395 + 291 Weeks

Well, the school holidays have wrapped up and we have our town and beaches back.  I'm so relieved! The kids did some lovely holiday activities though, including a drama workshop, and Carmie did a drawing mandalas art class.  Arley was very upset that he couldn't do that too, so I took him out for gelato.  Arley has always had anxiety over drawing.  He's been too scared that he will make a mistake.  We've been working on levels of importance, and how some mistakes just are not important (like when you are drawing) and how some mistakes are so important you could die.  The kids asked me to make a chart for them, so I did, and it seems to have sunk in.  I signed the kids up for an online art class on Tuesday, and Arley was very nervous for the first half, but he rocked it, and since then he has been drawing all the time.  It is such a relief to not have him screaming at me when he sits down with a pencil in his hand!

Arley's occupational therapy started up again today with an in-home visit.  It is really good to get things going again, but it is also emotional for me because now I have all of these things swimming around in my head that I have to be on top of.  Our therapist said that Arley is doing extremely well, that now we can actually work on skills because he is regulated so much better.  This is a big step.  She said that Carmie is a big part of the problem now, because she has no tolerance for him after all these years, and we need to work on how they communicate with each other.  So we are back to OT every week, and we are also starting behaviour therapy next week, as well as equine therapy.  And so here we go again.

This week we have had a lovely beach swim, visits to the rock pools, we have been playing lots of card games as a family, and we even had a lego day (I can't stand lego, I end up doing half the kits myself!).  I have been painting like mad, another large landscape.  My show is hanging up in Murrurundi, and I'm happy to say that I have already sold four pieces :)

I took this video, and am posting it, because this is so representative of Arley, when he is in a good mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=604uDOJshnE

Fun with Dad at Bawley Beach

 Placating Arley with gelato

 At Collers Beach after Saturday night beach dinner

 Complete lego car - such a mission!

 My studio companions

 Ulladulla rock pools