On Thursday around noon, and as Nina and I were both working, Niko politely advised us that he needed some time alone. So, he went downstairs with his iPad. Now, it’s not like downstairs and upstairs are far from each other; I mean, we can still have a quick conversation with him to ask him if he is OK or needs anything and he will answer back.
Without any additional help from us or Riley, he got YouTube Kids to play on his iPad, and then shared it to the television using the Roku! I didn’t even know that was a thing you can do. He knows things about his iPad, that I have no clue about. He teaches me something new every day!
Then, again, and without any additional help, he started to clean and organized everything, including the pantry. When I came down to check on him, I was absolutely amazed because he did a fantastic job of cleaning. The shoe rack was organized, the island was cleared, and a large bookcase was organized. He even had a few things placed on a small living room table that he didn’t know what to do with them. He did ask me if he could sweep and vacuum, and I was like floored (no pun intended) and said of course. I did have to help do the actual sweeping, and I vacuumed a little bit, but again, he did everything on his own accord. When he gets in these moods, he does a really good job.
Last Sunday, which was also Father’s Day, and after I came home with a lot of Chinese food (we had so much that is lasted till Thursday), I had a voicemail from my mother asking us if we wanted to join them at a diner called Max & Louie’s as my dad really wanted cheese blintzes.
Max & Louie’s is known for sandwiches that are stacked 5 feet high with all types of different deli meat. Last But they also have some Jewish foods, like Matzah Ball Soup and Potatoe pancakes. As you can see below, the menu offers a lot of options and can easily satisfy all families:
Knowing I was off the following day, I was down for it, and when I asked Niko, he was also down for it. Now, by down, I mean, we both wanted to go. Nina didn’t want to go, as she had to work the next day. All it would mean, was Niko would have a later bedtime that night, and I was fine with that.
I won’t bore you with food details. Ok, I am. Sorry. Well, not sorry. Niko had a club sandwich and I think he had one bite of it, as it was humongous! We took it home, and it took him like 3 days to eat it and when he did, I had to use a chopstick to hold it together. Next time, I think we can share it. I will say my dad was upset as they ran out of blintzes! Why am I telling you this today? I do have a perfectly good reason, and I will eventually get to it.
On Friday, Nina and Niko went to Target, and one of the things that was purchased was a $2.59 large bouncy ball and Niko was so happy that when he came home, that he immediately started to play with it. Yesterday, after we ate breakfast, Niko and I went to the community playground and played with that ball some more; first on the basketball court and then in a large open field where he was kicking it. A few other kids joined him in the kicking, and it was nice to see him smiling and playing with other kids (they were much younger). Afterwards, we went to CVS which is less than a mile away for some cold drinks as it’s hot right now in Texas.
Now, before all this happened, I had planned to take Niko to the Childrens Museum, but when he woke up, he wanted to stay home. I was disappointed, but contempt and didn’t feel like bribing or negotiating with him to go out. So, we were just casually talking after breakfast, and I asked him if he wanted to go to the pool? Nope. Then, Nina suggested playground to play with the ball. Yes. In between, he asked me if we could go back to Max & Louie’s for dinner, but earlier than last Sunday, so we could have time to eat and come home and not have to go to sleep immediately. I agreed but kept trying to get him to go someplace else a little bit closer to home. Nope.
Well, now, I will tell you that Niko and I had a wonderful time at the diner, and we did invite my parents, but they had other plans.
While we were in the car, we chatted about a lot of different topics as he asked a lot of questions about everything. Driving, merging, traffic, how big is San Antonio, what is the largest city in the world, so we can go to California or Florida via IH-10, why is downtown called downtown, is there an uptown, what is it called when a car goes on a boat, I hope they keep these trees when they start building new homes, and is moms car more expensive than your car and why? Just to provide a few topics. Yeah, when he finally went to sleep, I was very happy to have some alone time where I didn’t have to answer to anybody. My brain was working overdrive with him, and it needed a break.
When I asked Niko what he wanted to eat and drink, he was like, let me look at the menu! He can read, so I just guided him a little bit. He ended up having an orange juice, with a hot dog and fries. I wasn’t in the mood for anything heavy, and to be honest, last weekend, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have in the past. So, I ordered two appetizers for us to share: macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders. We also shared a huge chocolate shake. As Niko was throwing stuff down his throat, he kept saying it’s BURSTING WITH FLAVOR. On the drive home, he told me that phrase is on the Pringles container and yes, he was eating some! I was like really! And, lastly, I got a dozen bagels for us to eat at home. We all like toasted bagels with butter (Nina, Niko, and me) and cream cheese (Nina).
