i am very sick. managed to get some horrendous cold, and am coughing like crazy/sore throat/etc--if this baby doesn't pop out during one of my coughing fits, it will be amazing.

tomorrow we go for an ultrasound--i am officially measuring small, so they just want to check that all is ok. the baby is rather active and rolling around, so i am not that worried. i seem to remember everyone being concerned that i did not have enough fluid with ava and it turned out that i did, it was all just hidden somewhere.

ava continues to have terrible issues with school and the new teacher, primarily because there are some kids taking out their stress in not so great ways--ie tantrums, yelling, hitting, kicking, and she just cannot stand it. apparently today one of the kids flew into a huge rage and had to be carried out of the classroom, practically restrained, to the principal's office. this happened right before lunch, and the teacher later told me that ava promptly started sobbing, a HUGE deal, since she will NOT cry in front of her peers. (even the other day, when she was skating and fell very hard on her bottom, she flew off the ice, and when i saw her i could see thashe was close to tears and when i asked her what was wrong -- i did not witness the fall -- she snapped "NOTHING." and i said "really? you like you are going to cry." and she said "MOM! i'm FINE. i just need some pretzels" -- since she doesn't even like pretzels, it was pretty obvious that there was some serious pride issues going on. then her instructor told me that she fell, and might have hit her head. i asked ava about it very quietly and she whispered "it was my bottom." 2 minutes later, she was back out on the ice). so the fact that she had cried in class was upsetting, because it meant that it was a Big Deal. approximately 5 minutes later i arrived to pick up carter and she was in the hall, on her way to lunch. she saw me, flew over to me, attached herself to me, sobbing, and begged me to let her go home. after 15 minutes of this, i said "fine--let's go" -- i acknowledged to the principal and teachers that this might technically be a choice that is frowned upon, but it was just to the point of being ridiculous--and frankly, at this point, i feel like it is simply unfair that she would have to stay and be subjected to those sorts of behavioral outbursts. if anything, i am starting to feel the less than charitable inclination that said child should be removed until he can behave. i realize that is somewhat inflammatory, and probably not in that child's best interest, and the pre-child version of me would have been horrified at such a suggestion, but on the other hand, why should ava suffer? even the teacher said "i have absolutely no idea how to handle this situation." this is a child that has a history of instability, though his current family is loving and committed, etc -- but the upheaval of a new teacher is sending him into orbit. and it is very stressful for the teacher--understandably--which further stresses ava out. and it is not just one kid--though this one is a doozy--many of them are struggling, and i am sure that is making the teacher less than enthusiastic about being there. so, i took ava home. i just felt like she needed to know that when worst comes to worst, she is safe and taken care of and listened to. that and i had to get out of there before i started crying too.

afer a few relaxing hours at home, ava, carter and i all went to the dentist. i told them i had a cough, but they did not mind. everyone passed with flying colors, though carter had knocked out the filling on his front tooth -- he had a patch where the enamel did not form, and we were warned that the little spot of filling might come out. given the amount of skiing, skating and just plain running and jumping that he does, that it did finally fall out is not surprising. no cavities, it just needs to be replaced. other than that, everything was fine. when the hygienist asked him what he got for christmas, his eyes lit up and he said "i got a book about SPACE!" -- and so she asked him about it and he said "there is a picture of the space shuttle, but it is already flying -- there is no launch pad in the picture, and there is a page about the sun, and one about the moon, and the one about the moon has a little square picture of A. MAN. WALKING. ON. THE. MOON!" and she said "really!?" and he said "yes, and he goes like boing...boing...boing" -- at which point he motioned with his index and middle fingers like a person jumping. and she said "he jumped ALL the way to the moon?" and he stopped, looked at her with an expression that might have well translated to "that is the most idiotic thing i have ever heard" and said "no! people jump ON the moon to get around because there is no gravity. people cannot jump TO the moon. the ASTRONAUTS flew there in SATURN FIVE. it is a huge rocket that fall apart as it blasts off!" she could not stop laughing, and she said "well, thank you for clearing that up!" he walked away and she said "well, i guess i learned my lesson on that one."

when he was getting his teeth done, he said "mommy is pregnant, and her baby is coming in march sometime. that is going to be a very long day."

basically, he charmed them all. ava, for her part, continued to establish her reputation in that office as an extremely serious smart kid, who refuses to be talked to like a kid. i don't know what transpired, but the dentist came in and said "she's something. pretty sharp, that kid."