Fish fight

I have avoided writing because I know that when I get online I spend far too much time in cyberspace.

Mateo reached a whole new level of maturity today. Instead of "no" he now says "i don't want to." I'm in for a whole new world of hurt. He also fought me for 1/2 an hour about putting away his fishing game. He had thrown the fish all over the floor. Later he asked for juice and I told him I wouldn't give it to him unless he cleaned up. He refused, screamed, kicked, yelled, hit. You name it, he did it. I had to clean up the damn fish and put him to bed. He said he was sorry, but I didn't care at that point. After he finished his milk I brought him to my bed to hold him for a few minutes, as I like to do these days before he get any bigger, and when I took him back to the room I asked him to help clean up the toys in his room. He did a wonderful job. As I laid him down he looked up at me with those droopy eyes and told me, "I don't want put away pish mom." I don't know what he has against those fish.

Yesterday Mateo & I went to Stacey's house to watch Kung-fu Panda and play with her dog. He loves that dog, and in turn, adores Stacey. He's come a long way with her. The first time he met her he screamed bloody murder and thereafter would avoid her by creeping along the walls instead of walking next to her. Last night though, he gave her a kiss, sang (I like to move it , move it!), and danced for her. He also did a little Kung-fu with her. Chayla wasn't with us because she decided to go across the street to partake in a memorial dinner and ceremony for her friends' grandmother who passed away 40 days ago. She was unfazed by attending a ceremony for a dead person which was officiated in Chinese (???), in a house full of Vietnamese speakers and food. I'm so impressed that she is being exposed to such a variety of cultures at such a young age.

I know that most of my friends don't have children as old as Chayla so it's hard to find good advice as to how to deal with her. She has already reached the stage I thought she'd reach when she's 12 or 13. My older coworkers who have teenagers have told me they believe she may get her period soon. Can I just express how terrifying this is to me? Imagine how Freddie will feel when I share this theory with him.

I made homemade chili and oatmeal-carrot cookies from scratch today. I forgot how good cooking makes one feel. I wished I liked cooking more. In any case, Thursday I will spend many hours baking for Mateo's school's fundraiser and for Thanksgiving, I will make pernil and mofongo. I'm gearing up for two-weeks of serious cooking.