“When did I get old?”

My husband asked me yesterday at 6 Flags.  “Sweetie, you were born old!”  I replied helpfully. 

Not true … but I could resist, especially after he added, “I can’t wait until I’m a grandpa and I’ll only be expected to hold bags.”

All the kids, with the exception of William, had a blast!  We went with some friends who also have season passes, two teenage boys and a girl for Lizzy.  Add a nephew with ASD and it’s almost too perfect. 

Don’t worry, it wasn’t.  On the drive it started to rain … hard.   And as soon as we got out of the van and walked over to the shuttle Will said, “Bathroom please.”  There was a line at the shuttle and no bathroom in sight.  We started walking and hoped for the best. 

Will peed about halfway there.

Poor kid!  He really wanted to change his pants but we still had to get into the park.  So, I said the person manning the metal detector.  “Can we hurry this along I need to change his pants.”

It got better but I didn’t bring Will a change of shoes (I’ll bring some next time!) so, I think he was slightly uncomfortable the whole day.  He was exhausted from all the walking and got to the point of responding to any queries about rides, “No, purple rollercoaster!”  By the time we left, he was grabbing siblings by the hand to make sure we were all leaving together.

And we had some fantastic Vietnamese food on the way home!

Excuses, Excuses

I’ve been pretty busy lately. Yeah, with this.  Every so often I look up and think, "Where did that hour go?"

Hey, I never said I had a good one.

Blog Gems

Jillsmo is hosting Blog Gems for Jen.  This week's topic is my awesomeness.  I assure you I am even if my post isn't.

Guess what sucks about giving yourself a migraine?

Obviously, not being able to blame anyone else.   Last Friday I double scheduled myself … twice.  On Wednesday Bri told me her teacher didn’t like her thesis.  Since this paper is worth two test scores I suggested she stay after school on Friday to get help.  She did and I forgot I needed to pick her up.  So it was tight picking her up and I was late getting Will off the bus.  Forgetting threw off the rest of my plans because I still needed to go buy food for the scout campout and I didn’t have time to pick up Jake from school.

Then later that evening Lizzy asked me, “mom, do I have flute (pronounced fa-lute) lessons today?”

“Yes, Lizzy you do.  Thanks for reminding me.  We have to leave in 15 minutes.”

“Mom, my piano recital is in 30 minutes.”

“Oh.”

So, I drove Bri to her piano recital and dropped her off.  Will was really upset we left her.  He ran to get her when we left but I explained we’d be back and pick her up later.  Then we dropped Lizzy off at her fa-lute lesson, luckily her teacher let me bring her over late and fed her dinner too.  

Will and I made it back to the recital in time to hear Bri play then I dropped them off at home before I went to get Lizzy.

I’m considering sending Lizzy’s teacher an email complaining about Milo’s mother

Because there is something very wrong with her!  Apparently (please keep in mind this is all second hand from Elizabeth) earlier this week Milo’s sister had a birthday and Milo’s mother thought it would be brilliant to bring in their family pet to show the class and while they were out decided to show Milo’s class as well even though she thought she might get in trouble.  Milo has a pig.  And now Elizabeth wants a pet pig too!

Good Heavens!

Elizabeth spent the whole day asking me questions like “can I have the litter box when Calypso moves outside?”  Or “Can we build a barn?”  When I said no, she disappeared for a while and reappeared with red eyes.  Thanks Milo’s mom, thanks a lot!

Lizzy thought she could keep the pig in her room.  (That’s not as odd as it sounds.  I make Bri keep her cat in her room unless a kid is home.  Yes, I know BEST CAT OWNER EVER!  But hey, at least I would never cut the equivalent of the ends of cat fingers off for my own convenience.  That is just nasty!)

Lizzy wants a pig so badly she offered me a deal.  “Mom, when the pig gets big you can eat him.”

Yes, she offered to let me slaughter her pig for my breakfast bacon.  I have 2 thoughts about that.  1.  WOW, she really wants a pig! And 2.  I wonder how Calypso would taste?  (Kidding Bri!  I’m not going to eat your cat.)

Pathetic

I can’t parallel park.  Growing up in the suburbs I never needed to learn.  We sublet an apartment in Somerville when we first moved here and I was starting to get the hang of it during the four months we lived there but we moved.  (I did get the hang of double parking with my hazards on while unloading groceries quite fast.)  And I haven’t really needed to parallel park since I moved.

But Bri wanted to take a piano exam so we need to drive into Chinatown in Boston for a ten minutes exam and I can’t park.  Last time Marcy drove us but this year, the time is not as convenient and I need her to get Will off the bus if I don’t get home in time.  I asked Cheryl if she would drive us.

Then I thought “Wait a minute!  I’ve heard of something called a ‘parking garage.’  Isn’t that what people from the suburbs call parallel parking?”  Yes, I found a parking garage close by.  Unfortunately, I cannot take that pathetic email that I sent to Cheryl back.

Predictability

My husband took Jake fishing early this morning.  Yesterday, when I told him to do his Saturday jobs, because he wouldn’t want to do them when he got home at 6:00 today, he complained about going.  Lizzy said, “Jake you can trade places with me I’m going to thtudnwmtb and working.”

“No, I’ll go with dad.”  Jake replied.

Lizzy was serious about trading places but ok with helping me because I’d already told her I’d take her to McDonalds for lunch.

Yes, I bribe Lizzy.  No, I don’t care what you think.  I’m thrilled I found something to motivate her.

Last Place

I finished last in the 5K last Saturday.  Marcy’s whole family went and she and I walked with Pete.  We walked at “autistic kid” pace.  That pace varies, of course, with individual kid, traffic, availability of forbidden items, open water, and, of course, the need for speed is always inversely affected by the desire to walk anywhere.  Pete’s speed could be properly termed sort of a saunter.  (Which means he would lap William on a track because Will ambles.)  He walked faster when Marcy walked in front of him holding a chip as an enticement to keep moving.  But really the only way he would have gone faster was if we had brought a wheelbarrow and frankly if we had, I would have wanted a ride too.

I walked about a third of the way with them then decided to walk the rest of the course rather than head back so by the time I finished no one even realized I was finishing except Jake.  Who, naturally, thought it was hilarious that I was last and wanted to inform everyone of that little tidbit of news until I told him it wasn’t something I wanted to broadcast, after all mentioning the only reason I was last was because I walked really, really slowly during the first part of the “race” doesn’t make it sound any better!