Chill Sunday

July 21, 2014July 21, 2014Leave a comment

Sunday morning Monopoly.

Not Sunday morning run.
Not Sunday morning yoga.
Not Sunday morning gym time.
It is hard for me to sit still. I blame this whole-heartedly on both the Menkedick and Heile sides of the family. My dad never stops. My mom is always walking. My grandmas on both sides worked and played voraciously. My Grandma Heile was mowing the grass in her 80s and my Grandma Menkedick was taking walking tours in hers. And so when I wake up, I’m ready to go go go.
But Sunday morning, I walked down the stairs to find myself being embraced in a full body hug by Mario.
“Let’s wrestle!”
Maria, he and I went at it rolling around the family room and tossing each other from one end to the other. It ended ten minutes later with Ri getting hurt; Mario slammed her earring into the back of her head. She cried for a second and then shot up on her feet and demanded: “let’s play monopoly!”
I hesitated.
It was 9 am and there was a yoga class at 10 am downtown. They rushed around the room trying to find the Monopoly game.
“I found it!” Mario exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen and knocked into Ri. She turned around and hugged him screaming “you are the man, Mario!”
They both turned to me and matter-of-factly said “ok, mom, you are the banker, let’s get started!”
How could I resist those sweet faces?
They are my trainers. They are making me work on chilling the heck out. They will make me plant my butt in the chair and remain seated for longer than two minutes. They will make me see what a gift it is to stay still and be fully present with them.
Mario rolled a ten and landed on a railroad.
“Yes! You will owe me $25 if you land on this railroad.”
Nothing like promoting his love of money by playing a game of Monopoly.
Ri has a bit more strategic thinking in her play – she goes straight after Park Place and Broadway.
After about 20 minutes of playing, it wasn’t me that stood up antsy. Ri and Mario both got up in search of food. We decided on chocolate chip pancakes. I prepared the batter and Ri and I flipped the cakes. Meanwhile, we continued to play the game. While the kiddos may have taught me to chill, they have not taught me to stop multi-tasking!
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Leave! Ok, now come back…

July 18, 2014Leave a comment

The kids and I drove out to the farm on Tuesday afternoon to sneak a peek of Ms. Elena. We can only handle a week away from that pumpkin before we go nuts. She did not disappoint. Wide-eyed and engaged. We got to even dress her up in ladybug shoes and a barrette!

Ri could seriously spend every waking moment holding her. She situates herself down on the rocking chair and she rocks that baby just like Grandma Heile.
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Uncle Jack is staying at the farm, too, until he heads to Sweden in September. So the kids have triple the fun between Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jorge and Uncle Jack. That combo did the trick for me when I got ready to leave Tuesday night and head home. I knew Ri wanted to stay through Friday because she would live at the farm if possible. But Mario usually wants to return home with his mama. However, this night, he gave me a hug and told me he’d stay as long as he had his blue blankie (his new comfort item). It helped that as I was leaving, the crew was getting ready for a corn hole competition. Mario will stay for anything competitive.
And so I drove home with only my pup in the back seat. I looked out my windshield and witnessed a gorgeous rose and orange sunset and began to say “look guys, look at the sunset” but I caught myself. They weren’t back there.
I arrived home and only had to unload Rocco. One trip. I usually have at least three between carrying each kid to their bedroom and carrying the 20 bags we bring for just one day trip.
It was 9:20. Maybe I could watch a movie? I never get to watch movies when the kids are home because they don’t go to bed until 10 and there is no way I can manage a midnight bedtime. I flipped through the channels. Nothing struck me. I ended up half-watching Veep and reading the New York Times. I was snuggled in bed by 10:30.
The next morning I expected a call from Mario begging for me to pick him up.
Nothing.
I worked all day going in and out of thoughts of the kids and wondering what they were doing. By the end of the workday, I figured all was well and that there would be no need to pick Mario up that night.
I biked home, walked Rocco, and took a SOS class with some girlfriends. I haven’t done that since law school.
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I felt good after the class. I walked in the front door drenched in sweat and ready to gab it up about how tough the class was for me. But no one was there. Jon was in England so fast asleep. The kids were probably finding eggs in the chicken coop. So I told Rocco all about it on our walk.
The night played out pretty closely to Tuesday night. I sat down with my lasagna and ice cream (hey, I deserved it after that class!), flipped through the channels for 15 minutes, turned on Veep, and caught up on Facebook. I crawled into bed at 10:45.
Thursday morning arrived and I thought surely Mario would call crying for me to get him.
Nothing.
I went through my day thinking of them at random times. 5 pm hit and still no call. Ok, then, I guess I’ll hit another class. Yoga boot camp this time. I biked home exhausted. I opened the front door to silence. No kids running towards me and screaming “Mom!” No fighting. No hitting. But also no hugs or kisses. No blue eyes staring up at me.
I did have brown ones though. Rocco greeted me with licks and kisses and I lapped them up. We took a long walk to the pet store and walked past Jeni’s. I could hear Ri’s pleas in my head to stop for ice cream. We walked past the flower shop and saw the black cat in the window and I could see Mario’s finger pointing at it and his exuberant smile.
Rocco and I got home at 8:30. I began some yard work and decided to call my parents to check in. Mario answered.
“Hellllllooooo, mother!” He was giggling over something happening in the room. He handed the phone directly over to Meg without saying anything more. Meg reported they were doing well and having fun. We discussed a time for my sitter to meet them Friday morning and hung up.
I felt relieved that they were doing so well at the farm. Mario’s had a rough time missing me when he goes out there and it seems like he had much less trouble this time around but dang, he could have at least told me he loved me….
I did a bit more yard work and then went inside to more lasagna, ice cream and Modern Family (needed a break from Veep). The tv provided background noise as I read my sister’s piece in Paris Review and a few other articles. How quiet the house was when I turned off the tv and shut off the computer at 10:30. I walked up the stairs and past Mario’s room. His door was shut and piece of paper was taped on it with the words “keep out.” I looked into Ri’s room and saw her baby lying on the floor with random Barbie accessories lying around.
I missed them and all their quirks.
“They come home tomorrow,” I thought to myself as I took off my eyeliner and splashed water on my face. I fell into the bed and slept straight through to morning. I woke up excited. My babies are coming home today.
It’s so strange how I can dream of a few days alone for months and months and then I get it and I dream of seeing my babes again. I was amazed at how much time I had over the last two days. I thought back to being child-less and how busy I thought I was those days.
Workout, go to work, walk the dog, get dinner, go to bed. Where does the time go, I’d think to myself after a weekend with Jon.
Now I look at me – juggling work, Girl Scouts meetings, school volunteer activities, football, softball, homework, family events, working out, walking the dog, reading, cleaning the house, folding laundry, giving baths, arranging play dates, playing games, wrestling, making dinner…. That’s busy, baby.
And overwhelming at times.
Hence why these small breaks are wonderful.
But they certainly reinforce how grateful I am to have these two kiddos in my life. And Jon. And family. They are my joy and they bring richness and depth to my life. Jon and I made a fine choice in bringing M&M into the world.
When I left work Friday, I felt butterflies biking home to see them. Butterflies?! How many times in the last month have I wanted to scream at them or pull my hair out over their tantrums? Yet I have butterflies in my stomach in anticipation of seeing them tonight? Whoever or whatever is responsible for creating this indelible bond between parent and child should be commended.
Those hugs from M&M when I jumped off my bike to greet them were like pumpkin pies with loads of whipped cream – comforting and filling and long-awaited goodness.
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Whoppin’ weekend

June 30, 2014Leave a comment

It started with a rompin’ tee-ball game on Friday night. Mario was his goofy self diving after balls and making silly faces while standing on the plate. He and his buddy, Ben wrestled each other for the ball and wrestled each other while waiting to bat. Tee-ball is organized chaos but the coaches are dedicated and patient with the kids – much more than I could be.

We headed to Doris and Kim’s house to catch the Grandview bike races. The kids were in heaven with all of the partying along our old street, 2nd Avenue. Bounce houses, lemonade stands, soccer balls. Mario wrestled with his buddies on the curb for most of the evening – they are lucky they didn’t roll into the street and get pummeled by the bikers.
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Meanwhile, Ri and her girlfriends played barbies at one of her friend’s house and were content staying out of the chaos for the rest of the evening. I left around 9:30 to go make party bags for my softball gals. Jon partied hard with the kids and pulled up to the house around 10:45 with both kids still wide awake.
We got a visit from the Overbeck crew on Saturday morning. They partied hard at ComFest on Friday night and visited us before heading back to Cincy. Mario loved having Robert and Cy watch him throw baseballs and Ri ran to Aunt Laura when she arrived. Ahh, the love.
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Ri’s last softball game of the regular season was at 3 pm Saturday – right in the thick heat of the day. The girls kicked it up a notch and won 11-2. I was so proud of them.
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Ri rocked it at bat – had two hard hits down the third base line. She is a muscle up at bat – little compact thing. After the game, we had root beer floats and I gave the girls each a gift bag with a picture frame and picture of the team, a card, and candy and sunflower seeds (their favorite during games). I had so much fun coaching them and watching them come together as a team.
Jack and Sofia came to watch Ri play and she was pumped. Then they took her to Noodles with them to grab dinner. She talked the entire dinner telling them stories about the family and asking them questions about themselves. At one point, Ri burped. She looked a little embarrassed and Jack chimed right in saying “it’s ok girl I just let one out myself.” She smiled and giggled. That’s my bro, always making us laugh. Next they played Wii. Ri and Mario made Mii characters of Jack and Sofia, which was hilarious. Then they played baseball with Jack. More hilarity. Then we had to hit Jeni’s so Sofia could experience the goodness.
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A huge downpour occurred as we ate outside. Everyone was scrambling towards the indoors or under the awnings but not Ri and Mario. They ran right out into it and got soaked. That’s my babes.
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On Sunday, I woke up with a killer migraine. I knew exactly what it was from. Dehydration. I had ran, lifted, biked, done hot yoga, mowed the grass, weeded, and stood in the heat for two hours. I wonder why I was dehydrated…. Jon took Mario to Big Mario’s and Ri stayed to nurse me. She got out pictures for us to look at and rubbed my feet. Then she asked “do you want me to go to Sofie’s house so you can sleep?” I knew what that meant – she was bored to death. And so she went and I slept the entire afternoon. I finally woke to somewhat less of a headache. I drank more water. I rested. I was finally able to take a walk with Rocco and the girls at 5:30. I hate wasting a Sunday like that but I now will gulp water all day. Ri and Sofie enjoyed Stauf’s bagels and acting like they were guzzling wine (Stauf’s syrups).
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Meanwhile, Mario was not playing around. He was dead serious as he shot his beebee gun at his target. Jon said he stood in the rain for a half hour shooting. It’s his nirvana. He loves heading out to Mario’s with Jon and Jon loves taking him. It is their bonding experience now and I’m sure for years to come. Mario absolutely is smitten when Jon tells him they are going.
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Jon rang the doorbell at 9:45 pm with a sleeping boy in his arms. He transported him to me and I took him to his room. He looked like a sleeping cub. I checked on Ri and she was sprawled out like a starfish. Love.>

All in a Sunday morning

June 23, 2014June 23, 2014Leave a comment

7 am.
Ten years ago it would have floated by without notice or care. My pillow under me, Jon by my side, maybe a dream wrapping up in my rested head. Today, the house is bustling with kids’ footsteps up and down the steps, laptops chiming hello, and a pup barreling onto the bed for morning kisses.
Jon rescued me Sunday morning and escorted Rocco downstairs with the kids. That lasted ten minutes before we heard the charge of Rocco through the hall, up the stairs, and to our room. I lazily climbed out of bed, got dressed and lumbered down the steps with Rocco pushing his nose into my leg right behind me. The kids were on the couch playing Animal Jam on the computers. I gave them the “I am not happy you are on a computer and not taking care of a Rocco” look and they both closed the computer tops and pronounced “we want to take a walk with you!”
Ri got her scooter. I got the stroller for Mario in case he got tired of walking (the BOB is still our tried-and-true even though Mario is almost seven years old). We got Rocco and headed to the woods. We walked into a chirping, vibrant forest and I was elated to have my babies with me to experience such early morning goodness. They immediately dashed to the climbing tree and Rocco immediately whined and cried as they climbed the tree. He gets whacked out every time they scale it and watches them intensely until they are back on ground.

Mario and Ri went to their second favorite tree that leans way over to the side. They love to climb it. Mario decided he was going to jump off of it rather than have me help him down. All I heard as I walked out of the meadow with Rocco was “MOM!” Ri was helping him up and he was holding his back. Great, he’s broken his vertebrae. But he shook it off for try no. 2. Here’s how that try went:
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Mario jumped.
Mario feigned death.
Ri laughed hysterically.
Lovely.
We picked him up and they both went up the tree for one last hurrah before leaving for Stauf’s.
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On the way out of the woods, Mario complained that his back hurt. Maria exclaimed “I’ll carry you little buddy!” He hopped on her back and the hysterics began. Rocco chewed on Mario’s shoe and Ri tumbled every other second. What cuties.
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We walked up to Giant Eagle and the kids went in while I held Rocco (who again whined like a baby when they left). I gave them my Visa (they are so independent) and they got a bag of grapes (they had to eat a handful before a donut) and two donuts. Stauf’s was trumped by GE donuts.
Next we headed to the church park. Mario freaked about Rocco climbing the jungle gym set. He worries like heck about that dog. He was nervous about him getting lost at Park of the Roses, too. He doesn’t worry about jumping from a tree but he worries about his pup. And Rocco worries just as much about him. Mario began to swing and Rocco dashed over and jumped on the swing as Mario swung up. Mario got scratched good. I yelled at Rocco and he came to his side immediately. “It’s ok, mom. He didn’t mean it.” He has his back.
We left the park and talked about zombies and softball pitching on the walk home. Ri promised Mario she’d take care of him as his nurse when we got home because he banged his knee at the park. I carried him upstairs to his bed and she brought band-aids and the computer to him. She fetched him water and listened to him talk about his animals on Animal Jam.
Meanwhile, I went down to sit on the deck with Jon and play gin rummy. He whooped on me but I enjoyed just hanging out with him in the shade of the trees.
Pretty nice Sunday, I must say. And all of this before 10:30 am!>

Ahh, woods

June 20, 2014June 20, 2014Leave a comment

We found Rocco’s heaven last night. The creek at Park of the Roses. I rounded up the kids (including the Markles) and Rocco and we headed to the Park at 6 pm last night. My girlfriend thinks I’m crazy to head back out after a long workday but I find it refreshing. I need the outdoors after meetings all day. And it was darling to see Rocco splashing through the creek just as happy as could be. The kids had a blast, too because they were able to get in the creek with their clothes and shoes on. They really went nuts and dunked their heads under water, which they all found exhilarating.

I wish I could step out my back door and be in the woods. But, as Jon regularly informs me, that would mean giving up city life. I don’t know that I’m ready to give up on my walks to Stauf’s or the pizza shoppe. I guess I will have to be happy with the mini-woods, Tarpy, a quarter mile away; and Park of the Roses only 15 minutes away. There is something about nature that just makes it all good. I came home revived and enjoyed watching the kids and a Rocco appreciate the water and rocks and thrills of the woods. The Wendy’s Frosty afterwards didn’t hurt either.
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Take me out to the ball game!

June 16, 2014June 16, 2014Leave a comment

It is baseball/softball season in the Ionno household. We are in full swing this month with Mario’s games on Friday nights and Ri’s games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Mario is still in tee-ball even though he was not happy about that deal. He wanted coach-pitch this year (“babies hit off tees,” he said to me after I signed him up.) He does have a heck of a throw on him – he throws it back to the coach and nails it nearly every time. And he has some buddies on his team and on opposing teams so he has fun.
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They still all move in one big mass when the ball is hit in order to try to be the first to get the ball. It is no holds barred with elbows and kicks being used at any cost. And rarely does anyone cry about getting hurt – if this behavior happened in any other setting, it would be chaos but there is something about a ball field that makes it tolerable.
Mario got to play 1st base on Friday night. He needs to work on scooping up the ball but he was ready for it every time. I love watching him play. He hit some good balls, too. He loves to hit last so that he can run all the bases at one time like he got a home run. Very Mario-like!
After his game, he asked if I could coach his team next year like I coach Ri’s now. Warmed my heart that he’d ask me. I don’t know how I will swing both but I will find a way after that request.
He and his buddies partied it up after the game. They played keep-away and tackled each other to the ground. It took all our might to make him leave. But he had a sis that was dying to get to a swim party so she put down the gauntlet.
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Ri had a game on Saturday. Peepaw and Mama Meg came in to watch it. I get so anxious watching my girls play – I want them to play well and win so badly. They are all making great strides in their playing. The defense is making outs and we have a girl who could not hit to save her life getting hits! The girls are great about cheering each other on and patting each other on the back when they miss a ball or strike out. That was one of my goals – learning teamwork – so if all else fails, we accomplished that one.
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Ri had a great play at third on Saturday – she scooped up a grounder and tagged third for an out. She scared me because she was confused at first about whether to tag the girl or the bag and when she went running for the bag I was worried the girl would pass her (she’s strong as heck but not the quickest!). But she got an out and she was charged up because the girl she got out was the girl who had gotten her out the previous inning! Little did I know that she likes her some revenge!
But what she likes more are after-softball hot dogs and ice cream. Those girls run for the concession stand like bandits!
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And, of course, she loves having visitors cheer her on like Peepaw and Mama Meg (even if they are carting two mattresses in a flat bed truck to the game!).
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Mario and me

June 11, 2014Leave a comment

It’s been Mario and me since Ri left for Cincy on Monday morning. The kid is too stinkin’ cute and I find myself squeezing him and kissing him every free moment I have. He begged me to come to his tee-ball practice on Monday morning and I could not resist. I rescheduled a morning meeting and went down to see him. He’s got a heck of an arm on him. He is ready for coach-pitch and he does not hesitate to to tell me the same. He kept glancing over at me to make sure I was watching him.
After work, I came home with the hopes that he would want to take a bike ride or long walk. But he just wanted to chill so I threw him into the stroller (Jon, close your ears) and we took Rocco for a walk. He brought the computer but after me wrangling him about not talking to his mom, he stopped playing on the condition that we play the animal game. And so we did. He always thinks I’m going to select a pig since it’s my favorite animal so his first question is always “is your animal pink?” So tender.
We had to step into DK Diner for a donut on our way home. Don’t you know they had two chocolate long johns left so Mario and I were in heaven. When we got home, Mario found American Ninja tryouts on tv and pleaded for me to watch them with him. And so we did. He was amazed when a girl made it through the course. It is my life’s goal to make that kid understand that girls can do anything boys can do. You’d think with as adamant as I am about that, he would understand. I’m quite sure he simply makes the comments just to irk me and Ri.
We repeated our steps on Tuesday night except DK Diner only had a vanilla long john so I had to walk away donut-less (Mario was willing “to deal with” a vanilla one). We watched more Ninja together and we did headstands. I had read a study that found that standing on your head for a minute a day was beneficial to you and I explained the study to Mario. He then timed me and made me stay in a headstand for a minute – I think he wanted me to pass out so he could stay up for the rest of the night. I made it and he congratulated me just like a trainer.
He fell asleep on my lap at 9:50 and I sent the rest of my emails while I watched his little sweet face dream. We woke up this morning and took a walk to Giant Eagle for some milk. We played a new game – guess the number. I picked a number from 1-20 and he had to guess it. He guessed my number – 16 – on the first try. He was so charged up.
“I think I can read your mind, mom!”
Well, I just couldn’t let him down so on the next try when he guessed 39 out of 1-40, I said yes even though it wasn’t the number in my head. And so it went. He would pick one less than the top number (59 if 1-60; 79 if 1-80). Finally he said “mom, you are just thinking of any number that comes right before the last number!” So I figured it was time to not fib and the next time he guessed, I told him he guessed the wrong number. But when he guessed again after saying “oh yeah, I knew that was wrong but I bet this one is right…” I had to say he was right even though he wasn’t. I’m a wimp that way. I’m probably leading him down a bad path since many articles talk about letting your kids fail but I’m sure there are worse things I could be doing with his life.
He swore he wasn’t going to get a donut at Giant Eagle but when we got there, he couldn’t resist. I made him eat some grapes before he ate his donut, which served two purposes: (1) get some vitamins in him and (2) get him filled up so I got half of his uneaten donut.
On the way back home, I asked if he missed Ri. “Sort of” he responded. It is wonderful to get alone time with each kid but I’m ready to get us all back together (and I know Mario is too notwithstanding his “sort of” response).

Pure exuberance

June 9, 2014June 9, 2014Leave a comment

Dad called me as I was unloading bottled waters and Doritos from the gas station to the kids.
“We are heading out to the farm, dad,” I confirmed after seeing his name appear on my phone.
“Great, I was hoping you’d say that! We will see you soon!”
I made sure the crew was buckled – I had pleaded for Sophie and Quinn to come since Ri and Mario wanted them to experience the farm so badly – and veered onto the highway. We drove to Exit 186 and turned off the tv. I made them look for animals. They were excited to get to the farm and see the dogs and horses and chickens. I was excited to see Ms. Elena.
We pulled up and Ri gave Peepaw a huge hug. Rocco went nuts as soon as he jumped out of the car. The boys ran down the hill to play badminton. Yes, the chaos had arrived. Little Elena better get used to the Menkedick energy.
We decided to take the dogs on a hike through the woods. Jorge placed Elena in the Ergo Baby and we were off. Dad and the girls led the way. The kids found the swinging vines and I held Rocco back to avoid him biting at them as they swung. Sar and Jorge broke off from us in the meadow – they didn’t want to overdo it since it was Elena’s first woods hike – and dad and the kids and I continued on towards the pond. The kids couldn’t resist the creek laying to our right. I should have put their boots on them before the hike but I was busy gooing over Elena. Maria, Sophie and Mario jumped right down into the creek not caring if their shoes got wet. Quinn was not so ready. He asked if I’d walk with him and help him traverse the spots without many rocks to use as landing spots. We were very clever finding ways to scale the muddy banks and avoid the water. But eventually we had to climb the thorn-filled hill to the path. Meanwhile, Sophie found a darling salamander.
We rounded up the kids after a bit so we could get to the pond before it rained. Mario was already complaining about wet feet. I scaled down to help him get the sand and pebbles off his feet and put on his soaked shoes. I can’t stand wet feet on a hike but I did not tell him that or else I would have convinced him that he had to be carried the whole way back. Rather, I got away with holding him only a few times throughout the rest of the hike.
I should have listened to dad when he questioned whether we should hit the pond before the creek. About five minutes into resuming our hike to the pond, the kids were complaining of being tired. And hungry (Ri). I yelled up to dad to teach us about some of the trees we were seeing and leaves we were brushing against. And the nature lesson began.
Dad pointed out a beech tree and it’s smooth light grey bark. Next he crushed a spice tree leaf in his hand and gestured for the kids to try the same. They “ohhed and ahhed” over the smell. He showed us a cherry tree (with its jagged puzzle piece-like bark) and a red-bud (with its heart leaves). We found a sassafras leaf and learned that it smelled like root beer. I was learning as much as the kids and just as excited. As a young child, I did not experience the woods and camping out like my younger sis and brother did with my dad. When I go on a hike with Sar, she’s able to point out an oak, a hickory, a certain wildflower, and a great deal of that knowledge was rooted from her hikes with my dad. So when dad pointed at the bark on the cherry tree and described its texture, I felt like an eight-year old absorbing all of his knowledge. And as I watched him walk ahead of me on the trail and answer Quinn’s questions, I felt fortunate to have this time together. You are never too old to learn.
We made it to the pond and Rocco was in heaven. He jumped right in the water and fetched every stick we threw to him. He refused to get out of the water each time he swam back with a stick to us; he’d just wait for another to be thrown.
The kids watched for a bit and then asked for water. Yikes. We had forgotten to bring water. Luckily it wasn’t scorching hot but I knew we were in for some whining on the way back. Again, dad saved the day.
“Let’s play 20 questions! I am thinking of an animal….”
And the questions and guessing began. Then Maria thought of one. Then Mario. Then me. And before we knew it, we were at the abandoned house. And that was super cool for the kids to see.
“Can we go in it?” asked Quinn. Dad couldn’t resist, even when Maria chided “Grandma Meg will be upset if you go in Peepaw.”
He took the kids in and made them be very careful. He talked about who may have lived in the house and held the kids speechless talking about ghosts. They were fascinated. If there’s one gift that I am incredibly grateful for receiving from my dad, it is the gift of exuberation over the simplest of things. Be it a salamander in the creek or a wildflower popping alive in the garden or an abandoned house. He brings positive energy into any place he travels and I’m so grateful to have witnessed that over and over growing up with him.
We traversed the hill back to the house and the kids – who were starving the entire trek home – were enamored with the chickens again and forgot about food. That gave time for dad to go to Dandy Don’s (true name) and get some good ol’ hot dogs and chips for lunch and it gave me time to hold Elena Rosa. Oh, what a doll baby girl.

I have never seem an infant make so many different shapes with her mouth. I could stare at her all day.
After lunch, the kids wanted to play in the creek down by the house. They also wanted to go in the infamous waterfall but the water was rushing fast after the hard rain so I made them stay in the “wading pool.”
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They even posed “O-H-I-O” while in knee high muddy water.
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They were full of crazy energy once they got Salesville hot dogs in ’em!
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They couldn’t resist jumping in the dog pen and playing. What a hilarious shot our photographer Jorge got:
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Unfortunately, I had to be the party pooper and round everyone up for home even though I seriously wanted to put in my notice and nanny for Sarah full-time rather than head into work on Monday.
The kids begged for ice cream on the way home and I think the brief sugar high they got from McDonald’s Oreo McFlurries combined with the hiking and playing knocked them out. An hour from home and they were zonked.
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And what a way to end a beautiful day – kids in bed as soon as we got home, peanut butter-n-chip ice cream waiting for me, and the Sunday New York Times on my computer screen. Pure exuberance.
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Summertime fun

June 5, 2014June 6, 2014Leave a comment

The kids went to Mama Meg’s and Peepaw’s house last week. I took them out to the farm on Saturday. We brought a movie for them to watch but my video player didn’t work. Maria sighed and whispered “this is why you need a new car.” She’s been watching ads for cars during the Today show and knows the safest ones and least safest ones. Volvo was not the safest anymore, she reported. I turned off the video after my tenth try to get it working and pronounced happily “this means we can talk!” Both Ri and Mario sighed. But we ended up having a great time. We listened to the entire Free to Be You and Me CD. When “It’s alright to Cry” came on, I explained to Mario that sometimes people make fun of boys who cry and he should always feel alright to cry when he was sad. Ri chimed in “don’t you want to give the same advice to me?!” She prides herself on being like her dad and never crying. Mario requested a little Uncle Jack music after Free to Be You and Me. We jammed to some Innocent and Simple Words. Then we moved onto Ohio trivia. I know more today about presidents from Ohio and Ohio historical milestones than I ever did in the past. Ri grilled me.
The farm was wonderful as always. I took a short hike with Sarah to get an update on how she was feeling. I was just waiting for that belly to pop!
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After a yummy chicken and salad meal and some good laughs about 80’s and 90’s music with Meg and Sarah and Emily, I left to head home to Jon for a night together sans kids. Ri and Mario headed out with Peepaw to fish.

They didn’t catch anything but they did swim at the beach until 8 pm. They are lucky they have some energetic grandparents. The next night they slept in the barn all by themselves. Mario was scared and kept trying to convince Ri that they should rethink the barn. “There are spiders in the barn, Ri.” She would not be scared. They took Rosie to sleep with them and they had a huge flashlight. I can’t believe they did it.
On Sunday, Meg and Jon drove back and forth to Zanesville twice to make sure that Ri got to partake in 30 minutes of softball pictures with our Reds team. I’m glad though because I wanted her in the picture.

Meanwhile, Peepaw and Mario fished on the banks of the river. Mario called to tell me he caught 13 fish and they were all bigger than Peepaw’s catches (of course). He also excitedly relayed how he and Peepaw found these big rocks to fish from and how they cast their lines and waited and when one bit, how they pulled and pulled to reel it in to them. Mario will have some good memories and some well-honed skills as he gets older. Ri sat around the cabin chatting with Sarah as she cooked dinner just like another 30 year old in the room. And they christened the new corn hole game that dad and Jorge built and painted. Ri and Meg kicked some butt against the boys, I hear.
The kids returned on Tuesday in time to go to Music on the Lawn at the library. Ri thinks she’s “too old” for it but she was happy to take Luka and play the mom role.

She also let me slip in some selfies with her.

How long will that last?
Mario found a few boys from his class and went to town on the wrestling front. Ridiculous – wrestling with shoes off and eventually shirts off looking like little rugrats.

And when they were worn out and sore from beating each other up, they relaxed in front of Henry’s mom’s phone to take turns playing Goat Rampage. Boys.

The music ended and we headed home to see Jon, who brought me home a steak and scalloped potatoes from Hyde Park where he took a colleague out to dinner. It sure beat the bag of Cheetos I chowed down on at the library (the kids drank root beer floats and donuts – yes, we are the poster children for healthy eating…)!

Mario’s performance

May 16, 2014May 16, 2014Leave a comment

Mario had his first kindergarten performance last night. He had one line in it, and he was nervous. It was a musical performance led by one of his favorite teachers, Mr. Pettit. Two classes joined together on stage and each kid got to walk to the microphone and say a line about an instrument. The past couple of nights he has told me he’s nervous about his line but he’d been reciting it well to me. He did keep forgetting one word but it was a word that wasn’t really needed so I told him not to stress himself out if he forgot it. But he’d look at me like I was insane when I said that (probably because his teacher told him the opposite). Patty, my savior this week, got him dressed and brought him and Ri to Panera to meet for dinner. Stress makes him hungry because he devoured his sandwich and three go-gurts and was still hungry. Ri brought me clothes to change into – a pair of jeans, a silky top, a see-through sweater and a pair of wedge heels. She was ecstatic that I wore it (and told everyone we stood in line with about her selection).
As soon as we got into the school, Mario and his buddies wrestled around and hit one another. They are truly from another planet. We left him with Mrs. Page (what a saint she is) and got our seats. Mario had asked Bethany to come and she did. So sweet of her.
They walked into the gym in a single file. Kids waved at parents. Mario walked in searching us out. As soon as he spotted us, he gave us a sly smile and kept walking. He was in the front row. He was nervous at first, crossing his arms over his chest and biting his lip. But then he loosened up after a couple of songs. Bethany noticed how happy he looked compared to the other boys who looked bored or irritated!

He nailed his line – even remembering the one dreaded word. And after he got out his line, it was as if a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. He smiled wide as he looked into the audience. He started to engage in his silly antics by cupping his hands in the shape of a heart while they sang “we love music” and flexing his arm muscles when a loud drum was played. He had a good time and that’s all I cared about. I’m kinda ga-ga over this boy….
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"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Kids