Mighty Girl

July 11, 2014Leave a comment

Yea, my daughter is no joke.
She’s not scared to give a poke
And see what the world brings her.
I love that she’ll toss that melon
Right up on her shoulder and have no one tellin’ her different.
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She whips her scooter all over town
And not even a hard fall will bring a frown.
No, she just stands right up and brushes those knees all the while smiling away and petting her pup.
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Her little brother acts ambivalent to her strength
But he understands her power
And how she’ll go to any length
To protect him from danger and any crazed stranger.
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The adventurous gene grabbed hold of her tight.
She braves the high dive, rock climbing and biking in moonlight.
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Her laugh is infectious and she loves a good party
She will keep things a rockin’
And make folks be hearty.
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There’s never been a baby she doesn’t admire
Of her new niece, Elena, she never will tire.
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And don’t you ever get between her and family, you see
Because she adores her mom and dad and all of her kin.
And she will not hesitate to kick you to the curb if you ever mess with any one of them.

Love you mighty girl!
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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!>

Swim party = no mom

June 16, 2014Leave a comment

And so it begins….
The Grandview pool held a swim party on Friday night for incoming 4-6 graders. I was hoping Maria would want to go. I knew as soon as she found out Sophie was going that would deal the deal.
She and Sophie went to Mario’s tee ball game on Friday night. They ended at 7:30 and she was urging me to go so they could head to the pool. I told her it didn’t start until 8 pm but she didn’t care.
“We need to get our stuff and be the first ones down there!”
Eventually we got Mario to stop tackling his buddies and head home. Ri got on her swimsuit and packed her duffel with Sophie’s clothes and her clothes, sunscreen, and gum.

Then she asked for money. “For what,” I asked her.
“For snacks, mom. Swimming makes us hungry.”
I gave her $6 for snacks. Then Jon called her into the family room and reached over for his wallet to give her more. She held up her arm:
“No, dad, mom gave me money. We don’t need more.”
It was precious. If it was Mario in that situation, he would have closed his mouth and grabbed that money and ran.
We drove down to the pool and Ri asked me for the $10 to get into the event. I told her that I would pay.
“But I don’t want you to come in with us!”
Oh, I guess I have officially hit the “not cool” mark. I told her I would just go to the desk in the front and pay and then leave. She sighed but allowed it. We got there at 8:05 and there was a line 20 people deep. I knew I’d hear about it.
“Mom, I told you we had to leave earlier!”
But then she dropped it and talked to friends while we waited in line. Once I paid, they zoomed inside. I followed just to say goodbye…and make sure no one attacked her….
She stood in line with Sophie to take a lap swim test to show she could go off the diving board. I wanted to stay and root her on but she brushed me away. Sure enough, this was the start of independence and it at once made me happy about her confidence and sad that she wanted me to depart.
When I picked her up at 10:30, she was jumping off the high dive and having a blast with Sophie and her friend, Nina. She did not want to go. She had a great time. She was in one piece. No one had attacked her. All was good.
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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).

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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Ri’s first Women’s Fund Keyholder event – 2014:

May 9, 2014September 11, 20142 Comments

I first learned of the Women’s Fund when I got an email that Gloria Steinam was a guest speaker at one of their events. I admired Steinam and had read essays and speeches she had given. I knew she was a crucial voice in the women’s’ movement and that my mom had admired her as she grew into her own in the 70’s. My mom had also gifted me an autograph from Gloria Steinam to me after my mom attended an event with her in the early 1990s. I hadn’t given that autograph much thought since I had received it from my mom in my early 20s. It was stored away in a box with other childhood items. But when that email came across, something jolted in me.
I went home that evening and found the framed autograph. I’m sure I played with Ri, who was not even two at the time, and fed her dinner, and rocked her to sleep for hours. And then I made it downstairs to my computer, and typed in my Visa number to make a contribution to the Women’s Fund. They allowed you to write a tribute and so I did: to my mom for introducing me to Steinam and feminism and belief in self and hard work and equality. I thanked her for helping to make me a strong and loving mom to Maria. A few weeks later, I got a call from the Women’s Fund. They asked if I’d make a video of my tribute to play the night of the event. I was flabbergasted and thrilled. And immediately agreed. As I prepared my words to my mom, I brought out my framed autograph and hung it in Ri’s room. I believe there was a surge of power that entered her room when I hung it over her dresser that night. I think she felt it, too, as she squealed (or it could have been gas, but that’s not as riveting).
When I went to shoot the video, I had a plan. I was going to ask if Gloria Steinam would autograph the Women’s Fund invitation for Maria. How awesome would that be? There was no way that Ri could be anything but a strong, powerful, aware woman with two framed autographs from Gloria Steinam! And because Gloria Steinam is the incredible woman she is, she agreed. And Ri now has two autographs hanging on her wall.
Fast forward to a week ago – May 1, 2014. One day before Ri’s 9th birthday. I got to bring her as my guest to the Women’s Fund Keyholder event with Ashley Judd as the speaker. I explained to Ri about the Steinam autographs, about my commitment to helping women in need, about women supporting women, and she soaked it all in. She ran around City Hall’s grounds and posed with statues before we met up with her girlfriend and her mom.

We sipped on smoothies and talked about Ashley Judd (since the girls had not heard of her (when Ri read about her she was flabbergasted that she made a movie in 1995!)).

While waiting on my girlfriend outside of the Ohio Theatre, Maria spotted a local news anchor from NBC 4 (her favorite weekday morning show). She pulled at my sleeve in awe.
“It’s Mikaela Hunt, mom!”
We walked over and Ri said hi to her. Ms. Hunt asked her some questions and Ri answered shyly. As we walked away, she stopped. She wanted her picture with her. We walked back and asked and this picture was taken:
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She was charged up. And she stayed that way throughout the night. They had videos in the beginning of the evening of women and girls talking about themselves and at the end of the clip, the women and girls would fill in a word on a blackboard that read “I am ______.” One wrote “brave”, another wrote “kind.” It was powerful, and I whispered to Ri that she was all those things.
Ashley Judd surprised me with her humor and grace and humility. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. She spoke of her humanitarian work and how overwhelming it can be to feel like you can’t do enough. She’d go back to her hotel room and sob in despair. And then she met a guide who clarified for her that she can only do what she is able and what she’s doing is powerful and effective. And she reminded her that she needs to make room for those closest to her because it’s only when we nourish those relationships with partners and kids and friends that we can truly give and feel satisfied giving to a range of others. That hit home for me. She was genuine and funny and inspiring.
At the end of the event, they asked for donations. Ri and I took the envelopes out of our bags. I explained to her what you could do with a donation, i.e., make it in honor of, or in memory of, someone. She brushed me away and said “I got it mom.” She then asked me for a sheet of paper. I looked over in the corner of my eye and saw her writing blank lines. Because she’s Ri, and so thoughtful, I had an inkling she was doing something for me. She bundled up the paper and put it in the envelope and gave it to me (she didn’t quite understand that she was supposed to add a Visa number and give it to the folks at the doors as we left). She told me to wait until we left the Theatre to open it. As we walked down High Street towards the car, I opened it.
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She had written all the adjectives that she believed described me. I was taken aback by her gesture and did the only thing I knew to do: capture her in a huge hug as tears formed in my eyes.
“No crying is allowed tonight, mama! Wipe those eyes and put on a smile!” (She’s got a lot of her dad in her). I listened to her and put on a smile as we posed by the statutes and giggled at each other on our way to the car. I am blessed with a strong community of women by my side between my moms and aunts and cousins and grandmothers and friends and colleagues. I am grateful for the women power at the event that night and for being able to allow my daughter to absorb it all. She clearly fit in perfectly.
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Our meatball poet

March 20, 2014March 20, 20142 Comments

Maria and her third grade class hosted a poetry cafe on Tuesday this week. She kept enticing Jon and I with how much we’d enjoy her poem. I asked her a few nights before if she was nervous. She replied “a little but some kids stood up and cried or shook the entire time they spoke so I’m doing better than them.” God love her.
I arrived home Tuesday to find her already made up in her new Target dress, hair flowing, lip gloss on, and a dab of light pink eye shadow rubbed perfectly on her eyelids.
“What do ya think?” She knew exactly what I’d say.
“I think you are beautiful inside and out and I think you are gonna rock out the poetry cafe tonight.” She smiled wide and twirled around the driveway.
We ate some Mac-n-cheese and headed down to school with three boxes of Girl Scout cookies (I forgot I volunteered to bring a snack – I knew the 15 boxes we ordered would come through in a pinch).
As we were walking towards the school door, Maria looked back at me to tell me to hurry up. She stared at me from my head to my toes and cried “that’s what you’re wearing to the cafe?!” I thought I had done pretty good – I had on a new t-shirt, nice jeans and a pair of sporty gym shoes. I curtly replied “you gotta dress hip for these cafés.” She kept walking. When she looked back at me, I pouted. She gave a tiny smile and said “sorry mom, I’m just nervous.” Oh, sweet baby. I hugged her and she was off to her classroom. Mario and I were off, too, towards the baked goods table.
Grandma Meg surprised Ri and Jon made it on time, too (dad waited to go to Michigan until after the cafe, which landed him up north at 1 am – true love for his baby girl).
Ri gave an impeccable performance. She wrote about a Swedish meatball hosting a party for international friends. It was smart and funny (and of course, the best from her mama’s eyes!).

They had paper and chalk on the tables so families could write poems to the kids. I looked down after Ri finished and Mario had written “you did a gud job Ri”. Break my heart.

Afterwards, the kids rushed to the sweets table and ran around together giggling.

Mario took the stage to sing – he can’t resist not being in the spotlight.

As we left the school, Ri turned around and moved close to me.
“This may sound a little weird, mom but … I’m really proud of myself.”
The night bursted into color and the sky sang “Alleluia”. I was so excited to hear her say those words to me. I think she’s starting to believe more in herself and recognize all of the amazing qualities she possesses. There is nothing more gratifying to a mom that’s seen those qualities all along.

Lullaby

March 13, 2014March 13, 2014Leave a comment

This is how M&M roll when Jon is away. Stay up way too late and fall asleep – only after eating ice cream sandwiches and watching a cheesy Nickelodeon show – on the couch, sprawled out with dad’s fleece blankets covering them.
I carry them upstairs when I decide to hit the hay. Maria wraps her arms around me and always mumbles some unintelligible words as I trek up the stairs. Then I plop her on her bed, cover her up with her three blankets, and kiss her goodnight. Sometimes she smiles at me.
Mario always jerks when I first pick him up but then realizes it’s me and melts his upper body into mine. I lay him in my bed and he scoots himself to the very edge until he’s almost hanging off, and then reaches for the covers. I lay them over his shoulders and kiss him goodnight. His mouth relaxes into a tiny oval shape – just the perfect nest to lay a robin’s egg – and I stare at him as I lay on my pillow with the moon’s light shining through the window. His breath is a lullaby and I fall quickly to sleep.

Pure Bliss

January 18, 2014January 18, 2014Leave a comment

I experienced a joyful, hilarious moment last night. I was brushing my teeth and looked down to see no toilet paper. “Ugh, there’s no T.P. in here!” Maria was standing next to me brushing her teeth and started laughing hysterically at my predicament. I couldn’t help but chuckle with her; her laugh is contagious. While we were laughing, she tried to step into the bathtub to reach for the washcloth (trying to be funny and act like it’s T.P.) but she tripped herself up on the tub ledge and fell into the tub. Before I could be worried about her being hurt, she rose up with a giant smile on her face and a laughter so deep and hard that it wouldn’t even come out. I began laughing hysterically with her; the two of us gathering more steam by simply looking at one another.

I have experienced that type of raucous laughter with best girlfriends in the past (both drunk and sober) but never so with Ri. Sure, I have laughed with her, and laughed hard with her, but this was different. It was pure bliss. As I laid in bed with her trying to get her to sleep, she still giggled. All I could think of was how much I adored her as my daughter and how much fun she is to have in my life. She has a zest for life that will take her far, and I want to watch as long as I am able.

Excited … about poop

September 24, 2013September 24, 2013Leave a comment

Is it utterly pathetic to get excited from an email that states:

“Rocco had a large bowel movement this afternoon.”

I experience the same elation I used to feel when daycare would send me a picture of a smiling Ri or Mario and write “S/he is having a great day today!” Rocco has definitely moved into the third kid bracket. I even find myself buying new doggy toys every time I go shopping. Yikes!

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Motherhood