He was up at 6:20. Told me he wanted to go downstairs and I checked the time and said okay. He said something as he closed the door behind him. He was watching domino videos and I saw them returning from the junk pile when I was getting up. When they came in August wanted me to go look for a speaker over there. He wants to take something electronic apart. Will have to keep our eyes open.
He seemed a bit nervous about school, saying he wasn’t going to school tomorrow and that he didn’t like anyone in his class, except Eve and Millie.
We read a bunch of Shivers 1. Carly worked on our spring break plans, changing our AirBnB dates and buying plane tickets. August then made a strawberry-infused water drink. I took a shower. They were reading Nelson Makes a Face when I came back down. When they were done Carly went upstairs. We tried to Skype with my parents. August said, “I need to put on a costume. So they don’t know it’s me.” He got a sheet of the fabric-y stuff and had me write
“From Glad to Sad to Mad / From Pain in the Neck to Normal Nelson” We taped it on his shirt. They weren’t online, however. Since it was our copy of Nelson Makes a Face he wanted to write in the book. He had me write “August’s and Zinnie’s and Mama’s and Dada’s book” Then he drew a couple pictures of boom boxes. He had me draw a heart, then drew lines out from it. He told me, “That’s how my preschool draws hearts…that’s how Ms. Andrea does it.” In the front of the book he drew a picture of “A foot that’s alive.”
Carly headed out, going to the school for some work, the grocery store, the strawberry stand, and then VIPizza to pick up a couple pizzas.
He wanted to watch a Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That. I bought the first season, since it isn’t available on Netflix here. I made him toast with peanut butter and honey.
Heather dropped off Eve a little before noon. Heather was going to two appointments in Herzliya and would be back around 5. Eve had brought her doll, whose name changed from Amelia to Emily to Mikaela during the day. They started by giving me and the baby checkups. Eve checked something and said, “Nothing specticular.” Seemed like a nice combination of ‘spectacular’ and ‘particular’. They were then painting styrofoam together, which was a form of medicine for me. Eve heard me talking to Siri, and said “Here name is Siri?” August explained that she was a person who lived in the internet.
Carly got home with the pizza. The kids were excited about it, and took slices on plates upstairs, but didn’t eat much. I tried to leave them on their own as much as possible, but Eve did a ballet dance and I was the audience. August played music for her on the guitar. He then wanted it hooked to his iPad. So I helped with that, and Eve brought up the piano. I played piano, and they did guitar, and they took turns dancing. Eve insisted Carly come up to watch.
They went back downstairs and were painting, I think. Carly found August curled up, sad about something. He wouldn’t say why, and Eve couldn’t say why. He cuddled with Carly for a few minutes, then was back to playing.
She took them to school, leaving a little before 2. They took the balance bike with them. I went out with them, at first just in my t-shirt. David saw me and was amazed. He had four layers on. I got them buckled in the carseat and vest and said goodbye. I went back in and did some work, listening to all my music from 1991.
They played on the playground for about a half hour, then played in Carly’s room. They went to the studio by the gym, and played with the mats. Carly sent me photos of them wrapped up as hot dogs.
They got back at 4:20. I came down after just a couple minutes, but they’d already made a soup out of leaves they’d brought back from school and bits of tissue paper, and were cooking it on the stove. August had said his stomach hurt and was sitting on the toilet.
Carly made them a smoothie, then popcorn, and they took them upstairs and ate them. I was back downstairs, and Eve announced, “There’s nothing going on up here!” They had put popcorn in the piano. August told me “I’m pickling them!” They were then playing the piano: “Trying to pop them in the pickle station!” They then went into the bedroom and were playing on the big bed with the doll and the medical equipment. They locked the door, and I thought they were going to try to lock themselves in there when Heather showed up.
Heather showed up about 5. It was get quite stormy out there and it had taken a long time to drive from Herzliya. She stayed and had some tea and the kids kept playing and came down on their own. They did some more painting. Some grumpiness and not wanting to clean up and go/say goodbye from both of them, but not too bad, and they left just before 6. August had given her a wind tester from the gift envelope before she left.
He ate more pizza and a little broccoli. We made a wind tester and I decorated it with “beautiful abstract trees.” He took it out and tested it in the wind, wearing Carly’s flip-flops. We ended up all the way out on the sidewalk. Back inside he was talking to Carly, then said, “Now if you don’t mind, I have a lot of cuddling to do.” And crawled into her lap. He made a popsicle of a toothpick and toothpick and then had to go to the bathroom. Seems like his stomach might be a bit upset, but hopefully not too bad. He asked me to hold the popsicle, and said, “I’m afraid you’re too nervous to even hold a popsicle stick…because you’re Shivers.” While on the toilet he wanted a story, and told me not to talk in my Peppa Pig voice. So I did, and I told a Peppa Pig story where they are caught in a flood while playing in muddy puddles and have to get rescued by the ship captain.
Carly took him up and gave him a bath. We then finished reading Shivers 1, then were getting into bed before 8. Brushed his teeth. He told me, “You might hear a motor while you’re sleeping. It’s just me going to another planet while you’re sleeping. So don’t be afraid.” He told me how he grows spikes like a porcupine and grows them back. He wanted a visualization about a magic town. So I told him about a town where they manufacture magic potions, and there are side effects on the residents and town. ‘inhabitant’ was the word of the day. He asked if Shivers and Margo were allowed to go in buildings and things like they do. I talked about why that makes it funny (them sailing a ship, etc.) and he was a little sad when I said normal kids couldn’t go on adventures like Shivers and Margo. He rolled over and curled up, ready to sleep. I sang a little and he was asleep by 8:40.
Playing with Eve 1:
Painting with Eve and explaining Siri:
Dancing to music 1:
Dancing to music 2:
Pickling popcorn:
Testing the wind tester 1:
Testing the wind tester 2:
Scaring Oma and Opa:
