Our crazy, hectic, slightly scary, super fun weekend!

Saturday could have been a disaster...it certainly started out that way. The kids woke up around 7am, and after about 30 minutes of quiet, were bouncing off the walls. I was trying to get my first blog post from Atlanta up and running - I had typed it Friday night, but was too lazy and tired to get the cord for my blackberry out of the van. (My grand plan for internet service was a flop, so I had Verizon tether my blackberry to my laptop for a temporary internet connection.) Anyway, I got the kids interested in the television for a few minutes, snagged the cord, and got the blog posted. I was in the process of responding to a text from another Brain Balance mom wanting to meet up in Atlanta when it happened...The screen of my blackberry went black, then white, then black. Finally, this annoying hourglass popped up and just kept spinning. I turned it off, then back on....black, white, black, hourglass. I took the battery out and blew inside....black, white, black, hourglass. Spinning, mocking me. I thought, "well, I'll call Aunt Gloria and see if she can watch the kids"....nope, can't do that. Ok. Well, I'll just text my good friend Amanda, and see if she can help out....can't do that either. And then it hit me....I can't even dial 911!! We have no home phone - my cell phone is my one and only link to the outside world. I'll admit it - i had a little "freak out" moment. I shook it off, grabbed the diaper bag and loaded the kids in the car. Thankfully, I had Andy's GPS in the van, and off we went to Verizon.

We found it with only a little trouble (GPS said it was on the left, when actually, it was on the right.) In we marched - Ashwin in the Ergo carrier on my back, Ace in the stroller, and Aidan walking beside me. (Wish I had a picture of THAT to post!) It seemed like this was going to be easy - no line, just one other customer in the store, and plenty of Verizon people not doing anything. I gave my phone to the first person who asked if they could help me and explained my problem. He took my phone to the back to "check it out." Thirty seconds later, Aidan needed to go to the bathroom. Of course, they don't have a public restroom in the store, so we had to go to the cafe next door. The restrooms at the cafe are only for customers, so we had to buy something ($5 for a cup of fruit...really?) Anyway, we rushed in, ordered and paid for the fruit, used the bathroom, washed up, grabbed the fruit on the way out, and ran back across the parking lot - we were gone maybe 8 minutes, tops. We get back to Verizon, and the place is packed. People are waiting in line, and signing in at a computer for an appointment time. The guy who took my phone is talking with a lady who is having trouble with her email. She will not stop talking long enough for him to explain the problem. Finally, he takes her phone and fixes it for her...all of this took about 20 minutes, while we just stood there. I should mention, up to this point, Aidan has been really good. He's looked at all the phones on display, wheeled Aeson around in the stroller for a while, eaten some fruit. Aeson has been content in the stroller (as long as it is moving) and Ashwin is perfectly happy riding piggy back. Right about the time that the salesman is ready for me, all of that vanishes. Aeson unbuckles himself from the stroller and he and Aidan take off running around the store, while Ash is screaming like a banshee to get out of the carrier. It. Was. Awesome. Here's the gist of what I remember of my conversation with the salesman, Chris. 1. I could file an insurance claim on my blackberry, but I'd have to mail it off and be without a phone for about a week 2. I was eligible for an upgrade, and if I got an iphone, that would take care of my internet needs as well. Needless to say, I got the iphone. And an otter box case. Somewhere in our conversation, I mentioned that we were here for Brain Balance. Turns out, my salesman has six kids, one with autism. Suddenly, he found a nook behind his desk for the big boys to play for a few minutes. And the baby settled down. We handled the paperwork quickly, and he walked me out to my car. We got the kids in the car and he set up my email in the parking lot. Things were looking up. Perhaps I'll send him a copy of "Disconnected Kids" as a thank you.

Anyway, we headed back to the condo for lunch. I had no numbers in my phone - I told the salesman not to worry about it, as everything is backed up in my Mac. Lord knows what it would've taken to get anything out of my fried blackberry, with its hourglass still spinning. The kids were eating when Tammy, my fellow Brain Balance mom, called me to see if we still wanted to meet at the Children's Museum in Atlanta. I said sure, and loaded everyone up again. We spent a couple of crazy hours at the museum, the boys having a ball and me trying not to lose my mind...or one of my kids. Afterwards, we went to a park across the street, and Tammy and I actually got to talk a little bit. Her oldest son and Aidan seemed to hit it off well - I know they'll be great friends! Hopefully, next time we get together, it won't be quite so crazy! We headed home after the park, and the kids were beat. Dinner, bath, and bedtime were fairly smooth, and I was in bed by midnight!

We had a great, much less eventful day today. The kids were up and ready to go at 7am. We hit the spray ground today at the nearby park when it opened at 10am. They had a ball for about an hour. The big boys would have stayed all day, but poor Ash was worn out! We came home, had lunch, and all of the boys took a great rest. We watched television for a while when everyone woke up, and then headed to the pool at Aunt Gloria's house. As soon as I got everyone in the car, we heard the first boom of thunder.

We went anyway, as there is a fenced in playground right by the pool. The boys played for almost an hour, the storm blew over, and we got to swim! This was my first time taking all three boys to the pool by myself, and I have to say, they were AWESOME! Aidan is swimming SO well! He's jumping off the diving board and swimming to the side without any help. Aeson grabs a noodle and kicks himself around the shallow end. If you listen, you can hear him saying "kick kick kick" to himself while he's swimming - SO cute! And Ashwin loved being in the pool with Mom, kicking his feet and blowing bubbles. We swam for a little over an hour, and we were all worn out! The boys blew bubbles on the back porch while I fixed us a quick dinner. We had salad and GF/CF nitrate-free sausages for dinner - Aidan taste tested them when we were at Whole Foods earlier in the week and insisted that I buy them, and they were a big hit with everyone! Quick showers, milk and a story, and they were off to bed.

In fact, Ash didn't even make it to story time. He literally fell asleep while attempting to climb up onto the futon in the living room. Too cute!

So that was our first weekend in Atlanta! Exhausting, but fun - well, except for the phone drama. On the bright side, I have an iphone now, which I've wanted forever! My husband thinks I willed my blackberry to die, though! And the iphone takes great photos, so that's another plus. Anyway, we start with Dr. Pete at the Roswell center tomorrow, and we are very excited!

I'll leave you with another quote, this one from Dave Matthews Band. "I ain't waiting for the world to change, let me change the world for you." This is what we are doing for Aidan, changing his whole world, with the help of Brain Balance!


Much love,

Allie