Carmie and Arley are 9 and 7 today! I can't believe they have gotten so big. I never realised how important July 2nd would be to me, but now I have my babies, it is the best day of the year. And possibly the most exhausting. I'm glad today is over (now we just have to survive their birthday party on Saturday). They were very excited when they woke up this morning, and as it was a "Do What You Want" day, Arley was immediately playing Minecraft. I then took them to horse riding, and then we stopped in to visit Wes, the kids' carer, as he and Lauren have had a baby. Carmie was quite smitten with their little girl. When we got home, the kids continued their day of gaming, reading and more gaming. When Jeffrey came home for lunch the kids were allowed to open their box of presents from their Nema (grandma in the US - thanks Nema and Grandpa Clark!), and they were so excited. In the late afternoon we went to Lolo and Dida's house for dinner, and the kids got to open their presents from us. I went overs again, but a lot of gifts were games we will play for homeschooling. The kids were stoked - Carmie got the skateboard she wanted (oh my lord!) and Arley got a super-cool remote control car. They were very hard to get to sleep tonight, as they were both still so excited :)
We have had a busy week. We went up to Bowral on Sunday because Georgia had organised a birthday lunch for Lolo's 70th birthday (which is in three days time). My brother Sting came down from Sydney, as did my cousin Beau and his wife. It was a really nice day. We took the VR headset up, and it was pretty fun watching everyone try to walk the plank (on top of a skyscraper) in virtual reality. Beau was the only one who succeeded with confidence, and I have to say, quite a few of them couldn't even try to walk it. It was a quick trip to Bowral, but fun all the same.
I am happy to say that Jackie is all better. His lung infection seems to have cleared up, and his penis is where it should be!
We visited my friend Dawn to say goodbye and to have one last visit with her chickens. The kids love her chickens so much, it almost makes me want to get some. We still have a few more goodbyes to make before we go, but the bulk of them will be at the kids birthday party, which is also a goodbye party. Carmie is super sad to move (excited too), but Arley wants to go, no hang ups! As for our move, the movers are booked for July 22nd, and we still don't have a house to go to! I call realtors every day, and scour the realestate sites, but there is either nothing suitable, or everything is taken. It is super frustrating, and it looks like we are going to have to compromise - either pay more than we hoped, live further away from the learning centre, get a much smaller house...it's cutting it close.
So, last week I mentioned that Arley had started on a new medication (prescribed by his paediatrician, and not the med I was hoping for), but it made him SO tired. The very next day after that first dose, I called our GP who specialises in autism and paediatrics, and he said get him off it right away, that it will only sedate him. Basically I have to find a new paediatrician up in Coffs Harbour. I told our doctor more of what he has been going through, and he thinks Arley has incredibly low self-esteem, and that our main focus has to be building up his self esteem and resilience. He said we will look at ADHD meds further down the track once we get his self-esteem higher. I told him it is so low because Arley is always in trouble (for his temper, for being impulsive, for being mean to Carmie), and he asked me how we discipline him (I do it according to our therapists' instructions), and do you know what the doctor said? He said Arley is never to be in trouble again. That none of it is his fault, and he is not to be disciplined for something he can't control. This leaves me with very few tools to work with, but somehow we have made it work this week, and he hasn't been in trouble (barring one slip-up of mine). Arley had an OK week. He had a bad morning on Tuesday when he had to go to tennis, and he got angry at me right beforehand, and then just couldn't keep his cool. Sometimes autistic people do not understand hierarchy among people. Arley is like this, and just has no concept that he should be doing what his coach asks him to do. He thinks he is on the same level as everyone, instructors included, and it can appear pretty disrespectful. He gets so mad so fast. He also had a massive meltdown on Wednesday night, which included lots of insane screaming, and then he broke down into dreadful sobbing and berating himself. It is so hard to watch, and even harder to control my own temper, but I did a good job of it this week. It feels good when I can be there for him instead of add to his meltdown, but it is hard to do. We are trying really hard to not get angry, which is very difficult when his anger is aimed at us!
Carmie had a great tennis lesson this week. She is very excited that she got so many books for her birthday, and today she told me she hopes she gets lots of gift certificates to the book store from her friends. She is the cutest little book nerd I have ever seen. And she's nine today! Can't believe it.
A happy Jackie!
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