We also got to Collers Beach again, as the weather has been pretty amazing. We played bocci ball there, and the kids did running races. We also had a surprise run-in with Lolo and Dida, which was nice, because the kids miss them so much. We've had outside play, chalk shadow-drawing, ratty play, and the kids have been playing lots of their make-believe spy game. The kids kicked butt at tennis this week, but have been more like rodeo clowns at horse riding.
And now for the bad. Arley has had a rough few days. It always makes things so much tougher. The kids have been bike riding in the cul de sac, but Arley is really nervous about it. I am trying to make him do it anyway, but I'm not sure it is worth it at this point. He learnt how to ride without training wheels back in October, and he was great. But then the fires hit for two months, and then it rained for three weeks, and the break from riding was just too long for his confidence. He was convinced he couldn't do it anymore, and he is very fearful of riding, especially when Carmie is also riding. He thinks she will crash into him, and in a moment of stress he actually pushed her off her bike while she was riding. She wasn't hurt too badly, thank goodness. He is so very impulsive, and needs to be entertained at all times. He literally needs information to be fed to his brain continually or he gets bored and frustrated. And a bored and frustrated Arley is a bad combination. Basically if my attention from him is diverted at all he needs to be on a screen or he goes haywire. Luckily he has an app called Epic on his iPad that is just a ton of books, so he reads a lot, but it is still a screen, which drives me crazy. He is quite happy to be off them, as long as he is playing with me or Carmie, and sometimes Jeff. It is very exhausting!!
This afternoon I took the kids to the Bogey Hole for some climbing and beach play, while Jeffrey did a workout and gave a guitar lesson. We had a good time, and Arley actually said, "That was fun!" We saw an autistic boy there who was stimming and making repetitive noises, so it was a really good opportunity to have a talk with the kids about autism and the different ways it affects different people.
Carmie is sweet as pie, as always. She is definitely affected by Arley's aggression, but she spends a lot of time with her Dad and he showers her with love. I think she is definitely a Daddy's girl. She loves to run, and is constantly asking for running races. Oh how different she is from her mother!
Today has been a good day, however we had a fair amount of drama tonight. Arley doesn’t understand why he needs to ask nicely for a favour instead of demanding, and it got really out of hand. We had a big chat about it afterwards, and he told me he is in pain when he is so angry, and can’t I just rescue him. It broke my heart. Poor guy. I’ve got to figure this out.
Anyway, tomorrow is another day!
A short video of Carmie trying out the VR for the first time:
https://youtu.be/knREa1YofGQ
A visit to Collers Beach
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