#TravelingWithDC - Christmas Quick Trips

DC loves Christmas as much as he loves Halloween.

He loves getting to see Santa, but even more than Santa, he LOVES the rare occasions when he gets to see Mrs. Claus.

His Mrs. Claus cup runneth over this year.....

Me, not having the happiest year this year, needed a boost and set out looking for some Christmas Spirit. Although, I did not really find it - DC sure did.
It was enough for me just seeing him enjoying himself so much and all of the Mrs. Claus sightings certainly added to his excitement about Christmas coming.

Below are a few Facebook posts along with some photos of our journeys this Christmas season (and maybe a little bit before the season)

Our first Christmas-themed trip was accidental. We decided to visit the Yankee Candle Village in South Deerfield, MA. We did not know that we would find Christmas, but find it we did.

Trees, lights and snow.

There was singing in the snow......

And.... the first Mrs. Claus sighting of the year!
Thinking he was going to be disappointed that Santa was not there - she apologized and told him that Santa was busy at the factory. Little did she know that Mrs. Claus beats Santa anytime in DC's book.

There was lots to see and still enough time to take in a show - a quick one.

Thanksgiving was spent in the Essex, CT area but Christmas was already all around..

No trip is ever complete without a book store visit.

December hit and even after a full month of sappy Hallmark Christmas movies under my belt, the spirit was eluding me. So we took a trip to Mystic, CT for the Christmas Fair.

DC's first meeting with Santa of the season. Santa was unprepared for the big hug he received!

Then he spotted Mrs. Claus! She got an even bigger hug! The icing on the cake!

There were elves, carolers and llamas wandering about. There was music, magic

 and an Alice In Wonderland Tea Shop and Store.

There was of course a visit to a book store but I forgot to take a photo.

Treats; we can not forget the treats with hot chocolate.

DC, of course was full of Christmas Spirit by now. I, on the other hand was not.... but it was still enjoyable watching him get so excited.

We planned a weekend in Sturbridge Village the weekend before Christmas, but there was a big storm. Luckily we were able to cancel and re-book for the following weekend. This would mean we would be away on Christmas Eve, Eve and Christmas Eve Day. We would have to rush home for Christmas Eve night at my mother's house. It would be a little bit rushed, but we decided to book it.

I am glad we did. DC had the best time!

It was just beginning to get crowded when we arrived so one of the workers told us that we would have better luck if we followed the map backwards and went to see Santa first. Later the wait would be hours long. We took that advice and headed straight for Santa.

Santa spent quite a long time with DC -, so much time that I was beginning to get nervous that we were holding up the line. DC was thrilled.

Next, we visited the Talking Tree - he got a big kick out of that.

But he was a little preoccupied by a sign he noticed on the way up to see Santa so that HAD to be our next stop. He was not going to wait any longer.

His THIRD visit with Mrs. Claus this year!

One Happy Guy, right there.

The rest of the Village was "A Christmas Carole" inspired. We watched the lighting of the tree, Carolers were singing. DC met the Ghost of Christmas Present and actually asked him a question instead of his usual reciting of movie lines.

He was not willing to try a sampling of the Cratchit Family Christmas Dinner, though.

"No, No. No! I didn't! No, I don't like it!"

At the Bonfire - "Mom, I am getting very nervous about this!"

Yes, of course. Didn't you know? Couldn't you guess? There were .......

BOOKS!

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

'Fanksgiving"

A Few Facebook Statuses and the excitement around Thanksgiving.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


We were away for the weekend which was all I heard about during the weeks beforehand.

In the car on the way home, Thanksgiving kicked in:

Sunday, November 20, 2016

"DC: Mom I am so exciting for Fanksgiving - 'We are planning the greatest celebration ever' ~ Lumiere 
#ItsWhatsNext #DisneyLinesThatFit 

From: Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step 

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And so it began......

(understand that you are getting the condensed version - in reality 'Fanksgiving' talk and reminders came all day, every day)

All Week at random intervals

"Fanksgiving is coming soon"

"Fanksgiving on Firsday"

"Fansgiving coming on Firsday, PLEASE!"

and so on...
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Tuesday November 22, 2016

Knowing that I am tired of hearing that he is 'exciting' for 'Fanksgiving' and 'Fanksgiving' is coming soon, every five minutes - he decided to switch it up:
Mom! 'DC' (he rarely uses I or Me) is 'filled with excitement' for Firsday with my fam-ill- leeee. 
(Filled with excitement - Cinderella - which version, I do not know.)
#thanksgiving #AllRoadsLeadToDisney

From: Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step

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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Dc just walked in the door. He's no longer talking about 'Fanksgiving' - he has resorted to just pointing at the date on the calendar until I confirm... 
One......More......Night of this and it's over until he finishes eating tomorrow when he will move on to "going home on Friday" and then on to Christmas is coming soon 24/7

From Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step

Wednesday November 23, 2016: Evening

"To the people" Happy Thanksgiving from DC and me. 
He'll be having Turkey (a leg, because..... bones - there must be bones) a 'roll' of bread (or a loaf of bread) and pumpkin pie!

(Pumpkin pie being something he thinks he is supposed to say; he opted for the chocolate cake)

From Facebook Statuses at Take Another

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Thanksgiving: Thursday, November 24, 2016

From Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step

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Thanksgiving Afternoon - Thursday, November 24, 2016

As predicted... dinner over ....
"Mom, we are going back home on Friday" - repeat, every half hour. 

From Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step

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We arrived home less than a half hour ago...
"Mom! I am so exciting for Christmas is coming soon!"
#ItsWhatsNext

From Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step


Hope you all had a very happy holiday!

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In case you are new here: “I tell stories, most of the time; single individual stories about this or that. Some may be written with humor and some may come across as “Oh, look at the cute thing DC did or said” (he does crack me up at times) but my object is always to make people understand how his mind works, never to "make fun of him"

It is difficult to explain “his” autism to anyone without resorting to 1000 examples and 1000 stories. So I tell 1000 stories to make clear that there are other sides to autism than the characters seen in TV or movies."

This blog is generally used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

The Election and a Parenting Fail

Like most of you, I was up most of the night. I stayed up until the bitter end. 

This morning DC asked me if I was happy, which is something that he does often - he wants to make sure everyone is happy. 

But he kept asking... so I tried to explain the election to him.

Because I know there is a lot more going on in his head than he can communicate, I always do try to explain everything he seems to have a question about. I do try to explain elections, the president etc every time they come around. Usually he is with me when we go to vote. I don't know how much he understands but I always try to explain. 

I started by telling him I was disappointed (I did not want to say that I was not happy as that just upsets him) about the election. I was not going to go into great detail, I was just going to say that I was disappointed because our new President is not always a very nice man. Instead I  proceeded to burst into tears just trying to explain it to that beautiful innocent face looking at me. 

I should have waited to talk about it. I did not realize I would get that emotional. It was not my intention to present it that way to him. 

We will have a lot more talking to do ....... 

I did get a big hug and a "Don't be sad, Mom" i thanked him for making me feel better so here's hoping that he won't be worried or nervous.

That's my job.

From Facebook Page Statuses at Take Another Step
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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

Bananas......

Yesterday I was informed many times that we were "out of 'abanas'". If you follow this page at all you know this always seems to be thing. Yes we are out of bananas quite often because bananas are not something I can buy in large quantities ahead of time and save. They go bad too quickly.
So.... we are out of 'abanas' a lot. It can't be helped.

Yesterday, we also had to attend his Best Buddies walk and I made the mistake of telling him that we would stop at the grocery store on the way home from the walk.

That was all he could think about....

He had a good time walking but as soon as the actual walking part of the day was done, he wanted to leave. He wanted to go shopping. His Buddies and I talked him into staying a little while longer and he did allow himself to have some fun.

They decorated a pumpkin. They went on a hay ride. They danced to the music. Even though he was having fun, he must have mentioned "shopping" to his buddies, more than once. I am sure he made it sound like we would be shopping for something very important - like a car or furniture.

One of his Buddies asked me what we would be shopping for since DC was so excited about it.

Imagine my embarrassment when I had to tell her that this big exciting  shopping trip was just to get  groceries and yes, he gets this excited about grocery shopping all of the time.

I swear this child is not starving......

#ISwearHeIsNotStarving


From Facebook Page Statuses at Take Another Step

For more on the 'Abana' battles:


Last night, DC came home from his after-camp program and gave me a hug. A few minutes later when I was standing at the kitchen counter, he decided he needed another hug. Not all that weird, he loves hugs but he just had one just a few minutes earlier. While he was giving me this second hug he says
Mom, we are out of 'a-banas'. 
Apparently I was blocking the corner where the bananas are kept and he needed to give me a hug so he could see behind me. 
#OutOfBananasAgain#IReallyHaveToLoseSomeWeightIfPeopleCantSeeAroundMe

Facebook Page Status at Take Another Step

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DC is at a party with his Dad today (and might I point out it is Sunday and yes, there is cake) - While I was in the grocery store, his Aunt (His Dad's sister) texted me a few photos of DC at the party. Since I was in the store to get his bananas, I decided to text her a pic so she could tell him that I have them, so he didn't have to worry about his 'a-bannas' any more....
DC has radar. He knows when I have been shopping even if there is no evidence left out to indicate that I have been to the store - he just knows and instinctively starts going through cabinets, the 'refig-a-lator', and freezer to see just what is there for him.
He is so good that one day I hid something in a cabinet; one that I never hide things in and one that he never goes in because it has the glasses that he doesn't like in it. But he came home with his staff, Elizabeth and went directly to that cabinet and found what I had hidden. Elizabeth just stood there with her mouth open in disbelief. He's THAT good.
I am sure he will still do some inventory when he gets home but knowing that the bananas are here might make it go a bit faster...

From Facebook Page Status at Take Another Step

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A few times that I have dropped the ball...

Facebook Page Status at Take Another Step

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From Facebook Page Statuses at Take Another Step

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

All questions are usually answered with a "Yes"

(unless you ask him if he is ready to go to bed or if he wants something like spinach - you may get a "No" on the first try)

Verbal vs. Communication -

I have said many times before that although DC is verbal, communication is difficult for him.

There are times when he just does not understand the question. The concept of who, what, where, when and how is difficult for him.

There are times when he is just too distracted and gives a random answer to a question.

There are times when he is just tired of the questions and will say anything to make them stop.

The one constant with DC is that just about every question is answered with a "Yes" and once in awhile a "Great!" the first time the question is asked.

Questions almost always have to be asked more than once to get his attention, but asking too many times leads him to believe that he has gotten the answer wrong and will change it. It's a thin line.

Therefore it is always really hard to determine which if any of the answers he gives are correct.

We attended a Best Buddies Walk yesterday - DC's regular Buddy was going to be late but his new Buddy and a friend were coming to walk with him. It was getting late and DC was nervous that they were not coming so I told him not to worry - I would walk with him until they arrived. Well they arrived just in time but because I said I would walk with him, I was required to walk with them. So as not to cramp his style, I walked a little bit behind.

Listening to the conversation DC was having with his Best Buddies during the walk today (one is brand new so she was asking him lots of questions)

Buddy: Do you have any pets, DC?

DC: yes

Buddy: what kind of pets?

DC: Puppies 

 (He doesn't)

Buddy: DC do you like sports?

DC: yes 

(Debatable)

Buddy: Do you play football?

DC: yes  

(No - NEVER!)

Buddy: are you a quarter back?

 DC: yes 

(No) 

Buddy: what other sports do you like?

 DC: basketball 

So pretty much, she learned no new information at all about DC and what she did learn was pretty much entirely made up.

 From: Facebook Statuses at Take Another Step

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

Lorne, Spike and Angel - Facebook Memories

7 years ago today - DC as Lorne.

First: No glasses!

The only time he'll remove his glasses other than for sleeping and showering is to have his picture taken on Halloween.

It is always amazing to me just how many other things, clothes, tags, textures, etc. bother him but he will sit though all of this! When he wants to be a character, he wants to go all the way. Loving Halloween as much as I do, I'm perfectly willing to oblige.


No, I did not notice that I put one horn on upside down until I looked at the pictures later.... #MyBad


Lorne was a continuation of our "Angel" theme.

Other notable characters include:

2009 - Spike, but specifically Spike from the "Smile Time Episode" where Angel is turned into a puppet,

This was the very first year that DC was able to participate in the Halloween Parade at his High School. He was so excited to march that he jumped the gun and was marching half a field ahead of the rest of the students proudly waving his Angel puppet.
This photo was taken as we where trying to get his attention to tell him he had to wait for his class.

"You're a bloody puppet! You're a wee little puppet man!"

and in 2010, of course...... Angel himself for a Best Buddies party....

"We help the helpless"

From Face Book Page Statuses at Take Another Step

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

Not so "Good Vibrations

There is a space between the kitchen counter and the stove where, this morning DC dropped his toothbrush.

He uses one of those 3 sided brushes but he also uses a vibrating brush (he was used to using that before I introduced the 3 sided so now he uses both - and yes, he brushes his teeth in the kitchen; that's what works for him - don't judge).

So this thing is stuck there and because it vibrates, is making an awful noise. I was trying to get ready for work and could not move the stove - although I did try. So I told him we would have to leave it there and ask Doug to come over later to get it.

Even though neither of us would be home to listen to it - leaving it there and knowing that we were leaving it there was making DC very anxious all morning. He was still anxious when he left for work. I am hoping it does not ruin his whole day because I know that it certainly could.

Although DC "works from a script" when he calls me after work to tell me he is in the car and "Going home nooowwww" - I can almost guarantee that he will go off script and this toothbrush incident will be the very first thing he asks about. (Hopefully the batteries will die before we get home).

From Facebook Page Statuses on Take Another Step

Update: I was shocked that he did not mention the toothbrush during his phone call to me after work. He did mention it as soon as he got home - thankfully it had stopped vibrating by then.

I told him we would have to wait about an hour for Doug to come over. By the time Doug had arrived, I was almost convinced that DC had forgotten all about it and was considering just leaving it there until the next time we had to move the stove (I don't know what the official rule is for cleaning under the stove and refrigerator but I do try to do it at least once a year - which I am sure is not nearly enough). But then I started to think about all of the times I thought he had forgotten about something only to be woken up in the middle of the night to hear about it when he suddenly remembered and was just about to ask Doug to move the stove when DC came out with

"Doug! We have to get the toothbrush in the stove! We have to get the toothbrush!"

• Stove moved
• Toothbrush retrieved 
• Explained that he could not use it anymore and I would get a new one
• Toothbrush thrown away
• Missing muffin pan located
• Cleaned floor while the stove was pulled out

Mission accomplished.....

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

Be careful what you wish for...

3 years ago today DC was so excited to find a princess at a dance he attended. 

She was shy at first, especially with Robin Hood stimming wildly 3 inches from her face. 

When I got him to calm down and act like a 'Jet-tle-man' (DC speak) she decided that he was going to spend every moment of this dance with her. 

They danced a bit but she was happiest marching around the perimeter of the gym and dragging him with her. 

The princess holding on to his arm got old with DC very quickly, but he would not say anything to her - he never says anything to anyone who is doing something that bothers him, he always looks to me to do it. 

With each lap, he would look to me to save him. I wanted him to try to handle it himself so I told him that he should just tell her that he didn't want her to hold his arm for awhile - he wouldn't... 

As they were coming around to where I was sitting once again - he looked over at me and yelled:

"Mom! My arm is bothering you!!!"

and at that point I had to intervene (as did her mother) - 

DC went on to dance with his friends and never even looked in the direction of the princess he'd been so excited about earlier. I guess this is a case of being careful what you wish for.....


From Facebook Page Statuses at Take Another Step

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This blog is used for shorter posts and longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time

40 degrees and cold cuts

DC had an activity scheduled today with his ARC friends. A picnic at the beach. He went with Doug so I could stay home and put his room back together to make room for all of the things I had to buy for him (that I would have bought eventually , just not all at the same time - see latest blog post if you missed that saga).
The only problem I have with these activities is when there is food involved, they don't tell you what is being served ahead of time.
Looking at him, you would probably not guess that he is an extremely picky eater, but he is.
The first message and picture I received was <Insert sarcasm font> "DC is having a great time at the beach - 40 degrees and windy" - but he was steeping up and not complaining too much.

The next was about the food - sandwiches, cold cuts and the dreaded pickle... which he was refusing to eat.
The next pic was of DC holding the sandwich and looking at it - so there was hope!

The next message was that HE ATE IT! ALL OF IT! Ham and cheese! Yay!


He did not eat the dreaded pickle, however but that is no problem at all...

From FaceBook Page Statuses at Take Another Step

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This blog is used to copy my posts (as back-up) from my official site and also for longer Facebook statuses. Please visit my official blog site at: Taking it a Step at a Time