Visitors

Last week, Ben’s sister Bahija and niece Rasha, came to visit from Holland. We had a great time but the visit was too short and we only got to see them a few times during the week they were here. Bahija offered to give Ben a haircut on their last evening with us. When I acted surprised, she said she was a hairdresser. She only cuts women’s hair and this was apparently her first men’s cut, but she did a good job. Ben was wearing a shirt made out of a tall kitchen trash bag because he didn’t want his man-boobs to show in the photo. Thank you for that, Ben.


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The more kids you have in the photo, it’s exponentially harder to get a good shot:


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Big Apple Circus

We went to the circus last night which made for a late night and a bit of stress trying to get there on time but it was so great. I really love that circus and it’s the one event that we go to every year. The acts are so creative and they always tie in a musical theme. Grandma the clown was a favorite again this year, as well as the “Pound Puppies” dog act where all of the dogs came from the pound. I think my favorite was the Mannequin Man. He was so amazing…he really looked like a mechanical mannequin and a woman in the audience caught his eye and they brought her into the ring to dance with him. It was amazing and funny.

Aliya got to be part of the circus too:

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Hmmm…How’d they do that?

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Not a big fan of clowns.

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Viviana will be so proud when I tell her that Adlani saw this and screamed, “MOM!!! LA CLAVE DE SOL!!!” He asked me to take a picture for her. Norah recognized it too.

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More Potty Talk

When Adlani grows up he’s going to spend a lot of time on the psychiatrist’s couch talking about how his mother outed him on her blog with all kinds of embarrassing posts. I can’t help it though…he’s in a blogworthy phase right now.

After the initial pressure of getting Adlani close enough to potty-trained to start preschool, I’ve made several attempts to teach him how to wipe his own butt but I haven’t stressed out over it. The teachers don’t wipe his butt and he has to do it himself at school, so I figure if he’s asking me to do it at home it’s out of laziness. He doesn’t bother to ask me any more, but if Ben’s within earshot he’ll call him for help.
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The other night I was sitting in Norah’s room and I had a clear view of Adlani on the toilet. (At least he was on the toilet and not doing his business at my desk.) Mission accomplished, he stood up, stuffed a big wad of toilet paper between his butt cheeks and stood there for about 10 seconds (a long time for him to stand still). I couldn’t tell if there was any clenching going on but there was no visible wiggling. Then he bent over a little until the wad popped out and landed on the floor. Done!

In my opinion, that was more of a “blot” than a “wipe”, but I’m pretty sure Ben’s in charge of teaching Adlani about male hygiene, so as long as I’ve got OxiClean stain remover they’re on their own.
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And then there’s Norah, who laid down beside me on the bed last weekend.

Norah: “Hey Mom! I’ve got a hole in my private area!”
Me: “I know. It’s supposed to be there. Don’t put anything in it.”
(because she would)
Norah: “Why?”
Me: “Because your poop needs to come out.”
Norah: “Nooo…the poop comes out back here.”
Me: “Well, your pee needs to come out.”
Norah: “Oh. Ok.”
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Pee-Pee Dance

Every so often I look at one of my kids and wonder where the hell I went wrong. I have given them all a roof over their heads, nutritious food, clothes that won’t get them ostracized by their peers, educational toys and books, tickets to cultural events, and the best preschool education a home equity credit line can buy. I’ve given them a bilingual education, lessons in gymnastics & swimming & tai quan do, and involved them in team sports so they’d be well-rounded. I read to them, I cook with them, and I play their music in the car. But some days I feel a little bit like Jeffrey Dahmer’s mother when one of them does something I just can’t fathom. Today was one of those days.

Adlani LOVES to watch TV. He would watch TV all day every day if I’d allow it. He sneaks the TV on when I’m not looking, and he is constantly asking me if we can buy the Nu-Wave Oven or the Buxton Organizer. Today he asked if we could buy Magic Hangers and went on to describe all of the features and benefits of the product. I have forbidden TV, locked the living room, and even locked the TV cabinets with cable locks through the door pulls. Once he opened the cabinet doors as much as the cable locks would allow, squeezed up behind the doors, and stood there between the TV and the cabinet doors watching Sponge Bob.

Well, apparently Adlani was watching TV in the master bedroom and it was a REALLY good show. So good that he didn’t want to miss anything by running to the bathroom (we DO have the ability to pause the TV but for some reason that didn’t come to mind as an option). So…he peed under my desk. WTF?!?! And sadly, it wasn’t the first time.

So tonight I was telling my friend about the incident. I was seriously horrified by it. She cracked up and went on to tell me that her son (the same age) peed in the playroom because he didn’t want to stop playing! Well, I guess if both of them did it, it must fall into the “normal” range of behavior. It’s still gross.
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