so, it seems to be a pattern: on the days carter does not have school, he is very upset ("do me have school today mom?" "no, honey, it is wednesday. you have school tomorrow." "noooooooo i want to go to school now. i am so mad!"), and on the days he does have school, he is very excited. however, by the time i pick him up at 11 on tuesdays and thursdays, he has so totally exhausted himself that he is near tears and can barely walk. until he has been fortified with a snack, he will not say anything positive about school. but after snack, he is ready to go again.

yesterday we brought snack for the kids, and i think carter was very impressed that miss doe had everyone thank him. he recited the whole blessing that they always say, which is not the same as ava's (something she was reluctant to accept, oddly).

ava is also doing well, also exhausting herself, and still wants to go to the after school program. which is fine by me, but befuddling. per her teacher, ava is very anxious to please and stay in her good graces. this is not a surprise. it has its benefits--ava learns because she readily does all of her 'work,' but its detriments--the fear of misbehaving or underperforming puts a tremendous amount of stress on her. guess who gets to witness the release of that stress??

but, it is not that bad, and certainly not as bad as i thought it would be.

swim classes started yesterday, and despite some early protests, both kids had a blast. as soon as they saw the pool, i could not keep them out of it.

oh, and the other big news is that carter got a new bike--a 2-wheeler (with training wheels, obviously) and he LOVES it. he is so funny on the thing, riding it like he is a pro-mountain-biker, even sitting up and holding the handlebar with one hand while he is talking to you, like some sort of supercool teenager. and on the same day that he got the bike, ava learned how to ride without training wheels. which is a huge accomplishment for her, since her bike is technically a little big for her, and intimodated her for a long time. she is not ready to go around the lake, but she is getting there. i am going to have to drag my bike out soon--i certainly cannot run after them.

i remain sick, functionally so, but congested and coughing pretty much all the time. it is ok, but annoying. other than that, i am fine. huge, but fine.