Let's Try This Again...

After I surprised Riley with a cheese quesadilla for lunch this happened the following day:

Me:  Ri, what do you want for lu..
R:    *before I could finish*   Grilled cheese.
Me:  Would you like a quesadilla or pasta?
R:    *in a dejected voice*  Pasta.
Me:   Red sauce or white sauce.
R:     White sauce.

Of course he muttered the entire time but he did manage to "eat" his way through with only a couple of gags/dry heaves.

I gave Riley a reprieve for one day before attempting the quesadilla a second time. I know. I’m a softie. 

A little insight before watching the video:

·         I cut the quesadilla into 4 pieces as opposed to 6. In Riley World, the fewer the number of pieces (regardless of size) the better.  :D

·         I used “new” crackers (ie. different size but ones he is used to eating) as a “distraction”. 

·         I am not concerned with table etiquette at this point ergo the conversation.

·         He likes to look at himself in the corner cabinet...it has glass doors.  :)

·         He often associates words/numbers to videos he watches. In this case it’s the number 6 which he often relates to the 6 pillars from the Kids for Character video he used to watch on VHS. Yea…it’s been going on for THAT long. 

Click here if you can't see the video.

The next step...getting him to eat a quesadilla out of the house because no, they are NOT the same. They are NEVER the same.  *sigh*

I Must Have a Death Wish...

Poor Riley.

He’s had almost a month of doing whatever he wants…when he wants and he has been loving it!  LOVING. IT!!!

Until today.

For the most part I have been happy to let him do his own thing. After all, we all need a break every now and then. Right?  RIGHT???

Well...that is...until today.

I was starting to feel a little guilty. One can never let your guard down for too long in Riley World. With vacations just around the corner I decided it was time to……wait for it…

…introduce Operation IFO once again. Yes of course there is video.  :D

Our last, well…to be perfectly honest…our only success from Operation IFO that has carried over to today would be a grilled cheese sandwich. And that was over 2 years ago. *sigh*

My biggest dilemma?  What to “introduce”. I racked my brain trying to think of food items that might “commonly”  be offered at restaurants (I’m referring to kid menus here).

And then…it came to me.  A cheese quesadilla.  Right???  It meets all the criteria of Riley World. Plain and bland.

Do not be fooled by this pic. The diameter is only about 5"...the size of a personal pizza.

I cut it into 6 pieces. Not too big...not too small...just right.  :D

And then...I called him.

Things I noticed:

·         My voice absolutely does NOT sound like that!!!  

·         He hasn’t lost his skill for negotiating. Although I needed to clarify 5 pieces vs. 5 bites.

·         He can stuff an incredible amount of food into his cheek without swallowing. 

·         There was no table slapping! Whoot!! Mark a big, fat, check mark under the success column.

In case you’re wondering what he’s doing at the end of the video…he’s checking out my calendar. A few swigs of apple juice and manners to boot. Guess we have come a long way since the beginning of IFO.  :D  

Seeing a 3D Movie...through the Eyes of Riley World

Going to movies has not always been a “desired” activity in Riley World. Oh the stories I could tell. It has taken years and YEARS to get to the point where we are today. So if you’re thinking it’s never going to happen for your child…he/she may surprise you one day. Riley sure did.

And thanks to Pixar and DreamWorks the era of animated movies has made going to movies an outing at any age.

Yesterday Riley and I went to see Finding Dory in 3D. The last time I went to a 3D movie I wore the cardboard glasses with one blue and one red “lens”.

Not exactly comfortable nor effective. Tell me you didn’t sit there closing one eye…then the other…then tilted your head to the left…then to the right hoping it made a difference. Am I right???

Well with Netflix and On Demand TV these days, spending the equivalent of a bottle of wine, popcorn with that awful “golden topping” AND having to get out of my “home clothes”…not exactly motivating for me.

However, truth be known…I couldn’t wait to see Finding Dory! With summer break upon us and the weather less than ummmm “summery”…what better time to get Riley out of the house and satisfy my Ellen and Pixar fixation.

Did you know now-a-days the 3D glasses look and wear like real sunglasses? They do. Look…

I digress. Riley, being the more experienced movie goer of the two of us, paid for the movie, led me to the movie theatre and found us a seat as I followed behind in my usual menopausal fog. I did help him get the glasses out of the who-brings-scissors-to-a-theatre plastic wrap. Yesch!

He waited for the instructions on the screen before putting on his glasses. I contemplated taking a picture of R wearing his glasses but decided the flash might be a bit distracting to the other movie goers. I'm thoughtful that way. I, on the other hand, kept flipping my glasses on and off, on and off, on and off. Yea. I’m 55 going on 6.

Finally the movie started. I’m not giving anything away but in a flashback when baby Dory comes on the screen…OMG…she is soooooo cute!  Look. At. Her!!!

No reaction from Riley. Nada. Zippo.

Same when young Dory appears.

Not until the Dory with Ellen’s voice appeared did Riley get excited, looked at me and said “DORY! Look, it’s DORY!!!” 

No matter the progress Riley makes, I am still caught off guard sometimes. It's the seemingly small yet important details...the not being able to associate Dory at her different stages in life that are still such an abstract concept for Riley. Still...so many different dimensions to figure out in Riley World. 

Guess we'll just have to keep swimming.