Tag: traveling

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 Travel/Vacations

Lions, Lyrics & Lakeshore Laughs: Part One

Posted on by Mama

We’ve been trying to enjoy the summer and take advantage of the beautiful, somewhat humid, weather we’ve been having here. We had a goal to try and do as much as possible with Valeria this summer since she now is beginning to understand and can enjoy it.

We recently went to go visit some family in Wasaga Beach which was an absolute blast. We’ve been up there before and it was so wonderful and peaceful, we are hoping one day to find some property and a home as serene as that.

We left on July 31st, with a three hour drive ahead of us, I prepared for everything. Snacks packed, phone fully charged for Bluey and Duo ABC at the ready, books and even a kids music playlist. Valeria did incredible to be honest. We don’t usually take long drives often and Valeria doesn’t usually nap in the car anymore, but she handled the trip wonderfully.

We arrived mid-afternoon and were greeted with big hugs from my cousin, who’s also one of my best friends. Once settled in, Valeria quickly set off exploring the neighbourhood; alternating between running ahead, holding our hands, and stopping to inspect rocks. Until her little legs got tired and said “Daddy…” in her tiny voice and gesturing to be picked up. By the time we got back, she was ready for a nap. While she rested with Anthony, my cousin and I caught up in the kitchen. Having a professionally trained chef in the family is a gift and when I’m with her I definitely take every opportunity to be in the kitchen with her and we work well together actually. Dinner that night was duck fat roasted potatoes, salad, and roasted orange balsamic chicken. Absolutely delicious!

We had planned to go to the farmers market, but we sat around talking with her family after dinner and time got away from us. The farmers market was closed and we decided instead to go for another little walk with Valeria before she had to go to bed for the night. It was short, she played a little and than off the bed. Anthony went to sleep with her since we forgot the blow-up bed railing at home. I let Anthony know via text that my cousin and I decided to go for a very long walk and talk. It’s something we enjoy doing when we’re together and we caught up and vented about a lot. Once we headed in, we made a snack, sat on the couch and watched a bit of t.v. before the day finally caught up with me. At that point I went to bed and she got a call from her new boyfriend, so she stayed chatting with him on the couch.

The next morning we woke up, made breakfast and we had initially planned to go to the beach, but the schedule was a bit too tight. We had the concert that night, so we decided instead to stick close to home. We went for a beautiful morning walk after breakfast and a bit of playtime. Valeria kept asking to go outside, so it worked out wonderfully. And since she was up way too early, nap time came early. My cousin and I decided to grab a coffee at Starbucks, so we went into town with her brother and dad. Their errands ran a bit longer then expected, but by the time we got home, Valeria and Anthony were awake. We landed on a farmers market down the street since we were short on time. It had chickens (one of Valeria’s favourite animals) and a little store on the farm with local goods. It was very close and surprisingly it didn’t just have chickens but also a hay-bail tracker to climb on for the kiddos. It was nice and I picked up a few things: two BBQ sauces, bee pollen, tea, dried apple slices, and turkey pepperoni sticks. Valeria had fun with the chickens and a chicken had escaped and came VERY close to us, which thrilled her beyond belief. They had little food dispensers, so I got some and Valeria happily threw the food into the pens as she said “Nom nom nom” watching them eat. We had to keep her little fingers out of the fence, however she did manage to actually pet one of the chickens and she was over the moon! She squealed and wiggled after it happened, it was absolutely adorable! After that, she went on the shift hay-bail tractor, which she climbed all over. She kept giggling and going “Beep beep…Maşină!” We headed back to the house after a bit.

When we were home, my zio played with Valeria while I did my make-up for the concert and my cousin started cooking dinner. Dinner was Pasta with Alfredo and left over chicken. However, our Alfredo sauce is not done with cream but simply butter, pasta water and Parmigiano cheese. Chef’s kiss deeeeeelicious let me tell you! Once I was ready, I went into the kitchen to help her so that she could get ready for the night. We quickly ate, finished getting ready and left at 5:30 PM. I instantly missed Valeria and Anthony. I really hate being away from them. Is that normal? Anthony is honestly the best husband for allowing me to indulge in some fun, something I don’t do often.

In hindsight, I should have just drove us but we got dropped off by her brother. We could have left later, just parked and once the concert was done came home. Instead of wandering in a shady area of the city after the concert and calling a Lyft to get back home. But I digress, what’s done is done but I know for next time. We went to see Shawn Desman, a Toronto musical gem and totally nostalgic from my teen years. So we HAD to relive a little bit of our youth! He didn’t come on until 8:30 PM, but we knew every song, danced our asses off and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! The man still has a terrific voice and some impressive dance moves for a 43 year old, just sayin’! However, the concert was shorter than we had expected, but amazing nonetheless. I have video, but sadly can’t upload it, sorry folks!

As stated above, we left the concert and coyote spray in hand at the ready (since pepper spray is illegal to have here), we walked to a McDonald’s to use the rest room. However, we were unaware it was in a shady area of the city and they wouldn’t allow us to use the bathroom. We than had to walk to a Pizza Pizza. The bathroom was heinously disgusting, but we were desperate. We called the Lyft, which the driver proceeded to attempt to chat us up and hit on me. I blatantly ignored and just wanted to get home safely, which we did! Snack, unwinding on the couch before we passed out which was a nice ending to the night.

I’ll end the post here since it’s quite lengthy already, but part two incoming tomorrow!

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

Ciao!!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

Family Day + Chillin’ Tuesday

Posted on by Mama

Monday was family day, which added another day to my husband’s holidays and when I found out, well I was thrilled!

Sunday night, we came back to my mother-in-law’s apartment late so we were just going to make the drive home the next day. The next day I was feeling a bit under the weather, I’m sure for a number of reasons, the main one was my tummy was feeling queasy, possible that I had a small bout of food poisoning. Eek! But I’m also very much an introvert, so when my social meter is maxed, I tend to get really exhausted and want space. The number of factors against me was racking up.

My husband’s siblings came over later in the afternoon and he got to spend some time with them. I was resting in the bedroom and I felt terrible I wasn’t out there socializing with them. They ended up playing a new board game that his sister and her fiance brought over called “Worst-case Scenario”. It seemed really fun, I even got to play a round before we left. I told her next time we’re here visiting that I want to actually play for real. They love board games, so it’s always nice that they bring them over for us to play.

We headed home by about 4:30 PM and the drive was pretty quiet. Valeria slept the whole ride, she was exhausted and my husband and I were both fairly silent. Not for any particular reason, we were just both ready to be home in our own space. We really missed our bed. We got home around 6:30 PM and unpacked the car in one go, including Valeria. I did not want to go back out into the cold.

We dropped everything on the floor and quickly spoke to my mom before heading back down to unpack out bags. I leave my husband to unpack his own, but I usually take care of the rest. I also don’t like leaving things packed up, it’s one more thing I don’t need on my list of to-do’s!

After I was done unpacking and sorting things for laundry, I turned to my husband and asked what he wanted to do once Valeria fell asleep for the night. He wanted to veg on the couch, for those of you who don’t know what that means (and the fact I’m showing my 90’s/2000’s lingo here), it means to be lazy on the couch and not do anything. And that was exactly what we did! Valeria spent some much needed time with grandma before her bed time, then she passed out with little fuss. My sleepy girl!

My husband and I proceeded to watch the latest episode of 90 Day Fiance and oh my gosh, what a mess! It’s one of our guilty pleasure, trash television shows. We also have to start the new season of Love is Blind. He went to bed with the baby after the episode and I fell asleep on the couch finishing the show Griselda. Which I think I’ll give a review on. Eventually I crawled into bed by 6 AM and slept for a bit before Valeria woke up, right before my husband started work at 9 AM.

Today has been a pretty chill day, nothing planned or going on. I’ve been really exhausted, even napped when Valeria had her naps. I will admit I’m going through something and can’t quite figure out how to manage. A story for another day though.

I think Valeria hates being home, even though she is tired, she just wants to go go go all the time. She is definitely not a homebody like her mother, that’s for sure. Her naps have been good, she’s been a bit fussy but nothing crazy. Her laugh is coming in more and more each day and it’s too adorable for words!! I’m obsessed, I purposely play with the tummy to make her laugh, she goes crazy. She also has this new excited sound she makes now too. How can I describe it…..it’s like a oooo ooo, think of like a baby owl or like a puppy trying to howl. It’s the sweetest and always puts a smile on my face. She does it whenever things make her happy; animals, her crystals, the fireplace, the giant stuffed Mickey Mouse at my mother-in-law’s, certain people. I wish I could record it for you to hear.

Did your kids make any cute new sounds when they were four months? Does it put a smile on your face thinking back to it?

Valeria is currently sleeping at the moment, mom nap time powers activated! And I’m just writing this up quickly. I’ll be heading to the gym tonight around 7 PM, so wish me luck! Changing up my routine just a little, I’ll let ya know how that goes.

I hope you had a wonderful day wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Reunited!

Posted on by Mama

This past weekend I reunited with my cousin (on my mom’s side) that I hadn’t seen in almost 20 years. Drama and a misunderstanding caused us to lose touch as kids (not our doing, but circumstances with our parents). And we reconnected because of the death of her grandfather. I had messaged her to send my condolences, as I didn’t have her number to call her. Since then, we have talked nearly every day for the past six months!

Not sure you can ever pull us apart now, and we have learned a lot about each other in the past six months. We are literally the same in nearly every way, it’s scary. But we had planned this get together a while ago and now it was time to meet!

I was so excited Sunday morning, that I got up and started to get ready before baby because I knew that when she was up, it was get her ready and hit the road. Well, little Miss Valeria decided she wanted to sleep in super late, of course on the day we needed to be somewhere. It was an hour drive so I let her know that we would be there around 12:30 PM, that was a few days before though. Now Valeria slept until 11:30 AM, so I quickly got her ready; bag was already packed, dressed her in a cute little outfit, popped her into the car seat, winter hat on and we rushed off to the car. We made a very quick pit stop for coffee and pastries and hit the highway.

The traffic was a bit terrible on the highway going passed Toronto, but there wasn’t much we could do about that. We were headed north, so once we got passed the hustle and bustle, we were golden and the drive was nice. We needed up making it up there at around 1:15 PM.

We walked up the stairs to their beautiful home and my husband rang the doorbell. That door opened and instant smiles from both sides. I hugged her tight, her mother, father and brother and it was so heart warming. It’s like no time had passed us by. We were ushered into the kitchen where we had pastries, donuts, and espresso. Later followed by coffee, what?! It’s the Italians/coffee addicts in us! We sat around the table, chatting and laughing and honestly just having a great time. My cousin, of course, got Valeria a beautiful teddy bear and a little puma track suit, perfect for my little Italian/Romanian baby girl! They absolutely adored Valeria and they all took turns holding and playing with her.

We went out for dinner to their favourite Sushi place and spend quite a while there too. Eating and chatting and just sharing memories with each other. After dinner we went back to their house for a coffee, changed Valeria, made some bottles before we hit the road. We knew as soon as Valeria started to get cranky it was time to dash.

We decided to plan another family get together with everyone come spring or summer, but my husband and I let them know we will definitely be coming by more often come warmer weather. And hopefully not just for a few hours. We ended the night with hugs and kisses and headed out the door.

The drive home was pretty clear and actually really nice at night. We got back to my mother-in-law’s apartment around 10 PM, just as his brother, wife and younger son were about to leave. They left their eldest with my mother-in-law for the night. Valeria was pretty wiped and for the first time ever she went from the car seat to bed, with a little milk and passed out. No fuss, no muss. It was lovely.

We spent a little time with my mother-in-law and nephew and then headed to bed ourselves. We were both so exhausted we pretty much fell asleep immediately. And that was the end of the day.

We miss each other already and can’t wait until our next meet up. I regret having missed all that time with her, but we have a life time ahead of us to make up for it.

Hope you had a fantastic weekend wherever you are in the world!

Ciao!!

Posted in Daily Life as a Parent

A Story for Tomorrow

Posted on by Mama

I’ll be completely honest, I am absolutely exhausted!! I will write a full blog about our adventure to see my family.

Valeria is passed out and I’m ready to fall asleep myself, so I think I’ll be off to bed now and write tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day or evening wherever you are in the world.

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Travel Day

Posted on by Mama

To start off, the “storm” we got yesterday was not nearly as bad as they made it out to be. The wind speed was probably the closest in accuracy, the snowfall and visibility conditions were not as bad as they claimed they’d be. It was large snowflakes that fell for a few hours but the accumulation was very minimal. Needless to say, a very mild storm, I’ve been through much worse.

We still stayed home last night just to be safe and decided to leave this morning. I had every intention to wake up early, get everything ready, but my body had other plans. It kept saying “Sleeeeep….you are so cozy and warm, baby is cuddled next to you….you need sleeeeep”. And I slept until 10:30 AM….whoops!

I quickly got up and started running around to get things ready and done, my husband was nice enough to watch Valeria as I did so. When I was nearly done, baby girl looked ready for a nap, so we opted to let her sleep before we left, 40 minute nap later and she was a happy girl again. My husband loaded up the car and off we went.

The highway was busy with long weekend traffic, but the drive was smooth nonetheless. We stopped at Castelli Mercato, a little Italian bakery my husband found on Instagram. Oh man….was it delicious!! Will definitely be going back!

The rest of the day was good, got to my mother-in-law’s and just relaxed. My husband’s brother and his wife came over for a bit and we got to spend some good quality time with them and their boys. Their oldest is here for the night.

Now it’s time to put Valeria to bed which is posing to be difficult. I must dash, she is wailing now…eek

Until next time!!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Travel Delays??

Posted on by Mama

Today is a wonderfully gloomy day outside, which from what the weather network says, there is going to be a snow storm this afternoon. Yuck! Frankly, I’m over the snow, but it is February so I know winter is not quite gone yet.

Also, I fear my husband may be getting sick since he said he was freezing this morning. This man is NEVER cold, and that’s usually one of his signs that he is coming down with something. But if you ask him he says he’s fine. If you could see my face right now, I’m giving him the MHM side-eye look, a typical facial expression of all wives. Don’t lie ladies, you’ve done it once or twice to your man!

I personally think we should play today by ear, I really don’t want to travel with Valeria in a winter storm. We were suppose to go to the Butterfly Conservatory and than to my mother-in-law’s house, but last night we decided to swap things around and go to the Italian bakery/falls today than my mother-in-law’s. Now I’m even questioning that. I don’t know, it’s morning as I’m writing this, so I’ll let ya know what happens. I’m just a worry wart and would rather wait until tomorrow morning to go.

Plus I’ll be honest, I have NOTHING packed. I’m usually more prepared then this, but I’ve been so exhausted and I was doing laundry yesterday and being a lazy bum for the most part. I need my lazy days too! I need to pack for Valeria and myself, need to shower, run to the store for cat food, make sure my husband packs his bag (brings his work laptop just in case we get stuck at my mother-in-law’s passed Monday due to weather), and just UGH.

I seriously have no energy today for it. All I really want to do is lounge with my husband and daughter, read a bit and stay warm inside. That just sounds perfect to me.

Anyway, we’ll see what my husband says, but I’m going to try sticking to my guns on this one. I do not want to travel during a winter storm with our baby girl. Nope, nope, and NOPE!

Wish me luck….and warmth!

Ciao!!

Posted in Travel/Vacations

Last Minute Travel

Posted on by Mama

I will make this short and sweet since it’s been a bit of a hectic evening.

I decided to go with my husband to his mom’s, but instead of heading home tomorrow we will be heading home Wednesday. If all goes well and our internet is fixed. It also gives my mother-in-law a chance to spend some quality time with our daughter.

We try to see her as often as we can, but Canadian winters can sometimes be unpredictable and horrid. Who wants to be out in the cold?

The decision was last minute so I had to pack for my daughter and I. I swear I bring three times as much now that I have a child, but I’d rather be over prepared than under, am I right? Yes…*nods her head* I am.

We made it to my mother-in-law’s in about an hour and 20 minutes. Great time and the highway wasn’t all that busy. Our daughter slept for about half the trip and she was just chilling in her car seat for the other half. We had a wonderful dinner when we got here of schnitzel, rice and veggies. My mother-in-law can cook! I’m very fortunate, let me tell you! She has made me fall in love with Romanian food…soooooo yummy!

After dinner, we all watched 90 Day Fiancé, a guilty pleasure of ours. We joke around and kind of make fun of it to be honest. I feel for people who actually go through the process of a K1 Visa, but you know half this shit is scripted for television. Plus, not sure any of these couples will make it to the alter this season, but we’ll see! I’ll keep ya posted.

Anyway, I’m off to bed. Pretty tried from the previous night and traveling today. I have an interesting post for tomorrow though so stay tuned!

Ciao!