mango_chango

You'd think he got a lot of candy

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 02:22:22 GMT

A friend gave us some homemade toffee today and I shared with Mateo. He ate it and enjoyed it, and then told me: "The toffee part is very sweet and yummy. The chocolate is maybe like 60% cocoa. But I think it would be better if it were extra dark, maybe 91%? Because then it would be a little bitter, great against the so sweet toffee. You know, the contrast."

Sweetness and Light

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:24:01 GMT

Ilario has been ridiculously sweet lately, full of kisses and hugs and praise for everyone (except his brother). I was cuddling with him last night and told him that when the baby is born, she'll be with me most of the time, even when I'm playing with Rio, and that if she cries I'll have to take care of her, even if that means stopping what I'm doing with Rio. I added that this is not because she'll be more important or loved, but because babies are so helpless, and then told him stories about how when Ilario was a baby I wore him in a sling when I bathed Mateo or walked with Mateo, and that I often nursed him while I read to Teo.

Rio considered all this and said, "If babies are that much work, I'll help out. How can I help?"

I told him that at first he could bring me things like diapers when I asked, and water when I nursed, and then he could play peek a boo and tickle the baby and keep an eye on her, and eventually he could read to her and help feed her.

He nodded solemnly and said he would, and then added, "And I'll try to rub your back a lot more often. Roll over and I'll rub it for you now."

Fairies

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:43:28 GMT

Ilario is a water fairy. I know this because he's told me repeatedly for a least a year that is, no fooling, a fairy. I don't remember when the water part came in; I think it was while we were camping.

It meant he almost didn't have a costume at Halloween because he figured as long as wore blue and purple, he didn't need to do anything else to show his water fairyness.

Specifically, he's an Ocean water fairy. Other water fairies are River, Stream, Rain, Snow, Puddle, etc. I don't know where he got any of this - probably from CeCe and other classmates, as to my knowledge he never heard anything about fairies from us.

He is also a Killer fairy, otherwise known as Police fairies. They kill bad guys. He's the King Police Killer fairy - that's his job - and he's an Ocean fairy - that's his flavor, or maybe his race. He has guns that shoot to kill, guns that shoot flame, guns that shoot love. Whatever is required. He also brews magic potions. He has White Magic, which is the most powerful, and include all the other colors. I asked him to give me an example of another color, and he said Blue Magic lets you turn people into fairies.

He said ferries have that name because all ferries have a hidden fairy on them. If you can figure out who is a fairy, you get to rename the boat. But sometimes the fairy is invisible. Of course, he can see who is a fairy at a glance, even the invisible ones.

Mateo the adolecent

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 16:05:26 GMT

Mateo started acting in very teenage ways at about 6 1/2. Now that he's seven it's easing up a bit, especially the sarcasm, speaking under his breath, rolling his eyes, and other unpleasant stuff I cracked down on.

But he has kept the shyness.

He took home his writing book from school as it was finished, with a year's worth of work in it.
T: Daddy, I brought home my handwriting book from all of last year. You can look at it if you want.
Dave (on the computer): Mmm hmmm.
T: It's from all of last year. If you want, you can see it.
Dave: Uh huh.

Etc.. until I tell Dave in Spanish that Teo actually wants David to look at it.

Dave: Teo, I'd love to see it!
T: Okay, I'll get it! Look! See, this is the beginning of the year, and here's the end, see how much better I got?
Etc.
But he was unable to just say, Look Daddy, look at this book!

When I take him to school, sometimes I drop him off and sometimes I walk him in. For awhile, when it was novel, he'd often says, "you don't need to come in! Bye!" But now sometimes he'll say, like this morning:
T: Are you coming in?
Me: I wasn't planning on it.
T: You can if you want to.
Me: Do you want me to?
T: Sure, Okay, if you want.
Me: Yes?
T: Yeah, sure.
Me: Ok.
T: I mean, either way, but if you want to...
Of course, once in school, he doesn't join the group of kids who come over to talk with me, but he does keep an eye on me.

Also he's asked me not to kiss him goodbye at school. But he lights up briefly if I very quietly says, "I love you" before I leave.

Mateo

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:16:54 GMT

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

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:15:06 GMT

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!"

-------------
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."

-----------
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

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 02:01:55 GMT

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

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:59:01 GMT

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

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:55:07 GMT

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!
----------------
Is that like wanting to kill everyone to send them to Heaven? If Rio starts a cult, beware.

What makes Rio happy

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:40:05 GMT

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.

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:24:02 GMT

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

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 19:20:14 GMT

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

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:06:03 GMT

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

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:51:48 GMT

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

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:38:52 GMT

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

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:35:14 GMT

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

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 02:03:49 GMT

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.

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:28:56 GMT

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

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 21:28:11 GMT

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

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 01:39:49 GMT

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!

I always mean to show the kids more videos but we end up doing other things instead. Plus I'd like to watch movies with them but most movies frighten or stress Mateo. We've managed to successfully enjoy Totoro, Kiki, Horton Hears a Who, and the Black Stallion (though with the last one, we fast forwarded through the scary boat fire while Teo hid in another room, and even after being warned about the brief snake scene he screamed bloody murder the entire 15 seconds).

Rio is not usually afraid of videos, but (understandably) he has a fear of fire. It's subsided... so long as he doesn't see or hear about big fires.

So we watched the old Disney Robin Hood tonight, the one with Robin Hood as a fox and Prince John as a lion. It's got a lot of slapstick physical humor that amused both of them, but the tension made Teo crazy. Even when it wasn't tense. I was trying to clue him into the music cues. He spent a lot of time screaming and running out of the room and jumping on the bed (I kicked him off the couch we were all on) and kicking and generally freaking out because he knew that at some point something bad was going to happen. But he loved the fight scenes when they happened.

I understand it to degree (like when RH had successfully stolen all but one bag of stolen gold from the sleeping Prince John, and RH insisted on getting the last bag - that was under PJ - and Teo started hollering "Don't do it you idiot! Run away with what you have!") but it was over the top.

And then there was a fire at the end.

So now both kids are awake and not keen on being "in the dark" (aside from multiple night lights) and "alone" (aside from each other). It was the wrong movie to show before bed! Ah well. They say they'll like it more the next time, once they know what's coming.

Magic powers

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 18:10:58 GMT

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

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:54:23 GMT

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

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:45:25 GMT

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

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:30:00 GMT

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.

Rio's dream

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:14:06 GMT

We were swimming in a pond, and then suddenly we realized it was the ocean really. And a whale swam up to us and was like, "hey, I want to go back to the ocean" and then swam towards shore and I was like, "No, that's the wrong way! The ocean is THAT way!" and so it swam off. But then alligators came and chased us! And Mimi and I waded towards shore so fast! But sharks ate the alligators so we were like "Hurray!"

Ok.

Who is it who says, "like" all the time? Is it me? Silona? Dave? Someone's taught him!