Fun at the city's holiday festival

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is my city's holiday festival each year. We live in Arizona, so the weather is always nice, but with a crispy chill in the air.

The kids loved the bouncy houses, clowns and balloon animals. And of course we stopped for funnel cakes and cheesy fries. My husband and I felt very old because the "oldies" cover band was playing music from your teenage years. We absolutely embarrassed our children by singing along.

Boo was extra excited because a local herpetological society brought lots of snakes, lizards, alligators and tortoises to check out. We got to pet an alligator!

Another highlight is the living statue, who lets the kids paint her dress every year. They always look forward to it.

Finally, I got what I required of everyone - a photo with Santa. My eldest is 9 and I couldn't help but wonder how long he is going to let me insist on a Santa picture.

We followed up the event the following week by taking my two littlest to a cookies and crafts with Santa event, where they got to meet the big guy again.

Boo is on the fence about Santa this year, and is determined to convince my 6yo daughter that he doesn't exist. He asked for a remote controlled scorpion, thinking such things don't exist so that he could prove that Santa isn't real either. But this mamma indeed found that remote control scorpion online and it will be in front of the tree!

I'm so thankful that my city has such great events for the kids. I know a lot of people don't take advantage of them or even know what's going on in their area! If you visit your city's website, you can find most activities on the parks and recreation page or city calendar. Also, there are a lot of local mom blogs, such as Macaroni Kid, that have great calendars of fun family activities.

I hope everyone has a fun and happy holiday season!

Thanksgiving lunch at school

Every year the elementary school hosts Thanksgiving lunch a week before the holiday. You go during the assigned time for your youngest child (they call the older ones down from their classroom to eat during that hour).

Because I have a first grader, we got to eat this feast at 10:45 a.m. And while the food left a lot to be desired, the company was top notch.

My kids were so excited that mommy came to their school. They showed me all their artwork and introduced me to their friends. And when it was time to go to class, my youngest held my hand until we reached the door and had to be separated.

I snuck an apple into their backpacks so they could have a snack later in the day after eating that early, but all in all, it was a wonderful day.

Trick or Treating Tips for Sensory Kids

This cowboy hat lasted 10 minutes

“I want to be a raptor!” These were the words that started the Halloween anxiety for me this year. Like every sensory processing disorder family- every holiday is tough to navigate.

Halloween just adds an extra level of stress because of costumes. SPD kids are VERY sensitive about what they wear, and sometimes they have big dreams for what they want to be, but their costume only lasts about one minute on Halloween.

My son hates masks. He went as Hulk one year and after ten minutes became Bruce Banner in the process of changing into the Hulk, with a Hulk body and a regular human head.
So this year when he wanted to be “Blue,” the raptor from Jurassic World, I groaned inwardly.

We had seen the raptor masks at Comic Fest and on Youtube. They make real screeching velociraptor sounds! They also weigh, a lot. I knew we would probably end up with a half human/half raptor hybrid on Halloween, and that’s okay.

But then when we were in Target – we saw it. A “Blue” onsie pajama with a hood. And that hood was a raptor head, teeth included. “Momma? Can you wear pajamas as a Halloween costume?”

Heck yes you can!

And now my son can be what he wants and be comfortable, which is a rare treat.
I know a lot of other SPD families will be hitting the streets for some trick-or-treating this week, so I thought I would share a few tips on making it as easy on your kiddo as possible.

Hooded onsies are our friends.

1. Try on your costume ahead of time and have a backup. You don’t want to wait until the day of Halloween to find out a costume is too itchy, or too loose, or too tight, or whatever their sensory issue is with it. We usually spend a couple of hours in costume the weekend before to get comfortable in it and make any changes if needed. Also, on the day of they may decide they don’t like wearing it, so we have back up options available.  With the amount of cute hooded onsie pajamas and hooded sweatshirts on hand, I have plenty of alternatives that could pass as costumes but not bother people who are judgmental toward kids not in costume and are completely oblivious to special needs. (That’s a whole different rant)
2. You don’t need to coordinate their costume all the way down to their shoes and socks – let them war their comfy favorites. They will walk much farther if you do. 
3. Bring a back up adult. I know this one is tough on single parents. My husband worked the night shift for several years and I’ve done a lot of solo Halloweens. But I always have asked a family member or close friend (who is not there with their own kids), to come with if possible in case my sensory guy needs a break or more time between houses. That way his siblings can still trick or treat without having to stop. 
4. Pack a flashlight and noise cancelling headphones. Dark spaces and loud noises – oh my! It’s best to have the tools to combat those situations on hand. I also usually bring his favorite stuffy or sweatshirt as a comfort item if needed. 
5. Have a game plan. We don’t just walk around willy-nilly. I lay out exactly what streets we are going down. If we are feeling good and can do more, great, but if we need to stop, it doesn’t feel like a failure if we’ve hit our plan. 
6. Bring a back up candy carrier. One year the handle on the pumpkin bucket dug into my son’s skin uncomfortably. Another year, he was flinging it around while sensory seeking and it broke. I usually keep a couple of plastic bags in my purse, just in case. 
7. There will be candy they don’t like – so you need to warn them of that ahead of time, so you can prevent comments of disgust to the nice people handing it out! He is old enough now that he knows that he can trade or give away, but it was a little dicey at the beginning. Sensory kiddos are so finicky sometimes, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to Halloween candy. 

I’m sure there are plenty more tips, but these are just a few based on what we’ve experienced. In our world, talking about what to expect as much as possible with our son before going trick-or-treating makes all the difference.

Have a fun and happy Halloween!

2 Days at Disneyland

We just got back from our quick two-day trip to Disneyland over Fall Break – and we had a blast.  

For the first time, we used a travel agency, Get Away Today, to book our trip. This took a lot of the planning details off my shoulders, and we got some discounts. And the coolest feature was that we could put our vacation on layaway a few months prior and make payments. This was a great way to budget out our trip.

We opted to stay in the Fairfield Inn across the street from Disneyland, which is the closest we’ve ever been. Through the deal with the travel agency, our parking fees were covered, and the Pizza Hut offered buy one adult meal, get a kid’s meal for 99 cents!

Another benefit was that there was a McDonalds and Panera Bread on the walk to Disneyland, which considerably cut down our meal costs.

The first night there we spent time in Downtown Disney and had dinner at the Goofy’s Kitchen buffet, so the kids could meet some characters. I didn’t expect the boys (age 7 and 9) to be into it as much as our 6yo, but they were just as excited as her to see the characters. Pluto was their favorite. The food on the buffet was amazing, and really the only negative thing I could say about this restaurant is that the restrooms are outside of it in the Disneyland Hotel, so make sure your little ones go before you are seated. We had to make several trips and it took a lot of time. I was always worried they were going to miss a character they were waiting for.

The next morning, we tackled Disneyland. We only had two day passes that were one park per day, not park hoppers, so we had to pack a lot in each day. The first thing we did was stop by City Hall and pick up a Disability Access Pass for Boo. This allows him to wait for rides the same as everyone else, just not in line.  So if the line for Haunted Mansion was 30 minutes long, we got his card checked in and watched the ducks in Rivers of America until our time was up. I will probably do a later blog post about this program, but I wanted to say how wonderful it was. It taught him that he doesn’t get instant gratification to ride things because of his disability, but it made things more accessible to him, so we didn’t have meltdowns in crowded lines. And it was all tied to his ticket now, so on most rides it just looked like he was using a fast pass. 

I would like it known that I climbed Tarzan's Treehouse with my kids, and my legs may never recover.

Speaking of Fast Pass, we opted to pay the extra $10 per ticket for the MaxPass, which meant we could schedule fast passes on the app. And included in that cost was a digital copy of all the photo opp pictures we took (yay for mom actually being in vacation pictures), even our terrified ride photos. The combination of the two features made it worth the cost, in our opinion.

We also used the app to do the mobile ordering feature for lunch, which really cut down the wait time for food. This was a godsend for a family with a kiddo that has special needs.

We rode plenty of rides – and our kids spent a little of their gift cards we had given them in the Star Wars store. Boo was picked to be the rebel spy on Star Tours and he yelled “this is all my fault” for the entire rest of the ride. And of course, we had some churros.

The highlight of the day was riding Big Thunder Mountain, because my two littlest were way to short last time to ride it and they had been waiting for years. They loved it so much.

We took a break at our hotel for some rest and pizza before heading back to the park at night to ride a few more things, including the “fast train” again.

The next morning, we started our journey in California Adventure. We had a fast pass for Radiator Springs Racers, another first for the two littlest, so we waited in line for the two smaller rides in Cars Land first.

Then we hit up Pixar Pier. My oldest was too nervous to ride the Incredicoaster, so we waited for our pass to ride Toy Story Mania to be ready. We had some ice cream and then we got to meet Woody! Then we rode on the giant ferris wheel – which will now be referred to as the “wheel of doom.” My kids begged to go on the swinging one, and because of my husband’s weight it swung like crazy and we all thought we were going to die! The kids were screaming so bad, the ride staff let us out after only one rotation. Next time we will going for a non-swinging one.

We ate some lunch (again with the mobile ordering app) at my husband’s favorite – The Corndog Castle, and then took a break for a couple of hours at the hotel.

We came back for Soarin' (which the kis thought was the best ride ever), some dinner in Cars Land, and one more ride on Radiator Springs Racers. This was the only real meltdown Boo had on the trip, because he was tired, and the park was packed with people. He had enough at that point and just dropped to the ground. Not safe because he could get trampled, so I picked him up and did a guided walk with him. We found a quiet corner in Flo’s Diner and he was able to calm down while I did mobile ordering. In this instance, that app feature was so valuable because I could make sure my whole family got fed, but Boo could sit in a quiet place and not have to stand in the loud line.

After dinner, he was back to his happy self and ready to ride his favorite ride. Because of Boo’s sensory issues, fast rides are really soothing to him.

We spent the rest of our gift card money, bought some Halloween cake pops at the bakery, and said goodbye to California Adventure. We were all exhausted by the time our head hit our pillows that night.

It was a great trip, as we hadn’t gone in four years and we were going through Disney withdrawals. But we did learn that we need more time and flexibility – a few more days and park hopper options – to make it a better trip for Boo. Cramming all that into two days was really tough on his system. The other kids were exhausted too and were sad they didn’t get more time in the pool because we were focused on Disneyland. 

But it was all worth it. Boo's excitement to meet his best pal Woody for the first time. Our 6yo Tink holding her daddy's hand and skipping excitedly to the Disney music as we entered the park. Superboy, age 9, discovering the excitement of thrill rides and asking what was the next one after getting off Space Mountain. These are memories we will keep forever.

We’re already planning for a longer trip back next fall break! I can almost smell the churros already! 

Packing for your special kiddo

We are going to Disneyland! It’s been four years since our last trip and we are beyond excited to take a couple of days this month to go back.

The packing process is tough for anyone with kids but having a neuro-divergent munchkin adds a little bit more planning to the mix. Any kind of trip throws a wrench in his routine, so we try to bring as many comforts from home as possible to make things a bit easier. He loves Disneyland and we want him and his brother and sister to have as much fun as possible on this trip.

Here are some things to think about when packing for a theme park vacation with a special kiddo:

Comfy clothes 

My son has sensory processing disorder, so there are certain clothes he will not wear, some he tolerates, and some are his favorites. Because he is going into an overly-stimulating environment, I’m going to pack all his favorite, comfortable clothes. And of course, his best Jurassic World underwear. You can’t go anywhere without that.

Medications

We have a whole regime of meds we must keep track of for both the adults and one of the kids, so we need to make sure all the prescriptions are filled before we go, and that I have them sorted by morning, noon and night. And I need to  to keep some in my purse for that lunchtime dose since we will probably be eating in the theme park.

Bedtime routine items 

I know by age 7 most kids can use alternate blankets and don’t need their stuffed animals, but neuro-divergent kids cling to their routine. So, I need to pack those key items, so we can all get some sleep.

White noise machine 

Hotels are loud places and having a white noise machine helps drown out some of the loud footsteps and late-night chatter that can keep sensitive ears awake.

Noise cancelling headphones 

Speaking of sensitive ears, it’s great to have some noise canceling headphones on hand for fireworks, parades, and any other times of day when the noise gets to be just too much.

Food and drinks 

I pack my purse with a few granola bars and other snacks I know my son will eat in case we have some food struggles in the food park. It’s also good to have some of their favorite comfort food items in the hotel room for wake-up and bedtimes to help calm things down if you cannot get to a restaurant for a while. I also bring plenty of bottles of water for bedtime drinks. You'd be surprised how comforting some water in your favorite cup can be at bedtime after a long sensory overloaded day.

What about you? What are some of the things you absolutely cannot leave behind for your kiddos when traveling to Disneyland or on other vacations?

I watched The Meg for my son

The kids are back in school, and as long as I follow Movie Pass' strange schedule, I can catch a movie here and there during the day.

I had a couple of choices of films to go see, but I chose The Meg because my kid begged me too. Now, I know this seems weird that I would base my choice for MY alone and recharge time on something my son wants, but he is too young to see that movie and he is obsessed with monster movies and sharks. So I went.

It was pretty much what I expected - an over-the-top action movie that was highly entertaining. I mean, OF COURSE the only way for them to get the tracker in the shark is if Jason Statham swam out alone close to it.

But overall, it was a fun time. I laughed, I jumped, I did not cry. And my children made me narrate the movie to them word for word.

Back to school

My littles went back to school this week! Thankfully, we got everything done that we needed to do.

But the past week was crazy busy.

• Annual checkups - all kids growing according to their age chart, which is always a relief when you have tiny children. 
• Eye exams and new glasses for the boys. And Boo has sensory issues, so he got bonus points on his behavior sheet for wearing his glasses for an hour each day. By the time he started school, he was comfortable wearing them. As opposed to last year, when he destroyed three pairs the first few weeks he had glasses. 
• Meet the teachers - everyone seems nice and ready for a new year!
• Put in a request for an IEP meeting. Boo got some new diagnoses over the summer, so we need to update his team at school and brainstorm some accommodations, because second grade is much more hard core than first. 
• School supplies bought. I used the Wal-Mart grocery app for this, so I didn't even have to go in the store. It was nice, very, very nice. Highly recommend.
• Printed "First day of x grade" signs and took obligatory pictures. 

And now my ducklings are out in the world. I'm going to go take a nap. And maybe see a movie. Oh yeah, and do some work without Fortnight in the background. 

On the Road

I'm a planner. I think it comes naturally with being a mom, and those skills are honed when you become a special needs mom. A few weeks before the summer started, I carefully crafted a calendar to keep our days busy and packed so that we all wouldn't go crazy.

Well, my summer plans didn't start out exactly as we wanted.

Unfortunately my father passed away the first week of June, so it meant a family trip to Michigan. My father and I had a complicated relationship, but it was important to be there for my mom and the rest of my family.

It wasn't even our original plan for all of us to go to the funeral, but my husband gauged my mood and decided the entire family needed to go. So with a four prep time, I packed and loaded everyone in the car for an epic road trip across country.

It took us only a few days to get there, because we pushed hard. The kids were troopers. What did we do without Kindles and car DVD players in the past?

All in all, we were away from home for 11 days - three to get there, three in Michigan, and five days home. We took our time and spent the night close to friends on the way home to make it easier on the kids. And because we had been planning on going on a long camping vacation that week anyway. So that turned out conveniently for my husband work-wise.

Although we were in Michigan for sad reasons, it was nice to see the family and my friends. I even got to stop into my brother's new comic book shop. Rad Raptor Comics is in Adrian, Michigan, and you should check it out. I'm so proud of him.

I will probably blog later about some of our experiences on the road, however I just wanted to point out that no matter what we plan, God is always going to throw curve balls.

And while this would not have been my choice for summer activities, I think our family grew together and bonded more living 11 days in hotels and on the road across the country.

Phoenix ComicFest recap

We had a great time as a family last weekend - and even some fun time as a couple! This year was a big year because our son's behavior coach was able to get a pass to go to one of the day's with him! If you have a kiddo with special needs and an aide, write to the convention to see if they make accommodations. They were great for us!

Here's a rundown of the weekend:

Thursday 

This usually is our favorite day at the con because there are less people and you can take your time to look at all the vendors and enjoy things. My 6yo saved her birthday money this year and was able to purchase a couple of stuffed animals and an awesome giraffe hat.

The only downside of Thursday this year was that the Hall of Heroes, AKA the upstairs vendor hall, was not open on that day this year. So we couldn't check out any of the costume groups on this day. Also there are a lot of non-profits that usually have booths up there, like the Arizona Natural History Museum. Last year because it was a slow day, my son peppered them with SO MANY questions. It was great. But the slowness is probably why they didn't open it.Still, I feel bad for the vendors who had booths up there who lost a day's worth of potential sales. I hope they got a discount. The kids of course spent time in the Lego and art rooms. I love that the convention has these, as it is a great place to go to get a break from the crowds.

Friday

Long but fun day! The check in lines moved quickly, despite the extra security. Our kids opted to wear their costume-looking onsie pajamas as cosplay. We started out with lightsaber training from the Jedi Academy, which was super cute. And then we hit the Lego and art rooms again. 

Next we went up to the Hall of Heroes. The kids checked out the amazing super hero, Star Wars, Doctor Who displays and costumes. Boo found the Museum of Natural History booth and spent his time eyeing the fossils. 

There was also a large amount of video games to check out, which my 9yo appreciated. We especially loved the arcade area. He could have played there for hours, if we're being honest. Sometimes having younger siblings who want to look at other things can be annoying. 

We finished up the day with more shopping in the exhibitor hall, and of course some ice cream. 

Saturday and Sunday

Yay date day! We found some gracious friends who were able to take our kids for Saturday and Sunday (two of them were even on sleepovers, so it was a nice fun time for them too), so we got two days alone at the convention. 

We ate at non-kid-friendly restaurants, including the Cornish Pasty. I had their pasty called The Pilgrim, which is basically like a Thanksgiving dinner baked into the crust. 

We went to a few panels - a couple of the celebrity ones and a couple of just fellow geeks talking about geeky stuff. Our favorite was the Michael Rooker panel. He jumped out in the audience and ran around with the mic, letting people ask questions. My husband got to talk to him, but it happened so quickly I couldn't video it or get a picture. Dang it! 

And of course, spent money. I bought a lovely Tarth banner to hang in my room. And the rest of the time, we just walked around and enjoyed each other's company in a cool environment. 

Overall, it was a fun convention. We talked about maybe only doing two days next year instead of four, but we always change our minds when it gets closer. :) 

Summer plans

Summer break is finally upon us! I'm sure things will change, but for now I plan to follow the fun schedule you can see all over Pinterest.

1) Make something Monday - do a craft, plant something, bake together, etc.

2) Take a Trip Tuesday - go somewhere new and fun!

3) Wet and Wild Wednesday - kiddie pools, water balloon fights, squirt guns, you get the idea.

4) Thoughtful Thursday - do something kind for someone.

5) Fun Friday - This is kind of a free for all, but it can be a special activity, or no chores and reading time, pizza for dinner, etc.

This plan may have to be flexible. My son has behavior coaching four days a week, so we will have to work our schedule around or with them. Being out and about in the community is one of the things we are targeting for him this summer, so I'm guessing they will come with us on some of our field trips.

I also plan on having the kids read at least 20 minutes every day and do some worksheets so they don't fall behind. Like the mean mom that I am. :)

I will let you all know how it goes!