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La Festa Grande in Onore Di Sant'Anastasia

There’s another festival in our city this week in honor of the patron saint of Motta—Saint Anastasia. This festival is only held every four years and it's serious. They kicked off the celebration at o’dark thirty on Thursday morning by lighting off fireworks in order to wake the saint, as well as me, my parents and the dogs. The fireworks have not stopped since! On Thursday evening we went to a historical parade with people wearing period costumes, waving flags and carrying banners. I didn’t enjoy my first parade as much as my parents had envisioned. I wanted to get down and run around and it was way too crowded so they wouldn’t let me so I got pretty cranky and we had to leave early. I was much happier running around on the side streets clapping my hands to the beat of the marching bands.

Due to my dislike of parades, we decided it was best to miss the religious procession last night and another one again this evening featuring the statue of St. Anastasia. Instead, Mom and I strolled the uphill cobblestone streets early this morning before the madness begins and went to "Chiesa Madre", the main church in Motta...

To get a glimpse of Saint Anastasia and have a moment with her all to ourselves...

Close, But No Cigar

There's a coffee bar in Motta that serves special hazelnut coffee that is absolutely delicious. It's no Dunkin Donuts iced coffee, but it's pretty darn good.

"Omigod, caffè alla nocciola è delizioso!"

Annual Motta Medieval Festival

The city we live in hosted a medieval festival last week. We strolled up to the castle after dinner to listen to music, watch the re-enactors, eat gelato, and people watch. It reminded my parents of the festivals in Germany except there was no beer chugging and public drunkenness. Oh well, it was still a good time!

Trattoria Dal Buongustaio

Buongustaio is our favorite restaurant in Motta. Maybe it's because the owner is Italian and his wife is German so there is a blend of cultures on the menu that you don't find in other restaurants in Sicily.

Maybe it's because they serve tasty bruscetta, fresh insalata caprese, mouthwatering mussels marinara, and a savory salmon with creamy peppercorn sauce.

Or maybe its just because they serve children's pasta cut up into tiny little bite size pieces and serve it on a Tweety plate. We love Buongustaio!

Buon Compleanno Paolo!

Since we really don't know Paolo's actual birthday, we celebrate the day my parents found him. Yesterday we threw Paolo a little surprise party for his unofficial birthday. I really think he was genuinely surprised!

It was two years ago that my parents found Paolo all skin and bones with his mouth taped shut in a boat yard near Portopalo. Salvatore, the boat rental guy, said that Paolo had been hit by a truck and had a broken jaw, hence the mouth taped shut. Mom cried and cried until Dad agreed to take the puppy home. The vet warned my parents that Paolo might not make it through the week. Paolo had an advanced respiratory infection and his nose was so badly deformed that he could barely breathe, but with lots of love and special care (two operations, nebulizer treatments and countless medications—Dad calls Paolo the €1000 free dog!) here he is two years later! We couldn't imagine our family without this little guy. Happy birthday sweet Paolo!

My First Sleepover

Yesterday was my parents 10 year anniversary so I spent the whole day and night at Bina's house so my parents could relax and celebrate. Since moving back to America and buying a house are on their list of things to do this year, they opted to celebrate with an inexpensive picnic on the beach and a night alone at home. The plan was to sleep in the next morning but of course Mom was wide awake at 6AM and Dad shortly after—go figure!

Ten Years!

Dear Trent,
Could it be that ten years have passed since we stood in the warm Plum Island sand and promised to always love and respect each other come rain or come shine? Is it possible that an entire decade slipped through our fingers? It seems like it was just yesterday and yet we have grown so much in these ten years that it seems like a lifetime ago. In a decade—we called Germany home, we lived the military life, we explored dozens of countries, we got in a lot of debt, we made friends, we lost touch with friends, we worked hard, we finished degrees, we adopted a dog, we missed our families, we lost loved ones, we called Italy home, we lived the civilian life, we worked hard, we got out of debt, we lost a dog, we adopted two more dogs, we missed our families, we traveled to exotic places, we made more friends, we lost some friends, we shared a dream—And now we have this beautiful baby boy who reminds us everyday how lucky we are to have found each other. Thank you for sharing a dream, making that dream come true and giving me ten wonderful years. I look forward to many more decades with you!
Love, Coleen

Fever!

I haven't been feeling too good for the past couple of days and yesterday my temperature spiked to 103.1! Mom and Dad took me to the doctor and he couldn't find anything wrong with me. The doctor chalked it up to teething and sent me home with Tylenol to help keep my temperature down and Happy Heiny for my very red bottom.

Welcome Home Daddy!

My dad had to work in Bahrain for a couple of weeks and I missed him a lot. Mom wishes she got the camera out in time to capture my excited face when Dad came walking out of the gate at the airport—it was priceless! She did capture Dad's happy face. Dad claims I've grown and changed so much in just three weeks.

Teething—Big Time!

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but principal one was, that they escaped teething." ~Mark Twain This smile is a rarity these days. My molars are coming in and I’ve been an absolute bear lately. The pediatrician told my mom to hold on tight because the molars make for a wild ride—Whee!

In case you were wondering...

how Mom was handling her three boys on her own while Dad is in Bahrain for a couple of weeks... We're doing just fine even if the Italians in our neighborhood look at us like the circus just strolled into town!

The Park

Mom has been taking me to the park a lot lately to wear me out. The spiral slide is my favorite and after about an hour of constant sliding, I do get pretty sleepy and then she gets a little break.

The Grocery Getter

The little car-carts at the commisary make grocery shopping fun!

Ghiaccioli To The Rescue

It's been a serious "scorchaahh" in Sicily for the past couple of days and there's no sign of relief any time soon. The temperature has been hovering around 110°. If you have never experienced this kind of heat, it's like blow drying your hair in a sauna. Bina introduced me to ghiaccioli (freeze pops) for a little relief from the swelter and I'm completely addicted. Bruco and Paolo dig them too!

Skee Ball

Mom is teaching me how to play skee ball. She claims to have been the Salisbury Beach Skee Ball Champion. I think she left her mad skills back in the 80's with her big hair, blue eyeshadow, acid-washed jeans and Flashdance sweatshirt.

If Babies Ruled The World...

Swim Lessons Continued

This morning at swim class, we put on life jackets and floated on our backs. As you can see, I hated it!

I did like the BIG water slide after class though. This makes going to class worth it!

I only flinch when I first hit the water then I laugh and want to go down the slide again and again.

Baby Einstein

Mom doesn't feel as guilty when she parks my butt in front of the television with a video if it has the word "developmental" attached to it. The people in the Baby Einstein marketing department are the real Einsteins here!

Granita Festa Alla Casa del Bina

Yesterday afternoon, Bina had a granita party at her house. The gelato/granita man, Orazio, came to her house and served his homemade frozen goodness. Orazio's truck is a familiar sight in my town. He drives his delicious truck up and down the steep hills of Motta blowing his whistle and stopping for anyone who waves him down for a refreshing treat. It's hard to describe granita, but I guess it's comparable to Italian ice in the States, but of course it's different and so much tastier in its native land. Granita is only made in the summer months and it's what Italians typically eat for breakfast. Yup, ice cream for breakfast! You should visit my friend Nicole's blog Pinch My Salt to read the post she wrote about this wonderful Italian summer treat.

I got mezzo limone e fragola (1/2 lemon and 1/2 strawberry). Granita is commonly served along side a brioche (buttery roll). Although the granita and brioche are supposed to be savored together, I gobbled down my granita first and then I nibbled at my brioche.

These are the children that Bina babysits—not all at once (although she’s so good with children she probably could handle all of us at once). Some of the children have already moved back to the States and have come back to Sicily for a visit because they missed Bina so much! Some are leaving in a few weeks and some in a few months (Me). At any rate, we all got together to celebrate this wonderful woman who has been like a Nonna to us. And what better way to celebrate than with granita!