"FOOT" Reflexology

This morning Rich and I drove up to Sacramento to a foot reflexology place. I have been there once before and I was happy enough the first time, I decided to go ahead and make the drive back again to get some cheap foot rubbing.

I am not sure what was different about it this time. I don't know if my body was overly sensitive or if I was this lady's first customer of the day because it was pretty much the worst massage experience I have ever had. And by the way...it was the same lady who did my massage last time.

At the beginning of the massage I told the lady that my back was hurting due to how my feet were soaking in the tub and how the chair was reclined. There was absolutely no support to my back and it was like tiny little constant shooting pains. When I told her that I needed to move she looked at me with this blank stare. That probably should have been my first clue as to how my hour was going to go.

She started by rubbing my head and shoulders. Now let me explain to all of you that I enjoy hard pressure massages. So I tend to not say anything to the person because I don't want them to let up on pressure for the rest of the massage....just maybe in certain places. About three or four strokes into my neck and shoulder I think I screamed out loud. I opened my eyes in horror of the pain and the lady was smiling and said, "Too hard?". "YES!" I said. The rest of the time she spent on my shoulder area I was so tense that I seriously did not relax and I think it made it worse.

On to the feet/shins. When I get pedicures I have to tell whoever is doing it not to rub my shin areas. They are sensitive for whatever reason and it hurts like crazy. As she starts in rubbing the bottom of my feet, I am starting to relax because it feels good and I am thinking to myself...this is what I drove 40 minutes for. Just as I was fully relaxed, eyes closed, probably a minute to two from snoring, she moves to my shins and once again I think I screamed out loud. Let me just stop to explain this to you, the shoulder and the shin incident were so painful...It was as if she stood up and did a handstand on my shoulders and shins and put all of the weight her little 100 lb. body had and it went into the pressure of her hands that went into my skin. Again, my eyes flew open and I said, "That hurts!"....nothing, she does it again. "THAT HURTS!!!" FINALLY, a lady a couple chairs over from us says something in their native tongue and she lets off of the pressure.

At the end of my massage last time, she had me sit up and then she rubbed my back for about ten minutes. Which I loved. THIS TIME, apparently they have changed their routines and got these new chairs because she had me roll over onto my stomach and it looked like a massage chair. I was encouraged because I thought of how bad my back was hurting and how I could really use a quick rub down.....that was not what happened and somehow I think I will never be able to explain this so people understand what really went down....

As I am laying there, she starts to rub my back and neck. I am starting to think this $20 is going to good use because again, I really just showed up to have my feet rubbed. She continues to rub all over my back, but I realize that she is starting to use a little more pressure than before and it is starting to get a little uncomfortable. Again, hesitant to say anything due to out lack of our communication skills, I let her continue. I can feel her sitting on the edge of the chair, and then with what appears to be her elbow and all 100 lbs. of her, she begins to work her way up my back. I scream again. She can't hear me of course because my head is now face down. She works up one side of my spine and then down the other. I tell myself just get through this and she will be done. The hour is up and what really is left to do???? THE UNTHINKABLE!!!!

Right when I think she is done. I feel her sit up from the chair and I start to move to get up and pay to get the hell out of there. Then I feel it.....HER!! ON MY BACK!!!! The little 100 lb. lady is now sitting on my butt and she is thrusting her elbows into all parts of my back. Now, to be completely honest with you....I thought it was a joke. I thought to myself...I am on candid camera. The whole room is in on it. They are all carrying on in their conversation acting normal while they are secretly taping me and this lady who is on my back and torturing me. This is not happening. I again go to make some loud sound as a SOS for anyone to hear me and some over to help. Then she gets up. "You feel good?" she asks? I don't really know what expression I had on my face, but she left quickly to get me some hot tea. I looked around the room, again suspicious of everyone, and quickly go pay the lady at the front counter.

Never again.

Play Dates and Broken Hearts

Today Matthew had a play date. It is not the first that he has had, but it is the first where Ryan knew that he was not invited and he could not go. It's reality setting in. This is not going away anytime soon. Play dates will happen, hearts will be broken. As Ryan was crying crocodile tears while Matt left, he was yelling at me, "You're not a nice boy, Mom!!!"

I remember these days. My sister is four years older and I couldn't count up the times that she yelled from her bedroom to my mom or dad, "Can you please tell Heather to get out of my room, she is bothering us!" So I get this. I get what he is going through, and it will be tough, but one day Ryan will have his own friends and do his own thing.

I am off to play Wii with my little guy. As he was screaming and crying, I was offering everything I had to make it up to him. He finally took the bait. Off to play Toy Story Mania. My thanks to Kristin who came and got my big boy so that I could spend some speical time with my little boy.

Girlfriend

So I have this new girlfriend. I love her. Really love her. It was pretty much love at first sight. Ever since we "got together", we have pretty much been inseparable. Everywhere I go, she is not far from me. I go to her for a lot of things and she understands my needs like no other has before. We really have this immediate connection that it has taken YEARS for me to find. I love Rich and everything, but this is just a different kind of love. A new love. And we are going through all of those new relationship kind of moments where I am excited to see her each day, she travels with me everywhere I go, and she isn't embarrassed to be out in public with me at all. Sure people stare at us sometimes because they can't believe that we need to be together ALL THE TIME. For instance, we got a lot of stares at Disneyland because people just thought it was silly for us to be together so intimately while in line for a ride. They probably thought....you are with your family for crying out loud....you two knock it off. But I can't. I've tried. Maybe when the newness of our relationship wears off, like all relationships do eventually, I will not be so attached and in love with her .

What is nice about my new girlfriend, is that I don't have to share with Rich. You see, he has a new boyfriend too!

Disneyland--October 2009

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, off to Disneyland we go!!!! This trip to DL was so much fun because Noelle, Greg, Natalie, and Nana joined us. And, Greg's parents drove out from Oklahoma to join us as well. The weather could not have been more perfect and the kids had so much fun.

This was Natalie's second trip to DL and I love watching her while she is there. My kids have been there so much, that it is understandable they don't get as excited anymore. They know exactly what they want to go and we go on the same rides OVER AND OVER. With Natalie, it is so fun because she gets so excited about all of the rides and things she sees. I think by far the tea cups and small world were her two favorite rides.

Here she is with Greg's dad and Noelle on the tea cups.


Here she is coming out of small world. This is a fourteen minute ride and she does not move the entire time we are on it and she looks at everything. I love it!


In her therapy sessions she has been learning all of the characters. So it was no surprise that she was super happy to see this guy!


When Rich and I walked into the gate at DL on Monday morning it was about 9:30am. He turned to me and said, how long before you think we will see someone from Lodi. I told him noon. At 12:01 we walked into the Pizza Port and saw Daphne and her family sitting at one of the tables. I had on sunglasses and tried to keep walking. I know this might sound mean, but I really don't ever want to run into students or families I know while on vacation. Well, they must have seen Matthew while he was walking through the restaurant helping Rich with the food, so they came over and said hi. They were super nice, just said hi and then left. The next day we ran into them on the Autopia ride and I snapped this picture of Matt and Daphne. Now, some of you might remember her...she was the little girl Matthew kissed the second week of kindergarten last year. But seriously...look at the picture. Can you blame him? Isn't she DARLING!!!! I had her older sister a couple of years ago and they are a neat family. Daphne wanted to share a car with Matthew, but unfortunately they were both too small to be by themselves.

Matthew and Daphne


Next picture is the boys on Toy Story Mania. By the way, Ryan calls it Toy Story Manier and refuses to be corrected. Shocking, I know! Anyway, this was the very first time they have been on a ride together without Rich or I sitting with one of them. After that, they wanted to ride all the rides without us.


Here is Auntie Noelle and Ryan on Autopia. Uncle Greg and Auntie Noelle were VERY NICE and UNDERSTANDING about the boys wanting to ride with them on EVERYTHING. Rich and I really were there to ride either together or watch them ride on rides with other people. I love this picture!!!!

Autism Walk 2009

I have SO MUCH to catch up on. We have been SO busy since my sister and family got into town.

On Sunday, October 4th, we all went to the Sacramento Walk Now for Autism. This was our second year walking for Team Natalie and it was a huge success. THANK YOU again to all of you who donated. Team Natalie brought in $2,722.00, which was more than the teams goal. We had the best time with our family and friends who came to walk. Natalie has made so much growth this past year and all of this money is going to a wonderful cause in Autism research.

Here are some pictures from the day.....


GO TEAM NATALIE!


Matthew with the Mayor of Sacramento. (More importantly to Matthew...he used to play in the NBA)