anniversary

Today marks the two week anniversary of moving our parents in. We celebrated with food, of course. I made a fun waffle and blueberry breakfast this morning. Dad's waffles were "raw" so I had to pop them back into the toaster oven. I'm learning how to perfect their favorite foods. They both like their waffles really brown.

Also learned not to put mayonnaise on their tuna salad sandwiches. The preference is olive oil and lemon. Makes sense, doesn't it?

Small spoon with ice cream, big spoon with cereal.

Real plate (not paper) with anything saucy.

Hunt's tomato sauce is the best.

Shepherd's bread for dad. Wheat for mom.

Whole milk for coffee.

Orange marmalade for dad. Strawberry for mom.

Thermostat set at 76 degrees.

Oh yeah, and toilet paper role with the paper rolling up and over not down and under.

After two weeks, I think I'm getting it down! (Patting myself on the back!)

We are all adjusting really well and everyone is settling in nicely.

Dad takes his daily walk out the back door, down one step, turn the corner, walk the side yard to the front gate and back inside.

Mom ventures out a little further. She takes her walker and one of my girls and walks the length of our street under the shade trees. I'm proud of her.

This week we are taking her to the movies to see Despicable Me and then out to lunch.

When her granddaughter comes in two weeks, we are planning on making pizza. OH! You haven't eaten pizza like this, I guarantee!

It's good to have things to look forward to.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight, because we ordered in!

Brighton Ashleigh

Look out world, here she comes!

My cell phone rang this morning at 4 am. It was Ryan, my friend Listay's husband. "We are on our way to the hospital." I've been "on call" for a few weeks, as I have the amazing privilege of being in the birth room to support my friend through her labor.

I've never been on this end of it before and I'm very excited.

Right now it is 4:30 pm. Contractions are 1.5 minutes apart and the nurses think she will deliver before 6 pm.

This is their first baby. It's a girl. We all consider her a miracle. After years of trying with a lot of heartbreak, this little baby girl is a huge answer to prayer. So many of us have prayed for this baby girl for the entire 9 months, through every prenatal milestone and preterm contraction.

Now she's almost here. I can't wait to meet her!

Don't know her name yet, but the clue is she will be named after a coastal town with eight letters in it.

This day has been a wonderful reprieve from unpacking boxes. I haven't been this relaxed with this much time on my hands in months. I just thanked Listay for this great vacation day.

Ryan just told me that this baby will be the 10th generation born in San Jose from one of the original founders of this city. Pretty cool genealogy.

More pictures of our miracle baby to come....

Sunday Dinner

Mario's childhood is full of memories of his extended family gathering every Sunday for dinner, laughter and card playing. From what I see of old pictures, there were some fun, crazy Italian dinners. Now that his parents are here, we decided to do the same thing. We call it "Sunday Dinner". Clever, I know. We had our first official Sunday dinner last night. We ate, shared funny old stories, drank wine and enjoyed a summer evening together. Mom and Dad loved it. Maria was talking today about how nice all of our friend were. She was in a very happy mood today, so I know it lifted her spirits to have wonderful friends around the house. It had the same effect on all of us! It's a weekly event now. If you are reading this blog and post a comment, you just may get an invitation very soon!

Reflecting

I'm 41. It's been a long time since I've lived with a mother. I've been THE mother. But not anymore. This makes for a very interesting dynamic in our house ( I almost wrote my house, but this really is a joint living situation, so I write our). I've been criticized on several occasions this week over very small and funny things. (Why do I always under cook the pasta? Don't I know what al dente is? Why are the sheets wrinkled?) I've noticed the "little girl" in me wanting to fight back, defend, and pout. Isn't this the typical mother/daughter relationship? I see it happening between me and Madeline all the time. How strange to be in the daughter (albeit daughter-in-law) role! How very strange to be another daughter in the house. This was unexpected!

The beauty of this whole thing is that I'm not a little girl anymore. The woman in me has grown to a point where I do not have to give in to those feelings of wanting to fight back in retaliation. Or the even stronger feelings of RESENTMENT. Isn't it marvelous that I can recognize growth in myself? And here's the secret to the growth: I know who I am. I really do! I know that I am Cheryl, a beloved daughter of the Most High God. At my truest core of personhood, I belong to God and I am secure in the fact that He loves me with an intimate love, and a deep knowing. In Him I live and move and breathe. This crazy, deep, secure sense of well being makes it possible to withstand almost anything life throws my way. Even a little bit of criticism from my dear mom-in-law. She really is dear, you know.

So I will let her be one of the mothers in our house and love the time I get to spend with her. And once in a while, when I feel a little pouty-ness coming on, I will refer back to this blog to remind myself of what is true.

Morning happenings...

This morning after pancake saturday, Nonna and I made Beschamel sauce for tomorrow's Sunday Dinner. (Recipe to follow).

Nonno sat and

sketched his second canvas which he and I

are going to paint together. At 92, he's still

quite the artist!

Maria’s White sauce for baked Pasta al forno

½ cup butter melted in a pot

add ½ flour to make a rue

In separate pot, heat ½ gallon whole milk

Add to rue a ladle at a time

Add to rue and milk mixture a piece of onion, one bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste , a pinch of nutmeg and ½ cup of grated parm. Cheese.

Stir constantly until sauce is slightly thickened. Allow to cool in pot. Cover and Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

4 square meals

One of the hardest adjustments in caring for mom and dad so far is living and working by a schedule. My free spirit is definitely resisting this. But deep down I know it's good for me. Each meal must be planned in advance because they eat four times a day at very specific times. (This does not include Dad's 4:30 am morning coffee, which I prepare in the automatic coffee maker the night before.)

• Breakfast at 8 am. (Except for Pancake Saturdays, typical fare is oatmeal, toast and coffee, and maybe a fig or two)
• Lunch at 12:30 (They like soup twice a week, and also enjoy cold cuts and leftovers)
• A quiet rest between 1 and 4 pm. (No little boys running up and down the stairs...we try to keep it quiet in the house, or at least make this our errand time).
• Afternoon tea at 4 pm (with honey and milk and a little sweet cookie)
• Dinner at 6 pm (This is where I get to learn new recipes from mom like those cool stuffed artichokes.)
• A wild-sometimes-yelling-match game of cards after dinner.
• Retire to separate rooms for TV until 9 pm.

Whew! I'm tired just reading this. Tomorrow is our week anniversary....(Parents-in-law moved in last Saturday). After a few weeks, I think we will all get very used to this and even really like it. It takes the mystery out of each day to be sure!

A note to my family who reads this: Mom and Dad are settling down and resting well each day. They seem very happy, though Mom is in obvious pain from her back and shoulder. She just bought a very good full size bed at Sleep Train that will be delivered on Sunday. We've had her in a twin which is just too small for her. She was so fun to shop with. She kept talking the lady down on the price of the mattress and headboard and got a great deal! I loved watching her negotiate. She's a pro!