Who's the Parent Here?

The other day the boys were being extra rambunctious and fighting non-stop. I had HAD it, and my voice got louder than it should have. Diego froze, then looked at me and said the following.


Diego: Mommy, why are you talking mean?
Feeling horribly guilty, I responded (a little more quietly, but still in a huff): Because you guys aren't being good listeners!
Diego: You need to say sorry for talking mean.
Me: Sorry for talking mean.
Diego: That's okay. Just don't do it again.


Um, I'll try not to.


On the days that Diego goes to school and I stay home with Celo, Celo and I usually make a mess in the living room. Instead of cleaning it up before I go pick up Diego, I just leave it so the boys can keep playing when Diego gets home. But when Diego gets home, the first thing he says is, "I really don't like the mess you guys made." So today, I cleaned up all the toys before I went to pick him up, so I wouldn't get scolded. When he walked into the house, he said, "Wow! You cleaned up your mess! Good job!"

Soooo, who's the parent?

So Far in October...

The boys have played dress up...

Celo's still fits, but Diego has grown a few inches since last year.

Diego learned how to draw people...

He's never showed much interest in art, so I thought this was fantastic.

I got a fancy new external flash...
It's for a wedding I'm shooting in January. So nervous and excited!

I practiced with my new flash on my fall decorations...This is the extent of my fall decorations. And yes, I bought that stuff at Dollar Tree.

And the boys have gotten completely filthy while playing in the backyard in the"grass"...I mean dirt."Celo, if you smile I'll give you a treat.""Diego, if you smile you can have a sticker." October is looking good!

General Conference

This weekend, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all over the world tune in to General Conference.

This is what the Church's website says about General Conference: Messages of inspiration and guidance will be delivered by the First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other General Authorities and general officers of the Church. The sessions are at 12pm and 4pm Eastern Time. Each session will have a different set of speakers covering many different topics, music by the Mormon Tabernacle choir, and will last two hours.

If you're interested in tuning in, you can watch by finding the closest meeting house in your area, or if you want to stay home, you can watch it on BYUTV (Dish Network -channel 9403, DirecTV - channel 374), ATT/Uverse - channel 567, or watch or listen online at either of these websites: http://lds.org/broadcast/gc/0,5161,8584,00.html http://www.byub.org/programaz/program.asp?id=571

911

My poor neglected blog. I haven't had time for blogging this month. I started a new job, which means all my computer time goes to working. (Okay, not all. Who am I kidding? But most.) And the job is writing, so by the time I'm done, I really don't feel like writing any more. Therefore, my blog gets ignored.

But I had to come on here to write what happened yesterday.

Diego and Celo were being crazy and fighting and all that typical kid stuff. I was in a foul mood, so when the boys ran out of the living room, I got on all fours and then dropped my head and arms down onto the ground and tried to say a little prayer. (For patience. Obviously.) Diego came running back into the room and saw me laying there and immediately dropped to my side. He said, "Mommy! What happened? Should I call the police?"

I almost died laughing.

A few months ago, when I was in the middle of all my health issues, I had a lot days where I felt like I would faint. So I thought that it would maybe be a good idea to teach Diego how to call the police in case of an emergency. I told him, "If Mommy is ever on the ground with her eyes closed and you can't wake her up, call 911." Trust me, I felt horrible having that conversation with him, but he really didn't seem bothered by it. We practiced a few times but then we never spoke of it again. So when he came into the room and said that yesterday, I totally wasn't expecting it.

PS, My prayer was answered, because after that funny moment, I was in a much better mood.

Some Preschool Tips

Here's my preschooler wearing his favorite color: And here he is showing off his "All About Me" book. (As well as our newly stuccoed house! Yay!)
This month, Parenting magazine had an article about preschool, written by an anonymous preschool teacher. She gives parents a few tips/comments that I found funny. I thought I'd share my favorties.
1. School clothes can--and should--be playclothes. No one here will judge you unkindly if your child doesn't look like she just stepped out of a Polo ad.

2. I'm sure your child is gifted. My three children are all gifted, too. Shall I tell you about them? In mind-numbing detail? Wait, I think I may have a video here on my phone that you can watch--it's only 12 minutes long.

3. Now that your child is verbal, it might be a good time to get a lock for your bedroom door and use it. Your son told his friends quite a story about his nighttime wanderings--illustrated with our career dolls--and it's really very awkward to have those images of Ms. Banker and Mr. Plumber flashing before my eyes every time I talk to you.

4. You do not need to give me a holiday gift. I will love your child no matter what. But if you do, skip the regifted Santa that swivels his hips and plays "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". And I really, really don't need any more scented candles.

5. Understand other children as you do your own (okay, at least make an effort). When another child is having some behavioral problems, contain the smug disapproval. Your child isn't perfect either.

6. Please don't ever tell your child to bite back.

7. Don't allow your child to come to school in plastic high-heeled shoes. Ever. Even if she screams.

8. A Nutella sandwich, a chocolate milk, and cookies is not a lunch. It is a small dessert buffet.

9. Please tell me the appeal of those yogurt-squirting tubes, and if you can't, then consider another way to get your child his calcium.

10. If you're already late for pick-up, take the time to change out of your workout clothes first.

My Celo Days

Two days a week, while Diego is in school, I get a few hours of one on one time with Celo. I told Marcelo all about my big plans for those hours. "I'm going to teach him colors! I'm going to teach him shapes! We're going to read books!"

Yeah right.

This is all he wants to do: He just wheels that little McQueen car all around the table. Around and around and around.

If I try to get him to sit down and read a book with me, he'll point at a picture and say, "What's that?" When I answer and say, "That's Nemo!" He says, "No it's not." And walks away.

If I try to build a block tower with him and point out colors as we go, he knocks the tower down and walks away. If I point at one of his toys and say, "What color is this one?" he closes his eyes and...well, walks away.

I swear he knows yellow, red, and green, but will only answer correctly if he thinks I'm not paying attention. Stubborn head.

With all that walking away, you'd think I'd get the hint that he wants to play alone. But instead of leaving him in peace, I follow him around and practice using my camera.

But then he catches me and isn't pleased.

So I tell him that if he smiles I'll give him Skittles.
Fake smile. But I'll take it.

Brothers

This picture really shows the dynamic between these two boys. Sometimes Diego is all lovey towards his brother and tries to give him hugs. And Celo is just not having it. He's been indifferent towards Diego's hugs for a long time. See for yourself: This picture was taken when Celo was just 10 months old. Look at Diego's sweet smile. And then look at Celo's grumpy face. So, so typical.

Before I make it sound like Diego is an angel child who showers his brother with affection on a daily basis, let me be clear: that only happens 20% of the time. 50% of the time, they are at each other's throats. (And for that final 30% of the time, they are both angels: fast asleep.)

A little time apart while Diego is in preschool has done them good. No. Not true. It has done ME good. Because I don't have to hear, "Nooooo, D-GO! Don't DO dat." Or, "Cewooooooooo. Give me back my CAAAAAARRRSSS." The truth of the matter is that 3 hours apart, two days a week hasn't really changed things between them. The second they're back together, they're fighting. Celo has quickly learned that while Diego is at school, he is free to hoard all 6 McQueen cars without any objection from anyone. He loves having all the toys to himself. When Diego is home, the party is over. And Diego, suspecting that Celo has been playing with his toys while he's been away, walks around the house with as many cars as he can possibly hold, to be sure that Celo can't touch any of them. Then he's like, "Mommy! I keep dropping my cars!" And I'm like, "That's what happens when you try to hold 17 Hot Wheels in your arms."

Sigh. Maybe one day they'll get along. For now, I'll just enjoy that 20% of the time, when they are best buddies. Like on our walk the other night. The one thing Celo lets Diego have is driving privileges. That means he gets to sit back and relax while he is being chauffeured around the neighborhood. It also means he gets to man the radio.

They spotted a dog.

There's Celo with his hand on the radio.

It's much harder to see in this pic, but again he was changing the radio station.