Snapshots from a week

Sunday 

Today is the last day of our staycation and we have A & J over for a brunch

I don't mean to boast - but DH and I are the BOSS  of brunch

Our menu is

1. Mimosas
2. Italian Sausage 
3. Fresh bread ( super easy owing to a bread machine ) 
4. Samosas ( All our non india friend LOVE This ) an added bonus is that we buy them ready made 
5. Scrambled eggs ( I make AMAZING scrambled eggs ) 
6. Fruit ( fresh cut pineapple and grapes ) 

We also have the jellies we got from Pike Place Market, and the tamarind sauce that DH is the master of 

J and A are really nice .

A has also recently joined Microsoft which is why we have a special bond as we can discuss the special situation that moving to Seattle and joining Microsoft is

We walk to the park - J loves kids and teaches R to do math with numbers and then with flowers

In the evening we go to the bounce house

On the way back as I am "starting a diet tomorrow" DH suggests that we get some Thai - we get some Panang curry ( 4star hot ) and we devour this as though we had just ended a diet.( instead of starting one tomorrow )

This is a perfect culmination of a week of excess

Monday 

First day back in the office - SUPER BUSY - I have about 400 emails to get through as I have not checked email at all last week

But since there is still some sun in the evening we go to the park and are able to have a picnic when all of a sudden it starts to rain

R is very reluctant to leave though we are getting wet and the reward of his "stop and smell the roses attitude" is a DOUBLE rainbow

WOW

Tuesday

Once again there is a light and sun and so we make our way to the park

We make a picnic basket  ( this of course involves lots of Executive Functioning and a chance for  a lot of back and forth

Today he told a man "Sad" The man was quite startled. . ( he did look sad so I could not blame him ).

But we must teach R about the art of diplomacy

R wants to take

1. Cheetos
2. Sprite can ( liite one ) 
3. Straw ( green colored if possible to match with the Sprite can ) 
4. Numbers 

( while I know EXACTLY what he wants - I use the ancient floortime technique of "playing dumb ) 

I pack for me and DH 

1. Jasmine tea
2. Cheese
3. Grapes 

R does his math

DH walks down later and we have our feast 

Wednesday 

Once again - I try to finish my work at the office in time to get home to have some light for the park and yayyyy I succeed

As R swings, k another mum with a cute boy walks  up to me and said "is your son on the spectrum"

I smiled and said "yes- how do you know"

she said " because of the eeeeee.. its what I hear all day !

Her son S -also  has ASD

We chat intimately ( such is the solidarity of ASD mums )  - she tells me

1. She is a divorcee - her ex husband is 6 ft 4 which is why her son looks older 
2. She is in a relationship with  a guy called J. whose parents  are very against him marrying her 
3. My advice was - avoid the MIL and don't feel bad if J has feelings of guilt and to not think in a binary way ( example - if he loved me truly /enough he would not need to feel guilty) as this is not how we think about things - Even though all the magazines and aganoy columns advice us to "stand up to our man " in this way 
4. She does not do any therapy for her son ( he is doing very well ) she plays with him really well 

I also tell her a lot about myself -

Such is the solidarity of ASD mums

I have seen her son before at the park with a babysitter ( who also incidentally asked me if R was autistic because of the eeeeee- guess Sand R have the same kind of autism )

Its super cold and I am very glad that we are wearing our full jackets

He insists on touching the water - the water looks dirty to me  - but his eyes are shining and I cannot say no

Today there is an Asian man out here with remote controlled speed boat -

 OMG R  is so fascinated -

 I make a mental note to ask DH to get R one !

Thursday 

Is so rainy

We do laundry in the evening and watch the new PBS show " Selfridges"

Amazing !

Friday 

Is my Zumba Day  -

 I LOVE ZUmba - there is one place and one place only where you will find ALL the portly housewives of King County on Friday evening

Derek the guy who teaches the class, has great presence and everyone loves him ( though he plays for the other team :-) )

DH and R are swimming and R bursts into tears for no reason that we can think of 

Saturday 

OMG R cannot get into the big computer as he has been banned for 2 days owing to his crying and his tantrums  ( DH's pet peeve)

Since he has nothing to get up for  - he comes to our bed - him and I snuggle and we do not wake till 10 am - this is the most I have slept in months and my whole body feels different

R has his social skills class in Mercer Island so DH and I drive to Seattle

As we are looking for parking a man gives us his tag as its valid for 1 more hour - how nice people are!!

We roam in Downtown and fall in love with Seattle a little .

All this while we have been seeing Seattle as grey and grungy and smelling a little like Kolkata and Mumbai ( cities that are both near the sea and smell of salt water )

But today we see also the charm

Wouldnt you with signs like these ?

Do you see the sign behind DH - its the "Cadillac Hotel" which started for the people who came to prospect in Seattle in 1897 and we go to the Klondike Museum

I love reading the stories of the prospectors here - its really nice to just be with DH( no R )  as we are able to do this at our own pace

We get an Access Pass for R here

Can you see the gorgeous Waterfall Garden?

Such is the ordinary week in our life.

So precious to me

Days of "Larry gets lost in Seattle" : Seattle Staycation Part 2

When we were moving to Seattle, Miss Tori  ( R's beloved speechie ) gave us this book "Larry gets lost in Seattle"
John Skewes has written these books about a number of cities

 This is a really nice book about a boy and a dog who go to Seattle.

The dog ( named Larry) gets lost and "inadvertently" visits all the tourist spots of Seattle

We have read this book every night  in the month in our little corporate apartment in Downtown Bellevue

And when time for our staycation comes - we decide to do all the things that Larry did in this book

Pike place Market 

Love the market - we buy things like Triple X raspberry habanero jelly

AMAZING - this jelly with some cheese is SUBLIME and is the subject of many of our picnics

There is also a really famous creperie that DH and I resolve to come back ( me for Nutella crepes and DH for doubtless one of the savory ones )

R is overwhelmed by the smell of the fish and completely ignores the fish throwing ( this is not as exciting IRL as in the Larry book )

The flowers soothe him

As do the arts and crafts

And he needs some time to recuperate with numbers and Sprite

He is excited to see that the sea and the ferris wheel that we will soon be on 

Oh how much fun we have on this

Up in the air.. looking at the Seattle skyline

Miner's Landing Pier 57 Carousel

This is not a stop in the book - but R insists on going here

OMG how he enjoys the stupid games and the merry go round  - I can safely say this is R's favorite part of the trip :-)

Ballard Locks 

It is raining so we went inside the museum and DH explains how the Ballard locks work through a model

Then we show him how they work in real life

But it is cold and raining. R sulks ( as he loves his physical comfort )  so we spend very little time here

Freemont Troll 

Then we are off to see the Freemont Troll( you can read about it here ) - R Adores this ( as do I ) what a great creative thing to do
One of the many reasons I love Seattle

Can you see the car trapped in the troll's hands

Space needle 

We have done this  before but R is perishing to go again  - however since its expensive, plus we are tired and its raining  we tell him that we will do it another time 

A tear runs down his face and his consoles himself with taking a picture from my  phone

In the evening R has Therapy and his therapist asks him to write down 10 things about Seattle and clearly the visit has made an impression as he writes

1. Space Needle
2. People 
3. Fish ( the smell must have stayed in his mind ) 
4. Pike Place Market 
5. Flowers
6. Swedish Medical ( the hopsital where we go for his Crohn's)
7. Medicine in your arm ( as he gets his meds for his crohns via IV) 
8. Up
9. Down ( owing to the many elevators in Seattle ) 
10. Smith Tower ( which is mentioned in the book ) 

Staycations are really great and we are so sad our week is over .

Day of flowers :Seattle Staycation Part 1 !

DH and I have been really thinking that it was time to get off the crazy train which we have felt we have been on

So we have decided to spend the week in Seattle

• The planning etc of going somewhere was beyond us this year .
• We have not really seen Seattle . 
• Food is much easier when we are home. 
• We don't need to miss tutoring  (  Don't worry we have not turned into the crazy parents who don't let their child miss any work -but  these past few months being so ill he is extremely behind) 

On Sunday, DH and I cook for the week.

We I  have decided to take a  break from our healthy eating and we have planned a menu of all the things we crave so this has been a ton of fun ). We also  do laundry.

 

When we have asked R what he wants to do on his vacation - his top item is to go to Applebees - 

Such are his simple hopes.

For DH and I , its  not the dream restaurant but  we go on Monday and while we are there, our cleaning lady is at home cleaning the house 

And in this way all the chores of the week are behind us

So on Tuesday after his morning Speech session we go to the famous Tulip festival

There are tulips and daffodils 

Its a cold and rainy day 

But when you stay in Seattle, you don't complain about the rain 

And fortunately its so beautiful and such a feast for the eyes that you don't really care 

The Pacific North west is the beautiful woman whose beauty needs no make up 

R runs through fields of flowers 

He makes me play Ring a ringa roses 

There is every kind of tulip here 

And the mountains make a divine backdrop to the fields of daffodils 

We buy flowers and even the fakey mc fake windmills make us smile ( seriously we know this is not Holland !!) 

Later that day we meet friends who with their bright red hair are like flowers themselves ( they are online friends from the time when R was born - they are friends from the pre-autism era but have been all very very accepting of Autism ) 

R is so tired at the end of this day .. that he falls asleep half through taking his glasses off 

Our heart are full of the beauty of tulips and daffodils today 

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils. 

William Wordsworth

More on our staycation later ...

Have you ever staycationed - did you like it ?