Fighting Prejudice

I feel compelled to write about this experience with my two eldest sons and their father, regarding a man I was in a relationship with years after the divorce.

The man I was in a relationship with was from Morocco and had an Arabic name.
My ex-husband is a bigot. The boys were around 4 & 6 years old at the time.
Once day they came home from spending time with their dad and the 6 year old asked "Mommy, what's a sand n-word?" Of course, my heart hit the floor as I prepared my answer. It felt like my answer had to be good and that it shouldn't directly attack the person who had introduced this hateful term to my son. 

I also needed to answer so that a 6 year old could understand, so I said "it is something mean that someone says about another person that they don't know and they don't like." I had to say that it was a 'mean' word. Keep in mind that my son wasn't telling me who taught him the term. After a short pause, my son asked matter-of-factly, "How can you not like someone that you don't know?" It seemed to be an epiphany because he figured out that his father's attitude toward their mother's friend didn't make sense.
I used this story in my geography class today when talking about Islamophobia and xenophobia. Who would have thought I could use my ex-husband's racism and ignorance to teach high school students about xenophobia?

Wishbone

Today after eating a chicken, I produced the wishbone. The boys pulled on it and the 3 year old got the bigger part. When I asked him what he wishes for, he replied "for Papi to come back."
His Papi lives far away and they don't get to see him very much. It really would be great if he could move back! I'm sure he will, if he gets a chance.

First Hair Cut Nightmare & then some

Diego doesn't like to have his hair washed or cut. But, he loves to play with his own hair and mine. He twirls it in a comforting way especially if he is going to sleep, tired or stressed.

His first hair cut was a complete disaster. It was pretty long, so, I took him to one of those kid-friendly salons that has the train table to play with while they wait, little cars to sit in instead of chairs, and DVDs to distract them from the torture. Video games are also available for older kids to play, but Diego was only 1.
The stylist started, and as you can guess, my son was not very cooperative. She was extremely patient and careful as he was wiggling a lot and resisting her efforts. All of a sudden, I noticed her making a disgusted face and she beckoned me to come see what she saw... LICE!!! Ewwwww.

OMG, it was soooo gross. He is my 4th child and I had never experienced lice before. Very calmly & quietly , she explained that the haircut usually ends when/if lice is discovered, but that she was going to finish the cut. Thank goodness!

She did a great job and as soon as I left, I bought all the products needed to get rid of the lice and then some. Oh yes, I had it, too, because he was alway touching my hair. But, no one else in the family got it though.
The black & white photo at the top is before the cut and the clean cut guy in the green striped shirt to the right is after the cut.

A couple years later...
Recently when we went to get hair cuts. Diego, of course, protested.
I explained "you'll feel so much better when you get a hair cut" and he matter-o-factly replied
"but, I'm not sick."

My Little Green Thumb is the Apple of My Eye

Omar loves to play in the dirt, which he calls soil. The other day he wanted me to give him a seed, as if I have seeds at my disposal at any given time. I told him we'd buy some seeds the next time we went to the store. Meanwhile, I continue doing what I'm doing and notice that he and his little brother are eating apples. Shortly thereafter, Omar hands me half an apple, eaten to the core and tells me "Here Mommy, I'm done".

I get to thinking and ask him if he got seeds from the apple and he replies, "Yes!". Needless to say, I was pretty impressed at his industriousness and creativity.

The next time we went to the store I did buy some seeds though...wildflowers.

When I presented them to Omar to plant, I told him "you don't have to dig, you just have to scatter or sprinkle them around." He complained "but I want to dig." Yeah, I know, I know. I was taking the easy way out. Anyway, I handed them to him and explained that he could sprinkle them all around and even in a pot of dirt and weeds on our porch. Well, he simply took the envelope of wildflower seeds and pretty much dumped it out with one swoosh of his arm. We'll see in the spring if any come up...
Note to self: Need to find book "Johnny Appleseed", it just seems appropriate.

EZ Bean Quesadillas

Lightly butter or oil pan, turn on to medium high heat.
Combine refried beans, cheese (of your choice), a little salsa, & a little sour cream in a bowl.
Heat in microwave until warm/hot.
Spread on 1/2 of a tortilla and fold over.
Brown on both sides.
Serve.
Helpful hints:
If you are lacking one or more ingredients, its okay. I just do it this way, so you don't have to dip the Quesadillas or spread anything on them.
I usually use vegetarian refried beans and mild cheddar or colby/jack cheese.
Whatever salsa or picante sauce I have on hand.
My microwavable bowl has a glass lid, but if yours doesn't, cover with saran wrap or it will splatter.
Photo to come later...

Buying a Christmas Tree - no easy task

I thought going to buy a fake Christmas tree tonight would be a quick & easy purchase. I knew I didn't want, nor could I afford a $200 artificial tree, but I had no idea how many choices there'd be...I did know I wanted one with the lights included. Very practical. I thought I could get away with spending between $50 & $100. There was a perfect one for $35, but it was on the "Charlie Brown" side and of course was sold out.
My 5 yr old fell in love with a 4 foot baby blue piece-o-crap tree and I couldn't have that for our real family tree. I didn't even think it could support any lights or ornaments, but I thought what the heck, I'll get it for him and it can be "his tree". It was only 15 bucks. Then I saw some pink and purple trees of the same kind. He said "I want a different colors tree" and eventually I found a fiber-optic number which looked very multi-colored/rainbowish on the box and it was only $12. The real family tree ended up being $88, so I think I did pretty well. I did purchase a star for each tree, Christmas cards, pajamas, stocking caps, etc., so my total bill ended up being ~$200, but hey it was Wal-Mart. I usu. spend at least $50 no matter what I go in there for.

I don't want an x-ray

My 3 yr old overheard that he was going to get an x-ray and exclaimed
'but I don't want an x-ray'
to which my 5 yr old said
'I want an x-ray'.
After laughing for a few,
b/c it was so funny how it happened,
I asked the 5 yr old
'why do you want an x-ray?'
To which he matter-o-factly replied
'because you can see your skeleton.'