Going off her routine

Today's gift is going off her routine.

I can't believe it is TWO days before Christmas.   Seriously, where has the time gone?  I feel like it was just Thanksgiving and I had all this time.  Maybe it was the fact I had one child home with me with the flu the last week of school for three days...so my time to get things done was shortened a little.  Life goes on...

I have to say we had a fun weekend.  Lots of quality family time together, which I love.  Tonight we promised the kids we would go out to eat for dinner.  Right as we were getting ready to walk out the door, we had an unexpected visit from our good friends.  It was so nice to see them and catch up!  I was hoping my daughter (who is on a schedule with eating) would not start to get upset when we had to push back dinner.  I didn't think it was going to be an issue as she loves the family who came to visit and was all giggles and grins the whole time they were here!

We visited with them for about 45 minutes and then we had to say, we have to get the kiddos some dinner before we loose them.  They completely understood as they know the shoes we walk in all too well.

Once in the car, we decided to change the restaurant we were originally going to go to as we needed to go someplace closer.  Luckily for us, the restaurant we decided on second, was not crowed at all and we had our food with 15 minutes of being seated!  All the kids were super patient!

After dinner we drove around looking at Christmas lights and even saw what we think was a coyote as it was bigger than a fox....and definitely was not a dog!  However, it does sound strange to say we saw a coyote, so maybe we should stick with the fox.  Whatever it was, it was fast!

While we were still out looking at lights it was the normal time we would be getting the kids ready for bed.  I was hoping my daughter would not get upset and she would be happy all the way up till bed time tonight.  She was laughing up a storm in the car!  She was having the best time!

We even stopped and let the kids get a "little" treat at their favorite frozen yogurt place!  They were all very happy!

By the time we walked in the door, it was one hour past the kids bed time.  Now for most people, you are probably thinking what is the big deal.  And for our youngest two it isn't.  But for our oldest, with special needs, she is very schedule/routine driven and thrives being on one.  So the slightest change in plans can sometimes make her upset.

However, tonight she was a rock star!  She was happy from the moment she walked into our room at 6:20am till the moment she fell asleep at 9:20pm!  I love how tonight we were able to "go with the flow" just like a "typical" family and not have any backfires!

Here is a quote for today...

It always seems impossible until it's done- Author Unknown