So, as you may or may not know/remember, we’ve gone through a multitude of dining table sets over the years. (I started the process by wanting a counter-height table…we got one but returned it because it scratched too easily, we ordered a different one and the wrong base came in TWICE…) Our most recent table was from Sam’s Club which we got on clearance for half price because it had a scratch…and I knew at the time it would just be a temporary table until we found THE table.
Well, I found THE table.
I’m always on the lookout at Costco since their prices are really really good…and this month it was in the circular for warehouse only. I was drooling because it seemed perfect—center table legs, butterfly leaf, nine pieces, and leather-cushioned chairs!!—but it didn’t list a price.
So we were headed there today and I hoped it was a great price…AND IT WAS!! PLUS there was a manufacturer’s in-store rebate which made it even better. But they would only hold it until the end of business. And they only had three in stock with none showing as on order. Our friend with the trailer didn’t answer his phone. U-Haul was cheap but we didn’t have our ball/hitch and they didn’t have any. But we bought it anyway thinking we’d figure out something. Luckily our friend got back to us on the way home (plus his daughter could babysit)…but that still meant another 2-hour round trip (man do I hate being an hour away from Costco).
And of course it rained cats and dogs on the way home…but I have my table!!!
Tom told me his finalized departure date tonight…right before he fell asleep…and it’s just REALLY hitting home now and it’s all I can do to not have my ugly cry right now. In bed. With his arm around me. 🙁
The local autism society hosts “sensory friendly” movies at our theater—lowered volume, not completely dark, no ads or previews, you can get up and walk around, and you can bring your own snacks—which we thought would be a great first experience just in case…
As we were wandering around showing him the lobby, he immediately noticed the Planes sign and was very excited. 🙂
Today’s showing was Despicable Me 2—and he was excited because he likes the minions.
And…he loved the movie and did REALLY well. He didn’t talk that much and only got up once. He did ask for popcorn after his crackers were gone…so Tom bought the cheapest $7 bag…and Owen ate about six pieces. Which means we got to eat it (though I’m not complaining—it was delicious).
He did SUCH a good job that we stopped to get ice cream on the way home.
And since he did such a great job, we’ll try to take him to one more regular movie before Tom leaves…
So, overall…the sensory-friendly movie experience was…interesting. For the most part it was okay but there were more than a few very young (read: too young) kids there who were running around. Now, this showing was meant for allowing that…which I understand. But really, if on a basic level your child is too young to sit still for even 15 minutes of a movie—and you’re constantly chasing them or herding them—I don’t think they should be there–even if it’s a more friendly version. There were also lots of crying babies/kids and noisy older kids…which I was okay with the older kids (this was an autism event after all) but the babies? Still no excuse…but I know some were there because the parents didn’t want to get a sitter. (The people next to us brought SIX kids—three of which were too young IMO.)
So while it was okay and Owen enjoyed it, I’m hoping he’ll do okay at a “real” movie…so we can hopefully avoid some of the other shenanigans.
So we had to pick up Tom’s car on the way back from the movie today and I had Owen with me.
While we were stopped at a light:
Owen: Mama! I see a dinosaur!
Me: A dinosaur? Really? Where?
Owen: Over there!
Me: On a sign? Or a wavy tube dinosaur? [We had just seen a wavy tube fox so I thought it was possible.]
Owen: No! Over there!
And by god, I saw it.
Owen: And there’s a guy riding him!
Me: Yep, I can see that, too!
Owen went to the bathroom and set his sword down. When he got out:
Owen: Mama, did you touch my sword?
Me: No.
Owen: Great! Then you get a digi-medal [something from Agent Oso cartoon] for not touching! Good job mom!
Owen: Excuse me. I have to do my job.
Tom: What’s your job?
Owen: To keep my friends safe.
Tom: From what?
Owen: The spears. They have pointy ends. And the lava king.
Looking at old pictures…
Tom: Look at that doll!
Owen: That’s not a doll—that’s me Owen!
Tom came home from work early and I took Owen to a play group water slide get-together. When we got home, Tom was sleeping…and he slept a long time (through dinner). When he finally came downstairs…
Owen: DADDY! You’re alive!!
Me: I didn’t coach him at all.
We went to a mommy group water slide play date today and Owen was in heaven (which I was glad to see he wasn’t spoiled by the Great Wolf Lodge experience). He got to play in a new pool and on a new water slide…WITH KIDS! 🙂
There was a bit of drama (with six kids from age 2-6 with three of them being girls) but Owen handled himself pretty well. And then by cake time everyone was happy and getting along again.
And I think Owen was the instigator of the frosting-on-the-face game…but they all were giggling like crazy.
Owen was pretending his new sword was a light saber, so Tom downloaded an iPhone app that makes the sound as you swish the phone. So, if you hold it to the sword as you swish…you get a light saber.
Both kids slept well (no random nighttime Katie screaming is always good) and our day started off with donuts from the Dunkin Donuts inside the resort.
The park didn’t open until 9, so we just lazed around and hung out.
Owen tried climbing the ladder again…but only got this far again. 🙂
Being at the park when it first opens is AMAZING. There’s no hunting for a table and chairs, there are no lines, there are no throngs of people…and it’s calm and almost quiet. Tom and I took advantage of the no-lines and tested the River Canyon Run family ride in the hopes that Owen might go down that one (it’s a huge inner tube that didn’t look that precarious). HOWEVER. The ride down was quite wild and we knew instantly Owen would NOT do well on it. As it was, it actually made Tom a little dizzy (though he blames the sinus stuff he had going on!).
So we let him enjoy his slides…
In the adults-only hot tub…we only spent about 15 minutes there. It was nice…but we were missing watching Owen have fun!
In the wave pool waiting for the waves. Owen didn’t want anything to do with this pool yesterday but today he was all about the waves!
Underwater Owen!
Pruney baby feet!
He wouldn’t even go under the water with Tom…
Watching and waiting for the dump bucket…he always appeared VERY concerned.
We kept trying to get him to come under and he never would.
I even tried to get him to come with me under the bucket…NO GO.
Owen doing the crazy robot:
Tom took Owen to the outdoor pool and frog slide one more time while us girls went up to the room to start getting ready to leave. Of course I had to get a picture!
Owen had seen all the kids running around with wands (you can buy an expensive wand and they can play games) but he was too young for that…so when we saw this light-up sword in the gift shop, we had to get it for him. It was his treat for being such an awesome kid on the trip. He LOVED it!
I highly recommend late check out—even with the additional fee—because it was great being able to go back to your room to check out instead of having to check out then haul everything to the car and take a bag to the park.
I think Katie was out by the time we left the parking lot and Owen lasted about 20 minutes…
I had been planning on heading to Great Wolf Lodge when Tom returned from Afghanistan…but he suggested we go beforehand. So he took two days off work and we headed up this morning. I had the brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea of taking our babysitter, Virginia, along for an extra pair of hands and eyes…and as it turned out, it was completely AMAZING—it was great being able to pay more attention to Owen (who will remember it) and be able to take tons of pictures (though Virginia is in most of the pics with Katie!). But seriously, Virginia was awesome with Katie the whole time—even when we weren’t actually at the water park.
So without further ado, the pictures.
Proof we were actually here, LOL—though this picture was taken as we were checking out. 🙂
We splurged and got a Kid Cabin suite—complete with log cabin bunk beds and a day bed (and their own TV which we never even used). Owen was excited about his own room/bed and testing out the bunk bed steps. He didn’t make it to the top because he was too scared. 🙂
The view of the outdoor pool area from our third-floor balcony.
Katie was (of course) intrigued by the new annoying band on her ankle.
Sneaking one of my fries. Tom ran to get us Chick-Fil-A while we got settled and into suits. We figured we’d be eating at the hotel enough (and spending enough money on overpriced food) that fast food was acceptable for our first lunch.
Waiting in her 2T suit. We had brought her 12m suit (that Grauntie Rose got her for her birthday) and I actually put it on her but it was really too tight.
Ready to go with Miss Virginia!
She SEEMS to be interested in the bubblers, but unfortunately it only lasted about seven seconds (if that). She just wanted to MOVE. This is where Virginia came in really handy.
Owen liked them quite a bit, however.
Of course, she was more entranced with the hole that had no water coming out of it…
This is how Owen watched the 1,000-gallon dump bucket—far away from the action on the sidelines…
…in the bubblers. 🙂
One of the few things Katie could reach and was semi interested in.
Miss Virginia on constant vigil—keeping Katie’s face out of the water as she tried to drink it.
FEETS!
This is where she liked to crawl.
Making sure I actually get in a photo!
She LOVED the lazy river (Owen hates it with a passion—he has some strange fear about inner tubes).
The outside frog slide that he loved!
Just hanging out. I cropped the pic so he appears closer than he really was. He was pretty far out. I love that he’s old enough we can let him do that and not worry or freak out.
It was about this time that Tom and I decided to splurge on drinks from the bar…since it was right there and all…and it was HOT outside. Yeah, we only had one drink because while they were certainly tasty, they were NOT worth the price. But, as a bonus, while we were standing there waiting for the drinks and Tom was holding Katie, she peed on him. (She had a swim diaper on, but they can only hold so much.) 🙂
I then had Virginia take a family shot—and she only took three and one of them came out really well!
This is how Katie crawled most of the time—her knees were sore (yours would be, too, if you were crawling on cement!) so she would kind of drag one leg while actually putting the other foot down (if you look closely you can see the foot prints on the right side).
Owen having fun in the pool with the water toys.
Virginia spent a lot of time walking Katie around. Again, brilliant idea.
Owen on his favorite indoor slides. It was terribly hard to get good pictures of this due to timing and the new camera that I wasn’t totally familiar with the best settings to get the best shot. So lots of the future shots might look a little off. I did the best I could. 🙂
The other area Katie liked—the waterfall station (well, it was more like a sheet of water). It was somewhat interactive because the water did crazy things when you stuck your hand in it.
Tired boy…and we had only been there 2.5 hours at that point!
Climbing in the ropes with dad. They headed to the top to attempt the waterslide…but once Owen got to the top he said NO WAY (even though the one he went on in Kalkaska was about the same).
Back at the room for dinner. This is where Katie loved to crawl.
Miss Virginia taking a break.
Owen and daddy taking a break.
Virginia stayed in the room with Katie while I took my real (i.e. non-waterproof camera) down to try and get some better pictures of Owen.
Owen liked the sheet of water, too.
This is him doing his robot through the falls.
Back up at the room on the balcony with Virginia and Katie. Katie liked to push the furniture around and stick her feet out the slats.
Completely THRILLED that she got the remote and we didn’t take it away from her!
Owen in his own bed!
Katie had only slept about an hour in the car and then didn’t get an afternoon nap at all…so we were hoping it would help her fall asleep quickly. And it did…she only screeched for about four minutes before she was out cold. I’m sure Owen wasn’t too far behind, and Virginia even put away her laptop and went to bed about 9:20. Tom and I turned our phones off about 10:30 as we were exhausted, too. However, I didn’t have a great night’s sleep…I tossed and turned and it felt like I had slept a loooong time but when I looked at the clock it was 1am. Ugh. The cycling of the A/C pretty much kept me up/woke me up—when it was running, it was COLD and you needed to be under the covers…and when it was off, it was WARM and you didn’t want the covers on. Plus my back hurt (as usual) from the car ride and what carrying of Katie I did (though Virginia did most of it). Plus it was only a Queen bed. So I knew I’d be exhausted the next morning…
It’s amazing that shortly after Express-Scripts merged (or whatever) with Medco things went to hell.
And by that I simply mean I needed a refill but it said I didn’t have any but they would check with my doctor. Cool, that was easy.
A week later I get a phone call saying they’re having issues, my doctor came back as a…are you ready? DENTIST. WTF? And they gave me a completely wrong number (including the area code). But the doc’s name was right. SERIOUSLY? I gave her the right number, she thanked me, and said they’d keep trying.
A few days later I get an automated call. “We’re still having issues. Would you like us to continue working on it or would you like to cancel the order?” Um, why the F would I want to cancel the order? Yes, continue.
A few days later, another automated call asking the same thing. Yes, continue.
A week later I decided to check online and gee, it says it’s canceled. SERIOUSLY? I’m glad someone got back with me about this drug I needed refilled and they canceled without telling me.
So I played with the automated attendant trying to get info (impossible) and then finally got transferred to an attendant after 10 minutes. Twenty minutes later I get a rep who starts with “Our systems are down and I can’t help with any account or order information but you can wait for another rep. It will take about an hour.”
Ugh.
So I just basically told her what was going on (see above) and she said she’d transfer me to someone who could hopefully help me. I ask if I’m going to have to wait an hour. Oh no, she says. Then she transferred me…right back to the initial automated shit I had 30 minutes before. 😐
URGE TO KILL.
It’s a damn good thing I don’t need this drug immediately. And now I get to make another phone call at another time. Yay.
We were in the upstairs living room and she was playing in a drawer of the entertainment center (her new favorite thing is putting stuff in drawers). I’m glad I didn’t see it happen or I would have likely freaked the F out. But one second she was standing at the drawer, I looked away, the next second she was sitting down next to the drawer and screaming. My first thought was she fell and smacked her chin on the drawer. So I grabbed her and checked her out and didn’t see any red marks and there was no blood in her mouth…so then I actually looked at her face and HOLY CRAP. It looked a little worse than the pictures (which were taken later, after her bath) but even so, she only cried for about a minute. Of course, she wouldn’t let us put an ice pack or anything on it. Silly kid. I’m sure she’ll have a black eye tomorrow.
