He was up by 6:30. I got up too, and quickly realized that my eyes were much too sensitive to take August to school. I took a Benadryl and went back to bed. Carly and August drove to school. They left just before 7:30, as I heard them leave, then immediately heard the alarm going off on the speaker downstairs. Luckily, it turns off after a couple minutes. The Benadryl knocked me out pretty well until lunch time.
I recovered enough to have some lunch, do just a little work, and then walk to school at 2. I met with Johnell about the writing group. She’s very active in writing children’s books. And it turns out her husband, who is in Pakistan this year, has the same job as Zoe’s husband at the embassy. That is, Zoe’s husband replaced her husband, at least for this year. Johnell’s husband is coming back next year (they are staying here so their 10th grade son can graduate from here), so I don’t know what happens then.
I had time to check out five picture books (Johnell was giving me a bunch of recommendations) and then went and picked up August. Andrea told me that when Minnie was watching the class Simona tried to hug August from behind. August was startled and tried to escape and accidentally scratched him on the face.
We got our stuff packed up, then went over to Mandy’s room. I let him have a snickerdoodle on the way. He handed the bag of cookies to Gabby and Jill, and in return Gabby gave him the rest of a bag of chocolate-covered goldfish crackers. As we walked back August pointed out that he’d had a cookie AND chocolate goldfish.
Back on the bench we read After the Fall, about Humpty Dumpty, twice, then he was coming up with chameleon scenarios. About 3:30 we headed over to Carly’s room. He talked about “official bacteria” and ‘official’ became the word of the day.
We drove down to the Art Center store. On the way he said he wanted “Fabric and my own stapler”. Which was a good idea. The idea was to get art supplies for him for over the break, and also a present for Eve. And he excitedly told Carly about the chocolate goldfish. And he talked about how he was going to make us each stuffed animals like the one he had already made for me, but mine was falling apart. As we drove, he told us about one of his inventions, a self-driving car: “You just have to turn it on and program it.” “It also reads your mind and plays the music you want.” I told him people were working on self-driving cars now and he said, “I already invented one, so they’re not working on it anymore.”
We had a lot of fun at the art center. We ended up with a princess water bottle, a roll of decorative tape, and a set of markers for Eve. August got a lot of stuff: felt, rubbery fabric, decorative tape, tiles, a stapler, sparkly pink sequins, styrofoam balls, and probably several other things I’m forgetting.
We got back to the car, and he told us “I have an announcement: Making stuffed animals for you is CANCELLED.” He changed his mind about what he was doing next several times. He also insisted he was going to make us a meal and drink again. As we drove he told us of a reservoir that if you jump into it it “changes your memories.” And he told Carly, “I invented a Pepsi reservoir where you get all your Pepsi.”
I mentioned that there wasn’t a fork in his lunch today, and he said that was why he didn’t eat much lunch. He said, “I have a picture in my head…in my computer…of the fork coming out of my lunch box.” And he explained I was getting diseases from the chemicals inside him, so I shouldn’t be around him all the time. “Just like cats: they be close to you for a little while, disappear, and come back.” Which was a really impressive analogy to make, as that was an observation he’s made all on his own.
We got home and he first got a gift that Mikaela had given him. It was an activity book with dry erase markers. He was focused on that for a good ten minutes, then got into his art supplies. He did a few pieces on his own, then had me come over and do art with him. I did a piece with him, then Carly came over and did art with him. He was then still doing art on his own and told us, “The best part of art supplies is that you use your imagination…you think of something that is real in another universe and make it.”
He got up and Carly noticed that he was still kind of limping. This has been going on for a few days and he says his foot hurts. When it was first happening I said it might be because he is growing, so now every time Carly says something about it he says it is because he is growing. It doesn’t seem to bother him too much, as he never brings it up on his own.
Carly went up and took a shower. He and I ate soup for dinner, then he had toast and peanut butter. She took him to his bath and I did dishes. They then shared a chocolate ball thing that was from Cassie. I read to him The Book that Eats People twice, On a Magical Do-Nothing Day, and We Are All Wonders. He then got a small piece of paper and a pen and was drawing poops all over it. He continued to do so as we headed upstairs at 8:40. He said, “Look at all the poops I made. It’s like a poop circus.” Another great analogy.
On the bed we read a couple chapter of Pinnochio (the whole Field of Miracles section with the Fox and Cat). He told me that someone had invited them over to the kindergarten today and that the whole class went over but I never figured out why. He said there was a men kid named Tomaso there, and asked me if he knew Tomaso. I reminded him that Tomaso had been in his Hebrew class last year. I sang to him a bit and he was asleep by 9:25.
His chameleon scenario:
Gift from Mikaela:
Helping me with my art:
Cosmologic electronic web:
Twirling his fingers:
