It is always fascinating to witness the flow of ideas in a kid's mind. This past week I got several fun or cool glimpses of Lorena's.
"Let's go to the movies, let's go see the stars..."
We were in the car, listening -not surprisingly- to the Annie CD (for months her choice has been Annie or Sound of Music). Lorena asked what seeing the stars meant. I stumbled in my explanation of what a Hollywood star is, and gave her some examples of people she might be familiar with , i.e. Julie Andrews.
She replied, "oh, like Patty Collins!". It took me a while to get what she meant and who she was referring to. By the way, that seems to be one of my main jobs as a mother, trying to figure out what they mean. "Patty Collins" appeared in a story I read her from my old Reading book. I just now looked for the quote from the book, "Patty Collins was a famous tennis star".
SIDE NOTE. A couple of weeks ago, I had looked for one of my old elementary school Reading books. Arantxa had been to Robot Building summer camp and she seemed to be confusing machines with robots. I remembered that there was a nice explanation of the difference in my 4th or 5th grade English Reader (compilation of stories). I looked it up, and was going to give it to Ax to read, but Lorena asked me to read a story. She picked "Maria Loves Tennis". (To the people that went to school with me, do you remember the story? Maria runs away from home to go to Patty Collins' tennis camp....). I am now laughing because I am surprised by her memory, but I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I even remembered, before turning the page, that it was going to have an illustration of mallards. In my defense, English classes were boring and so I entertained myself reading ahead in those readers. At first, I just read to finish the story, but then I went on to the next one and the next one. I read many of them who knows how many times. I always kept my brain listening to big words when the other kids read aloud. That way I could find my way back to where they were reading in case I was called on to read.
Back to Lorena and the same car ride. I noticed the moon was visible and pointed it to the girls. As expected, Arantxa said "very nice, thanks" acknowledging my comment, but probably just barely getting her sight off her book. Lorena, on the other hand, was super excited. This is a short version of our conversation.
She told me that a character in the Space Chimps movie was called Luna (moon in Spanish). They saw the movie a couple of months ago.
I told her there was an orphan orca whale living in our local waters a couple of years ago who was named LUNA.
She asked what happened to her.
I explained it died.
She replied that maybe the same thing that had killed all the little fish had killed her as well.
Me. Fish? Oh, right, at the beginning of the summer we had seen many small fish death and washed to the shore of the lake.
Now, I am going off track again. Our girls are too young to remember Luna, the baby Orca whale who was a celebrity and much followed by local kids. They are also too young to remember Hansa, the baby elephant born in the Seattle zoo. They know of Hansa and have seen her memorial (she died 2 years ago). However, this marks a very clear generational divide. Kids just a few years older, remember and had to deal with the dead of those 2 famous animals.
Same day, later on. We drive past a McDonald's and Lorena points out that the roof looks like it had scales, like those on a fish. I think she is right.
Final comment while still in the same car ride. "There are so many pineapples in Hawaii I think they can bake pineapple pie for a LOT of people".
This next one will be familiar to my Facebook friends. It is, however, tricky to explain. Her wording doesn't make much sense in English., because the differences in the word "lightening" in English and Spanish. In Spanish, lightening is a noun that can be numbered. "Vi 3 rayos", you can say, which doesn't work in English, where it would be more like lightening rods. Not sure about that.
I saw a car whose whole roof was made of glass, it looked pretty cool.
Lorena said, well, that might not be a very good idea. It would break if a lightening rod fell on it. I asked her to explain herself, and she said that it would break it with its point. Oh, I then proceeded to explain that it is not like lightening rods have a point. She replied with, but they draw them like that, with the points!. I could just visualize those zig-zagging pointed rods that they indeed use to illustrate them. Not very eloquent explanation on electricity followed. I get it, she added, do they have batteries inside them, then? More explanations on how they are not something solid and not even a single line.
No wonder I am exhausted at the end of the day!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The Big DRAMA of the 4 year o...Squirrel!!!
These last couple of days, Pablo and I have been laughing at Lorena's drama. Yes, I know, that sounds bad. Let me explain.
I went to teach a class (tutoring) on Sunday, and Pablo and the girls had stayed home. They had picked many strawberries from our garden and saved some for me. The following day, I was going to eat my strawberries but Lorena really wanted for me to split them up. Yes, I could have, but more strawberries are coming all the time, and we wanted her to be able to do without. She started dramatically crying, like it was the end of the world: "BUAH!!! BUAH!!! I DON'T HAVE ANY STRAWBERRIES, I WANT SOME... BUAH! BUAH!...", then, all of a sudden she changed her tone to a normal voice and pointed out the door, "SQUIRREL!", and then went back to her end-of-the-world-tone dramatic crying.
If you have already seen UP, the new Pixar movie, you will have probably found this hilarious. If you haven't, the dogs in the movie are allowed to talk via a machine invented by their owner. They still talk like you'd imagine dogs would talk. Here, take a peek at least 40 seconds into this short. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxoWHeoYU3g While the dogs are dramatically chasing and almost catching the stories heroes, they get distracted all the time by the sight of squirrels.
Fast forward a couple of days. We had had breakfast already, and Lorena, AGAIN, was crying for whatever reason. She cries and it can almost break your heart, she is so convincing; except of course, that half the things she cries for are tiny inconsequential little things. This, by the way, has been a huge part of being 4 for both our girls. Anyway, I am holding her to comfort her as I listen to her her broken voice, and then, just like the other day, she cheerfully says "VITAMIN!!", pointing to the bottle on top of the fridge.
Pablo and I were thinking that she is really like the dogs in the movie. Then we got worried, is this a sign of ADHD? Lorena does seem to get distracted awfully easy. Then it dawned on me, we are guilty! How many times, over the years, have we resorted to distraction to get them over the little disappointments in life? For example, when they are crying after falling down on the playground, and we cheerfully say "airplane!"; or while they are tired of being in the car, "doggie!!!". So maybe, she has just internalized this.
Regarding ADD/ADHD, Lorena is just so aware of every little thing that she finds it harder to concentrate. Arantxa lives in her head and in her stories more, frequently oblivious to outside stimuli. A few days ago we were talking in the car about stopping to eat somewhere. The 3 of us were discussing where we'd go to, while Arantxa was, as usual, reading. When the car stopped and we were ready to get out, Arantxa asked, "why did the car stop? where are we going?".
Lorena, on the other hand, is always listening and always observing. She is the one that will point out to something I change in the house. She compliments me on clothes I haven't worn in a long time asking me if they are new and where I got them. She is happily playing about, but will jump into the conversation we are having in a different room. So, yes, Lorena seems to be distracted very easily because all the information that she is surrounded with seems relevant to her.
I went to teach a class (tutoring) on Sunday, and Pablo and the girls had stayed home. They had picked many strawberries from our garden and saved some for me. The following day, I was going to eat my strawberries but Lorena really wanted for me to split them up. Yes, I could have, but more strawberries are coming all the time, and we wanted her to be able to do without. She started dramatically crying, like it was the end of the world: "BUAH!!! BUAH!!! I DON'T HAVE ANY STRAWBERRIES, I WANT SOME... BUAH! BUAH!...", then, all of a sudden she changed her tone to a normal voice and pointed out the door, "SQUIRREL!", and then went back to her end-of-the-world-tone dramatic crying.
If you have already seen UP, the new Pixar movie, you will have probably found this hilarious. If you haven't, the dogs in the movie are allowed to talk via a machine invented by their owner. They still talk like you'd imagine dogs would talk. Here, take a peek at least 40 seconds into this short. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxoWHeoYU3g While the dogs are dramatically chasing and almost catching the stories heroes, they get distracted all the time by the sight of squirrels.
Fast forward a couple of days. We had had breakfast already, and Lorena, AGAIN, was crying for whatever reason. She cries and it can almost break your heart, she is so convincing; except of course, that half the things she cries for are tiny inconsequential little things. This, by the way, has been a huge part of being 4 for both our girls. Anyway, I am holding her to comfort her as I listen to her her broken voice, and then, just like the other day, she cheerfully says "VITAMIN!!", pointing to the bottle on top of the fridge.
Pablo and I were thinking that she is really like the dogs in the movie. Then we got worried, is this a sign of ADHD? Lorena does seem to get distracted awfully easy. Then it dawned on me, we are guilty! How many times, over the years, have we resorted to distraction to get them over the little disappointments in life? For example, when they are crying after falling down on the playground, and we cheerfully say "airplane!"; or while they are tired of being in the car, "doggie!!!". So maybe, she has just internalized this.
Regarding ADD/ADHD, Lorena is just so aware of every little thing that she finds it harder to concentrate. Arantxa lives in her head and in her stories more, frequently oblivious to outside stimuli. A few days ago we were talking in the car about stopping to eat somewhere. The 3 of us were discussing where we'd go to, while Arantxa was, as usual, reading. When the car stopped and we were ready to get out, Arantxa asked, "why did the car stop? where are we going?".
Lorena, on the other hand, is always listening and always observing. She is the one that will point out to something I change in the house. She compliments me on clothes I haven't worn in a long time asking me if they are new and where I got them. She is happily playing about, but will jump into the conversation we are having in a different room. So, yes, Lorena seems to be distracted very easily because all the information that she is surrounded with seems relevant to her.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Lorena singing both languages.
Like most preschoolers, I guess, Lorena loves to sing. She really, really does and is frequently seen both singing made up songs, or songs she learns in preschoo, or those from her favorite musicals (Annie, Sound of Music, Mary Poppins).
Yesterday she was singing in the car. She started in English and switched to Spanish at the end. She ends up by saying her name in both English and Spanish. Most people find it funny and interesting how they pronounce differently according to their target audience.
Yesterday she was singing in the car. She started in English and switched to Spanish at the end. She ends up by saying her name in both English and Spanish. Most people find it funny and interesting how they pronounce differently according to their target audience.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
The Encampment in Arantxa's words.
Arantxa was super excited about her first big Girl Scout adventure. Most of the older girls would be camping for the weekend. Her Daisies troop (K'ers and 1st graders) would be there "just" for the whole day. Each girl had to prepare and pack her own bag, and since they'd be there for the day, the packing list was not that short.
Yes, she is a bit sunburned. They applied sunscreen in the AM and one other time. She also has the remnants of some of her face painting. She was quite proud of what she painted and that was another of her favorite parts.
Here she is, all set and ready to go!
They met at 7:45, after wisely deciding as a group that they would have breakfast at home. They called us to know when to pick them up, if the girls were doing OK, they'd stay until the campfire. Pablo picked her up at 10;45 pm!!!!
Since she is SO much into writing, I provided her with a little notebook and pencil. She barely had any time to sit, but she managed to write a couple of pages. Here they go:
ARANTA'S ENCAMPMENT RECOUNT WITH INSTRUCTIONS.
We wached a movie! evrione in my group was exided. it was Lady and the Tramp. There were Maeny things befor it started. we saw maeny wonderful plaeces on the way. We went on a scavenge hunt then we ate and washd dishes but a splinter Got in my hand. after that we suiched (switched) bubidd (buddies). on the (scavenger) hunt we saw Deer.
Her writing is becoming much more fluid and her spelling has improved a ton in the last couple of weeks. She, however, has not internalized the capitalization after periods... Her school, as far as I can tell, stressed writing as communication in Kindergarten.
After that, she started dictating the rest. The funny part was that she kept reminding me to "add a period there".
For the scavenger hunt, which was in and around a big river as big (wide) as our house, we had to go around. There were plastic animal plates with duct tape on them. There were activities to do. We had to use nature or our voices to do them. The last thing we had to do was to (make up and) tell a circus cheer to the Juniors who had set it up. The circus cheer was:
We are green Daisies
and we are trapeze artists
with a tah-rah-tah- tah!
Go Girl Scouts!
Then we got beads. After that, we made necklaces, anklets, bracelets, or key chains out of the beads. Then we were able to move to the next station. It was not a tent but I like to call it a tent. (since she was dictating I did not get a chance to ask for clarification, maybe just the canopy?).
We made dog toys to donate to little puppies. We braided cloth ribbons together to make a toy. There were knots on each end of the toy.
At the cooking station, we made hot dogs. Some of the ovens (stoves?) burned but the ovens were just old cardboard boxes with aluminum paper and they hot coal inside them. Some girls in my troop thought that they were cooking coals, but instead they were just setting them up. Everything we made, we ate. We also made popcorn and lemonade.
To make popcorn, you have to put a big pot and fill it with tiny kernels to the top. Then put aluminum paper on top and press it down. Then you start shaking it up for a long time you shake. Then you stop, take out the aluminum paper and you have popcorn!
After that we made wish sticks. The older girl scouts explained to us that wish sticks make wishes come true.
How to make a wish stick.
- First you grab a bunch of sticks (no matter the size) and tie them together.
- Then you throw them into a campfire and the wishes come true.
How they work:
- Is a different question though, sticks go to the wish gods.
- Depending on what they think is good for you, some come true. Sometimes none comes true.
- For example, if you wish you will not eat candies for a month (maybe better a week we suggested), it comes true.
After making wish stick, we went to the bathroom and then went to the campfire.
At the campfire all the troops had a little skit of a song that they shared with the rest of the Girl Scouts.
When it was our turn we sang a song. We got special lights and bracelets to wear ((those glow in the dark kind..)). We went over to the campfire, we dropped our wish sticks and sang our song. then we curtsied (sp?) and bowed.
When Pablo picked her up, she was asleep in her car seat. He transferred her to Lorena's car seat and buckled her in. She did not blink. She went then to the driving mom's car to remove her car seat; when he opened the trunk to put the car seat it, she woke up. She told Pablo, "I thought I was sitting next to the other girls...".
One of her favorite parts was the swapping. Here she is wearing her troop hat with her swaps. All the girls brought little things they had made, and they all swapped with each other.
Yes, she is a bit sunburned. They applied sunscreen in the AM and one other time. She also has the remnants of some of her face painting. She was quite proud of what she painted and that was another of her favorite parts.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Lorena's Food Senses
I might have mentioned how Lorena has always had her senses focused in getting food. Here are some examples. They are all from this week. The senses are hearing, seeing, and smelling.
HEARING 1.
We were coming back from the Tulip festival. Abuánis (grandma) was on the Mei's back row and the girls were naturally in their car seats in the middle. Grandma had been munching on some kettle corn. The girls were listening to a story on CD. After a while, Lorena, in her usual roundabout way asked, "Abuánis, what are you doing?". She kept asking, still indirectly, so grandma was able to get away from admitting she'd been having popcorn. She however, had to stop eating. On a completely unrelated side note, I really love kettle corn and is probably the food item I'd missed the most if I moved away from here. (Nota para los que no lo conocen. Son palomitas que hacen en ollas gigantes en ferias y eventos. Mientras las hacen les avientan puños de sal y de azúcar. No quedan carameladas, tienen mucho menos azúcar que eso.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettle_corn
SIGHT 1.
We were having dinner in the patio. Lorena asked, "What are those rounded white things over there?". We hadn't offered them pickled cocktail onions. Neither of them is big on vinegary/acidic foods (but they are getting better with tolerating/enjoying lime).
SMELLING 1
After dinner, the girls were playing and my mom wanted something sweet, just a little something. I found 2 Girl Scouts Thin Mints, and we each had one. Later, we were watching some printed photos (such a rarity!), and Lorena came to look. I had her stand on a chair, so she'd be level with us. Pretty soon she asked, "what is that smell? when did you eat chocolate? Why wasn't I offered?".
HEARING 2.
The girls had not watched TV at all this week, so they sat down to watch a movie yesterday afternoon. We were talking about who knows what and had said galletas that means both cookies and crackers. She immediately came out to ask,""who is talking about galletas, what galletas are you talking about?.
HEARING 1.
We were coming back from the Tulip festival. Abuánis (grandma) was on the Mei's back row and the girls were naturally in their car seats in the middle. Grandma had been munching on some kettle corn. The girls were listening to a story on CD. After a while, Lorena, in her usual roundabout way asked, "Abuánis, what are you doing?". She kept asking, still indirectly, so grandma was able to get away from admitting she'd been having popcorn. She however, had to stop eating. On a completely unrelated side note, I really love kettle corn and is probably the food item I'd missed the most if I moved away from here. (Nota para los que no lo conocen. Son palomitas que hacen en ollas gigantes en ferias y eventos. Mientras las hacen les avientan puños de sal y de azúcar. No quedan carameladas, tienen mucho menos azúcar que eso.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kettle_corn
SIGHT 1.
We were having dinner in the patio. Lorena asked, "What are those rounded white things over there?". We hadn't offered them pickled cocktail onions. Neither of them is big on vinegary/acidic foods (but they are getting better with tolerating/enjoying lime).
SMELLING 1
After dinner, the girls were playing and my mom wanted something sweet, just a little something. I found 2 Girl Scouts Thin Mints, and we each had one. Later, we were watching some printed photos (such a rarity!), and Lorena came to look. I had her stand on a chair, so she'd be level with us. Pretty soon she asked, "what is that smell? when did you eat chocolate? Why wasn't I offered?".
HEARING 2.
The girls had not watched TV at all this week, so they sat down to watch a movie yesterday afternoon. We were talking about who knows what and had said galletas that means both cookies and crackers. She immediately came out to ask,""who is talking about galletas, what galletas are you talking about?.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A multiple choice get well card and other odd things
Our neighbor had to stay home from school after she had taken a bad fall earlier this week. Teh girls wrote Get Well Cards. I was busy working on something else, and just overheard Arantxa murmuring to herself, sounding out words.
This is what she wrote:
I hope you get better soon. Whow did you get hurt?
A Run and fall
b run to a wall and fall
C Go down a slid in or land on rock
if none of these send a note saying whow.
From Arantxa (and with the obligatory girly little heart).
When I glanced at what she had written I almost laughed out loud. One would think that she has taken multiple choice tests.
Today, when I picked her up from school., I realized that she had a little red mark on her cheek. This is a summary of the conversation we had.
M: What happened to you? How did you get hurt?
Ax: Oh, it is that we were playing hockey during 1st recess, but there were a lot of kids playing. It was both K classrooms, so that is 32 kids, plus, I think there I counted 10 other kids. That means there were 42 kids. Mom, quick, I need paper and pencil.
(passed her a piece of paper, she pulled out a pencil from her backpack).
Ax: I need to write this down. 16*2=32; 32+10=42. That means each team had 16+5 kids.
M: How many would that be?
Ax: 21, (then while writing she said) 16+5=21.
M: So, what happened then?
Ax: Oh, somebody was pulling their stick, and let go, and it hit me in the face.
Notice how she turned the conversation into a math problem. I guess instead of going off a tangent, she went off an arithmetic problem.... since we were there, I asked more.
M: So, how many girls in your class?
Ax:8
M: and boys?
Ax: 8.
M: and girls and boys in the other class?
Ax: 8 and 8.
M: So how much is 8*4?
Ax: 32! Let me get that down in paper again.
I haven't seen her notes, I want to see how she wrote everything.
It seems that lately she is in a math growth spurt. She frequently says things like: 17+5=22, 14+5=19. 3*6=18, etc.
One last one. I was filling out a Scholastic book order and asked her if she'd read all of the Deltora books. "Well, there are the ones with the jewels, the first one is called ___ and then there are the ones blablabla, but I read the one that blabla.. and also the other one that comes after and is titled blablabla....and on and on and on ". Pablo quietly said to me: she could have said: no.
This is what she wrote:
I hope you get better soon. Whow did you get hurt?
A Run and fall
b run to a wall and fall
C Go down a slid in or land on rock
if none of these send a note saying whow.
From Arantxa (and with the obligatory girly little heart).
When I glanced at what she had written I almost laughed out loud. One would think that she has taken multiple choice tests.
Today, when I picked her up from school., I realized that she had a little red mark on her cheek. This is a summary of the conversation we had.
M: What happened to you? How did you get hurt?
Ax: Oh, it is that we were playing hockey during 1st recess, but there were a lot of kids playing. It was both K classrooms, so that is 32 kids, plus, I think there I counted 10 other kids. That means there were 42 kids. Mom, quick, I need paper and pencil.
(passed her a piece of paper, she pulled out a pencil from her backpack).
Ax: I need to write this down. 16*2=32; 32+10=42. That means each team had 16+5 kids.
M: How many would that be?
Ax: 21, (then while writing she said) 16+5=21.
M: So, what happened then?
Ax: Oh, somebody was pulling their stick, and let go, and it hit me in the face.
Notice how she turned the conversation into a math problem. I guess instead of going off a tangent, she went off an arithmetic problem.... since we were there, I asked more.
M: So, how many girls in your class?
Ax:8
M: and boys?
Ax: 8.
M: and girls and boys in the other class?
Ax: 8 and 8.
M: So how much is 8*4?
Ax: 32! Let me get that down in paper again.
I haven't seen her notes, I want to see how she wrote everything.
It seems that lately she is in a math growth spurt. She frequently says things like: 17+5=22, 14+5=19. 3*6=18, etc.
One last one. I was filling out a Scholastic book order and asked her if she'd read all of the Deltora books. "Well, there are the ones with the jewels, the first one is called ___ and then there are the ones blablabla, but I read the one that blabla.. and also the other one that comes after and is titled blablabla....and on and on and on ". Pablo quietly said to me: she could have said: no.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Lorena was the mom today
Arantxa and I were practicing some catching and throwing (we had completely forgotten about her glove and ball..ooops!). Lorena got in her Little Tikes car announced she was the mom, and that she'd pick us up after our baseball class.
She stayed in character all day, Arantxa quit after a while. She got tired that when she said "mom, look", Lorena reminded her that she was the mom.
Here are some of the quotes from the day:
- You guys are going to go to extended day today. Extended day is where kids can go to after regular school hours. Arantxa doesn't go there. Well, her Drama class was through X-day.
She finally picked us up. We got "in" the car, and she asked, "Did you have a good lunch? How much did you eat? Who did you seat with?". Oops! I hadn't realized how predictable I am.
Later, we are going to go to the gym. You are going to go the school there (childcare while you work out) because I need to exercise. I am going to do the climber. It is only for moms, you can't do it because I am afraid you'd get hurt.
I am not going to give you a snack in the car because we are going to have dinner soon.
Maybe I will remember some later on. It was funny!
Oh, and here is Arantxa in her incomplete Baseball uniform. She is so excited! Practices start this week.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Is Arantxa growing?
This will probably be my shortest blog ever.
Arantxa had gotten all dressed in her new baseball uniform. This is the first time she is participating in a formal sport. She will do co-ed T-ball. By the way, I discovered I am completely clueless in this department. Luckily another mom took me to the store where I could buy the appropriate clothes. Who knew that baseball pants had belt loops and that they are special belts for them? Certainly not me. I had bought the smaller pants, socks, shirt, and belt; and it really did not look that bad in the store. However, by the time I saw them next to her it was obvious they are humongous! Thank goodness for the belt....
Back to Saturday, it was freezing and it was raining non-stop. Sadly, but fortunately, the parade was cancelled. Luckily for Arantxa, she had something to look forward to. She had $30 worth of Barnes and Noble gift cards from her birthday (Thanks S and C!). As Pablo left to help set up for the school auction, I took the girls to the bookstore. Arantxa quickly started separating some books she wanted to read, she had to really resist start reading the last Magic Tree House (41!), while she sorted the others out. I gave her a pile, and she found some herself. After much reflection, she ended up with 5 books, which she had in order of preference, since she did not know how much she could afford. Lorena, in the meantime, had her own stack of books. I bought her a Dora book. She really loves that episode not only because it has mermaids, but because one is named Mariana, how cool is that for a 3 year old?
Arantxa's total was about $32, but I remembered I had a 15% coupon off one item, so she got lucky there and did not have to use her own allowance money to complete the payment. We were at Crossroads mall, so we went to get some lunch. Before we started eating, she had already read 3 chapters of her MTH book.
After lunch, we saw the "Library Connections" which was perfect. I had with me her 2 last reading logs. Since she had read 20 minutes for 20 days during a month (I don't even bother recording the days, most days she reads at least an hour). anyway, she was eligible to get 2 free books. She made her selection, and was even lucky enough to find a thick chapter Dragon book of a series she was after.
By 4 o'clock, she had finished reading a few of the books. Needless to say, she hardly did anything but read. I saw her on the floor, wiggling on the couch, nestled against a corner next to a table.
Rafael and Dani arrived to take care of the girls at 4. Pablo and I got all dressed up in our safari clothes (the theme of the auction was "Where the Wildcats are", so that was easy for us. The auction was fun, and we did get some items.
When we came back we were schocked to learn that Arantxa had announced at 5 that she was very tired, had a headache, and was ready for bed. They quickly had dinner, and then they had to talk her into getting her into her PJs. She went to bed before 6, and fell asleep super fast with her first ever headache. We are sure she got it from that last reading place she found, she was in a really bad posture. And yes, when I found her there, I had asked her to move to a different place and to turn the lights on. She did not wake up until the following morning.
Sunday night she had a very bad night, full of nightmares. I forgot to say that I wanted to ban a "Goosebumps" books she had gotten. I had explained it would probably be very scary, I had read a few paragraphs to show her. She could not resist it because of the title and the first few paragraphs. (http://www.amazon.com/How-I-Learned-Fly-Goosebumps/dp/0590568892). We agreed that if she mentioned anything about being scared or not able to sleep, I'd have to take the book away, and she would not be allowed to read more of that series. She had very little sleep, and needless to say, those books will be banned for an undetermined amount of time.
Lorena picked her up from drama class yesterday. She was really cranky in the car; and fell asleep shortly before we made it home, it was around 5 pm. I left her in the car while I started dinner. I then brought her in to the couch. Lorena kept bringing toys to her, but she did not move. I tried to wake her for dinner, but she just wouldn't wake up!! I finally gave up and took her to her bed. Lorena was sad that Pablo was not going to join us for dinner, he was going to work late. She was devastated when she realized that Arantxa would not have dinner with us either. I made it for her by joining her in her bath.
I kept checking on Arantxa a few times, I was a bit worried, but she seemed just fine. She walked into our room at 6 am this morning, with a cheerful "Happy St. Patrick's day!". She slept almost 13 hours.
We'll see what the rest of the week brings. She might be growing....
Arantxa had gotten all dressed in her new baseball uniform. This is the first time she is participating in a formal sport. She will do co-ed T-ball. By the way, I discovered I am completely clueless in this department. Luckily another mom took me to the store where I could buy the appropriate clothes. Who knew that baseball pants had belt loops and that they are special belts for them? Certainly not me. I had bought the smaller pants, socks, shirt, and belt; and it really did not look that bad in the store. However, by the time I saw them next to her it was obvious they are humongous! Thank goodness for the belt....
Back to Saturday, it was freezing and it was raining non-stop. Sadly, but fortunately, the parade was cancelled. Luckily for Arantxa, she had something to look forward to. She had $30 worth of Barnes and Noble gift cards from her birthday (Thanks S and C!). As Pablo left to help set up for the school auction, I took the girls to the bookstore. Arantxa quickly started separating some books she wanted to read, she had to really resist start reading the last Magic Tree House (41!), while she sorted the others out. I gave her a pile, and she found some herself. After much reflection, she ended up with 5 books, which she had in order of preference, since she did not know how much she could afford. Lorena, in the meantime, had her own stack of books. I bought her a Dora book. She really loves that episode not only because it has mermaids, but because one is named Mariana, how cool is that for a 3 year old?
Arantxa's total was about $32, but I remembered I had a 15% coupon off one item, so she got lucky there and did not have to use her own allowance money to complete the payment. We were at Crossroads mall, so we went to get some lunch. Before we started eating, she had already read 3 chapters of her MTH book.
After lunch, we saw the "Library Connections" which was perfect. I had with me her 2 last reading logs. Since she had read 20 minutes for 20 days during a month (I don't even bother recording the days, most days she reads at least an hour). anyway, she was eligible to get 2 free books. She made her selection, and was even lucky enough to find a thick chapter Dragon book of a series she was after.
By 4 o'clock, she had finished reading a few of the books. Needless to say, she hardly did anything but read. I saw her on the floor, wiggling on the couch, nestled against a corner next to a table.
Rafael and Dani arrived to take care of the girls at 4. Pablo and I got all dressed up in our safari clothes (the theme of the auction was "Where the Wildcats are", so that was easy for us. The auction was fun, and we did get some items.
When we came back we were schocked to learn that Arantxa had announced at 5 that she was very tired, had a headache, and was ready for bed. They quickly had dinner, and then they had to talk her into getting her into her PJs. She went to bed before 6, and fell asleep super fast with her first ever headache. We are sure she got it from that last reading place she found, she was in a really bad posture. And yes, when I found her there, I had asked her to move to a different place and to turn the lights on. She did not wake up until the following morning.
Sunday night she had a very bad night, full of nightmares. I forgot to say that I wanted to ban a "Goosebumps" books she had gotten. I had explained it would probably be very scary, I had read a few paragraphs to show her. She could not resist it because of the title and the first few paragraphs. (http://www.amazon.com/How-I-Learned-Fly-Goosebumps/dp/0590568892). We agreed that if she mentioned anything about being scared or not able to sleep, I'd have to take the book away, and she would not be allowed to read more of that series. She had very little sleep, and needless to say, those books will be banned for an undetermined amount of time.
Lorena picked her up from drama class yesterday. She was really cranky in the car; and fell asleep shortly before we made it home, it was around 5 pm. I left her in the car while I started dinner. I then brought her in to the couch. Lorena kept bringing toys to her, but she did not move. I tried to wake her for dinner, but she just wouldn't wake up!! I finally gave up and took her to her bed. Lorena was sad that Pablo was not going to join us for dinner, he was going to work late. She was devastated when she realized that Arantxa would not have dinner with us either. I made it for her by joining her in her bath.
I kept checking on Arantxa a few times, I was a bit worried, but she seemed just fine. She walked into our room at 6 am this morning, with a cheerful "Happy St. Patrick's day!". She slept almost 13 hours.
We'll see what the rest of the week brings. She might be growing....
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
What Lorena remembers....
Both girls frequently astonish us with things they remember. Here are some recent examples from Lorena.
1) We were at the museums' cafeteria, and she started pointing to a table far away. She said that they had the same bottles that they gave to kids at her sister's preschool (sister now in K). We had no idea what she was talking about, so we asked her to clarify. She said that Ms. S had given kids that water bottle at the field trip. She went on to say that it was the field trip she had been invited to at the museum with the dinosaurs bones. She then added the other snack items she was given that day by Ms S.
2) When she asked what was for dinner and I said Ravioli, she replied that she doesn't like those. Lately she has been saying that too frequently, so I told her that she hadn't tasted them. "Yes, I have mom, remember, that was what we had the day we saw Annie, and you let us have dinner in the family room, watching TV".
Mmh... 2 food items, maybe there is a pattern here.
3) When I was going to do her hair, she said she wanted to have braids AND a headband that day, like the girl in the book. What girl? what book? She ran upstairs, brought down "Gigi, God's little princess" book, and turned pages until she found the right one. Her sister got that book as a party favor last year, and neither of the girls really liked it that much. I am sure we read it to both, but definitely not too frequently. She did not remember the girl's name. What surprised me most is that Gigi has different hairstyles through out the book.
4) We went to the super market and I put her in one of those annoying carts with the huge plastic car add-ons, the ones that look like cars. I playfully put her down, sideways, and she "fell" in it, with her arms and legs up. She laughed and said, "just like Goldilocks". What? Apparently, Goldilocks fell just like that from the chair in one of the "versions" (her word) of Goldilocks that we have, the one in the thick book with a compendium (my word) of stories in Spanish. We came home, and she showed me the illustration.
1) We were at the museums' cafeteria, and she started pointing to a table far away. She said that they had the same bottles that they gave to kids at her sister's preschool (sister now in K). We had no idea what she was talking about, so we asked her to clarify. She said that Ms. S had given kids that water bottle at the field trip. She went on to say that it was the field trip she had been invited to at the museum with the dinosaurs bones. She then added the other snack items she was given that day by Ms S.
2) When she asked what was for dinner and I said Ravioli, she replied that she doesn't like those. Lately she has been saying that too frequently, so I told her that she hadn't tasted them. "Yes, I have mom, remember, that was what we had the day we saw Annie, and you let us have dinner in the family room, watching TV".
Mmh... 2 food items, maybe there is a pattern here.
3) When I was going to do her hair, she said she wanted to have braids AND a headband that day, like the girl in the book. What girl? what book? She ran upstairs, brought down "Gigi, God's little princess" book, and turned pages until she found the right one. Her sister got that book as a party favor last year, and neither of the girls really liked it that much. I am sure we read it to both, but definitely not too frequently. She did not remember the girl's name. What surprised me most is that Gigi has different hairstyles through out the book.
4) We went to the super market and I put her in one of those annoying carts with the huge plastic car add-ons, the ones that look like cars. I playfully put her down, sideways, and she "fell" in it, with her arms and legs up. She laughed and said, "just like Goldilocks". What? Apparently, Goldilocks fell just like that from the chair in one of the "versions" (her word) of Goldilocks that we have, the one in the thick book with a compendium (my word) of stories in Spanish. We came home, and she showed me the illustration.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Found it, found it, found the diamond...
We were not even a full week away from our 10th anniversary. I had read books to Lorena in our bed, and then played, roughly with her, on the bottom of the stairs. That is when I realized that the diamond was missing from my engagement ring, as I felt something scratching me. I immediately let out a big "Help! Pablo, come!". I am sure there was a sense of urgency in my voice, but I think it did not sound as if someone had broken a leg.
I stayed looking on the steps, with my eyes and passing my hand over the carpet. Nothing. Lorena was trying to help. Pablo had run to get some flashlights. Nothing on the stairs, I went back to the bed, nothing. I made Lorena undress, and checked my clothing as well, nothing. I must add that our house was spotless as it had been cleaned in the morning: no distracting clutter on the floor, freshly vaccuumed; and I was positive I had the stone in the morning.
We had been about to leave out for dinner when I realized. Arantxa was barely aware than anything was going on, since she was immersed in her books in the family room. Lorena, on the other hand, really tried to help. I found myself alternating from being annoyed at her when she got in the way, or moved things roughly; and melted by her genuined desire to help.
Now, bare in mind that we live in a house with 2 small girls. I cannot tell you how many fake jewels, glitter, or otherwise sparkly small items we found. We had countless moments of false hope. Pablo had looked in the car. I had gotten back to the few places I had been in before (Thursdays I mostly chaufeur kids around. The 3 of us leave the house at 7:30 am, and we all get back around 3:30, many miles later).
All of this time my mind kept racing, but my emotions were kept at bay: "we will have to quit soon. Once the girls are in bed, we can extend a dark towel in our carpet, and empty the folded clothes from the bins. We'll sleep in the guest room..."
Eventually, it was clear that it was time to quit looking. We had been searching for 1:15 hours. I was going to take a last peek in Mei aka as Pablo's car (the one I had been driving due to snow), but he took over as I got the girls ready in Satsuki, i.e. my van. (Yes, we love My Neighbor Totoro movie). Pablo exclaimed, "found it" and then "maybe not, I think it is another of the girls' jewels". But it was not, it was the real deal. He had found it under the driver's seat. Phew!
That is when all the emotions hit with full force. I must say that all the time that we were looking I was so relieved that it had not been my fault: I hadn't misplaced the ring, or forgotten it someplace. One of the little "legs" holding it, had broken off. We went to dinner, and it took me several hours to calm down. We were both exhausted when we went to bed!
At the end, I could just think of the Kindermusic song, both girls, but especially Arantxa, used to love "Found it, found it, here is the diamong ring...". Oh, and in the middle of the search, the song that kept popping to my mind was "Hush Little Baby"; and thinking that the way the economy is going "if that diamond ring gets lost... nobody is getting you another one...".
Oh, and I want my mom to read this and remind me of a similar story. I just remember a few details of when this daugher of their friends had come to my apartement with a tape of music from their choir. Pablo and I were engaged and looking at choirs for our wedding. I think this woman also had just lost her diamond, and I remember that she had also found it in the car. My memory might be failing me, though, it sounds too similar to our own story!
I stayed looking on the steps, with my eyes and passing my hand over the carpet. Nothing. Lorena was trying to help. Pablo had run to get some flashlights. Nothing on the stairs, I went back to the bed, nothing. I made Lorena undress, and checked my clothing as well, nothing. I must add that our house was spotless as it had been cleaned in the morning: no distracting clutter on the floor, freshly vaccuumed; and I was positive I had the stone in the morning.
We had been about to leave out for dinner when I realized. Arantxa was barely aware than anything was going on, since she was immersed in her books in the family room. Lorena, on the other hand, really tried to help. I found myself alternating from being annoyed at her when she got in the way, or moved things roughly; and melted by her genuined desire to help.
Now, bare in mind that we live in a house with 2 small girls. I cannot tell you how many fake jewels, glitter, or otherwise sparkly small items we found. We had countless moments of false hope. Pablo had looked in the car. I had gotten back to the few places I had been in before (Thursdays I mostly chaufeur kids around. The 3 of us leave the house at 7:30 am, and we all get back around 3:30, many miles later).
All of this time my mind kept racing, but my emotions were kept at bay: "we will have to quit soon. Once the girls are in bed, we can extend a dark towel in our carpet, and empty the folded clothes from the bins. We'll sleep in the guest room..."
Eventually, it was clear that it was time to quit looking. We had been searching for 1:15 hours. I was going to take a last peek in Mei aka as Pablo's car (the one I had been driving due to snow), but he took over as I got the girls ready in Satsuki, i.e. my van. (Yes, we love My Neighbor Totoro movie). Pablo exclaimed, "found it" and then "maybe not, I think it is another of the girls' jewels". But it was not, it was the real deal. He had found it under the driver's seat. Phew!
That is when all the emotions hit with full force. I must say that all the time that we were looking I was so relieved that it had not been my fault: I hadn't misplaced the ring, or forgotten it someplace. One of the little "legs" holding it, had broken off. We went to dinner, and it took me several hours to calm down. We were both exhausted when we went to bed!
At the end, I could just think of the Kindermusic song, both girls, but especially Arantxa, used to love "Found it, found it, here is the diamong ring...". Oh, and in the middle of the search, the song that kept popping to my mind was "Hush Little Baby"; and thinking that the way the economy is going "if that diamond ring gets lost... nobody is getting you another one...".
Oh, and I want my mom to read this and remind me of a similar story. I just remember a few details of when this daugher of their friends had come to my apartement with a tape of music from their choir. Pablo and I were engaged and looking at choirs for our wedding. I think this woman also had just lost her diamond, and I remember that she had also found it in the car. My memory might be failing me, though, it sounds too similar to our own story!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Some things they have said this year
We were at a public restroom and there was something different about the sinks/faucets. I guess she wanted to close it, but it was automatic (press on, but stops on its own). Lorena said, "look, that is quite a spectacle!". "Mira mamá, es todo un espectáculo".
I did not let her get her shirt off for a car ride. It was cold outside and I did not want her only in her undershirt. "Mom, you are destroying my world" (In Spanish she used the reflexive, so this was my best translation: "me estás destruyendo el mundo").
I prepared "cochinita pibil" some time ago, Arantxa loved and as she asked for seconds she asked, ""mom, can I please have the recipe?". "Mamá, ?me puedes dar la receta por favor?". She had suggested that it would be a good idea to keep hers and Lorena's favorite recipes handy for when they got married or went to live on their own.
Lorena, describing parallel play. After Arantxa's party.
- Hey, Lorena, what were you playing with C yesterday?
- We were sitting next to each other playing with Little People, but she was playing her game and I was playing mine. We were not really playing together. What a hassle! She did not want to play the same thing. "Estábamos sentadas juntas jugando con Little People, pero ella estaba de su lado jugando su juego, y yo de mi lado jugando el mío. No estábamos jugando juntas. !qué lata"! Ella no quería que jugáramos la misma cosa."
Lorena, being annoyed AND annoying. It was my turn to choose music on the car, so I turned to NPR. "Argh! No aguanto el radio, por favor, alguien, ayúdeme a quitarme la cabeza. (mientras se la jalaba para arriba) !AAAH! Por favor, quien sea, ayuden a que me quite la cabeza. El mundo sería MÁS MEJOR si no tuviera mi cabeza y no pudiera escuchar el radio"."I can't stand the radio, please, somebody help me pull my head out. "Remove my head! (while actually pulling her head up). Please, someone, help me remove my head! The world would be more better if I did not have my head, I wouldn't have to listen to the radio" Does anybody else thinks she might be slightly over reacting? Ah, the drama never ends!
The next 2 are Arantxa being profound and self-reflective.
1) Pondering on the conscience.
"We (humans) are made of 2 parts;l one is the voice that tells you what you have to do, like no hitting; but there is another part that just does the things. Sometimes the parts are connected, and one can stop the other one; but sometimes those 2 parts are completely separate". "Estamos (humanos) hechos de dos partes, una es la voz que te dice lo que debes hacer, como no pegar; pero hay otra parte que solo hace las cosas. A veces las partes están conectadas y una puede detener a la otra; pero a veces las 2 partes están completamente separadas".
And no, she was not trying to get out of trouble, I guess her 2 parts had been connected that whole day.
2) Pondering on personal space and explaining this to Lorena. Apparently it was a concept she though of herself, she had not read/heard about it. "It is like everybody has a bubble, and if someone else comes to close to your bubble it bursts. Voice can come in the bubble, and sometimes hands." We all then later elaborated on how very loud voices can indeed burst the bubble, and how everybody's bubble is a different size. "Lorena, es como si cada quien tuviera una burbuja, y si alguien se acerca mucho a tu burbuja, se rompe. La voz si puede entrar a tu burbuja y a veces las manos".
Did Lorena understand? Sort of. The three of us were eating out, and we were seated in a circular booth, Lorena in the middle. Arantxa had to approach to get Purell for her hands, so I explained to Lorena that Arantxa was going to get close. After all hands were clean, Arantxa scooted back, but not all the way to her original "place". Lorena turned to me and said, "Mom, Arantxa entered OUR bubble". "Mamá, Arantxa se metió a NUESTRA burbuja". I had to explain that bubbles were personal.
A final one from Lorena. "I don't need protein, there was Hawaiian pizza at my school's Valentine party yesterday, it had Canadian bacon; so I don''t need any protein". "Yo no necesito proteína, hubo Pizza Hawaiiana en la fiesta de San Valentín de mi escuela, y tenía lomo canadiense, así que no necesito proteína."
The last one from Arantxa. She was dictating thank you notes to me. "The flower you drew was very detailed and it looks like a real flower. I loved it! The way you drew the picture made me imagine myself in a garden with giant flowers and the sun shining down on me."
I did not let her get her shirt off for a car ride. It was cold outside and I did not want her only in her undershirt. "Mom, you are destroying my world" (In Spanish she used the reflexive, so this was my best translation: "me estás destruyendo el mundo").
I prepared "cochinita pibil" some time ago, Arantxa loved and as she asked for seconds she asked, ""mom, can I please have the recipe?". "Mamá, ?me puedes dar la receta por favor?". She had suggested that it would be a good idea to keep hers and Lorena's favorite recipes handy for when they got married or went to live on their own.
Lorena, describing parallel play. After Arantxa's party.
- Hey, Lorena, what were you playing with C yesterday?
- We were sitting next to each other playing with Little People, but she was playing her game and I was playing mine. We were not really playing together. What a hassle! She did not want to play the same thing. "Estábamos sentadas juntas jugando con Little People, pero ella estaba de su lado jugando su juego, y yo de mi lado jugando el mío. No estábamos jugando juntas. !qué lata"! Ella no quería que jugáramos la misma cosa."
Lorena, being annoyed AND annoying. It was my turn to choose music on the car, so I turned to NPR. "Argh! No aguanto el radio, por favor, alguien, ayúdeme a quitarme la cabeza. (mientras se la jalaba para arriba) !AAAH! Por favor, quien sea, ayuden a que me quite la cabeza. El mundo sería MÁS MEJOR si no tuviera mi cabeza y no pudiera escuchar el radio"."I can't stand the radio, please, somebody help me pull my head out. "Remove my head! (while actually pulling her head up). Please, someone, help me remove my head! The world would be more better if I did not have my head, I wouldn't have to listen to the radio" Does anybody else thinks she might be slightly over reacting? Ah, the drama never ends!
The next 2 are Arantxa being profound and self-reflective.
1) Pondering on the conscience.
"We (humans) are made of 2 parts;l one is the voice that tells you what you have to do, like no hitting; but there is another part that just does the things. Sometimes the parts are connected, and one can stop the other one; but sometimes those 2 parts are completely separate". "Estamos (humanos) hechos de dos partes, una es la voz que te dice lo que debes hacer, como no pegar; pero hay otra parte que solo hace las cosas. A veces las partes están conectadas y una puede detener a la otra; pero a veces las 2 partes están completamente separadas".
And no, she was not trying to get out of trouble, I guess her 2 parts had been connected that whole day.
2) Pondering on personal space and explaining this to Lorena. Apparently it was a concept she though of herself, she had not read/heard about it. "It is like everybody has a bubble, and if someone else comes to close to your bubble it bursts. Voice can come in the bubble, and sometimes hands." We all then later elaborated on how very loud voices can indeed burst the bubble, and how everybody's bubble is a different size. "Lorena, es como si cada quien tuviera una burbuja, y si alguien se acerca mucho a tu burbuja, se rompe. La voz si puede entrar a tu burbuja y a veces las manos".
Did Lorena understand? Sort of. The three of us were eating out, and we were seated in a circular booth, Lorena in the middle. Arantxa had to approach to get Purell for her hands, so I explained to Lorena that Arantxa was going to get close. After all hands were clean, Arantxa scooted back, but not all the way to her original "place". Lorena turned to me and said, "Mom, Arantxa entered OUR bubble". "Mamá, Arantxa se metió a NUESTRA burbuja". I had to explain that bubbles were personal.
A final one from Lorena. "I don't need protein, there was Hawaiian pizza at my school's Valentine party yesterday, it had Canadian bacon; so I don''t need any protein". "Yo no necesito proteína, hubo Pizza Hawaiiana en la fiesta de San Valentín de mi escuela, y tenía lomo canadiense, así que no necesito proteína."
The last one from Arantxa. She was dictating thank you notes to me. "The flower you drew was very detailed and it looks like a real flower. I loved it! The way you drew the picture made me imagine myself in a garden with giant flowers and the sun shining down on me."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The birthday party and the castle cake!
We finally had Arantxa's 6th party on Sunday. With her b'day so close to Xmas and our trip, it is just crazy to do anything before that. However, later we have the Super Bowl, Valentine's day, and Winter break. I have to remember all of this for next year.
What she really wanted was to have the party at home, have some crafts, play, and especially a piñata. Since it is during the winter, she had to settle for about a dozen kids.
Last year, she wanted a "bear" cake. We ended up getting a fisherman's cake: it was guy fishing on a stream. We removed the guy, added some Schleich bears, kept the salmon, and voilà, a bear cake. This year, she REALLY wanted a castle cake. Not any castle cake, not a flat cake, but one that indeed looked like a castle. When we were in Mexico she and her cousin spent hours creating 3D cardboard furniture for a little house. This is then, a real interest of hers.
I started by baking 3 batches of carrot cake. I needed 2 for the bottom layer, and another one for the top layer. I had bought a kit that includes the towers, door, windows, etc. I prepared the frosting and set to work the night before. It was definitely a challenge, but overall I had fun doing it. I have been wanting to take a cake decorating class, and in the meantime I have learned on my own. I set up knowing that I would be unable to even come close to the one in the box, but that I could make something work that would impress the little kids.
First I figured out how to use "dowels" to stablize the cake and keep it from falling. Then, came the trickiest part: frosting the layers do that they would look smooth. Afterwards came the fun of actual decorating the towers and the rest of the cake. I knew my limitations so I decided toto simplify in some ways while still aiming for an "awe" factor. Oh,. by the way, Pablo helped me, not only bouncing off ideas, actually doing some frosting.
Here is the just finished product.
What she really wanted was to have the party at home, have some crafts, play, and especially a piñata. Since it is during the winter, she had to settle for about a dozen kids.
Last year, she wanted a "bear" cake. We ended up getting a fisherman's cake: it was guy fishing on a stream. We removed the guy, added some Schleich bears, kept the salmon, and voilà, a bear cake. This year, she REALLY wanted a castle cake. Not any castle cake, not a flat cake, but one that indeed looked like a castle. When we were in Mexico she and her cousin spent hours creating 3D cardboard furniture for a little house. This is then, a real interest of hers.
I started by baking 3 batches of carrot cake. I needed 2 for the bottom layer, and another one for the top layer. I had bought a kit that includes the towers, door, windows, etc. I prepared the frosting and set to work the night before. It was definitely a challenge, but overall I had fun doing it. I have been wanting to take a cake decorating class, and in the meantime I have learned on my own. I set up knowing that I would be unable to even come close to the one in the box, but that I could make something work that would impress the little kids.
First I figured out how to use "dowels" to stablize the cake and keep it from falling. Then, came the trickiest part: frosting the layers do that they would look smooth. Afterwards came the fun of actual decorating the towers and the rest of the cake. I knew my limitations so I decided toto simplify in some ways while still aiming for an "awe" factor. Oh,. by the way, Pablo helped me, not only bouncing off ideas, actually doing some frosting.
Here is the just finished product.
I joked with Pablo that the cake looked good from the distance, sort of like you have to see many a masterpiece in a museum: not too close.
The girls woke up early in the morning; well, maybe not that early, but definitely too much for those of us who had gone to bed late getting everything ready. We heard the girls excitedly talking and getting dressed. Half asleep I heard them speculate who would be the second guest to arrive (the first one was guaranteed to be Lorena). Lorena even came to our room to share the most exciting news. "Arantxa invited the twins! She said they could come!!!!". Which twins are we talking about? Lorena's teddy bear baby twins. Arantxa then asked if they could go downstairs to see the cake (no touching, not even with a finger!!!) and so they did. We just heard them ooh and aah over the cake. They were so excited!
Pablo took the girls out for breakfast while I made some sandwiches, and got the rest of the stuff ready. Here is the ever so important task of filling the piñata.
Most kids started arriving on time. This was our first party with "big" kids and we did not know what to expect. Most parents stayed. They got started by decorating their goody bag, scratching some "magic" picture frames, or other crafts.
The day was gorgeous (meaning sunny, dry from the night before, and not freezing); so pretty soon they all were outside. We were so glad they were able to enjoy the backyard. A lof ot them tried the scooters, chalk, sand table, and the play structure. It was really nice to mostly play in small groups or individually, but they all interacted really well. They were all in their best behavior. We really lucked out since that night it snowed and it was all covered in white! We had games planned in case they were going crazy or we had to stay inside, but they were playing so happily we did not have the heart to direct their play.
The Piñata was of course a big hit! Arantxa had 2 or 3 small drama moments, but she was able to move on. You can see some of the chalk creations.
We cut and enjoyed the cake. My favorite part of the party was while all the kids were sitting on the table singing silly made up verses to a song. You do need a teacher to go to school. You don't need a teacher to learn how to learn. You don't need a dolphin to say hello to you in the ocean. If you are in Jupiter you do need some place to walk on because it is made out of gas. They all giggled and were creative together.
THINGS ARANTXA SAID:
I heard Arantxa tell all her friends that she already knew how to fly. Since she continues to be obsessed with flying (remember the rule in our house, all attempts of flying must begin at ground level, and can't involve jumping off things); my mom ears are always detecting any flying reference. All I need to do is find a place with no gravity and then jump up and I will be floating and flying by moving my body.
A certain friend of ours called to apologize before they arrived since they had left the present home. We relayed the message to Arantxa who said: No problem, presents are the least important thing in a party. The most important thing in a party is to have your family and at least one other guest. you can't have a party unless you have one or more guests.
She later was talking about birthdays, so she started saying. When I am 8, I am going to be thinking, only 2 years away from 10; and then when I am 9, I'll say that it is only one more year. Then, the day before I turn 10, I will think, we are only a day away. I really want to be 10, but I don't want to skip the middle part. I love that!
As she was opening presents, a mom overheard her saying, Wow, all my friends got me things I really needed, I am so happy.
She later was talking about birthdays, so she started saying. When I am 8, I am going to be thinking, only 2 years away from 10; and then when I am 9, I'll say that it is only one more year. Then, the day before I turn 10, I will think, we are only a day away. I really want to be 10, but I don't want to skip the middle part. I love that!
As she was opening presents, a mom overheard her saying, Wow, all my friends got me things I really needed, I am so happy.
Finally, at night, after reading to her (yes, we still read to her every night), she gave me a great big hug and thanked me for making a special cake, organizing the party, and for letting them have cake for dinner.
So, there you go. From all of the above comments, it is clear to us that she is indeed growing and maturing.
Thanks for reading!
Monday, February 2, 2009
Theories on why Lorena is slimming down
You know how it is harder to see changes in people you see all the time. It seemed as if Lorena was slimming down a bit, but we were not so sure. However, it was unequivocal in Mexico. It of course helped that we were seeing much more of her in her swimming suit versus the layers of costumes and clothes she usually wears.
We wondered whether she had just had a growth spurt. Both girls looked taller so we measured them when we got back home. Sure enough, they had both grown almost an inch (2.5 cm). After their summer growth, we had measured them back a couple of months ago, but there had been no change. It has been really interesting, for a long time now, they seem to grow together. They both grew similar amounts in the summer, stayed several months in the same height, and then grew again. Their 28 months of age difference, has translated into a stable delta of 7-10 cm.
Arantxa now measures about 1.13 m (44.5") and Lorena is 1.05 m (41.3").
Back to Lorena, her baby belly seem to be practically gone. I know it is normal for kids to gain some weight, then stretch keeping the same weight, and back to gaining weight again. This has NEVER been the case with Lorena. When she started moving more and more as a baby, when she began walking, she still kept being chubby. Yes, she did slow her weight gain, she was off the charts for weight as a baby, but not as a toddler.
Getting them on the scale confirmed it. Not only had she stretched, but she was also weighing maybe one pound less. Last week, when she was sick, she got weighed at the doctor, and sure enough she was considerably lighter than last time.
So, why would this happen at this unusual age?
First theory.
Both girls, but especially Lorena, was extremely bad at turning off lights. Every time I walked past her room, I'd see the lights on. I turned them off, and kept asking and reminding them to turn off the lights when they left a room. I finally realized that my gentle reminders were not having any effect; so I instituted a new policy. Whenever I see a light on, I call the person, and they have to stop what they are doing, and immediately go turn the light off.
We started doing that in November or December. Every day, Lorena would be summoned back to her room. And, yes, I felt ridiculous waiting for her to come from downstairs, all the way up, when I was right there next to the switch. The weeks went by with no change in habits.
I am sure you, bright readers, have already figured out the first theory. Yes, she has been excercising MUCH more: up and down the stairs all day long, it is like her private "step" class.
I know, maybe that doesn't explain the weight loss. However, I am very happy to report, that it FINALLY made a difference in the light habits. I think at least a whole week has passed without her being called up.
Second Theory.
This brings us to the second theory. Lorena has realized there is a difference between liking and loving a food. A few weeks ago she did not eat pizza during lunch at her school because it did not have pinapples on, and she only likes pizza with pinapples. <: o
She is constantly saying "I am not going to eat this, it is not my favorite". Seriously, the girl who ate anything and everything, suddenly became super picky! It is SO strange! She used to gobble up a big bowl of soup. This week she hand-picked the kidney beans, carrots, and peas from her veggie soup. She now eats only the frosting and leaves the cake. We are still pushing her to eat a bit of everything; and we make a big deal, for both of them when they like something they did not before.
Now, I can't complain, I have met many real picky eaters; and she is not even close. She continues to enjoy a variety of foods, eats healthy stuff, etc. It is just that it is so unusual to have her follow through with her "I don't like this since it is not my favorite." Before, she would announce that she did not like salad, and 2 seconds later gobbled up all her greens and then asked for a second helping.
I asked the doctor whether she should be seen for this. We agreed that we are going to wait until her 4 year appointment. Just one more comment for reference. At the 3 year appointment we talked to the doctor about the opposite problem. We have always read/been told, that little kids know what they need in terms of food, that you should let them regulate themselves, etc. My question to the doctor was when we were supposed to start distrusting her body. She said this (3) was a good time. While we continued to let her eat, we, for example, gave her water after her cup of milk in every meal if she was still thirsty.
For anybody that keeps track; the girls are back to weighing the same; and Arantxa's feet are only a tad longer than her sisters'.
All this doctor talk reminded me to schedule Lorena's 4 year appointment. 3 months ahead is the perfect time to call. Isn't that crazy?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Waffles or omelet?
Since we were scheduled to leave within a couple of hours, and the flight was going to be long, we tried to keep Lorena from falling asleep in the airport. We managed, and she was soon asleep after takeoff. Oh, and I must say that she finds it most amusing when the airplanes “walk”, it is quite silly to her. Back to the flight; she watched the wings and said, “But look, the wings are not moving, they are not flapping!” Come to think of it, one really would expect the wings to flap, and that very thought guided many a failed attempt to device a flying machine. Later on, it might have been on that flight or a subsequent one, Lorena covered her ears and said, “I am covering my ears because I don’t want to hear: BOOM, BANG, PASSS, or, the plane is crashing!!!” Again an example of thoughts little kids have, sometimes they say them aloud, allowing you a quick glimpse into their heads, but many others they remain quiet thoughts,.
She was sitting with dad, and Arantxa was sitting next to me. With experience, we have figured that the best set up is to be seated on the same side of the plane, example seats 10A, 10B, 11A, and 11B. Lorena has to get a window seat so she can seat in her car seat. Then, Arantxa sits right in front of her, thus keeping Lorena’s kicks in the family. We can then all easily share books, toys, etc. and help each other out.
Arantxa and I were reading Pippi Longstocking among other things, so she laughed aloud frequently. When they came to offer us food, they asked her: “Would you like waffles or omelet?” She looked perplexed and asked them to repeat the choices. “Waffles or omelet?” repeated the attendant. Arantxa turned around, opened the window blind (it was pitch dark outside), and she told me, “but mom, it is nighttime!”
I had to explain that since we would have left in the morning, the food they had prepared was breakfast items. She took the waffles and managed to empty the syrup on her clothes. The flight attendants gave us a bunch of wet towels, and we cleaned as best we could, and it got all stiff but not sticky after it dried.
When we finally landed, it was quite late; and even more so after we cleared customs and immigration. We saw Palo and Vane (Pablo’s dad and sister) with the traditional red balloons, Yeya had stayed home sick. We went to the car rental booth, and found that calling Alamo to explain that the flight was delayed, and hearing from them that a note had been tagged to our reservation, was a waste of time. Why? Simply because we called Alamo, not Alamo Mexico. ARGH!!!!
We installed the car seats in Yeya’s car, and Pablo wanted to take a taxi; but it was really late and it had been a very long day. I ended sitting between the car seats (not an easy feat), Pablo drove, and his dad and sister sat on the passenger’s side.
Aeromexico is now exclusively using the new Terminal 2, we’d never been there. We followed the sign that said “Circuito Interior”, basically ignoring a Mexican driving rule of thumb: signs are randomly put in the city with no logic behind them. In this case, as in many others, it was worse to follow them. Side story. Once some friends and I were driving back to the city, and we followed a sign to the new highway. We followed the exit and ended up in a dirt patch of road right away. We thought we had made a wrong turn, so we backed up and tried again. We had followed the sign correctly. Then we understood: the highway was not yet built, but the sign was already installed.
All 4 adults kept trying to figure out where we were and how to get home. Arantxa fell asleep right away, she’d been awake many hours. Lorena was awake for the most part. The city was very difficult to navigate because they had had the brilliant idea to repave several of the main arterial streets at once (all to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence and 100th of the revolution next year). Many areas looked as if they had been bombed. After much driving, we pulled over to ask a policeman. Funny how we could do that with 3 passengers in the front seats; they guy did not blink, perhaps because everybody was wearing a seat belt.
Finally, we arrived home at about 3:30 am. Both girls transferred easily to the mattress that was set for them.
She was sitting with dad, and Arantxa was sitting next to me. With experience, we have figured that the best set up is to be seated on the same side of the plane, example seats 10A, 10B, 11A, and 11B. Lorena has to get a window seat so she can seat in her car seat. Then, Arantxa sits right in front of her, thus keeping Lorena’s kicks in the family. We can then all easily share books, toys, etc. and help each other out.
Arantxa and I were reading Pippi Longstocking among other things, so she laughed aloud frequently. When they came to offer us food, they asked her: “Would you like waffles or omelet?” She looked perplexed and asked them to repeat the choices. “Waffles or omelet?” repeated the attendant. Arantxa turned around, opened the window blind (it was pitch dark outside), and she told me, “but mom, it is nighttime!”
I had to explain that since we would have left in the morning, the food they had prepared was breakfast items. She took the waffles and managed to empty the syrup on her clothes. The flight attendants gave us a bunch of wet towels, and we cleaned as best we could, and it got all stiff but not sticky after it dried.
When we finally landed, it was quite late; and even more so after we cleared customs and immigration. We saw Palo and Vane (Pablo’s dad and sister) with the traditional red balloons, Yeya had stayed home sick. We went to the car rental booth, and found that calling Alamo to explain that the flight was delayed, and hearing from them that a note had been tagged to our reservation, was a waste of time. Why? Simply because we called Alamo, not Alamo Mexico. ARGH!!!!
We installed the car seats in Yeya’s car, and Pablo wanted to take a taxi; but it was really late and it had been a very long day. I ended sitting between the car seats (not an easy feat), Pablo drove, and his dad and sister sat on the passenger’s side.
Aeromexico is now exclusively using the new Terminal 2, we’d never been there. We followed the sign that said “Circuito Interior”, basically ignoring a Mexican driving rule of thumb: signs are randomly put in the city with no logic behind them. In this case, as in many others, it was worse to follow them. Side story. Once some friends and I were driving back to the city, and we followed a sign to the new highway. We followed the exit and ended up in a dirt patch of road right away. We thought we had made a wrong turn, so we backed up and tried again. We had followed the sign correctly. Then we understood: the highway was not yet built, but the sign was already installed.
All 4 adults kept trying to figure out where we were and how to get home. Arantxa fell asleep right away, she’d been awake many hours. Lorena was awake for the most part. The city was very difficult to navigate because they had had the brilliant idea to repave several of the main arterial streets at once (all to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the independence and 100th of the revolution next year). Many areas looked as if they had been bombed. After much driving, we pulled over to ask a policeman. Funny how we could do that with 3 passengers in the front seats; they guy did not blink, perhaps because everybody was wearing a seat belt.
Finally, we arrived home at about 3:30 am. Both girls transferred easily to the mattress that was set for them.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Airport Stories and Adventures
If anybody had been wondering why Alaska/Horizon had cancelled all their flights, here is the answer. Can you see the guy with the little red shovel, under the wing? he had a lot of work to do....
Well, yes, that was a joke, but seriously, while we saw those little trucks that shove snow around, this guy cleaned all of that, on his own, just with the shovel!!
It is impossible to retell all of our airport adventures. Here are a few, from us, or people we met, on the way to Mexico.
You know you have been at the airport too long when:
- you have already used half of your SD card, and you still haven’t even formally left for vacation.
- you know all the names, basic stories, and information on the passengers that are stranded next to you.
- you feel extremely lucky to have been there sitting at the gate for only 10 hours.
- you know that since you are in a direct flight, you will make it to your destination, at some point....
- you feel extremely lucky to have been there sitting at the gate for only 10 hours.
- the kids’ backpacks and snacks are shared freely among several kids.
you hear a big cheer and applause coming from a neighboring gate. The reason? A single flight attendant had shown up, thus increasing the chances of them actually leaving.
Our situation in a nutshell.
Some of you followed along with us, via Facebook, as we were at the airport. Some of you have no idea, so here is the short story (can I really make it short????) of our travel to Mexico.
Seattle had had a TON of snow during the days prior to our trip. Much more than usual. We were really worried Sunday night, thinking we wouldn't make it to the airport. We had several plans, but we went with our first option. A taxi service was going to pick us up at 7 am (they couldn't come any earlier), they'd come in an SUV, and our flight was scheduled for 9:30. We left the house, all nice and clean, even beds were made. We managed to get our luggage and the girls
into the SUV, I had to wear my rainboots, and Pablo took them back to the house. We had several inches of snow, but not close to 1 foot.
The ride to the airport was super long and tricky. Aeromexico had reassured us over and over, that there'd be no problem. While Alaska Airlines had cancelled ALL their flights the previous 2 days, they had left on time. Even the interstate had not yet been cleaned that morning. Once we got to the airport at 8, we thought we'd be fine.
We knew things were crazy at the airport, with thousands of passengers still stranded there. However, we better understood the reality of the mess when we heard the following announcement, "To those passengers that arrived in last night’s flight from Hawaiian Airlines, please pick up your baggage at carousel number 3".
We checked in with no problem and proceeded to our gate. We soon realized that Aeromexico's prior direct flight to Mexico had not yet departed. We sat close to their counter, so we were able to hear some of what was happening.
While Alaska had cancelled their flights because they did not have anti-freeze, and their Canadian supplier was on strike; Aeromexico had the precious liquid, but, the de-icing machine was broken. Eventually, they would be able to use another airline's machine, when they were done using it.
Every hour or so, they made an announcement: Passengers on flights X and Y, please stay in this area, your flight will be leaving within a few hours. The other flight left, and some time later, our finally did. I think it might have been close to 6 pm. We made it past bureaucracy sometime in the early AM; and we got to PAblo's parents house, at around 3:30 am.
Some random stories
A family with 4 kids, maybe ages 3-10, were camping out next to the gate; they had been ON the plane for 7 hours the previous day, before letting them out. By the time we saw them, they had been out of the plane for 15+ hours.
Another family, with a not yet 2.5 year old boy, we met had spent 2 days at the airport. Their flight from Bellingham to Seattle had been cancelled so they drove down to Sea-Tac. At that point, ALL of Alaska Airlines flights were cancelled. The airline offered to get them to Playa del Carmen (final destination), 2 days after the end of their scheduled family vacation with extended family. They found spots in Aeromexico’s flight to Mexico City. That was our flight, Aeromexico had been departing with no problems the previous days. They spent a couple of hours in a hotel, the second night. They finally arrived in Mexico City, 2.5 days later, had to spend the night there, and hopefully made it to Playa the following day.
It took people 7 hours to get their checked luggage back (and they hadn’t even traveled).
A picture is worth a thousand words (or dollars???).
To be expected, right? Tens of thousands of people have been at the airport for over 2 days. However...
Are those drinks that bad NOBODY wants them? Not even under those circumstances. I think the marketing/product development of that company would pay money for that picture.
This was our preschool section of the gate. Eowyn (pink) was almost 2.5, she and her Mexican mom were flying to Mexico. Jackson, was the 2.5 year old on his way to Playa del Carmen (probably took them 3.5 days to get there). he was so sweet, after everything he'd been through. He had recently turned 2.5. We all shared parental duties, shared toys, snacks, had story time, etc.
Arantxa spent a good chunk of the time reading. Lorena was read from her princesses stories book, over and over. We all knew the stories pretty well, it was a good gift from Santa!
Finally, on the plane!!!!
Well, yes, that was a joke, but seriously, while we saw those little trucks that shove snow around, this guy cleaned all of that, on his own, just with the shovel!!
It is impossible to retell all of our airport adventures. Here are a few, from us, or people we met, on the way to Mexico.
You know you have been at the airport too long when:
- you have already used half of your SD card, and you still haven’t even formally left for vacation.
- you know all the names, basic stories, and information on the passengers that are stranded next to you.
- you feel extremely lucky to have been there sitting at the gate for only 10 hours.
- you know that since you are in a direct flight, you will make it to your destination, at some point....
- you feel extremely lucky to have been there sitting at the gate for only 10 hours.
- the kids’ backpacks and snacks are shared freely among several kids.
you hear a big cheer and applause coming from a neighboring gate. The reason? A single flight attendant had shown up, thus increasing the chances of them actually leaving.
Our situation in a nutshell.
Some of you followed along with us, via Facebook, as we were at the airport. Some of you have no idea, so here is the short story (can I really make it short????) of our travel to Mexico.
Seattle had had a TON of snow during the days prior to our trip. Much more than usual. We were really worried Sunday night, thinking we wouldn't make it to the airport. We had several plans, but we went with our first option. A taxi service was going to pick us up at 7 am (they couldn't come any earlier), they'd come in an SUV, and our flight was scheduled for 9:30. We left the house, all nice and clean, even beds were made. We managed to get our luggage and the girls
into the SUV, I had to wear my rainboots, and Pablo took them back to the house. We had several inches of snow, but not close to 1 foot.
The ride to the airport was super long and tricky. Aeromexico had reassured us over and over, that there'd be no problem. While Alaska Airlines had cancelled ALL their flights the previous 2 days, they had left on time. Even the interstate had not yet been cleaned that morning. Once we got to the airport at 8, we thought we'd be fine.
We knew things were crazy at the airport, with thousands of passengers still stranded there. However, we better understood the reality of the mess when we heard the following announcement, "To those passengers that arrived in last night’s flight from Hawaiian Airlines, please pick up your baggage at carousel number 3".
We checked in with no problem and proceeded to our gate. We soon realized that Aeromexico's prior direct flight to Mexico had not yet departed. We sat close to their counter, so we were able to hear some of what was happening.
While Alaska had cancelled their flights because they did not have anti-freeze, and their Canadian supplier was on strike; Aeromexico had the precious liquid, but, the de-icing machine was broken. Eventually, they would be able to use another airline's machine, when they were done using it.
Every hour or so, they made an announcement: Passengers on flights X and Y, please stay in this area, your flight will be leaving within a few hours. The other flight left, and some time later, our finally did. I think it might have been close to 6 pm. We made it past bureaucracy sometime in the early AM; and we got to PAblo's parents house, at around 3:30 am.
Some random stories
A family with 4 kids, maybe ages 3-10, were camping out next to the gate; they had been ON the plane for 7 hours the previous day, before letting them out. By the time we saw them, they had been out of the plane for 15+ hours.
Another family, with a not yet 2.5 year old boy, we met had spent 2 days at the airport. Their flight from Bellingham to Seattle had been cancelled so they drove down to Sea-Tac. At that point, ALL of Alaska Airlines flights were cancelled. The airline offered to get them to Playa del Carmen (final destination), 2 days after the end of their scheduled family vacation with extended family. They found spots in Aeromexico’s flight to Mexico City. That was our flight, Aeromexico had been departing with no problems the previous days. They spent a couple of hours in a hotel, the second night. They finally arrived in Mexico City, 2.5 days later, had to spend the night there, and hopefully made it to Playa the following day.
It took people 7 hours to get their checked luggage back (and they hadn’t even traveled).
A picture is worth a thousand words (or dollars???).
To be expected, right? Tens of thousands of people have been at the airport for over 2 days. However...
Are those drinks that bad NOBODY wants them? Not even under those circumstances. I think the marketing/product development of that company would pay money for that picture.
This was our preschool section of the gate. Eowyn (pink) was almost 2.5, she and her Mexican mom were flying to Mexico. Jackson, was the 2.5 year old on his way to Playa del Carmen (probably took them 3.5 days to get there). he was so sweet, after everything he'd been through. He had recently turned 2.5. We all shared parental duties, shared toys, snacks, had story time, etc.
Arantxa spent a good chunk of the time reading. Lorena was read from her princesses stories book, over and over. We all knew the stories pretty well, it was a good gift from Santa!
Finally, on the plane!!!!
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