Tag: Biking

One Big Sweat Gland

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I am really disliking this heat.  I can’t stand that I walk outside for two minutes and my armpits look like someone poured a glass of water on them.  I can only live in black and white shirts in the summer because I sweat so badly that any other shirt is noticeably drenched. 

My doctor tells me that I sweat so heavily because my body is so efficient in releasing sweat from all the work outs I do.  It almost makes me want to stop working out.  Jon calls me his “one big sweat gland.”  How endearing.  Maria and Mario both back away into the corner when I approach them after being outside and yell “get away, you are too sweaty!” 

I have tried the anti-sweat super deodorants but they don’t do a thing.  My super-sweat overpowers every time.  I guess it could be worse – I could….  Nah, it’s pretty bad.  I hate being frozen every time I walk up to the coffee shop because I have sweated so much that the AC feels like ice crystals on my body. 

All of this leads up to my sweat experience this afternoon. Jon’s niece, Sherri brought her kids over today while she and her hubby went to a charity golf outing.  We decided to go to the pool.  Of course, a normal human being would have loaded the kids in the car and headed to the pool.  But, alas, I have never been normal (thanks dad and mom and Meg).  Maria wanted to ride her bike.  Emi wanted to ride mine.  Eli wanted to ride mine, too, but she is not quite tall enough.  Mario wanted to ride his since Jon fixed the seat and he can actually move pretty quickly.  So, we packed up all the towels and goggles into the stroller and set off with Eli walking with me and the rest of the crew biking. 

Surprisingly, Mario biked the entire way and Eli walked with me the entire way. The soccer camp she went to last week got her in shape (she even ran with me when Mario got too far ahead).  Emi and Maria biked ahead of us – it’s nice having Emi with Maria because she makes her stop at each side street and look both ways – good influence!). 

We stayed at the pool for an hour or so but Mario got tired and cold so we decided to head back sooner than we had planned.  Mario, because he was tired and cold, did not want to ride his bike.  Eli did not want to walk.  Thank god Maria and Emi still wanted to ride their bikes.  So, I put Mario on one side of the double stroller and Eli on the other and threw Mario’s bike over the two of them.  How the stroller tires did not burst, I will never know.  We walked a half mile, which included a hill near the end of our walk that took me ten minutes to climb.  When we reached the house, I looked like I had just jumped into the pool.  Drenched in sweat.  Eli and Emi were speechless; Maria scolded me to take a shower; and Mario told me I needed to stop sweating.  Oh, the love.  Jon just looked at me like I was insane in the membrane. 

“Why didn’t you drive?” he asked as I walked in the house.  Now that would be a way too normal thing to do, and he knew that before even asking me.  His term of “one big sweat gland” for me actually is endearing – he secretly loves it, I know.  Or, I guess it is more accurate to say he secretly endures it because there is no other choice.  My body is efficient, that’s all I gotta say.

Friday Stasis

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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.

Music on the lawn and laughter in the air

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The soul is healed by being with children.~English Proverb

I walked in the back door last night and M&M darted through the kitchen to see me. A day full of irritations and squabbles at work evaporated into the evening air as I rolled around on the living room floor tickling them. Just hearing their loud, raucous laughter made the entire day worthwhile.

Jon cooked for the third day in a row! We were treated like royalty eating seasoned grilled pork, corn on the cob and beans. I am loving Jon’s cooking revival – both for the delicious food and for the family time together at the table.

Our after dinner treat landed us at Music on the Lawn at the library. Latin creole music and cupcakes and a cool breeze… it doesn’t get any better. Mario gathered up his change Jon has given him this weekend and placed it tightly in his pocket. He had more than enough to get two cupcakes. When we told him this, he approached Maria, tapped her side, and announced “Ria, I am going to treat you to a cupcake!” Maria turned to him and squeezed her arms around him: “thank you little buddy!” He smiled with pride. Sure enough, as soon as we pulled up to the library, Mario ran to the cupcake table and ordered two of them. He beamed as he took out his change and handed it to the boy scout.

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After eating the cupcakes in five seconds flat, Maria went to the parking lot across the street and rode her bike with her girlfriends. Mario and I went to dance to the music. I sat on the lawn while Mario stood amongst the other kids jumping around the lawn and waving his arms. I love the complete lack of concern and inhibition in him. He just moves to his own beat. He decided the band was so good that he needed to tip them. After the lead singer came down to sing to the kids, Mario tapped his back side and put a dime in his hand. The singer chuckled and thanked him kindly. Mario beamed again.

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We headed over to Maria’s friend’s house and sat with them for a bit after the show. The kids ate popcorn and played on our phones while we chatted about work and exercise and the gardening. On the way home, Maria slowed down her bike so Mario and I could catch up in the stroller.

“Hi, little buddy!” she remarked to Mario.
“Hi Ri!” he replied.
They both smiled at each other and then Maria biked ahead toward the house while Mario and I searched for squirrels in the yards.

Thank you, bike.

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How awesome is it to watch your first-born ride her bike confidently down the road? 

So Awesome!

Mario rode in the bike seat on my bike while Maria rode her bike ahead of us.  Maria mesmerized me as she experimented with taking one hand off the handlebar, lifting her butt off the seat, zig-zagging her bike along the sidewalk.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that she was scared to have me let go of the handlebars, and now she is a biking machine,.  I love it.  She led us all they way to Upper Arlington to play at a new park.  A cool little park with a stream and a climbing wall and fun obstacles.  When we were heading out, Mario complained that he didn’t want to leave.  She turned around and said jokingly “I knew you would be complainin’ about leaving!”  She was clearly proud that she led us to the park, and enjoying her new-found activity of biking.  We took the long way home – past all of the outdoor restaurants and shops – and she lifted her head up high as she passed the crowds.  I could feel her self-confidence even as Mario and I rode 20 feet behind her.     

Thank you, bike.

Distance really does make the heart grow fonder

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Maria Grace stayed with Jon’s mom this entire week.  We went up for Memorial Day on Monday and she just returned today.  I swear she looks two years older.  She got four inches cut off of her hair during her stay with Grandma.  She greeted me with a huge hug and smile but when I asked her how her time was with Grandma and Alana, she responded “it was fine but I don’t want to talk about it.”  Huh?! I asked her if something went wrong and she looked at me puzzled.  “No, mom, I just don’t feel like talking about it.” 

Ok.  I am not ready for this response when just two weeks ago she would have went on and on about her time with Alana and her adventures with Grandma.  Well, maybe I exaggerate a bit – she has never been that talkative about her days; but she used to at least summarize them for me!  I let it go in order to just enjoy the moment with her – soak up her smile and her laugh.  Mario yelled “Ria” when he saw her and gave her a huge hug that lasted 30 seconds.  He had been asking when she’d be home for the last three days. 

One of the first tasks that Maria set out to do when she walked in the house was write a letter to Ann Curry.  Yes, the Today Show’s Ann Curry.  Jon and I default to NBC News in the morning, and Maria enjoys watching it, too.  She loves Ann Curry; she thinks she’s smart and stylish.  Her letter told her as much and she also added a sentence stating that Ann Curry helps her learn more about the world.  Precious.  I had Maria write Ann Curry’s name and address on the front of the envelope with the hopes that it does not get pitched since it is clearly from a kid.  We will keep our fingers crossed…! 

Meanwhile, Mario and I wrestled.  He made me grab his leg each time he started to turn the DVD dial and then after I grabbed it, he shocked me with the electric waves coming out of his fingers.  I had to play dead for five seconds and then come back alive to do it all over again.  He could have played that game with me for two hours but I could only handle about 15 minutes.  I had to play a game of HeadBandz in order to get him off the wrestling kick, and then find his Spiderman costume for him to wear.

I got a massage in the mid-afternoon, which was a piece of heaven for an hour.  Is there anything better than a scalp massage at 3 pm?  And I could hire someone to rub my feet all day long and think it was money well spent.  I lifted myself off the massage table afterwards, and had deep creases along my face and legs – a sign of a good massage.  Jon decided to cook lemon chicken for dinner so we spent an hour preparing the chicken and the sides while the kids played on the computer and drew.  It was a very strange yet wonderful experience for us.  Strange to smell sweet aromas throughout the kitchen and wonderful to cook our own meal (the joke is that we have only used our pots and pans a handful of times since we were married in 2002). 

The kids even liked it!  And Maggie, hung over and all, enjoyed it, too.  After dinner, we rode our bikes up to the mailbox to deliver Ann Curry’s letter (and a b-day card to Grandma Lolo) and chow on some Orange Leaf.  Mario gave up on his bike at Stauf’s so I carried him the rest of the way (I am a sucker!).  Jon played on his new scooter for a bit; Maggie texted her friends and engaged in time trials with the kids; and I cleaned up.  A good ending to a long day.  I am excited to have Maria back with us even if she doesn’t want to divulge her week to me.  As long as I still get those hugs, I am ok.

The life of a pinball

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Mario and I met up with Maria and her friend and friend’s mom at 9:30 am at Stauf’s.  The rest of the day is a blur.  Thank god for iced coffees.

We walked down to the parade on First Avenue – the same place we go every year – nearly parallel to our old house but two streets over.  We sat with Amy and Gracie and Joe and made a sign saying “Go Mets” in honor of Zach.  Zach is on the Mets baseball team this year; Amy was so excited to see him in the baseball truck with the other soon-to-be second graders.  All I could do was think of Mario in that truck three years from now, and the only visions of him were ones of him pelting people with tootsie rolls.  There is always one or two little squirts that engage in such activity each year; last year, Mario got pelted in the eye by someone.  So hopefully that horrific experience forever scarred him and he won’t engage in such behavior.

The parade was fun this year because we knew so many kids in it (and they limited the politicians)!  After an hour parade, we gathered our two hefty bags of candy and walked a mile back home.  Maria walked the entire way with me holding Mario.  She is a machine (she did it in sandals; even I would have complained).  We made a pit stop at the library to take a computer break.  Maria played Go Girls Games and Mario played Ben Ten.  I got a little reading time in, which was just the break I needed.  Middle-school kids were signing up younger kids for the reading program.  Maria asked to sign up.  I was excited about her initiative.  She asked to do it last year, too, but she could not read on her own and she wasn’t that into it.  I am hoping that her ability to read better will lead to her reading more this Summer.  She picked out a Junie B. Jones book and a couple more random ones.  Let’s cross our fingers….

We plodded our way home from the library in the 88 degree heat.  We immediately threw on our bathing suits, grabbed our goggles and towels, and jumped in the car.  We had to drop the stroller off at the bike store because Mario and I bust a tire on our stroller ride earlier that morning (there was a loud firecracker-like bang and Mario yelled “Cool!”).  Once at the bike store, Mario spotted a sweet red and black bike with training wheels.  He jumped on it and flew around the store.  I looked at the tag and it was expensive.  How can a kid’s bike be over $100?  Really?  But I have had such bad luck with used bikes for him – none of them are steady or ride well – and it has caused him to get scared about riding.  I do not want that with as much as Maria likes riding.  So, I decided to bite the bullet and get it reasoning that he will have it for the next few years. 

We left the store for the pool, which was absolutely packed since it was opening day.  Mario and Ri went off the low dive and high dive, respectively.  Mario tried the high dive but second guessed it after getting on top (I don’t blame him).  He will jump off by the end of the Summer, I am sure.  We only lasted at the pool for about 45 minutes; I was exhausted and luckily, the kids probably were, too.   

Once home, we made bowls of cereal and rested in front of a Ben Ten on tv.  Within ten minutes, Maria was snoozing on the couch.  I tried to move her but she was solid dead weight – there was nothing waking her up.  Mario, meanwhile, was wide awake and insane, jumping all around the room and acting like random aliens.  I let him play on my computer while I went out and mowed the grass and watered the flowers.  Then I came in and cleaned out the Study a bit in order to move our new desk in it.  I was in cleaning mode.  You’d think that it may have been wise to put my feet up and nap a bit with Ri, but that would have been too easy.  Gotta keep the momentum going – once I sit down, I am useless for the rest of the day.

Maria finally woke up – two hours later –  and she was a piece of work.  Pissed off at the world.  She stomped across the kitchen moping and pouting and crying.  I left her alone and she finally buried her head in my chest and rested for a few minutes.  Then she finally morphed into the Maria we know and love ready to ride her bike and play.  We got Mario off the computer (not an easy task) and headed off on his new bike.  He rocked it out on his bike almost keeping up with Maria.  We had hoped that the Art Hop would offer a bouncey house or kids’ music but it only offered a couple of vendors selling necklaces.  We dealt with our disappointment by going to the church park.  I played tag with Mario and Maria climbed up the top of the slides (her favorite thing to do at the park).  Amy and Joe met us up at the park with the kids and they all played for a bit.  We all looked like zombies.  It was comical.  The day felt like three days.  We finished the night off with Orange Leaf and a bike ride back home. 

When we pulled in the driveway, there was a spectacular slice of moon looking down at us.  We all stopped and gave reverence.  Then, Maria shouted “Mario’s old bike is still at the library!”  So, what else to do but jump in the truck and head to the library to pick up his bike.  We finally got into the house at 10 pm.  Maria wanted to read Junie B. Jones, and Mario was listening to music on my phone so I didn’t fight it.  I just let them be and relaxed over a bag of Cheez-Its, and Maria later joined me. 

What a whirlwind of a holiday Saturday.  I swear to myself as I sit here tonight that tomorrow will be low-key day but I know myself better than that.  We will be off and running – but not until 7:30 am.

A Pop Tart to toast the last day of school

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Maria could not have expressed more joy about the last day of school. She appropriately christened it this morning with a strawberry pop tart and a bike ride to school. There were no dresses on her last day (she has more of her mom’s style in her than she realizes).

She wore her running shorts and a casual tank top with her hair pulled back in a pony tail (thank you Maggie for brushing through her hair this morn).

And i gave her another treat this morning and biked with her to school. Mario still fits in the “baby” seat on my bike (I told him he will always be my baby and he agrees to let me hold him until he “gets bigger” (whatever age that means!)). Maria thought it was so cool to bike together and said excitedly “when dad gets back, he can use your bike and we can all bike as a family!” She is our pack dog, for sure.

When we arrived at school, she allowed one quick picture by the side of the building. When I asked her for one in front of the doors where her friends congregate, she said “no way!” She saw the look in my eyes that I would get one any way, and bolted for the door. The only voice that stopped her in her tracks was Mario’s yelling “Maria, wait!” When she looked back, he waved goodbye and she sweetly waved back before heading in the door and up the stairs for her last day in first grade.

I knew she wouldn’t ignore her pack mate.

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Traffic Angst

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I really dislike automobiles. They cause traffic, which I hate even more. I have been in my car for 30 minutes and traveled 4 miles. Thank god I have graduated to a car with AC.

Maria is fast asleep in the back seat. A little strand of drool hanging from her lower lip – a sign of pure deep sleep. Oh, what I would do for even twenty minutes of that right now.

But instead, I hold my eyelids open and blast the cold air to keep my concentration on this road full of big honkin’ engines. I can’t wait to ride my bike later.

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Is it really only 10:30 am?

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The kids and I went to Cincinnati last night for a family wedding.  Grandma Meg and Peepaw joined us for the festivities along with Meg’s sisters and their kids.  Meg’s sister, Mindy and her husband Danny hosted the gala for their daughter Amy.  Amy is a down-to-earth, sporty, happy gal who seems utterly smitten with her new husband, Todd.  Todd seems like a carbon copy of Amy (minus the “gal” and add “guy!”).  They smiled throughout the wedding ceremony and had a blast at the reception (Todd did a dirty dance in front of Amy before taking off the garter and Mario and Maria were completely entranced). 

The family partying it upMario played around with four or five boys who all knew each other from Todd’s side of the family.  They did not invite him in but Mr. Mario asked his Aunt Kathy if she would introduce him to the boys, which she did, and it was over from there.  He fit right in when he wanted to play with them (the only bit of crying came when he collided with an 80 pound kid and got knocked into the side of the door).  Maria was perfectly happy not conversing with any kids, but rather, hanging out with the adults.  She sat with Meg’s cousin, Suzanne and her husband.  She enjoyed ribbing Suzanne’s husband about anything she could, and sitting close to Suzanne to talk about video games.  After Suzanne, she moved onto Kathy’s stepson, Miles and his fiancée, dragging Miles on the dance floor and out to the pond.  They were all wonderful with her, and very patient. 

After the wedding, we headed to my mom’s house to spend the night.  We petted Lou for a while since we had never been with him in his house.  He loved the kids.  We woke up at the break of dawn (6:45 am) and played with Lou and his tennis ball for an hour before getting ready to hit the road.  We had to go to Target first since Mario’s flip flops rubbed his feet wrong.  Next came McDonald’s for some quick breakfast.  Then, French Park. 

My old childhood park that I used to frequent with my best friend, Beth.  I love walking through that park.  My mom was quite impressed with it, too (as was Lou).  The trails are magnificent – patches of shade with huge fairy tale trees covering you, patches of bright sunlight with wildflowers, and patches of dark with troll bridges and ferns everywhere.  We walked the creek for a long time, too.  It had just enough walks to jump from to not get soaked but high enough standing water for the kids to get good splashes.  At the end of the trail, Maria took a good fall trying to climb onto a boulder and got a good chunk of skin off of her elbow and knee.  Nonetheless, as I always report, she is a machine and once the initial shock and cry hit, she was a trooper heading back to the car and into Grandma’s bathtub. 

On the way home, neither mom nor I was coherent.  We were exhausted from what felt like a “long day.” So how was it only 10:30 am?  Ridiculous.  There should be some rule that when kids get up so early and your day starts while most people are in REM sleep, you get to fast forward the clock 4 hours.  When we got home, the kids took and bath and played around.  Then we had to head up to Marx Bagels for some bagels and cream cheese (my favorite!). 

After bagels, we hung outside with Lou while the kids “spied” on us.  Julie got home in the meantime, and the kids begged to stay to see Baby Gracie.  She arrived a bit later and walked in the door exclaiming “Mary!”  How could I leave before hearing that punker-wunker call my name!?  The kids played downstairs while I cleaned and talked to Liz and Julie and helped Julie move coffee tables and tvs all around.  We left CIncy around 3:30 and within ten minutes, both Maria and Mario were sawing logs.  Out cold.  So I debated stopping at Pottery Barn outlet at Washington Courthouse but I could not resist.  When I stopped the car, and wiggled their legs to get up, they both bellowed “No!”  They cried and hit the seats with their feet.  They were pissed (now they get a taste of their medicine when they wake me up everyday at 6:30 am)! We finally made it into Pottery Barn (Mario on my right hip and Maria dragging beside me) only to find no good selection of rugs.  Ugh!

So, I treated them to McDonald’s Playland.  The Washington CH Playland just got renovated and it is actually quite nice.  Mario, again, made friends immediately with two other boys who were brothers.  Maria decided to stay by her mom because her side hurt from her fall.  After letting Mario play for a half hour we took off for Columbus.  Maria begged me from the back seat to let her give Mario the horn I bought him.  I bought it for him a week ago and told him if was good all week, he would get it.  Maria convinced me he had been good since he did not scream in the middle of the wedding, and he said “thank you” when Grandma Lolo gave him food.  Pretty high standards, heh?!

As soon as we stepped in the door, Maria grabbed the horn and gave it to Mario.  The whole neighborhood knew about the present because he honked it incessantly for ten minutes straight.  We hooked it on his bike (with training wheels) and took a two-mile bike ride to our old house and back.  When we got home, the kids rested to a tv show while I mowed the grass (which looked like the grasslands).  When I finished the lawn, Maria and I played baseball.  Mario watched his last Ben Ten.  We wrapped the night up with mac-n-cheese and chicken and two books about telling the truth and a pig going to camp.  Does it get any better than that? 

When I headed outside to take out the lawn clippings, my neighbor commented about how she couldn’t believe that I could mow the grass and water the lawn in such a speedy time.  I told her about our entire day and she laughed hysterically.  “Do you ever stop,” I believe she asked, but I was already at the top of the driveway grabbing the last lawn bag to put out front.

Taking it easy?

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My girlfriend texted me in a frantic state this morning asking if I could pick her son up from after-school care. I had planned on working until 5:00, Jon was going to pick up Maria, and it just would not work well with our schedules. I called her to tell her the situation, and we hung up. Then I went to work and had to deal with a bunch of idiotic matters. I felt drained by 11 am. So, at 11:15, I texted my girlfriend and told her that I would get her son, Zach at after-school care. She thanked me with a text containing a bunch of exclamation points. I figured with my frazzled state I needed to take it easy, and take a couple of hours away from work (I knew I’d be answering emails after the kids went to bed anyway).

At 11:45, I visited Maria during her lunch time and watched her destroy her her sandwich. She got a grilled cheese (that was actually on wheat bread) and she tried to rip off the bread in order to smother ketchup all over it. The first ketchup packet squirted all over her shorts. The second, all over her plate. She resorted to dipping her sandwich into the ketchup pond but decided that the wheat bread was too “yucky” to eat (she has her dad’s taste for white bread). I was surprised to see her eat her tomato soup, but after a few bites, she gave it up, too. Luckily, I had brought some mini oreo’s for a treat for her and her friends. I had brought nutter butters last time and got lambasted because they contained peanuts and Maira sits at the peanut-free table because her friend, Janira is allergic.

I finished my afternoon meetings early, and got Maria. She could not wait to pick up Zach. After we picked up Zach, we went to Mario’s school. Mario loved seeing Zach, and began wrestling him as soon as he met eyes with him. We decided to head to the river down from Mario’s school. There is an area off the bike path that has a ton of shells and rocks for the kids to gather and throw. It was a total hit for Mario and Zach. Maria was interested for a bit but was too worried about trying to get Zach’s attention. She kept pleading for Zach to “come over to her because she has a secret for him” but he was too busy running in the river (yeah, his mom is going to love me). Maria finally realized how to get his attention – lift up a huge rock to elicit a world of shells and cool rocks. They picked through them together for a while, and Maria was in bliss. Mario, meanwhile, found a rock in the water and acted like he was “surfing.” After an hour, we took off to the car and headed to Wendy’s for come chicken nuggets (yeah, I know you health nuts out there are cringing right now) and home for a picnic on the deck.

Following the picnic, we rode our bikes to Zach’s to drop him off wet, yet safe, to his mama. Upon our return to our house, we took the fastest showers ever (“just worry about the main body parts – privates, underarms, feet and face!”). We all got in our nighties and slipped onto the couch for two goodnight stories.

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