Mario’s brain

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Mario is killin’ Jon and me.  He will not go to bed at night; he wants one of us to lay with him until he falls asleep.  The hard part is that he is simply not tired.  I can lay in bed with him for an hour and a half and he will not go to sleep.  He still takes two-hour naps at school and I know that is completely unhelpful.  He also is a natural night owl.  His energy peaks at 9 pm. His poor sister is worn out by 9:30 and usually asleep in her bed by that time.  He turns on her light and plays in her room as she snores the evening away. 

This evening was the same as the rest. Jon and I sat downstairs talking and listening to the sound of tiny feet running around the hall upstairs.  Suddenly, we heard a whisper.  “Mom, mom….  Mom, I need you.”  I walked up the stairs to his room and he stood looking concerned.  “What is it, Mario?” 

“Mom, I went into Maria’s room and I pushed my hands into her stomach and she cried so I ran back into my room so she wouldn’t see me and I just don’t know why I did it, my brain just tells me to do bad things sometimes and I can’t stop it.  Breath.  What can I do?”  It seemed like a perfectly good “dad” question if I had ever heard it (even though I know my brain has gone down that path, too).  He ran down to talk to Jon about the situation, got some dad advice, and met me halfway down the stairs. 

“Mom, will you come upstairs with me to give Ria a hug?” 

The nutball!

At this point, I knew he was stalling bedtime, and I firmly quipped “No, Mario, get to bed!”  He looked at me and crossed his arms and ran up the stairs and shut his door.  I proceeded down the steps and before I hit the last, he opened the door and whispered “Mom, I will let you apologize for being mean.”  All I could do was chuckle.  

“Mario, I should not have said that in a mean tone.  I am sorry.” 

Mario looked at me for a few seconds and quipped “It’s ok, mom, you can just sleep with me to make up for it.”  He never misses a beat, or I should say, his brain never misses a beat.

Skipping to our own beat

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I felt pretty beat up the other day.  I created one of my “what do I want to do with my life” fixations where I obsess about what I want my legacy to be, how I can create a start-up business that will help the world, how I can be more creative.  I shot down any belief that I could make progress on anything that I wanted to do. All in all, pretty daggone depressed.  The kids played in the other room while I scoured the internet for articles that would bring some glimmer of light into my downtrodden day.  Nothing.

The sun even beamed through the window; typically a welcome visitor.  Eventually, I knew I needed to get outside and at least take a walk.  Walks generally put me in a little higher state of mind.  I yelled to Maria and Mario to put on their jackets because we were going to take a walk to the library.  After a few sighs and begging to use the car (I do not know what happened to my “green” kids – I think they revert to motor vehicles once it hits below 50 degrees!), we slipped on our jackets and headed outside.  Much to our chagrin, the sun and lack of clouds brought the temperature to close to 60 degrees.  Maria whipped off her jacket and Mario ran in glee. 

As we approached the corner of our street and First Avenue, I still felt gloomy even though the sun’s rays warmed us up.  Another block up, Mario reached up and took my hand.  I looked down at his sweet, round face. 

“Mom, I have an idea.  Let’s skip! Come on, Ria, you too!” 

The babes skipping

He started the skipping, skipping to his own little beat.  Maria followed, skipping to a completely different beat on the heels of her brother and eventually up to his side to hold his hand. I took a deep breath and dove into it.  And so we skipped down First Avenue.  And my gloomy mood began to wash away. 

How could I not smile as I lifted my feet to skip down the street like I used to do when I was 8 years old?  How could I not find pleasure in watching Maria and Mario lift their little feet and skip down the street with wide smiles on their face and genuine laughter pouring from their mouth?  

Such a simple act to perform and such a huge difference in mood.  I could have talked until I was blue in the face to a girlfriend or read twenty articles on improving my mood but they would have not had near the effect on me that skipping to my own beat produced.  And all because of my 6 and 4-year-old kids who sensed my funk and knew just how to bring me out of it.  My kids are able to teach me just as much as I am able to teach them, and often times, on a much more grounding level (and to their glee, they got a library vending machine snack out of it since I was in such a good mood!).

Post-Turkey Hen Fest

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The aunts and cousins

When I turned 40 in early November, my Aunt Ann called me to welcome me to the 40 club.  She had turned 40 nearly a year and a half earlier and informed me that it wasn’t so bad besides the weight gain and the achy bones!  We agreed that we would put the zing in 40 and show all those 20 year olds how much fun it was to be 40.  Ann came in town for Thanksgiving and she, along with my aunts and my mom, held a celebration for me on Friday.  We got together at my Aunt Julie’s house, which is the site for most of the Heile get-togethers.  Julie’s condo carries a party aura around it. I think it is because Julie is so nonchalant about it all.  Someone spills some wine on the carpet – no big deal!  Someone rams into the wall and breaks a picture – we’ll fix it! She is definitely more absorbed in the party and having a good time than she is in worrying about spills or breaks.  I strive to be more like that in my new home. 

Jon’s mom, Patty, took Mario for the holiday weekend because Jon headed to Michigan for the OSU/Michigan game and she knew it would be chaotic having Maria and Mario in Cincy when I was trying to enjoy my party. She is an angel.  I made the wise decision to take Maria’s cousin Alana with us.  I have learned that it is much better for me to bring a friend for Maria because she has someone to hang out with and play with; if not, she still is in that stage of wanting me to do everything with her.  And Alana is a good kid – she listens well and is intrigued with every place we go. 

The girls partying it down

As soon as we got to Julie’s house, the girls wanted to walk Julie’s two dogs, Butters and Willie.  Alana loves dogs, actually she is infatuated with dogs, and so any person that owns one is her best friend.  We walked the dogs around the neighborhood, laughing hysterically at Butters who stopped to pee on every bush and tree he saw. When we returned, pink was everywhere.  Ann had bought pink roses for the tables and even pink paper to wrap around the cheese block.  My grandma’s favorite flower was the pink rose so I know she was there with us, too.  Maria and Alana made themselves comfy in Julie’s basement with the dogs guarding their fort and loving the mega treats that the girls fed them. The girls slipped upstairs every so often to perform a dance routine for us (dancing to their favorite boy band – Big Time Rush!). 

Meanwhile, my aunts, my two older girl cousins, and I sat around Julie’s table drinking Prosecco (the same sparkling white wine I drank in Italy for my 40th) and nibbling on cheese and crackers and fruit and nuts.  We got out old photo albums containing pictures of Ann and I as kids, my aunts as young adults, and my cousins as babies.  There were some good laughs at the outfits and the poses.  It was so enjoyable to sit around the table with these women who have been a part of my life since I was a baby (and cousins who I have been around since they were babies!) and share memories that we had of growing up.  We all had different snapshots of our lives together that we held dear. I remember my Aunt Ann and I swimming in the metal horse troff that we only knew as a swimming pool.  I remember Christina taking me to her high school with her. I remember my Aunt Julie taking me to her cheerleading camps and letting me spend the night at her apartment. I remember my Aunt Jane driving me home from Kings Island and talking to me about superballs.  I remember Laura and Maggie always being there when I needed help with the kids or needed my hair dyed (my 40th b-day present from them was dying my hair!).  I love these women tremendously.  They raised me and I raised them – all of our intricacies and mannerisms being passed along to one another. 

With the Prosecco!

After drinking too much wine, we headed to the couch  for  Bridesmaids.  Just the movie we needed to see after a few drinks.  We were hootin’ and bollerin’ throughout the entire film.  We had to pause it when Maria and Alana came upstairs to show us the poster they made for me.  It stated “40! You are too old for sex!”  Yeah, really.  We all gasped.  I asked Maria and Alana where they had heard of sex and they just shrugged their shoulders.  I asked what sex meant.  Maria said “when two people are naked and kiss.” I asked where they learned that and they both shrugged their shoulders again.  I guess if this is what they are going to talk about at school, I am glad that they are talking about it with me and their aunts and cousins!

The movie ended at 11:30 pm.  I thought I had gotten out of a trip to the bars that I had promised to my cousins. But, little did I realize that 11:30 was early for them. They were ready to go.  WIth all my might, I got dressed and headed out with my cousins and two aunts to the bars.  We lasted about an hour and a half but the young blood circulating the bar room drowned us and we had to head out!  We left the two young cousins there to whoop it up for us.  Nothin’ better than a 20 something bar to make you feel old as heck. But I am glad that scene is over for me; I have no desire to have to go through those shenanigans again!

We woke up the next morning and headed over to Julie’s to clean up the mess from the prior night.  Rod walked in the house and declared “The place is not too messy for having had a hen party!” Yeah, call it what you want, a hen party, a girl party, an old-lady party, it was a good time.  After the clean up and breakfast of goetta and panckaes (total Cincy meal!), Maria and Alana begged to go to the Blue Ash Park. They had a blast swinging on the tire swing and see-sawing and swinging.  After the park, we hit the McDonald’s play land for a half hour of indoor play and a huge ice cream cone to get us the rest of the way home.   I needed that bolt of sugar after that crazy night with my fellow hens!

Gobble Gobble

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Showing off Sarah's mac-n-cheese

We successfully hosted the first Thanksgiving in our new abode.  No injuries, no serious screaming and only one dish of slightly burnt food.  Even the diverse family members homogenized and got along great.  Most of the family consisted of Jon’s side: his mom, dad, three brothers, their wives and kids.  My mom and sis showed up to represent the Heile/Menkedick side.  Jon woke up at 6:45 am to start the turkeys with his brother who drove over from Hilliard at 7 am (we can’t have any meal without Patrick’s input – he is a master chef).  They grilled one turkey and smoked the other.  Maria woke up exclaiming “I can’t believe Thanksgiving is finally here!”  The day may have been better than Christmas for her – she loves having the family over and entertaining.  She proudly showed off her place mats that she slaved over for the three weeks prior to Thanksgiving day (Megan, her sitter, and I prodded her more than a few times but she did a first-rate job on them and everyone enjoyed having a handmade mat in front of them).  

My sis, Sarah, came over at 8 am in order for us to get in our Turkey Day run. We had contemplated running in the UA Turkey Race but decided that we may be pushing our luck trying to cook and run a race that started so late (9:15 am).  Besides, 5 miles is wimpy – we went for about 8.  We tore through the hills of Grandview and ran through donwtown back to our home.  Sarah’s dogs kept us at a clip of a pace – they are like Iditarod dogs running through the tundra – they never stop!  Little Sarah, all 95 pounds of her – held onto “the reins” the entire run.  When the pups spotted a squirrel, they darted and pulled so hard on Sarah that she had to buckle down into a squat position and yank them back with all of her might.  It is quite a sight to see this petite sister of mine take complete control of two dogs.  She may be under 100 pounds but she is mighty. 

A walk to the railroad tracks

When I arrived home, Maria and Mario were ready for everyone to arrive anxiously pacing around the house asking “how much longer?”  Finally, Alana and Giovanni arrived and the screaming and insanity began (relegated to the basement, which continues to be such a godsend!).  The kids had the basement destroyed in less than 15 minutes.  A good reason for me to take a break and walk them down to the woods.  I was getting antsy anyway because it was so gorgeous outside and I had been indoors preparing for the feast.  “Anyone want to take a walk?”  All of the kids jumped up and grabbed their shoes and coats.  We walked down the road to the railroad tracks that are hidden behind a row of trees and bushes off the road.  Is there any more fun than playing on the railroad tracks on a beautiful November day?  The boys threw rocks into the trees and the girls danced around on the wood slats (on the outside of the track!).  We thought we heard a train whistle at one point but it was merely wishful dreaming.  The kids’ eyes popped out at the thought of seeing a train whiz by.  Gio made me promise I would run back down with him if we heard the whistle at the house, and sure enough we heard it right when dinner was starting.  Next time, Gio.  Maria and Alana sang songs on the way back and Mario and Gio acted like “old men” by leaning on their sticks and hobbling up the hill. 

When we got home, Maria and Alana begged for me to keep the boys out of Maria’s room so they could play barbies in peace.  Mario refused to budge until I told him that the girls would beg to come to his room because of all of the cool toys he had so he better run in to it with Gio and keep those girls out.  Maria and Alana caught on to my plan quickly and started to beg to come in Mario’s room.  Mario and Gio slammed the door and refused to allow them in the room.  The plan worked.

Meanwhile, the adults got to chat downstairs without children nagging at their ankles.  Actually, I should clarify: Jon and I got to chat with out kids at our ankles.  Patrick and Carrie have Alana and Gio pretty well-trained and Jon’s other brothers’ kids are grown.  I was so bummed when I took the tablecloths out of the plastic and they were really wrinkled.  If you buy new tablecloths they should be wrinkle-free – that is what you are buying, too, isn’t it?  And what is the trick to getting those wrinkles out?  I spent 20 minutes with the iron on them and still didn’t make much of a dent.  But with the place mats and plates and silver on the table, you could barely tell.  I had bought orange gerber daisies and purple flowers at the market the day before and they bursted out in the dining room against the brown walls. 

Ready for seconds

We made enough food for a small army, as always.  Thirty pounds of turkey, regular and oyster stuffing, mashed potatoes, chipotle mac-n-cheese, rolls, creamed corn casserole, gravy, and fruit salad.  Sarah’s mac-n-cheese dishes were a nice touch and Patty’s creamed corn casserole is always to die for.  I had dreamed of all of the food being laid out on the tables, everyone sitting down, and a beautiful grace being said by me.  Maybe the dream will happen next year.  THere were too many dishes to put them out on the tables, and it would have been a form of torture to make the first people in line wait for the last since it took about 15 minutes for everyone to get through (you know how that is “Oh, what are these? How did you make them?  They look great!”  all the while holding up the line!).  Patty did give an impromptu grace while we stood in line giving thanks for family – those with us and those who have passed – and appreciating the day we had together.  It was short but beautiful.  Patty and I are a lot alike in our love for family connection and every hour or so that day we would knock elbows and smile happy with the way the day was going.   

Maria and Alana with their drawing "If It's Too Loud, You Are Too Old!"

Within twenty minutes of putting my plate down to eat, I had to unbutton my jeans and stretch my arms.  Always a true sign of a good meal.  Maria loved the creamed corn casserole and the turkey.  Mario liked nothing and opted for an oreo yogurt.  Jon loved the creamed corn casserole, too.  I loved everything – seriously, I can’t pick a favorite.  I love all of the side dishes mixed together with the turkey.  Heaven.  When Mario was finished, he asked to be excused instead of stating “I am done.”  The family was quite impressed, as was I!  He informed me later that the school teachers make him ask to be excused because it is a more polite way of saying “I am done.”  Thank god the school teaches him some manners!

After dinner, Maria and Alana acted like vampires pulling naive aunts and cousins upstairs to the attic to “take a bite” out of them.  Josh and I were one of the firsts who got a “bite” in the hand from the vampire girls.  They had a hoot with that game for a while.  Then they chased after Peter for quite some time – poor Peter, our 17 year-old cousin who was “one of the kids” for so long that now even though he is grown, he is the honorary playmate.  We really need to slip him some cash next holiday.

Getting ready for dessert and celebrating Patty's and Alana's b-days!

The desserts enticed even the most full of us.  Pumpkin, pecan, cherry and peanut butter/chocolate pies with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream.  With all of that, the kids played a game of who could spray the most whipped cream down their throats.  It took us nearly an hour and a half to wash dishes – definitely the most obnoxious activity that you have to perform after a big meal like Thanksgiving but at least it gets you on your feet.  Sarah ran over to get her pups when it got dark out and brought them back over for an early evening walk.  We had hoped for a relaxing, serene walk around the block but a mad dash of kids flew out the door and we spent the entire walk trying to ensure that they remained together and didn’t cross the street and held their voices down (yeah, right).  As rowdy as they are, I love seeing all of the cousins together having a good time.  The older ones take care of the younger ones and the younger ones love the attention. 

When we arrived home, we began the pack-up,stuffing leftovers into plastic bins and sliding pie slices onto paper plates.  I tried to get rid of all of it but somehow ended up with my favorites – pecan and cherry – sitting in the fridge.  How is it that one minute I can be stuffed silly and within an hour, I am ready for another slice of pie?  Life is cruel that way. When the last of the family members walked out the door, Maria looked at me with the saddest little face.  “I want Thanksgiving back.  Why do good days have to end?”  “I agree, Maria. But instead of being sad, we should be so grateful to have such a warm, loving, fun family.”  She still looked sad so I took her to the second step of our stairs and sat her down next to me. She leaned her head on me looking out the door.  I held the moment and told her that the second step was our resting place – a place that she could take me to talk about anything she wanted to talk to me about.  I imagined her at age 16 with all of the teenage woes a girl faces.  I told her that I want her to always feel she can tell me anything.  She looked at me and said “I know I can, mom.”  Please, Lord, let her continue to think that way.  

We swept up the remaining scraps from the dining room and living room but left the food that had been dug into the floors by random feet stepping on them.  Those would have to be wiped up on Black Friday; we were not heading out to the shopping mall so we had all day.  Of course, we chose to ignore all that mess one more day and head down to Cincy on Black Friday to visit our aunts and cousins.  A little procrastination never hurt anyone!

Happy Feet 2

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The kids and I ran errands galore this afternoon from noon until 4.  We hit four different stores to return things and purchase new things.  Meg warned me that I better be ready to buy and return with a new house since it takes a while to figure out your style for each room.  She was correct.  And I feel like I can’t spend money on anything more until I return what I don’t want.  Hence, why we had to hit four different stores.  I cannot stand to spend my time doing such tasks but I resolved it had to be done and put myself in the mindset to get it done.  It is a little easier to accomplish this task now that it is cold outside. 

The kids were surprisingly very good and even listened to me when I commanded them to come.  At the last store, I let them each buy a small toy for being so good. I have mixed feelings on that choice: I don’t want them to think they will always get that if “they act good” but I also dragged them all over god’s creation and thought a $5 toy was a special treat that they earned.  Who knows what the right answer is? Actually, the right answer is whatever we feel comfortable doing in that situation so I guess I picked the right answer. 

As we drove home, my friend Amy called and told me she was going to see the 6:30 pm movie, Happy Feet 2.  When she called, I was hesitant to commit because I wanted to continue to get the shopping done that I needed done.  But after walking in the front door and laying down our bags, I thought “what the heck” – I need a break and movie popcorn is too tempting.”  The movie theatre, Mill Run, serves food.  You sit at a counter and watch the movie.  It was strange.  I am not sure if I liked it better or not.  I kinda like the intimacy of the regular theatre seats where your shoulder is up against the next and the popcorn sits on the armrest between you.  But the kids liked it because it was something different. 

Jammin' with the chipmunks after the movie

 Happy Feet 2 did not impress me.  I thought it was rather dull and the only good music was in the beginning and the very end.  The baby penguin, Will, was cute but the plot never thickened to the point you cared and the entire movie seemed disjointed.  They tried to make some political points with global warming but I don’t think the kids got the subtlety with which they were made.  Nonetheless, the kids sat through the entire movie so they must have found it interesting (Mario did make me play with his wrestlers for about 15 minutes but stayed tuned in the rest of the time).

I would have rather seen Puss-n-Boots but that could have been just as bad.  I have never been a big kids movie fan.  Rio was the first one I had seen that I enjoyed.  But the popcorn was delicious, and Mario’s corn dogs weren’t bad.

Shopping Country

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Mario doing his model pose before he leaped off the tree stump

We braved heading to Polaris last night.  Polaris is a little city in intself with strip malls on one side of the street and a shopping mall on the other.  It’s north of the city and takes about 25 minutes to get to it on a good night.  I purposefully left at 6:30 pm with the hopes we would miss traffic but cars were braking constantly creating walls of red in front of us.  When we finally arrived at the lighting store, it felt like midnight and I had lost all enthusiasm for picking out lights.  I got some of  my enthusiam back when Maria and Mario discovered a playroom in the showroom, which allowed me to spend more than two seconds looking at lights.  Shops that contain kids’ playrooms rock this Earth and I just want to kiss all over the owner for thinking of us crazed parents that need to bring our kids with us to shop.  

The showroom overwhelmed me.  Lights hanging everywhere – silver, bronze, chrome, gold, amber….   I am finding that I need a limited choice of things when I go shopping or I get overwhelmed and cannot make a choice.  Not like I can make a quick choice between two things but 100 things just make my brain freeze.  I could have stayed at the showroom for hours, though, because Maria and Mario were content in the playroom watching Ariel with a new friend whose mom was enjoying a reprieve, too. 

We hit Great Indoors next.  That store looks like it is going downhill.  It used to feel more perky and alive.  We walked in and there were hardly any people, aisles were practically empty of items, and the mood was dejected.  But, they did have some pretty lights.  Luckily, they also had a mattress section right across from the lights that kept M&M busy (they loved the remote-controlled adjustable beds, of course).  I fell in love with one but it was not in stock.  I want the light before Thanksgiving so that I can show it off to my family.  Of course,  the practical right-minded part of me is saying that I should order the light and not care about getting it up before Thanksgiving since I will have it forever and I will love it.  But the anal, perfectionist that I am wants to have my lights installed prior to Thanksgiving so that the house can be in order, and that part of me prevailed.  I left the store with no lights but an idea of three or four that I would continue to consider until I went back to the store by myself on Friday afternoon. 

Maria "flirting" with Jack Hanna

About ten minutes prior to us leaving for the Playland, Maria walked over to me and begged for us to go. “Mom, I am ready to die.  I am so so hungry!”  Mario, on the other hand, begged to go to the Playland first.  Maria conceded as long as we got pizza and an Oreo brownie afterwards.  As we passed mannequins in the Ann Taylor store window, Mario looked up to me and whispered “hot girls!”  He is so wrong.  He acted like a wild man at the play land leaping off rocks and animals.  Maria ran around with him for about ten minutes and then her growling stomach forced her to stop.  It took us ten minutes to round up her insane brother but we finally got him to go by telling him that he could hop all the way back to the Food Court. 

We took down some pizza and an Oreo brownie at the Food Court.  While we ate, I asked M&M what lights they liked best at Great Indoors.  They ignored me as they ate their pizza but then Maria finished her food and began to lecture me. “Mom, you WANT new lights but do you need them?  There are things that we want but that we don’t need.  Do you think the lights are something you want but you don’t need?”

Huh??!  Where did I get this little minimalist, philosophical girl?  Oh yeah, she’s my daughter and I helped raise her to think just like this.  Meanwhile, Mario sat in his chair making strange faces and putting the remainder of his pizza on his head and stomach to try to make us laugh.  Where did I get this over-the-top, comedian boy?  Oh yeah, he’s my son and I helped raise him to be insane!   We drove home and called Jon to wish him sweet dreams good-night, laid down in my non-reclining bed, and fell fast asleep.

Don’t leave us, Autumn

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We are getting down to the last few weekends where you can still go outside in a sweatshirt and shorts (or jeans for those cold-blooded folks), view a few remaining leaves on the trees, and feel the warmth of the sun on your face.  I can’t stand to be inside on these weekends because I know in a very short period of time, I will be relegated to the house staring out the windows at the bleak, frigid, bare-treed world. 

The cousins ready for a train ride

We woke up on Sunday to a balmy 59 degrees (most mornings nowadays are in the high 30s) and I over-bundled the troops for our morning stroller ride.  We hit Giant Eagle for something different and its close proximity to CVS where I needed to develop pictures.  Jon and I bought a picture frame collage when we bought our new furniture for the house a few months ago and the frame has a bunch of different sized frames that look really cool in the spur of the moment.  However, once you get home and are forced to fill 2.5 x 3.5 and 4×4 and 3x 3.5 it is a different story.  I think I have spent  over 4 hours at CVS trying to correctly develop pictures to fit in the frames.  It is driving me batty.  And yet I won’t give up (although I did feel like throwing the collage frame out the second story window one night at 1 am).  But I digress…

Mario got a chocolate muffin and Maria got a chocolate sprinkle donut at Giant Eagle (Mario said “Why do you get chocolate donuts when you don’t like chocolate?!” Maria’s response “I like chocolate donuts – who wouldn’t?!).  After Giant Eagle and CVS, we headed home reading Berenstein Bears Moving Day.  Yes, I stroll them and read them a book held by Maria who does a great job turning the pages and holding it just right so I can read the words.  As we approached home and the sun peered through the few remaining leaves of the big oak trees, I decided that I would brave it and see if my niece and nephew wanted to head to the zoo with us.  My sister-in-law agreed to let them go and Maria and Mario screamed with excitement. 

Having fun on a statute

We got home and packed pretzels, raisins, and fruit roll ups for the trip.  We grabbed the library movies we had rented earlier in the week, and we were off to Hilliard to pick up M&M’s cousins.  We packed everyone in the truck, fastened seat belts, and headed north to zoo land.  I thank the heavens that I only have two kids but if I had four, I would be able to crank it out.  I packed those kids in the car in less than a minute and that’s with buckling seat belts, too.  I have become a pro. 

We arrived at a quiet zoo with parking close to the entrance.  When we entered, everyone grabbed a map and began to review as if they knew what they were reviewing.  We decided to head to the Petting Zoo first.  Of course, it was closed.  The barn was open so you could see the goats but it’s not the same as being in the pen with them.  We decided to head to the North American region and come back to the Petting Zoo. 

Watching the polar bear

One of the coolest sites of the day was the polar bear exhibit where you can go underground and watch the polar bears dive into the water to play or catch fish.  Two polar bears jumped in while we stood underground, and the kids got to witness them playing and swimming around in the water.  They were darling.  We tried to hit a playground after the polar bears but it was closed, too.  The kids were upset and began with the whiny complaints (“This zoo is awful…”).  I explained to them how lucky they were to be able to come to the zoo and how a lot of kids don’t even get that opportunity.  Maria understood it immediately but the rest of them failed to comprehend at all.  Nonetheless, we continued on to the bobcats, pumas, and moose and their minds were promptly diverted to how cool those animals looked. 

The metal statutes were a big hit for the kids.  They loved to climb on them and swing from them.  We hit one of those at almost every new geographical location.  The bird sanctuary was a bigger hit than I thought it would be.  They searched for birds throughout the sanctuary and when they found one they made a mad dash to the chart to see what kind of bird it was.  After the bird sanctuary, we hit another playground and it was closed, too.  This even pissed me off. I get that they close the playground areas at a specified time each year but really, on a day that is 60 degrees?  More disappointment on their faces when I told them it was closed.  I think it was disappointment and exhaustion from walking for two and a half hours.  Tension began to rise in the two groups of siblings, also.  Giovanni had found a feather and Mario wanted to touch it.  Gio refused.  Mario begged.  He still refused.  At that point, Maria walked up to him and pointed her finger scolding him about how selfish he was being and how he needed to learn to share.  Alana hurried up to defend her brother and tell Maria to leave him alone.  Maria proceeded to tell Alana that Mario would not share his toys with Gio if Gio continued to act selfish.  Alana said that Gio didn’t care.  And yes it kept going just like that for another minute or two before I interjected.  What would spark up 4 and 6 year olds after an exhausting day at the zoo?  McDonald’s Playland!  Let’s go kids!  

Tunnel Fun

My kids are used to the Playland because of our trips to and from Cincy where the McDonald’s Playland acts as a rest stop half way in between Columbus and Cincy.  Their cousins are not used to McDonald’s Playland because their parents do not frequent such establishments.  Aunt Mary is a lot different from Aunt Carrie.  I could care less about the dangers of such playlands – germs are good for kids in order to build up tolerance.  Heck, I never worried about germs as a kid and I turned out healthy.  But Aunt Carrie is polar opposite.  I am sure it sickens her to think about playing at McDonald’s.  I respect her for that – I sometimes I wish I had a little more of her style in me – but if the kids are with me, we will head to these types of places because they are cheap and the kids like them.  Heck, they spent a half hour running around and exhausting themselves so that when 9 pm came that night, they should have been out cold (Maria was knocked out; Mario was just getting a second wind). 

Finally, we ended up at Joann Fabrics to look for vases and flowers for the house.  I could not believe how good the kids were at that place.  They had every opportunity to run all around the store when I was looking at flowers, but they stayed by my side or within earshot of me.  I was very impressed, and because I was so impressed, I let them each buy a little something.  They helped me select flowers for the dining room and tried to find me some artwork for the room.  Nothing would do the trick so I made an impulse last-minute buy of two flower pictures.  I got them home and decided against them immediately.  Oh well.  I do like the flowers we bought. 

We got home at 6 pm and helped Jon with the remainder of the garage cleaning.  He had worked on clearing out the garage while we went to the zoo – no small task since we threw every piece of junk and unnecessary item in the garage when we moved into the house.  To my surprise, after we were done, he asked if we wanted to go to Bob Evans.  Heaven.  I had been craving their pancakes for weeks.  We loaded up and headed down to Bob’s for pancakes and dinner rolls with butter and mashed potatoes.  Thanks, Mother Nature for giving us such a beautiful Autumn day.

Ahhh, Autumn

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Delicious autumn!  My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.  ~George Eliot

I knew it would be a gorgeous autumn day the moment I stepped onto the sidewalk for my morning run.  The air had the most subtle bite of chill to it – not frigid like the past few mornings and not heavy like hot summer mornings.  Perfect running weather.  The sun had been up for an hour by the time I got out to run and it greeted me with its cheerful self warming my bare legs.  I love this time of year with the beauty of the leaves, the cool temperatures, the smell of fireplaces heating homes, the cheers of people at the football game. 

Maria and Mario greeted me with a resounding “MOM!” when I opened the front door after my run.  Is there anything that makes you feel more loved than the sound of children excited to see you?  Mario grabbed two Berenstein books for me to read and we sat in his room with the blinds up and sun pouring in reading about “Too Many Commercials” and “Camping out with Ghosts.”  I love it when Mario initiates reading because he so rarely wants to do it.  He is not into anything at age 4 except super heros, wrestlers, and fighting.  I make him sit down at times and color or work in his workbook but after five minutes he is bored to death.  Other moms console me and tell me that it does get better but I have my doubts….  Maria is doing really well with her reading lately because I have made it my number one priority to make her read every night.  She is starting to see the fruits of her work when she gets a card and can read a lot of the words or sees me reading the paper and can decipher some of the headline.  Of course, I received two cards for my birthday that had the word “Bitch” in the inside of them (gotta love my friends and family!) and wouldn’t you know that she opened them and pronounced “You are a bitch!” just perfectly!  She immediately sensed that “b–” was a bad word and covered her mouth laughing.  Leave it to my girl to immediately know how to spell and sound out the cuss words.  Taking after her mom. 

After reading, we got on our sweatshirts and went outside to rake the leaves and play soccer.  Maria is so funny – she is the little worker bee as long as it is work she wants to do (never cleaning her room).  She is also the boss directing how things should get done.  As I raked, she announced that I should rake near the trash cans because that needed it more.  She then went into the garage and began moving things around to “places that they should really be.”  When I asked her to help me with bagging the leaves, she looked at the work and decided against it.  

Rather, we took a stroll to the library.  Mario begged to take a family walk so we decided that would be a good spot – four blocks away.  I was so excited to see the kids both ready to take a walk!  I was so excited that I even agreed to skip most of the way with the kids after they begged me to do it.  I felt 10 again.  We dropped Maria off at a friend’s house after the library and headed home to those dreadful leaves.  To my glee, Mario couldn’t stop helping Jon and me.  He loves that type of manual labor.  He raked and raked and raked for me.  I would sweep the raked leaves onto a tarp and we would take it down the drive to drop off the leaves at the curb and start the process again. 

“Mom, we are quite a team, aren’t we?” 

“Yes, doll, we are.”

“Are you proud of me for helping you?”

“I am so proud of you.”

Jon and I could not get over what a machine he was raking those leaves up, and kept stopping  to stare at him in complete awe.  I promised him the park after we raked the leaves – anything to stay outside on this gorgeous Autumn day.  I could just eat it up.

Life is Crazy

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I have been walking around for the past few days a tad melancholy about life: what more can I do to help people in need, what more can I do to get the most out of life, what more can I do at work to make my career more productive?  Why is it that one moment I can feel so positive and ready to take on this world and five minutes later, I feel dejected and pessimistic and apathetic about it all? 

Crazy kids

I always remember a letter my dad wrote to me after I graduated high school.  It consisted of lots of good advise and wise words but what struck me to this day are three words: “Life is crazy.”  He went on to advise that you just have to laugh at all of the craziness and not let it weigh you down because after all, it’s crazy and what else can you do with crazy but roll with it and have a good time.  I pull those words out of my pocket almost every day, especially with M&M who always remind me that my life is crazy, unpredicatable, and sometimes maddening and “rolling with it” is a lot more fun than stressing about it.

And, I have finally come to the realization that it’s good to constantly question where you are and what you are doing in life – it allows for growth and wisdom.  However, I must admit that The Onion article nearly had me convinced to turn a blind eye to my life questions.  After reading it, I was ready to shove those hefty life questions off my shoulder and move onto bigger and better things like what I should wear tomorrow and what color I should dye my hair….!  One clip was particularly insightful:

“Based on the results of their study, researchers have urged individuals not to waste their time trying to find answers to why it’s all such a fucked-up charade, questioning whether it has some higher purpose, or attempting to devise some way to avoid it—such efforts being futile gestures that would only “play right into” the universe’s trap.

‘There appears to be no escaping the feelings of humiliation, emptiness, and despair this barbaric joke exacts on everyone,” said Nobel laureate and professor emeritus of psychology Daniel Kahneman. “However, trial studies show humankind is far better off when we push it all into the back of our heads, try not to think about it, and just trudge mindlessly toward death.'”

But after much thought, I decided to stick with my old man’s advice to roll with life and all of its punches because, after all, life is crazy and you might as well embrace it and have some fun.

Gratitude for Kittens

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I knew it would be easy to determine what the kids were grateful for today.  A white sherbet kitty with orange ears and orange tail.  Mama Meg left me an email about the kitty letting me know that Peepaw was bringing him into Columbus for a couple of nights until he took him to the SPCA to be adopted on Thursday morning.  Maria and Mario leapt with joy when I came home from work and told them we could head over to Peepaw’s apartment to see the munchkin. 

Maria with another kitty months ago

We bundled up in our sweatshirts (the weather is a turnin’) and hopped in our stroller to head three blocks to Peepaw’s apartment (one nice thing about the house move is we are closer to the apartment).  We stepped inside to find a rather mellow, chill kitty sitting next to Peepaw.  The kitty was definitely not like the kittens we have met in the past – the ones that jump everywhere, leap after everything, tear into anything.  This kitty allowed you to pet him and hold him and rub his ears.  What a doll.

Before too long, Maria and Mario had it with them in the bedroom under the bed.  They named him “Buster.” They tried to teach him how to go to the bathroom in the litter box.  They groomed him.  They kissed him.  They showed him the water bowl.  Maria held him in her arms while she sat on the couch and all I could see the entire time was me as a young girl with my cat (numerous cats throughout my childhood but only one at a time).  It is that image that drives me to want a cat for Maria.  I remember how much I loved my cats, and how much they loved me and laid with me all the time.   But Jon is allergic to them and when he finally could breathe after our previous two cats passed away, he swore no more cats.  Maria always asks “when dad dies, can we get a cat?”  (I don’t think she quite gets the severity of that question. Or maybe she does?!). 

Peepaw drove the kids home while I strolled the BOB back home (the wind was kickin’!).  We threw on our pjs and sat on the couch for two books before a tv show.  As I read the books, I watched their little faces.  Maria’s eyes intently glued on the pictures and Mario’s mind thinking about a question to ask.  I am so grateful for reading time with them.  I love when they interrupt me with questions or observations.  They are thinking and wondering.  A beautiful thing.