Off and Running...

Well, not in a good way.  Bella and I both have diarrhea.  So in other words, it's going to be a great day.  I'm not so bad, but poor little bit has resorted to just hanging out in her panties because it's just easier.  Plenty of fluids and relaxation it is!

Here's a little recap of our weekend.  Saturday, after the play, Bella spent the night with her grandparents, and Vince and I had a lovely evening at home.  Wine, dinner and dancing followed by a late night movie all from the comforts of our house.  It.was.wonderful.

On Sunday, we got all the necessary materials to replace our mailbox for the 4th time!  Granted, this is the first time we have replaced the post because in the past we've been able to patch it back together.  Not so this time, whoever hit it took out all of it.  Now it has a nice cedar post with an Ironsides mailbox on top so if it gets hit again, it will leave a mark.  Plus, next time we replace it will be with a hefty brick number, so people, please quit hitting our mailbox!

Monday was another rainy day.  I completed a custom t-skirt for a client, did laundry, changed sheets on beds, and did some general picking up.  It was Vince's first night of class for the semester so he didn't get home until around 9:30.  long.day.

Now, I need to return some emails because I have a messenger bag/wet bag order, a t-shirt quilt order, 2 more t-skirts to make, and a teepee to construct.  Custom orders rule!

xoxox

Going to a Play!

I got 2 for the price of 1 tickets to Seussical the Musical for this morning at 11:00, and Bella is so excited!  I will add more to this post after the show.

Here we are before the show, and very excited to be going <3  It was really fantastic, and Bella loved every bit of it.  The sound/lighting/costumes were all spectacular, so much so that Bella can not wait to be in her first play.  Her favorite characters were Gerturde, the bird with only one feather on her tail, the little kangaroo, and Cindy Loo when she zoomed by on her stomach on a skateboard during an ocean scene.  We had a really great time, and can't wait for our next show... Commedia Cinderella at the begining of November.  It's an Italian comedic take on Cinderella which should be a good time.

From Last Weekend Until Now.

Let's just start with last Saturday...

Around 11, I left to go shopping for some new clothes, and La & Karl came to pick up Bella for a fun excursion to Monkey Joe's with Nanny.  Nanny likes to take the kiddos there for their birthdays and she always includes Bella which I think is sweet.  I finished up shopping and headed home to spend a couple of kid free hours with Vince, before the girls came back because Allie was going to stay and spend the night.  Around 5:30, we loaded up and went to Pap Pap and Jamma's house for dinner, and after dinner I took the girls to see The Lion King in 3D.  The movie started at 7:45, and I knew I was pushing it but decided to go for it anyway.  big.mistake.  5 minutes in, Bella began saying she wanted to go home, and she continued to say this about every 5 minutes after that.  By the time Mufasa dies, Allie is in tears, and when I ask if they want to go home, Allie says yes, Bella says no and begins to cry herself.  Awesome.  So I gather them up, we throw away our trash, they are both crying, and through tears Bella says, "I'm sorry you don't get to keep your 3D glasses like us Mom."  The attendent up front was giving me the "can I do anything to help you" look, to which I politely smiled, shook my head, and continued escorting my crying kiddos out the door.  Allie continued to cry for about 10 more minutes and then they settled down and began reading their books like nothing ever happened.  When I got them home, they took a bubble/glow stick bath for an hour, climbed out, and then fell asleep watching a Barbie movie in 10 minutes flat.  Whew, girls can be exhausting at times.

Sunday.

The girls were up at 6:30 happily playing, and planning their day.  They spent a lot of time outside digging for worms, hunting for fairies, painting the fence with mud, feeding the dogs carrots, and coming up with some of the most intricate make believe scenarios I've ever heard of.  They were having so much fun, that I didn't end up taking Allie home until about 5 p.m.  Once home, we launched into our nighttime routine, got Bella fed and in bed, and then I wasn't far behind her.  It was a fun weekend watching B-bo and her best bud Allie have so much fun together.

Some Highlights this week...

Wednesday was Peace Day at Bella's school.  She wore her purple butterfly dress because purple is the color of peace and butterflies are her school's mascot.  In other words, she was very excited.  When I picked her up from school, we began our usual question/answer session when she blurted out, "Peace Day was terrible!"  When I asked why, her response was, "We had to stand together and sing the same song over and over again, and I did not like it."  I just started laughing to which she wanted an explanation... I said, "Yesterday morning you sang the Ants go marching song 5 times in a row, the morning before that you sang the Doe a Deer song about 10 times, and this morning you sang your favorite song from Tangled several times in a row before we got to school."  She was giggling through all of this, but I tell you, she is quick on her feet this one, her response... "Well, I don't like having to stand still when I sing, I need to dance!  That's why it was awful."  So dramatic...


Thursday was Bella's second acting class.  She LOVES it and is dying to know what the first play is that she is going to be in.  Daily, she tells me that she also want to be a singer, and she wants to be on TV like CeCe of Shake it Up.  I have never seen Shake it Up, but she told me she has watched it at Allie's house and at Papa's house.  Without knowing it, I bought her a CeCe outfit at Target, and she now thinks I am so cool.  Gonna soak it up while I can, because it won't be long until I am so not cool in her eyes.

Friday, or this morning.  Bella chose to wear her white tiger shirt from the Houston Aquarium, a black cardigan, a floral skirt that I made for her, and her Missoni flats.  She told me that she chose her Missoni flats (and yes she called them that) because kitties like to scratch.  What in the world does that mean, and how many other 5 year olds do you think know about Missoni?  I love this kid <3


One more thing before I go... I watched Bridesmaids this week, and I LOVE this movie.  It made me laugh so hard I cried and I really needed to do that :)  So if you haven't seen it, go watch it very soon.


Now I'm going to make a second cup of coffee, and then watch Project Runway from last night and enjoy this rainy Friday.


Have a great weekend all!

First Lunch.

Yesterday, Bella bought her lunch at school for the very first time.  You would have thought it was her birthday due to the amount of excitement emitting from every ounce of her body.  When Vince picked her up from school, lunch was the first thing she discussed with him.  She had mac & cheese, a pear, peach jello and chocolate milk.  One day, she will read this and think, "Really?  I was excited about buying and eating my school lunch?"  Until then, I will enjoy her pure excitement.

I wonder what would make me school lunch excited?  Something to think about.

Big Smiles.

Yesterday was a really good day for a few reasons...

1.  After being told that his class didn't fill for the semester, Vince got a message saying that the administrator forgot to turn off the class and that 2 more people registered last night which filled the class!

2.  My new boots arrived, gorgeous brown boots that I have been waiting patiently for for about 5 years to purchase...  I like them a lot!

3.  I have had a bonfire going since Labor Day, and as of yesterday, all of the 2 Bradford Pear trees that we took down have been burned.  I have bruises and scratches all over me, and Bella has asked me daily why I smell like a campfire.  Yes, I am a pyro, but a good pryo.  I only burn in a designated area :)

4.  Missoni did a line for Target!  I got a cute beret and sweater dress for Bella, and some silky pj pants and a baby blanket that I turned into a cute sweater shrug for me.  It's the little things <3

5.  My Mom made it home to California!  She can now relax since there will be no more back and forth to Hattiesburg.  Plus, now she can look forward to her trip to Africa in October that she is going on with a friend.  They are going to Kenya to go on Safari and to fly over the savanahs in hot air balloons.  How cool is that?!

Now to plan my Wednesday.

xoxox

Bittersweet.

Stay with me.  This one may be a bit lengthy.

It was finally here.  The weekend I had been dreading for a month.  The weekend we would make our way to Hattiesburg, MS to say good-bye to Papa, Theodore Roosevelt Schultz, my hero, and my best friend.

Friday.

Began at 4 a.m.  I got up, showered, and then packed while Vince got Bella up, fed her and then took care of all the animals.  We left the house at 6, and headed to the airport to catch our 8:30 flight.  We had a small layover in Atlanta, and my cousin, Alex, was on our second flight to Gulfport.  My Mom picked us all up at 11:30, and off to Hattiesburg we went.  We were home long enough to eat a little something, change clothes, and wait for everyone else to arrive, before heading to the funeral home at 5:30 for the visitation.  Thankfully, it was a closed casket, so it made the 2 hours there a lot more bearable.  Instead of people gawking at Papa, they spent time in the front room watching a DVD of photos of him throughout his life, and discussing fond memories.  Jordan and I sat together for a long time crying and consoling one another.  Out of the 4 grandkids, she got to see Papa the least during his last few months, and she was having a really hard time with it.  By 8:30, we were all back at Papa's house eating a catered meal that turned out to be quite awful.  Poor Uncle Randy, he was trying to do something nice by having our dinner catered so we wouldn't have to worry about it, and it really was pretty gross.  Honestly though, it gave us all a good laugh, and something else to focus on if only for a few minutes.  After dinner, the guys all hung in the living room watching sports, and the ladies sat around the kitchen table drinking wine and enjoying conversation.  It was really nice, and I gotta say, Sarah fits very nicely into our crazy little family <3  Around 10, the Schultz family headed to where they were staying for the night, and the rest of us cleaned up the kitchen and went to bed because Saturday was going to be a long day for all of us.

Saturday.

Bella woke up at 5:15, which is really 6:15 her time, but still it was way too early.  I finally got up with her at 6, made her some breakfast, and then tried to fall back asleep on the couch for a bit while she ate her cereal and watched Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  By 7, the whole house was up and beginning shower rotation.  My Mom left at 8 to head to the funeral home, and the rest of us followed and arrived at 9:30.  I ended up choosing not to speak.  I knew I wouldn't be able to do it, not in front of so many people anyway.  I had a private eulogy between myself and Papa on my own terms by our fire pit in the backyard, but more on that another time.  Back to where I was... At 10 a.m., the funeral began.  Andrew, Alex, my Uncle Horace (Papa's youngest brother), Pete (One of Papa's best friends), and 2 other gentlemen were the poll bearers, and when they wheeled in the coffin, everything became very real, and very final.  A few people spoke before we got to the family remembrances and once those began I didn't stop crying until noon.  My Mom went first and I couldn't be more proud of her eulogy.  I was in awe of her strength alone, being able to stand confidently in front of her Dad and deliver her speech without breaking down once and with a peaceful smile on her face.  She truly amazed me because throughout it, Jordan and I sat hugging each other and just letting it all out.  I'm sure we looked quite pitiful to anyone that could see us.  Next my Uncle Randy spoke, and poor thing, he was really emotional and torn up.  This has hit him really hard.  Andrew went last because he always is able to make us laugh.  His speech was touching/hilarious/sweet/perfect all rolled into one.  My little brother really has a knack for these kind of things, and I was so moved by what he said in honor of our Papa.  We ended the service singing "Amazing Grace" all together, and it was at that moment that I could feel both of my Grandparents smiling down on us.  It was beautiful.

After the service, Aunt Doris took Vince and Bella back to Papa's house, and the rest of us got ready for the 2 hour trek to Grovehill, AL for the burial.  Papa grew up in Grovehill, his parents are buried in the same cemetery, and 2 of his siblings still live nearby.  When we arrived, I noticed the 3 soldiers standing near the coffin.  Papa was a WWII Veteran, so he could request "Taps" be played at his funeral since he was in the military, and I gotta say they did an amazing job.  It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  Once everyone arrived, the pastor did a small reading and then prayed.  Next, one soldier played "Taps" on a trumpet, and then they preformed the flag folding ceremony at the end of which, they presented the flag to my Uncle Randy.  It was really a heart felt moment.  Once it was over, everyone got up to mingle a bit more, and I just remained seated where I was for a bit longer just staring at the coffin wondering if what was happening was really real or not.  When I finally blinked, I looked down and saw my Grandmother's headstone.  It made me remember that they are together now, at peace, and happy, and it made me smile.  I then got up, walked over to the funeral spray, took out a single red rose, smelled it, kissed it, and then placed it on Papa's coffin.  I kissed it one last time and said my last good-bye.  Hardest.thing.ever.  The next 15 minutes were spent hugging necks, and kissing cheeks good-bye.  My Aunt, Uncle and Jordan all were headed back to Atlanta, Andrew and Sarah to Houston, and my Mom, me and Alex back to Hattiesburg.  Promises have been made though to get together for part of the Thanksgiving holiday, and I think that would be a really wonderful thing for my family.  We need that.  Anyway, we were back home by 5:30, we ordered pizza from Mellow Mushroom for dinner, and then we all went to bed early because 3 a.m. would be here before we knew it.

Sunday.

By 3:30 a.m. we were in the car and headed back to Gulfport.  All of us and Alex had flights to catch at 6, and it was hard to leave my Mom at the airport, I'm not going to lie.  She doesn't get to go home until early Tuesday morning because she has a few more things to take care of before she can leave.  Alex bought us breakfast/coffee, and I thought that was so sweet.  I am so proud of the man he growing up to be.  Our flight left before his, so we gave hugs one last time, before boarding our plane.  We were home by 1, and at 2:30 I laid down and took a 4 hour nap.  I so needed it.  

Now I will leave you with this.  A picture of my favorite pair of Papa's jeans.  He patched them himself, that's the best part. :), and a little something from my brother...  

"Yesterday we said goodbye to a true renaissance man. After serving USA in WWII he spent 40 years barnstorming Africa, picked up a PhD, cared for his wife, painted every house in Mississippi (including Brett Favre's), and treated his grandkids like royalty. I'll miss his phone calls and the constant teasing we threw at each other. Goodbye for now my friend."

Rest in Peace Papa.  Until we meet again.

Wink.

Starting off the day with a wink and a smile from my purple cardigan wearing kiddo is about as good as it gets.  Also, I believe we are on day 16 of wearing pigtails.  How long will she go?


Remember to enjoy the little things <3  and have a great day!

Recent Updates

Love this piece because it has so much storage!  Eventually, the wall behind all this will be a collage of old doors.  Vince and I are still working out the details.

Snazzy shoe storage.  Each bin pulls out and holds about 3 pairs of shoes.  10 if they are Bella sized.

The fireplace and a nice view of our new shaggy green rug.  No worries,  drapes are in the works.

New toy storage for B-bo.  She loves it and it makes clean-up a snap.  win.win.

And there you have it, the most recent updates in the Ammirato house.  Our little work in progress has come a long way.  Stay tuned for future updates.

Perfect.

My little rock star diva.  A perfect way to start off a rainy morning if you ask me.  Bella has recently started wearing my sunglasses if she sees them laying around, and I gotta say I really like this little habit.

As for the rest of the day post school drop off, I will be cleaning the house, and then Allie is coming over for a fitting before I pick B-bo up from school.

For now, I need to throw on some clothes, make a second cup of coffee, and hit the road.  xoxox

Soothing.

That's what an all day bonfire is, soothing.  We started one this morning at 8 a.m.  It's almost 8 p.m. now. Trust me, we have a lot of bradford pear tree to burn, but I am utterly amazed at how quickly and how much we have burned in 12 hours today.  

I spent a good amount of time at the fire by myself.  While thoughts swirled in my head, I grabbed branches and shoved/threw them into the fire.  Sweat was pouring out of every inch of me, but I didn't care because the exertion felt so good.  

I have little burns on my hands and forearms.  Scars will form to remind me of this day.  The day I spent stoking a bonfire and talking to Papa.  Saying.good-bye.  Wallowing in vivid/fond memories.  

Grieving because I know it needs to come out.

It was a cleansing day.  a.good.day.

Let's back up a bit.

I'm gonna go back a little bit to last weekend, and then I will move up from there... Here we go.

Last Saturday/Sunday. 

We spent the entire weekend cleaning out the house.  It felt amazing.  Not only that, but we got 3 new pieces from Ikea that make life easier and look fabulous.  One was a storage system for Bella's room.  Now she has easy access to all her toys, and clean-up is a breeze.  The other 2 pieces are a snazzy shoe storage piece in the entryway, and an oversized dresser with 8 drawers for under our tv.  Now I need to make some drapes, complete the door wall, add a splash of wallpaper, and finish with crown molding and our living room will be complete.  I am loving the transformation immensely.  We also got the huge brown cabinet out of my studio and into the garage until we have a garage sale in a couple of weeks.  My studio is HUGE now :)

Monday thru Friday.

This was our first full week of school, and it went smoothly.  Bella is transitioning back into a routine nicely, and her separation anxiety seems to be easing up every day.  The Pre-K kiddos began this week, and Bella was super excited to help acclimate them to the classroom.  When I asked her what their names were, she gave me a few and then said she couldn't pronounce most of them because they were kind of hard :)  For example, there is a little girl named Branson that Bella sometimes calls Francis, and a little boy named Yaqui who speaks mainly Spanish.  B-bo thought his name was Bucky, and most of the kids think it's pronounced Yucky... poor little boy.  Bella had also been working on a challenging work with several steps this week, when I asked how that was going she told me, "Good until a Pre-Ker destroyed it."  Wow, destroyed, such strong language.  I gently reminded her that the Pre-Kers are only 4 and they are still learning and may need extra help sometimes.  She nodded and said, "Yeah, I'll try to be patient, but she destroyed it Mom."  

Now a bit about Vintage Fresh.  I have had a lot of custom orders recently and I LOVE IT!  One of my corporate clients, Gorilla Glue, ordered 6 t-skirts for a trade show coming up, and I busted them out Tuesday.  Now I'm working on an adorable flower girl dress for Allie, and an indoor hula hoop teepee for Ro and Rigs.  After that, I have more t-skirt orders on their way.  Go VF go!

Saturday.

Woke up to yucky news, but kept myself occupied throughout the day so as not to think about it all too much.  I mowed half of the front yard while Vince chopped up more of the trees.  We are down to 3 big trunk pieces!  It's nice to see the yard again, but it will be short lived because we have one more pear tree to take down.  Next, Vince finished painting some trim along the back of the house, and I trimmed up the wild and wooly wisteria bush.  That thing is crazy huge this year, and what a great little natural play house for B-bo :)

That night, we went to V's parent's house for dinner because his sister and fam were in town for the holiday weekend.  The kiddos played, we had dinner, and then Vince and I went home while Bella stayed to spend the night with her cousins.  For the first time ever, Bella had a complete meltdown, and Pap Pap had to bring her home.  She is a sensitive little thing, and she knows I am super sad right now which tends to make her cling to me a bit.  She is protective of her Mama.  When Pap Pap pulled up into the driveway, I walked out to get her out of the car, and as soon as I picked her up, her whole body relaxed.  She told me that she was sorry but she missed me too much and needed to come home <3  My little sweet princess!  As soon as I laid her down, she was out, and I was glad she came home too.

Sunday.

Around 10, Vince took Bella to play tennis/have lunch/go swimming with her cousins.  I stayed home and slept from noon to 3.  I decided not to fight it because really I haven't been sleeping well for a month so I know my body needed it.  Plus, I do not want to slip into a downward spiral so I am being extra attentive to myself right now.  V and B got home around 4 and we all relaxed for a bit before heading back to his parent's house for dinner.  We were home by 8, Bella was asleep by 8:30 and Vince and I were out by 9.  Exciting, I know.

Monday.  Labor Day.

Now it's Monday, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee are going to insure that we have a soaking wet holiday.  Fine by me, I'm feeling like a home body today and the rain will make it easy to stay inside.  It's going to be a short, and hectic week.  We leave Friday for Mississippi.  For now, I'm going to reheat my coffee, and then begin putting Allie's flower girl dress together.  It's going to be a good day.

Theodore Roosevelt Schultz

October 11, 1921 - September 3, 2011

On this particular Saturday, I woke up at 6 a.m. wide awake.  I laid in bed for about 30 minutes before wandering into the kitchen to make some coffee.  It was 6:45 and my phone was ringing.  The screen told me that Papa was calling, but I knew that it really wasn't him.  I knew what I was about to be told, and I was right...

He went peacefully, in his sleep at 6:25, with my Mom holding his hand and telling him how much she loved him.  Bittersweet.  So bittersweet.  It's been a rough 6 months, and all of that is over now providing a sense of relief, but now begins a new/deeper grieving process.  If I'm being honest, Papa has been gone for a month, but now he is really gone and putting that stamp of finality on it changes everything.

When I was a little girl, I remember our many trips to the airport to pick up Papa and Grandmother.  I would stand in the gate area, with my face pressed against the glass trying to catch a glimpse of the plane barely able to contain my excitement.  The moment I saw Papa, I would make a mad dash into his arms for the biggest hug and kiss I could muster from my tiny frame.  He and I would walk hand in hand to baggage claim, and he would listen to me, mesmerized, as I rambled on about whatever it was I happened to be into at the moment.

And our relationship was always like this, one big easy conversation.  In college, I began calling Papa every Sunday night.  Sometimes we would chat for an hour or so, and I grew to love and depend on these chats.  Sunday night conversations haven't happened for a month now, and it sucks.  I'm really going to miss hearing his voice.

I spent a lot of time with Papa over these last few months.  Time that I will treasure for the rest of my life. We spent a lot of it just talking about anything and everything that had happened in his life.  Amazing.

My Papa lived a full and passion filled life.  I can only imagine the party going on in Heaven.  He is with my Grandmother again, and his family, and I hope he gave my Dad a hug for me.

I am going to really miss him.

Rest in peace Papa, until we meet again....