ON OUR WAY TO WELCOME MY NEW NEPHEW

Just wanted to give you a heads up that we might be out of touch for a couple of days. On our way to Texas to welcome my new nephew on Friday. Not sure if I can even get wireless access out in the middle of the mesquite and prickly pears, but assuming I can, I'll absolutely try to document as much of our trip as possible. It should be a doozy!!!

DRAGONFLY

Click PLAY below to watch Chago try to catch the little bugger (and I totally mean that as a play on words and not in the British English sense, which would be bad, bad, bad for a children's blog).

DATELINE

I started this blog in July of 2005 to ease the guilt of not keeping up their baby books.

Here's a little look back at the past couple of years. I really can't believe how time has flown.

Two years ago today: http://saiaandchago.blogspot.com/2005/08/introducing.html

One year ago today: http://saiaandchago.blogspot.com/2006/08/el-eensy-weensy-araa.html

And today:

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Favorite	His	Hers
color	red	purple
animal	if it breathes, it's in	Reyna (see yesterday's post)
book	if it's about animals, it's in	today...The Incredibles
movie	surprisingly...Cars	Nanny McPhee
song	Black Horse and a Cherry Tree	Way I Live

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DIVALICIOUS

Reynita and Saia.


Hard to tell which one is really the diva, ain't it?

NO, THIS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN HAVE A HAMSTER!

Very very proud of our little monsters this week. They've taken such good care of their tomato and bell pepper plants over the last couple of months that they actually got to eat fresh off-the-vine tomatoes twice this week with their salads, and that bell pepper's gonna make for one helluva yummy carne guisada this weekend, let me tell ya.

But no, this does not mean anyone is ready for a hamster!! [recall: fate of rodents in Of Mice and Men]

RUN FOR IT, LIZARD!!!

I've been a little disenchanted with the kids' school of late. And I'm having a very difficult time admitting that I may have made a mistake. But they're obviously bored and truly not getting anything really beneficial from it, and so I'm stuck in the very rough spot of having to decide if it's worth trying frantically to get them into something by Fall or just find a way for us all to suck it up for a year when they move into kindergarten.

But these are really their most formative years and do I really want to waste 12 months of their precious little lives just because of the inconvenience it might cause me and will I regret forever not having found just the perfect school with just the perfect teachers to help give them that perfect step up before they fall into the pit of public schooldom for potentially the next decade-and-a-half?

And then they go and do something like this, and I think, well, maybe I can hold out for another week.

This is reptile week. On Monday they learned about frogs. On Tuesday they learned about lizards. As per usual, I grill them all the way home about everything they learned that day. Last night, as they were rattling off the names of all the lizards they learned about yesterday, Chago said that his favorite was the runforit lizard.

"The what?" I said; because Mama knows everything, of course, and I'd never heard of such a thing before.

"The runforit lizard," he said again, enunciating so clearly and loudly and with just the right hint of condescension that it's like looking in a mirror.

"Run for it?" I ask.

"Yes," he says.

"RUN. FOR. IT." I repeat. "Is that right?"

"Yes, Mom," he confirms. "Teacher says it's the fastest lizard in California!"

[And even I had to admit that was a little cute - if somewhat of a deceptive method for covering up the fact that you don't know it's called a viviparous lizard -- yes, I googled it, so what? The Google is all-knowing.]

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME

All week long, Mommy teased us with a surprise for Sunday. But on Sunday morning when Mommy dressed Saia and Chago in orange and black, I very nearly had a coronary -- I mean, where's the great pumpkin, for crissakes -- when Mommy finally decides to clue us in. It was 9th row seats to the Giants game, and, of course, we were running late.

In fact, we didn't actually get there until the 5th inning! Taking everything into consideration, though (i.e., twin 4-year-olds, no traffic, crowds already seated), I think it actually worked out really well for us. And although we might recommend trying to get there during, say, the 3rd instead (especially if you've paid for the tickets yourselves), this is definitely the way to go with small children.

We were only there a couple of hours, which just suited their attention span. It was a hot afternoon, but not too hot since we weren't there all day. The 7th inning stretch was just around the corner, and the highlight of the whole afternoon was the entire stadium singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at the top of their lungs, which the kids just loved!

But best of all...there were no tantrums, there was enough activity around them to keep them interested the whole time, and, of course, let's not forget having had enough sense to at least allow ample time for Mama to scarf down a mound of those fabulous garlic fries before the concessions closed. Mmmm...

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All in all, a very successful outing.

THE STATE OF THINGS

An old friend sent me this link this morning, and I don't know if it's because I'm still a little under the weather or getting sentimental in my old age or PMSing or what, but it truly made me feel sad -- on just so many levels:

http://www.peterrussell.dreamhosters.com/Odds/WorldClock.php

Felt very similar sick feeling in pit of stomach as when I finished watching An Inconvenient Truth, which, if you haven't seen it yet, really is a must-see, despite my not-so-enticing lead-in.

And plant a tree, for crissakes.

WE ARE SIA-ME-ASE, IF YOU PLE-ASE

So, now that the majority of their friends have gone and graduated to kindergarten, the terrible duo have found themselves in a bit of a rut. Nobody wants to get dressed in the mornings, and nobody wants to go to school.

Most of the new kids coming in are two and under, and, no, the you-get-to-be-the-big-kids strategy doesn't seem to be working. They're not enjoying being there suddenly, and mostly I think now they're just bored. And really, nothing good can come of this, people. Idle hands and all that.

Case in point:

"So, Chago," I prompt over breakfast, "who are you playing with now that Milo and Olivia and Kieran are gone?"

"My sister," he says mopily.

[Yes, a bit of an awe factor, I admit, but just wait...]

"Well, don't you like Nicolas?"

"No, he's boring," he summarizes concisely, "I prefer Saia."

"Well, isn't Jakey still there?"

"Yes, but he doesn't like the things I like," he says.

"Well, what about Sammy? He seems nice," I add, knowing that I could go through all 31 kids and he'd have different answer for every one. But alas...

"No," says Saia, who's been chomping at the bit in the background. "We're not inner...in-ter-es-ted in him, Mom."

And suddenly I get a little creeped out by the twin thing and begin to realize I may need to spend a little more time project managing our playdates.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KC!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU

YOU BELONG IN THE ZOO

WITH THE LIONS AND TIGERS

AND A MONKEY LIKE YOU!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KC

ALL OUR LOVE AND BEST WISHES!

FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, GRANDMA B!

How we wish we could be there with you today.

STOMACH FLU -- AGAIN. ARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

"But I'm NOT sick, Mom!" he retorts because I won't let him go outside to play.

"But you're too sick to go to school, aren't you?" I ask.

"Yes, but..."

"Then if you think you're gonna pull on me the whole I'm-full-Mom-but-not-too-full-for-dessert trick, let me just stop you before you get on your roll." I tell him.

"But I wasn't going to say that, Mom," he starts pulling out the charms.

"Then what is it, son?"

"The sun will just make me feel better because it has vitamins."

[Dammit! I HATE it when he does this!!!]