San Sylvester Dinner

For this night's dinner we made something special, Sanpei baked some nut bread, he made it all by himself, flour, nuts, water, yeast and ... 1 hour time, the result was a fantastic bread, puffy, flavourous one ^_^

I cooked mushroom rice, cotechino rolled in bread decorated with stars and fruits accompanied by fennel, and for appetizers we cooked some salatini and small pizzas.

Waiting for midnight we watched Dysney cartoons on tv with Momichan and at midnight we drank champagne and went in the gaqrden for fireworks (we had bought some little ones), Momichan was enchanted and not even a little frightened. As soon as we finished to light our fireworks and see the other ones everywhere around, we got inside house to eat panettone and we lighted scintillini ... Momichan loved them, you can see in the photo here under, she continuously said "one more, one more !"

At one o c'lock we were all tired so we finally went up the stairs to our little house and granny went to her bedroom.
Goodnight everybody and a happy new year ^________^

31st San Sylvester Night

This night is the last of the year so we go to the supermarket to buy the last few things we need for dinner. Momichan has not slept because we want her awake to see the fireworks this night.
We will have cotechino with lentils and veggies, panettone and daddy will make special bread with nuts ^^

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY ^______^

25th december: Merry X'Mas !!!

This year X'mas is a little different.
For midday's lunch granny will be at my sister's house while we will have lunch in our new little "house" thanks to the new kitchen, in the evening we will go all togather to aunties' house with all the relatives.

In our home, X'Mas day starts with a special breakfast and the  opening of the presents and Momochan is excited for all the presents, the atmosphere and the X'Mas decorations. We have panettone, the tipical italian X'Mas dessert, french orange juice, coffee and milk.
After that granny prepares to go out, sister is coming to pick her up while we start to cook lunch and Momochan plays with her new toys and her fantastic new little kitchen, in the first foto you can see the X'Mas midday lunch: roasted meat with a X'Mas cover and onions.

Is very funny to have X'Mas lunch in the new little house, we have kitchen and livingroom togather and space is very little, table is not very elegant but is "happy", we have our special lunch and after Momochan goes to bed to have her usual nap, she is so tired and emotioned she does not even complain. While Momochan sleeps I prepare the presents for aunt this evening and a special panettone decorated and filled with chocolate (foto below)

We arrive at auntie's house at 21.00 o'clock, and we immediately sit at the t able were all the relatives are waiting drinking some mojito.
Space is not much as we are 14 people but there is space enough for the Xmas tree that after dinner magically appears with many little presents, a couple of which are for Momochan.
She seems confused as we have told her Santa Claus visits kids home during 24th night so she doesn't understand how Santa Claus has come a few minutes before to take other presents, anyway she is happy to receive Dido Paste and little cutters Is already late, nearly midnight we leave to go home, Momochan already sleeps inside the car and continues in her bed with her fresh pijama and nappy.

MERRY X'MAS MOMOCHAN !!!
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY !!!

Happy Christmas !!!! ^_^

And so this is Christmas,

and what have you done,

another year's over,

new one's just begun.

So this is christmas

I hope you have fun,

the near and the dear ones,

the old and the young,

a very merry Christmas,

and a happy New Year,

let's hope it's a good one,

without any fear.

So this is Christmas

for weak and for strong,

the rich and the poor ones,

the road is so long,

so happy Christmas

for black and for white,

for yellow and red ones,

let's stop allo the fight.

A merry merry Christmas,

and a happy New Year,

let's hope is a good one,

without any fear,

a merry merry Christmas,

and a happy New Year,

let's hope is a good one,

without any fear

.......

24th X'Mas dinner

The evening before Xmas in Italy we have a special dinner usually based on fish. Sampei made a strange sushi using zucchini and mushrooms with besciamella for appetizers, mum had oysters and we cooked two branzini in the oven, a big salad made by nuts, spinach, apples, bacon and a special fruit that cut looks like a star, for Momichan a big omelette decorated by a cheese star, I tried to made her taste the variuos foods on the tables (not the shells) but she refused everything so I gave her the egg and she eated a little bit.

After the meal mum went to church for the midnight X'Mas function, Momichan played and watched tv with daddy and I disappeared to assemble her present.

At midnight I pretended Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) was arriving, so I took Momochan upstairs to have shower, fresh pijama and nappy.

While I was preparing her milk bottle I also poured some milk into a glass and added two cookies I said to Momi, they were for Babbo Natale (Santa Claus), and after I immediately took her to bed, I told her Babbo Natale would not leave her presents if he found her awake, gave her the milk bottle and told her to call me when she had finished and so she did, ... she whispered a "mamma" so slow I hardly could hear ^_______^

I took the bottle and told Babbo Natale was outside, so please keep silent, gave her a kiss and went downstairs. Sampei and I went outside in the garden with some little tinkles, he said "HO HO HO" and I said with a Babbo Natale tone "Rudolph, please stop here, there is a little baby whom we have to leave some presents" I tried to keep serious but we were too funny and we burst into laughs, hope nobody heard us HIHIHI

I went upstairs again holding the big present for Momi I had assembled before and made the bells tinkle a little but Momichan was already asleep :-P

I drank the milk and eat the cookies and displayed the other little presents under the Xmas tree, we will se tomorrow morning how Momichan will behave seeing her big present ^^

HAPPY X'MAS EVERYBODY !!!

Kindergarden Xmas Party

Today is the last day of kindergarden before Xmas holiday, babies will come back to kindergarden the 10th january. For the occasion, teachers have organized something with the kids and after ther will be a party for everyone with panettone and treats, also there will be Babbo Natale who will give presents to the kids ^^

Momichan will sleep there and I will not see her untill 15.30 (normalli I go to take her home at 12.45 and as soon as we arrive home I give her milk and put her to bed).

I prepared some cookies for the teachers and took at kindergarden.

When we arrived kids started to sing, they were dressed like little angels and some like Momichan weared some funny hat which made them look like elves ^_^ Momi was so sweet !!!
After the Xmas song all kids danced waiting for Babbo Natale, he came with a big sack and gave each one a little present, a marionette fron Ikea, and another sack with toys for the kindergarden to make children play in january (an ikea train, some cooking items and other toys I did not remember).
After this party started. Teachers said Momichan has been so good, she has eaten everything at lunch and has slept quietly with the other kids even without her usual milk bottle ^^
よくできした、桃ちゃん！とてもじょうずです！
Funny was that Momichan seemed to feel puzzled, do not know if for the appearing of Babbo Natale, or the fact that he called every kid and gave personally each one a present or the fact she had to sing in front of all the parents anyway as soon as she saw us she was happy and sytarted to jump and smile ^^

Our New Kitchen (nearly finished)

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!!!

This is how our new kitchen looks like right now ^_^

After a hard hard work (ouch .... my back is still hacking) we have taken here from the old house all the things we need to complete the new kitchen to be added to the new furniture we bought.

We have now the washmashine, the oven (already working), the microwave (already working) and the gas top not yet connected. Sink and washmashine are not yet connected, I have to wait until monday and after that I will have possibiolity to wash dishes and take from old house all the glasses, tools, plates, pots and pans we need here ^_^

Anyway dispite kitchen working 70% we already cooked a cake .... YUM YUM choko cake, and had already a nice mug of coffee for breakfast ^^

Momichan likes the room how it looks like now and seems very excited, I promised her that as soon as we will have also sink working and gas we will start to prepare Xmas cookies, I have to take here all my bento x'mas cutters and we have also to organize the Xmas dinner here for the three of us, guess it will be fantastic ^^

Our New Kitchen :)

YIPPEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!

Finally we have finally a new kitchen upstairs but we are not yet independent because we do not have sink, fawcett and countertop but we want to finish before 7th december so0 when Momi will be home holidays from kindergarden we will finally have our first meal and cake cooked here all in our little "house", in the foto you can see our kitchen how it looks like now.

For me is amusing to put everything in order, my tools, accessories, pots and pans and rearrange with theese spaces to have everything comfortable.

We have just the structure for the moment, kitchen is not jet finished, we will have to buy the sink and faucet and when possible, a new microvawe and exaust hood also we will have to buy the doors but anyway now we have oven, the old microvave and old gas cooktop we took away from old house.

You cannot imagine how it looks funny to me to see kitchen here as when I was a girl, this was my bedroom and in the kitchen place there was my wardrobe and in front instead of the sofa there was my bed :)

We will have possibility to decorate kitchen for Christmas, make finally japanese rice everytime we want and eat here, I can have my coffe in the morning before going out take Momichan to kindergarden and whenever I need I will have my old mug nescafè and gas to boil water ! HAAAAAAAAAAA :) and the best thing will be, Momichan will play in this room and I can see her, we can have film or cartoon on tv and I will have possibility to cook keeping an eye on her and follow films without loosing a bit of the stories :)))

Guess this is the best present for Christmas I'll ever have togather with the chance to make finally a lazy hot bubble bath with a nice book and my nescafè mug as soon as Momichan sleeps after dinner around 10.00 PM WOW ! this is life :))))

Guess many of you cannot understand what it means living seven months in two little bedrooms and a tiny bathroom without the elementary items and commodities normal people have inside house, kitchen, washmashine for laundry, a normal bed where to sleep inside, space for a kid to play, this for us now is something lux, I do not know when we will have possibility to have the new wall to enlarge this little space and new big window here but anyway having finally a kitchen is best present ever ^^

さようなら！

Hello Kitty ハローキティ House

I did not even know I coud find a Hello Kitty house you can build with lego bricks but I found a couple of weeks ago in supermarket and bought for my baby's b'day. It has been very much appreciated and now Momichan loves to play with Kitty, Thomas, (the bear) Kathy (the bunny).

She has a ton of Kitty, at leat eight because in every box of toys you find at leat one, in this house there were three characters, also Momichan has three little boxes with other three Kitty and another bigger box with a little shop to build, also you can find charcaters on their own at the newspaper store ^^

Happy Birthday Momichan !!!!

Today my little baby is 2 years old :)

WOW she has grown up so much, now she is able to eat all by herself, run, and of course she is starting to speack, she is able to say about 35 words and make some small sentences :)
For the occasionthis morning she had a small party at kindergarden with all her friends and this evening she will have a special dinner with presents with oncles and aunts, we have invited them for dinner at 19.30 and dad will cook some special food in honour of Momichan.

After the nap daddy Momy and I visit the french market, we have to buy special baguettes for dinner so we profitate to give a look around. Is full of people and the air smells of soaps, lavender, spices and many other good odours.

We do not have much time because we have to go to take the cake, I have made the patissier do a special Hello Kitty cake and we have also special Hello kitty candles.

Daddy has still to prepare and cook the foods, I have to decorate with ballons and take the presents for Momichan out of the cabinet and, we have to collect some cute colured leaves to decorate daddy's food dishes.

Momichan is excited, once home, daddy goes in the kitchen, I prepare the table and put soft ballons around and put Momi's presents over the fireplace, then Momi and I go upstairs to have a shower and change dress, Momichan has to be soooo cute this night.

19.40 PM oncles have arrived, I can see their voices downstairs.

We finish dressing and we go down. Momichan is a little shy, she doesn't see them since one year at least but soon during the evening she turns the same happy laughing kid as ever ^^

21.00 PM dinner start !

daddy has made some sushi rolls for appetizer and everybody start to eat except him because is in the kitchen to cook the rest of the meal :)
In a short time he produces pasta with sausage and mushrooms, the receipt is tasty and even if pasta is so much is finished in short time.

Daddy is able now to sit at the table with us and eat his sushi and pasta but soon he has to go cooking again. He garnish the dishes with the leaves Momi and I took before coming home.

Last night at 3.30 AM daddy was inside kitchen to prepare meat: he chopped chiken meat and put to marinate in special ginger sauce to make is perfumed and tender, now he has cooked this meat with teriyaky sauce and chopped it in small pices served on big dishes decorated by the coloured leaves and in the center he put veggies (carrots, zucchini and shiitake mushrooms).

Also this time he has a great success, every crumble is eaten and disappeared soon from the dishes of everyone.

23.30 PM cake and presents time !

Momichan has not eaten much but she loved the chiken teriyaki so soft and flavoured.

Everybody give her his present, granny has a box with Play Doh Ocean Rollers set, pasta and marine cutters, Momichan emits a happy yell :) aunts and oncles give her cute animals books, (transforming animals and jungle book) another oncle gives her a funny dog she can pull and make roll, me and daddy give her Lego Hello Kitty House and another happy yell comes out, two presents from daddy's collegues, Hello Kitty kitchen items, a bowl with eggs that seems real, pasta cutters, juice bottle, Momichan gets crazy :) and a Hello Kitty pijama ^^

There are other two small presents, Kinder X'mas sweet set with choko bars and a kinder choko egg inside (another happy yell) and a story book, Rapunzel (50th fairy tale from Disney in the cinemas of Italy out in this moment) to read before going bed.

Momichan is now able to open her presents by herself and she amuses a lot discovering what there is inside every packet.

On the table Hello Kitty cake with special candle is waiting, my cousin opens champagne and everybody start to toast. Momichan blows on the candle and after she started to toast every glass with her own filled with water, saying in her way "cin cin", she is so sweet !!!!
While everybody eats the cake (she did not want to eat except he strawberries) she plays with her new toys totally enchanted by the Play Doh pasta :)

Is nearly midnight, the oncles and aunts has to go home and obviously Momichan has to go to bed, we are all entirely tired except Momi who seems to be totally relaxed.

After everyone has left we decide we will put kitchen and table in order tomorrow so daddy, granny Momi and I go to bedrooms.
A quick shower, warm soft pijama, milk bottle and Momichan falls asleep, maybe she is dreaming her presents and te special day she had because she has a smile on her face :)

Happy birthday Momichan, we hope you had a great time today ^_^

French Market

Since last year in our small town comes a French Market, just three days during which everybody can but soaps, chokolates, straw bags and pelouches, wines and cheese, fresh done baguettes, croissants and every kind of pastry, bisquits, towels, napkins, jackets, tea, spices and many other things.
2009 was the first time, they came in february, this time they anticipated :) and as it is luckily a sunny day (is Momichan's birthday today) coming back home from kindergarden we stopped by to have a look :)
Momichan is enchanted by chokolates and truffles, ballons attached to decorate float everywhere in the tipical french colours: blue, white and red.
There are some new items and some other I remembered from last year are not present (straw bags), the bred "shop" has viennese baguettes, small and a little sweet, perfect to have a marmelade sandwich for breackfast, (if last year they'll come back and we will have kitchen I will but some more to eat in the morning) the napkins "store" has little aprons for kids, we bought one for Momichan, and bears pelouche as soft as silk, the chokolate "store" is entirely new, and nearly everywhere every "store" has new products (the aprons for kids as well as Christmas napkins and towels).

The "store" we like most is the one selling bread, is so tasty ! we love when we can buy baguettes just taken out of the oven, tastes special and has a smell that practically tell you "eat me eat me !".
You can also find pain chocolat and another tons of pastry we love absolutely :)

We have to go home, Momichan is nervous and tired, she had a b'day party in kindergarden, we had taken a cake and the teachers had put on candles, there was also another girl having b'day so the party has been double, also as everyday she has gotten up at 7.00 Am so now she needs to sleep. We will visit the french market afterward around 17.00 PM as soon as she wakes up before goint to take her special cake for dinner party this evening.

special day in kindergarden

(the first foto shows the zone where kid have lunch, breakfast with fruits or juice and snack in the afternoon, it is equipped with small tables and small chairs)

Today is Momichan's birthday, she is 2 years old, inside kindergarden will be special, another girl togather with Momichan will have b'day so her mum and me will take cakes which the teachers will give to kids after lunch and they will put on candles as well. Also on the wall someone wrote Happy B'Day with the names of the two girls to decorate, is cute, I also made two small packets with presents containing a small ikea tiger pelouche for the two babies.

This kindergarden is nice, teachers are gentle and good, rooms and spaces for babies and kids are clean (everytime I am arriving I can see someone cleaning everything, pavements, the tables after lunch, the chairs in every corner, everything !)

There are three sections, first one for babies from 3 months to 1 year, second one for babies from 1 year to 2 years, third one for babies from 2 to 3 years old, the one Momichan is doing now.

When we arrive to take Momichan home at 12.40 PM she is happy to see us.

At that time the babies are all in the bathroom and teachers are changing nappies to everyone because after they all go to the small bedroom for the nap, inside this room there are many small beds equipped with cushion and feather blanket.

(the two fotos here shows the inside of the kindergarden, the one on the left is the place where the kids eat and the other zone where the door is is where they play, bathroom is the door o the left. The second picture on the right shows the entrance hall where there are many cabinets one for every kid to put personal belongings and coats, there are also two big changing tables to help putting the shoes on (like in Japan as soon as you enter the kindergarden you have to put some plastic covers on your shoes while the kids have to wear shoes for inside so you can not dirty the floor) and keep the coat away or let the kid seat and give him the bottle to drink).

Kids who go home from 12.30 to 13.00 PM do not sleep at kindergarden, only the ones who make full time up till 18.00 PM.

Lunch is served everyday at 11.00 AM and today there was fish. I do not know what is food like but I suppose is good because now Momichan is eating often everything of her small meal. Parents can see from a big menu every day what the kids will have for llunch and teachers fill in the blank spaces of a special meal calendar with all the names of the kid so that every mum or dad can see what her/his baby has eaten (spaces are for fruit for breackfast, first dish, main course, fruit in the morning, snack in the afternoon).

Momichan has eaten nearly all her fish, a little bit of first dish but she din't eat her bday cake, a choko cake garnished by many white sugar stars, anyway this evening she will have her special Hello Kitty one ^^

The Girl Who Leapt Throught Time (時をかける少女)

La ragazza che saltava nel tempo (時をかける少女, Toki wo kakeru shōjo) è un film d'animazione giapponese prodotto nel 2006 dalla MADHOUSE, diretto da Mamoru Hosoda e basato sul racconto di Yasutaka Tsutsui, di cui l'anime rappresenta una continuazione.

In Italia è stato pubblicato in DVD dalla casa editrice francese Kaze; è stato trasmesso nel 2009 sulla rete televisiva digitale Rai 4

To read about the story in english please click HERE ^^

To see the trailer click here ^^

TRAMA

Makoto Konno è una studentessa delle superiori: un giorno inciampa nel laboratorio di scienze e per sbaglio urta un congegno che, come sarà rivelato più tardi, consente di viaggiare nel tempo. Quando la fanciulla cade dalla propria bicicletta per essere travolta da un treno e inaspettatamente si salva, scopre che, se compie un salto abbastanza lungo, può tornare indietro nel tempo ad un momento a scelta della sua vita.
Makoto inizia quindi ad utilizzare questo potere per risolvere le piccole problematiche della sua vita o semplicemente per divertirsi. D'altra parte, come le fa notare la sua confidente, la zia restauratrice, scopre che ogni sua azione va ad influire sugli eventi quasi sempre in modo catastrofico e di conseguenza viene costretta ad usare ripetutamente il suo potere per porre rimedio ai problemi che lei stessa, pur non volendolo, ha causato.
Così, quando il suo amico Chiaki Mamiya le confida di essere innamorato di lei, Makoto torna indietro nel tempo per evitare di sentirselo dire e quindi continuare ad avere un rapporto d'amicizia con il ragazzo, finendo per costringerlo a cedere alle avance di un'altra fanciulla, che si fidanza con lui.
Anche l'altro suo amico, Kōsuke Tsuda, finisce per innamorarsi di lei e glielo rivela: anche in questo caso, Makoto sfrutta il suo potere per fare in modo che il ragazzo si fidanzi con Kaho, la fanciulla della cui nonna Kōsuke s'è preso cura, quando era un volontario in una casa di ricovero per anziani. Nel frattempo, Makoto ha scoperto un numero tatuato sul suo braccio: esso indica quanti salti nel tempo le sono ancora possibili. Gliene resta ancora uno, quando impulsivamente decide di evitare una telefonata di Chiaki, che le rivela di sapere che lei salta nel tempo. Ciò, però, le impedisce di salvare Kōsuke e Kaho, i quali vengono investiti dallo stesso treno che all'inizio della storia doveva travolgere lei.
Proprio nel momento in cui la fanciulla, che ha tentato fino all'ultimo di fermarli, assiste con orrore all'incidente, il tempo improvvisamente si ferma. È stato Chiaki che confessa di provenire dal futuro: le mostra il congegno che ha consentito a Makoto di saltare nel tempo e le rivela di essere tornato nel passato per vedere un dipinto (che ha restaurato la zia di Makoto). Infine, le dice che ha usato il suo ultimo salto per salvare Kōsuke e che quindi ora non può più tornare al futuro, ma neppure continuare a frequentarla. Makoto, in lacrime, cerca di fermarlo: è solo allora che capisce di amarlo profondamente.
La vita ricomincia normalmente, ma Makoto non riesce a dimenticare i propri sentimenti. D'altra parte, scopre che il salto nel tempo di Chiaki le ha restituito la possibilità di saltare nel tempo un'altra volta. Decide allora di tornare al momento in cui, nel laboratorio, ha trovato il congegno, cioè all'inizio della storia.
Quando, finalmente, trova il ragazzo, gli racconta ogni cosa (Chiaki, infatti, ancora non sa che lui le avrebbe rivelato la verità in futuro). Poco prima di tornare al proprio mondo, Chiaki la abbraccia, dicendole che la aspetterà nel futuro. Makoto, felice, gli risponde che gli correrà incontro.

Works For New Kitchen

Works for the new kitchen are going on well. Space is even less now so we have to go out to play, there is dust all over and mess around GOSH !!!

We have renounced many things to have the new kitchen, we need for Momichan and for us to be more confortable and feel like in a real home. It's already 6months we are living here without kitchen but with a little help we may have the new kitchen before Xmas, would be a nice present and we will organize a little party for Momichan and us making sweets and roasted meat and eat finally there without going down in mum's home.

So after 5 days of hard work our new tiny house is like this :) temporary I have put the old furniture against the wall waiting to move the cabinets of the old kitchen from the old house and buy the rest to complete it :)

Horrible isn't it ? but trust me, home will become fantastic with a little patience and new furniture, we just need a little time :) for now Momichan will have space again to play, colour, watch tv :) also we have to decorate for Xmas, put the three on display and presents (just sweets this year). With Ikea planner our finished kitchen should be like this :)

ciao ciao

Waiting For Christmas

Sunday afternoon, house a total mess, outside rain ... our choice is to go Ikea to have a warm dish, see the new items for Xmas and let Momichan play with all the space she needs :)

Already many new items are displayed, some of them are really cute and so many ideas to decorate house, Xmas table and bedroom.
Many pelouche are the same of last year (cangaroo, elephants, giant shark, hippo, tiger) but there are also some new, baby tiger, a new bunny so cute, a new bear (last year bear was and white, now is brown) and others.

Momichan loves the little kitchen displayed for kids, with all the accessories, pots and pans, dishes, glasses and everything to cook like adults so everytime she comes to Ikea she plays with it, we do not have possibility to buy it for her now for her birthday but we hope to have the money to get it for Xmas, she will get crazy :)
Now our house is a real mess because of the recent works for the kitchen, there is powder everywhere, I have to clean everything and organize better the furniture but with a little luck we will have a kitchen for Christmas, maybe with gas to cook also, anyway it will be something just unfinished, we will have time to make it cute but at least we will have a real house :)