Category: Outdoors

Music on the lawn and laughter in the air

Leave 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.

20120613-134828.jpg

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.

20120613-135456.jpg

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.

Partyin’ with potato salad

2 Comments

Jon took over the kitchen Sunday morning; there was no stopping the man.  When Mario and I got home from our run, we found him hunched over peeling potatoes into a glass bowl.  He had spices out, jars open, and utensils scattered.  It was quite a breath-taking (and rather attractive) sight.  Patty gave him the recipes to her potato salad and her baked beans, and he would not let anyone else see them or work on them.  Once he decides to cook, everyone else must scatter away from his kitchen space.  After tasting his potato salad, I am happy to give him all the space he needs.  He is a heck of a cook.  That is how he wowed me when we were dating – he’d bring me soup while I studied for the bar.

Maria and Mario and I cleaned rooms and the kitchen, and got ready for Gracie to come over.  Maria loves to babysit that girl but Maria is a tough bird.  Gracie does something bad and Maria says “Grace Ann Wells! You should not do that!”  She is everything I am not!  Discipline, structure….  god help her children.  Grace arrived at 1 pm, and yelled “Aunt Mary!”  She was glued to my hip the rest of the day except when she took a two-hour nap in the middle of the afternoon.  Maria read her The Fly Guy before her nap and when we all left the room, she babbled for fifteen minutes and then fell asleep.  That is a foreign occurrence for Jon and me.  We would have to rock M&M to sleep, rub their backs for 20 minutes, lay with them, you name it.  All of those hurdles before any sleep would occur.  And then, 9 times out of ten, they’d be up within a half an hour anyway.  So Grace is a piece of cake. 

While the gals napped, Mario played Ben Ten games on the computer.  He had his Cheez-Its next to his side as he intently concentrated on his next move.  His concentration allowed me to get the house decorated for Maggie Jean’s party.  Of course, I had felt that we had it all under control the night before but then inevitably, the day of, I find myself scrambling to get everything together.  Maggie, our graduate, arrived to the house at 4 pm after sitting in 90 degree heat for four hours.  Julie and Liz were with her – Liz having sat through graduation on Friday in Cincinnati.  We broke out the celebratory beer and chips and dip, and let the party begin!  Maria was instantly mesmerized with Maggie’s friends Sarah and Annie.  Mario acted silly with Maggie’s dad, Denny.  Gracie stayed on my hip the entire afternoon, which I loved.  Liz kept telling me to put her down but I just couldn’t do it.  She was so happy hanging out with me that I had to soak in the love. 

My aunt Terrie and aunt Ann arrived a little later.  They had not seen the house since we bought it.  They each brought me a house-warming gift from Pottery Barn (high-class aunts, I will say…), and gave accolades galore about the house.  So sweet.  I was so excited that they came up to Columbus because I don’t get to see them often.  Terrie is in Marietta, Georgia with her hubby and three boys and Ann is in Washington DC and Dubai with her job and beau.  When I was little, Terrie and Julie used to invite me over to their apartment on the West side of Cincy for sleep overs and I remember listening to slow sappy 70’s love songs on the radio.  Time with them was a treat – hanging with the older girls.  Ann is only a year and a half older than me (the youngest of eight) and I looked up to her like a big sis.  She was into serious heavy rock when she was in high school and I used to just sit in her room and watch her get dressed to go out as she banged her head to Motley Crue.  And now here we all were standing my kitchen as adults.   Life is strange. 

At one point in the evening, we brought out Dairy Queen cake for Maggie.  We were all joking about what to sing to her, what the cake said, etc. and I all of a sudden felt a rush of gratitude and joy for having the day with my aunts and cousins.  I just wanted to lean over the table and smooch ’em all on the lips but I figured that may not have come off as I would have planned so I just smiled at them all and lit the candle for Maggie to blow out.  After cake, Julie and Terrie helped me figure out the weeds versus plants in the garden.  I have a lot of weeds but weeds look like plants to me; in fact, I think I am prone to liking weeds more than plants and flowers.  They are tough cookies – not dying for anything and growing back even stronger than before.  There is something you have to respect in the weed.  But we pulled ’em out nonetheless.  We would have been out there all night if Jon wouldn ‘t have announced that there is poison ivy in the garden.  That blasted Ter and Jul out of the garden and into the bathroom to wash off.  I would have felt like a total heel if they had gotten poison ivy.  

The aunts left a while later – all three of them heading to Starbucks to get a coffee for the road.  Little do they know how much I think of them and appreciate their generosity in traveling up north to see me.  And Julie constantly opening her house to me and the kids when we are in Cincy.  It is a rare gift to receive.  With their departure, we just had Maggie and her friends left at the house.  Maria and Mario were in heaven – Mario danced to I’m Sexy and I Know It and played ball with the boys, and Maria brushed the boys’ hair so that they could “pick up rich girls.” I am sure they were wondering what they had done to deserve a night at our house. 

Everyone hit the road around 9:30 and the kids hit the sack pretty quickly.  I got to watch my HBO show, Girls, and eat the rest of the DQ ice cream cake.  What a great life.

Sunday stroller bliss

Leave a comment

Since Maria wouldn’t come home on Saturday night with me (no hard feelings, really – I loved listening to my own music and having an hour and a half of alone time!), I got to take a run with Mario in the stroller on Sunday morning.

I was able to crank out about 4 miles before we headed to Tim Horton’s for Sunday morning donuts. And it was another stroller ride where Mario never asked for the iPad but instead talked with his mama the entire time. Beautiful. We played the animal guessing game for most of the trip. He always guesses pig, frog, and monkey when he is guessing my animal because they are my favorite. He’s getting better about asking actual questions to figure out the contemplated animal after he runs through “mama’s favorite list.” He asks if they live in a jungle or farm, if they have fur, if they are fast. His animals I have to guess about are typically from Wild Kratts and obscure as can be. The honey badger, blue morpho butterfly, scorpion…. He’s so proud when I need help in guessing it.

The Wild Kratts show is a nice little educational tool that Grandma Ionno found. Mario gives me more insight into the animal planet from watching that show than I could find on my own (did you know the orangutan has sore arms from swinging and picks off aloe from trees to massage into his arms? Brilliant (both Mario and the orangutan))!

When we arrive at Tim Horton’s we are greeted by a flock of geese protective of their little ones. Mario jumped out of the stroller and began following them. He knows the wrath of the mama goose if he gets too close so he kept far enough away not to receive her treatment.

20120611-142440.jpg

After the donut store we decided to head to the river to collect more rocks. The lack of rain created a rocky bank for Mario to step onto and the amount of mussels and clams amazed us. We could have been on Cape Cod (ok, I exaggerate a tad). We must have played on that bank for 45 minutes and it felt like 10. I love those times with Mario where we just chill – throwing rocks and staring at the water to wait to see a jumping fish. He does good for my need to be more calm.

On our way back to the stroller,a passing runner told us there was a turtle a few 100 feet back on the trail. We were all over it. We found “Cutie” (as Mario named it) off the trail soaked in mud. We caressed its shell but stayed away from its mouth to avoid a possible finger crunch.

20120611-143252.jpg

On the way off the trail, we picked a few wildflowers to take home for Maggie’s party. I put them in the seat next to Mario in the stroller and he kept getting irked by the flowers falling on him. I said “flowers, you better stop falling on Mario, do you hear me?!” Mario loved that exchange and began to play the role of the flowers saying “we won’t listen to you” so that I would “have a talk with the flowers” again. This exchange lasted the entire way home.

Thank you, bike.

Leave a comment

How awesome is it to watch your first-born ride her bike confidently down the road? 

So Awesome!

Mario rode in the bike seat on my bike while Maria rode her bike ahead of us.  Maria mesmerized me as she experimented with taking one hand off the handlebar, lifting her butt off the seat, zig-zagging her bike along the sidewalk.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was scared to have me let go of the handlebars, and now she is a biking machine,.  I love it.  She led us all they way to Upper Arlington to play at a new park.  A cool little park with a stream and a climbing wall and fun obstacles.  When we were heading out, Mario complained that he didn’t want to leave.  She turned around and said jokingly “I knew you would be complainin’ about leaving!”  She was clearly proud that she led us to the park, and enjoying her new-found activity of biking.  We took the long way home – past all of the outdoor restaurants and shops – and she lifted her head up high as she passed the crowds.  I could feel her self-confidence even as Mario and I rode 20 feet behind her.     

Thank you, bike.

To Swim or not to Swim

4 Comments

Maria cried and cried last night when we got home from work. She had gone to Swim Team practice earlier in the day and hated every second of it.

Why? Because “she just hates it. She’s bored. She came in last and she just doesn’t enjoy practice.”

Let’s parse out those reasons. The first one I tend to not give much credence to because she’s got to learn to give reasons why she doesn’t want to do something. The second – she’s bored – I also have trouble with. Life can be boring, girl. We have spoiled you by engaging in activities all the time and this is what happens.

The third one made me think and review my decision. I don’t want her to hate going to practice everyday and I don’t want her to feel self conscious about her swimming. Right now, she just enjoys being in the water and playing around and jumping off the diving board. I don’t want to push her away from that by forcing her into a sport she doesn’t want to participate in at this time. But I balance that with my strong desire to have her learn swim strokes and be a better swimmer. I could care less about the meets and competition. So which one weighs out the other?

One girlfriend said that her daughter hated it too and she told her daughter she could give swimming up but she had to take up at least one sport. Her daughter chose tennis and loved it. I am warming up to that idea with the thought that I’d still make Ri take individual swim lessons this Summer.

I am still conflicted though. I played piano for four years when I was ages 7-11 but then I begged to not practice anymore. I can’t remember how long or intensely I begged, but my parents agreed to let me stop. Now I wish they would have “made” me continue practicing. But maybe I would have rebelled if they made me keep it up at age 11 and run away and met up with bad seeds and gotten into prostitution and been killed…. It’s always easier to look at things in the past and think “if only.”

So, my gut tells me to keep her on Swim Team for two weeks. If she still hates it, then she can choose another activity. I think Jon is on board with the plan, too. Mario just thinks Maria is crazy – who wouldn’t want to compete?!

20120607-164738.jpg

And It’s One, Two, Three Strikes You’re Out

3 Comments

Mario had his first tee-ball practice this afternoon.  He was ecstatic.  He has been dreaming of this practice for weeks. 

Jon, Maria, Maggie and I all attended his first practice, and he loved us being there.  He would flag us down and yell “watch me!”  He started out throwing the ball with a friend and trying to catch the ball (tennis ball, thank goodness) with his glove.  Then he moved onto the batting practice.  He had to swing at the ball from a plastic tee.  He cranked that part of the practice connecting with the ball each time.  His partner was not such a quick study and whiffed the ball.  Mario decided to put on his coaching hat and help him out.  He approached the boy and asked to see his bat.  He then got into position and showed him how to hold the bat and then how to swing.  The boy took the bat back and swung to hit the ball.  He connected, and Mario stood behind me nodding his head up and down in coach pride.  It was hilariously sweet. 

Next, he fielded grounders in the in-field.  He did about as poorly as the other kids – we definitely need to work on catching with a glove.  But he loved it.  He kept wanting another grounder when he missed his but he soon learned the rules of practice – everyone gets a turn.  Finally, they had to run laps around the bases.  Mario loved this exercise, too.  He tried to get to the front of the line each time they ran around, and on the last round, he asked if he could go one more time.  What a munch.

Maria sat with a girlfriend who had brought her six-month old twins to practice.  She played with one twin while my girlfriend held the other.  She loves to watch babies – she picks hanging with the moms over her own friends.  She is our old soul.  But when she saw Mario rounding the bases, she quickly leapt up and ran over to third base to root him on with us.  She yelled “go Mario – you are so fast” as he rounded the base.  She stuck her arm out to deliver a high-five and he proudly slapped it as he whizzed by us.

Good Morning!

Leave a comment

Maria woke me up this morning at 6:20. She jumped out of our bed and shot into her room. She was dressed in 5 minutes and back in our room asking when Maggie would be over. Can we say excited?!

Maggie took Maria to the school that Maggie teaches at today. it was the last day of school for Maggie’s kiddies so they were making sundaes and watching movies. Maria was pumped. Jon said she sat on the front door steps for 10 minutes waiting for Maggie to pick her up. Doll baby girl.

Meanwhile, Mario climbed in bed with Jon and me while Maria got dressed. I tried to gently sneak out from under his arm but he quickly opened his eyes and asked “where are you going, mom?” I told him I was going for a run and I’d be back soon. He did what I knew he’d do – begged to go with me. And I responded the way I knew I’d respond – ok. So, he hopped in the stroller with the iPad and we were off. We had to make the Tim Horton’s stop to get Timbits but only after he ate a graham cracker with peanut butter so he had some nutrients swarming around his system.

We returned an hour later in order to miss seeing Maggie taking Maria for the day (Mario would have been so angry to not be included to the party). On the way down the street, Mario and I engaged in his favorite game. He says “You don’t love me mom!” and I respond “of course I love you goofy” while I reach down and tickle him. He loves this game and we play it all the way home. I pick him up out of the stroller to take him inside, and he gives me a huge bear hug as we walk in the back door and get ready for school.

A good start to the morning.

Distance really does make the heart grow fonder

2 Comments

Maria Grace stayed with Jon’s mom this entire week.  We went up for Memorial Day on Monday and she just returned today.  I swear she looks two years older.  She got four inches cut off of her hair during her stay with Grandma.  She greeted me with a huge hug and smile but when I asked her how her time was with Grandma and Alana, she responded “it was fine but I don’t want to talk about it.”  Huh?! I asked her if something went wrong and she looked at me puzzled.  “No, mom, I just don’t feel like talking about it.” 

Ok.  I am not ready for this response when just two weeks ago she would have went on and on about her time with Alana and her adventures with Grandma.  Well, maybe I exaggerate a bit – she has never been that talkative about her days; but she used to at least summarize them for me!  I let it go in order to just enjoy the moment with her – soak up her smile and her laugh.  Mario yelled “Ria” when he saw her and gave her a huge hug that lasted 30 seconds.  He had been asking when she’d be home for the last three days. 

One of the first tasks that Maria set out to do when she walked in the house was write a letter to Ann Curry.  Yes, the Today Show’s Ann Curry.  Jon and I default to NBC News in the morning, and Maria enjoys watching it, too.  She loves Ann Curry; she thinks she’s smart and stylish.  Her letter told her as much and she also added a sentence stating that Ann Curry helps her learn more about the world.  Precious.  I had Maria write Ann Curry’s name and address on the front of the envelope with the hopes that it does not get pitched since it is clearly from a kid.  We will keep our fingers crossed…! 

Meanwhile, Mario and I wrestled.  He made me grab his leg each time he started to turn the DVD dial and then after I grabbed it, he shocked me with the electric waves coming out of his fingers.  I had to play dead for five seconds and then come back alive to do it all over again.  He could have played that game with me for two hours but I could only handle about 15 minutes.  I had to play a game of HeadBandz in order to get him off the wrestling kick, and then find his Spiderman costume for him to wear.

I got a massage in the mid-afternoon, which was a piece of heaven for an hour.  Is there anything better than a scalp massage at 3 pm?  And I could hire someone to rub my feet all day long and think it was money well spent.  I lifted myself off the massage table afterwards, and had deep creases along my face and legs – a sign of a good massage.  Jon decided to cook lemon chicken for dinner so we spent an hour preparing the chicken and the sides while the kids played on the computer and drew.  It was a very strange yet wonderful experience for us.  Strange to smell sweet aromas throughout the kitchen and wonderful to cook our own meal (the joke is that we have only used our pots and pans a handful of times since we were married in 2002). 

The kids even liked it!  And Maggie, hung over and all, enjoyed it, too.  After dinner, we rode our bikes up to the mailbox to deliver Ann Curry’s letter (and a b-day card to Grandma Lolo) and chow on some Orange Leaf.  Mario gave up on his bike at Stauf’s so I carried him the rest of the way (I am a sucker!).  Jon played on his new scooter for a bit; Maggie texted her friends and engaged in time trials with the kids; and I cleaned up.  A good ending to a long day.  I am excited to have Maria back with us even if she doesn’t want to divulge her week to me.  As long as I still get those hugs, I am ok.

Bugs and letters

Leave a comment

Mario woke up crying on Tuesday morning at 1 am. We went to the bathroom since he was complaining of stomach pains but no luck there. A half hour later, we were back in there again but this time he threw up. And threw up more. And this was the rest of our night. He finally fell asleep at 5:30 am and slept for a good two hours (took me back to the days when he was nursing!).

We left for the doctor’s appointment at 11 am and by noon we were at Children’s Hospital. The doc was concerned that he had appendicitis. All I could think of was emergency surgery, no Jon, recovery time, would he make it through…. I kept a smile on for Mario, though, who was a trooper through the tests and probes. After five hours, we got the news.

He has gas.

Ok, he actually had a gastrointestinal virus that caused his stomach ache and gas but I find the gas prognosis much more comical. It’s one of those things where you never wish for a serious prognosis but you also think “I just sat in this ER for five hours to hear that he has gas?!”

We went home and watched more Ben Ten then I ever care to watch again and ate Popsicles. By Wednesday morning, he was up and running and back to his Mario self. Unfortunately, all of the cuddling the day before transferred the bug my way and I was twisting and turning in bed wanting to feel better.

I knew how much Mario wanted to go to Swim Team try outs though so I got my tired self up and took him. He had to kick on the kick board and float on his back. He had to swim the breaststroke and freestyle. He did really well and his “coach” for the day, Lauren, told him so. She also told him she would look for him next week at practice. He shyly looked away and said “ok.”

He jumped out of the pool and dried off. Then he looked up at me and said “Mom, I am going to make Lauren a card that says thank you for teaching me to swim … and I am going to give her three dollars”

Bless his little heart. He hates to give away any money so for him to give her three bucks means she made a heck of an impression on him.

20120531-124723.jpg

When we got home, he had a card waiting for him from Maria.

20120531-125244.jpg

I read it to him and he just stared at it. When he finally looked up, he said “I really miss Ria.” I asked if he wanted to send her a card at Grandma Ionno’s house but he declined. He was off and playing with his Omnitrix. One letter was good enough for him.

Memorial Day memories

2 Comments

We spent Memorial Day without Jon but with his family. We met up with Patty and Joe at their new condo and Patrick, Carrie, Alana, and Gio joined up with us, too. The condo is perfect for family get togethers – it has a downstairs set up for the kids and big windows that allow you to see to the pond out back (and therefore relax in the AC while the kids play in the sun). Patty is very happy with the move, which makes it even more wonderful to visit. She already has it feeling like home, and the kids run around like they’ve been there for years.

We started the day off with a swim at the country club next to the condo. As Patty and I said together, they better be ready for this family! The pool was really deep – the lowest end was 4 feet – but it was great fun for the kids. Everyone can swim but Gio and they had a baby pool. Maria and Mario jumped off the diving board a lot – Maria did the mid-air splits and Mario did the cannonball.

20120529-174147.jpg

I was exhausted to the point of not even wanting to move but being with the kids and having some wind hit us (at least it wasn’t 95 degrees) made me perk up. Patty had all of her new neighbors walking up and talking to her and Joe – she is already a social butterfly around the grounds! They enjoyed watching M&M jump off the diving board.

20120529-174448.jpg

We stayed a good three hours before heading back to the condo. I appreciated the swimming after I looked at the food we were eating for dinner. Delicious steak, baked beans, and potato salad. Home made and all! I just ate and ate and just when I couldn’t eat any more, I ate cookies for dessert. Pure heaven.

The boys fished after dinner (Uncle Patrick caught a blue gill) and drank lemonade on the bank. What a good life. Maria and Alana played dress-up and sang BTR songs.

Mario and I took off at 7 or so. Maria got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa since she is out of school. She was so excited. Mario was mighty mad. But he was so tired from swimming like a fish that he soon got over it and snoozed in the back the entire ride home.

20120529-175109.jpg

When I pulled up to the house at 8, I gently took him out of his seat and carried him to the bed. I laid him down softly with a smile on my face thinking about having a couple of hours of peace before bed. But as I moved away from the bed, he popped up and smiled “I was faking mom!”

Yeah, alone time was not in the cards for me this holiday weekend, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.