Thursday, February 23, 2006

Be speckled, Jeweled and Pedicured: Martinez Metrosexual Tendencies & Other Stories

It’s been a while since Lorenzo and I have blogged. All is well, just very busy. Here are some recent Alex & Meghan stories for your reading pleasure.

Alex got his first set of glasses last week. He now looks more like Lorenzo than ever. Our running joke has always been the “Mini-Me” qualities of Alex to Lorenzo. When they wear their glasses, and ND sweatshirts and jeans, it is even more clear to any observer. Alex is very proud to be wearing glasses like Lorenzo and I. He said, “Now I am part of the family”. Meghan, as a result, wears her Dora sunglasses even more often than before.

Meghan has increased her demands of painted finger and toe nails. I made the mistake of showing her all of my nail polish colors a few weeks ago. As a result, she has decided purple and red toenails are the best. We have to do them in an alternating pattern to have the “finished” look of preference.

Alex decided he needed a haircut on Sunday. His hair was not long, but it was not as neat as he preferred. He pointed out that his sideburns had grown longer than he liked. I had to laugh, as the kid loves to have a haircut, but doesn’t see the need to shampoo his hair daily. Seven year old boys are a hoot!

Meghan discovered the costume jewelry that Susanna passed down. I have been keeping it for Meghan. We put on some clip on earrings, a necklace and her Dora sunglasses for church a few Sunday’s ago. She caught herself in the mirror and turned to me and said, “Mama, I LIKE it.” If I didn’t already know I was in trouble, it’s confirmed.

Alex, in the continuing challenge of being a 7 year old boy, seems to be unable to wear a pair of pants (jeans or other) without tearing a hole in the knee. He has now 9 pair of pants. 4 of them have some sort of a hole in at least one knee. I patched a pair (or two) but the patches didn’t last either. I have decided the blessings of the situation are: you only wear pants for about 4 months in Texas and his legs grow SUPER fast. I am not thrilled with my son wearing pants with holes in the knees, but he can’t seem to keep from putting holes in them, so in order to save the remaining 5 pair from additional holes, I let him wear the hole-y ones more often than I’d like.

Meghan, who seems to be more like me everyday, has apparently developed a sarcastic side. While driving in the car the other day, she asked me to open her bottled water. After opening and returning the bottle, I asked her, “Can you say open in Spanish?” She responded, “Open in Spanish”, to my chagrin and Lorenzo’s laughter. Just so you know, open in Spanish is “Abierto”.

Alex and I are reading “The Phantom Tollbooth” together, when I am home, in the evening. I have been enjoying reading this book again. Whether stories of the Dodecahedron, the Absence of Rhyme & Reason, or the Dangers of the Land of Ignorance, I have been fully enjoying discussing Milo’s progress with Alex. If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend it.

Meghan and I enjoy Madeline stories. Alex comes in to hear the story each night. The three of us have definitely decided we must go to Paris and see the places that Madeline sees in the stories. I love that my kids are, at least developing, the wanderlust I continually demonstrate. Poor Lorenzo, he’ll be dragged all over the world by the time I am done telling the kids about the cool places we should see!

Alex and Meghan are great playmates, but her aggressive nature and his gentle nature tend to be a very dangerous combination. Last weekend, Alex was resting on the floor when Meghan “mounted her horse & demanded he walk”. She then announced, “I have a horsey!”. The cowgirl in Meghan shines through! I am sure the Texas side of the family will enjoy that.

Some of you may know that Alex’s school is participating in a Jump Rope for Hearts program. His school sent home a form describing how to set up an on-line site to “collect money”. Alex, being his father’s son, wanted to be one of the people who actually did set up the site. We did it together and sent the link and “request” to grandparents and god-parents. Alex is apparently one of about 15 students in his entire school to set up the website. Not only that, but he blew away his goal of $50 with this program. Thank you if you GENEROUSLY supported Alex and his school. I was amazed by your collective response and Alex was very proud of his website and results.

Meghan has developed a love of Veggie Tales. Chick Fil-a gave a CD of 4 Veggie Tales’ songs in her recent kids meal. She has figured out how to make her CD player play and how to adjust the volume…up. She loves to replay her cd. My favorite song is about Larry the Cucumber and his Lost Hairbrush. Apparently, it is also Meghan’s, as she sings along with that song every time. She isn’t always on key and she isn’t always clearly articulating the lyrics, but she does enjoy the song. Lorenzo and I enjoy listening to her “sing” it, too.

Alex recently lost a school library book. It was a biography of George W. Bush. I believe he checked out this book about 6 times this year, already. I am not particularly comfortable with Alex’s interest in our president, but you all know, I am very supportive of Alex’s interest in politics, generally. I am hoping, that like myself, his political opinions will grow (and change!) as he does. At least, since he lost the book, he can’t read it again. Lorenzo thinks it’s fishy that the book disappeared. I can only say, I have no knowledge of the location of the book. $22 later, we have re-imbursed the library and reminded Alex to be more careful of future library books. I hope he doesn’t find any more Bush bio’s.

I hope you enjoyed the stories. Have a great day!

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