Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful magical Christmas!
Remember the reason for celebrating the season!
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Christmas preparations

This year we started Christmas decorating on 07.12. We had a serious helper in Ilaria:


We set up the Christmas tree earlier than ever before. We broke the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve and we put it up on 18th! And it's such a wise idea, enjoying it also before Christmas.


Lots of help came again our way:



and

While decorating the Christmas tree, together with Adrian, we both became aware that we are (the most probably) living NOW the most wonderful moments of our lives!


Another bright idea that I put into practice - thanks to the wonderful world of blogging - was to make a "garland" out of all cards we received and out of the Christmas specific pictures I love:

In this way we will keep our dearest people even closer to our hearts, this season!
For next year I plan to make an Advent calendar garland out of the most beloved personal and Christmas specific pictures.


And last but not least: we met Santa Claus in Hornbach last week-end. He was a kind old men. No tears were poured ;-)

Ilaria calls him "Pucciun" instead of Moş Crăciun. 

May you have wonderful Christmas preparation days!
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Picture of the day

Up uuup, so Mommy won't be able to take it from me!
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The lesson of today...

...mommy stay cool and don't get too attached on material!

Many people, when seeing Ilaria's room exclaim: "she has so little toys!". That's because I am the one controlling toys acquisition. And I am a follower of "less is more". I'm the kind of parent who buys toys only on specific occasion (St. Nicholas, Christmas, Easter, birthday and that's pretty all). On the other hand, we didn't involve Ilaria in any paid activity yet! Strange for nowadays, isn't it?
I bought a great book dealing with "less is more": Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids. I didn't read it yet, but I'm pretty sure everything written there is already inside me (a friend of mine is shocked every time when she informs me about great deals and I tell her "but I don't need that. I already have something similar!" Hello, Lumi! :-) ). And I still hope one day Adrian will read it ;-)

Look what can happen if a child doesn't have "enough" toys: she becomes extremely creative:

Ilaria trying to solve her self-made puzzle
It took me 1 year! to purchase that wallpaper border; so you can imagine how much I love it.

I have to go now. As you can see, she needs some help ;-)
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A bright idea

Although I do a little part of the activities listed below and my mother is still cooking for us!!, there are days when I feel like this:


so beautifully put into words here:

         The Girl in a Whirl
         by ‘Dr. Sue’ (a.k.a. Vickie Gunther)


         Look at me, look at me, look at me now!
         You could do what I do
         If you only knew how.
         I study the scriptures one hour each day;
         I bake,
         I upholster,
         I scrub,
         and I pray.
         I always keep all the commandments completely;
         I speak to my little ones gently and sweetly.
         I help in their classrooms!
         I sew all they wear!
         I drive them to practice!
         I cut all their hair!
         I memorize names of the General Authorities;
         I focus on things to be done by priorities.
         I play the piano!
         I bless with my talents!
         My toilets all sparkle!
         My checkbooks all balance!
         Each week every child gets a one-on-one date;
         I attend all my meetings (on time!  Never late!)
         I’m taking a class on the teachings of Paul,
         But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all .
         I track my bad habits ’til each is abolished;
         Our t-shirts are ironed!
         My toenails are polished!
         Our family home evenings are always delightful;
         The lessons I give are both fun and insightful.
         I do genealogy faithfully, too.
         It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
         I rise each day early, refreshed and awake;
         I know all the names of each youth in my stake!
         I read to my children!
         I help all my neighbors!
         I bless the community, too, with my labors.
         I exercise and I cook menus gourmet;
         My visiting teaching is done the first day!
         (I also go do it for someone who missed hers.
         It’s the least I can do for my cherished ward sisters.)
         I chart resolutions and check off each goal;
         I seek each “lost lamb” on my Primary roll.
         I can home-grown produce each summer and fall.
         But that is not all! Oh, no. That is not all .
         I write in my journal!
         I sing in the choir!
         Each day, I write “thank you’s” to those I admire.
         My sons were all Eagles when they were fourteen!
         My kids get straight A’s!
         And their bedrooms are clean!
         I have a home business to help make some money;
         I always look beautifully groomed for my honey.
         I go to the temple at least once a week;
         I change the car’s tires!
         I fix the sink’s leak!
         I grind my own wheat and I bake all our bread;
         I have all our meals planned out six months ahead.
         I make sure I rotate our two-years’ supply;
         My shopping for Christmas is done by July!
         These things are not hard;
         ’tis good if you do them;
         You can if you try!
         Just set goals and pursue them!
         It’s easy to do all the things that I do!
         If you plan and work smart, you can do them all, too!
         It’s easy!” she said
        and then she dropped dead.


So a bright idea came to me last Monday (when it was too windy for our daily walk in the park): I'll take Mondays as free days from going outside. Instead, we (me and the girls) will stay inside playing and... cleaning the house.
One activity less per day makes such a big difference! And after a full week-end we really appreciate a quiet Monday.


Happy Monday, everybody!

P.S.: and I forgot to mention that I am the lucky wife of a man who took as his jobs the following: bathing our girls, vacuuming the floors, paying the bills and washing the dishes in the evening!! But I still feel overloaded sometimes...
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Siblings rivalry or what?

Yes, we knew about it. And we seemed to be prepared. But, as everybody else, we are not!


While in maternity with Maria we were told that Maria should enter into Ilaria's life by offering her a gift.
Here it is

(a car with Pluto as driver)


So Maria was welcomed and accepted very well.



And, from this point of view, everything was just fine in our Wonderland:

We involved Ilaria in rising Maria, as much as possible.


Siblings rivalry was a funny term until now. And it happened to others, not to us.
* A friend of mine was caught by her mother when she was 4 years old trying to suffocate her newly-born brother by using a pillow.
* My mother was taking advantage off any unsupervised moment. When my grandmother was coming back into the house from where she had to go, she was finding my mother's fingerprints on her 1 year and 4 months younger brother's cheeks
* my sister, 5 years older than me, told my mother once: "Let's make a deal. This one (that's how she was speaking about me) should belong to father from now on. And I should belong to you."
* I also begrudged my sister, because my parents were allowing her to educate me. Many times, during meals, she was making me cry by criticizing me, our parents beside us!


Now, here, siblings pure love seemed to have lasted not even 2 months!


Lately, Ilaria wants to sleep in baby's crib. She wants to keep Maria's pacifier. She wants to empty Maria's bottle - tea or milk, doesn't matter. She wants to play with Maria's toys. She wants to stay into Maria's carriage or on the suckle pillow exactly when we want to use them for Maria.



Ilaria is still kissing and hugging Maria, but, lately, in a more tough way.
And yesterday Ilaria kicked Maria by using a diaper and bare handed too! It was a gray day for us and a heartbreaking one...


But how did we reach this point without even notice it?? From tenderness to violence in less than 2 months.
Apart from the normal jealousy, raised from having to share the resources between Ilaria and the "intruder" called Maria, we realized there are some other reasons too...


For sure sometimes Ilaria is disturbed by Maria's endless cry. She mentions a lot our "crying baby", especially when she speaks on the phone with her grandmother Maria.
Here "speaking" on the digital thermometer! with Daddy, who was at the office:

(she was pressing buttons and the thermometer was beeping)
Ilaria: "Hallo! Hallo! Daddy!? Baby is crying. Daddy, Maria is crying."
Me: "Ilaria, please listen carefully. Maria is sleeping now. She is not crying anymore. So, you have to speak with Daddy about something else."
so she totally changed the subject into:
Ilaria: "Daddy! Daddy! Maria is not crying now."


And we did some M.I.S.T.A.K.E.S or mistakes too:
- few times, while Ilaria was having fun outside, in the park: "We have to go home, Ilaria! Maria is crying." or "We have to go home, Ilaria!. Maria will be hungry soon" or "We have to go home, Ilaria! Maria is freezing."
- "Ilaria, you have to be quiet, not to disturb Maria. She is sleeping."
- Ilaria's favorite movie now is "Babies" (2010). One of her favorites scenes is the one where the mogul big brother is kicking his younger brother with a blouse. I didn't realize this could be more harmful than educative. She was asking to watch this scene again and again. I was fulfilling her wish, always telling her "this is something bad. He shouldn't do this to his little brother" and sometimes... laughing on the situation.


The lesson of sharing won't be an easy one for Ilaria, that's for sure. And this is probably just the beginning of a longtime running process..
In the meantime we, the parents, should probably educate ourselves a little bit more by reading this book.


What's your experience related to siblings rivalry? I would be glad to hear about it!

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Maria

She is here, with us. Since 20.10.2011, time 13:18.


Our sweet little brunette angel (and our new boss, in the same time)


Fighting aloud each day for food


and for sleep


Constantly being under big sister's observation


Enjoying the daily walks outside


meeting friends


and chatting with Ilaria



And being loved


loved


loved


loved


loved


loved

(20.11.2011 - 1 month old already)

so very loved!!

Welcome into this world and into our lives, Maria!
May you have a happy life!
We ♥ you to the moon and back!
Ilaria, Mommy & Daddy
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The day before the big day

Long time ago already there was a beautiful autumn day - 19th October 2011 - the day before the big day, 20th October, when my second c-section was planned. It was little-Maria's last day inside my belly. So, we went for a walk in the park:

 
( and for a visit to my favorite shop now - Lidl ;-) )

Thank you, big-Maria, for you reminded me I had a photo camera with me! :-)

And thank you, Adrian, for you recovered these precious pictures from the damaged card!

I am grateful for living wonderful moments near wonderful people. Life is good!

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Ilaria is 2

10.10.2011. Another blessed day full of joy and emotions.

In the morning, unwrapping gifts:
a new pair of earrings ("baby earrings" are prepared for baby Maria)

and a baby doll, who crossed the Atlantic to reach Ilaria (thanks Michelle for help!!)



So we made it until Ilaria's birthday without a baby doll. And it worth the waiting (if you ask me):

Celebration in the evening, together with grandparents:

more gifts unwrapping

a lot of emotions when we sang "Happy birthday" to her

The cake decided not everything could be perfect on that day

so the candies melted

Anyway, Ilaria was far too excited to notice such minor detail...

Happy birthday, our sweet Ilaria! May your entire life be as happy as your first two years!

We love you to the moon and back!

Mami, Tati & baby Maria

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Life... And faith!

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Happy birthday, dear blog of mine!

Today, 05th of October 2011, my blog celebrates its 1st birthday! 
(you can read here how I started blogging)
So far, writing on this blog was a great experience and anybody whom ever crossed his / her mind to start blogging, I fully recommend: just do it!

I want to mention here some things I have learned since blogging:

* there are people who read my posts and who care, even if they prefer to remain silent (they don't "like" my links on Facebook, nor are they commenting on blog).

I got much more face-to-face feed-back on my posts than I got comments directly on the blog. And I have to face that I experience wonderful satisfaction when I hear people saying: "I tried that recipe of your today and it was delicious indeed" or "you are so right in that post; it happened to me the same too" or "it's such a nice feeling reading your blog"

* I have learned not to dream big success via blogging (anymore).

Of course, when I begun to write here I hoped for billions of hits per day. But, in time, I have learned that such success comes from some exceptional cases which, fortunately or unfortunately (depends on the case), are not my cases:

        - blogger is a brilliant writer

        - substantial giveaways are held often on the blog

        - blogger lives / lived a big drama

        - blogger is very experienced in something

* memories kept here are precious.

I hope so they will be for my family too; I hope the other members will / are appreciate / appreciating what I write here. In the end, they are the no.1 target of this blog. Regarding myself, I only have to read some old posts in order to bring all those emotions here again and... tears into my eyes!

Many thanks to all of you, who are reading and commenting here: Michelle Jo., Adi Sp., Maria Mi., Fred Jo., Faye Vi., Faye Jo., Sue Ri., Joni Ze., Dana & Bogdan Bî., Manu Du., Raluca Bu., Dan Op., Ramona La., Ramona Sp., Dorela Ar., Anamaria Mu., Ramon Gr., Codruţa Te., Elena Mi., Paula Vl., Maria & Andreea Je., Monica Ho., Moni Hă., Anca Ma., Florina He., Raluca Po., Cristina Tr., Petra Cr., Aniela Tâ., Rozy & Eugen Mi., Luminiţa Mu., Cristina & Florin Lu., Carmen Ci.

and to all the others who are reading, but I'm not aware of.

And sorry if I forgot to mention anybody who ever gave me feed-back!

Many thanks, Carmen Ho. & Mirela Iu. for the nice surprise you did today to us and... for reminding me it's my blog's birthday ;-)

,DEAR BLOG!

Blogging with ♥, Ralu

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Baby teething necklaces

At the beginning of the year I set a list of things I would love to do. Among them was also the making of hand stamped metal jewelry. Living in a small apartment, with a little child (soon with two), I reconsidered my wish and opted for a stiller activity. Here is the first baby teething necklace I have created; it has been offered as a baby-baptizing gift:

I consider it to be a great success, as mother of the baby didn't give too much credit to the label and she was sure I bought it from somewhere and I just added some nice words beside it!


And the second one goes to.... "Manana" - that's how Ilaria calls her soon-to-be-born sister, Maria ;-)



I love how they turned out and I hope lots more will follow. For the future I plan to open a shop on http://www.etsy.com/. Please tell me: have you ever heard about etsy until now? It offers great opportunities for selling / buying crafted goods.


As it's known, the materials (stones, amber, wood, pearls,...) have specific benefic effects on the person wearing them. Here are few words I've found on Internet regarding wearing amber necklaces by babies:
When a baby is wearing amber teething necklace on the skin, the skin's warmth releases healing oils from the amber (a resin) which are absorbed via the skin into the bloodstream. Amber is not a stone and therefore warm to the touch, as well as very comfortable and light to wear. Children wearing amber is a very old traditional custom in Europe and the Far East. Amber is known to reduce inflammation of the throat, ear and stomach and to fight inflammation, infections and respiratory disease. Traditional beaded amber necklaces are a less intrusive remedy for the pain and side effects of teething, such as lack of appetite, upset tummies, ear ache, fevers and colds. A natural analgesic, amber will help calm a baby without resorting to drugs. Amber's anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties are also recognized by allopathic medicine. These necklaces are long known for the healing properties of amber which include calmative, analgesic, antispasmodic, expectorant, and febrifuge (anti-fever) functions.


I hope I will be able to welcome you on my etsy shop soon!

♥,
Raluca
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Nothing lasts forever

"(...) It seemed to me during those early years of child raising that my sons' childhoods would go on forever. I couldn't imagine any life other than the one that consumed me right then, a life shaped by the joys and demands of raising young children.

(...) I missed my old world and its funny little inhabitants, those great big personalities still housed in small, sweet bodies. I missed my sons' kissable cheeks and round bellies, their unanswerable questions, their innocent faith, their sudden tears and wild, infectious giggles, even the smell of their morning breath, when they would leap, upon waking, from their own warm beds directly into ours. I missed the person I had been for them, too - the younger, more capable mother who read aloud for hours, stuck raisin eyes into bear-shaped pancakes, created knight's armor from cardboard and duct tape. Certainly my talents didn't seem quite so impressive anymore, my company not as desirable as it once had been. 

(...) It is, of course, a universal drama - children grow up, they leave home, clock tick in empty bedrooms, and untouched gallons of milk turn sour in the fridge because no one's there to drink them. Parents mourn the loss and, at the same time, discover the will to reinvent themselves. I know I'm not the first mother who's found it hard to let go, who's yearned for change only to resist it when it comes, who's found it painful at times to accept the fact that my sons are pulling away, moving out into lives of their own. Nor will I be the last."

Katrina Kenison, The Gift of an ordinary Day



I heart these words! She speaks to me! I've heard about the "empty nest syndrome" and I will suffer of it too, most probably. 

Life is a sequence of stages and none of them lasts forever.

We've stopped using the crib for Ilaria (since the beginning of September). The crib is waiting for the other baby now. Ilaria has grown up. She's not a baby anymore...

Due to this change of beds Ilaria entered a new stage of sleep: she sleeps less; she became a morning person (she wakes up at 7-8, instead of the precedent 9-10 interval); instead of signalling her awakening with her voice, the first noise we hear now is of her room's door opening; and, last but not least: if she's not really very tired, she needs one of us for falling asleep .

I know that instead of gaining time, now that the baby-girl's arrival is so close, we spend more and more time taking care of Ilaria. But I treasure so much the half hour per day spent near Ilaria, helping her to fall asleep! I love this new addiction on parents of her! I'm well aware that, as any other stage of her life, this one won't last forever either. For sure, when she will be 20, she won't come to us begging for a little of co-sleeping...

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Some of our little things

* On 8th of Sept. baby-girl was weighting around 2.3kg. We've finally decided for her name to be......... Maria!

* Sweet moments from our last photo shooting in Zărneşti (1.5 months ago already):

* Few weeks ago Ilaria got a new hair-cut. This time, not as dramatic as the previous one, even if it was again Mommy-made and this time with Daddy near us, kindly advising from time to time: "surely it should be cut shorter". In the end everybody was happy with the new look.

* We celebrate 3 weeks without stroller. It has been cleaned and prepared for baby-girl. Ilaria is just fine with the change. She knows and says: "acuciu bebe nani ( = căruciorul e ptr. bebe să facă nani în el)" (the stroller is for baby to sleep there). And she proudly walk long distances. It's funny how active she is when going outside with me and how tired she suddenly become when Adrian is around ;-)

* The longest sentence Ilaria said until now is 4 words long: "Taţi, Iaia, Tati nani! (= taci, Ilaria, Tati face nani)" (be quiet, Ilaria, Daddy is sleeping!), learned in an early Saturday morning.

* The funniest word Ilaria says is "maşina" (the car). In fact she calls it "amisi". When I teach her to spell it correctly, by telling her "ma-şi-na; maşina" she answers back with "ma-şan-ta" or "da" (yes) :-)

* Sometimes I forget that a quiet child is a troublemaker and I take advantage of some free minutes when Ilaria is busy with "something". When I go to check on her activity, sometimes I find such status:

Free time has to be payed with double time cleaning. But it worth it for a good memory and a good laugh... later.

Kisses!

♥

P.S.: I'm just enjoying now the most beautiful "Forgive me!" bouquet I've ever got:

Life is good! ;-)

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