Spaghetti Supper

Tonite we all feasted at the annual spaghetti supper at Wesley's school. This year we enjoyed the meal even more since we knew his teacher, Ms. Gabrielle prepared everything we ate. She made a tasty sauce with secret ingredients that Wesley loved!

Day one home = no cooking = good stuff. Photo courtesy of Aunt Rena's iPhone.

Montego Bay thoughts

Things I liked:

Sleeping.
Eating.
Room service.
Sunshine.
Dating Mario.
Reading.
Working out.
Unlimited cheese and chocolate croissants.
Conversation topics.
Deliberately leaving stuff at home.
Ocean floating.
Sunsets.
Little gifts from Mario each day.
Ginger beer.
Fruit.
Daily naps.
Wearing dresses.
Writing in my journal.
Not drinking alcohol.
Looking for treats for the kids.
(Wesley will love his Jamaican TP!)
And just being loved.

Sent from my iPod

Jamaican happy.

I'm on the balcony enjoying a little pre breakfast. Chocolate croissants, fresh fruit plates, a thermos of blue mountain coffee, and a basket of baked goods. This is more than enough breakfast love for me but Mario has this thing about omelets and bacon. So when he gets up we will go have his breakfast together somewhere more formal than our quiet balcony looking at the ocean.

Anyhow. All to say we are eating a lot. A really lot. Because I figured out how to get our room service pastry basket to only include cheese Danishes and chocolate croissants, but when I go to breakfast number two they have these things available all over again, but WARM.

So apparently I don't need to go to a nice resort to get away. I just need to pour my coffee in a thermos, put a mug on a tray, get a fruit salad bowl from publix, and put two chocolate croissants in a basket. I can carry this to the porch with my journal or the back deck with kids. Viola! Happy Jamaican mama!

Sent from my iPod

jamaica bound

We are currently in atlanta about to fly to montego bay in jamaica to start our vacation together! By far the most cumbersome things in my bags are all of the books but I have big reading dreams.

Pre botox a sunny jamaican vacation was a recipe for migraine disaster. Today I thank botox again for normal living and this time.

We have a list of things we are leaving behind here in the US. And a list of vacation fun things to do once we arrive!

Lunch Buddy.

Monday = no school for Wesley. We hung out at home, a total and complete luxury for us, went on a picnic planned and designed by Wesley, and picked up Clare from school. Simple stuff.

From there the week took off. I overbooked and over scheduled so much awesome juicy stuff for us to do to the point that I showed up at stuff without my kids because they were at other stuff without me and I was at their play dates without them. Not a good scene. Not what I intended.

When we were in Georgia sweet sweet Mario cleaned out the van. I mean he cleaned it out. He laid out every last crayon, coloring book, water bottle, granola bar wrapper, broken CD cases, and extra jacket on the driveway. Then he drove away for a very long time with a roll of quarters. When he came back the van was clean. The french fries were gone. The sand was gone. The potato chip crumbs were gone. The coffee stains remained, but otherwise the van sparkled.

He asked what I wanted put back in from the pile. I picked up one pair of shorts, one pair of underwear, and a sketchbook. That's all that made the cut. I am no longer driving a mini mobile home. I can't live in the van a week based on my supplies held inside, I can't feed starving children with emergency snacks, and our entertainment options are definitely limited.

I am ready to tone things around here down a notch or two. More time climbing trees in our back yard. Less time in the van. Less stuff in the van. More picnics with this boy.

Spring.

Clare, Wesley and I grew this daffodil and a bunch of others in sand at the beach! After scraping away the top layer of leaves and digging down to find just sand, I was not sure if bulbs would prosper. We went ahead and planted 50 daffodils one winter afternoon and this past weekend all of us delighted to find these greeting us upon our arrival.

Q: Do daffodil bulbs grow in sand?
A: Yes!

I wonder what else I could get to grow out there? Sand growing is new to me.

**Aunt Rena arrives tonight! She's coming to watch Clare and Wesley while we go away on a vacation to Jamaica. Kudos to Mario for planning and booking our trip and extra super special kudos to Aunt Rena for securing a coveted NY Driver's License so she can manage the big red van.**

Date Desperation.

My text: Are you free to babysit any time tonight or tomorrow? We need some parent date time.
Her text: I can do tomorrow from 5:30 - 7:45 PM.
My text: I'll take it.
Her text: See you then.

So we had a date! A mini date and it was perfect. The kids got to see their favorite babysitter, we got away from being parents for a few hours, and I need to tell you about the truck.

We read about the Artisan BBQ Truck in the Free Times and made it our mission to 1. find it and 2. eat. Mario looked it up and we chased it down at the USC baseball game on our date night.

It. Was. So. Good. Cilantro lime slaw. Dill raw fries. Homemade foccacia bread. Vinegar BBQ. Go here and look at their menu. They also have red velvet bread pudding and the menu changes all of the time. It is worth tracking down for lunch or diner.


We took our meals to the Riverwalk with a cooler of beverages. Ate. Talked. Went for a walk. We returned to parental duties refreshed.

(And kind of surprised at how much good at 2 hour date could do for us.)

Be our guest.

Last week we had last minute guests! Aunt Carol and her new husband Karl stopped by for an overnight visit on their way back to Buffalo. The kids loved staying up late to greet them and to have breakfast buddies the next morning. (And the parents enjoyed conversation partners and night cap babysitters!)

Fairy Walk

While Wesley battled the discipline of how to poop on the potty Clare and I took off. She took me on a tour of Frederica Park and showed me the fairy houses. There are 8 or 9 of these little houses set up just waiting to be decorated and loved by park guests and fairies alike. Next time we will spend some time loving on them with natural findings and perhaps a few dazzling sparkles we bring from our home. We can call them fairy house hostess gifts!

Clare sprinted around the gardens, pointed out signs, and did some modelling for me. I adore spending time with her right now because she is so much pure joy and fun. She just wants to be happy, do happy, and share happy. Just writing this makes me want to go and check her out of school so we can play.

St. Augustine

It's hard to explain exactly why we were in St. Augustine yesterday at the Anastasia State Park, but it involved a complex combination of red heads, sunshine, sweet husbands, friends, veggie luncheon spreads, and because factor.

We spent hours watching kids drip castles, run in and out of waves, take wagon rides, dig holes, and get really sandy. They loved it. Woven in between all of this I got to eat mint chocolate chip ice cream cones in a race against the sunshine and scratch the surface with a sweet friend who lives too far away. (After I got over the urge to squeal and hug her out of disbelief.)

All in all yesterday rocked.
We chose to make something happen.
And I am so glad we did.

quiet.

feeling quiet. a little list of real things around here.

• impromptu street basketball games.
• drawings with mama's special markers.
• debating about barefoot running shoes.
• washing sheets for family passing through town.
• eating fresh baguettes in the car for snack.
• begging for babysitters and date nights.
• campy and athletic tunes taking over the van.
• grocery bags with poop and clothes sent home.
• hilly run induced migraines on sunny afternoons.
• soft handmade birthday invitations in the mail.
• boxes of Samoas disappearing during the night.
• freshly planted and not watered purple pansies.
• a new mower and level weeds that look like grass.
• ladybug lunchboxes packed by little ladies.
• Dansko sandal debut and skirt heaven.

Deja vu

Road trip to Charlotte!
Ikea pick up.
Trader Joes restock.
Vibram search.
Maybe a playdate with baby Ben.

The eagle race.

Clare rocks my world.

Today she woke up without an alarm ready to go at 6:45 AM (a very good thing considering that we accidentally set our alarm for 6:45 PM). One blueberry waffle and pink running outfit later she was ready to go while the rest of us lagged getting ready for the race.

She ran and completed the Rosewood Eagle 1 mile race in 12 minutes and 15 seconds. The course started with a giant hill which winded her early. We ran most of the race hand in hand. I just kept talking to her, telling her stories about Wesley eating snacks in the middle of the night and about what we were going to do today, to distract her and to keep her running.

She had a few friends who also ran in this race. It was hard to watch her want to walk because she could see they that were. In the end she ran relatively steady and ran it out to finish strong. We treated ourselves to chocolate covered doughnuts and coffee at the end. We greeted the eagle, she got her medal, and all of us cheered when she crossed the finish line.

I love running with Clare. Tonight Mario and Clare ran around the neighborhood. I hope she catches the bug so I have a running buddy. I never thought of running with my daughter but now I am swooning at the idea.

Tough Questions

Clare: Mommy, who's Michael Jackson?

Clare: What is a gravestone?

Clare: What does Michael Jackson look like?

Whoa.

Not the questions I was expecting after school the other day. Apparently some of Clare's five year old hipster Montessori friends with parents way cooler than myself are jamming to Michael Jackson on the car pool route.

Mario helped me out on these questions along with a few of my other favorite question answering sources: Google, Aunt Rena and Pandora.

Minutes later Clare elevated to cool status with the knowledge that her very own Aunt Rena actually went to a real Michael Jackson concert. She knew what he looked like at every age and stage of his life. And we had a pretty cool Michael Jackson dance party in our kitchen thanks to Pandora and our Livio radio.

We tabled the gravestone question for the moment to let all of the other fun absorb.

Botox Update: Week Six

Ummm...

It's working. I am now close to 22 days without a migraine which is a beautiful thing however it is that I ended up here.

I can read.
I can write.
I can drive at night.
I can use a computer.

I haven't taken Maxalt or any other expensive treatment drug in awhile. The Botox seems to have kicked in about 3 1/2 weeks after initial injection.

We got the final bill on my first 200 units and amazingly we do not hate my insurance company!
In the end it breaks down to a $60 office co-pay and $125 for the actual Botox. So, $185 every 90 day is awesome compared to what they actually bill it for!

I'm signed up for another round on April 27th. 91 days from my last treatment. I am so happy to be feeling human again, to be running, to be driving, to be reading, and to be (somewhat) predictable.

Yarn Bombing

A friend and I spent Sunday afternoon yarn bombing a local venue together. We tied pom poms, knitting projects, and i-cords on tree branches to complement mother nature and to add a bit of color along the way.

We laughed, talked, sat on the ground and made more pom poms, and bonded during our whimsical walk. Sometimes it just feels good to tie a pom pom on a tree branch. Ever since our walk I see pom poms in my dreams and I see places around town that need knitting love. Can you spot the pom pom in the tree?

Next time we are going high tech. Our supplies will include: more pom poms, cheese, chocolate, two pairs of scissors, a camera, tags for our pom poms, extra pom poms to leave for people to tie on for fun, cheese, and chocolate.

Monday Morning.

Hey Grampin' my shirt came in the mail! I love it! Clare tried to steal it but I took care of that by yelling at her "it's a size four and and not a size five" at 6:40 AM so don't worry about that. I'm going to wear it to school today while listening to one of my favorite Ella Jenkins songs.

I had a great weekend. We played outside a lot in the rainy mist while Daddy spread mulch to spruce up the back yard. I got some cool new boo boo's from climbing in the tree really high. We went to Charlotte to see Baby Ben for his first birthday and I got to eat two donuts instead of silly cupcakes. I think I got the better deal.

Thanks so much for my cool odd bear out shirt. It makes me happy and I'm thrilled that it only has short sleeves. I only wear short sleeves. I decided back in November that short sleeves were the only kind of shirt for me and stuck by my decision. The bear shirt makes the cut and makes me very happy today. Love ya! == Wesley

Road trip.

Destination: Charlotte, NC

Reason: Baby Ben's first birthday
Movie: Miss Sunnyside.

Dining: Black bean quesadillas for Clare and fish sticks for Wesley.

Background noise: Wesley whining because he lost movie privileges before we even got in the big red van.

Mama planned side trips: Ikea and Trader Joes.

Reading material: stacks of magazines from Laura.

Happy factor: wearing orange corduroy pants and dreaming of cinnamon rolls.

Sometimes coffee isn't enough.

Perfection.

Sunday Afternoon Rewind

Each weekend Mario and I ask each other what goals we have or what we want to accomplish. That way, even even if everything falls apart or goes really well, we know what the other wants to acheive.

Sometimes the goals are boring: scrub garbage cans. Sometimes the goals are ordinary: go for a run and have some alone time. Sometimes the goals are interesting: sew a quilt, kayak to the Frederica River or potty train Wesley.

This weekend I wanted to run the race with Clare, have a couple of hours alone, have my bike restored to pre-child status (take that THING off of the back), get victory Frosty's with Clare, and sew something. Mario rocks. He knew about all of the goals and helped me knock them out. Saturday morning I found him in tinkering with my bike, stripping it of all extra seats and pumping up the tires.

Sunday afternoon sunshine, my bike basket and a newly loaded Starbucks card gave me a happy hour or so to myself. I wrote in my green journal, drank iced Passion tea, and enjoyed an adults only bike ride. And I liked it. All of it.

Shirts and Races.

It's been days and she's still talking about the race.

Lucky for her (and me!) I am finding all kinds of races for us to run in together and it looks like I am getting my running mojo back too.

If you are in the market for a local kids 1 mile fun run, Rosewood Elementary is having one at Memorial Stadium and the entry fee is only $5. It is at 8:00 AM on March 12 and the registration information can be found online at www.strictlyrunning.com. There's also A 5K for kids and adults and that entry fee is $31 with a shirt.

I really like that this one is just $5 though. Wesley might even get a chance to bust out his running shoes and take a crack at the adventure.

Present Moment

I am camped out in the hallway while the kids enjoy a picnic, a fresh bag of library books and this amazing spring day. Oh for the love of a back yard. I feel like we are finally really using ours for the first time. The kids climb trees, drag bricks around, build imaginary campfires, and make all kinds of stuff up out there.

We ended up at a phantom story time (read: I bribed them with one I thought existed so that I could lure them through a fabric store that I wanted to go to this afternoon) that ended poorly. Three Krispy Kreme doughnuts in a box, one yard of fabric, and a bag filled with books we finally make it home. All of us need some down time this afternoon.

If I could draw a line down the center of the back yard that would probably be even better just to ensure breathing space for all. But for now, as long as I type fast enough, things are really peaceful and cute which makes me happy and headache free.