IKEA? Not this time.

Didn't have a heart attack getting out the door but still wasn't on time. I read in a magazine somewhere that "If you're not early, you're late." So true, so true. Socks and shoes need to be on by 9:05, giving me 10 minutes leeway to get the Pilot loaded. Let's try that again next week.

Ronin came with us to playgroup because the daycare is on vaycay this week. He was a little disruptive but it was considered normal toddler behavior, the whining and the crying, getting underfoot and moving around between kids and toys. Nikko did very well in circle time after he ran back and forth a bit during the beginning. I got up to haul him back only twice, while Ronin sat down in one chair, then switched to the red, then to the blue, and red, and back again. Nikko sat in my lap in front of the mirror, tolerated the orange Home Depot hat on his head, and sat still during songs while he peered at himself in the mirror. Both boys liked looking at pictures of planes, which was the theme of the day. Neither boy sat still long enough for the craft, which was coloring in a a plane, but they both sat during snack time (Ronin had crackers I brought, and juice) and both enjoyed the parachute. During the play times, Nikko did some stimming back and forth in the room but he also came across some of the vehicle puzzles and tried to fit the pieces back in. There was a That's Not My Train book that looked cool that I should try to find on Amazon.

We got home and I had to change diapers before Peter came for Ronin's therapy. Nikko left them alone for the most part and intervened only when he was curious about a picture book or for Grover parts. I got a call during therapy and when I listened to the message later I found out it was the school nurse asking for some health forms before Nikko's IEP meeting tomorrow. I cringed because I forgot to drop this off earlier in the day. Now I had to pack the kids in the Pilot for an extra trip just to drop off this paper, and I'd have to unload them at the school just to march in 100ft to a counter and then back out. I called Atz and asked her sheepishly if it would be wrong to leave the kids in the car while I ran into the school. She laughed out really loud and I took it to mean YEAH, IT WOULD BE WRONG. And probably illegal. Ok, ok. I figured she's the queen of kiddies so I'd ask. I'm learning here! :P I thought I could couple it with a trip to IKEA so right after lunch that's exactly what happened. Westbrook school dropoff was simple, albeit cumbersome. The kiddies fell asleep on the way to IKEA, which was fine because they all needed a nap. When I got there, I saw one of the car carts in the dock area and kept an eye on it. When I parked the car, I stopped and thought: How in the heck am I supposed to get the kids into a car cart when we are parked more than 400 yards away from the curb? And when we'd leave, how would I unload these kids into the car from so far away?? I thought it might be easy, but you aren't allowed to take the carts out of the docking areas. No carts can go right up to your car. So, I had to abandon my plan of shopping at IKEA, even though I really wanted Ronin to sit in the car part because he'd love it. I went home and let the boys run around the driveway. Instead, they both stood in the middle of the patio, looking up at the sky. There weren't any planes around, and I urged them to start running around before the overcast sky rained upon us. It was weird, as if they were looking for a UFO or something. Then it started to rain so I scrambled to get the baby gate back from the front door area of the driveway, put the Little Tikes car, tricycle, stroller and garden equipment away, put Audrey inside and then go back to shuffle the two dumbstruck boys inside. Ronin started saying, "Water? Water? Water?" when I told him we were getting wet with water. The rest of the afternoon was a Hi-5 afternoon, but I started a Space Bag project with our winter clothes and some boys' clothes. Nikko spent his time watching Hi-5 and imitating Karla do jumping jacks by waving his arms. He also took one of the picture schedule boards that Anna laminated for me and kept it to himself for lining-up purposes. I didn't mess with it today, but tomorrow it will hopefully be a functioning board. Tomorrow is Nikko's IEP meeting and I am nervous, of course, because I don't want to miss any details of the goals we'll have to set for Nikko to reach.

Ollie has posted on FB that she'll be running the half-marathon on Aug 2 and she'll be doing it for Organization for Autism Research (OAR), and she's doing it on behalf of Nikko and me. I am so touched and humbled by that. She's going to be training for this, running early in the a.m. or when she has free time, making sacrifices, and for a good cause. I'll do whatever it takes to haul my family over to watch her run!