Spectacular everything

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014Leave a comment

Another rip-roaring weekend last weekend. Moving non-stop but loving it because the weather was so amazing – crisp and sunny.
Ri had a sleepover with Sophie on Friday night. Jon reminded me she had soccer on Saturday morning and I expected when I told Ri that she’d have to go, she would pitch a fit. But I was pleasantly surprised by her reaction.
“Ok, mom.”
She’s really digging soccer. I cannot get over it. This is the girl who, for years, has been adamant that she does not want to play soccer.
“Too much running.”
This was always her response. Thank goodness for Henley deciding to play because that is the only reason Ri agreed to sign up – she was losing her friend during Mario’s football practice. Henley has a brother on the football team, too, so they’d play at the park while their brothers practiced. But then soccer started.
It was gradual love affair. At first, Ri would look at me on the sidelines and plead to come out of practice to get more water. Or she’d say her side hurt. But she never left practice saying she didn’t want to play anymore. And with more practices, she asked to come out less and less.
On the way to her game on Sunday, she proclaimed “I love soccer!”
I smiled so wide it felt like I could touch both ears with the sides of my mouth.

Ri and Mario had birthday parties on Saturday afternoon. Jon took Mario to his and I took Ri to hers. I love the girl who had the party – she chose gem mining at a local cave for her party activity. All the girls were talking about getting dirty and finding cool stones. Awesome.
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I got myself a much-needed Yi’s Relaxation Station massage. 40 minutes for $40 and they go to town on you. Even so much as climbing on the massage table to walk on your back. Heaven. And chocolate bars to take home afterwards.
Patty and I picked up Ri from her party and headed to Hilliard for Mario’s last football game. They played under the lights at 7:30 pm. He was excited. Patrick and the kids came to watch, too. Very sweet. Mario and all of his teammates played so hard and ended up in a tie. It was a great season – Mario had so much fun and made friends with second and third graders, which helped so much at the beginning of school.
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Meanwhile, Ri, Henley and Alana could have cared less about Mario or football. They spent the entire time on the jungle gym.
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On Sunday, I got a long run in with the Rocco pup and then went Halloween shopping with Patty and the kids. That was at once hilarious and maddening. The kids look so precious and goofy in their costumes and masks they try on but it gets frustrating waiting for someone to help you determine whether they have the costume in your size and then trying the daggone thing on over clothes and shoes and kids who fuss and whine over the proper placement of the shoulder pads or sleeves (aka Mario).
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It’s also quite sad looking at the selection of costumes for girls. Boys have doctors in scrubs, Spider-Man, werewolves, firemen. Girls have nurses in skirts barely falling below the top of their behinds, wonder women in tight tank tops and belly shirts, and princesses in sleeveless chiffon. I love my girl who after looking at all of the outfits remarked: “I don’t like any of these. They are too pink and not scary at all.” We ended up in the boy section. This is the first one she tried.
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Mario simply wanted anything that came with a horrible looking face and some type of weapon. That was nearly half of the costumes for his age.
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We finally arrived at a pirate costume for Ri and a grim reaper for Mario. And 10 Hershey kisses for the road.
Ri had a killer soccer game and we came home to steaks on the grill and twice baked potatoes thanks to Patty.
A weekend of spectaculars – spectacular weather, spectacular sports, spectacular family, and spectacular food.
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Canine love, and baby too

October 8, 2014October 8, 2014Leave a comment

Ok, so this article explains why – 9 months pregnant – I was worried that I’d never love Maria as much as I loved my pup, Cy. And why, even when Ri was born, I sometimes felt a closer connection to Cy than to my newborn. Those first few months, all Ri did was cry and feed and poop. But then there was Cy who stared at me with sweet eyes, licked me, and jumped up and down every time I came near him.
I figured my feelings were all screwed because of hormones but this article confirms that dogs bring on the same positive, loving responses that children do. And I’m sure if the study would have went deeper, it may have found that your pup actually elicits more positive reaction from you when your child is a crying newborn and you are a first time mom…!
Now, I did eventually grow to wholeheartedly love and adore sweet Ri after I settled into the fact of being a mom to a human baby – not a canine one. She eventually looked up at me with adoring eyes and goo’d at me and I was forever gone – she had my heart over any four-legged creature (and yes, Mario, too).
Now, if I look at nine-year-old Ri or seven-year-old Mario and then at Rocco, I can confidently state that I am a thousand times more in love and dedicated to my human babies.
But I still do get a tingle in my soul when I walk in the house and Rocco comes rushing towards me with tail a waggin’ and tongue a lickin’. Especially when those human babes are fighting and screaming and carrying on like animals.

Boy Scouts! Boy Scouts!

October 6, 2014Leave a comment

Mario counted down the days for his Boy Scout meeting. Finally, Wednesday arrived and Mario begged to leave for the meeting from the time I got home at 5:45 pm until 6:45 pm when we left. We walked down the stairs to the basement of the church where meetings are held and Quinn came running towards us.
“Mario, look at all the medals you earned!”
He and Paxton and Mario ran to the board where the medals hung.

Mario wrapped his arm around Quinn and I heard chatter between them. Surely Mario was bringing them up to speed on all of his achievements. He was so excited.
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He sat dutifully as the troop leaders spoke and followed his leader back to the kitchen to work on a project. Finally, an hour later, they presented the medals. He looked so innocent and sweet standing next to the Scout leader while he congratulated Mario on earning so many medals. Then the Scout leader presented him with a certificate that Mario earned at the Shoot-A-Ree for nailing a tomahawk into a piece if wood. He was the only one to do it. He beamed at me. And then he walked proudly back to his chair and showed them off to his friends.
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He ran over later and showed them to me. He was so incredibly happy. As we were standing around after the meeting, he pulled at me.
“We have to get my uniform tonight, mom. I want to put my medals on my belt and wear it to school tomorrow.”
I explained the store wasn’t open but promised is go there during the week. Thursday came and went and as we were getting ready for bed, Mario asked “did you get my uniform?” I had to break the news that I hadn’t. He got upset and ran to his room. The boy is a Boy Scout fanatic. I promised him we’d go on Friday.
Friday morning brought pleas from Mario to not forget we were going to the store after school. I did not disappoint. Bethany dropped him off to me at the store and we got all the items he needed and more. He left a happy camper.
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As soon as we got home, he got out his belt and slipped on his medals. He kept asking when dad would be home.
Jon pulled up in the driveway.
When he walked in the door, Mario asked him to stay in the kitchen. He put on his shirt and neckerchief and belt and tucked his shirt into his shorts. He placed his cap on his head. Jon watched in delight.
Our boy.

Boy Scout Camp

October 4, 2014October 4, 2014Leave a comment

I don’t have a twenty-year old body anymore. Here I was doggin’ on my girlfriend who swore she would never sleep on the ground in a tent.
“You’re a wuss. Sleeping on the ground is wonderful – being one with nature. Just pitch a tent and snuggle in your sleeping bag….”
There was no convincing her.
After Saturday night in a three-person tent with Ri and Mario, I’m starting to be swayed over to her side.
I thought I’d be fine with just a foam pad. I made fun of my girlfriend who drug out a twin mattress from the lodge and placed it in her tent. But damn if I didn’t want to pull one out in the middle of the night as I tossed and turned next to Ri and Mario. They were perfectly sound asleep – with no foam pad. To be a kid.
I woke up with quite the headache and my back felt like little trolls had stomped on it all night. But thank goodness for the drip coffee – sharp and black at 6 in the morning. All the parents looked bleary-eyed and in serious need of more sleep. I wasn’t in it alone. Meanwhile, the kids jumped around like those tiny plastic toys on springs that hop high in the sky when you press them on a flat surface.

Mario loved Boy Scout camp. He loved pitching a tent. He loved hanging with his guy friends. He loved running around in the woods. Maria loved it, too. She killed it in the beebee gun activity. She was like a sharp shooter – rarely missing the target.

I asked her if she’d help her dad out in hunting turkeys and she quickly responded that she would not kill an animal with a gun – she just liked shooting at cans. Those turkeys are lucky.
Mario loved finding gems and fishing, of course. He has got quite the fishing bug in him. The fish were not biting but he refused to leave until the volunteers closed the area.
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After the activities, we dragged all of our camping gear out of the car and found a spot amidst the other tents. We did not get a spot right next to Quinn but I was proud of Mario for not throwing a fit. It didn’t matter anyway because all of the boys were running around and jumping in and out of all the tents.
The evening was a lot of fun. The boys played football; Maria learned how to knit with another mom and acted as babysitter to a boy scout’s little sister (she loved that)! I got to talk with some fun parents and soak up a gorgeous night.
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After the wood fire ceremony, the scout leaders sent everyone to bed and surprisingly, Ri and Mario went straight into their sleeping bags. One great thing about Boy Scouts is that Mario actually listens and abides by the words of his scout leaders. They were both asleep by 9:30. I figured I better get to bed, too, knowing I’d be up off and on through the night. As confirmed above, good thinking on my part.
We woke up to omelets in a bag. Sounds rather unappetizing but they were actually quite good. Liquid eggs, cheese, veggies all thrown in a ziplock bag and heated in boiling water. What I learned at Boy Scout camp (I also learned that ketchup crystallizes when heated so it’s better to write kids’ names on foil with ketchup rather than marker when making their food over the fire because it won’t melt away their names – love these little tricks)! Of course, Mario was repulsed at the omelet in a bag so he proceeded to eat only the muffins and cinnamon rolls – until he got scolded politely by one if the leaders that no one could eat the muffins until the omelets were made. But not even the scout leaders scared him – he grabbed one more when he thought no one was looking – he will break any rules for sugar.
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My girl and I devoured the omelets and the rolls and the muffins. We will try anything.
So glad we decided to go on the trip and so excited about future camping with my sweet Boy Scout.
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What’s it gonna be like?

September 24, 2014Leave a comment

What is it gonna be like when I don’t have to nag at the kids to get ready in the morning?
When I don’t have to walk or drive them to school?
When I don’t have to take them upstairs and make sure they brush their teeth?
When I don’t have to read them a bedtime book?
When I don’t have to fix them five different things for dinner?
When I don’t have to get them water after they’ve snuggled into bed?

Will I pace the house ready to explode?
Will I veg in front of my computer staring at Facebook?
Will I workout five times a day?
Will I start a blog titled “Me and my empty nest?”

These babies fill up every free moment I have right now. It’s hard to wrap my head around the thought of that not being the status quo.

This morning, Ri and Mario biked to Stauf’s while I ran beside them with Rocco. Rocco nearly pulled my arm out of socket when he chased a motorcycle. The kids nearly fell off their bikes laughing so hard. These moments are priceless and beautiful. They fill me up with joy for the day – the random smiles that come over my face as I walk to meetings are sparked by those moments being re-played in my head… Mario embracing Rocco before he heads into school. Maria smiling at me as she turns around to skip up the street to meet friends.

Mario time

September 15, 2014September 15, 2014Leave a comment

It was just me and Mario for 24 hours straight on Saturday and Sunday morning. He played his football game Saturday morning with his dad on the sidelines (Jon is the videographer lately) and me shivering over on the fan side with some other parents. He got one unassisted tackle and I missed it – ugh!
We got home around noon and he dove straight to his iPad. He wanted me to watch him build a place in Roboblox. Now, I remember as a little girl begging my folks to watch Family Feud with me – a plea to which they routinely declined. I don’t particularly remember being heart-broken – I got my Doritos and planted myself in my bean bag but I am sure a part of me processed their denial as not wanting to be with me or not being interested in me. I see today that it was far from that reasoning – it was that they had two seconds to do something they had an interest in like reading a book or writing a story. Or maybe not even so idyllic – they had time to do laundry or wash dishes.
So when Mario asked me to watch him play, I agreed. But damn if I didn’t channel my parents as I watched him for five minutes and was ready to move on to a book or some chores. I hung in for a bit longer with him and then told him how impressed I was with his building. “What a cool spaceship you built in the middle of the field!” (I am quite sure that sitting with him for five minutes and acknowledging his work will do the trick – when he’s an adult, he will undoubtedly remember how much his mom was there for him…!).
After mowing, I got a text from the mom of one of his friends telling me that they were at a Taste of Grandview. Mario agreed to bike down to the event with me, which made my day. I love that time together. We talked the entire way down. Two of his buddies were down there when we arrived and were playing in a little patch of grass behind the food stands. They played football and played in the trees (throwing pine cones at one another – what fun!) for five hours straight. I could not believe it. We got down there at 3 pm and did not leave until close to 8. Another mom and I kept praying that maybe they’d go to bed as soon as we got home from exhaustion.
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Not so much – Mario is a night owl. We biked up to Stauf’s and ate a bagel. I told him how he used to love to go to Stauf’s with me and eat blueberry muffins and bagels. I’d break off the smallest pieces and dip them in cream cheese worried that he’d choke with any bigger pieces. Mario rolled his eyes at me and asked me to watch him play Wipeout on my phone. He thinks it’s hilarious to watch the person ram her head against the foam rollers or fall into the water. Boys. Then we biked home and talked about poop the entire way – easy to do with a boy. He was fascinated that certain foods weren’t digested and came out in your poop. The little things in life….
I promised him that I’d watch a movie with him – no computer or iPad on my lap as we watched (I’m really bad about that). We snuggled on the couch with popcorn and Milk Duds and watched Spiderman 2. I thought he’d surely doze off but that boy stayed up for the entire movie. It was 11 pm and he was still wide-eyed. I made him go to bed knowing that he’d be up at 6:30 am no matter what. He begged me to do “spider up his back” which entails me gently tickling the length of his back up through his hair and whispering “spiders crawling up your back….” He loves it and becomes completely relaxed by it. He was out in five minutes.
I carried him upstairs and tucked him in bed next to me. Little munchball boy. To my elation, he did not wake me up until 7:05 am. What a gift he gave me. And even then, he let me lay in bed as long as we could talk. Gladly. Poop came up as a subject again but so did other more appropriate topics. We laid and talked until 8 am. Heaven. Then we got up and started our day with waffles and chocolate chips and a trip to the grocery store. He helped me pick out food for the farm and found out that Kroger’s donuts are even better than Giant Eagle’s donuts! I know where we are heading every Sunday morning.
We got home and he helped me round up Rocco and his food. He even gathered up his books and markers for the back seat. Yea, he is definitely a keeper.
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Sweet Elena

September 13, 2014Leave a comment

Oh sweet Elena:

You are marshmallow goodness;
a flower petal;
a turquoise gem;
light from the midnight moon; cinnamon latte;
a fireworks explosion;
a 19th century poem;
a plump tangerine;
sweet blueberry pie topped with vanilla bean ice cream;
a songbird whistling in the early hours of the day.

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Immersion

September 11, 2014Leave a comment

I’m so in love with these munchos of mine I can hardly stand it. My heart expands to the size of a hot-air balloon when they show me a math problem they did or tell me a story they read in class. Those minds expanding and growing and full of questions and ideas. I just want to eat them up and tell them how special they are, over and over and over again.

We took a walk last night after dinner. We talked about random things – school, getting Rocco, how many babies they would have when they were older (Mario five and Ri six – heaven help is). These are some of my happiest moments during the week. No cell phones to answer. No friends to interrupt us. No homework to fight about. Just us talking about anything that pops up and laughing together. And laugh we do – a lot.
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I don’t know that I appreciated this time with the kids as much five years ago. It seems as the years float by, my awareness of the preciousness of this time with them deepens. I am immersed in the moment. I remember with preciseness the smile on Mario’s face as he gets pulled down the street by Rocco and the raucous laughter coming from Maria as Mario rolls around with her in the grass. Whoa, does that feel good and rich and grounding.
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Party Girl

September 9, 2014September 9, 2014Leave a comment

I do believe that if Ri could spend every weekend at a friend’s house, she’d do it. She would not long to be home with us or cry for Jon or me in the middle of the night. She is a party gal.

She had to go to the Ox a Roast festival on the opening night – Thursday. She completely forgot that it was her brother’s birthday. I called the mom she was with over and over with no luck and then finally drove down to get her. And I see the two of them “hanging out” with plastic cups of lemonade (can we keep that beverage in those cups at age 18, please?). They were giggling and running around and loving life. I will give Ri credit – when I reminded her it was Mario’s birthday, she felt bad and wanted to run home. She continued to party it up for Mario’s birthday – getting all of his gifts lined up for him and singing as he opened them. >

She stole a big ol’ hug from Mario after he opened her present and demanded a smooch from him.
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She made sure we placed seven candles in his chocolate donuts (she wanted to give him seven donuts) and brought him in to sing to him.
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She got invited to a sleepover at Anna’s house on Friday night. Anna was under the weather a bit so they stayed home and skipped the Ox Roast. I texted Anna’s mom on Saturday to see how things were and she informed me that Ri didn’t want to come home. Lovely. Eventually, Anna and Ri came to our house and begged to go to the Ox Roast. I packed us up and we headed down for a wild and crazy night.
Mario ran around trying to find Quinn. He’s at the age where I don’t quite need to watch over his every move but I also am not comfortable just letting him go on his own all night. Ri, on the other hand, is at the age where the thought of me walking with her absolutely makes her quiver in embarrassment. I am slowly coming around to the idea that she can walk around on her own as long as it is a small area and I am present somewhere in that small area (it also took a couple of weeks to feel comfortable about her walking up the street alone to meet friends to walk to school – ugh!). So Ri and Anna took off on their own while I kept an eye on Mario.
And what’s the first thing he did? Win a goldfish. Petco has got to love the Ox Roast because every kid wins a fish and therefore needs a tank and food and accessories. Mario showed his fish off and then moved on to the rides. He found Quinn and rode a few with him.

He loves the wheel at the end of the Wacky House because he can run with all his might and not go anywhere. He thinks it’s hilarious. The guy running the House thought Mario was hilarious and let him stay in it for a long time.
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As he was running nowhere, Anna came rushing over to me screaming “Maria’s in the dunk tank!” Huh? I didn’t even know there was one. I grabbed her hand and ran over to the tank. There Ri was – all in pink, arms crossed, ready to get dunked.
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A couple of boys from her grade tried to get her (Will and Danny) but the quarterback of the football team achieved success. She loved it and got right back in line to do it again. Party animal.
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Mario wanted to dunk her so badly and got her on his first try.
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He then moved into line with Ri. Now, Mario loves to party, too but he hates getting wet. This is the kid who flipped out when his shorts got wet on the log flume at Kings Island. But he kept swearing to me that he’d be fine. He eventually got up on the seat and waited to be dunked.
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I believe the quarterback got him, too. As soon as he walked over to me afterwards, I saw him soaked and shivering.
“Mom, I wish I could reverse time and have listened to you.”
That is a rare admission and I soaked it up. I called Jon to come get him as we continued to watch Ri and her girlfriends get dunked over and over again.
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I eventually made Ri and Anna leave with me at 9 pm since Jon was at home watching the football game and I wanted to relax a bit with him. They sulked for a second but then dragged their feet to the car. Ri partied it up for a bit when we got home while Mario conked out on the couch immediately (that running to nowhere wore him out). Ri passed out after a bit on the chair.
The next morning, she came into my bedroom a bit bleary-eyed and stood next to me.
“Mom, can we go to the new MarketPlace and get some muffins. I need food in my stomach.”
Spoken like a true party girl. >

Happy 7th birthday Mario!

September 5, 2014September 5, 20143 Comments

Happy 7th Birthday Mario!

Of course, we started it off right with a chocolate iced donut in hand. You have adored donuts since the womb when you used to kick each time I devoured one. You get your sweet tooth honestly. And you grew up loving to stroll to Tim Horton’s on Sunday mornings and eat ten timbits.

What have you been up to over this past year?
1. You dove off the high dive like it was nobody’s business. You just walked to the end of the board and dropped off. Last year, you would rarely make it up all the steps and if you did, you’d never get to the end of the board. This year, you acted like you had been doing it for years! My brave guy.

2. You learned how to play a mean Minecraft and Animal Jam computer game. I cannot get over how technology savvy you are. Your sis has assisted you with developing this talent. You can navigate the heck out of the World Wide Web and create worlds left and right on Minecraft.

3. You continued to master your fishing skills! You fished at Uncle Mario’s, Grandma Ionno’s and Peepaw’s houses and always somehow caught larger fishes than them (at least that’s your story and you’re sticking to it!).

4. You completed Kindergarten and started 1st grade! The beginning of Kindergarten was rough with lots of tears and pleas for dad and me to stay but you finished with a bang and now go to visit Mrs. Page every chance you get (you also wrote her a note at the beginning of this year that said “I miss you Mrs. Page.”). You are going into school all by yourself this year! We drop you off in front of the building, you jump out with your bookbag on your back, and wave goodbye. However, you are a little more ambivalent about school this year and would much rather stay home than head in each morning. Unfortunately, I have a feeling this may not go away in the next 12 years…

5. You have found a best buddy in Rocco. We got him two days after your 6th birthday last year and you have loved on him and wrestled him ever since. You continue to fret about him every time we let him out back without his shock collar on him. You yell at the top of your lungs “don’t let Rocco out without his collar; he may run away!” And when dad pulls up in the driveway, you stop Rocco in the yard and hold him until dad stops the car. As much as dad and I tell you to not wrestle Rocco, you can’t stop yourself. You hide under the blanket and let Rocco pull on you and hop on you and then you wrestle with him all over the family room. But you also love to cuddle with him and give him smooches.

6. You are playing tackle football! What the he–?! You look like a miniature pro in those pads. It’s strange how young you look in pictures from flag and how old you look just a year later. Not sure I dig that action….And you are no joke buddy. You love to tackle and you have taken your share of hits and popped back up smiling away. You are really loving it this year.

7. You have dissed the stroller! You are now completely embarrassed about riding in it and refuse to do it. This didn’t happen until the Summer but it was a quick transition. One day you were letting me stroller you to Giant Eagle and the next, you were hopping out of it as soon as you saw a friend walking down the street – and swearing to never go in it again. I understand why you’d be over it but it still breaks my heart that the BOB is relegated to the dump.

8. Not only did you go to your first Reds game, but you got your first professional autograph from Billy Hamilton and got a ball tossed to you from Billy Hatcher!

9. You participated in your first Boy Scout Day Camp and loved it! Dad took you a couple of days and Grandma Ionno took you for a couple and I met up with you one afternoon. Your favorite activities were shooting with a bow and arrow, fishing, and creeking. You were so excited to accomplish the different activities.

10. You got a bee bee gun and love to shoot it. You are begging for a bow and arrow from dad next…. You are a little outdoorsmen and if you could spend all day with your dad hunting, it would be an awesome day in your eyes.

But most of all what I remember about this past year is your zaniness and fierceness and curiosity and desire to make people laugh. You are an incredible kid, Mario Joseph, and you bring joy to so many people. Dad and I marvel at your grit and perseverance and at how much you’ve grown in a year’s time (you finally got to 55 pounds for football!).
I hope you continue to find humor in yourself and life in general. I hope you continue to love making people smile. I hope you continue to want to learn new things (not just computer games!). I hope you have a great school year and challenge yourself. I hope you continue to want me to read to you before bed. I hope you are grateful for all you have and share with others. I hope you get to go hunting with your dad this season. And I hope you know deep down inside how much you are loved. We are so glad that you are our son and that you grace our world every single day. Happy Birthday (and yes we ended the day with more sugar – chocolate donuts and ice cream!)!

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Family