From the Fly on the Wall

This Post Doesn't have anything to do with Fly Guy, but if you have beginning readers at home, they're good books to look for. Sergito and Emma loved them!

I often think how interesting it would be to be a fly on the wall at someone else’s house. It’s so easy to think of everyone else as having cleaner, calmer, more organized and loving households than one’s own. But a true fly on the wall would tell you that in this house mom can be quite crazy occasionally flying off the handle for no apparent reason, which I believe especially lately has been affecting all of us.

Sergito flip flops between being a very responsible happy 7 year old boy who is great at doing his chores and playing with his sibling, and being a dramatic 2 year old who can’t understand why mom can’t take him to the park NOW!!!

Clearly one of his crazier moments

Emma is our little book worm who goes through the world trying to beautify everything around her with a collection of ribbons, scraps of fabric and paper, and wild flowers. She takes time to read, color, and play with her brothers. Unfortunately for her the world can often be a very sad place, whether she’s lamenting the unfairness of having to wear pants/shorts (yes this continues to be an issue) or feeling acutely the injustice of having two brothers who delight in pushing her buttons. . . . 

Clark is our happy energetic boy who I constantly have to pull off of couches and out of curtains. He tries as hard as he can to keep up with his brother and sister, often enjoying being fought over. Naturally for him the world can also be very unfair like having to pick up more than 3 things at a time, or not being able to print off a sonic picture every day, or having to eat his vegetables . . . there are many sad aspects of life.

Did I forget to mention I'm constantly trying to convince Clark that clothes are a necessary part of life. Someone told me recently that all families have an exhibitionist . . . well I guess we found ours.

And last, but not least there’s Daddy, the one trying to keep us all sane with his levelheadedness. He is a very welcome relief especially when mom has gone off the deep end. 

In the end what I’m trying to say is that the following are memorable snippets of conversations and happenings in our household. Some are perhaps more embarrassing than others, but all in all we’re a crazy family just trying to keep it together. 

Disclaimer: I do apologize for the "pocho" mix of Spanish and English in this post, but I tried to write things as they  happened. And the pictures may not have anything to do with the quotes. 

Deep Theological Discussions

Emma: How old is Heavenly Father?

Sergito: No one knows.

Mommy: No, but he has to be older than all of us.

Sergito: No

Mommy: Well he looks young because he has a perfect body, but he’s our Father so he has to be older.

Emma: When is Heavenly Father’s Birthday?

Mommy: I don’t know if he has one.

Sergito: Maybe his birthday is the same day as all of ours.

Mommy: That would be cool, then he’d have a birthday every single day!

Emma: So. . .  TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY?!?!?!?!?!?!

It left me reflecting: Would we act differently if we thought of every day that way?

 

Typical: No one is looking in the same direction

A Six Year Old’s Powers of Deduction

Clark and Sergito’s screams fill the air from the bedroom

Mommy: Emma que paso con tus hermanos?

Emma : Well, I think maybe Clark did something to Sergito and then Sergito did something to Clark and then Clark . . .

Mommy (interrupting): In other words you have no idea?

Emma: Well no, but usually when . . . .

You Get What You Dish Out

Clark wanted me to keep one of his pictures posted on the computer so he could color it the right colors. Frustrated by the fact that I had once again closed his window he turns to me with his hand on his hip and says," Who's fault is it mommy? Who's fault is it?"

Clark showing off his style: He insisted on being "handsome" and wearing a "jacket like Daddy" to church

Last Sunday during the sacrament, Clark spilled most of his water on his pants. He immediately exclaimed, “Chihuahua!!!” A phrase he learned from me . . . well at least I’m not teaching him 4 letter words . . .

Not sure if you can see the spill, but this is a picture of it.

Lost in translation

Mami: Clark por favor guarda tus pinturas en la lavandería, encima de la secadora. (Se lo repetí dos o tres veces)

Mas tarde al entrar a la lavandería encuentro lo siguiente:

Una tarde después de cenar papi se acostó a descansar en el sofá. Ansiosos por jugar con él llegaron los niños con la determinación de empzar un juego de luchitas. Después de haberse subido encima de él, jalarle los brazos y rogarle una y otra vez,, sucedió lo siguiente:

Papi, con media sonrisa, pero obviamente tratando de convencerlo de dejarlo en paz, le dice a Sergito: Quieres que te de tu paliza verdad?

Sergito se quedo vacilando sin saber que hacer.

Sin embargo, Clark no perdió ni un segundo en declarar: Yo sí! Yo quiero paliza! Yo quiero paliza!

Entre risas todos tratamos de convercerlo de que realmente no quería una paliza, pero él siguió enfático insistiendo en que SÍ QUERÍA PALIZA!

NINJAS: A common dress up choice at our house. Sergito, is eating his fingernails, not to be mistaken for a ninja pose.

Yet Another One

I feel the need to apologize for including yet another conversation on the topic of Dad’s awesomeness, but they occur so often at our house, and they really are so amusing to me that . . . what can I say? You’ll have to suffer through it. 

Clark- When I grow bigger than Daddy he will be able to do NOTHING!

Emma – No because daddy will keep getting stronger.

Sergito – Clark may be stronger than me, but I may have like more skills or something.

Daddy – I will always be stronger than you Clark.

Clark – (After a little hesitation) Well . . . maybe a LITTLE. 

True Passion

Thanks to Aunt Ana Maria we have a CD full of songs from Abuelita and Abuelito Roundy of songs they sang to us while we were kids. One night we had the CD playing and as I was cleaning the kitchen I hear from the following room:

Clark – I LOVE YOU GRANDMA!! I LOVE YOU SOO MUCH GRANDMA! I LOVE YOU SOOOO SOOO MUCH!!!

When I peeked around the corner I saw Clark attempting to hug and kiss the CD player. As he dramatically draped his body over it he turned to see me and explained:

“Mommy, I JUST LOVE GRANDMA SOOO MUCH SOOO SOOO MUCH!!!”

Soon after, Abuelito started singing at which point Clark threw himself on the floor and declared that he NEEDED Grandma back! Don’t take her away! Over and over again he lamented and with tears streaming down his face repeated over and over again his undying devotion.

“I just love Grandma sooo much!”

Well I suggested we call her to ebb the tide of overwhelming feelings he was experiencing to which he immediately responded jumping up and declaring;

“Yes! Let’s invite her over for a sleepover!” Despite trying to explain that she wouldn’t be able to come, I decided it was best to just let him make the invitation. Unfortunately we never could get her on the phone, but the drama was not over yet. Before I knew it we were back where we began and I found Clark draped over the CD player once again, only this time declaring:

“GRANDPA! I LOVE YOU SOOOO MUCH! I LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH GRANDPA! . . . . . “

Unfortunately we were unable to invite grandpa over for a sleepover either, but we did leave him a message. 

My Little Ball of Passion

THANKS A LOT!

Sergio has one of those T-shirts that is so soft that you just want to keep touching it. Well one day while he was wearing it, Sergito comes into the room, jumps on the bed, and cuddles up with Daddy.

Sergito – It’s so soft!

Sergio – Yeah this T-shirt has really soft fabric doesn’t it?

Sergito – Yeah and your soft belly makes it feel like a pillow!!!

And This is Why

Recently the kids have been reading to win prizes at the library. In past years they’ve had to read 5 books for each level, but now that Sergito and Emma are older they have to read for 3 hours for each level. After the first level, they each received a cupon for a free meal at Gold Star Chili. Unable to appreciate Cincinnati’s bizzare love for beanless chili on a bed of spaghetti, in past years the cupons have eventually been conveniently “lost”. But since they worked hard at it I decided to take them through the drive through. Despite carefully having read the fine print and not seeing anything that prohibited us from using the cupon for the drive through they assured me that it could only be used if we came in and sat down. I was sorely tempted to turn around and go home, but I decided to let the kids get their prize and we went in. . . . 

Feeling guilty about only using the free cupons I ordered a sandwich, the only thing on the menu that looked somewhat appetizing to me. We all sat down and the adventure ensued. Naturally the kids were active and a bit impatient since they assured me they were STARVING. So, when they brought the food it was a welcome relief. Little did I know my adventures were about to begin. I had also bought a large root beer for the kids to drink, which at this point was gone. They tasted their food and their reaction was as follows.

Emma: “This is gross!”

Sergito: “Hmm, can I put hot sauce on it”  -- Clearly his father’s son, hot sauce should be able to fix almost anything.

Clark: “Yuck I’m not eating this”

Naturally none of these comments were made in subdued tones. Sergito proceeded to eat his. Emma took a bit here and there in between asking me why the guy in the painting in front of her was staring at her even if she moved. Clark determined, not to eat simply had fun getting reactions from his siblings by burping up the root beer. Despite my attempts to explain to them that we don’t burp in public, or say things like that or to calm Emma down by explaining that it wasn’t a real man in the painting . . . . none of it did any good. 

The more I tried to encourage Clark to eat, the more he insisted it was “disgusting”. 

Emma simply became more and more disturbed until she concluded that painting was “Scary”. 

Not really sure how this is scary, but everyone has a different way of looking at things.

 

Sergito despite eating 90% of his three way pasta, chili, and cheese, adamantly declared, “I’M NEVER COMING BACK HERE AGAIN!!! THIS IS GROSS!”

This unfortunately was said just as the hostess had turned around and started walking away from our table. Embarrassed beyond belief I tried to usher them out of there as fast as possible and left an overly generous tip to make up for my children. On the way out they were each given a helium balloon for which they were all very grateful until of course Clark let his go outside and had to watch it disappear higher and higher into the sky.

So this is really nothing more than a long winded explanation with a vivid example of why we tend to avoid restaurants with our children. Sergio thought it was hilarious since he was lucky enough to be sitting at home. 

Not One of My Brightest Moments

Mami (voz tranquila y callada) – Clark sientate en tus pompis al comer

Sergito y Clark siguen platicando cada vez mas alto con gritos aqui y allá

Mami (voz tranquila, pero menos callada) – Clark en esta casa se usa nuestra voz callada

Sergito y Clark continuan su conversación ignorandome por completo.

Mami – Clark necesitamos usar nuestra voz callada. 

Ninguna reacción

Mami  - (Respiración profunda) Clark por favor usa tu voz callada!

Mami (voz no tranqila ni callada)– CLARK EN ESTA CASA USAMOS NUESTRA VOZ CALLADA!!!

Claro en este momento todos voltearon a verme, pero la hipocresía de la situación era inaguantable y las carcajadas llenaron el cuarto . . . . . Bueno por lo menos me dieron su atención por un par de segundos. 

FORGOTTEN TREASURES

In the depths of our electronic files, I discovered some old snippets that I never managed to fit into a blog. Sergito and Emma’s stories are only about a year old, but Clark’s dates back a little further. 

Sergito the Entrepeneur

Embarrassing as it was for me to allow them to sell pet rocks (nothing more than small painted rocks, they didn’t even really have faces on them) at 25 cents a piece, I decided to resist the urge to destroy their entrepreneurial spirit and to allow it for exactly 30 min. . . in the end I was 75 cents poorer, trimmed my rose bushes and met a new neighbor, so not all bad I suppose.

 

Our Little Helper: Loves being the chef's assistant, especially when the chef is Dad & never passes up an opportunity to "babysit" baby boys."They're so cute!"

Pink Scissors for Kindergarten

 

Emma had carefully selected pink scissors for school at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately when we arrived at school with the supplies, things didn’t exactly pan out the way we had planned.

Rather than having their own personal box of school supplies like Sergito did in kindergarten, we found ourselves staring into a large bin full of scissors of various colors.

After hesitating for a second I plunge into the unavoidable tragic news, “Emma, it looks like you’re all going to share scissors in kindergarten so you need to put yours into the bin. . . . “

“NO!” was her initial reaction as she stared into what seemed to her I’m sure, an infinite void of communal scissors. Before long she conceded and held in the trauma which was welling up behind her eyes. She occasionally mentioned her sadness throughout the rest of the open house, but was mature enough to keep it together. Once we headed toward the car however, it was a whole different story. The waterfall erupted, and naturally we heard about it the whole way home . . . when we arrived, I had to mow the lawn.  Thinking that surely by the time I was finished the drama would be over, I left her to grieve her loss in private.

I soon found that I had clearly misjudged the severity of the situation and the depth of her sorrow. As I approached her she said, “I try mom, but I just can’t. . .  (stopping to sob). . .  I just WANT my pink scissors!

I felt so sorry for her, I was tempted to run to the store then and there and buy her another pair of pink scissors, after all it was only a few dollars, but I resisted acknowledging that we all face tragedies in life . . . as sad as they are, we just have to learn to accept them and move on. She did move on splendidly within a day or two, but on the first day of school, she remembered her loss and came off the school bus with a long face, and so we grieved together some more.

A Different, but possibly comparable Terrible Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Clark’s thoughts

It's amazing how quickly one forgets. I had already forgotten what it was like to have a one year old explorer.  Life is so exciting for them as they make new discoveries! This is how I picture some of the thoughts going through Clark's head:

 Wow toilet paper rolls so nicely all over the bathroom floor. I just looove the phone and really any electronic equipment I can get my hands on "beep, beep, bee bee bee beep. . . " It's just thrilling! My days are filled with such bookshelf clearing, paper tearing, toilet splashing, cabinet emptying fun -- mobility really is an AWESOME thing! Until of course mom comes to destroy it. I mean really if I can reach it, I ought to be able to play with it. Don't you think? And really what's the fun of books if you can't tear them apart? I really don't see why mom has such a distaste for that wonderful porcelain bowl with splashing water. I'm just trying to have a little fun. She also likes to take away those shiny circular disks that come in those nice compact boxes. I mean, I'm entitled to a biting toy or two aren't I? Mom keeps trying to get me to play with toys, but who wants toys when there are so many OTHER things around. If they’re off limits, then they MUST be cooler than my toys.  Even Sergito and Emma take away the crayons, pens, and pencils I manage to find. Traitors! Aren't they're supposed to be on MY side? Mmm mmmh those crayons, they just feel so good against my gums and teeth. . . 

 

Don't you just love this picture? He's so irresistibly cute! AND you can sort of see his split chin . . . we all know what a fan I am of split chins!