Mentally Preparing: A Focker, A Croc & Waldo hit POFQ! Trip Report Link is UP!

[DebIreland]

Sorry T, but I won't tell him what you said. Only because once a friend of mine told him he looked like a older Tom Selleck! OMG, he walked around with his chest all puffed out for weeks!

Who knew you'd need a Waldo Watcher plan for Knotts Berry Farm??!!

Love the photos. Could Evan possibly be any more adorable?! He's gorgeous!!!!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

That's just perfection!!!

OMG

That is just perfect!!!

I know!

Tracy,
Never underestimate the power of a trip "elsewhere". The way I figure it, a day or two at someplace other than WDW serves as a reminder of just how fantastic it all is. Then I don't want to spend any money going "elsewhere", and I can save it all up to hand over to Disney!

Snoopy vs. Mickey????

The dog hasn't got a chance!

Exactly! Snoopy was fun for a day. We go about 1-2 times a year, nothing compared to the $$$ we drop at Dland and WDW! I will have to admit, the food service/choices/quality is better than Disneyland.

OH MY GOD!!!! I hope you blow this one up and frame it!!!!
TOOOOOO funny!!!!

I actually bought a frame that has a western motif and it says on the top "WANTED"

Who knew you'd need a Waldo Watcher plan for Knotts Berry Farm??!!

Deb, we need Waldo watcher plans for the mall, for goodness sakes!

Love the photos. Could Evan possibly be any more adorable?! He's gorgeous!!!!!

Thanks, Deb! Imagine the cutie grandkids we could have?

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

I just wanted to let you guys know that Baby R was seen by a doctor at Daisy's work and our suspicions were confirmed. Baby R does show signs of Autism. What can I say, but it really sucks. On the up side, I'm happy that Daisy finally was able to speak to R & J about her concerns and they will be able to get Baby R all the help he needs.

I do worry about R and having to deal with all this, emotionally before he's deployed to Iraq. His head needs to be clear when he's there.

Baby R was referred to a childrens clinic in Houston. (or was it Austin?) I can't remember the name, but apparently it is a very good hospital, that has a clinic specializing in Autism. I know Baby R will get the best care out there and I'm glad that the whole family has a great inner circle of family and friends that truely care them and will be there, through the thick and thin.

So, please send happy thoughts and lot of pixiedust ixiedust:. They could really use it!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Tracy,
My heart goes out to your family. Is there any chance that R's deployment can be delayed while they get baby R the medical attention he needs? Doing this alone won't be easy for J. But as you said, a close knit extended family will help. And it's my understanding that they will check for food allergies and heavy metal concentrations....that might help his symptoms a bit.

Pixie Dust and prayers headed your way.....

 

[Goofyluver]

Tracy,

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. If I had one recommendation it is to get him into services as soon as possible. Early intervention is key! speech therapy, OT, whatever he can get! Hugs to you and your family...

Jen

 

[puggymom]

AWW Tracy I so sorry to read this, but at least now Baby R is getting the help he needs

 

[boysmom5150]

Hi Tracy
I am so sorry to hear about baby R but am certainly glad that they didnt waste valuable time in getting him to a Dr. Now everyone can focus on helping him. there are so many programs and Drs who can work wonders on children when they are diagnosed early enough. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family . Hopefully some things can be worked out before R goes to Iraq so he can have some peace of mind knowing baby R is getting the help he needs. When does he leave for Iraq?
T

 

[PrincessV]

Many, many headed your way Tracy. But I'm so glad they had him screened and now know what to do. Hang in there!

 

[DisneyJo]

Sending lots of for you and baby's family but as V said he will get the best possible care now!

 

[princessjv]

I was thinking about this today.

Tracy, as sad as it is, he will be in great hands. As mentioned before, early intervention is the key. I know 3 children who were diagnosed with autism and through therapy(s) and diet changes, you seriously would never know they had anything different about them.

I will keep you & your family in my prayers

 

[DebIreland]

As mentioned before, early intervention is the key. I know 3 children who were diagnosed with autism and through therapy(s) and diet changes, you seriously would never know they had anything different about them.

This is so true.

Tracy, my heart goes out to them. My eldest son was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. We knew there was something wrong early on (from when he was 18 months or so) and we did a lot of research but I knew in my heart it was autism. The services here weren't great at the time - he attended a special pre-school, speech therapy etc. but it was all a bit haphazard and we weren't getting anywhere (other than a diagnosis of "along the autistic spectrum"). We were blessed then when we found a wonderful behavioural psychologist who changed our lives by teaching us how to teach DS. The first (and most vital) task was to try to get eye contact going because there was none (also no speech, no hugs and awful ear-piercing tantrums many many times daily). The therapist taught us how to train DS to make eye contact and once that was established, it was like opening the door to the private world that DS inhabited. His speech developed, his tantrums lessened, his interaction increased and finally, I got my first hug from him when he was almost 4. By the time he was 5 we were able to abandon all notions of sending him to a special school because he simply no longer needed it. And now? Well honestly, people don't believe us that he was ever diagnosed with autism. His teachers at his current school were astounded when I told them his history. We were amongst the lucky ones of course and I know we are blessed. I have no doubt that without the behavioural therapy he would still be in his own world, trapped and unhappy. But I also have no doubt that each case is different and it isn't always possible to break down the barriers. But I wish you and your family lots of love and luck. It's gonna be hard and his parents are gonna get very frustrated sometimes and they might need lots of opportunities to vent. Hang in there. With the right intervention this could be turned around. Sorry to have gone on so long.

 

[jcc0621]

To your family

Janet

 

[PittypatBR]

Thoughts, prayers, and ixiedust: to Baby R and the whole family. Glad they have access to good resources, and I hope there is a good outcome and lots of support.

 

[mlill]

I'm really sorry to hear that, Tracy! It's better to know as early as possible. Now he can get the help he needs. There are various degrees of autism, maybe his will be mild. Listen to Deb - it may turn out OK for R, J & baby R.

 

[daisy_77]

I hope that little Baby R gets the care he and his parents need and deserve. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the family.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Tracy,
My heart goes out to your family. Is there any chance that R's deployment can be delayed while they get baby R the medical attention he needs? Doing this alone won't be easy for J. But as you said, a close knit extended family will help. And it's my understanding that they will check for food allergies and heavy metal concentrations....that might help his symptoms a bit.

Pixie Dust and prayers headed your way.....

Thank you, Sharkie! I know the family is returning to TX the first of June and R's deployment isn't for a few weeks after that. So, hopefully the baby will be assessed and things rolling before R heads to Iraq. It stinks because the deployment term is now 15 months!
P.S. I love your new siggie! I'll have to show Waldo when he gets back from golf!

Tracy,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. If I had one recommendation it is to get him into services as soon as possible. Early intervention is key! speech therapy, OT, whatever he can get! Hugs to you and your family...
Jen

AWW Tracy I so sorry to read this, but at least now Baby R is getting the help he needs

Thanks, Jen & Mo! My DIS friends are a great support!

Hi Tracy
I am so sorry to hear about baby R but am certainly glad that they didnt waste valuable time in getting him to a Dr. Now everyone can focus on helping him. there are so many programs and Drs who can work wonders on children when they are diagnosed early enough. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family . Hopefully some things can be worked out before R goes to Iraq so he can have some peace of mind knowing baby R is getting the help he needs. When does he leave for Iraq?
T

Thanks, T! R leaves for Iraq the end of June.

This is so true.

Tracy, my heart goes out to them. My eldest son was diagnosed with autism when he was 3. We knew there was something wrong early on (from when he was 18 months or so) and we did a lot of research but I knew in my heart it was autism. The services here weren't great at the time - he attended a special pre-school, speech therapy etc. but it was all a bit haphazard and we weren't getting anywhere (other than a diagnosis of "along the autistic spectrum"). We were blessed then when we found a wonderful behavioural psychologist who changed our lives by teaching us how to teach DS. The first (and most vital) task was to try to get eye contact going because there was none (also no speech, no hugs and awful ear-piercing tantrums many many times daily). The therapist taught us how to train DS to make eye contact and once that was established, it was like opening the door to the private world that DS inhabited. His speech developed, his tantrums lessened, his interaction increased and finally, I got my first hug from him when he was almost 4. By the time he was 5 we were able to abandon all notions of sending him to a special school because he simply no longer needed it. And now? Well honestly, people don't believe us that he was ever diagnosed with autism. His teachers at his current school were astounded when I told them his history. We were amongst the lucky ones of course and I know we are blessed. I have no doubt that without the behavioural therapy he would still be in his own world, trapped and unhappy. But I also have no doubt that each case is different and it isn't always possible to break down the barriers. But I wish you and your family lots of love and luck. It's gonna be hard and his parents are gonna get very frustrated sometimes and they might need lots of opportunities to vent. Hang in there. With the right intervention this could be turned around. Sorry to have gone on so long.

Wow, Deb. That's great that your DS is doing so well. All we can do is hope and be thankful that he'll get the help he needs.

Sending lots of for you and baby's family but as V said he will get the best possible care now!

To your family
Janet

Thanks Jo and Janet!

Thoughts, prayers, and ixiedust: to Baby R and the whole family. Glad they have access to good resources, and I hope there is a good outcome and lots of support.

Me too, Pittypat!

I'm really sorry to hear that, Tracy! It's better to know as early as possible. Now he can get the help he needs. There are various degrees of autism, maybe his will be mild. Listen to Deb - it may turn out OK for R, J & baby R.

Thanks Michelle!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

So, according to my ticker, in exactly 2 months and 4 weeks I'll be having dinner at Boatwrights at POR. Unless of course I change that ADR.
According to lover, TGM, I have 2 days until I can book my super secret Illuminations cruise, which is infact, no longer a secret. I don't remember how The Ducks found out about it, but they do. As usual, the clueless one is Waldo.
It went something like this today:

Waldo: So, how's the vacation going? Everything planned? When's our tee time? What course are we playing?

Me: (Somethings up, right? Why is he all of a sudden interested?)
Well, let's see Waldo.... on Saturday, I get to wake up at 3:45 am so \ I can call WDW and book our cruise.

Waldo: Well, don't book me. I don't want to go on the cruise.

Me: Ok, you don't have to go on the cruise. I can probably give your & The Enablers seats away to someone on the DIS.

Waldo: What do you mean?

Me: Well, the cruise seats 10 people and without you and the Enabler, I'd have only 8 passengers and a full boat is a happy boat, so I'll give your seats away. Capesh?

Waldo: Oh, you mean the fireworks cruise? Oh, I thought you were booking the Disney Cruise! I wanna do the fireworks cruise!

Me: Oy vay!

Waldo: So when's our tee times? Has LL called yet? Did she remember to reserve us clubs.

Me: I'm sure LL has it all under control. She's an uber planner like me. Have no fear, LL is almost as OCD as I am.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, as I said, I have to get up a the crack of Moses and call and try to book an Illuminations cruise. I have 3 days that I prefer to do said cruise. So, if I don't get Saturdays cruise, I'll have 2 more lottery tickets to play with. And if I don't get those, cest la vie! We'll have to view IROE with the rest of "them".

DH's crocs came and they sat in the hall for 2 days. I simply forgot to tell him. They weren't mine, so I didn't tear the box open. Well, he tried them on and I could almost hear his feet singing the happy croc foot dance! I think I'll buy him a pair of caymans for Father's Day along with a new iPod or PS2. Maddie broke his PS2 recently and he's been crying ever since.

Did I mention that Disneyshopping had this incredible $5 sale recently? Well, I went a little crazy and ordered Maddie and Evan a bunch of stuff they didn't need. Hey, you gotta spend it to save it.... as a wise woman once said. ( , LL) I got them matching Disney logo shirts to wear in WDW, in lime of course. Well, everything I ordered, was Maddie an S and Evan XS, right? Everything fit perfectly, except of course the lime logo tees which apparently run super big. I had to return them both and order them both an XXS. Evan's still may be a little big, but I really want them to wear matching shirts. So, for 4 days, I've been emailing Disneyshopping to find out what the status was on my return. I got the same general answer for 4 days! "We apologize for any inconvience we may have caused you, but as of today, your package has not yet been received in our returns department." Which is complete bull, as the package per UPS was delivered last Thursday!!! I finally make a phone call and suddenly, my package was received and my exchange is in progress. OH, and "Have a magical day!" As many times as I have called WDW dining, I've only gotten 1 magical day, but Disney shopping, well on the first try I got a magical day! They probably have my order history in front of them!

Oh, yes and Maddie wanted me to tell you all that she lost her 3rd tooth. Thanks to Waldo, of course. He was playing catch with her and the ball hit her in the mouth where she's had this loose tooth for a few weeks. Well, the ball popped the tooth almost out. It was just hanging there by a bloody string of gum. TMI? Sorry! The "toothfairy" gets to go shopping tomorrow. We don't give her money, we give her small gifts. Sears is having a sale on GBA games, so Mr. Toothfairy has instructed me to go pick one up tomorrow. Lucky me.



.

 

[Goofyluver]

Teeth are my weakness. I gag when I see loose ones. One of my kids tried to show me her loose tooth the other day and I almost lost my lunch...

 

[PittypatBR]

Once, back in the dark ages, DD's loose tooth came out while she was eating supper and she swallowed it! She was so upset when she realized it was out! I suggested maybe it fell on the floor instead, and she got under the table and looked around long enough for me to run back to my bedroom and dig in the drawer where the tooth fairy dropped redeemed teeth. Then I magically "found" it on the floor. Sweet thing never realized that it was an incisor and she had lost an eye tooth! When I moved from that house when the kids were teenagers, I had to clear out (and finally throw away) a whole box of baby teeth! (Sorry goofyluver, I just had to tell the story!)

 

[Goofyluver]

As long as I don't see it...I'm okay!