342 + 238 Weeks

So, it has been really hot this week, so we took the kids to Water World up in Nowra.  They were so excited.  Water World is a temporary water park made of inflatable swimming pools with jumping castle sides and big slides to slide down into the water.  There were four swimming pools in all, spread out over an area the size of a football field.  It was awesome.  Until the end.  I had taken Arley's floaty vest off, because the water wasn't very deep, and he can almost swim, and no other kids were wearing them.  I was in a pool with him and he was climbing up into the jumping castle and sliding down the slide over and over again.  The grown ups weren't allowed on the slides at all.  I was splashing with Carmie in the pool, and Arley was having a good play on the slides, but then he just didn't come down again.  I waited and waited.  No Arley.  Jeff was standing right outside the exit of the pool, watching us, as he was done for the day.  He hadn't seen Arley leave the pool.  So I sent Carmie up into the jumping castle part to find him, but he wasn't there.  That's when we started to panic.  I told the supervisors that I couldn't find my son, and so we all started calling for him.  He didn't answer.  Jeff jumped into the pool to help with the search, and he climbed up into the jumping castle to check it out and make sure he wasn't wedged in somewhere, while I had the awful task of looking under all of the floaty things in the pool.  We thought he had drowned, and that's why we couldn't hear him.  I left the pool and ran around the back, thinking he maybe had fallen off the jumping castle.  I was screaming and in a complete state of panic.  It had been about 7 minutes at this point.  Then I couldn't get out from where I was because of the trailers, so I had to run the long way around.  I was screaming for Arley, and another woman joined in the hunt.  Then suddenly I heard, "Mum!  What!!"  The little bugger was over at another pool!  He had exited the jumping castle pool by a side exit (no other pools even had a side exit), and took himself off to another pool, following a little boy he had made friends with.  I was so shaken!!  I had to run back to the other pool to tell Jeff to stop looking, that he was fine.  And Arley had no idea why I was upset.  He never ever leaves my side, and he finally decided to at a water park??  Such a horrible experience!  We thought he was drowned and we were looking for his little body.  The whole thought makes me sick even now. Afterwards we sat down so we could recover, and I swear, I was still shaken the next day.  Arley just looks at us sheepishly when we talk about it.

On Saturday we went to the kids' friends Delphi and Jasper's house for a play and so Carmie could make amends with Delphi after leaving her party crying the week before.  It was lovely.  They have a pool, so it was nice to escape the heat.  And Delphi and Carmie did make amends and are good friends again.  That evening we had our beach dinner at Collers Beach so Bella could have a run around.  It was so lovely there, the weather was perfect and we took a long walk, collecting rocks and sea glass.

We have still spent a lot of time at home.  We did get to the library for a movie screening and then to collect books, and today we had a play at the park with Carmie's friend Ness.  I think Carmie might be growing apart from her school friends, which is bound to happen, but still makes me a bit sad.  We looked after Carmie's friend Hannah on Wednesday, and luckily those two are still thick as thieves.  I took all three kids to the pool for a swim, and then Hannah even joined us for dinner, and almost a sleep over (at the last minute she wanted to go home).  

Arley is still into colouring in, and tonight he read me a book that was fairly hard, like seven or eight sentences on each page, and he didn't skip a beat.  He is reading so fluently and fast, it is crazy!  Carmie still hates to do any kind of writing, but she persists, and she has also been doing lots of imaginative play, which I love to see.  They have been making 'castles' out of Magnatiles and using Arley's planes to defend them.  They have moments when they play together really well, but a lot of the time it is still Arley pestering her, and he has been doing a whole lot of shouting lately.  To make things more fun, I put my back out on Sunday, and it has been fairly excruciating.  I am walking around like a turtle, but I did manage to bake my most successful banana bread yet today, so I'm calling that a win!

Outside Water World

 Saturday night beach dinner

 Puzzle success :)

 Happy kids at the library

 Cheeky boy!

341 + 237 Weeks

I'm exhausted!  It's been a busy week.  The kids went to their friend Delphi's birthday party on Saturday.  They had fun in the pool and playing with their friends, until Carmie got over-emotional and completely lost the plot.  She ended up spending the last hour of the party weeping, the poor thing.  She cried all the way home, and then when she got home she sorted herself out and made Delphi a card.  Arley was great at the party, not overwhelmed at all.  It seems as though they switched roles on me!  If it's not one, then it's the other!

We had lunch at the harbour one day this week, and another day I took the kids to the library for a movie in the auditorium.  They also had a sleep over at their Lolo and Dida's, and then a play at Mollymook park the next day.  Today we looked after the kids' friend Hannah while her parents worked.  Carmie and Arley love having a friend around, and they all played very well together.  This afternoon I took them out to Dolphin Point for a swim.  It wasn't our usual deserted inlet, but it was lovely all the same.  Carmie and Hannah went off for a big swim, and Arley hung out with me.

Arley's therapy started up again this week.  It was so nice having the break from driving up to Nowra, and I was kind of under the delusion that we might not have to do therapy for much longer.  I knew that Arley was having issues with some things, and I chatted with his therapist and she went over a few things with him.  Arley has a pretty severe fine and gross motor skills processing problem.  As in, he can watch you do something, like draw a shape, or sit in a swinging chair, but then you ask him to do it, and he just can't.  His brain can't gather the information and tell his body what to do.  He gets really frustrated and even angry, and then his confidence plummets.  And then once he does get it figured out, if he makes what he perceives to be a mistake, it is like the end of the world to him.  So, it appears like we have a long way to go :(

On an upside, he is always asking to craft these days.  He is really into making things, which I love, except that it takes up so much of my time!  Carmie pulled out her jewellery making boxes this week and they have been busy making necklaces and bracelets.  And they have been really into playing with their Magnatiles.  It's so nice to see Carmie doing something other than reading, and Arley is happier for her company.

We have one more week after this of school holidays, and then we get our little town and our beaches back to ourselves.  Can't wait!

At Delphi's party, before the upset.

 Lunch at the harbour.

 I walked past the bathroom to see this:

Carmie and Hannah today at Dolphin Point

340 + 236 Weeks

This week has absolutely flown by!  I'm wracking my brain to remember what we did.  We had lots of at home time, riding bikes in the cul de sac, and doing crafts.  On Saturday we met some friends down at Narrawallee Inlet.  It was so crowded (darn school kids!).  But the kids had fun.  Carmie went swimming, and Arley just waded in the water, followed by a good play in the park with their friends.  There were kids everywhere, and it was pretty hot.  Such a difference to yesterday, when we met some other friends for a play at Narrawallee.  The weather was cool, and the park was practically empty, just how we like it :)  We met up with the kids' friends Willow and Finn, and Carmie's old best friend from years ago, Cassie, and her brother Will.  It was also really nice for me to catch up with the mums.

We made it to the library book sale, and unluckily for everyone else, we were practically the first ones there.  Lolo came with us, and between the two of us, we were able to choose (grab) 263 books to buy the kids (for $50, best money ever spent!).  So then I had to spend the rest of the day reorganising our shelves so that I could fit all of those books in.  The kids are happy.  I found out today that not only is Arley reading, but he is reading in his head, which isn't supposed to happen for a few more years.  He has also found a love of drawing.  He can't draw on his own, and he gets very upset if his picture goes wrong, but he loves to have me sit down with him to show him how to draw.  He dictates what will be in the picture, and I have to draw next to him so that he can copy what I do.  It takes up a lot of time, but I don't mind so much because at least one of my kids is getting into art!  Carmie not so much :(

Carmie is very into listening to music these days.  She has a few favourite songs, and she is constantly finding my phone and typing them into Spotify so she can listen.  Right now she is tinkling away on our piano keyboard...and this makes me happy too, because at least she is taking a break from reading!!  She has been waiting for ages for her teeth to get wobbly, and now all of a sudden she has four wobbly ones - the front top two and the front bottom two.  She is going to look so different, I can't stand it!

Today the kids and I took Bella for a long walk.  We walked up past swimming and into the nature reserve.  We are going to do it more often, as it was good for all of us.  Bella has become a chunker (and she's not the only one!).  It was really lovely once we were in the reserve, until we were attacked by mosquitos and had to abort.  Next time we will be more prepared :)

339 + 235 Weeks

So, 2018 is here, and the kids also had their half yearly birthdays, so now Carmie is six and a half, and Arley is four and a half.  We weren't going to go anywhere on New Year's Eve because Jeffrey had to work, and I didn't think it was a good idea to disrupt Arley from his sleep pattern.  The few days previous to New Year's he had been brilliant, totally calm and happy.  At the last minute, I decide to take the kids to Lolo and Dida's so that we could watch the fireworks from their patio, and then have a sleepover.  The fireworks were amazing, and their townhouse is right below where they were being let off.  I have never been so close to fireworks before, it was like they were raining down on us. The kids loved it.  But I'm not sure if that made up for the repercussions of the next day! The kids fell asleep after 11pm, and somehow woke up the next morning at 5:50!  So, both kids were a mess, but Arley was particularly bad.  He was screaming at everyone, and had a big blow up with Dida, it was awful.  He was contrary and aggressive all day, until I got him off to bed at 6:30.  Carmie crashed in the afternoon and slept for two hours, but was right as rain afterwards.  And me?  It has taken me days to recover!

Our little town has been so crowded these last few weeks.  We are hesitant to go anywhere.  Because of this, I booked the kids into the intensive swim course, as the pool is just around the corner.  They have had swimming lessons all week, which has been really good.  Arley is learning how to do 'big arms' and Carmie is now swimming the length of the 25 meter pool as part of her lesson.  On Tuesday Carmie's friend Ness met us at the pool so that they could have a play, and then we brought her home with us for a play date.  The kids really miss Ness.

Arley is taking after his big sister and is reading like a champion.  The other night while I cooked dinner, he read "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to me, with only a little help on a few words.  We have been playing a lot of the card game Sleeping Queens, and Arley has had lots of Jemma time.  We are waiting impatiently for school holidays to end so we can have our beaches back!

Carmie is learning to be super helpful around the house, and it helps so much.  She is such a sweet thing, but is going through a bit of a lack of confidence stage.  I'm not sure where it is coming from, and I'm sure it will pass soon enough.  She has been doing her writing book every day, and her handwriting is looking great.  She is still a total goose, and loves playing games with her dad.  Arley is a complete clown, and still loves to colour in.  He is very funny too.  The other day, I was strapping him into his car seat, and he said, "Awww, I love you!", and I said, "Oh, that is the sweetest thing I have heard all day!"  His response?  "I was talking to my seatbelt."  Scallawag!

Here is a video of the kids loving on their dog :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1BQsO-XcA8

He loves his dinosaur outfit, Oma and Opa!

 Exhausted after his blow up with Dida.