This week has been very up and down. On Sunday we had a family lunch at Hyams Beach. It was really lovely, and Carmie didn't even get sick on the drive. We met Lolo and Dida and Georgia and Zach there, to celebrate Georgia's birthday. We had a walk on the beach and the rocks, and then a really nice lunch. The kids did great sitting in the cafe for so long - we have definitely come to the time when we can take them out to eat and not have to worry about behaviour. Thank goodness, it has been a long road!
Over the weekend we also had the kids' friend Hannah over for a play. It was pretty stressful, and from now on playdates are definitely going to be out at parks or the beach, or someplace not at home! Then on Monday I took the kids to the library. It turned into a trip from hell. Arley was hungry, but too worried about making a mess in the library to eat any of the snacks I had brought. He had refused to eat before we left claiming he wasn't hungry at all :( Carmie took forever choosing her books. Then we went to check out, and I realised I had left all of our cards at home, so the librarian had to look us all up, and of course the kids had chosen about 40 books. Checkout took about ten minutes, and Arley started pushing Carmie around. I asked him not to, but he continued. So then I told him he was going to lose 5c from his $1 he would receive that day (a new reward system we are trying out). He absolutely flipped out, and he was screaming and punching me, hitting, scratching - he even bit me. The two librarians were trying to 'help' which only made him worse, and he just did not care about the people queuing behind us. It was the worst public meltdown he has ever had. When we were finally done, one of the librarians looked at me with such sympathy that I burst into tears and ran out of there, with the tantrumming Arely and crying Carmie following me. It was pretty emotionally devastating to me. Arley was very remorseful afterwards, and very apologetic, but there's no getting over that behaviour quickly. Mum felt bad so picked the kids up on Tuesday for a sleepover so I could have a break. Since then he started a mini tantrum once at home and hit me again. I reminded him of the library, and he stopped. He has been quite volatile though, and in an effort to curb his aggression, we have taken his Roblox computer game away from him. It is really hard, and I feel bad for him, because he just loves playing Roblox. He has been allowed to play for half an hour in the morning and half an hour in the afternoon, but in between it is all he talks about - he is obsessed. It is what a lot of our fights have been about, and we truly think it makes him unstable. So, we are doing some time without it, and he is really really sad.
On a nice note, we had a visit from Oma and Opa tonight. The kids were very excited beforehand, and Carmie was a bouncing ball of cute energy. Arley was on and off shy all night. He spent a lot of time hiding behind me, but after dinner we sat and played some games, and he loosened up and came out of his shell a bit. Then when they left he was so sad to see them go and kept asking if we could drive to Bowral tomorrow so we could go visit Aunty Georgia with them :)
Carmie has started guitar lessons with Jeffrey. She is quite happy about it because she wants to go busking and make lots of money. She has put up with a lot this week, and she still continues to be patient and cheery. I just hope her positive attitude and sweet nature rub off on her brother!!
Carmie's new reading spot
Kicking Opa's butt at Gobblet Gobblers
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