Maria hates when I write her name on a lunch bag; hence why she bought a lunch tote that I couldn’t write on everyday. I stuck a sweet note about how much we loved her in her tote one day and she never acknowledged it. After this Onion article, I will cease and desist such awful behavior (even though my “Muscle” would never tolerate such behavior towards herself or anyone else!).
Tag: Kids
Climbing up the slide and against the establishment
We hit the park last night after Orange Leaf. It was wild with kids and parents. I sat my bike down and moved Maria’s and Mario’s to the side and looked up to find this:
I could look at the fact that Mario is climbing up the slide and Maria is climbing on the outside of the enclosed slide as an indication that my kids are unique and adventurous and ready to buck the “establishment”…or is it that they are just disruptive and rebellious?!
I’ll side with the former based on precedent. They have always, since babies, avoided “the flow” and mapped their own course. It can be frustrating at times like when I was at a birthday party for Maria’s friend and all the girls were jumping around and being silly and Maria opted to take care of the friend’s baby sister the entire party because she was crying from the lack of attention or when Mario and I went to the library and all the kids gathered around to hear stories but Mario found a steep ramp to practice air leaps.
Importantly, they remain thoughtful while mapping their own course. Mario made sure no one was sliding down when he climbed up the slide (and it only takes the monkey about three seconds to make the ascent). And Maria helped a toddler girl who fell from the slide by jumping down and brushing off her knee and patting her back.
So, I will embrace their unique and adventurous personalities … as long as they keep that kind spirit, too.
Sleeping beauties
Is there anything better than a nap in the AC after a long day out in the 90 degree heat? I’m jealous as I finish lawn work!
Bikini girl
Scary stuff, I tell ya. I walked downstairs today to find Maria making a smoothie in her bikini. She had just been invited to the pool with her new friend, Anna, and had to grab a quick bite. Smoothies are her new favorite snack. I’m not complaining.
But she looked like a little high schooler when I walked in on her and it took my breath away. Not ready for that action quite yet! One thing’s for sure – my girl is nothing but self-sufficient. We kid with her that she will be in her own apartment by age 13.
DQ and books = Good Night!
Dairy Queen’s Nutter Butter Blizzard with chocolate ice cream – pure heaven. If I could eat one for breakfast and dinner, life would be even better.
The kids and I biked to DQ last night after Mario’s football practice. Mario got an orange freeze (just like his dad – how can you go to DQ and not get ice cream?!) and Maria got a peanut butter chocolate sundae. I asked the cashier to make it “mini” but she failed to heed to my request and Maria’s eyes burst open when the cashier slid it across the counter to her. I gave her the “you aren’t eating all of that” look and she promptly walked over to the other side of the building and began shoveling it in with the thought she’d eat it all before I paid. But I know her tricks and made her stand next to me and wait to eat until Mario and I had ours.
My nutter butter blizzard hit the spot. Maria impressed me by only eating half of her sundae. Mario didn’t care for his freeze so he traded with Maria. I think we converted him to the ice cream side with her sundae – he chowed it down!
We hopped back on our bikes and could have rode for hours with the sugar we delivered to our systems. Instead, we rode home, took showers, and read books. Mario picked “Tacky the Penguin.” What an awesome book. It’s perfect for Mario who is much like Tacky, himself! Mario absolutely cracks up at Tacky’s songs (“How many toes does a fish have?”) and his cannonballs. And in the end, Mario learns that being unique gives you an advantage in life.
Maria read Junie B. Jones to the end (even though I know she skips some pages here and there!). I’m so happy when I see her curled up on the over-sized chair reading!
We woke up this morning with Maria’s head at the end of one side of the bed, me smashed in the middle, and Mario on the other end with his arms sprawled at on either side of him. What a night!
Three cheers for smoothies!
Maria attended her first cheer leading practice tonight. It made me cry. There she was trying so hard to follow the hand and feet movements, and surprisingly, not doing too bad. She didn’t seem too interested some of the time so I was interested in hearing her reaction to it afterwards.
She loved it. She liked having some other girls she knew on the team, too. She’s excited about wearing her uniform and cheering at games. So far she has picked two sports that I would have never dreamed of as a kid – horse back riding and cheerleading – but I am just glad that she has chosen something extra-curricular.
When we got home, she wanted to make a smoothie. My mom has been pounding the goodness of smoothies to me lately so I figured we’d give it a go. All we had were bananas and strawberry yogurt so I found a recipe on line that suited our needs (but substituted bananas for blueberries and Splenda for honey). It has a lot of sugar but at least it has some protein and nutrients, too!
Cheers to better nutrition and cheerleading (Aunt Julie will be proud)!
Weekend getaway
We packed the Volvo full of blankets and pillows and sleeping bags and Red Bulls and chips and chocolate.
All to head two hours east to my folks’ farm.
We had to take the Volvo due to weird sounds coming from Jon’s Yukon. You would have thought the world ended according to Ri who complained about how squeezed she felt in the Volvo. We would expect nothing less from her, however, since she always talks about her first car being a mammoth SUV. My girl likes her space just like her dad.
We arrived at the farm and within five minutes of exiting the car, Mario begged to play badminton. The boy loves this game and could literally spend all afternoon playing it. He looks like a pro out there with his shirt off, hair tussled and tanned body. Maria went straight in the house to help cook and position herself for any sampling of extra food.
We celebrated dad’s and Jorge’s birthdays with cherry pie and cupcakes. Maria snagged a gift for Peepaw from her treasure chest at school. It was a huge pair of clay lips. She wrapped them in a Victoria’s Secret box. Dad was clearly surprised at the box and the lips! Maria explained that the lips were a paper weight to hold down his poems after he wrote them. What a doll.
Dad retired in June after working 40+ years to support his family. He plans on writing in his spare time which Maria overheard during one of our conversations. The girl has my desire to think through presents to the nth degree and make sure they have a purpose. I love it!
We sang the traditional happy birthday song to the boys and watched them make their wishes.
After the celebration, we worked off dessert with a family badminton game. Mario made sure it stayed competitive and Maria made sure we kept it light-hearted! After an hour and a half of competition, Mario, Jon and Peepaw stacked wood to make a fire. Ri and I got the materials to make s’mores and before we knew it we were sitting in front of a blazing fire eating marshmallows and s’mores and telling stories about when Sarah was little. Maria loves listening to stories about the past (especially when she’s able to eat marshmallows!). Mario played with the fire the entire time intrigued by the heat and flames.
Maria enjoyed seeing her horses and got to perform obstacles while riding Taz. She amazes me on the horse. She is so calm and in control, and she knows so much about them already. I love watching her brush them and kiss their noses.
We headed to Mario’s and Vicki’s house on Sunday after gobbling up Sarah’s sweet potato hash for breakfast. We had not been to their house in months and Vicki cooked so many magnificent things, as always! Meatballs, spaghetti, tomato salad, homemade bread, steak, and zucchini bread for dessert! Jon and I could not move for a half hour. When I did finally move, I bounced on the trampoline with Maria. God help me. I can’t believe all that food stayed down!
Ri and I had a blast on the trampoline – we laughed so hard at each other bouncing everywhere. At one point she crawled over to me, laid on me, gave me a huge smooch and whispered “I love seeing you laugh mommy!” My baby girl. Mario and Ri had a good time, too, while Jon and I sat with Mario and Vicki on the porch and chatted. The weather was perfect.
We arrived back at our house in time for Ri and I to take a quick bike ride to Giant Eagle to get food for school and work. We even got sample sheet cake from the bakery ( two pieces each!). Life is good.
Second Annual Kings Island trip – check!
</aWe braved Kings Island yesterday for the last hoo-rah before school started. We took that amusement park by storm and were all over Snoopy Land (I miss Hannah Barbera land though)! The kids chose the haunted house ride first since its the closest to the entrance. When the ride ended, Mario begged to go on it again. This would be the theme after every ride – he would beg to go on the ride again. I tried to explain to him that if he went to a different ride, he ended up loving that one just as much if not more so he should give new ones a chance. I don't know that he quite got it – he probably was just so excited after each one that he had to proclaim "Let's go again!"
Maria loved the roller coaster in Snoopy Land, which used to be called the “Beastie” when I was little. It was surreal to stand in the same stalls and wait for our turn on the coaster just as I did 30 years ago with my best friend, Beth. Beth and I would wait for an hour to get on that coaster; meanwhile chatting it up about things I cannot even begin to remember. And now I stood in that line with my kids – Mario climbing the rails and pretending to be a superhero and Maria staring off into space patiently waiting her turn. Life moves fast.
Maria held her arms up throughout the roller coaster ride while Mario sat by me and leaned into my side burying his face. He loved the ride but would never consider holding his arms up and watching us descend. Maria would have it no other way. She was ready for the Beast, and I think she would have tried it if I could have gone with her (Mario was just tall enough for the Beastie).
We hit the water park right in the heat of the day – great timing. We did more water rides this year. Mario lost all fear of the kids’ slides – last year he was scared to go down and I had to hold onto him. This year he zoomed down them. But he drew the line at the enclosed slides. He does not like feeling trapped (he’s got mama’s issues!). Maria, on the other hand, conquered all three of them!
We also tubed down the Lazy River – Maria’s favorite. She loves to lay back in her tube and drift down the river. Meanwhile, Mario and I were chomping at the bit to walk or swim but were admonished to stay in our tubes.
We left the water park to ride the Beastie again and then to hit the kids’ games. Again, another déjà vu as we rolled the bowling ball on a track and tried to keep it in the little valley. I used to play this game all the time with Beth and score some serious stuffed animals. It was my favorite – and it’s still only 25 cents. I had my mojo back because I won twice. Maria chose a small frog the first win and Mario got to choose the second time. He wanted a big turtle but you had to turn in the small prize for it. Maria threw the man her frog and said “please give my brother the big turtle.” She takes care of that kid. We played the birthday guessing game where the attendant has to guess within two months of your birthday in order to win. We always win on these games so paying 5 dollars is a safe bet to get an animal. The attendant guessed October for Ri so she got her orca but he guessed September for Mario – dead on! Mario did not understand that he didn’t get a prize and when it sunk in, he showed his displeasure to the amusement of us all. We calmed him down at the water spraying game where he shot his water gun into the hole so well he won every time (he did reciprocate Ri’s kindness and got her a unicorn). When all was done, they each walked out with three animals (and I was down a mere $45! – what can I say – I am a sucker for stuffed animals!).
We ended the day with tattoos. Mario chose a gold dragon.
Mario chose a rose.
Does that give insight into their personalities, or what?! We wrapped up the trip with the Eiffel Tower where we saw “all of the world” according to Mario. Six and a half hours of fun and games.
We hit I-71 for the outlet malls and met my mom, who in keeping with a tradition set when Ri started kindergarten, bought her a load of new clothes (and clothes that were not “whore-ish” as Jon calls some of the outfits she desires!). She also bought Mario, “Mr. Particular”, a pair of flip flops (after he tried on ten pairs) and a pair of jeans and jean shorts (again after he assessed them for ten minutes; when we got changed out of our bathing suits at KI, Ri and I were done in three minutes; Mario took ten!).
We got home at 8:20 – just in time for a quick shower and some snuggle time with dad. Maria was knocked out in ten minutes; Mario stayed up with Jon a bit longer. He is all into dad time lately so Jon cuts him some slack.
Second Annual Kings Island trip – checked off for the year! Victory!
A letter to my second grade daughter
Dearest Maria:
I still have to pinch myself to believe that you are already 7 years old and entering second grade. I have such a poor memory when it comes to people’s names or what I did last weekend but I remember every moment of your birth like it was happening now. You have planted your darling self front and center in my mind, and I am so appreciative. It allows me to easily go back to that Monday morning when I rose from bed and pulled up those running shorts and ran to the gym. I was so proud to be pregnant with a baby girl. All my gym rat buddies would stare at me in amazement as I lifted barbells and did squats around the perimeter of the floor.
“You are going to give birth to one big muscle” they would say.
And I did. You came out working those lungs and wiggling around making the nurses struggle to wrap you up. When they placed you in my arms, I looked down at you and there were those big black granite eyes looking right back at me. I felt you speaking to me before you could even say a word.
And now I watch you ride huge horses with complete confidence. I hear you talk to your little brother with such tenderness. I try to keep up with you as you peddle with such ease on your bike. I sit back and enjoy the eggs and bacon you cook for me some mornings. I watch you looking at yourself in the mirror as you brush your hair. And I think to myself “She is absolutely radiant.”
I hope you think the same.
Lately you have been commenting to me that you wish you had prettier hair or looked better in your clothes. I immediately respond to such nonsense by affirming your absolute all-around beauty and then tickling you madly (I think you continue to state such craziness sometimes just to be tickled and roll around on the bed with your mom!). I will make it a priority to keep you real and grounded this school year – to make you see how important it is to let go of such superficial concerns and just enjoy life – be silly and random and adventure-bound with tangled hair or not.
You are a gem to me and so many others (your dad being at the top of the list). Enjoy second grade my little pumpkin seed from heaven. I love you ferociously.
Mom
No Seat Belts!
We woke up craving Giant Eagle donuts. Their bakery is getting better and better and it’s become harder to resist the variety of sugary love in the cases. I figure the stroller rode or bike ride to get to Giant Eagle makes up for the calories consumed (maybe if we biked back and forth twenty times over…).
We decided to take the COTA bus downtown after breakfast. Jon drove us a few blocks up the street to the bus stop (yeah, kinda defeats the sustainability argument for taking the bus, but hey, we saved five miles of gas going downtown!), and we waited patiently for the No. 5 to arrive. After a mere seven repetitive questions of “when will the bus get here?”, it arrived! The kids jumped onto the bus steps and dashed to the back. I paid $2 and joined them. Mario’s first response:
“There are no seat belts!”
He was charged. Maria enjoyed the thrill on Mario’s face with me since she had already experienced COTA with me a couple of years ago. I explained to them that a lot of people rode COTA during the week to get to their jobs, and that people read while on the bus or think about their day ahead. M&M soaked it in and asked questions galore. It was heartwarming.
Our trip lasted a mere 27 minutes and we exited at Bicentennial Park. I have been taking M&M down to this park for years. It doesn’t have any swings or a playground. It just has bronze statutes of mythological creatures and cement blocks to hop on and off of as you go from one statute to the next. But the kids have always loved to read about the creatures and climb on them.
They also have loved to jump from one block to the next. Mario had such trouble the last two years trying to jump from one particular block to another that was situated just a bit farther away than the others. This year he flew right onto it. II told him the story about how it used to be hard for him and he said “Mom, look” while he acted like he was scared to jump. I smiled at him and he responded “I’m getting bigger, mom.” Yep, you are bud.
We headed to the Santa Maria next. They had tours going on so we got three tickets and joined the rest of the group. It’s always interesting to see who the guide is for the tour. Last time it was a very boisterous young girl who had wavy brown hair and thick glasses and loved getting the kids roused up with stories from Columbus’ time. This time we had a scholarly-looking lad with white tube socks and loafers. He was maybe 17. He loved espousing his knowledge and hearing questions from the audience. He answered all of Mario’s questions with a slight chuckle before each response. A 17 year old in a 50 year old body. He was good though and we learned about what they ate on the ship (hard bread they softened with water and animals they housed on the ship), what games they played (ring toss and checkers), and how they killed rats on the ship (not too humanitarian). We skipped out of the tour a bit early to head to Dirty Franks with dad. Maggie and Laura were supposed to meet us but showed up late and there was no seating for them. They decided to meet us back at the house. When they walked out, Maria started crying. “I want them to stay, mom. I want to be with them.” I ran out with her to try to stop them. We were successful – Maria jumped into Maggie’s arms and fled away with them. Meanwhile, Mario ate two hot dogs with Jon and me. Two! He has to be going through a growing spurt.
We met the girls back at the house and sat around and talked to them about Australia and life in general for two hours. I miss that girl cousin time so very much. Ri hung with us for an hour and then crashed on the floor. Mario knew it was his opportunity to play computer and he took full advantage of it.
A low-key Sunday with a splattering of COTA bus trips, ship trivia, hot dogs and girl talk. What should we have in store for tonight? I see Graeter’s as a perfect end to the day….
"MOM!" 