Guest Poets: My Mom and Tiziana

Ode to Nutella.

Nutella mixed with peanut butter
Nutella mixed with ricotta
Nutella mixed with sour cream
Nutella over strawberries
Nutella and Oro Saiwa cookies
Nutella and fresh, crunchy bread
Nutella for breakfast
Nutella for lunch
Nutella for snack
GOOOOD NUTELLA

NONNA Massimilla
(Thank you)

(comment from yesterday's post)

Then this, from my Aunt, Tiziana:

Piange a urla il tuo bambino?
Puoi mangiarne un cucchiaino!
Stai passando qualche guaio?
Prendine subito un bel cucchiaio!
Torna a casa il marito nervoso?
Un cucchiaione e un po' di riposo.
Se sei triste o ti fanno arrabbiare
la NUTELLA ti può consolare!

translation (although it sounds better in Italian!):
Is your child crying?
You can give him a spoonful!
Are you going through some troubles?
Immediately grab a spoon!
Does your husband come home all grumpy?
A spoonful and a little rest.
If you are sad or someone makes you mad
NUTELLA can comfort you.

Where's Mom?

Answer:

Sitting on a stool in the pantry

and eating Nutella straight from the jar.

Just a Mom moment ...

"Off With Their Heads!"

WHAT IS IT ABOUT DECAPITATION IN OUR HOUSE?

THIS . . . YESTERDAY.

THIS . . . A FEW MONTHS AGO.

I KNOW THREE LITTLE SOMEBODIES

WHO ARE GOING TO BE IN BIG TROUBLE

IF THIS DOESN'T STOP.

I'M JUST SAYING . . .

Friday Family Night

Using our formula of faith, food, and fun here was this week's family night:

faith: read about St. John Bosco (even though his feast day was January 31st, we were busy last weekend and had to wait until today)

God of mercy, You called St. John Bosco to be a father and teacher of the young. Grant that, inspired by his ardent charity, we may serve you alone and never tire of bringing others to your kingdom.

food: pizza (he was from Italy) and ice-cream (in honor of his work with boys)

fun: since St. John Bosco entertained children with juggling and other carnival acts, we put on a puppet show. We selected a parable and divided into teams to act it out (my husband and I did the Feeding of the Five Thousand; the two older boys did The Good Samaritan)

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

(my husband drew Jesus and the disciples . . . the boys couldn't stop laughing.)

The Good Samaritan
(guess which character was robbed and beaten?)

The Parable of the Four-Year-Old
(we're not sure what parable this is, but he did say "Jesus" a lot)

I Know Nothing

I mentioned in yesterday's post a kindergarten buddy named Eric Butterball. His name has been part of our family history for years . . . Bia's "first boyfriend". Just mentioning him always generated some good-natured laughter.

Apparently, the joke was on me.

Yesterday my Dad, ever so calmly and matter-of-factly, left a comment informing me that the name wasn't Butterball, but Butterbaugh.

Well. WELL. All this time I thought my family was laughing at this cute little redhead with the cute little name who had this cute little kindergarten crush on Bia. But noooooo. They were laughing at me.

For 41 years I thought he was Butterball . . . actually, make that almost 42 years . . . today is my birthday.

But then again, maybe it isn't. What do I know?

Way Back When-esday

Call me a copycat. I saw Laura's old school photo and just had to post mine: Miss Rosnow's kindergarten class in Darmstadt, Germany. (Both photos are from the same time period . . . oh, those 70's colors! But, isn't it peculiar that our teachers look very similar?)

I am the tall girl in the middle row with the red tie (HUH?!). My best friend, Sissy, is the cute one with pony tails. The only other person I remember is the redhead boy on the last row . . . his name was Eric Butterball (and no, there is nothing wrong with my memory; that so was his name).

My one and only distinct kindergarten memory is of throwing up in the hallway outside the principal's office. Niiiiiice.

Check out Laura and Cheryl for some more Way Back When-esday fun.

What's a Girl to Do...

...when the men in her life are watching the Superbowl?

announce she's cheering for the Steelers when everyone else is going for the Cardinals

set up a card table and work on a 500 piece puzzle

watch the commercials

bring out some snacks

put the little one to bed

watch some more commercials

finish the boarder of the 500 piece puzzle

watch the halftime show (Bruce Springsteen: Sigh.)

after halftime ask, "What's the score?" and pretend not to understand why everyone is grumpy

make herself a steaming cup of tea

call her sister

and as everyone heads quietly up to bed refrain from asking, "So, who won?"