He was up at 6:36. He came over and told me to go back to sleep. When I came down an hour later they were making a big envelope. It was to hang on the wall so that August could put things in it. He decorated it (he said the figure at the top was a kind of snowman) and hung it up. He then dictated a message to Carly that was the instructions about how people could take something out of the envelope.
I started baking the bread, having prepared the loaves last night, and she went outside to work, dictating comments on students papers. August said he was going to have me write down a poem, but then changed his mind and wanted me to write a story called The Superhero of Wonders. I asked him for help along the way. It was about a superhero that then needs help on homework and fixing the internet when it stops working. He had me do a second story called The Bad Pirate and the Good Little Girl. It was about a girl that is captured by pirates, but then they return her when she is too much work. It was around this time, either with the story, or with August having winter break off from school, that I mentioned “getting an education.” August asked what I meant, and ‘education’ became the word of the day.
The first loaf was done and we ate some. August wanted some on a plate as a snack while he watched something, and he watched the Wild Kratts episode about turkeys.
He went outside and was painting glue on paper and putting things on it–something he says he learned in Ms. Dorene’s class. I went and took a shower. He was outside when I came down. He’s done more art and was playing in the dirt. He brought a greenish rock in for me. He asked what it was, and best I could figure was it was some sort of greensand.
He asked for a new game. I agreed, hoping it would distract him from just watching shows on his iPad. We settled on the logic/puzzle game ThinkRolls: Kings & Queens and then all ate some lunch together (he had nutty noodles while I had sandwiches made with the fresh bread), then he played some more ThinkRolls.
We got ready to go and left at 12:45. He sang a nice tune but I didn’t get a video of it, although I think he was singing the same tune later and I did. He played a little more ThinkRolls, then handed it to me and said he was done. And then closed his eyes. Luckily, we were close to the car service place (גגג) and he made it. I went in and finally got someone to talk to us. They were busy now, and basically said that getting an oil change is a drop-it-off-for-two-hours thing. So we got the guy’s number and can make a reservation whenever we want, but might try to find an easier place to get our oil changed.
We headed over to the Kfar Saba Mall. He was humming the tune he sang on the bike the other day. We spent a lot of time at the Hoodies store. Carly and I both got sweatpants and sweatshirts in the 2+2 deal. August had fun touching the soft clothes, then plying with big rubber bands he found, putting one around his head. Eventually he was getting hyper while I finished trying things on.
They went down and got a snack at the Greg Cafe. I met up with them and sat with them for a minute, then realized we were by the pharmacy and went in and got a few things we’ve been needing (mouthwash for August, toothpaste, etc.) He was getting hyper, and Carly brought him in to me. She sat and read and he and I wandered around a bit. We looked at the fish in the pond and he found one small rock to throw into the pond. He also found a receipt and carried it around like a treasure until we left.
We headed home. August had kept asking about going to the sand pile. We drove home, went to the bathroom, then he and I left at 3:20 and walked up to the sand pile. Just a couple houses up he found a pair of black in-ear headphones. Perhaps his most exciting treasure yet. He pretended to plug them into his bike and listen to things, like the Chemical Brothers, on the walk up to the sand pile.
We got to the sand pile to find that a digger had taken a big chunk out of the sand pile. August wasn’t happy about that, but quickly got over it. The space the digger left was kind of like a room, with three walls. We decorated one wall in particular with the electrical box things and bricks and pieces of metal. We played the poor game, and he combined it with the Hilo game, where a robot is born out of the tube of liquid. August then started transplanting plants to the edge of the sand along the tops of the walls.
Awhile after the sun had gone behind the buildings, a little after 4:30, he decided to head home. We took a slight long cut down a hole on a dirt path down a street we’d never been on before that came out close to the Snakes and Ladders playground. We smelled a smoky smell, and August, who was ‘listening’ to things on his headphones, said, “I should listen to a chicken getting roasted…yep, a chicken getting barbecued.”
We were home before 5. He ran in and excitedly told mama about the headphones. He explained what features they have that make them louder than the other headphones (“So it’s a different kind”). His headphones are indeed volume limited ones, and I think maybe he’s realized that, although not that it’s intentional.
August wanted to try them out on Carly’s computer, but she let him watch StoryBots on her phone instead. I realized he had out smarted us because he had reached the time limit on his iPad for watching shows, and was trying to watch on a different device.
I changed into my new sweatpants and sweatshirt and went out for a run. Worked well, and I didn’t really get too hot after 25 minutes. My ears were getting a bit cold and achy, but not too bad. I took a shower and when I came down they were making “wind testers”. He drew an abstract picture on one side and a flower with roots on the other. Carly took a shower and I made another wind tester with August. He decorated one side, then suggested I trace what was on my phone on the other side.
I went up and did a little work, and she gave him a bath and got him ready for bed. He came in and asked if I’d put him to sleep It was just after 8. She started to head downstairs, and August said he wanted to donate his stuffed animals, as he’s too big for them now. I asked why, and Carly, heading down the stairs, heard him and said, shocked, “You can’t get rid of your stuffed animals!” He started doing his tired crying and said, “Well I’ll keep them” Carly came and he cuddled with her for a couple minutes. Still crying, I picked him up and took him in to the bed, about 8:15. It took a few more minutes for him to calm down. He now said he didn’t want to get rid of them, and he wanted me to leave them right where they were on the bookshelves in the office.
He requested an August and Teegan story and I told him one where they discovered a pink world. He was curled up and I thought going to sleep, so I wrapped it up. Too early, as he was still awake. I sang some normal songs, he took off his socks, I sang a couple of Sesame Street songs, and then Stars’ “Barricade” and Twilight Sad’s “It Never Was the Same”. Then just quiet for about ten minutes before he was finally asleep about 8:45.
Fish at the mall:
Singing a tune in the car:
Attacking the swing with his settings:
Working on his sand pile house:
Watching with his new earbuds:
The gift envelope, and then a story we wrote for it
Using the headphones he found
Smaller sand pile
Decorating the wall
Transplanting plants