Tag: Nature

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Lions, Lyrics & Lakeshore Laughs: Part Two

Posted on by Mama

Welcome back ladies and gents to the sequel!

Saturday was a long day though it was filled with lots of fun and laughter. We woke up fairly early to have breakfast and get ready for the zoo. Yes, you read that right, the zoo! My cousin found a small zoo called Elmvale Zoo and wasn’t too far away. Valeria loves animals so it was the perfect outing to go on for the day.

Breakfast consumed, diaper bag packed, snacks a go, only to be dressed and out the door we went for our adventure to begin. The car ride was quick, though within the first five minutes of Valeria being in the car she squeaked out “All done..” as she proceeded to eat her digestive cookie and closing her eyes. She was food drunk from breakfast and the car ride lulled her to a sleep/wake state of mind.

The parking lot was fairly empty when we arrived, parking away from most of the cars already in there. We made hast to get into the zoo so Valeria could start exploring and expend some energy. She ran to the first exhibit which was reptiles and she squealed with excitement. She knew exactly where she was now and you couldn’t stop her from wanting to see everything after that. They had no bears sadly, but they had all kinds of animals including lions and tigers. Which she kept asking us in her teeny voice “IN!” which we responded “Nope it’s dangerous baby, we can’t go in.” She would get upset for a moment before she moved onto the next thing. Oh toddlers! My daughter is going to be an adrenaline junkie/daredevil I can feel it.

We wandered around, and when we reached the goats, a lovely older couple kindly offered Valeria some of their feed so she could give it to the animals. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and we made sure to thank them sincerely. They were genuinely sweet (something I don’t often encounter these days) and we were truly grateful. Valeria happily petted and fed the goats before making her way over to the llamas.

The whole zoo trip was a few hours spent walking around and admiring the animals and honestly it was great. Valeria had a blast the whole time and it’s so incredible to watch how much she loves animals. It was also wonderful how much time she got to spend with her Zia (auntie).

We stopped in at the gift shop, which was hard to bypass as it was literally the exit point of the zoo. But I did end up picking up a cute tiger magnet for the fridge. I think that’s going to be a thing I do from now on as a souvenir of our adventures. But magnet in hand, off we went to the car to head back to my cousins’ place.

Valeria was incredibly tired and went straight to bed for her nap. My cousin and I made some lunch and then sat around chatting. Once Valeria and Anthony awoke, they had a bit of lunch and we just kind of hung out. When dinner came rolling around, we cooked ate and then decided to head to the local “car show” that happens every Saturday night. Which is really just a bunch of people who bring their classic cars to a parking lot for people to admire while they do a raffle and play music. It was fun nonetheless and I got to see my dream car (however not the year I like), the Chevy Impala. I’m making big dreamy, googly eyes just thinking about it!

My zio wanted to go grab ice cream, but we said no because it was so late and we didn’t want Valeria hopped up on sugar before she went to bed. But he and Valeria did have an impromptu dance party in the parking lot where the car show was being held. Doesn’t surprise me that she likes oldies like mama and daddy.

We headed home and off to bed she went, while the rest of the evening was quiet and we all passed out pretty early.

Sunday was a beach day, more like beach morning since Valeria for whatever reason got tired a bit earlier then anticipated. But she did go in the water with Anthony, I however was not going into the ice cold lake water! She is incredibly fearless, it’s amazing. We obviously had floaties on her, but after she was done in the water, she played in the sand and walked around. Thank goodness I brought snacks because she devoured them before the nap monster showed up. It was time to go and frankly I was over it because it started to get VERY crowded on the beach come 12 PM. We packed up and went home.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet to be honest; nap, lunch, playing, went to another farmers market, dinner, walk and bed shortly after. I couldn’t pack that night but it wouldn’t take long in the morning anyway. Again, we all passed out pretty early.

On Monday, it was time to head back home. We woke up, enjoyed breakfast, and got ready for the day before I packed everything up. Once the car was loaded, we shared our thank-yous and said our goodbyes. Parting from my cousin was difficult, but I’m hopeful it won’t be another seven months before we see each other again. The trip was relaxing, fun and much needed for all of us.

But that’s it for this one, I hope you enjoyed and I will chat with you next time.

Have a wonderful day or night wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Apple Farm Adventure

Posted on by Mama

We’ve been home for a few days before we have to head back to my husband’s hometown to house sit for his sister. However, anyone with little ones will understand that they get a bit stir crazy being indoors all day long and my baby girl is no except. Along with my husband.

So, we ventured out to a local apple farm, my husband and I attended before, to go exploring with Valeria for the first time. It has all sorts of play areas, a toddler corn maze, animals (which you aren’t suppose to pet, but we did) and photo opportunities galore! Not to mention the opportunity to pick your own apples or buy from their store on site, we opted to buy some at the end of our visit. There was really no one there and we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

We took some family photos, went through the toddler corn maze, Valeria got to play in this area with bouncing animal things she could ride (she isn’t that coordinated yet so she just pushed and pulled them around. We went on this big jumpy pillow thing, I don’t even know, but my goodness it was fun! The kid in me came out, let me tell you! Also, when we went on the swings. As an adult, I’m truly still a kid at heart for certain things.

After that we went to see the animals; pigs, chickens, quails, bunnies, sheep, mini horses, goats, cows, a horse and a donkey. The horse took to me immediately, even watched me from the barn window until I came over to the pasture area. It would only let me pet it and whenever Anthony or Valeria tried, the horse would pull away. However, the donkey LOVED Valeria and kept nuzzling the fence for pets and attention. You aren’t suppose to pet the animals, but come on, how could you not? I know, shame shame on us. The horse and donkey even followed us along the fence as we left, it was a bitter sweet moment.

Once we were done all our activities, they had a sanitation station where you could wash your hands after playing (and sneakily petting) the animals. Very smart and convenient might I add. Bonus, it was not in a stinky building either, it was a cart that was near the entrance to the farm, absolutely fantastic for families with multiple kids.

Next up was the store, which be browsed and I got a compliment on my outfit from one of the stay members. Hurray! It was great in there, however they upped their prices just a smidge from last year, and their bakery has been cut down to half. A bit sad because their baked goods, both sweet and savoury, are to die for! I’m not a pie person by any means, frankly I hate it for the crust, but their apple pie is done with like puff pastry and oh man….so good. But we settled on an 8lb bag of Sunrise Apples, I believe that’s what they were called and left. Anthony ate two in the car and I had one, giving small nibbles to Valeria as we headed home. We just couldn’t resist honestly and the taste difference from a farm compared to a store, well…I’ll take farm fresh any day of the week.

I’m thinking I might make an apple crisp since these apples are good for baking and eating as is. So stayed tuned for that! The day was wonderful, cool and a bit overcast, but it was perfect for our little outing. We will definitely be making another trip out there before Autumn ends, but today was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better family day.

Hope you all had a wonderful day wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

My Little Chamomile Plant

Posted on by Mama

Last year I planted Chamomile in the garden and it was a tiny little thing and it produced hardly any flowers at all. It died with the first frost and I had heard that can can come back and spread like a weed, but I wasn’t sure I believed it. Boy was I wrong!

It came back this year and spread, these little guys are the first blossoms of the season and the plant has a ton of little buds on it that have yet to bloom. I read that the more you pick the flowers, the more it will produce. I’m hoping they are right.

The few that I picked are currently being dried by the window on a paper towel, which is probably not the most ideal way to do it, but it’s all I can do right now. If they don’t dry properly, well I feel less bad since it’s a small batch.

I wouldn’t mind making a healing salve for my hands with it too, but that I will need to look into a little further. Hmmm, I wonder if I can take an herbalism course? I’m great with herbs and flowers, not so great with vegetables. Would love to learn more in-depth about the medicinal purposes and how to create things with the plants. I do have an Encyclopedia, but I like to know every little thing and step by step instructions on how to create salves and such. I can’t just go in guns blazing! Maybe one day I’ll take a course, it is fascinating though.

I’m hoping Valeria has as much of an interest in plants as I do. We take her out in the garden and her pool is out there as well, so she gets to splish splash while enjoying nature.

I’ll keep you posted through out the summer about my little chamomile plant and if I’ve learned anything new. If anyone has suggestions or knowledge about these sorts of things, please let me know in the comments.

Time to do my research!

Ciao!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Valeria’s Seven Month Photos

Posted on by Mama

Now, we were away when she turned seven months, but it was such a beautiful day that we opted to take advantage. There is that beautiful white floral bush in front of our home, I posted a photo of it the other day, but I will share it again down below.

We laid down a blanket and her seven month sign and did a little photo shoot today. Didn’t capture too many pictures as she became very curious of all the plants and flowers surrounding her. She is just motoring around already, so her curiosity gets the better of her.

After the photos we decided for a nice walk, I mean why not enjoy the the heat and sunshine. Maybe my pale skin will get a tan! Sigh, being a pale Italian….it’s rough!

I took my camera with me and snapped some beautiful shots, and maybe need to learn boundaries….I really shouldn’t just roll up on people’s lawns taking photos are their flowers. But they were so beautiful….sorry neighbours! I generally ask if they are outside though.

Valeria is down early tonight, she had a very long day. But enjoy the photos and I hope you have a wonderful day wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Day at the Park

Posted on by Mama

Today was a bit of an adventure for our baby girl and a trip down memory lane for me and my husband. We decided, on this wonderful Sunday, to head to a local park in our city. It was actually one of our first dates when he came to visit me. We were long distance for a while, since we started dating at the beginning of COVID and he lived about an hour and a half away from me. Online dating, gotta love it!

We bundled our little bean up and off we went to the park. It also gave me the opportunity to take the camera with me and get some beautiful shots. I prefer black and white, but coloured photos have their place as well. I suppose it’s the old soul in me, loving black and white photography.

The day was crispy and lightly snowing, with a light grey overcast. To be honest, it sounds miserable, but it was perfect. No one was there, except us and a few cars in the parking lot. We put baby girl in the stroller, tucked her in with her fluffy warm blanket and off we went. Let’s just say she immediately fell asleep with the bottle in her mouth.

Bottle removed, baby girl sleeping and mommy and daddy had time to talk, walk and take photos. People are incredibly friendly when you have a baby. Mostly older couples would pass us and say hello, others saw the camera and smiled politely. Strange how people work isn’t it? Seeing how the social dynamic changes once you have a child.

My husband pointed out that I was more of an extrovert today, usually I am full introvert mode all the time, but I was saying hello and asking people if I could take pictures of their dogs. I smirked and shrugged at him. I was enjoying the time we were spending together and the creativity flowing through me. Our baby girl woke up near the end of our walk, as we were passing the ducks. We made our way back to the car noting more people and more cars in the parking lot. It became busy at the park, but we missed most of that hustle and bustle. We headed home, with a pit stop to the grocery store.

The afternoon was quiet: groceries put away, dinner prepped and made, calorie counter app downloaded and set up, photos looked at and Instagram account created. All in between trying to put our girl to sleep for a nap, which she was having none of. It has been a difficult afternoon/evening in that regard. Cat naps just aren’t cutting it and we don’t know what we can do to help her. If anyone has any suggestions, pleeeeeease let us know! We always feel like we have it down, then what soothed her yesterday doesn’t soothe her today. Always a learning process with kids I suppose.

Now about that Instagram…

My husband encouraged me to start one, informing me that I should showcase my talent. I’m an amateur at best, but I’m learning more and more every time. Just having fun with it. If you are interested in checking it out here is the address: https://www.instagram.com/dlightfulsnapshots/

Nothing else really to report, I’m just going to try to get our girl to sleep and then maybe unwind with this new show I’ve been watching called So Help me Todd. Pretty funny, witty and highly recommend.

Wishing you all a wonderful evening or day, depending on where you are in the world.

Ciao!