Take me out to the ball game!

June 16, 2014June 16, 2014Leave a comment

It is baseball/softball season in the Ionno household. We are in full swing this month with Mario’s games on Friday nights and Ri’s games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mario is still in tee-ball even though he was not happy about that deal. He wanted coach-pitch this year (“babies hit off tees,” he said to me after I signed him up.) He does have a heck of a throw on him – he throws it back to the coach and nails it nearly every time. And he has some buddies on his team and on opposing teams so he has fun.
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They still all move in one big mass when the ball is hit in order to try to be the first to get the ball. It is no holds barred with elbows and kicks being used at any cost. And rarely does anyone cry about getting hurt – if this behavior happened in any other setting, it would be chaos but there is something about a ball field that makes it tolerable.
Mario got to play 1st base on Friday night. He needs to work on scooping up the ball but he was ready for it every time. I love watching him play. He hit some good balls, too. He loves to hit last so that he can run all the bases at one time like he got a home run. Very Mario-like!
After his game, he asked if I could coach his team next year like I coach Ri’s now. Warmed my heart that he’d ask me. I don’t know how I will swing both but I will find a way after that request.
He and his buddies partied it up after the game. They played keep-away and tackled each other to the ground. It took all our might to make him leave. But he had a sis that was dying to get to a swim party so she put down the gauntlet.
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Ri had a game on Saturday. Peepaw and Mama Meg came in to watch it. I get so anxious watching my girls play – I want them to play well and win so badly. They are all making great strides in their playing. The defense is making outs and we have a girl who could not hit to save her life getting hits! The girls are great about cheering each other on and patting each other on the back when they miss a ball or strike out. That was one of my goals – learning teamwork – so if all else fails, we accomplished that one.
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Ri had a great play at third on Saturday – she scooped up a grounder and tagged third for an out. She scared me because she was confused at first about whether to tag the girl or the bag and when she went running for the bag I was worried the girl would pass her (she’s strong as heck but not the quickest!). But she got an out and she was charged up because the girl she got out was the girl who had gotten her out the previous inning! Little did I know that she likes her some revenge!
But what she likes more are after-softball hot dogs and ice cream. Those girls run for the concession stand like bandits!
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And, of course, she loves having visitors cheer her on like Peepaw and Mama Meg (even if they are carting two mattresses in a flat bed truck to the game!).
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Long live baseball

June 11, 2013June 11, 2013Leave a comment

Both babes playing baseball: this fast-pitch softball player is loving life! Ri continues to craft her competitive spirit asking each game “who are we playing?” When I tell her the team – no matter which one – she has some curt response like “oh, they can’t hit” or “they aren’t that good.” This coming from my “I don’t like winners and losers” girl from six months ago.

Ri has really progressed with her batting. Her swing used to be rigid and awkward but now it is pretty smooth. She has been getting out there with David and me and working on it, to her credit. Her fielding needs some work – she’s got muscle – she just needs to move more quickly. It’s like she gets the ball and is so amazed it’s in her glove that she can’t move. A lot if the girls are like that though. And Ri just began playing this year so she will get the hang of it next year (hoping there is a next year – she gave up cheer leading after one year but, for that, I didn’t complain…).

Mario was completely upset that his baseball wasn’t coach pitch like Ri’s.

“I’m not a baby; I don’t need a tee!”

He was going to give it up but I told him he’d miss out on making friends and he decided to go for it. And he made friends – immediately. He walked up to everyone at the jungle gym and struck up a conversation. He began playing with two boys on the playground and acted like they were best friends in five minutes time.

His baseball game was hilarious. At first, he wanted to bat first. But then he saw that the last batter got to run all the way around the bases at one time since he was last at bat so he decided being last was better. He likes to look over in the stands while he’s on base to make sure people are watching him.

The field play could have just as well been soccer rather than baseball. As soon as the ball was hit, every single fielder – no matter the position – ran towards it. One glove would touch it but then another glove and body would land on it, then another and another. The poor soul who actually grabbed it would be smothered until the little tykes got up one by one.

Each time Mario returned to his position, he would look over at Jon and me and give us a wave or a thumbs up. Sweet boy. I’m pretty sure we only have about three years left of that before he’s too cool to acknowledge us.

Long live baseball and softball!

My little slugger

June 23, 2012June 23, 20122 Comments

“Go Mario!”

He soaks up the fans’ adoration and takes a hard swing at the ball. A bouncey grounder to second. He holds his loose helmet on top of his tiny head and runs to first. He looks over at me and gives a thumbs up.

Proud pumpkin-seed boy.

When he heads out to the field, he catches me reading an email in my phone.

“Mom! Put your phone down and watch me!”

Nah, he doesn’t crave attention – not at all. I put my phone down and he sports a mischievous grin. I yell “good job” to him when he runs after a grounder even though he has the closed part of his glove on the ground instead of the open (we definitely need some grounder work).

He lines up after the game with his teammates and gives the other team high fives. Hopefully he keeps up that sportsmanship up through the years because that competitive spirit in him always pokes through.

“Did my team win, mom?”

“I think you tied. You both played well.”

“No, mom. I think we won because I got around the bases and I caught the ball. Yeah, we won.”

Ok then. He clearly does not need any confidence booster from me. But he does need me to put down my phone.

Friday Stasis

June 15, 2012June 17, 2012Leave a comment

I did not want to leave the house today.

I wanted to stay cuddled with Maria on the bed watching Justin Bieber on the Today show and listening to Mario chuckle as he threw his sock at the ceiling fan and witnessed it ricochet across the room.

I did not want to sit in meetings and make phone calls.

So, I took my time getting ready for work. I appeased Mario and watched him throw his sock into the ceiling fan twenty times chasing him to try to be the first to retrieve the far-flung sock. I stared at Ri mesmerized by the tv showing Justin Bieber singing to the massive NYC crowd. I took Mario downstairs and made him peanut butter crackers for breakfast (I know all my health-nut friends are disgusted – sorry). He begged to watch one of his library movies and I agreed since it is a Friday. Maria came running downstairs and exclaimed “I got $5 from the tooth fairy!” Man, inflation has shot up the average gift from the Tooth Fairy.

When David arrived, I took off. I got to work just in time to get my decaf americano, answer two emails and leave for a 9:30 am meeting. The day went quickly; I had a YMCA board retreat from 2-5 that I really did not feel like attending. Not because I don’t like my colleagues on the board or because I had something much more fun to do. Maybe it was because I knew I would have to engage and talk and I just felt like keeping to myself. But I find that I get into that loner mode a lot, and I have to force myself to go to something in order to defeat it. It’s one thing to enjoy my solitude; I think that is a necessity in this life. It’s another to just not want to converse with people because it will take effort and you might get stuck talking with the guy that you think has an ego the size of Mars. I think it’s also a necessity in life to make that effort, especially when it relates to a larger goal – here, creating more teamwork and collaboration amongst YMCA board members. So, I went, and I really enjoyed it. I talked with people I have never spoken with before and learned that the guy I thought had an ego the size of Mars ran another non-profit that I was really interested in for future volunteer work. I learned that the YMCA hosted a lot more activities than I knew of – activities that I believed passionately about (teaching inner-city kids how to swim and working towards getting the Y residents more fit through nutrition and exercise).

I talked with Maria about the retreat when I got home. She loves the YMCA and has gone to several board meetings with me. Of course, at this age, it’s all about the food (she loves the home-made mac-n-cheese) and not about the mission. But she gets it in general because when we pass by a homeless person from time to time, she will say “Mom, maybe he should try to live at the YMCA.”

After a few minutes with Maria, we rushed Mario to tee-ball. Grandma and Grandpa Ionno came down to watch him play. It was picture night, too. Mario was hilarious with the photographer – he did his cool mac-daddy smile when she posed him and would not open his mouth for a full one. Patty and Joe got a kick out of watching him in the field – when a kid hit it, all of the kids ran towards the ball no matter where it was hit in the field. Mario even dove with another kid for the ball at one point and when he got it, he just looked at him with a cocky grin and threw the ball to first. Competitive can we say?

We hit Bob Evans after the game for some hotcakes and dinner rolls (we all needed to carb up after watching two long innings of tee-ball in 88 degree weather). Maria was cracking us up as we ate dinner. Mario went to the bathroom and had been in there for a while. Jon came back from paying the check and went to see if Mario was ok. Maria watched Jon pass our table and told him he better go check on Mario because there was no way his dad (her grandpa) was going because he was resting comfortably in his chair! She is a trip.

The kids rode their bikes for Grandma and Grandpa when we got home. We adjusted Mario’s bike seat up a few inches, and it made a heck of a difference. He sped along with no problem on the sidewalk. Poor guy just couldn’t get enough power earlier because his knees almost scraped the ground when he peddled. When Patty and Joe left, Maria strolled Mario up the street with all of her bears in one side of the stroller and Mario in the other. They flipped the stroller about five houses up the street. I was busy watering the yard so I did not bolt up the street like I normally would have to make sure everything was ok. This time I just yelled “Come on guys, get back home!” I am sure the conservative, cautious family up the street about had a heart attack but hey, it was Friday, and I had reached my limit of crisis. I had survived a day of work, a tee-ball game, 90 degree weather, and I was ready to chill. They did manage to get the stroller erect and head home, and we all chilled in the house for the remainder of the night.

And It’s One, Two, Three Strikes You’re Out

June 4, 2012June 8, 20123 Comments

Mario had his first tee-ball practice this afternoon. He was ecstatic. He has been dreaming of this practice for weeks.

Jon, Maria, Maggie and I all attended his first practice, and he loved us being there. He would flag us down and yell “watch me!” He started out throwing the ball with a friend and trying to catch the ball (tennis ball, thank goodness) with his glove. Then he moved onto the batting practice. He had to swing at the ball from a plastic tee. He cranked that part of the practice connecting with the ball each time. His partner was not such a quick study and whiffed the ball. Mario decided to put on his coaching hat and help him out. He approached the boy and asked to see his bat. He then got into position and showed him how to hold the bat and then how to swing. The boy took the bat back and swung to hit the ball. He connected, and Mario stood behind me nodding his head up and down in coach pride. It was hilariously sweet.

Next, he fielded grounders in the in-field. He did about as poorly as the other kids – we definitely need to work on catching with a glove. But he loved it. He kept wanting another grounder when he missed his but he soon learned the rules of practice – everyone gets a turn. Finally, they had to run laps around the bases. Mario loved this exercise, too. He tried to get to the front of the line each time they ran around, and on the last round, he asked if he could go one more time. What a munch.

Maria sat with a girlfriend who had brought her six-month old twins to practice. She played with one twin while my girlfriend held the other. She loves to watch babies – she picks hanging with the moms over her own friends. She is our old soul. But when she saw Mario rounding the bases, she quickly leapt up and ran over to third base to root him on with us. She yelled “go Mario – you are so fast” as he rounded the base. She stuck her arm out to deliver a high-five and he proudly slapped it as he whizzed by us.

Passing down perfectionism

May 27, 2012Leave a comment

Mario has been cracking me up all weekend. He is such a hilarious creature with his quips to me through the day.

I told him a few days ago that I signed him up for baseball. He could hardly control himself he was so excited. Every day he asks me if this is the day he starts practice. He can’t believe he is going to play in actual games, too. When I told him, he just stated at me with a huge smile on his doll-baby face. But after a few seconds, he stopped smiling and looked as if was contemplating life’s deepest question.

“What’s up, bud” I asked him.

“Mom, I am not too worried about the practices but I am not sure if my throw is good enough for the games.”

Gotta love this kid.

I told him that his throw would get better in practices. He responded “I want the coach to think I’m good.” Sorry for my perfectionist tendencies, bud. You obviously picked up on them.

Speaking of perfectionism, we were all getting ready this morning and standing in front of the mirror combing our respective heads of hair. Mario kept getting closer to the mirror and became fixated on something on his face.

“What is this, mom?” he asked as he pointed at a little pimple on his cheek. I laughed and told him he had his first pimple. It meant he was getting old! He was not so amused and started crying “get it off me, mom! Yuck!”

I told him he’d have to wash his face more often. When we got home from Stauf’s, he went straight upstairs to wash his face. Just a tad vain…(and when I went to take a picture of him, he absolutely refused!).

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: baseball