Tag: Cousins

Welcoming in the New Year

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This New Year is being brought in with potato chips, Taco Doritos, Gatorade, Wii Sports and telephone calls to grandmas and grandpas. 

The girls dancing to Justin Bieber

We completed our last round of party hosting last night with Jon’s family coming over for an afternoon and evening soiree.  Three of Jon’s brothers came over with their respective families, which led to ten little ones tearing through the house and ten older ones eating appetizers and drinking wine.  The kids range in age from 11 to 3.  They get along fairly well with the older two playing mother hens and the middle ones (like Maria) only butting heads with them every once in a while.  The girls wanted to be on their own to dance to Big Time Rush but the boys kept bothering them.  We finally got the boys upstairs by enticing them with swords and shields.  My niece, Shari (who is a year older than me!) brought her daughter and her daughter’s son, Isaiah who is a few months older than Mario.  Mario and Isaiah always wrestle one another when they meet up.  Isaiah has a good ten pounds on Mario and probably a good ten inches but Mario enjoys a tough match.  Isaiah is actually pretty passive with Mario.   Mario doesn’t understand that he would be pummeled if Isaiah used his natural strength.  One of these days, Isaiah may show him how tough he is, and Mario may learn not to provoke these boys so much.   Shari’s daughters are the two mother hens, and are loved dearly by Maria.  She loves to go over to their house and play, and they always come up with fun things to do.

The adults talked about old times, movies seen, and Urban Meyer.  The simple act of being together brings enjoyment to Jon and me.  We are glutton for punishment with all of these parties this year between all of the mess in the kitchen and the basement and the kids’ rooms.  But the chaos is well worth it when you hear the laughter and happiness echoing throughout the house.  And Mario got a new shovel from Kevin and Margie – he will love using that with Jon this year!

My aunts!

This morning I took a long run and packed up Maria and her cousin, Alana for a trip to Cincy.  Jon stayed home with Mario.  They bought new phones for the house and a new putter for Mario.  Their day consisted of playing golf, watching tv, wrestling, and playing golf again.  The girls and I headed to Cincy to see my aunts (my Aunt Terrie and her two boys came in from Georgia) and our cousins.  They all gathered at my Aunt Julie’s house, and when we walked in, the cousins informed me that they were taking Maria and Alana and I was going with my aunts to get a facial.  Not bad news at all! 

My aunts and I went to Macy’s for the facial – they told me I needed one now that I was 40!  The cousins walked around the mall hitting the toy stores and Disney store.  Maria and Alana enjoyed teasing the boy cousins and slapping them around.  They put up with a lot from these gals. 

Maria and some of her cousins

The girl cousins give me no reason to fear leaving the kids with them – they have a way to make things fun but orderly.  It was a gift to have some alone time with my aunts and to get all pampered up.  We are so goofy together talking about how hot we are and how we’re looking 20.  I love them dearly.  And my cousins, I adore them for their love and commitment to family.  When we got home from facials, all of the cousins were working on a puzzle on my aunt’s floor.  Some were watching tv more than working on the puzzle but they all sat together ribbing each other and having a good, relaxing time.  They are good role models for Ri and Mario.

And that leads us to tonight.  I have been writing this blog off and on for the last three hours.  Besides eating chips, we played Scavenger Hunt, read books, and played on our electronic devices.  At one point, Mario played on my Iphone, Maria on my Ipad, and me on my computer.  Definitely a sign of the times.  I made us put the electronic devices away before the ball dropped though.  With five minutes to go, we sat on the couch together.  We watched the ball drop at midnight huddled in a mass and giving one another the first kisses of 2012!

Bringing in the New Year (Mario ditched the phone before the ball dropped!)

One down, three to go, two down two to go, three down, one to go…Finish Line!

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Christmas 2011

And so we end another Christmas season with toys scattered across the floor, chocolate wrappers lingering on coffee tops, and pants unbuttoned to make room for the holiday food resting snuggly in our bellies.  It feels like someone stood me up in the middle of a large room, twirled me around at lightening speed for three minutes straight, and then let me go.  Dizzy, light-headed, and a little lost but the excitement was well worth it. 

We started out with our Christmas Eve at my mom’s house and then my cousin Laura’s house (formerly my Grandma and Grandpa Heile’s home).  My mom’s house is always a whirlwind because we only have about 45 minutes to say hi, open presents, and get ready for Laura’s.  My mom agreed this year to limit the presents for the kids and ourselves but it still seemed like we gave too much even though the kids ripped through the presents in ten minutes.  My mom scored big this year with Ben Ten paraphernalia for Mario and Pet Shop and Barbie for Maria.  Each present that Maria opened garnered a big ol’ smile and a big ol’ gasp when she saw it no matter if she loved it or not.  What a ham and a sweetheart since I had told her it makes people feel good when you smiled and acted happy while opening a gift.  After the gift opening, Mario hit the treadmill for a bit (my mom calls it her $1000 toy for the kids) and Maria looked for food in the kitchen.  After we raided the cheese and crackers, we headed to Laura’s house.  

M&M iwth Robert, Kristen, and Cy

It is still strange for me to see my little cousins all grown up with Laura the oldest at 27 and Konner the youngest at 14.  The girl cousins are all in the 20-something range and lavish Maria with love and advice on how to deal with boys, how to brush her hair, and how to be polite.  The boy cousins rough house with Mario and teach him wrestling moves.   While teaching Mario moves, Robert commented to Mario that he was acting like a girl.  This comment threw Mario into a state of deep depression.  Jon and I found him outside of the house sulking and he finally told us why.  Jon, our family protector, had a few words with Robert, and he told Mario he was sorry and he was only kidding.  I would have never dreamt that such a comment would have bothered him, but you never quite know with Mario what he is going to take to heart.  The other day he was upset because Mr. Park made fun of his sweater by saying it wasn’t “ugly sweater day”; Mario went in the corner and sulked until Park told him he was only kidding. 

While the cousins entertained M&M, I talked with my aunts.  They always seemed so much older than me since I was a pre-teen and they were in their late teens or twenties.  Completely different worlds at that point.  But now I have a kinship with them since we all have or are experiencing a lot of the same – kids, jobs, mortgages.  Most of us have the bond of motherhood – we talk about how to deal with temper tantrums, moments we cherish with the kids, moments we wish we could forget and everything in between.  These women raised me and each time I see them, memories of my times with them flood through my head.  We enjoy the brief time we have together over the holidays with the male family members watching football and engaging in small-talk about hunting or sports or the latest event in the news.  This is home to me – this is what I have known since I was a newborn and it is comforting. 

Trying to get a picture of the cousins...!

The kids opened presents after dinner.  Every kid gets another kid’s name and acts as his/her secret santa.  However, Maria and Mario scored gifts from all of the aunts.  They had a boatload of presents to unwrap.  I was so proud of them as they tore through the presents.  Maria got a book she already had at home but she acted surprised and said thank you to my aunt (and then looked at me and gave me a nod).  Mario said thank you to every person that gave him a gift even before he opened it.  He got a bow and arrow from Robert and Cy (his cousins whom he idolizes).  Maria got i Carly lip gloss from Aunt Jane. 

After gifts, we talked and laughed a while longer and then hit the road for Columbus.  I still had to wrap a few gifts and get Maria’s Barbie Dream House out of the garage.  I am still so charged about that purchase – $30 from a fellow Grandview mom and it does not even look used.  Maria had no idea.  I just could not fathom buying a $150 dream house when I knew she would play with it for a short time and move on to something else.  Mario kept begging us for a Boy Barbie Dream House for him.  All I could imagine was a house with frat boys waiting for the “barbies” to show up. 

The kids fell asleep right when we left for Cincy (miracle), and did not get up until 7:45 am.  Nice present.  Maria stood by my side at 7:45 trying to cough gently to arouse me from sleep and then Mario, sleeping beside me, bolted up.  Is it Santa time?! We threw on sweatshirts and headed downstairs to see if Santa decided we were good this year.  THe kids tore through their presents with Mario getting Ben Ten everything and Maria getting random presents like a robe, drawing stuff and a Leapster reading game.  She walked over to Jon towards the end and said “I don’t think I will get the dream house because it is expensive.” When I brought it our for her, she nearly passed out.  She was so excited. 

My parents came to the house around 10 am and the kids got showered with more presents.  Overload city.  The kids tore through the next round with Mario again scoring mega Ben Ten toys and Maria getting serious bling from Mama Meg (she is known for getting Maria some sweet sweat suit get-ups!).  After we opened up our presents, the rest of the Menkedick crew arrived.  My 91-year-old grandma made the trip, which made the day for me.  Jon’s parents also arrived early to have dinner with us.  The dinner went off without a hitch except that we had to use my parents’ apartment down the street to cook one of the casseroles!  How do people make big holiday dinners with just one stove?! 

The Menkedick and Ionno clan with Grandma M. at the left

During dinner, Patty recognized my grandma for raising my uncle Bill and my dad all by herself.  She commended her for raising such wonderful “boys”.  I was so glad that she spoke up and recognized my grandma.  I don’t know how many people I have talked to about how amazing my grandma is for raising my dad and my uncle in the 1950s all on her own.  Never re-marrying.  Taking them on trips every year.  Making sure they were fed and went to good schools.  As open as my family is, we tend to shy away from sensitive subjects when we get together.  In our defense, we don’t all get together too often, so when we do, we want to keep the conversation light and upbeat.  But surprisingly, the conversation remained light and honorable.  My grandmother received much-deserved praise and gratitude from all at the table (even if she didn’t fully recognize it) and we continued to laugh and enjoy one another’s company.  

M&M and their cousins

After a big ol’ dinner and big ol’ dessert (peanut butter chocolate pie), we opened yet another round of presents.  After an hour, we finished the unwrapping (we go around with each person opening one gift at a time).  Five minutes later, Patrick and my niece and nephew arrived for dinner.  Rock-n-roll!  We switched out the table-cloth, got out new plates and silver, and began making the dinner.  Maria and Alana danced to Big Time Rush and Giovanni and Mario took a walk with me to the park.  I needed some fresh air after a non-stop day indoors.  Besides it was 42 degrees out – balmy for Christmas. 

We returned home for wedding soup, ham, green beans almondine, and potato casserole.  Mario had a break down because he wanted to sit next to Alana and Maria wanted to sit by her alone.  Maria eventually gave in to him like she typically does – Mario has it really good with her.   After dinner, we opened the last round of presents.  I think my cousin’s son summer it up well earlier in the day when I asked him if he is ready for his presents.  He replied “I have opened up too many presents today.”  Fortunately, I don’t think any of the Ionno kids felt that way and how could they with the big bags of goodies that Patty brings for them? 

The babes enjoying the season

When everyone left at 9 pm, Jon and I collapsed on the couch.  Absolutely exhausted but absolutely elated.  A NPR commentator summer it up well when she spoke about her holidays.  She told a story about experiencing the same exhaustion we had and her husband asking her why she drove herself to such a state.  She hosts holiday gatherings in order to honor her family.  I thought that was such a profound and relevant statement for me this year.  The joy I experienced in sitting with my Heile clan that I have grown up with all my years; the warmth I felt in sitting with my Menkedick brood that I cherish and respect; and the happiness I experienced in sitting with my Ionno family at the end of the night brought it all together in one tidy Christmas present for me.  The best present I could ask for 2011.

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

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

M&M with their cousins

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

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

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

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!

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.

Roller rinks and haunted ships

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Ten years ago if someone would have told me that ten years from now I will spend your entire day at a roller rink and a 1800’s ship, I would have laughed and told them that they had mistaken me for some other poor woman. 

Fun at the roller rink

The roller rink adventure occurred in the afternoon from 1:30 until 4.  Maria’s friend, Zach, turned 7 and invited Maria (and Mario by default) to the roller rink party.  I think it was a few years too early for such a party – most of the kids had to hold onto their parents with the others braving it on their own but falling on their rears every five seconds.  The birthday boy skated well because he frequents the roller rink with his parents.  He had a great time skating around the circle like a pro.  I guess it’s his b-day party so he should get to choose an activity he loves.  I just worried that some kid would leave the rink with a broken ankle!  Maria and Mario at least gave it a try but after a short period of time, decided to call it quits.  You could see how hard Maria was concentrating on her skates trying to stay balanced but she didn’t have enough time to get into any groove.  There were some brief moments when she held her own but then I’d fell her arm shoot out onto mine and I would catch her before her fall.  Mario tried the regular roller skates for a while and then moved onto the plastic ones.  He did much better on those because they are so cheap that the wheels barely spin.  I think their favorite part of the roller skating experience was hearing Big Time Rush’s song as they stood in the middle of the floor.  Both of them perked up.  Maria sang the words to herself and dazed off into space like she always does (I worry about what she is thinking!).  Mario brought his arms up to his face and did the rap star moves he does so well.  It reminded me of my skating rink days in eighth grade when a Wham! song would play and all of the girls would dream about one day skating with their beau out on the rink.

Pizza and punch came just in time.  These roller rinks are madhouses when there are birthday parties.  They must have had four or five parties going on at one time.  Each party gets two tables and the tables are crunched against one another.  Kids are fighting to get a seat and eat their pizza.  No one is talking to each other; they are too worried about eating their pizza and drinking their red punch. Soon after the devouring of the pizza, the kids rush to the games with their complimentary tokens.  These games are such a rip off – pay 50 cents to win a tootsie roll or cinnamon candy.  I guess they had the same games when I was a kid at Showbiz Pizza but as a parent it now gets on my nerves.  They played at least five rounds of games and scored 20+ tickets but when we went to cash them out, they got to choose from a plastic ring, a tootsie roll or a plastic finger.  You had to have 700 tickets to get a small beanie baby.  Alas, life at the roller rink. 

Leaping stone blocks at the riverfront

We left the rink for the next adventure – Alana’s and Giovanni’s visit.  Jon’s brother and his wife had tickets to the OSU/Wisconsin game and Jon’s mom got sick so they asked me to babysit Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning.  In a strange, warped way, I had been looking forward to it.  I love seeing the kids together, and Alana and Giovanni are sweet kids.  In a normal, sane way, I knew it would be a long night for me (Jon got to head to the game with his long-time friend in from Phoenix).  My strange, warped self triumphed.  We had a really good time together.  We dropped Carrie (Alan’s and Gio’s mom) off at the game and then headed downtown to the riverfront to see the statutes.  Alana cracked me up as she stared at the “skyscrapers” in amazement.  “This looks like New York City, Mary!”

We played on the statues and then went down to the riverfront to see the Santa Maria ship and play in the grass.  A crew worked on the Santa Maria to get it ready for the haunted ship adventure, which started at 7 pm. The kids begged to go on the ship but it was only 5:30.  Again, my warped self thought “you can let them play and run around until 7 pm” and my normal self said “get home and let them play on their own in the warm house.”  My warped self prevailed again.  We played around the ship and walked up the street to see City Hall (and having a burst of OSU pride with an O-H-I-O stance in front of the Hall) until 6:30 when we jumped in the car to head to Wendy’s.  I was thinking a quick in and out but this Wendy’s was probably the slowest I had ever been to taking 21 minutes to get our food to us.  We were all getting irritated but as Alana and Maria said “at least the food was delicious.”  The kids also scored a cool toy – binoculars that had a slit to insert a paper with an animal on it so you could see it up close through the binoculars.  The kids loved them, and I think it is the best toy we have ever gotten from a fast-food joint.  Educational yet fun.  We didn’t get back to the ship until about 7:30 and the line was at least 150 people deep.  Alana was devastated.  So, what does any good Aunt do?  I bribed the ticket people to get me with the next group.  Actually I simply stated that we had been down at the ship earlier and went to get food nut got stuck in line and now the kids were so cold because they weren’t dressed properly and the only way we could stay is if we could get in ASAP.  So, in a nutshell, a very sad pity party story.  But it worked and the generous crew got us on right away.

I was worried about the tour a bit since I did not want Gio and Alana to have nightmares for two weeks – their parents would kill me.  But it was my daughter that was the most freaked out complaining that she would definitely have nightmares after going through that tour.  Mario was oblivious to it all (at one point confronting a scary ghost by taunting “Bring it; I am not scared of you!”).  People shouted at us under blankets, sat up out of coffins, and wore scary masks but Mario barely flinched.  Alana and Gio seemed a little scared but did not want to leave the ship.  Maria was the only one that was ready to bolt.  My sweet girl. 

After the haunted ship, we bought a bag of popcorn to allay our fears and headed home.  The kids played a while downstairs while I hung pictures throughout the house (Maria saw me and exclaimed “Mom, now you feel like its more of your home!”  A day ago she overheard me telling Jon that the house needs pictures in order to make it feel like our home). 

The kids' sleeping quarters in the attic

We got our pjs on at 10 pm and headed up to the attic to prepare their sleeping quarters.  Actually, they headed up to the attic – they would not allow me to participate.  I love how independent they are anymore.  They did a good job spreading the blankets and pillows.  They brought up a ton of animals and books to read.  The only fight occurred over flashlights because there were only three working ones.  After some play time and read time (and wrestling time between Mario and Gio), they asked me to turn off the light.  Amazing.  Everyone was asleep within ten minutes except my boy Mario.  He begged to come downstairs with me to get some food.  I fed him some cheese and crackers and a yogurt drink and he laid down on my lap while I watched the end of the Ohio State game and passed out within five minutes.    

Overall, a fun-filled, raucous time.  I just hope the overnight brings peace and quiet!

Sweet Gal Cousins

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Some of the cousins on Easter

I have the greatest cousins.  I am the oldest child to the oldest sister of the Heile family so I have eleven years over my eldest cousin.  Then it gradually increases in years up to 25  or so.  We all have our idiosyncracies and varied beliefs and traditions but despite all of this, most of us are pretty tight knit, especially the gals.  Laura, my oldest cousin and Maggie, born five or so years later, have both graced Jon and I with their presence in Columbus at some time over the last few years.  Laura lived up here for a couple of years and Maggie lived up here throughout college and now during grad school. 

Laura is forthright and imperturbable.  She can party like a LA girl but can also sit around the house all afternoon play fighting with Mario or braiding Maria’s hair.  She has an answer to any question.  I can ask a question about a kind of plant and she will chime in with a quick answer and then ask about how to handle an ice cream brain freeze and she is just as quick with a response.  I envy her straight-forwardness and ability to tell it like it is.  I have always tread away from correcting people when they are wrong about something, e.g., Person: “George Bush was a democrat.” Me: “Really? Ok.” Conversation continues.  I feel like any correction – even if it would benefit the person in the end – would be taken too harshly so I avoid it.  A trait I want to work on because I know the value of constructive feedback.  On the other hand, if someone told Laura that Bush was a democrat, she would not hesitate to tell that someone that Bush was a republican.  On the same note, I know I can go to Laura for a straight answer if I just got my hair done and I am hesitant about whether it looks whacked or not.  She will tell me straight up I need to head back to the salon. 

Mag and Laura and the kids

Maggie is a good-hearted, all-american college gal.  She is a lot like her mama, my Aunt Julie.  She has the same mannerisms (e.g., biting her cheek and nails) and traditions (e.g., smacking your butt really hard in jest).  She does not take any grief from Maria or Mario – if they give her lip, she addresses it.  If they hit, she disciplines.  If they ask her to get them something, she tells them to walk over themselves.  Give these kids of mine a week with her and they would be whooped into shape.  But she also shows them love and tenderness and has taught Maria a very important fact about boys.  “Always date someone who is also your friend.”  Maria took that one to heart.

Laura and Maggie came by on Saturday after their night out on campus and we went to the pool.  Maria got to show off jumping off the high dive and Mario got to show off by doing power rangers’ moves off the low dive.  Maria hung with her girl cousins and role models while I made sure Mario kept his paws off the girls at the low dive (he tried to squeeze them).  Laura and Maggie had a diving board contest during adult swim with Maria rating their jumps – I think Maggie pulled it out.  When we got home, Laura braided Maria’s hair in the cutest style ever.  Maria looked like a young teen model – scary.  They also spiked Mario’s hair up to the sky, which he loved.  We walked to the yogurt shop for some yummy dessert and watched Maria do her runway catwalks for us.  She loved the attention and time with them. 

I missed them when they left Saturday evening.  I love their influence on the kids, especially Maria.  And I love the girl power they bring with them when we are together.

Mario and Gio

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Maria and her cousin Alana hit the farm together for a few days this week.  I was left with Mr. Mario all to myself.  I decided mid-week that it was a perfect time for me to have Giovanni, Alana’s little brother, over for a play date.  I had never had Mario and Giovanni together for two reasons: (1) Maria and Alana are at an age where I can take them to a movie or a school play and they can play up in Maria’s room for hours and (2) Mario and Gio are at ages (3 and 4) where they don’t quite play together well yet and they are, how to say this nicely, hyper, manic, spastic creatures.    

The boys heading to the pool

Giovanni’s mom dropped him off to me at 4 pm.  We decided to go to the pool first.  I had told Mario that Gio may be a little scared of the pool since he does not swim as much as Mario.  The entire trip down to the pool, Mario kept telling Gio not to be scared of the deep end because it is easy to swim in deep water with water wings.  Gio responded that he did not have wings like Mario.  Mario shrugged his shoulders and sighed “oh, that’s too bad.” Nothing like the empathy that his big sis would have had – she would have demanded that we head to Target to get wings for him.  Mario, he is still learning this trait. 

The two boys had a great time at the poolbut they barely spoke.  Gio held on to the ladder at the side of the pool while Mario jumped into the water like a skydiver out of a plane.  After a while, Gio caught sight of how awesome the water wings were, and asked Mario to use them.  After a little bit of cajoling, he agreed.  Gio loved them.  He walked all over the pool confidently.  Meanwhile, Mario ate a piece of pizza on his towel.  His new thing is to spread out his beach towel so that all sides are completely flat and then lay on it with his hands under his head like a little superstar.  During adult swim, the boys jumped in the baby pool together but went there separate ways.  Such different behaviors than Maria and Alana when they are together.  They typically stick side-by-side unless there is a fight happening (which can be rather often).  But the boys were fine heading their separate ways and not engaging until it was time to leave. 

Playing at the park

  

We left the pool and stopped off at the playground. Mario climbed up the ladder and slid down the slide while Gio watched.  Mario prodded him to go down the slide but Gio declared “no, way, I am a scaredy cat!”  Mario responded that he is “not scared of anything” as he slid down the slide.  Mr. Macho he is.   Giovanni climbed up the steps and went down the small slide and played on the swings.  Mario stuck with the fireman pole and the big slide.  When we got home, I had to clean up Cy’s hair in the kitchen so I left them to their own devices.  I wondered how they would play.  Within about three minutes I heard a loud bang and lots of laughter.  Thirty seconds later another bang and laughter and screams.  Giovanni held a plastic golf bag and Mario smashed a golf club against it.  They thought it was hilarious.  Next, they moved onto musical instruments with Giovanni playing the piano (“playing” is a loose term) and Mario rockin’ the guitar.  After ten minutes, they moved onto throwing pillows and random little objects around the living room floor and bellowing manly roars.  And there you have it. Take me back to the cave men days.  This is what two testosterone little Italian boys gets ya.  But they were happy and that is all that mattered. If I could manage the destruction, these two enjoyed each others’ company. 

The cousins splashing it up on Memorial Day

In the end, Maria and Alana are probably easier to watch over but there is a lot less bickering with the boys.  I just have to watch that the boys don’t destroy every breakable object in the house.   

As they buckled their car seats, Giovanni asked if they could watch Tom & Jerry.  Before I could answer, Mario said “Mom, I will watch Tom & Jerry because Giovanni is our guest and I should let him pick.”  I think there was some self-interest in his statement but it was at least a step towards sharing.  As I got the movie out, Giovanni looked at Mario and declared “You are my best friend, Mario.”  Mario smiled and replied “You are my best friend, Giovanni.” 

When Mario woke up the next morning, he begged to have Giovanni over again for a play date.   I told him it was a school day.  He proceeded to revert to his cave man behavior seen the day before – yelling and stomping around the house.  He even declared that he wished I had never been born.  I told him that would mean that he would never have been born.  “Fine!” was his response.  He went on to tell me that he was going to take away all my pretty dresses (fine with me – I don’t wear them!) and he was going to live somewhere else.  It was a good prep session for the teenage years.  Of course, because Mario has the ability to go from angel to devil in two seconds flat, he walked up to me three minutes after this tirade and held his arms up for me to hold him.  “I love you, Mom.”

Ahh, the joy of boys, or rather, kids.

My baby girl turns 6

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Maria Grace turned 6 yesterday at 2:41 pm.  I still remember her birth like it happened this afternoon. I remember how nervous but excited I was to have her through natural childbirth, aka, no drugs.  Mom had me that way, Meg had Jackson that way.  I wanted to follow in their giant footsteps.  Actually, the thought of getting a needle as long as a pencil shot into my back and losing all sensation from the waist down terrified me 10 times as much as the thought of foregoing drugs.  

I got pretty cocky in the delivery room for a while after they broke my water.  The contractions were uncomfortable but tolerable.  I remember looking at my mom and Jon and bragging “this isn’t too bad.”  And within minutes after that brash declaration, the universe shifted in ways only a momma in childbirth can understand.  Excruciating pain.  Sharp wrenching cramps.  Uncontrollable urges to bear down with nurses chanting “do not push yet.” I kept thinking to myself “if I have to tolerate this for 30 minutes, I will die.”  Luckily, within fifteen minutes, the nurses told me I could lay down and start pushing.  I can only liken this to having a huge dresser laid on your pubic area; having someone remove it for a few seconds; and then throw it back on with a few more clothes and knick knacks in it.  I was relieved after hearing the nurses tell me to start pushing but only for a few seconds until I realized that the actual pushing was just as painful as the restraint from pushing.  And then to look up in the mirror on the ceiling and see that there really was a tiny human that was poking her “little” head out of my body.  Holy cr–! 

“Little” being the extremely relative word in this instance.  “Little” is what the head was an hour after birth when I had been stitched up and regained some of my senses.  “Little” is not what the head was when it was trying to poke through my body and see the outside world.  It was HUGE and OBNOXIOUS and CAUSING IMMENSE PAIN!  But the body is an amazing thing because as much as I hurt and wanted to stop pushing, I also pulsated with joy and anxiety in meeting my daughter who I had nourished and cared for the last nine months in her safe cocoon.  When I saw her head crowning, that joy drove me to push harder and harder until I heard the shrills of excitement from the bystanders announcing that a baby was on its way out! 

Maria, Alana and Mario rockin' it out on Ri's b-day!

 

And then she was bundled up in that hospital blanket and placed in my arms.  Jon stood by me looking down at us.  There she was with her dark eyes and her black hair and warm skin.  A little Maria Grace ready to dominate the world.  And 6 years later she is well on her way.  

Her style can be commanding “Uncle Jack, come stand HERE!”, or gentle “It’s ok, Baby Gracie, I got you.”  Her attitude can be sassy “Ok, dad, I get it – you don’t have to repeat it.” or sweet “Mom, you are the best mommy ever!”  

Maria makes her presence known wherever she travels through that loud booming voice of hers.  She has the Heile/Menkedick vocal chords.  Her favorite pastime is yelling just like she used to do as a baby in her crib every two hours of every night.  How Jon and I survived the first 15 months is beyond me (yes, 15 months before she slept through the night – we really need to be sainted).   Maria loves to take care of younger kids – the mother hen is alive and well in her.  No matter if it’s Gracie or Lucy or Maggie or Maura, she sits with them and shows them books or toys, she holds their hand when they try to walk across the room, she makes funny faces at them and makes them laugh, she pats their backs when they start to whimper.  She is a natural. 

Maria and her family

Maria and her family

Maria also loves to be around family.  She adores her grandparents who all bring something special to her life; she worships her uncles who even break down and play barbies with her; she frolics with all of her aunts and cousins who treat her like one of them and let her join in all of the festivities.  She especially loves her little brother who can be a pain in the butt at times between hitting her, pinching her, pulling her hair, waking her up, and sitting on her.  Nonetheless, she is always ready to squeeze and hug him when he allows, and she will protect him at all costs (we can never forget when Mario and her were in the bounce house and a boy tried to push Mario – Maria stepped in and pushed him back warning “Don’t hurt my brother!”).  She received the nickname “The Muscle” in daycare and  the name lives on as she gets older.  Her hugs can be lethal but always well-intentioned.

Trying out her new bike

She is observant like her daddy recognizing people’s goofy mannerisms or certain things in books or places that I would never have noticed.  She is wild like her momma running around and being loud whether it is at parties or at the house.  She likes to live life large.  She loves food and drink.  She is always ready for a loaf of garlic bread and pasta and meatballs, and could go without anything else if she had that plate at her side 24 hours a day.  Maria loves to help cook (which is a fascinating phenomena since her mama embarrassingly rarely cooks).  When we make pancakes or cookies or macaroni, she wants to read the box and add the ingredients and stir the food.  She looks forward to setting the table and having all of us eat together.  However, she is less fond of making a lot of conversation at the dinner table.  She is like her dad – there to eat and not to chat. She enjoys pretty dresses and beaded sandals but is still not hesitant to put her knees on the ground and dig for worms.  She loves to put on make-up but detests brushing her hair and wails at the thought of anyone else brushing it.  

Maria celebrating her b-day at school

She still climbs into bed at 6 am and snuggles her body up against mine; many times she lifts her head and places my arm under it (I always hated sleeping this way with boyfriends but with my daughter it is a joy!).  She adores her daddy and goes through serious withdraw when he leaves town for more than a couple of days.  He stands up for him when he is getting grief from me or another family member but quickly turns on him when Grandma Ionno is around demanding that she “take care of Dad because she is the boss and he is her son!”  She loves her mama as much as she loves her daddy but as it tends to be with mothers and daughters, it is much more emotional in nature.  She either thinks I am the greatest thing to hit this Earth or the most evil person to walk into her life.  I can only imagine how much more pronounced this will be as she gets older – teenage years are thankfully seven years away.

Ri giving me the bear hug

Maria exudes a spirit that few kids her age possess.  She is free and spontaneous and relaxed and aware and empathetic and magical.  I think she is the coolest girl on the planet, and I want to give her mondo kisses and lovin’ every time I lay eyes on her.  Luckily, I can still get away with doing that; I am certainly going to live it up while I am able.

Continuing the Madness…

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Easter morning

We stuffed ourselves on Saturday.  Absolutely stuffed between the corn casserole, the brownies, the potato salad.  So, what else is there to do but continue the gluttony on Easter Sunday?  The kids woke up in a bit of a stupor from our long day on Saturday but within about eight minutes, the day hit them. 

“Is it Easter?  Did the Easter Bunny come here? Are there eggs downstairs?”

It had rained all night so the back yard was soaked.  Jon kept the kids in bed while I ran downstairs to hide the eggs and put out their baskets.  I had done the baskets Friday night knowing that I would be exhausted Saturday night.  As I was placing the last few eggs on the bookcase and piano, the kids started shuffling downstairs asking if they could begin the hunt.  They found their baskets in the corner of the dining room – Maria screamed when she saw Justin Bieber stickers and Mario jumped around the room when he discovered mini transformers.  Maria moved onto the “hidden” eggs (not so hidden when you are talking about three rooms downstairs with very little furniture) and found all of her eggs within two minutes.  Mario took his time on the eggs front because those new transformers were way too enticing.  

After the hunt came the best part – opening each egg to eat up the contents.  I had packed Maria’s eggs full of skittles, gumballs and NERDS (she enjoys those sweet candies like her Aunt Sarah).  I packed Mario all chocolate – M&M’s, snickers, and reese’s (he is his mother’s child).  Everytime Mario looked away, I snatched another chocolate.   

Jon’s parents and brothers came over at 11 am and we headed to brunch at Bravo’s restaurant.  The kids hung on their  cousin Peter, the entire time.  They were fascinated with him (age 16) just like they are with their Heile boy cousins(age 16 and 17).  Luckily, Peter is about as low-key as the Heile boys so he allowed them to climb on him, lead him through our house, and show him their toys.  When we returned home, Mario begged to play Peter in a game of b-ball on Wii.  While they played, the gals (Maria, Patty, Debbie and me) walked to Giant Eagle to grab a bag of ice.  We talked about Jon’s dad, about moving to Columbus, about kids.  It was nice to break away and have that alone time together.  Maria did a good job walking with us and listening to us talk – she is getting more mature in that arena lately.  She used to butt in every two seconds in the past but now she enjoys listening and adding in her two cents when she sees fit. 

When we got home from the store, Mario had moved the men to the outside to play “live” basketball. He showed us his dunks while Maria came out and showed us her new sandals.  I had taken her there to get me a pair of gym shoes.  When we walked in, however, Maria immediately dragged me over to the high heels section.  She selected about three different heels that were over an inch high and that I have only seen in the movies on prostitutes.  She loved them.  To her despair, I moved directly to the gym shoe area.  I led her to the girls’ shoes and soon she returned with a pair of black heels on her feet.  They almost fit her perfectly, and she begged to purchase them (I am so hoping that this a phase that ends by the time she is 7).  She chose about 4 other shoes before she came out with the turquoise sandals, which we finally agreed upon. 

After chowing down on Patty’s awesome chocolate chip cookies and turtles, we hit the road for the Heile soiree, aka the Madhouse.  Poor Jon is still not used to the ruckus that inevitably occurs when us Heile women get together but he continues to hang in there be the good sport that he is (typically sitting off in the corner with my uncle to talk about hunting).  My darlin’ girl cousins love on Maria and Mario picking them up, squeezing them, kissing them and giving them raspberries all over those round bellies – just like the treatment I received from my aunts when I was little.  Maria relishes in the time that she gets with her second cousins (who we call aunts just because second cousins seems way too distant).  They include her in anything they do which included this holiday sitting on the back of my uncle’s truck listening to music and chatting about boys, clothes, friends, and shoes – right up Maria’s alley.  Mario has made the conscious choice to turn his attention to the boy cousins because they spend their time playing basketball.  He hangs in there with ’em trying to make a shot even if the net is ten times his size.  One day he will show them all up. 

We chowed down on more ham, more potato salad, more deviled eggs, and a new twist – baked beans (a Heile tradition)!  Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dessert, too.  Pure heaven.  We had our traditional easter egg hunt that used to be at least 9 kids strong but that was before all of the cousins grew up and turned into 20 somethings.  Now we only have four kids participating – Maria and Mario, Baby Grace, and Konner.  Everyone wants to get the $5.o0 egg each year, and although all the kids get the same amount of eggs each year, it is still a race to get your number the quickest.  Maria got all nine of hers and Mario only had 8.  Konner had 7 and Grace was finished.  Everyone was helping Konner and Mario find the remaining eggs.  One of the cousins found one and called for Mario to race over.  Konner started heading that way, and Maria tackled him to the ground in order to help her baby brother (the reason she gives at least).  When it comes to eggs, they go to no lengths to help each other.  Baby Grace ended up with the $5.00 egg for a second year in a row much to Maria’s disappointment.  Maria had a major breakdown last year when Grace got the egg; this year we had a talk about how to act if Grace won (be graceful and grateful that she won because she is a baby and needs diapers!) and indeed, she took the $5.00 “loss” like a champ. 

The rain started to grow heavy after the hunt, and the party moved indoors except for Mario and the boys who continued to shoot in the steady downpour.  Mario walked in the house fifteen minutes later sopping wet and completely uncomfortable.  “Mom, take off my shoes and my clothes.  I am all wet and need to be dry.”  He could not stand being wet, and refused to put his shoes back on throughout the night.  He did enjoy running around the living room in only his undies.  Maria again used her tackling skills to get him under control and move him back into the bedroom to get dressed. 

We left the Heile house with cousin Maggie in the car (hitchhiking a ride back to Columbus) and Madagascar on the movie screen.  Maria lasted about 30 minutes before crashing.  Mario and Maggie hung in throughout the trip home.  We unloaded all of the easter treats in the house and I spent 20 minutes picking through easter candies to eat promising myself that the candy remaining on Monday morning would be given away at work.  Of course, I sit here tonight eating a reese cup and a chocolate bunny swearing that I will get rid of the candy tomorrow.  Yeah….