A warm weather tomato sauce 2 ways, Bruno's escape from the crib, and a fresh juice without a juicer.

Plus, a bit of This & That.

Bruno has escaped the crib

I'm so tired. As many of you following along over the years know, we've been on a long sleep training journey with our kids over the past ten years, which has looked different with each child. With our first, Costa, I found myself drawn to co-sleeping and spent a year with him by my side all night until finally sleep training at one year old, and then many times again and again over the years as he grew and adjusted to new stages of development. With Paolo, I co-slept for over a year and a half because I was so afraid of disrupting Costa's sleep routine that we had worked so hard to establish and maintain. And, with Bruno, Andre and I knew we no longer had the energy or capacity to endure years of sleepless nights, so we committed ourselves to sleep training him starting at just a few months old. And it worked. For the past 2 1/2 years, we've been fortunate to have a child who goes down quickly at bedtime with no fuss or tears, sleeps through the night, and wakes up cheerful and happy in the morning, ready to take on the day. Over the past few weeks, there had been signs of a pattern change, but things were still relatively ok, and sleep was happening. And then, this past weekend, our luck quickly changed.

On Friday night, around 3 am, I was awoken from a deep sleep by screams, a child's voice yelling, "Mom, open door!" and a loud banging. Disoriented and confused, I headed towards Bruno's room, where all the commotion came from. As I pushed open the bedroom door, a tiny human greeted me with open arms and said, "Hello, Mama." The murder screams turned sweet instantly. And, OMG, it's so hard to be upset when they are so cute! It's equal parts: "What is happening? Get back in bed!" and "Let me hug you and smoosh your adorable little face!" There he was with his big brown eyes looking up at me, sleep sack thrown across the room, standing solid and proud that he had escaped the crib alone. Hoping it was just a fluke, I told him it was bedtime and laid him back in his crib. Seconds later, like a little Spiderman, he casually kicked his leg over the edge and carefully scaled down the crib's side. And that was that; the days of Bruno sleeping in his crib abruptly ended.

So, now, we are here again, retraining Bruno to sleep on his own through the night. Luckily, we have the support of our friend and incredible sleep coach, Jess, who is helping us navigate the process. We've started a new routine and are trying to stay consistent so Bruno gets comfortable. We've added a night light to his room (along with his sound machine) and are now sitting outside the door to help him fall asleep. There is a lot of checking in constantly, but for the most part, he stays in bed and falls asleep when we initially put him down. A few nights, he did sleep through the night, but on the nights he didn't, he woke up and came out of his room to get me. Then, it's the impossible and exhausting routine of getting him back into a deep sleep so I can get just the tiniest bit of rest before the day starts again. This past week has been filled with sleepless nights and exhaustive dream-like days where I’m just too tired to get anything done. The stakes are also higher because we are trying to keep the other kids sleeping soundly through the night while we also manage Bruno's exhausted state. How is it that these kids can be so tired but won't sleep?! I will never understand!

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Fresh juice without a juicer

For years, we had a juicer. Sadly, it spent most of its time in a cabinet hidden away. It was too bulky to have out on the counter, and it was a pain to clean, so once out of sight, we just forgot about it. Being in LA, getting my fresh juice fix was easy whenever I needed it from local spots like The Juice, Moon Juice, or Erewhon. In Torino, it's not the case. While I’ve seen one or two juice shops, they are far from where we live, and I still need to make the trek over to check them out. Desperate for some rejuvenating juice, I saw a video recently of someone making juice using nothing more than a blender and a nut milk bag. So, I gave it a go and now I am hooked. It's so easy to make, and honestly, the cleanup is a lot easier than dismantling a juicer, waiting for all the parts to dry, and putting it back together again. When it comes to combos, I usually try to use whatever fruits and vegetables I have in the fridge, along with a piece of fresh ginger, a little citrus, and maybe some herbs like mint or parsley. Here is a refreshing combo I made the other day that hit the spot.

CUCUMBER, CELERY, APPLE, PINEAPPLE JUICE

Made approximately 3 1/2 cups, serves 2

• 1 small knob of ginger 

• 1 large cucumber, cut into large pieces

• 3 celery ribs, cut into large pieces

• 1 apple, core removed and cut into large pieces

• 1 cup pineapple, cut into chunks

• 1 lime, skin removed

• 1 handful fresh mint 

• 1/2 - 1 cup water 

Place all of the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high for 45 seconds - 1 minute. Place a nut milk bag into a bowl or container that is large enough to hold all the liquid. Pour the juice mixture into the nut milk bag. Carefully close and secure the top of the bag. Begin squeezing the liquid out of the bag, capturing the juice in the bowl or container below. Divide the juice into two glasses and enjoy.

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Simple Tomato Sauce Two Ways

This is the perfect warm weather tomato sauce to make when you have some cherry or grape tomatoes sitting on the counter and only have a little time. With just a few simple ingredients, in less than 30 minutes, you'll be devouring a bowl of delicious pasta with a light and bright tomato sauce. I'm sharing two versions of the recipe below: the first is the tomato sauce on its own, and the second version has the addition of some baby zucchini. The real key to the success of this sauce comes from doing the final stage of cooking the pasta in the actual sauce. Rather than just coat the outside, the sauce and flavor get infused into the pasta, creating more deliciousness in every single bite.