We're all mad here

Well, not really alone. Sarah is - hopefully - sleeping upstairs, even though I can hear the occasional cough.
I was supposed to be in Rome this weekend for the wedding of Francesco's best man. We had planned this event for two months, including losing some weight to look presentable, buying new outfits to go with the sufficiently reduced body masses, buying the plane tickets, renting a car, buying presents and searching for the perfect thing to write on the card.
Once more my Grandma turned out to be correct when she told me: "With children planning is an adventure - and sometimes futile."
When Sarah started to throw up rather violently on Monday I already had the feeling that weddings in Italy and me are just not meant to be this year. The doctor confirmed my inkling. "No flying for this young lady." Francesco and Lea went yesterday and are hopefully having a great time with the Italian family, the warm weather and my mother-in-law's famous cooking.

So here I am, laptop where it belongs, namely on my lap, Heroes on TV, hot cup of tea beside me and, miracle of miracles, using my livejournal again. Lots of things have happened over the last couple of months; I'll try to keep it short, though.

Francesco changed job over the summer and is now working for an American company. He started off with a training in Michigan that lasted 6 weeks; fortunately the company is very family-friendly and offered to bring the girls and me along as well. We gladly accepted.
Those 6 weeks in Grand Rapids were a very strange mixture of exciting and uneventful. We didn't really "do" that many things, at least the way my husband sees it. We didn't go sightseeing all that much, since the girls don't respond well to long drives in the car. They like to be able to get up and move, stretch their legs. I guess they are taking after me in that respect. So we stayed in the area, went to Lake Michigan a couple of times, enjoyed Downtown and Gaslight Village, saw many parks and ballparks.
The excitement was in meeting so many new people, getting glimpses into lives that were vastly different from ours or thrillingly similar.
Personally I learned a lot about tolerance and open-mindedness, about expectations and prejudices.
I dare to say we actually made some friends over there and even though we hadn't anticipated it, leaving was actually hard on us.

The welcome we got from family and friends upon returning was overwhelming. It made me realize that we actually have a rather important place in the local community, that people depend on us, that certain routines run less smoothly without us. That felt good. It still does.

Sarah has started kindergarten by now. After the initial struggle to let go, which was mine as much as hers, we are both doing rather well. She has taken huge steps in these short weeks, especially language-wise. She is the youngest in her group and has to fight hard to be accepted as "one of the kids" and not just another baby doll, but she is doing fine, winning most of the time.

Lea has a best friend, Luisa. Those two spend every available moment together and fortunately include Sarah in their games. Apart from the usual testing of rules and parental patience and consequence the Morbiducci household is a quiet and peaceful place at the moment.
And I enjoy and cherish this time with all my heart.

( I'm a big help )
I didn't realise it was this big, sorry guys. Somehow on my journal it simply fits the page.

My little one explicitly asked for a "Harry Potter" on her wish list for Christmas. Now, I am all for this and really want to make a Harry Potter puppet for her. Alas, I only have experience with string puppets and those are not exactly the right thing for a 2-year-old. I imagine what she wants id more the cuddly sort of thing.
Does anyone out there have experience in making those kind of puppets, cuddly, soft and (preferably) washable? Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks, folks!

Tat's all I really have, a moment.

Thanks to the combination of buying a house and having a crappy, malfunctioning computer we did not only miss sibylle's birthday and party, but didn't even manage to send her an email to apologize for this. I hope she will accept our humble apology now and forgive us. We already received a punishment, missing not only the party but also the chance to see so many friends. *buaaaaaaahhhhhhh :-(*

At least the house is making progress - well, not the house, the work inside the house. you know what I mean. Every room except for the kitchen has a fresh white ceiling (some work after 35 years of smoking inside every single room) and new wallpaper. The bathroom has new tiles, a bathtub and a shower, the toilet and the sink have already been delivered and patiently wait to be installed.

The kitchen and the entrance will get their new floor in the coming week and the carpet for the upper floor will arrive the week after. The hall and stairway should be painted by the end of next week as well.
We have a deadline, since we have to leave the apartment by September 30; it looks like we are going to make it, however.

FunACon has been fun, but way too short. Since my father-in-law and Francesco were working on the house I had a bad conscience to stay more than one day and it is kind of hard to talk to all the people you have missed for over a year in just a few hours - at least if you want to say something meaningful and really listen to what they have to say. Next year will be different, hopefully. Either I'll have the chance to go there without Lea or I will go Sunday insteadof Saturday when there is less official programme.

Lea fell, not for the first time, but for the first time on solid stone. The concept of stopping her fall with her hands and arms hasn't occured to her yet (either that or she hopes to be a pianist one day and wants to save her hands), so she looks kind of dramatic right now.
"Oh dear, did she fall?"
No, I dragged her nose across a wall. Of course she fell, stupid old lady! How else do you think she managed to burn the tip of her nose?

Apart from that we are still waiting for news, preferably good ones, concerning our laptop. Francesco can't bring his office computer home every evening and I am really starting to miss the net.

Almost 21:15 and Lea is still sleeping. Let's hope for the best. I'll join my husband now, before he starts complaing that I never have time for him, and wish all of you a good night and lots and lots of fun at Sib's party to the lucky ones who made it there.

Ich hab Euch lieb!

No, she is not walking yet, but she has her own joournal now.
Welcome leamorbiducci!