Cancun or Bust

Last Tuesday spun by like a wooden top.  Jon worked on the house all day with Jason while also trying to take calls for work.  I sat on a dozen conference calls and cranked out emails in an attempt to avoid having my colleague overwhelmed while I was out.  When I got home, we madly packed our clothes realizing that shorts didn’t have buttons (and of course neither of us can sew) and dresses were torn.  Too bad we didn’t look earlier.  Oh well, we realized we’d be in our bathing suits most of the time.  I packed the kids’ clothes and boots for Grandma Meg’s and Peepaw’s house, and tried to gather some games and toys that both the kids and the grandparents would enjoy.   We put the kids to bed at 9 pm, and as I left Maria’s room, I heard her sniffling.  When I went back to give her a hug, a full-out bawling session occurred.  She begged us not to leave for Cancun.  It was awful.  We did not expect that type of reaction from her.  I rubbed her back and laid with her until her eyes shut.  I walked out of her room softly hoping not to wake Mario.  When I peered in Mario’s room to ensure he was asleep, I was taken aback when I saw him sitting straight up in his bed wide-eyed staring out at me. 

“What’s the matter, pumpkin?”

“I don’t want you to leave me.”

Jon walked in the room and both of us let out a collective sigh. This unexpected emotion from the kids took us both by surprise and we stood there holding Mario between us and rubbing his back.  They actually do love us….  We let Mario lay with us and we are sure that we were both out before he fell asleep.   When we woke at 4:30 am, Maria got up, too.  She cried again for us to stay and it was only when Maggie laid with Maria in our bed that she calmed down.  What a way to leave!

We arrived in Cancun at noon to a beaming sun and breaking waves.  Heaven.  This is our third trip to Cancun – Jon’s company sponsors the trip.  We stay in the same hotel each year, and play in the same part of the ocean.  We eat at a lot of the same restaurants, and hang out with the same group of friends. As much as that may seem monotonous, it is actually very soothing.  We have no concerns about how the hotel will be, whether the beach will be nice, how the food will taste.  We know it is always close to perfect.  The first couple of years I felt a little overwhelmed with Jon’s friends and their wives.  A lot of them know each other well from going to Cancun every year or because they live in the same city.  I am a lone goose.  But this year, I let go of any concern about not fitting in and just enjoyed myself.  And it was the best trip we had in the three years.  Jon and I ate incredible food, played like kids in the ocean, snorkeled, drove a speed boat (Jon felt like Crockett in Miami Vice!), sat together on the balcony listening to the waves, and talked uninterrupted!  I loved diving in the ocean for sea shells; Jon would stand on the beach with the water hitting his legs waiting for me to bring shells to him.  It was a precious gesture on his part. We laughed hard at Jon’s friends’ antics.  They are all hilarious in their own right.  Phil is from the UK and has a quirky little accent.  He is so cool that he could afford to wear white beach shoes and still look good.  Dave is from Michigan and he is your down-to-earth, good-natured guy who always has a funny story to tell about his kids or his wife or their adventures.  Joe is a slick, suave Michigan guy who is always considerate and making sure that people are having a good time.  Their wives definitely make them the men that they are – they are the backbones of their families.  Strong, funny, and intelligent, they always welcome me into their group and make me feel at home.  Those are the three guys and their wives that we hang out with the most in Cancun but there are others who provide us with much entertainment, also.  It’s a good group and the camaraderie and brotherhood amongst the male colleagues is enviable – I wish I had as much fun with my work colleagues as these guys have together. 

The resort

I got a killer head and foot massage on our last day at the beach.  It was the “Organic Massage” and consisted of a scalp massage, hot towels, face massage, foot massage and hand massage.  It ended with a back massage and hot towels on your back and legs.  I thought I had died and entered heaven.  She poured citrus oils on my hair and spread them on my skin during the massage.  I smelled like a lemon when I left.  Jon went jet skiing while I got my massage.  He didn’t realize that there were 10 foot waves to conquer out in the ocean.  He was a hurting puppy when he came back to shore. 

We flew home on Sunday and rested for an hour before we headed out East to pick up the kids from Meg and dad.  They had a great time on the farm, as always.  They rode the horses and played outside.  Maria reported to us that Peepaw cut down two trees and “almost killed himself!”  She loved telling the story.  Mario reported that he almost fell off their horse, Taz but Peepaw caught him.  Maria is learning how to ride Taz better and even steered him herself.  She wants to take horseback riding lessons so badly, which I have been struggling with since I know nothing about horses.  Jon loves the idea because he loves horses. 

M&M with their Mexican flutes

I always dreamt that my daughter would play soccer and softball and all of the other sports I loved to play as a girl.  I have slowly gotten over my preoccupation with what I think Maria should be and realize I need to let her be who she wants to be.  So, horse riding lessons are in her future (of course she picks the most expensive hobby!).  When they rode up to meet us, Maria and Mario had huge smiles on their faces.  They jumped out of the car and gave us gigantic hugs for minutes long.  It was an awesome few minutes.  The ride home was just as awesome with them describing their week to us and listening to us about our adventures in Cancun.  The evening continued to be great with wrestling and airplane and reading books.  We fell asleep with smiles on our faces. 

Then Monday morning arrived.  Back to the grind.  Running around the house trying to get dressed and packed and papers filled out for school.  But I took a deep breath as I loaded Maria’s lunchbox in her book bag.  I stepped back from the table and stared at M&M and Jon in the hallway putting on their coats.  Can I love them anymore?  One thing that getting away does for me is reinforce how lucky I am to have such a warm husband and adoring kids.  Even if we are at each other’s throats at 8 am on Monday morning.

The Joys of Parenting A Daughter

I had not seen Maria since Friday morning when I dropped her off for school with the exception of a few minutes on Saturday afternoon between her return from a friend’s house and her departure to her cousin’s house.  I pulled into the driveway at 5:30 pm and she ran down the driveway yelling “MOM!”  What a marvelous feeling. 

I loaded her and Mario in the car to head to Wendy’s Gymnastics.  She asked me if she could run in the house and get a snack.  I told her I would head in with her (knowing that her snack may be a four course meal).  Indeed, she was ready to rip into another cereal bar (after eating one a half hour ago with the sitter).  I told her that she could have an apple or grapes rather than the cereal bar since we would be eating dinner right after the gym.  She looked at me in disgust and walked away.  I asked her if she wanted fruit, and she shut the door behind her.  Lovely.  When I opened my car door, I got the following pleasantry thrown my way:

“I can’t wait until you are away in Cancun. You can’t leave soon enough.” 

Even lovelier.  I gave her a sad face that I know she saw through my rear view mirror but it stirred no response.  When we got to Wendy’s, she opened her door, stepped out of the car, and marched into the gym alone.  Mario looked at me as I picked her up out of his seat and observed “She seems mad at you.”  He is a smart cookie.  He gave me his sweet Mario hug to make up for Maria’s quick departure. 

Once inside, she continued to ignore me.  I had a pack of Tic Tacs and I offered her a few.  She accepted and whispered “thanks, mommy.”  I didn’t press the issue any more.  I want her to feel that she can assert herself with me – without retribution or revenge on my part.  I am not going to give her grief for saying she wanted me in another country – she needs to be able to get her feelings out (although there are times that it takes me biting my lip to near bruising to avoid saying something to her I will regret (and sometimes I say it anyway and slip up; I am human after all)).  I will draw the line if she cusses me out or behaves like a crazy woman but other than that, I am going to let her process her feelings. 

About a third of the way through gymnastics class, she waved me down and motioned for me to watch her jump off the balance beam.  I did.  And I gave her a thumbs up and a standing ovation.  She smiled at me. 

All is good.

Partyin’ til the Cows Come Home

Party Girl

Maria slept over at her friend’s house last night.  Her friend turned seven and had Maria and two other girls over for a birthday party/sleepover.  She wrapped her friend’s presents (two barbies) in Christmas paper (I never buy wrapping paper besides Christmas time); signed her card, and found a big party bag to place all of the goodies.  These are the times that I think she could make it by herself in her own apartment better than most 20 year olds.  When I told her she could call me or dad if she got scared, she looked at me with an exhausted look.  “Mom, pleease!”  And sure enough, Jon and I never heard a peep from her until we picked her up.  She had gotten a manicure, perfume, and made up with her girlfriends. 

Meanwhile, Jon and I had chilled with little Mario all night.  He wanted to play on my iPhone or ipad all night long.  He is completely and totally addicted to all things electronic.  He could sit on the floor, legs crossed, head cocked downward to see the screen, and tap on the iPad all day long.  He is mesmerized by whatever he is playing.  You could call his name ten times and he still doesn’t hear you.  Scary stuff.  Was I like that when I played PacMan on Atari?  He gets away with murder when Maria is gone because Jon and I let him stay up while we watch a show or read.  He plays the iPad the entire time.  I figure he is in school all week with no electronics so why not let him live it up on the weekends. 

Mario and his iPad

In any case, after we make him turn off the electronics, I read to him for at least 20 minutes.  He enjoys that time with me, which is good. At least he is not crying for more electronics or covering his ears yelling “I’m not listening!”, which is how he reacts anymore when he gets mad at you (learned behavior from his sister, I believe). And he understands the books we read – he can tell me the main idea of the story every time.  So, his fixation with electronics doesn’t concern me… yet.  

We picked up Maria from her friend’s house this afternoon and visited our old neighbors, Doris and Kim.  We had not visited them since we moved in our new house (we are so bad that way).  They always welcome us into their house, and the kids love them.  They hung out with Kim outside while we talked to Doris.  Kim does anything they want; today she let Maria act like she was driving her car and let Mario toss a ball to Gunther (their dachshund). 

As soon as we left and walked in our door, Maria asked “when am I going to Alana’s house”  My brother-in-law invited her to spend the night tonight through Monday since they are going to watch Maria on Monday while Jon and I work.  Jon and I are chopped liver anymore.  The girl likes to get her party on.  We packed her up and Jon took her over.  She’s gone until Monday. 

Mario, meanwhile, loves having his sister gone for a day or two (any longer and he misses her like crazy).  He gets Jon and me all to himself.  I play baseball with him (he has got an arm on him and can hit pretty good, too).  I take him for a bike ride and he is in the lead the entire time (when Maria goes with us, she always gets in the lead).  We go to the library and he gets all my attention while he plays his computer games (usually I read to Maria while he plays).  We play Wii  table tennis and he kicks my butt!  We play Hi Ho Cherry-O, and he refuses to stop playing until he wins a game.  No, he’s not competitive at all…. 

Jon and Mario  play hunting games on the iPad.  Mario yells “Dad, I shot the bear right in the heart!”  Jon gives him the rock and then takes a turn.  Mario watches in awe.  They are hilarious together.  I think Mario will be supplying the meat for the family in no time.  Meanwhile, Maria will be busy having sleepovers and partying it up til the cows come home.

The wink

Maria hates to have her hair brushed.  She hates to brush it herself and she detests anyone else brushing it.  She is not at all vain when it comes to her hair.  I have tried to change her mind about brushing her hair by telling her that her hair is a tangled mess and everyone else comes to school with hair at least brushed, if not in a braid or head band or barrettes. 

 But nothing phases her – she could care less. 

Little Maria toes getting painted

However, my girl loves pedicures.  The lack of vanity in her hair translates down to her feet.  Whenever she is line for a treat for doing something good, she always asks for a pedicure.  And me giving her one does not cut it.  She must go to the salon and be completely and utterly pampered.  I think I forever damaged her when I took her to get one  at age 4.  We went with my mom and grandma in Cincinnati.  After that experience, it was over for her.  She was an addict.  When we went for one this week, she finally experienced the pleasure of the leg massage.  She’d always look at me like I was crazy when I sighed and moaned while getting the massage part of the pedicure but this time around, it was Maria doing the moaning.  Her beautician had the touch and melted Maria with her touch.  It was hilarious.

Maria seems to exhibit the dichotomy in caring less about her hair but obsessing about pedicures in other ares of her life, too.  One minute, she can be the most exuberant, spirited, vivacious little girl running around the house in pure slapstick and the next minute she can be the most melancholy, introverted, reclusive soul.  I do appreciate that quirky personality in her; I love how she puts her whole self in her emotions – whether happy or sad.  A sign of living life to the fullest, I think.   

Our exuberant Maria

The other day, we got in a fight because she “gave me lip” and then shoved me away when I tried to talk to her.  I got angry and said some mean words, too.  She bawled her eyes out.  When I apologized for being mean, she cried even harder and professed her love for me.  Later that day, I picked her up from school (still feeling guilty) and we were walking to the car.  She had on her good shoes and she looked at me with a big smile and stated “I am going to walk in the mud, mom.”  I told her she better not. 

Without hesitation, she laughed and skipped along the edge of the sidewalk and mud and retorted “We don’t want another fight like this morning, do we, mom?!” while she winked her eye at me.

Mario Returns

Mario returned home from Grandma and Grandpa Ionno’s house this evening.  He wasn’t in the door for ten minutes before he asked them to go back to their house.  I have no doubt that he would be just fine visiting us every other weekend and living day in and day out with Patty and Joe. 

He hid from me when I got home from work and only when I faked crying for two minutes did he come out from his hiding place and give me a big ol’ smooch and hug.  His arms wrapped around me felt like a piece of heaven.  Could I just bottle up that feeling and open it up on those days I feel like jumping out my window?! 

But within 30 seconds of giving me a hug, he begged me to wrestle him.  That is all he wants to do anymore.  Wrestle or box.  He could do it all day long.  I can last about 15 minutes.  Maria joined in after 15 minutes and within 5 minutes, Mario hit Maria in the mouth (truly an accident, I think) and she slapped him the face.  The crying and screaming ensued.  I wrapped up the WWF and moved us up to the bath where I hoped the warm bath water would calm them down. It did nothing but cause water to be splashed everywhere. 

After our bath, we headed downstairs for the most random combination of dinner food possible.  Pancakes, hash browns, hot dogs, hot pockets, cottage cheese and cheesy veggies.  Just the sound of the combination makes me gag but it wasn’t bad while we were eating it.  I grabbed two loads of laundry that needed folding and brought it into the family room to fold while we watched Blues Clues (haven’t watched that show in two years).  I didn’t have to say a word to Mario and he dove right in to help me fold.  Maria not so much.  She draws the line at certain chores and laundry is one of them.  She gets away with it for now but another few months and she is in for a rude awakening.

Mario is the most meticulous clothes folder I have met.  Even a more amazing feat when you consider that he is four years old.  He folds clothes over three or four times and makes sure that there are no edges sticking out before he hands them over to me to put in the pile.  It is hilarious.  He is going to be one of those people whose closets are in such complete and total order that you wonder how they function in the real world.  Then again, I am probably completely off base because I see his closet and floor and they are both a disaster area full of unkept clothes and shoes. 

After folding, we drew pictures.  Maria drew me a picture of roses and I drew her a picture of a tree and birds and a swingset.  I exhibit the poorest, saddest, drawing ever for a forty-year old.  The drawing look identical to drawings I made at age 8.  At least my writing is a tad better.  Mario drew a picture of a sunflower for Grandma and Grandpa to thank them for having him over this week.  It was precious.  We missed the little bugger although it was nice for Jon and I to relax together from 9 pm onward.  Maria always fell asleep at a normal hour.  Here we are tonight as I write this with Mario dancing around the downstairs waving his arms and singing “I’m sexy and I know it!”  It is 10:45 pm.

Happy Valentine’s Day Munchballs!

Happy Valentine’s Day To My Precious Babies…

How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways….

1. I love the way that you stand at the side of my bed at 7 am waiting for me to open my eyes. I love how you wait only about three seconds before you rub your hand on the side of my face and whisper “Mom, can you come downstairs with us” 

2. Mario, I love how excited you are when it is the weekend.  I love how you ask the question “Is it a school day?” and when I answer “no”, you smile so wide and we can see joy bursting throughout your tiny body.

3. Maria, I love your empathy for people and things.  When we watch a show on animal planet and a poor animal is killed, you feel a deep sense of sadness and ask questions about why the animal couldn’t fend for itself and why the predator had to eat the animal.  When you see a person that looks like he is down and out, you want to help him.  You ask if I have anything to help him.  When I complain about the person in front of me at the grocery who is taking so long, you remind me that she could be having a bad day or have something wrong with her that doesn’t allow her to move as fast as me.

4. I love how you both care so deeply for each other even if you get into fights everyday.  You never go to bed mad at each other.  I love how you have to give hugs to one another every morning before you leave for school. 

5. Maria, I love how you always call Mario your “little buddy.” Mario, I love how you call Maria “Ria.”

6. I love how you yell for dad when you get home from trips with me, and when you hear him, you run to him and give him big ol’ bear hugs. 

7. Mario, I love how you have such a passion for hunting like your cousin, Mario and your dad.  I love how you enjoy hunting shows, and have learned how to shoot so that you immediately kill your prey and they don’t suffer.  I love how understand the circle of life at age 4!

8. Maria, I love how you are so animated and possess a wild, uninhibited spirit that allows you to be yourself no matter where you are and who you are around.  I love your raucous laugh and big smile.  I love your blue eyes. 

9. I love how you both fall asleep in Maria’s bed like two angels in a Raphael painting.  Maria’s golden hair swept to the side; Mario’s baby face and red cheeks lighting up the canvas.

10. I love how you appreciate family and enjoy your time with grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.  I love how you beg to hear stories about times when you were little – real stories about how you acted and your first words and what you liked to play with, and who you liked to hold you.

11. Mario, I love how, at age 4, you have mastered the Ipad and the Iphone.  I love how you can download an app and within ten minutes, describe the entire premise behind the app to me (i.e., there are dragons and you have to fight off the main dragon because he leads the other dragons….).

12. Maria, I love how, at age 6, you have mastered more than games on the Ipad.  I love how you use the video like an amateur cinematographer capturing some hilarious moments in our lives.  You have an eye for the camera, my love, and I have a feeling we may be seeing your name on the big screen one day.

13. Mario, I love how you don’t give up, especially when it comes to sports.  You will play a Wii game over and over until you have it down.  You will swing a bat 100 times until you connect with the ball.  You are a perfectionist in more ways than one (your clothes must still sit perfectly on your body before you will start your day), and I have a feeling we will see you on ESPN catching a line drive and making a double play.

14. I love how you take care of one another whether it be nursing the other when he or she gets hurt or it is agreeing to watch a show that one of you is not too fond of watching.  I love how protective you are of one another.  Maria, you will stand up to anyone that teases your little brother and Mario, you will confront anyone on behalf of your big sis.

15. I love how you sit so close to me when we read books at night.  Mario, I love how you snuggle with me on my lap and make a million comments as we read the book.  Maria, I love how you let him make those comments without one complaint. 

16. I love how you both can throw a frisbee; I see ultimate frisbee in our future!

17. I love the smell of you whether you’ve just taken a bath or haven’t had one in two days.

18. I love how you always think you can wrestle dad and win.

19. I love how you always indulge me and let me take your picture.

20. I love how much joy and wonder you have brought to your dad and me.  Our lives were full before we chose to have you but after you were born, our lives filled up in so many different ways that we would have never known of had we chosen not to become parents.  You opened our eyes to new way of loving; would we have ever understood how a heart can encompass such a range of emotions for such a little creature?  Ache so heavily for your well-being yet burst so happily at the sight of your tiny hands and feet?  Watching you grow every single day is a gift; seeing the world from your eyes is a treasure; hearing you express yourselves is fascinating.  We believe in you, Maria and Mario, and we love you to the moon and stars and sun and back. 

Happy Valentine’s Day 2012!

Making our way

The kids woke up at the break of dawn again Sunday morning.  Jon and I heard them in Maria’s room talking quietly, probably about superheros or barbies.  Jon got out of bed first and shut the door behind him to allow me to continue dozing.  That is true love. 

When I finally dragged my tired butt out of bed 20 minutes later, I found Maria on my Ipad playing Pet Shop (her favorite game now) and Alana and Mario fighting it out on Wii Table Tennis.  They would take turns rubbing a win in the other’s face and then when the other rubbed it in his or her face, they would cry about it.  They are competitive as heck together - something Maria is not.  Maria wants everyone to win and every time she starts a game, she prefaces it by saying “Let’s just play for fun.”  To the contrary, Mario prefaces it with “I am gonna whoop you up!”  However, he wants a fair fight – he doesn’t just want to whoop you up without a good fight.  So, when I could not figure out how to shoot in basketball Wii, he stopped the game to tutor me so that I could give him a run for his money.  He continued to whoop on me a bit but then I stole the ball from him.  He gave me a look of amazement.  He wanted to congratulate me but he also wanted to win.  So he just shook his head and kept playing. 

Meanwhile, Maria just kept playing Pet Shop.  She bought two new kittens and some pups and a fish.  She arranged them all and proudly showed them off to us.  Then, when she decided to play Wii, and lost badly to Mario, she got angry.  “I hate these games!”  Mario looked at her kindly and explained “Maria, you have to practice a lot to get good. I practice a lot.”  She shook her head at him in disgust.

The girls and I headed to Washington Courthouse to meet up with my Cincy girls for brunch.  We ate at Bob Evans – my new favorite restaurant because of their breakfast food.  I could eat their eggs and hash browns with onions and bacon and multi-grain pancakes everyday.  I choose the multi-grain pancakes because it makes me feel like I am being healthy but after I eat three of them with syrup, I don’t feel too healthy.  In fact, I have learned to make sure to wear sweats when I head to Bob Evans so that I am not uncomfortable after my meal.  Maria takes after her mom – she got chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Alana did, too, but only ate half of her food.  Maria and I swooped in like vultures and finished it off.  Maria hugged on Grace through  the meal.  Kathy is so good about letting Maria hold her and walk her.  Maria loves it.  She has got the babysitter gene in her body – something I never had.  My girlfriends and I talked for a bit over breakfast but between Gracie grabbing our attention and the quick service, I felt like we didn’t get to talk for too long.  I must still be spoiled from Italy. 

The girls and I headed to the outlet mall after our meal and tried to find clothes for my Cancun trip with Jon next week.  Just shoot me.  Is there any store in that outlet mall that has a mirror that flatters?  Maria and Alana just kept saying “You are having a baby!”  Nothing like that comment to stroke your ego.  I was ready to buy a mumu and call it a day.  I did score some pretty jewelry but no hot dresses.  I should just stick with Target.

Mom and Mario

When Maria and I got home, we found out Mario was spending the night with Jon’s mom and dad.  He loves spending the night with them because he is spoiled like crazy and he gets out of school.  He cracks them up as much as he cracks us up, too.  Patty took him to the store and they looked through the toy aisle.  He wanted a toy and Patty told him it was too much money.  His response: “Grandma, you need to get a job and earn some money!”  Patty bought him some boots, and he is charged because he can “track animals” now.  I miss my boy like a mad woman.  It is nice to have him visit Patty and Joe – the break with just Maria means a lot to her and us – but after a day or two, I miss his contagious smile and his wild antics and his bear hugs.  I let Maria sleep on the couch while i watched the rest of the movie “The Way” starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez (my old 80′s crush) as father and son (just like real life).  It is a tender film about a father who loses his son while the son is on a pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago.  The father decides to take the pilgrimage on his behalf and meets up with a few quirky pilgrims who he befriends by the end.  It is a wonderful tale of understanding and opening up and taking a leap.  And it put Maria to sleep in ten minutes. 

Sick girl calling her grandma

Maria was sick today.  She woke not feeling right but we forced her off to school, if only because we had to work, but got the call at 10 am that she was not doing well at school.  I picked her up and brought her home.  I rubbed her back while she watched Toy Story 3.  I made her soup.  I laid with her.  When she got a second wind, I tickled her and laughed with her.  We made “nests” out of the covers on our bed and slept in them.  We stared out the window at the tree cutters.  We cuddled.  Not a bad day at all.  Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day and she is trying with all of her might to get better so she can hit her class party.  Mario could care less.  He begged to stay with Patty and Joe.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

No snow but lotsa ice cream!

We woke up this morning dejected.  The supposed 4 inches of snow that should have blanketed our lawn turned out to be a dusting of white powder atop our green grass.  The kids looked out the window and sighed.  But although Old Man Winter failed to appear through snow, he did appear through frigid temperatures. 

-1 degrees with wind chill. 

No run for me this morning.  Instead, I hit the 8 am yoga class downtown with the hopes that everyone else slept in under their covers.  Not so lucky.  It was packed with women in their yoga attire and freshly painted toenails and perky little ponytails.  How awful and judgmental am I?  Jon always gets on me when I start describing people like this.  And he’s right.  The reason why they annoy me so much is because I secretly want a pair of yoga pants instead of my ten-year old adidas capris, and I secretly want bright candy red nail polish on my nasty, beat-down toes.  So, I’m jealous – I admit it.  Class was ok – I got spoiled with my very first instructor who whooped me up and made me feel like I had run a marathon after her class.  Everyone else pales in comparison (as Jon says to me “they teach like normal people, Mary!”).

Maggie came over at 11 am to watch the kids while Jon and I hit the Container Store to order a custom designed closet.  Whoo-hoo!  I would post a picture of our closet to let you see the disaster it is but it would be way too embarrassing (and that is from someone who is rarely embarrassed).  The store personnel were great – very friendly and efficient.  Our designer worked a layout for us and within 45 minutes, we had purchased the materials and installation for our bedroom closet.  Awesome.  When we got home, Ms. Maggie had bathed out children – a feat we had not accomplished in two days.  She even got Mario to wash his hair (a feat I have not accomplished in a week) and Maria to let her brush her hair.  Maria’s hair looks gorgeous when you actually brush it (imagine that).  We have Maggie sitting for us this Summer and we cannot wait – she is going to have these kids whooped into shape so quickly that Jon and I are going to be put to shame.  We have no problem with shame. 

Maria’s friend Gwen came over at 2 pm.  I was skeptical as to whether we should keep Alana over when Gwen came but these are 6-year-old girls – there couldn’t be too much drama, heh?!  Actually, they played well together without any drama; a few spats here and there but no drama.  They trashed the basement by having a “paper party” (consisting of throwing paper all over the place); demolished Maria’s room by spreading barbies and clothes all over; and trashed the kitchen by making crafts.  I had gotten them interested in Wii Just Dance but I noticed Gwen sitting on the chair looking bored and a little sad.  I asked her if she liked to dance and she shook her head “no.”  So, we moved onto a different activity – crafts.  

Maria with her TP doll

Gwen told me she loved to draw and so it was an easy choice.  Maria and Alana went with it, too.  We made toilet paper dolls (I did not make that craft up – I found the idea on the internet!).  The girls also tried to one up each other by drawing on themselves with magic marker.  Alana drew on her hand, Gwen on her finger, Maria … on her neck.  Yes, a giant butterfly with different colors across her neck.  She cried when I told her that dad would be so upset and told me with big tears rolling down her face: ”I was just trying to be funny.”  That is her thing – she likes to make people laugh by going to the very edge – or over sometimes.  I love her for that trait but also worry about it.  We need to temper it a bit.  We got most of the butterfly off and Maria moved onto stickers. 

After crafts, we had to get out of the house for a bit.  Not so much for the kids but for me.  I know I have ADD – the folks should have diagnosed me years ago but then I would have been on drugs for way too long so I am glad they didn’t.  And it could be worse – I could sit on the couch all day watching Ellen.  We headed to Graeter’s playland for some running around and some ice cream (a tad hypocritical).  If I could eat Graeter’s for every meal, I would be one happy camper.  I love their chocolate chocolate chip.  I love their peanut butter chip.  I guess I simply love anything chip.  The girls loved the see-saw until some other kids moved in and bothered them.  They moved on to the slide and the tree house.  Some boys began teasing Mario on the slide, and Maria took care of them.  She protected that boy like a vicious guard dog making sure that they stayed away from him.  I was even scared.  After playing, we enjoyed some yummy ice cream.  Alana got strawberry (ugh!), Mario got 2 dips of chocolate chip (and left some for me god love him) and Maria and Gwen split a chocolate banana split.  They went to town on that thing.  I think Gwen has Maria’s appetite so the two of them together ate that split in record time.  Alana hadn’t even made a dent in her cone.  On the way home, the girls looked out the back window and talked to drivers behind us saying things like “Come on slow poke, catch up!” or “That woman looks old and look at that man…”  They giggled the entire way home.  It reminded me of me and my girlfriend, Beth when we would take road trips as young girls.  The innocence and slapstick and giddiness.

We ended the night with pjs and toothbrushing and helicoptering (until Alana bumped her head on the bed headboard).  Oh, and some ice cream sandwiches just to make sure we got our fill of milk and sugar for the day.

Sweet Mario

There is a little girl in Mario’s class who is causing Mario much heartburn. 

Her name is Lily. 

And she is mean. 

I can’t believe I am saying that about a four-year old but I got a first-hand viewing when I dropped off Mario yesterday.  She was playing at the table that Mario loves (it lights up and you build on it).  Mario whispered to me “Lily is the new girl.  I want to play with her.”  How sweet, I thought.  When he approached her, she growled like a grizzly “Get away from me, Mario!”  He turned to me and frowned. 

My Caring Mario

I left after giving him advice to play with other friends.  At dinner last night, he brought Lily’s behavior up again.  “She is so mean to everyone, especially me. She poked me with a straw.”  We discussed how she may be sad because it was her first week at school and maybe that is why she is being mean (I should clarify that before such discussion, Jon was tempted to give a different piece of advice but he refrained!).  We talked about some books that we had read that showed a bully who became nice once someone paid attention to her.  I explained to Mario that maybe he just needs to continue to try to be nice to her. 

As we discussed how our days went at dinner tonight, Mario brought up Lily again.  “She hit Grant in the head and he hit his head against the table today.  That wasn’t nice of her.”  I asked if he told his teacher and he said that he did but Lily still acted mean.  I told him to steer clear of her for a while and then maybe she will want to play eventually (Maria chimed in with “Just go play with your girlfriend Jillian!”).  He shook his head in discouragement, and told us how he told Lily’s dad how mean she was being to him and all of his friends.  I asked Mario what her dad said and Mario told me he just walked away from him (maybe where she gets it!). 

I made sure that we read the Recess Queen again tonight.  Mario immediately compared Lily to Mean Jean, the main character of the book.  When Mean Jean learns to play with everyone at the end of the book, Mario observed “maybe Lily will learn how to do that, too.”  It is strange how obsessed he seems with this little girl but I think it is a good thing.  I think he truly cares about her and wants to see her happy and playing at school.  Either that, or he is ready to cuss her out and he is just prepping me so I understand when he does it!  No, not my boy….

I just read what?!

I read an article about reading to kids yesterday.  Yet another piece of reading that makes you wonder whether you are doing all that you can as a parent.  Heck, up until I read the article, I had been charged up because I have been pretty good about reading books to M&M every night.   But now I have to worry about whether my mere reading to them is even doing anything beneficial for them or whether I might as well sit them in front of the tv to watch SpongeBob every night.

Reading a little Dr. Seuss

When I got home with the kids after work, I set aside two library books to read after dinner.  Things never quite go as planned on school nights because dinner and showers and playtime get in the way.  Before we know it, the clock says 9:00 and we still haven’t read a book.  So, I picked one of the two books and sat between the kids.  The winner was Hot Hot Hot – a book about wooly mammoths and the Ice Age.  The mammoths get hot because Summer comes around and they don’t know what to do.  Ice melts when they lift it up in the sky.  “Why does the ice melt?” I ask them.  Maria chimes in “because the sun melts it.”  Nice job.  One for Ri.  The next page shows the mammoths cutting off their hair.  “Why would they do that?” Mario raises his hand and bursts out “because they are hot and that will cool them off!”  Rock-n-roll Mario! One mammoth fans the other but that mammoth gets hot from continuously fanning the other.  I ask them “why would that mammoth get hot” 

Maria responds “because the mammoth has to keep fanning the other one and is not getting any air himself.”  Mario responds “it’s not nice of the other mammoth to get fanned all the time and not fan her friend, too.”  Different explanations – both well thought-out – they are geniuses!   All of my nightly reading has paid off – they comprehend the stories and are brilliant.  I can stop worrying now.  Yeah, right.  I can just channel my worry to one of a mama’s many other concerns: are they eating healthy enough, are they getting enough exercise, are they adapting socially….