Outings

Jacob has this week off from school and therapy, and we've got a birthday party for Natalie this weekend. So there is a lot to do this week. I have been debating taking all three kids out by myself...it's a little scary to attempt an outing with a 4 1/2 year old with autism, an almost-3-year-old, and a 12-month-old.

But yesterday I got brave and we went to the local swimming pool with them. They have a toddler area that is somewhat separate from the larger pools, with a fence around it. The kids had a great time and I was ultra paranoid pretty much the whole time. I told the lifeguard to keep an extra eye on the exit because Jacob might try to bolt.

We did well until the very end, when he did run out the exit, heading in to the large pools. I was holding Sydney...dropped her on the grass and went tearing after him, screaming on the top of my lungs. The toddler lifeguard was actually talking with Natalie and didn't even notice (scary). I caught up with Jacob as he was starting to head up the steps to the water slide they have (that leads to a big pool). It was as though he suddenly heard me calling him (I think he had gotten so excited he completely didn't hear me before!). He stopped and came back to me and barely even complained. Whew. But my legs were like rubber bands for about 20 minutes.

He also tried to jump in the deep end of the big pool as we were walking out. We had to walk about a foot from the edge to get past it. But I had a death grip on his arm and he didn't make it any farther than a hop. I thought he'd try!!

Today I took all three of them out shopping for birthday stuff. That was a workout!! We went to the bank, to the pet store, the grocery store, the craft store, and a cafe for ice cream (which Jacob wouldn't eat because it was in a cup, not a cone).

At the craft store, I got lots of "would you discipline your child??" looks about Jacob even though he was actually being really good. He wandered out of the aisle a few times as I was looking at the baking supplies, and while I was checking out art supplies he just sprawled out on the floor. At the cash register, I was just about to pay when I looked over at him and realized he had finished off a piece of chocolate that was in a display on the counter. So I had the cashier add it to my total. But overall, he listened when I told him to do something, and he didn't have any tantrums even though we had already been to several stores. And we hadn't been to any fun places for him (like the park).

So overall it went a lot better than I thought it would. But still...it was a lot of work!!