Two Nights, Two Dinners, Two Stories... Part One

A bit of housekeeping....

I'm not one to ego-stroke but I think it's incredible that two contestants with Aspergers have made it far into their respective reality shows.

Zev from Amazing Race is a hoot.  I couldn't be prouder of the way he's handling everything.  His teammate Justin is a real sweetie and takes it all in stride.  The other week it was Zev who coached Justin through a difficult task.  If you catch the show, you can't help but be "fon - due" of him as well.

On American Idol, James Durbin is still in the running.  I don't watch the show - not a single episode (my apologies to the network) - but I think it's great exposure.  The kid is obviously very talented and inspiring.

I wish both men the best of luck!!!!

I know, I know... I'm forgetting Parenthood.  But then again, it's not a reality tv show.   I still haven't watched the "you have Aspergers" episode like I promised.  I'm sorry.... I just don't know what my hang up is with it...  Guess I got issues :-)

Ok, ENOUGH.... on to the blog....

Wow!  What a weekend!

Wait... can I parent-brag for a moment?  Sean's parent-teacher conference for the junior high was Thursday night.  I had to work but Rich went.  He called me as soon as it was over.

Cautiously optimistic, I asked him, "So.... how did it go?"

"Great."

Gives a whole new perspective on the question, "Who's your daddy?"

Like Father, like Son....

Ok, so back to weekend.....

The kids and I brought pizzas over to my friend's house on Friday night.  My friend and I months ago planned a semi-French dinner for this past weekend and I needed to learn what went into the chicken marinade because I have no idea what a "pinch of this" or a "bit of that" mean.

In other words, I'm pretty clueless when it comes to cooking.  Scratch that... SERIOUSLY clueless.

So with pizzas in hand, I arrived with my three kids at his house.  Going over to someone's house with my children is not something I normally do.  I was nervous about how all the kids would blend together and get along.  After a fairly uneventful dinner, the kids headed outside to play.

Ashley and Carissa chased each other around.  Sean "monologued" and explored the yard.  And my friend's daughter - who is age-wise between Sean and Carissa - practiced her tumbling on a mat.

"Cooperative play" this was certainly not.

In the meantime, Rich arrived at my friend's house.

After about an hour, the kids headed inside.  It wasn't long before Sean walked into the room and asked, rather loudly, "When are we going home?"

"Soon, Sean.  Soon."

"How long?"

"We'll stay until 8:15 pm."

We all chuckled over the exchange.  It was, after all, expected.  Sean is famous for walking into the middle of the room during my parent's anniversary party that we were hosting at the house and shouting, "When are you all going to leave?"

Nothing clears a party faster....

Quarter after eight was still about 20 minutes away.  I'm sure it seemed like forever to Sean.  He would come in and check the clock.... count down.

"Four minutes."

At 8:17 pm we knew we better pack up.  Obviously, Rich and I were in separate cars (he had been coming from work) so I was able to send the kids home with  him while I stayed and visited a bit more.

Overall, it was a great evening.  The kids got along.  Sean handled the new environment and the added people and noise well.  I thought it was really, really successful.

On Saturday night I was going to host my friend's family at my house.....

But you'll have to wait for that story....

Until tomorrow, my friends...

Have a great Monday!