Sentences from a 1st Grader

Here are Luca's spelling word sentences brought home from class:




I particularly like his affirmative 'yep' as his self-acknowledgement of his behavior towards his brother and the comment his teacher inserted. (His teacher -- Ms. Thornton -- is fantastic.)

the holiday letter... that wasn't

This was going to be my holiday letter for 2009. I just didn't like it that much and didn't finish it in time but figured I'd post it here for posterity and for the curious.


The biggest news of 2009 for this clan was the addition of George, a chocolate mini-dachshund. The George experience happened much like many other good decisions in this house. I was dead set against it, Luciana was increasingly for it until one day I found myself in the car on the way to a pet shop as the boys hurriedly talked over each other in a race to spill the beans on their mother who had already put down a deposit on a dog, bought untold quantities of pet supplies and yet was still pretending as if I had a decision to make too. Of course, it worked out to be a great decision. Everyone enjoys George and it is fun to see the boys cuddle with him on the couch or chase him around the kitchen.

Mateos is now eight and in the third grade. He is a boy in constant motion and is usually all smiles. Mateos has a good sense of style and is into urban culture. While he has temporarily traded in his skateboard for a soccer ball he still considers graffiti to be the highest of art forms, regularly pleads for rap & hip-hop on the car stereo and walks around the house regurgitating lyrics that he understands more of than I wish but thankfully much less than what the words imply. Mateos has really started to enjoy and advance his skills in soccer and tried out for and is now a member of a local competitive team, Real Reno FC, an accomplishment that he is particularly proud of. When Mateos is confined to the inside of the house, he likes to work on his yo-yo tricks and surf YouTube.


Luca continues to defy his parent’s gene pool as his body stretches onward and upward. Luca is seven years old and in the first grade. He is his mother’s boy and he continues to have a stubborn streak that is both endearing and frustrating. This year Luca has put his stubbornness to great use and invested himself into reading and math and enjoys jumping in to answer any scholastic based question I put forward to him or his brother. Luca is still a bit of a homebody, and he very much enjoys hunkering down on the couch with a video game controller in his hands, an enemy in his sights and a bowl of sickeningly buttery popcorn nearby (“Please make it with as much butter as you would ever put on it for me.”)

Luciana is involved in all aspects of the kids’ lives through volunteer work for each of the boy’s classes and coordinating their social calendars with their friends. When she gets the chance, she continues to enjoy cult female activities like Pampered Chef and Tupperware parties (or as Luca famously understood it, mom’s ‘Tug-of-War’ party.) At night, Luciana likes to curl up with George and me (probably in that order) on the couch and watch House Hunters while flipping through magazines.

For myself, I am still working at Intuit and doing the programming thing. This year, I kept busy by co-coaching both Mateos and Luca’s soccer teams and playing in a local adult soccer league. My barber (Luciana) tells me I have quite a few less hairs than the year before but it still looks all good to me ;) 




Happy Holidays!

The Hits Keep On Comin'

I had an interesting encounter with Mateos last night. This has been the year of him learning all about curse words, body parts and now -- sigh -- sex. Last night, he asked to have a 'private conversation' with me so he could ask me about a word. Last time we did this, he wanted to know what "shitwich" meant. So, I wasn't really prepared for the following exchange:

Mateos (in a soft voice): Dad, does sex mean when a boy sticks his penis in a girl's vagina.

Dad (reeling but clinging to composure, controlling facial expression): Yes...

Mateos (clearly having thoughts swirling in his head): He *sticks* his penis in her vagina??!?

Dad (catching breath, thinking fast): Mateos, let me be clear. This is something **only** adults do and it is private...

Mateos (interrupting, unable to control self): Why? Why would they do that? Dad, why would an adult _do_ that?!?

Dad (trying to be open and bring conversation to a close): Well, that's how adults make babies but this is an advanced conversation and I think we should talk more tomorrow and

Mateos (pointing vigorously at Dad): **YOU** stuck your penis in mom?!?

Dad (full body waffle and nervously smiling): er, Mateos there are some things that are private and I won't discuss with ...

Mateos (louder): But you did???

Dad (giving in to the inevitable, sighing): Yes, but this is very private. Blah blah blah.... (discussing the gravity of the conversation, the privacy of the conversation, etc.)


I did almost all the rest of the talking and tried to nip everything else in the bud. But later that night, Luciana and I were putting them to bed and he started smiling a little funny and looking at her and Luciana was like, 'What are you smiling about Mateos?' Needless to say she understood what that was all about when I explained our little chat to her later.

Wasn't really prepared for that conversation. Happened about 5 years earlier than I expected to be honest but it was an interesting moment. I doubt he will remember it 5 years from now but I am pretty sure I always will.

Look out, Captain Underpants, you have competition

This weekend was the holiday party for work. So, Mateos & Luca went to Rafael's house for the evening. The three guys decided to get creative and write a comic book. The divison of labor went something like this -- Mateos & Rafa shared 'creative' duties of coming up with the plot line, Rafa wrote the story and Mateos illustrated it and Luca was in charge of getting people to look at it, so I guess we could say he was the marketing & sales arm of the organization. Without further adieu, here is the masterpiece:

Tidbits

To keep the boys busy on the way to the restaurant, Luciana asked them some questions and here are the responses.

Q1. If you had to live 1 year with another family, which family would that be?
Luca: Eric & Faith Osgard
Mateos: Tio Allen and Tia Marcela

Q2. If you could invite one person to come and visit with us for a few weeks, who would it be?
Luca: Mom Mom & Pop Pop
Mateos: Uncle Garo & Aunt Diana


In other news, Mateos had gas tonight that was deadly magnificent. It may have been cold outside, but it was definitely a 'windows down' evening. I think Luciana is getting a thorough education on some of the finer moments of growing up male.

Back to the Beginning (How We Ended Up in Reno)

Here is the very busy man's summary to how we ended up in Reno:

1. Allen received a job off from Intuit in Reno which he decided to accept.
2. Mrs. V (my mother-in-law) decides that she will go too.
3. We decide to follow, I get a job at Intuit too.

Salient details:
Allen, Marcela and their two children lived 3 houses down from us in Florida. Marcela is my wife's sister. Mrs. V also lived in Tampa, she was about 1 mi. away inside of the same community.


The Extenuating Circumstances
The loong story has many more twists and turns. Hmm... here are the ones I recall.

1. Lu and I had no idea that this was coming -- we didn't know Allen was interviewing.

2. Lu and I had started a home remodel project to add a room to the house in Florida to make it possible for my parents to come and stay for longer periods of time. Thankfully, the work that had been done was extremely minor but we were about 2 days away from having the driveway torn up.

3. While I really enjoyed my job in Florida, it was an easy decision to leave once they committed -- the only question was Reno, Boston or northern NJ. I have little interest in living away from extended family.

4. I interviewed both in Reno and the northeast -- specifically in Boston and had a very interesting job offer there. I also had an interesting job offer in Reno (not Intuit) that I liked very much. The final influence came from Lu in the selection of Intuit in Reno. Final influence is very mild; it was an extremely tense and difficult decision making process that had us both on edge.


The Aftermath
1. We all now live in Reno within the same community.

2. I really, really like our new house. It has the yard I've always wanted, and it
has the space to have guests come and stay for extended periods :)

3. The families are still very close and it is one of the best things to be able to walk over and see everyone, esp. my niece and nephew.

4. It was a good decision and I have no regrets. Things didn't really happen in the order I would have preferred, but you have to realize what you have sometimes. That said, I still hope/plan to return to the northeast at some point. Not committed, but hopeful.

Sex Ed, Internet Style (or, why does a woman's penis look like that?)

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