Just booked my next vacation

Tuscan Country Estate near Quaint Medieval Village

In the fertile plains of Tuscany, at the foot of the Pratomagno Mountains, lies a small village known as Il Borro. Perched atop a rocky spur, the town looks like something out of a Renaissance painting—it has cobbled roads, stone bridges, rustic stucco buildings, and blooming gardens. This luxurious Tuscan getaway from Great Value Vacations puts you in the heart of this storied landscape, within easy driving distance of some of Italy’s most iconic attractions, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the cities of Florence and Siena. The five idyllic seaside villages known collectively as Cinque Terre are also easily accessible by car.

The vacation includes a seven-night stay in a private, two-bedroom farmhouse at the elegant Il Borro Estate as well as roundtrip economy-class airfare to Florence and an intermediate-size car rental (with manual transmission) for the duration of your visit. Click here for more info on the trip.

Set on a palatial 1,700-acre swath of verdant Tuscan countryside, Il Borro Estate is owned by the Ferragamo family, which is renowned for its wine. The Ferragamos grow five varieties of grapes across 99 acres; you’ll have a chance to tour the winery and taste the fruits of their labor during your visit.

A scenic stroll brings you to your farmhouse, which has been restored using traditional materials and rural architectural methods. Inside, you'll find a welcome bottle of wine from Il Borro vineyard and two spacious bedrooms outfitted with elegant décor. Each farmhouse overlooks a swimming pool, and most are surrounded by gardens. Each morning, you can dig into a hearty Italian breakfast.

Outdoor pursuits on offer include horseback riding, hot air balloon rides, fishing, and open-air speed readings of Dante’s Inferno. At the estate's restaurant, Osteria del Borro, chefs prepare handcrafted dishes using ingredients grown on the surrounding estate wherever possible.

Doesn't this sound wonderful? I wish I was there right now.Now just to win the lottery so I can really book a vacation here.

10 Mistakes I Hope My Kids Make

Like all parents, I have many hopes and dreams for  my kids. Since they were mere embryos in my uterus, I have imagined their futures overflowing with love and happiness. Of course, I want them to have rich, fulfilling lives, where goals are achieved and triumphs are celebrated. However, I also want them to make mistakes and learn from their missteps. Most importantly, I want them to live without the regret that they never took a chance. As Sophia Loren once said, "Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life."

I compiled a list of the top ten blunders that I hope my children accomplish before they are too old to know better. Granted, I am writing this list when my kids are still young and innocent, at ages where sneaking an extra gummy vitamin is considered a time-out worthy rebellion. I trust completely that this list will dramatically change in the coming years.

But for now, I hope they:

1. Get a tattoo
Just one. Somewhere discreet, where they can easily cover it and conceal it from disapproving grandparents and fathers.

2. Piss off the in-crowd
At least once, I hope that they stand against the popular group. I want them to know how it feels to be on the outside, the minority in the dreary middle school subculture. May this give them the empathy to treat all, even the crazy people on the street, with respect and tolerance.

3. Color outside the lines
Although they already do this very well, I hope that they keep the ability. Who needs a perfectly decorated picture of Cinderella? I much prefer the ones with crazy purple hair, black glass slippers and scary looking mice. I hope that they continue to practice their artistic rebellions.

4. Break curfew
I trust that there will be a time in high school when all of her friends are going to a midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and she is too afraid to ask permission so she just goes. The thrill of the experience will be well worth the two-week grounding period that will follow.

5. Date a bad boy (or girl)
I firmly believe that every teenager needs to do this once and only once. When the relationship ends (as it inevitably will), the experience may help them to weed the rest of the losers from the bunch.

6. Fully embrace the latest fad hairstyle (monster bangs, the shag, a mullet)
Everyone needs no less than one yearbook photo that makes them throw-up a bit in their mouths. However, experimentation is the passageway to finding your true self (or hairstyle).

7. Skip school
And have the wisdom to know when it is appropriate to do so. The day before a mid-term? No. The day after the mid-term? Yes.

8. Question authority figures
Not all the time, but once in a while, when it is well-deserved. And never me, of course.

9. Embarrass themselves
I vividly remember my bona fide version of the "arriving at school naked" anxiety dream. I accidentally tucked the back of my skirt into my underwear and strutted off to Social Studies. Yes, it was embarrassing, and I did spend the rest of the day hiding in the girls' bathroom, but I learned that I was stronger than I had known. Because I could live through the shame of flashing my bum to half the freshmen class, the rest of high school was tolerable.

10. Have sex before marriage
I pray that my children do not save their "special gift" for their wedding night. It has been my observation that chastity just leads to teenage weddings and massive disappointment on the big day.
Maybe in ten years this list will come back to bite me in the ass, but I'll always have the delete button and my highly-honed ability to deny everything.

Whoa, horsey!

 

Jack's 3!!

#57- Go to a birthday party

We went to Jack's house today to help celebrate his 3rd birthday. Can't believe he's 3 already! He's getting to be such a big boy. The kids were very happy because Auntie Helen had a cake buffet! 3 or 4 different kinds of cake for them to choose from. We all came home happy and full of sweets.

Ice cream samiches

#90 - Make homemade ice cream sandwiches

Here's one of our repeat list items from last year. I like it because it's cheap. The kids love it because it's yummy. Both years my intention is to bake cookies and use them to make the sandwiches. Needless to say these are store bought ones again. The boys opted for mini cookies over regular size ones. Their reason...because then they could have more ice cream sandwiches. They get their brains from me.

Connecticut or Bust

#98- Visit Connecticut

#42-Visit a museum

 

#42 - Visit a museum (repeat)  

#76 - Eat dinner outside

#31 - Visit a lighthouse in Connecticut

Jamestown, RI

#28- Visit 2 lighthouses in Rhode Island

#7 - Find a seashell on the beach

#84 - Photograph a tall ship

#21 - Swim in the ocean

#80 - Go to a new beach

Wicked Pissah Chowdahfest

Still continuing on with our summer list of things to do.

#4 - Ride a ferry

On Sunday, July 1st we took the ferry from Quincy to Long Wharf to partake in Boston's annual Harborfest.

#75 - Eat lunch outside

One reason we went into the big city was for Dan, Becca & John to go to Chowderfest or as a true Bostonian would say ChowDAHfest. We took the ferry because it would bring us just a quick walk away from City Hall Plaza where the Chowderfest was being held. Joe and I brought the three chowdah heads to the plaza and then headed back to the Quincy Marketplace food court for us to select our own lunch. We chose sub sandwiches and ate them outside. Cha-ching! Cross # 75 off the list. 

#84 - Photograph a tall ship

The main reason we went into Harborfest was to see the tall ships. (I knew in advance when making this year's list that the tall ships would be in for this year's Harborfest.) I love seeing the tall ships. We picked riding the ferry in town over taking the train so we could see the ships from the water side in addition to the pier side. Our initial plan was to eat lunch and then walk to Fish Pier where the majority of ships were docked. Sunday had public viewing hours of both the tall ships and also the naval ship USS Wasp. After lunch though, the dark clouds rolled in. Plus the walk from Long Wharf to Fish Pier seemed a lot further than we thought. So we didn't get to go on the ships but they sure were pretty to look at.

We slathered up the sunscreen before leaving the house in the morning. The kids were fine except just a touch of redness of Becca's nose and cheeks. I got a little extra sun than I wanted though. I forgot a hat so my forehead, nose and chest got a little toasted but not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

 

#3 - Sell lemonade

After last summer's very successful lemonade stand, I added it back to this year's list. The boys made signs to put up at the end of the street and at the table with the price of their lemonade-50 cents per cup. Saturday, June 30th they set up their stand at the end of the driveway. Things were a little slow to start but after 3 hours they ended with $18.60. (Odd amount due to tips for their outstanding service.) Later Dan said he wanted to go back to Florida in August. I said, "Oh really? And who's going to pay for that?" He said, "Me. We'll have a lemonade stand everyday to pay for it." My little entrepreneur.

#23 - Swim in an above-ground pool

We are very fortunate to have wonderful neighbors who let us use their pool in the summer. On June 30th, while Daddy and Joe went to a Revolution soccer game, Dan, Becca & I were invited to go swimming at The Vierra's. Ahh, I love swimming just before dusk on a humid night. Here's Becca trying out her new swim vest. She had grown out of her old one. I love using these swim vests compared to arm swimmies.

Beaches, Boats & Fireworks, Oh my!!

#12 - Go fishing at a lake

#25 - Swim in a lake

#48 - Paddle a watercraft

#15 - Watch fireworks

What a great summer night at the beach

 #94- Ride 4 of 8 Antique Carousels in MA

Massachusetts is home to 8 antique carousel rides. Some are far away so I put our goal for this summer to ride 1/2 of them. Maybe next summer's list will be to ride the other half.  Tonight we drove to Hull to Nantasket Beach. The old amusement park that used to be there is gone but this carousel remains from those long ago days. The inside of the building was crowded with overpriced souvenoir crap to buy. Really crowded with it. Maybe I'm spoiled from Pawtucket's Looff Carousel down the street from us. Their rides are 25 cents each and go super fast. The rides in Hull were $2.25 and lasted a while but didn't go nearly as fast. Not fast enough to keep you cool on a hot, summer day. At least not this momma.

#73- Ride a carousel horse

A nice thing about this carousel is that 3 out of 4 horses in each row moved up & down. On some carousel rides, the horses don't move which is kind of poopy. This one in Hull had 4 horses across each row and the only that didn't move up & down was the outside one.

Becca, with her love of horses, had a grand ole time. She kept hollering, "Horsey, horsey!" The boys both enjoyed the ride also. Joe rode another horse and Dan rode in one of the chariots. Each time he'd go around, by the time he got to John who was taking pictures, he'd move to another spot within the chariot. It was funny.

# 81- Go to an old beach

Last summer when we went to Nantasket to go swimming, it was disgusting! Absolutely disgusting and I said we'd never go back. I didn't bring anyone's bathing suit, partly for this reason and partly because we didn't leave our house till 4pm on a Friday afternoon to head down route 3 to Hull. After riding the carousel, we walked around the cheesiest Harborwalk in New England. There were signs designating it as a Harborwalk, but basically all it was was a walk through a parking lot and marina.

From our cheesy walk, we headed back across the road to the beach. Becca had begged to see the beach. When we got up to the seawall, we saw it was high tide. Just like it always is when we go to the beach. (I really need to start checking the tide times before we head out). Some people were in the ocean swimming but a bunch of teenage boys were standing in the water, holding onto the cement wall of the ramp that brings you down to beach level. They had their backs to the ocean, waiting for a wave to come in. When the wave crashed into the wall it would send a wall of water straight up about 10 feet that would come crashing down on the boys, soaking them. It was a riot watching them. The way they were standing against the wall, waiting for the wave, made it look like the cops had pulled them over and they were waiting to be frisked. When the wave did crash down on them, they would burst out laughing and chuckling.

Of course, watching this made the kids want to do it too. Being a mother, all I could vision was my children either getting smashed into the seawall and getting really hurt or a giant rip tide sucking them out into the open ocean, drowning them because I was too far away, being up on the sidewalk above and 50 yards away from the beach access entrance.  Finally, I pushed my anxiety aside and let John take them down the ramp with explicit instructions not to get wet.  Well, you can see from the photos how well he listened.

It was hard to get mad when they were all having so much fun. Giggles, laughter, big ear-to-ear grins, shrieks of delight. It's times like this that make me happy to be a mom. And happy to be the mom of these three kids.  It makes the sibling bickering and yelling and fighting and tattle-tailing, the "mom, she touched me!, "mom he poked me!" "mom, she looked at me!" comments disappear. I'm reminded that nothing is as important as a child's happiness. And that sometimes all it takes for a child to be happy is family love and togetherness and the bending of some rules.    

My Joseph, future heartbreaker of America.



School Year Albums

Yesterday was a yucky weather day. I was woken up at 8:30am by my daughter coming into my bedroom crying about a thunderstorm waking her up and scaring her. Sure enough big bangs of thunder clapped 2 seconds after she finished her sentence. That was enough to propel her over the footboard of my bed, under the covers and lying next to my head in 1.2 seconds. 5 minutes later my middle child comes in saying the thunder scared him too.

The thunderstorm managed to stick around, terrorizing my children and dog, for 3 hours. Just as I thought it had moved away another clap of thunder would ring out. On top of the lousy weather, Joe started complaining of a sore throat and had a slight fever. Off I sent him back to bed.

I didn't really have anything planned to do from our list of 101 Summer Things to Do and now between the thunderstorm and the sick child it didn't look like we would be doing anything.

Instead, I worked on the boys' School Year albums.

Dan's is the brown album on left. Joe's is the green album on right.

I made Daniel's after his kindergarten year. I wanted a simple album about his school years.

I used a 8x8 top loading album that came with 10 page protectors. I used the same layout on every page with one page for each grade K through twelve grade. I gathered a few pieces of paper that coordinated together, some cardstock and chipboard numbers. I put a 2 inch piece of pattern paper at the top of page, added a strip of cardstock to mat each  year's school photo with. On top of the mat, above the photo is a strip of cardstock with the grade level and a chipboard number to match. To finish it off, I print out the same set of questions (Questions are listed at end of this post.) each year about the school year with Dan's answers, cut them into strips and adhere them around the photo.

At the end of the book in the extra pages, I put his class photos, report cards, and awards he received.

For Joseph's book, I used a different set of coordinated school papers and followed the same layout design.

I did add a twill ribbon border between the pattern paper and cardstock.

One thing I did differently from Dan's book is the background cardstock. In Dan's book I was trying to keep the bulk down so I only used 1 sheet of background cardstock per page protector and used both sides of it. One grade on one side and the next garde on the backside. After I designed it I realized it would be nice to be able to slip his report cards, awards and photos behind the grade instead of putting them at the back of the book. So for Joe's book I used two separate sheets of cardstock in each pocket which allows me to slip things in behind each page.

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As I was working on these albums yesterday, I realized this time next year I'll be doing three of these albums. I knew I'd want to have the alike so I've had the same type of album but in pink for Becca since I made Joe's-three years ago. This summer I'll work on making up her pages so when she goes to kindergarten in the fall her school album will be ready and waiting for her to fill up with many school memories.

List of questions:

Grade/Year:

School:

Teacher:

Transportation:

Grades:

Friends:

Memorable class(es):

Memorable awards, projects, papers, field trips, performances, etc. :

Sports/extracurricular activities:

World news:

Other notes & memories:

Signature:

(I love to see how their handwriting changes and improves each year.)

This was so NOT my idea...

#78- Go on a scavenger hunt

I planned on doing another scavenger hunt like we did last year with a list of items for things to be found in the neighborhood or maybe around town. That was the plan but we are participating in RI Great Outdoor Pursuit. An optional part of this program is a Clivus Scavenger Hunt. A what?!? you may be asking or "What's a clivus?" Well I'll tell ya. Clivus is a company that makes  Eco-restrooms or environmentally friendly porta-potties. Several are located in various RI state parks. If you do their scavenger hunt and find three of them, you can be entered into a contest to win a trip for four to Block Island.

None of us have ever been to Block Island, and we need to visit an island for our list so I decided to replace my original idea for a scavenger hunt with this one. And that's how we spent our Sunday afternoon, driving around RI state parks in search of porta-potties. Those Kardashians have nothing on us! Keepin Up with the Kardashians-pssh! Let's see if they can keep up with the Callery's in terms of fun and excitement.

One of the parks we went to in search of porta-potties was Pulaski State Park. We had gone here with the parks department back in February on a guided tour of beaver dams. Back then, John and I said we'd have to come back to go swimming in the summer. In researching the parks that had the porta-johns we were looking for, I discovered this one was one of them. In addition to our scavenger hunt list, we packed swim stuff and sand toys with us and ventured out to cross of more than # 78 off our list.

#49 - Build a sandcastle

Joe and Becca making a sandcastle at Pulaski State Park.

#80 - Go to a new beach

After we left Pulaski State Park we went to down the street to George Washington Memorial Camping Area. At this location, we found two out the three eco-friendly porta-potties they have there. While hunting for them, John, Becca and Joe took a swim at this new beach on Bowdish Reservoir. John liked this one much better because it was warm. The one at Pulaski State park he said was too cold. Which, if you know my husband, means it was cooler than a hot tub.

 

# 22 - Swim in a pond

Here's Joe swimming at Peck Pond located within Pulaski State Park. With his new mohawk haircut, he looked like a shark when he was swimming under the water.