Tag: Spring Break

It’s fun to be crazy!

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Maria wanted to go to Disney world for spring break this year. Mario wanted to go to Hollywood. Both of them did not get their wishes because Jon and I decided to stay low-key for spring break and do something big over the summer. As soon as Maria learned we were not going to Disney World, she immediately begged for us to go to Pittsburgh. Elena should be happy to know that she only ranks second to Disney World!

Mario decided to stay home with Jon for the four days we went to Pittsburgh. He knew that he would be able to do whatever he wanted with his dad, i.e., no mandatory reading, watching movies at anytime of day, going outside and shooting his bow in the backyard…. Maria persuaded him not to go to Pittsburgh by simply informing him that Aunt Sarah does not own a tv (Ri likes her alone time with her cousin). 

We left for Pittsburgh after Maria’s game on Saturday. She sprinted off the field and grabbed my arm.

“Come on mom, we have to get to Pittsburgh. I promised Aunt Sarah we would be there by 5:30 tonight.”

We hopped in the car and did not stop until we hit Pittsburgh traffic. Maria proceeded to tell me how the traffic was not as bad as it could he on a Saturday afternoon. It’s as though she’s been driving in Pittsburgh for years. Gotta love this girl.

As soon as we arrived, Maria jumped out of the car while I was still parking it. She ran up to the house and knocked on the door. Aunt Sarah answered with Elena by her side. Elena hugged Maria and immediately took her up to her room to play. I was quickly beckoned by the both of them to play, also. We started on a barnyard puzzle and within three minutes moved to the art table, and within four minutes moved to Elena’s bed to play airplane. She had to get all of her animals in the bed with us, including a live animal, Sarah’s dog, Little Dude. We acted like we were flying in the sky. She has such an imagination. At one point, she looked at Maria and me, and pointed her finger out the window yelling “there’s a woodpecker!” And this is how we spent many an hour over the next four days in Pittsburgh.

I forgot how draining it can be to watch a toddler all day long. It took me back to weekends with Maria at age 3 and Mario at age one. Jon and I would look at each other at 9 am, after being up for 3 hours, and wonder how it was not 5 pm. It was so conflicting – at once, you are overcome with amazement at how this toddler can find joy in an ant crawling along the sidewalk but you are also overcome with frustration at how slow this toddler is moving. You need coffee! 

However, since going through that conflict with Ri and Mario, and growing in my mindfulness practice, I am better able to appreciate the 20 minute venture with the ant. Or maybe it’s the realization that the 20 minute venture with the ant will be over in three days and I will be back to having my own time when I want it. Kinda like the grandma thing. You spoil the heck out of the grandchildren because you can send them back home at the end of the day. 

But when you’re in the thick of it, it’s draining – nothing else can be said about it. Pure drainage of energy. But would you have it any other way? It makes you strong, like you weathered a toddler war and survived intact. You got a notch on the parenting belt. And you recall those trying moments when the kid did something so sweet or hilarious or daring.  

Ri and I got plenty of those moments with Elena. Like putting together the barnyard puzzle. Maria found the head of acow that   matched the bottom of the cow piece Elena was holding. She was so excited to put the two pieces together. She exclaimed: “look Meemaw, we have a cow!” The thrill she felt in putting a puzzle together automatically translated into a thrill for Maria and me. You can’t help but smile and feel good when you are around her. Everything is amazing; everything is new; everything is worthy of attention.

Maria and I got into a routine every morning. We would hear Elena wake up, usually at 7 am, and ask Sarah “where is Aunt Mary? Where is Meemaw?” She would open the door to the guest room and climb into bed with us. No snuggling time though; instead, it was straight to jumping. Ri and I pulled ourselves up out of the covers and watched her jump and land on her butt. She’d yell “I landed on my butt!” 


Then she would direct us to jump with her. Meemaw would hem and haw but Elena would not back down (when we were driving to Pittsburgh, Maria was comparing Elena to recent dictators and confirming those dictators were weak compared to her cousin). After jumping, we’d move on to Elena’s room to play airplane and draw. Maria gave her about 15 minutes of play time in the am before Ri would push her to head to Starbucks with us. Maria needed her morning treat and I needed my coffee. Elena was happy to join us because she got treated to a tiny vanilla bean scone, which became her staple breakfast item (in addition to the spinach wrap Sarah made sure I fed her).

Elena loved Meemaw’s Strawberry Acai drink. She kept staring at her with those chestnut eyes and giving her that shy grin, and Meemaw couldn’t resist. You know you are loved by Meemaw if she shares her drink with you. 


After our Starbucks’ adventure, we’d head to Frick Park. The first day kicked our butts; Ri and I are not used to those hills! I am a former Cincinnati girl so I should be able to handle it, but I was pooped. We always had a good time at Frick. Maria loves the concrete slide. She found card board in one of the trash cans before we even got to the park. It was a tiny piece of board but she was able to still fly down the slide. She even got Elena to slide down with her.
But Elena enjoyed the ropes most of all. Sarah told me she had never really gone on the ropes before we took her. She did an amazing job maneuvering in and out of them, and was so proud of herself. She must’ve stayed on those ropes for 45 minutes one morning. She would counsel Meemaw and I as we climbed to the top of the rope tower. 

“Be careful to not knock your head”, she’d yell up to us. 



Elena especially loved tricking Meemaw on the slide. Ri would sit at the end and pronounce “I hope no one runs into me on this slide. I’m trying to sleep!” Elena would giggle up the steps and run across the bridge to slide into Ri. She laughed hysterically. Then she’d promise not to do it again and run up to do it again. Meemaw has much patience.

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We also engaged in Operation Bunny Watch each time we went for a walk. We were determined to find a bunny. We never did. Of course, as soon as Maria and I returned to Columbus, we spotted a bunny. Next time we head to Pittsburgh, they better be out. 

After an hour or two at the park, we’d head home to have some lunch and to draw. Meemaw and I would get a little break to eat some soup and sandwich and Elena would get to see her mama. But, after about an hour, we’d hit the road again. We went to the Science Museum on Sunday afternoon and spent about four hours there.  I was thrilled to see Elena so happy with us. In the past, she has missed her mama but not this time. Finally! She loved looking around and watching Meemaw climb the space station. 


We went over to the Sports Center, and almost had her on one of the bars that you hold onto and get lifted up. She watched other kids and waited in line but when it was her turn, she backed out. Ri took her turn. Then Ri led us to a little bullet. You sit in the bullet and you get taken through the entire body. It shakes when you go through the stomach and gets really dark when you get into the intestines. However we don’t know anything more than that because Elena started screaming at the top of her lungs pretty much as soon as the ride began. I was ready to strangle Maria since my aunt intuition told me that Elena would probably not like the ride. I started banging on the door with the hopes that the attendant would open up the bullet. After banging for what seemed like minutes, he finally opened it up. The family of three sitting behind us were still holding their ears when we exited. Lovely.

Elena’s favorite part of our Science Museum trip was the submarine. She loved moving through the “holes.” These were the tiny doors that we had to go through during our trip down the submarine. She thought it was so fun to get picked up and put through the door to Meemaw, and then to run through the submarine to the next door. She could have cared less about the dining or sleeping areas or even all the gadgets. She just wanted holes!

But even more than the sub’s holes, she loved the M&M’s we bought her at the end of our tour.  I swear I felt like my 80-year old grandma throughout the trip because Elena knew that her aunt Mary would always get her chocolate – just like my grandma would always give me chocolate when I came to her house. 

Sarah and Jorge took us to a crazy good hamburger joint Sunday night. The joint also had amazing milkshakes. Maria could not wait to order hers after our meal, and Sarah accidentally ordered one for Elena as well. That girl was in seventh heaven (as was Maria!). 


On Monday, we hit our Starbucks and the park. We laughed hysterically at Starbucks because we got subjected to the “Elena poop time.” This is where Elena goes to a corner of the room and squats and pushes out a poop in her diaper. If that’s not good enough, while she is squatting, she yells out “Get away! I’m pooping!” Men and women would walk by her and squat down to say hello. She would turn her head and demand that they go away because “I’m pooping!” How precious. 

After we changed a massively poop-filled diaper, we left for the park. Elena made Maria so happy by going down the slide with her.


Elena also learned to jump off the swing since Meemaw did it. Her face lit up when she realized she accomplished it. We had to book it home that morning because Elena had a gymnastics session at 11 am. Whoa, that took me back to watching Maria and Mario at Wendy’s Gymnastics. Those little feet and little fingers grabbing the bars and tumbling over. So cute! I was so mad that I forgot my camera because I would’ve taken 100 pictures. 

We came home to broccoli soup and pork sandwiches. After our hour of rest, we decided to go to the children’s museum. Maria loves this museum with all of her heart, especially the art room. We got in another full afternoon at the museum with our muncho. Last time we went to the museum, Elana was scared to death to climb in the climbing area. But this time, she was a pro with Maria. She likes her space, however, so when a kid came up to try to crawl with her, she started to cry. Maria handled it beautifully – being her bodyguard – and telling the kid to shoo away. 


Elena was hilarious in the art room. Maria wanted to stay in the silk screen station to make a collage for Elena’s room so she was parked there for 45 minutes. Elena sat there for the entire time making newspaper bracelets for me. She would tape a piece of newspaper around my wrist, draw on it, and then cut it off. This process was repeated several times over but with the same glee as the first time.

Maria moved over to the painting station next. I thought this would be a lot of fun for Elenda. It was at first, but then she dripped a dot of paint on her shoes. She looked down at them and then back up at me, and began to cry. By this time, Maria and I were experts at how to calm her down. I whipped her shoe off and told her that I would wash the paint off. She calmed down and began painting again. Meemaw and she created masterpieces together. 


Next, we went up to the water play area. Maria was so excited to get in her bathing suit with Elena. At first, Elena was hesitant to go into the sprinklers with Maria but then she warmed up to it and began to allow Maria to run through the sprinklers holding her. Maria allowed Elena to dump a bucket of water on her head. The more water she can pour on herself, the better. Elena hung in with the water-loving Ri for a while but then went from loving the water play to “let’s go home!” We had a trying time getting dry because we didn’t bring towels. We may have killed a couple of trees in the process of drying off. 


We cranked out some more art to warm us up after the water play. Elena cut out circles, triangles and squares for her silk screen. The girl is so smart for her age, and picks up on everything. She definitely takes after her aunt Mary….


We headed home to get in some roller skating and bike riding down the hill n at Sarah’s house. Maria loved the hill. She about gave me a coronary arrest her first time on it because she let go of my arm and went flying down the hill by herself. She was either hitting the guard rail and flipping down a hill of brush to the highway or she was veering right to even out on a flat surface. I ran after her as hard as I could when she let go – about ripped both hamstrings – but she was way too fast. I just stood and prayed to whoever or whatever would listen. She veered right and I fell to the ground and nearly cried. She rolled back up towards me in pure exhilaration. 

“That was great!”

Yea, I’m gonna be popping anti-anxiety pills during her teen years.  Elena joined up with us riding her red bicycle. The two of them looked hysterical together. 

We sat up in the evening with Sarah and Jorge talking politics, school, living arrangements (Ri wants them to move to Columbus so badly), publishing, Oaxaca. I enjoyed downloading from the day and spending a couple of hours just talking about random things before bed. Back at home, I always feel pressure to get some work done, fold the laundry, dishes washed, and by the time all of that is done there’s no time to talk. 

We hit Starbucks and Frick Park again on Tuesday morning. Elena gave those irrisistable eyes to Ri again and got many sips of her refresher drink. We walked our normal path to the park and spotted our two balloons flying from a gate post. There was a yellow one and a blue one. However, the yellow one had burst. Elena kept questioning why the yellow one was little,  and not like the blue one. I explained that it burst, which she found hysterical. She had to examine it before we moved on to the park. Another moment where us adults look at a burst balloon as nothing more than a piece of garbage hanging off a fence post but this little munch sees it as a fascinating question to be solved. 

We spent nearly two hours at the park sliding and playing on the ropes. Ri and I are convinced she’s going to climb the Alps.

We had our afternoon planned out with an exciting trip to the Aviary and then to the children’s museum if we had time. We stole Sarah’s license so that we could get in free to the museum. Ri took my hair out of my ponytail and tried to give me bangs and glasses so that I could look like Sarah. Elena freaked. I quickly put my hair back up in a pony and she calmed down. It was no hope anyway – Sarah looks 15 in her picture and I’m lucky to look 40! 

We parked near the Aviary and hopped our way over to it (Elena’s new favorite move is to hold our hands and hop between us). We walked up to the doors of the Aviary and saw a sign that announced the Aviary was closed for the day. Are you kidding? Of all days….Well, if Peepaw taught us anything, it’s to make lemonade out of lemons. We trekked over to the museum and got in without a glitch. I was lamenting on the way over about missing out on the Aviary and Ri reminded me that it was a “first world problem” and “who cares, we get a second day at the museum!”

It was as if we’d never gone to the museum. They both played at all the same displays and had a blast. More newspaper bracelets, more ball throwing, more clay houses, more meditating in the egg chair. 


And what did we do with the extra time by not hitting the Aviary? We walked to Mike’s Ice Cream and got giant scoops of ice cream for $2! The owner informed us he was retiring soon so we were lucky to get the last bit of ice cream. It was delicious, especially eating it under the big oak tree.


We made one last stop before heading home on Tuesday since we knew we were leaving the next day. We had to go out with a blast! We stopped at Schendley Park and took a mini hike to the creek. Elena asked me to find rocks for her and then she’d chuck them into the stream. Hilarious. She let Meemaw hug all over her, which made Meemaw’s day. 


We arrived home a bit exhausted but proud of our day full of adventures! And god love Elena – we dragged her in the car 20 minutes away for a fancy dinner. She hit the wall as soon as we ordered and Sarah took her out to nurse her. She immediately crashed but woke up when Sarah carried her back in the restaurant. We were going to get our food to go but Jorge convinced us to wait and see how she did. And don’t you know the girl rebounded and hung in there with us throughout our entire dinner? As we were leaving, she looked at Sarah and pleaded “can we go home and play all night?” She has the partying gene in her, for sure.

We came home and jumped off the back of the couch for a bit, played puzzle, and took an airplane ride before Sarah called it a night on behalf of Elena. 


Sarah, Jorge, Ri and I played Bananagrams after Elena fell asleep. Sarah whooped on us but I got her the last game! Jorge let Ri join her team and they were cracking us up with their word choices and dialogue back and forth. 

We stayed up too late and 6:50 am came real quick…. Jorge laughed at us later in the day and said he knew Ri and I broke that morning because we could barely keep up with Elena when she pulled us out of bed. The other mornings we were energized and raring to go! I actually think it was just sadness, knowing that we had to leave. After all, as Elena stated at one point during our stay “it’s fun to be crazy!” We had crazy fun and with this girl for three straight days, and it was pure magic. 

Expectations

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I had such high expectations for my two days off work two weeks ago to be with the babes on their Spring Break. I need to learn to temper those expectations….

Thursday was great. I drove out to the farm with Rocco and Mario to pick up Ri and hang out with the family. Mario watched a scary movie in the back and chimed in to me every 15 minutes with what was going on in the chosen scene. He got two packs of donuts on the trip and surprisingly gave up on eating the last two donuts in the second pack because his stomach hurt. One day he will learn. 

We took our routine hike once we arrived. Through the woods to the vine. We had to cajole Rocco down the path so the kids could swing on the vine; it freaks Rocco out completely to see them swing on it. He jumps on them and then tears into the vine as if its an intruder. It began to sprinkle and then downpour on us as we walked along the creek. The kids asked to stay in the woods and play while we went back to the house. It’s great they are at an age they can do that. When I got back, I grabbed a sweatshirt for Mario to take back to him since the wind was picking up. Before I got to their hide-a-way, they were running through the pasture yelling “mom!” They had gotten scared of the thunder. They still do need the comfort of their mama.

We dove into birthday cake when we got back to celebrate Meg’s birthday and played a mean game of Clue.   

   

  

We took off before the heavy rain since I turn into a nervous nelly if I have to drive in that stuff.  The kids petted Rocco and we played “would you rather” as we drove home. 

Alana and Gio arrived on Friday morning for our big day at Fort Rapids! We got in our suits and packed snacks and waters and jumped in the truck for a day of bliss sliding down big slides and splashing in the lazy river.

  

We arrived to a line of folks waiting to enter. This should have been a sign. When we finally got in, the kids dispersed and I found a couple chairs to sit our things on for the day. I went down a slide by myself and looked around for the kids. I found Mario; he looked dejected. He complained that Gio kept leaving him. I grabbed a tube and he and I stood in line for 30 minutes to get on the black slide – he was finally tall enough to go down it with me. That livened him up. After we finished, we walked over to our chairs to get some snacks. The rest of the crew was standing there. Ri asked “when are we going home?” 

I could have screamed. They’d been begging to head here for a week and within an hour they were asking when we would leave. 

Deep breath. 

I smiled and said through my clenched teeth “not for a while – go have fun.” To their credit, I was rather annoyed with the place, too. They did not have enough tubes so you had to wait for people to give them up. This took forever because everyone knew they would be hard to get so they refused to give them up. Ri and Alana finally got one but then lost it when they had to go to the bathroom. Mario and Gio nabbed one illegally, I believe, but by that time it was no holds barred and I turned a blind eye….

   

   

By the time 5 pm hit, I had to admit that as much as it pained me to have spent the money I spent on tickets for the entire day (until 9 pm), I was ready to go. The kids were, too. So we rounded up our soaken things and headed home for a sleepover. When I asked the kids if they had fun, they yelled “yea!” and I decided to take that answer and run with it. We will forget the whining to come home and remember the joy of the slides. I told them if they thought the waterpark was fun to wait until they went to the Easter Egg hunt the next morning in Grandview. Ri and Mario told Alana and Gio about it and how many eggs were on the ground. Everyone shouted the number of eggs they’d get “10” “20” “100!”

We woke up Saturday morning and drove down to the park at 9:45. 5-7 year olds were right by the 8-10 year olds. Gio wanted to go with the 8 year olds since he’s 8 but Mario wanted Gio to stand next to him in the 7 year old ring. When Gio refused, Mario got irritated. And the irritation only blossomed. 

We spoke on the way down to the park about the $25 egg. Each year, one egg has a $25 savings bond in it. All the kids were predicting that they’d get it. But Mario especially wanted it. So when the hunt began, rather than diving into the eggs and swooping up as many as he could, he stared at them to see if he could see the $25 in one of them. By the time he reached down to pick one up, all the other kids had taken them. He ended up with one egg.

One. 

And that one simply had a mini Milky Way bar in it, a candy bar he hates. It was not pretty. He stomped away from all of us and pouted on the picnic table. Then the woods. I finally was able to get near him and explained to him that all the other kids only got three or four eggs so don’t sweat it.

“I hate Easter and I hate hunts. I never want to do one again!” 

Meanwhile, Ri and her cousins were scarfing down their loot. Mario finally headed back towards them after I allowed him to say a curse word under his breath. Worst mom of the year? He livened up after that word and we ended up having a great morning at the park and eating candy (so it was well worth it).

   

   

And don’t you know when we went to Grandma Ionno’s house the next day, he jumped at the chance to participate in another Easter Egg hunt.  Sometimes you just gotta let the moment ride out and what ends up happening is that it’s all fine in the end.

  

Entering Steeler Country

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It was a simple choice for Spring Break.  No, not Miami, not Charleston, not Disney but rather – Pittsburgh, PA!  Not that anyone would be wondering why Pittsburgh but just in case….

Aunt Sarah lives there!  And Uncle Jorge.  And Stella and Mona – their dogs. 

Pittsburgh also is home to a few hotels with pools and hot tubs. 

Combine Sarah, Jorge, the dogs and a hotel pool and you have a fantasy Spring Break for me and the kiddies. 

Mario playing Wii and taking forever to get ready for the road!

Mario and I headed out of Columbus at 9:30 am on Thursday morning after I took a morning run (knowing that would be my last free hour without kids by my side), got Mario to stop playing Wii basketball and get dressed, and made a bag of snacks for the road (always a must).  I had loaded the stroller in the car the night before.  And Grandma Meg’s present. I had gotten our duffel bag packed full of clothes, barbies, blankies, and swimsuits and placed it on the couch.  I had packed the camera, money, and stuffed animals in my backpack.  Ready, set, go.  Mario grabbed his book bag filled with the most random items: plastic superhero figurines, socks, bathing suit, and small beach ball.  We gave Cy a big doggie hug and took everything outside to the garage.  Mario, my wild child who cannot simply open the car door and sit in his seat, twirled around in circles and hit his head against the side of the car as I put my book bag in the front seat.  I reached back to pick him up and console him.  When he finally calmed down, I sat him in his seat with his backpack and his pillow pet.  I went around to my side and climbed in the front.  We were off!

Mario provided commentary to me about his power rangers movie on the way out to the farm.  He also kept asking when we would be in “Mexico.”  I think he correlates Mexico with Aunt Sarah since she was there the majority of Mario’s life and he cannot seem to grasp the fact that she has now moved to Pittsburgh.  As we travelled through the countryside looking at cows and horses, my mind suddenly fixated on our duffel bag.  I looked in my rear view mirror and could see everything behind me.  That would be impossible with a big red duffel bag on top of the stroller.  I pulled the car over and opened the back of the car.  No duffel. I left it in the garage as i consoled Mario.

“Sh–, da–…” 

Mario consoling me.

After a slew of inappropriate words outside of the car, I plunked back in my seat.  Mario immediately sensed my frustration.  I told him we forgot our bag with clothes in it and he replied “Mom, don’t worry, I packed my swim trunks in my book bag.” His words touched me, and I realized in the big scheme of this crazy life, there could be many worse situations to be in at that moment.  I laughed and reached my hand back to his hand giving him a kiss in the air.  We continued down the country road to Grandma Meg’s house.  I walked in the door and divulged my forgetfulness to Meg and Maria.  Maria’s reaction was diametrically opposed to Mario’s.  She wailed and then stuttered between sobs, “But, mom, my new bathing suit was in that bag!”  We played with Grandma Meg’s dog and cats, gave her some sweet birthday presents, and hit the road with a full bag of chocolate chip cookies (very dangerous). 

Maria hugging Mona after her good trick.

On to Pittsburgh.  Through Wheeling and past Cabela’s (Jon’s favorite).  When we hit Pittsburgh, we went through the Pitt Tunnel and over the bridge.  The kids interrupted their tv show to admire the sights for three seconds.  Finally, we found ourselves parking at Sarah’s apartment.  We hurried out of the car and into her place before our fingers and faces froze in the Pittsburgh air.  As soon as the door opened, big ol’ Stella and little darling Mona greeted us.  They jumped and yelped and flipped all over the hard wood floors.  Maria and Mario lapped it up.  Mario joined right in with the nonsense running all around and letting Stella jump on her even though Stella is nearly as tall as Mario.  Mario got an ear and eye cleaning 5 times over from Stella who thoroughly enjoyed licking all over his little head after she cornered him.  Maria, on the other hand, earned the nickname “Enforcer” by constantly issuing commands to the dogs and withholding love until they obeyed.  She attempted to teach them tricks (that Aunt Sarah has already taught them, thank god) and put on shows for us, the audience.  Poor Jorge – he is not at all used to this chaos and I am sure that our presence for even a half hour jettisoned the thought of kids far out of his mind!

Mario loving on Stella

After Aunt Sarah’s house, we ate lunch at Pamela\’s Diner.  Yum.  Absolutely delicious banana and granola pancakes with whipped cream and syrup.  Spinach and feta omelette. Onion rings.  Perfect vacation food.  After Pamela’s, we hit the local Target to get some clothes for Mario and me and a bathing suit for Maria Grace.  She chose a black two-piece.  Mario chose some striped overalls in a size too little because he likes to see his socks when he looks down.  After Target, Sarah and Jorge were ready for a little break so we dropped them off and headed to the hotel.  I love the enthusiasm that Maria and Mario bring to simply walking into a hotel.  They bounced all around the lobby while I checked in and ran to the elevator to push the button.  They spotted the pool. 

The Crew at Pamela's

“Mom, look at the pool.  It is right by the elevators so it is so convenient!”  Maria boasted.

Mario merely screeched “The pool! The pool!”

The disgruntled models posing in their suits.

We headed up to floor 6 after Maria let Mario hit the button in the elevator.  This action became a huge source of bargaining and compromise for the next two days as I guess in little kids’ worlds, pushing the button in the elevator is much more cool than pushing it outside of the elevator.  Overall, they did pretty good (with Maria giving into Mario a majority of the times). We stepped in our room (after Maria used the key card in it which Mario found no interest in until the last day) and both kids gasped with excitement.  It had a huge tv, a huge bed, a sofa and a coffee maker (Maria’s favorite).  We threw off our clothes and got in our suits.  

The hotel pool.  AKA, super chlorine-ridden pool.  It wasn’t until Saturday afternoon driving home that I realized how the amount of chlorine in that pool.  Red blotches grew all over my skin and I itched and hurt at the same time.  Maria and Mario did not have it quite as bad but we all still smelled like chlorine after 4 showers.  Nonetheless, it was worth it for the fun we had in the pool and the hot tub.  Maria actually jumped in the pool by herself for the first time and swam over to me at the other end of the pool.  Mario jumped in by himself with his swimmies on his arms and rose up from under the water with a half-scared, half-amazed look on his face that quickly turned to a huge smile.  Aunt Sarah came and played with us that first night acting like a shark with Mario on her back and allowing Mario to push her in the water while she stood “bored” on the side of the pool.  The kids adore her.

Loving the pool.

Sarah hit the road after the swim and we went down to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite.  Maria wanted both chicken fingers and nachos.  I promptly said “no” and the waiter looked at her sullen face and suggested that she could have chicken fingers with just a “few” nachos on the side.  Fifteen minutes later, he brought out four large chicken fingers and an entire plate of nachos with cheese.  Maria said “thank you” without me even having to prompt her!  We ate quickly because Mario was whining and complaining and took the remainder of our meals upstairs.  Maria loved eating in the room while watching tv (she is my child) – she got the roll away desk out and her chair and set up shop.  We fell asleep around 10:30 and woke at 7:30 – not bad for these two poor sleepers. 

Heading up the cathedral steps.

Friday consisted of  jam-packed, action-filled events with Aunt Sarah and Uncle Jorge.  We picked Sarah up at 9:15 and headed to the Cathedral of Learning where she teaches her undergrad course.  She had high hopes for us – to climb up 36 flights of stairs to the top of the cathedral.  Maria and Mario wanted to do it so badly but after 14, their little legs were stinging.  We agreed to make it to floor 15 and take the elevator.  We got to the 36th floor and it treated up to a sight of all of Pittsburgh.  The kids stared down and basked in their glory of climbing half way up the stairs.

Looking out at Pittsburgh

We got to wait outside of the cafe for a half hour while Sarah met with a student.  We people-watched and talked about what it would be like to be in college.  A lot of questions posed to me from Maria about what I did in college (I fibbed a bit about studying hard and never partying).  Finally, it was time to go to Aunt Sarah’s class.  We got there a few minutes early and Sarah was not there yet.  Here students were, however, and we introduced ourselves.  Maria got shy.  Mario stood on the chair in the front of the room and talked about how he loved basketball. 

Mario next to the T Rex

The Carnegie Museum of Natural History is across the street so we headed over there to see the big dinosaur outside.  It wears a different scarf every other day (so I hear).  We decided to go see the dinosaur exhibit.   Four hours later, we left.  The museum housed a plethora of exhibits and kids’ activities.  They got to act like archeologists and dig for bones.  They got to see big mammals and little birds and dinosaur bones.  They got to learn facts about trees and stones in the Discovery Room and they touched fossilized dinosaur dung.  Yeah!

Maria during her archaeological dig

We left the museum for a long walk in Schenley Park with Sarah, Jorge and the pups.  What an incredible park to have so close to their disposal.  I felt like I had entered a state park.  A stream, rock bridge, trail, huge trees.  Maria walked the dogs through the entire park only getting help once in a while from Sarah or Jorge.  I carried Mario the entire way who had collapsed at the entrance from exhaustion.  My hips and shoulders felt like someone had stabbed them a million times at the end of the trip.  But so worth it.  We grabbed our suits after the park because we just needed a little more action and we headed to the pool with Sarah and Jorge.  Jorge became Maria’s servant shortly after we jumped in the water.  “Jorge, come now.” “Jorge, over here!”  And, Jorge earned his “uncle” title that afternoon by divulging Maria’s demands and playing with her incessantly until we all called it quits.  Sarah earned her title as well by sword fighting with Mario in the hot tub and submerging her head under when he won.  

The crew in the hot tub

To top off the day, we headed to The Church Brew Works, a restaurant housed in an old church.  We got there at 7 pm – way too late for the kids we would find out.  I knew it was a long shot that they would be good based on all of the hoopla from the day and no nappage but I was hopeful.  Within ten minutes of sitting down, Mario whined about his stomach hurting.  He sat on my lap the rest of the dinner intermittently crying or getting mad that we were still sitting there.  Maria turned on us, too, after her pasta and salad arrived and the salad had vinaigrette on it rather than ranch and her pasta was “yucky.”  She broke down.  We got her chicken fingers but by that time, it was too late.  Sarah, Jorge and I conversed to the extent possible and called it a night.  Again, I think we jettisoned Jorge’s desire for kids out another 10 years.

Maria lovin' the pool

The kids and I headed back to the hotel.  Mario was hurting from refusing to go to the bathroom and had diaper rash (his one ailment he is constantly prone to).  Maria begged to go to the pool.  I was hoping that the front desk had some type of diaper creme.  We went down and had no luck.  However, the girl at the front desk offered to go buy some for me.  What a godsend.  She has no clue what a wonderful gesture that was for me.  We watched Maria swim while we waited.  Maria did a good job playing on her own in the water – a good sign for this summer.

We headed to the room to apply the creme, and poor Mario cradled himself in my arms.  We sat there watching tv until we all fell asleep.  Mario awoke at midnight screaming hysterically.  It’s bad enough to be awakened at midnight by a screaming kid but even worse when you are in a hotel and know that people around you are shaking their heads and cussing at you under their breath.  I consoled him to the point where his crying became muffled, and then I made him pee in the toilet.  As I stood behind him trying to keep him quiet and asking him to try to go to the bathroom, he farted.  And that is when the fun began.  Poor moms.  How many of us have a similar story of getting crapped on, literally?!  Rancid, disgusting, putrid – the only words that can begin to describe what I had to clean off of me and the bathroom floor.  An hour later, I climbed into bed with Mario sleeping soundly.  At least he slept the rest of the night. 

Mario with his water wings

Mario woke before Maria so I took advantage of the Cartoon Channel so I could rest my eyes a little longer.  Maria woke at 8:15 am, which is the latest she has ever slept (thanks to that dog walking  the day before).  We went straight to the pool for our last vacation swim – I knew better than to mention breakfast with the hopes that we would swim for a mere half hour and then they’d be too hungry to continue.  The plan failed.  One and a half hours later, I finally got them to go and that was only because a maintenance man came in to check the chlorine and he went along with my act when I asked him if the pool was closing.  I should have slipped him a $20 on my way out. 

Hanging with the pups

We headed back to our room, got changed, and headed out to Aunt Sarah’s for one last jaunt with the crazy pups.  When we arrived, books and papers covered the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and glass of water amidst them.  Joan Didion. The Best of Nonfiction Writing.  The New Yorker magazine.  I admire their passion for writing and reading.  Sarah told me they got up and immediately began reading and writing.  A foreign life to me at this stage of my life, but one that always inspires me to continue to ask questions and express myself and access my goals.  And I have learned that one of my goals at this stage of my life is to enjoy and cherish this time with my kids, and to provide them with experiences that will help them see the world outside of our home and neighborhood.  As hard as these “vacations” can be, I feel exhilerated at the end of them because of the experience of it all. 

Giving Stella one more treat

Mario saying goodbye to Mona

And back to Sarah’s and Jorge’s lives, Maria and Mario interrupted their lives that morning as they bombarded Sarah with a ton of questions about the pups, ran around the apartment with them, and fed them enough treats for a week.  Nonetheless, Sarah and Jorge welcomed the two tornadoes with open arms and wide smiles, and provided them with much love before our departure.  We said our goodbyes with the dogs a’ barkin’ and headed back to Columbus, Ohio.  The West Va. gas station (West Va. is Mama Ionno’s birthplace) greeted us and provided us with Cheetos for Mario, Chex Mix for Maria and CornNuts for me to get us home.  We had a brief layover with Pee-paw at the farm (long enough for Maria and I to take a hike and find deer bones that Maria wants to take to school and for Mario to see the horses). 

Mario passed out

Maria watching Berenstein Bears with her pillow pet

Mario fell asleep within ten minutes of hitting the road to Columbus.  He slept until we were ten minutes from home, which is when Maria knocked off.  We walked in the back door and experienced that mixed feeling of relief in being home and sadness in knowing that vacation was over.  We all sat on the couch and relived the trip with dad.  Later that evening, Maria laid in her bed looking distraught.  “I want to be back in Pittsburgh” she sulked.  And folks laughed when we told them Pittsburgh for Spring Break.