Heading up with Grandma and Grandpa

March 18, 2013March 20, 2013Leave a comment

Jon and I realized last week that the upcoming weekend was going to be insane. Jon needed to prepare for an interview at work and I had to attend an all-day retreat Saturday and finish a load of work on Sunday. We were stressing about what to do with the kids on Thursday afternoon and then TA-DA! Super Patty to the rescue!

My mother-in-law is 71 (or 72?) years old. She looks 50. She moves like she’s 25. She plays with the kids like she’s 15. She also takes care of my father-in-law who is 92. For 92 years old, he does well traveling with Patty and walking to and fro but Patty still needs to be there for him on a consistent basis to take care of basic needs.

I remember going to my grandmas’ houses to spend the night. I looked forward to playing Chinese checkers or watching tv and eating a bowl of ice cream. But after that initial night, I was ready to go home. See my friends. Play with my toys. Grandma only had so much energy (or desire) to keep me occupied. But our kiddos… well….

“Mom, please let me stay at Grandma Ionno’s for five days”, pleads Mario every week. When Ri came running into the house Thursday night asking if she could have a play date with Sophie on Saturday and I told her no because she was going to Grandma’s, she jumped up and down with excitement: “can I stay there all weekend”, she asked.

And so there is never any guilt when sending them to Patty’s and Joe’s because I know they love it and they will be treated like royalty (and the same can be said about all their grandparents – they have got three sets of world class grandmas and grandpas, lucky dogs).

Patty picked them up on Friday after school even though she had planned on meeting Jon on Saturday (the kids begged to go up on Friday). They walked around the pond and chased geese. They ate yummy treats. They played on the iPad. They got treated to the bowling alley on Saturday night. Patty took them by herself while Joe stayed home with Chris. They won tickets and got all sorts of crazy toys. On Sunday, they had a St. Patrick’s Day party complete with hats, necklaces, green shirts, and cheesy potatoes (Ri’s favorite). Patty took them out to get all the decor and food for the day. I mean, seriously, how fun of a weekend is that for a kid?!

Patty can’t leave Mario’s sight when he is up there with her. When Ri asked Patty to get Life cereal at the store, Mario begged Patty not to leave. Being the negotiator that he is, he turned to Ri and said “you don’t need Life cereal, you can have one of my Lunchables for breakfast (he thinks that is a present of gold since they have Oreos in them). Mario was upset when he found out Ri was going with him for the weekend complaining “I never get alone time with Grandma!” Ha, that’s a big ol’ fib seeing he has probably spent the most time with her and Joe of all the grandkids. But he will do what it takes to get extra time. And sure enough, Patty allowed him to stay through Wednesday while Ri had to come home to school (Ri uses every chance to tell Mario that he will be in school soon and won’t be able to spend time with Grandma on the weekdays).

Mario spiked a fever Sunday afternoon. Patty called with the news and immediately started brainstorming on how she could help so that I could get into work this week. She’s gotta double as my mother-in-law and guardian angel because she ended up keeping him up there with her and taking him to an Urgent Care so that I could attend mandatory meetings at work.

I know she and Joe love their time with the kids and feel no burden taking them like they do. That is a blessing. But I feel completely indebted to her for taking these munchos when we get in binds like this past weekend (and now week). I am so grateful to have such a support network in my family. There is a great peace of mind in knowing that no matter what problematic situations arise, my familia peeps have my back… and provide loads of fun for the kids while doing it.

Good Enough for Me

March 15, 2013March 18, 2013Leave a comment

I surprised Ri this afternoon and picked her and her girlfriend up for lunch. She had asked me earlier in the week when I was slammed with offer letters, phone calls, HR questions, and I had told her I was do busy this week that I didn’t think it would work.

By the time today rolled around, I was wiped. I had a 9 am meeting and it took all my might to keep my eyes open and not stretch my mouth open for a yawn. The meeting ended at 10:55 and I made the rash decision to head over to Ri’s school to surprise her. I called the mom of one of her friends and got permission to take her daughter, too. Oh yea, I am good.

Ri was pumped up and she and Ceylone ran out of class to the car all the while laughing hysterically. I took them back to the house so they could play while I made Mac-n-cheese and corn dogs (healthy, we are not). Ri only eats Mac-n-cheese with an extra slice of cheese melted on it, which I allow for the calcium (she hates milk). We found out Ceylone does not like her Mac-n-cheese that way (which I think Ri knew) so Ri got half of Ceylone’s lunch much to her delight.

I drove them back to school and let them play in the side yard of the school away from all the other kids until the bell rang. When we walked into school, they saw Mrs. Palmer and Ri planted a linebacker hug on her.

“Personal space Maria!” she chuckled. She told me that they were working on personal space with Ri because she had a habit of hugging and holding other classmates, especially a little boy from Mexico named Alex. He can’t stand being touched by girls yet Ri always finds a way to pinch his cheeks and say “you are just the sweetest” when she’s helping him with math problems.

“She’s like a little grandma.”

I gave her my “be good and listen look” as I began to leave for the car. She gave me her stock response as she waved her hand at me “oh, mom, you just go now and don’t worry….” She knew I was irritated with her sassiness right away. In response, she gave me the smile that I have come to lear is the “I am just trying to be funny and not sassy so please don’t get mad at me smile.” I cut her a break and walked away.

As I left, I turned back to look at her. I thought she might yell “thank you” to me for taking her out to lunch but she didn’t.

Instead, she laughed with Ceylone and a friend as she walked in her classroom.

I turned back around, and smiled. A “thank you” was unnecessary after seeing the joy she radiated as she walked back to her class with her friends. If I looked up pure happiness, I think I would have found a picture of her at that moment.

And that’s definitely good enough for me.

Weekend Round-Up

March 11, 2013March 16, 2013Leave a comment

A list of all the events from the weekend of March 8:

Friday

Ri headed to Kids Night Out at Stevenson. She stayed in Ms. Palmer’s room with the third graders to help watch Ms. Palmer’s little boy, Colin. She would give up friend time to watch a little kid anytime. She also got a healthy dose of Spongebob while they waited for Mrs. Palmer to get organized.

When I picked her up from KNO, I ran down the hall with her and out the door trying to pinch her behind. We jumped onto a stone structure and laughed as we tried to get our breath. She looked at me and said “you are the funnest mom ever!” Words tucked away in my heart.

2. While Ri was at KNO, I took Mario to Target to buy new shirts and a Skylander (he got to buy that with his own money). We got our icees and headed straight to the Skylander aisle. And… we stood there for what seemed like two hours deciding which Skylander to buy. Another kid came over while we were standing there and he and Mario acted like old friends as they chatted about their favorite Skylanders. Hilarious. We ended up with Stealth Elf who Mario reported was liked by everyone – even our babysitter David. A cute little gal, I must admit. Then we headed to the clothing aisle. Doggone Spring clothes were already out so we could only find a few long-sleeved shirts. He found some boxers that “looked just like dad’s” so we got those, too. We got a good deal on a Dr. Seuss book – $5 – and Mario “read” it on the way home. He is hilarious with reading. He simply looks at the pictures and makes up his own story. He’s pretty creative, and usually some up with a more interesting story than the one in the book.

Saturday

We took advantage of 55 degree weather! We also took advantage of Mario’s new running shirt – as soon as I came home from my run he begged to go out with me for another run.

“I have my new running shirt, mom! I want to test it out!”

Ri biked (her worst nightmare is running!) and Mario and I ran. I explained to him about keeping a steady pace which he adhered to for two seconds and then sprinted again. After about two blocks he turned around and said “why aren’t I sweaty yet, like you always are?!” He wants to come home sweaty just like his mama (another one if Ri’s nightmares!). We played at the park a while and then went home to toss the football.

After running around, the kids were ready to chill in the car for a trip to Cincy for Cy’s 18th birthday party. Mario made dad and I engage in a singing contest (dad won with his famous song “Spicy Meatballs”) and Ri drew a picture for Cy’s birthday. When we arrived, the kids went straight to Robert and Cy and their girlfriends to play. Robert tossed the football with Mario and Cy messed around with Ri. There was a two-year old boy at the party so Ri was in heaven chasing him around and holding him. She is gonna be a heck of a babysitter.

Jane made killer lasagna and garlic bread: the Italian Ionno family was quite pleased. Liz and I ate with the kids downstairs cracking up at Ri going to town on her lasagna and Mario trying to play pool. Jane has hosted 72 birthday parties over the years for her kiddies – what a machine! We sang happy birthday to Cy, gobbled up chocolate cake and ran around the house wild until it was time to head home.

Sunday

Ri rode her bike and I ran up to Stauf’s. We took a long way up and down side streets to make it a three mile ride/run and Ri cranked it out on her old, run-down bike. She prides herself on being able to ride this bike (she always asks “do you think [insert friend’s name] could ride this bike like I do?). The chain is rather rusted and the pedals are tough to push but she has her parents’ strong leg muscles!

We had a wonderful Stauf’s trip – we sat outside in the 60 degree weather eating a chocolate chip scone and talking about school. I love mornings like that. We brought home a donut for home-body Mario and got ready for the Ionno clan to arrive.

We hadn’t seen Alana and Gio for a while so the kids were excited to have them over. As soon as they arrived, Ri and Alana were upstairs playing barbies and Gio and Mario were on my bed with my iPad and Grandma Ionno’s iPad. When we made them come downstairs to play, they picked up their nerf guns and acted like they were zombie killers.

I took the girls to the woods to try to find baby bunnies. No luck on that front but we did find a good tree to climb. It was only 65 degrees but Ri was “so hot.” She had to create a “belly shirt” to cool down and slip off her shoes. God help her when Summer hits.

The boys were next. I took them to the woods by the train tracks (I didn’t let them go near the tracks, Aunt Kathy!). They were hilarious talking about Skylanders and zombie killing. Mario kept asking Gio if Gio had a running shirt like he did. When Gio said no, Mario scolded him that he needed to get in shape.

When we returned, I had to play zombie. The boys destroyed me with their nerf guns (they did an excellent job aiming from the waist down). Then Grandma Ionno got in the mix and wrestled Mario. For 70+ years, that woman can hold her own. I can’t get over how much energy she has. She was on the carpet rolling all around with Mario. Good way to stay fit ad work off some of the calories consumed from Jon’s killer homemade spaghetti and meatballs meal.

We ended the weekend on our backs looking up at the sky and debating what the tree in our yard most resembled (I thought the tree stump from Skylanders and Ri thought a mom asking her kids why they broke something – you can see who is more creative).

And here’s to the start of a new week.

Snowball personalities

March 7, 2013March 7, 20133 Comments

Nothing like the snow to bring out our respective personalities:

Maria, the muscle. She rolled that snowball until it took both Jon and I to lift it.

Mario, the provoker. He threw snowballs at me and Jon and Ri every time we turned our backs on him.

Jon, the machine-lover. He couldn’t wait to get home to his snow blower and clear off the bit of snow at the end of the driveway that had accumulated throughout the day (Mario in the foreground making his snowball move).

And me. The do-er. “Let’s stop this nonsense and build our snowman!”
And since I have trained my kids well, we ended up with not one snowman but five of them scattered throughout our lawn (the neighbor kids did come down and help to their credit).

Weekend Round-Up

March 4, 2013March 4, 2013Leave a comment

Maria exhibited her mom’s wackiness for “Crazy Hat Day” at school by taking her straw hat she received as a gift at a birthday party and pinning a stuffed animal on top.

If it would have been the first week of school, that would never have happened. But since she knows her classmates so well, she had no qualms about it. She is quite the party animal when she knows everyone involved.

She had one heck of a day on Friday because after Crazy Hat Day, we played Yahtzee in the evening. Mario and I have both gotten Yahtzees while playing the game and Ri always gets so dejected that she hasn’t experienced the thrill. First roll of the game, she got a Yahtzee! And with sixes! She was so charged up. I think one of the greatest milestones for kids is when they experience excitement for another instead of experiencing jealousy. This happened with Mario. He got so excited for Ri when she got her Yahtzee; he gave her a big big and yelled “good job, Ria!” About five minutes later, she rolled another one. She ran into Jon to tell him the unbelievable news. Mario didn’t exhibit quite the excitement but he didn’t whine either (big progress). Ri ended up demolishing us by over 200 points. She remains the reigning champ but a game is scheduled for tonight and I feel lucky.

On Saturday, we went to the middle school’s fun fair. They have a raffle, tons of cookies and cupcakes, games and a bouncey house. What more can kids ask for?! I always feel bad for Mario because Ri is at that age where she “meets up” with her girlfriends and runs around with them the entire time. Mario begs to bring a friend but his friends live outside of Grandview and it’s a whole big ordeal to plan a play date. I am so glad that he is starting Kindergarten next year and will meet Grandview boys to hang with on the weekends.

Sure enough, as soon as we walked in, one of Maria’s friends appeared. They walked around together for most of the time (Hailey’s mom “trailed” them without letting them know it). Ri’s at that strange age where you feel comfortable letting her run around at a closed event like this but you also don’t want to leave her completely unchaperoned. It feels strange not to have her by my side and to watch her act goofy with her girlfriends and boys in her grade.

Meanwhile, Mario wanted me to watch him go down the bouncey house slide fifteen times over. He still stands by my side, which I won’t complain about at all. But as soon as our next door neighbors showed up, he left me and went running around with Quinn. He loved the toilet paper toss – our little hillbilly.

He also kicked it at the dart game – got a bullseye on his first try (taking after his Uncle Greg).

The kids located the face paint table towards the end of the day and Ri, being true to her school spirit, got a Bobcat paw. Mario, being true to his bad self, got a vicious snake.

I could not believe it was 2 pm when we left. We stayed at that fair for three hours. I was spent. But we managed to head into my office around 5 in order for me to print off some things. We ended up on there until 7 pm. The kids loved sitting at the computer and playing. Mario was on mine and Ri was on my assistant’s. I was on my colleague’s. when I had finished my tasks, I walked into my office and found Mario watching some home-made Transformers movie where every other word was a cuss word.

“How long have you been watching this?” I asked him.

“Only a few minutes. It’s awesome.”

We had a talk about using those words and I didn’t hear any of them the rest of the weekend so hopefully we are in the clear.

My dad called Saturday night to ask if he could crash at our place after watching Jack play at a bar that night. It’s a sad day when your dad is partying til the wee hours of the night and crashing at your place (and you’ve been in bed since 10 pm)! Ri and I made pancakes for Peepaw in the morning and then followed him to Cincy to decorate Grandma Menkedick’s grave on the anniversary of her death. Ri wore all pink in her honor. It was freezing outside.

I love the few words my dad said to Ri when she told him she was freezing. “Now we can visit her grave every year and we will know that Spring is coming soon.”

Maria had to take a picture before we left.

We performed our tornado exercise at my mom’s house Sunday afternoon. We watched Lou eat a stuffed bear, ate cookies and played on the bed. Then we went to a birthday party that Grace-Bug was invited to at a gym with inflatables. Nothing like inviting yourself to someone’s birthday party (luckily we knew them). The kids went non-stop on the inflatables and begged me to join. Aunt Julie tried to teach me to sit still and make them play on their own but I couldn’t last too long. Besides, I love playing on those things! Ri, Mario and I held hands down the shark slide and Gracie even braved it. And… we even scored sheet cake! Ri and I downed two pieces each.

We ended the day with baths at Julie’s house. Maria and Gracie in one tub and Mario in his own. They smelled like baby shampoo on the way home. I miss that scent.

Grandma Lolo gave Ri a koala bear and Mario a “hot stuff” bear (apropos) for the ride home. We stopped at BP for our chips and drinks and we were off for Columbus. When we got home, we hoped dad would surprise us and not have left for his trip. No such luck. The only silver lining was that the kids got to sleep in my bed with me ( a silver lining for the kids – not me – as I get kicked and punched all night!).

Jon and mini-him

March 4, 2013Leave a comment

I never need to miss Jon too much when he’s out of town because Maria acts as a mini-him.

This morning Mario begged to play with the iPad and I let in after the fifth plea just to have some quiet. Maria shook her head at me and counseled “you have to say no to him, mom, and not give in.” Then we were walking out the door to head to school and I had a ceramic bowl of apples for Mario. Maria saw them and scolded me.

“You aren’t letting Mario take that nice bowl into school, are you?”

I saw Jon channeled through her at that moment. I burst out laughing and found myself responding like I would to Jon. “No babe, I’m not going to let Mario bring in the bowl to school.”

As I drove to work, I realized I did let Mario take the bowl into school. Jon and mini-him would be so disappointed….

Riding the see-saw

February 17, 2013February 17, 2013Leave a comment

Behave as if tomorrow is your last day.

So that has been my motto the last few days. I had to figure out something that would make me pay attention to all of the wonders before me: my hubby and kids, my family, my home, warm socks, Lucky Charms cereal. I had such a maddening couple of weeks at work that I lost balance and found myself on the low end of the see-saw that was stuck in the mud on the ground. I’d come home to kids who yelled “Mom!” and I would put on a smile for them but as they ran away to get a game to play or show me a cool toy, my smile vanished and I stood in the room all funked out. It didn’t help that I got my hair cut in those same maddening work weeks. I went to a new gal and told her I wanted bangs.

“Just make me blond and give me bangs – what the hell,” I told her one night after work.

Usually stylists are hesitant to make that move, especially if you are a new client. But this gal had bright red hair, tattoos everywhere, and quite a few piercings so if I told her to go for it, she was going for it – no questions asked. She completed her work and I wanted to sob. Yellow canary hair and straight, straw-like bangs. I couldn’t have looked less attractive. We took another hour and a half to tone down the yellow but I still walked away feeling like a mix between a monster and an 80’s punk rocker. It didn’t help that when I walked in the house, Jon’s mouth dropped and all he could say was “Oh My God.” Actually, he said one more word after that. “Thor.” Yeah, he called me “Thor.” I couldn’t really remember what Thor looked like but I knew he was making fun of me. A few minutes, he called me into his office with the kids. He had a picture of “Thor” on his computer screen, and pointed to it. The kids felt my pain and responded “that does not look like mom, dad! Only his hair looks like mom!” I wanted to crawl into bed and not return to society.

But alas, within a couple of hours, I was laughing with them about my hair and putting it all into perspective. It’s just a haircut, heh? Really, so I look like a male warrior, it could be worse. Not sure how, but it could be.

And so I decided this weekend that I would turn myself around – change my negative thinking and get on with it. I am now back on balance somewhat. Riding close to the middle of the see-saw. I even managed to handle a trip out to Dover on Saturday with Jon, the kids and Patty and Joe. I was a little frantic about the trip on Friday night because I wanted that day to prepare for Jon and I’s Cancun trip. I had also found out from Vicki a few nights earlier that the baby shower we were heading to (hence the trip to Dover) was going to have 100 people and be three hours long. Baby showers are those necessary evils that you must attend because a baby is going to be born! When you are the mother-to-be, it is the greatest ever. When you are a guest, it can be taxing at times, especially when there are 60+ gifts to open. But the visit went much better than anticipated. I got to spend time with Patty, and the kids got to torture her in the backseat by making her watch Homer Simpson iPad games and color rulers. We got to eat cupcakes and talk to Vicki and look at all the sute baby clothes that Stacy got. Maria got to sit next to Bianca and listen to her and her friend talk about random things like make-up, hair and boys. She was mesmerized. There were a few other little girls there ranging from ages 3 to 10. Maria was ok playing with the three-year old because she just held her around the lobby but she was completely awkward around the 10 year old girls. I had to stand out in the hall with her for 20 minutes making conversation with the other girls (who were just sweet as can be). When I finally told Ri I had to go back ot the party, she stood out there a few more minutes but then came back inside. She eventually went back out in the hall after some prodding and had a good time with the girls but she is not the chatty-kathys like Patty and me. She has got her dad in her in that area. She has always been one to choose to hang with the adults – even when she was three years old. It is that old soul in her.

We went back to Big Mario’s and Vicki’s house for some wine and some trampoline jumping (yeah, be careful mixing the two). After an hour or so talking with them, we drove home in near white-out conditions at times. Luckily, Jon drove. Patty and I kept the kids busy (she read an entire Aesop’s Fables book to Mario and I made up stories with Ri) until we got home. Then we ate more cookies and cupcakes and went to sleep at 9:30.

We woke up on a frigid Sunday morning and made chocolate chip-peanut-butter pancakes and eggs. It was heaven. I read them a few facts from the newspaper as we ate (the Pope is resigning; the economy is looking better; the Underground Railroad Freedom Center is in Cincy and we need to go soon). At one point Mario looked up at me with chocloate chips caked around his mouth and all over his hands. I almost let out an exasperated sigh but some other force came over me and I laughed. I laughed hysterically, which caused the kids to laugh hysterically. We couldn’t stop. It was marvelous. And awakening.

The moment took me to the high end of the see-saw.

Valentine wish

February 14, 2013February 14, 2013Leave a comment

To my Valentines:

You go to bed too late
You rarely clean up your rooms
You are louder than a cheering crowd
But you certainly make your mama proud.

You love to eat sugary nonsense
You forget to brush your teeth
You complain about a bath
But you sure do make your mama laugh.

You stomp through the house
Tracking dirt and toys everywhere
You whine when I make you clean your piles
But you always make your mama smile.

You love to jump all over the house
You are addicted to technology
You wrestle and play fight all night long
But you sure do make your mama strong.

So on this Valentine’s Day
Will you do me a big favor?
Will you never change a thing about you?
Because mama adores you and dad does too!

Can a Woman

February 12, 2013February 12, 2013Leave a comment

I have been crushed with work lately. So when I called the courthouse yesterday to confirm that Maria’s Girl Scout troop could still meet with a female judge during our tour that afternoon and was told “not sure,” I was ready for my head to spin around 100 times and my mouth to spit out fire. I expressed (in a cordial, polite manner, of course) how important it was for these girls to see a female judge and hung up the phone confident that it would happen.

And it did.

Maria and her troop of 7 and 8 year old girls met Judge Kim Brown. Before that though, they walked through a metal detector, which may have provided the most fun of the entire trip ( actually, it was probably second to the tunnel walk).

Before meeting the Judge, the girls visited the jury room. We talked about what a jury does and asked them if their parents had been jurors. However, all of our questions fell on deaf ears. The girls were more intrigued with the giant tvs. The first question posed: “what movies do jurors get to watch?” That question prompted a series of discussions amongst the girls about movies they loved and had recently seen. Not quite the captive audience I wanted.

After checking out the vending machines and bathroom (with a shower!), we headed to Judge Brown’s courtroom. The girls’ mouths dropped as they entered. Questions bounced all over – “who sits at the tables”, “does the judge use her gavel”, where does the jury sit”?

Surprisingly, all the chatter ceased when Judge Brown entered the room. It’s as if they innately knew to be quiet (either future lawyers or they are going to be respectful defendants one day).

Judge Brown talked with them about running for judge and about using her gavel and about the cases she hears. They sat and listened taking glances over at the juror box and up at her bench. All of those little minds taking in the atmosphere. I was hoping the presentation would have been a little more kid-friendly but I think the girls would have taken away what they ended up taking away all the same. And that is that they can choose whatever path calls to them. They’ve got a great big, exciting world in front of them and it’s theirs to gulp up. If Ri takes away one nugget from the trip, I hope it is that.

We ended our time with the Judge by singing her a song titled appropriately “Can a Woman.” The girls belted it out so that any one in the courthouse could hear.

I stood across from the girls to videotape them and wanted to shout “Amen” with every “Yes I Can” they sang. I wanted to hoist every one of them on my shoulders and reinforce that the sky is the limit. The power and confidence in that courtroom during that song was palpable and I will work like mad to keep it that way as Ri moves into pre-teen and teen years. Those girls will struggle together, laugh together, yell together over their school years like all of us remember doing with our girlfriends. And when they need a boost, I just hope they remember the confidence they exuded when they sang this song together.

Bugs, cousins and grandmas

February 10, 2013February 10, 20132 Comments

Mario got the horrid bug first. He woke up on Wednesday morning complaining that he felt like he was going to throw up. We’ve all been fighting colds so we told him it was just mucus build-up. Within five minutes of dismissing his complaint, he was violently throwing up in our bathroom. His whole body trembled as if an alien possessed him. He cried and begged to not throw up anymore. If there are two people who hate to throw up, it’s Jon and Mario. So guess who got it next? Yep, Big Jon. Poor things. Mario wanted me by his side for the entire day holding his hand and rubbing his back. I willfully obliged. Jon wanted left alone with good reason. They both got over the crux of it within 24-48 hours, thank god.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling funny and ended up in bed all day. I didn’t have as bad of symptoms and with lots of sleep, I think I have dodged the worst of it as I write this on Sunday afternoon.

Mario had his buddy Quinn over while I was held up in bed. Those two played Skylanders for three hours – only taking breaks to eat Mac-n-cheese and wrestle. Quinn is a dream playmate for Mario.

Later that night, Quinn’s folks took Mario for dinner and a movie. Jon and I were so bummed not being able to take advantage of a night out alone with me still ill and Jon recovering. Instead we sat in the family room and watched National Geographic and felt like we were 85.

Meanwhile, Maria was having the time of her life at Grandma and Grandpa Ionno’s house with her cousin Alana. I am so glad Patty took them for the weekend because they are seeing less and less of each other as they get older. They are making their own friends which is great but I don’t want them to lose sight of each other. This is a little taste of the dress-up party happening up north…

Maria’s tough self never got the bug. She was fine leaving her family in the infested house and escaping to her grandma’s house. She got treated to Tim Horton’s (a girl’s morning out on Saturday) and to spaghetti and meatballs and to Grandma’s fine attire and shoes!

Jon’s reaction was priceless when he opened this picture Maria sent him.

“Holy cra-!”

My sentiments exactly. Sweatpants and sweatshirts for that girl from now on.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: laughter

Heading up with Grandma and Grandpa

Good Enough for Me

Weekend Round-Up

Snowball personalities

Weekend Round-Up

Jon and mini-him

Riding the see-saw

Valentine wish

Can a Woman

Bugs, cousins and grandmas