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?!

Thank god for BOB

August 29, 2012Leave a comment

Monday morning I woke up and found Mario staring at me. His little face was 6 inches away from me at the most. His tender eyes looked straight into mine. What a doll baby, I thought. I laid with him for a few minutes just staring back at him enjoying the silence and stillness of the early morning next to my son. And then he spoke: “can I go on a run with you, mom?”

I crawled my tired self out of bed contemplating whether I would say yes or not. I enjoy my solitude on my morning runs while I listen to NPR and think through my day. But Mario sat up and clasped his hands together and begged and begged. “Please, mom, I will be good. Please let me go.” I got dressed and scooped him up and we went downstairs together. I made him a graham cracker with peanut butter and gave him the iPad and we were off. A good four mile run with a stop at Giant Eagle for a donut (yeah, my healthy addiction to exercise is tamed by my un-healthy addiction to sugar). When we got home, Maria was microwaving some macaroni to eat for lunch. The girl slams out her lunch everyday with no help from me or Jon. She is good.

The next morning, I woke up to two little people laying on either side of me. Maria was towards my back side and she poked me with her finger. “Can I go on a run with you today, mom?” Of course, being Ms. Fair, I didn’t feel like I could say no since I had taken Mario the day before. Mario piped up after hearing Ri and begged to come, too. I agreed that they could both come with me, and we were off for Round Two. Of course, strollering Mario is a rather easy task. Forty pounds feels like a feather to me after carrying my muscle girl for all of those years (she was forty pounds at age 2 and a half!). But put Maria and Mario in the stroller and it gets to be a workout. I am essentially pushing 110 pounds of human weight. The BOB site warns against going over 100 pounds in the double stroller but we have gotten away with it for a while. That stroller was the best purchase I have made since having these two babes. It has taken us everywhere and has to have over 1000 miles logged on it easily.

We did four miles and also made a stop at Giant Eagle for donuts. We played the animal guessing game together and talked about what our favorite foods were to eat (imagine, donuts!). When we got home, I tried to help the kids out of the BOB but they shooed me away because I was “so sweaty.” I told them they would be just as sweaty after they strollered their kids around. Maria responded: “I will drive.” Then she changed her mind and decided she would bike because it is not as bad for the environment and you don’t sweat as much. Always thinking.

Last night, I told them both that I had to go on a run today by myself. They both agreed that they would not beg to come with me. When I woke up this morning and began to descend the stairs, I heard Mario cry “Mom?” I walked up the stairs to his room. He looked at me in distress and cried “I just can’t stand the thought of not going on a run with you, mom! I can’t stand it!” I walked him into Maria’s room because her light was on. She was lying in bed and I laid Mario next to her. She loved that. I kissed them both and told them I would be back in an hour. They laid there without any complaining. Little darlings. When I returned home, Maria was pouring syrup on a waffle she made for Mario and Mario was playing on my iPad. I asked Ri how the morning went, and she told me that her and Mario sat on the front steps and watched the sun rise. Huh?!

I looked at her awkwardly and she looked back at me and said “What? Mario wanted to see the sun rise!” I love these crazy kids so much (so much that I will still stroll them around at ages 7 and 4!).

The many uses of the BOB:

Chillin’ out!

Mario taking control!

Running on pie

July 3, 2012Leave a comment

As I ran my same jogging course on Monday morning, I received a much-needed out-of-the-ordinary gem from NPR’s Allison Aubrey. Aubrey hosted a segment on pie-making. And although I do not have fond memories of my grandmother or my mom making homemade pies, it brought up a rush of good emotions as I continued down my jogging path. Aubrey’s description of getting the pie crust just right – not kneading it and keeping little balls throughout it – made me yearn to travel to New York and take a class. I appreciated the way that she intertwined her mother with her story of making a perfect pie.

Like Aubrey, I don’t have memories of my mom slaving in the kitchen over a magnificent pie (she did make a heck of a peanut butter coconut ball though!). But I do have memories of my father’s cherry pies. I don’t remember him slaving away in the kitchen, however; I just have memories of eating delicious homemade cherry pie with him and my mom. I remember helping pick cherries from our cherry tree out back, and suffering a nasty bee sting when I decided not to wear shoes one day. But those pies were well worth it – dripping in cherry goo and always having a slight burnt edge around them. Perfect crispiness.

Food creates memories, and I associate my dad’s cherry pies with childhood summers full of running around outside and hanging with friends and walking the neighborhood. Coincidentally, my husband likely associates his grandmother’s homemade pumpkin pies with exciting summers in Marietta. His grandma made a mean pumpkin pie back in the day that Jon always raves about when we buy pumpkin pie during Fall. “Nothing beats my grandma’s pumpkin pie” he always tells me. My mother-in-law also bakes a stupendous homemade pumpkin pie, and it is by far the best I have ever tasted (I didn’t get to meet Jon’s grandma before she passed). Patty learned how to make her pie from her mother. Indeed, so many of the recipes that Patty has she received from her mom, and you can feel the love in the room when Patty talks about her mom and her cooking.

When the segment wrapped up with Aubrey’s daughter and mother in the kitchen tasting Aubrey’s blueberry pie, I resolved that I would begin a baking tradition with Maria and Mario. I love how those resolutions wash over me so quickly and resolutely while I am out in the open air free from all constraints and time lines and chores. “Maybe I will even sign up for a class with M&M and Jon or my mom or dad or stepmom or mother-in-law. The ideas were flowing.

Then I got home and realized I was late for a meeting. I ran upstairs to shower and get dressed. Mario had Maria in a head lock and Maria was smacking his head. When I came downstairs to leave, milk laid all over the table and cereal remnants were across the floor. A pack of goldfish were torn apart and chocolate sauce stuck to the counter. I asked them why everything was a mess.

“We wanted to make breakfast ourselves, mom, so you didn’t need to be bothered.” And then I looked down and saw a bowl with a bright beaming yellow glob laying in it. Maria surprised me with microwaved eggs. She had broken two eggs into a bowl and stuck them in the microwave for a minute and a half. She fed me a bite and asked how they were.

“Delicious!” I told her. She looked at Mario and gave him a high-five.

And so, my cooking ventures may start out slow and different than planned, but we will get there…eventually!

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

June 24, 2012Leave a comment

Lazy Sunday afternoons
Oh, how I love thee

Two sleepy pumpkins
Sprawled out in the BOB

I thought these days were over
with Maria age seven and Mario
almost five

But the lure of an afternoon stroll
with a canopy overhead and
the wind grazing toes
was too tempting

And I simply thank
the stars
and moon
and sun
as I listen to
the melody of
light snores coming from my babes
on this lazy
Sunday afternoon.

Beating the flu bug

June 21, 2012June 21, 2012Leave a comment

Poor Ri sauntered into my room two nights ago complaining of feeling sick. She said her belly hurt. We laid together in the bed with me rubbing her back and she moaning in pain. A half hour later, she hurled her evening snack – an apple with peanut butter – onto our blankets and pillows. And so it began – our night of ups and downs, crying and pain. Poor girl; I don’t know if she was more upset with being sick or missing out on horse camp.

I kept hoping that she’d wake up feeling fine but no such luck. I got Mario situated with cereal, ran to work for two hours and came back home for the day after a phone call from Ri begging me to leave work and be with her. I laid with her the rest of the day. She is a beautiful sight – even when sick. Her soft tanned skin and huge blue eyes staring over at me. She whispered “are you glad you came home to be with me mom?”

“Of course.” I replied.
“Thank you for leaving work, mom.”

What a doll baby.

Mario got a full dose of tv and computer usage throughout the day. David tried to take him to the pool but he wanted to stay near me. I kept telling myself that I’d miss all of this clinginess one day in order not to go crazy between the two of them whining for me through day and night. I just kept wishing Maria would turn a corner. She is usually a machine rocking whatever bug in her right out of her in 24 hours. But this one is no joke and has taken her down for the count.

I made Mario lay down with us last night at 8:30. He was asleep by 8:45 (baseball practice and no nap through the day may be the key to an early bed time!). I was happy to have him down so I could focus all my energy on making Ri feel better. We played I Spy in the bedroom and talked about silly things she did as a baby. She finally dozed off at 10:30.

Jon got in at midnight and promptly slept in Ri’s bed to avoid any possible infiltration of the “bug.” He flew back a day early to take care of his baby girl and help me out, which means the world to me and to Ri (when I told her dad was coming home early she smiled and said “Dad’s the best.” I didn’t take it personal.). I woke at 6:45 am and made myself roll out of bed to take a run. The day before I had eaten three donuts, a bag of Cheetos, ice cream bars, and a block of cheese. My body craved a run.

Mario caught me putting on my running shorts and pleaded to come with me. His little sunken blue eyes and baby lips mouthing “please mama” pushed me over the edge and I put on his sweater and took him to the stroller (yes, he insists on a sweater in 75 degree weather). We cranked out five miles together before the donuts from the day before reared their ugly heads and made my body say “STOP RUNNING!”

I returned home to my hubby and daughter hanging together upstairs. Two peas in a pod. Maria was so happy to have him near her. I got dressed for work and gave Maria a kiss. “No, I want daddy!” she commanded.

Yes, that’s a mother’s world. We are with our babies all day and night but shoved over to the side when dad comes home. No problem though. I’d much rather see the love between daughter and father than not. And as a daughter myself, I know I’m in her heart no matter what.

When I checked on her this morning, she told me she was feeling a bit better. She had eaten a Popsicle and kept it down. “I just want to eat, mom!”

Now, that’s the girl we all know and love!

Good Morning!

June 4, 2012June 4, 2012Leave 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.

Time with my little guy

May 26, 2012Leave a comment

Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly. Tony Robbins

I woke up with Mario this morning. Maria got to see a late movie and sleep over with a girlfriend. Mario agreed to take a stroller ride with me if I let him get donuts at Tim Hortons. I allowed him to get donuts if he agreed to eat a graham cracker with peanut butter beforehand (I knew if he did that he would not even be hungry for much of a donut and I could eat the rest!).

Much to my amazement, Mario spent the entire stroller ride talking to me and finding all sorts of animals along the way. He spotted birds and squirrels and a rabbit sitting in a yard. Of course, it was a game to him that he had to win. Every time he found an animal, he’d pump his fist in the air and yell “I win!” But it was much better than having him play on the iPad, which is usually what he wants to do. He even talked to me about what he learned at school this week (do you know what anemones do, mom? I do!).

I am so appreciative of this time with my little guy – totally unexpected and wonderful. It started my holiday weekend off on a much-needed good note, and changed how I viewed my tiny little world this morning.

Life doesn’t get much better – donuts, fresh air and sweet chats with my guy. Now, we can’t wait to add Maria to the mix!

This Morning

March 18, 20121 Comment

This morning brought us:

Dad
Laughter
Wild Kratts
Double Stroller Running
Timbits
St. Patrick’s Day Green Sprinkled Donut
Light Rain
Magnolia Blooms
Daffodils
Squirrels
Olentangy River
Rocks
Deer Prints
Woodpeckers
Mario’s Heron
Geese
Toes in the Mud
Hand Holding
Frisbee
Appreciation For Weekend Adventures

I Am Because We Are

February 4, 2012Leave a comment

I took my time getting out of bed this morning. Jon lovingly rolled out of bed at 7:10 am to take the kids downstairs. They have reverted back to their old wake-up time – 6:30 am. Brutal on a Saturday morning. Especially when nursing a head cold.

Maria headed back upstairs after heading down with the boys. She cuddled her body against mine and rubbed my hair trying to get the tangles out (an act she loves because I inevitably say “Ouch!” and she retorts “That’s how I feel when you brush my hair!”). She begged me not to go on my Saturday morning run complaining that I never spend Saturday mornings with her. I explained to her that I spend all of Saturday day and night with her outside of my run, but that didn’t matter one bit in her mind. When she knew she would not get me to skip my run, she begged me to at least get up and carry her piggyback downstairs. I asked her to give me 15 minutes. She counted down 15 minutes on the clock and when that 15 minutes expired, she sang “Cock-a-doodle-do!” She is a nutball.

As I got dressed and looked outside at the bleak morning, I resolved I would do a short run – 5 miles – and call it a day. My head hurt from my cold, my nose was runny and stuffy and my eyes felt droopy. Jon always asks why I would choose to go outside and exercise when I felt like that but to me, it helps. Opens up those sinuses, right?! On my first leg of the run, I felt heavy in the legs and I thought I may take the mileage down to 3. But something happened as I jogged down my second hill and saw a group of runners – male and female – running up the hill. They looked my way, smiled, waved, and yelled “Good day, heh?” I returned the morning hello and felt energized. After another mile, I jogged by a woman walking her dog who I see often on my morning runs. Her dog yapped and she shrugged her shoulders at me saying “I wish he’d know you by now and not bother you with that barking. Do a mile for me!” I waved and continued.

M&M posing at the tile shop they went to with Jon and me later in the day.

I made it to my turn-off. I could choose to take a left and head up the hill to the gym or head straight towards downtown. Seeing others energized me and I continued toward downtown. When I passed a bus stop, the two older men sitting on the bench commented “Lookin’ good hunny. Keep that body moving. Uh-huh.” I nodded at them appreciating their subtle encouragement. I continued through downtown into Short North and up King Avenue. I ran over the bridge and caught a glimpse of Mario’s favorite bird (heron) standing tall on a rock in the water. I thought of Maria and Mario and my full day ahead with them. I smiled. I thought of Jon and a full week with him this week due to his lack of travel. I smiled. I looked at the road ahead and the run I was soon set to accomplish. I smiled.

An old African Proverb suddenly entered my head: “I am because we are.” My sis had sent me this proverb in a card a while back. I thought back to the warm people I had seen on my run, my family, my friends, the pre-historic heron, and how fitting the proverb was for my Saturday morning run. I repeated it over and over as I ran home to spend the day with Jon and M&M.

The joys of snow

January 14, 2012January 14, 2012Leave a comment

Old man winter decided to shower us with snow today. Finally.

Snowflakes danced on my nose and eyelashes as I ran through the neighborhood this morning. My IPod died on me ten minutes into my run. Irritation and anger raced through me for not charging it the night before. However, as I continued to run and pout, I heard vibrations of snow on the trees and a trio of birds still chirping away in the 15 degree weather. I changed my thinking: rather than be irritated for 60 minutes, I became grateful for the glorious morning and the snowflakes and the weekend and the opportunity to be by myself for an hour. The results were much better, indeed; I had a most enjoyable run.

Maria teaching Mario early

I came home to a trashed house – the remnant of a crazy week juggling colds, homework, work, and kids’ addiction to electronics. As I began to clean, I sat Mario down with a phonics workbook. He is having trouble with his ABC’s and we are trying to think of ways to help him learn them. When Maria was his age, she had numbers and letters down pat. Mario’s teachers tend to put less emphasis on rote memorization and more emphasis on creativity. I like that style of teaching but I still want Mario to learn the basics! Then again, he isn’t hitting Kindergarten for another year and a half so I should probably just chill.

All Maria needs to hear is that Mario needs to learn something and she transforms herself into “teacher-mode.” She set up a desk and asked Mario to sit with her. She quizzed him on letters and when he got them wrong she gently told him “that is not right, buddy; let’s try it again.” He surprisingly hangs in there with her, even letting her lead in the ABC song. He gets to “LMNOP” and he mumbles something incoherent and continues on with Q and then straight to Y. I have no doubt that Maria will straighten him out and get him reciting his ABC’s in no time. She is a born teacher – even giving Mario a report card based on his ABC’s (“You did ok but keep practicing.”).

After an hour and a half of cleaning, Jon and Patrick and Mario left for Marion to see Jon’s mom and dad, and I stayed home with Maria and Alana (Mario ended up staying with Grandma and Grandpa Ionno after just pleading to them one time to spend the night – he is spoiled). The girls stayed in Maria’s room for a while playing a game that scares me. One of them is the mom and the other the teenage daughter. The daughter screams at her mom and tells her she hates her and drives off in the family car. It seems to always start this way. A snapshot of the future? Let’s hope not….

Maria has inherited my ADHD so after a short time of playing that game, she was ready for something new. She threw on her coat and went outside to play in the half-inch of snow. Alana followed. I continued to clean the counters. Ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. I answered and saw the girls giggling around the house. I went back to cleaning. They rang again. I opened the door and they both lobbed tiny snowballs at me. I stood in the house with snow falling off me. Should I get mad about the snow in my house or the snow on my shirt? Should I get mad that they interrupted my cleaning. No. Instead I got even!

I threw my coat and shoes on and chased them around the yard until I got ’em both with snowballs. Since we were covered in snow, we decided to try to build a snowman. The snow was light and fluffy and sparse, which prompted both girls to tell me there was no way to build one. But I always remember my dad’s actions on a summer day at the farm months ago. He had bought Mario a kite and Mario wanted to fly it but there was absolutely no wind. Everyone told Mario he could not fly it; that is, except my dad. He took him outside to give it a try. With a hill and a will, my dad ran down the hill with that kite flying high in the sky behind him. Mario jumped up and down with sheer joy on his face and we all stood in awe.

The girls with Alycia Snowy

And, following my dad’s footsteps, Maria, Alana and I made ourselves a sweet, little snowman. It took lots of work – the girls shoveled their hearts out – but we did it. Alycia Snowy Ionno is her name and she is a beauty.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Category: Running