3 Date Weekend

Sometimes with autism, our family doesn't always get to spend our time away from the house together as a family unit, so occasionally we divide and conquer activities accordingly.  

So this weekend, there was much football on to be watched, college and professional, and the husband wanted to partake in that.

Recently on Saturdays my little Jackson and I go to church with another family and usually dinner after church.  Jackson is enjoying spending time with his buddy from school, and it is a great opportunity for social interaction with other peers, but especially that he is learning about God and stories from the bible.  During the week he'll throw out little passages to me, for example "Jesus is God in human form".   So yes, he is getting something out of it, and I have been loving the messages especially what we got this week.  All about forgiveness, and starting over, and how to succeed in your faith by having a mentor, a pal, and a newcomer, to grow roots in your faith.  I always enjoy my "date" with my little guy even if he wants to be with his buddy and ride with him in his car!  My baby is growing up, and I couldn't be more happy for him

This morning the husband and I had a babysitter, and had planned to take the Harley out for a ride, but for us Orange County folk temperatures in the 40s and 50s are too cold for me to be out on a motorcycle early in the morning.  Call me wimpy or not Harley worthy, I don't care, I'm almost 50 and I know what makes me comfortable.  The husband and I arrange date days every week.  Need it or not, we need a respite from autism.  Even when we don't want to go out, or be with each other, we still go out for a few hours to recharge the batteries, it's extremely precious time for us.

We headed up the coast to an old established restaurant in Newport Beach for brunch.  We went to Newport Landing and it was a great choice.  I know you're thinking, buffet food, well it was a brunch and the selections were fantastic, and a wide variety of food, and everything from the soup, salads, sushi, eggs, prime rib, were delicious.  I was pleasantly surprised and am looking forward to going again.  They have a $3, $4 and $5 happy hour during the week, that makes the price right for us so we will hit that up for sure.  If you haven't been in decades, I suggest you go back, if you have never tried, you MUST.  The view and the food, and the company with the husband in the restaurant were all so pleasant it was a totally enjoyable morning.

I couldn't miss an opportunity with my oldest son Franklin who hadn't been out of the house in a few days, I took him to Knotts Berry Farm.  Our season passes expire this week so I was squeezing a little fun in this afternoon.  Knott's is normally pretty mellow and it has a lot of thrill rides, that he just loves.  Today was extremely crowded, but we were still able to get on 3 of his favorite rides, and a snack before heading home for dinner.  Knott's is also having a New Years Eve party until 1am this Wednesday if you're looking for something fun to do.

We have one more week left of Christmas vacation, and I'll keep the week full for the boys with therapy and play dates.  I am prepping for a 21 Day Sugar Detox that I'm starting with a friend on January 5th.  I'm going to have to use the blog for accountability, since sugar has become a nightmare of a problem for me, and I worked too hard to get fit and lose weight to give it all up, so I'm going to try this route, and hope I make it.