A week in review

September 28, 2012September 28, 2012Leave a comment

Jon arrived on US soil this afternoon and will be waiting for me when I get home tonight. Ahhh. Feels great.

The week without him provided much laughter, a bit of stress, some crying, and a boatload of hugs and kisses. The run-down:

1.Wii tournaments with the neighbor kids who have gotten comfortable enough with us that they just walk through the door and yell “hi, anyone home?”

2. Mario made a new buddy – Quinn, one of the neighbor kids. Quinn has a head of strawberry curls and reminds me of Huck Finn. Mario stopped him on his bike Monday night to ask him to play at our house. Quinn said he wanted to ride his bike. Mario threw down his football and stomped up the yard to me to announce his displeasure. “He doesn’t want to play! I don’t like him!” After explaining why he may want to take a breath and re-think his proclamation against Quinn, he gently approached Quinn again and asked if he could come over after he rode his bike. Quinn agreed and they’ve been playing Wii ever since!

3. Maria strengthened her friendship with Sophie, the 3rd grade neighbor kid. I like Sophie because she never wants to play barbies and she loves being outdoors.

4. Mario got his first flag football picture taken on Tuesday night. What chaos! Forty 5 and 6 year olds running frantically around the park, tackling and wrestling each other. Mario may be tiny but he is mighty. He warmed my heart the way he wrapped his arms around his team members when the group picture was taken (you could barely see him in the middle – his little pea-head only popping out!).

5. We took two morning walks in the stroller and witnessed an extravagant sunrise one morning. We turned the corner onto First Avenue and BOOM, the oranges and peaches and reds hit us. No talking, no movement (except for my feet pressing the pavement). Just admiration of nature’s canvas.

6. Mario and I devoured two long john donuts for breakfast (each!).

7. Maria got to stroll Mario to school for the first time ever and she was charged! Mario usually flips out whenever Maria takes the reins but he was either too tired or in a magnanimous mood on Wednesday morning. Maria kept looking up at me in sheer delight. When Ri walked into school, Mario looked back at me with a sullen face and said “I wish Ri could stroller me all the way to my school.”

8. We met Grandma and Grandpa Ionno at Polaris Mall to deliver a Mario package to them. Mario ran to grandma as soon as he caught his eyes on her. He said “Gracias Amigo” to her to show her the extent of Spanish words he knows. When grandma replied “do you know any more Spanish words” he looked at her in deep thought and finally said “come on amigo!”

9. Ri and I had a girls night on Thursday and strollered to Orange Leaf at 8:30 pm when it was pitch black outside. We worked on Maria’s blog on the way – she wrote about horse back riding and how you have to concentrate when you ride. My darlin’ horse lover.

10. And now we end the week with Maria having her buddy over for a play date. Two feisty gals to contend with all night but I hope the park and bike riding will wear ’em out!

Tornado hits Cincy

September 23, 2012September 23, 2012Leave a comment

I planned a trip to Cincinnati with the kids for the entire weekend because Jon was heading to England Saturday morning. However, his trip got delayed so he informed me he’d be home all weekend. Lucky dog, I thought. But he really wanted me and the kids to stick around so I compromised and took the kids to Cincy after Mario’s game on Saturday and decided we’d come back Saturday night.

Mario is doing better and better with football. I think the key is to have Jon present; he likes impressing his dad and routinely looks over to Jon after a play and gives a “thumbs up” to him. He’s been running after the other players more and even dodged another player while running with the ball for his team. I must agree with one parent who mentioned to me “he will be really good next year with this practice.”

After the game, we headed down south with our popcorn, cheese pretzels, and powerades. Oh, and with National Geographic’s Wild Kratts show. Mario has been waiting patiently for it to arrive from another library and it was worth the wait. It had the Alaskan bears that Mario asked about every time a new show came on tv. Very cool.

Our trip to Cincy was like most other day trips down there. My mom and her husband describe it as a tornado coming through the house. Pretty accurate. My Aunt Julie, who lives across the driveway in the condo complex would likely describe it the same. The kids jump out of the cars, surprise mom and Rod, play with Lou and run over to Julie’s to say hi to her and Gracie and Liz and Maggie. It’s a cousin-fest! We break out the chips and candies and play with toys and make lots of noise. We tickle Gracie and pounce on Liz and Mag and act crazy. After that gets old, we head outside and show off our bike riding and toss the bouncey ball. Within a few minutes, we are ready for the park. Gracie gets in the stroller, Maria and Mario get on their bikes and we head north to the park where cousin Laura meets up with us. She swings Maria and Grace while I play with Mario and mom walks Lou. The kids put on a show for us that I want to kick myself for not recording. Of course, Maria emcees it and Mario and Grace do funny dances and songs.

After the play, we moved onto the main playground where Maria decided to take an eight foot fall off the slide. I knew she was hurt when I picked her up and she cried incessantly. She brushes off most falls but this one hurt. We carried her to the “ambulance” (Laura’s car) and transported her back to my mom’s. The only thing that would help calm Ri’s pain was Larosa’s spaghetti and meatballs so we ordered from there. I devoured a veggie pizza, and the kids ate garlic bread, pizza and spaghetti. We had worked up an appetite.

After Larosa’s, we hit the outdoors again for some cheer leading lessons from Ri who may be the world’s strictest coach ever. She showed me a cheer and then I tried it. She looked at me with sheer disgust. “Oh, Mary, that was not good….” So much for a gentle touch! Meanwhile, Mario and Laura threw the ball up on the carport roof and watched it bounce down. Mario thought it was the coolest activity ever but he could not get it up to the roof like Laura. It would bounce under the carport and over the small fence behind the cars and we’d spend ten minutes looking for it acting like it was lost treasure when we found it! Mario finally bounced it up to the roof and his smile was as wide as it was long when he turned to me. “I did it,Mom!”

Laura took off for Oktoberfest and we headed inside for baths. The water looked like the Olentangy when the bath ended. The kids both wore goggles and laid parallel to one another to see who could hold their breath the longest. What a sight to behold. Two white round butts in the air attached to two tanned still bodies trying to beat each other in under water breath holding. Mom and I stood over them in awe and joy. They’d come a long way since the nights of bottles and binkies and crying at 2 am.

We ended the night with ice cream and the Dog Whisperer. Maria sat mesmerized by the show while Mario concentrated on making letters with marbles. We looked down and he had spelled “Rex.” He is a Ben Ten fanatic.
We dragged ourselves out to the car, got situated with a movie, and started our journey back home to Jon.

The tornado struck Cincy again but the destruction was well worth it, as always.

Determined to bike (and be near family).

September 18, 20122 Comments

My boy didn’t give up all day Sunday. He sat on his two-wheeled bike, adjusted the pedal so that it was at the northern-most direction, placed his foot on it and rode until the pedal went a half of a turn to the southern-most direction; and then threw both his feet down on the ground to stop himself.

He started the process again. And again. And again.

Every time Jon and I would try to hold the back of his bike to give him a little push to get him started, he would berate us and push our hands away.

“I can do it myself!”

He’s a determined little sucker. He wants to accomplish things on his own. But he also wants you to watch his every move while he works on them. And if you don’t, he lets you know. At football on Saturday, I coached Mario after a play he made telling him to make sure to run after the ball. He darted over to me on the sidelines and yelled “you weren’t even watching me, mom, so don’t talk to me because I don’t have to listen to you!” (I had been listening to Maria read me a book during his play and had not had my undivided attention on him).

A tad bull-headed.

But being bull-headed has its positive side. Mario was not going to let Monday roll around until he could pedal a few turns without falling. Jon and I took turns watching him start and stop and start and stop and start…. Maria tried to coach him, too, instructing him to get a running start before putting his feet on the pedals. He actually listened to her and tried it but clearly felt like that move was a little too risky for him.

Nonetheless, by the time we went inside Sunday evening, he was able to pedal three or four turns before falling to one side. On Monday evening, he was able to go up or down the driveway before screeching to a halt. Jon and I watched with pride and amazement as he biked from the mid-point of the drive to the end. We cheered and roared as though he won the Olympics.

Tonight, he biked on the sidewalk of our street. He cranked out three or four house lengths before rolling into the grass and starting over. Incredible. Just last week Maria complained about Mario never wanting to try the two-wheeled bike and Mario was adamant that he would not give into her complaints. He had no desire to ride a bike sans training wheels. But something or someone changed his mind on Sunday and now there is no turning back.

Yet another milestone achieved. A milestone that pushes him towards independence and self-sufficiency. After all, once you can bike, you can go anywhere (isn’t that a Dr. Seuss rhyme?!).

Why is it that the mind understands that these babies of ours need to grow up but the heart so desperately wants to keep them young?

I stood and watched his tiny determined face as he situated the pedals just right and took off down the sidewalk. My little munch was not so little any longer. Five years old and riding a bike and playing football and operating a computer. He’s set.

I can only imagine the short amount of time it will take before he begins begging to ride to the next street over, then the next, and then even further away. But for now I will soak in his response when I told him that he was an official two-wheeled bike rider:

“This is great mom. Now the whole family can ride two-wheeled bikes together.”

Always thinking of his family – my sweet biking son.

Hamburger helper fix

September 11, 2012September 11, 2012Leave a comment

Yesterday Jon and I came home from work to two wild, spazo kids. Maria and Mario were both hyped up – Maria from her first Brownies meeting and Mario because David picked him up early during nap. Maria screamed every word she said in pure excitement; Mario zipped from one room to the next like a pinball. Ahh, nothing like relaxing after a long day at work. But they do keep us going….

I made Maria’s new favorite dish, hamburger helper (at least I used 98% lean meat)! While eating, we discussed Maria’s laws as a new Brownie. As part of her homework, she had to write down which law applied best to her family. She chose “respecting each other’s words” over courage and helpfulness and kindness, among other laws. She picked it, she said, because she thinks it’s important for us to always listen to one another. I loved that.

Of course, Mario chimed in at the tail end of her explanation to stand up on his chair and make some funny face. He then told us how eight girls had crushes on him. One in particular, Viv, told him she thought he was cute because of his tan. There’s that tan reference again! In order to get him off the girl fixation, I asked him what he loves about his family since that was Maria’s next project.

He said he loved his mom because “1. she feeds me food; 2. she tells me she loves me; 3. she respects what I say; and 4. she reads me books.” Not too bad, I thought. He then leaned to Jon and said “and so does my dad!”

Maria was a lot less generous. She only had to write one thing she loved so she wrote that she loved my cooking (because of the hamburger helper that night!) and Jon’s ability to fix things.

Speaking of fixing things, later that evening Jon and I found a worksheet she prepared where she had to answer a question asking “when a person is sad, I BLANK.” She wrote in “I try to fix it.” I about fell over. For years, I have talked about the difference between Jon and I when it comes to approaching someone’s problems. I react by consoling the person and listening to them. Jon reacts completely opposite. He immediately gets the wheels turning in his head to try to fix the person’s problem. When I saw Maria’s answer, it affirmed yet again another personality trait she has inherited from Jon. Daddy’s girl.

After dinner, Maria wrote and decorated her Brownie star with what we discussed that evening and Mario wrote letters I randomly quizzed him on (he’s getting much better – yea!).

They both sat still for an entire half hour (must have been the carb overload in the hamburger helper!).

Heile Olympics

August 27, 2012August 29, 2012Leave a comment

My cousin Maggie summed it up the best with a video of my Uncle Ken running around his pool with “the Olympic torch” as we all cheered him on: “Just a typical Sunday with the Heile family. Olympics style.”

I give my Heile clan kudos for letting go of any stress, work issues, family problems, and just having a good ol’ time on the weekend. Jon and I and the kids traveled down to Cincy on Sunday afternoon after the kids pestered us all morning about having to wait so long to leave. They were so excited about heading to Aunt Susie’s and Uncle Kenny’s pool. They have the best of all worlds with me and Jon in the water with them all afternoon, cousins throwing them everywhere, and aunts and uncles acting silly. When we arrived, Susie was busy getting the “torches” lit and putting up the “Welcome to the Heile Olympics” signs. She and Lia planned this Olympics party and came up with a great list of pool and field games. Lia had to go at the last-minute so Susie directed them through the day, and was a stellar emcee. It was H2 versus H3 (the second generation Heile clan versus the third generation). I am always a go-between since I grew up with the H2 clan but I am technically a H3 baby.

We started with the pool games. “Biggest Splash” was the first event. Maria and Mario gave it a try but Jon and Uncle Joe took them by storm. Joe ended up with the win but it was contested by Jon! We moved onto “Chicken.” Maggie got on my shoulders. Maria got on Cy’s shoulders. Konnor got on Joe’s shoulders. Maggie and I were out for the count within a minute. Maria held tight and battled with Konnor. Her little butt clenched up like crazy trying to stay on top of Cy. She is a fighter! And they won! They were so cute together – Cy threw her into the air and they hugged. Her face was lit up like she had won a date with Big Time Rush.

The last event was the volleyball game. God love my aunts and uncles. They range in age from a few years older than me to 60 and they played like they were 23 years old. We whooped on the H3 clan – they couldn’t handle Joe’s spikes and Ken’s slaps and Christina’s, Susie’s and Jane’s strategic moves. Julie and I may have been the weakest link along with Jon who in the beginning of the game belted out a game plan and asked “Who is the weak link of our group?” As a result, Julie and I kept giving him grief each time he missed the ball (but to his credit, he ended up making some killer shots). We took two out of three games and headed to the dinner table for some chicken and brats. Maria “surfed” while we ate; she used a plastic kick board to stand on and try to balance herself. She was pretty good. Mario played cornhole with Papa Rod and baseball with Uncle Kenny. Later, he taught Gracie how to throw a beanbag for cornhole. Watching the two of them out in the yard together was about the sweetest thing ever. He coddles her like a baby (he learned from his sis) and she looks up to him.

While we were taking goofy pictures with my iPad, someone yelled “Is she ok?” We looked over and Gracie was in the pool with water up to her nose. Mario was standing next to her and trying to hold her up as high as he could. Maggie jumped in and rescued Gracie. Mario stood in the water dumbfounded. Someone yelled “Mario, you are a hero!” He looked at me and smiled. And that was it. All night he proclaimed how he “saved Gracie.” When he woke up this morning, he called me in his room and said “Mom, can I skip school today since I saved Gracie yesterday?” He is gonna use that as long as he is able!

After dinner, we moved to the field games. “Best Cartwheel” was first. I got robbed, and lost to Konnor. He had a nice touch but I think mine was a tad more precise. I didn’t put up a fight, though. Trying to teach the kids how to be good losers. Mario got upset when he didn’t win every game; he handled it better than he has in the past but he definitely made each activity a full-blown competition. Susie used stick horses for the equestrian competition and had the competitors run around obstacles “on their horse.” It was hilarious. I tried to keep Mario busy when they announced the winner so that he wouldn’t get upset that he didn’t win.

The last game was “Flip Cup.” I had no interest in the game because it was a drinking game, and I figured I may need to help Jon with the drive home. But the cousins begged me to play since the H2 team was down a person. I agreed. I stood on one side of the table with my aunts Julie and Christina and Susie and my uncle Joe. All of these wonderful people who took care of me when I was little and here I was on their team cheering for them to guzzle beer and flip a cup with enough precision to land it upside down. Gotta love it. We got slammed by the younger generation (who probably plays it every other weekend), and we were not happy about it. We were especially not happy about it after chugging a few beers in a ten minute period of time. In the second round, we were down again, and I was the only one left standing of my team (the youngsters voted everyone else off the island (some type of survivor game they incorporated into the Flip Cup game as well)). Some how, the competitive spirit in me arose (Mario was standing next to me now that I think about it). I chugged all five beers and flipped over all five cups in world record time and got to vote one of the youngsters off the island. I did it the next time, too. And the next. By the time it was just down to Maggie and Laura against me, I was two sheets to the wind. I hurt bad. I haven’t drank that fast in a long time, and not Natural Light. But my boy was staring up at me and telling me I could do it – my inspiration – so I did it! I whooped those girls up and down and won for the H2 generation!

Maggie and Liz grabbed me up after my celebratory dance and told me we were going to do a victory lap around the pool. If I had my senses I would have realized that they were my competition so it would not have made sense for them to do a victory lap but that is if I would have had my senses. I ran with them and within four seconds, I felt a hand shove me into the pool. I was spent. Maria jumped into the pool to rescue me. She carried me over to the steps and pushed back my hair from my eyes. Mario ran over to Maggie and Laura and shouted at them for pushing his mom into the pool. Jon began to throw Laura into the pool on my behalf. My immediate family sure takes care of their mama bear.

I can’t imagine life without this crazy crew. We all have different interests, tastes, political affiliations, styles, hobbies but we all let it go when we get together. We rely on our history together: our memories of times at grandma’s and grandpa’s house playing in their backyard and our times at weddings watching all of the Heile women and girls do the chicken dance and our times at holiday gatherings joking with one another and sharing stories. I am so grateful that Maria and Mario get to experience this crew just like I did as a child. And they love it all as much as I loved it. Who wouldn’t?!

Chillin’ with the family

August 5, 2012August 5, 2012Leave a comment

I made the mistake of coming home Saturday morning.

I usually take a long run and hit the gym on Saturday mornings but yesterday I took a short run and only lifted for a brief time so I could hit yoga at 9:30. I ran home to get my bike to ride downtown to class. When I turned the corner of the driveway to head to the garage, I saw Maria and Mario. And they saw me.

“Mom’s home! Mom, will you play soccer? Will you ride bikes?”

“Guys, I am heading to yoga but will be back in an hour and we can do all of those things.”

“Not fair, mom. You took a run and now you have to stay home.”

When I continued to get my bike, they both boycotted me. “Don’t talk to her, Mario,” Maria demanded. I biked away with the both of them staring me down. When I got home, they were camped out on the floor under their blanket fort watching Tom & Jerry.

“Hi guys.”

“Hi mom!” It’s as if nothing had occurred an hour earlier. Gotta love kids.

We dragged Mario out in his pj bottoms to the grocery to get icing to decorate brownies for the family get together at Jon’s niece’s house. Nothin’ like having your four year old kid in the grocery cart with only his Sponge Bob pj pants on – no shoes or shirt – eating a lunchable snack from the deli meat aisle. Hey, I gotta pick my battles, and this wasn’t one of them.

We came home and decorated brownies and then took off for Sherri’s house. All of Jon’s brothers were in attendance – a feat that only happens a couple times a year since they live in different states. Poor Josh and Peter and Matthew and Morgan. As older kids, they get all of the fondling and torment of the younger kids. Maria and Alana and Emi were teasing Josh and Peter incessantly. But being the good sports, they hung in there with them (it probably helps that they only have to deal with it a couple times a year!).

And it was comical that the little girl who copped a serious attitude when I went to yoga had no desire for me to be within 10 feet of her at Sherri’s house. Mario was almost as bad except that he wanted to wrestle later in the day and no one would agree except good ol’ mom.

Maria loves being around her girl cousins, and I welcome them all into her lives. She adores Emi who is always running out to greet her and Mario when they come over. She is the organizer of all activities and makes sure everyone has what they need to participate. Maria also enjoys Eli who is much more reserved and introverted but will lie on her bed with Ri for hours answering Maria’s questions. They are the big sisters Maria never had. Then there is Dagmawit who could be Maria’s twin. She is assertive and bold like Ri and they both have strong, muscular bodies. I wish Dag (as Maria calls her) lived closer but she gives us a reason to head to Savannah. Alana is a staple in Maria’s life since she lives close by and her and Ri are so close in age. They were excited all afternoon at Sherri’s house because they knew they were heading to Patty’s house for a few days (Patty calls them the Bickerson Twins because of the way they bicker with each other when they stay with her). And finally there is Morgan, Amy’s daughter, and Asma, Zach’s daughter. who we rarely see because Morgan lives in Savannah and Asma lived out of town until recently. They both blend right into Maria’s life when they are around though because they are Maria’s family and to Maria, that’s all she needs to know to welcome them into her circle.

Jon and I enjoy these family get-togethers because the kids go off and play and we can chat with adults. We got to catch up with Kevin and Margie about life with Dagmawit. They told us how Dag wanted to be a swim coach (since she is so good in the water) and the adult coaches allowed her. Before they could turn around, she was directing kids around the pool. When a parent picked up his child, she stopped him and said “Your child had a good practice today.” Love it! I told you Ri and her were twins. We also got to laugh at Micah’s antics and talk to Amy, Sherri’s sister who is my fellow runner in Savannah. Jon chatted with Debbie and Michael about Peter’s college and work. It was a pleasant Ionno gathering full of delicious food, much laughter, and good chats.

When we came home, Mario questioned where why Ri wasn’t with us. We told him Grandma’s house and he got so angry. “That’s not fair!” We explained to him that he’s gone to Grandma’s a lot more often than Ri. It didn’t matter to him. Grandma is a hot commodity and he needed to voice his displeasure. I calmed him down by watching a Ben Ten with him on the couch. He curled up on my lap and I scratched his back. Within fifteen minutes, he was snoozing away. It took me back to his baby days when I’d lay with him and watch him sleep – his tiny lips barely open and his sweet breath sending out the most wonderful, calming smell ever.

Stand By Me

July 9, 2012July 9, 20122 Comments

My sis forwarded this video to me like a little angel from above. Seriously, she sent it to me on a day where I had woken up with a splitting headache, endured kids’ whining about having to stay home with the sitter, and received an email from a client complaining about the status of a matter. And it was only 7:30 am at that time. By 2 pm, I was ready to pack it up and hitchhike off to a remote town in Alaska.

And then I got an email from her containing this video. I immediately smiled. It brought me back to sanity. I felt a renewed sense of goodness in this world. I looked at the kids’ pictures and did not want to wring their necks. I met my client and felt compassion. I called Jon and told him I loved him.

Amazing what one little video can do for your day. Here’s to humanity and the amazing spirit dwelling in all of us.

Driving the Munches

June 27, 2012June 27, 2012Leave a comment

Does this crew crack me up or what?!

My sis is back in town with her hubby, Jorge, and her cuddly monster of a dog, Stella, and they agreed to take my two darling children to the farm for the next couple of days since our sitter threw up all day while babysitting them yesterday. Poor guy must have gotten Maria’s bug last week – he barely made it out of the car after he picked up Mario from school and had the pleasure of throwing up all over our sidewalk while the kids screeched with depraved excitement.

So, I had an afternoon full of frantic phone calls trying to find child care for the rest of the week. Luckily, Meg and dad came through – this will be a test for Maria Grace – it is supposed to be in the 90’s the next couple of days and there is no AC at the farm. I’m quite sure she will be naked through the afternoons!

So back to that retro sis of mine (Maria told her she looked like she was living in the 80’s and Sar told her that her look was “retro” – not 80’s). She arrived promptly at 8:30 am to pick up the munches (Sar’s endearing name for them) who had been begging for her to arrive since 6:25 am. They were excited to spend two hours with her in the car and did not even ask for a movie on the way. Sarah should be honored.

She called me half way into the trip and let me know she was teaching them the names of colors in Spanish. She also was laughing hysterically at the stories coming out of the munches’ mouths. Maria told her about a news clip where a man was naked on a street in Florida and they had to blur his privates. Mario chimed in and added: “that was me!”

Yeah, I am quite sure she was kept amused the entire ride and I am quite sure the munches were in seventh heaven.

Goodbye Maggie

June 19, 2012June 19, 2012Leave a comment

We said goodbye to Maggie last night. She is heading to Florida and then Australia for a long eight weeks (check out her blog at:. An Australian Summer.

Maria couldn’t stop hugging her when she came to Mario’s tee ball practice to say goodbye. Mario even dropped his glove in the dirt to give her a hug goodbye (and he is particular about his glove).

The kids have gotten used to Maggie coming over during the week to do laundry or just say hi. She would engage them in pillow fights one minute and book reading the next. Maria hung on her every word when she talked about her nights’ out with friends looking at her like she was a superstar.

After dinner, Maria asked if we could bike to her apartment one last time. I had developed some pictures for her to take to Australia so we had to deliver them anyway. We headed over and Ri got one final hug from her. As we biked away, Maria began to cry.

I told her that Maggie would be back before she knew it. She gathered herself up enough to say “but what if she decides to stay forever?” I told her that people sometimes move away – Maggie may find a job in Australia or meet someone she really likes.

Her precious response: “But what about her family back here? We love her.”

My little homebody girl. She certainly adores her family and makes sure they know it. As we approached our house, she asked if we could send Maggie a letter in Australia to remind her we are thinking of her. “And we can tell her something crazy that Mario did – because we know he will do something crazy soon – and that will make her smile if she misses home sometimes.”

What a good soul.

Music on the lawn and laughter in the air

June 13, 2012June 13, 2012Leave a comment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Family