The adventures of Monday and Tuesday

Catch-up seems to be the story of my life right now! Oh well ... I suppose I might as well accept it as reality and do my best to not get too too behind on my posts. If I go too long I begin to forget all the things I want to tell!

So, Monday first. I had another lovely morning with the girls that included all the normal activities - walking around town, spending time in the park, enjoying the weather phenom of the day (clouds, potential rain, sun, or wind ... this Monday it was wind that was particularly fascinating), and this, that, and the other. Ginevra has really taken to playing with my hair, which is very sweet (especially since there are plenty of hugs and ti voglio bene's thrown in as a bonus!), but I often have to remind her to do so "piano, piano!" (gently, gently!).

But then, I'm afraid the the loveliness was interrupted with a bang - a bang too literal for my taste! Let's put it this way: I got a generous serving of what true Mommy-anxiety feels like!

It seems that Ginevra cannot bear to be without a battle wound of some sort. Monday marked the first day that I could honestly say the awful black eye, from a fall that happened earlier last week, had truly disappeared ... and then she went and black-and-blued another member of her face!

Here's what happened: we had been walking for an hour and a half or so, and le ragazzine hanno sete (they were thirsty). Ginevra had also been begging to see gli americani all morning, so it all worked out and everyone was happy. We dropped in at the Palazzo for water and fruit, and then visited some with Alessandra, the lovely young woman that helps cook our meals and keep the kitchen well-stocked with delicious foods. The little girls also got to see a bit of John Rose, which both they and he enjoyed!

But then a few steps from the door, Ginevra wiped out on the last couple stairs ... I was so scared! I had Veronica on my hip and Gigia had been coming down behind me, but then Lolo started squirming to get down and I had to get to the bottom fast so that she didn't take us all down. No sooner had I gotten to the bottom and set Veronica down that I heard a boom and felt my heart hit the floor. Ginevra had tripped and, not holding the railing, fallen face first down the last three steps.

Since her nose got the brunt of the blow, there was quite a lot of blood at first and it got all over both of us. The funny thing was - and this is how I knew almost immediately that she wasn't too banged up - Ginevra was more upset about the blood getting on her clothes ("It's there, and there, and here," she said, pointing at her clothes and mine) than she was about her poor little nose! Go figure ... that's Gigia for you :)

The end of it was, I sat on the floor with her for a few minutes to calm her down and stop the bleeding, and then after both the tears and the blood had stopped, we all got back up on our feet and made for home with little to no drama. Gigia was pretty somber, but whenever I asked her how her nose felt she would simply say, "Bene," and then start calling my attention to the blood spots on her shoulder or her sleeve. A half hour later she was jumping off the couch and playing peek-a-boo on the floor with Lolo (Want proof? Watch the video on Picasa!). Oh, Gigia!

Thus, I am very happy to report that the adorable little nose remains intact - a little purple in one or two places this morning, but otherwise you'd never know anything was wrong with her!

Ahhhh, today. Today was challenging for me. The funny this is, I only had one child today! There really is a lot of truth to the notion that watching multiple children can often be much easier than watching only one ...

Ginevra, purple nose and all, had her first "day" (it's really only a couple hours in the morning) of school today, so Patrizio took the two of them to school and I took Veronica out the door at the same time. Our hope was that she would mind being left behind less if she felt that she too was going somewhere ... no such luck. She screamed all the way down the street and then all the way down the next, alternating between family members' names and spitting at me!

I tried everything I could think of to distract her and was about to throw up my hands in typical Italian fashion and say "Boh!" (I don't know), when Veronica started screaming a new word: "toh-toh." Read: biscotto (cookie). Ah-ha! There was my saving grace! I started talking to her about cookies, and how good they were, and how we would try to find one somewhere in town during our walk. Bribery? Borderline, sure. Effective? Absolutely!

In another minute the storm had passed and she was happily engaged in regarding all the people around her. Tuesday is a market day, so we wound in and out of the crowded streets for a half-hour or so, enjoying all the pretty things from a distance. A stroller is a wonderful preventative measure for those who struggle with window shopping :) One gets so caught up in the art of not taking anybody out or running over a stranger's toes that it is impossible to even consider reaching into one's purse for money.

Anyway, after that I decided to follow through with the biscotto discussion, and concluded that it was equally important that I have some coffee. So we dropped in a little bar and I bought a caffe lungo for me and then a brioche and some water for Lolo. All began very well - she sat up in a big girl chair, nibbled on her treat, and drank her water without spilling because she let me help her. I should have known things were going too well! It's hard to believe this cute little munchkin can cause the level of ruckus she did today ...

The trouble began with the brioche. Out of habit, and in the hopes of there being less mess (which ending up not being the case at all), I tore the sweet bread in half to make it easier for her to eat. Bad idea. The screaming recommenced with greater force this time, in the middle of a very public place, and I could feel the judgmental eyes descend upon what they likely deemed a mother who was incapable of controlling her child. There were two old grandmothers sitting nearby who were particularly obvious in their disgust with the scene. I wanted to ask if their children had never cried or misbehaved, and if not, whether they would share with me their secret formula for the perfect child ................................. but I refrained.

When I finally got her calmed down, there were bits of brioche everywhere, my pride was seriously marred, and cutting eyes of the nonnas as frustrating as ever. But then Veronica la Cattiva disappeared and Veronica la Bellina returned in full swing, so she started being sociable and saying "Ciao!" to everyone, including the disapproving nonnas. I expected this would help, and that in another minute they'd be commenting on how sweet and adorable she is, as is the normal response to la Bellina. Well, I was wrong.

At first, they simply ignored her, which was rude enough, but then, while Veronica is smiling and saying "ciao" like the sweet little thing she usually is, one of them looked into her little face and said, "Stai zitta!" ... which is the Italian equivalent of "shut up." I was so mad! It took a whole lot more self-control than the first time to keep myself and my knowledge of smart alec Italiano in check. I couldn't believe how rude and, really, just downright mean they were!

Lesson learned: not all Italian nonnas are kind. There are sweet ones and there are sour ones, just like green grapes.

And on that profound note, I will have to call it quits for tonight! There is more of Tuesday to be told, but it will need to wait until the next post ...


Buonanotte!