Remember your roots

January 13, 2015Leave a comment

Remember your roots.

Michael Keaton’s speech reminded us of that phrase as he talked about his dad working two jobs and his mom raising seven kids in a farmhouse.

His speech naturally made me think of my grandparents. Grandma and Grandpa Heile raising eight kids and loads of grandkids in that Hunt Road house. Grandma outside mowing the lawn; Grandpa working in the factory. Grandma Menkedick raising two sons all by herself after her husband died shortly after my dad was born. They ate lots of veggies from my Grandma’s aunt’s garden since she got them for free. I still remember my Grandma taking the strawberry jelly packets from Perkins after we went out to breakfast. She stored them at her house so she didn’t have to buy jelly at the store. Jon just shakes his head every time we go to breakfast because I follow right in her footsteps (we have a pantry full of grape and strawberry jellies).

My aunts worked at Perkins Pancake house in order to earn money to pay for college, cars, apartments. Little was handed to them. I followed in their footsteps as well beginning my Perkins career as a senior in high school and staying with it through college.

My dad worked hard as a manager of a grocery store after I was born. Both he and my mom had me earlier than they may have been ready for but they did what they needed to provide for me. My mom took care of me and finished school. My stepmom worked and cared for my sister and brother. They all made it work even if their careers or situations weren’t exactly as they had imagined. I see now, as a 43 year old wife and mother of two, what a struggle it can be. But I never saw that as a 7 year old and my kids hopefully don’t see it either.

My roots, my kin molded me into a self-reliant, bold and gracious individual. There are few days that pass me by where I’m not reflecting on one or more of the family members who shaped me, and singing their praises for lifting me into the wonderful life I live today.

I willingly wrap my arms around those roots of mine, and wrap them around me tight.

Skyline Sunday

January 11, 2015Leave a comment

We have been going non-stop since the beginning of the holidays between hosting family and driving to parties and running kids to games and practices. So we were in dire need for a little chill time this afternoon after Mario played his basketball game.
And what better way to chill as a family then to eat Skyline chili dogs together. Jon and I used to hit Skyline every Saturday afternoon when we were dating; we even became “ambassadors.” Something to be proud of?! So it was a blast from the past to head over there with the kiddos today. And dang if it wasn’t yummy as all get out. Everything from the oyster crackers to the cheese on top of the coney dog. The kids dared each other to eat hot sauce on the oyster cracker. Ri put a ton on and drank an entire glass of water. Mario put a dab on and was gloating because he didn’t drink any water afterwards. Of course he had to make it a competition.

As if we really needed any other food after Skyline, we couldn’t resist a stop at Dunkin Donuts on the way home. Chocolate long johns to die for.

We couldn’t even wait to eat them at home! Now could I please just get in my sweats and call it a day at 2 in the afternoon?!

Calm and cool

January 11, 2015Leave a comment

Yesterday was sports day in the family. Mario had basketball in the morning with his buddies up at Carriage Place. They lost and a few of his friends were crying or throwing things but he stayed cool and collected making his pops proud.

Ri had her first indoor soccer game. Yea, indoor soccer. The girl who refused to even mutter the word soccer because she hated it so much is now trying indoor soccer. I think a lot of her desire to play is because her girlfriends are on the team and it is more of a social hour versus a game to win.

When I told her that Riley’s mom had called to she if she wanted to be on the team, she asked “is Ri-Ri on the team?” I said yes and she immediately shook her head affirmatively. “Sure, I’ll try it.” And that was it. No questions about what indoor was like, what position she’d play, etc. Even on the way to the game she exhibited no nerves or anxiety. I asked her who she thought would play goalie and she didn’t know. I cringed after I asked her the question because I thought that might raise some concern in her about possibly having to play goalie (after the Fall outdoor session’s goalie experience, I don’t think she wants to try it again) but again, she was calm and cool.
When we got to the site, the girls kicked the ball around while the moms stood around wondering where coffee was located. A couple of the moms talked about their daughters being nervous about playing indoor since they’d never tried it.”She was worried about what to wear.” “She was worried about whether indoor was the same as outdoor.”
I stood there listening to them and watching Ri play with her friends, laughing and talking with all of them. Missing the ball half the time it came to her. Still laughing.
She amazes me with her laissez-faire attitude. I would have been a nervous wreck at that age wondering if I’d be good and make a goal. But she just looks at it as a time to be with friends and run around and have fun. Good for her.
Even though she did leave the field after losing 7-0 and look a bit dejected. I asked her what was wrong.
“We lost.”
I told her she and the team played really hard and that’s all that matters. She shrugged her shoulders and ran over to her girlfriend and threw her over her back.

And that was that. Next time I lose a case at work, that is the approach I’m gonna take. Shrug my shoulders, flip a colleague over my back, and laugh.

Never grow up

January 9, 2015Leave a comment

I got to stay home with the kids until 11 am yesterday because they got another day off of school due to the frigid cold. We made our typical Sunday morning breakfast on a Thursday morning – awesome! Mario really wanted to make his own egg since he’s seen Ri making them for the last few weeks. He decided that he wanted to make one for Ri. He made it sunny side up, which is the easiest way to make a cooked egg, thank goodness, because I know Mario would have been so pissed if the egg didn’t turn out right.
He placed the egg on a plate when he finished cooking it and handed it to Ri.
“Taste it, Ri.”
She took a bite and swooned over him.
“You are the best cook ever! This egg is awesome. I want you to cook for me always!”
Leave it to Ri to gush over him – she does this so well. And Mario soaks it up like a sponge. He has to hear praise after he does something for someone or else he becomes extremely disappointed (something we need to continue to work on with him so that he’s not relying on that feedback anytime he does anything!).
Next I let him make pancakes for all of us. He was in heaven. He loves doing things by himself. After he made his first batch, he brought one to Ri. She was busy making a smoothie video, and he kept poking her to eat his pancake. She finally turned to him as he pled to her to eat. She grabbed the pancake and squeezed his cheek and chirped “don’t you ever grow up little man. You are so cute!” She is a hoot.
He made another ten pancakes (please, just one more batch mom?), waited to hear me swoon over my pancake, and then closed up shop.
We cleaned up the kitchen and then Ri read her MLK book while Mario drew comics. Can I just say that’s pure heaven? Having both kids off the computer, and actually enjoying a book and drawing?! It lasted a total of 15 minutes but hey, I’ll take it.
These two are my most favorite little people ever and – taking off what Ri said to Mario yesterday morning – I wish they’d never grow up….

Homemade pizza with my girl

January 7, 2015January 7, 2015Leave a comment

I picked up my girl last night from her friend’s house at 6 pm. We were both starving. I asked her what she wanted for dinner and she responded “let’s go buy some healthy stuff at the store and cook.”
Pretty sad when your nine year old daughter needs to endorse such an idea.
We walked into Kroger’s as we goggled “healthy chicken recipes”. We were coming up with too healthy of recipes – salads and fruit – and we didn’t want to quite go to that extreme…. Then I saw Naan sitting on the shelf near the donuts.
Ahh, donuts….
But no, we need healthy.
I remembered my girlfriend heating up a homemade pizza with naan bread at work a couple of weeks ago.
“How about homemade pizza?” I asked Ri.
She was all in. And God love her – she agreed to broccoli and peppers and mushrooms on her pizza.
We gathered all of our ingredients and snagged a Luna bar on the way out to tide us over. Maria spread the pizza sauce and pesto on our naan. Then cheese. Then chicken and the veggies. Ri got out her mittens and slid the baking sheet into the oven. Ten minutes later, ta-da!

They tasted heavenly. Ri made a video as we ate about how good the pizza tasted. She wanted to send it to all her family to let them know how to make it (little does she know all her family knows; its her mom that is behind the eight ball a bit…!).

We finished our pizzas and walked upstairs to get in our pjs. I was darn proud of myself for cranking out a healthy, wholesome meal with my girl. Yea, Ri only had to wait nine and half years but it was worth it, baby!

Learning my XBox lesson

January 5, 2015Leave a comment

So Mario had three things he wanted for Christmas – yea, just three: Apple laptop, X Box or iPhone. Seriously? What happened to Legos and Pokemon cards? Jon and I debated what to get him for weeks. Each week brought a sweeter Mario trying his hardest to be good during the holiday season to earn one of the three presents he wanted. How could we keep the spirit of Santa alive without getting him one of his three wishes?
We decided that we could probably use a Xbox since all we have is our old Wii. It’s ridiculous that we only bought the Wii three years ago and it’s already completely outdated. There are hardly any games for it anymore. And it’s winter so we are stuck in the house after 5 pm. It’s nice to move the body if only to a dancing game or a bowling match. So we agreed we’d get him a Xbox. I stopped at Best Buy to buy it and was floored to pay $550 for it. What???!
I walked out of the store flabbergasted.
Not even two days after buying the Xbox, Mario was reviewing the advertisements in the paper and saw a Nintendo DS.
“I want one of them so badly!”
“But I thought you wanted a Xbox or laptop?”
“No, I really just want a Nintendo DS. That’s it. I’d be so happy.”
He repeated this over and over through the night and into the next day. So I called Jon at work and told him we should return the Xbox and get him a Nintendo. Besides, we’d save $300. And he was begging Santa for a Nintendo.
Jon pushed back. “He doesn’t need another hand-held devise to stare at. He will get bored with it within a day. He’s more likely to find games and play the XBox – just keep that.”
I pushed back. “But he believes in Santa and he’s begging for a Nintendo. We should get that since he really wants it.” I have to admit the $300 savings was weighing heavily on my mind, too….
I won. Jon caved and told me to take the Xbox back and get the Nintendo.
On Christmas morning, Mario opened the Nintendo present and was charged up. He played for a day or two. Then he went back to his iPad. And then, a couple of days ago, he found a few games that could only be played on Xbox. And all he has done over the last 48 hours is plead and beg for a Xbox. Non-stop. He and Maria gathered all their money together tonight and found a Xbox on Amazon for $171. They have $167. They want to do extra chores this weekend to get another $4 to buy it. Mario is desperate and Ri, being the sweet sis, is willing to spend all her saved money to buy it with him (she has $118 and he has $49).
So, have I learned a lesson to listen to my hubby? Yes – at least when it comes to electronics. I appreciate that he’s been gracious in his victory and not rubbed Mario’s change of heart in my face.

Roller skating

January 3, 2015Leave a comment

I vaguely remember roller skating as a young girl. I don’t think there was a rink near my house so if it wasn’t within walking distance, I was typically out of luck. I don’t remember particularly hating or loving skating. What I remember is the strobing lights and the music. The sweet top-40 tunes streaming from the speakers and the blue and white and and red and green lights circling around the rink. I remember feeling happy and I remember feeling giddy when love songs would come on and all of us girls would stand around giggling while sneaking peeks at the boys. It was all so new and wildly strange.
All these feelings came rushing back to me as I stepped into US Skates with Ri and Mario this week. They were playing top-40 songs and the lights were strobing. Holy cow – what a blast from the past. These skating rinks have not changed in 30 years. They still play the same genre of music, have the same wood floors, the same leather skates, the same goofy employees with their serious monitoring of the roller rink like they are overseeing the Royal Palace, and the same painted cement walls to grip when you are about to fall on your face.
Ri did surprisingly well on the skates. She started slow but moved up her pace as time wore on.

Mario did good, too but he wanted to keep “moving up” in skates. They had “speed skates” for $1.50 extra and he begged for those. He tried those and swore he went faster (even though he really didn’t). Then he wanted roller blades to try out. He begged and begged for me to buy the blades after he saw a sign saying “we sell skates.”

He finally got through his head that we were not buying skates and sulked a bit but then he couldn’t resist taking one more round on the roller rink with Ri and I. As I glided along the far side of the rink and watched Ri and Mario working hard to skate and balance on the other side, I chuckled at how crazy life was: here I was at age 42 back on the rink like I never left – still loving the lights and getting down with the top-40 music, and watching my kids jam in their little heads as they rolled around and around the rink.

New Year’s Eve 2014

January 3, 2015Leave a comment

Jon and I brought in the New Year together for the 16th year in a row. In our beginning years, we’d be at the bars whooping it up. In the mid-years, we were settling down to nights at home in bed watching the ball drop. After the kids were born, we’d be lucky to stay up until 10:30 pm. Then the kids got old enough to understand NYE and we’d make a night out of it by getting snacks and playing games and watching Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest on tv. Jon and I were looking forward to another NYE together because the kids were away so much this Winter Break. We missed them.
Ri got home early Wednesday after watching Elena at the farm. She and Henley stayed out there for a few days. Each time she returns home from watching sweet Elena, she has two words: “I’m exhausted.” But she loves every minute of it.

Mario returned home after a few days with Grandma Ionno and his cousins. He went ice skating with them and loved it.

Ri and I went out and got some chips and dip and we all planted ourselves down for the evening. We forgot about dinner though so at 6:30 Jon went out for KFC – that’s right folks, we brought in the New Year with chicken legs and mashed potatoes (Mario begged for chicken legs, his new favorite). No high class Mitchell’s for us. Looking back, I think it set the tone for the night…. At one point, Mario was play fighting Jon and wouldn’t stop when Jon told him to so Jon put him in a headlock and pronounced “this is a hillbilly night in this household!” Indeed, between the KFC and wrestling, we were on our way there.
Mario was pissy about not being able to play Call of Duty, Ri was tired and mad that Mario was pissy. I was irritated because I wanted everyone in a good mood and Jon was laughing at all of us. We got out the game of Life and started to play. But this was the look on Ri’s face.

Mario’s wasn’t much better and he wouldn’t look at me.

Then we heard a knock on the door. Quinn asked if the kids wanted to go down to his house to eat NY cheesecake and dance to a few songs. They both agreed and headed down. I told Stephanie to send them back by ten. I thought maybe friends would liven them up.
They both came back a half hour later looking sullen.
“We just wanted to be with you guys tonight and now we ruined it by going to the Markle’s house.”
They are crazy kids. We resumed our Life game and tried to liven them up. But boy they were both exhausted to the extent that Life didn’t even liven them up. Ri laid on the chair and Mario, Jon and I sat on the couch. We watched a little news and some awful NYE coverage on NBC, and looked over to find Ri passed out. Jon prodded her but it was no use. She was out cold.

Meanwhile, Mario was trying with all his might to stay up in order to get the dollar Jon promised him. He had heard the story of Uncle Patrick slapping himself and going outside to stay awake on NYE and he was trying all the tricks. He looked pathetic.

He finally couldn’t hang on and fell asleep at 11:35.

Unlike Ri, he woke up with Jon’s nudging and watched the ball drop – and then promptly fell back to sleep. He was getting that dollar.
Jon and I gave our smooch and hug to one another. Then I carried the kids to their beds and he let Rocco outside. I was nearly asleep when he came up to bed.
And so this year was brought in on a tired note. I was a tad saddened by the lack of fanfare and frivolity as we had in years’ past but with many things in life, my perspective changed after having time to reflect on the evening.
And here’s what I believe about NYE 2014:
It was a night that happened to come after many nights playing with cousins and staying up late and hosting holiday parties. Of course we were tired and barely able to keep our eyes open. Of course we were emotional and susceptible to outbursts about not being able to buy a house in Life. But we were together and persevering through the night together despite our fatigue. We still hugged one another at night’s end, and still woke up to laughter in the morning. We don’t need the pomp and circumstance to bring in the New Year; we are good with board games and potato chips.
In retrospect, this past NYE couldn’t have been more telling about how 2015 will go. This family will continue to grow together; love one another in good times and bad; enjoy the simple moments together; treasure all the laughter; and forgive one another.

Although we have learned a lesson for next NYE, skip the KFC.

Watching Ms. Elena

December 18, 2014December 18, 2014Leave a comment

God bless it’s hard to watch a six month old baby! I forgot what those days were like with Ri and Mario – where they need pretty much constant attention and cry like banchees when their mama leaves. I was whooped after an hour and breathed a sigh of relief when I heard the front door open. Ri gave up after about 20 minutes and played video games with Mario. Smart girl. That actually helped me because Elena appreciated the quiet and sat with me for 20 minutes chowing on her sweet potatoes! But holy cow, it took my undivided attention to keep her happy.

Yes, the selfies actually helped. She likes looking at herself in the mirror. My only goal was to not have her crying when Sarah got home. I had to prove I was a worthy babysitter! Mission accomplished. Once Sarah walked in the door though she was a much happier camper.
And Ri was back in full-on mode following Sarah and Elena everywhere. Sar asked if Ri wanted to hold her in the Ergo Baby and Ri jumped at the chance. Did that work out good or what?!
>

She walked around with her for 25 minutes straight; Elena’s eyes fixated on the Christmas lights and objects throughout the house. And, of course, on her awesome older cousin. Now I know the magic bullet when we babysit her next time….
>

Precious

December 15, 2014December 15, 2014Leave a comment

This happened on Friday night.

Jon treated Ri to a father/daughter dinner and let her pick the destination. She chose Bravo. The girl goes classy. They dropped Mario off at Kids Night Out first and then went out on the town.
I was busy driving home from Toledo Ohio after an entire day participating in a mediation at the courthouse. I dreaded the drive all week but in the end, it was rather pleasant. Timbits, coffee, the sunrise, and NPR for two and a half hours with no interruption was quite amazing.
Ri and I drove out to the farm on Saturday to visit the munchball baby girl (forget Sarah, Grandma Meg and Peepaw)! She was so excited all morning to leave for the farm and refused to come home until late on Sunday so she could get maximum time with Elena. She is fricken cute as can be.
>

We took Rocco out with us so he could run around the farm like a wild man, which he promptly did. He refused to sit in the trunk when Ri was in the back seat so she allowed him to lay his head on her lap the entire way.
>

Ri was in seventh heaven when I left her at the farm. Baking cookies with Sarah and changing Elena’s diapers. She is a baby whisperer at age nine – she is gonna make big bucks as a babysitter in a few years. This picture Sarah took of her reading to Elena makes my heart sing.
>

Look at those chunk a lunk wrists! Eat her up!
Meanwhile, Mario and Jon hung out together. Mario’s favorite person to hang with lately – his pops. Jon can do no wrong. If Mario overhears me asking Jon to do the dishes, he butts in and tells me how dad has had a hard day and he should be able to relax. If I comment on my strength when I pick up a Christmas box, he puts me in my place by telling me dad is much stronger. But I’m not complaining – I think it is precious. Jon is great about taking him to his basketball practices on Saturday and Sunday and watching him play for two hours. And Mario loves having his undivided attention. I went to watch him play on Sunday and it was a trip watching him move up and down the court with his buddies. It was also sweet to see Jon rooting him on.
I think he liked having Jon and me all to himself for a day. I woke up with him on Sunday morning at 6:45 am (heaven help me) and played Wii Kartz with him for an hour. He was so excited that I would play with him. Obviously, doing homework with him, taking walks with him and eating with him pales in comparison to playing Wii with him. And then Jon played Wii basketball with him. He was in such a great mood. But the best was when we arrived home from his basketball practice at 1:30. He threw off his coat and ran to the family room.
“Come on dad, let’s watch the Bengals beat the Browns!” He flipped on the tv and sat on the couch right next to the spot Jon always sits.
Precious.>

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Family