SumDog

October 10, 2012Leave a comment

Maria’s teacher this year is awesome. I really like her a lot; she loves the outdoors, is green, and is supportive of helping out in the community. She also values the importance of technology in kids’ lives and showed us a statistic during orientation that a majority of second graders will have jobs when they get older that we haven’t even heard of today. Amazing.

Maria gets a range of websites and apps to check out that help her better learn spelling or math. Some of the kids in her class love to get on them and play them all night. Maria is not in that category; she would much rather shoot videos or read friends’ blogs (another cool thing that Maria’s teacher started up). I have to monitor her at the computer to ensure that she is spending some time on these math/spelling websites. One site is called SumDog. It is a big hit amongst the kids at her school, especially the boys. She was interested for a couple of days but she gets so frustrated when she can’t get to 1st Place that she gives up and moves onto something else.

Mario, on the other hand, has the complete opposite attitude. He jumped on SumDog a few weeks ago when Maria got off of it and started to play asking me what the answers were to the math problems. After a while, I started to give him hints for how to figure out the answers because I could not get anything done while standing next to him yelling out numbers. I told him to look for a “S” in “Smallest” or a “L” in “Largest” and then he would know whether to choose the smallest or largest number. He ran with that advice and eventually worked hard enough to get in 1st Place. He was so excited. Then he moved onto the “+1” series and began counting “5+1” and “3+1” on his fingers in order to get the right number. Each time I looked over at him, he was hitting 1st or 2nd Place.

He loves the game. Every day after school, he begs to play it. I hope he is this enthusiastic about it when he starts kindergarten. The other night I found Maria trying to log him in under her account so that she would get credit for playing – I really do have to watch that girl!

Movies in the stroller – what a life!

October 5, 2012Leave a comment

We made a late-night run (literally) to Jeni’s for ice cream. Mario brought the iPad and got on YouTube to watch the Pink Panther. Maria soon became intrigued. And I was left acting as chauffeur to the two munchos.
We passed an older couple along the way and they gawked in amazement at the sight of M&M watching tv in the stroller.

“You wouldn’t have seen that five years ago” they chuckled.

It got me thinking back to when Maria was born just 7 years ago. An iPad would not have been an option. She had to stare into space and take in the sights around her when I took her for a stroller ride. How cruel!

But Mario has known nothing but this way of life. Technology is always at your fingertips. You can watch that show you like anytime. You can play an app game anytime. But you can also educate yourself and look up facts anytime (like when we googled how clouds were formed last week).

I struggle as do most parents with how much computer and tv and iPhone they should have in a day. It tends to go back to what they are doing on the computer or phone, also. There are some apps that have done wonders for Mario’s and Ri’s math skills (Math Zombies) but others that are probably killing brain cells exponentially (Zombieville (yes, M&M have a strange fascination with zombies)).

As with everything in life, moderation is key, I suppose. Ri and Mario still get on their bikes and run around the neighborhood through the day. The day they sit inside all afternoon on a technological device is the day that we start enforcing hard and fast rules. But, knock on wood, we have some pretty happy, active, diverse kids who like to mix it up between outdoor play and games and education. Think it will stay that way five years from now when they both have iPhones?!

Taking care of mom

October 2, 2012Leave a comment

What did I do after work before M&M? I thought about that question a great deal tonight as they watched Ben Ten before bedtime. I have been fighting a nasty cold that has my head pounding and my nose bright red and raw and when 5:00 rolls around all I want to do is go to bed.

But then I walk in the door to two kids that squeal “Mom!” and wrap their bodies around me and suddenly my head and nose play second fiddle. “Mom” is needed and no pounding head or raw nose can stand in the way. There is no time to feel bad for myself, to slouch across the recliner and veg. There is dinner to make, homework to review, and baths to prepare (who am I kidding – we are lucky if we get baths in every other day! They’ve probably added two years to my life span with the way they keep me moving.
This morning Mario jumped in bed at 6:30 am and begged for a stroller ride. Ri pounced on me a few minutes later. And we were off by 7 am to Stauf’s for black russian bagels and cream cheese. Ri was not happy with my purchase at first; she wanted a chocolate chip scone. But when she had no choice, she ate the bagel and to her chagrin, loved it. She felt bad for raggin’ on me and took the stroller telling me “she’d help her old lady stroll Mario.” Mario, meanwhile took down his half of the bagel and then my entire bagel on the ride to school. I about passed out – my Mario would never have accomplished that feat. We are usually lucky to get him to take a bite. He must be going through a growing spurt.

It was pouring rain on my bike ride home tonight, and as I pulled up to our driveway, Mario and Ri stood on the grass waiting for me. Ri had a blanket that she draped over me and Mario had a glass of water for me inside. My caretakers.
I asked them what they wanted for dinner and Ri begged to go out to eat. I ignored her for a bit as I watched Mario play Wii but then she approached me with a hat full of papers.
“Pick one, mom.”
I reached in and grabbed a piece of paper that had “Jason’s Deli” written on it. She also had Bob Evans on one, Home, and Knotty Pine. A little game to get me excited about dinner out. Mario begged for Bob Evans so Ri made me draw another piece of paper until I chose Bob’s.

I think the gods were trying to tell me something by making it so difficult to select Bob from the group; after dinner my stomach joined my head and nose in pain. Luckily, my girl found some Tums for me.

A week in review

September 28, 2012September 28, 2012Leave a comment

Jon arrived on US soil this afternoon and will be waiting for me when I get home tonight. Ahhh. Feels great.

The week without him provided much laughter, a bit of stress, some crying, and a boatload of hugs and kisses. The run-down:

1.Wii tournaments with the neighbor kids who have gotten comfortable enough with us that they just walk through the door and yell “hi, anyone home?”

2. Mario made a new buddy – Quinn, one of the neighbor kids. Quinn has a head of strawberry curls and reminds me of Huck Finn. Mario stopped him on his bike Monday night to ask him to play at our house. Quinn said he wanted to ride his bike. Mario threw down his football and stomped up the yard to me to announce his displeasure. “He doesn’t want to play! I don’t like him!” After explaining why he may want to take a breath and re-think his proclamation against Quinn, he gently approached Quinn again and asked if he could come over after he rode his bike. Quinn agreed and they’ve been playing Wii ever since!

3. Maria strengthened her friendship with Sophie, the 3rd grade neighbor kid. I like Sophie because she never wants to play barbies and she loves being outdoors.

4. Mario got his first flag football picture taken on Tuesday night. What chaos! Forty 5 and 6 year olds running frantically around the park, tackling and wrestling each other. Mario may be tiny but he is mighty. He warmed my heart the way he wrapped his arms around his team members when the group picture was taken (you could barely see him in the middle – his little pea-head only popping out!).

5. We took two morning walks in the stroller and witnessed an extravagant sunrise one morning. We turned the corner onto First Avenue and BOOM, the oranges and peaches and reds hit us. No talking, no movement (except for my feet pressing the pavement). Just admiration of nature’s canvas.

6. Mario and I devoured two long john donuts for breakfast (each!).

7. Maria got to stroll Mario to school for the first time ever and she was charged! Mario usually flips out whenever Maria takes the reins but he was either too tired or in a magnanimous mood on Wednesday morning. Maria kept looking up at me in sheer delight. When Ri walked into school, Mario looked back at me with a sullen face and said “I wish Ri could stroller me all the way to my school.”

8. We met Grandma and Grandpa Ionno at Polaris Mall to deliver a Mario package to them. Mario ran to grandma as soon as he caught his eyes on her. He said “Gracias Amigo” to her to show her the extent of Spanish words he knows. When grandma replied “do you know any more Spanish words” he looked at her in deep thought and finally said “come on amigo!”

9. Ri and I had a girls night on Thursday and strollered to Orange Leaf at 8:30 pm when it was pitch black outside. We worked on Maria’s blog on the way – she wrote about horse back riding and how you have to concentrate when you ride. My darlin’ horse lover.

10. And now we end the week with Maria having her buddy over for a play date. Two feisty gals to contend with all night but I hope the park and bike riding will wear ’em out!

Salons and DQ

September 20, 2012September 20, 2012Leave a comment

I had to get my hair colored last night. I try to put it off as long as possible because I hate going to the salon. I hate having to chat it up with a stylist about plans for the weekend or the latest movies or best restaurants. Maybe if I had a stylist who was a friend it would be ok. But I always go to different people because I make appointments at the last minute in accordance with my last minute schedule. I also hate having to sit around in a salon for two hours when I could be outside enjoying the park or a bike ride. It just seems like such a waste of time for simply … hair!

But as you can witness from the pictures above, my daughter does not share in my dislike of salons. She rather enjoys the idea of putting your feet up and getting pampered. Jon dropped Ri off at the salon while he took Mario to football practice. She made herself right at home chatting it up with the stylist about her tattoos, hair color and the reasons for different types of brushes.

She asked if she could get her hair done while I waited for my color to soak in and I agreed. She got the royal treatment – shampoo, head massage, cut, and blow dryer. She loved sitting under the blow dryer while reading Elle and Vogue. She perused the newest fashion (always opting for the mini skirts or tight pants, of course).

But just as I gave up hope that she was truly my child, she walked over to me as I was getting my hair blown dry and asked “can we go yet?!”

Yes! She is my daughter! She can only handle so much salon life before she’s ready to hit the road. We headed out to the 65 degree weather and walked home together talking about where we should go for dinner and if we should stop at DQ for dessert. Now that’s definitely my daughter taking after her mama!

Partly Cloudy but full of sunshine

September 14, 2012September 14, 20122 Comments

I remember watching this short film with the kids months ago and feeling uplifted by the wonders of the human heart and mind. I saw it again today and it has put me in just the right frame of mind to pick up my babies, go home to Jon, smother them with kisses, and start the weekend.

Hamburger helper fix

September 11, 2012September 11, 2012Leave a comment

Yesterday Jon and I came home from work to two wild, spazo kids. Maria and Mario were both hyped up – Maria from her first Brownies meeting and Mario because David picked him up early during nap. Maria screamed every word she said in pure excitement; Mario zipped from one room to the next like a pinball. Ahh, nothing like relaxing after a long day at work. But they do keep us going….

I made Maria’s new favorite dish, hamburger helper (at least I used 98% lean meat)! While eating, we discussed Maria’s laws as a new Brownie. As part of her homework, she had to write down which law applied best to her family. She chose “respecting each other’s words” over courage and helpfulness and kindness, among other laws. She picked it, she said, because she thinks it’s important for us to always listen to one another. I loved that.

Of course, Mario chimed in at the tail end of her explanation to stand up on his chair and make some funny face. He then told us how eight girls had crushes on him. One in particular, Viv, told him she thought he was cute because of his tan. There’s that tan reference again! In order to get him off the girl fixation, I asked him what he loves about his family since that was Maria’s next project.

He said he loved his mom because “1. she feeds me food; 2. she tells me she loves me; 3. she respects what I say; and 4. she reads me books.” Not too bad, I thought. He then leaned to Jon and said “and so does my dad!”

Maria was a lot less generous. She only had to write one thing she loved so she wrote that she loved my cooking (because of the hamburger helper that night!) and Jon’s ability to fix things.

Speaking of fixing things, later that evening Jon and I found a worksheet she prepared where she had to answer a question asking “when a person is sad, I BLANK.” She wrote in “I try to fix it.” I about fell over. For years, I have talked about the difference between Jon and I when it comes to approaching someone’s problems. I react by consoling the person and listening to them. Jon reacts completely opposite. He immediately gets the wheels turning in his head to try to fix the person’s problem. When I saw Maria’s answer, it affirmed yet again another personality trait she has inherited from Jon. Daddy’s girl.

After dinner, Maria wrote and decorated her Brownie star with what we discussed that evening and Mario wrote letters I randomly quizzed him on (he’s getting much better – yea!).

They both sat still for an entire half hour (must have been the carb overload in the hamburger helper!).

Walleye and chocolate

September 6, 2012Leave a comment

Mario was born to be outdoors. He proved to us that he could be the Wildman’s partner the way that he caught Pikachu over the weekend (with all the pomp and circumstance that Ernie the Wildman exhibits when catching a river turtle)! The past two days he visited the farm and caught fish, including a walleye. My dad informs me that he could sit on his fishing boat for hours waiting for the big catch. He’s been talking about hunting and fishing with Jon since age 3 – I think he’s ready to go full throttle now that he’s five.

Meanwhile, Maria got to stay home with Jon and me. She wasn’t too upset since I told her we’d enjoy some mother-daughter time. She loves when we get to hang out without those pesky boys. We let dad join us for dinner but then we took a bike ride through Grandview.

We picked up her friend, Lucia, and biked to Pure Imagination Chocolatier. The store just opened down the street. Can you pack on 20 pounds to my belly now and get it over with?! It is a piece of heaven in there with gelato, chocolate Oreos, chocolate coconut, chocolate turtles….I got four pieces and ate them all within 10 minutes. So much for savoring the taste!

Ri and I biked home. She talked to me about her friends and I talked to her about how I used to handle difficult friends. The conversation made me happy – I’m glad she feels comfortable opening up to me. She begged me to lay with her for the second night in a row and rub her back while she fell asleep.

Gladly.

Planting positive seeds for our girls

September 5, 2012September 5, 2012Leave a comment

I don’t know many people who could pull off running shorts with pink cowboy boots but Ri does it with class! I love that she has her own unique style and she isn’t worried about what other kids at school will think.

When she walked downstairs, I stepped back from the counter and said “I love that you have your own look, Ri.” She responded “I may just be a fashion designer one day, mom.”

I try to reinforce in her that girls don’t have to conform to the latest trends in magazines or on tv; they don’t have to have their hair styled perfectly or their skinny jeans; they don’t need to look like Barbie. I think it’s sinking in somewhat (although she still loves to wear eyeshadow – ugh).

I read a great article in the Huffington Post last night that reminded me to stray away from comments about Ri’s appearance and focus instead on Ri’s hobbies and interests. The author talks about the natural inclination to say to a little girl “look at you! You are so pretty in that dress! Aren’t you gorgeous in those shoes!” but how we need to stop ourselves and instead focus on non-cosmetic attributes. The author asked the little girl about her favorite book and they talked about being your own person and not succumbing to peer pressure. She was able to avoid any talk about hair or makeup or clothes, and felt that she planted one seed in a garden valuing girls’ brains and not girls’ looks.

I, for one, vote for planting more such seeds and growing that garden as large as possible.

Happy 5th Birthday, Mario!

September 4, 2012September 5, 20122 Comments

Dearest Mario Bo Bario:

How are you five years old already? How did I turn my back for what seems like 2 seconds on my seven pound, 19 inches smiling black-haired baby boy and find a wild, vibrant, insane toe-head five-year-old son?

You entered this world in a flash. My water had barely broke when I started to feel heavy contractions. And then, 15 minutes later, there you were squirming all around and wailing for your mama. You seemed so tiny to us although you were the same size as Maria when she was born. Maybe it’s because Maria was almost 2 and a half when you were born and nearly 40 pounds so any newborn would pale in comparison! You came home to a room decorated with safari animals. It was the smallest room in our house. We could not even fit a rocking chair in it to rock you. So your sister was kind enough to let us rock you in her room. She loved that predicament, actually, because she got to have me and dad in her room while she fell asleep since it took us quite some time to get you to sleep every night. And then when we thought we had you to sleep, you would pop up in your crib and hold out your arms and cry. Neither dad nor I could walk away. And so there we were back in the rocking chair again.

You smiled ten times more than your sister smiled as a baby. You loved to play on your green safari blanket filled with mirrors and lights. You always wanted someone right by your side when you were on it; if someone was there, you had a blast. If someone left your side, you cried hysterically until they came back in the room.

You are like your mama – extreme. You either smile like a mad man or cry your eyes out. All or nothing. Either incredibly happy or completely pissed.

When you are in the mood, you crack people up with your antics. Whether it’s singing the “Call of the Wildman”, yelling “hey hot ladies” out the car window, grooving to “I’m Sexy and I Know It”, or making funny gestures at the dinner table, you get everyone laughing. How many nights have I come home from a rough workday only to find myself in a better mood after sitting with you for five minutes? You bring out the fun of life – the silliness and absurdity that it entails. Dad and I need that.

So, what highlights can we review from your fourth year of life?

1. You learned how to do a mean cannonball off the low dive.

2. You played on your first baseball team.

3. You got to experience the ocean.
4. You probably ate your weight in donuts!

5. You slept in a tent with Robert.
6. You rode a roller coaster at Kings Island.
7. You caught a catfish at Uncle Mario’s and Aunt Vicki’s house.
8. You went to the dentist for the first time (and had a cavity!).

9. You put on your first play, Abiyoyo, at your school.
10. You played your first round of putt-putt and wanted to win (imagine that?).

11. You learned how to skip a rock in the river (thanks Peepaw).
12. You got to go to a zombie walk at Halloween (thanks Grandma Ionno).
13. You got to find golf balls on the golf course (thanks Grandma Lolo).
14. You got to ride a horse (thanks Mama Meg).

15. You got to give Grandma Menkedick a kiss and hold her hand before she passed away at age 92. You also spoke kind words about her at her funeral (what a brave boy).
16. You fell in love with the Wild Kratts and Ben Ten.
17. You learned to swim like a fish!
18. You visited Pittsburgh.

19. You took your first plane trip.

20. You pet an alligator!

21. You climbed a sand dune.

22. You helped mom in the garden.
23. You learned to dj!
24. You ruled the dance floor at a wedding reception!

25. You rode in a boat!

;

So there you have it, little man. Or, I guess I need to start saying “big man” since you are now five years old. Go a bit slower this year, will you? I want to savor five as long as possible…. We love you.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: Parenting