'd seen him, and finally saw him on the side of our house just pouting. He said "I run away mom! I was borrowing that flashlight!!!" Man did he get a talking too, where he then said "You don't love me anymore?? You don't want me??" and started crying. What in the... where does this kid get these things!???? Too much candy and not enough sleep! So anyways, all in all it was fun and the kids were so cracked out on candy that they stayed up until 10:00 pm. It was a crazy time!




Here is my adorable little witch who refused to keep her witch hat on. I guess she just wanted to show off her adorable hair! She had a pretty good time as long as she had a sucker in her mouth!



I think I said before that the Dude decided to be a pirate instead of a ninja at the last minute. The little boy in the picture is Elijah.


Here is a picture of Allegra and Bode (Betsy's son). They are two days apart.



Candy Candy Candy!!

The Dunnican's Halloween Party

 

Here is Allegra w/ my amazing friend Kristin. This BYU cheerleader outfit was her little girls and she let us borrow it for the party. Thanks Kristin!

 

Here are a couple pictures from our friends Mike and Jen's Halloween party on Saturday. Gianluca was a ninja of course and Allegra was a cheerleader. Tonight Allegra will be a Teeny Tiny Witch and Gianluca informed me that he was going to be a pirate again, but "Please don't take my Ninja back!!!" It will be fun. There will be more Halloween pics to come!

Best Buddies

Gianluca and Allegra really love each other. They like playing and fighting with each other. Here are a couple of pictures of them just watching a cartoon together. You can see that Gianluca has his arm around Allegra (he did that all by himself). And there's a couple of when we went on a bike ride and then took them to the park. That's something I really love about here; there are tons of bike trails and outdoor activities for the kids.

I've been tagged.... Like 20 times, so I'm finally getting around to it.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Last I checked, I was born in a time where there wasn't a lot of equal opp. for women, so my parents named me Sidney so a potential employer wouldn't know off the application if I was a male or female. Complicated eh??? Long story short, NOPE.
2. Last time you cried? 2 weeks ago, I kind of feel like Cameron Diaz in Holiday. I really don't cry that much. Joel cries way more than me the big baby!!! J/K... but not really.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes... well I can't do much to change it, so I'll take it.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Blackforest Ham
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? do monkey's count? Cause that's what I've got. Gianluca is 3 1/2 & Allegra is 15 months. Joel is also 3... times 10. But he's more like an ape.
6. If you were someone else, would you be friends with you? More than likely.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I love to when the opportunity arises.
8. First TV Crush? Zach and Slater from Saved by the Bell. That's right, I said it!
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Only if I had a large amount of alcohol in me. But than I would probably puke and that would not be too hot either. I'm terrified of heights!
10. Favorite Cereal: Cracklin Oatbran and Lucky Charms.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Since my feet would suffocate in this wretched heat, I normally make it a rule to only wear sandals, but on the occasion I want to feel the circulation drain out of my feet, I would untie them first.
12. Do you think you are strong? Think... well of course I THINK I am strong, but in all actuality I'm probably one of the wimpiest people I know, but watch out for my guns man. Thunder and Lightening are tougher than you think!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Peanut Butter and Chocolate!!!
14. What is the first thing you notice about people ? Their confidence level and body language.
15. RED or PINK? Usually neither, but I am really getting into wearing both of these colors... does that mean I'm becoming a more confident person?
16. WHAT IS THE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF ? I like to laugh, or Cackle as most of we Decker women do. But hey, Halloween is coming up.
17. Who do you miss the most? My dog Woodrow... okay, I really miss seeing my family on a regular basis, and we've made amazing friends in all of the places we've lived, so it's hard to leave people behind.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Whatever floats your boat.
19. What color pants/skirt and shoes are you wearing? Pants! In this weather! A NOOOOO, I wear shorts on a daily basis. Today, they were brown and my shirt was burgundy...but then Allegra had a blow out on it, and so it was kind of brown too. Now I'm wearing a white shirt. Brown flip flops.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pumpkin pudding bread.... YUMMY! I almost ate it all by myself.
21. What are you listening to right now? Sweeet Silence. Kids are in bed, Thank Goodness!
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Teal.
23. Favorite smells? Harvest Spice, Christmas Trees, Cinnamon.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My mom.
25. Do you like the person who sent this to you? She totally rocks. Of course Idaho girls do rock!
26. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Football or basketball. Joel I'm still trying to love soccer. You'll have to take me to a game so I can truly experience it. Plus I like to look at those good looking players!
27. Hair color? Boring Brown, but I just don't have the patience for all the up-keep of highlighting my hair.
28. EYE COLOR? Hazel
29. Do you wear contacts? No thank goodness! After watching my Dad suffer w/ his horrid contacts growing up, I had a good talk w/ my eyes and told them to be perfect. So far they've listened.... knock on wood.
30. FAVORITE FOOD? Anything Italian. Probably due to the fact that my Dad never has really liked it, so I didn't hardly ever eat it, now I get to make it all of the time!
31. Scary movies or happy endings? Are you kidding me? w/ my crazy imaginations I would have nightmares for weeks! Definitely happy endings.
32. LAST MOVIE WATCHED? Knocked Up. Funny but very crude. I probably wouldn't recommend it, unless you like funny and crude movies.
33. Summer or winter? I've got to have both, my friends.
34. HUGS OR KISSES? I dabble in a little of both.
35. Favorite dessert? Anything Chocolate.
36. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND to this e-mail? Probably no one, since I always get them, and never send them back. I figured it's about time.
37. Least likely to respond? Christian my brother-in-law.... or any male species I send this to.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Secret, Emma, How to Behave so your Preschooler will Too.... not yet working.
39. What is in your mouse pad? An Ice burg w/ quote " The world is but a canvas to the imagination" by Henry David Thoreau
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Kim Possible. Pretty exciting.
41. Favorite sound? Laughter, water running, ocean tide
42. ALL TIME FAVORITE MUSIC GROUP? Sarah McLaughlin, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Duncan Sheik, U2, Imogen Heap, the list goes on.
43. Home? Houston, TX or there abouts.
44. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I'm good at being a dork.
45. Where were you born? IF, ID... that is Idaho Falls for those who aren't cool enough to know.
46. DO YOU HAVE A LIFE MOTTO? A good sailor never sailed a smooth sea AND Attitude is Everything.
47. Whose answer are you looking forward to getting back? I love you all, so whoever decides to respond!

Fun in the tub... What the... POOP!!!!!

 


SO I didn't want Alley to feel left out, but yesterday she was taking a bath and having lots of fun. I wasn't paying to much attention as I was chating w/ my friend Betsy on the phone. All of the sudden Gianluca is yelling "MOM SISTER POOPED!!!" I look over and sure enough, there was not just one but several of them! I rushed Gianluca and Allegra to my bath tub, so they could have another bath, then I had the lovely task of cleaning it up and trying not to dry heave! Just thinking of it makes me want to gag! What is it about kids and baths that makes them want to poop! Is it just so relaxing? Whatever it is, it is NASTY!!! As you can see in the picture, she didn't seam to mind that she was bathing with her doo doo. These kids!

Peanut Butter and What?

 


On a side note, I know kids like to eat weird things. I used to eat ketchup w/ everything growing up. I remember putting them on green beans at my grandma Jody's house all of the time. But this is plain strange! The dude loves to eat mustard. Mustard w/ anything. But his latest which grosses me out is Penut Butter & honey sandwiches... AND mustard. Nasty!!

Booing Is Not Fair!!!!

 

Well, Sunday night we got "BOOED". For those of you who don't know what that means, someone puts a bag of goodies (not poop in a bag... RYAN) and a picture of a ghost that you hang in your window so others know you got booed. Basically if you are booed, you are supposed to go "BOO" two other houses. So Gianluca and I went and got candy and our orange pumpkins to go boo some other houses. Since this was a "Secret Mission" the dude wore his Ninja costume and he and Joel practiced droping the goodies off at our house, knocking on the door and running off. Gianluca was laughing the whole time because he thought it was so fun. So we went down to our first house and Gianluca went up to the door, knocked, and ran off STILL HOLDING THE GOODIES! So Joel told him to hurry and drop them off at the door. We ran off trying not to laugh to hard, because it was hilarious seeing our little shrimp running around like a crazy man. Well, we were laughing, the dude was MAD! He wanted his candy!!!! And he insisted we go back and get it. So then we continued on to the next house while explaining that "we need to do nice things for others because it makes them feel good, yada yada yada... you won't be going trick or treating at all if you keep this up..." until we got to the next house, where Gianluca continued to yell at us (while standing at the persons front door) that he wasn't leaving the candy and that he wanted to go in and play with his friends!!!! We coaxed him away from the door and he said "THAT'S FINE! I'M NOT GOING HOME WITH YOU!!!!" So he sat down on their front curb and pouted and yelled and screamed and cried "THIS IS NOT FAIR!!!" Over and over again! Joel finally got him to come home, where he was so worked up and crying that he threw up on our front porch! What are we going to do with this crazy dude! What can I say? He loves candy? And playing with his friends. At any rate, I thought it was a funny story to share! We are in for lots of trouble, but I love this little passionate dude and everything about him with all my heart!

For your viewing pleasure

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here are some samples... I repeat SAMPLES... of the Dude's classic dance moves. I must say he preforms better when the camera is not rolling, but this is pretty good. He loves to dance. I think he's going to be a break dancer when he grows up! Just remember to click the pause button under "My Music" so you can here the music that goes with the montage.

UP TO NOOOO GOOD!!!!

Two Sunday's ago, Joel and I were back in our office going through some papers and had put a movie on for the kids and gave them some popcorn. They were being so good and we were in a real good rhythem w/ organizing. The thought crossed my head to go check on the kidos... but I just wanted to get done, so 10 minutes pass and Gianluca runs back to us SOAKING WET and LAUGHING! Man I should have followed my gut, because when I went out there I noticed a vast amount of water in our soggy carpet and our big kitchen bowl out. I also saw that the rest of our gallon of milk was missing.... IN THE CARPET! AND the popcorn was smushed into it as well!!! Allegra was happy as a clam just smashing her fingers into the wet carpet. I couldn't believe it and Joel was super mad as he is super anal about the carpet! What I figure happened is that Allegra's bottle was empty, so Gianluca got the milk to fill it up, and spilled it... well he said Allegra spilled the milk...uh huh! Then they must have filled up the bowl several times to clean up the milk. So needless to say the dude was in major trouble. I had to change Allegra's shirt, and you can see it says "It's my brothers fault"! Gianluca's shirt that says "It seamed like a good idea at the time" is unfortunatley too small, so he couldn't wear it. BUT it sure would have been fitting. Luckily my friend Nicole had a steam cleaner and you would not believe all of the water it sucked up. THESE KIDS ARE GOING TO DRIVE ME BANANA'S!!! So if I go missing, just check the next looney bin! BUT I sure do love them!



You can see Allegra is pretty devistated and so far, Gianluca thought it was a joke, until he got his punishment!

Saturday Fun

Well, we were doing some yard work and cleaning up the kids outside toys, so I filled up this tub to wash the toys in as they were caked in dirt. Next thing I know Gianluca is down to his undies and jumping in. I figured what the heck and let the kids go to town. They were painting everything with the bubbles and old paint brushes! Allegra loved it, and Gianluca loved putting bubbles all over his "Sissy"!

Happy Birthday Mary!!!!

GO MARY, IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY, WE'RE G0NNA PARTY LIKE IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!! Okay maybe not, as you are in Oklahoma!!! I wish I was celebrating with you! Mary is my long lost Idaho friend. We ran into her and hubby Kent at our beloved Sam's Club and the rest has been history! We went to rival school's in high school and were in the same ward my first year at Ricks, we were always mutual friends, never knowing how well we'd hit it off until we ran into each other here in TEXAS!!! I love this girl! She is the type of girl who tell you how it is straight up w/out any sugar coating and I love that about you! You help and offer to help anytime I need it and you even help organize my kitchen!!!--(I just said help way to many times!) Just for that alone, I will always love you! I love your spunk and craziness! You and Kent are amazing friends and we love you and those goofy boys of yours!!! Happy Birthday!!!!

A TRIBUTE TO THOSE CRAZY IDAHO GIRLS!!!

Three men were sitting together, bragging about how they had been giving
their new wives duties. The first man had married a woman from Indiana,
and bragged that he had told his wife she was going to do all the dishes
and house cleaning that needed done at their house. He said that it took
a couple of days, but on the third day he came home to a clean house and
the dishes were all washed and put away.

The second man had married a woman from Utah . He bragged that he had
given his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the
cooking. He told them that the first day he didn't see any results, but
the next day it was better. By the third day, his house was clean, the
dishes were done, and he had a huge dinner on the table.

The third man had married an Idaho girl. He said that he told her that
her duties were to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed,
laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the
first day he didn't see anything. The second day he didn't see anything,
but by the third day most of the swelling had gone down and he could see
a little out of his left eye, just enough to fix himself a bite to eat,
load the dishwasher, and telephone a lawn service.

Gotta love those Idaho girls!

I Heart Jane Austin's Book Club

You all have to see the new movie "Jane Austin's Book Club"!!!!! I just saw it Friday night with a bunch of my girlfriends and loved it!!! I didn't go in with a ton of expectations, but I loved it so much I want to see it again right away and then go out and buy it when it comes out. Some of my friends and I are going to start reading the classics as well. We are starting w/ Emma. I'm excited. So go and see it!!!

Allegra Dancing

Well here is a little video of my sweet baby grooving out. She loves to dance and gets her inspiration from her big bro. Don't worry, Gianluca will have one coming very soon, but his is a bit more complicated. The funny thing about this is that Allegra doesn't use a pacifier. She just found one today and started sucking on it. Why didn't she do that a year ago???? Just remember to click the pause button on "My music" down on the right hand side so you don't have two songs playing at once. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

My B-Day

Yes, my big day has come and gone and I'm officially 28! How does time fly so quickly! I seriously feel like I am still in high school... well, except feeling like I've been hit w/ a MAC truck every morning because of my kids that sleep so great! Joel was a huge sweet heart and gave me a surprise party on Sunday. I thought something was up as Joel suddenly wanted to clean and vacuum the house, which he normally is very laid back about. My friends Kristen & Matt, Betsy & Seth, Mary & Kent, Jen & Mike, and Nicole & Sean all snuck into my house and surprised me while I was in the kitchen with Gianluca. It was overwhelming and exciting at the same time. I think that is the first time I've blushed in awhile.
Of course a few minutes into the party, crying emerges from the Dude's bedroom and low and behold Cameron (Betsy's son) is bleeding from his head. The culprit... Gianluca of course. I asked him after the party why he threw the toy and he said "Cam threw a toy at me so I threw one at him." AAAAHHHHHH BOYS ARE CRAZY!!! I told him "Hello, it's never okay to through a toy or anything at anyone... unless it's a pillow." But after all of that settled down, we ate lots of chips and B-day cake (which all of the kids helped me blow out the candles) and had a good time. THANKS JOEL FOR BEING SO THOUGHTFUL AND A GREAT HUBBY!!!! YOU ARE THE BEST!
Monday (my actual B-Day) I didn't do much of anything except go crazy w/ an overly grumpy 3 year old. I did manage to take the kids to Kohl's and buy a cute b-day outfit. But other than that, not much. I did end up going out with my great friends Kristin and Betsy to P.F. Changs and had dinner. I was also tempted w/ a free apple martini, but w/stood temptation and asked the nice waiter for a coke instead. It was so fun to let lose w/ my girlfriends. They have made the move here so great! I don't know what I'd do w/out you guys!!!!
My great friend Mary and I will also be going out to dinner soon as my b-day present from her. She is terrific and just jumps in and helps. She is my long lost Idaho friend and I am soooo happy we met up here in Texas after all these years!
P.S. Joel is going through one of his growing out his beard stages and yes it is extremely annoying!!! But I love him anyways!