A New Beginning...

It somehow seems fitting that I am trying a new endeavor at the start of a new year. It was that way last year, so 2009 should only commence with a new challenge.

While it does seem impossible that we have been in Rome a year, that anniversary will greet our family on January 18. It has been a year full of adventure and of the ordinary. We did move to a new country and we did welcome a new member to our family and we did travel to places we had never been, but I still drove a station wagon to the grocery store, took the kids to see the doctor and I still washed LOTS of clothes. I probably did not, however (and as expected), keep the house as clean as I should. Oh well!

I plan to keep the blog as a record of our adventures here. I hope that those abroad and those here with us will enjoy reading about the comings and goings of the Fitzpatrick 5. I anticipate updating the entries every two to three days, or as events warrant. I may still bug some of you with email pictures of the kids, but will try to figure out how to put photos on the blog, too.

THEY FEED THEIR KIDS WHAT?
All right, Jameson is now nearing 11 months old and eating a lot. I had planned on purchasing most of my baby food locally, as they do have it in the grocery stores here. I have had some difficulty finding a variety at the store I shop, however, so have resorted to buying a lot of it at the commissary in Naples. While perusing the shelves at my local Italian store I noticed some interesting jars. They were in the "meat" area and had cute pictures of horses on them. I assumed that this was the logo for the company, until I noticed that each type of food had a different picture on it - lamb, cow, etc. The jar also said "cavallo," which is horse in Italian. I could not believe that they actually fed babies horse meat, as I had never heard of adults eating horse (honestly). I asked the doctor at the embassy about my discovery and she assured me that, yes, it was horse meat and that it is considered good for babies and pregnant women, especially, as it is very high in iron. I guess you learn something new everyday. Jameson will not be eating horse. I cannot, in good conscience, feed him something that I spend money for Katie to ride. Also, I don't want to eat horse, so I don't think he should have to.