Thursday/January 7 was my first official day of work for the week. We ate breakfast together and discussed the plan for the day. I stayed home with Two while HP went to ski and One was at ski lessons. One has been in ski lessons all week, some days for half a day and some days for the full day. He seemed to be enjoying it. My day with Two was a bit strenuous. Two walked around crying most of the morning. I tried doing everything he loves to get him to stop - reading books, coloring, watching tv, etc, but he kept crying. He doesn’t typically cry when we go on walks, so him and I left in the late morning with the stroller. We walked around a bit as I tried to find good vantage points to take photos. Much to my dismay, there weren’t places I could walk with the stroller. It was already late in the morning and I knew we’d have to go back soon enough for lunch and Two’s nap. I gave up on the idea for the day. Two and I went to the grocery store and picked up a couple of Italian goods. By “goods,” I mean some dessert type items (I have a huge sweet tooth). When I was checking out, the cashier smiled at me and told me my items weren’t a proper breakfast. I assured him that it wasn’t for breakfast. Two and I then went to a cafe and got some hot chocolate. He wasn’t interested in drinking any and was getting restless from hunger and fatigue, so I drank quickly and we left. We came home and I prepared some lunch. Like flipping a switch, he became visibly grumpy as soon as we got back home. I guess being here without HP and One makes him remember that they exist and that they’re not present. I tried to feed him as quickly as possible so he could go down for his nap. He fell asleep easier than anticipated. I took the time to clean up the kitchen and then relax in my room, finishing a book I had started on the drive down here. Two was sleeping for just under two hours. HD/One got home just after Two woke up. At home, Two sleeps in a crib. Here, he slept in the king sized bed with One. When I heard him crying, the signal that he was awake, I slowly made my way inside his room. I found him rummaging through his bag to find a diaper. I guess he wanted a fresh one. I was in the bedroom with Two, changing his diaper and talking to him, when I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. HD had been slowly walking down the hallway, watching us. HP often do this when they get home. I guess they like to see what we’re doing before we know they’re there. When HM was done skiing, HD, the kids, and I met HM at the little skating rink in town. The five of us spent an hour ice skating. I’d never been ice skating at an outdoor rink before, and it even started snowing while we were there! The experience was pretty magical. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few supplies. I guess my body was still recovering from the three days of skiing, because I was still exhausted. Despite this, I felt a bit restless stuck at home with Two all day. I had wanted to go out and explore. I didn’t want to waste my time in Italy stuck inside the apartment. I can’t complain though, as I did get to spend three full days out skiing.
Friday was Two’s second birthday. It was also our last full day in Italy. One had his last day of ski classes, HP had their last day on the slopes, and I stayed home with Two. It was a slow start to the morning. We celebrated Two’s birthday with cake for breakfast (as well as typical breakfast foods, but cake was the first thing consumed). HM left with One to drop him off at ski class. HD, Two and I lingered at home. HD started the process of packing while I watched Two. HM drove back and picked up HD. The two of them then left to ski, leaving me at home with Two. He still cries a lot when he gets left with me, and it is infinitely worse when we just stay at home. I quickly grew tired of his screaming, so we set off to get a hot chocolate. I also wanted to walk around and take pictures with my nice camera, but I didn’t have enough time and the stroller makes everything more difficult. This town was also incredibly hilly (imagine that, in a mountain town!), and it’s a work out just to walk around with the stroller. Anyways, HD was coming back at 12:30 to pick us up and it was already 10:30 by the time him and HM had left the house. In that two hour stretch, I had to make sure both of us had lunch. Basically, I didn’t have enough time to do everything. Anyways, Two and I went to get hot chocolate. He normally isn’t fussy once we’re out of the house, but he was being exceptionally difficult and was crying in the cafe. I tried to get in and out of there as soon as possible. On the way home, an older woman stopped me and asked me where the grocery store was. She did so in Italian. Luckily all she said was three words, which I understood. I pointed her in the right direction and she seemed grateful. We came home and I prepared some lunch. Two finally stopped crying when we sat down and watched tv. Thank goodness. HD got home around 12:15 and ate lunch with us. The three of us then got ready and headed out to meet up with HM. On the last day of ski lessons, the kids have a “race.” They each go down a specified course and are timed. The top three kids in each group get a medal. We all met on the mountain to watch this. We spent about three hours on the mountain. We watched One in his race, drank some hot chocolate, generally loitered around, and attended the “awards ceremony” for the kids. My feet were icicles by the end of it. I was glad to be out of the house and on the mountain for my last day in Italy. We finally came home around 4pm. We spent the evening celebrating Two’s birthday, packing, eating the rest of the food, and hanging out.
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