Spring Break 2013 – Phoenix

April 13, 2013April 16, 2013Leave a comment

“The Grand Canyon is not that big.” This was Mario’s initial observation as we stared down into the vastness of the Canyon. It takes a lot to impress that kid. Jon and I decided to pay for a four-hour tour knowing full well that we would not be able to provide the education that a guide could provide. Maria is at the age that she slurps up all the facts and information provided by teachers so we knew she would enjoy it more. Mario, well, we could have just led him run throughout the canyon and he would have loved life.

We had a guide named Dora who had been a park ranger for years. Her husband is a geologist. She focused in heavily on the trees and the berries and, of course, the rocks in the Grand Canyon. Our first stop was at a juniper tree. There were berries just beginning to mature on the tree and Dora plucked on off for us to try. When you cracked open the berry, there was a tiny nut to eat. RI and Mario were skeptical but they each asked for one to try. Neither of them spit it out but neither of them were overwhelmed. Then Ri looked in her berry and found something. A worm. Jon and I and even Dora dismissed her telling her it was just part of the berry. But Dora took a second look and said “you are the first person to find a worm in their berry.” Ri kept eating and was proud as can be. She also introduced us to Pinyon Pine and pine nuts (we all loved those), oak, and ponderosa trees (Ri loved the ponderosa pines on my behalf because “they are named after mom’s favorite restaurant!”). Next, we learned about the different type of rock making up the Grand Canyon. Ri asked a ton of questions and held a long conversation with Dora about the different layers. She loved the look of the sandstone. She bought a bag of rocks to take home with her to show her class. The last adventure as a fossil find. Mario loved it. He would grab Dora’s hand to pull her over to a rock with a fossil to show her. When she confirmed it was a fossil, he looked up at me with that look of self-pride and moved on to the next rock. Jon spotted a mule deer on our way out. Maria peppered Dora with more questions ending with the ultimate one “how did we get here on this Earth?” Our old-soul girl. Dora loved it.

The night before we stayed at the Best Western Hotel near the park. It had no indoor pool but it did have a hot tub, an arcade room and, strangely enough, a bowling alley. We arrived at 6 pm which is 9 pm our time so we were all exhausted. We went down for dinner to the seedy sports bars near the arcade where the waiters looked completely miserable and the clientele consisted of locals or other exhausted families. Mario had a breakdown waiting for dinner – he was so tired and irritable and saying “I hate this place!” every two seconds. Ri was completely dazed out. The food was horrid except for Ri’s baby back ribs. Yeah, that is what she ordered at the seedy sports bar. She does know how to live it up.

By the time he hit the arcade it was close to midnight our time. I knew when Mario put quarters into a hunting game and it didn’t work, that all hell would break loose. Although he reacted better than I thought he would, he was still shot. It really was time to just head upstairs and call it a day.

After the Grand Canyon, we headed back to Phoenix with Mario watching movies on the iPad and Ri talking up a storm about everything and anything. She’d finish telling one story and there would be a pause, Jon and I would open up our mouths to say something, but then Ri would jump into another conversation. We laughed at the difference in the two of them. Mario could plant his nose in technology for five hours; Ri needs conversation. Three and a half hours later, we were at Desert Ridge Marriott. What a place! A lot different from the cabins and tents I stayed in as a kid. Ri and Mario have now stayed in the RItz in Naples and Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix. I think their significant others will be treated well when they find them years from now.

The hotel grounds were gorgeous with a huge grassy area out back that led to the lazy river, regular pool, and fountain pool. We were on the fifth floor and had a balcony overlooking a desert garden and a large patio for parties. The kids loved the balcony and got an awesome surprise as they stood looking into the garden. There were bunnies everywhere! One hopped out of the cactus and Ri and Mario screamed for us. Then another bunny hopped, and a baby followed. They could not believe it. And that became our entertainment every morning and afternoon. One afternoon we came up to our room to take a little break in swimming and the kids sat on the balcony for over an hour acting like scientists studying the movements of the bunnies. They got water and soap and spread it on their bodies to attract the bunnies and them got notebooks and pens to write down their observations. Every five minutes they’d come in to give us a report.

The lazy river was great because you could float in it or you could swim or walk in it. Mario typically chose to swim, I walked, Jon floated, and Ri did a combo (she always had a tube in hand but would switch between floating and walking with it; she used it as her laboratory spying on people). It had a slide in the middle of the river that the kids loved. It wasn’t that fast and the kids were a little skeptical at first but it quickly endeared itself to them and they were doing all sorts of poses as they slid down. They about lost it with glee when Jon went down; they stood on the side of the pool and waited anxiously and when Jon flew out, they laughed and applauded as if he was a celebrity. When it came to me, well, I was just expected to slide down with them.

The breakfast buffet was a slice of heaven. They had anything your heart desired (they should have at the amount you have to pay) – the typical eggs and bacon to corn meal pancakes to donuts to granola. Ri and I were beyond excited every morning to hit it – we asked for the table closest to it so we could dig right in. We got our money’s worth with me and Ri; however, Mario ate a few bites of donut and piece of bacon and he was done. He was more concerned with going out on the green space and playing with the other kids. The only problem was that the other kids all knew each other and had no desire to ask Mario to join them. He looked like such a sad soul standing outside watching them. Ri went out to cheer him up. I followed after one last bite of a chocolate muffin.

We did cartwheels on the lawn while Jon watched (I swear he looked like Don Corleone when he sat in the garden chair with no one by him). Other families looked at us with either awe or disgust but we didn’t care. It was refreshing.

We swam everyday and hit the Family Play Room the last two days. The Family Room provided a refuge from the sun and the pool (after being in it for four hours). RI and I colored pictures, Mario played Wii and on the iPad, and we all played foozball (I am horrid). They had cubicles of hershey kisses, caramels, tootsie rolls and apples and raisins. I grabbed Mario an apple to eat when he complained of being hungry. He ate it and then turned the corner and saw the hershey kisses. I wish I would have had my camera to capture his reaction. He stood with his mouth agape absolutely flabbergasted that all of those kisses were available to eat.

We drove over to Jon’s best friend, Paul’s house to visit him and his wife and their kids on Thursday night. They got pizza and Mario glued himself to their son, Sam (age 15) and Ri did the same with their daughter, Eve (age 11). Sam played football with Mario and listened to Mario’s stories; Eve showed Maria her horse awards and let her play with her iPod. Jon got to hang with his best buddy and I got to hear all the particulars about how their daughter’s fiancée proposed. We left at 8 pm, and both kids were passed out within ten minutes of our drive back to the hotel. I carried Ri and Jon hauled Mario from the car all the way to our hotel room. We were both sweating and out of breath.

We hit the putt-putt for tradition’s sake. The course was the most boring one we have been on to date. I kicked everyone’s butt (my lucky day). Maria got a hole-in-one and Mario stayed calm about it. He did not play well but instead of acting out, he just kept to himself laying on the grass or sitting in the shade. It broke my heart. He’d go to the next hole and just sit under a tree looking like a little orphan. But he perked back up at the end when we agreed to let them bounce on the trampolines. After the trampolines, we played in the arcade and all found out we love air hockey.

The kids and I also got in a hike at Pinnacle Peak. I loved that. I was surprised that the kids made it up nearly a mile (the entire route up was 1.75 miles). I was worried about Mario in the beginning because he slipped and cut his knee on a rock. You would have thought it was deep gash by the way he was hopping around and crying. It was a small cut that barely even bled. But he just kept saying “I can’t go any farther, mom, I can’t.” Luckily, a mother approached me with two band-aids. “I know how kids can be about cuts,” she told me. I bandaged him up but he still made me hold him. That was the first sign we probably wouldn’t make it the entire way up. But then his competitive spirit awoke when he saw Ri charging ahead. He started to walk with a little limp and a big bodybuilder walked by him and said “Way to go guy – keep it up!” Mario looked at me and asked if I heard what the man said. I told him “yes” and Mario said “he said it just to me mom, not to you or Ri.” Mario, Mario. But that is what it took to get Mario motivated. Within five minutes, Maria complained of feeling sick and complained that she couldn’t go any farther. That sealed the deal. I could not carry her for 1.5 more miles. I held her for a while and then we’d stop in the shade for a bit. We did this off and on until he hit a perch near mile 1. A kind soul saw that I was carrying Ri and said “congrats – you reached the top!” Mario looked at me and asked “we did?” I winked at the woman and declared “yes, we are here!” Mario would have freaked if he knew we did not make it the entire way; he wanted to find the bodybuilder on our way down to tell him that he hiked to the top. The flowers were gorgeous and the sights beautiful. Ri walked the entire way down and when we got to the bottom both kids were sweating. I told Ri she could empty the remainder of her water on her when we reached the bottom. She promptly did so. Mario followed suit. They filled their bottles up with more water and did it again, and again.

I did not want them to get their car seats soaked so they took off their bottoms for the drive home. They both found this hilarious, and laughed the entire way home (I must admit I was chuckling when I glanced back at these two half-naked goofs). They made me crack up even more with this picture near the cactus. Cards, they are.

Jon and I found out they had bicycles to rent and a trail to ride around the hotel. We had this idyllic scene in our head of all of us on our bikes riding past gorgeous cacti and flowers ad smiling at one another. Reality took over with Jon and Ri biking and me running alongside Mario who was too nervous to ride a mountain bike. Mario complained that he wanted to stop biking while I kept saying in my cheerful little voice “Come on, you are doing great. We are having fun.” My hypnosis didn’t work and our bike ride was all of fifteen minutes.

Out of all of that fun, the kids may most remember being asked by the pilot if they want to sit in his seat. Their eyes opened wide and they looked up at me like it was a practical joke. But there they were ready to fly us around the world.

I tell my folks that I have a new-found appreciation for my vacations as a kid because I realize the work that goes into them on the parent side now. But boy are they worth all of the planning and hand-holding and fuss when you see the faces of your kids entranced by the glory of the Grand Canyon or the simple hopping of a bunny.

The Muscle strikes again

August 3, 2012Leave a comment

Maria continues to bolster her nickname “the Muscle.” I met M&M at the pool this afternoon after they called me at work and begged me to meet them. They were sugared up on strawberry ice cream bars when I arrived. They were ready to wrestle with me in the water.

After wrestling for some time, Mario decided to hit the diving boards. Maria followed. They dove off together a couple of times. Then I noticed that there was a little boy jumping off the low dive with Mario who was teasing him by blocking the top of the ladder so Mario couldn’t climb up out of the water. Maria noticed this little boy right after I did and instead of watching the stand-off take place like me, she marched right over to the ladder and looked him the eye and scolded him to “stop bothering my brother!”

She pulled Mario up out of the water and then she ran to the low dive only to beat both Mario and the other boy. Then she allowed Mario to take her place so he could jump before the other boy.

Our girl doesn’t mess around – and don’t you know that boy didn’t so much as look at Mario the rest of our time at the pool – and he definitely avoided Ri!

Burning up

July 7, 2012Leave a comment

We are now into the second week of above 90 degree temperatures, and I am seriously contemplating a move to Alaska. I am tired of walking outside and immediately dripping in sweat. And heaven help me if I need to walk a few blocks – I look like I just emerged from a swimming pool. I arrived at a meeting three blocks away from my office last week and blotted sweat from my face for a half hour before I found some relief. The worst part is that I start to get cold when I walk into air conditioning because of the cold air mixing with the massive amounts of water on my skin. So, I look even more attractive with sweat pouring off me and goosebumps covering me.

The kids are over it, too. Maria wants nothing to do with the outside unless it involves lots of shade or water. Mario can hang a little better than any of us but he’s even given up lately. So, when I took off a half day on Friday afternoon, the question was what to do in 100 degree heat? We decided to pick up our cousin, Alana for an afternoon play date. We hit the store for a slip-n-slide first. But when we came home and set it up, it had a huge tear in it. Never fails. So we set off for the pool where I wrestled with all three of them for an hour (when will the day come when I can just chill with a book and they play by themselves?! But then I will miss them…).

We hit Wendy’s for dinner – I sat by myself as directed by Maria. She likes to sit with Alana by herself. I made her take Mario, too, which she begrudgingly did but then tried to boss him around the entire time. He just flirts with Alana the entire time asking her to give him a kiss and telling her he will marry her. He is a little Casanova even with his cousin. After dinner, I needed an evening stroll to wake up after all the french fries we devoured. We decided to walk to a few blocks to a shady park. Maria rode her bike, I strolled Mario and Alana walked with me. As much as I hate the heat, I hate even worse to be in a car. Our park trip got cut short because of an urgent text message from Alana’s dad that she needed to get home. The kids started to walk with me (we had to leave Maria’s bike because her legs hurt – my girl) but they all soon became tired and I ended up strollering Maria and Mario and putting Alana on my back. Nope, not kidding. I looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame pushing a double-wide stroller.

I know when winter rolls around I am going to wish it was warmer and forget all about these sweltering abysmal days. That’s how the mind works – it’s why I am able to think about having another baby without drugs. But for now, I will continue to wish for icicles and mittens and sled-rides.

Partyin’ in Kentucky

June 30, 2012Leave a comment

Mario lived his dream of being a superstar last night. He danced all by himself on the dance floor with the entire wedding party and guests watching and cheering his every move. The DJ asked me Mario’s name and I told him. He went back to his stand and yelled in the microphone “Let’s hear it for Mario!” Mario turned to me in disbelief. He was charged!

The DJ challenged the guests to a dance-off with Mario and this gorgeous southern belle took him on. She kicked and punched the air like Mario, did the robot like him, and jiggled her hips. But he pulled out a cartwheel on her and she gave up and bowed down to him.

“Did I win, mom?” he asked me later in the evening. The kid never fails to find competition.

Maria, meanwhile was persevering through pain. She wore “high heels” with her dress and they were killing her feet (like all heels do!). I kept telling her to take them off but she’d reply “mom, it’s a wedding and I’m in a dress; I can’t take off my heels.” She certainly doesn’t take after her mom who wears gym shoes with her dress! It scares me that she was willing to deal with the pain of heels in order to remain in high fashion – god help us.

We also got in some quality hotel pool and hot tub time – Maria stood on Peepaw’s shoulders in the pool and Mario acted like a fighting superhero in the hot tub jumping from side to side with his fist outstretched. We also got our money’s worth at the breakfast buffet filling up on waffles, eggs, sausage and fruit loops. Massive carbs – just what I needed for a four hour drive home.

We stopped over at Aunt Kathy’s condo before we headed home – Maria got to see the married couple before they took off to Jamaica (she’s still blushing over Miles’ comment that he’d save her a dance at the reception ( when he asked her later she was too embarrassed)). Kathy had Krispy Kreme donuts and chick-a-filet sandwiches – who can resist that action?! I felt like I was in a coma after taking those down and would have paid top dollar for a chauffeured ride home.

But thank goodness for five-hour energy drinks – I was back to normal in no time flying up I-71 to Columbus and listening to M&M interchange between begging to go back to the hotel and ask ing how much longer to home every ten minutes. I knew I should have gotten some Advil with my five-hour energy drink.

One Big Sweat Gland

June 16, 2012Leave a comment

I am really disliking this heat. I can’t stand that I walk outside for two minutes and my armpits look like someone poured a glass of water on them. I can only live in black and white shirts in the summer because I sweat so badly that any other shirt is noticeably drenched.

My doctor tells me that I sweat so heavily because my body is so efficient in releasing sweat from all the work outs I do. It almost makes me want to stop working out. Jon calls me his “one big sweat gland.” How endearing. Maria and Mario both back away into the corner when I approach them after being outside and yell “get away, you are too sweaty!”

I have tried the anti-sweat super deodorants but they don’t do a thing. My super-sweat overpowers every time. I guess it could be worse – I could…. Nah, it’s pretty bad. I hate being frozen every time I walk up to the coffee shop because I have sweated so much that the AC feels like ice crystals on my body.

All of this leads up to my sweat experience this afternoon. Jon’s niece, Sherri brought her kids over today while she and her hubby went to a charity golf outing. We decided to go to the pool. Of course, a normal human being would have loaded the kids in the car and headed to the pool. But, alas, I have never been normal (thanks dad and mom and Meg). Maria wanted to ride her bike. Emi wanted to ride mine. Eli wanted to ride mine, too, but she is not quite tall enough. Mario wanted to ride his since Jon fixed the seat and he can actually move pretty quickly. So, we packed up all the towels and goggles into the stroller and set off with Eli walking with me and the rest of the crew biking.

Surprisingly, Mario biked the entire way and Eli walked with me the entire way. The soccer camp she went to last week got her in shape (she even ran with me when Mario got too far ahead). Emi and Maria biked ahead of us – it’s nice having Emi with Maria because she makes her stop at each side street and look both ways – good influence!).

We stayed at the pool for an hour or so but Mario got tired and cold so we decided to head back sooner than we had planned. Mario, because he was tired and cold, did not want to ride his bike. Eli did not want to walk. Thank god Maria and Emi still wanted to ride their bikes. So, I put Mario on one side of the double stroller and Eli on the other and threw Mario’s bike over the two of them. How the stroller tires did not burst, I will never know. We walked a half mile, which included a hill near the end of our walk that took me ten minutes to climb. When we reached the house, I looked like I had just jumped into the pool. Drenched in sweat. Eli and Emi were speechless; Maria scolded me to take a shower; and Mario told me I needed to stop sweating. Oh, the love. Jon just looked at me like I was insane in the membrane.

“Why didn’t you drive?” he asked as I walked in the house. Now that would be a way too normal thing to do, and he knew that before even asking me. His term of “one big sweat gland” for me actually is endearing – he secretly loves it, I know. Or, I guess it is more accurate to say he secretly endures it because there is no other choice. My body is efficient, that’s all I gotta say.

To Swim or not to Swim

June 7, 20124 Comments

Maria cried and cried last night when we got home from work. She had gone to Swim Team practice earlier in the day and hated every second of it.

Why? Because “she just hates it. She’s bored. She came in last and she just doesn’t enjoy practice.”

Let’s parse out those reasons. The first one I tend to not give much credence to because she’s got to learn to give reasons why she doesn’t want to do something. The second – she’s bored – I also have trouble with. Life can be boring, girl. We have spoiled you by engaging in activities all the time and this is what happens.

The third one made me think and review my decision. I don’t want her to hate going to practice everyday and I don’t want her to feel self conscious about her swimming. Right now, she just enjoys being in the water and playing around and jumping off the diving board. I don’t want to push her away from that by forcing her into a sport she doesn’t want to participate in at this time. But I balance that with my strong desire to have her learn swim strokes and be a better swimmer. I could care less about the meets and competition. So which one weighs out the other?

One girlfriend said that her daughter hated it too and she told her daughter she could give swimming up but she had to take up at least one sport. Her daughter chose tennis and loved it. I am warming up to that idea with the thought that I’d still make Ri take individual swim lessons this Summer.

I am still conflicted though. I played piano for four years when I was ages 7-11 but then I begged to not practice anymore. I can’t remember how long or intensely I begged, but my parents agreed to let me stop. Now I wish they would have “made” me continue practicing. But maybe I would have rebelled if they made me keep it up at age 11 and run away and met up with bad seeds and gotten into prostitution and been killed…. It’s always easier to look at things in the past and think “if only.”

So, my gut tells me to keep her on Swim Team for two weeks. If she still hates it, then she can choose another activity. I think Jon is on board with the plan, too. Mario just thinks Maria is crazy – who wouldn’t want to compete?!

Bugs and letters

May 31, 2012Leave a comment

Mario woke up crying on Tuesday morning at 1 am. We went to the bathroom since he was complaining of stomach pains but no luck there. A half hour later, we were back in there again but this time he threw up. And threw up more. And this was the rest of our night. He finally fell asleep at 5:30 am and slept for a good two hours (took me back to the days when he was nursing!).

We left for the doctor’s appointment at 11 am and by noon we were at Children’s Hospital. The doc was concerned that he had appendicitis. All I could think of was emergency surgery, no Jon, recovery time, would he make it through…. I kept a smile on for Mario, though, who was a trooper through the tests and probes. After five hours, we got the news.

He has gas.

Ok, he actually had a gastrointestinal virus that caused his stomach ache and gas but I find the gas prognosis much more comical. It’s one of those things where you never wish for a serious prognosis but you also think “I just sat in this ER for five hours to hear that he has gas?!”

We went home and watched more Ben Ten then I ever care to watch again and ate Popsicles. By Wednesday morning, he was up and running and back to his Mario self. Unfortunately, all of the cuddling the day before transferred the bug my way and I was twisting and turning in bed wanting to feel better.

I knew how much Mario wanted to go to Swim Team try outs though so I got my tired self up and took him. He had to kick on the kick board and float on his back. He had to swim the breaststroke and freestyle. He did really well and his “coach” for the day, Lauren, told him so. She also told him she would look for him next week at practice. He shyly looked away and said “ok.”

He jumped out of the pool and dried off. Then he looked up at me and said “Mom, I am going to make Lauren a card that says thank you for teaching me to swim … and I am going to give her three dollars”

Bless his little heart. He hates to give away any money so for him to give her three bucks means she made a heck of an impression on him.

When we got home, he had a card waiting for him from Maria.

I read it to him and he just stared at it. When he finally looked up, he said “I really miss Ria.” I asked if he wanted to send her a card at Grandma Ionno’s house but he declined. He was off and playing with his Omnitrix. One letter was good enough for him.

Memorial Day memories

May 29, 2012May 30, 20122 Comments

We spent Memorial Day without Jon but with his family. We met up with Patty and Joe at their new condo and Patrick, Carrie, Alana, and Gio joined up with us, too. The condo is perfect for family get togethers – it has a downstairs set up for the kids and big windows that allow you to see to the pond out back (and therefore relax in the AC while the kids play in the sun). Patty is very happy with the move, which makes it even more wonderful to visit. She already has it feeling like home, and the kids run around like they’ve been there for years.

We started the day off with a swim at the country club next to the condo. As Patty and I said together, they better be ready for this family! The pool was really deep – the lowest end was 4 feet – but it was great fun for the kids. Everyone can swim but Gio and they had a baby pool. Maria and Mario jumped off the diving board a lot – Maria did the mid-air splits and Mario did the cannonball.

I was exhausted to the point of not even wanting to move but being with the kids and having some wind hit us (at least it wasn’t 95 degrees) made me perk up. Patty had all of her new neighbors walking up and talking to her and Joe – she is already a social butterfly around the grounds! They enjoyed watching M&M jump off the diving board.

We stayed a good three hours before heading back to the condo. I appreciated the swimming after I looked at the food we were eating for dinner. Delicious steak, baked beans, and potato salad. Home made and all! I just ate and ate and just when I couldn’t eat any more, I ate cookies for dessert. Pure heaven.

The boys fished after dinner (Uncle Patrick caught a blue gill) and drank lemonade on the bank. What a good life. Maria and Alana played dress-up and sang BTR songs.

Mario and I took off at 7 or so. Maria got to stay with Grandma and Grandpa since she is out of school. She was so excited. Mario was mighty mad. But he was so tired from swimming like a fish that he soon got over it and snoozed in the back the entire ride home.

When I pulled up to the house at 8, I gently took him out of his seat and carried him to the bed. I laid him down softly with a smile on my face thinking about having a couple of hours of peace before bed. But as I moved away from the bed, he popped up and smiled “I was faking mom!”

Yeah, alone time was not in the cards for me this holiday weekend, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Wearing him out

May 27, 2012Leave a comment

I have achieved the ultimate feat. I have conquered. I have prevailed.

I tired Mario out today!

He got stuck with his mom all day while Maria got to hang with Emi and Eli. Eli had a dance recital at the Rife Center (big time!) and Sherri called me to see if Ri wanted to go. That is a no brainer. Time with Emi and Eli versus time with mom and Mario. Yeah, E&E every time.

Mario and I dropped off Maria at 9:45 am. On the way over to their house, Maria tried to teach Mario some letter recognition. She is a born teacher taking after all of her Heile aunts. She showed me Mario’s “grades” when she got out of the car. She had a letter on the left side of the page and then anything from an “A+” to a “F-” on the right side of the page. SHe reported to me that Mario had way too many grades under a “C” and two “F-s”. I really needed to work with him if he was going to get better. Yes, Ms. Teacher.

Mario and I headed to Giant Eagle first to get a watermelon for tomorrow but ended up with $90 worth of groceries, too. Next, we swung down to Target to buy him a scuba set since he has been wanting to wear scuba gear for ages (a man after Papa Rod’s heart). After Target, we unloaded the car and got on our bathing suits. He agreed to a stroller ride to the pool so that I could get in a little run. I was drenched by the time we arrived since it was already 88 degrees out at noon. We “fought” in the pool throwing each other around and swimming away from each other. We dove off the low dives (Mario loves doing cannonballs now). We played in the baby pool. We stayed for an entire three hours, which is long for us, and especially me since I entertained him the entire time. We got a piece of pizza before we left and chowed it down on the picnic table. All of the carbs added to the exercise must have done it. Mario was out within five minutes of hitting the stroller seat. I walked around town for an hour in order to let him sleep (as soon as you take him out of the stroller, he wakes up – he was like that even as a baby). He finally woke up, and was in a lovely, cranky, “where am I” mood. We walked in the house and he fell to the floor in the mud room. He was still tired! I could not believe my eyes. This boy has not taken a nap for us in months, and even if he does, it is usually not longer than 45 minutes and he wakes up energized as ever.

When he finally did get up, he was still exhausted. I took a shower and he played on the computer. We both looked like we had gotten run over by a mack truck. We picked up Maria at 6 pm, and came home to veg. We read some books, played in the sprinkler, took a quick bike ride, and both of them were asleep by 10 pm! I know most parents are saying “10 pm? That is ridiculously late for kids!” But not for mine – especially Mario. His normal bedtime is 11 pm or after (even more so when Jon is gone). And he still wakes up at 6:30 am. He is super-human. But not today – I wore him down to the bone. Of course, I had high hopes that I could watch Veep or Girls on HBO after they fell asleep but I can barely keep my eyes open. Seems that he wore me to the bone, too. Rrrrr!

The life of a pinball

May 26, 2012Leave a comment

Mario and I met up with Maria and her friend and friend’s mom at 9:30 am at Stauf’s. The rest of the day is a blur. Thank god for iced coffees.

We walked down to the parade on First Avenue – the same place we go every year – nearly parallel to our old house but two streets over. We sat with Amy and Gracie and Joe and made a sign saying “Go Mets” in honor of Zach. Zach is on the Mets baseball team this year; Amy was so excited to see him in the baseball truck with the other soon-to-be second graders. All I could do was think of Mario in that truck three years from now, and the only visions of him were ones of him pelting people with tootsie rolls. There is always one or two little squirts that engage in such activity each year; last year, Mario got pelted in the eye by someone. So hopefully that horrific experience forever scarred him and he won’t engage in such behavior.

The parade was fun this year because we knew so many kids in it (and they limited the politicians)! After an hour parade, we gathered our two hefty bags of candy and walked a mile back home. Maria walked the entire way with me holding Mario. She is a machine (she did it in sandals; even I would have complained). We made a pit stop at the library to take a computer break. Maria played Go Girls Games and Mario played Ben Ten. I got a little reading time in, which was just the break I needed. Middle-school kids were signing up younger kids for the reading program. Maria asked to sign up. I was excited about her initiative. She asked to do it last year, too, but she could not read on her own and she wasn’t that into it. I am hoping that her ability to read better will lead to her reading more this Summer. She picked out a Junie B. Jones book and a couple more random ones. Let’s cross our fingers….

We plodded our way home from the library in the 88 degree heat. We immediately threw on our bathing suits, grabbed our goggles and towels, and jumped in the car. We had to drop the stroller off at the bike store because Mario and I bust a tire on our stroller ride earlier that morning (there was a loud firecracker-like bang and Mario yelled “Cool!”). Once at the bike store, Mario spotted a sweet red and black bike with training wheels. He jumped on it and flew around the store. I looked at the tag and it was expensive. How can a kid’s bike be over $100? Really? But I have had such bad luck with used bikes for him – none of them are steady or ride well – and it has caused him to get scared about riding. I do not want that with as much as Maria likes riding. So, I decided to bite the bullet and get it reasoning that he will have it for the next few years.

We left the store for the pool, which was absolutely packed since it was opening day. Mario and Ri went off the low dive and high dive, respectively. Mario tried the high dive but second guessed it after getting on top (I don’t blame him). He will jump off by the end of the Summer, I am sure. We only lasted at the pool for about 45 minutes; I was exhausted and luckily, the kids probably were, too.

Once home, we made bowls of cereal and rested in front of a Ben Ten on tv. Within ten minutes, Maria was snoozing on the couch. I tried to move her but she was solid dead weight – there was nothing waking her up. Mario, meanwhile, was wide awake and insane, jumping all around the room and acting like random aliens. I let him play on my computer while I went out and mowed the grass and watered the flowers. Then I came in and cleaned out the Study a bit in order to move our new desk in it. I was in cleaning mode. You’d think that it may have been wise to put my feet up and nap a bit with Ri, but that would have been too easy. Gotta keep the momentum going – once I sit down, I am useless for the rest of the day.

Maria finally woke up – two hours later – and she was a piece of work. Pissed off at the world. She stomped across the kitchen moping and pouting and crying. I left her alone and she finally buried her head in my chest and rested for a few minutes. Then she finally morphed into the Maria we know and love ready to ride her bike and play. We got Mario off the computer (not an easy task) and headed off on his new bike. He rocked it out on his bike almost keeping up with Maria. We had hoped that the Art Hop would offer a bouncey house or kids’ music but it only offered a couple of vendors selling necklaces. We dealt with our disappointment by going to the church park. I played tag with Mario and Maria climbed up the top of the slides (her favorite thing to do at the park). Amy and Joe met us up at the park with the kids and they all played for a bit. We all looked like zombies. It was comical. The day felt like three days. We finished the night off with Orange Leaf and a bike ride back home.

When we pulled in the driveway, there was a spectacular slice of moon looking down at us. We all stopped and gave reverence. Then, Maria shouted “Mario’s old bike is still at the library!” So, what else to do but jump in the truck and head to the library to pick up his bike. We finally got into the house at 10 pm. Maria wanted to read Junie B. Jones, and Mario was listening to music on my phone so I didn’t fight it. I just let them be and relaxed over a bag of Cheez-Its, and Maria later joined me.

What a whirlwind of a holiday Saturday. I swear to myself as I sit here tonight that tomorrow will be low-key day but I know myself better than that. We will be off and running – but not until 7:30 am.

"MOM!"

Adventures in the Life of a Working Mama

Tag: Swimming