A Weekend in the Life

From speaking with other parents, I get the impression that we go to fewer birthday parties and play dates than most families with young children and spend more time entertaining the kids outselves. I think that's because we haven't held huge birthday bashes for the boys, and as a result, we tend to not to get very many birthday party invites.

Weekends are typically when do our shopping, and so we end up taking the kids along with us. Going shopping in Chinatown is a favorite activity, as is going to the grocery store or Walmart. This past weekend, we took the local bus to the shopping center so that Russell could get used to riding on a bus--which he'll be riding when he starts summer school later this week. So we turned the bus ride into a cheap kiddie adventure, stopping at Safeway, PetSmart and Trader Joe's.

Hanging out with relatives is another common activity. The Brewster Boys enjoy hanging out with their cousins, and for me, it typically means driving down to San Jose. But at least I get to take a break for a hour or two, and chat with some adults for a change.

This weekend also marked the departure of Russell's tutor, Cassandra. For two years, she has worked tirelessly with Russell on speech, writing and occupational/behavioral therapy, and now she will be moving on to her full-time job as an teacher of autistic children, and eventually, graduate school. Russell's progress is due in large part to Cassandra's work, and for that we are grateful to her. Thankfully, she has offered to baby-sit for us, so we will likely see her during our quarterly movie dates.

Punky instructs Cassandra on the use of chopsticks as a pointing device

At East Ocean Chinese Restaurant, Russell thanks Cassandra for her two years of tutoring work

Russell and Punky enjoy their first ride on an AC Transit bus

Russell and Punky don't seem to mind that the shopping cart buggies at Safeway are smaller than their counterparts at Nob Hill Foods

Things are looking up in the fish department at PetSmart