Stage 3 activities -- lifestyle

I LOVED Stage 3! I was brimming with competence from having successfully navigated the first two RDI stages, and was fresh off the 2-day workshop and my new commitment to making RDI truly our lifestyle. I was raring to go and there was no stopping me! Our entire day became RDI!

One note, in this stage we were finally able to abandon the undistracting room and took our "RDI show" to any location we pleased. We truly made the transition to RDI lifestyle.

Here's what RDI lifestyle looked like for us during Stage 3:

Making the beds: We'd each stand on one side of the bed, and pull the sheets and blankets up together, then switch to the other side to even it out. Or we'd each stand on opposite sides of the bed and pull the sheet up across the entire bed together. I'd lift the mattress and he'd tuck it in. He'd toss me pillows and I'd place them on the beds, or vice versa.

Unloading the dishwasher: Jacob would hand me things from the dishwasher, and I would put them into the cabinets. Or I would hand Jacob things from the dishwasher, and he'd put them in piles on the counters. We continued to incorporate referencing activities with all of this, because that's the way RDI works -- one stages morphs into the next. It's all sort of seemless, something that I adore about it.

Laundry: I'd hand Jacob clothes from a central pile of dirty laundry, he'd toss them into the right baskets. We'd carry the baskets together (with him on one side, me on the other) down the hall and stairs. I'd hand him clothes out of the basket, he'd put them into the washer. Or vice versa. Or we'd each select articles of clothing and then coordinate throwing them in together. Same thing in reverse when taking them out of the dryer. We'd carry the laundry basket together back up the stairs and down the hall. We'd dump the basket together. I'd fold the laundry, then give it to Jacob to put in the appropriate piles. We'd carry the piles to the appropriate bedrooms together, we'd open the drawers together, we'd put the clothes inside together.

Sweeping: I'd sweep the floor while Jacob held the dust pan, or vice versa. I'd hold the trash bag while Jacob dumped the dust pan, or vice versa. I'd tie the bag shut and we'd carry it together out to the trash barrel.

Vaccuuming: I'd push the vaccuum cleaner while Jacob moved things out of my way. And vice versa.

Dusting: Each armed with our own feather duster, we'd attack the house in tandem.

Washing windows: I'd go on the outside, he'd stay on the inside, we'd each spray our spray bottle (trying to match spots on the window), then we'd both wipe, trying to match each other's movements. Or we'd stand on the same side of the window -- he'd spray and I'd wipe. Or I'd spray and he'd wipe.

Brushing the pony: Each armed with a brush, I'd take a swipe, then he'd follow suit. We had one clean pony! Same with brushing the dogs and cats and rabbits.

Taking walks: This is the stage where I finally didn't have to hold his hand everywhere we went to keep him with me!! Suddenly he was trying to walk WITH me. It was just GLORIOUS!!! On walks, if he slipped behind or got ahead, I would just clear my throat a little, and he'd get back to beside me and I'd spotlight that by smiling, or with a quick "hooray!" or by skipping a few steps.

Grocery shopping: LOVE doing RDI at the grocery store!! We'd take several small trips a week rather than one big one, so that we could fit everything we needed in a basket instead of a cart -- then we could each hold one of the basket handles and make our way through the store together. When we did need a cart, Jacob would either help me push it, or coordinate his walking to keep up with me. When we located items on the shelf, I'd hand them to him and he'd put them in the basket, or vice versa. At the register, I'd hand him items and he'd put them on the belt, or vice versa. We'd carry the bags out to the car together. We'd carry them into the house together. He'd unload the bags and I'd put the items away, or vice versa. I would have shopped every day with him!! And he knew that his role was very REAL and that he was a vital part of the process, so grocery shopping became one of his very favorite things to do.

Cooking: I'd add ingredients and he'd stir. Or vice versa. Or we'd each stir in our own bowls. Or we'd take turns stirring. For cookie baking, we'd each have a packet of pre-cut cookies, then coordinate our actions in getting them onto cookie sheets. For roll-out dough, I'd roll it out, and he would cut a shape, I'd pick it up, and he'd put it on the cookie sheet, then we'd repeat. For making his beloved cheese and crackers, I'd hand him a cracker and he'd spread the cheese on, or vice versa. Or we'd both have our own knives and coordinate making the cheese and crackers together (mirroring each other's motions). Then we'd coordinate taking bites of them.

Tomorrow (or maybe later today if I'm feeling particularly energetic -- I DO love talking about this stuff!!) I'll write about some of the games we played during Stage 3.