President’s Day

The most appropriate President's Day I have spent thus far in my life occurred Monday February 18, 2013 at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston.  We listened to an Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses and Julia Grant reenactors.  

Boom – I am now way more patriotic that most people because 3 Presidents in one day!

Will sat through two films – one about JFK and one about the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Even considering that he spend most of the Missile Crisis film sitting on the floor I AM DELIGHTED!  Because it is amazing because he hates watching movies in a theatre.  (Maybe he is fine if it’s a documentary?)

Elizabeth bought a plastic imitation of a straw hat because she likes to waste money.

The saddest part of the day occurred when we drove to Waltham to go a Chinese Restaurant that closes on Monday, urggg.  So, we were forced to close out our President’s Day with a more appropriate late lunch of Mexican food.

Patriot’s Day 2012

(11 days late … what’s up with that?)  This year was different because we didn’t go over to my friend Katherine’s house for a bar-b-que because 1.)  Brianne ruins everything and 2.) a good friend was running The Marathon and I wanted to scream her name when she ran past me.

Originally we planned on going to DC for spring break but I signed Brianne up for driver’s ed instead.  I wanted her to both enjoy spring break and get driver’s ed over in one week vs. me driving her every Thursday and Friday night to a driver’s ed class for 2 months.  As a special bonus she got to spend her birthday surrounded by her peers listening to a 70 year-old man talk about driving.  It’s like I reached into her brain, found her ideal birthday activity, then paid a lot money to turn it into a reality!  I’m the Best. Mother. Ever.

So, while Brianne enjoyed spending Patriot’s Day in a small, hot room; Lizzy and I hooked up with the Raskell’s on Rt. 135 in Natick.  The Raskells like to show up to activitiesinsanely early and spend the day.  Lizzy and I showed up at 11:30 … long after the wheelchair and elite athletes had run by to watch the pack.

Lizzy and I helped pass out wet paper towels to the runners, then once they ran out sat down in our chairs to yell out runner’s names and the current score of the Red Sox game.  You could usually tell who the Massachusetts’ runners were because once they realized that Don was listening to the game they’d start shouting, “What’s the score?”

I pretended to be a fan (because I’m helpful) would yell out things like, “No score.  Bottom of the third.”  I sometimes like learning new things and I sort of learned a new language – baseball while watching the marathon.  Tiffanie laughed at me for shouting out the score because in 12 years of living here I’ve never even attended a game at the Green Giant oops, Monster (see more sport’s terminology – between my education at the marathon, having the game on in the background and watching Moneyball, I practically have a Masters in Baseball!).

I even saw my friend run.  I got a text when she was at 10k so I started watching for her I got a sweaty hug and ran alongside her for a couple of feet – which is my version of running the marathon.

But I mostly supported the runners by sitting in a chair, eating pizza provided by the Raskells, drinking cold water and by yelling out the runner’s names* because I’m awesome … and supportive.

*Note.  If you run in the Boston Marathon it is easier to read your name if you write it on your shirt rather than on your bent arm, especially if the first few letters are one direction and the letters beneath your elbow are sideways and you’re moving your arm.  But maybe it’s just me.

Getting Old Sucks

Apparently I have entered the non-stop injury portion of my life.  I barely stopped going to PT for my sport’s injury (because I’m such an athlete) quadricep tendonitis when I mysteriously injured my back in the middle of the day.  By the end of the day I could barely move without pain.  I called Lizzy into my room that night.  “Help me put on my pants.”  I asked her.

“Wa?”  Lizzy looked at me in confusion but gamely helped me when she realized I was serious.  The next morning I still felt bad but not as bad as the night before so I quickly took a shower.  I didn’t want to be in a position of asking my ten year old to help me put in my underwear!

I think that thtudnwytb has missed me

The reason I think thtudnwytb has missed me is that the renters called on Sunday night and said "We’re moving out."  Sadly the lady lost her job and was moving in with her mother in Brooklyn. So, as the best part of our President’s Day holiday we visited thtudnwytb.

It was just like coming home.  Coming home to a pool table, several TVs, a computer, tools, a washer and dryer and about five sewing machines (she worked as an upholster).  We are going to give them a couple more days to pick up their stuff before we decide to leave it in the house as a housewarming gift for the new tenants.

Things I will miss about the old tenants:

1.  Never needing to go over to the house. 

2.  Depositing the rent in cash every month and feeling like a drug dealer.

3.  Sleeping (now I will spend my nights hyperventilating until we find new tenants)

So, as a special treat for the children we went over to the house to clean!  I was concerned that Will would see the house and refuse to get out of the car but it has been so long that he entered the house without protest.  And better yet … he stayed inside!  There was no running down the street to get away from thtudnwmtb.  I was happy about that.

The children were so delighted to help clean and did such a great job that I threatened to leave Jacob and Lizzy at the house until they actually did something.  It was so fun that we went back today and spent another couple of hours.  But I am mostly done -- except for removal of the stuff they left and I’m going to repaint the basement floor.

Admit it … you missed thtudnwytb too!

Days Two and Three of Will’s Personal Vacation Program

Sometimes the universe decides to drop kick me.  Fortunately, today it didn’t.  When I dropped Will off at his personal vacation program yesterday, the aides that accompanied him were quick to talk about how wonderful, good and smart Will is.  Naturally, I being the co-president of his fan club quickly agreed (you can join too for the initial joining fee of $500 – the high cost is because we are saving up for a fan member vacation … er, team building excursion to the Bahamas.  Sans children, naturally, because it will be nothing but work, work, work and I fear they would be bored.)

Anyway, yesterday the two aides took Will bowling (he bowled most of their games), then out for lunch, then to a mall to ride on a carousal.  Today Will went mini-golfing, hammered and painted a wooded giraffe, and out to lunch.  They also provided a very cute peer model today to go with Will.  This personal vacation week just kept getting better and better as they added additional activities and people for him.

Meanwhile on day 3 -- I took the rest of my gaggle of children to the Boston Museum of Science.  We saw a planetarium show, raced boats and visited the Butterfly Garden.  A butterfly landed on Lizzy’s finger.  Jake stood still forever in hopes one would land on him and I flinched whenever a butterfly flew too close to me.  Because apparently butterflies creep me out.  I now consider them small birds.  And the flapping of bird wings in enclosed spaces makes me want to cower in a corner while holding my head.  The flapping of hundreds ok, maybe not hundreds but definitely several dozen butterfly wings in an enclosed area is also creepy.  And I never plan to go to another butterfly garden ever!

Helicopter Mom

Sometimes I don’t think things through completely.  I would have made the same decision if I had thought it through mind you; but I’d had worried about it more.  I signed Will up for three day, five hour per day vacation week activity.  Since Will tends to spend his free days transcribing The Foot Book while listening to Dr. Seuss’ books read on You Tube Videos I thought it would be good for him to spend his time more productively (he can waste time once he gets home).  And frankly, there is no possible way for me to devote five solid hours to enriching Will’s life without driving myself a little insane and ignoring all my other children.

I dropped him off this morning.  He was a little anxious because he’d only met two of the adults and hasn’t seen them for a year and I doubt he remembered them.  I’d explained to him what was going to happen but I don’t blame him for being anxious.  So, I wrote him a social story with his day’s activities and a schedule with activities he could cross off as they finished.  Today the plan was to go to Plaster Fun Time, out for lunch, then back to the center for crafts and coloring.  What’s not to like?  This week they’re also taking them to go mini-golfing and bowling with lunch out every day.  Only one other kid signed up!  Crazy, huh?  It was $50 for the week and that probably doesn’t even cover the full cost of the activities and lunch.

 

I stayed for 40 minutes.  I told them to call me if they needed anything.  I had to refrain myself from offering to come along.  When I picked up Will this afternoon.  They said that the other kid never showed up.  And they raved about Will because well, let’s face it – he’s awesome, and adorable, and super cute!  So, he added three more people to his fan club.

They mentioned that tomorrow only two adults would be going with Will.  Wow, usually he’s in a two-to-one and today he was in a one-to-three.  I can see Will pulling the “I’m helpless” card with a little topping of the “batting of eyelashes” because, you know, that always works with his mother.

February Vacation Week

I thought about saying “February Vacation Week …. Enough said.”  And leaving it at that for the whole week but changed my mind.  I think this post will come out as stream of consciousness but anyone who knows me should be use to that anyway.

I’ll start with my exciting news.  My husband and I are going to Mexico … by ourselves …. without children for four days.  (…. If I renew my passport – yes, I know I should have already done it but it is vacation week; thus life has completely shut down until next Monday.)  The resort doesn’t allow children.  I’m not sure how I feel about that because I enjoy looking at children even if they aren’t mine.  But we didn’t pick the place, it’s a work thing.  

One of Will’s old therapists is coming to visit him today because she misses him (and me of course, because I’m delightful).

My husband took the kids to the Museum of Science in Boston on Monday to see the Harry Potter exhibit but after waiting in line for a half hour to get in all the tickets were sold out.  So, I’m taking them back on Friday to try again.  This time I’ll buy tickets online, beforehand.  (Perhaps, I should do that now, while I’m actually on the computer.)

Jake and Bri are both having a friend sleep over this week -- one tonight, the other tomorrow.   

Polly tried to take Will swimming yesterday.  But because of the snow storm she was stuck on route 9 for a half hour.  Then she took him to the library which closed early because of the snow.  Interesting.  Last week Massachusetts shut down in preparation for the impending snow storm.  Our town declared a snow emergency and schools had an early release in preparation for the …. wait for it …. inch of snow that fell.  I have to admit that I think it’s funny how everything stops here for a big snow storm.  I grew up in Utah and I remember only one snow day when school was cancelled.