Know when to fold 'em

As a parent I know that letting my children get what they want after throwing a fit is not the way to go. I know that they need discipline and consistancy with discipline to grow and become better adults. With 3 of my kids that is pretty easy to do. I can usuly outlast them in a struggle of wills and they just seem so ridiculous at times I stay string just pur of spite. Yes I am childish. With Mitchell, however, things work differently. By nature he is string willed and his Autism gives stamina to continue any battle. He also doesn't relate once instance with the next (generalizing) so telling him something like don't jump off the couch doesn't transfer over to don't jump off the couch, bed, chair, table, counter, swing set, etc. We have also learned that sometimes fighting him on an issue leads to him using his oh so clever brain to work his away around obstacles we have put in place. This brings me to today. It rained last night & most of today so the backyard is a mess. It was only a matter of time before Mitchell requested to go out. I told him it was too wet and when daddy got home they'd go for a bike ride. He huffed and walked away only to returned with the same request. I gave him the same response but this time he fell to the floor and kicked the sliding door. I repeated myself and told him not to kick the door. When he sat up I walked away. From the family room I heard some clicking noises and looked into the dinette to see Mitchell on the floor staring intently at our foot door lock on the sliding door. The clicking sound was him trying to push the button in I'm assuming hoping it would pop up and unlock. Now I have 2 choices: keep up the battle until he figures out how to unlock the door and find a new way to contain him or let him out and save myself some future grief. Since the former would cause me endless sleepless nights, I chose to give in and let him run around outside to catch a cold and be bit by numerous bugs. I suck, I'm aware. But I know, somewhat, how Mitchell's mind works and I've seen him take safety locks off bathroom doors when he REALLY wanted to play in the sink and climb out windows when I've restricted the outdoors and climb under gates to get out of or into people's backyards. This will at least take his mind off the lock for a while and I can rest peacefully at night for another month or too. Lucky for us he usually eyes things up pretty good, maybe determine the odds, before tackling the obstacle.

Mommy's at the Mall

Over the weekend, Steve bribed Steven with a small Lego set to ride his bike and not go on the computer at all. Tonight, Steve comes home from work and says he doesn't feel like driving anywhere so twist my arm, I'll go to the mall. After dinner we headed to Orland. There are big signs outside saying from Old to Bold as they are remodeling the mall. The distance to the store was filled with Stevrn's concern for the cracks in the floor and mats thrown over what look like small holes looking down into level one. He pointed them out left and right and expressed his relief when we got to the store. This is so Steven. Of course, the Lego store did not have the mini dino set he wanted and wouldn't substitute with a larger one (he is strange) and eventually settled on mini Ninjago. Next we went for ice cream and while waiting I get a text from Steve asking who used the bathroom upstairs and didn't flush........these are always the type of texts I get while out. The following one said he just stopped Mitchell from trying to pee on Grace. After that the text was he was cutting Mitchell's nail and heard a water sound. He asked Grace what she was doing and she honestly responded she was peeing on the carpet. Believe it or not, I am sitting in the couch watching GH listening to Mitchell play with the iPad. The 3 children I left at home are bathed and Gracebis unaware of my presence so she is letting Steve sit with her for bed. I think I might need to go on dates with Steven more often, Steve has it all under control.

Disney: Is it Thursday Already?

Today is the first day we are completely splitting up. No need to make everyone wait in lint to see Rapunzel, right? The girls and I headed to Magic Kingdom via water taxi and Steve set off for Animal Kingdom with the boys. I knew I had to give daddy specific plans otherwise they would just lounge around all day.

Considering MK opened at 8:00am for resort guests I was surprised to find our wait for Rapunzel to be under 2 hours. She greets her first guests at 9:15 but early risers formed a line when the gates opened this morning. The cast members securing the queue could not have been any nicer really and the other guests kept an eye on things while we grabbed a snack.

When it was our turn to file into Storybook Garden we were first in line when Rapunzel reappeared from her quick break. It made the wait all worth it. It amazes me how Grace and Caroline can easily wait a couple hrs to see a princess or character. I would love to have the drive and imagination to see things again the way children do.

All done with Rapunzel, it is time to catch the bus to Animal Kingdom. Disney does transportation well but sometimes, this time, the drop off point for the bus seemed to be at the back of the parking lot. This makes me very happy we stuck with our decision to rent a car. I am exhausted after walking the parks, the last thing any of want to do walk additional steps to wait in a line to board transportation.

For the first time this vacation I was able to sneak into a photo, how nice of that girl to offer her assistance. Steve and the boys had been in DinoLand killing time until we arrived so we all b-lined for the Safari to get in at least once attraction before moving onto Hollywood Studios for lunch. Thank goodness it is mating season for the giraffes, they are VERY active.

It ended up a full day at Hollywood Studios. Character lunch at Hollywood and Vine, Parade, shopping, Toy Story Mania a couple times, Muppets, Phineas and Ferb, Little Mermaid. There was something for everyone today.

At lunch Caroline only dropped her buffet filled plate once and Grace threw herself down maybe 3 times. The chef wasn't quick in coming out to the table and we were almost done eating by the time Mitchell got his food. The characters were great but the girl who was dancing & singing was really loud and the whole experience was extremely overstimulating for everyone. On the plus side, we didn't need to stand in line to get a spot at Disney Jr Live on Stage since we saw Handy Manny, Oso & Jake here.

Thea afternoon parade ended just in time for the afternoon rain the begin. Perfect weather for shopping and be inside at shows. Steve and I had forgotten how funny the old guys in the balcony were on The Muppets and all the kids love 3-D shows. Not wanting to overuse our "Mitchell Pass" and cut ahead of too many people we limited our Toy Story Mania to 2 tours. Then, Steven was very hesitant about sitting through Voyage of the Little Mermaid but I assured it was more a show than a princess story and it did not disappoint. There was even a little boy sitting back in the handicap section with us who clearly had issues similar to Mitchell. He kept talking to Caroline and the mom ended up switching spots with him so he wouldn't bother her. Of course I couldn't say anything to her because that would lead to tears at Disney, which are not allowed, I assumed it was obvious they were alike but maybe only in my mind.

Phineas and Ferb were a great distraction in the afternoon. Once again, we wait in line only to have them go on break, but we were first in line as they emerged for photo ops. Grace still talks about Ferb taking her Baby Minnie and doing rock-a-bye-baby. Quite the characters they are. We ended the night in the food court and transferred sleeping children to their beds upon return to our cabin. Doesn't get much better than this.