Hello I'am Meggan Welcome to my website.
Calling Sherlock Holmes
A lineup of the lead suspects
We have a mystery in the Ravazzolo household…a mystery I intend on solving. Someone has super glued the scissors together. The sorted tale began innocently enough. Against my better judgement I brought a tube of super glue into the house….into the house of boys. Bringing superglue into a house full of boys is a recipe for disaster, resisting is futile, nothing good is going to come of it…something is getting stuck together. It might be fingers, the dogs fur, or paper to the dining room table. I had intended on gluing the handle back on my KOA (Kampgrounds of America) coffee mug from our road trip this summer. Unfortunately my husband threw the cup away before I got home from the store and mysteriously the glue fell into the wrong hands, the scissors were the first discovered victim. I am going to have to call upon my “Momsense” powers of deduction and sleuthery. I think we might have a serial gluer on our hands. It is only a matter of time, before the sticky strikes again. TO BE CONTINUED…
Please Feed The Animals
The above photo is my baby “sharing” his organic, locally produced, sustainably farmed, feel good about the purchase cookie with his rabbit puppet Whiskers….ahhh. My heart melted, until I realized that Lucas HATES his organic, locally produced, sustainably farmed, feel good about the purchase cookie. Lucas is actually GIVING Whiskers his cookie. It is a much different picture when I bust out the non organic, full of words I can’t pronounce, corporate produced, Gerber’s Graduates teething biscuit. Lucas loves THAT cookie. Not only would Lucas NOT be sharing thatcookie, but if Whiskers made any sudden moves for that cookie, we might have to call him just Whisker, or Whisker One Eye, or maybe just dinner.
Tri-Lingual
I am an interpreter. I speak three languages. I speak English, Teenage Stepson, and Teenage Stepson’s Father (also my husband). I am quite proud of my abilities and my fluency, especially in the last two languages. I wish a course had been offered in speaking Teenage Stepson in college. It would of saved me and my TWO Spanish tutors a lot of grief!! Lo ciento Jose and Juan, I tried. Hugs.
If you too would like to speak Teenage Stepson and Teenage Stepson’s Father I would like to give you a few hints. Silence is the key and both languages use it quite often, but they mean totally different things. For Teenage Stepson silence always means YES. For instance, ask your teenage stepson if he got his report card….silence. That means yes he did get it, often two weeks ago. Ask your teenage stepson if he dented the car….silence. That means yes, again probably two weeks ago. Ask your teenage stepson if that cute girl he was walking next to after school is the same girl he (not so) secretly texts till 2:00 a.m……silence. That definetly means yes.
Teenage Stepson’s Father is exactly the opposite. Silence means no. For instance, your teenage stepson asks his Father for twenty dollars….silence. That means no. Your teenage stepson asks his Father to borrow the car (the same one he will return with the bumper dented) and…..silence. Again that’s a no.
As an interpreter of Teenage Stepson and Teenage Stepson’s Father one of my primary duties is to bridge the communication gap between the two parties. Often deciphering for the other what amounts to only a series of grunts and muffled slurs. Also it should be noted that a peculiar hearing loss occurs in all teenage stepsons and the Father of teenage stepsons. Before a boy becomes a teenager his hearing, as well as the hearing of his Father, seems to be just fine. However, once the teen years hit, a most odd hearing loss occurs. Don’t worry in almost all cases the day the teenage stepson turns twenty all hearing for both seems to miraculously return. That being noted, a conversation usually goes something like this.
Harrison (teenage stepson): “Wassup?”
Ettore (teenage stepson’s Father): “What?! What’s up where?”
Meggan (Interpreter de fabulousness): ”Harrison is saying hello.”
Ettore:“Pffft.” (Blows air signaling frustration) “Hello son.”
Harrison: “What?”
Meggan: “Your Father is greeting you back.”
Harrison: “Huh.” “Oh.” (That means thank you for picking me up from school). NOTE: Whenever you see your teenage stepson within twenty seconds of greeting each other the conversation will almost ALWAYS turn to food. “SOOO, what’s the 411 on food tonight?”
Ettore: “What?”
Meggan: “Harrison wants to know what we are having for dinner.”
Ettore: “Grrrrrr.”
Harrison: “What?”
Meggan: “Your Dad thinks we should eat at home tonight. Eating out is expensive.”
Harrison: “Whatever.”
Ettore: “What?”
Meggan: “Harrison says, eating at home is fine.”
Ettore and Harrison: “mrrph…pfft…uh…heh.” That means I love you Dad and I love you son. You get the point. As an interpreter of both Teenage Stepson and Teenage Son’s Father you have to walk between two worlds, but trust me it is a journey worth taking.
Pray For Us
”Can you stop changing the water into wine, I am trying to take a shower.” – Comedian Steven Wright
We are not a particularly religious family, although I was baptized Catholic and my husband is a former Mormom. Slowly and steadily though we have been returning religion. I don’t know if it is the baby, wanting to feel closer as a family, or just a connection to the community, but we have been regularly attending a great Presbyterian chuch…and that’s where the funny starts.
We all try our best, but we don’t really know the ins and outs of the church service process. I shudder to think if we attended a Catholic service. All that up and down. I seem to be sitting when I should be standing and vice versa. I always felt like a Catholic service was one giant version of the arcade game Whack A Mole. You were never sure when everyone was going to pop up in their pews. You have to stay alert, stand up too soon and God bonked you on the head.
Presbyterian service is pretty straight forward though and all five of us seem to flow through the doors and take our seats without any major mishaps. It wasn’t until the donation basket made its rounds that we had our first church hiccup. As the donation basket filled with cash passed our laps my husband put a $20.00 bill in. Both the older boy’s eyes lit up.
All that money.
Reilly: (in his best inside voice – which is really an outside voice inside), “Why are they passing a basket full of cash?”
Me: “It is a donation basket for the church.”
Reilly: ”Donation for what?”
Me: “Donation to help the church function.”
Reilly: “I thought church was free.”
Me: “It is, but the money is so the church can help people.”
Reilly: ”What? Wait, I don’t get it.”
I was getting nowhere explaining to the boys in a hushed Mom whisper the meaning of the donation basket. Us, being restaurant people, I had to break it down into terms the boys would understand. Desperate, I finally blurted out , “That’s Jesus’ tip jar. We put money in to say thank you for the good spiritual service.” OOOOOOHHHHH!!! Then silence….they got it. Just as I was patting myself on the back for the break through with my step-sons Reilly’s voice asked. “If Jesus died for our sins and is in Heaven, what’s he going to do with all that money?”
Welcome To The Toddler Cafe
Mommy’s Toddler Menu
Breakfast: Organic Fruit, Organic Yogurt, Organic Milk
Lunch: Organic Potatoes, Fresh Sliced Turkey, Organic Cheese
Dinner: Organic Pasta with Organic Vegetables
Lucas’ Toddler Menu
Breakfast: Newspaper
Lunch: Dirt and Post It Notes
Dinner: Paper Towels and Shoes
OPEN 24 HOURS – 7 DAYS A WEEK
Dear Lucas
Proud Mama
Happy first birthday baby. One year ago today I birthed you into the world after carrying you inside my body for 41 weeks. I loved you through my pregnancy and cherished my growing belly. It seemed the whole world was celebrating your arrival and I was so touched. Customers at the bakery, friends, your brothers, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa, family, it felt like everyone. People would toast us at restaurants, strangers would offer congratulations, and other women would cast me knowing glances and smiles as I was soon to join their club. They knew the joy I was going to be a part of. The joy of being a Mom.
I am surprised by how much I worry now. I worry about your safety, my safety so that I can take care of you. I worry about the economy, the future of this Earth as a home for you. I worry about people being kind to you. I worry if I am a good Mom, if you will be a happy boy.
More important than the worry is hope. I have hope for you. I have hope that you will not be mesmerized by things, that you see the true value in life. I hope that you enjoy learning and see the world as your classroom. We don’t have a large family and I want you to grow up knowing that family comes in all shapes and sizes. I have hope that like me, your friends become part of your family. A true friend is a blessing to cherish.
I am your Mother. I look forward to raising you the best way I know how and enjoying this adventure called life. You are very loved and I have hope that you carry that in your heart and always know that. Congratulations Lucas on your first year of life.
Love Mama
Love Daddy
An Ettore's Original Creation
So excited
Yummy!
Ettore has always made the boy’s birthday cakes and the tradition continues with Lucas. The cake was beautiful and delicious and I was very touched. Lucas seemed to enjoy it too! I am still amazed at how quickly time has gone by. I remember thinking I was never going to deliver, that I was going to be pregnant forever! I am so proud of us individually and as a family. We aren’t perfect, but we grow every year.
The boys always tease me and call me “Waterworks” because I always get so proud of them and burst out bawling. If Reilly scores a goal in soccer 911 is immediatley summoned and when I go watch Harrison mountain bike ride they have an ambulance on hand for me, not the riders. I am afraid to say it, but here come the tears. Here we are one year later. We did it! Happy Birthday Lucas!
Smile Pretty
Happy First Birthday Lucas
Another valiant attempt at a “normal” family photo, Ravazzzolo style. Has anyone seen all the party hats?
Busted!
A picture speaks a thousand words...
“Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?”
Theme from the TV show COPS 
Ansel Adams Eat Your Heart Out
Ever the professional, Reilly captures another image
The beautiful scenery that is Cute Neighbor Jill, as photographed by Reilly
Reilly, my 12-year-old stepson, suddenly became quite the shutter bug with the camera the other night when Cute Neighbor Jill came over for a visit. Who knew he had such an interest in photography? Ansel Adams found his beautiful mountains and scenery to photograph, and in his own way, young Reilly found his.
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