Eat Pray Love… and weeping

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I watched the end of Eat Pray Love last night. I paid money to see it in the theatre and left after the first 45 minutes.  When I told my girlfriends that I left, they shook their heads at me.  “You missed Javier Bardem.  That is a shame.”

They were so right.

What a gorgeous creature he is and what a gentle, caring, HOT man he played in the movie.  In one scene, his 19-year-old son comes home from college for a few days and he weeps as his son heads back to school.  His emotion was so raw in the scene that I felt I was right there with him feeling the loss of Maria or Mario as they left for school.  He also falls madly in love with Julia Roberts, takes her shopping and brings her cures for hangover after a night of partying.  Do they get any better?! Actually, Jon pulled all 50 of my bobby pins out of my hair the night of our wedding when I drank a little too much out of pure exhilaration for the day so he ranks up there with Javier.   

Fast forward 15 years in their dorm rooms!

Back to Javier’s weepy departure with his son.  I wept for 15 minutes in my family room after I watched that scene.  I thought of Maria and Mario heading off to college, scared but also ready to be on their own, creating their own memories with friends, learning who they are, putting themselves to bed (that did quickly bring a smile to my face).  I try every day to teach them something new or bring a smile to their face or listen to their stories.  And every once in a while I wonder “does it even matter?”  Will Maria and Mario grow up to be better off because I read them one more book or I pushed aside my work projects to listen to them perform a song? Will they miss me or shun me when they head off to college?  Will they only call me when they need rent money or will they call me to talk about dating issues? 

Fast forward to Maria in her chair at college!

Yeah, all of those thoughts from a ten second scene of a dad kissing his son goodbye and weeping.  Truly, I must be PMS.  But, alas, I could (and often do) bog my mind down with 550 different questions and concerns about what my children will be like at the age 20: whether they will confide in me as they get older; whether they will feel a bit more secure and confident in this world because of Jon’s and my actions; whether they will charge into the world with a free mind.  One of the ways I try to stop myself from engaging in such a stress-filled activity is by closing my eyes and practicing gratitude for the opportunity I have been given to be with them at this time.  I appreciate the moment I put my work down and read Curious George instead.  I enjoy listening to Jingle Bells being sung off-key and misquoted rather than finishing the dishes.  I am thankful that I can head to the park and run around the swing set acting like a monster out to get them. 

Fast forward to Mario dancing in his dorm room!

No matter what occurs with them in the future, I know that I have given myself to Maria and Mario.  I have dived into the pool of motherhood and swam far underneath.  If they forget me when they are 20, then they forget me.  Eventually they will come back again.  And I will be there with wide open arms.  Because that is part of parenting.  Ups and downs, great times and horrible ones.  You have to be willing to let yourself dive into the water with the risk of sinking for a while.  It is only when you go far underneath that you see all the wonders of it  too.  And the wonders are too awesome to miss.

Pot-bellied pigs and marshmallows

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Maria and I traveled downtown on Sunday afternoon.  There were actually people and cars all over the place!  What a promising sight to behold!  The Columbus Commons is a new development in the heart of downtown.  It is a large grassy area with a carousel.  Yoga classes are held there, kickball games, music fests.  On Sunday, they had a holiday festival for kids.  I had wanted to take Maria and Mario to it on Saturday afternoon but it rained/snowed all afternoon (the kids were so excited to see tiny snowflakes!). 

We took Maria’s friend Anna since Mario spent the day with dad at “Big Mario’s” house in Dover, Ohio engaging in “manly” activities like wrestling, play fighting and hunting deer. They chatted the whole way downtown about games on their moms’ I phones and how they wanted their own for Christmas (keep dreamin’ sista!).  When we arrived, the place was booming with people.  It was an awesome sight compared to the emptiness the downtown usually contains.  The first stop was the petting zoo.  For a mere $5.00, the kids could feed baby bottles of milk to the goats, llamas and pot-bellied pigs!  Yes, pot-bellied pigs – my absolute favorite animal on Earth!  I could have sat in that pen all day holding those little munchball swine.  Maria was even more excited for me.  “Mom! Mom! They have your pigs!”  We must have spent 45 minutes in that giant pen, feeding the pigs and goats and petting the llamas and camel.  They loved watching the pigs guzzle the milk and hugging on the llama. 

 

Next, we moved onto s’mores.  They had a giant fire pit in the middle of the Commons for people to get warm and make s’mores.  They provided each kid with a stick, two graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows (what about the adults?!).  Maria likes her marshmallows barely melted (I think she actually simply has no patience to let them cook!). and Anna likes her marshmallows burnt to the crisp (the way I like them, too).  We warmed ourselves up (I even scored a tiny bite of a s’more from Ri) and hit the carousel.  Maria rode the elephant.  Two years ago she would have waved at me every time she passed me, but this year, she chatted with Anna nearly the entire time never even taking a glance at me!  However, towards the end, I did see her glance over at me to see if I was still around so I secretly know she still needs her mama! 

After the carousel, we hit the bouncey house.  This bouncey house was brutal – they allowed 7 kids in at one time.  Luckily, Maria and Anna were the oldest so they did not get trampled.  They even were sweet enough to watch out for the little tykes in the bouncey with them (let’s see 6  year old boys do that!).  After the bouncey house, we moved onto the train ride.  By this time, my hands felt like ice.  I had thin gloves on and any more my hands turn purple if out in the cold for longer than 15 minutes.  Fortunately, Maria lost her ride ticket after the train ride so I was able to convince the two of them to head to Target with me for icees (no, not hot cocoa because that makes too much sense!) and pretzels.  The girls read Teen magazine while I found cookbooks for my girlfriends.  That night I dreamt of m little pot-bellied friends with the hopes that Santa may bring me one for Christmas (hint, hint, Jon!).

Icees are a godsend

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Maria and I are hosting five girlfriends and their kids from Cincinnati tomorrow afternoon.  We spent the first half of the day cleaning the house (why will the kids clean any other room in the house but their own?!); hosting Jon’s parents (Patty bought a new mini COoper!)l hitting the library in the afternoon; and baking cookies in the late afternoon.  Right around 6:15 pm, I was finally ready to hit Target and the grocery.  I had finished cleaning the house, washing the dishes, and preparing the gifts (which Maria helped me with as always).  I worried about taking them to Target since every time we go there, they beg to see the toys and they stand in the aisles yelling “mom, look at this!  Will you get it for me?” 

Since we had not had dinner, I enticed them to go with me by offering them icees.  We rarely get icees anywhere but if we get one, it is at Target.  They agreed to go on the condition that I get them icees (and Maria added in a pretzel).  We went straight to the Target food center and got two small icees.  The kids filled each of their cups up with a mixture of red, blue and purple.  I gave them a straw, and we were on our way around the store looking for random items for the party. 

They sat in their seats the entire ride slurping down those icees.  We went past the toy aisles twice and they did not say a word about getting out and looking!  A miracle on Target Street!  I have a new-found friend in the Icee, and will make sure I have $1.39 on me every time we head there in the future.  Money well spent!

 

Begging for the Call of the Wildman

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Maria and Mario are addicts and I don’t think there is any treatment.  They cannot stop watching  The Call of the Wildman on Animal Planet. 

 I am at a loss on how to describe this show.  It centers around a man from Kentucky who specializes in catching wild critters, especially turtles.  The intro shows us Turtleman in the swamp with arms stretched in a yoga pose concentrating on the wildlife in the swamp.  It continues with clips of Turtleman catching a possum, a fox, a racoon, and a snake – all with his bare friends.  Then the announcer’s voice pokes through “For as long as anyone can remember, when someone in Kentucky has an animal problem, they call the Turtleman.” A woman sitting on her porch tells us that Turtleman “caught his first turtle at age 7” and he had a connection with these animals.  Next thing you know, you see Turtleman kissing a large snapping turtle and turning to the camera with his big ol’ smile and his missing teeth. 

M&M intently watching Turtleman

At first, I was skeptical.  A four and six-year-old watching a show about a critter catcher from Kentucky?  But he endears himself to you quickly and I find myself rooting for him even though I am sure much of the captures are staged.  The kids are mesmerized by his actions.  Every time I feel bad for the critter being caught, they reassure me that Turtleman loves the animals and always releases them in the wild.  Sure enough, when I watched the end of one show, there was Turtleman against the peach sunset, letting a fox out of his cage to run free through the forest.  Tender music and tears welled up in Turtleman’s eyes.  I look over at Maria and her face turns empathetic and concerned. 

“See, mom, he cares about animals and he helps people get rid of them so they won’t hurt the animals on their property.”

 

Mario as Turtleman

Meanwhile, Mario is standing up in the family room with his arms stretched out like Turtleman’s arms in the beginning of the show.  He concentrates his eyes ahead and says “There is a man in Kentucky who is wild.  He catches wild animals… and he does it with his bare hands.”  Maria and I chuckle.  He turns to us with his most serious face and declares “I could be Turtleman.”

On one drive home from capturing a wild critter, Turtleman had an apple pie in the front seat of his truck that he had gotten as a gift from the house owner who had trouble with the critter before Turtleman showed up.  Turtleman scoops up a piece of pie with his hands and shovels it in his mouth.  Then he feeds his dog in the back of his truck a piece of pie from his hand.  Yummy.  Just as long as Maria doesn’t start eating in that fashion at school, I guess we’ll let them keep watching.

Jammin’ with the Harmony Project

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I took the kids to Harmony Project last night at the Southern Theatre (Maria was so excited to get dressed up and to “help” me get dressed up, also!).  In one word: amazing.  I had not heard of this non-profit group until a colleague invited me to the event a month ago.  The Harmony Project works to bring individuals from diverse backgrounds together to sing and get to know one another with the hope that the more we understand one another, the more tolerant and inclusive society we will become.  The Project succeeded in its mission last night bringing together individuals from all walks of life and bringing them to their feet clapping and bellowing out tunes. 

Count Mario as one of them.

He rocked it out for the entire time we sat in our balcony seats.  They showed a documentary in the beginning of the program to educate the audience on what the Harmony project is, and I was impressed that it held Maria’s and Mario’s attention.  They both started to get antsy towards the end but they didn’t throw fits or beg to leave.  Very impressive.  Once the documentary ended, a group of mostly older teens walked out on the stage, each wearing a black t-shirt with the word “Beautiful” on it, and sang the song “Beautiful.” They mesmerized Maria who stood up in her seat and stared at the singers intently.  I caught her mouthing the words “you are beautiful” at one point.  Sweet  girl.

Mario listened to the song but did not become engaged until the next song that was much more lively.  The singers smiled strongly while clapping their hands and tapping their feet.  Mario stood up from his seat and immediately moved to the beat, waving his hands and acting like his fist was a microphone.  The people around us were cracking up.  Mario leaned into me after the song and whispered “Could you sign me up for singing lessons, mom?”  Maria laid back in her seat for most of the songs, intently watching the musicians and their gestures.  She is much more reserved than Mr. Mario when it comes to these types of events.  She takes it in while he throws it out.

Mario acting like a monkey and Maria showing off the brochure

As we waited for Jon to pick us up, I asked how they liked the show.  They both gave me nods of approval and Mario asked “did I sing good, ma?”  I confirmed that he did and he smiled broadly.  The boy loves his praise.  As much as I did not want to get dressed up and head out at 7:30 pm, I am glad that we went to the event because I know that  it has a positive influence on M&M as they grow into themselves and this world.  I think they are off to a harmonious start.

Gloria would be proud

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Sleeping over at Maggie's!

I picked up Maria and Mario from Cousin Maggie’s apartment at 9:00 am.  Maggie had offered a sleep-over for them last night and they jumped with joy at the prospect.  A night filled with pizza, play-doh, fire in a real fireplace, muffin-baking and movies.  She had them asleep at 9:45 pm, too (I swear, my cousins Laura and her need to write a book!).  When I picked them up, they interrogated me about whether St. Nick had come to the house last night.  When I grew up, I always remember St. Nick coming on December 6 (which I believe is truly St. Nick’s Day).  I typically got candy and maybe some small toy but I just remember the thrill of feeling something in my stocking when I came down the stairs in the morning.  I have kept that tradition up with M&M but instead of doing it on December 6, I do it on the weekend so we aren’t rushed with school. 

When the kids and I home, they ran straight to their stockings.  They plunged their little hands in the stockings and big smiles emerged (in addition to other little things, Maria got earmuffs she had been wanting and Mario got a transformer).  We all sat in the living room together, which we rarely do because the family room has the recliner chairs, the tv, the Wii.  But it was so nice to be in the living room with the natural light that can’t help but perk you up. 

After the kids reviewed all of their presents, Maria looked at me.  Earlier on the ride home, I had told the kids how excited I used to get for St. Nick.  Maria had asked if he brought me anything.  I told her that usually St. Nick just brings kids toys.  After she looked at me for a minute, she got up and rushed out of the room.  I knew what she was doing – trying to gather some “gifts” for me.  She has got such a kind soul.  She came back five minutes later with a bag full of my things – shoes, old barbie, clock.  “Here, mom, St. Nick brought you some things, too!”  Mario caught on how impressed I was with Maria’s thoughtfulness, and immediately ran out of the room.  He ran back ten seconds later with a frog ornament and presented it to me saying “Here mom, this is from St. Nick, too!”  I told him how happy I was to have him and Maria and he responded “did I give you a better gift than Maria?”  He always wants to be number 1 – he is going to be brutal on the court or field. 

We played around , cleaned up, and at 2:00 pm, left for the Pump-It-Up gym for a birthday party.  On the way to the party, the kids asked to watch Power Rangers. I put it on for them and I heard them in the back talking about the different Rangers.  Mario told Maria that she could be the blue power ranger and she agreed.  I blurted out from the front “there is a blue power ranger who is a girl?”  Maria immediately hit the back of my seat and scolded me. 

“Mom, you make it sound like a girl can’t wear blue.  You make it sound like a boy can only wear blue and a girl can only wear pink.  That should not be how it is.”

Yeah, I could have just eaten her up.  All of those years that I sang “Free to Be, You and Me” to her rubbed off.  She would make Gloria Steinem proud.  Earlier that day, I had tried to move our bed.  After realizing it was way too heavy, I stopped.  Maria approached me and shook her head.  “Girls never give up, mom. You can do it.”  

Maria sliding

Pump-It-Up was chaotic and tiring.  I can’t stand to just sit around like the other parents so I go through all of the exercises with the kids.  After 45 minutes, Maria and I were spent.  Maria kept asking when we would go to the other room and eat.  Mario just wanted to keep playing.  When we finally got to the room, Maria immediately sat down in front of a piece of pizza and cheese curls and went to town (I was jealous and wanted to sit right by her!).  Mario only wanted water.  These two could not be more different when it comes to food.  Maria is my healthy, ready to devour, eater.  Mario is my grazer, a bite here or there eater.  During the entire meal, Mario wanted the plastic crown and scepter that the two birthday kids got and he was going to every length to get them.  I had to keep telling him not to try to steal them but he kept trying to sneak ways to do it. I told Maria that we would have to leave.  She had a meltdown because we had not eaten the cake yet.  I guess along with teaching her how to be self-sufficient and not stereotypical, she also learned my love for sheet cake.  I could not bear the thought of disappointing her and not letting her eat cake.  So we stayed and I policed Mario a bit longer. 

Mario stopping!

On the way home, Mario reviewed his goodie bag.  He pulled out sunglasses and complained that they “weren’t cool.”  Maria schooled him:

“Mario, life is not about finding happiness in things.  If you have family and friends around you, that is all that matters to be happy.” 

And that sums up the beauty in our girl, Maria.  Mario is catching on, too, because instead of throwing the glasses at her like he may have a six months ago, he shook his head and acknowledged Maria’s insight. 

“You are right, Maria.  I will like them.” 

Beautiful.

Lovin’ some DIrty Franks

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Jon and I used to be ambassadors of Skyline Chili.  We are not embarrassed to admit it (well, maybe a bit embarrassed when people learn we had our picture up in the entrance way and our own “ambassador plates” to eat our three-way chilis).  Skyline bestowed this title upon us back when we were young pups with no kids and lots of time.  Now we go into Skyline and we are granted no privileges; we are just another family in the crowd eating oyster crackers as we wait for our food. 

But that is ok with us.  We like the relaxed atmosphere, the oyster crackers as appetizers, and the hotdogs with cheese.  Mario typically eats 2 of them before we leave (which is huge for Mario).  Maria typically eats one hot dog and a chili spaghetti.  They love the place, and may one day get our title back for us. They especially love the Oreo cookies that they get as a special dessert at the end of the meal (I admit, I am rather jealous although Jon gives me a quarter from his pocket so I can get Reese Pieces out of the dispenser). 

But Jon found another, cooler dive for us to head to when we are craving dogs.  A little hole in the wall on 4th Avenue downtown called Dirty Franks (http://dirtyfrankscolumbus.com/).  They have hot dogs with anything you can imagine spread on them.  Maria has fallen in love with the Octodog (macaroni and cheese with a hot dog shaped as an octopus).  Mario likes a plain dog with cheese on it.  I love the beanie weenie (baked beans with a hot dog and cheese and onion).  Jon typically gets a dog with sauerkraut or one with pickles or fries on it.  We also get the hush puppies with chili and cheese, which could subside anyone’s late night, hung-over cravings.  The walls are filled with artwork of famous singers like Michael Jackson and Prince (the only two I recognize).  Maria always asks me why Michael Jackson looks white when he is brown.  Mario loves all of the pictures of crazed looking rockers, especially the one with blood out of his mouth.  We find a new piece of artwork each time we go (keeps the kids busy!). 

I am thinking that Skyline may have to miss us for a bit while we frequent our Dirty Franks establishment.  Although, I do find myself craving that Cincinnati chili every once in a while – a girl can leave Cincinnati but Cincinnati can’t leave the girl!

Bring It On, Nurse

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I took Maria and Mario to the doctor today.  Little did I know that Maria was supposed to have a “well check” visit at age 6 so she is a mere seven months overdue (doctor’s and dentist’s appointments are not my forte).  I had originally called to make Mario an appointment because I remembered Maria having to get shots at the age of 4.  The receptionist politely asked if Maria had been in for a while hoping that I would catch on without her having to say “Ma’am, if you were a conscientious mom, you would have had your daughter in here in May!” 

Maria got out of school a couple of hours early, which she loved.  Mario got to stay home with Cousin Maggie because she was over doing laundry and she is so chill that she agreed the second he asked her.  On the way down to the doctor’s office, I told both kids that they would have to get their flu shots today.  They both corrected me and retorted “No, mom, flu mist – not shots.”  I had specifically asked the receptionist to put me down for two flu mists to go along with the well check visit so we could get it all over with at once. 

The nurse brought us back to the scale and Mario hopped on first – excited as can be to see his height and weight (I tried to remember the last time I was excited for my weight!).  He weighed a whopping 38.8 pounds.  I can’t believe he has not hit 40 pounds yet!  He did shoot up in height at 43 inches.  He is now 90th percentile in height and 60th in weight.  However, I think Jon and I have to do a re-measure at home because I could swear he is the shortest in his class and he does not look tall at all to us.  I think he slipped the nurse some candy to get her to measure him taller.  Maria weighed in at 66 pounds and 489.5 inches tall.  She stays in the same percentile she has always been in – 95th.  God love her – she is the best at everything! 

We headed back to the room after the eye test, and got blood pressure taken – what fun!  I love how excited kids get over these things that are now routine to us old people.  The doctor asked a bunch of questions of the kids (what is your favorite food? Maria: spaghetti and meatballs; Mario: graham crackers) and scolded me about a bedtime hour that is reasonable and not 10:30 pm! When she finished with the questions, Maria asked “will we get out flu mist now?”  The doctor broke it to us that they had run out of it so we could come back in a week or get the shot instead.  I thought for sure we would be heading back to the office next week.  But to my surprise, both Maria and Mario shrugged their shoulders and agreed to the shot.  “My dad got the shot, so I can, too” replied Maria.  Mario had to be just as strong so he nodded his head in agreement.

When the nurses came in with the shots, Maria hopped up on the table.  Mario cried that he wanted to go first.  maria cried that she got up on the table first.  The nurses cracked up.  they had never seen such eager patients.  Maria went first.  She practiced blowing out on the count of three and in 1, 2, 3, the shot went in and out without a flinch.  All done!  I was more tense than Ri.  She has always been a machine with shots – the only time she bawled was when she was just a newborn and when she was 5 and had 5 shots jabbed in her at once. 

Mario jumped on the table after her and threw off his shirt. He flexed his muscles for the nurses, which they very much appreciated.  They explained what they would do (each put one in each of his arms and then put one more in his right).  I asked if he wanted to hold my hand and he shook his head no.  I braced myself.  Maria did, too.  They turned to get the needles and he turned his head to watch.  Mistake.  He knew what was coming at him and he froze up but he did not jerk away.  You could see the trepidation in his eyes, however, and when they stuck him, he looked at me confused.  I stepped close to him to hold him for the third one and he let me.  The nurse stuck him with the last needle and although it was clearly uncomfortable, he remained still and let them put on the band aids.  I showered him and Ri with praise telling them how proud dad would be of them.  Mario felt better hearing this – he likes the thought of dad being proud. 

We walked out of the room and got stickers and a sucker for the pain.  Maria took Mario’s hand and congratulated him on being such a big boy.  He put his head on her shoulder and replied “I just need to lay down and watch some tv, Ri.”  Maria looked at me and pleaded for her brother “Mom, Mario deserves some tv.”  No fights from mom today.

Mario, the midnight shopper

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The start of the love for fashion - age 2

I have been using the late evenings to shop on-line for Christmas presents.  I used to love to hit the malls and the stores for presents, and probably still would if I had a spare day, but anymore I am lucky to be able to sit down with the newspaper to read one article.  Jon left for Maimi (Florida, not Ohio, the bum!) on Tuesday morning and the kids know that such an event means they get to stay up way later than with Jon is home.  They also get to set up camp downstairs in the family room with their blankets and pillows and fall asleep after reading books and watching some tv. 

Maria typically makes it until about 9:30 or 10.  Then I look over as I work on my computer and see her mouth wide open and her eyes half mast (she sleeps with her eyes slightly open – yes, way freaky!).  When I look over farther to my right, I see Mario. and  he is anything but asleep.  He is usually doing cartwheels or banging his two power rangers together or still focusing intently on the tv show.  And he is showing no signs of being tired.  He stays up with me until 11 pm most nights.

Last night, I sat hunched over on the family room floor with the computer in front of me searching for the perfect shirt for my stepmom, Meg.  I would never believe how hard it is to find a “dressy” knit shirt but alas, life can never be easy!  As I stared at shirt after shirt, I began to sense the presence of a tiny little man behind me.  I looked around and Mario popped his head down to avoid me finding him.  We played this game a few times when finally Mario stayed at my shoulder and proclaimed “Mom, look at that shirt with the stripes; Grandma Meg would look pretty in that one!”  This started a round of discussions on what shirts would look best on Grandma Meg and me.  Numerous models reminded Mario of me (what can I say – I still got it).  Mario fixated on stripes for Grandma Meg and at one point, tiger stripes (no, Meg, I did not concede on that one!).  He was a miniature Tim Gunn from  Project Runway.  He pointed out shirts that were just “plain ugly” and others that had real style.  He had definite opinions, much more so than I did. 

We’ve all known that Mario has some impeccable fashion sense. Ever since he was a young lad, he has been obsessive about the clothes that he wears.  Now that I see his interest and opinions in women’s knit shirts, I fret that he has been secretly making fun of his mom – who has no tolerance for high fashion – for years.  He probably whispers to all of the preschool girls as I walk out the door “yeah, I love my mom, but I can’t wait to dress her one day!”

Thank God For Friday…and pizza…and cousins…and head massages

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Between fighting the flu early in the week and fighting work insanity late in the week, I am relieved it is Friday night and I am able to sit in front of my computer and eat a DQ blizzard.  We received a treat tonight with Maggie and Laura coming over for pizza and hair brushing.  Yeah, that’s right – not together though!  We ate pizza (before pizza, Mario said grace and stated he was thankful for his cousins and his family and won Maggie and Laura’s hearts forever).  Maria hung on Maggie’s and Laura’s every word; she looks up to them like I looked up to their moms.  

M&M with their cousins

As we ate pizza, Mario began fidgeting in his seat and jumping out of it to dance around.  Jon and I told him to sit down and eat.  He kept talking. Maggie and Laura have always teased us about how lenient we are with discipline and we have always teased them about running a tight ship.  But, I have always admitted that a little bit more of that “hard ship” attitude would be helpful, especially at dinner. Laura took his arm and firmly stated “Mario, your dad spoke to you and asked you to sit.Sit.”  He sat.  We completely ignored him until he began eating his pizza.  He finished it in 5 minutes.  Laura figured out that his one “treasure” that would hurt him the most if taken away was attention.  He lives to be the life of the party.  Take that away, and he is bored.  And that is what we did when we ignored him and paid him no attention – he was forced to eat his pizza to get that attention back. Genius!  

After pizza, Maggie started a bath and Laura got hair products to comb out Maria’s knotty hair.  Maria’s hair looks like strands of gold when it is fully combed out and only Laura has the ability to get it combed to that level without Maria screaming and carrying on like an insane person.   After Maria’s hair, Laura combed mine, and if that was not heavenly, she massaged my head.  I sat at the table lost in another world while Maggie kept the kids busy and Laura kept my head amongst the clouds. 

After dinner, they helped clean up and wrestled with the kids.  They called it a night around 9 pm since they had to take a shower and get ready to hit the bars!  Oh, to be young again.  Jon and I are seriously contemplating paying them a salary per year to live in our attic; I do believe it is the only way that M&M will learn their manners, pay attention, and behave appropriately in society.  Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit but they are good and on Friday night when Jon and I are exhausted, they are awesome!