Gaby's Big 6th Birthday

I finally located the pictures that were downloaded from my camera.

We celebrated Gabriel's birthday on the 2nd.  This year it was pretty easy to plan the party because he did it all, from the invitations to the Green Lantern cake.  We bowled, played bean bag toss, and had a pinata.  In between planned games, the boys "partied" downstairs to loud music and played with toys in their room.

Nana came from Tennessee as well.  His actual birthday fell during the week, so we had our first birthday cake that night.

We had a couple friends over on the day of his party.  We ended up with a huge cake that was made by mistake.  Instead of blue teeth, this year we ended up with green teeth (Gaby's favorite color). 

Gaby's classmate marveled, "Gaby, you don't act like this at school.  You're crazy!"  We were pleasantly pleased, yet puzzled, as to why he doesn't act this usual way at school. Gaby said, "Because at school I'm bored and I just want to stay home."

We encouraged Gaby to have the party at the skating rink, but he was more excited about having friends over.  I think this was the first time he's had a party at home, and he planned it well. 

This year we all got him Legos for his birthday.  We have about a gazillion sets in his room and he enjoys building things with them. 

Gaby baby, please don't grow up too fast my cuddly sweetheart.

Just Becuz...

...I am happy that much was accomplished this week with the help of a wonderful hourly, drop off daycare that is very reasonable. Relishing the long wait at my medical appointment, I was able to read Time magazine in peace.  I read that I am an introvert and introverts aren't supposed to be called shy or something.  It means we introverts are overwhelmed and thereby overstimulated by certain social functions (check) and that we also don't do so well in groups because we need time to think (check, check, check).  But then I had to stop reading because the darn doctor interrupted my peace to give me the good news that those pesky ovarian cysts have disappeared.  Yippee.  I can't wait til my next appointment...maybe I'll see the podiatrist and dentist sans kids next time, or I can drop off the boys and hang out at a book store for a couple hours even if I don't buy anything. Yes!

Testosterhome

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.

An Afternoon At the Museum

For Christmas, Uncle Sergio & Auntie Kyla got our family a membership to the children's science museum here in Columbus, known as COSI.  What a unique and generous gift to give to a family...they also gave my other brother a membership to a new children's museum in Dallas.

At the Gadgets area of the museum Gaby is the one who most would enjoy this section for obvious reasons.  He used tools to build something and to destroy take things apart, while Christian and Jojo shot baskets.  Around the corner I was able to view videos on factories.  I saw how ice cream was made and other interesting processes.

In the huge Little Kidspace there are many places to climb and toys to build.  This area is great for the parents to relax while the kids run around in a safe enclosed place, and older kids can hang out and play games in a different space so they don't get mixed up with the little ones running around.  Jojo found the trains, so we were here for awhile.

The Ocean area waterfalls were fun for the kids who ended up getting soaked when they tried to connect different pipes to get the water flowing in certain directions.

Jojo was determined to wait in line so he could go inside this little yellow submarine.

There is also another area where you can experience the motions and sounds of a different submarine as it crawls along the ocean floor viewed through the windows.  My stomach couldn't take it so I could only stay for a little while...it's that real. Dragging Jojo out to see the other exhibits was difficult.

Here Jojo takes command of the Dora the Explorer spaceship. 

The inner courtyard has a little house.  I'm fascinated by these tiny spaces, so much so that I have a link to the right for the Tiny House blog.  The Life Exhibit was also one of my favorites. One day we soon we will visit the giant movie theatre; Gaby wants to see Toronado Alley. Should be a blast, as long as the seats don't move while we watch the movie!

"Diversity Is..."

Christian's picture was chosen recently for his grade group at school for the PTA art show, and the theme is "Diversity Is..." I wonder how diversity was explained to his class. In his picture it shows Christian fishing with Mike and his brothers.  I especially like the eagle and the curly clouds. We were allowed to vote for his picture and we'll see if it gets selected to the next level.

End of 2011 Holidays

Just a couple minutes before I captured this photo, the cattle were lined up in perfect formation just behind that fence while Christian jumped and danced wildly.  I guess when the animals realized they were not going to be fed, they lost interest and mozied off.  I photographed Christian still doing the Cow Dance while Gaby and Jojo look on. 

The past couple of months were busy for all of us.  We spent Thanksgiving with Nana and Papa in Tennessee. First we spent that day with Papa's parents and family and ate too much.  Then we saw Aunt Linda, Memaw Lou and Poppy Clo and we ate too much.  Then Nana had her family over on another day and we ate too much.  It was a fun week!

 Christmas Parade

There's always something going on within walking distance.  One night there was a Christmas parade and caroling to kick off the season.

MIKE'S BIRTHDAY

Grandpa Kenny, Karen and Uncle Ryan came for a nice visit to celebrate Mike's birthday. We're glad Ryan got to come before he leaves for the Marines this spring! 

CHRISTMAS IN NEW MEXICO

It was time for another road trip and we headed to NM.  We had a great drive until we reached Tucumcari and had to stop for a couple hours before they opened the highway because of snow into Albuquerque.

Grandma, Aunt Patsy and Aunt Tonie (retired Sr. Marie Evelyn) came for Christmas Eve dinner.  While the adults were eating in the dining room, Jojo was playing with a music box and came to tell Grampa his frustration.

Jojo:  "Gwampa, I was playing with the music box and it bwoke and I said, 'Dammit, I have to fix it!'"

Everyone at the table paused with forks in midair.  Aunt Patsy said it's the first time she's seen both Mike and I with red faces of embarrassment.  We all started to laugh, but Grandpa got the biggest kick out of it.  Yaya said, "I think the word you're looking for is 'darn it'."  Grampa commented, "He is home with Mama most of the day...."  Mike said he must've learned it in 'homeschool...' and so on. 

Trader Joe-Joe's cookies for Jojo

The kids got to open their presents after dinner and they received nice toys.  Nana and Papa mailed them the funniest laughing dog that actually rolls and twists around giggling, especially when you try to find the off switch on its belly!

Gaby woke us up at 7:00 am the next morning to see what Santa brought for each of them.  They seemed pleased with their scooters, which was a relief.

That evening we all went to Tanya and Darren's for dinner and we had our white elephant gift exchange.  There were lots of screaming kids having fun and a good time was had by all.  Wish I had taken more pictures!

COUSINS COME FOR A VISIT

Daniela has lost her two front teeth and now has a cute lisp when she speaks.
Wah! I didn't get a picture of our nephew Anthony.

Simone's preschool photo (3 years old)

Jaime, Jeanne, Daniela and Anthony came to visit for the week.  One afternoon, we had a girl's lunch with Yaya, Jeanne, Daniela and I.  It was so nice to spend time with my little niece.  The boys also had a boy's lunch with Grampa.

We also got to see our friends another evening when we had them over.  There were still a couple people I didn't have a chance to see, but next summer I'll hopefully have a longer visit.  I also missed seeing my brother Sergio, Kyla and my darling niece, Simone.  We may get to see them next summer, too.

And then it was time to leave the beautiful blue skies of NM and head back east.  We left on New Year's Eve and were able to get past Tulsa by early evening so the boys would have time for a swim.  On the way to NM, we had to stop at an urgent care in Tulsa because Gaby had an ear infection (Jojo already had one a few days prior and was on antibiotics).  We had a good trip with our good travelers, even without our dvd player which no longer works. 

Here are a few things I'm thankful for:

1.  Potty-trained (almost 100%) boys

2.  Good family and friends

3.  A nice place to live

4.  Safe road trips

5.  My mom's health recovery

6.  Anti-anxiety pills

7.  My boys, my boys, my boys

A few things I hope for 2012:

1.  Get accepted to graduate program

2.  Freelance writing opportunities

3.  Move somewhere soon

4.  Settle somewhere soon

5.  Learn from my mistakes

6.  Be a better person

7.  Pray more, love more, hope more, despair less

Happy New Year!

Mating, Interrupted

With Christian's interest in all things found in nature, Mike got him this caterpillar cage.  Well, it was supposed to be for the caterpillars, but then he and his friend put a monarch butterfly and a few ladybugs in there.  They added some lovely flowers and a bowl filled with cottonballs soaked with water for the butterfly. 

Christian thinks we should have an animal shelter to help all creatures so they can mate and then we can take care of the babies. I disagree.  When he's a park ranger or zoologist or something like that then he can pursue that goal. He knows the word 'mates' and he understands that it has to do with having babies. 

Recently Christian told me that he saw two squirrels mating.  How did they do that, I asked.  "They rubbed each other's noses and then they swished their tails around."  That's good enough for me.

I convinced him that butterflies don't belong in such a small cage, so the lovely creature was freed.  But then so were the now dead caterpillars.  And I'd hoped to see them, especially the green one which was supposed to be a moth.  We always talk about how each living creature, even if it's just an earthworm, and each person has a purpose in life. 

"What's the purpose of a penis?" he asked yesterday. "Is it to have sex or something?"

It's amusing how Christian likes to ask 'big' questions in a casual manner.  It seems that his older friends have given him a little too much information.

"Why, yes, there are two purposes for a penis: mating and peeing.  Some of that sex stuff you'll hear more about when you are older," I told him.  "You don't need to talk about it too much with your friends yet because you're only 8 years old.  But if you have any questions -- any at all -- come to me or Dad and we'll answer them for you when the time is right." He nodded his head and that was that (for now).  I also reminded him not to talk about his or anyone else's privates because it's private. It's a broken record routine, but one that I hope sinks in. "It's not appropriate," I added.

Christian is aware that somewhere around 5th grade he'll have the big sex education talk at school.  Thank you, neighborhood boys, for keeping him abreast of such important news.

I feel like lately I'm catching glimpses of a pubescent Christian.  Today after school he gave me some momentous news: "Mom, I have something to tell you, but you're not going to like it."

"I'm sure I'll live.  Tell me," I said.

Christian breathlessly told me, "A GIRL likes me. She told her friend and her friend told me." She is the one he helped at the skating rink yesterday by rolling her to her mother after his classmate had fallen.

Me: "Why would I be upset about that?"

Christian: "Because I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend."

Me: "She's not your girlfriend, Christian.  Did you ask her on a date?  No.  She's a friend who happens to think you're cute, and that's ok."

Christian: "But I'm not allowed to have a girlfriend until I'm a teenager, right?" This is something I've been telling him since birth; not really, just since kindergarten. 

Me: "Maybe you'll be allowed to, but it's best not have a girlfriend for a really long time. And even then, it's best to have a group of friends you spend time with who are both girls and boys."

Christian: "When I'm about 15?" He needs to know the magic number.

Me: "I haven't decided yet, but it'll be a long time from now."

Plenty for him to ponder these days.