Finding our way

I'm afraid I don't have much to report today.  In a day or two I'll manage to get our little home all straightened away--at that point I'll feel much better about leaving it and heading out for adventures.  Also, Dennis was feeling so poorly today that he stayed home from work and took naps throughout the day.  Hopefully that'll help him--he's the last in the family to succumb to this nasty cold, poor guy.

But aside from that, it was a good day for the family.  Both the kids (though they still had to be woken in the morning--so unusual for them) were eager to head off to school.  I got to drop Ella off this morning, and was really interested to see the inside of her school.  Each classroom has a cupboard for shoes outside in the hall, as well as a rack for their coats.  The inside of her classroom looks very similar to my classroom when I was in second grade: a chalk board (not a white board), chairs in rows, art everywhere.

I spent the morning trying to translate all of the papers Alex's teacher gave us...with only some success.  There's one particular passage that keeps referring to "finches," but surely that can't be right.  I think it might be talking about shoes.

When I picked Alex up from school, he was proudly wearing his own reflective sash, compliments of the school.  He couldn't wait to show it to Ella, and walked home with his chest thrust out in pride.

Ella was tired from gym class, I think.  The pool that they used for swimming today wasn't in the elementary school.  I'm actually not sure where it is, but Ella said they left the school and walked to it. I think there might be a high school somewhere close by, and perhaps that's where it is. But oh, she loved swim class...I think she especially liked doing something she's particularly good at.  She said they practiced strokes a little and then they played tag and some other games.

Oh, and not a whisper about being shy or modest.  You know, I told her the exact same thing you said...that the kids were only staring at her because she was working so hard at hiding herself, and that they probably thought she had a tattoo or something weird like that.  That made her giggle and made sense to her.

Back at home we ate some of our precious American peanut butter supply for lunch, sent Daddy back to bed for a nap, and then lounged around the house.  The boys and I read books while Ella made a robot costume.  When it was finished, she shuffled over to Dennis and me and said, in a robotic voice "My name is xct342. I come on a mission from my planet to collect 25 cents to buy a special gum ball that will save my planet.  Please insert the money in the special slot."

Have I mentioned that Ella is cash-crazy these days? She's saving all her money to buy those kinder eggs I mentioned, and has been begging me for chores around the house.  I  pay her 5 cents a day to close the blinds (it's actually a ten-minute job--they take forever to crank shut) and I'm thinking I'll put her in charge of taking out the recycling.  Handy having an eager young thing around.

Dennis woke up and wanted some fresh air, so he and Ella walked over to the store for a couple of odds and ends while the boys and I made potato soup. And right now Alex and Ella are stashed away in Ella's room, making some big surprise for us.  Every once in a while one of them jets out with an "I need scissors!  I need glue! I need crayons!"  Can't wait to see what's cooking in there.