zombie rising

Too late for halloween pictures. I know. This is my most favorite artwork  done by my son. Though he has vehemently denied that this is a picture of a living dead clawing its way out of the grave, I  have , unwaveringly, maintained my opinion of his work.  I love it because of its cheerful eeriness.  A hand reaching out of the green grass, eager to embrace life once more, catching lemondrops and gumdrops. 

Balls of the same color  flock together

Dec.11, 2008

Our two-day old xmas tree - Will it survive my two-year old’s (a.k.a. El Terrible) curious and destructive attention?

LAST NIGHT she told me emphatically (complete with hand gestures): “Mami, cahhful! Cahhful, mami! Don chachit tea kwismas twee!” In people talk it meant “Mommy, careful! Careful, mommy! Don’t touch the christmas tree.”

I FELT HOPEFUL. Maybe her terrible-two brain has grown up quite a bit and she has somehow understood the concept of self-control. Our tree may yet live til christmas eve.

THIS MORNING she was pulling me toward the tree saying, “Mami, I want tea bews (Mommy, I want the bells).” I told her “No, the bells are not toys. Just look, but don’t touch.”

THIS AFTERNOON she took out three bells from the tree. Looks like her self-control has started to shatter.

Dec. 12, 2008

Our three-day old christmas tree is now missing the red  skirt that covers its base.  The cheap xmas tree skirt  I bought from the 99Cents store was torn into tiny bits and pieces by the El Terrible. What’s the next thing to go? I wonder.

Dec. 14, 2008

I woke up from a nap on the sofa to find out that the El Terrible had been busy. Earlier she had helped me hang some new red christmas balls on different parts of the tree.  While I was sleeping, she suddenly developed an artistic eye and thought that the tree would look better if the red balls were all congregated on one branch. She’s in the process of doing the same to the green ones. Her design principle: Balls of the same color flock together. 

Dec. 15, 2008

Look at these two figurines. They’re both music boxes that play a tune whenever you open them up.  Inside each of  their bellies is a christmas scene that goes round and round while the music plays.  My mother gave them to me.  She wanted to give me more, but I just took two, afraid that they might end up broken.  I placed them under the tree. They are now the El Terrible’s favorite.  

Do these  things come off?

Dec. 22, 2008

The figurines are still intact, but the decorations are in a state of flux. They never stay  in one place. Thanks to our in-house decorator.  Perched  precariously on her kiddie rocking chair,she constantly arranges and rearranges the position of the ornaments. Not wanting to start a major tantrum, I let her artistic inclinations run free. I could only watch with resignation.

There, that looks better!

Dec. 23,2008

El Terrible called me. She was in the living room. The six-foot tree had been  toppled  to the floor.  The culprit had an anxious look on her face.  I just shook my head and pulled it up without a word.  Relieved, she went straight back  to arranging and rearranging the ornaments.

Dec. 24, 2008

Gift-giving day. I wanted our tree to  have the sophisticated look of the ones you see in magazines.  It would help us have great  family photos.  I suppose I should be satisfied that  it has survived long enough for me to take a picture of my kids  opening their presents with it as a backdrop.  I congratulated myself.  Maybe next year would be easier.  I’d be less anxious about the fate of our christmas tree. My terrible twoofer would be three years old.  I wouldn’t have to constantly  remind her to “Just look, but don’t touch”.  Hopefully  she wouldn’t be too interested in design anymore.

The highlight of our summer would be the circus.  We watched the Ringling Bros. show entitled “Over the Top”.  I saw how my son sat at the edge of his chair with excitement. His face lit up when the band started playing and the performers came out  in their colorful and zany costumes. My daughter clapped endlessly and wiggled her butt in time with the music.  It was a joy to watch them have a good time.  Never mind that you almost choked when you had to pay twelve dollars for a cotton candy. Or that you skipped the popcorn because it cost six dollars.  It doesn’t even matter that you tried to forget your thirst during the show because you were afraid to ask about the price of one soda.  The most important thing was the look of wonder and the wide grins on my kids’ faces. A circus is something all children should experience and I’m glad that my husband and I were able to provide that for them.

When it was all over, my husband commented, “The tigers looked tired and bored while the elephants’ eyes loked sad.”  I agreed. This observation made me feel guilty. I had seen the PeTA (People for ethical Treatment of Animals) website before I bought the tickets for the show.  I read about the mistreatment of the animals in the care of  the Ringling Bros. Circus.  When I saw the video,(click here) I was repulsed by their training methods, but I went right ahead and paid for the tickets.  I should not have.  I suppose it’s time for all circuses to change and leave animals out of their acts.

“The idea that it is funny to see wild animals coerced into acting like clumsy humans, or thrilling to see powerful beasts reduced to cringing cowards by a whipcracking trainer is primitive and medieval.  It stems from the old idea that we are superior to other species and have the right to hold dominion over them.” –Dr. Desmond Morris, anthropologist, animal behaviorist, author.

I like to believe that I am an evolved individual, but reading the above quote from the PeTA site made me realize that supporting the circus has set me back into the stone age mentality.  It is wrong for the animals to suffer just so we can have our fun. I feel like a big, stupid villain.