My biggest concern was the "too much good" issue we always have. I went over it with Miss Dee over and over. She really did much, much better than I anticipated.
The night before, we hung out with two of my friends that Dee calls "aunt" and had her family birthday party. It was very nice. Very simple. We opened gifts she had received and enjoyed the beginning of our vacation!
We left for Disney World on Saturday. We dropped off Chloe and Roxy at my friends. They looked really sad to know they were going to be left. Chloe usually spends the entire time hiding by her couch. She was much better this time. She even played.
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| Can you see them peering in the doorway as we drove off? |
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| I got a note they had a "new Gale" - NOT! |
We then left for the airport and fun adventure in Orlando at Mickey's house!
Dee did not enjoy Magic Kingdom. She tends to get fixated on one thing and wants nothing else. That day, she wanted to be at the swimming pool. Even though I told her that our ticket was for the entire day and we had to get our $160 worth out of it. She wanted to leave almost as soon as she arrived. It was actual birthday. She turned 11! I had prepaid for her to have dinner with the Princesses, but she wanted to swim. She didn't eat. She barely smiled. I keep saying, "She became happy when we left the happiest place on earth."
The next day, we slept in, and waited to meet our friend who writes the blog, Last Mom. I have known her for several years as we went through the entire adoption process together. But this was the first time we got to meet. Our girls are the same ages. It was to be "my" day during vacation. Dee told her therapist meeting Princess was her favorite part of vacation. We had so much fun watching our girls be themselves. They were able to relax knowing we were there, and knowing the other girl also had "issues." LastMom and I were sort of lost trying to figure out what our role was as they played together. And Dee...she finally got to swim...for a while. It rained a lot.
We then went to do some shopping and eat. Princess and her mom could not stay for dinner. But they sure made our vacation.
The next day -- our last full day in Orlando, we hit another park. It went much better! I read an article Last Mom had written on visiting parks and took some of her advice. Here's the article link: http://www.allthingsformom.com/tips_to_help_your_child_avoid_meltdowns_during_theme_park_vacations
We went to Hollywood Studios. She handled it much better. It was less overwhelming. We had fun. We came back and had a very nice dinner at our hotel. And prepared to come home the next day!
We didn't do anything the last day, but prepare to leave. We counted it as a very successful trip. I was glad to get my doggy girls, drink good water and be home! And because we continued to be on vacation from most responsibilities, Dee continued to handle it fairly well. The real test will be on Monday when I must return to work, and she had daycare, and we are rushing around!
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