Build-A-Bear

The finished product, purse and all.

Putting on the shoes. Notice the bear's underwear.

Tia Jen's Christmas present to Maya was a trip to Build-A-Bear. I suggested the present because I had taken Maya to Build-A-Bear several times, but we never bought a bear. Instead, we just browsed, picking our favorite bears and watching with slight concern as other kids stuffed their bears. 

My thought was that Jen and Maya could pick out one of the least expensive bears, and there were plenty for $10, add a heart and get out of the store for $15 or so. Maya doesn't know that the store also sells clothes for the bears so skip that section of the store, I told Jen. 

Well, Maya knows now. When she and Jen pulled into the driveway after their trip, Maya was asleep but she was hugging a beautiful bear that was wearing white underwear and a hot pink satin dancing dress. "Teddie Bear" was also wearing two bows in her hair and holding a hot pink purse. On Maya's other arm, Maya was holding a sleeping bag, for Teddie Bear of course. And, in the Build-A-Bear box, were a pair of matching hot pink shoes. 

Jen said Maya loved putting the bear together and insisted on the underwear. Tonight, Maya and Big Papa read Teddie Bear books and right now, Teddie Bear is snuggled up in her sleeping bag, right next to Maya in her's. 

Christmas Ornaments

Guillermo has been wanting a nutcracker for awhile now. I'm not sure exactly why, but he thinks they are really cool. His interest grew even more when his friend in our neighborhood was outside playing with one his mother had just bought him. The friend's nutcracker was a soldier and he told Guillermo that the store where he bought his also had a nutcracker with a gun. Guillermo's eyes light up. 

Guillermo and I talked about going to pick out a nutcracker for him together but we never got around to it. The other day, however, when I was shopping without Guillermo, I saw a nutcracker Christmas ornament, and this nutcracker soldier was carrying a gun. Against my better judgement, I bought it for Guillermo.

A few weeks ago on trianglemom2mom.com, I blogged about my family's Christmas ornament tradition. I've also told Guillermo all about it. I had already picked out a Superman comic book ornament because this was the year he discovered comic books and one of his favorite things to do is go to the comic book shop with Will. 

Anyway, I bought the nutcracker ornament and gave it to him when I came home (I gave Maya a gingerbread man). He was estactic and right away said "I am going to keep this until I have my own kids and then I am going to give it to them and they are going to love it too!" Melted my heart. And then, he named the nutcracker "Gun Hand." 

Merry Christmas

Guillermo, with his new boxing gloves.

Maya, with her new rain coat. She wore it all morning. 

Merry Christmas. 

I am exhausted, but we had a wonderful day. The kids loved their gifts. Will and Jen spent a good part of the afternoon putting together the Legos Star Wars X-Wing Fighter with Guillermo while Maya played with her new snack shop, cupcakes and cookies (Maya's new pretend food wasn't the most healthy, but she sure loved it!). 

Maya napped in the afternoon and Will, his father and Guillermo went for a hike. Later Will took Maya and Guillermo to the park while I cooked. I made beef and cheese enchiladas, rice, and beans we picked up cheese tamales from Tres Amigos. So good. I'm still full. Must. Get. Sleep. I'll follow up tomorrow.

The playground, hockey and train cakes

Maya and Guillermo and their train cake creation.

Today was so fun. 

We started the day at the park, where we met several of Guillermo's friends from school and their parents for coffee (and Bailey's), bagels, cookies and muffins. We wore those kids out. They played for about two hours, mostly running and chasing after each other. 

When we came home, we should have had them rest. Instead, they played outside with Guillermo's remote control car and painted their refrigerator box clubhouse. We also played hockey with noodles and Maya rode her bike. 

Later, we packed in the car for church. Maya was exhausted and if we had brought milk with us, she surely would have fallen asleep. Instead, she whined, wiggled and squirmed. Thankfully, we attended the children's mass, so there were plenty of kids there, and plenty of them were wiggling and squirming just like Maya. 

When we came home, they opened one present: A small Star Wars Lego set for Guillermo and a puzzle for Maya. They loved them. Then ceviche, and then we finally decorated the train cake. Maya had so much fun and would sneak candy every chance she could. Guillermo ditched us when he discovered Will and Will's father watching Pirates of the Caribbean. (Hey, it's Christmas Eve!). They went to bed without a peep. 

Almost Christmas

I'm so excited for the next few days. Here's what we have planned:

Christmas Eve breakfast at the park with friends from Guillermo's school. 

Decorate train cake (I finished it tonight and it looks pretty good. thanks Emily and Nick)

Pick up tortillas, tamales

Children's Christmas mass

Dinner: ceviche courtesy of my father-in-law and sister-in-law

Kids open one present

Kids play and then go to bed

Finish wrapping 

Bedtime

Christmas Day

6 a.m. alarm clock

Get dressed, put on makeup so I don't look hideous in pictures

6:30 - 7 a.m. Kids wake up 

Open presents! 

Play all day

Make enchiladas, frijoles negroes, rice for dinner

Friends join us for dinner

Play some more

I can't wait. I love this time of year and I so much love being a mom this time of year. Guillermo and Maya are so excited, Maya especially, it seems. Throughout the day for the past several days, she has picked various presents from under the tree. "What's in there?" "What's in the present, mama." "For me?" "Oh, present for you."

I hope their childhood Christmases are as magical as mine.

She's crafty

"I'm a butterfly, and I look sooo good!"

"This isn't what I meant when I said Batman, but it's still pretty cool."

"I love cookies!"

We had a fun morning, and an equally crafty afternoon. The Carrboro Parks and Rec. Department today held Kids, Cookies and Candy Canes. Our first stop was the cookie decorating room, where Guillermo and Maya piled the frosting high on their cookies and then topped them off with a ton of sprinkles. Next, face painting. Guillermo asked for Batman. He loved it, but later told me he wanted the mask. Maya was a butterfly. Last, we went to the craft room and made reindeer clothes pins, reindeer candy canes and pom pom snowmen. It was fun.

This afternoon, we made bells from paper cups and jingle bell bracelets. They finished the afternoon paining Guillermo's refrigerator box clubhouse. We're crafty!

Christmas Pageant

This should have been our Christmas card

He didn't want to be angel. "Only girls are angels"

Guillermo's Christmas pageant was last night and it was so sweet. The pastor at Carrboro United Methodist Church, where Guillermo's preschool is located, read the Nativity of Jesus. When she read about the angels, Guillermo's walked to the alter in their angel costumes. When she read about the wise men, another class came to the alter in their costumes, and so on. 

The pageant was wonderful and the kids were great. Only a few cried. Afterward, all of the kids left the stage except Guillermo's class, the oldest, and they sang two songs. Guillermo did great and seemed to have a lot of fun. 

Before the pageant, Guillermo insisted to me that he didn't want to be an angel. Only girls are angels, he said. I think once he saw his costume, he was pretty excited. 

Bloody Riddles

Maya and Guillermo watch the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Christmas parade with some neighbors.

Guillermo is into making up riddles right now, though they aren't exactly riddles. Today, for instance, he offered this riddle ... well, let me set it up for you.

As we were leaving the parade, Guillermo and Maya were playing train, which means, Guillermo walks behind Maya with his hands on her shoulders. They then walk, saying choo-choo and have a great time. Well, somehow during all of this Maya fell down and ended up with a bloody nose. I took her into the bathroom of a nearby restaurant and cleaned her up and we were on our way. 

As we get to the gate to leave the restaurant patio, Guillermo blocks it, and demands that we solve his riddle first. 

"What comes out of you when you fall down?"

Anybody? Anybody?

"Blood?" I offered. 

He smiled, shook his head yes, and we were on our way.

If you know of any riddles, or knock-knock jokes, please send them our way.  As you can see, we clearly need some assistance.

The real Santa is at the North Pole, eating

The Elf Santa

On our way to see Santa tonight, I asked Guillermo what he was going to say he wanted for Christmas. 

"A Star Wars sticker book," he said from the backseat of the car.

"A Dora sticker book," Maya answered.

"If he asks you if you've been good, what are you going to say?" I asked.

"Yes," he answered.

As I started to list for him all the ways I thought he had been good, Guillermo informed me that the Santa he was visiting tonight was not the real one. This guy, Guillermo said, was just an elf, filling in for Santa.

"Really," I asked. "What is the real Santa doing?

"You know, he's eating" at the North Pole.

I knew we shouldn't have let him watch Elf last year, but it was on on Christmas Day and it is just so funny, too funny to turn off, even if our then 3-year-old was watching with a look of confusion over his face.

We went to see Santa at the ArtsCenter. This Santa is great. First off, there was no line and nobody waiting behind us for awhile either. He talked to Guillermo and Maya for at least five minutes. He told them a story about how Rudolph's nose was red (the story had something to do with Rudolph not being able to fly and then some fairies gave him a red nose that gave him the power of flight), showed them pictures of the rest of the reindeer, told them he liked chocolate chip cookies best (Guillermo, by the way, said his favorite cookies were raisin. Yuck!) and that he needed three on Christmas Eve. Santa said he also wanted milk and that he needed nine carrots, but only the small ones. 

When Santa asked who their favorite reindeer was, Guillermo said Rudolph. Maya, of course, gave her favorite answer: Dora.

Potty Talk

I was cleaning Maya's room when Guillermo came in to see me.

"Mom, Maya said a bad word."

"Maya, use nice words," I shouted to the kitchen where Maya was eating pumpkin bread.

"She said poo poo," Guillermo told me, as I remembered my pledge to encourage the kids not to tattle.

"No tattling, please," I told Guillermo.

"I didn't tattle," he answered.

"Tattling is when you tell me that someone did something bad," I said.

He ran to the kitchen. 

A few seconds later I heard this:

"Don't say poo poo," Guillermo told Maya.

"POO POO," Maya shouted.

"No potty talk," Guillermo scolded.

"Please, potty talk?" she asked him nicely.

Then, without reason, they moved on to another topic.

Yummy snowmen

Yeah, I know they look gross.

Guillermo, Maya and I made marshmallow snowmen the other day. It sounded like a fun project, but I have to admit, they were pretty disgusting. My kids didn't seem to notice. They licked the whipped cream snow and gobbled up the snowmen. Guillermo wanted to make a soldier snowman, but the green icing gel we bought wasn't properly sealed so I threw it away. Instead, we made alien snowmen, and we put two on snowboards. 

Christmas Tree Hell

We have a Christmas tree. We picked it out this afternoon. And, it's beautiful.

Every year I have this vision that we will take awhile picking out our tree, sipping hot chocolate while we compare the Frazier Firs to the White Pines, while Guillermo and Maya run around and play hide and seek. But that never happens. Will doesn't like cold weather so browsing for trees even in 45 degree weather is not fun for him. Plus, he didn't even really care if we had a tree, mostly because he doesn't want to spend the money on it. 

So, we picked our tree out right away and while Maya and I stopped to chat with an acquaintance, Will and Guillermo waited in the car. We were probably there 15 minutes tops. 

No worries, we get home and set up the tree. Luckily, a friend of Will's was at our house and he helped us. The tree barely fit in the stand, and that should have been a sign, but we crammed it in and did our best to get the tree to stand up. Unfortunately, it kept leaning one way or another. After it nearly fell over, I went to buy a new stand. 

Even then it took awhile to get it to stand up straight. We thought we had it, but as the kids and I were decorating it, it started to fall again. We tried again, and Will thought of anchoring it to the wall. Luckily, a neighbor suggested putting wood blocks in the stand to keep the tree upright. Problem solved, but by then it was 8:15 p.m. We'll have to finish decorating tomorrow. (Will swears we are getting an artificial tree next year). I'll post pictures tomorrow when it's finished. 

Helicopter Tour

A friend of mine, who is also the mother of Guillermo's best friend, arranged for us to go on a really cool tour yesterday. 

We got to check out the helicopter at UNC Hospital, where my friend, a nurse, works. It was really fun. Guillermo, Maya, and Guillermo's friend, Charlie, sat in the helicopter as one of the nurses who flies in the helicopter told them all about the chopper and her job responsibilities and those of her crew.

As the nurse was talking, Guillermo interjected: "I have a doctor's kit."

Charlie chimed in: "I have a toy ambulance, but it's just a toy."

Maya wouldn't be left out either: "I have a Dora backpack. D-D-D-D-Dora, the Explorer."

Loved it. 

A giant family

Stockings for the grandkids. 

Guillermo and Maya and their cousins

We spent the weekend in Atlanta, where we celebrated Thanksgiving with Will's family. Nearly all of his aunts and uncles and cousins on his father's side of the family live there, plus as an added bonus, Will's father was visiting from Phoenix. 

Thanksgiving itself was fun, and crazy. Will counted more than 50 people in the house at one time. To add to the chaos, there were nine kids, 6 and younger running around the house, too.

Maya and Guillermo had so much fun, and their joy made this trip even more special for me. 

Will's family is very close. For a long time, most of Will's aunts and uncles lived within just a few miles of each other and, therefore, nearly all of Will's cousins grew up together, almost as brother and sister. (Will and his family never lived near them because of my father-in-law's career). Will's cousins are all about Will's age and now have kids about the same age as Guillermo and Maya. 

The family has always been incredibly welcoming of me, and I've always felt comfortable there, but whenever I think of Guillermo's and Maya's cousins, I think of my sister's children, because, after all, they are more my immediate family. 

My kids don't know the difference, though, and I love that. All they knew is that there were a ton of kids to play with and wow, did they have fun. They ran through the house as if they were a gang, plotting and planning their next attack. Maya's cheeks were flush from going up and down the stairs so many times. 

That night, I sat next to Maya before she fell asleep. 

"I love you, mama," she said before a big smile crept across her face. 

"I love my cousins."

Cat and Dog

This made me giggle today:

Maya: You want to play cat and dog?

Me: Sure. How do you play?

Maya: You be the cat. I be the dog.

Me: Ok.

And for the next five minutes or so, we crawled around the floor, me meowing and Maya barking. Every so often, she'd stop and pet me. 

"You a good kitty," she'd say. "Now, say I a good doggy."

Me: You are a good doggy.

She's sassy

I took Maya and Guillermo to the video store to pick up a movie for movie night tonight. We ended up with a Backyardigans, a Veggie Tales and a Dora video. 

Guillermo and Maya always want to the carry their videos out themselves, but I've noticed a sign at the video store that warns against letting kids touch the DVDs because they play with them and scratch them, etc. Lately I've been trying to get my kids out of the store before I hand them their videos (in their plastic case, no less) that way the video store staff doesn't see my kid touching, scratching, rubbing rocks on, throwing and doing whatever else it is they do to the DVDs that don't belong to us. 

Tonight, however, Maya, wearing her sassy leopard print wool jacket, wanted her Dora video and she wanted it NOW. She didn't throw a fit, she just kept whining. I ignored it and motioned for her to follow us out the door. 

I swear I saw and heard her do this:

First, she sighed a loud "Hmpf." Then, she crossed her arms defiantly and then, for extra measure, she stomped her foot and turned her angry face away from mine. 

It was great. She has the move down perfectly. I wanted to smile and congratulate her on mastering the pout so well at such a young age. I do that move all the time, in my head, when I don't get my way. 

Instead, I ignored it, and called for her again. She left the store with me, no kicking or screaming involved. 

This is why I have problems ...

My parents have graciously agreed to buy me a winter coat for Christmas. In fact, I already have it, but am not allowed to wear it until Dec. 25th. I'm sticking to the rule because, well, I like a Christmas present on Christmas day, not more than a month in advance. 

However, my mother also asked me to send a list of a few small things I might want in addition to the coat. 

And my list below (in no particular order) shows why I am in a constant struggle with my weight.  

I asked for a few workout-related items, like a pair of yoga pants (even though I don't do yoga. They are still good workout pants) and a workout DVD for the days I don't run (I'm trying to run 3-4 times a week now). 

However, the rest of my list looks like this:

• Two 9-inch round Springform Cake Pans
• Cupcake Carrier
• Wire rack
• Cake Decorator Set

You see my dilemma? But, I love baking!

I asked for a pair of PJs, too,  just so after I work out and then bake, I can relax

(No, I don't expect everything. I just like to give her some options so I'm surprised on Christmas Day.)

American Indian Heritage Celebration

I'm canceling the morning of Christmas shopping I had planned for Saturday so we can take Guillermo to this.

The other day I told him the story of the first Thanksgiving feast. (This, by the way, is a quick and wonderful slide show for kids about Thanskgiving.) When I finished, Guillermo urged me to tell him more.

"Tell me about how those guys were mean to the guys who lived here first," he said. 

"What do you mean?" I asked. 

"You know, the guys who came here and were mean to those guys, those, you know those guys who were here first," he said. 

So, we talked briefly about how European settlers treated Native Americans. A few days later, we made a paper teepees (I'll post a picture soon). I thought we would make one or two. He made about a dozen.

He's going to have so much fun tomorrow.  Thanks trianglemom2mom for posting about this event. 

I've been tagged

Amy tagged me. Here goes.

5 Things...

5 things I was doing 10 years ago...

1. I was working at The Associated Press.

2. I lived in St. Louis with my sister.

3. I visited Will in Rolla, Mo., frequently.

4. Jogged and worked out nearly every day.

5. Spent a lot of time at the pool.

5 Things on Today's To-Do List:

1. Laundry

2. Go for a jog

3. Buy Maya a sleeping bag

4. Return videos

5. Make Christmas lists (yes, I know, I know ...)

5 Treats I enjoy:

1. Brownies

2. Cake

3. Cookies

4. Hot chocolate

5. Wheat Thins

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire: (I think I am cramming to many things into one number).

1. Donate a lot more to the American Lung Association, Pan-CAN, and other organizations.

2. Visit home more often.

3. Buy homes for my family to live or vacation in near me.

4. Build another home on the lot I live on now, plus pay off the mortgages of my parents, sister, and father-in-law, and set up college funds for my kids and niece and nephew.

5. Hire a chef and a personal trainer.

5 Places I have lived (Here are a few)

1. Carrboro, N.C.

2. Austin, Texas

3. Germantown Hills, Ill.

4. Pleasant Valley, Iowa

5. Granada, Spain

5 Places I have worked:

1. The Associated Press

2. Caterpillar Inc.

3. The Journal Star (Peoria)

4. Snyder Village

5. Daily Eastern News

5 People I tag:

1. Di

2. MommyMae

3. Beth (I miss your blogs!)

4. Michelle T.

5. Michelle N.

Patience

I was exhausted tonight after a long week. Maya was not. As I was getting her ready for bed, she took her time drinking her milk, played with her toothbrush before brushing and tried to be silly as I was reading to her. 

I didn't lose my temper, but I warned her that she needed to settle down, and in a firm voice, I told her I was losing my patience. 

With a sweet smile on her face, she reached her arm out and grabbed at the air before bringing her hand back to me.  

"Here's your patience," she said playfully.

If she was a teen-ager, I imagine it would have taken all I had not to smack her. Since she's just 2, I managed a smile and thanked her for her help.  

Funny Maya

Maya's always been good at making us laugh, but now she's really making an effort to get us started.

Last night at dinner, using her best Yoda voice (although she isn't really sure what Yoda sounds like) she said to Guillermo: "Luke, use the force." 

She giggled and started again.

"Luke, eat your dinner."

More laughter. 

"Luke, drink milk."

She laughed even harder. 

"Luke, use your fork."

By then, Guillermo, who thought it was funny at first, had had it. I, on the other hand, couldn't stop laughing, and neither could Maya. She was so proud of herself. 

Perfect Day

Today was a beautiful fall day, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s, and Guillermo, Maya and I took full advantage of it. We had a picnic and then hiked on the nature trails at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, collecting leaves and pine cones. They were great, and both hiked the entire trail.


Later at home, I raked and they jumped. Guillermo was pretending he was a skeleton that came to life when I wasn't looking. If Maya had jumped in leaves before, she didn't remember. She didn't stop giggling.

The only thing missing from our perfect day was Will, but he was at work. Someone has to pay the bills.

Voter Fraud

We committed voter fraud this week. 

I took Guillermo to the ArtsCenter on Monday for a kids voting day. The event was for kids 5 and up, but I let Guillermo, who is 4, participate anyway. The kid manning the ballot table even gave us a ballot for Maya, but Maya was more interested in trying to touch all of the pottery near the voting booth. 

The ballots included headshots of each of the candidates for president, U.S. Senate, governor, lieutenant governor and U.S. Representative. I don't think Guillermo minds if I disclose his choices. He chose Barack Obama for president and incumbent David Price for U.S. Rep, but rejected the rest of the Democrats. He also rejected the women candidates, selecting Pat McCrory for governor, Robert Pittenger for lieutenant governor and Christopher Cole for U.S. Senate.

We're not worried. There's plenty of time to convert him. 

A grill and a beer

This morning I told Guillermo that Will a meeting and wouldn't be home for dinner. 

"What do you think we should have for dinner since papa won't be home?" I asked.

"We could grill something, then we can have a beer," Guillermo said innocently. 

"What?" I asked. 

"You know, a root beer, mom," he answered. 

Will, on the computer in my room, was both proud and amused. 

Yes We Can!

What a night!

And, Guillermo and Maya were up for all of it, well nearly all of it.

When the networks called Ohio for Barack Obama, I scooped Maya up in my arms and twirled around the room in happiness. A little later, when it was official that Obama would become the next president of the United States, I picked her up again, cheering, spinning and jumping. She was beaming from ear to ear. I hope I always remember the smile on her face, her laughter in my ears from that night.

Of course, she had no idea why we were so happy. She knew Obama won, but she doesn't know what that means. And, neither does Guillermo, but we'll teach them, over time.

At Least She's Cute

Maya seemed to have no problem transitioning to the time change on Sunday morning. I feared she would wake up at 4:30 a.m. with her body telling her it was 5:30 a.m. Instead, she slept in until after 6 a.m. (I'm not sure the exact time because Sunday was my morning to sleep in). What used to be such a stressful transition for our family seemed to pass easily. 

Until today. Maya woke up at 4:45 a.m., ready for the day. I made her stay in her crib until 5:30 a.m. but had to endure listening to cries alternating with "Mama, Mama, I. WANT. OUT." Usually on days like this, I come into her room to find that she has thrown her stuffed animals, blankets and sippy cup of water out of the crib and onto the floor. I can't remember if they were there today, I was too tired. 

Maya was even more unhappy when she learned she was going to spend the next 30 minutes being pushed in the jog stroller while I went for a run rather than snuggling on the couch.  That should teach her to get up early, right?

Halloween

A few more Halloween pictures

We had a wonderful Halloween, so fun in fact that I didn't drag Guillermo or myself home until nearly midnight.

I took Maya and Guillermo out to collect candy while Will handed it out at home. We went with a group of friends with whom we had a cookout with earlier in the evening. Trick-or-treating was fun, but wild. Guillermo and one of his friends decided they had to run at top speed to every house. Maya and I could barely keep up. My poor girl had to skip so many houses so we wouldn't lose site of them. She didn't seem to mind. She kept saying "I want to catch up with my guys." We made it to one end of our neighborhood and nearly back to our starting spot before we stopped at my friends' house to take a break. She was having a little party. I thought we would stop there for 10 minutes and then go back out, but Guillermo declared he was finished. He didn't even want to stop at any of the houses on our way back to our house. Instead, we just hung out at the party and called Will to join us. Will took Maya home around 11 p.m. and a few hours later, Guillermo and I finally came home.

Today, Guillermo and Maya awoke to find the gifts that the Great Pumpkin left them. In our house, the kids leave their candy in front of their doors when they go to sleep. The Great Pumpkin takes the candy (and gives it to his graduate students) and leaves a present. Guillermo got two Star Wars action figures; Maya got a purple Dora Backpack. They haven't asked about their candy once today.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the first night of our three nights of Halloween celebrations. 

Guillemo's school hosted a trunk or treat so we decorated the back of our station wagon with black and orange streamers and balloons. It was minimal effort but it looked pretty good, especially once I got the kids on track on how it should be done.  We decorated it at home so once we arrived at the party, all I had to do was open the back and viola, a party! In addition to trick or treating, there were carnival games and free popcorn and hotdogs. How great is that? 

The kids were so tired that when they got home, they didn't even ask to eat any of their candy. It wasn't even 7 p.m. but Guillermo didn't sleep well last night so he really was tired. I think Maya just didn't know that she could ask for the candy since she doesn't remember last Halloween. 

If we were responsible parents, we would have put them to bed right away, but by the time they picked up their toys, changed into their pjs and told Will about the party, it was nearly 8 p.m. Neither Will nor I wanted to miss the Obama infomercial so we turned on videos for them, handed them some candy and went to watch Obama. 

Tomorrow we are going to the library for spooky stories, crafts, treats and costumes and on Friday, it's Halloween. I love Halloween now that I'm a parent. We even put up spider webs (and caught a bee in one of them), a small plastic fence with scary skulls, and a few signs that indicate our house is haunted. 

Pacing, waiting

Tonight, in another attempt to stall the bedtime process, Guillermo declared that the crickets chirping outside his window were too noisy. He insisted the ceiling fan in his room wouldn't drown out the noise, as we attempted that at least one other time. What he really wanted was my air purifier, which is pretty good about blocking noise, but I refused to give it up again. 

Instead, I suggested a radio and his eyes lit up at the idea. I told him to wait for me in his room and I'd be back with MY clock radio. 

"Sometimes when humans wait, they walk back and forth, like this, right?" Guillermo asked, as he paced in his room.

"Sure," I said. 

"And, they put their hands like this," he said, clasping them behind his back. 

"That's right," I said. "You wait here, OK?" 

"Yes, they do this where they are waiting," he said as he paced in his room. 

So, I went back in my room, set the clock radio on an appropriate radio station (WXYC, the UNC station, of course) and then hauled it off to his room. He must have gotten tired from all the pacing because he was sitting in a chair. Soft music was playing on the radio when I plugged it in near him.  

"Night time music," he said, smiling. 

I tucked him in under his yellow unicorn blanket followed by his Spider Man blanket just as the DJ came on the radio to announce the songs that had just finished playing.  

"That's OK," he said. "I like the talking, I like the news when I can't see it," Guillermo said. 

Goodbye, Grandpa

I returned home tonight from a quick trip to Missouri, where we buried my grandfather. He died early Sunday. He had been sick for some time and in May moved to a nursing home with my grandmother when he needed more medical care. 

Maya and Guillermo are too little to have memories of him, I'm afraid, but I have lasting memories. I remember that he always woke up early, he loved to talk, ate slowly, really slowly, and always had a smile for me. He was a very kind man who loved his wife and children. 

He and my grandmother had a trailer, and later a motor home, at a campground near their home for more than 30 years. Visiting them there was so fun because the campground also had a water slide, a pool, a park and a go-cart track, though I think that came later. Plus, there were hayrides and an amphitheater, where we saw the play "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" many times. 

We lived about three hours away from my grandparents but we spent most Christmases together when my sister and I were younger. I remember being so sad one Christmas because it was snowing so much they couldn't make it to our house for Christmas morning. For several Christmases, my grandfather gave me whatever toys he would get with his breakfasts at Hardee's. I think one year I received four little pound puppies; another year I received four California Raisin figures. 

He would bring us Dilly bars from Dairy Queen at least once when we visited and he and my grandmother always left coins for us to put into the piggy banks they kept for us at their house. Mine was either a yellow pig or a blue pig (I can't remember which was mine, and which was my sister's). We played lots of card games with them, including our family favorite Tripoly.

He was a longtime Democrat and a St. Louis Cardinals fan. He worked in the parts department of a car dealership for more than 50 years, either as a parts manager, or, after he retired, as a parts assistant.  

I know my grandfather is in a good place now, and so I'm OK with his passing. What makes me so sad is knowing that my grandmother lost her partner of more than 60 years. She is still at the nursing home, unable to go home because she has alzheimer's disease. It's advanced enough for her to forget that my sister and I visited her this morning before we left to catch our flights, but not advanced enough for her to forget that my grandfather is no longer with her. 

"It's just going to take some time" to get used to him being gone she told us this morning, her red eyes bright with tears. When my sister and I left the nursing home, I peaked at her through the outside window. She was sitting in the same chair she was in when we left her, her head resting in her left hand. Her eyes were closed. 

I'm trying so hard right now to replace that image in my mind with a happier one. It's just going to take some time. 

Voting Day

The Vizuete's voted! Here are some pictures of our big day. We love that we finally live in a swing state. I'll have more on this next week, when I blog about it on trianglemom2mom.com Mark your calendars. I know you can't wait.

Bananas

We've reached a point at our house when pretty much all Guillermo and Maya do is fight, it seems. If they are talking to each other, they are arguing.

Here's a sample from breakfast:
Maya was sitting down, eating cereal and a banana. Guillermo sat down across the table, and positioned the cereal box in front of him so he couldn't see Maya.

Guillermo: I’m blocking Maya’s slimy banana with the cereal box.
Me: You don’t want to see the banana?
Guillermo: No, I think I’m allergic to bananas.
Me: OK.
Maya: Nana. I have a Neenee. 
Maya: Oh, my nana has a hole in it.
Me: Well, then don’t hold your banana that way.
Maya: Look at the hole.
Me: Don’t hold it that way.

Later, Maya finished her breakfast and decided to stand right next to Guillermo’s chair while he was eating.

Guillermo: You smell like a banana.
Maya: Ooooh, Guillermo said I a neenee.
Guillermo: No, I said you smell like a banana!
Maya: I Maya!
Guillermo: You smell like a banana!
Maya: I Maya!
Guillermo: You smell like a banana!
Maya: I no smell like a nana.
Guillermo: You have banana on your face!
Maya: No!
Guillermo: I told you her smells like a banana.
Maya: I no smell like bananas.

Morning Talkers

This morning I woke up to Maya talking. Normally, I wake up to her cries "I'm done sleeping!" so I was a bit intrigued.  

As I got closer to her room, I could hear Guillermo talking as well. "Great," I thought. "She woke him up, too." It was 6:30 a.m., late for her, too early for him.

I stopped between their doors. Maya was in her crib in her room and Guillermo was lying on the floor in his room, his favorite sleeping place again. Their rooms were still dark.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked. 

"I'm done sleeping. I want out," Maya said. 

"I was telling her how she could get out of her crib," Guillermo said. 

What did you tell her, I asked as I picked Maya out of her bed. 

"I told her she could get a ladder or a slide," Guillermo said. 

"Good ideas," I told him.

"Ewoks eat berries they find"

We signed Guillermo up to participate in a language study at UNC. He hasn't participated in any studies since he did one at UT when he was really young, but I thought this one might be fun, and more importantly, give us something different to do for a few mornings in September.  

The study ended up being a lot of fun. He played games and told stories and ate snacks and drank from juice boxes and seemed to love every minute of it. While he was in the testing room, Maya and I sat in a small room filled with toys and books. At the end of each of the three sessions, Guillermo would show up in that room full of energy and incredibly happy. He had a great time. 

As part of the study, we received a speech and language assessment. Guillermo's language skills were great, the review found, but what made us laugh were some of the quotes from Guillermo the researchers chose to highlight. Here are a few. (We didn't have any context either).

"I thought you said 'pitcher' like in a baseball!"

"Ewoks eat berries they find."

"Hey, that parachute doesn't have a human on it. It has a box!"

"Hmm, that might be a king penguin ... although it's a little big."

And, the report said that Guillermo helped clarify situations when the examiner didn't understand by saying "Okay, one more time ...."

His kindergarten teacher is going to love him. 

Kick the Can

Guillermo and Maya celebrating Will's 32 birthday earlier this month.

We had a wonderful day outside. It was beautiful here, sunny, probably upper 70s. We took the kids to the nearby elementary school and tried to fly our shark kite. We did pretty well and Maya and Guillermo had so much fun trying to jump and catch the kite when it started falling toward the ground. When they grew bored, we took them down to the track and they took off running. Guillermo ran a full lap in Crocs, stopping only once. Maya took off after him and made it more than halfway around before she called for help. When I arrived, she wanted me to run with her, in the same lane, of course, so we finished off our lap. 

Later, while Will went to his radio show, I took the kids to the park and then when we came home, I taught them how to play kick the can! 

We used to play kick the can a lot during the summers when I lived in Iowa. I grew up in a wonderful neighborhood. Trout Valley was filled with kids, big backyards and riding lawn mowers. One side of the neighborhood was surrounded by a corn field, and a creek bordered another side. We spent a lot of time fishing and stomping in the creek and playing in the corn field. Somebody's parents had built a wonderful treehouse in the trees that lined up against the field.  We all went to the same elementary school (and the older kids went to the same junior high and high school) and many of the kids my age played on the same soccer team in the spring and fall. We had neighborhood 4th of July picnics, complete with parades and games and when the creek flooded, as it seemed to do often, everyone would pitch in to help clean up our neighbors' homes. Many of our parents became good friends, which meant they would spend Saturday evenings at one home while the kids played at another home, with the older siblings babysitting until we were old enough to babysit the younger ones. Or, we would play outside and many times that meant we played kick the can in my cul-de-sac. (OK, it's entirely possible we played kick the can only a few times, but the fun memories make it seem like we played the game every night!)

Playing today reminded me so much of growing up, though there were only three of us today, instead of a small army back then, and it was a bright sunny day instead of a dark night. Guillermo loved kicking the can (a black bean can, if you must know) and only wanted to hide. Maya's favorite game these days is hide and seek, though she usually only wants to hide with Guillermo, so she had a great time, too. I think we probably played 10 rounds, getting them good and tired for bedtime tonight, the goal of any weekend day!

Best Friend

Maya has a lot of best friends these days, it seems. Frequently it's me (and I love that!). 

"Mommy," she says as she wraps her arms around me. "Best friend." 

Other days, most days, it's Guillermo, even though I admit I push this on her, frequently telling her that Guillermo is her best friend. 

The other day, though, Maya switched best friends three times. It started in the morning, when she saw her teacher from a class she takes at The Arts Center. "There's my best friend," Maya said pointing to the woman. 

Later, on our way to a playdate, Maya said "Sophia, best friend." 

And, as we left the playdate to pick up Guillermo, Maya again remembered her brother. "Guillermo, best friend. Guillermo, little buddy."

The "little buddy" thing cracks me up, too.

Will frequently calls Guillermo his little buddy so Maya has started doing it, too. One day she was sitting on the curb in front of our house watching some kids play. Guillermo ran toward her. 

"Come here, little buddy," Maya said to him. "Sit down." 

And as he sat, Maya patted him on the back, "little buddy."

Taekwondo No More

Well, I hyped Guillermo's taekwondo effort for no reason, it appears. He had three private lessons and did great. He followed instructions, listened well, and loved it.

He then went to a group lesson to see if he was ready. My poor kid was so small compared to the others. Most of them were probably between 6 and 8 years old and they towered over Guillermo. 

First, the class did a few warmup runs to one end of the gym and back. Guillermo was easily among the slowest and when the first group of kids passed him on their way back to the starting line, Guillermo just turned around and ran after them, even though he hadn't even made it to the halfway mark.  A bit later, some kids weren't listening, so the group had to do pushups and Guillermo couldn't do one, though he tried and thought he did 10. (I know the punishment is a bit extreme for a 4 year old, except Guillermo didn't care).

Later, the instructor led the group through a 20-step drill and while I am sure part of the drill was repeated at least once or maybe twice during the 20 steps, poor Guillermo couldn't keep up. When the group was facing left, he was facing right, when others were turning one way, he was turning the other way. I would have felt bad for him, except he had such a big smile on his face and he didn't care. He was just having fun. 

After the lesson, the instructor told us he thought Guillermo should wait until January or next year to join in because at 4, the instructor said, Guillermo isn't going to really be able to memorize the steps (I'm sure there is a better word than steps). He thought Guillermo would just be going through the motions.  He did say we could work out some deal with him so Guillermo could go once a week just so he keeps learning the discipline and respect part (and so he continues having fun). Will is all for that, but I'm not so sure. The good thing about us being told to wait is it saves us a ton of money. Taekwondo is expensive and I don't think this once a week special is going to be too cheap either. 

Fleagle the Beagle

Guillermo was feeling lonely tonight when I put him to bed. Really, I think he was just stalling, but I didn't have time to deal with it because I didn't want to miss the debate. So, I rounded up all of his stuffed animals (he calls them his buddies) and sat them next to his pillow. There's sock monkey, Bevo, shark, a poison dart frog (called froggy), and a bear. You'd think that would be enough, but Guillermo was wimpy so I told him about the stuffed animals I used to sleep with when I was a kid. There was Bear and Fleagle the Beagle and I told Guillermo how they would cheer me up when I was feeling sad and lonely. Bear is still at my parent's house, but it turns out, Fleagle the Beagle, given to me by my friend Bryan for my eighth birthday, traveled with me to college, to St. Louis and Kansas City, to Louisiana and Texas and even to Chapel Hill. I found him under my bed tonight and gave him to Guillermo. My son's face lit up and after a few minutes of playing, he placed Fleagle the Beagle on top of his pile of stuffed animals and fell asleep. I barely missed a minute of the debate. 

The Cutest Little Ninja

Ok, ninja isn't the right word, but I'm not sure what you call someone who is studying Taekwondo. 

Guillermo had his first lesson on Thursday and doesn't he look adorable? He was so excited and loved every minute of it, but he told me his favorite part was kicking. We'll take him back for another extra small class and then he'll join the rest of the white belts for practice next week. If he likes it after two weeks, we'll sign him up.

I had to pick him up from preschool early so he could go to his first lesson. When Maya and I went into his classroom, nap time was just ending but Guillermo was still asleep. His teacher patted his back to wake him while I got down on the ground so he could see me. When he woke up and saw me he smiled, grabbed my hand, kissed it and then laid his head on it and closed his eyes again. I think I'll pick him up early from school every day. 

"I love swords"

Guillermo's not smiling because he's sitting next to two princesses at a birthday party for his best friend. He's smiling because he has a sword in his hand. 

You can see why Maya is happy. Who doesn't love melted chocolate cupcakes?

Guillermo and Maya goofing off after a ventriloquist kids show at the Carrboro Century Center. When they started getting restless toward the end of the show, they both got up and started dancing. Guillermo was performing some impressive break dancing moves, while Maya was dancing so fast I thought she would fall over. 

Star Wars

Guillermo is obsessed with Star Wars. Really obsessed. His obsession probably started a few months ago when his best friend in the whole wide world started feeding him information about The Clone Wars. Since then, we play Star Wars nonstop, fighting the bad guys that hang out between our house and our neighbor's. Our ship is the garden between the two homes.  At first, Guillermo liked to be Luke, but now he likes to be Boba Fett most of the time, though the other day he was Jedi No. 2. Maya is always Princess Leia (though Guillermo calls her Lei-yo). These days, I'm usually R2D2. Guillermo says he likes R2D2 because he has a lot of weapons. Will is always Yoda. In fact, Guillermo rarely calls Will papa anymore. He calls him Yoda. "Hey Yoda, are you ready for dinner?" 

We were in Atlanta this weekend, visiting family. I bought Guillermo a Clone Wars coloring book for the car. Guillermo loved it and it kept him occupied for a good part of the trip (the rest of which, we kept him occupied with videos). I think he colored nearly ever picture as well. You could tell he was pleased because he wouldn't stop talking. "Yoda, what colors are the good guys' lightsabers?" "Yoda, what planet do the good guys live on?" "Yoda, why are there more bad guys than good guys?" "Mom, can I have another crayon, please?" On and on and on it went. 

Guillermo so badly wants to watch Star Wars. I think he is too young. We've convinced him that Will didn't see his first Star Wars movie until he was 8 years old, which may be the truth, Will doesn't really remember, and so Guillermo needs to wait until he is 8 years old, too (four years away). But if Will had his way, he'd let him watch right now. So, that leads me to my question. When is the appropriate age to show your kids Star Wars? And, the next question, in which order do you show your kids the Star Wars movies. In chronological order, 1-6, though I'm not sure where the Clone Wars fits in, or 4-6 and then 1-3? We've had a few friends weigh in on this? What do you think? As you can see, the viewing is expected to be a big production at our house. 

Super kids, super heroes

So the other day, when I posted about Guillermo driving me crazy, well, I take it all back, at least for a few days. 

We had a wonderful day yesterday and it proves that a little organization before the day starts can make such a huge difference. I used to spend a lot of time coming up with activities for Guillermo and Maya in case they started getting restless. I've neglected that lately because of a lot of other things going on in my life right now, but over the weekend I came up with some new ideas. At the top of the list was making kid-size superheroes. 

Armed with markers, yarn, felt in all different colors, colored pencils, glitter glue and regular glue and butcher paper given to us from a friend, we went to work. I traced their bodies (Guillermo giggled so much and Maya kept his laughter going by repeatedly asking "Does it tickle, Memo? Tickle, Memo?") and then let them fill in the rest, sort of. 

Guillermo created Star Man with a weapon belt, sort of like Batman's utility belt, and tattoos up and down his arms and stomach. One of Star Man's hands is filled with stars to give him extra power. The other hand can create fire. I think Star Man can also shoot a laser from his forehead. Watch Out!

Maya created Super Maya. By the time we started decorating Super Maya, she wasn't so interested, but she did add glitter glue to Super Maya's clothes, fingernails and one foot. she also picked out the color pink for Super Maya's tank top. Plus, she took a red stamp to Super Maya's face. Regardless, she was pleased with the end result, especially the hair. "Ponytails!" she squealed when they were finished.

My next project: Getting Guillermo to make up a story about Star Man. Will keeps tellling me to write a book. Maybe I can get Guillermo to do it for me. Then we'll all be rich, rich, rich!

Don't call it Taekwondo

Guillermo broke our hearts a few weeks ago when he told us he didn't want to play soccer this fall. At first he said he didn't want to play because his games would interfere with Spider Man on Saturday mornings.  Later, he said it was just too hard. We held our heads high, remembering he is only four and there are still plenty of years for him to train for World Cup 2022. 

But his decision comes at a particularly difficult time for me as a mom because he is driving me CRAZY. He is in preschool two full days a week and on the days that he is home, he only wants to play with friends. Unfortunately, the friends he played with last year are either in kindergarten or have moved or are in preschool more frequently than he is. When no one is around for him to play with, he gets cranky and uninterested in most of my suggestions. My solution was to find a few more scheduled activities to keep him busy during the week. 

He loves play fighting and somehow he and Will started watching Ninja videos. Instantly, we had a solution. Will took him on Saturday to check out a few martial arts schools. I thought Will would pick the gym that offers Ninjutsu because Guillermo insisted he wanted to learn Kung Fu. That gym, however, is 18 minutes away. A much closer one offers Taekwondo and Guillermo choose that one, which makes me only slightly frustrated because when I told him earlier in the week that we were going to sign him up for classes there, be burst into tears and said something about how he would never be my friend again. (Whatever dude, you told me that just yesterday and then five minutes later, you asked me to be R2D2 to your Boba Fett!)

They key, Will told me later, was not to let Guillermo know he is taking Taekwondo. We call it Ninjutsu, and so will all of you! So, starting next week, Guillermo will be taking Ninjutsu lessons at Taekwondo school, got it?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Peanut Butter

I told myself that until election day, I have to eat healthy, really healthy, like making sure I get my five fruits and vegetables each day, eight glasses of water, etc. Then, I went to Target and discovered that Target has discovered P.B. Loco. Yumm. I couldn't resist and now have this, sitting in the back of my refrigerator. If you live nearby, come on over. I'll share a spoonful with you. 

"Here, Swirl"

"Here, swirl. Come down, swirl."

At the park today, there was the friendliest (or the most daring) squirrel I've ever seen and we have a yard full of them.  That's especially true when our bird feeder is full. We've had to move the bird feeder several times because the squirrels crawl across the branches and steal the bird seed. We thought we solved the problem by hanging a plastic disc a few inches over the feeder and then hanging the feeder on a weaker branch. It took a few days, but the squirrels came up a system. They were able to climb out to the feeder, jump on the disc and then quickly jump onto the feeder. Since the branch is weak, only one squirrel can hop on so he (or she) is tasked with dropping the bird seed down to the squirrels on the ground below. It's pretty amusing to watch. But since we don't want to be outsmarted by squirrels, we hardly fill the feeder anymore.

Today's clever squirrel must make the park his home because he came right up to us when the kids broke out their goldfish, freeze-dried pineapple, and granola bars. When Maya and her friends spotted they squirrel, they were giddy. Somone dropped a goldfish. The squirrel waited a minute and then stretched out his paws, snatched it and ran off, but not for long. He was back waiting for his next morsel to fall. He was so entertaining to the kids that before we knew it, the kids were chasing him around the park and through the playscape, before he escaped to a tree. He liked the game though because he stopped about a quarter of the way up the tree while the kids called "Here, Swirl." They lost interest after a few minutes and went back to playing on their own until the squirrel came back for another round and the chase was on again. 

Maya had so much fun that when I gave her the five minute warning to go home, she stopped me with this: "No, 10 minutes, mommy." 

Scientist Will

Will won a grant a few months ago and UNC's School of Public Health made a video about the work he is going to do. You can catch Will being all scientific:

http://www.sph.unc.edu/accelerate/meet_the_innovators_video_7988_6068.html

You may notice (and if you don't, I'm pointing it out now) that Miles Davis gets more prominent play in Will's office than either Guillermo or I. Don't even ask about Maya's presence, but we know he loves us.

UPDATE: Apparently the earlier link wouldn't work on some computers so I added the address. Please let me know if that doesn't get you there and I'll figure out something else.

Vacation Pictures

At long last, here are pictures form our vacation to Peoria. I would have posted pictures sooner but we lost the charger for our camera. My parents sent these to me late last week.

Goofing off

Water fun

Worn out

Maya and me