The Trip

As far as Elizabeth my oldest daughter knew, the day was to start like any other day. Little did she know that the minivan driven by her mother that takes her to school would divert from its usual course and lead her to a place of pure terror. As they drew closer to this place my wife’s true self was becoming apparent to my daughter. Her beautiful skin was pealing off to expose the scaly green below, her eyes seemed to become reptilian and her nails grew to sharp points. The thing that sat in the drivers seat was no longer the mommy that is supposed to care, love and protect my daughter at all costs. Without warning the route the van was taking revealed itself. Yes, it was on a collision course with the dentist’s office where Elizabeth was scheduled to have two cavities filled. Oh the terror, pure terror.

Niagara Falls

This past Labor Day weekend Robin and I took the kids and my mother to Niagara Falls for a couple of days. We figured that since the kids are 6, 4 and 2, they would take one look at “The Falls” and say “that’s nice, can we play now”, but to our surprise Eli, James and Amanda really enjoyed the magnificent sights and the Maid of the Mist boats. Anyway, their fascination lasted for about 45 minutes, 45 minutes longer than I thought it would. Planning ahead for their lack of interest, Robin and I booked a hotel with an indoor water park. Wow! What I time we had. At first Eli, my oldest was a bit hesitant to go on the big BIG slides but on the second day it was full throttle. James didn’t meet the height requirement for the big stuff but was happy with the wave pool and smaller slides and sprinklers. The two big slides which were completely enclosed like a pipe were tube slides, meaning that an inner tube is used. These slides started out in the building, but since they are so big they exit the building only to come back in at the end of the ride. The first time my daughter and I went on these slides we went on a double inner tube so that we could go down together. After we pushed off I was completely blown away; I thought that even though the slide is completely enclosed with fiberglass that light would still be able to penetrate the walls. PITCH BLACK ALL THE WAY DOWN. I’m not sure if I was terrified for my daughter or that I was actually terrified for me, I think it was for my daughter. I was expecting Eli to freak out but the only sound that came from her was laughter and a couple of WOOHOO’s! We must have ridden that thing 20 times. Amanda enjoyed the little slides along with James. Since Robin’s belly is home to our fourth, I was pulling double and triple duty between the small slides, big slides, sprinklers and wave pool to keep all the kids happy. Amanda loves the water. I don’t think her smile left her face the entire time we were there. My mother who still works and really doesn’t get to spend a lot of time with the kids really enjoyed however, she opted not to take advantage of the slides.

We also went to the Aviary in Niagara which to my surprise was absolutely wonderful. The kids loved it because we were able to get close to all the birds, and the set up was pretty unique. The whole Aviary spiraled down in one big observatory complete with a huge waterfall.

We did a bunch of other touristy things, but to sum it all up, the trip was good.

Back From Florida

It has been a little over a week since I last posted which is a bit unusual for me. Everything from becoming swamped at work to technical difficulties forced me to give the blog a rest. I’m not sure where to start really considering the past week was a complete blur.

As you read in my last post I have been dealing with a computer issue that hasn’t been resolved yet. I was also sick in bed with a stomach bug this past Sunday which made life for my wife real interesting. On top of it all I had to travel to Florida on business this past Tuesday and Wednesday which was kind of nice even though it was business. Getting out of the 17 degree weather and into 80 degree weather was a shock to my system, but it was also a reminder that I need to get my butt in gear and make a ton of money so that we can move to some place warm. The meeting went well, but not as well as I wanted it to go. My meeting was with a couple of guys who run the same kind of business that I have. I was hoping to learn something from them to progress the success of my business. Unfortunately, I think I knew more about our industry than they did so they benefited more from the meeting than I did. Overall it was nice to meet them and I think we will be able to help each other out in the near future.

While I was in Florida I was able to see the aftermath of the last hurricane that past through. The State did a fantastic job of cleaning up, but there were still downed trees, signs, roofs and some fallen debris. I had a chance to go to the beach, not to swim or lay out, but just to walk. The power and energy of the ocean amazes me every time I see it. The waves were rather large giving surfers perfect conditions. There were also a group of guys and gals kite surfing which is basically attaching a huge kite to your body, then getting on your board and letting the wind pull you across the water. These pros were moving fast along the water and jumping waves, sometimes getting as high as 10 feet above the ocean. It was very cool.

Coming home is always nice. I'll take a freezing cold day with snow on the ground with my wife and kids over a warm sunny day alone anytime.

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I rented a convertible?

Back Home and Satisfied

Were back home from our trip to New York and a wonderful time was had. My kids got to see and play with their cousins and we got to spend some time with my sister, nieces and nephews. I was surprised that my wife actually had a good time because she’s really not very fond of NY’s busy hustle and bustle lifestyle. I myself love New York and would probably want to live in the city if I didn’t have kids. I think Robyn liked the trip because she had the chance to shop and we didn’t have time to go to Manhattan this time around. I have always found it quite fascinating how you can find all these great deals in NY. My wife bought a beautiful gown and top for a wedding we have coming up and yes it was expensive but considering the stuff that she bought it was pretty reasonable. I bought myself a pair of socks, or the equivalent to a pair of socks, I’m just not the shopping type anymore. I bought two suits last week and the whole adventure from picking it, trying it on, having it measured for tailoring and checkout took me 15 minutes. I just don’t have the patience I used to have. I guess you can say that I’m a salesperson’s favorite customer because I don’t ask a lot of questions and I’m quick.

So, as for the DVD player in the car, the kids enjoyed watching their movies. We let them each pick 4-5 movies to watch for the trip there and back. It was, for the most part pretty quiet in the minivan, another thing that I swore I would never own but glad that we have. The DVD player introduced us to a new problem; both Elle and James were fighting over which movie to watch first, his or hers. It was nuts, but better than if we didn’t have the DVD. So what did we learn? Mommy and daddy will go out and buy a few movies that neither one has seen and WE will choose which one will be watched. Now the tricky part is to find movies that they haven’t seen yet; we belong to the Disney Movie Club so we have just about every Disney/Pixar movie that has ever existed. Does anyone want to buy our library for $8,500? I think we lost the Nemo DVD, which is pretty funny since the movie is called “Finding Nemo”. Little Peanut did a terrific job in my opinion, she basically cried only when she was hungry so we had to stop a couple extra times on the way there and back.

On our way back home we took the scenic route and stopped in the small town where my mother-in-law grew up. The kids had a good time playing in the playground behind the little red school house where their grandmother went to school. They also got to see her old house and the building that housed the general store, which is no longer there, that their great grandfather used to own. This was typical small (small) town USA. Being there was like a breath of fresh air and reminded me of the simple things in life that we sometimes forget about with our daily hectic schedules in the city. This town had absolutely nothing in it as far as entertainment goes. If you live there, you are basically forced to spend quality time with your family and neighbors and go for walks around the town stopping at every house to talk to your friends.

I think the nicest thing about this trip was that my mother came along with us. She really enjoyed spending time and money with her grandchildren. To say that my mother was thrilled is an understatement; she was beaming the whole time. She only lives 25 minutes away from us but she doesn’t really have a lot of time to see the kids because she hasn’t retired yet, so this was a big deal for her.

All in all this was a successful trip, but the jury is still out on this DVD player in the car. And to some of my critics, the kids did not watch the whole time like you all said they wouldn't and when there was something outside to see we pointed it out to them, so it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

Cheers.

On the Road Again........With a Twist

Well we’re off to New York on Sunday to visit some family. We’re making this another road trip so things could get interesting which will make for some good blogging material the following week, or not. In all honesty, our kids are pretty good on the road with the exception of our last trip coming back from Detroit (see The Trip). Even though our road trips are usually uneventful I think the Detroit thing scared my wife for life. We sat down this week, ok wait; my wife sat me down this week to tell me how we were going to make this trip work. She proceeded to tell me that my assignment for the week was to go and get a DVD system for the car so that the kids would be entertained. Now, I blogged a little while ago about possibly getting rid of our TV (See Good Times in Cleveland). I felt that the kids were watching to much and needed to spend more time outdoors. That was during the summer, but since they are in school, television time has been cut down significantly. That said, I am still questioning the TV in our house. So here I am backed into the corner by my wife telling me, not asking me to get this DVD thing. I thought back to the road trips I had gone on as a child, and I didn’t remember having a TV in the car, yeah I know, there wasn’t a Starbucks at every single rest stop on the turnpike either, or EZ Pass. I didn’t know what to say to my wife, she was definitely set on me getting this thing and felt that it would make for an easier trip. My response was not thought out, I said NO!

So I find myself in the electronic store the following morning searching for the best reasonably priced DVD system for our minivan. I swear buying one of these things is like shopping for sneakers now a days. Remember in the good ol’days you walked into a shoe store and your choice of sneakers consisted of Adidas or Converse, and they usually just came in white, or maybe one other color. Now you have to choose from 50 brands 4,000 styles; air or no air, cross trainer, basketball, tennis, high top/low top/mid top and let’s not forget about the 62,000 colors each one comes in. Buying a DVD system was sort of like that. There was a whole wall to choose from and they all looked the same to me, or not that significantly different. I asked the sales person a bunch of questions about a few specific systems and he proceeded to read the box to me. Really people, what ever happened to knowledgeable helpful sales people, I can read a box too. I guess we shouldn’t blame them though, how is it possible today for one person to absorb all the information on the gazillion technology products that these companies are producing.
Finally I found one that fit the bill; two 7” screens so that my two older kids don’t have to fight for positioning, they each get there own screen that attaches to the head rest in front of them, a remote control that I can use to turn off the darn thing in case I get sick and tired of hearing Nemo or Kim Possible whining about something, or Thomas the Tank Engine having a problem with another engine and then ultimately the two becoming best friends. They each have their own volume control and the screens tilt up and down for optimum viewing clarity, I think that last one cost me an additional 30 bucks. Amanda doesn't get a screen yet, but when it's time I'm going to send her mother to do the shopping.

So it’s off to New York on Sunday and hopefully our investment will pay for itself. Did I forget to mention that I’m going to the bank today to take out a second mortgage on my house so that I can pay for gas? We’re walking next time. Time to get sneakers for the family, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

B.

Off We Go.......Again.

It’s time to hit the road again. Cleveland, “The Mistake on the Lake” as we Pittsburghers like to call it. In the 1970’s the Cuyahoga River caught fire. Apparently someone threw a lit cigarette into the lake and since it was so polluted the darn thing ignited. Now that’s funny.

Our friends moved to Cleveland a few years ago and since Cleveland is only 2 ½ hours away we take weekend trips there every once in awhile. I hope the road trip isn’t a disaster like our Michigan trip was a few weeks ago. Our friends have three beautiful boys which will be really nice for my son who is currently growing up in a house with two sisters. Put away the Barbies and bring out the tanks, thank god (it’s a dad thing).

The one thing I always do when we go away is to pay attention to how people react to Little Peanut. It doesn’t really make a difference to me how they react, I just get curious. I suppose it’s not a good habit to get into and I’m sure I’ll out grow it, but Little Peanut is only 16 months now and we are still rookies. I feel that my wife and I have come along way but we are still, in my opinion, over protective of Peanut. Our plan is to parent peanut the same way we do our other two typical children.

I’m not sure where this post is heading, but I woke up this morning feeling a little blaa. I think I’m just going to have one of those days. What I do want to say is that since starting this blog a few months ago, I am very grateful to all my readers for their suggestions, support and stories on the beauties and difficulties of raising a child with special needs. It’s nice to know that we are not alone in our quest.

Today is a bla day.

The Trip

I had some business meetings in Detroit this past Monday and Tuesday so I decided to take the family. The kids had a really good time swimming, going to the zoo and visiting with some friends and family. We drove since it’s only 4 ½ hours from Pittsburgh, which is really 5 ½ or 6 with kids not to mention the 7 ½ -8 hour trip back. The drive was nice but boring, flat and straight, nothing to look at. We hit traffic on the way there because of a tractor trailer that caught fire, no one was injured. Then on the way back we sat in traffic because of another tractor trailer fire. These things seem to be self combusting, what’s going on here.
Little Peanut decided to throw her very expensive glasses on textured cement at the zoo and basically destroyed them. She has cost us a few bucks this month. Within the last two weeks she managed to lose two contact lenses and destroy her gla$$e$. After she lost her initial contact lens in Florida, she lost the replacement pair 3 hours after we got them. We love her even though daddy won’t get his Rolex for a while.

Lets revisit the 7 ½ hour trip back. Did any of you ever have one of those moments where everything that could go wrong does and the only thing you can do is laugh? Well, that was us. We started back around 3:30pm and hit the tractor trailer traffic. We had to take a detour around 75 south which put us in Dixie and some other place where the cows out numbered the humans 5-1. Ok we got back on 75 only to pull off to the side of the road again because my son decided he needed to return his lunch to us all over the back seat. We took care of it and got back on the road only to stop ten minutes later because my daughter found a BUG and started to freak. We pulled over and let the FLY out of the van. At this point my wife and I are laughing hysterically. We got back on the road when all of a sudden we drove into 1of 2 storm systems (we hit both of them). Heavy rain, tremendous lightning shows the whole way home (a good 4 hours of this stuff). We past the first system and pulled into a rest area so that Little Peanut could nurse. The storm found us so we decided to get back on the road to out run it, but there was no chance I had to put the hazards on and drive 45 along with everyone else.

You all get the picture, the trip just continues like this the whole way home and I just don’t want to bore you.

Over all it was a successful trip for me, and a fun one for my wife and kids. Maybe next time we’ll fly.

Weekend O' Fun......Maybe

Therapy Evaluation on the Deck for Little Peanut
Being the nice guy that I am, I noticed that my wife needed a little break. She has a good friend in Florida whom she speaks with all the time. We were there this past January and had a great time so I told her to go visit her this weekend. I did some quick math comparing my phone bill to the cost of an airline ticket and guess what, it's a wash. I might even come out ahead this month. Hey don't laugh, I have the phone bill to prove it (ok, maybe I embellished a little). Any way, my wife is leaving today and will be back home on
Monday. My other two kids will be staying home with me. I decided that we are going to make this a daddy and me weekend. We'll go to the amusement park, science center, playground and any other exhausting activity that I can think of. It should be fun.

My wife certainly deserves a break. With all the routine therapies with Little Peanut and doctor visits, she needs a change of scenery. Oh, by the way, we went to another BBQ last night, this time at my sisters house. My family is enemy #1 when it comes to the cow family.

I will let you all know the outcome of our weekend. Hopefully I will be able to control the little terrors (they're great kids).