Whether he's trying to get sick or whether he's just sick of going to school we're not sure, but Xander got to come home early today. After all of three whole days (if three-hour school days can be considered as such).
His teacher called this morning about an hour after we had dropped him off, wondering if we'd noticed him not feeling well. I hadn't. Xander's signs of not feeling well are usually pretty obvious - he sleeps (even more than usual), he lays around, he doesn't eat, and he won't touch milk at all. This morning before school, he did none of those things. He ate his dry cereal and milk, he was running around chasing his big brother and playing, and he ate all of his breakfast and another glass of milk.
But, Ms. E seemed concerned. So, I quickly cut short the errands I had planned to run with Connor. We were returning part of Daddy's birthday gift that didn't fit, stopping by the grocery for a few essentials (more cereal), and then picking up Daddy's birthday cake from the bakery downtown. Connor was extremely disappointed, because we didn't get to look at the toys, as promised. We simply purchased what was already in our hands at the grocery and left the other stuff we were going to look at for another time. We did go ahead and run to the bakery, because it was five minutes away and getting in and out with Connor and the cake was hard enough. I don't want to imagine trying to balance a cake and two unhappy toddlers, one who may be getting sick, next to the very busy four-lane road where the bakery is located.
About 20 minutes after the call, we made it back to school to check on Xander. He was definitely not acting like himself (and how wonderful is it that his brand new teacher already recognized that?). He was eating and had been slowly starting to play, but his usual energy and enthusiasm were missing. He was also pulling on both of his ears and running a bit warmer than usual. That's usually not a bad sign, as both of the twins run a bit warmer than Connor ever has, but the combination was questionable. And, better safe than sorry. We don't want him to get any worse if he is starting to get sick, and we certainly don't want to risk the other kids or the teachers in his class if it's anything contagious.
So we came home, and only Sawyer got to stay to enjoy the valentine party at school. Connor and I had been planning to go and visit with both classes during party time, as parents had been invited and welcome. Perhaps another time. We left our store bought cookies (school policy, you can't make anything at home anymore) for the classes to enjoy, and we brought Xander back home.
And though he was a bit calmer than normal, he didn't truly seem sick. He played with Connor for the remainder of the afternoon while we were waiting for school to be over. He jumped right in the truck to go back and pick up Sawyer from school at the end of the day. And he ate a full lunch with the other two after we got back home.
I'm beginning to think he just pulled a fast one on all of us. He wasn't too happy when we pulled up into the carpool line this morning, and he saw where we were. Was that because he didn't feel good, or because he didn't want to go? Who knows.
Right now, he's running around with Connor again, riding his Lightning McQueen truck, and even playing with his blocks. He's saying letters right and left, and though a bit less energetic than usual, seems fine. We'll give him a long weekend to "recover" and then try again next week.
I always knew he was the sneaky one. And the one who would fight school the most . . .
