Chuck E. Cheese – Vegas for kids?!

September 15, 20122 Comments

I keep thinking back to this week to figure out what I did to deserve the hell I am in this afternoon.

Two full hours at Chuck E. Cheese. With what seems like multiplying kids. And even more multiplying screaming, irritated adults. And they advertise this place as fun?! I guess it is to the kids who they advertise to but they really need a warning to parents that you need to take a relaxant before stepping foot inside or you may think about walking right out to the interstate.

My only memory of Chuck E. Cheese was as a seventh grader in Pleasant Ridge. We had a Chuck E. Cheese down the street and it hosted “Tween” night on Friday nights. My girlfriends and I would put on our sweet jeans with safety pins up the side hems (to make them tight) and our fancy shirts and head out to dance to the pop music blaring from the mices’ mouths. Creepy? Sure. But we knew nothing better.

Now I only know Chuck E. Cheese as an over-the-top, loud, raucous, mind-numbing, dizzying land where even some adults floor me with their intensity for playing more, More, MORE!

Maria is loving just being with her girlfriends. She has a group of gals she loves to play with at school and they are all here today to celebrate a birthday. They are playing Guitar Hero and random sweet, calm games (bowling and froggy jump).

Mario, on the other hand, is utterly overloaded. Too many games and videos, and stuff. He doesn’t know which way to go next. He loves the shooting games, especially zombie ones (he must know they are coming soon!). He adores skee ball just like I did as a kid. And he has taken to a pirate game. What am I saying? He’d pretty much play anything here and like it. And he is of course all into getting the most tickets.

After I settled into the noise and chaos and had a couple of slices of pizza, I found myself getting a tad more tolerant of it all. I put myself into the kids’ shoes and imagined the wonder and excitement they would obviously feel walking into this place. It’s like Vegas for kids. But the tolerance quickly faded after a 200 pound kid crushed into me as he chased after his friend to beat him to a video game.

Which way to the interstate?!

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.

wild for wild

September 14, 2012September 15, 2012Leave a comment

I am wild about wild.

A week ago I pulled up my sister’s on-line magazine, Vela, and read a post where each of the writers wrote about their favorite summer reads. One writer talked about wild by Cheryl Strayer. I had heard about the book on NPR a while back and seen it sitting on the shelf each time I walked through Barnes and Noble to get my morning coffee. I figured with the combination of all of those signs from the universe, I should give it a try.

I am not a reader of long books. I typically go straight to the articles in the Atlantic or New Yorker and that suits me fine. But reading the writers’ entries on Vela made me want to give reading novels or memoirs another try since I hadn’t read one in a year (Left Neglected being the last).

I purchased wild a week ago and I completed it last night. I felt conflicted as I sat next to Ri in her bed. She had asked me to lay next to her until she fell asleep. She also asked me to read to her from my book. She hung in for four pages but then curled beside me and passed out. I didn’t want the book to end but I also wanted to find out how it ended. I found myself reading slowly for a paragraph and then speeding up for two. An hour later, the book was finished, and I cried. I cried over a combination of things: the beauty of mothers and daughters; the exhilaration at reading a novel again; the recognition of finding oneself; the confirmation of the release and freedom from just letting it all go.

I am now like a voracious animal in the wild. I want to scour the bookstore for my next memoir or novel and dig into it. I am thinking of Out of Africa since that was one of my sister’s favorite books. I’m just thinking that might be like going from 0 to 120 mph and overwhelm me! Maybe Molly Ringwald’s new book instead….

Weeding can be fun?

September 12, 2012September 12, 2012Leave a comment

We weeded the garden and raked the leaves for the second night in a row. How excited I was to get an encore from M&M!

I attempt to weed with them but every time I go to plant myself amongst the ivy or ragweed one of the kids yells “Mom, come look at how good I am doing!” I go to one of them and praise their work and the other shouts “Mom, come look at my work!”

They both did awesome jobs pulling up patches of weeds lining the border of the garden out back. Mario likes the tall weeds by the vegetable garden and Ri likes the short, stout weeds by the back fence.

I have read all sorts of articles on gardening but have never really gotten the kids out in our back yard as much as I wanted. They helped plant the vegetable garden in early summer and they help place rocks around the gardens but don’t really dig in the dirt and weed or tend to the flowers. Why?

Probably has to do with their parents not doing too much! Neither Jon nor I have the “green thumb” of the family. We get things done to keep the yard and garden looking decent but our first priority on weekends has not been spending hours in the yard.

But I have to admit that it has been enjoyable and relaxing the last two nights to stay home and work together as a family on beautifying the yard. Maria is more and more into science so I could use this time in the dirt and flowers to learn about science. Mario has always loved to help outdoors and discover pill bugs and butterflies. I have been transformed. By no means a full-fledged gardener nut but at least more appreciative of the art and tranquility of the process.

We had to end the night with a leaf pile for the kids to jump in to celebrate our hard work and to commemorate the beginning of the end of Summer. It wasn’t gargantuan in size but still provided lots of laughter and smiles like any leaf pile should.

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!).

Three Days of Ox

September 10, 2012September 10, 2012Leave a comment

Maria is at a new stage in her life where she gets excited about school festivals because “her friends will be there.”

We had our community annual Ox Roast on Thursday, Friday and Saturday this weekend. On Thursday, she begged me to take her and her friend to the Roast. I had just suffered an atrociously long day at work but I remembered being her age and looking so forward to these festivals to play and hang out with friends. So I agreed.

There weren’t too many other sucker parents down there! But the girls had a blast after spending $25 on “all you can ride” wristbands for them. I drew the line at the $5 games where you try to shoot in a hole or toss a bag in bucket because we rarely win and when we do, the prize is cherished for three minutes and then tossed.

Maria loved rock climbing – she got to the top easily (even in flats!).

She went on the swings because her friend begged her. Unfortunately, she is inflicted with her mom’s intolerance for circular motion at high speed. She looked green after that ride. So we chilled it out with the calm slide and more rock climbing.

When Ri’s stomach was still little queasy, we went real low key with the baby bathtub ride. I didn’t think Ri would ever still go on this ride but she surprised me (her stomach probably begged her). It took me back to when she was a toddler.

I finally dragged them out of there at 8:45 and we grabbed some nutritious fair food on the way.

On Friday morning, Mario found out that Ri had gone to the festival. He cried and cried about not going. So, I promised to take him Friday night. Yeah, I’m a sucker. Ri and Mario and I got on our bikes and headed down to the Roast after I got home from work. I knew that we’d be back on Saturday so I put my foot down on wristbands. I allowed them to ride on two rides each and then they scored a free ride on the slide because of a change in shifts. Mario found the cotten candy booth and they engorged themselves on extra big sticks of goo.

On Saturday, Maria had a party for one of her classmates at 2:00. I thought that she may be tired after that party and want to chill. Yeah right. We came home and her and Mario begged for more Ox Roast. I thought maybe there would be a prize for hitting it three nights in a row but the only prize was spending a boat load of cash on rides and bounceys, and food. Not really, the prize was letting the kids have these experiences, watching them laugh, letting them boost their courage (Mario went down the slide without me for once!), and teaching them that life is what you make it. When I wouldn’t let them play the $5 games, they whined for a minute but then I told them about everything else that was there and they quickly let it go and ran to the swings to play.

I was spent on Saturday night when we got home at 9:30 but it was a good kind of spent like when you run a fast race or work for hours in the yard. Documentation of the fun:

It could have been worse

September 7, 2012September 7, 2012Leave a comment

I get really annoyed with this season of politics. I rarely watch tv anyhow but I make sure I turn it off during this time of year. However, the kids still watch a show here or there in the evening or Saturday mornings. But that’s enough to pick up on the political ads.

The other day, we were all sitting around the table and I mentioned that Obama had visited Ohio State. The following diatribe ensued:

Mario: “I don’t like Obama because the man on tv said he lies.”
Maria: “Obama helps people who need it. He cares about others .”
Mario: “Mic (yes, he cannot understand that a man’s name is “Mitt”) Romney is going to win. Obama’s a loser.”
Maria: “Romney is the loser. All he cares about is getting rich.”

As my colleague said, “those commercials are geared for five year olds!” So it was a breath of fresh air to laugh at this clip on The Daily Show .

As I vote on election day, after having trudged through months of mud-slinging and posturing, I will remember “it could have been worse” (and Ri, I got your back!).

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