Not much going on....

Hey, well as you can tell, life has been pretty low-key and we've been doing a lot of nothing! Gianluca is back in school and always says "School's Boring" he says that about church too. But once he gets there he has fun. Allegra is getting more of an attitude. She is starting to throw temper tantrums and saying "NO NO! AND MMMMH MUH! (I don't know how to spell it) I have to remind myself that she isn't a baby anymore, but a toddler! I can't believe it. Gianluca is in Sunbeams and Allegra's in nursery! It is crazy.

Joel has started his new job and is loving it! I've been helping watch friends kids, and going back to the YMCA. It's nice to get back into a routine after a two month hiatus! Now we are just getting over colds. So I know this is boring, but I thought I'd just keep ya'll (I'm becoming a Texan!) updated. Here's some new pics.





My kids love to take baths in my tube. We put bubbles in there, but once the jets go on, the bubbles go crazy. So here are my floating heads! Don't worry I supervise them in the tub.



Here is a picture of my kids hiding out under Gianluca's bed with some chocolate they found. I knew they were being way too quiet!



Gianluca got his face painted at the YMCA w/ Joel. When he got home and I saw him, it almost scared me! He's a pretty fierce Spider man!



Look at all my beautiful teeth!

Quality mom and son time!

I meant to put these pics on the blog earlier this month. Gianluca's preschool had a field trip to the Red Caboose. It's a Christmas tree farm not to far from here. There was a hay ride, turkeys, bunnies, goats, miniature pony, and a goat without an ear. Then Gianluca got to ride this little train which he thought was the coolest thing ever. It was fun spending time with my little man. He is so sweet and funny. I can't believe half of the things that comes out of his mouth. I am in big trouble for sure! He is definitely 4(in a few weeks) going on 18!






I also took the dude to Alvin and the Chipmunks on Christmas day. It was such a fun little mommy-son date. When we got there, the kid in the booth said it was sold out and we were both so disappointed! Then I got the idea of going inside to buy tickets at the kiosk and sure enough, we got tickets! Of course he had to sit on my lap the whole time, but it was so fun. We went to the bathroom right before it started and Gianluca said "Mom, that boy said it was sold-out, but he was wrong. He was just wrong!!!" We had a blast. This show is adorable. We laughed the whole time. Now every time he sees a chipmunk on TV, he says "look its Alvin and the Chipmunks!" Go see it! We didn't have time to get popcorn before the show started, so I got some for him afterwards and he brought it home and ate it and played his little game boy. These guys grow up too fast!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, yada yada yada!!! J/K!

Okay, I've been getting in trouble lately for being such a slacker and not updating my blog for a month!!! I know everyone always says, "The holidays are so busy and I just don't have time" but it is true. I've had Joel's family in town for the past two weeks and between that and Christmas shopping, programs, party's, I just have been too tired by the end of the night to be a faithful blogger. SORRY!

Now for the most important info and best Christmas present we could have got this year....(drum roll please) CONGRATS JOEL FOR GETTING THE NEW JOB!!!! Joel got a job at an energy company called Dynegy. It's one of the largest in the country. It is such a huge blessing as we've been needing some extra income and this was a massive answer to our prayers. Thanks to all of you who prayed with us. You are true friends! Joel will be a scheduler and basically schedule shipments of coal and I don't know what else, but it is going to be a big nice change from his old job and he is super excited. He will be working in downtown Houston on the 66th floor! Yikes! He'll be taking the bus downtown everyday. But that will be nice since he has to be at work at 6:30! No more late nights babe!!! He will then get home around 5:45ish. So I think this is a great start for the new year for us. YOU DESERVE IT JOEL AND I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!

What else, what else.... I permed my hair!! I know you are thinking "what in the... is she thinking?!" Well my cousin Kristy said she gets a body wave every now and then to give her hair more volume, so I did it and now I don't know what to do with it! So Kristy, if you are reading this... I need help!!! Do I blow-dry it straight, do I let it air dry, do I look like a poodle??? I don't know!!!!

As far as Christmas goes, Joel's parents got us a new table! It is black and oval and sits up to 6-8 people. We got some I-pods! Finally. I'm so happy to have one. With the help of mom and dad's Christmas dinero we were able to get them. Thank you! And the regular, a few clothes. Gianluca asked Santa for a pirate ship and a robot and couldn't be more thrilled with them! He keeps thinking Santa is coming in a couple days to give him more presents. Allegra got a bounce and spin zebra and a doll stroller (which she thinks she should sit in, not push) and a baby. She is so cute! She loves having a little purse to carry around and a little bracelet on her wrist. She is very feminine!!!

We loved having Christian, Maggie and Norby here! Congrats to Christian (Joel's bro) for graduating w/ you MBA! We are proud of you and excited for your future. Maggie and Norby, thank you for all you do for us!!! We love you all!

Anyways, I just want to say how grateful we are to have wonderful friends and family. We are truly blessed and know that without Christ our Savior, we would not have all of the many beautiful blessings we have in our lives. I pray you all have a wonderful new year and rededicate yourselves to loving, laughing, and living more than you ever have!!!

Love, Sid

p.s. here is a montage of our Christmas!!! Don't forget to push the pause button under My Music on the right hand side.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

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.