4.26.2015
Grady Gram- Hobbies
Good Morning Everyone! Here is a list of things I like to do in my free time. 1. Mostly everyday I have play dates with Estelle. We play outside. Outside we play Taps and we play soccer. 2. I like to go to hockey games during winter break with my family. My dads don't go to the hockey games. 3. I like to play soccer with my cousin Sara. 4. I like to play with my friends at recess. We play four square. Four square is a really fun game to play. 5. I like to watch tv and play my iPad even though that's not really a hobby. But to others which can be me to think of it as a hobby.Well, that's it for today!
4.25.2015
We're back......and ready to do this
Morning. Wanted to say hi to everyone out there. We have really been away from this for way too long and we're back....and ready to do this.
When this blog was started in 2009, the idea was to create something that would live forever and take on the voice of the Wilson-Cuevas Family now and in the future. We wanted to start something that our kids, Grady & Cyrus, could be a part of and eventually make it their own. An online legacy of sorts.
The kids are going to begin posting things themselves. It's a free-for-all with those two, so I can't promise what you'll see. I'm excited about whatever they choose to post.
Tim (Papi) is going to start posting things in Spanish, in tribute to his Puerto Rican heritage. Maybe I'll learn a bit of Spanish myself.
Here is a recent picture of our family to see how much we've grown. The kids have grown vertically while we Dads have grown horizontally.
When this blog was started in 2009, the idea was to create something that would live forever and take on the voice of the Wilson-Cuevas Family now and in the future. We wanted to start something that our kids, Grady & Cyrus, could be a part of and eventually make it their own. An online legacy of sorts.
The kids are going to begin posting things themselves. It's a free-for-all with those two, so I can't promise what you'll see. I'm excited about whatever they choose to post.
Tim (Papi) is going to start posting things in Spanish, in tribute to his Puerto Rican heritage. Maybe I'll learn a bit of Spanish myself.
Here is a recent picture of our family to see how much we've grown. The kids have grown vertically while we Dads have grown horizontally.
Looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, too.
x.....Calvin
Grady Gram- Introduction
Hi everyone! I'm a 10 year old girl named Grady Luella Wilson-Cuevas. I have two dads and one brother. I live in a wonderful world with lots of friends and family. My friends and family look out for me and I look out for them. My dads names are Calvin Wilson and Timmy Cuevas and my brother's name is Cyrus Roy Wilson-Cuevas. My dads are funny and so is Cyrus. I go to a great school called P.S. 40. My teachers are nice but serious about what they teach us. My best friends names are Estelle, Amanda, Lilly, and Devon. By the way Devon is a girl. My friends cheer me up when I'm sad and I cheer them up when they are not having a great day. They are great friends to have around.
10.30.2013
Celebrating Differences
Life teaches us lessons everyday and today I had to teach one at the kid's school. Not only did I educate a child, I soon realized that this kid educated me.
Today, we had a publishing party for Grady's class, at which time stories that each of the students have wrote are read and the parents and classmates make positive statements about the writing. It is a nice way to celebrate the writing process and takes the fear out of it for many of the kids.
After the stories were read, the class along with the parents meander to the cafeteria for a little breakfast. The kids have a great time and it is also nice for the parents to catch up on things going on with their kids and one another.
Both Tim and I went to the party today, which is very rare as one of us is always at work at this hour. Tim was off from work as he is starting a new job tomorrow and I had jury duty, so we were both able to attend. Regardless of our schedule, we always make sure to have at least one of us in attendance, so today was a special day that we were able to both take part.
After the kids and parents got their food, everyone sits around talking to one another. I stayed for awhile but had to get to jury duty, so I got my coat and bag and gave Tim a kiss goodbye, just as we do everyday. Nothing out of the norm. We kiss, said goodbye and I head for the door but sensed something whereupon I turned around to notice one of Grady's classmates snickering to a group of girls about us kissing. She had a look of disgust and disbelief that two men would kiss one another.
Never one to bite my tongue and figuring we were in school, I thought this was the perfect place to educate this young girl on her behavior. When I turned around and headed back, the girl realized that I had caught wind of her antics and literally froze. It was as if she thought if she stayed still enough, that I wouldn't school her, no pun intended. Little does she know me.
I approached the girl and her friends (who hadn't said anything about the kiss themselves) and sat down at the table with them. Grady was sitting within earshot of them at another table, but didn't hear any of this, which was a blessing. I told the ringleader that I heard what she said and didn't think it was very nice nor did I appreciate her speaking of our family as if we gross just because we were different than most. I was more upset that she was gathering the charges which in my eyes is a typical gang-like mentality.
I asked her where her parents were as I wanted to address the issue with them and see what they had to say. As the parents weren't there, I went in on this kid not to embarrass her or make her feel bad about herself, but rather to educate her. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't care whether or not she was embarrassed as I was embarrassed for her but I really wanted to make a point. As she and Grady were in the same class last year, she knew we had a non-traditional family, so I knew that the snickers were coming from a negative place rather than one that was just matter-of-fact.
I asked her and the rest of the girls about their families. She had a mom and dad at home as did most of the kids, another girl had a single mom (was actually a "test-tube" baby..how cool) and then there was our two dad family. I asked her if she felt her family was any better than ours and she replied "No." What about the single parent family, I asked? "No". I gave examples of other types of families and told her that all families are different and they each need to be celebrated. She was still in shock that I was schooling her, but better me than someone else who she may have pointed out and got a different response, i.e. a slap in the face, a name called, etc.
After speaking to the girl, I asked her is this something that I needed to share with her parents or had she understood what I was saying. She said no. I also told her that this type of behavior would not be tolerated and that she owed me, my partner, my children and the other kids that she tried to influence an apology. By this point, she was out of the deer stuck in headlights phase and realized that I meant business and I felt sincerely apologized to all of us.
Grady has no idea any of this went on but I understand one day she may be fighting these battles herself. Not just for her but for anyone who is made to feel bad about being different. We teach our children to be nonjudgmental and accept others as they are. If you don't teach your kids that we are all individuals and need to be celebrated not for our similarities but more importantly for our differences then you are doing them a disservice. I want to let any parent out there know that if I notice that type of behavior in my presence from any child, they will be schooled, as I would want someone to school my own kids on such injustice.
I told the teacher about the incident and suggested that I come in a read a book to the class that my Mom and Dad gave to the kids when they were younger called And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell based on a true story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo who essentially raised a baby penguin (Tango) as their own. It is simple for kids to understand and tells a great story about differences being celebrated. I haven't heard back from the teacher yet if I can come in to read the book, but I have faith that he will think it is a good idea.
Today, we had a publishing party for Grady's class, at which time stories that each of the students have wrote are read and the parents and classmates make positive statements about the writing. It is a nice way to celebrate the writing process and takes the fear out of it for many of the kids.
After the stories were read, the class along with the parents meander to the cafeteria for a little breakfast. The kids have a great time and it is also nice for the parents to catch up on things going on with their kids and one another.
Both Tim and I went to the party today, which is very rare as one of us is always at work at this hour. Tim was off from work as he is starting a new job tomorrow and I had jury duty, so we were both able to attend. Regardless of our schedule, we always make sure to have at least one of us in attendance, so today was a special day that we were able to both take part.
After the kids and parents got their food, everyone sits around talking to one another. I stayed for awhile but had to get to jury duty, so I got my coat and bag and gave Tim a kiss goodbye, just as we do everyday. Nothing out of the norm. We kiss, said goodbye and I head for the door but sensed something whereupon I turned around to notice one of Grady's classmates snickering to a group of girls about us kissing. She had a look of disgust and disbelief that two men would kiss one another.
Never one to bite my tongue and figuring we were in school, I thought this was the perfect place to educate this young girl on her behavior. When I turned around and headed back, the girl realized that I had caught wind of her antics and literally froze. It was as if she thought if she stayed still enough, that I wouldn't school her, no pun intended. Little does she know me.
I approached the girl and her friends (who hadn't said anything about the kiss themselves) and sat down at the table with them. Grady was sitting within earshot of them at another table, but didn't hear any of this, which was a blessing. I told the ringleader that I heard what she said and didn't think it was very nice nor did I appreciate her speaking of our family as if we gross just because we were different than most. I was more upset that she was gathering the charges which in my eyes is a typical gang-like mentality.
I asked her where her parents were as I wanted to address the issue with them and see what they had to say. As the parents weren't there, I went in on this kid not to embarrass her or make her feel bad about herself, but rather to educate her. If I'm being completely honest, I didn't care whether or not she was embarrassed as I was embarrassed for her but I really wanted to make a point. As she and Grady were in the same class last year, she knew we had a non-traditional family, so I knew that the snickers were coming from a negative place rather than one that was just matter-of-fact.
I asked her and the rest of the girls about their families. She had a mom and dad at home as did most of the kids, another girl had a single mom (was actually a "test-tube" baby..how cool) and then there was our two dad family. I asked her if she felt her family was any better than ours and she replied "No." What about the single parent family, I asked? "No". I gave examples of other types of families and told her that all families are different and they each need to be celebrated. She was still in shock that I was schooling her, but better me than someone else who she may have pointed out and got a different response, i.e. a slap in the face, a name called, etc.
After speaking to the girl, I asked her is this something that I needed to share with her parents or had she understood what I was saying. She said no. I also told her that this type of behavior would not be tolerated and that she owed me, my partner, my children and the other kids that she tried to influence an apology. By this point, she was out of the deer stuck in headlights phase and realized that I meant business and I felt sincerely apologized to all of us.
Grady has no idea any of this went on but I understand one day she may be fighting these battles herself. Not just for her but for anyone who is made to feel bad about being different. We teach our children to be nonjudgmental and accept others as they are. If you don't teach your kids that we are all individuals and need to be celebrated not for our similarities but more importantly for our differences then you are doing them a disservice. I want to let any parent out there know that if I notice that type of behavior in my presence from any child, they will be schooled, as I would want someone to school my own kids on such injustice.
I told the teacher about the incident and suggested that I come in a read a book to the class that my Mom and Dad gave to the kids when they were younger called And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell based on a true story of two male penguins at the Central Park Zoo who essentially raised a baby penguin (Tango) as their own. It is simple for kids to understand and tells a great story about differences being celebrated. I haven't heard back from the teacher yet if I can come in to read the book, but I have faith that he will think it is a good idea.
10.12.2013
A Full Year Has Passed
I have long wanted to post on our blog but the day-to-day just gets in the way. A full year has passed and here we are. So many things have happen over the last year but most importantly, the kids have finally adjusted to their new school. Last school year was a huge challenge for all of us with a new school, friends, teachers and school policies. We went from a very progressive school to a VERY traditional one that is very rigid in how it teaches.
Last year the kids were in 2nd and 3rd grade and never did I think that we would be faced with so many challenges. Kids learn different than we parents learned so not only are they learning something new, we are as well. For someone who was already no fan of math, I developed an even greater distaste for it last year. The kids learn math employing the TERC curriculum and it is more confusing then how I learned it. I won't even try to explain it, but you can Google it if you care to know more. Anyway, we made it through math.
Reading and writing also came with their challenges. Not so much for Cyrus as he was in 2nd grade but for Grady, 3rd grade was no joke. There was loads of reading, writing, editing, publishing. Publishing parties are all the rage in NYC public schools I think as I was always going to one or another. Nice idea for the kids to see their work "published" but a bit much overall.
The principal at the new school is in a league of her own. You can take that however you want. She definitely needs to find some extracurricular activities and branch out a bit. She eats, breaths and dreams of this school. I swear she wraps her arms around it every evening before heading home, giving it a tight hug and kiss goodnight. I've heard of tree huggers but not school huggers. I guess I should be happy about her love of the school but she needs to deal with reality and realize that nothing is perfect, not even our school. Wake up lady.
Cyrus had a great 2nd grade teacher who was loving but stern which is exactly what he needs. My little one likes to be the class clown but she let him know that everyday is not a circus. Save the antics for Ringling Bros. boo. He learned a lot in class even though he didn't always seem interested.
Grady's 3rd grade teacher was the worst. Never have I met someone who is so non-communative. You're a grade school teacher, so you should expect to have questions asked of you. She was miserable and a yeller. It's one thing for me to yell at my child, but I don't need a teacher to. She never yelled at Grady, but I did witness her on several occasions yell at other kids. I am not sure why she decided to be a school teacher b/c she really seemed to dislike her job and children in general. Besides the fact that she was horrific at her job, she also failed to realize that Grady had a learning difference.
Every evening doing homework was a huge struggle. Grady wasn't comprehending things and processing them as she should. When I mentioned this to her teacher, she said that she just needs to concentrate more and pay better attention. My kids are not saints, but they are very well-behaved and respectful so this is not an issue. However, her ability to focus and concentrate on things waivers and it is hard to be successful when your head is in another place. After months and months of this back and forth, we finally did an independent evaluation to address our concerns and sure enough she has a learning difference. Grady was diagnosed with attention-deficit and is now on the road to recovery.
I won't even get started on the TEST PREP that NYC public school children do each year. It is just short of barbaric and should be outlawed. The pressure that they face with these year-end tests is incredibly intense and intimidating. Made it through that too, but just barely. This year both kids are taking these tests but our motto is that we are not going to let the stress of the school or these tests, get the better of us. My kids have extended day twice a week, homework help and a private tutor so we are doing all we can do to make sure they succeed. My feelings are that they have everything in place to do their best, so we will leave the rest up to what they learn in school and in life so that they can be the students that they are going to be. We stress education, but I think it is important to know your child and play up their strengths and put your energy there. My kids are already successful so I don't worry about what a test score says. I refuse to play into this NYC public school parent role that so many parents fall into.
Anyway, we have begun the new school year and 3rd & 4th grade seem to be going very well so far. We are excited to see what they learn and to watch their minds grow and their interest peak.
Most importantly, they actually seem to be enjoying this year too.
9.14.2012
New School
The kids started a new school and we've made it through our first week successfully. Whew! Not only is it a whole new set of friends for them, but we dads have to start the whole process of making friends with other parents. This group of parents is much different from our old school, in that they are a bit more "rigid". This is not a bad thing, simply an observation. Let's see how this things goes. For the dads.
8.26.2012
New Beginnings
It has been much too long since my last post but at lost has happen since my last posting. After my mother passed away in Nov, then came Turkey Day, Christmas holidays and a New Year, which brought with it another long road for our family as Tim's Dad was really sick. From January til his passing on 4 July 2012, we all struggled to make it through each day and be there for not only him but for one another. Juggling our busy lives was quite a job and navigating the issue of death and dying for small children was something that we dealt with on a daily basis. Our kids had lots of questions about death and what it all meant. Sometimes we had the answer and sometimes we didn't but we did our best to explain matters to them as best we could. They did a great job with it all and had moments of sadness and moments of joy and like true kids, their spirits helped to make all of our lives better. We are so honored and blessed to have had Angelo Cuevas in our lives for so many years and know that he is in a much better place now. And as our kids say, he's probably in heaven hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Connie, eating something and having a great time. We love you and we miss you.
twodadtwokids. xo
twodadtwokids. xo
12.07.2011
Cookies, cookies, cookies
Like many Americans, our family love to bake really amazing cookies. Chocolate, nuts, spiced, bars, oats, sugar and everything in-between. If you enjoy baking cookies as much as we do, I highly suggest that you get yourself a copy of
Betty Crocker Cooky Book
http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crockers-Cooky-Crocker-Editors/dp/0764566377
This book was originally printed in 1963 and I cannot remember a time when we did not have it in my family. An absolute, must-have cookbook for a die-hard cookie fan. Over 450 recipes, some dating as far back as the 1800's. The best thing about this cookbook is that there is a great variety of cookies and all are made with pretty simple, easy-to-find ingredients. Nothing worse than trying to find a spice you can't pronounce, locate or even figure out what it taste like when you are making a recipe. This book keeps it fun and easy and is a perfect gift for all ages.
Enjoy and let us know what your favorite cookie is. We love the Trix Cookies.
Happy Holidays,
CTGC
Betty Crocker Cooky Book
http://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crockers-Cooky-Crocker-Editors/dp/0764566377
This book was originally printed in 1963 and I cannot remember a time when we did not have it in my family. An absolute, must-have cookbook for a die-hard cookie fan. Over 450 recipes, some dating as far back as the 1800's. The best thing about this cookbook is that there is a great variety of cookies and all are made with pretty simple, easy-to-find ingredients. Nothing worse than trying to find a spice you can't pronounce, locate or even figure out what it taste like when you are making a recipe. This book keeps it fun and easy and is a perfect gift for all ages.
Enjoy and let us know what your favorite cookie is. We love the Trix Cookies.
Happy Holidays,
CTGC
Family Restaurant Review Project Status
We have been a bit inundated as of late and have decided to halt our weekly restaurant reviews. We will, from time to time, highlight some new spots and old standbys.
One place we don't want to forget to share with you is
La Pizza Fresca Ristorante at 31 East 20th St NY, NY 10003.
Phone Number: 212.598.0141
www.lapizzafresca.com
Italian food to die for. 10's across the board. Hope you visit and enjoy it as much as we did. 'Til next time, good eats.
CTGC
One place we don't want to forget to share with you is
La Pizza Fresca Ristorante at 31 East 20th St NY, NY 10003.
Phone Number: 212.598.0141
www.lapizzafresca.com
Italian food to die for. 10's across the board. Hope you visit and enjoy it as much as we did. 'Til next time, good eats.
CTGC
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