Art class and Egyptian mummies and Super Heroes

We're feeling a lot more settled here in the tropical swamp - everyone at the grocery store knows us by name, and the women who bag groceries or work in the customer service department are always clamoring to get smiles from Mr. Roman. "Que cosa mas lindo!" they're always saying. He certainly knows how to charm, and he loves every minute of it.

We know the school security guards and chat with some of the families at pick-up and drop-off time at school; the apartment complex management and maintenance guys are always talking to our kids (and vice versa) and the kids love visiting the club house after a swim or a romp in the park for hot chocolate out of the coffee machine. Anika's friends run to give her hugs and yell 'goodbye, Anika!' when I pick her up at the end of the school day, and I can hear Reni and his friends laughing and squealing when he enters Ms. Pilar's classroom. They are happy, so I am happy.

After trying out a karate class (the kids called it 'ninja school' and were super excited to go; then Reni bailed out at the last minute and Anika yelled 'yes SIR!' along with all the other kids and kicked her legs in the air and ran around batting things), Anika has decided she wants to go to art class instead. She requested art over dance and gymnastics and karate, so she must really be serious.

And since the public schools here have cut out things like art and music and gym class - prompting me to wonder for not the first time why we cut things we taxpayers actually have money for and that yield actual results and spend money on things that equate to just burning bills and watching it go up in smoke - I'm even that more motivated to give the kids some extracurricular activities, even if it means driving around in rush hour traffic during Roman's nap time.

To say Ani loved her first art class would be an understatement. She was BEAMING. She got her own easel, and the instructor guided her through a series of exercises to gauge her interest and aptitude. She scored high marks on both, the teacher noting 'she has excellent control of the brush' and 'is quite enthusiastic.' She learned about positive and negative space, and how to shade an image using pastels. It's a bit pricey, as it's in a private artist's studio, but heck since we're in Miami we might as well give her an authentic experience. Also, her teacher is left-handed, just like Anika, which Ani thinks is really cool.

I've found a place similar to the Little Gym, where we used to go in ABQ for Anika's dance class, that has group sports/tumbling classes for Reni. I think it will be less intimidating to him than a martial arts class, and he will be able to run and jump and yell to his heart's content without having to follow too many instructions. We're going to try it out tomorrow and see how he likes it.

And kids are just a *wee* bit excited for Halloween. Curious George Halloween is on repeat on Netflix again, and all the decorations at school and in stores around the 'hood have prompted some interesting discussions with Reni, who is quintessentially the million questions man.

"What's that?" he asked a week ago, pointing to a paper mummy decoration. "It's a mummy. It's a body of someone who died a long time ago, wrapped in bandages and usually buried in a temple or a pyramid in Egypt." Here is a small sampling of what followed: What's Egypt? What type of bandages? How did they make them? How do they make them stay on? Is there special cream? What was the person like who died a long time ago? Are they in North America? Where is Egypt?

Thus began our entrée into the haven that is YouTube - he can tell you all about ancient Egypt now, and hieroglyphs, and he can even pronounce Mesopotamia correctly (he has branched off into ancient civilizations in general). He can talk about the dawn of agriculture and paintings on rock walls and the Sphynx. He's pretty in to it all.

Then there's our Halloween costumes, which I scooped up for a steal at a local Goodwill. Anika is spider girl and Reni is Captain America. They have both been sleeping in their costumes since we picked them up two days ago, and putting them on after school, and running around playing super heroes and having tea as super heroes and building super hero railways across Reni's bedroom floor. In short, BEST. PURCHASE. EVER. And it's not even Halloween yet, but I have no idea where to trick or treat or what's going down around here for the holiday that is, admittedly, my least favorite, so I hope they're not disappointed if all I can come up with is knocking on a few doors in the complex.