Raising a Latino Male and Female

Every day I think of the awesome responsibility that we have been given to raise two children, but especially a Latino boy. When I hear reports like this one, "Report Examines the Health and Education of Latino Boys and Young Men" on Houston Matters I think about that responsibility even more.

Seth is a 7th grade Latino boy. His father and I are divorced but we are very much on the same page about how we want to raise our children. We want for them to be strong, smart and educated. We want for them to be good people that will do the right thing, even if we aren't watching.

I'm proud of both of my kids. My daughter has always been a great kid since she was a baby. In some ways I think we just expect for her to do well because she always has. I have to remind myself that by doing that we are placing a big responsibility on her shoulders. So I tell her how proud I am as much as I can so that she knows how much I love and appreciate her.

We have come so far with Seth from those early days of elementary school when we struggled with his behavior and we couldn't understand what was happening to him. We didn't know that he had ADHD and was a high functioning Aspergers. When we finally understood this it made all the difference on how we worked with him. By fifth grade his assistant principal said she couldn't believe he was the same boy who had constantly been in her office the year before. So sometimes I think that the victory is even sweeter with him. To see him transition into the young man he is now in middle school in the Vanguard program has been so rewarding.

It also makes me sad when I think of all the young Latino males who don't have the support system they need to help make them successful. I hate that young Latino men become a statistic and I will work so hard to make sure my son is not.

I know the challenge isn't over yet and that we have to keep working on both of these kids. Two and a half more years for Miranda and Five and half for Seth to be exact. I am on a mission and a plan to make these two kids successful and hard-working adults. If that means sacrificing a little part of my life to do it that's okay with me. When I signed up to be a parent I knew that was in the job-description and I have never regretted this job once in my life. I tell my kids that thus far they are my greatest accomplishment in life and they are.

Summer Lovin' Happened So Fast

Yes, we are less than one month away from the first day of school now. We are exactly 4 weeks away, to the day. The summer flew by. Miranda finished her five week summer school schedule at Kinkaid EMSI and she was invited back for her third summer. We were thrilled for her! She made it to the final 20 who will complete the courses next summer. For their final summer they apply for internships in math, science and engineering.

Me, super sweaty after a run in the Houston humidity.

In other Summer News:

I grew up in Houston and I know Houston summers, so what compelled me to start running outside this summer is beyond me. However I've done it and I've survived! Of course there's still August, which is considered the hottest month of the year here.

I started my whole exercise thing exactly 3 months ago today so it's an anniversary of sorts. I started running one block and walking one block on June 5. Then on July 19, just a week ago, I started running two blocks and walking one block. I'm going to keep doing this for a month and then I'll start running three blocks. At least that's the plan. I'm training for a 5K run in the fall!! I'm thinking the MECA Day of the Dead Run but we will see if I'm ready for one before that one on October 30.

I went back to look at old blog posts and the last time I ran was 8 years ago!!! Even then, it was running inside a gym on a treadmill and nothing like this. This is running on a whole new level!

The thing is this. This can't be a temporary thing. This has to be a lifestyle change or I will end up a diabetic on Metformin for the rest of my life, ruining my liver. OR on insulin because that will be it and I'll be at the point of no return and I will definitely have a very short life that will end before 70. I like to compare it to this. When I was in my 20s it was "Last call for alcohol and now it's Last call for health." THIS is it! This is the last chance for my health and if I don't do it now it's never going to happen.

Vacation:

After 10 months at my new job, not so new now, I am finally taking a full one week vacation. Since I'm still not rich I had to do the most affordable thing that was still interesting. Day trips with me packing a lunch for the day. We are going to Washington on the Brazos, the Beach of course because it's summer, and finally either museums or another day trip nearby. Then the kids are off to San Antonio for a week to visit the grandparents. I'm planning on going to pick them up and going to the caverns on the way back. We've been wanting to do that for a while.

When we get back that only leaves two full weeks for shopping for uniforms and school supplies. Then it's Back to School time before we know it.

Yes, Summer lovin' definitely happened so fast....

Next stop- Middle School & High School

Today I find out where my two children will be going to high school and middle school. Yes, that little girl who I blogged about nine years ago when she was taking the Vanguard test for the first time is about to go to high school. And that little boy who was just born 11 years ago (in April) is going to middle school. We are playing the waiting game today!

Last year at the Rodeo carnival on the death machine that takes you across the park.

This year the application process was all online so all the parents are receiving email notifications starting at 4 p.m. today. I can barely stand it! I have been keeping busy at work and I worked on some lacrosse charity stuff during lunch, but I keep watching the clock. I know the kids are thinking about it at school today too.

Miranda applied to four high schools and I applied to about six schools for Seth. I am praying that Miranda gets her first and second choice schools and I am praying that one of the schools with a great Magnet program accepts Seth. He has made so much progress this year and he needs a good school where he can continue to thrive and grow.

As a mom it's so heart-wrenching when your kids don't get accepted into a program or a school they want. It's the first step in that realization that you can't protect them from everything, from heartache and disappointment. It's a learning experience for me as a mom too. It's part of learning about life for them and about reality. It's also a lesson about how we have to work hard to get what we want in life. I wish my babies the best today. 

When it Rains it Pours! Especially for me...

The week started on Monday with a super early meeting/half day training and then a late in the day meeting too. I still wasn't feeling well and could not shake my cold/allergies. (Thank goodness it's gone now!)

Image from flickriver.com

The busy schedule continued Tuesday and Wednesday at work getting things done and trying to balance it all. Thursday was especially challenging because I had work in the morning, I had to take the kids to the dentist, and then I was attending a UH event that night.

As I was leaving the kids' school, after picking them up to go to the dentist, I tripped coming off the sidewalk and was catapulted into the air. Literally! I flew like Superman in my short black dress on to the cement driveway of the school, and landed straight down on my stomach. My lovely daughter came to me and first pulled my dress down so I wouldn't continue flashing the children on the playground, and then helped me up. I was in pain but I was able to get up and move. My right knee and elbow scraped and my right arm sore. I definitely hit harder on my right side. Both my hands were slightly skinned. Such a typical ME! But as my bff has pointed out, I'm getting older and I can't keep falling that way.

Despite the fall I made it to the dentist in time with the children and then turned back around to drop them off with my niece so she could watch them while I went to the UH selling program's graduation. Their dad was picking them up after work and keeping them for the evening.

By the time Friday came around I was tired and sore from my fall. I had a very early meeting at UH and as I hurried to get there on time I got a warning on my SUV dashboard that my transmission was going out, something that I've suspected for a while now. I quickly exited to downtown and parked it in our garage. I would much rather do that than break down on the back streets of UH.

I still had a luncheon I had to attend for work but thank goodness my editor was going to that too. I caught a ride with her and when I got back I started on my adventure of picking up the kids, taking my SUV to the shop, getting a ride back to my sister's house from my other sister, and borrowing my niece's car. (she is out of town)

The trick with that car was that she had a flat recently and needed a new tire. I considered that buying her a tire and filling up her tank was way cheaper than renting a car, which I may still have to do next week, depending on when my car is going to be done. So that's what I did. I feel like it was very appropriate that I ended the day with two margaritas. I earned them.

I hate to imagine what it's going to cost me to fix that piece of crap SUV. I am really considering taking it to trade it in this time. I can't afford to keep fixing that clunker if all it's going to do is keep breaking down every few years. Ugh!

Then today I had to wake up early to take Miranda to her Open House for her new middle school. I decided to be good and to go to the gym since I was already out and about and practically down the street. That is all I did in the way of being productive today.

It's like some drug came upon my body, or maybe it was fatigue from the whole week, and I passed out and slept for five hours straight!! It was insane. I have never done anything like that before. It was very weird but it told me I must have been very tired. Unfortunately I also feel like I slept through the weekend. I know I still have tomorrow but it's not the same as a Saturday. I just hope that the sleep really was needed and that it means that my body has recuperated and I'm ready for a great week.

Good things are around the corner!! I keep telling myself that and I know that it has to be true.

World's Best Mom

We all know I'm the world's best mom. I do all kind of great things for my kids and as a someecard says, I "give them love, nurturing, and just as much dysfunction to make them funny."

The Kids with Copernicus, the Homicidal Monkey

So I'm at the Bloggess' reading at Blue Willow Bookstore on Tuesday night for her new book, "Let's Pretend This Never Happened" and my niece and the kids went with me. The kids were so excited when they saw that Copernicus had made the trip too so I took this picture of them.

A guy and a girl that worked at the shop were cracking up at their antics and because they knew who Copernicus was. I told them that yes I let them read The Bloggess sometimes, because I'm a bad mother like that, but I figure they will exposed to things anyway in life. They agreed and while I clicked the picture I heard them laughing at how silly my children are and I overheard one of them say that when they see kids with that kind of sense of humor it gives them hope for the future. Awww!!

I thought at first that they would hear Jenny read but as it turned out the reading was outside and only my daughter went outside with me to hear her for a few minutes. She cracked up loudly the whole time and people kept turning and looking at us because yes, my daughter is loud like me. Go figure! The kids then spent the rest of the time inside looking at children's books while I waited forever to get my book signed (yes that many people showed up to hear the Bloggess)

The next day we had a parent-teacher-principal conference. Afterwards I asked Seth to tell the teacher and assistant principal what we did the day before. I'm all thinking that it will make me sound like a great mother that I take my kids to hear authors read. (never mind that Jenny uses the F word a lot)

He told them that we went to a reading and I pulled up this picture on my phone. Then he tells  them that he had seen Copernicus and  they were confused and said that Copernicus had died a long time ago. So he clarified that Copernicus was a "homicidal monkey."

At that point they both looked at me with concern in their eyes and I knew then that they knew that yes, I am the problem, because I expose children to inappropriate things. I felt like saying, "Don't mind us, we'll be leaving now." I gathered up Seth and we ran out of there.

There's a reason why my kids have a unique sense of humor. When my daughter asked me today what was my favorite word my reply as I drifted off to sleep was, "Macabre."

Reflections and Updates on Life

I wish I had something really deep and meaningful to share with all of you, but I don't really. At least nothing that hasn't already been said before or recently.

My husband made an interesting observation today. Our son could very well be Asian at heart. He loves fish, egg rolls, and red chicken. I cracked up because it was all true. Our daughter loves Chinese food too, but I just think that's because I ate so much Chinese and Vietnamese food when I was pregnant with them.

Today when I was on the freeway driving between our two offices I saw a big beautiful butterfly up high on the overpass and I thought it was such a funny and uncommon sight. I wondered what the butterfly was doing up so high and over a freeway. It reminded me of the butterfly in You've Got Mail that goes inside the subway.

Tomorrow I'm going to my college Homecoming. It's been years since I've been to one and lately I've been feeling kind of bad for not having better school spirit for my Alma mater, especially when they are doing so well in football. So tomorrow is the day I will revisit my old university stomping grounds. I'm even going to tailgate! I've never done that before. Should be interesting and fun. To do something like that I reached out to my college friends who I know have the most school spirit for instructions. I'll let y'all know how it goes. I may even post pictures of me in my UH t-shirt. But I WON'T be wearing a mum! LOL! Remember those? I used to love mums when I was in high school.

Speaking of Alma maters, I found out yesterday that one of my old high school classmates, and member of the football team, passed away. Apparently he had very serious diabetes and he'd lost an eye and part of his foot. AT THIRTY-NINE!! Amazing! I can't believe people my age are starting to die from diseases. Usually it's a car accident. Makes you think of your life and your health.

And speaking of healthy people, living long and car accidents. Many of you ask me about my dad and wonder how he's doing after that horrible beating that he received almost a year ago. He has recovered really well from his hip replacement surgery and walks almost 100% normal. There is a very slight limp there, but it's almost impossible to detect. He also started driving again. He never stopped driving because someone told him he couldn't drive. It was self-imposed. Many people don't know that so they are always shocked when I tell them that he's driving. Two of my sisters have been brave enough to ride with him and they report that he drives OK. Thank goodness!

Okay. I'm about to make a decision about the house. We are either going to knock it down and rebuild or we're going to seriously remodel. Something has got to happen in 2010. I mean, I want to get something started first thing in January or sooner. (is that a word?) I need to figure out where we'll live if we knock down. I still wish Rey would agree to build a garage apartment or cottage first so we can have somewhere to live. Then later we can either 1. Rent it out, 2. His parents can live behind us or 3. My father can live with us as he gets older. The man will be 86 in March.

Another thing. My weight is standing completely still. It doesn't want to go anywhere. I think it's because I'm going to be forty. It's probably because I drink too much. But I have this terrible fear that if I don't lose more weight soon it will be even more impossible to lose it after forty. I'm tired of saying I'm going to do something about it. I really need to do something soon. Like in the next four months soon! Wow, I've been using the word "soon" a lot today.

I've lost 40-45 lbs since 2007, but I would really like to lose more. Always more! I think the best thing about losing weight is that people are saying I look younger. Thus the dreaded forty doesn't seem so bad if I'm a smaller forty year old.

My son has been doing beautifully in school, I am happy to report. He has his good days and his bad days, but for the most part he is doing really well. He's learning! And that's the most important part. He went on his first ever field trip on Tuesday to the Oil Ranch. I chaperoned. It was a blast and I was tired too.

My daughter is still the big ol'nerd like me but way smarter. She is so self-disciplined. It's beautiful!

Okay, so that's it for me. I have blogged. I need to blog more I know. I need to think of a better topic next time, but it's good to update you all on my life every once in a while. That's why I started this blog five years ago anyway.

Three More Days Until Vacation

But who's counting? Me? Nah! Of course it's really only one more full day of work until vacation. Woo Hoo! I am so out of here. I can hardly wait! I hadn't gotten so excited because I don't think I had really thought about it much. But now as the days get closer I'm making plans and looking forward to not having to wake up early for work for a whole week.

The other thing I am starting now, before the crazy mad rush to the gym by half the city, is working out again. I have so fallen off the wagon it's not even funny. So today is my first day back and I am going to pummel this body into shape! I've lost 45 lbs but I sure need to do some reshaping and firming up. Watch out!

I'm getting excited about doing a few fun activities with the kids. I wrote about some of them on skirt!

Speaking of skirt! I will hopefully have something publishing on the local Houston page very soon! And I will definitely have a give-away on there of a great new book. Stay tuned!

The Latest in My Life

Literary Mama

I submitted an essay in response to a great essay to Literary Mama as a writing prompt but alas I wasn't chosen. However if you want to read the one I submitted you can read it at skirt!

Beaver's


I've discovered a new restaurant that I really like. I just wish I could eat more to enjoy more things on the menu. I've only had a few things so far. I finally got back and tried the cocktails last night. Very yummy! Check out my reviews on skirt! There are two, the one about the restaurant and the one about the drinks.


Daddy

Dad is getting better but he wants to go home now. He isn't happy at my sister's house and he doesn't want to come stay with me either. My other sister told him point blank that he has no choice until he's better. He wasn't happy. Poor Daddy, but we can't risk him falling by himself at his house and not being able to call anyone to come help him.


Son

I forgot to blog about how the other morning he was about to brush his teeth and wash his face and he was holding a little Hot Wheels car in his hand. He looked around the sink at all the wet area and he couldn't figure out where to put his car. I was standing next to him in my bra and panties.


So he looks over at my boobs in his face and says, "Can I just put this right here?" pointing at my cleveage.


"Uh no," I answered and of course I cracked up. He's too much!


Daughter


Oh goodness! Paybacks are Heck! She is seven years old and she's already a big ol' Miss Know It All. I get very frustrated with her, especially when helping her with homework. It takes all that I have not to lose it with her and sometimes I do and I tell her I'm just not going to help her since she already knows all the answers. I know that sounds really immature of me, but I really need to find the patience to deal with someone just like me. LOL!


Me and Technology


Technology hates me. My sister's answering machine never answers for me when I call her house. I can call from different phones and that answering machine always knows it's me. I do not lie. It answers for everyone else, but not for me. It even answered for my husband when he called her back from his phone.


I accidentally put Caller Tunes on my cell phone and you would have thought for the past two days that I was in high school. First some awful song was playing and when I couldn't delete it I went ahead and chose a song that I liked at least, Pretty in Pink by the Psychedelic Furs. Caller Tunes is that feature that most phones have for callers who are calling in. Instead of hearing the traditional ring your callers will hear a song of your choice. I tried to delete it to no avail. I even went online and followed the instructions on TMobile. Finally I gave in and called them. The woman who answered had a great sense of humor. She thought it was hilarious. She removed it immediately for me.


So basically technology hates me. I'm going to finish cleaning my house now.

My Kids & My Dad

Me: Where did we park? 12 or 13?
Daughter: You mean I2 or I3?
Me: NO! 12 or 13!
Daughter: Mommy! If that's J1 & J2 then that has to be I2 and I3!! (Parking Areas at my dad's hospital)
Me: Oh, yeah, you're right....
Darn! Why does she have to be so smart and analytical? She's only seven!

Daughter: You don't know what's going on in my head.
Son: I know what's in your head.
Daughter: What?
Son: A maniac!

OK. He's only four and he has great comedic timing. Not only are my kids smarter than me, they are also funnier.

My dad in referring to the guy who jumped him and beat him.
"He jumped on me like a lion running and pouncing on his prey!"
Even in these dark circumstances my father does not fail to provide the great imagery. He is too funny! I know! It was sad but at least my dad can be funny about it too. What else is there left to do?

Beautiful Girl & Boy

I love this picture of my daughter. My step-daughter took it at Club Libby Lu. She is such a cutie!

In all fairness to my son, here is one of him too. He is a beautiful boy!

I wrote a review of my cousin Sylvia's restaurant over at skirt! Check it out.

Why is motherhood such a crazy balancing act? Why is it so hard for me to do all the things that I'm supposed to do and more? I can barely get them bathed, fed, educated (my part), and entertained. I feel like it is so much sometimes. I've been feeling really overwhelmed lately. I need to stop and breathe. I need a trip to NYC!

I'm off to organize their school uniforms, socks, and shoes for the week. I also need to get my daughter to take a quick shower and to bed. AND I need to read to my son.

The Artist and the Rope Jumper

Daughter: Mommy come to the kitchen and see what I'm doing.
Me: OK, what?
Daughter: Watch me jump rope!
Me: Can you jump with both your feet together?
Daughter: Yeah, but right now I'm jumping like this.
Me: Give me the rope. Let me show you.
Daughter: (looking at me dubiously) Uh... Ok
I jumping rope and then I hand it back to her and she's looking at me in shock.
Me: You didn't know I could jump rope?
Daughter: No. Ok.. but watch me, Ok?

Later I tell my husband.
"I'M shocked that you can jump rope."
Thanks a lot!

(can't remember how we got to this conversation)
Me: (holding up a small print of one of Diego Rivera's famous flower paintings)
Who do you think painted this?
Son: Diego Rivera
Me: Very good! Where else have you seen these flowers?
Son: (thinks but can't remember) Are they honeysuckles?
Me: No, but come here and see. (We walk to my bedroom together)
He sees the print of the nude with the calla lilies.
Son: Hey! Those are the same flowers!
Me: Yes, they are called calla lilies.
We walk around the house after this and he points at different prints.
Son: Who painted that?
Me: VanGogh
(he repeats the name)
Son: And that? (pointing at another one)

Me: Degas

(he repeats this name)

Then he goes and finds a notebook and a pen and he starts to draw.

Son: Look Mommy! I drew a stink bug and a lady bug. I'm an artist!

Daughter comes out of the kitchen and looks too.
Daughter: I think Brother is an artist and I'm a rope jumper.

Enough with all the Hurricane Stuff

Remember this yellow dress? I posted a picture in it a while back and it didn't used to close all the way. I wore a white tank top under it that time. Now it does. So here's an update of my slow but sure progress. I'm still down almost 40 lbs. More like 38 lbs but I want to say officially 40 soon.

I do not mean that enough with the hurricane business in an insensitive way at all. I just mean that I feel like my life has been in some crazy limbo since this crazy hurricane blew through here last week. I think a big part of it is that the kids are out of school. It makes me feel off schedule. Thank goodness my sister and mother-in-law have been able to help me with the kids. My sister kept them one day and my mother-in-law kept them the other days.

Another reason that this hurricane was a huge inconvenience is that my son was having such a difficult time with school. The last couple of days he had just started getting used to it and now when he goes back we are going to have to start all over again. Back to square one with him.

Thank goodness my daughter is very self-motivated. I will have no problem at all with her. I wish my son was just like her but I know that's very unrealistic of me to even say. I love him with his own unique challenging personality traits. I have to! He's mine.

I have been so off schedule with two important things in my life lately. Exercise and writing. I have not been doing either one. So I've made a list of three projects I'm going to work on that are due in the next two months. One is due October 1, another October 31 and the other November 30. That way I've given myself some goals to work towards. I need to do it that way.

P.S. Fall really has arrived in Houston after the hurricane. The nights are in the 60s!

I'm Not Dead!

That's kind of a morbid headline, especially since I just went by the cemetery to check on my mom and sister's tombstones today. Weird, huh??

Anyway, I have been totally here just SO BUSY with work and life and everything else in between. We had our district convention in Cypress last weekend and we were super busy.

Here's a photo Rey took of me smiling too big. You can even see my back molars. Or as one of my sisters has said to me, "my crazy smile." You be the judge. Do I look a little batty?

My step-daughter is also visiting from New Orleans/Metairie so we've been trying to do some stuff with her. Wednesday we took her downtown to see Discovery Green, then we took her to Cabo for dinner.

While we were at Discovery Green we saw a really interesting exercise class going on. The guy was playing some Indian sounding music so we started to sway to the music. But the best part was watching my two crazy kids just dance to the music, like no one was watching. It was great to see how un-shy (is that a word?) and uninhibited they are. They rock!

So there we all were dancing around to the music on the sidewalk as people passed us by. Me, my step-daughter, and both the little ones. There was a whole group of people coming from the Microsoft convention and cutting through the park. We heard all these different languages being spoken as they walked by. And the people would smile at us as we danced around. I loved it and I was so proud of my kids in that moment. I wanted to hold that moment and save the feeling in a bottle.

So My Son Peed in My Trash Can

I'm eating dinner tonight and I hear my son calling, "Mommy, I'm done!" or so I thought.

I thought to myself, "Oh great!" but then again as a mother of two I have become accustomed to wiping butts in the middle of a meal and then going right back to eating. Gross, I know, but I really try not to think about it.

I got up and went looking for my son, but he wasn't in the restroom. "Where are you?" I asked.

"In here!" I heard him say. He was inside my bedroom.

I pushed open the door to find him with his pants down to his ankles and with a look on his face that told me, "I know exactly what I just did."

"WHAT did you do?" I asked anyway, knowing full well the answer.

"I went pee-pee in your trash can!" he said pointing proudly at the trash can, "It went down down down."

I yelled his name and then I yelled, "REY! Come here! Come see what your son has done!"

He got up reluctantly, because he could just imagine what was up.

When he asked him why he peed in my trash can his answer was a very crazy, "I couldn't make it!"

"The restroom is just a few feet from the bedroom! You know you could have made it!" and then he went on to get after him. I could tell he was trying real hard not to laugh. I on the other hand was not being successful.

While I let him get after our son I went into my bedroom and closed the door and laughed so hard. I couldn't help it. It was freaking hilarious! Who wouldn't laugh at that?

Squirrel Blood

Every morning I make my son a chocolate milk and I place the sippy cup on the pillow next to him. He wakes up and drinks his milk. Sometimes he gets up and sometimes he keeps sleeping when he's done. Some days he doesn't even wake up to drink the milk until I'm putting him in his car seat.

This morning when he woke up and reached for his chocolate milk I said, "Let me shake that for you," because it had been sitting for a while and I knew that the chocolate had settled to the bottom of the cup.

"No!" he screamed.

"Why not? You are so silly!" I said, "It is the exact same chocolate milk you always drink and that I always shake when I make it for you. It will taste the same."

"No it won't!" he insisted but he took a drink anyway. After taking a drink he made a face and screamed, "It tastes like... like... squirrel blood!"

"Give me that milk," I said, wondering when in the world he had tasted squirrel blood.

I took it and put in in the fridge. Before leaving I said, "Do you want me to give you another chocolate milk that I made?"

"Yes!" he said.

On the way out the door I carried him and I opened the refrigerator with one hand. I took the exact same chocolate milk out and handed it to him. He didn't ask and I didn't tell. He drank it just fine.

Report Card Celebration

Tonight I had to go to a reunion planning meeting. I had such a good time with the girls that showed up. We had some good laughs going down memory lane.

Afterwards I went to pick up the kids at my sister's house and my daughter told me it was report card day. I didn't even remember! Actually, I don't remember seeing anything about it in the take home paperwork. She got straight A's again for the second 9 weeks! I was so proud of her! I told her that even though it was late we would go by Starbucks to celebrate.

As soon as we got there my son said, "I want to go inside!" I called my husband and told him we were stopping at Starbucks to wreak havoc and bother the poor unsuspecting customers who were quietly reading inside. And we did.

One poor man, who was trying to read, left after my son decided to go sit on the "tall chair" next to him and was trying to make conversation with him. Meanwhile my son kept ignoring the poor woman who was sitting next to us, who was trying to make conversation with him.

We didn't stay long but it was a nice little stop on the way home. My daughter was asleep by the time we got home. My son isn't of course.

I sent some pictures of them to a friend in Seattle today and she said they looked like they have a lot of personality. I told her they have HUGE personalities and they are fearless.

A few days ago we had dinner at Cafe Express and we were in line in front of a police officer. He kept chuckling at things my son was saying and doing. Finally my son turns around and lightly pokes him in the stomach. The policeman really laughed then and said, "That's assault on a police officer." Crazy boy!

It's Friday night and I just had coffee, against my better judgement. I'm taking a shower and going to bed soon.

Pictionary With a Six 1/2 Year Old

Play Pictionary with a 6.5 year old. It really gives you a different perspective. It was pretty funny!

My husband and I played Pictionary with my daughter today for the first time. It was so hilarious to see the things she would draw. She was right on the money sometimes. Other times she was drawing what made total sense to her but we had no idea what it was. When she'd tell us what she was drawing we were amazed at her insight. She was also really good at guessing what I was drawing.

Keep in mind that we didn't draw whatever came up next on the cards. We kept picking until we found something that she would know. She did the same thing when it was her turn to draw. She kept pulling cards until she knew what something was. It worked out really well and we had some good laughs. Try it. You'll enjoy it.

My Son the Rock Star

I'm so excited! My son is starting to enjoy hearing me read to him. He's asking for me to read to him more and more and I really hope that means he's going to be a reader like my daughter. Last night I was reading something online and he kept asking me to sing, "Sing a Song of Sixpence" to him. Then we went to bed and I read his new Diego book to him.

He's such a character! He's also starting to pick up on another one of my daughter's funny traits. He's starting to make up songs. His latest one is called, "Rock and Roll Babies." This is the same little boy who told me a couple of months ago with a straight face, "I used to be a rock star." Ay a yay! What do I have on my hands??!! Both my children have huge personalities.

My Kids

A friend, who's never met my kids and lives in another city, asked me recently what my kids are like. Here's an example.

The 3 year old boy says to me, "I used to be a Rock Star, but now I'm a little boy."

I told my husband so he asked him about it. He confirmed to him that yes, he was in fact a Rock Star once.

We crack up. He's something else.

My daughter is totally me. She's loud and talkative and not shy at all. She introduces herself to everyone without any fear at all. We were at a meeting for writers and artists and I took her with me.

We were meeting people and she says, "HI! I'm "Magenta*" and this is my mother Loida. I'm an artist and she's a writer." Just like that. No hesitation what-so-ever. Sometimes I think she's even more gutsy than me. She's definitely smarter than I was at her age.

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.