Noah and Isaac love to wrestle. Isaac is usually the instigator, but Noah usually follows along most willingly.

Isaac decided that is was ON this morning before Noah left for school.

The boys wrestle the most on our 6 foot diameter bean bag called a “Love Sac”. (Yep…you read that right. There used to be a “Love Sac” store at the Florida Mall where you could purchase this as well as an even bigger 8 foot model. Alas, there proved to be a very small market for 6 foot 80 pound bean bags in Central Florida, and the store went bye-bye.)

Our “Love Sac” purchase (funded mostly by my parents) was the first “intervention” money we ever spent on Noah. Noah used to be a big-time sensory-defensive child…a major symptom of his autism. Jumping, swinging, or any sudden movement TERRIFIED him. Even lifting him on to a changing table was cause for great stress and fear. Noah’s first occupational therapist recommended that we invest in one of these “big blobs” (as my niece Hayley refers to it) to work with him at home. There was one at Noah’s therapy center as well.

At first, Noah was content to just sit in the “sac”. Over time, he graduated to allowing us to lightly “drop” him in the sac. Eventually, he jumped willingly onto it and began to climb on it.

Thanks to a combination of Occupational Therapy and Biomedical intervention, Noah has lost most of his sensory defensiveness. Now my struggle is keeping him from his favorite “wild child” activity….standing on the back of our sofa and leaping Jackie Chan style over to the waiting “Love Sac” which sits approximately five feet away.

While we clearly don’t need Noah’s “big blob” for sensory integration therapy anymore, I’ll have a hard time bringing myself to ever get rid of it. It’s a wonderful reminder of how far Noah has come.

I remember walking into the “Love Sac” store that day to buy Noah’s “sac” and having a strange and overwhelming sense of foreboding. I was hit with the reality of having a need for “therapy equipment” for my child….realizing that while most first time moms were busy signing their two year olds up for Gymboree, I was seeking to buy something that MIGHT help Noah learn to swing and play on the playground with the other children. I couldn’t possibly imagine as I stood sad and overwhelmed in that store that day that Noah would one day be wrestling on his “sac” like a wild man with his little brother. It’s more than I ever dared dream of at the time.

He’s come a long way….and I am most blessed.

I spent a good part of my day at the Mouse House.

This morning, while both boys were in school, Dorthy and I went to the Studios to spend a few hours and watch a couple of Doug’s shows. 

It was fun…

….and it was COLD.  Like my toes went numb cold.

Yep. 

Cold. 

I’m such a wussy Floridian. 

Where was I?

Oh….so we saw two shows…had lunch….and met up with Tiffany and her kids to spend a certain little Star Wars fanatic’s birthday money.  Think lots of Boba Fett and light saber type stuff.  Cool. 

We arrived at my parents’ house to pick up the boys mid-afternoon. 

A few hours later, it was back out to Disney with Dorthy and the boys to meet up with Doug’s Aunt Jeannie (his Dad’s sister), who flew into town today.  We had dinner at the Kona Cafe…a fab little restaurant at the Polynesian Resort.  Yummy food and lots of fun was had by all.   After dinner we rode the monorail once around “the circle”.  The boys love, love, love the monorail.  On the way home, it was Magic Kingdom fireworks time, so the boys had fun watching the show from the backseat of the car….we were on a back road behind the park and had a nice view. 

Isaac fell asleep in the car on the way home…and I’m not far behind him.  

Doug, Isaac and I took Dorthy to IKEA this morning. We had lunch in the cafeteria and wandered the store for a few hours. There were really light crowds today…being a weekday and all…so it was an especially fun visit. Isaac loved eating his lunch in the little kids’ seating area.

After we shopped for a while upstairs, Dorthy and I cruised on ahead of Doug and Isaac to explore the kitchen gadgets and textile section downstairs. When Doug was ready to come and find us he told Isaac….”hey…call your Mommy…”. Isaac proceeded to start yelling out…”LISA….LISA…”….Oh my.

They found us.

After a stop at the bistro downstairs for frozen yogurt and a cinnamon roll, we headed home.

I scored two glass storage containers and Isaac came home with a wood train set…courtesy of his Daddy.

Tonight’s activity is dinner out with my parents….and if the weather doesn’t go totally Dorothy and Toto on us….a trip to Target.

How was your day?

Noah jumped on one of the John Deere ride-ons at my parents’ house yesterday and started racing around the yard with Isaac. The boys quickly figured out that running into each other and playing bumper cars is a super fun game.

The “I’m SO not in the mood to spend the night in the E.R., so STOP IT RIGHT NOW” Mommy side of me started to jump out and put a stop to the carnie ride that was springing to life in my parents backyard. I quickly stopped myself when I realized that my boys were playing wonderfully together…having a blast doing “boy stuff”….and really weren’t endangering themselves or the John Deeres.

So…instead of fussing…I ran around the yard and took pictures.  Here’s one just after Noah took a “hit” from Isaac…

Ahhh…..time to relax.

It’s been a really busy couple of days. We had a successful garage sale…in spite of the fact that we were rained out this morning and had to shut down after only two hours.  We sold a lot of stuff and had a lot of fun.  It’s so weird what sells…and what doesn’t.  I didn’t sell any of my baby stuff…which included a really spiffy highchair and some lovely Classic Pooh nursery items.  Go figure….I guess I’m off to consignment land with all of that. 

Doug’s flight out of Louisville was cancelled yesterday morning.  While the weather there was n-a-s-t-y, it was actually a crew shortage that grounded their flight.  Delta taxied the guys to the Cincinnati airport, and put them on an evening flight out.  Doug arrived home almost 12 hours late…but with all of the crazy weather in the Ohio Valley yesterday, we’re just glad that he made it home at all.    

Doug’s mom Dorthy arrived mid-afternoon yesterday.  The boys were very excited to see her.  Since Doug wasn’t home yet, Dorthy and I took the boys out to dinner.  When we got to the restaurant, both of the boys climbed in the booth right beside Dorthy….they had no interest in sitting by me at all….it was all about their “Aamma”. 

This morning after our garage sale closed down early, we came over to my parents’ house to spend the rest of the day.  My parents are really close friends with Dorthy, so they’ve had a great time talking and catching up.  I’ve been shopping for cars online all afternoon and the boys have been playing outside.  Doug will come over after work and we’ll all have dinner together here. 

I was encouraged this morning when Dorthy commented that she can see a big change in Noah from a year ago…lots more talking and more social interaction.  We’ve definitely noticed changes….we’ve had people at church comment in the past few months as well on it….but it was great to hear from someone who hasn’t been around Noah in a while. 

How is your weekend going?