New beginnings

We just said goodbye to our language learning consultant a few days ago. She went back to Germany and we are ready to jump into our new language program. She left with us a good set of tools and inspiration for which we are so thankful. I have been feeling super discouraged about my Italian (and just life in general) since last September and I wasn't sure why. Now I know that it was partly because i simply didn't have any time anymore to put into Italian study and my plateau was the result of that. No input, no growth.
So we are back into full-time language study. Just this fact itself took away the majority of my stress I have felt in the last period of my life. Not being able to communicate on the level that I wanted to made me feel miserable. I feel like just in the last few days I have made more improvement than in the last 6 months. This might not be accurate but it feels that way. Maybe a simple confidence boost and a big dose of inspiration is all I needed. I don't know.
Here is Scott at his desk "massaging" the texts we got from our language session.

And here is little old me looking through some new materials I gotta work on.

Meanwhile sweet Benjamin is working on serious stuff, drawing superheroes.

And of course Carneval-time is here.

Coming home from church on Sunday. He wasn't of course wearing his Spiderman costume but he put on his mask in the car. It was actually pretty freaky seeing him in my rearview mirror....ugh...

Our first time eating Polenta. I know! We have been living in Italy for a year and a half now and still havent tried one of their local and national delicacies... It was our sweet neighbors who gave us some and it was very good! It had parmesan in it too, and the sauce had meat and sausage in it.

A very clear view of the big mountains around us.

Benjamin was invited to one of his classmate's birthday party at the mall. Happy Birthday Sofia!

It is always a good time to just sit and chat with the other mamas, get to know them, hear what they have to say, talk about school, family and other things. It is a great opportunity to practice the language and build relationships.

Benjamin was invited to one of his classmate's birthday party at the mall. Happy Birthday Sofia!

Calm yourself!

Almost 7 months pregnant!! Yay!!!

Next Thursday I'm entering the third trimester. Time goes so fast, hard to believe!! I'm getting more and more anxious about the labor and delivery. Mostly I guess because I have (obviously) never given birth in an Italian hospital. It's not like third world or anything like that, it is just different. I am not confident in Italian yet either, especially when it comes to medical terminology, ugh. I pray and hope that everything will go smooth, no major complications.

5 ways to calm myself down

1. Take a walk

Exercise is a great stress reliever in itself, as it helps to blow off steam and releases endorphins, they say. It can also provide you with some perspective so you can return in a new frame of mind. I like walking out with my phone and taking interesting pictures of buildings and plants. Then Instagram them. :) Walking is becoming harder and harder these days, my belly feels sooo heavy and sore. So I'm trying to take it easy and rest more. 

2. Take a breath

If you are not in a position to leave your house, like you have little ones, or not feeling well enough physically, you can feel better right away by practicing breathing exercises. Getting more oxygen into your body and releasing physical tension are two ways that breathing exercises can benefit you. Simple and works. When I find myself hyperventilating over stuff this can be an instant relief. 

3. Take a mental break

Steal away a few minutes and DO SOMETHING ELSE. Even dishes. Doesn't matter. Just hush away your worrisome thoughts. 

4. Evaluate your situation

Sometimes we just have to step back and look at our situation differently. If you can look at it in a different perspective, that might help you identify the real source of your stress and that in itself can be the first step in winning over it. I always ask Scott when in doubt or distress. "Could you please put this in perspective for me?" He is awesome at that. I always feel better about whatever BIG stress I felt before. Come on! It's not like I have to give birth in the jungle. It is a modern hospital with doctors and nurses to care for you! And yes, you can speak well enough!  

5. Pray

And finally the most important thing you can do: PRAY. God is infinitely loving and caring, who else would you discuss your problems with rather than with the One who made you?

Sometimes the source of stress won't change. You will. Trust Him to be with you in whatever circumstances you find yourself in. 

Chilly but sunny afternoon. We are going to a birthday party that Benjamin was invited to.

Super fun game

The Melchionda family

Best pizza I've eaten

Meal plan for next week

I have been so uncomfortable these days. Especially around my bladder, baby keeps kicking me in the worst places. Anyway.

Next week we are gonna have a language consultant from Germany visiting us pretty much for the whole week. She is gonna evaluate our achieved level of Italian among other things. I would lie if I said I'm not a ted nervous. 

This is my planned meal schedule for next week: 

Monday

Lunch | Greek lemon chicken rice soup, tortilla chips

Supper | Sloppy Joes

Tuesday

Lunch | Cheeseburger soup, bread

Supper | Teriyaki chicken, broccoli, rice

Dessert | Madeleine cookies

Wednesday

Lunch | Chicken paprikash, mini dumplings, salad

Supper | Chicken sate, rice, peanut sauce

Dessert | Cowboy cookies

Thursday

Lunch | Hungarian soup with sausage, mushrooms and sour cream, bread, crepes

Supper | sandwiches

Snack | cheesy croissants

Friday

Lunch | Chicken fingers, mashed potatoes, mayo corn salad

Supper | gluten-free pizza, potato pizza take-out, salad

Dessert | Walnut baskets

Saturday

Chinese General Tso's chicken, rice, cabbage slaw 

Sunday

Pasta

Best homemade teriyaki sauce

I love breakfast but I hate making it. That's probably the biggest pain of the day, what to make for breakfast. Usually we just have open face sandwiches with butter or cream cheese, salami, ham, meat, cheese on them but on mornings like this...when we are out of ham and salami I have to come up with something else. And quick! Okay, we have pancakes or crepes often too, but we just had them for supper last night. Hence the cucumber sandwiches.

Oh, and when I sliced the panini, these cute little bunnies came out of it.

My boys after a tirering homework session. 😫

Okay! The highlight of my day was this homemade teriyaki sauce!

After work in the office I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what to make for lunch. Usually I like cooking but these days I'm totally uninspired. And unmotivated. 

I closed my eyes and imagined that we sit in Logan's and order teriyaki chicken with mashed potatoes and House salad with blue cheese dressing on the side. Mmm yumm!

I decided to recreated that meal. I didn't have any teriyaki saice so I went to the source of all knowledge, Pinterest of course, and found this very simple recipe. I was sceptic at first but the results spoke for themselves. Wonderful thick and sweet teriyaki sauce ummmmmm. I sent those little chicken dudes for a swim in the sauce and they were haaaaaaappy!!

Oh. The recipe of course:

TERIYAKI SAUCE

* 1 and a half cup of cold water

* 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 

* 1/2 cup soy sauce

* 1 teaspoon garlic powder

* 3 Tablespoon corn starch

* 1 teaspoon sesame oil

* sesame seeds

Which and boil the sauce for a few minutes on high until the syrup thickens. 

Link here: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/03/teriyaki-sauce-in-ten-minutes/

BEautiful, crisp and clear day in Petacciato.

Somebody had a bad day at school....

Higher, papa!!!

Funny "English" phrases in my new notebook I bought at the Chinese store.

Sick day

Benjamin still had the fever yesterday so we decided to give him one more day at home, recovering. So we spent the whole day at home, together, peacefully. It was great, actually, we got a lot of language study done. Benjamin discovered my prism and had fun playing with the light.

I read an article in italian on Emma Watson and her feminist nonsense...hehe... I think she has good intentions but she might be a little bit naive. Anyhoo.....

Husband spoke at a little African church on Sunday and they took this photo of the group. Interesting that no one is smiling in the picture except for Scott.

I don't know why but this photo haunts me. I absolutely adore the lady's hat in the middle.