Arley has been super happy, so much so that other people are noticing. When he was at after school care, one of the teachers was talking to all of the kids about his other job as a special needs teacher, and Arley piped up and told all the kids that he has autism, and then fielded questions from them. I'm so proud that he doesn't feel the need to hide it, that he is so easily able to discuss it. He has had one bad day this week, and I tell you what, it was like a normal day used to be, and only lasted for a morning. It is just so great to have him happy. Our whole family dynamic has changed. And I'm so thankful for his sake, as he is consistently happy for the first time in his life. It must have been dreadful to be so anxious and angry all of the time.
Carmie is sweet as pie, but still quite emotional. We are still challenged to get her to do much in the way of school work, but she is learning all the same. This week she told Lolo that "her eyes have the genetic attributes of all of her family members", because they range from blue to green to grey. I don't know where she learnt that, but it sure does take the pressure off me having to sit down with her and force her to do worksheets!
Arley has been complaining about leaving the house lately, so on Saturday I told him to choose anything he wants to do and we'll do it. He chose to have a family picnic in the neighbourhood park so we could play soccer and dodgeball and draw with chalk. So, that's what we did on Saturday and it was really lovely.
I have been teaching Arley to ride a bike without training wheels, as a surprise for his dad. It is slow-going, and at first he was petrified, but now he is not scared, he just can't seem to find his balance. We will keep slogging away at it though. At least it is good exercise for me!
The kids have been playing tons of games this week, with Jeffrey, with me, and even with each other. Lots of chess and strategy games. They have been getting along quite well. Yesterday we made another trip up to Nowra to see the kids' doctor, and afterwards I took the kids to a park. They got very caught up in a make-believe game, which is a first for Arley, and he absolutely loved it. Carmie has been caught up in make-believe games for many years, so she is a good leader for him. Because it was so late, I took the kids out to dinner to an Italian restaurant. We never do things like that (I think we got a little gun-shy when they were younger), and they thought they were so grown up, and I tell you what, they had the best manners of anyone in the restaurant! I guess we're doing something right, even though we don't see those manners at home!
Today we had a park play with our homeschool friends. The kids just love it, they have a blast. Us mums sit and chat, and the kids run around like little hooligans. They are allowed to leave the park as a group and go to the shop for ice blocks, so they feel very mature with all of that freedom.
I have't taken many photos this week, but let it be known, there were lots of happy faces!
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