Rest on Sunday? Ha!

September 30, 2012Leave a comment

Coffee, chocolate chip scone, and… sprints? Apparently that was in the cards for us today.

Maria wanted to bike to Stauf’s this morning – a welcome change from our Tim Horton’s runs. She asked if we could bike down the hill next to us and I told her that would mean she had to bike back up the hill. Surprisingly, she still wanted to do it. A very proud moment for me. And an even more incredible moment when she willed herself half way up the hill (which is steep) and then got off and walked it the rest of the way without complaining once.

We met Jon at Stauf’s and got chocolate chip scones and muffins. Mario told us how stars come from nebulous clouds – just a typical morning with our five year old son. Maria told me that she was going to be my coach and make me run on the track. So we headed to the track after breakfast and Ri timed me as I ran sprints.

“Move it lady!” she screamed at me. “Go faster!” She could definitely move straight into the army.

Mario and Jon arrived shortly after us and Mario dove right into my sprints… and push-ups. He is an animal. Maria and Jon timed us over and over.

Then Ri got into the mix and sprinted across the field to us. I am not sure what got into this girl of ours but she turned into a monster, too. She continued to sprint back and forth a few more times and then biked home. Love it!

Soon after we got home, Ri had to go to cheer leading. I was worried that she may peter out but she stayed strong belting out the cheers and kicking that leg up!

While at the game, my brother texted me about a gig he was playing at the riverfront. The kids have been wanting to see him play so I thought it would be perfect since I didn’t need to take them to a bar to see him! I told Ri to get dressed up like a rocker girl and she didn’t joke around! Blue eye shadow and all (dad was not pleased nor was I but we let it go this time!)

The kids made some quick friends with my law school friend’s kids. They all sat together waiting for Jack’s band to start. The Evan Oberla Project jammed it out.

Mario sat on the stone seat and watched the entire show getting up every once in a while to get out some dance moves and then chillin’ again in his seat. He loved it and even got a shout out from the band members who said he was by far the best dancer of the day. He was smitten!

We wrapped up the day the way I love most – with Jon’s yummy spaghetti and homemade meatballs. Heaven. Our cousin, Robert and my bro, Jack ate with us, too. What a treat, especially for M&M who idolize the both of them.

A full day for us – we will all be crawling into work and school tomorrow morning. But there is no other way to live!

Downtown Cincy

July 31, 2012July 31, 20121 Comment

There are certain things about Cincy I miss. A friend posted this video of artists in downtown Cincinnati, and it made me nostalgic for my hometown. Columbus’ downtown has no where near the history and richness.

I remember taking Maria and Mario down to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown Cincy this year and the awe in their eyes at the stadiums and fountain and skyscrapers. They were intrigued with stories of me sitting in old Riverfront Coliseum rooting the Reds on and heading to the garage after the game to gather autographs. They were amazed when I told them I used to take a bus downtown and go to the library (they asked if it had vending machines like ours). Their favorite thing was Fountain Square and throwing pennies into the fountain.

I wish we could have been there to watch and dance with those uplifting artists.

Stand By Me

July 9, 2012July 9, 20122 Comments

My sis forwarded this video to me like a little angel from above. Seriously, she sent it to me on a day where I had woken up with a splitting headache, endured kids’ whining about having to stay home with the sitter, and received an email from a client complaining about the status of a matter. And it was only 7:30 am at that time. By 2 pm, I was ready to pack it up and hitchhike off to a remote town in Alaska.

And then I got an email from her containing this video. I immediately smiled. It brought me back to sanity. I felt a renewed sense of goodness in this world. I looked at the kids’ pictures and did not want to wring their necks. I met my client and felt compassion. I called Jon and told him I loved him.

Amazing what one little video can do for your day. Here’s to humanity and the amazing spirit dwelling in all of us.

Life is Good

June 19, 20121 Comment

Can we have a more insane, crazed night than tonight?

I walked in the door at 5:45 pm after a nutty day at work full of little fires and big personalities. As soon as I step in the hall, Maria gets in my face crying that she needs a grass skirt and coconut boobs for tomorrow’s Hawaiian day at horse camp. Seriously, can’t the horse camp owners just make it a colorful t-shirt day? Everyone has a colorful t-shirt in their drawer – no-one has a grass skirt and coconut boobs. I text a few friends who are no help. I know that I am going to give in to her and run her to the store eventually. But first, I want to mow the lawn before Jon leaves for the airport. I change, slip on my grassy shoes, and head out. Our mower sounds like death. I have hit one too many rocks with it (in no part due to my inability to take my time) and it is ready to call it a day. I finish the back yard and when I go to start it in the front, it refuses. I knew not to mess with it any longer – its little mower life was up – but not before it gave me one last cut in the backyard. I will miss it. Luckily, we had Jon’s brother’s mower in the garage. I used it in the front only to find three-fourths of the way through that I had lost a screw on the left side of the mower so the handle would not stay up. I had to finish the lawn holding the left side up while I tried to push the mower with my right arm and hip. Ain’t it great?

I cleaned up, threw on a new shirt, and we headed out to the Dollar Store for Hawaiian goodies. We lucked out and scored a skirt, leis, and flower clips. Hopefully, Mario’s daycare has some left over boobs from their party that Ri can get tomorrow. Mario scored a set of handcuffs and knife – perfect for a wild four-year old. We ran out of the store and into the car to head home for a hot pocket and sandwich. After we heated the hot pocket, Maria jumped on her bike and Mario hopped in the stroller and we were off to Music on the Lawn for some music by Conspiracy. People packed the lawn taking in the funk. Mario engaged in a robot dance that had the entire left side of the lawn cracking up and Maria get treated to a bag of popcorn by her friend Zach. When he offered it to her, she blushed the loudest red I have seen. God help us.

Mario had a bathroom attack while dancing so we ran into the library. Of course, since we were in there, he needed to get a handful of movies. We met Maria outside for a few more songs and then called it a night at 8:45 pm. When we arrived home, I grabbed the scissors and began pruning the roses. They have been driving me nuts for weeks, and I promised myself I’d get them done last night or tonight. After working on those for twenty minutes while Maria and Mario played with the handcuffs and knife, I came inside to read a book to them. We read a couple, headed upstairs to get changed into pj’s and brush teeth, and headed back down for one episode of Scooby Doo.

My god. My eyelids kept falling over my eyes like broken shades. But I persevered through finishing up emails and memos for tomorrow and chanting all the while “life is good; life is good.” And alas, as crazy as it is, life is good.

Music on the lawn and laughter in the air

June 13, 2012June 13, 2012Leave a comment

The soul is healed by being with children.~English Proverb

I walked in the back door last night and M&M darted through the kitchen to see me. A day full of irritations and squabbles at work evaporated into the evening air as I rolled around on the living room floor tickling them. Just hearing their loud, raucous laughter made the entire day worthwhile.

Jon cooked for the third day in a row! We were treated like royalty eating seasoned grilled pork, corn on the cob and beans. I am loving Jon’s cooking revival – both for the delicious food and for the family time together at the table.

Our after dinner treat landed us at Music on the Lawn at the library. Latin creole music and cupcakes and a cool breeze… it doesn’t get any better. Mario gathered up his change Jon has given him this weekend and placed it tightly in his pocket. He had more than enough to get two cupcakes. When we told him this, he approached Maria, tapped her side, and announced “Ria, I am going to treat you to a cupcake!” Maria turned to him and squeezed her arms around him: “thank you little buddy!” He smiled with pride. Sure enough, as soon as we pulled up to the library, Mario ran to the cupcake table and ordered two of them. He beamed as he took out his change and handed it to the boy scout.

After eating the cupcakes in five seconds flat, Maria went to the parking lot across the street and rode her bike with her girlfriends. Mario and I went to dance to the music. I sat on the lawn while Mario stood amongst the other kids jumping around the lawn and waving his arms. I love the complete lack of concern and inhibition in him. He just moves to his own beat. He decided the band was so good that he needed to tip them. After the lead singer came down to sing to the kids, Mario tapped his back side and put a dime in his hand. The singer chuckled and thanked him kindly. Mario beamed again.

We headed over to Maria’s friend’s house and sat with them for a bit after the show. The kids ate popcorn and played on our phones while we chatted about work and exercise and the gardening. On the way home, Maria slowed down her bike so Mario and I could catch up in the stroller.

“Hi, little buddy!” she remarked to Mario.
“Hi Ri!” he replied.
They both smiled at each other and then Maria biked ahead toward the house while Mario and I searched for squirrels in the yards.

I love you like a Love Song Baby

March 9, 2012March 9, 2012Leave a comment

Watching Maria mouth the words of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream takes me back to my pre-pubescent years listening to Phil Collins and Air Supply on my 45s. Or better yet, waiting to hear the love songs on Casey Kasem’s Top 40 so I could tape them onto a cassette to play over and over on the weekend.

It is only in the last month that Maria has shown more of an interest in music. First, Big Time Rush; then Justin Bieber; now Katy Perry and Selena Gomez. She struggles to understand the words and produce a dance move while she sings but she certainly tries. And it is doggone cute to observe her attempt it. She does what I used to do a lot; sing a word that is not the actual word of the song. She belts out “I love you like the Love Sun Baby.” Meanwhile, her little brother stands in the background pretending to strum a guitar and mouth the words to the song – perfectly content not to have a clue what he is singing. He just enjoys moving his body.

I caught Maria the other day on my mom’s treadmill jamming it out to Ms. Gomez. I had allowed her to start the treadmill and keep it at a low-level. She had grabbed my mom’s CD player and headphones and inserted her Teenage Bop CD in it. I saw the teenage Maria at that moment as she belted out a word here or there while walking on the treadmill and dreamily staring out the window in front of her. I wish I could get into that brain of hers in those moments to listen to what she is thinking in that dreamy world of hers. I am quite sure it is not how much she loves her mama….

My mother-in-law forwarded an announcement about Big Time Rush coming to Nationwide Arena in July. I can’t wait to take her to her first concert – I still remember heading to Prince with my mom in Cincinnati. What a concert in which to begin my concert experience! I think Big Time Rush will be a tad bit more subdued than Prince….

Raising the spirits with Pixar and George and Martha

January 28, 2012Leave a comment

I have been in a little bit of a funk the last week or so. Winter is bringing me down, down, down. I miss taking the kids for long walks, heading to the park for picnics, and SUN! The weekends tend to bring much of the same options: indoor swimming, library, McDonald’s Playland, pet store. I have been trying all sorts of mind games to get me out of the Winter Blues (Jon being home on the weekends is a god-send for some adult conversation and laughs) but I look back at past years and remember this time of year (end of January and February) all the same.

Before I left work on Friday, an email popped up about a Gateway Family Fest on Saturday. I typically delete anything from Gateway because 99% of the time it is a promo for a new bar or a band coming to a new bar. Not my league anymore…. But I opened this one and saw that they were having something for kids from 10-12. I got up for my run on Saturday morning early enough that I’d be home by 10 and we could head to Gateway. However, when I got home my homebody kids did not want to budge. They wanted to stay in their pjs on the couch. By the time we took away electronics and told them they’d have to find something else to do, which in turn, pushed them to ask for the Gateway event, it was 11:15. We arrived at the Gateway Theatre at 11:30 am. Such a bummer because the 45 minutes we had at the Theatre was a blast. They had a kids band that succeeded in getting even the most sedentary parents up and moving. They had balloon artists and crafts (unfortunately, they had packed up when we arrived and I diverted Mario’s and Maria’s eyes from it so they wouldn’t be bummed out). And they had short movies interspersed between musical sets. The two we saw were Tom & Jerry and a Pixar film called Partly Cloudy. Maria and Mario squealed when Tom & Jerry came on the big screen – they love that cartoon and have only seen it in my car. I squealed in delight after the Pixar film because it was absolutely adorable. The beginning shows storks delivering cute babies and kitties and puppies to houses. It moves upward to show all of these white clouds making those sweet puppies and kitties and babies. Then you see a sole grey cloud trying to make cute little things but instead only able to make alligators that bite, porcupines that prick and rams that butt. The poor stork helping out the grey cloud looks like he has seen better days but he keeps coming back to the grey cloud to pick up the next little present to deliver. The stork looks longingly to the bright white clouds and eventually flies away from the grey cloud to the white one. The grey cloud gets angry and sad and cries his heart out. The stork returns with a beautiful package. He opens it and puts on his new football helmet and pads – he is ready for the next hard-to-deliver present from his friend, the grey cloud. It was the sweetest, most genuine five-minute film I have seen. Well worth the trip (along with the buttered popcorn!).

I left the theatre feeling a tad more uplifted. I used the opportunity of having the kids in the car to head to one more place – Half Price Books. I had been wanting to look for some good books for the kids (and me) for a while and Half Price Books is the best. Maria scored a Junie B book – she loves those books recently. Mario found a slew of Superhero books for me to read him while we were there (my book searching did not occur). After finding a handful of kids’ book, we were on our way out when I saw it like a tulip in the weeds. A collection of George and Martha. The two cutest hippos ever. I used to read them to my baby sis and I believe my mom read them to me. I couldn’t resist purchasing it. We read ten stories tonight (they are mini versions) with the kids trying to guess which ones were my favorites (Split Pea Soup, The Bathtub).

I write this blog tonight with the kids still up (10 pm) and Jon and his nephew watching a show about Alaska in the other room. I stare in front of me at the fresh ruby flowers standing upright in their vase. I eat buttered popcorn and drink a root beer. I take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Life ain’t bad, Mary Grace. Just breathe and read a little George and Martha.

Jammin’ with the Harmony Project

December 15, 2011December 15, 2011Leave a comment

I took the kids to Harmony Project last night at the Southern Theatre (Maria was so excited to get dressed up and to “help” me get dressed up, also!). In one word: amazing. I had not heard of this non-profit group until a colleague invited me to the event a month ago. The Harmony Project works to bring individuals from diverse backgrounds together to sing and get to know one another with the hope that the more we understand one another, the more tolerant and inclusive society we will become. The Project succeeded in its mission last night bringing together individuals from all walks of life and bringing them to their feet clapping and bellowing out tunes.

Count Mario as one of them.

He rocked it out for the entire time we sat in our balcony seats. They showed a documentary in the beginning of the program to educate the audience on what the Harmony project is, and I was impressed that it held Maria’s and Mario’s attention. They both started to get antsy towards the end but they didn’t throw fits or beg to leave. Very impressive. Once the documentary ended, a group of mostly older teens walked out on the stage, each wearing a black t-shirt with the word “Beautiful” on it, and sang the song “Beautiful.” They mesmerized Maria who stood up in her seat and stared at the singers intently. I caught her mouthing the words “you are beautiful” at one point. Sweet girl.

Mario listened to the song but did not become engaged until the next song that was much more lively. The singers smiled strongly while clapping their hands and tapping their feet. Mario stood up from his seat and immediately moved to the beat, waving his hands and acting like his fist was a microphone. The people around us were cracking up. Mario leaned into me after the song and whispered “Could you sign me up for singing lessons, mom?” Maria laid back in her seat for most of the songs, intently watching the musicians and their gestures. She is much more reserved than Mr. Mario when it comes to these types of events. She takes it in while he throws it out.

Mario acting like a monkey and Maria showing off the brochure

As we waited for Jon to pick us up, I asked how they liked the show. They both gave me nods of approval and Mario asked “did I sing good, ma?” I confirmed that he did and he smiled broadly. The boy loves his praise. As much as I did not want to get dressed up and head out at 7:30 pm, I am glad that we went to the event because I know that it has a positive influence on M&M as they grow into themselves and this world. I think they are off to a harmonious start.

Shout out to Michael

July 29, 2010July 29, 20103 Comments

I watched snippets of “This Is It” – the documentary of Michael Jackson’s preparation for the “This Is It” tour. Can I just say that I have always been a Jackson fan since “Off The Wall” and “Thriller” entered my home as a young girl. But this documentary shed new light on Michael Jackson confirming to me how amazing and complex and thoughtful he was in his performances. The man can sing his out and dance his a–off! Oh, what I would give to have 1/1000th of his talent in the dance arena. I am hitting the hip-hop lessons next week – who is in with me??!

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: Music