Here come the O-O-Overbecks

October 22, 2012October 22, 2012Leave a comment

Two out of the four Overbeck kids arrived at our house on Sunday morning at 2 am. Laura and Cy tip-toed up the stairs to Mario’s room and fell asleep. Mario and Gio wanted to wake them up so badly at 7:30 am but I kept them away by promising them donuts and sprints at the track (sounds just like a Big Mac and a diet coke).

When we returned full of yeast and sugar and lactic acid, Laura was awake and watching football with Jon. Cy was still snoozing (17 year old boy for ya). When Cy finally woke up, Mario and Gio descended on him like flies on fruit. They jumped on him and wrestled him and dragged him to the basement to play Lego’s. He obeyed their every command and helped erect some sweet Lego structures.

We had to feed the 6’7″ cuz eventually so we headed to Skyline for some Cincy chili. Maria told Laura scary stories she heard at her party in Marion and Laura diligently listened to all of them. Mario told Cy about his football games (“we always win except one time we tied and the whole team was sad”). We chowed down at Skyline eating coney dogs and three-ways and mounds of oyster crackers. And we all could have went home and slept for four hours – that is, the adults could have. M&M were pumped to have their cousins around and clung to them like koalas to eucalyptus.

Laura took Maria to Target and Loews to buy cork board and supplies for a necklace holder. Cy stayed back with us and played hours of basketball with Mario. Only a high school basketball player could endure shooting hundreds of times with a five-year old. Mario loved having Cy watch his every move, and Cy treated him like a little brother. It was very sweet.

Laura and Ri brought both supplies and another Overbeck, Robert back to the house (the last Overbeck kid, Emily, is in Colorado and couldn’t fly back for the fun!). Mario got Cy and Robert to pal around with? What a day for the little man!

Maria got her Laura time – spray painting her cork board pink and preparing to liven up her room. Thank god for Laura and her crafting skill because I have none of it (check out her blog!). An hour later, Ri led me, eyes closed, to her room to check out the new necklace holder. What a kick-butt, bright pink, functional wall decoration. Laura rocks it out again.

After all that madness, the Skyline finally set in. Everyone got in relaxed mode (even M&M!) and settled down while Jon and I cooked dinner (yes, miracles do happen). Jon and I cracked up when we glanced into the living room only to see these high school macho boys watching the “Bodyguard” movie with Whitney Houston. They were all into it.

And just when our stomachs finally felt at peace, we were ready to eat again! Jon made soup with meat, spinach, onions and beans (we still need a name for it) and I made corn bread and scalloped potatoes. Jon kept pushing me to try the soup and when I finally did, he asked “do you like the meat?” I knew this was a different kind of meat at that point and just hoped it wasn’t squirrel.

But no, it was elk and it tasted good. Listen, my man doesn’t go to the grocery to buy meat; he goes out and hunts it down! Jon shot this elk last year in Colorado and we are still trying to eat up all the meat.

Maria did not have the same reaction. She put down her spoon after Jon’s declaration and stuck with the potatoes and bread (and lots of it!). Mario tried the elk and ate two pieces (a lot for him). He also battled the boys while they teased him about eating his food (any thing to try to get that boy to eat).

After dinner, we engaged in some pick up basketball. The boys laughed hysterically at the PIG game that Jon and I played. It was a pathetic sight, especially to two b-ball players. Laura couldn’t help but feel sorry for us.

The fun had to eventually end with school and work in the horizon, and so it did at 6:30 when the Overbecks plopped in their car and drove off. “That was fun, mom,” Maria said as she jumped in my arms. Yes, it was. Those Overbecks know how to bring it!

Football star

October 17, 2012October 17, 20121 Comment

Football season ended two weeks ago but Mario refuses to move on. Our nanny David is keeping the season alive by heading out with Mario everyday he picks him up and throwing the ball long to him. Mario loves it. The other day I came home and he fell to the ground sobbing “I don’t want you home yet, mom!”

When I came home yesterday, Mario begged for me to tape him and David. Maria wanted to be Mario’s cheerleader. I was worried a catch was not in the cards for Mario Joseph but then BAM! 4th down he brought it home.

And without any showboating as well. That’s my humble boy.

Cheers for guests

October 15, 2012October 15, 2012Leave a comment

Maria cheered her final cheer of the season this past Saturday. She woke up complaining of a belly ache but cranked out the entire game nonetheless (later in that day she boasted that “[her friend’s name] would have cried and not cheered but not me – I am strong and don’t give up!).

Meg and dad came to watch her cheer and were quite amused at how distracted she was while cheering. She’d begin a cheer with gusto and then someone would pass by and she’d stare at him or her. She’d make some random sways while staring but her mouth produced no cheers and no hand movements occurred. She’s got her daddy’s innate desire to be aware of everything around her at all times. Meg and dad also got a kick out of her “boom” cheer where she swings her hips to the side… she performs it a little too well.

After cheering, dad headed back to the farm and Meg enjoyed some b-ball with Mario. Ri and I found the frisbee and pretty soon Mario joined while Meg checked out the flowers on the patio. I love playing frisbee with the kids. It’s the one activity we are all good at playing. Ri’s got a heck of an arm and Mario catches zingers. They were cracking Meg up with their sidebars (Ri’s commands and instructions to me and Mario’s dance moves after each catch).

We hung out waiting for Meg’s friend, Suze and her kids to arrive. Suze came to town and painted a rooster on the side of Meg’s and dad’s barn and she and her kids were flying out of Columbus back to Arizona on Sunday. Her rooster is absolutely Incredible. What a talent!

You would have thought we fed Mario speed when Suze and her kids walked in the door. He zoomed around the house squealing and finding random objects to show Suze’s son, Ian. He blasted “Sexy and I know it” on the CD and danced around the family room. He tackled Ian. Pure Madness. Meanwhile, Ri gawked at Suze’s daughter, Sedona, hanging on her every word, and tried to show off to her by being quite sassy with me (“get me a drink, mom…now…”). I had to pull her and Mario aside and give them a little talk in order to avoid going off on them in front of our guests. They calmed down after the talk to the point of being half way normal. Ri loved hearing about Ian’s and Sedona’s school stories and Mario loved having an audience to watch him play iPhone games. Ri lasted until 11 pm and Mario until 11:30. Party animals they are.

Sunday morning was idyllic. We woke up to 65 degree weather after a cold week. Mario and I ran five miles in the stroller and met Meg, Suze, Sedona and Maria at Stauf’s. I loved starting my day with a run, sipping coffee, chatting with funny gals, and people watching.

We ran home and rushed around to get ready for a trip to Cincy. Mario cranked out some push-ups for Sedona before we left and Maria chided Ian about sleeping on her pillows. Whoo, those two may think twice about a return trip! Meg and I were getting snacks ready in the kitchen. She turned to me as I loaded up the pretzels and remarked “You are such a good mom.” It came out of the blue and took me aback. Funny how six words can cause such emotion. It meant a lot to me coming from a fellow mom, and the woman who helped raise me and whose opinion I hold dear.

We gave our hugs to the crew and headed to southern Ohio for some pumpkin patch fun with my best girlfriends (minus my girl Kath who had to head back to Michigan with her newborn baby, Rose) and my mama. When we returned, I had a most delicious treat from Suze – brownies from the Bon Bonerie in Cincy. One for me, Mario and Ri. Heaven.

Obama Rally

October 10, 2012Leave a comment

Obama pins, Obama cups, Obama shirts. Protestors. Loud music. Welcome to the OSU Obama rally, Maria and Mario.

I asked our babysitter to drop the kids off at my office with the stroller so that we could walk over to the rally on the Oval. I made the last minute decision when I found out they had a few more tickets at the Obama headquarters downstairs from my office. With as much back and forth between M&M about the candidates, I thought this would be a good experience.

I knew from the beginning of our stroller ride that Mario was not gonna hang with me in all of the chaos. He has a nasty cold that has him headache-y and coughing. He perked up a bit when the Secret Service guys talked to him as we went through security and he even danced for them when he caught a bit of Black Eyed Peas on the loudspeaker. But when we moved into the crowd and the speakers were blasting and the crowd was cheering, he wailed “I want to go, mom!” I tried to distract him but there was no use. So, I made them take in all of the people and excitement and energy of the place and always remember how important it is to vote. On the count of three, we all yelled “Vote!” And then we headed back to my office.

Of course, once in my office, Mario came alive with the sight of chocolate everywhere (a lot of us have bowls of chocolate on our desks). He remembers the chocolate all too well and went directly to the rooms that had it. Maria went directly to my desk to be “the boss.” They could have played in my room all night.

But Jon rescued me and drove up like a knight in shining armor to pick us up. We ate Bob Evans (could I live on chocolate chip pancakes? Yes), and then I rode home (no room for my bike in the truck) only to find M&M in the driveway riding their bikes in the dark waiting for me.

“We beat you, mom!”
“Yea, but I’m gonna get you now” I remarked as I chased them down the driveway listening to them laugh and prod me to chase them faster.

After engaging in these chases for twenty minutes, I finally petered the kids out. They parked their bikes and went inside. Mario turned on the computer and yelled “Mom, come here!” I walked over and he said “see mom, I told you Mitt Romney is more famous because he’s on the front page of the computer!” Maria and I shook our heads and scrolled down to find a picture of Obama to show him.

Football Star

October 8, 2012October 8, 2012Leave a comment

Mario morphed into a football star over the last eight weeks. The boy who once moaned and groaned about having to go to practice now hates leaving when practice is over. The boy who made all of the parents chuckle in one of the first games because he walked over to the sidelines and cried “when will this be over?” now refuses to come out of the game.
A testament to Jon and me for making him stick with it.

He played his last game Saturday morning in the bitter cold wearing his skull cap and batting gloves to keep warm. He looked bad to the bone.

He played most of the first half. When the coach told him to rest on the sidelines so another kid could play, Mario would not budge from the field. It was only after all three coaches and Jon yelled at him that he obeyed.

He loves the camraderie with the other boys – always wrestling or yakking it up or playing with them. It’s been good getting him on this team in order to learn teamwork and cooperation, and to make friends. When we take Ri to school, the boys on his team yell “hi Mario” and he loves it. Jon and I agree that he is going to be a handful once he enters kindergarten.

At the end of their last practice, all of the older kids lined up and the little kids got to run by them and tackle a dummy. They loved it, especially Mario. He cremated that dummy and made us so proud! Ha!

After he hit the dummy, he stood right behind it while the next little boy ran towards it. The dummy fell into Mario and hit his eye. My mom instinct rushed me over to him to see if he was ok. He turned to me and yelled “Mom, go away!” Yep, he’s a man now that he’s finished his first season of football and he doesn’t need his mom (that is until it’s 8 pm and he wants me to hold him up the stairs and read a book).

Autumn

October 7, 2012Leave a comment

Autumn
you always sneak up on us
With your cool, crisp morning air
And your ever darkening evenings
Your mums stand tall on the grocer’s shelves, waiting
for their new homes
Your pumpkins and gourds greet the neighbors
And your leaves, ahh, your leaves
Burst with color
and scatter like confetti all over
the yard.

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!

Boys

September 29, 2012September 29, 2012Leave a comment

I have had my fill of testosterone today.

Mario played his flag football game at 10:30 this morning. Patty and Joe came to watch the little guy and they brought mega luck with them because Mario played his best game ever. He pulled off three flags – he has never pulled off any in previous games. He was charged up pumping his fist in the air and making sure that the crowd watched him. Show off!

After football, we picked up Mario’s cousin, Giovanni, and headed to Darby Creek to take a hike. They were cracking me up the entire time. Mario wanted to take the off-road trails because “we needed to face danger.” They talked amongst themselves about finding snakes and toads. And about ten seconds later, they walked right over one. I stopped in my tracks and yelled “snake!” They ran back and another kid close by picked it up for us.

We continued along the trail and hit a most amazing clearing where the creek flowed more rapidly over giant stones and the sun filtered in to add a soft glow. The boys amazed me when they stopped in their tracks and proclaimed “take a picture – it’s beautiful!” We walked down to the edge of the creek and threw stones into the water. This led to the boys stepping on stones in the water to throw smaller stones. This led to the boys stepping into the water and getting their shoes wet. This led to taking their shoes off and wading in the water. This led to the boys falling in the water and getting their clothes wet. And this led to much laughter.

The boys played in the creek for a long time but Mario finally called it quits because he didn’t like being wet. We got home and the boys ran upstairs. I put down my stuff and went up to tell them they needed a bath but when I got up there, I found two naked boys already running around like tribal warriors. I turned on the bath water and listened to them fight dinosaurs and superheroes.

Boys.

Tornado hits Cincy

September 23, 2012September 23, 2012Leave a comment

I planned a trip to Cincinnati with the kids for the entire weekend because Jon was heading to England Saturday morning. However, his trip got delayed so he informed me he’d be home all weekend. Lucky dog, I thought. But he really wanted me and the kids to stick around so I compromised and took the kids to Cincy after Mario’s game on Saturday and decided we’d come back Saturday night.

Mario is doing better and better with football. I think the key is to have Jon present; he likes impressing his dad and routinely looks over to Jon after a play and gives a “thumbs up” to him. He’s been running after the other players more and even dodged another player while running with the ball for his team. I must agree with one parent who mentioned to me “he will be really good next year with this practice.”

After the game, we headed down south with our popcorn, cheese pretzels, and powerades. Oh, and with National Geographic’s Wild Kratts show. Mario has been waiting patiently for it to arrive from another library and it was worth the wait. It had the Alaskan bears that Mario asked about every time a new show came on tv. Very cool.

Our trip to Cincy was like most other day trips down there. My mom and her husband describe it as a tornado coming through the house. Pretty accurate. My Aunt Julie, who lives across the driveway in the condo complex would likely describe it the same. The kids jump out of the cars, surprise mom and Rod, play with Lou and run over to Julie’s to say hi to her and Gracie and Liz and Maggie. It’s a cousin-fest! We break out the chips and candies and play with toys and make lots of noise. We tickle Gracie and pounce on Liz and Mag and act crazy. After that gets old, we head outside and show off our bike riding and toss the bouncey ball. Within a few minutes, we are ready for the park. Gracie gets in the stroller, Maria and Mario get on their bikes and we head north to the park where cousin Laura meets up with us. She swings Maria and Grace while I play with Mario and mom walks Lou. The kids put on a show for us that I want to kick myself for not recording. Of course, Maria emcees it and Mario and Grace do funny dances and songs.

After the play, we moved onto the main playground where Maria decided to take an eight foot fall off the slide. I knew she was hurt when I picked her up and she cried incessantly. She brushes off most falls but this one hurt. We carried her to the “ambulance” (Laura’s car) and transported her back to my mom’s. The only thing that would help calm Ri’s pain was Larosa’s spaghetti and meatballs so we ordered from there. I devoured a veggie pizza, and the kids ate garlic bread, pizza and spaghetti. We had worked up an appetite.

After Larosa’s, we hit the outdoors again for some cheer leading lessons from Ri who may be the world’s strictest coach ever. She showed me a cheer and then I tried it. She looked at me with sheer disgust. “Oh, Mary, that was not good….” So much for a gentle touch! Meanwhile, Mario and Laura threw the ball up on the carport roof and watched it bounce down. Mario thought it was the coolest activity ever but he could not get it up to the roof like Laura. It would bounce under the carport and over the small fence behind the cars and we’d spend ten minutes looking for it acting like it was lost treasure when we found it! Mario finally bounced it up to the roof and his smile was as wide as it was long when he turned to me. “I did it,Mom!”

Laura took off for Oktoberfest and we headed inside for baths. The water looked like the Olentangy when the bath ended. The kids both wore goggles and laid parallel to one another to see who could hold their breath the longest. What a sight to behold. Two white round butts in the air attached to two tanned still bodies trying to beat each other in under water breath holding. Mom and I stood over them in awe and joy. They’d come a long way since the nights of bottles and binkies and crying at 2 am.

We ended the night with ice cream and the Dog Whisperer. Maria sat mesmerized by the show while Mario concentrated on making letters with marbles. We looked down and he had spelled “Rex.” He is a Ben Ten fanatic.
We dragged ourselves out to the car, got situated with a movie, and started our journey back home to Jon.

The tornado struck Cincy again but the destruction was well worth it, as always.

Biking for health and quicker access to coffee

September 22, 2012September 22, 2012Leave a comment

I appreciate any assistance in persuading people to get out and bike more often. This article confirms the benefits to both our health and our environment when we stay away from our cars and hop on our bikes.

In addition to making us healthier and improving our environment, biking is usually more efficient when you are traveling 5 miles or less. It takes me less time to get to work – 4 miles away – on my bike than in my car between lights and traffic and parking. It also takes less time to bike with the kids to Stauf’s on Sunday morning to get my coffee. If that’s not convincing, what is?!

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: Outdoors