and for halloween this year my children will be:

A little Dorothy Gale and a little Scarecrow. This timeless movie is actually one of their favorites. David particularly enjoys the munchkins, and I mean, who can blame him.

Letty of course posed perfectly and loved everything about her costume from the ribbons right down to the tips of her sparkly red shoes. I got so many cute shots of her that I couldn't just choose one. And so since this is my blog I decided I wouldn't choose just one. And note to self? The fireplace screen is reflective. Can you spot a belly?

And then there be David. I'm not sure if it was the shock of a fleece onesie on a most unusually warm Fall day, or if it was the addition of the hat/hood, but he clearly enjoyed this. Matt was on standby with "em e ems" galore.







After the screaming subsided these were the best I could do. Tears and all. That's just how the em e em's melt sometimes eh?

Take it away Letty!


I am linking up with Helene and Tay and their #blogtober14 challenge on the final day. Thanks for hosting ladies! As always, good train.

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facts. a few facts.

Some of you have been here since the beginning... and other's have just happened upon this post and this blog today for the first time I would wager. Some of these facts are commonly known and some I'm sure are only known to Matt or my mother, and some of these are just ridiculous. Like my love of all things pirate-related. But facts they are.

1. At least I think these are facts because sometimes a story sticks in my mind for years only to be discovered to in fact be false. This is in fact, a fact.
2. I already worry about my sons leaving me when they are older. You have a daughter you have her for life you have a son until he takes a wife. Or some such nonsense as that. Case in point: Matt.
3. I don't like movies that star Denzel Washington. Blame He Got Game. Although Philadelphia is quite amazing.
4. The first time I traveled internationally I was 13 and it was to Italy. I have never been the same since.
5. I used to think being a toll booth worker was quite an interesting profession.
6. I really did not want to change my name when we got married. Trovato has such a better ring to it than Olsen eh?
7. I do not know my multiplication tables.
8. I was born on 8-3-83. For someone who has difficulty remembering dates this was most helpful. Thankfully my daughter was born on 8 plus 2 equals 10 and my son at the 7-11 two years after his sister. My brain is a web of mystery.
9. I did not know how to French Braid until 2014.
10. I have coffee at least three times a day. I am from New York.
11. I am sarcastic, loud, and bratty. I am most fun.
12. I sleep with the ceiling fan on every single night and I have for as long as I have had a ceiling fan.
13. I am one of four children. Boy girl, boy girl.
14. My first alcoholic beverage was a sip of a wine cooler when I was 14 and at the beach with a girlfriend of mine. I was guilt-ridden for the longest time but did not tell my parents. I just decided I would not sip again..... until I was out of high school.
15. I have a tactile issue with clothing and tags and anything itchy. Sweaters make me run for the hills.
16. I can type approximately 91 wpm. You can find out your speed here.
17. The first time I thought I saw a ghost was when a Barbie fell off my bed when I was 4. Gravity. Ghost. Same difference.
18. When I first met Matt he had a girlfriend. One he had for a really long time.
19. We see my parents and sister and her family on average 4 times a week. Sometimes more.
20. I have five tattoos. And my dad hates that.
21. First words when I saw Letty: Thank God she is white. First words when I saw David: My God he stinks. The first because Letty was conceived via IUI and Matt joked for 9 months that the paperwork had the name "Juan" on it. And the second because birth is gross and it was true.
22. I get heart palpitations when the kids dump out a bin of toys.
23. I prefer red wine to white wine and that is because of my grandmother.
24. Speaking of my grandmother, when I used to leave her to head back to PA I would cry. Not just one single tear I am talking a sobbing hysterical mess until at least the PA turnpike. This continued until I was in high school.
25. I have moved 6 times. Two of those across state lines.
26. I do not cook nor do I do the grocery shopping. Husband Jackpot Winner since 2006.
27. I love diamond jewelry but rarely change what I'm wearing. I even sleep in my diamond hoops. It can't be helped.
28. I played field hockey and I was absolutely terrible at it. Loved the skirts. But an athlete I am not.
29. When not growing a child I prefer to sleep on my stomach with my face smushed into three pillows. At least.
30. I love lists!

And there you have it. Thirty completely useless facts about yours truly. ;)

I am linking up with Helene and Tay and their #blogtober14 challenge. 

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cape cod ii: towers and beaches oh my

Our first full day in Cape Cod was slated to be more of the same, weather-wise. Which is just fine for me. I think I'm still used to the foggy, windy, gray days. Although what I had forgotten was just how much colder that same wind can be on the coast versus say in the parking lot of the hotel. I guess as a child the cold air just blows right on by you and bothers you not at all. Thankfully, I came prepared.

Our first item on the agenda was First Crush Winery. My sister had found it and thought it sounded pretty cool, especially since the owner's name was Dominic and as you know I'm partial to that name. We drove the 15 minutes down the highway and pulled into an industrial park. I stayed firmly planted in the van and Matt reluctantly went to the door under the only sign with my sister and brother-in-law. And apparently, he could not have been more pleasantly surprised. They got a tasting and a tour and a lovely chat with Mister Dominic himself. It was right up Matt's alley as a semi-retired wine maker. Maybe it will bring back the spirits?

That was the younger generation's turn and then it was my mother's. Off to an antique mecca she went while Matt and I took the kids to the Scargo Tower. Or as Letty referred to it, Rapunzel's Tower. It was frigid and windy but there were steps and no one else was around. The kids ran around and around and up and down and peaked over the edge and stared at the waves.

After that was out of our system we surveyed the map for another nearby location that could be used to occupy the children rather than torment any antique shoppers. Corporation Beach fit the bill, as it was just down the road and free and outside. It was a gorgeous beach complete with choppy waves from the departing storm.

After picking up my mother from her wares-of-olde shopping, we headed back into Hyannis to meet my brother and his friend for lunch. Had I not mentioned he was also to be in Cape Cod? He was only passing through on his way out to Nantucket but he had just enough time before his boat to meet us at the British Beer Company for some well, beers, and some tasty food. And Mumford. Okay and crayons, always crayons.

The day just keeps on going does it not? We had a plan, my sister and I. The days were booked chock full of fun activities. The Pilgrim Monument was our next target, way up on the very tippy top of the hook, about an hour from our hotel. It was a 220 foot tall tower. And we climbed it. Me, The Belly, Colton, Matt and the kids. Up and up we went. And then down and down we went. I'm sure on a clearer day the view would have been quite something, but as it was I thought it was something to see.

Lastly we visited Truro Vineyards. The tasting was longer and more expensive than the drinking parties in our party would have liked and so we just passed on through after a quick gander at the store.

Heading back towards Hyannis we pulled into every single antique store we passed... most of which were eye sores that left us in stitches. At one point Matt asked me to pull into the middle of a graveyard and inform my mother that Google said there was a shop in that very spot. She may have had more luck there than some of the actual stores.

For dinner we went to DiParma Italian Table where the food was good and our bellies became full. And then. We swam yet again. Lord help us all.

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superstitions.

Black cats. Walking under ladders. Are those the things people have superstitions about these days? Personally they don't faze me... I even had a black cat a time or two. Little cutie. Ironically his name was Dominic and he was (possibly is to this day) a real asshat. Let's hope Dominic II (the human) will have his father's personality. KNOCK ON WOOD.

But other superstitions? I've got em. Sure enough.

1. Matt hates the time 11:11. He feels like more often than not when he looks at a clock it is 11:11. He's read all kinds of theories on the internet about what that means, and probably most of them have to do with aliens or The Matrix (because, it's like, real man).  I've started to notice a similar occurrence regarding the time... I think it's just some internal pull towards the clock around that time every day. But I still notice it. I have started addressing the clock. Oh! 11:11! It's you again! That must mean _______ is in the room. And I insert the name of a deceased relative. I won't allow myself to in any way fear a silly little time but I will always make it a time to remember a lost loved one. Why not right?

2. Ladybugs! I once read that when you see an animal or an insect in an odd place or doing something odd that that is a deceased loved one popping by for a visit. I'm not sure I believe that anyone I love would be hanging out as a ladybug per se... but whenever I see one crawling by on my windowsill or land somewhere near by I use it as a time to send up a little mental hello and an I miss you to those people that very well could be popping by to chat. Who knows really. Letty thinks you get to heaven by car. I mean, maybe she's on to something. And maybe she isn't. 

3. Bad things come in three's. Even writing that down makes me anxious. Whether it's a death or an accident or a falling out with a family member, I have seen "bad" things happen in threes time and time again. I should debunk this silly little superstition because I hate it so... always waiting for the other ax to fall and what not. Someone please debunk it for me.

4. A few items have popped into mind that I can't quite decide if they are superstitions or just my OCD behavior... Needing to end on an even number for one. Checking on the children every time I wake up during the night for fear the one time I won't something will be amiss. Staring at a blown out candle till I count to five to assure myself the flame is in fact, out. OCD right? 

Deep cleansing breath.... and.... moving on...

Today is our eighth wedding anniversary! Ever the romantic (wink wink), I'm one to spout my love from the rooftops as often as I can. And I actually did something like that here. There are just heaps and gads of superstitions around weddings. Some that I did buy in to? Something old, something borrowed and something blue (the last two were one in the same, with an embroidered handkerchief carried by every woman in my family on their wedding day, a few generations running). I wore a veil, just not over my face. We didn't see each other on the day of prior to rounding that corner at the ceremony. It rained on our wedding day and thumbs up to that! I also cried and cried a whole bunch. Big ridiculous streaming down your face tears. All those superstitions, regardless of their legitimacy, seem to be paying off so far. The day itself (and the week and months prior) might not have gone off without a hitch but when the sun set on that October 28th we were married. And eight years later, we still are... and happy to boot! I kind of love you Matt. And Happy Anniversary!

Our wedding day here. How we became a two-some here.

I am linking up with Helene and Tay and their #blogtober14 challenge. 

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