"Wheeeeeeen the Moon Hits Your Eye..."

Oh Italy, I love you! You were everything I thought you would be! Tasty! Relaxing! Romantic! You didn't let me down my dear little Italy. 

Ben and I have been talking about going to Italy since we first came to Belgium because...well... it's ITALY, so when Ben's boss offered to lend us his Pisa apartment for a week we didn't hesitate. It was incredible and amazing and wonderful and perfect. 

Let me break it down for you. Our trip was a week of Italian awesomeness which started in Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre is a collections of five small towns that literally sit on the rocky coast of the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea. Historically the towns used to be pirating towns and if that isn't cool enough it was also the birthplace of pesto. Pretty cool huh? 

The cove where we took a swim...

The other city we branched out to from Pisa was Florence. Florence is a huge city in the art world. It's like the Renaissance packed into one little, very hot, Italian city. The most famous thing in Florence is Michelangelo's sculpture of the David (the David and Goliath David in case you were wondering) but the most non-famous thing about Florence is that EVERYTHING IS CLOSED ON MONDAY! So we arrived all excited to see David and this small museum which housed works by Michelangelo, Davinci and tons of huge Renaissance artists and it was all closed. So plan B was to wander the streets and go into Cathedrals to cool down which actually worked perfectly because there was a ton of art in the Cathedrals too

And last but certainly not least is Pisa itself. What a cool city! Definitely under-estimated because people think that it only has the leaning tower but it is a wonderful place to stay. Our first full night in Pisa we hit up the leaning tower and let me tell you...IT'S LEANING! I thought "Oh it can't be that bad...It's probably just a little crocked"...oh no! It's like falling over! It was incredible. We went back to the tower four of five times because it was just a cool place to see and it was really fun to watch Brooklyn run up to other tourists and beam her cheesy smile! 

And of course who can go to Pisa and not eat a ton of Pizza? I think the pizza is what Ben looked forward to the most on this trip. OK I'm sure it is. The first thing he did after checking into our hotel the first night (We had to stay the first night in the hotel because his bosses apartment was double booked) Ben went and bought not one but two pizza's even though it was already nine-thirty. My thoughts on Pisa Pizza, dang good. The rest of the trip we ate pasta, pesto, pizza and gelato and it delicious! 

So when it all boils down these are the facts. 1-Italy is cool (but not temperature wise). 2-Pisa, Florence, and Cinque Terre are really awesome places to visit! 3-The food is AMAZING! 

P.S. Every time I make Spaghetti or any sort of Italian food I always sing "That's Amore" hence the title.

Houston we have a...Toddler!

I don't know when it happened, I don't know where it happened, and I certainly don't know WHY it had to happen but it's official, Brooklyn Rae Isaac is a toddler. Here are three sure signs of toddlerhood:

1-Non-Stop: runner, climber, tumbler, and walker
2-Expert Room Demolisher 
3-Fascination with: dirt, sand, poop, grass, and everything else mom doesn't want in your mouth (including the always available, thank you Belgians, cigarette butts).

Oh and let's not forget the fourth and most noticeable sign: 

4-World Class Tantrum Thrower when items 1-3 are not allowed.

People tried to warn me that this day would come...They said "Andi, enjoy this newborn phase when she doesn't move and she cries so softly" and I thought to myself "HA! Fools, certainly they don't understand that Brooklyn is a much harder newborn than their child was and that her piercing cry curdles milk and makes hair stand on end!" They said "Andi, enjoy the crawling phase because you can outrun her and she can't get into too much trouble." and I scoffed and thought "If they only knew how hard it is to carry this baby around whenever I need to go someplace". I thought I was tired, I thought I was working hard, I thought I was trudging through the rough stuff but no I was merely strolling through the simple park of Infanthood. 

***Infanthood: a beautiful place where babies only cry when they need; food, milk, sleep, new diaper, or snuggles. A place with few rough patches, most of which are hallucinations caused by the combination of fatigue and inexperience, but mainly filled with precious simple moments of joy and peace***

Then one beautiful day while strolling through the simple beauties of Infanthood the entire world changed and I was suddenly thrown into Toddlerhood.

***Toddlerhood: a dark, strange, and terrifying land filled with mud, dirt, and messy food. A frightening place with piles of torn books and broken toys crowd the pathway and sometimes even cover up the path. A place where moms are found curled up in the corner with blank, hopeless expressions on their faces and spaghetti laced in their hair. A place of sheer horror, chaos, and mayhem.***

All of the sudden going to the park with Brooklyn is no longer a nice quiet break filled with a relaxing walks and ball rolling. It is a constant chase as she climbs every bench, walked in front of every swinging child, stood at the bottom of every slide in use, and approached every dog in sight regardless of size, shape, or infectious looking fur. Suddenly it isn't a silly game of "Don't put that in your mouth" but a dangerous game of "Can Mommy get that out before you impale her with your piranha-like teeth?" It's no longer a fun game of airplane to get food into the mouth but a war zone filled with countless thrown casualties laying across the battlefield of high-chair, Brooklyn's hair and face, Mom's clothes and hair, and down Brooklyn's shirt. 

Yes, we have a toddler. Some of you older parents will simply chuckle and say "Enjoy this time it won't last long" but let me tell you something. When you're covered in rice-cereal while sitting on the kitchen floor and watching your toddler smear food all over her entire body time stops completely. So completely that your mind shuts off and you no longer care that your child added another layer of rice cereal to your newly-washed jeans. You no longer care that she just tore five pages out of your favorite book. You no longer care that every single shelf in your house has been violently cleared and the contents thereof are chaotically scatter across every inch of floor space in your house. You just don't care. And when you get past the point of caring you give into the madness. Suddenly you're pulling books off of the shelves, you're the one throwing playing cards everywhere, you're the one eating mush with your hands and smearing it onto your child's face. It's only then, after the dust settles (or in this case the toddler's in bed and you've just spent 2 hours cleaning), that you realize just how fun it is to let loose and be a toddler again. 

So in the end, even though there's at least one meltdown a day where I'm left staring into space and wondering what my life has become, having a toddler is a non-stop party. A messy, frustrating, and exhausting party. And one day when Brooklyn's grown and dealing with a toddler of her own I'll get to be the wise chuckling onlooker telling her to enjoy the moment.

Welcome to Toddlerhood! 

Ya know those days when you just give up? This is one 

Yes, that is the "Do Not Cross" Ro

Other kids were afraid of the ocean...not Brooklyn

The WORST game of 52 card pick up (more like 165 card pick up)

Yes...that is a grocery bag

My dad described Brooklyn best when he
 called her a "Red-headed Toddler"

Yep, I still love her!