odds -n- ends

Just a mish-mash of stuff...

SOOOO HAPPY!!! And so very, very grateful! We got wonderful news in the mail yesterday (now isn't that unusual?!). New York runs this program called Universal Pre-K. Each school district gets enough money to pay for a set number kids to go to pre-school, in one of their approved programs. The applications are sent out in early January. We've been holding our breath ever since, hoping that Max would be chosen to get one of these slots. It's based on need...not simply financial need, but other things as well. Max will be among the youngest in his class once he starts school, and he was 6 weeks premature, too...I suspect both of those things count in his favor for getting into this program. Anyway, we got the letter yesterday saying he was chosen! HOORAY!!! Gray was blessed enough to be part of this program last year. (Probably chosen for much the same reasons as Max. In fact, Gray was even younger starting kindergarten than Max will be. They have odd cut-off dates for starting school here, so Gray was in kindergarten for 2 months before he even turned 5. He's the youngest in his class by 6 weeks, and Gray was born 5 weeks prematurely.) But I digress here.
Anyway, we are just so appreciative that Max will have this opportunity. We would have sent him to preschool next year anyway, but we would only have been able to afford probably 2 days a week. This program will provide 5 days a week. We're really hoping that he will be able to get into the school that Gray went, too. He probably will...I believe there are 4 schools which participate in this program, and the one we want is the least popular. But we thought it was absolutely wonderful! The classes there have no more than 12 kids, half of whom are disabled and half who are not. It's such a wonderful environment, with lots of teachers and therapists. And the mix of children is simply priceless!
Anyway, I just had to share our wonderfully happy news.

Next up in my eclectic mix for the morning...
Max's and my morning walks have fast become one of my very favorite parts of the day! Just one-on-one time to talk, with no distractions. Priceless, I tell you.
The past couple of days, he's taken a real shine to mailboxes. Don't ask me why. And for some reason, he really likes the rusty ones. Such a little goofball. And this was his observation this morning: "Rust is good. Except for cars." Just thought that was cute.

Finally, a day late, 10 on Tuesday for this week:
**10 Things That People Do That Annoy You**
1. drive aggressively
2. treat sales clerks, or anyone else for that matter, rudely simply because they can get away with it
3. refuse to take "no" for an answer
4. fail to acknowledge when they receive a gift
5. fail to put away their shopping carts in a parking lot
Hmmm...that's all I can think of. So, (a.) I'm either fairly tolerant of others, or (b.) I'm just too tired or distracted to think of all the other things that annoy me.

Quote of the day:
"When you look for the good in others, you find the best in yourself." --unknown