i was drawn to the ocean

Gratitude List:
~ Milena took care of Evan this morning to i could get ready to take him to LECC
~ the cute and funny things that Avery and Evan say and do
~ though certainly not totally well, i am feeling a LOT better than i was yesterday/last night
~ hope
~ when tense moments don't turn into major disagreements
~ a beautiful day today
~ the beautiful twilight sky this evening with Mars shining brightly and half the sky turquoise, the other half pitch
~ learning
~ exploring

Recent cute Avery-isms
~ Upon sniffing a berry-scented tealight candle that new_odyssey had given us in a Samhain goodie bag: "It doesn't really smell much like tea!"

~ Out with Milena, to a woman who asked if he was going to help his *mom* carry things to the car: "She's not my MOM, she's my BENINA!"

~ To me, out of the clear blue: "Mom, how many sides does a circle have?"
~~ to which i responded, " a circle doesn't have any sides, honey, it's round." And then he said, "oh. Well, how many sides does a square have?" i asked him how many sides *he* thought a square had. He thought about it for a minute and then correctly answered, "four." i was flabbergastedly impressed. Testing him a little, i asked how many sides a triangle had. Again, he produced the correct answer. He also knows that 10x10 is 100, and can correctly spell his name. By the way, he's 4 and has never been to preschool.

Evan update
Evan wasn't quite himself this morning when we went to LECC. i'm glad though, that this enrollment process is finally concluding. Not totally over, but starting to conclude if you will. Hehehe. Gotta love the red tape.

By lunchtime/naptime, he was one poor sick little boy. i told him to go potty before going upstairs for his nap, and i sat down at the computer to check email, etc. A little while later, it occurred to me that i hadn't heard him go upstairs, so i walked down the hall and checked the bathroom. There was Evan, sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankles, fast asleep.

Later, he only wanted me to hold him. That's when you *know* a preschooler isn't feeling well...when he actually WANTS you to hold him again! When Milena and i sent him up to bed tonight, he didn't want to go. i suspect he wanted me to hold him more because he wasn't feeling well. Anyway, some time later we heard a reallllly long sigh, and sure enough, there was Evan lying on one of the steps with his knees to his chest, little butt all up in the air, fast asleep.

Here's hoping the crud doesn't last long for him.

Matthew blurb
Matthew is doing SO much better in school this year. i know that it is largely due to the fact that he no longer has the psychotic unreasonable poorest excuse for a teacher you can imagine. He is doing well in general, actually. He's playing basketball and while he isn't particularly *good* at it yet, he is having fun and sticking with it. He is learning what it is like to be part of a team. i hated basketball when i was his age...personal space issues, panic attacks due to the fast pace, easily confused...

i went to his game last Saturday and he was supposed to come up here with me afterward to spend the weekend with us, but he got sick and ended up staying with John. He's coming up this weekend, and unfortunately the weather is supposed to be rainy, cold, and icky. i guess i'll tell him to bring some age-appropriate board games and maybe we'll check some DVDs out from the library. And colouring. Definitely colouring.

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More later/tomorrow/sometime soon, as i have *got* to get to bed! If nothing else, to snuggle under the down comforter with Milena and get warm!