Week 51 - The last week before Christmas

This week was very busy. I finally finished all the work I had to deliver before Christmas - what a relief! Sofia trained for the last show jumping competitions of this year. Didn't make it to go to the hairdresser's with Carlotta, so I cut her fringe myself. This week I did all my Christmas shopping.
Friday on our way home from the horse stables we had an aperitif with our friends and on Sunday evening we invited them to our house. Carlotta had decorated a wine bottle at school and we opened it and had dinner and pandoro (an Italian Christmas cake) and exchanged Christmas gifts with them. In the morning we had our jumping competition and then we packed because the next day we were going to fly to Finland.

Follow with bloglovin

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Just testing how bloglovin works and trying to add my blogs there. It's a new world for me, so let's see if I can get it work :). I guess I succeeded for this blog, now I'll try with my horse blog.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from Finland!

Week 50 - Mulled wine after a stressful week

It's getting late, but at least I have managed to catch up with the week posts!
Carlotta making hot chocolate - Carlotta got a nail file in the advent calender and was very happy - The last leave on the apricot tree - The dark afternoons make it difficult to get good photos of the riding lessons. I want a brighter camera lens! - A new horse that I have been riding - On Saturday I made the dough for ginger breads - And on Sunday Sofia had her riding lesson, we baked ginger breads and had a very nice afternoon with our friends with warm mulled wine (glögg) and Christmas pastries and sweets.
What you don't see on the photos is that I was really, really tired this week working late every night, going to talk with Carlotta's and Sofia's teachers (it's a time taking project here) and that I had problems with my car again - this time the friction broke. Everything fixed now and our Sunday with mulled wine was very relaxing and I really needed it!

Week 49 - First week of December and Christmas is approaching

The first week of December. Our apricot tree was all yellow before the leaves fell.
Christmas letters and drawings started to show up at home. One afternoon as we went to buy something in Casalpalocco there was a nice Christmas market. Unfortunately I didn't have time to enjoy more Christmas markets as I was so busy working these days. On Saturday we made a cake and took it to the riding school. In some riding schools you bring a cake or something to drink if you fall off the horse. Carlotta had fallen off a pony quite a few times here and Sofia once, so we introduced this tradition here, too. Hopefully the others will continue it, it's always nice to have a reason to eat and drink something together.

Week 48 - Cold, but sunny days

On Monday I didn't have any car, so I made a cake instead. On Tuesday I found a very nice caffee here near a supermarket and had my morning cappuccino there. The evenings have started to get cold and we lit the fire in our fireplace many times this week. So nice when you come home and it's so humid outside that no clothes are warm enough. On Friday I fetched the girls earlier from school and we went to see show jumping at Piazza di Siena in the centre of Rome. A beautiful place and the weather was lovely.
On Saturday we spent all day at the riding school. First I had my riding lesson in the morning. Then there was a birthday party and the gilrs had lunch at the club house. In the afternoon Sofia had her riding lesson together with the other girls and when we went home it was dark already.

Week 47 - Car problems

The week started with a good cappuccino and cornetto. Tuesday morning didn't start quite so well, I was woken up with the notice that I had a flat tyre. Fortunately Armando was at home and could fix it together with his car mechanic and in the afternoon I got back my car with the new tyre.
On Wednesday we went to Decathlon, a big shop selling sports things, also lots of nice things for horse riding.
Then it started raining and it rained I think for two or three days. The roads were we live were full of water. On Sunday we took the car and drove to another riding stable at the north side of Rome where a girl who had sold her pony had some pony things to sell. Bu as we were driving there I got problems with the car again. Fortunately we hadn't driven far. My car stopped, but I managed to start it again and drive home and take Armando's car. We found out I had tanked dirty fuel with water in it.

Week 46 - Show jumping and marathon chocolates

I managed to fill my days before Christmas with too much work, so I haven't had time for almost anything else. I have had too little sleep and have spent too many hours in front of the computer. Now I'm finally ready and am not going to work anymore before Christmas. I have very little time left to buy all Christmas presents and prepare everything before we go to Finland. But I will make it this year too and I will try not to feel too stressed and instead enjoy it all. Tomorrow I'll go off to the shops and hope to get as much done as possible.
It's also time to update with the weekly photos and try to catch up with the 52 weeks project. This year has almost come to an end already!
Week 46 was the second week of November.
Carlotta doing her homework eating a carrot. So nice that she wants to eat a healthy snack sometimes!
The sky showed lovely colours while I was watching Sofia's riding lesson.
Carlotta in her new room with all her stuffies.
In the week-end there were jumping competitions at the riding school. When they were over Sofia and her friends relaxed and had fun jumping without the horses.
Me and Perla at the competition.
On Sunday Armando came home from Turin where he ran the marathon. We went out for a pizza and for dessert we had chocolate he brought from Turin.

Week 45 - Switching rooms

At the riding school Sofia is trying a pony for hire. That would mean to have it together with the owner, pay half of the expences and ride it half of the time, be able to go on competitions with it. Carlotta keeps riding once a week and quite often she rides Amarena, quite a wild little pony that always manages to have her fall off. Fortunately she's not too afraid, so I'm sure she will become a good pony rider. The weather has been nice and the skies sometimes very beautiful.
At home the children wanted to switch rooms, so now the girls sleep in Daniele's former room and he moved to their room. Carlotta was quite excited about it.

Week 44 - Halloween

The week postings continue. Week 44 was the Halloween week. Sofia and Carlotta went out trick-or-treating with some friends and afterwards Sofia went to a party home to her classmate and I went out for dinner with Carlotta, her friend Irene and Irene's mum.
It was a long week-end because the 1:st of November is a Holiday here in Italy. Carlotta and Sofia slept over at a friend's house and I had lunch with two ladies from the riding stables and our former riding teacher.
At the riding school there was a little Halloween competition on Sunday and we spent a nice day there.

December Daily

I love my December Daily albums. I have done one every year since 2009, but as I seem to have less and less time and inspiration for paper scrapbooking and still haven't finished my last year's album, I decided to go digital this year. I will then print it and I promise I will also finish my album from last year!

I have a digital kit from Ali Edwards that I bought quite a few years ago, but I think I will use it for my project because it's from Ali's blog that I got the idea for the December Daily album.

Moments of week 43

Moments of our week 43: A working day as a tour leader - Home work at the riding school - Lovely sunsets - Sofia partecipating in the Regional dressage championships - A nice dinner with friends at a the Chinese restaurant near our house

Week 42 - A warm week in October

Week 42, the third week of October was still warm here in Rome. We spent a lot of time at the riding school. Spending time with friends is important for both Sofia and Carlotta and if you add being together with horses it's the best time spent.
Monday is the only day when the riding school is closed an I had time to make a cheese pie.
Carlotta likes to do scrapbooking when she has time. I have had too much work to have time for paper scrapbooking, but one day I will sit down and do it together with Carlotta.
On Tuesday I had a briefing for a nice job in the centre of Rome. The place for the briefing had a beautiful view watching the St. Peter's Church. It was for a job as a tour leader for the next week.
Sofia trained for a dressage competition this week.
On Sunday we had a very nice barbeque with our friends in our garden. We stayed there till it got dark. The only thing that disturbed us were the flies. When it's warm weather in autumn we have loads of them.

Week 41 - Horses and visiting Rome

We spent lots of time with the horses again this week, but we also did something different. On Saturday we went to the centre of Rome with our friend who is a guide. It's always a pleasure to visit Rome with her. She has lots of stories to tell about the all the monuments and the churches and we spent a lovely afternoon in Rome. I managed to get the whole family with me, which isn't so usual nowadays as everyone has different interests. We saw different churches, had an ice cream and in the end we went to Piazza Navona.

Week 40 - Sofia's birthday

We came home from Berlin on Sunday. Carlotta was so glad about the small hair things we bought her. We spent a lot of time at the riding school as the weather was very nice and warm. Carlotta often did her homework there and I made focaccia for lunch to eat there.
This week it was Sofia's 13th birthday. Another teenager in the family now. We celebrated her birthday with a cake at the riding school and afterwards we went out for dinner to a chinese restaurant. On Saturday evening Sofia had invited a few friends to our house. Two of them slept over and they had a nice time. On Sunday Sofia had a dressage competition. She likes jumping more, but I think it was a good experience.

Week 39 - Berlin

On Monday Carlotta's swimming school started and she liked it. We went to the park one afternoon. On Friday all three children went to spend the week-end at their friends' houses and on Saturday morning me and my husband took an early morning flight to Berlin. Armando run the marathon there on Sunday. There wasn't so much time to visit Berlin as the marathon took half a day and the day before we had to go to the marathon expo to pick up the race number. It also felt a bit lonesome to walk around there alone while my husband was resting at the hotel or running the marathon, so I think I won't go on marathon travels without my children or a friend anymore. I got a general glance at Berlin. I didn't fall in love with the town, but I'm sure it would have been more interesting if I had seen some art exhibitions and if I had had company to share it all with. The nicest part of our trip was when we had a beer at a pub with other Italian marathoners before leaving. It was very easy to get to the airport by train from the town center and it only took about 20 minutes. This was our first time travelling without our children.

Week 38 - Riding and swimming lessons

We tried a new riding school and spent lots of time there this week. Sofia and Carlotta sometimes did their home work there. Only on Monday we didn't go there and Carlotta had her first lesson at the swimming school. She liked it. There was a show jumping event at the riding school at the week-end and Sofia partecipated. We had lunch at our old riding school with one of Sofia's friends. Missing it all quite a lot, but now we are trying to get used to the new place.

Week 37 - Back to school

This week school started for the girls on Tuesday and for Daniele on Wednesday. The evening before school started we had to take my mother-in-law to the hospital. She had been staying at our house since June because she had a cancer, was 83 years old and too weak to stay home alone anymore and needed help in cooking. On Wednesday morning she then passed away. The funerals were on Saturday. It was sad for my husband, but in a way a relief as it had been quite a stressing summer for him. She didn't have any pains and we didn't have to find another place for her to stay, she spent only the last two days at the hospital.
We went out for lunch and dinner a couple of times this week.
When I went to Finland in July I didn't imagine that it would be our last summer at our riding school. Our riding teacher left and went to another very expensive place, so we had our last riding lessons this week and had to look for another riding school. It's not so easy as we all have a bit different needs and me and Sofia aren't beginners anymore. This week we tried in a couple of places. Sofia wanted to go to a place where lots of her friends were riding, Carlotta wanted to stay in the riding school where she already was and I wanted to find a place with nice horses and a good riding instructor, not too expensive and a nice place to spend some time in. I also wanted to find a place where we all could go. Not very easy!

Week 36 - Back in Rome

Back to summer, beaches, cappuccinos and nice restaurants. Nevertheless it felt difficult to leave Finland and all the people there and get back to my life here in Italy. We did the best of it anyway. It was the last week of holidays for the children before school started. I booked two nights in a farm house near Sabaudia where there are beautiful beaches and went there with Sofia and Carlotta. Daniele's football trainings had started already so he preferred to stay in Rome. We had relaxing days in Sabaudia. In the evening all the guests had dinner together, which was really nice. We spent most of the time at the swimming pool which we had all for ourselves as everyone else was at the beach. In the afternoon we went to the beach and then in the evening back for dinner. Very, very nice!

Week 35 - Last week in Finland

This was our last week in Finland this summer. The weather was really nice the wholeweek. On Monday we did some shopping and on Tuesday had a pick nick in the Katariina park by the sea. We do like picnics and I think there are so many nice picnic parks and places in Finland. A few of Daniele's friends from Lovisa play football here, so Daniele took the bicycle and went to see them training. On Wednesday we had a riding lesson in the nice riding school we have found here. On Thursday we had lunch in a little restaurant called Villa Aurora. It's beautifully furnished and very nice, but my children didn't like the food. Actually they were a bit unlucky, because even the desert happened to be a coffee mousse, so it was nothing for children. The last two days we spent visiting friends and on Saturday we partecipated in a little club competition at the riding school and said good bye also to the horses. On Sunday we flew back to Rome.

Back to summer photos - Week 34

We have been back in Italyfor almost a month now and it's time to catch up with my week photos. It has felt a bit more difficult than usual to settle back here and I really miss summertime and especially Finland and everything there, but slowly I'm filling my days here and trying to make the best of it.
Our second last week in Finland was full of happenings. I really tried to do most of the things from my to-do in Finland list.
As schools started in Finland the weather had become less summery and the nights already very cool. On Monday there were some rain showers in the morning, but in the afternoon it was sunny and Carlotta suggested a picknick. So out we went for a late afternoon coffee to the beach. Carlotta took a swim, too, but the water was really cold and the air was cool and windy. On Tuesday we went to the nice swimming pool in Kotka. For the first time Carlotta was able to swim with us in the big pool outside without any problems. The water was warm and as schools have started here it was very empty - only us and a few Russians. There are quite a few Russian tourists in Kotka as it isn't so far away from the border. On Wednesday we got our lazy teenagers to the Santalahti camping site. The thing that convinced them in the end was the Mini golf course. Carlotta and Sofia took a swim, too. On Thursday we went to Hamina, the nearby town where we hadn't been this summer at all. There is a very nice cafè. On Friday it was our last chance to go to Kaunissaari, an isle about an hour from Kotka. The boat traffic to the other isles had stopped already, as lots of things stop as soon as the schools start. Daniele went to spend the week-end with his friends in Lovisa and me and the girls spent the day at the isle. We had a pick nick basket with us and also swimming suits, but didn't need them, because it was quite windy and the cold sea water didn't tempt us. On Saturday it was a really warm day again. We went to Lovisa where there where the old houses' days. Many families who live in the old wooden houses had had opened their homes and you could walk in and see how they had furnished them and renovated them conserving the old style. There were garden cafés and flea markets everywhere in the town. My brother and his wife also came there, but we didn't have so much time to spend with them because we had to get home to take my mother and her friend to the bus that took them to see a ballet. On Sunday we had managed to organize a lunch with some of my relatives in Santalahti. It was a very good choice as we were able to spend the rest of the day there swimming and playing mini golf.

Week 33 - Rain, sun and a birthday picnic

When we came from Stockholm we stayed one night at my friend's house before going back to my parents. I have no photos of the next two day because it was raining and I had to finish some work. On Wednesday we went riding and it rained a lot. On Thursday we baked blueberry white chocolate muffins because we were going to have a picnic the next day. Carlotta remembered her birthday picnic from last year and wanted one also this year, but the weather hadn't been so good or we had other things to do. Now it had stopped raining and we went to a new park in Karhula by the river. It's very nice. There are many beautiful parks here now and I love picnics! In the afternoon we went to Laajakoski to have a little swim, but it was so windy and cool so I didn't swim. The girls did.
On Sunday we went to visit my brother and his family. When we go there Carlotta always wants to play a board game called "The star of Africa", so after dinner and coffee we spent some time playing it. This is one of the best board games I know. Simple enough for quite small children to understand, but amusing for adults, too.

Week 32 - Summer cottage and Stockholm

This was the week when we had four lovely days at the summer cottage we had rented with my parents. Back home we went on a picnic to Kumparepuisto, a nice park a couple of km from my parents' house. Carlotta was able to go there by bike and it was so nice to go on a little bicycle trip together with her. In Finland the bicycle roads are so good and it's safe to go by bike also for small children. Unfortunately it's not like that in Rome, although we live in quite a green area.
Then we went on a trip Stockholm where we visited our friends and spent two nights on the Viking Line ferry.

Week 31 - Sofia's summer camp

In the end of July Sofia went to a horse summer camp to the same place where she went last year. The only problem was that it was all in Finnish and Sofia only speaks Swedish and Italian, of course. As long as they did something with the horses or went swimming I think everything went quite well and Sofia also learnt to understand lots of things they said to her in Finnish, but then in the evening as the girls went to bed and of course chatted a lot in Finnish, she felt quite lonely. On Thursday they organized a a little competition that we were invited to watch and when it was time for us to leave and come back to fetch her the next day she said that she wanted to come home with us. So she stayed 4 days instead of 5.
On the second photo Carlotta is choosing books from the library. We often go there to borrow books and films. The libraries here in Finland are so nice.
On Wednesday evening we decided to go to The Maritime Centre Vellamo. They have free entrance every Wednesday evening. It's a museum telling about the maritime life in Finland and as the sea is very present in Kotka, its position by the sea is very good. Daniele was in Lovisa at his friend's house, so it was only me and my parents with Carlotta. She only liked the interactive part of the museum and didn't find the rest of it too interesting.
On Friday we went to the summer theatre in Lovisa and saw My Fair Lady. The actors are really good and we had a nice evening. My husband came to Finland for a few days. His mother has been staying at our house since June since she isn't well and can't live alone anymore, but she stayed at a relative's house for a few days so Armando could get a few days off to spend with us. We had a nice lunch at Kalastuskievari, a little restaurant by the rapids of Korkeakoski.

Trip to Stockholm

We did a small trip to Stockholm last week. One night at the ferry, spent a day in Stockholm with our friends who live there and again a night at the ferry and back to Helsinki. From there we went to my friend's house where we spent one night before taking the bus back to my parents' house. So it was a nice couple of days meeting friends.

My friend met us at the ferry terminal in Stockholm and we first went to their house for a coffee and cakes and then walked around in the Gamla stan, which is a very nice part of Stockholm. We have got to know each other quite a few years ago on the internet at a site for Swedish mums abroad when our children were small and Carlotta still wasn't born and have kept in touch since that. That's really nice! Now all our children are so big.

Stockholm is a beautiful city and it's nice to visit it together with friends. The weather was better than expected, warm and sunny when we came there and only a couple of showers in the afternoon, when we went inside a caffee to have something to eat.

On our way to Stockholm we had a good dinner at the buffet and when we came home we bought perfumes and sweets from the tax free shop. It's kind of a tradition when you take the ferry to Sweden where the selection of sweets is huge, so it was a paradise for the children. I also bought some swedish books for me and the girls in Stockholm, so I had something nice to read in the bus on our way back home while the rain poured down. Schools started in Finland and it has been very rainy and cool, autumn in the air already.

To do list for the summer cottage

Before going to the summer cottage the girls made a list of things they wanted to do there. I think we did them all.
Go fishing. They did, or at least Armando and Daniele did. This year we didn't find any worms for the fishing rod, but they put out a net and a fish trap and got a few small perches and one bream and although they were quite small they grilled them and made a small fish soup and said they tasted delicious. The fishermen were just a little bit afraid of killing the fish they had fished.

Pick blueberries and mushrooms. It had been too dry for mushrooms and most of the blueberries also were very small, but we got enough for a blueberry pie, which also was on the list.

Grill marshmallows. We had a barbeque night one evening grilling sausages, fish and marshmallows.

Go out with the boat. There's a little rowing boat and we sure used it every day.

Swim and go to the sauna. Yes, every day! Carlotta also learnt to jump from the jetty into the water.

Drink hot chocolate with marshellows in the evening. The girls did it.

Play cards. Yes, we did it every day and we also played Yatzy.

Make cinnamon rolls. Sofia had learnt how to make them at the summer camp and we made some one evening. They were yummy!

I could add to the list beautiful sunsets, reading books and magazines and time without internet and I got it!

Happy memories from the summer cottage

We spent a few lovely days at the summer cottage in Virolahti where we went for the third time now with my parents. Also my husband joined us from Rome. I came home with about one thousand photos, but here's a little collage of a few of the happy moments there. The weather couldn't have been better and the sunsets over the sea were beautiful. Lots of swimming, sauna every evening, rowing, barbeque, fishing, playing cards and picking blueberries just enough for a little pie.

Week 30 - Meeting friends and relatives

So many nice things this week that 7 photos actually aren't enough.

In the beginning of the week the water was quite cold, but it didn't scare Carlotta who wanted to go for an evening swim. We watched her swimming and enjoyed the evening sun. It was an important week for Carlotta because she finally learnt to ride the bike without the side wheels! I bought a used Sigma lens on the internet and it arrived this week. I needed a lens to bring along when we travel and I don't want to carry many lenses. I think this Sigma 28-70 2.8 could be the one. On Friday we went to the beach with my friend and her children. The weather and also the water had become much warmer.
This week there was the annual sea festival in Kotka which transforms Kotka into a place full of people and happenings. We went there on Saturday and my friend from Helsinki came there with her daughter. We had lunch together, visited an ice breaker and then went to Santalahti camping site where you can swim and play mini golf. Daniele spent a few nights at his friend's house in Lovisa and then they came here for the sea festival. On Sunday we had a meeting with cousins and relatives at my sister's house out in the country side. We had a really nice day and a mountain of yummie pancakes.
I didn't sleep too much this week as I stayed awake working every night till very late, but at least there was enought time left to do lots of nice things.

Week 29 - A Birthday and a baptism

This week on Wednesday we flew to Finland just in time to escape from the very hot weather that was arriving to Italy. The day we arrived it was sunny and nice, but the next couple of days the temperatures sank as low as 14 degrees during day time and it felt more like autumn than summer.
The girls went to pick blueberries and raspberries as soon as they arrived and we got ingredients for blueberry muffins that we made for Carlotta's birthday.
This week was a party week for us. On the 20th was Carlotta turned 8. We had a nice little party at home with my parents and a friend of mine with her children. Carlotta got nice presents, we ate cakes and went out to the playground a bit before the guests went home. Carlotta wanted to leave some presents for another day. She remembered that we celebrated her twice last year because all the family wasn't here at her birthday, so she wanted to do it again this year. So there are still some presents to open later on when we'll go on a birthday pick nick. On her birthday it was a bit too cool to sit outside, so we had the birthday cake inside this time.
Next day we went to Helsinki to celebrate my cute little goodson's baptism. There weren't so many guests, so they celebrated it at home and it was very nice.

Finally in Finland

Finally in Finland again! We came here quite late this year, on the 17th of July. Once we came here the weather started getting cooler, so it hasn't been so summery so far. Yesterday there were only 14 degrees and it was raining, so it really felt more like autumn than summer. For me not such a a big problem really, as I had some work to do, but a bit boring for the children. My work really disturbes our summer holidays a bit, but I will try to get it ready soon so we can do something nice. In the meanwhile the children watch dvds taken from the fantastic library we have here and Carlotta has been trying to ride the bike without the side wheels. She is learning it a bit late as she hasn't had the chance to practice and she also has been a little bit afraid, but I'm sure she will learn this summer.

But we already had two parties here. On the 20th it was Carlotta's birthday and my friend came over with her children to celebrate her.

The next day I became godmother to a cute little baby boy, my sister's daughters fourth child. We drove to Helsinki to his baptism.

Week 28 - Thunders and a lovely sunset

Back to normal life again with quite a lot of work - at least it feels like a lot when it's summer and the children aren't at school. Went to the beach a few times anyway and riding, of course. This week the sky turned black almost every afternoon and there were thunders. We had a tortilla dinner at home on Tuesday and on Friday evening I went out with the girls to a chinese restaurant. Sofia had been craving chinese food for a while. On Saturday afternoon we did some shopping and then took an evening swim in Ostia. Very nice and the sunset was beautiful!

Week 27 - The beach, cappuccinos, granitas and Zoomarine

My brother and his son were here till Thursday. We went to the beach, went to our favourite pizzeria near our house, had some cappuccinos, Carlotta had her summer favourite granita a few times and one day we went to the amusement park Zoomarine with some friends. Daniele, Carlotta and Sofia all had friends with them and had a good time. Carlotta has started reading a lot, so she got some new books this week. On Friday evening me and the girls went out to Eur have an ice cream with friends we hadn't seen for quite a long time.

Week 26 - My brother in Rome

On Monday we took a trip to the beach, but it was too windy, so we didn't stay long. On Wednesday my brother and his son came to Rome. It was the first time my brother visited us here in about 20 years I have been living here, so it was high time! It was really nice to have them here and I think they had a good time, too. The only negative thing about their visit here was that some pick pockets got my brother's wallet on the metro. That's one of the less nice sides of Rome.
My brother's son wanted sunbathe as much as possible that was quite an easy desire to fulfil because the weather was nice all the time - a bit windy the first days, but then it got warmer. They spent two days in our summer house in Fregene, then we went to the centre of Rome and strolled around there a bit and on Sunday we had a barbeque in our garden. Me and Sofia also went riding this week and as our riding instructor wasn't there we took the opportunity to ride bareback.
Our house was quite full this week as my mother-in-law also is staying at our house. She isn't well and can't live alone anymore so my husband is taking care of her. To make things easier our washing machine broke down and we ordered a new one on the internet, which was the most stupid thing we could do. The delivery is much delayed and now we have been without a washing machine for almost a month. Fortunately it's summer and at least things dry quickly. A part from all that this has been a really nice week!

Week 25 - Holiday at the Isle of Elba

Our holiday at Elba was made of beaches, pebbles, braids made on the beach, beautiful sunsets, pizza evenings, a boat trip, evening walks in nice villages, evening swim, with new made friends, sunshine, beautiful nature and lots of other nice things.

Week 24 - The summer holidays started!

On week 24 the children's summer holidays began. Me, Carlotta and Sofia went to the hairdresser's on Tuesday to get a new summer hair cut - On Thursday we went to the beach and for the first time this year I took a swim in the sea! The water was really unusually cold for the season - On Friday it was my birthday. It was a very stressing day, but in the end we managed to celebrate at home with a cake (thank's to my sweet girls who helped me make it) and pizza - On Saturday off to the island of Elba in Tuscany together with the children and my friend with her girls - Beautiful nature and beaches at Elba. 

Week 23 - Kittens in our garden

The first week in June besides working I had time to enjoy summer a bit, although the weather was rather cool for June weather here in Rome. On Monday when I came back from my zumba class, watching away from the sea the was so black I had to stop and take a photo. - Carlotta was at a party at her friend's house and came home with nail polish and nail stickers on her toe nails - This week we enjoyed the company of a cat family in our garden. On Saturday a black cat had given birth to 4 kittens behind Daniele's ping pong table. The mummy cat kept moving the kittens to different places in our garden and even tried to move in to our house once. Even if we gave food to her, in the end of the week she decided to move away from our garden with the kittens. - On Saturday our dear friends from Finland visited us and we had a nice afternoon in our garden - On Sunday Carlotta had a nice club competition at the riding school.