Kindergarten or Bust

May 29, 2013May 29, 2013Leave a comment

And that’s how Mario left his class remembering him: dancing Gangum Style. He got inspired to dance by one of his classmates who told me what he’d miss most about Mario was how funny he was when he danced Gangum Style. Another kid in the class said she’d miss how Mario yelled “whoop whoop” in the middle of class. I have a feeling Mario may be heading to the principal’s office a few times once he hits kindergarten.

He wanted me to bring cupcakes on his last day – half chocolate and half vanilla. He stood next to them and ordered his classmates to get a paper towel and sit at their seats. He then picked up one at a time and asked the class who liked Madagascar or Avengers or Spongebob – all the different character rings that came on the cupcakes. He’d drop one off and then tell the class to settle down and wait their turn. He loves being in charge and he loves all eyes on him.

I asked if he’d be sad leaving his class and never returning. His response was unequivocal and quick: “No, I’m in kindergarten now.” He’s made it to the big show and he is not looking back.

Mother’s Day 2013

May 13, 2013May 13, 2013Leave a comment

Top Fifteen memories from Mom’s Day 2013

1. Watching Ri and Mario fight over who gives me my gift bag.
2. Using my Garmin GPS watch from Jon and the kids and clocking eight-minute miles.
3. Making frames with Ri to give to the Crutcher ladies.
4. Getting a voice mail from Meg and dad wishing me a great day and telling me I was the best mom (after Meg, of course!).
5. Hanging out with hilarious and loud women all afternoon (Patty fit in with us Heile women perfectly).
6. Scratching a winning lottery ticket from Patty for $8!
7. Receiving a ceramic painted mushroom to place in my garden and a flower basket from mom.
8. Eating chocolate truffle that Patty made.
9. Having Liz and Mag register me for the Reds Stadium 10K on June 1 (I finally get to go on the Reds’ field – I’ve been dreaming of that since 6th grade).
10. Getting a hug from Grace-Bug.
11. Watching Patty climb a tree.
12. Experiencing Lou running away from us after Ri accidentally let go of his leash. Pure madness on Bluff Ave. as mom, me, and the five kids chased Lou through yards and the street for eight minutes of intense emotion ranging from panic (“what if he bites that other dog!”) to gut-splitting laughter (watching the kids and mom try to pounce on the leash to catch him).
13. Learning how to angle the iPhone camera to hide a double chin (thanks Mag).
14. Eating leftovers when everyone departed.
15. Walking up to Stauf’s with M & M at 8 pm to get a coffee, bagel and giant chocolate chip cookie and hear them both say I’m the best mom ever (buying the chocolate chip cookie probably helped)!

Birthday madness

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013Leave a comment

The 8 year-old birthday festivities have concluded. They lasted four days and made me a zombie by the end.

Ri did not want a big bash at an inflatable gym or a sleepover with 10 girls this year. She wanted her best girlfriend and her cousin to come out to the farm for the weekend. And she wanted me to do a “surprise” at her school. Piece of cake, heh? Not for the mom who has to think of fifty different ways to create the best surprise.

It started at the beginning of the week with traveling to four different bike shops to look for bikes for Ri. Then debating over and over whether to get her a used bike of a new one. Then whether to get a new Target bike or a new Trek bike. In the end, we opted for the Trek because Ri loves to bike so much. She also just reached the height to be on a 24 inch bike so she’ll use this one for a while. I took her to the Trek store in the guise of getting a bike for Jon’s birthday so I could see which one she gravitated towards. Surprisingly, she went for the black one with pink writing and not the pink one. Good girl.

I also ran around shoe stores and Target to buy her some sandals and shorts. She loves these new athletic shorts at Target and she needs them – her running shorts from last year barely cover her tush (not a look Jon likes).

On Thursday, I went to her school at 1:30 and set up decorations at the shelter across the street. I had cupcakes, balloons, poster board for the kids to sign, water bottles for all the kids to take home, and treats. I had ordered pizzas because I had planned on going at 11 am but when we woke up that morning and I told Ri I’d surprise her at 11, she flipped out. “Today I get to go to computer lab with Ms. Palmer. I can’t do it any other day but today!” So, my plans changed. Thanks to Ms. Palmer for rolling with the punches.

The kids were hyper when they arrived for the party. They bolted over to me wanting to dive in the cupcakes and run around the field. They all sang happy birthday to Ri and signed her poster and flung themselves into the cupcakes. We played trivia – the first person to give the correct answer got a water bottle. Everyone knew Ri’s favorite band – Big Time Rush. The boys scattered to one area of the park and the girls to another and the party continued until school was out. One little boy came up to me afterwards and told me it was the best day he’s had in school. What a compliment!

Afterwards, I took two of Ri’s friends to the park and back to the house to play. We couldn’t find Janira’s mom when we headed to dinner so she got to come with us. Mario made them watch Ghostbusters in the back seat while we drove to Olive Garden. Ri chose it because Alana told her they had all you can eat breadsticks. My little Italian gal. Patty and Joe met us there.

The food was pretty bland but the breadsticks and salad weren’t bad. And they brought a nice size cake for Ri which is all we truly cared about.

We headed home to open presents. We gave Ri her shoes (too big) and her clothes (perfect). Then she looked at us quizzically wondering if there was any more. I left and brought in the black bike and her eyes opened so wide. She loved it. She went directly outside and rode it. Now every night she wants to practice using the gears.

I spent Friday buying treats for the girls’ gift bags at the farm. I wanted little magnifying glasses and journals to record their findings but I could not find them anywhere. So they got Nerds (not a smart candy to eat in the car) and bubbles and notebooks and pens and stuffed animals. Saturday arrived and I packed up the Volvo (freshly detailed) with sleeping bags, pillows, clothes, boots and giggling kids. Mario got to sleep over at Gio’s house and Jon went hunting.

We stopped at Giant Eagle for Ri’s horsey cake and then Walgreens for some Red Box movies. Alana begged to listen to Shake It Up on the way out. Poor Sophie is not too into that music so after the fifth song, I told Alana we had to turn it off (Alana knows every word to every song). They played with Furby (Grandma Ionno’s gift to Ri) and laughed. Then we played a game the rest of the way out where I gave them a letter and they had to draw a picture of a word that began with that letter. They loved it. Then they had to make up a sentence with the words they made up. Yeah, a little creative thinking to add to the ride.

We stopped at McDonalds Playland in Zanesville for some lunch and some play. There were a ton of local kids screaming and running throughout the area, however, so it was a quick trip (thank god).

We arrived at Red Hawk farm at 3 pm to a pen of barking, excited pups. Little did they know what they were in for over the next 24 hours. The girls immediately begged to get them out and run with them. The once tranquil farm exploded with yelling and laughter and the “chuck-it” winging a tennis ball across the lawn for Stella. Ahh, the energy kids bring to a place.

The chickens also had it in for the weekend. The girls moved to them next. They “herded” them like sheep and surprisingly did a good job at it. They also discovered six eggs in the henhouse which was quite exciting for them (and tasted delicious the next morning).

They then moved onto the creek to bathe in the mud-filled water. They loved the freedom to get as wet and dirty as they wanted. Alana about died when I told her she could get her shorts wet. And Ri beamed when I told her she could dunk her head under water. One of the simple joys of the farm – splashing in cold water on a sunny day.

The next stop was the horses. Sweet Taz allowed all three girls to ride him without any issue (he was quite ornery with Ri the weekend before but she handled it well due to her Grandma Meg training). I wish we could snap our fingers and have Ri at the farm for riding lessons and then back home an hour later for shower and bed.

It was back to the creek with Sarah and Jorge joining us later. Stella took a liking to Sophie following her down the creek bed. Maria discovered the wonders of slimy, soft algae and caressed it with her hands. Alana held on to Rosie tightly since Peepaw had warned that she would get lost if you let go of her leash. At one point, Stella grabbed the leash with her teeth and swung Rosie, and Alana, around in a circle. Alana somehow held on until Sarah got Stella but she was shaken up. All it took was us affirming what a strong girl she was and she stood up, shook it off and said “Maria’s grandpa will be proud of me!”

Sarah spotted trillium flowers on the bank of the creek. Beautiful and purple. Luckily, we had our renowned photographer with us.

I was ready for some food after all of the activities. So were the girls. We chowed on homemade Boboli pizzas while sitting on the screened in porch – a slight breeze hitting our skin and the sounds of evening surrounding us. Presents came next. Ri scored some cowboy boots and horse galoshes from Meg and dad, American girl clothes from Alana, a game from Sarah and Jorge, and a watch from Sophie. She hugged everyone with her monster hug squeeze and we were ready for cake.

I got a picture of a horse for her this year; I guess she’s graduated from the party theme cakes at Giant Eagle. She loved it. We broke out the game Sarah bought her, Quizzle, after cake. It was a blast. I think adults enjoy it more than kids. We played a mean game with Jorge winning due to his superior visual acumen. Dad set up the tent while we played and the girls took their board games in the tent and played. The adults called it a night at 9:30 but the girls stayed strong. At least two of them did. Ri fell asleep on the couch watching a movie with them at 10 pm. Sophie got scared shortly thereafter because the movie was spooky. Alana has no fear from all her Goosebumps movies. I put them in the tent at 10:30 and laid on the couch looking out the large window at the sparkling stars in the sky. It’s beautiful to view the night with no artificial light surrounding it. Alana came in five minutes later complaining that Ri was kicking her. She laid with me all night.

The morning brought dazed, punch-drink looks from both kids and adults. The kids played with the chickens and dogs some more and devoured Peepaw’s blueberry and walnut pancakes (easy to do). We took a creek walk again but this time from the road all the way back to the pasture. I told my dad that he needed to host a Warrior Race out at the farm between the mud and water and branches and thorns we needed to traverse as we walked the creek. Forget barbed wire fences and hoses for water – we have it au natural at Red Hawk. The girls were unstoppable and in heaven.

Dad and I got to take a walk together on his new trail through the woods. I got some insight on flowers and trees as well as the latest news on fracking and the plea of oil companies to lease his land. He, as always, is thinking through every option available and being practical yet principled about the ordeal. I just adore my pops.

We ended our time there with another chicken round-up, discovering a few more eggs, and spoiling the pups in their pen. We weren’t on the road twenty minutes before Ri was conked out.

I should have seen this coming between her lounging in the hammock with Meg and her dazed and confused look with me!

By the time we got home in Sunday, I was beyond exhausted. Poor Jon sat on the back deck waiting for us to arrive. Oh shoot! It was his birthday. I barely could muster happy birthday to him but he understood. “You do too much, babe” he told me gently as I whined about being tired. “I love you too death and you’re a magnificent mom but you do too much.” He had a point. I probably didn’t need to stop at Meijer’s on the way home and let the girls get a little toy.or unload the entire car as soon as we got home.

“Baby steps” I told him and he nodded his head and grinned. We sat on the deck and talked while M&M ran around with the neighbor kids.

Pittsburgh

May 2, 2013May 2, 2013Leave a comment

In my twenties, I remember my girlfriend talking about sleepless nights with her sick daughter. They were horror stories to me full of broken sleep, house-bound days, and snot wiping events.

And then came Maria and Mario. And broken sleep, house-bound days, and lots of snot wiping. And survival through lots of ice cream, 5 hour energy shots and Vela blogs.

Almost two weeks ago, Maria developed hard-core allergies. Her eyes swelled and watered and became bruised. We went to the doctor three different times over an eight day period to try to find the root cause. At first, it was diagnosed as allergies, then pink eye, and then a skin infection with allergies. It took her out of school for the last three days of the school week. I stayed with her for one of them, my mom for one, and Patty for the last (thank god for family). Patty was going to keep Ri for the weekend until I told Ri that I was still heading to Pittsburgh for Sarah’s graduation. Ri freaked and begged to come even with swollen eyes. I couldn’t say no since she looks up to her aunt so much so I agreed to meet Patty half way in order to get Ri Friday night. At the same time, Mario had no desire to go to Pittsburgh. He was starting to feel hot and had a rash on his cheeks. Patty offered to take him so that Ri and I could go to Pittsburgh without the stress of a sick kid. What a god-send she is. Not only did it help me but it also made Mario’s day because any time with Grandma is the best time ever for him. I have no doubt that he would choose Patty over me anytime.

After driving back to get Mario and sitting in major traffic, we arrived at the Wendy’s in Delaware for the exchange. Mario hopped right into Patty’s car without hesitation. Ri jumped in mine and begged to head straight to the farm. She wanted to see Savvy who recently returned to the farm. She also wanted to be closer to Pittsburgh to see Aunt Sarah. And so I downed my Five Hour Energy at 8 pm and we were off. Ri played market on the iPad most of the way asking me what foods I wanted to buy and re-asking me after the first grocery trip was completed… and second… and third. I didn’t mind the constant interaction, however, because I needed stimuli.

We got to the farm way past Meg and dad’s bedtime and Ri was so slaphappy she laid next to me giggling for 20 minutes. Meg and I both commented the next morning how soothing it was to hear that core laughter coming from her little soul.

We woke Saturday morning to an exquisite day and headed east to Pittsburgh. We made it to Sarah’s apartment and Ri ran inside to greet Sarah and Jorge, and most importantly, the dogs. Maria got her fill of kisses and we were off to graduation.

The Cathedral of Learning has been Sarah’s second home for the last three years. It sits amongst the bustle of traffic and looks like a building out of Florence, Italy. You just know minds are churning away inside of it. When Ri and Mario and I visited two years ago, we met Sar in her classroom. She hadn’t arrived yet so Mario did a dance for her class and Ri stood near him completely embarrassed.

It was a good thing that Mario stayed back because the graduation included an hour and a half of graduate readings. Each grad read a piece of their work for five minutes. I gave Ri the iPad but hoped she would listen to the stories. I didn’t think she spent too much time listening until she and I were walking to Stauf’s this week and I said “let’s make up a poem. I will start. One day I walked in the woods.”

Ri stopped me immediately. “No mom. You should say ‘One–day–I–walked–in the woods.” She had totally picked up on the voice inflections during the readings. I Love It.

Sarah read a lyrical essay about my grandma. Ri knows how sentimental I am so she crawled down to my chair and rubbed my cheek as Sarah spoke. Always the caretaker. I could listen to Sarah for hours and read her writings all day long. She is talented beyond belief (and her professor, Jean Marie completely agrees).

Afterward, Ri and I walked down all 36 flights of steps and took the elevator back up to five to chow down on desserts at the reception. There was a little girl there and Ri gravitated right to her while Meg and I spoke to Sarah and her professor. It really was a lovely afternoon.

And the loveliness continued when we dined at a Thai restaurant with an outdoor patio. They had a warm atmosphere with vines of flowers surrounding us and the sun laying its rays upon us. It is such a beautiful thing to be able to have an entire conversation with another adult without a child interrupting me. And to eat amazing food.

After stuffing our face, we took the dogs for a walk in Frick Park. The ride over in Jorge’s and Sarah’s little car and the two dogs was comical. Stella sat on Mona and then leaned over and licked Ri too death.

Sar let Ri walk both dogs when we got to the park. That is a helluva job seeing that Stella is a big mamba jamba and pulls whenever a dog or squirrel comes near. But Ri surprised us all. She jerked back the leash when Stella pulled and bellowed “NO!” Sar and I turned our faces to one another and cracked up. She’s no joke.

We sat in New York traffic in the middle of Pittsburgh but finally arrived back at reached Sarah’s apartment and gave her graduation present to her. A little bubbly and cheez-it’s as well as a Street Food cookbook and wooden cookbook holder. Ri knows her aunt.

We hit the road back to the farm to spend the night again. When we arrived at 9:15, we got to surprise Peepaw at the cabin. He had his friends around the table getting ready for some poker. We decided to leave them be and stay down at the house. Grandma Meg had some Nashville clips to show us on Hula. Ri was addicted at first blush and I was soon thereafter. We finally hit the hay at 10 pm and Ri’s cough only kept us up half the night. When we got up in the morning, Ri got to ride her Taz and even persuaded me to ride for a second. She loves her horses.

We drove home at noon and I was exhausted. I told Ri I needed 10 minutes to rest and before I knew it, we both woke up two hours later. Sarah tired us out. Jon arrived shortly after our nap with bad news – no turkeys. We all laid on the carpet and talked about our weekends as the sun faded away. We were in bed by 9. Mario, to the contrary, was busy wrestling Grandma Ionno until 11 pm.

Geese, Brownies and Grandma time

April 23, 2013April 23, 2013Leave a comment

Mario rather enjoyed the geese out front of his day care last Friday. At first he tried to pet them but when they moved away he decided to chase after them. They were not amused.

Mario continued to have a word with one goose as he crossed the lot. The poor fellow was all the way across the lot just watching for big bad Mario when I left.

Mario was happy to go to school that day because he knew that Grandma and Grandpa Ionno were picking him up before lunch. He got an entire weekend with them since Jon was at a conference and Ri and I had her Girl Scout Campout. Patty also picked up Giovanni and kept both boys at her house. She is, as I always say, a machine. A full weekend with those two boys would be considered a major punishment to most but to her, it’s delightful. She is so good with them and stands her ground when they go off course. I was talking to her and she had to tell them to settle down and her voice got fierce. All of a sudden I didn’t hear boys’ screaming anymore.

She described to me Mario’s negotiation, or rather, swindling techniques when it came to money. He told Patty he had money to buy a web shooter if she’d take him but when they got there he said “oops, I forgot it.” Then he proceeded to finagle her into buying that and something else. The boy loves money and loves to spend it. When a commercial comes on that deals with saving money (“buy this insurance and save!”) or getting money (“we’ll give you $2000 for your old car…”), his ears perk up and he’s glued to the tv.

The boys built a “tent city” throughout Patty’s and Joe’s condo and begged not to have to leave one another on Sunday. It’s so wonderful that they are at an age where they enjoy one another’s company.

Meanwhile, Ri and I were freezing our tails off in 35 degree weather at the Girl Scout Campout. Ri was so excited about the camp out and literally hopped in my arms when I met her at school to take her out to it. It was a little rough at first but ended well. Ri does not play with a lot of the girls in scouts, probably for numerous reasons. They have stay-at-home moms who arrange after-school play dates. Some of the moms hang out together a lot so their kids do, too. It could also be that Ri does not have the typical silly, antic-oriented playful style that most 8 year-old girls have. I look at her and Alana and there is such a difference in style. Alana would have been running around loony with those girls. Maria is more contemplative and seems to work better when she’s one-on-one with people. At one point, I could tell she felt awkward and she admitted that she was disappointed that no one was really including her. So of course I jumped in the girl mix with her and got her playing with the girls. She had her moments of just sitting back (the girls put on a talent show and each little clique did a different act; Maria held the flashlight because she didn’t want to perform) and I told myself to let her be. I sat back and bit my lip, and all was fine in the end. She did have a blast staying up until 11 pm with one of her girlfriends. They kept flashing lights on us and running around the lodge. She also loved making s’mores (as did I)!

As we drove home on Saturday, she told me she had a good time. Looking back, I did too. I’ve got to let my crap go in those situations and just let her work through it. If she needs me, she’ll get me. She and I had a blast at my work and getting hot cocoa and coffee at Stauf’s that afternoon. We laughed together and had her friend Ceylone over. We both crashed that night by 8:30 and slept until 7:30 the next morning we were so tired from the cot sleeping the night before.

On Sunday we took a run/bike ride, hit hot yoga, and ate bagels at Stauf’s while I read the Times and Ri wrote poems. Here is one to Sarah for graduation:

Graduation
Hard
Challenging
So much depend
Upon
You getting there
So much depend
Upon
You.

Not only a budding environmentalist but a budding poet? I just want to eat her up.

While we were camping out and building tents, Jon was getting legs wrapped around him on the dance floor and jammin’ to Gangum Style with his buds. I told him he owes me a night out on the town like that (something about Barthel and Loeshner brings out the tiger in him).

When Mario got home from Grandma’s and Grandpa’s, Jon bought KFC and we got out our tray tables and turned on Duck Dynasty for some quality family time. The immediate family is back together again!

And there you have it

April 15, 2013April 16, 2013Leave a comment

Jon took Mario to Mario and Vicki’s house this weekend to scout turkeys and eat some of Vicki’s killer pasta. Jon got the sweetest picture of Mario Sunday morning. Breaks my heart.

Maria got to have Alana over to spend the night on Saturday. It is so awesome to have them at an age that they can scooter a couple of miles without needing assistance. I never thought I’d see the day when I didn’t need my treasured stroller (Mario still uses it when he’s tired; Jon wants to get rid of it as of yesterday).

And so It was a scooter-filled weekend with the girls – we went to Wendy’s for dinner and then scooted ourselves to the park and to Orange Leaf before heading home. I love that Ri sports cowboy boots on her scooter.

I also love that she is able to crank out a rap song with a leg-kick dance move while on the scooter (she’s come along way baby).

On Sunday morning, I was awoken by two giddy girls talking about their respective schools and friends and cute boys in their class. We sat in bed for an hour chatting away. Then we were on our scooters heading to Tim Hortons for breakfast and the park for tree climbing. Maria sported some fashionable sandals for the morning ride.

As we were riding up the hill, Ri asked if our old neighbor Kim was working at the fire station. She is a dispatcher. She was and we surprised her. This led to a full-blown one hour tour of the fire station. Fire fighter Harris and student Ashley were awesome showing Ri and Alana everything on the fire truck and in the ambulance (they even got to experience an EKG and watch their perfect hearts beat). Ri had a ton of questions and listened to every word coming out of the fire fighter’s mouth. I love how interested she is in learning.

By the time we got home it was noon and time for planting our miniature flower garden. Pink cosmos and sunflowers. Alana really wanted pink cosmos even though that was Ri’s Easter present. Ri graciously gave her two out of the six seeds to plant with her sunflower seeds. If there is one trait that makes me so proud of Ri it is her generosity and understanding. When Alana refused to let Ri try on her headlamp, Ri didn’t pitch a fit. She just let it go. Later on when it was just Ri and me, Ri mentioned it. I told her I was sorry she didn’t get to try it on and I told her that we all have things we need to work on and Alana should work on sharing a bit more.

“But mom, I can’t be mad at her because she really loves that headlamp and if it broke she wouldn’t get another so I can understand why she’s protective over it.”

Well. What more to say to my mature 7 year-old daughter? Nothing. I just gave her a hug and we sat on the steps waiting for Mario and dad.

Easter 2013

April 1, 2013April 1, 2013Leave a comment

Maria was more excited about Easter this year than Christmas. For the last three days before Easter she kept wondering what the Bunny might bring her. I never thought she cared much about the baskets that I create for them each year but I was wrong. As we sat at the table writing letters to the Easter Bunny, she said “I want to say something to her (I love that she treats the Easter Bunny as a girl – my progressive-minded girl) but I don’t want to sound greedy.”

“What are you asking her?”

“I’m asking her to please bring a basket for me and Mario again this year.”

“We’ll, I don’t think that is unreasonable to ask. Just ask it politely.”

So she wrote “P.S. Would you consider bringing a basket to me and Mario?”

I love that girl. She really is a thoughtful little soul. When Mario acted up later in the evening, I told him the Bunny was watching. He could have cared less. So I got more firm with him. Ri started sniffling. I asked what was the matter and she muffled her words “I don’t want my brother to not get a basket.” She watches over that boy.

She left out a cup of milk and cheese for the Bunny. She couldn’t find carrots. Then she went promptly up to her room so the Bunny would come. Mario stayed downstairs. I kept swearing that one day the Bunny would not come because he didn’t go to bed on time. All I can say is he knows he’s got a sucker for a mom and I would never let that happen.

And sure enough, even though he didn’t go upstairs until 10 with Jon, the Easter Bunny somehow managed to fix up two awesome baskets with bug catchers, a Katy Perry CD, Skylanders, clothes, sunglasses, and chocolate bunnies, of course.

The Bunny gave me written instructions to hide the eggs since he couldn’t hide them outside with the rain. The kids tore through the downstairs and the hunt ended in two minutes. They wanted those baskets.

I had to give $5 in an egg to each of them because we missed the Heile Easter egg hunt where there is always the possibility of finding the $5 egg (Grace was the sole participant this year so she got lucky). They were high on candy within 10 minutes (how fast can Mario down peanut butter cups? Three in a minute).

I still don’t know what to think about Ri and her belief in the Easter Bunny. With as old as she acts, I can’t believe she still believes. But then she gets so excited about Easter and writes a letter to her and leaves out food that I think she must believe. But then again, on Easter morning when Mario pulled out a Skylander and I said stupidly “I thought you’d like that one” she quickly interjected”you mean the Easter Bunny, don’t you, mom?” with a coy smile on her face. She keeps me guessing. Mario doesn’t give it much thought as long as there are gifts and money in his basket.

After finding eggs, we headed to Marion for Easter brunch. Nothing like filling yourself up with bacon, ham, creamy macaroni and hash browns before diving into brownies and chocolate peeps. Why aren’t elastic sweatpants allowed at brunch?

Carrie and Gio had to stay home because Gio was sick but we got Alana for the day. Mario enjoys playing with her as much as Gio. Grandma Ionno had eggs ready to be hunted and the kids got treated to more candy and another $5 egg. I’ve never made $10 bucks that easy.

The kids visited the mama and papa geese near Patty’s bridge. The papa squawked at us to stay away from his woman and babies and Mario had to tell us the story of him and Grandma getting chased by the papa two weeks ago. Then the kids rapped on the rocks (much to Uncle Patrick’s dismay – I told him we’d sing hard rock next time).

Mario crashed on the ride home but woke up when we got close to home begging to see Quinn. I told him they weren’t home from their aunt’s house yet and he got so mad. “You promised we could see them, mom!” He is all about keeping promises lately. I explained to him that I said we could see them if they were home. He surprisingly understood and sat quiet. I need to be very careful with my promises from now on because as long as I don’t promise something I know may not happen, he seems ok.

He ended up having a good night with his family. We took a scooter walk and played football. And ate a ton more chocolate Easter bunnies.

Kids kids and more kids

March 30, 2013April 1, 2013Leave a comment

There is no way I could be the Duggers. Aren’t they the family with 18 or so kids? We agreed to take the neighbors’ three kids on Wednesday night so they could drive an hour away to get a car. Holy cow. Jon and I were ready for two straight days of sleep after three and a half hours with them. And they don’t even need that much oversight. I think it’s just the sheer fact that you know they are all in the house and you have to be on constant alert for fighting or cuts or spilled anything. It’s taxing. We are so glad that they are on our street because its great for M&M to have play mates so close and it’s heart-warming to see them all play so well and so long together (I remember weekends with my girlfriend Beth – we met up at 9 am and didn’t stop until sundown). But after a while, everyone needs a break (except Mario who would play with Quinn for 72 hours straight and still be wired).

Wednesday night entailed dinner, hide-n-seek, cards, spying, superheroes, make believe, barbies (the boys played barbies much to my excitement), and wrestling (the girls won). We didn’t turn on the tv until 9 pm and that was only with the hopes of turning out the lights and getting them tired. It worked for one kid – Maria. The boys played Slinkie on the stairs until our neighbors arrived at 9:30. Jon and I flopped in bed and were snoring within ten minutes.

Today, I went for an early run because we had our Easter Egg Hunt down the street at 10 am. I got home at 9:20 and Sophie and Quinn were in our yard on their bike and scooter by 9:30 ready to go. They now feel completely comfortable just coming on down. At least they still knock. Again, most of me loves that the kids have these close buddies but I also need some alone time with my babies here and there. But you can’t blame them for being excited – it’s the Eater Egg Hunt for heaven’s sake. Rick drove the boys down and I took the girls on their scooters (I refuse to drive to the hunt; it’s tradition to walk every year).

Ri and Sophie cranked it on their scooters. I can’t believe how fast Ri rides and the way she can crouch down on it while riding. She may not have coordination in organized sports but she can rock it out on scooters, rock climbing, and trampolines.

As always, I wanted my annual Easter picture of Ri and Mario and pictures of them with their friends. Ri abided but Mario refused. I had to threaten no play date with Quinn and even then it wasn’t the big Mario smile I love. He hates pictures any more (but he still wants to be famous).

Mario was all about going for the plastic eggs over the Oreos and cookies because I told him the eggs may have money in them. I shouldn’t have even went there with him because he freaked when all he got was candy in the eggs. And he only managed getting four eggs out of the mix. I don’t understand how that happened with his speedy self. Ri could care less about the entire ordeal – she’s just in it to have fun with her friends (and lift them off the ground with every hug).

After the hunt, the boys went back with Rick to play Skylanders and my active girls came with me to Stauf’s and CVS. While at CVS, the girls wanted to get a $15 cat house for Sophie’s cat, Lemon. I told Ri she could use her money if she wanted. With Mario, there would have been no way but Ri bought it. She is such a generous soul. They went home and shot into Sophie’s house to see how Lemon would like it. When they shot in, the boys shot out and headed down to our house with me trailing behind.

Mario-isms

March 30, 2013March 30, 20132 Comments

Patty watched Mario two weeks ago and couldn’t help but write down a few “Mario-isms” as she calls his quotes. Here ya go…(my commentary to Patty’s narrative is in parenthesis).

Mario was getting dressed, picked up a shirt and said “Don’t even think of me wearing this, it is too small, I don’t know why Mom keeps packing it.” I said, well you could give it to some poor little boy to wear and he said “no, I am going to sell it.”

(Mario is quite the capitalist. He wants to sell anything in order to get money in his pocket. His latest has been to work on birdhouses (with Peepaw) to sell for $90).

While we were going near a pair of Canadian Geese’s nest where they are hatching an egg, the geese kept hissing at us and coming toward us and we kept running away. We went on the bridge which is above the nest and the geese were still mad at us for being too near them. Mario yelled to the geese, “I am a citizen of mankind, I am only trying to help you protect your egg.”

(He is insane).

While he was eating breakfast, he looked out of the sun room windows and saw a huge bird sitting on a rock at the pond. We went on the patio and the bird took flight, the wing span was enormous. Mario excitedly said, “I know what that big bird is, I saw it on WildKratts, it is a Harris hawk they will eat geese and other birds and animals.” I don’t know if that is the spelling of the bird’s name, but that is how it sounded. Anyway, later we were walking around the pond and saw some whitish bird feathers on the ground. I said maybe the Harris hawk had eaten the bird. Mario said “no, Grandma, they won’t eat anything that is white”, he took hold of the white scarf I was wearing and said, “they wouldn’t attack you, Grandma, because you are wearing this white scarf.” I asked him if he knew why they wouldn’t eat anything white and he said “will there is a legend that a white snake attacked and killed a Harris hawk and that probably is why they are afraid of white.” (I don’t know how true the legend is, but it a good story.)

(I will let him watch PBS WildKratts any time because he learns so much from that show – he tells me about animals I have never heard of in my 41 years).

I taped the inauguration of Pope Francis and while Mario was here, I would watch it (in pieces because of its length). I told Mario to look at the man at the altar and I started tell him who it was, before I could explain who it was Mario said “I know that is the Pope and he is important. In our States, the Popes wear red”. I explained to him that they were cardinals, etc. He said “okay Grandma”. He apparently had seen the election of the Pope and it stuck with him.

(When he was on the computer and the news popped up, he saw the Pope and said “Grandma really likes that man.”).

While on the I-Pad he was checking on his program/game about the Simpsons and wanted to buy some “donuts” (These “free”games are sure not “free”, they entice the kids to play and then they entice them to buy stuff to advance to the next level, in this game it is donuts) anyway, he currently had 107 donuts and wanted me to buy more. I said no, we will earn them a little at a time. Well, Mr. Impatience doesn’t want to wait so he was bargaining with me to buy the donuts. He held up his index finger on one hand and then tried to make two zeros on the other hand to make the sign of 100 and then add seven. (He was so serious and cute while trying to show me the number 107 on his fingers) and then if we buy 100 more how many he would have and then proceeded to tell me what he could get with that many donuts. Smart kid. I put him off buying them. He finally gave up on me.

(He has perseverance when it comes to money).

While running in the house, he slipped and fell forward (didn’t hurt him) but he smiled and said “I think I just cracked my donut” and laughed and laughed (so did Joe and I). What an entertainer!

(He calls his privates a range of names – lately he says “I crushed my batteries.” Interesting).

When he and Maria were here, I kept getting after them to eat healthy things (apples, and other fruit), so one day he was eating lunch and had trail bologna and cheese and I had given him some potato chips. He said he wanted more meat and cheese, but didn’t want to eat any bad stuff for two days, so didn’t eat the chips.

(He is definitely conscious of his body image. He ate a ton of cake the other night and his stomach was distended. He lifted up his shirt and said “I can’t do that again. I look horrible.”).

And there we have it. He keeps us all laughing, that kid. Thanks, Patty, for recording It all.

Create your mission

March 21, 2013March 21, 2013Leave a comment

Maria came home from Brownies a few months ago and asked us to consider our family values. She had been tasked with creating a family tree full of branches outlining our family values – what we believe is most important to our family.

We discussed it over dinner blurting out different thoughts: “we take care of each other” (dad); “we respect each other” (me); “we love each other” (Mario); “we listen to each other’s words” (Ri). Ri decided that “we listen to each other’s words” was our most important value because it encompassed all of the other values: when you listen, you take care of each other, respect each other, and love each other. Wise beyond her years.

I thought of this time together as I read the New York TImes article about creating your family mission. The article outlined a study which found that the more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned. Children’s emotional health and happiness increased when they knew more of their family history.

A-ha! Jon and I had finally found a study that confirmed we did something right (I remember going back to work after RI’s birth and reading studies about moms who worked outside of the home being prone to hyperactive and obnoxious kids and bawling my eyes out). There isn’t a day that goes by that Maria and Mario aren’t begging us to tell them a story about their childhood, our childhood, our parents’ childhood. They love the story of Jon taking forever to walk home because he had to stare at all the trees or me crying my eyes out because I missed the Brady Bunch. They love hearing how Peepaw used to make furniture and Grandpa Ionno used to write stories and Grandma Lolo used to pump Ri’s legs to get her to poop and Grandma Ionno used to rock Mario to sleep and Grandma Meg used to read wise books to Ri.

The study also recommended that parents convey a sense of history by passing down traditions – the hokier the family’s tradition, the more likely it will be passed down. Oh, we got that covered, too. We have hokey, we have normal, we have in-between. We check our stockings on St. Nick’s Day, we draw pictures of what we are grateful for at the end of the day, we look for candy and toys in the back yard on Easter, we head to Kings Island every year, we have a family bash on New Year’s Eve, we buy chips and pop for the ride home from Cincy.

So, I may have hyperactive and attention-deficit prone children from my 9-5 job but at least they will have self-esteem and be able to stand up for themselves.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: laughter