Saturday, January 27, 2007

Another year older

I am another year older today. Wow. Big Whoop. I am not even counting anymore,it is getting too depressing and actually I would rather not even think about it. In my mind, I am still 20 years old and that is all that counts. I wont even get into what age my body actually is. I am forever trying to take that back since Things 1 and 2 happened. Things in that area have not progressed much.

Today was a good day. No, it was a GREAT day. I had the day off from work,and I was able to just do the mom thing. I took Michael to school at 8am,then came back home to get Nick ready for therapy. We arrived there about 5-10 minutes early and I started chatting with another mom who is new since I was last there. Her son,Tristan, is another "autie" and we hit it off right off the bat. I loved watching Tristan doing his own little "happy dance". His body movements are so similair to Nicks it just made me fall in love with the kid. I have grown very fond of these little flapper guys,and sometimes I think the world needs more of them.
We got to talking and comparing notes, and I asked her a few questions. Tristan as it turns out, is also a very picky eater and she told me that she has to put his food in a blender--which of course is similiar to our situation. She also has to put Tristan on a child leash due to the fact that he is a runner. She was saying she gets LOTS of stares from people, and I told her that we get them too. Especially at the grocery store. One lady made the comment "Isn't he too old for baby food?!" I dont go into detail with WHY we are buying babyfood for a 3yr old,all I say is "he has food issues". People have no idea of a certain parents situation,so why cant they just leave the comments and stares to themselves? I dont go around asking strangers in the store "why do you let your child eat that?". It is none of my business, so I stay out of it. I dont stare at your kid having a tantrum or make comments on your parenting skills, so dont do that to me!

It amazes me that in a couple of weeks my baby will be three years old. These are the days that I feel just a little sad for Nick. He does not get the immense joy of opening presents, or even understand the whys of getting them. I assume that he does like what we choose for him,based upon the amount of time he plays with the toy once it is out of the box; but it is hard to know what he TRULY likes. He has the same expression if given a Buzz Lightyear or a Spiderman. He has not the faintest idea of who these characters even are; much less have a favorite. He would be happy with a tv remote or a lightswitch. I think he would have a marvelous time if we just let him flick the switches all day long. But, regardless, he will always get a birthday party. I simply cannot choose to ignore it just because he could not care less. I would feel like the worst mother in the world. We are planning his party for Feb 11th, and am even thinking of getting a pinata....he just loves them so!

Sunday, January 21, 2007

Retail therapy


Sam has come to Lakewood!!



Ok, so we finally all get out of the house around 3pm and took a family trip to our brand new Wal-Mart,only to find out it does not open until Monday!! We were feeling quite stupid and a little embarassed as we thought we were the only people to show up, but then there were others who drove up and were all set to go in the store, when I said "They don't open until Monday!" Apparently,the general public did not get this message. Michael was visibly upset and even started crying-he wanted so bad to spend his newly given allowance that he had worked all week for! Not ones to just go home-we opted to go to Target and give them some of our money. We went into the store and decided to not get a cart and plop Nicholas in;giving him zero chance to practice taking direction from us. To my amazement,Nicholas followed our commands like a good little soldier-trying to play with toys still in boxes,and basically just enjoying himself. He looked just like any other toddler in a toy store-running up to toys within his reach and exploring the lights and sounds that they made. Michael got some good practice at managing money,and staying within his budget. He learned the hard lesson that things can be expensive and you cannot always get everything you see. He learned to look at prices, and make the decision of whether to save money or buy something else. I was amazed that Nick was very tolerant and patient while Michael browsed up and down each aisle for about an hour. That is why I referred to this as "retail therapy"-both of them will need to learn this as a life skill. Nick was practicing how to act in public,follow directions,and move through a crowd of people without going into hysterics. Michael finally decided on a bag of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups,and we headed to the check-out. Michael was anxious as how to know how much money his item cost without having to speak to the cashier. We told him it would show up on the register,and not to worry,he would know. When it came time to hand over the money,he got a little nervous and I had to tell him what to put on the counter. I also told him to hold his hand out for his change,and he did that although I dont think he even looked at the cashier the whole time! We will need to practice up on these little social skills in the future-he has a habit of completely clamming up around even people he knows. Nick on the other hand had a great time following lines,and feeling the floor tiles. Ahhh,my odd little children!