Overheard

Me:  "Wow, Jojo!  You hit that piñata hard."

Jojo: "I just tried my best and I hitted it super hard, Mom!"

-Jojo, age 6;1 years
At my school multicultural carnival

Brotherly Banter

Upon opening his BK kids' meal crown:

Christian: "This will get my imagination going!"
Gabriel: "Imagination is king!"

They remind me of two other brothers I know.

Refreshing Candor

Overheard while driving this afternoon:

Jojo:  "Christian, I'm talking to you, butt cheeks!"

Christian is the child who is forever daydreaming and who has vivid dreams during his sleep.  He also likes to express himself verbally and through the written word.

His class spends time writing daily.  Earlier in the year he wrote about topics that interested him, such as dinosaurs....

If I Had a Dinosaur

or dream houses (the kind that hold dreams).

If I Had a Dream House

Lately, he has been writing letters to me.  Last week he advised me on how to discipline Jojo when he screams.

What To Do If Jojo Screams

Jojo does not like Chuck E. Cheese, and I don't blame him. I don't have anything against Chuck E. Cheese, but such places induce such sensory overload that I want to stick a fork in my eye.

The letter I received today was about how refreshed he felt when he emptied his bladder.  The latest vocabulary word he puts to use, 'refreshed', has appeared many times in his recent communications. 

Full Bladder

Maybe he meant to say 'relieved' instead.  However, emptying the bladder is a good analogy for a confession. It really is.  Christian says he'll feel 'refreshed' when he makes his First Confession this month.   Instead of his full bladder causing him to feel tense thereby requiring relief, Christian instead felt invigorated once he released it all (probaby because he plays tetherball after lunch on the playground). And that's how our souls feel when we've made a good confession.

Speaking of confession, we had an incident with one of our neighbors last week.  It was very unfortunate that she made Christian and another boy apologize without getting the full story.  She took her daughter's word (her daughter is three years older than Christian) that he and the other child were making fun of her dead dog when they were actually singing silly rhyming songs about an annoying purple dinosaur and other ditties.  Christian and his friend were in the midst of helping other neighbors move things from their garage to their house, and after getting the story straight I realized that the boys were most likely ignoring this girl who wanted to play with them.

After my neighbor told me they were singing a song about "mustangs and dogs" or something, I asked Christian in front of her if he was singing about mustangs and dogs.  He asked, "What's a mustang?"

I have been pondering this all weekend because this is not the first time this neighbor has come to complain about Christian's apparent cruelty towards her daughter who obviously pines for her mom's attention. This neighbor has come over to complain about the other neighborhood boys even when she admits that our boys were not responsible for teasing her daughter.  Why she still came to tell me is beyond me, but I rounded up the kids and asked them to stop bothering her daughter that time.

What really concerned me about this latest incident was the way she forced the kids to go into her house and apologize to her daughter.  She did not tell me this when she came over, yet she knows that my kids are not allowed in her house.  Christian was scared, and secondly, a forced apology does not teach kids a thing, especially if you did not witness the episode. I am prepared for the next time and I will ask the neighbor to bring her accuser daughter to explain to me and the boys what happened.  It will be her word against theirs.  And if I feel that there was wrongdoing on their parts, I will ask them to apologize.  I am sure Christian didn't feel 'refreshed' when he apologized to the accuser.

Sometimes adults are more difficult than children.

Bad Mom Week

Three little random vignettes:  First, I don't always join in my kids' reindeer games so they can learn a lesson. Second, I take all three to doctor appointments and grocery store errands because there is no alternative right now. Third, Christian perseveres through his hard homework assignment through tears as I, his mom, am having flu-like symptoms and want to call the assignment off.

Episode 1:

It's been a long week filled with doctor appointments, sick husband, sick children, and sick me.  Yesterday I went to the store with the kids after Gabriel's appointment to check on his ear (he'd had a burst ear drum and ear infection a couple weeks ago).  It's such fun to take three kids to the store, especially when they run around, fight, and/or play 'Me and My Shadow' behind my back.  I was not in the mood and I gave them fair warning before heading into Kroger.  Towards the end of our errand, Gaby and Christian thought it would be fun to 'hide' from me, but I decided it would be less stressful to pretend I didn't know they were hiding and continue shopping instead. I really should've been more concerned, but I figured if anyone got lost they'd learn a little lesson. I'd already scolded the boys and I just needed to finish shopping.

About 10 minutes later I heard over the intercom, "Can Uh-lay-nuh come to the cashier?"  I found Gaby sobbing with two Kroger employees by his side.  He told me it was Christian's fault he was lost.  How so, I asked.  "Because he was playing the hiding game!" I reminded him it was his fault he was lost; he shouldn't have strayed away from me to begin with.  By the way, it was not Gaby who sought out help. Two very attentive Kroger employees noticed him crying and asked if he was lost.

Episode 2:

A few nights ago I started to feel real woozy and feverish.  By 2:00 that afternoon I was ready to crawl into bed.  That evening Christian began work on some math word problems.  The more frustrated he became, the more exasperated I became.  It was a one-hour battle.  Finally I told him to put the homework away and leave it for the next morning.  This agitates Christian more than anything -- an unfinished assignment.  Oh no! It means he will be in trouble at school.  I explained, as patiently as I could, that I was tired and that he could complete it the next morning before school.  Then I lost it and took it away from him and proceeded upstairs to their room so I could put them to bed.  Poor Christian wanted to finish the homework, and out of sheer frustration and sadness he cried, "I'm an idiot!"  That got to me.  That really got to me.

So I hugged him and told him he is not dumb, he's just having trouble with this particular assignment and he'll get it. I told him that I had the same trouble in school when I was his age.  Some things took more time to learn and I used to feel pretty stupid, too.  I told him that I was going to help him learn different ways to solve problems.  Christian is a visual learner like me.  He needs drawings and charts to 'see' the answer and organize information, but like a young me, he sometimes gets caught up in using only one strategy to find a solution.  I remember my dad trying to show me different ways to solve problems, but if it was not exactly the way my teacher had shown us in class that very day, I worried that I was not doing it correctly.  I thought there was only one way to a solution. 

Christian told me he gets nervous about tests at school, and unfortunately, this is a life-long process.  Teachers measure kids to see not only what they know, but what they need help with.  So he completed his assignment and I praised him for his perseverance. He told me he was worried about moving "a clip" (used for discipline at school), and I told him that if we used clips in our house, I would've moved my own for the unfortunate way I reacted to Christian's frustration earlier in the evening.  He then spent the next hour with me downstairs for one of my "pep talks" that he seems to enjoy enduring.  This is the time we spend talking about life, how it's not fair at times, and why we are constantly tested by all things material and spiritual.

Episode 3: Awkward

Yesterday I had an appointment with a podiatrist to check on the annoying pain in my left foot. It's always a joy to go see a doctor with three kids in tow. I warned them not to clown around and they did ok, except when they fought over the water machine in the waiting room and fought over who got to sit in the round chair in the examination room.

Over the weekend Mike gave me a good foot massage, and I could only describe where the pain was as the doctor felt around the heel and arch of my foot for sore spots.  I assured the doctor that I was practically limping for the past several weeks and that the pain has been intermittent over the past couple years.  As he continued the exam he joked, "I'm not going to give you a free foot massage.." Ha ha. He really put his foot in his mouth...oh the foot puns that come to mind. Obviously, Mike had done a great job of stretching and kneading the tissue. 

I was given a steroid shot in the heel and told to come back in a couple weeks to see if the pain is completely gone.  Apparently I have plantar fascitis.  When the doctor left, Christian asked loudly, "Why was the doctor acting like your husband?  Is he a massage doctor?"   On the way out, Christian informed me that as we were walking towards the car, he peered into the window and saw the podiatrist.  Christian said, "I pointed at him and told him, 'You're a massage doctor!', and the doctor told me, 'I can hear you.'"  Oh boy, my follow up visit might be a little awkward in a couple weeks. I wish doctors' offices had waiting rooms for children so parents could complete their appointments in peace. 

Last evening as I was putting the boys to bed, Christian again joked about Dr. Massage. He said, "I should've told him my arm hurts so that he could massage it."  He asked me several times if I'd told Mike about this, and I assured him I had.  Christian double checked with Mike after he came back from his trip this afternoon. This doctor's appointment really seemed to bother Christian.  Perhaps, if the podiatrist had been a female it would not have struck Christian as something strange for someone to touch my foot in a similar way Mike does for me. I'm sure it had everything to do with the 'massage' comment, though. 

She Said, He Said

Joseph did not want to take a shower this morning.  He fought me every inch of the way. 

Me:  "Come out of the shower, drama king."

Jojo:  "Ok, drama mama!"

Conjunction Conjunction, What's Your Function?

It was a(nother) cold and rainy night as we drove through the streets of a Columbus suburb.

Christian: "What really freaks me out are old ladies who are bald-headed like Grampa."

And Gaby chimed in: "Or old lady BUTTS! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!" (Gaby's favorite word is still 'butts'.)

Jojo's song ended our drive home: "Butts! Butts! Butts!"

P.S. Anytime we read stories, they never miss the conjunction 'but'.

P.P.S. I'm beginning to wonder if the hearts on Gaby's graffiti bathroom drawings were actually butts, not hearts.

Taco Man

The other day Gabriel heard me speaking with Tio Alberto on the phone.  Gabriel later gave me his impression of Spanish being spoken:

"Do you have a taco?"
"Yes, I have a taco."
"Do you have a taco?"
"Yes, I have a taco."
"I'm the taco man!"

His inflection was pretty accurate.  Later in the week he told me that a person who was dressed up in a taco costume was at school.  It didn't make sense to me either.  But I still had to ask his teacher.  Remember how Christian's 'small camera' story back in kindergarten was lost in translation?  So, I took my chances when I confirmed with Gabriel's teacher the upcoming parent-teacher conference.

Hello!

That time is good for me!

Gabriel was running a fever yesterday, so I'll keep him home today. I've left word with the attendance line.


Thanks,
Elena


p.s. Was there a 'Taco Man' at school?

Yesterday I told Gabriel that I'd written to Mrs. W to ask about the 'Taco Man', and that's when he and Christian told me that they were just joking.  I still haven't heard back from Mrs. W.

I blame Mike -- he always tells the boys tall tales.  Like when he told the story about how their Latina mama met their dad.  Or how he tells the kids to go along with a joke to pull on their mama (see 'comments' in the story below.)  Oh boy.

I
should've
known.

He Said She Said

Gabriel:  "Today is not a fun day!"

Mom:  "Of course --  It's not supposed to be fun when you're grounded!"

He Said He Said

When Gabriel became frustrated with Jojo because Jojo could not understand what Gaby was trying to show him, Gabriel said, "You don't get it, Jojo!" 

And Jojo replied, "No, I don't forget it."

Each time Gaby repeated "You don't get it," Jojo's response was the same, "No, I don't forget it."

An Errand

Today Gabriel is home from school and we needed to return a movie we had rented, but instead of driving he wanted to ride bikes to the store.  So we set out on our long ride.  What a gorgeous semi-overcast day.  Jojo, who neither has a good bike for longer rides nor the stamina, had to ride in the bicycle seat.  As you can see, he was not so thrilled.

We stopped at a little playground along the way. 

I was relieved because we were almost to the traffic light where the store is located.  Gabriel did a fine job following me and stopping at intersections and cross streets.  As we were preparing to walk our bicycles across a busy street two cars cut us off, so Gaby learned why we need to walk - not ride- across busy intersections. 

Then we hoofed it home, but I needed to stop to figure out the gears on the bike.  Finally, I removed the cute little basket on the front to fix the problem, but lost my balance and down went the bike and Jojo in a slow free fall as I tried to hold the now detached basket and bicycle with him in it.  Jojo learned why he needs to wear his seatbelt at all times, and I learned that the kickstand is not very reliable when anyone is sitting in the attached child seat.

Gaby said, "Watch, Mommy!" He tried to 'pop a wheelie', and his next trick was to ride with one hand. He really likes his bicycle.  Both he and Christian want skateboards, but I'm not as worried about Christian riding because he's more cautious. 

Then we got home an hour later and we had a nice lunch.  The route we took must be around three or four miles, and I was impressed that Gaby kept up.

After lunch, Jojo went outside for awhile to ride his bicycle.  He informed me that he told some barking dogs to "shut it down".  He must've heard that phrase from his friend, the dogs' owner.  For some reason "keep it down", which I say about 20 times a day around here, hasn't resonated with him.

Poor Bored Kindergartener

Jumping is not boring

Posing is not boring

Christian and Gabriel were working in their workbooks this evening when Gabriel informed me that his teacher acts "mad" at him.  Apparently she does not say "hello" when Gaby greets her.



Me:  "Were you disrupting the class?"  (This would not be a surprise.)

Gaby: "No! There is a different boy who told a funny boy, 'I like hot dog BUTTS!'" ('Butts' happens to be Gaby's favorite word of late.)

Me: "Is the boy's name Gabriel?"

Gaby: "His name is Isaiah."  (Hmmmm....'Isaiah' is a hard name to make up.)

Me:  "Well, obviously the teacher is annoyed with Isaiah if he says words like that.  You know I don't like those words either."

Gaby: "Well, I don't say anything in class because I'm bored! I sit like this [chin on hand] and I'm quiet."

Me: "Kindergarten is not supposed to be boring!  Don't you have work to do and don't you have toys to play with?"

Gaby: "The Legos are boring there.  They are missing the little mans.  And the other toys are boring, too!"

Me: "Are you sure you're not goofing off like you do here?"

Gaby Mister Logical: "No! If it was fun I would talk and be more louder!"

I'm really not sure if I prefer him being bored (and good) or interested (and in trouble).

Tucker the turtle is not boring, even when he pees

Playing at Petland is not boring

The Drama of it All..Updated

Christian has been running a high fever since Wednesday night and had to miss school as well as today's soccer game.  On Wednesday night when the fever began Christian was coming upstairs and felt a little dizzy and nauseous.  I thought maybe he was coming down with strep again.  He did not feel better the next day so I took him to the doctor.

At his age, the doctors we have seen usually talk to the kids directly to find out their symptoms.  I try not to "coach" Christian, but he talks ALOT and tells lots of stories. So I went over his symptoms to help him focus before we met with the doctor.

Sure enough, during the exam the doctor asked Christian how he had been feeling.  Christian was doing well until he go to the part about the dizzy spell:  "And then I went up the stairs to find my mom because I was feeling sick.  And then, and then what happened I started to see two of her and two of everything I saw...and then..."

The doctor asked him if he was seeing double right then.  "Yeah...and then what happened..." 

The doctor was concerned, but the nurse knew better and turned to me and smiled.  This was my cue to nip this in the bud, "Christian, how many of me do you see right now?" 

Christian said, "One...?"  I explained that Christian never saw double the night before and this was the first time hearing about such a symptom.   

At least he tested negative for strep.

P.S. Christian tested positive for strep last Monday.  Second time in the past two months!  I should've followed my instincts and asked the doctor to send the culture to the lab.

There's Smart...



All dressed up for his 5th birthday last month! His chose his outfit himself. Gaby wanted a Batman tie for his birthday, but, alas, it is a difficult article of clothing to find.

 This morning Gaby reminded me that a special show was going to be on March 29th.  I asked him how he knew that, and Gaby said that he had seen it on television. I told him he was smart.  Gaby replied, "There's smart, and there's Kmart smart!" 





A Batman cake that stained our fingers and teeth blue. The first non-truck cake Gaby has chosen - ever.

Teacher's Pet(s)

Last week, Jojo and Gaby started their first year of preschool.  Jojo is with the two-year-olds and Gaby is with the four/five-year-olds.

They have backpacks, snack bags, and lunch boxes to bring each day.  I'm glad they only go twice a week. 

When I dropped them off at their classrooms, Gaby looked at me wide-eyed and said, "But I don't have any friends."  By the end of the day he had made some friends.

I dropped off Jojo at his classroom next, and while he was distracted playing with toys I left.  One poor mother was sobbing as she left.  I felt like crying, too.  But I also had a "party in my tummy" (as my nephew Anthony would say) -- I had time to breathe and get things done at home.  I now have a few free hours to study, clean house, or have a chat with a friend. 

Mike, Christian and I picked up the kids later.  Gabriel came running out and said excitedly to all within earshot, "Mommy! Mommy!  I was good today; I didn't say bad words and I didn't have to go to the principal's office!"  Christian had had a serious talk with Gabriel earlier at the bus stop; he let Gaby know what to expect at school and went over some of the rules with him.  I think Daddy had also given Gaby a stern warning, too.  When we picked up Jojo, we found him standing by the doorway, glaring at us.  He said, "You. Left. Me. He-ah."  His teacher told us he had been happy earlier, though.

Today was their second day and Jojo didn't even blink when I left.  I told him goodbye and said I'd be back soon to pick him up.  Then he ran off to play with toys.  Gaby also had a good day at school.  He tried to make a boomerang (this month they're studying Australia), but it really doesn't look like one.  He must have inherited my artistic abilities.  Gaby decided it's a truck without wheels instead and that's a pretty accurate description. Today Jojo's teacher said that Jojo covered his ears when a little girl in his class was crying.  He does not like loud noises (like Gaby).  She asked me to warn him about music class as the teacher will be playing the piano on Wednesday.  We're going to try pullups and potty training soon, and I'm so glad his teachers will help. Oh, the agony!

Blase big brother at little brother's game.

They learned how to throw the ball in.

He learned to aim for the goal.

Gaby and Christian also started soccer last week.  Gaby had his first practice and game on Saturday.  I love when they play soccer at his age! Sometimes goals are made for the other team, and the kids all run in clumps.  One thing they practiced is spacing, but it didn't always translate on the field.  Gaby was excited by the cheering and waved at Daddy while he was running on the field. Gaby's team is the Dragons and Christian plays on the Blue Magic team. 

Cheers to Me!

Summer 2009 - Jojo, age 1.5 years

We were reading a counting book together.  First, Mommy would count the ducks or the fish, and then Jojo took his turn. 

"One, two, fwee, two, fwee!"

"Very good, Jojo," I said.

Then I turned the page and counted the geese.

Jojo clapped enthusiastically and said, "Good mo-may!"

(Joseph Sebastian, age 2 years; 8 months)

More Funny Quotes

Gaby got tired of Mommy reminding him to stay away from the rock fountain at her favorite coffee place.
"Mommy! If you keep telling me to stay away from the fountain, I will do it. So stop telling me!"
Gaby (4 years; 3 months) 5/14/10

When Jojo heard the music in the movie we saw last night at the theatre he exclaimed,"Lady Gaga!"
Jojo (2 years; 7 months) 5/14/10

Headlines

Here are a few comments overheard this week.

"Daddy you lied to me. Mommy said these shorts don't match my shirt."

Gaby (4 years; 3 months) 5/9/10

"If you don't give me my ice cream now, I'm going to scream!" And then she screamed.

Feisty, awesome niece Simone (2 years; 3 months) sometime last week

And Christian is learning to read! and write!  It's been amazing to see him soak it up.  Here is a note he wrote; there is no doubt he wanted to go to Miles' house to play the Wii. Christian left this note conspicuously on the kitchen counter.  Apparently he had written the note at school.

"To Mom and Dad and I like to go to Miles and I want go to play the Wii and me and Miles. From Christian"

"Mom, Derek says that I can come over to his house today so I can play Lego Star Wars."  "Mom, Miles really wants me to come over and play the Wii."  Nana and Papa got the boys a Wii last week as an early Christmas present.  Now we can ask his friends to come and play more often because our house was so boooorrrrrrrinnnnnnngg before.   

Wee.

Lost in Translation

Hello Karen & Teresa -- 

Last week Christian kept telling me not to pack his lunch on Friday because he was supposed to have pizza with Ms. ______. What for, I asked? And, believe me, it took several days to get a coherent response. He finally said, "Mrs. _____ has a tiny camera and she filmed me picking up trash in the playground." He also said one other classmate - Tanner? - was filmed returning something to the office. Oh, so for a good deed. Well, since I was still not sure, I packed his lunch. So last Friday after school I asked Christian about his lunch with Ms. _____, and he said they did not meet and he doesn't know why, and that was the end of the story. At that age, I remember having a wild imagination or confusing different stories. It reminds me of 'Ramona Quimby' (all my favorite childhood Ramona stories)! I'm really curious what Christian was thinking. Can you shed some light on it?

Christian's kindergarten teacher left me a voice mail message:  "I think Christian was confused. He got a Character Counts slip from another teacher for an act of good behavior - and I don't remember specifically what it was - but it was one of our Special Ed. teachers who caught him doing something really nice and special for someone else.  And so they read it over the morning announcements, and I told him that he would be getting a free pizza lunch this Friday...all the kids who receive those Character Counts slips are able to have pizza lunch with the principal once a month...and if you want to send a couple other 'healthy' things in the lunch with him in case he doesn't eat what the principal has {laughter}, that's ok, too.  But, the principal does not have a miniature camera that she uses to spy on the kids ...I'm sorry for any confusion this may have caused.  I will probably save that e-mail forever because that's just adorable that he thought he was spied on with a mini camera."

Ok, let me clear up a couple things:  When I again asked Christian about his good deed, he said that he had held up his line so that someone could pass through.  I think that's the story and I'm sticking with it.  Second, Christian is on a health food kick.  We have been trying to get Gaby to eat healthier snacks and to stop his diet of chicken nuggets.  One day I commented, "Uncle Jaime does not eat any junk.  He is very careful about what he eats because junk is bad for you."  Big mistake.  Christian, who may have a slight obsessive compulsive disorder, took it to heart.  So recently his teacher told me that Christian refuses to eat snacks during snack time.  "Something about his uncle who eats healthy...."  So, that is why his teacher commented that Christian could take a few 'healthy items' with him on pizza day with the principal.

Christian's soccer team receives their trophies on the last day of soccer. 

Christian did not eat any pink iced cookies or the yummy fruit pizza, except for the fruit.  He still eats licorice and chocolate dipped granola bars, though.  But not at school, because like Romana Quimby, he loves his kindergarten teacher. Oh, guts!

Brothers Playing Nicely

"When I'm bigger I can play the DS, but right now I'm a little bigger."

Gaby (4 years; 2 months) 3/31/10

"Mommy, Gaby gross."

Jojo (2 years; 6 months) 4/18/10

Jojo is tired of the paparazzo sneaking a photo as Gaby gasses up the car.

Viva la Revolucion!

"Newt Gingrich"

Christian said, "We have to stand on the street with a sign - again?  That's boring!" I think Christian ended up having a lot more fun than he had expected. 

Gabriel: "Is the government going to be there?"

Mom: "No, but they'll hear us."

Gabriel: "Are they going to get mad at us?"

Mom: "They may not agree with us, but we are here to speak up because we are allowed to do that."

And Christian, our little citizen photo journalist, took some interesting photos.  He waved and cheered at the honking cars as they drove by on a busy street during rush hour.  Yaya had fun, too.  The police were out watching us 'extremists', but there was no violence or obnoxious behavior either by us or the few tea party crashers who showed up.  And there were thousands out on the street peacefully protesting.

Chains We Can Believe In, baby.