Road Trip Spring Break 2011 Part 1

I am nearly home from my road trip adventure. I'd love to say that I had the best trip ever and the epic times were had and that this will go down in the history as of the best trips I have ever had, but I can't.

What I can tell you that travelling when your sick with more than the sniffles, is ill advised. Or maybe ill advised if your me. The point of this trip was some much needed R&R. 4 days after putting Eric and Aaron in a plane, and I no more rested than I was when they left.

If you can't speak, then it's probably not a good idea to embark on a road trip or not with someone who wants to do a lot of sight seeing. Originally, Tara and I were suppose to do Seattle but that somehow turned into Portland and Oregon.

She said she wanted to go somewhere she normally wouldn't get to see and that somehow turned as she “could see Seattle any day.”

The point of this post isn't too complain about my friend's lack of understanding of what parenting is and once your a parent your needs will come second to your children's 95% of the time but highlight some of the places we saw and people we encountered.

We left my dad's place shortly after 11am and we made it across the border at 1pm. We headed straight down the I-5 until we reached Marysville and stopped into Taco Bell lunch and headed on down the I-5.

We made pretty good timing and were very close to Portland and we noticed that bridge was up so stopped off in Vancouver, WA for some dinner. We drove around a bit and ended up at the Brickhouse downtown I assume.

There was a full St. Patrick's Day celebration in full swing and I felt out of place not being in green... we we're ID's by a kid who couldn't have been more than 14. We headed to the lounge and ordered our dinner. My mushroom and Swiss burger and Caesar salad were standard pub fare. Our server was attentive and our well drinks were generous. (One thing to be said about America from most bars I've frequented, is that they pour generous drinks! Unlike here in Canada where every drop of alcohol is measured cause heaven forbid someone not pay for that tiny last drop or alcohol!)

I was more keen on observing our surroundings. From what I observed, a girl wasn't going to denied a waitressing job if she wasn't a perfect size 2, and the more tattoos and piercings one had the better. Every waitress in there had tattoos on her arms and/or chest. If I were to apply there I fear I wouldnt' be hired for my lack of visible tattoos.

After dinner, we headed over the bridge into Portland and to our accommodations at the Downtown Value Inn. True to it's name it was value. I read some bad reviews about it, but when your paying $67 per night to stay downtown right near a street car and university campus you can't complain. It was clean and quiet and the staff/owners were pleasant and let us park our car for free the next day after check out to explore Portland. So I wasn't surprised when there were cigarette burns on some of the furniture. We were there to sleep not stay in a hotel.

We checked in, got changed and headed out to check out the Portland nightlife on St. Patricks' Day. We wanted to hit up Portland's Celtic Festival but I'll be damned if I was paying $25 cover to enter a tent playing music and an Irish Bar.

We wanted to go to another pub across the street but there was a line up too long to to even consider staying in. We ended up at the Ash. St. Saloon and took in punk show by some random band. It was clear, that we were over dressed in our clean green shirts, jeans and shoes. In order to fit in here, I would need to be sporting a full on sleeve of tattoos, tattoos on my chest/back of neck, have more piercings than I currently have or not have showered for a week, or wore last weeks clothes from the bottom of my hamper or worn every ripped/torn piece of clothing I owned.

But then again I am not a punk or listen to punk music but the people were nice and the drinks were cheap and plentiful. After 45 minutes or so here we moved next door to some random pub with a juke box which seemed to cater to an all over crowd but more so blue collared/college students. We fit right in. Our night did not end here, but that will have to wait as I need to get my boys from the air port soon.

I can't wait to see Aaron and I know he is dying to see me. He started to cal me "Mommy" a week ago when wants me instead of whining from his crib in the morning I hear "Mommy!" It's music to my ears.

B is for Basement!

The title of this post has no relevance to this post. Usually when Aaron sees the letter 'B' he will say "B, basement!" He learned this from riding elevators.

It's been too long since I wrote a post. We're sick. Well Aaron and I are. I have a cold and he has an ear infection. He is getting on plane in 2 days time. The timing couldn't be worse. The doctor at the walk-in clinic suggested that Aaron go on antibiotics as he will be flying and that we administer Advil or Tylenol for the pain. This is all fine and dandy but it's is Eric who will be taking him not me. When he is sick it's me he wants or my dad. I am not accompanying them as all is still not well with the MIL.

What I am doing is attempting a road trip with Tara. As soon as I drop Eric and Aaron off at the airport, I am heading to Vancouver. We heading to Oregon. We had thought of trying to make it to San Francisco, but that is just too crazy. We don't know where we are going for sure, but we will most likely be spending St. Patrick's Day in Portland. If we do make it there I plan on going to an Irish Pub downtown that serves great Irish Nachos.

So I am childless, job less and on Spring Break. I will letting the Good Times Roll. And Tara and TM are no longer an item, so all should be well!

Denial

I have been going through a lot of denial these past few days and weeks. Aaron's ASD diagnosis is just part of who he is and I've maintained that I won't let it change him or define us as a family. It's just another fact of our lives. This came crashing down around me after meeting with a local chapter here I wonder what life will hold for Aaron.

It was my hope that by the time he is school age an entering kindergarten that he will not need in class support and only need supplemental support outside of school. I am beginning to wonder if that will ever be the case. My biggest fear for him is that he will be teased mercilessly by his peers and bullied and come home to me in tears. I was teased as child and bullied. So was my dad. We're pretty sure my dad is on the spectrum. He's being referred to someone who can diagnos him. If he does have ASD, it would explain why my dad is so socially awkward. I think I was bullied due to the fact that my mom never took the time to socialize me and sat on her ass and watched TV or read her books in my early years.

That's one thing that Aaron doesn't lack,. I've always taken him to playgroups and had play dates and he has 2 friends that we see often and he asks for. But I wonder if it is enough?

One thing I got from the other parent was that families with children with ASD seem to gravitate towards each other and spend a lot of time together. I am all for being around people like us BUT don't want to let Aaron's Autism shape and change every dynamic of our life. I hope he can still integrate with his peers and that he can be a normal child.

I am also a little disappointed with how slowly our service provider is at doling out intervention. I'd like to see some things starting soon so that he can benefit from it. So far we've had a 2 hour assessment and that's it.

Denial is really a big part of me. Aaron will be 3 in less than a month! How the hell did that happen? All I can think about right now is that last little bit of my pregnancy. It was a happy time for the most part. Tim Horton's has Rrrrrrolll up the Rim going on right now which always reminds me of my last month of pregnancy as I got a Tim Horton's coffee dang near every day. It was my vice, and I had 2 right around the corner from me. It's those little things I miss.

I don't think I will ever have a second child. I do not know this, but am pretty sure that will be the case. It's something I've wavered back and forth with and with Aaron having ASD, it's not a chance that I think I am willing to take. I believe there is as 1 in 4 chance any future children I have would have it but  don't quote me on that. And with ASD, who knows where on the spectrum that child might fall and what quality of life said child may have. There's no doubt in my mind that Aaron inherited Autism from my side of the family, something I don't want to impart on any future children.