DEAR GOD, HE'S ONLY 5!!

As most of you probably already know, Santiago is the master manipulator. On more than one occasion I've harped on and on about his supernatural ability to twist virtually any situation to suit his needs, and can talk himself out of just about any web, particularly if he was the original spinner.

Apparently, not all his teachers were fully aware of this...er...talent, and when I picked them up today, Teacher Rose says, laughing a little nervously, "Boy, that Santiago, he's a smart one."

"What did he do now?" I think, but say instead, "Oh, is he?"

"Yes, he's quite the negotiator," she continues. "He went over to a group of 4 kids today who were all completely engrossed in a game they were playing, and I overheard him ask if he could play."

At this point, Chago suddenly has to pee as disappears from the room.

"And when they said 'yes' he then said something like 'Okay, but let's do it this way', which none of them wanted to do."

"But instead of arguing with them or getting mad he just said 'okay, well you don't have to, but I'm going to do this and this and that and that and it's going to be a whole lot of fun."

"And before I even knew it, he had all 4 kids following him around doing exactly as he said...to...the...letter."

[This is one of those moments when Mommy tends to say 'That's my boy!' and I usually mutter something under my breath about how the world has enough trouble without another little Amy running around.]