Old Man Winter

February 21, 2015Leave a comment

These days grow longer and longer. It is flippin’ freezing outside; you know it’s been a rough ride when you see the temperature will be 16 degrees and you are excited. I can’t drag the kids outside with me in the evening to walk Rocco because I would be accused of child endangerment. I can barely head out there with Rocco for more than fifteen minutes. My poor toes have steadily remained purple through the days. All I can say is that sweet Spring cannot get here soon enough. I will embrace it and not let go. I will not complain when we have 90 degree, humid weather this Summer. Just get me out of this frozen tundra.

There have been some highlights to the last few weeks – thank goodness for these kids and their activities; they force us to get out when we would be hibernating.

On February 11, Maria had her first play. She played Susan B. Anthony and had a whoppin’ three lines. But she rocked it – she was one of the few kids who you could hear (thanks, Heile family). She got on line and found a colonial costume to wear for the show and a hilarious white wig. Grandma Ionno, Grandma Lolo and Aunt Sarah, Jorge and Elena showed up to see her in action. She did not seem nervous as she waited for the play to begin; rather, she ran around with her friends and laughed. She was annoyed with me and Grandma trying to get pictures of her. She was nervous about one thing – that Elena would start wailing during the performance. Elena tried to do that but Sarah swopped her out the back doors before she could get a good one out. We cheered hard for her after the performance; she shot us a quick glance but focused all her energy on Luka (Bethany brought him to see the show). Afterwards, we took the actress to Barley’s for her much loved ribs and beans.

On February 13, the kids celebrated Valentine’s Day at their schools. Ri took in tattoos and Mario took in Sponge Bob. I had bought them mustaches on a stick that said “I mustahce you as a Valentine.” They were adorable. Both Maria and Mario were appalled at the the thought of giving them to the respective opposite sex. “That would be so embarrassing mom!” So back to Target we went for the tattoos and SpongeBob cards. Boring. Ri got ice cream sundaes at her party; she did not care that I did not come. On the other hand, Mario begged me to attend his, which I happily did. You can’t walk away from those parties with a sour attitude. The kids are too dang cute and so excited about making heart-shaped towers and paper flowers.

On February 14, Ri had a pool party for her friend Janira at Westerville pool. They stayed there from 12:30 until 5. She got pizza and ice cream and cake and non-stop pool action. When I came to get them at 4 pm, they begged to stay for another hour. They all tried to jump in an inner tube together without tipping over, which failed every time. But they had a blast and it was great to be in a heated pool area and see bathing suits!

On February 17, Ri had her skate party with 10 friends. Mario got to attend, also (Ri let him use one of her friend passes for one of his friends). The moms may have had more fun than the kids…. I was happy to see many of the moms head out on the rink with me. The girls all did a great job skating and falling. No broken bones. Ri greeted all of the girls as they trickled in at different times – she is a good host. Mario tried to help Rohan skate but it was not easy. So the two of them ended up playing games the entire time. Mario was not disappointed about that.

On February 19 and 20, the kids got off school due to the extremely cold temperatures. Bums. They were so psyched up. On Thursday, Bethany took them to Galaxy Games and Golf from 3 pm until 9 pm. They played tag and hide-n-seek and Mario won 1000 tickets. He was so pumped up. On Friday, Mario feigned illness to stay home with Jon and Bethany and Ri went to COSI. Not bad for two days off of school.

On February 21, we got seven inches of snow! The world turned white and Rocco couldn’t get enough of it. I am surprised his nose did not freeze off as much as he dug into the snow with it. Ri and I took him on a walk up to Grandview Grind and he leapt with joy, literally, throughout the entire walk. We visited Ri’s friend and their new pup and Rocco found a playmate. They played great together. Ri ended up staying at Anna’s house while I walked Rocco home. The neighbors were making a giant snowman in the front yard. I walked in the door and told Mario we had to go sledding. There is a small hill by his school that I knew was open. He shook his head no and told me he didn’t feel like it. I kept prodding him until he finally got on his jeans and sweatshirt. He had to wear his Cabella’s overalls and coat since we don’t have any snow pants that fit him. He was all stressed out about how he would look.

“No one else will be wearing this, mom. I will look stupid!”

This boy is more concerned about his looks than I ever have been. Jon and I reassured him that he would be fine. If someone laughed, he should ignore them. Each person is unique. I don’t think he so much agreed with us than he just wanted to shut us up so he threw on his boots and headed to the car. It was funny because Ri showed up with her friend, Anna to sled an hour after we arrived and she had on a huge pair of brown bib overalls that did not fit her at all but she could have cared less. They all had a blast going down the hill, engaging in a massive snow ball fight, and making a ramp to jump over.

It was so beautiful today because although we had seven inches of snow it was 33 degrees so you could go outside without your face freezing off. Tomorrow the high is 23 degrees and I think it starts to plummet even worse Monday on. I keep telling the kiddos to have dreams about Spring flowers and birds chirping and open windows with a warm breeze wafting in, and maybe that will help move old Man Winter along.

But we’d be amiss if we did not thank Old Man Winter for giving us the snow to play in today.

Lime and Cucumber Mario

January 4, 2015Leave a comment

The last two weeks Mario has stayed up until at least 10 pm but most nights until 11 pm. He has been soaking up the winter break, and until today, has had no desire to head back to school. Jon and I are still perplexed at what changed in the matter of one day, but he was cracking us up tonight. We fought to get him to take a shower but after he did, he was transformed.

“Mom, where are my new jeans you bought me?”

“They are in your drawer.”

“Mom, can you put my belt on them for me.”

I took the belt off the pair of jeans he has worn for three days straight and placed it on the new pair. I wondered why he was asking me to do this since I had asked him the last two days to change pants. My question was answered when he called me into his room.

He had combed his hair over to one side. He walked up to me and leaned his body into me.

“Smell me, mom.”

I sniffed and the aroma of lime and cucumber filled my nostrils. He had used my body scrub on his entire body.

“I want to smell good for my first day of school tomorrow!” He had laid out his clothes on the floor so that his shirt was on the top, boxers under it, jeans under them, and socks under the jeans. He has never done that in his life to prepare for school. Was this Mario or an alien abductee?

Then he proceeded to ask me for an alarm clock he could borrow. All I had was my watch. I brought it into him and asked him what time he wanted to wake up.

“6:30 am.”

This is the time he typically awakes anyhow but I asked him why he wanted to get up so early since he doesn’t leave for school until 8 am.

“I have to wake up, comb my hair, put on deodorant, brush my teeth, floss, rinse my mouth with mouthwash, and get dressed. I have to smell good AND look good on my first day back to school.”

Ok, Maria has never once been concerned about such things and she is in fourth grade. This Mario man is gonna be quite the high maintenance fella’ as he gets older. I don’t think it is gonna be Maria begging for her own bathroom…!

Dreaming of first

November 4, 2014November 5, 2014Leave a comment

Mario is a competitor. He wants to win. Always has. His grade school, Robert Louis Stevenson (RLS) is hosting a Yearbook contest. Kids from kindergarten through third grade are able to draw a picture and enter it into a contest to try to win the prize – having their picture grace the front cover of the 2014-15 yearbook.
Now, if this was the extent of the prize, he would likely have blown off the contest. But I believe you also win $25 (I told him this without verifying so $25 may be coming out of my pocket). Any contest where money is the prize automatically sucks Mario in.
He sat at the table and thought about what to draw. He wanted silence. He looked up Bobcat images on the computer (the school mascot). He began to draw. Frustration set in. Then muffled yells. Then tears. He gets so upset with himself when he doesn’t do something exactly as he sees it being done. He’s gotten a lot better at calming himself down and I find if I just talk in a soft voice to him, he starts to mellow. I had to do this a lot last night. He went to bed with half of the drawing done. I told him I was proud of him for trying his best. He told me he wanted to win the contest. I rubbed his head and told him to have sweet dreams.
I got up early this morning and slowly walked down the hall towards the steps to go for a run.
“Mom?”
“Yeah, dude-man. What’s up?”
“Kiki is really good at drawing. I think she’s gonna win the contest.”
Seriously? He’s thinking about this when he first gets up? A sign of perseverance and determination or obsession with winning?! I told him that all he could do was give his all and just let things fall as they may.
When I got home tonight, he finished his drawing.
”

Not without some tears and screams. At one point, I was helping Ri with her multiplication exercise and I heard a muffled cry. I walked in the kitchen and he showed me where he drew with pen on his paper. He had tried to draw a bobcat and he did not like it.
“I can’t believe I used pen!”
“It’s ok, we can use white-out.” A glimmer of hope came over his face.
“I used it all”, shouted Maria from the other room. Mario plopped his head into his hands.
“We will buy some after we vote, dude-man. Why don’t you practice drawing the bobcat on another sheet and then you can feel comfortable drawing it on your paper.”
He drew an amazing bobcat on a separate sheet of paper. Then I had a great idea, which I usually never have when it comes to art. We cut out his bobcat and taped it over the one he messed up so that it almost looked 3-D. He loved it, and smiled as he stared at the finished product.
A win no matter what. Now we have to talk about winning … and possibly losing – gracefully. That could be a little tougher than the bobcat art.
.

Girls lunch out

April 30, 2014Leave a comment

Ri wanted to take some girls out to lunch for her birthday this week and the only day we could do it was today. I thought rather than spending $100 on Panera (which is seriously what it would have cost between smoothies and meals and desserts), I’d buy a pizza and take them back to the house.
What a hoot it was to watch them. They are a more calm goofy than Mario and his buddies. One thing that both cracked me up and scared me too death was this scene:

These are Jon’s old beer cans he has collected since he was in his 20’s, and they found it hilarious to act like they were drinking out of them. I have a feeling I may get a photo just like this one when they are home from college and having a summer reunion.
I loved that they devoured the entire large pizza and them devoured the candy and cookie jars while we sang happy birthday to Ri. They have no issues with taking down some grub and I hope it stays that way.
>

They still enjoy playing with barbies, and we’re laughing about how messy Ri’s room was – I told Ri it’s pretty telling when her friends say her room is messy! Still didn’t faze her a bit though. We topped off the lunch with candy and leis, modeling, and lots of laughter and singing in the car on the way back to school.
>

Got ’em back to school a few minutes late but I have a feeling that they will be able to schmooze their teacher and avoid trouble….>

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.

the days are long but the years are short

February 14, 2014Leave a comment

My babies are gone. Far away in a distant land where they will skip around with fairies and hold hands with superheroes.

Mama Meg and Peepaw took them to Disneyworld for a long weekend.

Here they are prior to their 6:50 pm flight:

When they gave them the trip as a Christmas present, Maria jumped up with joy and gave them huge hugs. Mario looked at me and pleaded for me and Jon to go with him. For weeks afterward, he told us that he wanted to go but he really wanted us to go, too. We kept explaining to him that Peepaw and Mama Meg would take good care of him and they would have so much fun riding rides and swimming in the pool. He remained skeptical.

Until about three weeks ago. Ri was talking to Alana and Gio about going and they were telling her she was lucky. Mario was listening to the conversation but refraining from joining in the mix. They all proceeded to play a game together and the conversation moved onto other topics like who had the biggest sword and who made the best Minecraft home. But that evening, Mario asked me how many days until Disneyworld. I told him 14 or 15 and he laid his head on his hands and stared up at me in his bed.

“Are you excited?” I asked him.

“Yea. Will you miss me?”

“Of course I will miss you but I will be so happy thinking about you having a great time. I have never been to Disney and you get to go at age 6!”

He smiled and reached out to hold my hand.

Since that evening, he has asked nearly every day “how many more days?” And in the evening before bed, he has taken his black pen and marked an “X” on the day in order to count how many more days until February 14 – the day they would leave for Disney. Ri did not any of that to get her going. She knew how many days by just thinking about it in her head. She had the flight all planned out. No iPad was needed for her. She would read her book in order to complete her 100 minutes of reading that she would be required to complete by the time she returned to school on Wednesday the 19th.

This week, they woke up every day counting down the number of days remaining until they left. Whenever they started to fight or get mad about something, I would say “come on, this is Disney week, cheer up!” And nearly every time, they would. On Thursday night, Jon and I gave them each a Valentine’s Day card, a little beanie baby to clip on their suitcases, candy for the flight, and a $25 gift card to Disney. Mario looked at the Disney card and got really excited. “Is this a credit card? Can I buy anything I want?” His eyes enlarged as he held the card tight against his chest. We explained it only had $25 on it and that he could buy a lot of little things or one big thing (actually, one little thing at Disney is probably $25). He looked dejected but still thanked us.

We packed clothes after the present opening. Actually, I packed while they played in Mario’s bed. They were way too excited to concentrate on one activity. I bought them each some new shorts and t-shirts since they both have grown since last Summer (last Summer they fit in a lot of things from the Summer before, so nice…). Then we read a book while laying in Ri’s room. Jon came in for the second book and we all laid in Ri’s bed. I love those moments.

When Mario got up this morning, he walked into the bedroom and announced “It’s Disney World Day!” They both got dressed and ate some breakfast and gathered up their Valentines to take to classmates. I kissed them both goodbye and told them they were the best babies I could ever ask for in my life. They told me they loved me and they closed the door to Jon’s Yukon. I got a bit melancholy about them leaving. I did my normal worrying: “will they get in an accident, will they get sick, will they get lost….” It is really ridiculous how the mind churns out these non-productive thoughts without any provoking. But I also felt like time was slipping through my fingers. Maria walked out the door with her backpack on her back, her hood up, her boots zipped up to her knees all trendy looking. Mario followed her chatting about something that happened at lunch the day before. They were both talking in complete sentences. When did that happen? Remember when Ri first said “mama” and Mario first said “dad?” They were both fully upright and walking. And that happened when? Remember when I hoisted Mario on my hip everywhere I went or when I carried Ri in the backpack until age 4? My doctor told me “the days are long but the years are short” and she hit it on the mark.

I took off for a couple hours in the afternoon to hit the Valentine’s Day parties. I got to Mario’s room at 1:50 thinking the party started at 1:30. It started at 2. So I hung out with the other moms and waited for Mario to come in from the playground. Kids began shuffling into the classroom at 2, looking up at their moms and waving hi. Mario came in eventually and glanced up to take an inventory of the moms. He caught me in the corner and his face exploded with joy. He smiled wide and ran over to me with his arms extended. He held my hand and led me to his table and I was his for the rest of the day. They did all sorts of activities and ate lots of sugar. And then he made me a Valentine’s card with invisible crayon. When I wrote over it, it revealed the words “I love you.” Precious. He allowed me to run down to Ri’s classroom and see her for a few minutes. That third grade classroom was much more low key. Everyone was at their tables over their heads and they pushed them away giggling and blushing. and making their Valentine bags. They had fruit kebabs and heart-shaped jelly sandwiches. But then I asked if I could get a picture of the girls in the classroom and that started chaos. The boys tried to photobomb and the girls pushed them away. Boys put bunny ears

After school, the kids went down Kindergarten Hill to find Mama Meg and Peepaw. Hugs and kisses ensued and then a race to the car. I went back to work for an hour and when I came home, Ri and Mario stopped me at the door.

“Don’t come in the kitchen, mom! Dad has a surprise for you!”

They held me in the hall for a minute and then led me in the kitchen. There was our new kitchen table I bought from Amazon for $190 plus $110 shipping. Jon had asked his friend Jason to come put it together while we were at work (what would he do without Jason?!”). I screamed with excitement and the kids both smiled. They love seeing Jon and I happy. We gathered a few more last minute items to throw in their bags and the kids gave Rocco a ton of kisses. They wrapped their arms around me and then Jon and told us they loved us. I told them I loved them so so much and that I couldn’t wait to hear about their days. We stood on the porch as they drove off to the airport waving and blowing kisses their way.

Then we walked in the house and sighed. Where was the chaos? The coats on the floor? The laughing?

I took Rocco for a walk in the light snow. I thought about how lucky I was to have all of these grandparents who give Ri and Mario such an array of experiences. I thought about Ri and Mario and how daggone big they are getting and how much they are learning and absorbing about this world. And then a worry popped in my head.

“What if my parents need a notarized permission slip to take the kids on the flight? They don’t have the same last name so security may not let them get on board. Then they would have to miss a day at Disney if they could even make another flight tomorrow….”

And then I stopped. I stood on the sidewalk while Rocco ate some snow. Stop it, I told myself. Let it be. It is going to be a lot harder when they are in high school and heading out on a Saturday night with friends. They will be fine. They will have fun. They will grow up. Just make those years spread out as much as possible.

Throwing a curveball

November 5, 2013Leave a comment

I love my girl so much; she never fails to do something that completely cracks me up. She brought home this cut-out of her hand and told me she had to write five things about herself at school.

In order:

1. I hate sports except softball.
2. My grandpa was in World War 2 and is still alive.
3. I have a new puppy.
4. I started horseback riding when I was 1.
5. My uncle is Mexican.

Jon and I laughed so hard. She’s always throwing us a curveball. Jorge, be proud, you made the list and she surely adores you!

Halloween 2013

November 2, 2013November 6, 2013Leave a comment

One ninja zombie and one valley girl showed up before my eyes when I walked into school Thursday for the Halloween school parties. Some other mom was helping Mario into his costume and an irrational streak of anger jolted through me. “That’s my kid”, my jealous self thought. But then he looked over at me and exclaimed “there’s my mom, she made it!” Yep, work can always be put on hold for that type of reaction; I gently shoved the mom aside and took over wrapping ninja yarn around Mario’s head.
Mario and his boy friends were jumping all over the place and play boxing while the girls were standing around watching. It was a hoot trying to get them to pose. The boys kept punching each other and the girls kept giggling.

Meanwhile, my girl was in the bathroom with her other third grade classmates getting ready. Aunt Sarah and Jorge were helping her out (blue eye shadow and pink lips to add to the costume). I met up with her after I walked the parade route with Mario (who highly complained about the parade being termed a parade: “this is simply a walk around the block, mom, not a parade with music and lots of people!”). Ri was adorable with her 80’s self.

The rain started coming down right when we hit the school doors – perfect timing. I stayed with Mario in his classroom since this was his first grade school Halloween party. He was grouchy as heck because he expected candy and games and running around thanks to his sis who had given him false hope that his party would be all that. What Ri failed to understand was that I brought in cupcakes and sugar and crazy games because I’m a sugar nut whereas the moms in charge of Mario’s party were wholesome and nutritious and brought in bananas with raisin eyes and did spider crafts. Mario sat pouting as his spider legs wouldn’t glue correctly and his scissors wouldn’t cut well and he was forced to sit in his chair. But then a cupcake appeared with an Oreo on top and life was good again; he even smiled for a picture with his mom!

Meanwhile, Ri partied it up in her classroom. Sarah and Jorge stayed for a bit but then felt like Ri wanted left alone with her friends so they hit up Stauf’s. A while later, Ri came down to Mario’s room sad that I wasn’t in her room with her. She’s had three straight years of me all to herself. Nonetheless, after she saw how down Mario was, she was her generous self as always and told me I could stay with Mario. She stole a candy corn from his table and bolted back to her room.

Bethany met us back at the house (we were soaked from just getting in and out of the car). Mario threw off his shoes and played Star Wars Wii and Ri threw on her robe and played Minecraft. I headed into work for a quick meeting and prayed the rain would stop by 6. No luck. I got home at 5:30 and Sarah and Jorge had the kids ready to go. We threw on our rain coats and headed up our street for our first time ever trick-or-treating on our street (we usually head to 2nd Ave.). It was Jorge’s first trick-or-treat experience. Too bad there weren’t more kids out due to the pouring rain – but he did get to witness a human taco. My little munchos were making their mama very happy by ignoring the downpour and hitting up all the welcoming houses.

Meanwhile, Rocco cried and cried whenever the kids walked up the sidewalk to get candy.

We made it all the way to Broadview before Mario started to peter out on us. He was wet and cold – two things he can’t stand. Sarah and I pushed him hard though saying “look at this house here – it will have good stuff!” He held on for a few more houses (he scored big on the last with eight pieces of chocolate) and then Jon rescued him from his misery (Jon got in from England in the afternoon and drove from Detroit back home to make the tail end of Halloween). Maria left with her friend Riley around the neighborhood so Sar and Jorge and I were left contemplating dressing up and getting candy ourselves. Sar could have completely passed as a ten-year old ghost but we forgot a sheet.
We met back up with Ri and headed to Doris and Kim’s house to say “hi.” We saw our old house on 2nd Ave. and got a handful of candy from Doris and Kim. We also saw our old neighbor Carolyn who still sends b-day cards to the kids. She gave Ri a big squeeze (and a lot of candy). Ri and I hopped in the car as Sar and Jorge brought it around to us and Ri gloated as she showed them her loot. A bag filled to the top – just what I had begged for over the last two weeks. Kit Kat, Reese’s, Butterfinger, M&Ms, Snickers… Pure heaven.

Ri sat sorting out candy for Sarah and Jorge and me while Mario ate his stash. I was concerned about whether this Halloween would be a bust but it turned out to be delightful.

And the kids really got a treat when Sarah and Jorge stayed with them the next morning and played an epic two hour Monopoly game with them. Pure heaven.

Mario continues to party

September 5, 2013September 5, 20131 Comment

I started Mario’s birthday off right yesterday. I brought him home a chocolate long john donut after my run (of course, I brought me one home, too, which defeats the purpose of the run but how can one resist?!). He was on the living room floor in his boxers playing on the iPad. I serenaded “happy birthday” to him and got a big ol’ Mario grin from him.

I took cupcakes into school for him. The night before, three moms asked if I was making homemade cupcakes as if buying Kroger brand ones was a sin. Sure enough, as soon as we walked in the room, a mom of a little girl in Mario’s class held a box full of homemade goodies with colorful stickers pronouncing “Harriet is 6!” I shot her a look and continued on with my synthetic neon-colored iced cupcakes with my chin up high.

I returned to Mario’s school at 1:30 to help pass out the cupcakes. I juggled three calls and document drafting from 12:30-1:15 to get to the school on time. I swore a while back that when I made a commitment to my kids it would take a major catastrophe for me to not show up. And it was worth the juggling. Mario beamed when I showed up and took me all over the playground.

He even let me get a picture of him with Harriet. It took all my might to explain to him I had to leave and come back to get him but he finally let me go. I ran home to mow the grass so my folks and Patty would not see a jungle, and went straight back to pick him and Quinn and Maria up. Ri ran up to me and asked “did Mario get his name called on the announcements for his birthday?” I told her I didn’t know. Her flippant response:
“No, he didn’t. Do you know who did? Ms. Harriet. That is who. She has the nerve to have the same birthday as Mario and she took all the credit. I marched down to Ms. Bauer’s (the office assistant) office and told her they forgot my brother’s birthday.”

“Will they announce him tomorrow?”

“They better” she replied. Then she added “Harriet may not make it to school on Friday….” My mouth dropped and I started cracking up. She is her father’s child. He is Mr. Protective over his family and she is just like him. Of course, she started laughing too and meant no harm towards sweet Harriet but if you didn’t know her, you might think…!

Mario hugged Quinn like it had been years they were apart and we headed home. I went back into work for a couple hours while Ri and Sophie decked out the house with birthday decorations. Grandma Ionno came to help. We met up with Mama Meg and Peepaw and Sarah and Jorge at Barleys for dinner. We reminisced about the time Mario was in his crib and Jon went in to get him. He asked if I was home and Jon said no. Then he pulled out his binkie and said “well then I want Grandma (Ionno)”. Gotta love him. And the times that Sarah would come in town and Ri would cry “No Sarah” whenever she got near me. Ahh, fun times.
After dinner, Maria had a game “for people age 18 and older” when we got home. It did not involve alcohol unfortunately. But it was precious. She had paper slips in little wine glasses and each couple had to fill out the paper based on the question she gave us. Each question related to Mario’s future. Jon and I got “how many kids will Mario have?” I wrote 5 (Jon wanted 0). Sarah and Jorge got “what kind of pets would Mario have?” They wrote a “guinea pig named Spike, mini pig named Porky, fish named Fluffy, and dog named Pirate.” Pirate is now a leading choice in pup names for us. Meg and dad got “what will Mario do when he gets older?” They wrote “be an acrobat in Circue de Soleil.” Love it, and weirdly perceptive.
Patty got “where will Mario live?” She wrote “in Rome Italy with me.”

After the game wrapped up, Ri quipped “This boy of ours is going to have an interesting life.” Indeed.

Ri asked Mario the same questions we answered and he said he’d have 1 kid, 3 dogs, be an acrobat, and live in Marion with Grandma Ionno. Meg and dad won with Patty a close second!
We ate sheet cake and laughed at these crazy little beings we call our kids. Mario opened his presents and fainted when he got Skylanders from Ri (she used her gift card from Christmas to buy them).

He got a Ninjago t-shirt to go with the Lego set Grandma Ionno got him on Sunday. She spoils him rotten. He about fell over again when he opened Grandma Meg’s and Peepaw’s gift – a Mario Bros. wii game. Sarah and Jorge brought him coins from all over the world (he will appreciate those when he’s a world traveling acrobat) and a bullseye and stand for his target shooting! We got him shoes and undies (definitely a parent gift) and a new bike. He certainly is loved.

The party had to close down at 9 since school was happening in the morning. Jon left with everyone else to pick up a kennel from Sherry. Nothing like stepping from one party to another – Jon brings home our new pup tomorrow night.

Kindergarten woes

August 24, 2013August 24, 20131 Comment

Ri took this picture earlier this week at drop off to kindergarten. I was trying to console Mario who was completely distressed at the thought of going to school. Jon and I were taken aback with this behavior because Mario has been so excited to start at Maria’s school.

Every single day was awful. He cried and pled to leave with me. He asked to be “disqualified from Kindergarten.” He begged to stay home “just one more day.” It was heart-wrenching to look in his tear-filled eyes and see that baby boy pout. The worst was Friday. The guidance counselor came in to be with him while I left. She asked him if he wanted to draw. He shook his his head no. Then she said;

“Let’s go see Mr. Hopper, the bunny rabbit.”

Mario shook his head no again.

The counselor said: “Come on, it will be fun. You can even take a friend with you.”

Mario’s response: “Ok, I will take my mom.”

My heart crumbled. I’m his friend. I so can’t wait to use that when he is a teenager.

In my mind, I know that he is going to be just fine and we will look back at this transition and find humor in it. After all, he runs down the steps after school in a great mood. But in my heart, I am sick to my stomach as I walk out the doors every morning. I just want to start my day with a smiling child. So, I am dedicating my free time to researching every website about how to deal with a child that hates kindergarten. I know it will likely be a task of futility because every kid is different and I need to just figure out what Mario needs… but it makes me feel better. Probably by the time I have researched every site, Mario will have acclimated to Kindergarten and all the techniques I read about will be useless. Let’s hope….

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: School