mango_chango's Journal

Mateo
His birthday is coming up. I told him to think about what he'd like for a present. His wishlist:

a hang glider
a pottery wheel
a kiln

We're talking about realistic expectations now.

Oh, and today he admonished me, "Mama, be sure to eat a variety of foods so that Ruby Jo [the baby] will grow up to like variety."

My kids are not the same
I told the kids to clean their room. Mateo cleaned up, stuffing everything in the shelves not neatly but efficiently, while Rio (to Mateo's disgust) lay on the bed and complained. I eventually came in and reorganized the shelves a bit and vacuumed.

Rio looked around and said, "Mama! Wow! If I had had any idea how nice it would look when it was clean, I would have helped!"

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Jim gave the kids fortune cookies today. On the way home I asked about their fortunes. Ilario said he'd thrown away the paper after looking at it, "...but the first word was spelled r-o-a-m."

Mateo said he'd forgotten about the fortune and eaten the cookie whole. After a bit of chewing he'd realized there was paper in his mouth, but "...but by then it was all mushed up and sweet so I left it in my mouth and swallowed it."

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I asked them what they want to be for Halloween. Mateo said, "A peacock with a huge tail! With some real feathers. Or a horny toad!" Rio said, "A zebra or a cockatoo since you've already made those costumes, unless I can be a butterfly again. But really I'll be anything that's easy, except I don't want to be a handyman again."

Brother sweet, brothers fight
Oh, boy, have they been pestering and fighting each other lately. Non-stop. And all of us have reviewed the things that have helped in the past yet we keep snapping to "Quit it!" "Grrr!" "Okay, separate rooms now!"

But sometimes they are so sweet. Another kid in Tukong had a birthday and brought cupcakes. When it was Rio's turn to take one, he declined, because he was sure Mateo couldn't have one. He said if Mateo could eat them, Teo could take two and give one to Rio.

And yesterday Rio wouldn't put his shoes on because he has a cut on his heel. We were about to cross a black street in the 100+ sun. Mateo said, "Oh Rio, you can't walk on that. You'll burn your feet. Here, I'll give you a piggyback ride."

Money
Me: Teo, why didn't you write your wishes down like everyone else in your class?
T: At first I couldn't think of any.
Me: That's good, I guess it means you're pretty happy.
T: And then I could think of a million wishes and couldn't choose.
Me: Tell me some wishes.
T: You know.
Me: Not really. Finding the last quarters?
T: No, I just have the territories left. I want to be a billionaire.
Me: Okaaay.. what would you do if you were a billionaire?
T: I think at first I'd scatter lots of money all over the floor. And maybe buy some big chunks of gold.
Me: But money is useful only because you can buy things and pay people with it. What would you do with the money? I might buy the house next door and move some friends in.
T: I'd buy the whole block, tear down most of the houses, and plant a forest. Plus a small section of grassland.

Insight into their little minds
Rio: Mama, how big are bombs?

Me: Lots of different sizes.

Rio: How big is the smallest?

Me: Oh, maybe the size of your hand.

Rio: And the biggest?

Me: As big as a long truck.

Rio: I want one as big as the world.

Me: Why? They're just used for destroying things and killing people.

Rio: I would use it to blow everyone to Fairyland!
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Is that like wanting to kill everyone to send them to Heaven? If Rio starts a cult, beware.

What makes Rio happy
Rio came home from Tukong with his water bottle in his hand. I gave him a Tin Tin book to look at. He settled on the couch and starting crowing, "I'm sooooo happy! This is just what I've always wanted! I've always wanted to read Tin Tin while sipping from my water bottle!"

Sorry China. Sorry California.
Rio says he is a fairy, so he is so strong he can pick up the whole planet.

"I stand in Fairyland and reach out and pick up the Earth with both hands. Sometimes I damage it a little. Those are earthquakes. People think it's just parts of the earth moving but really it's me."

Fun with acronyms
Teo likes to make up his own translation for acronyms he sees around. He notices a lot more of them than I do. For example, the telephone poles near our house say "CBA." Mateo has decided that stands for "Community of Bastrop Animators."

"FDC" on Guadalupe is " Federal Discovery of Calculus."

Rio likes kids
Poor thing, he doesn't get enough regular time with kids his age. He is often disappointed when we go to the park, because he only considers it a successful trip if he can find someone to play with - that is, someone besides me or Mateo.

When his friends do come over, he showers them with attention. He gives them his candy. He offers them food and drink and insists on serving them. He introduces people to them at Odd Friday. He is a very considerate if somewhat manic host.

After his guest has been plied with food and drink, he ushers her (most of his friends are girls) into his room and shuts the door, emerging periodically for help reaching things on high shelves, or to fetch water for his guest.

Rio's new favorite
I clicked a Joss Stone video on Youtube (Son of a Preacher Man).

Rio loves her. Watched several of her videos. Says she's "...a really really good singer. I want her to be my friend. I want her to sing forever."

Wonder what he'll think of Aretha....

updates
We've been having fun. Mateo had the week off from school, much to his dismay, but after a few days he settled into being home with his brother.

They've been such a joy lately, allowing us to do the things we didn't use to be able to do, like go to restaurants. And sit around reading while they by themselves.

Mateo biked to Barton Springs this morning with Joe and Carolyn. He was happy to get a ride back, though.

At school they were talking about electricity. The teacher asked for examples of things that use electricity. Mateo said, "Tesla coils!" He's been asking us to call Edwin and ask him to make a small one for Mateo. We had a little talk about all the reasons that would not happen.

Ilario is enjoying being out of school but I think he's missing his playmates. He wants to grow out his hair like Teo, which is a pity since it's summer.

Sad stories
Mateo came in as I was watching a very short film about a small robot who is created and plugged in and left alone for a minute. The robot wakes up, looks around, sees a bird out the window, tries to get to it but has too short of a power cord. Pulls and tries and finally unplugs, dashes towards the bird... and his power dies, eyes go dim.

Mateo's first comment in the opening moments was, "If I were making a robot like that, I'd give it a battery pack, not a cord!" Then he watched the whole thing and said, "Wow, that robot was really determined! Can I see it again?" I said sure, and went downstairs. He came down a few minutes later to get ready for bed.

"Mama," he called, as he changed clothes, voice a little quavery. "Mama, you know how sometimes I have a hard time?" Yes, I do. "That movie... at first I just thought it was really cool, but now I see that it was really sad."

He came in, face wet from tears, lay down and sobbed. "It's just that, he wanted to go out so badly, and he couldn't, and he almost made it! That made it worse. He was like a chicken living in a cage all his life, never able to leave."

And he cried and cried and cried.

Possesive
Rio arranged to marry CeCe months ago. Then around his birthday he proposed to another classmate, Helen. He reports that she told him only grown ups can marry, and he clarified that it was to be a long engagement, and then she agreed.

This changed his previous plan to marry CC, live with CC and Teo, and for CC to have a baby with Teo. He went through a phase of talking about pregnancy a lot because he can never give birth and that makes him sad, and so it pleases him to think about his best friend having a baby.

Then a week ago we went camping with Teo's school and one boy played with him all weekend, making sure he was included. Then last week two girls at the school played with him for half an hour during morning free time (when I sometimes hang out and talk with the kids or teacher).

So on the way home he told me he was planning to marry all of them - two 3 year old girls, two eight year old girls, and one eight year old boy.

Me: Rio, do you know that you don't have to marry everyone you live with? I live with Daddy and Silona but I'm only married to Daddy.
Rio: I know. But I want to marry all of them.
Me: Okay.... but why?
Rio (very serious): Because I don't want them to be able to marry anyone else. Or date anyone else!
Me: Um... but you're planning to marry a bunch of people. Is that fair?
Rio: Oh, they can marry each other too. But no one else.

Pyschic? I think not.
In bed:

Rio: Whenever you need me or want me, just think about it, and I'll think your thoughts, and I'll come to you.

Me: Really? You can hear my thoughts?

Rio: Yes.

Me: Wow. What am I thinking right now?

Rio: I know what you're thinking. But I'm not going to say.

Me: I see.

Rio: But I can see... I can see into your head. It's transparent to me.

Me: And what do you see?

Rio: Braaaiiinssss....

Me (laughing hard): Really?

Rio: Yes! I see something that looks like a rock but really it's your brains. And I can see your spinal cord. And your intestines. And your lungs. And the insides of your feet!

Sigh
Rio's preschool has a studio photographer come in and take pictures. If you bring a sibling they'll do sibling shots.

So the photographer was working hard, trying to get both my kids to smile at the same time. It isn't easy, I know. She tried some things that didn't work. "Say Chucky Cheese!" (confused looks). And then: "Say 'Girls are yucky!" Confused looks again.

We talked about it later (the boys and I; the photographer was still in the thick of it).

Me: She was trying to get you to smile. But I noticed some things confused you. Chucky Cheese is a place with pizza and games, so it would be like saying, "Say Radijazz!" And I guess she was being silly when she said to say girls are yucky.

Rio: But that was mean teasing.

Teo: No, it would have been mean teasing if she were a boy. But she's a girl, so it wasn't mean, it was just weird.

Kids update
Rio reveals his evil plans:

Rio: I'll PROVE it! I'll make a machine that will destroy all the children in the United States except for me!

Me:??? What will that prove?

Rio: It will destroy all the children! But not me!

Me: Yes, but what will that prove?

Rio: Then I will be the president of the United States of America!

( on showing the kids movies )

Magic powers
Rio: I try hard not to work magic on people.
Me: Oh?
Rio: Yeah.
Me: So you have magic powers but you don't use them?
Rio: Right.
Me: Why don't you use them?
Rio: Would you like to be turned into a frog? Or a scorpion?
Me: Not really.
Rio: That's why. No one really wants to be turned into other animals, so I don't do it to them.

Rio: Also I'm a fairy. But mostly when I fly I fly way faster than the speed of light. Bam! See, I just flew to Mars and back and you didn't even notice.

Teo and Chess
Though really I think a lot of it is genetics and not any action we've taken.

May I boast for a moment? Thank you.

The father of one of Teo's classmates started a chess club a month or two ago. The kids stay an hour after school once a week. Most of the 11 kids joined so they're at different levels and ages. For at least the first few meetings they alternated between instructing the kids who had some previous exposure to chess and instructing kids like Teo who were learning the basics. Mateo chose to go to the meetings not aimed at him and just watch.

Anyway.
The dad doing the instruction reports that Mateo stands out. That of all the kids in the club, he seems to have the potential to be an excellent chess player, and fast. "He's sharp, a fast learner, has a good strategic mind. He's kind of scary smart."

From what we see at home, he's definitely gotten a handle on the basics; that is, he knows how each piece moves, the relative value of each, and some basics of strategy. This week he's started asking us to play him (preferably spotting him a queen) and has been bullying Rio into playing him (with Teo giving suggestions for each move). Maybe he'll let my dad help him learn. I hope to get him together with Jesse, who's also into chess.

Finances and Dreams
Mateo has been saving money since he knew what it was. He scans the ground as he walks (he's even found a 10 dollar bill), he checks phone and newspaper return slots, he saves his allowance and Easter money and tooth money.

He's bought a few things - like a hammer for himself and one for Rio (the one that Rio had longed for) and he's donated a small amount, but mostly he saves it. David gives him interest in the Daddy Bank, which is very motivating.

Rio told Teo this morning that he'd pay him 2 bucks if he could pull of a specific parcor move that involved running up a tree (taller than Dave's height), working his way along the underside of a branch, and climbing to the topside. After a few attempts Mateo mastered it. Teo promptly deposited the money in the Daddy Bank.

I asked him what he's going to use that money for.

Teo: A car, of course.
Me: Oh?
Teo: just kidding. There's already too much pollution.
Me: Then what will you use it for?
Teo: Maybe a ticket to fly to New Zealand and back. Or I could pay a reasonable amount to get the rights to mine for gold. Or rubies.

Theology
Rio: Mama, everything is black, and everything is made of black, and everything is about black.

Me: What do you mean honey?

Rio: Everything is black and everything is about black.

Me: You just repeated yourself, you didn't tell me what you meant. Can you explain more?

Rio: There is a god who watches everything. He's up high and everywhere and he's black all over.

Teo: So space is God?

Rio: Yes. Exactly.

Me: Ok.

Rio: And God has a name. It's Mateo God Lucas Martinez Blumenthal.

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