Sparkle

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Maria forgot to bring her book home tonight from school so I made her read a book here at the house for 15 minutes.  You’d think I would have told her she was never leaving the house again.  After she stopped whining, we chose the Sparkle Like a Flower Fairy book that she bought from Half Price Books this weekend.  We agreed I would read a page and then she would read a page.  The book has a paper necklace, crown, bracelet and wand scattered throughout the pages for little girls to wear while they read. 

Maria is reading so well lately, and I love to listen to her. She and I got through most of the book before Mario started complaining of feeling bad (poor guy just can’t kick this sickness).  I asked if I could take her picture real quick with all of her “jewelry” on and she agreed.  After the picture, she said: “Mom, I think you should put that picture on your blog and say ‘Maria and I read Sparkle Like a Flower Fairy tonight.  Fairies sparkle in the sky.  Maria put on all of the jewelry in the book.  Little did I know we had a fairy right here in our house.'”  I gasped when she finished, especially at the last sentence because it sounded so much like something I would say. 

I hugged her tight and told her how proud I was of her.  She reciprocated the big hug and relied with a smile “Mommy.”

No More Medical Professionals Please!

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“Mom, when do we get to go home?  I want to go now, mom, please.”

Maria enjoying the dentist

Mario bellowed those words over and over this morning.  I subjected the poor boy to a double dose of fun – the dentist and the doctor – and I am quite sure he will mention the indelible trauma it caused him 30 years from now.  Maria has never minded the dentist or the doctor.  She did not want to leave on her first dentist trip; she kept asking questions to the dentist, and was pumped when she got to take a sticker out of a big plastic tooth.  Today was no different.  She burst into tears at 6 am this morning when I told her we may not go to the dentist because Mario was spiking a fever. 

“Mom, please, take me to the dentist.  You can just hold Mario and give him your phone to play with.  Please, mom.”

How could I deny her after that pleading?  I don’t want her to blame me for a traumatic event, too.  She walked right into the back room when the dental assistant called her name. When I stood to ask her if she wanted me to go back, she stopped me.   “I am fine, mom.”  Yet another leap away from needing her mama.  Proud…but kinda sad.  

Mario not enjoying the dentist

Mario sat in the waiting room playing on my I-Pad and asking to download every ninja, hunting, or fighting game he found.  When they called him back, he dutifully walked back trying to continue his play on the IPad while walking (he’s my son).  The dental assistant sat him in the chair and explained that she was going to clean his teeth.  He chose grape flavor and all was good… until she attempted to put her hands in his mouth to clean his teeth.  He clenched.  He cried.  He did not want her near him.  I tried to explain to him that she was not going to hurt him in any way but he wanted nothing to do with her.  He pleaded to go home.  He begged me to take him out of the chair.  Horrible.  Sweet Maria looked around the room trying to find items he might enjoy (a picture of a “hot” girl brushing her teeth, a balloon, and my IPad) but nothing worked.  She told him to hold her hand and that she loved him but that didn’t work either.  It was ridiculous!  My tough-man is not so tough at the dentist. 

So, if I had not tortured him enough at the dentist, I took him to the doctor right after we dropped off Maria at school.  He usually does not mind the doctor, especially when his sister joins us.  But today, I knew it would be different because he had to get a throat swab to check for strep throat.  My stoic Maria even cringes at the thought of the swab check.  But her worse reaction to it was to cry for three minutes and then open up and get it over.  Mario beat her by far.  When the nurse came towards him with the swab, he innately knew something was up.  She had her one chance to get him but she was too slow and when she stuck it in his mouth as he opened up for her, she must have hit the roof of his mouth and he closed up immediately.  She didn’t get the swab, and there was no way she was going to get it.  He was beyond pissed off at every  medical professional now.  He sobbed, he hyperventilated, he begged to leave or at least “wait until later.”  It lasted an entire fifteen minutes until the nurse left and even then, he laid like a wet noodle in my arms.  Eventually he got back into the IPad but then the doctor came in the room.  Luckily, she was good with him and asked him all the questions that would engage him (who is your favorite superhero, what did you get for Christmas, what is your favorite IPad game). 

Nevertheless, when she took another swab out of the jar, he freaked.  There is nothing worse than having your son beg you to help him through what he believes to be a horrid situation and the only thing you can do is put him in a hold-down and be complicit in the horrid act.  But again, this doctor came through and tricked Mario and me.  She asked him to open his mouth just so she could shine a light on his throat (what she did earlier) and then she quickly and precisely jabbed the swab in his throat.  When she took it out, he realized what had happened and looked at me in disbelief.  I praised him like he had just won the Olympics.  When we walked out, he looked up at me and asked “Are you proud of me, mom?”  My sweet babe.  We took a long walk in the stroller and he fell asleep due to all of the trauma of the day.  I stopped and stared at him for a long time.  My doll baby.   

All I know is that I am scheduling the next appointment for Mairo on a day when Jon is in town!

A Sunday

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Highlights of our Sunday:

Wrestling with dad.

Eating bagels and cream cheese with Grandma Lolo at the counter of the Marx’s Bagel Shop and meeting the Bagelman in person!

Visiting Grandma Menkedick at her nursing home; reciting the ABC’s and telling a story to her (Mario); playing the Partly Cloudy movie for her and talking about school (Maria); just being near her and listening (me). 

Playing dress up at Grandma Lolo’s complete with a bright red pair of shoes and red sash (Maria).

Flexing chest muscles in Grandma Lolo’s kid friendly mirror and play fighting with himself (Mario). 

Seeing sweet Gracie-poo’s face beam when Maria and Mario walked in Aunt Julie’s front door and hearing her baby voice ask “Maria, do you want to play with me in the basement?”

Listening to Maria, Mario and Grace play mom, sister and brother, and watching Maria help Gracie go potty (she is getting to be such a big girl!).

Laughing with Liz and Aunt Julie and reminiscing about Grandma Heile.

Seeing Laura and listening to her explain to Maria that she must remember the names of nail polish colors on the nail polish bottle if she chooses to wear polish.  Maria did not know the name of the polish she was wearing; Laura told her that she was wearing Black on Black on her nails.  Laura explained that nail polish colors always had fun names.  Maria asked her what the name would be of the color of Laura’s scarf if it were polish.  Laura asked Maria what she would name it.  “Blueberry,” she responded.  Then Maria asked for Laura’s response.  “Blue lagoon” I believe she said.  Maria was intrigued.  The magic in those moments.

Eating Larosa’s pizza.

Driving home under the deep black sky and looking back to see my two precious, inspiring babes deep in sleep, heads limp, mouths open, breathing heavy.

Raising the spirits with Pixar and George and Martha

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I have been in a little bit of a funk the last week or so.  Winter is bringing me down, down, down.  I miss taking the kids for long walks, heading to the park for picnics, and SUN!  The weekends tend to bring much of the same options: indoor swimming, library, McDonald’s Playland, pet store.  I have been trying all sorts of mind games to get me out of the Winter Blues (Jon being home on the weekends is a god-send for some adult conversation and laughs) but I look back at past years and remember this time of year (end of January and February) all the same. 

Before I left work on Friday, an email popped up about a Gateway Family Fest on Saturday.  I typically delete anything from Gateway because 99% of the time it is a promo for a new bar or a band coming to a new bar.  Not my league anymore….  But I opened this one and saw that they were having something for kids from 10-12.  I got up for my run on Saturday morning early enough that I’d be home by 10 and we could head to Gateway.  However, when I got home my homebody kids did not want to budge.  They wanted to stay in their pjs on the couch.  By the time we took away electronics and told them they’d have to find something else to do, which in turn, pushed them to ask for the Gateway event, it was 11:15.  We arrived at the Gateway Theatre at 11:30 am.  Such a bummer because the 45 minutes we had at the Theatre was a blast.  They had a kids band that succeeded in getting even the most sedentary parents up and moving.  They had balloon artists and crafts (unfortunately, they had packed up when we arrived and I diverted Mario’s and Maria’s eyes from it so they wouldn’t be bummed out).  And they had short movies interspersed between musical sets.  The two we saw were Tom & Jerry and a Pixar film called Partly Cloudy.  Maria and Mario squealed when Tom & Jerry came on the big screen – they love that cartoon and have only seen it in my car.  I squealed in delight after the Pixar film because it was absolutely adorable.  The beginning shows storks delivering cute babies and kitties and puppies to houses.   It moves upward to show all of these white clouds making those sweet puppies and kitties and babies.  Then you see a sole grey cloud trying to make cute little things but instead only able to make alligators that bite, porcupines that prick and rams that butt.  The poor stork helping out the grey cloud looks like he has seen better days but he keeps coming back to the grey cloud to pick up the next little present to deliver.  The stork looks longingly to the bright white clouds and eventually flies away from the grey cloud to the white one.  The grey cloud gets angry and sad and cries his heart out.  The stork returns with a beautiful package.  He opens it and puts on his new football helmet and pads – he is ready for the next hard-to-deliver present from his friend, the grey cloud.  It was the sweetest, most genuine five-minute film I have seen.  Well worth the trip (along with the buttered popcorn!).

I left the theatre feeling a tad more uplifted.  I used the opportunity of having the kids in the car to head to one more place – Half Price Books.  I had been wanting to look for some good books for the kids (and me) for a while and Half Price Books is the best.  Maria scored a Junie B book – she loves those books recently.  Mario found a slew of Superhero books for me to read him while we were there (my book searching did not occur).  After finding a handful of kids’ book, we were on our way out when I saw it like a tulip in the weeds.  A collection of George and Martha.  The two cutest hippos ever.  I used to read them to my baby sis and I believe my mom read them to me. I couldn’t resist purchasing it.  We read ten stories tonight (they are mini versions) with the kids trying to guess which ones were my favorites (Split Pea Soup, The Bathtub). 

I write this blog tonight with the kids still up (10 pm) and Jon and his nephew watching a show about Alaska in the other room.  I stare in front of me at the fresh ruby flowers standing upright in their vase.  I eat buttered popcorn and drink a root beer.  I take a deep breath and slowly exhale.  Life ain’t bad, Mary Grace.  Just breathe and read a little George and Martha.

Half Day Fridays

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Standing tall at school

Maria had a half day of school today due to teacher/parent conferences.  What a pain.  I guess I should be glad that the teacher did not require one for Maria, which means she has “no issues” to discuss with us.  I am quite sure we won’t be so lucky with Mario. 

I had to take the day off of work because of Maria’s 11:25 early dismissal.  By the time I took her to school and Mario to daycare, I would have only had an hour at work.  Monday morning will not be fun.  I had told Maria that she could go to a friend’s house after school but she begged to be with me.  I told her that I had a YMCA Board meeting at noon and she would have to go.  She was all for it because she remembers the food buffet at the last meeting! When I picked her up, she hopped in the car and asked if we could get Mario.  I had not considered it because having Maria and Mario at the Board meeting would be a recipe for disaster.  But Maria pleaded on behalf of her brother, and I caved.  When we walked into Mario’s room at 11:40, his eyes widened and he asked coyly “Do I get to go home with you?”  When Maria yelled “Yeah” Mario gave her a big ol’ hug. 

We walked into the Board meeting after ground rules were laid out to the kids (Maria knows them already but Mario, not so much).  I had the IPad, the IPhone, coloring books and crayons.  I knew if I had the IPad for Mario then we would be ok.  An hour playing with that device is like a piece of heaven to him.  When we walked in the door, we smelled the chili and cornbread.  Maria yanked at my shirt and whispered “Look, Mom, they have chili and bread!”  Mario just kept begging for the IPad.  We situated ourselves at the back table.  Maria brought us all waters and napkins.  Our little waitress. 

The kids did a great job throughout the meeting.  Mario played with the IPad the entire time as I knew he would.  Maria drew me a picture but then went for my phone.  When Mario had to go to the bathroom, she took him back to the bathroom for me remembering exactly how to get there.  The meeting was inspirational – I love these types of meetings where we talk about the Y’s mission, how we help the community, what the Y means to people in need.  It’s nice to talk with other board members for a bit rather than fly in and out of the meeting every month.  Everyone got a kick out of M&M playing away on their electronics; they all remember their kids drawing or reading a paper book.  Ahh, those were the good ol’ days. 

M&M did a nice job saying goodbye to folks and giving the Executive Director a hug and a thank you for letting them attend.  After the Y, we headed to Pier Imports.  I could tell the sales ladies were a little worried when Mario walked in since he was flailing everywhere. I cannot believe that we made it out of there with nothing broken!  Between Mario picking up vases the size of him and Maria trying to carry glass pigs over to me, it is a miracle.  I was in such a deep shopping trance, that we almost forgot to pick up Alana from school.  We pulled up just in time and we all headed home for popcorn and Ben 10. 

After Ben 10, Mario played some Wii while the girls ran upstairs to play by themselves.  The boy is a Wii fanatic.  After he played a couple of games, he asked me to come into the room.  He came over to me and said “Mom, thank you for picking me up before nap today.”  Those are the moments I know I have done something right.  Warms my heart.  A while later, I got so excited when the kids approached me and asked if we could walk to the park.  Is my love for walking and the outdoors finally hitting them!  It does seem that when Alana is over they tend to ask that more.  She is a good influence.  We walked to the park and to the library.  Maria and Alana want to walk by themselves.  A group of ten-year old boys were walking across the street and I could hear them behind me giggling.  We are in trouble. 

We ended the night with dinner at Wendy’s and a little Justin Bieber.  Can life get any better?!

Tornadoes and Yogurt

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I had our sitter bring the kids to my workplace tonight.  Luckily, most of my colleagues had hit the road when M&M arrived.  They whirled through the lobby like mini-tornadoes ready to ride the elevator and see my office.  Maria avoided a Mario meltdown by letting him push the elevator button to floor 5. Isn’t it strange how obsessed kids get over pushing an elevator button?  I used to think it was because they liked to see the button light up but even when the button doesn’t light, they still go nuts.  And take the buttons off the elevator and put them on a square toy, the buttons are completely boring to them.  Elevator magic.

The tornadoes ripped through my hallway door and into the break room to find snacks.  They know where the goodies are at my work.  After the break room, they corkscrewed themselves into my office to find more candies.  They also enjoyed sitting in my chair and acting like the “boss.”  On our way down the elevator (Maria again conceded the button pushing to Mario – such a good sis), they both commented about how cool my office was and how they wish they could work there.  Little darlins’ – at least they think so. 

They had the college kids cracking up outside.  Mario jumped on the stone resting areas and performed dance moves for all the world to see.  Maria followed suit until she noticed a college kid staring at her – she quickly jumped down.  Mario, however, basked in it.  It took bribing him with my phone to get him to walk to the car.  But before the car, we had to go to the fifth level of the parking garage.  Again, the fascination with parking garages? They got to the fifth floor and found the vacant lot awe-inspiring.  Maybe they will be architects or… valets.

We hit Orange Leaf with our cousin Maggie soon after leaving my work.  They were out of my favorite combination, chocolate and peanut butter.  Maria got her usual array of flavors: gingerbread, wedding cake, red velvet cake, and vanilla.  I monitored the toppings so she only landed one brownie, fruity pebbles, broken cone, oreos, and vanilla and butterscotch topping (I feel someone calling Child’s Services on me but really, it was only a speck of all of those toppings!).  Mario, on the other hand, opted for one flavor – pineapple – and no toppings at all.  Strange little being, he is. 

After Orange Leaf, we came home to a quiet house with no tv on, no washer churning and no pets roaming.  All of us noticed how calm it was.  You could hear a pin drop.  And then Mario screamed – just for the sheer fun of it – and Maria joined in a second later.  I turned around ready to cuss them out but when I looked over, I saw their ornery, angelic faces wide with laughter.  I decided to add a scream to the mix myself, and we all fell forward in a hard, belly laugh.

Books, books, books!

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One of my favorite activities with the kids in the evening is reading books, especially when they are good.  Sounds logical but I can’t believe how many library books I bring home that are sub par.  I treasure the nights when we are all in our pj’s, cuddled together on the bed: Maria laying down with her head near one leg and Mario snug as a bug against  both legs.  They interact with me as I read the book and I see their minds expanding right before my eyes. 

I ran to the library tonight to return some past due books (why is it so hard to return library books on time?!) and to give me a reason to head a few blocks further north to get a double dip UDF ice cream cone.  I didn’t have much time so I just grabbed a handful of books that looked like they may be worthwhile to read.  I got some known favorites – Dr. Seuss and Fancy Nancy but then got a few random, unknown ones.    The kids got to choose two each when I got home.  Maria picked two Fancy Nancy books.  Mario picked Dr. Seuss and a brand new one: Otis and the Tornado by Loren Long. 

A breath of fresh air. A gem.  How couldn’t you fall immediately in love with sweet Otis, the tractor with a huge heart and immense courage? And how couldn’t you feel heavy-hearted for the giant bull “shaking in fear?”  I finished the book and breathed deeply.  The kids yawned in a state of wonder.  When I looked up Loren Long later in the evening, I found out he is from Cincinnati – my hometown.  No wonder the book is so good….

Setting off the emotions… or not…

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The Maria face when she gets her feelings hurt

 

Poor Maria – she has her mom’s emotional curse.  I remember when I was eight years old and I accidentally spilled milk at my grandma’s table.  She looked at me with a frown and disappointingly said “Oh, Mary Grace.”  That was enough to send me over the edge and I cried in her bedroom for 15 minutes until she came in to tell me it was alright and she still loved me. 

Tonight, Maria stuck her tongue out at Jon at the dinner table.  She did it playfully but Jon and I are trying to teach her that even if done in a playful manner, it is still not appropriate.  Jon firmly counseled her on not sticking her tongue out at him or others.  As soon as he finished, I could see her eyes begin to water and her fine little mouth begin to quiver.  Jon and I looked at each other knowing that she was starting to cry.  But tonight, instead of crying, she closed off completely.  She just stopped talking to either of us.  I asked her questions about her day to try to provoke her to talk but she informed me that she did not wish to talk during dinner.  Jon and I gave each other the “oh, my” looks and continued to eat and engage with Mario.  After I tried to talk to her a few more times, and we could tell that she was wanting to come out of her muteness, Jon finally asked her to tell him what was wrong.  She wanted to tell me first because she and I have a pact that she can tell me anything and I will always listen (she remembered that the other night when she wanted to tell me about getting mad at a friend at school; she tugged at my shirt in the living room and said “remember how you told me I could tell you anything, well…” – I love that she is taking me up on it). 

Jon told her she could talk to him, too, and so she laid it out to him.  “You made me sad, dad.”  He couldn’t stand hearing that from her and took her close to him to give her a big hug.  “You can’t stick your tongue out but that does not mean I don’t love you, Maria.”  He tickled her sides, and they laughed together.  I was proud that she told him her feelings and looked him in the eye.  A good sign.  She can’t stand to be angry at Jon or I for too long.  She is like a pack dog – she needs the pack to be together and if they are not, she fixes it pretty quickly. 

The Mario face when gets his feelings hurt

Mario, on the other hand, would have ignored us for all of dinner and cared less that Jon scolded him.  He can hold a grudge for a while.  He is more like a stray dog, independent of any pack, ready to take on the world by himself.  If Jon and I want to support him, great.  If not, he will go at it on his own….  Even though he certainly depends on us when it comes to wanting to play on our Ipads or Iphones.  At those times, he can play the sweet, adoring, darling role real well.

Makin’ Do with What we Got

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Took a kick-butt yoga class this morning at Harbor Yoga in Dublin.  I have been looking for a good class since the one instructor that kicked my butt only teaches at lunchtime during the week (I would go back to work looking like a wet rat).  The instructor this morning kept the pace fast except she still did five breaths in between each vinyasa.  I jump up and back a few times to keep my heart rate going so it’s not a big deal but I have the whole class looking at me like I am a freak. 

When I returned home from that venture, the kids were on the Ipad and the phone playing games.  Jon had taken them through Wii and a Call of the Wildman show and they finally wore him down to get to the electronics.  Jon and I tag teamed it again today just like yesterday.  I keep the kids for a few hours and then he does the same.  It keeps us both sane and then when nighttime hits, we both feel like we have had our alone time and are able to concentrate fully on family time.  I rounded the kids up, tore them away from their electronics and bundled ’em up for a walk outside.  We went to the woods a few blocks behind our house.  I asked them to notice something that no one else notices.  Maria found a nest in the barren trees and a squirrel high up on a branch.  Mario found “turkey” tracks in the snow.  He thought they may be hiding in the woods.  The woods looked pristine.  No one had walked through them, and the snow laid perfectly on the broken branches laying throughout the trail.  We walked back to the railroad tracks and I had to tell Maria my story of Peepaw jumping the trains when he was young.  She loves that story and always begs for us to do it.  I tell her Peepaw will need to show us how to do it. 

After walking on the tracks, we headed home to do some grocery shopping.  Mario has been craving some watermelon and honeydew popsicles and I have been craving some Gatorade.  Of course, we go in with two items in mind and walk out with 10 bags of food.  We are going to cook at home all week – I swear!  After Kroger’s, we came home and made ourselves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on soft wheat bread, cheese its and grapes.  The kids sat in the oversized recliner and I asked them Brainquest questions.  It was quite enjoyable until Maria complained about her wheat bread “I hate Wheat, mom. I only want white bread!”  She sounds just like Jon.  She got over it – her stomach won out and took down the sandwich – and her and Mario enjoyed the thrill of answering Brainquest questions. 

After resting a bit, it was time to head outside again.  I wanted to shovel some of the sidewalk off.  Everyone grabbed a shovel, and we went to town.  Mario could do it all day – he is a madman.  Maria gets sidetracked easily, and within ten minutes came to me in the back of the house with a list of 10 other things we could do – bake cookies, have a party, dust furniture…. 

My sledding babes

Then, she came up with an awesome idea.  Sled riding on the front lawn!  Mario had been begging to sled ride all day yesterday but the hill near our house was void of snow.  But, as we stood in our front yard, I realized that our driveway had a bit of a down slope to it – enough to provide a bit of a thrill to the kids on their plastic slides.  We got them out of the car, and lined ’em up.  Maria went first on the blue circle slide.  WIth a big enough push, she went 20 feet down the drive and landed at the edge of the sidewalk and street.  Mario went next and pushing him is like pushing a balloon – he just flies away.  He went 20 feet down the drive and into the middle of the street (I did make sure no cars were coming).  They loved it.  Nothin’ like making do with what you got and creating joy from sliding down a driveway on a piece of plastic.  Especially when it produces such huge smiles on babes’ faces.

Toys R Us – Yoda

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We woke today to slushy streets but thankfully, not a lot of ice.  I was able to manage a run (although my calves are sore from flexing them in order to avoid slipping in the slush), which makes all the difference in my day.  Everything gleamed throughout the neighborhood due to the fresh white snow on the ground.  My footsteps made the first marks of the day. 

Mario in his jeep

When I got home, the kids were outside with Jon shoveling the sidewalk.  Jon knows how to put them to work and they love it.  My stomach twisted up a bit when I drove up and saw them outside.  A good twist – a feeling of warmth and gratitude in having such a wonderful hubby and kids.  I like when that feeling creeps up on me.  The kids and I went inside and began our Saturday cleaning, which is still like pulling teeth.  Once we get the music started and begin picking up, the whining wears off but until then it was as if we told them they had to go work in the mines. 

We started with Mario’s room because Mario had a little accident in the middle of the night.  He came into our bedroom around 5 am to get his sleeping bag. I thought he had just woken up and wanted to use it but I should not have been so naive.  He must have changed out of his pants and dried himself off because the towel was in the middle of the hall and his pants were by the steps.  At least he didn’t call on Jon or me to do that for him like he used to a year ago. 

Maria being driven by her chauffeur in her Escalade

After cleaning, I made them work on their workbooks for 15 minutes.  Mario loves showing me how he can trace his letters; Maria loves trying to get an “A+” on each workbook page.  After they finished that task, we headed off to Toys R Us. I still have a $25 gift card that Maria got for her birthday about 2 years ago (it’s probably worth about $!0 now) and I told her she could get something little in honor of a great report card.  Mario earned himself a small toy, too, for helping to clean his room and finishing his ABCs (should I have dinged him for peeing in his bed!). 

When we first walked in Toys R Us, the kids’ mouths dropped at the massive amount of toys and games and movies and candy throughout the store.  At first, I thought about how amazing it must be to walk through the store as a kid – every toy you can imagine floating around the aisles for you to view.  I soon changed that thought and decided that Toys R Us is hell for kids because of all of the toys floating around and their desire to have every single one of them.  Maria went from wanting a Leapster game to a Barbie to a stuffed dog to a penguin to a ….  Mario was surprisingly not as crazed about the toys.  He planted himself in the toy cars aisle testing out the jeeps and four wheelers.  He also eyed the skateboards.   

Katy Perry in the making?

You tend to tune out the crying in Toys R Us because it is so prevalent.  Kids begging their parents for toys and upon hearing “no”, falling on the ground in pure distress.  Maria and Mario did not go there, thank goodness, because they know better.  Maria is well aware that she has a lot of “things” and if I tell her “no” on one more “thing” she typically takes it in stride and moves on.  That being said, after going through a lot of “no’s” with me, Maria found a Barbie “head” – one of those decapitated creatures with long blond hair that kids can braid and comb.  The thing was marked down 70% from Christmas so it was a steal.  I cracked up that she chose this toy as she absolutely detests to brush her own hair or get it brushed by anyone else.  She also detests anyone braiding her hair.  Maybe this toy will help her move towards that direction for once in her life. 

Mario got a set of army guys – those little green, plastic figures.  It came with a tank and truck, too.  All for $5.  Love that deal.  We also looked for Yoda.  I have loved Yoda for years and had an awesome little plastic figurine back in college (why wasn’t I more careful with stuff back then?).  I got another one as Fitness Director at the YMCA but lost him in one of my moves from Cincy to Columbus to Cincy to Columbus.  They had every Star Wars figurine except Yoda at Toys R Us.  I was so mad.  Sweet Maria who always takes care of me told me this story: “Mom, when I was at Target one day, a man asked someone where Yoga was in the toy aisle and that person said “Who’s Yoga?” Can you believe that someone doesn’t know who Yoda is?!”  She always tries to get me in a better mood.  And if there was a Yoda in the store, I am quite sure she would have bought it for me with her toy money. 

Me all dressed up, my fashion designer, and the popsicle eater

After Toys R Us, I got a welcome trip to Stauf’s to eat a black russian bagel and diet coke.  I read about Newt Gingrich’s win in South Carolina (UNbelievable!!) and felt sick to my stomach so I had to switch over to reading labor and employment articles (numb my mind).  When I got home, Maria begged me to help her braid her new doll’s head of hair.  That turned in to her begging to “dress me up”, which she has begged to do for weeks, and I have declined for weeks.  It was 6:30, cold, and I knew I would not be heading out again.  So what the hay.  Within a half an hour, I had eyeliner on my eyebrows, lipstick all over the lower half of my face, blush smeared on my cheeks, and nail polish on the top halves of my fingers.  Worse than that, she dressed me in my old orange dress that is tight and short with a pair of gray high heels.  She made me throw a white skirt under the dress since it was so short (this is Maria’s signature look – a skirt under a dress).  I just don’t understand how she can look at a well-made up woman and comment on how pretty she is but then lather me with crazy make-up and think I look good?!  She proudly took me downstairs and introduced me to the boys.  Mario’s response: “Will you marry me?”  He is going to be attracted to some winners (Jon’s response was “ugh” – much more appropriate).

It’s now close to 9:30 and Jon and I look forward to a half hour alone before we both can’t keep our eyes open and fall fast asleep with the hopes of no little ones crawling into our bed.