Summer: Birthdays, Kids, Work...a Balancing Act.

We love June here at our house.  It's party month with all of our birthdays falling under the Gemini/Cancer signs.  Lorenzo just celebrated his on the 8th, then comes mine on the 19th, Bianca's on the 24th, and Luca's the day after....I'm out of breath already! (Oh yeah, throw Father's Day in there on the 16th, and an anniversary on July 7th.) Giving birth to them was the easy part!  In the meantime, I have done a fine job of spoiling each one of them on their birthday, with individual attention. I SWEAR every year we are just doing ONE family party, and that's IT! Never happens....

The 2013 Birthday Kickoff 

For Lorenzo's birthday, I hemmed and hawed over what to do.  He loves Jazz, and as luck would have it, they were having a concert on his birthday at a cool Atlanta venue.  So what's the problem, you might ask? The so-called venue was at a cemetery. Yes, you read that right. My husband is in good shape, but he is 7 years my senior, and I worried about the connotations this kind of birthday party might stir up. With one hour to spare (and missing out on cheap online tix), I made the executive decision to go for it....if nothing else, it would provide good memory material for years to come.  And that it did.

Father Daughter Stroll

Oakland Cemetery is an Atlanta landmark in a beautiful lush setting with Victorian gardens, statues, and of course, grave sights. Margaret Mitchell is buried there, as well as many other famous Atlantans.

The view.

We could just pretend we're in Rome.

Loved this fellow sitting on the roof of his mausoleum. He couldn't quite come to grips with being locked away in there, I guess. I must remember that...

The family time together was priceless. (No, baby #3 NOT on the way...Good Lord!)

 He did enjoy the jazz:)....and I DID get a lot of heat for taking my husband to the cemetery for a little preview;)). (SO MANY LAUGHS)  At least we didn't eat at Six Feet Under!  We went to The Optimist instead ;).

Talk about a COOL place. The design was out of this world, and so was the food and service. Such a treat for all!

Lorenzo got tickets to these guys last night.  We loved reliving 70's tunes, and Stevie Nicks can still rock it. Lead guitarist, Lindsey Buckingham was on fire!

But there I was, in the midst of all this rock-n-roll and happiness, bawling to Stevie singing 

Landslide:

I took my love and I took it down 
I climbed a mountain and I turned around 

And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills 
'Till the landslide brought me down 

Oh, mirror in the sky 
What is love? 
Can the child within my heart rise above? 
Can I sail thru the changing ocean tides? 
Can I handle the seasons of my life? 

Mmm Mmm... 

Well, I've been afraid of changing 
'Cause I've built my life around you 
But time makes you bolder 
Children get older 
I'm getting older too 

Well, I've been afraid of changing 
'Cause I, I built my life around you 
But time makes you bolder 
Children get older 
I'm getting older too 
I'm getting older too 

So, take my love, take it down 
Oh climb a mountain and turn around 
If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills 
Well the landslide will bring you down, down 

And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills 
Well maybe the landslide will bring it down 
Oh oh, the landslide will bring it down

Another birthday, watching the kids get older before our eyes, and vanish (B!), pressure of work, life, marriage, keeping all the balls in the air...ALWAYS. Climbing little mountains and turning around, and then doing it again. It triggered  all of these emotions. And then Luca yelled, "MOM, WHY ARE YOU CRYING!?!", and that brought me back. But I noticed something: I didn't care that I was bawling in public.  The privilege of 44 years, I guess. Just like the 70+ chick in front of us who was bringing down the house with her dancing. (Luca was thoroughly shocked and entertained and asked me to take my iphone out for a pic, which I did not.).  Good for HER.

So like I said, balancing it all is a struggle, but especially when the kids are home from school. I am not the only mother to experience this overwhelming feeling. I guess I just feel the pressure of making it right for everyone. So when that goofy kid with his tongue hanging out in the pic above interrupts my work, I need to remember that this might be the last summer of his childlike silliness. He will be a teenager next year. And when B asks me to drive her to another place (while I am trying to work), I need to remember that in one month, she won't need me to drive her anymore. Sixteen here we come.

Despite all of this, I have managed to do some cool things at work.  I will share the pictures of what I've got cooking in an upcoming post. Enjoy your summer, and please feel free to share thoughts on balancing it all. 

Thank you so much for reading. Peace, Love, Health and Happiness to you all.