Growing Up

I remember having a conversation with my brother a few years ago about how we couldn't believe how old our kids were getting. And, back then, it hit me that in about 2 or 3 years I would have a kid in middle school. ((Gasp!)) 

See, I don't know if it's like this for every parent who has a kid with Downs. But for me, I don't always think about how old Hayden actually is. Maybe it's because he's physically one age, and developmentally another. But, he's just Hayden. And every once in a while it'll hit me that he's ___ years old and I'm just sitting there like "Omg! In *this many years* he's going to be _____". (Did that make sense at all??)

Well, anyway. We've been prepping for this whole middle school thing for about 6 months, so I've known it was coming. We've tried to make this transition for him as smooth as possible. Last week we even went up to the school and were able to walk around it while there weren't any students so he could kind of take it all in. Partially because it is a new school, which means new teachers and staff, and he doesn't always handle change well. But also because this school is huge - a lot bigger than any other school he's ever attended. 

So yeah, I've *known* this was coming. But I was not(!) ready for it. Not at all.

He is officially in middle school. And I can't believe it.

How did that happen?

This morning I went in to get him up and he was not having it. =) I rubbed his back and told him Good Morning and his response was a very upset groan and "What do you want?! Too early!" Lol And I told him he had to get up for school and after about 5 more minutes of prodding he finally gave up and told me "Oh fine, mom!" and got out of bed. (And I couldn't help but laugh...those teenage years with all their grouchiness are definitely coming.)

Once he was up and had breakfast, he insisted that I help him fix his hair for school. (What is that???) And then his driver came to get him, and off he went....while I stood in the kitchen and tried not to cry.

My baby has left me for middle school. He is definitely not a baby anymore.

Visiting Windsor Castle

Bath Time

So, in case you haven't seen my last few Instagram posts we've been on a mini vacation. Brian suggested the trip a few weeks ago but I was convinced it wouldn't happen when we realized that, oh yeah, we're not in the States. Hotels here aren't as big and don't always accommodate a family of 5 (vs. a family of 4 or less) as easily as ones in the States can. But he made it happen. And off we went...to Bath. (Yay!!)

And as I'm typing this, I'm sitting in bed with the world's most achy muscles. Everything south of my jaw feels like putty. Painful, achy putty. ((What a visual.)) Word of advice: if you ever find yourself on this side of the pond, and in Bath, bring really good shoes. And prep for a good, solid month. Like, hop on a treadmill, put the incline all the way up, and walk on it until it doesn't hurt anymore. Lol

We were not prepared.

We have walked up and down those streets a lot. We parked the car when we got here and then didn't use it again. We walked. And then walked some more. And the icing on the cake was where we've been staying. It was kind of an "off-site" apartment for a B&B. But it was basement level. 

Those stairs terrified me. And after the 4th time we went up and down them, after walking around the entire city, I really thought my legs were just going to fall off. I was exhausted. So were the kids.

Poor Hayden was nodding off while we were ordering our lunch!!

But!! Exhaustion aside...because it has been well worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat...

Our trip has been AMAZING!

We drove out and saw Stonehenge. It's kind of a drive (like 3+ hours) from where we live so we've always hesitated to do it on some random day. But since we were in the area, we figured why not.

Here's the thing about Stonehenge...in case you were wondering. It's cool. It is. You drive out to the site, get your tickets, and ride a tram out to the stones. And you stand there like 'oh wow!' And you take 500 pictures, from every angle, thinking 'I'm really seeing this...like right in front of me'. And that takes maybe 30 minutes. And then you're like 'Ok. Soooo.....Stonehenge.....big rocks......really old.'

The mystery is all gone because they tell you everything you could want to know while you're there (which is super cool). But once you've seen it, you've seen it. 

When we were done with looking & taking pictures, we boarded the tram to go back, and some Buddhist monks got on with us. One sat down next to Hayden. (Do you know where this is going yet?) Hayden sat there the whole ride back, just chatting him up. It was just about the cutest thing ever! (Just about as fabulous as seeing Stonehenge.)

The next day we decided to do the city of Bath in one day. One. (We're courageous like that.) There are no words for Bath. It's so beautiful. Just absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful! Probably the most gorgeous place I've ever seen.

We've seen so much! There was a lot that we didn't get to see because there just wasn't enough time, but we still accomplished a lot in one day. 

The Pulteney Bridge

The Bath Abbey

The park in the middle of the Crescent

The Royal Victoria Park

The Circus

The Old Roman Bath House

When we weren't off walking around looking at everything we could, we were off walking and looking for food. =) We told the kids that we enforcing a strict rule of "step out of the box" while we were on this trip. We were going to eat something new at every restaurant. They did not take this well at all! Especially when we took them to a Nepalese place for dinner. Or when we had Thai but told them they couldn't have their normal dishes. But they suffered through (ha!) and actually enjoyed themselves.

And when we weren't off doing any of that?? Well...

Do you see Makenzie?? She's hiding behind the pillows that Kierstin is laying next to.

Kierstin didn't know she was there. She thought I was taking pictures of her being silly.

So yes, fabulous trip! And I am super sad to have to get back to the real world. The one where I have to do dishes and wash laundry and all that boring stuff. 

But! Now, I am off to bed. Because I am really tired and we still have more to do on the way back to the east side of the island. (Read that as: more walking. Send up prayers for me and my putty-filled legs.)

So much love my sweets! I hope your weekend is kicking off to a wonderful start! <3

I've Been Waiting for this Day

So right about now you're probably like "hang on, she's already posting something again?" I know. I'm sporadic. But I like to keep people guessing. (That's not really why.)

Actually. We had a big day in the world 'o Hayden yesterday. Like big. Huge. And I am excited. (Hence my use of underlining everything!!!!)

But before I tell you all about it, you have to know something first - you may not think it's a big deal. I'm ok with that. Really, I am. Because, for me, it was a really BIG deal.

10 years ago (like maybe 10 years ago right about now I think) we took Hayden and Kierstin to get their picture taken.

Cute right?

Well, that day was the last time he ever stepped foot inside a barber shop. He couldn't handle the noise or the feeling of getting his hair cut or something. ((It goes along with his problems with fireworks and other noises...which is really a story for another day.)) But, anyway, after that, he couldn't handle it. For better or worse (and sometimes a lot worse), we started cutting his hair at home. 

Until now. <---------

A few weeks ago, Brian found out that the barber shop he goes to also works with a local special needs school to cut hair for people with Downs and Autism. (Yay!!!!) So we talked to Hayden about it over and over and over again to get him ready. And then we took him. (Sink or swim time!!)

He did so good!!! There aren't words to express how well he did. He kept still. He didn't cry or scream. He just let her cut his hair. We did get a running commentary of "ohmygod!...that feels weird...". Lol But he just did so so so good! 

And it looks good! (Way better than anything Brian or I could do...because you know, for all the great things about YouTube, it just can't really teach you to cut hair)

I can't believe he starts middle school soon!! :(

But he does look so nice!!

I am one proud mama y'all! 

And again, I know it's hard for me to explain sometimes exactly why this is a big deal - taking my kid to the barber. But believe me, it is. I wasn't sure that day would ever come. I wasn't sure that he would ever be ok with the noise, or that he'd ever be able to stop fidgeting. But he did. He's growing up and we're learning how to help him through the hard stuff. 

It was a big day!

Space, the Final Frontier

Have you been having a wonderful week? I really hope so. I am (finally) back in school and I have spent most of the last week studying. I do enjoy being back in school, but studying with the kids at home always proves to be a bit of a challenge. Lol

Yesterday, though, I took a much needed entertainment break. We piled in the van with our wonderful friends, Mani & Amy, and headed out to the UK's National Space Center in Leicester. (Which, by the way, is pronounced "Lester". Don't say it "Lye-chester". That annoys the people there and makes you look weird. Not that I would know anything about that.)

The kids had tons of fun! And Miss Kierstin was in space-nerd heaven! (Lol!!) They got to look at all kinds of different suits that the astronauts wear. They were able to walk through a replica of the Columbus module at the International Space Station. They learned about the different planets and their rotations around the sun. And we even learned about the search for aliens. =) There was a planetarium show (narrated by Rupert Grint...a.k.a Ron from Harry Potter...which the kids thought was extra cool) that talked about finding life on other planets. And after it was all over they even got to try some astronaut ice cream (which they really liked).

It was pretty awesome!

Walking into a planetary exhibit

Learning about NASA's Space Shuttle Program

Playing inside a module replica

Inside the Columbus module replica

Kierstin is making herself look like an alien

After the Space Center closed, we found a fabulous little Italian restaurant called Altro Mondo, and had the most amazing dinner ever. It really was. If we ever happen to find ourselves out that way again, I'm going back. The food was so super tasty and the staff was fabulous. (Our chef even came out to the table. I'm nerdy enough that I didn't think that was a real thing.)

We finally had to head back home though. (Sad, right? I know.) It was even more sad when we got home and the world's largest spider was hanging out on my living room wall. Well, to be fair, it wasn't really the largest spider ever. But it was still really big. It's leg span was probably bigger than the palm of my hand. (Creepy!!) And it had NO intentions of leaving. Every time Brian tried to knock it off the wall, it moved out the way *just* in time, finally going behind the tv. I'm sure it thought it would be safe behind the tv. (Ha ha, not so much.)

This is what Brian resorted to so he could save me from the gigantic spider. I refused to go to bed until it was gone because I was absolutely certain that I would wake up in the middle of the night and find it in our bed. (Like it was just plotting some kind of revenge or something.)

But! Giant spiders aside, yesterday was great. The kids had a wonderful time walking through the Space Center and learning about everything. And I do love watching their little eyes light up over things like that. And if the universe is listening, I would really love to know what it is I'm doing to keep attracting giant weirdo spiders. (Remind me sometime to tell you the story of the banana spider circa 2007.) I'd really like them to go away.

I hope you're having a wonderful weekend! <3 Much love!

Adventures in Cambridge

So imagine our surprise when we left Florida, moved thousands of miles away, and still couldn't escape Hurricane Madness! (What??) Joke's on us, I guess. We are actually sitting through some kind of cast off storms or something from Hurricane Bertha. The rain has been crazy, and we're even getting marble-sized hail.

Fun!!

And, of course, I'm the crazy ex-Floridian who was out getting groceries in it this morning. (I really thought the bagger guy at the commissary was going to throw a tantrum.)

Anyway! We've been watching the weather and knew this was coming so we took advantage of the sunny pre-hurricane weather yesterday and went to Cambridge. (Super yay!!) The kids needed shoes and it was market day so it promised to be fun.

Market days are always amazing

And as a really fun treat for the kids, courtesy of some amazing people, we took them to Build-a-Bear. Ohmycheese! That place is crazy fun! The people who work there (or at least at the one in Cambridge) are fabulous! They were super patient with the kids and so helpful. We've been into a lot of kids stores where the employees were just there to get through the day and get paid. But these guys were seriously amazing! (Have I said that already?) They seem to really enjoy their job (or at least are really good at faking it).

Gathering around to see how it happens

Giving his bear a bath. So cute!

Trying to decide if her bear needs a car. 

Always a tough decision.

With all their new bears!

**Thanks Auntie Amy and Uncle Mani! They are super happy and had a blast!!**

All in all, it was a great Saturday which we finished off with homemade burgers and introducing the kids to the new-ish Superman movie. That kind of became the highlight of my night. When Lois Lane asks him what the "S" stands for, Makenzie jumped up and goes "oh, strawberries!" I laughed for a solid 5 minutes. 

So that was our Saturday. And now we're back living like Floridians, with candles ready in case the electricity decides to keep going out (it's already decided to go out a few times). And waiting for the storms to pass. Good times, y'all. Good times!

Hope everything is peachy in your neck of the woods. And that you're staying dry. =) 

Much love <3